Understanding Effects Of Ethnicity In Afghan Culture Essay Example for Free

Understanding Effects Of Ethnicity In Afghan Culture Essay Ethnic differences prevalent in Afghanistan have had a great impact on peoples’ personal lives especially during interpersonal communication. As an Afghan citizen, belonging to the Pashtan ethnic group, born and raised in a multicultural society, I had to master the art of effective communication at an early age. Here in this paper, I will explain how my life has been impacted by ethnic differences in Afghanistan especially during interpersonal communication. I will explain how I communicate with my friends from my ethnic group, from other ethnic groups as well as foreigners living in Afghanistan. My paternal grandfather, a Push tan was a governor in Central Afghanistan while my maternal grandfather, a Tajik, was the Interior Minister and finance minister and my father was the Mayor of Herat City, in the west of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is situated in South-western Asia. It borders Iran, Pakistan and several other countries in Central Asia. The â€Å"Islamic State of Afghanistan† is Afghanistan’s official name. Kabul is the capital and the other two major cities in Afghanistan are Herat and Kandahar. More than three quarters of Afghanistan’s population inhabits rural areas. The literacy level in Afghanistan is very low and it is among the world’s countries with small economies(Hussain 34-35). My ethnic group, Pushtun, is the major ethnic group in Afghanistan accounting for almost a half the population (42%). Tajiks account for 27% Hazaras 9% Uzbel 9% Aimak 4% Turkmen 3% while the other ethnic groups account for 4% of the population. As a result of the diverse ethnic groups, Afghanistan has been adopting various language policies in a bid to foster national unity. For instance, in 1992, the communist regime fell due to constant fighting which arose as a result of issues such as language policy. Linguistic differences made various factions fight each other. Consequently, between the year 1992 and 1996, Afghanistan’s national anthem was changed from Pashto language to the Dari(Hussain 40-44) The 2003 Draft Constitution in Afghanistan saw the Pashto and Dari languages become the official languages during the Draft Constitution’s amendments of Afghanistan’s language policy. The constitution made provisions guaranteeing all languages as equal. In today’s world, most countries strive to preserve its people’s culture as well as the language. Afghanistan has adopted the Assimilation Language Policy, which is aimed at fostering national unit by having a single national language. Pashtu is the national language of Afghanistan(Hussain 35-39) In Afghanistan, bilingualism is very common. Most people, especially literates can write and speak in at least two ethnic languages. As a child, I acquired two ethnic languages. By the time I went for my primary education, I could speak a few Dari words and phrases in addition to my mother tongue, Pushtan. When I joined school, I learned the Dari language which is taught because it is the national language. When people become competent in two or more languages, they tend to use both languages in interpersonal communications. This results in switching between codes and mixing phrases from two different ethnic languages. Code switching is the use of words or phrases from two distinct languages or dialects in interpersonal communication. Code mixing entails the use of various words or phrases. When participants code-mix, they learn to relate what is altered by the speaker during a speech activity with the intended meaning as well as learning to compare what is spoken with what they know(Wood 67). In Afghanistan, people may code switch consciously or unconsciously. When a person code switches unconsciously, it is because s/he has gained competence in the two languages. Thus, one will switch between the languages and may not intent any communicative effect on the listeners, although the listeners may achieve an effect depending on how the speaker switches or mixes phrases. Conscious switching or mixing between different languages entails the speaker’s conscious effort. The speaker decides where to put a certain word or phrase with the aim of achieving a certain communication effect (Julia 30). Whenever I am with my Pushtan friends, we at times switch between the Pushtan language and the Dari language. At times, we do this unconsciously without putting into consideration the communication effect it will have to our listeners. Competence in both languages enables us to know where, when and how to mix the codes and switch between the two languages effectively. After all, we have spoken and written in these languages since childhood. In Afghanistan, people switch between languages for a number of varied reasons. For instance, whenever I am with my Pushtan friends and a band of people from say Dari whom we may detest and look down upon joins our band, we will code switch and code mix intentionally. We do this in a bid to make them feel unwanted. Occasionally, some of us will mix some Pashtun words with the Dari language. Infact, a great percentage of the words and phrases used in the speech may constitute Pashtun words. Normally, during most interpersonal communications, everyone wants to participate and this entails understanding what the other participants say so as to respond effectively. Since we withhold certain information from them by code switching, this makes the Dari speakers not participate in the speech act. Consequently, some of them may opt to leave the band while the stubborn ones may remain behind. Nothing irritates like people breaking into laughter and you are left wondering what amused them. One can even be made to think that he is the subject of mockery. Thus we may code switch so as to eliminate those we don’t want in our band (Jacobson 54) Our group may also code switch so as to make other groups of people feel appreciated. For instance, whenever we are with our friends from other ethnic groups, some of my friends who have mastered a few phrases and words from the languages will mix them with the Dari language. This makes them feel accommodated in our band. They feel that we appreciate their languages which are deemed to be inferior simply because they are not the official or national languages in Afghanistan. During interpersonal communication, everyone wants to be a part of the speech event. Consequently, our friends will feel motivated to participate because we acknowledge their presence. In addition, whenever I am with my Pushtan friends and we encounter Dari speakers who are not competent in Pushtan, we choose to use the Dari language in a bid to accommodate them. During a speech event, people tend to accommodate the other speakers. This is very crucial for effective communication. Imagine a situation where you speak to someone in, say, Dari, and he responds in Pashtun. Will you continue speaking in Dari? Of course not you would rather opt to switch to Pashtun if you are competent in it so as to avoid communication barriers. Language differences in Afghanistan can lead to communication barriers and so people have learned to accommodate others during a speech event by switching to the language used by other participants (Giles and Coupland 52). During a speech event, we may change our styles from time to time. Some of the reasons which make our band change styles during interpersonal communication include the topic being discussed, the participants in our band, and the motives/intentions of our band and so on. So we accommodate other participants by adjusting the number of times we switch between languages and strive to minimize the number of switches depending on the person we are speaking to. The accommodation is applied in our day-to-day speech events. In fact, some of my Dari friends who are not competent in Pushtan have mastered a few Pushtan words and phrases. Whenever we are conversing, they may mix a few Pashtun phrases with Dari phrases in a sentence. They do this so as to please us. They want us to think that they recognize and appreciate our language. As a matter of fact, some of them do this sarcastically; nothing irritates a Pashtan speaker than to hear a Dari speaker or any other speaker use a Pushtan word or phrase of which he or she does not even have the slightest idea of its meaning. Worse still, some of them may even use the wrong word order. I once lived in Hawaii and learned a few Hawaii words. When I visited the United States, I could hear the Americans switch to the Hawaii language. Some Americans could even mix spiritual phrases and words with English. What irritated me most was the fact that the Americans were not competent in the Hawaii language, yet they could dare mix Hawaii spiritual words and phrases of which they did not even know the meaning. I consider this as a kind of theft and a slap on the face to the Hawaii language. People should respect other peoples’ language especially spiritual words and phrases. In addition, Afghan’s may also code switch because they feel that they cannot express themselves well in a certain language. They feel that they lack certain words or expressions from a given language and that another language may have a ready word or expression for the message they want to convey. Whenever I am speaking with my Pashtun friends, who understand the Dari language, I will not bother much to think for a word in Pashtun when I have a Dari word or phrase for it. Most people will sometimes find it difficult to express themselves in their mother tongue. To some people, expressing oneself in an official language is much easier since it is the language they use most of the time, thus, they always have ready words and phrases. Most people agree that it is easy to express oneself in Dari, the national language simply because they use it more often and they may lack the appropriate words in their original language. Afghans view code switching to be beneficial during interpersonal communication although this will depend on the context or situation in which it occurs. This holds true, especially when a speaker encounters problems expressing himself in a particular language and he/she is competent in another language which his speakers are competent in. Thus, a speaker will break the communication gap by inserting phrases or words from the language his participants understand. Ethnicity also affects communication styles and strategies in Afghanistan in that, people from different ethnic groups have differences in social etiquette, customs and protocol. In Afghanistan, there are some common customs and protocols among the different ethnic groups, which affect interpersonal communication. For instance, men and women should not make eye contact. Men should not prolong their eye contact with other men and when they do, they should do so only occasionally. This custom creates a communication barrier in that communication between men and women is not effective since women are not allowed to speak directly to men. If a woman speaks directly to a man, she is being disgraceful and lowering her dignity. This greatly affects my life since women in our country are deprived of rights of expression, which implies that our mothers and sisters, who are the backbone of our nation, have no direct communicative role to play in the society. This implies that men and women in my country have to employ different styles and strategies in both verbal and non-verbal communication. In order to ensure that they preserve their cultural values, mixing between genders in my country is not freely allowed and free mixing only takes place within families. In places of work, in offices, and businesses or at institutions of learning, both higher and lower, both men and women must respect and maintain each other’s honor. They must also adhere to their culture without putting into consideration the impact it will have on interpersonal relations. Consequently, this has led to poor interpersonal relations in public places, which has led to increased war and conflicts among individuals, groups of people and ethnic societies. These have led to men dominating the country. Since they are the only ones who have a say, they have gone ahead and enacted and enforced laws and regulations which undermine their women folks and children who are regarded as inferior members of the society. Interactions and relations between individuals have also been adversely affected especially in institutions of learning. Foreign students who join universities in Afghanistan are faced with major challenges. To start with, most of these students come from ethnic backgrounds where women and men are regarded as equal. Consequently, they are forced to learn and to read the rules and ensure that they abide by them. This has led to students’ academic performance being affected since they spend a lot of time adapting to cultural changes. Besides eye contact, which is a non-verbal communication style, other types of non-verbal communication are also affected. Signals are also affected by ethnic differences. People send signals to convey messages. Sending of signals has been affected by ethnic differences in that people may send the wrong signals during the process of communication. Since women are not allowed to look at men in the eyes, this may pass the wrong signals to foreign men who have not mastered Afghanistan culture. They may think that the women are shy and may consequently tease them or misunderstand their intentions. In addition, since men and women are not allowed to shake hands, a misunderstanding may arise when an Afghanistan man or woman declines to shake hands with a foreigner who is not aware of the cultural values in Afghanistan. As a result, the communication process among different ethnic groups in Afghanistan has not been effective. The handshake is the most common form of greeting used in Afghanistan, Placing one’s hands over their hearts and nodding slightly is also another form of greeting. Foreigners can misunderstand this and a wrong signal can be sent probably signaling that someone is in love or in shock depending on how placing one’s hands over one’s heart implies in one’s culture. Symbols are also another form of non-verbal communication used. Symbols can be used to represent or express information. For the process of communication to be effective, the transmitter needs to employ both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication because they supplement each other. Ethnicity in Afghanistan has affected interpersonal communication in that cultural values have made the use of symbols ineffective by making them fail to communicate the intended information. Whenever I am socializing with the women folks in Afghanistan, I do not get their message right since they do not use symbols appropriately in a bid to uphold their cultural values. Men are supposed to dominate all interactions including interpersonal communications When a Turtumani person is speaking to a Baluchi speaker, one has to use Dari, which is the official language. The two language speakers have different cultural values and backgrounds. The problem may arise if one of the speakers say the Baluchi speaker, is illiterate and does not understand the national language. Thus, the two speakers will need the assistance of an interpreter. If the interpreter is not competent in both languages, a communication breakdown may arise. Most literate Afghans have learned Social and Humanistic languages and have leaned that each ethnic group is unique in and that no ethnic group should be considered superior than the other. Language reflects a peoples’ culture. Verbal communication entails use of well-constructed sentences with a correct word order. According to linguists, each language is unique in its own way and no language is deemed to be more superior to other. Thus, each Afghanistan ethnic language whether used as a national or official language contains complex structures. Each ethnic language has its own unique way of tense formation. Since the literacy level in Afghanistan is very low, communicating with people who are not learned in Afghanistan has posed a great challenge for me and my literate friends. I recall with nostalgia an incidence where my best Friend, Pierre picked up a fight with an illiterate Dari speaker as he tried to convince him that all languages are equal. In conclusion, ethnicity affects interpersonal communication in Afghanistan in that certain ethnic communities look down upon others. Some communities feel that they are greater/superior than others simply because they are considered to be bestowed with more natural resources than the others. Consequently, a communication gap may arise between the two. For instance, Dari ethnic groups and the Pashtans perceive themselves to be superior to other ethnic groups like Turkmen or Aimak ethnic groups. This is because they are a majority groups in the country’s population and their languages are recognized as the national and official languages. Each ethnic group in Afghanistan has a specific vocabulary, which it uses during the process of communication. For instance, the Pashtans have a specific and unique vocabulary, which they use. These cultural vocabularies hinder communication when one is speaking to members of a different ethnic group who do not have competence in the Pashtan language. As a result, Afghans should learn to embrace their diverse cultures by learning to cope with the challenges they encounter due to ethnic differences on their day-to-day activities. Afghanistan has been through many calamities and disasters, or instance, landmines and explosions. Schools have also been shattered, hospitals and roads demolished not to forget violence against women and drug addiction among the youth. These problems can be minimized by effective interpersonal communication among differing ethnic groups or parties.

The role of prophesy in the Judeo-Christian tradition Essay Example for Free

The role of prophesy in the Judeo-Christian tradition Essay In Hebrew, the usual word for prophet is nab. The New Testament uses prophetes from which the English â€Å"prophet† is derived. Prophets were interpreters of God’s will. In popular thought, prophecy is associated with predicting future events but this was not the main function of Biblical prophets. According to Newsome (1984) Hebrew prophets have their roots in a wider Near Eastern context where seers played a clairvoyant role, sometimes using sheep’s entrails as signs pointing to future happenings (p. 11). Seeing the future was associated with ecstatic trance-like states as the seer communicated with spirits, or with God. In the Hebrew tradition, clairvoyant ability became less significant, with prophets taking on a special role as guardians of God’s covenant. The prophet’s job was to challenge the children of Israel to keep the commandments, to keep their covenant with God by upholding justice, living righteously and forsaking the worship of false Gods. There may have been guilds based at some of the ancient holy shrines, such as Shiloh where Samuel operated. I Kings 22: 6 refers to King Ahab summoning four hundred prophets to seek their advice. One of the most important prophets was Nathan, who challenged David to live up to the ideal of kingly conduct. In the Bible, there are sixteen books named for prophets (the twelve minor prophets form one book in the Hebrew bible but are sub-divided in Christian versions). There were many other prophets besides those after whom books have been named, including Elijah and Elisha. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are considered Major Prophets. Moses and Aaron are also referred to as prophets, though they are not usually regarded as such. Indeed Deuteronomy 18:18-22 suggests that Moses represents the â€Å"example of what a YAHWEH prophet should be† (Newsome, p. 5). The prophet spoke truth to power. In doing so, they pointed out what consequences would follow if people failed to keep the commandments. God would punish God’s people. Consistently, the message was â€Å"Obey my voice, and I will be your God †¦ walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you† (Jeremiah 7: 23). When Jeremiah spoke about the Temple’s destruction, this was not a prediction but a warning of what would happen if the Hebrews disregarded justice. When speaking of the future, what was said was based on what prophets knew â€Å"of the nature of a holy God and of a sinful, arrogant people† (Newsome, p. 11). Ecstasy continued to be associated with prophecy but what was more important was the content of their message, not the means by which this was communicated. False prophets had to be denounced. Famously, Elijah battled with the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Above all, prophets were bearers of â€Å"revelation†, their words came to them from God. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as a prophet (Luke 7: 16) and in Christian theology Jesus is understood as God’s word made flesh. Prophets were often reluctant to accept their calling, for example, Jonah (see Jonah 1: 3). Sometimes they operated against the established political system, calling kings to account. At times prophets appear as honored members of a king’s inner circle. In the New Testament, Matthew often cites â€Å"prophecies†, suggesting that prophets predicted events in Jesus life. One way of understanding this is that Matthew was anxious to emphasize continuity between God’s revelation in Jesus and God’s revelation through the prophets. The role of prophet existed in the early church but was never formalized, perhaps because â€Å"prophecy† cannot be controlled. It can challenge established authority. The New Testament also warns against false prophets (Matthew 7: 15), so any claim to be a prophet must be tested against the content of the message. Reference Newsome, James D. 1984. The Hebrew Prophets. Atlanta, Ga: J. Knox Press.

Radiocarbon Dating in Archeology

Radiocarbon Dating in Archeology The science of archaeology has undeniably enriched mankind’s history and has helped to quench the quest to understand our past cultures in a better way. Understanding the age and period of existence of the excavated fossils and other organic objects will help the archaeologist to unravel human history and evolution in a scrupulous manner (Taylor 24). Archaeologists utilize one of the revolutionary methods called the radio carbon dating to determine the approximate age of the organic materials including plant and animal parts up to 50000 years (Long). Radiocarbon dating technique is primarily based on the radioactive decay of Carbon-14 isotope. Developed by a team of researchers under the leadership of Dr. Willard Libby, this technique had revolutionized the way the archaeological advancements are made in learning about the past civilization and cultures, changes occurred in the earth and in its climate. Radiocarbon dating enable archaeologists to provide proof of authenticity to the excavated artifacts’ period of usage and thus by collaborating with the efforts with historians and anthropologists, the unwritten history can be precisely explained. Significance Desmond Clark (1979) opinions that if radio carbon dating technique were not discovered, we would still be foundering in a sea of imprecisions sometime bred of inspired guesswork but more often of imaginative speculation (Clark, 1979:7). According to Higham (1999) C14 method can be described as ‘the radio carbon revolution’ which has significantly impacted our understanding about evolution and also cultural emergence of human species. Taylor (1987) suggests C-14 technique as one of the most significant discoveries of 20thcentury that touches the realms of many disciplines including archaeology. Prior to the development of radiocarbon dating it was difficult to determine the age of the artifacts unless it was accompanied with some chronologically specific things like a coin. Otherwise archaeologists had to resort t to the method of relative dating where by comparing with stratigraphically close objects [objects which are buried at the same depth will be approximately of t he same era.] clue regarding the time period and historical styles were assumed or rather guesstimated. But the advent of carbon-14 dating tools has opened up the new scope of absolute dating where scientists could predict the age of excavated artifacts and objects with great precision up to 50,000 years old. For example, if a tree was found to be used in an excavated piece of architecture, by determining the age of the tree or the period when the tree was cut down for construction, the era to which the excavated architecture exactly belongs can be estimated (Michels, J W). The Method of Carbon-14 Technique Archaeologists rely on the various radiometric dating techniques- based on the radioactive properties of unstable chemical atoms to determine the age of the materials. Researchers from the field of Physics have discovered that radioactive molecules are unstable and they undergo decay to attain a stable structure at a specific rate which is directly determined by the atomic number and mass of the decaying atom (Polach, H.A and. Currie, L.A). Based on this constant of the radioisotope of carbon, 14-C or carbon -14 the age of the organic material is assessed. In the biosphere carbon-14 is created by the collision of a neutron, exited by the cosmic ray collides with a nitrogen atom. The isotope of carbon thus produced is radioactive and it will undergo decay at a constant rate (Berger and H.E Suess). The carbon isotope is also absorbed during photosynthesis by plants and reaches animal body when they consume plant parts. It also reaches the organisms through respiration along with normal carbon-12. It is assumed that in a living object carbon-14 which undergoes decay is replaced at a steady rate. The carbon dating technique takes the assumption that al l livings have fairly same percentage of 14C isotope in their body and also that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon -14 present in the biosphere and inside the living plants and animals remain constant. After the death of the organism the carbon intake is stopped. Then the amount of carbon-12 in the body will not reduce but the amount of carbon-14 undergoes reduction due its radioactivity. Carbon-14 isotope will undergo decay at an exponential rate to form the stable nitrogen-14.Thus by comparing the relative quantity of carbon -12 and carbon -14 in an organic matter excavated scientists can predict the age of the object (R.E Taylor and M.J Aitken). The following equation is used to determine the carbon-14 decay. Where N is the current amount, N_o is the original amount, lambda is the proportionality constant for the growth rate (which is negative for decay), and t is the amount of time that has passed. Figure: 1 Carbon -14 lifecycle. Source: (Brain, 2014) The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. This implies that it takes 5730 years for half of the 14C atoms in the organic matter to get decayed. When an organism is dead the intake of the carbon-14 stops and in a 5730 year time period, half of the amount of carbon-14 present in the organic matter would have undergone beta decay to form stable Nitrogen-14. The burning of a small piece of the excavated organic matter and measuring the electrons emitted during the process by the decaying carbon-14 by radiation counters enable to quantify the amount of carbon -14 present in the material. This data will help the scientists to relationship of Nitrogen-14 and Carbon-14 atom and can be used to predict the age of the artifact directly. Limitations This method assumes that the ratio of C-14 to C-12 in the atmosphere and in the living organism will be a constant. But studies have showed a slight fluctuation in this ratio over the millennia and hence there is a possibility and consequent discrepancy in calculation too (Currie). Another limitation is the difficulty in estimating the age of things which are older than 50000 years as the amount of C-14 in such samples become absolutely undetectable due to complete decay. Conclusion Despite all the limitations radio carbon dating will remain as a significant tool for archaeologist around the globe to compare and understand the evolution of human culture and civilization. Advancements in this field like accelerator techniques of carbon-14 dating (C. Tuniz, J.R Bird, D.Fink, and G.F Herzog 60) conducted with the help of mass spectrometer have increased the range of the technique up to 100000 years (Nave). Thus undoubtedly radiocarbon dating remains one of the significant tools for the archaeologist to explain the evolution and cultural emergence in a more accurate manner. Works cited Brain, Marshall. How Carbon-14 Dating Works. 03 October 2000. HowStuffWorks.com.  http://science.howstuffworks.com/carbon-14.htm> 18 March 2009. Berger and H.E Suess (eds.). University of California Press, Los Angeles.. 1979: Pp. 7-31. Print Clark, J.D. Radiocarbon Dating and African Prehistory. In, Radiocarbon Dating. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference, Los Angeles and La Jolla, 1976. Currie, LLoyd A. The Remarkable Metrological History Of Radiocarbon Dating [II]. Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 109.2 (2004): 185-217 Higham, Thomas. The Method. 1999. http://www.c14dating.com/int.html.04 Nov 2014. Long, Kelly. Why Is Radiocarbon Dating Important to Archaeology. California State Parks.http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24000> 1 March 2009. Michels, J W. Dating methods in archaeology. Seminar Press, 1973. Nave, R. Accelerator techniques for carbon dating. http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/nuclear/cardat.html>15 April 2009. Polach, H.A and. Currie, L.A. Exploratory analysis of the international radiocarbon cross- calibration data: consensus values and interlaboratory error. Preliminary note. Radiocarbon,. 1980: -35-933.Print. Taylor, R.E. 1987. Radiocarbon Dating. An archaeological perspective. Academic Press, Orlando, USA. Taylor R.E and M.J Aitken. (eds) 1997. Chronometric dating in Archaeology. Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science, volume 2. Oxford University, England Tuniz, J.R Bird, D.Fink, and G.F Herzog.. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry: Ultrasensitive analysis for global science. CRC Press. 1998.

Sea-Cucumbers :: Personal Narrative Writing

Sea-Cucumbers I have always found sea-cucumbers to be strange. If you have ever been snorkeling, you may or may not have noticed these elongated vegetables on the sea floor. I suppose I shouldn’t call them vegetables though, because they are slightly more ‘cognizant’ than garden-variety greenery. Instead I have dubbed them ocean-turds, because honestly, they do look the great defecation of a marine mammoth. They are also well-shaped, perfectly cylindrical turds at that! I am rambling again. Forgive me. In eighth grade, my parents and I took a trip to Japan. My dad is a baseball scout, and instead of flying over solo to give the Kyoto Carps the once-over, he decided to make the scout into a family vacation. I was skeptical. I don’t like seafood, and here we are, going to a country that eats raw fish and that names its baseball teams after blunt-nosed marine life. The city itself seemed a bouleversement of day and night. Humanity’s great invention, the lightbulb, mocked with overwhelming voltage, density, and quantity nature’s celestial fireballs. Bulbs, the imitators, the pupils of fusion, now ridiculed night with flashes from across the spectrum. As we drove into Tokyo, I couldn’t believe that its citizens were able to sleep at night, what with such lambent pollution. But I was eager to walk the streets, to run into the shops that beckoned to me with signs for Sony and with gadgetry that inhabited the display windows. The hotel room had paper walls! As an American used to a room’s noiseless seclusion, I liked the idea that here, rooms were not meant to be space with a relentless fixation on privacy. I promptly made my mark. Restless after the long plane flight, I was bouncing off the walls when I literally poked an extremity through one. You can image my surprise at discovering such fragility. I am in the holy land of ninjas and samurai, and I have just punched my way through a wall. Awesome! I felt like ‘the kid’ from â€Å"Karate Kid.† All that was missing was the exotic, ruminative twang and non-western modality of Asian music. Of course, my ninjas-and-gadgets glorification of the place was, alas, not meant to be. My fun and games had to be extinguished; a foot had to be put down and that foot was Japan’s ooey-gooey cuisine. My dad was interested in one of the Carp’s players, and as was customary, the team’s owner felt a strong sense of duty to take us out for a traditional Japanese dinner, so that the two of them could discuss arrangements for the trade.

God :: essays research papers

Anthropomorphism is defined as attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena. The Bible teaches many lessons for life, including how to be a good parent. In Genesis, the first book of The Bible, God is given human motivation, characteristics, and behaviors of a father. God sets rules and limits, he protects and provides for his people, and he punishes his people. In the beginning, God creates the world. He separates the dark from the light, the oceans from the dry lands; he creates all wildlife, animals and people. The story starts in the Garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve are living. God sets one rule for them and it is to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Although there is only one rule set on them, both Adam and Eve both disobey it and eat of the tree. Another rule that is set by God is that nobody is to kill Cain. Cain murders his brother Abel and God puts a mark on Cain. This mark is to let people know that he is a murderer and if anyone kills him â€Å"vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.† In Genesis 9:6, God says, â€Å"Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.† This is saying that if a man kills someone else, then that man will be killed. This is another rule that God sets, even though there are other parts in The Bible that will contradict this. God protects and provides for everyone and everything that he has created. When God creates the first man, Adam, he decides that he should provide him with a wife. He removes a rib from Adams body and out of it, he creates Eve, Adams wife. God provides Adam and Eve with everything they need while they are in the Garden of Eden. All their food sources come from the wildlife around them. Food from the trees, drinks from the rivers, anything they need, they had. When God sees that the entire world is turning wicked, he wants to punish them, but also protect the one righteous family that he knows of. He also wants to protect all species of animals. He tells Noah to build an ark, and to bring on it: his wife, his three sons and their wives, and a pair of every animal. By doing this, God protects this family and all of the animals from total destruction. To be a

Critique of Christmas Time in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Essay

Critique of Christmas Time in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol An audience member's gleeful first-hand account of Charles Dickens's public reading of "A Christmas Carol" unwittingly exposes an often overlooked contradiction in the story's climax: "Finally, there is Scrooge, no longer a miser, but a human being, screaming at the 'conversational' boy in Sunday clothes, to buy him the prize turkey 'that never could have stood upon his legs, that bird'" (96). Perhaps he is no longer a miser but, by this description, Scrooge still plays the role of a capitalist oppressor, commanding underlings to fetch him luxuries. While Dickens undoubtedly lauds Scrooge's epiphany and ensuing change, "A Christmas Carol" also hints at the author's resentment for an industrial society's corrupted notion of the "Christmas spirit." Through instances of goodwill which Christmas provokes, Dickens suggests that Christmas is only an interruptive exception from the otherwise capitalistic calendar. Even when Scrooge becomes altruistic, as in the above scene, his philanthropy still operates under the guise of capitalism, measured in economic terms and aimed ultimately at providing himself with pleasure. Dickens subtly turns his critique of ephemeral and selfish "holiday time" to the reader. The straightforward, Aristotelian structure of the narrative and the constant foreshadowing and repetition reduce any potential anxiety about the story's outcome. The main cause for anxiety over the conclusion of any sentimental tale is to identify with the protagonist in some way. Although Scrooge is a caricature with whom few would commiserate (or admit to so doing), Dickens's Three Spirits lure us into sympathy with the miser while simultaneously engenderi... ... it, since they, already presumably aware of their own Scrooge-ness, need the lesson less than the hypocritical Mrs. Cratchits do. Both sets of listeners will, however, seek out the story each Christmas; for the Mrs. Cratchits, an innocuous retelling reduces anxiety about identification with Scrooge, and the Scrooges receive a reminder of the changes that need to be effected on a social, rather than local, scale. In either case, a rereading is what Dickens solicits, and not only for his own canonization. When "A Christmas Carol" marks the memory of various Christmases for readers, they will, if not perceive all time in such a form, at least live in a literary Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Works Cited: Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. USA: Bantam Books, 1997. Genette, GÃ ©rard. Narrative Discourse. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1980.

Future of Public Sector Bargaining

The public sector workers unions in Canada play a very important role in the industrial workforce. The roles of these unions us to protect and enhance the members interests by making the government aware of the things that affect their work and policies that need to be lightened so that they can be motivated to work and help in improving the country's economy. Since the early 1980s, Canada has been evaluating its role in the nation's economic and social affairs.The Public sector responsibilities include: the provision of vital social services, preserving the nation’s identity and promoting economic development (Swimmer & Thompson). All these factors have been affected in one way or another by the reduction of government funding in support of the ventures thus affecting the public sector industrial relations. Progress in the public sector In Canada matured in 1965 when the government was expanding its activities and increased its funding such that labor and management performed well.The legal framework of collective bargaining was established in the 1940s as a way of increasing the functions and the positive relationships among labor, capital and the state. Various reforms were made in the labor unions in the 1960s with the aim of enhancing the workers rights and improving the employer employee relationship. Changes in the Canadian public sector started to take place in 1982 when controls were placed in the way the government made compensation.In early 1990s, people were tired with the restrictions and for this reason, in 1991 when the federal budget was made; it was followed by the largest federal employee union strike (Swimmer & Thompson). Examples of control programs that have been in place include the Social Credit Administration in British Columbia (1982) and the Mulroney government (1991). The willingness of the government to impose such policies raised the issue of the role of industrial relations to determine the terms and conditions of employment in Canada (Panitch & Swartz).Free collective bargaining began during the expansion of the post war capitalism in the 1960s and continued to deteriorate in the after years as restrictions on the government side created led to resistance on the union’s sides affecting organizational, political and ideological factors (Swimmer & Thompson). The Private sector responded to changes affected laborers by adopting new industrial relations practices and structures that never addressed the problem as it ought to. â€Å"The sectionalism was a result of years of neglect of the political and ideological mobilizing aspects of trade unionism (Panitch& Swartz, 152).† This is because the Canadian government never made any significant effort to restructure the economy evidenced by the few labor legislation reforms and laws (Swimmer & Thompson). There were an increasing number of women who joined the labor unions at this time and this enhanced the bargaining position of the labor unions. Wage negotiations never bore the fruits that the workers wanted and economic changes led to the reduction on unemployment as more people were employed in private firms on part-time basis. For this reason, private businesses failed.The public sector on the other hand, never reduced employment in any sector at high rates such that there was significant increase in employment in the government administrative services. This is because the government still provides vital services in the economy so they cannot change their operations as easily as the private sector. Moreover, it is difficult to substitute capital for labor. For the government to be able to support all these activities, they had to cut down on expenses across all the sectors. Measures of ChangeCoverage is an important indicator of change as it enables the union management to know the employees they support. Strikes and work stoppages are other change indicators. Therefore it is necessary that the right to strike and other financial restraint packages are founded in the law. There are also various changes in collective bargaining involving the bargaining and negotiation structures. All these indicators are vital in both the private and private sectors for developing accessing and making decisions on how several changes will be developed.This seemed to work in the 1970s when the public sector compensation was more than the private sector compensation levels. Role of strikes The rate of union strikes had reduced in Canada between the years 1984-1994. There are no valid explanations for the strikes but they are said to be triggered most in the presence of inflation and increase in unemployment. â€Å"An example is the 1976 Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) against the anti-inflation program (Panitch& Swartz). † The government has thus created regulations to deal with strikes.The right to strike by the public service was mandated by the government in 1994 but this was removed from British Columbia ind ustrial policies. Despite the regulations on bargaining outcomes, public sector strikes rose and they were even more than those related to the private sector. The back to work legislation and cabinet orders also led to the strikes such that there were about 39 restrictions between the years 1975-1986; 14 in Quebec and 11 in Ontario (Swimmer & Thompson).This led to the allegations that the laws were minimizing the bargaining rights of public employees. Coverage of the industrial Relations system in Canada Collective bargaining has always been there in the public sector to enhance the workers rights. Educations, government and health sector unions were among the most active in the 1980s and early 1990s even with the involvement of the private sector. â€Å"This is also the period when free trade and free capital flows enhanced work flexibility (Panitch & Swartz, 226).† Changes in public service delivery have created several challenges in the industrial relations system and will continue to do so. â€Å"For example, decentralizing the health care systems leads to the transfer of resources; all forms of capital including human capital, from large facilities to smaller health institutions in remote parts of the country. For the health care union to continue maintaining their strength, they will need to consider organizing smaller unions that have not yet been practiced. From the 1980s experiences, these unions will be successful (Swimmer & Thompson).† Despite the government's efforts to restrict the bargaining powers of the public sector unions, the government introduced employee involvement programs in the workplace in order to undermine the capabilities of the unions. This can be seen in 2000 when the government reorganized management practices in government run institutions but Swimmer says that such initiates will not necessarily affect the work of labor unions (Swimmer &Thompson, 433). Moreover, their role is not to weaken public employeesâ€℠¢ attachment to their unions.The public and private sector were not getting along especially in 1994 between employees in unions and those who were not. This is because the employees in unions wanted a lot of changes to be made and they needed to be in unison with their un-unionized counterparts who never had a spokesperson to facilitate the negotiation. This was made worse by the minimum legal standards and economic changes. Even in professional occupations in the public sector workers were reluctant to join collective labor agreements (Panitch & Swartz). Conduct of public sector bargainingLegislations somehow gave public sector workers in provinces like Ontario and British Columbia the striking right there was very minimal legislative changes. Most of these restrictions have reduced the importance of bargaining or eliminated it completely. However, Unions can use the Charter and rights freedom to delay the implementation of such restrictions and these means that they have a better chance of increasing their bargaining power. Efforts have been made to create central bargaining structures for example in British Columbia, the teachers union is being introduced to a provincial bargaining structure.Moreover, laws are enabling the formation of the sectoral bargaining in most public sectors. The state and large public sectors; especially education and health, are forming master bargaining structures. This is because the government sees centralizing the bargaining structures as a method of controlling its expenses. Centralizing bargaining structures takes place when the government employer undertakes the action and such arrangements with the government are not necessarily permanent.The government’s ability to control such bargaining agreements means that there is a likelihood of rise in political struggles when both sides do not agree especially given the fact that the public sector unions are likely to resist any government’s efforts to reduce their s alaries. The bargaining process will therefore entail the increment in the salaries for the top personnel who are likely to be limited by the accountability restrictions under the budgetary restrictions which will make hiring and retaining the top public personnel difficult.Pay and employment equity also affect compensation. Pay equity is likely to contribute to better female compensation but this will has the possibility of contributing to the internal problems within the organization. The Government will be looking for ways to reduce their tax expenditures and this will result in reductions in unemployment so that it can minimize the compensation rates. Nothing much can be done by the unions since there are no structures in place to address job security issues.Most of the public sector workers will therefore find it difficult to secure employment in the private sector. Issues of job security will therefore be at the forefront as a political matter and also at the bargaining table. Compensation for the municipal employees will also need to be looked at seriously especially since civic unions like that in British Columbia have been actively engaged in the local politics. Their continued involvement in such issues will lead to restrictions being made by the senior public officials. Future of public sector bargainingAfter the Second World War, labor unions in Canada used the old strategies that were associated with social democratic gradualism. Moreover, the unions focused on what their members needed in bargaining the terms and conditions for employment with their employers. Therefore, more emphasis was placed on negotiating skills rather over educating and mobilizing members (Panitch & Swartz, 226). The future if public sector bargaining can be enhanced by adapting various strategies and models as outlined below: Panitch and Swartz approaches ? Progressive competitivenessInvestment needs to be made by employers in increasing their employee’s skills thro ugh continuous education; training and research so that they are able to support the industry, promote new technologies and a high value-added economy that will enable them to be paid higher wages. Labor is therefore used as a means of supporting and enhancing the other forms of capital so as to increase productivity (Panitch & Swartz). The disadvantage of this strategy is that it only helps the elite hence those who are not skilled enough will miss out on a lot of job opportunities hence the least developed regions will remain underdeveloped.? Partnership internationalism This strategy was developed in the 1990s which involved labor unions being restructured so that they could be able to adopt certain conditions set by international trade organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This makes the labor leaders more responsible as they have to represent the interests of other member workers. Moreover, it ensures that unf air labor conditions and certain state regulations are addressed according to international standards and regulations.This therefore means that the public sector industrial institutions will have to develop an export-oriented model that may not be necessarily what the government was hoping for. This will mean that the country's employment will depend on low cost exports. This will mean that salaries will be limited as the employment rates are likely to decrease if the economy is doing badly. In addition, making the public sector bargaining more internationalized does not really support militant workers struggles hence making it harmful to the economy.Other strategies The new strategy as proposed by Panitch and Swartz (p. 236) should be more of a condition so that it is able to enhance its success as well as transform labor. The political leaders should therefore control investments and make reforms with the aim of reducing working hours and other limits that are found within the lab or movements. There also needs to be a strategy for reorganizing the public sector unions by creating new capabilities for the workers and the changing the union’s organizational structures for the better.The unions also need to open themselves up to the broader community so that they assist in the growth of the economy and developing their capacity and confidence to be a positive influence on others. Leadership and openness bring about significant changes that enhance the union's collective bargaining power. It is also necessary to develop ways that will be used to deal with new workers who are not part of the group could be included in the union so as to increase the labor union's bargaining power(237). Educational initiatives need to be created as this will help in including non-union members.Effort will need to be made in strengthening the social movement within the organization and also the community level. The Unions in Canada have not been able to achieve much in the s ense of fighting for their rights because their leaders assert too much power in the control of the unions such that they are not able to effectively communicate with their members. Canadians shifted from the American international unions in the 1980s and merged with the Canadian unions where they were faced with internal problems within the union structures.â€Å"Leadership in the unions needs to be restructured. This will entail educating leaders especially those who cannot see that the labor unions are lagging behind and are not fighting for the rights of the workers like they ought to (Panitch & Swartz). † Moreover, well developed democratic structures will enhance more involved and committed membership which is likened to the politicization of the union as seen today. According to Swimmer and Thompson, five scenarios/models will influence future public sector bargaining. They include: 1. Back to the pastThis scenario entails looking into the various features of the assoc iation-consultation model in public sector industrial relations. Employees will be more aware of their rights in terms of the pay they are supposed to get, length of working hours and other employee related organizational rules. This means that the employers will have to listen to their suggestions and pass the decisions that they see fit. Public employees however, have not shown signs of breaking away from the collective agreements. In addition, there is a lot of support for collective bargaining despite the restrictions in place.Workers can therefore engage in strikes if they feel that their grievances are not being addressed in a proper manner. Loyalty to the unions is brought about by the poor wages and they need to stick together for wage increases. This loyalty is however seen to fade away if their issues are not addressed in the long run. However, the success of strikes such as the 1991 federal government workers is enough to gather support and the government has not suggeste d any other form of consultation other than collective bargaining.In this model, job security for the public workers will be enhanced because they will be pressured to perform like their private counterparts. Though the program is not specifically designed to reduce unemployment, the adoption of the private sector organizational and operational systems will at least help in improving the status of the economy thus enhancing job security. 2. A sullen Truce Sullen truce occurs when the government hinders compensation and any form of public sector bargaining for a certain period of time such that employees cannot force any policies.Since the government cannot abolish the workers unions, they will simply ignore their existence. This model considers work stoppages as illegal. Public sector workers can decide not to communicate with their employers so that they can see that they are not motivated to perform their work well. This model did prevail in the 1990s where the government still re -enforced their restrictive policies. It can work in regions where the economy is declining and unemployment rates are high so that they are forced to bare with the poor status of the economy.If the private sector does well such that their wage rates have increased, then this model will not work. The government may refuse to engage in the bargaining process so that they can gain from the booming economy at the expense of the workers who will in turn demonstrate for their rights. The workers bargaining power will therefore depend on the society's economic situation. The public sector union can look for support from the private union workers as well as rights activists. Since they will be supported by influential members of the society, the government will be forced to lighten its rules.3. A new golden Age When government’s revenue is increasing, it means that the public services will also increase. Collective bargaining will be easier as the government is able to pay for the i ncreasing costs hence the negotiations are easier. But this is not always the case as the economy is not always stable and the political environment should always be stable. This will in turn mean that competent political leaders will be needed at the state and provincial level so that they make proper laws.On the other hand if the economy was booming, the workers unions will want their salaries increased constantly. 4. Struggle in the Streets This model involves incorporating the government's centralized bargaining structure in the bargaining strategies used by the public sector unions. It is further likened to the public sector industrial reforms between 1972 and 1982 in Quebec. The government to initiate change in the public sector industrial relations, it must be willing to maintain centralized bargaining structures as well as coordination as seen in the 1990s.The public sector may limit such efforts by their unwillingness to cooperate but the government will face pressure from striking and work stoppages by the employees. For public employees to get what they need, they will need to strike on a large scale from time to time if their issues are to be addressed. The government on the other hand can be able to gain support from the private sector union members and by using various legislative actions. 5. Power sharingIn this model, governments need to cut on spending and they will have to communicate the decisions they make with the public sector unions. Through such meetings, they are able to come to a consensus by agreeing on terms so that spending is controlled. Job security for some workers can be negotiated. This model therefore ensures that public sector employee rights enhanced through the commitment of both parties. The government needs to pass legislations that are less restrictive and the public sector workers need to accept some conditions which are necessary.Such conditions are not easily achieved because the government addresses changes often an d organizations have different operational structures and for this reason it is important for both parties to be willing to bend their rules. This model is similar to the productivity bargaining model that is used by private firms where costs must be minimized so that more money can be saved and paid as wage increases. Conclusion The Canadian public sector bargaining strategies have been limited over the years by strict government regulations and poor union structures among other factors.If these issues neither are nor addressed in a proper manner and fast. Labor unrest will continue to be a significant part of public sector bargaining. However, this can change with a decline in militancy in both the private and public sector hence, the reduction of public strikes will in turn reduce the overall strike rates in the country. The Unions need to restructure themselves as well as get support from the government so that they are in a position to ensure that its members have the necessary resources and are included in making decisions in the union hence reinforcing their solidarity to the union.Reforms in the public sector bargaining are very necessary as they ensure that freedom of expression of the workers is enhanced in a proper thus improving the future of the Canadian working class. References Panitch, L. & Swartz, D. From Consent to Coercion: The Assault on Trade Union Freedoms. 3rd Ed. Ch. 7 & 10, pp. 143-241 Swimmer, G. &Thompson, M. Public Sector Collective Bargaining in Canada: the future of public sector Industrial Relations. Ch. 16, pp. 430-445