My son, the fanatic by Hanif Kureishi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My son, the fanatic by Hanif Kureishi - Essay Example The author hints at this,†His dreams of doing well in England†¦.† Here ‘Parvez’ the father in the story has his vision of perfectness only in a place like Britain. The story can only be viewed as the clash between a father and a son and not as the clash between two different culture and religion because the father and son both belong to the same culture and religion. According to Patricia Pisters â€Å"In My Son the Fanatic however the generational conflict is complicated culturally, most particularly by Parvez, who doesn’t belong to the old British tradition and doesn’t fit into his own newly found home in religious fundamentalism either†. The difference of opinion arises when Ali begins to turn away from his father’s wishes by breaking with the â€Å"British girlfriend† and throwing away his possessions saying that â€Å"there are more important things to be done†. Later he abandons his studies in accounting also. An understanding of the Muslim religion is essential to unravel the inconsistency between father and son. Parvez fails to stick to the strict rules followed by a Muslim throughout his life. This is evident from his childhood studies. Being a Muslim is not easy especially in British culture. He was taught ‘Koran’ in Lahore but his faith in the Holy Script is shallow unlike that of his son Ali. The ‘father’ is an admirer of British culture. His eager efforts to assimilate himself to the British culture do not always please his college going son. Parvez exhibits some non Islamic qualities like alcoholism and fondness for pork. It is obvious from the words of Parvez â€Å" You are not in the village now, this is England ,we have to fit in â€Å". The ‘fanatic ‘Ali fuses to the olden traditional ways of his religion and mocks his father for worshipping the alien culture. Ali slowly grows to a perfect Muslim but that was misunderstood by his son as behavioral problem. The

My hypothesis is How can nutrition help fight depression and boost Dissertation

My hypothesis is How can nutrition help fight depression and boost mood and the corrlation bewtween them - Dissertation Example The answers of above questionnaire reveal the fact that depression is a biochemical process, most of the people suffering with depression start to neglect their diet as a result the symptoms becomes severe. Most of them think that eating their favorite food or ice cream uplift their mood. Cases of depressions are increasing in U.K and USA and some time best medicines can’t cure properly. Why is it so? Researchers at Harvard University found that person with Vitamin B deficiency did not respond to the anti-depressant. This Vitamin is present in green leafy vegetables, grains and beans. If the diet rich in vegetables is taken, the chances of depression reduce. Moreover the cases of depression in USA are increasing rapidly then China. Again the factor behind this is nutrition, Chinese consume large amount of fish and fish like salmon and sardines are considered rich source of ‘Omega-3-fatty acids’. This fatty acid is consumed by the brain to stays healthy. It is scie ntifically proved fact that brain uses its energy requirements from blood glucose. If the glucose level is not balanced, the person is likely to suffer with apathy, depression. Certain amino acids are required for production of serotonin that influences mood, and adrenalin, dopamine that influence motivation. Salmon, tuna, snapper, shrimps soya bean n turkey are rich sources of tryptophan.

Qing China and the consequences of the golden age Essay Example for Free

Qing China and the consequences of the golden age Essay The â€Å"Prosperous Age† was a period where Qing China experienced a drastic increase in population, flourishing trade and commerce, and a remarkable level of social and political stability during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. However, its brilliance was overshadowed by its subsequent consequences and China was soon at its breaking point in the 19th century. This essay would then evaluate on the implications of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† and how the long-term consequences proved to be more negative in the 19th century due to a string of crisis, and subsequent problems that continued even in modern China of the 20th century. Negative Unanticipated Long Term Consequences Reversal of Trade Fortunes with Britain During the 18th century, there was mounting European demand for Chinese goods (Hung, 2011). Britain in particular, had strong liking and demand for Chinese goods especially tea. Hence, it led to the outflow of British silver into China, but little inflow of silver back into the British economy resulted in China enjoying a trade surplus (City University HK, 2007) while Britain suffered from a trade deficit. To redress this deficit, Britain began to smuggle and sell opium in China (City University HK, 2007). China’s attempt to prohibit opium then resulted in the Opium Wars and suffered a tragic defeat. The defeat in the Opium War led to the signings of unequal treaties . Upon signing of the unequal treaties, much Chinese marked it as the beginning of a century of shame and humiliation. Although China was never formally colonized, the lack of ability to defend its basic sovereign rights and ability to govern its own country made it look like a like semi-colonized state of Britain. Consequently, the Qing government was seen as weak and inefficient to combat against the foreigners and much Chinese lost faith in the Manchurian Qing government. As a result, this gave rise to the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) where violent revolts and attacks were targeted against foreigners as a sign to resist their influence. Boxers, supported by China, suffered a yet another defeat and were forced to sign yet another unequal treaty: Boxer Protocol, where the reparations drastically crippled the Chinese economy till the mid 20th century (Zheng, 2009). Thus, we can see that the initial trade surplus, a sign of â€Å"Prosperous Age† resulted in British to redress the situation by selling opium to the Chinese led to the Opium Wars and the unequal treaties which greatly weakened Qing China internally and externally in the 19th century. China’s failure to counter foreign influence led to their continued defeat in the Boxer Rebellion at the end of 19th century, where another unequal treaty continued to cripple her till mid 20th century , thereby demonstrating the long term consequence of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† was indeed negative in the long run, especially since the consequences did not confine just to the 19th century but even stretched to the 20th century. Reforms did not keep up with population boom During the â€Å"Prosperous Age†, China’s population tripled from less than 150 million to over 400 million (Perkins, 1969). Civil Service Exam however continued its strict quota for passing (Bentley Ziegler, 2003) and that meant a lower ratio of scholar to population passes. The frustration of students led to the rise of influential leaders like Hong Xiuquan who sought for reforms which led to the Taiping Rebellion . Coincidentally, the backbone of his rebels were the poor peasants who were forced out of arable lands and were socially upset and frustrated, which was also due to the consequence of the population boom. The consequence of the Taiping Rebellion led to a weakened Qing as they were forced to decentralize power to provincial elites to deal with the crisis and this power was never fully recovered even after the rebellion was suppressed (Sng, 2011). Provincial elites who did not return the power were a growing sign of defiance and could have the possibility of rising up against the imperial court. The unneeded civil unrest caused by Taiping Rebellion also served to exacerbate subsequent crisis like the Northern Chinese Famine (1876-1879) where the government was severely blamed for not providing sufficient aid. The excess unrest and loss of power proved to be detrimental in the 19th century as it crippled China and the country with no official political bloc stepping up to assist with the problems and crisis. In short, China was in a total disarray and chaotic. Lack of technological advancement Qing China favoured political and social stability over technological innovation which they feared would lead to unsettling changes. Furthermore, the vast population available to firms was a cheaper alternative to increase output, rather than investment of new technologies which was costly (Bentley Ziegler, 2003). This proved to be adverse in the 19th century when China engaged in wars. In the Opium Wars, the Qing military was no match against the British who utilized better technology to triumph (Tanner, 2010). The first defeat resulted in Treaty of Nanjing which ceded Hong Kong to Britain. Subsequent wars like the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1985) had China suffering a crushing defeat against a more superior and modernized Japanese army. China then ceded Taiwan, Penghu and the Liaodong peninsular to the Japanese. It clearly implied that China could not defend its own sovereign ground and indicated how backward the Chinese army. It questions the right of China to even claim rights over those territories if she could not even defend it properly. The problem gets exemplified into the 20th century when China continued to suffer several defeats to the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War . Even with the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895) which was embraced to modernize China was insufficient. The subsequent defeats to Allied forces in the Boxer Rebellion and Japanese in the Sino-Japanese Wars marred the success of the movement. Especially significant was the defeat in First Sino-Japanese war as for the first time in over 2000 years of history, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan (Johnson, 2010). Coupled with the defeat, China’s international and regional standings were challenged and staged subsequent revolutions that led to other problems and the eventual demise of Qing. Positive Long Term Unanticipated Consequences Building a new foundation based on common people The end of Taiping Rebellion inspired nationalists (Del Testa Lemoine Strickland, 2001) to fight for the betterment of Chinese. It was because of the consequence of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† that led to the decisive rise of nationalist to seek for reforms. An example would be the decentralizing of power, which meant many parties would be involved in decision-making process, rather than just the monarch government. This would ensure that concerns are taken into deliberation before decision-making that will benefit majority of the Chinese, rather than the imperial court only. The nationalist dream then culminated in the 1911 Revolution in the early 20th century, where the Qing was overthrown and the Republic of China was established. Nevertheless, the dream of the nationalist was short-lived due to a power struggle within. Even though election was scheduled for 1913, but it soon became clear than Yuan Shikai wanted to establish his own power base. Sun Yat Sen was then forced into exile after he stepped down as head of the newly formed Kuomintang (Foster, 2007). The new government was then monopolized by Yuan and led to decades of political division and warlordism, including monarchy restoration (Blecher, 2010). Therefore we can see that the perceived benefits from the consequence of â€Å"Prosperous Age† in the 19th century did not fully materialize in the 20th century. Monarchy restoration was attempted and defeats the purpose of the promised sharing of power with the people initially. Political and social unrest persisted even with the new government which culminated in the May Fourth Movement (1919). Hence, we can see that China did not become better even with the end of Qing. It would be judgmental to argue that the initial rise of nationalists had resulted in a better China. It would be fairer to argue that the initial rise of nationalists led to more power struggle and dissident movements like the Chinese Warlord Era (1916-1928) as there were no strong political forces to enforce stability and order until the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came in 1949. Conclusion Hence, we can see that the consequences of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† proved to be more negative. The severity of the negative consequences shed light on the crises in the 19th century which crippled China internally and externally. The impact of the consequences was so overwhelming that it even snowballed to the 20th century and further crippled modern China. In contrast, the perceived positive consequences was that it built the foundation but the problem was that the foundation was weak and unstable which in turn led to more problems which culminated in more movements and revolutions. Furthermore, problems like sovereign issues were not solved by reforms or China’s surge in military strength but rather treaties that returned territories to her under imminent conditions . Thus, we can see that the long term consequences were more negative in the 19th century as it continued the crippling of China economically, socially and militarily and as well as set the stage for the movements and revolutions in the 20th century which did not necessary bring about stability and communal power amongst its people until the CCP came into power in 1949. References Hung, H.F. (2011), Protest with Chinese characteristics: demonstrations, riots, and petitions (p24-26). USA: Columbia University Press Qian Long Emperor’s Letter to George III, 1793, retrieved from Sanders Morillo Nelson Elleberger (2005), Encounters in World History: Sources and Themes from the Global Past, Volume 2 (p289). McGraw-Hill Sng, T.H (2011, Oct 4). Size and Dynastic Decline: The Principal-Agent Problem in Late Imperial China 1700-1850. City University of HK Press (2007), China: Five thousand years of history and civilization (p109). Hong Kong: City University of HK Press Perkins, D.H. (1969). Agricultural development in China, 1369-1968. Chicago: Aldine Bentley Ziegler (2003). Traditions and Encounters (p724-740). New York: McGraw-Hill Tanner, H.M. (2010), China: From the Great Qing Empire through the People’s Republic of China 1644-2009 (p77). USA: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Del Testa Lemoine Strickland (2001). Government leaders, military rulers and political activist (p86). Greenwood Publishing Group Foster, S (2007). Adventure Guide China (p18-19). Hunter Publishing, Inc. Blecher, M.J. (2010). China against the tides: restructuring through revolution, radicalism, and reform (p205). Continuum International Publishing Group Johnson, R.E. (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches (p267). Cambridge University Press Zheng, J.G. (2009). Historical dictionary of modern China 1800-1949 (p32). USA: Scarecrow Press

Issues in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management

Issues in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management Xu Jinhuang Definition of Industrial Relations Industrial Relations focus on economic point of view, employees is a part of production and the legislation of employment term dominated by demand and supply economics. (Singh and Kumar, 2011). (Kelly) added that industrial relations is a process of creating rule and regulation to ensure the relationship in workplace and industry. The Singapore Industrial Relations During the 1950’s to early 1960’s Singapore face sky high unemployment rate and social unrest before gaining independence in 1965. Singapore has a well-established Industrial relation and stable labour management system it is well known that Singapore’s phenomenal economic growth after gaining independence was the result of the stable labour policy. Contribution to Economy In it economic development, Singapore government has pro-actively played a role in amending and regulating policy within the industrial. The Singapore Industrial relations act legislation started in 15th August 1968 (Eresources.nlb.gov.sg, 2015), to establish a clear guideline of employer’s management right and allow employees to reach their full potential while earning a better income and life. After The Industrial Relations Act has being implemented, the Employment Act was pass on next to fully provide a legal platform for employees and employers to follow and boost the labour relations, this legal act also aims to provide a steady, low cost and flexible industrial relation system to attract foreign organizations to invest in Singapore. The Employment Act preserved in regulation that wage negotiations should be based on economic growth and efficiency, rather than on unrealistic philosophies of justice (Bercuson and Carling). A tripartite industrial relations arrangement was also made with merge decision making base on entire phases of economic and social development which helped ensure in an environment of stability. (Singh and Kumar, 2011). In 1979 the PAP has implemented legal restrictions on collective bargaining, which include trade unions into the NTUC (National Trades Union Congress) and lastly consist of employers with NTUC through NWC (Nation Wage Council) which was establish in 1972 to make sure orderly wage increases and institutionalization of a flexible wage system that started in 1985 which combine wage increases to profits and productivity (TAN and BALAKRISHNAN, 2005). The NWC also made it compulsory for employer to made contribution to employees Central Provident Fund (CPF) which can be used for healthcare, retirement and house loan another Skills Development Fund (SDF) is for employees to further upgrade their skill and knowledge thru attending courses. These enhance them to become productive and updated. These measures were authorized by government for businesses to give part of their revenues to employees. The resulted in the citizens increase in their standard of living, healthcare, learning and employment rate (Rowley and Benson). (Bercuson and Carling) added that the NWC also recommended quantitative wage although it wasn’t bind in economy wide movements in typical earning is closely reflected. During 1998, the government rename Ministry of Labour to Ministry of Manpower (MOM) the objective was to create a globally competitive workforce that can achieve sustainable economic growth for it citizens, this result in Singapore being well recognized as a global developed industrialise economies. The government also used the wage reform policy and facilitate flexible Human Resource Management (Leggett, 2005). Conclusion Singapore economy is consider successful this was depended on highly developed and capable government that consistently update and amend the system and set the objective based on social and economic. Under the dominant political ruling, PAP bring a strike free and harmony industrial relations condition. Reference Kelly, D. Researching industrial relations Bibliography: Kelly, Di. Researching Industrial Relations. Leichardt, NSW: Federation Press, 1999. Print. ERESOURCES.NLB.GOV.SG Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act is enacted Singapore History Bibliography:Eresources.nlb.gov.sg, (2015).Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act is enacted Singapore History. [Online] Available at: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/d7778e3e-1d07-457d-8cb4-6b27c0b8eb6d [Accessed 19 Feb. 2015]. SINGH, P. N. AND KUMAR, N. Employee relations management Bibliography:Singh, P. and Kumar, N. (2011).Employee relations management. New Delhi: Pearson Education South Asia. LEGGETT, C. The fourth transformation of Singapore’s industrial relations Bibliography:Leggett, C. (2005).The fourth transformation of Singapore’s industrial relations. Degree. University of South Australia. Tan, E. S. AND BALAKRISHNAN, P. Globalization and National Industrial Relations Systems: Theoretical Implications from the Singapore Case Bibliography:TAN, E. and BALAKRISHNAN, P. (2005).Globalization and National Industrial Relations Systems: Theoretical Implications from the Singapore Case. National University of Singapore Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Bercuson, K. and Carling, R. G. Singaporea case study in rapid development Bibliography: Bercuson, Kenneth, and Robert G Carling. SingaporeA Case Study in Rapid Development. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 1995. Print. Rowley, C. and Benson, J. The management of human resources in the Asia Pacific region Bibliography: Rowley, Chris, and John Benson. The Management of Human Resources in the Asia Pacific Region. London: F. Cass, 2004. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Confirmation Certificate Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Library Plagiarism Quiz. Student Name: Xu Jinhuang Student Number: 13207569 Date: 30 June 2014 THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT (signature)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ HAS COMPLETED THE PLAGIARISM QUIZ Remember that the confirmation certificate is a statement by you that you understand plagiarism and know how to avoid it. If you think that you do not understand plagiarism and how to avoid it after working through this tutorial, you should confer with your module coordinator, no matter what score you have obtained on the test. Please print out this page and attach a copy of the certificate to the final page in all assignments you submit on each module as part of your programme (It is your responsibility to print the certificate, complete the information, sign it, and keep a copy of it for your records) 1

Expertise and Rationality :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Expertise and Rationality ABSTRACT: I explore the connection between expertise and rationality. I first make explicit the philosophically dominant view on this connection, i.e., the ‘expert-consultation’ view. This view captures the rather obvious idea that a rational way of proceeding on a matter of importance when one lacks knowledge is to consult experts. Next, I enumerate the difficulties which beset this view, locating them to some extent in the current philosophical literature on expertise and rationality. I then propose that different lessons should be drawn for rationality from the fact of expertise. One is that some empirical and phenomenological studies of the nature of expertise can be fruitfully applied by analogy to theories of the rational agent. Chicken-sexers exist. It is a fact that there are experts in this and many other domains. It is also a fact that some philosophers, often epistemologists, take the fact of expertise to be bound up somehow or other with rationality. The standard articulation of this connection is that a rational way of proceeding on a matter of importance when one lacks knowledge is to consult experts. But does this view capture the full significance of the fact of expertise for rationality? In this paper I will argue that the fact of expertise has import beyond the standard view for the analysis of rationality. I will proceed by first considering in more detail the standard view, and then jump off from that discussion to draw a different lesson for our understanding of rationality from the fact of expertise. It would seem that the connection between expertise and rationality is so obvious as to be mundane: when one lacks expertise on a given matter of importance, and there are people who have that expertise and who can be consulted without undue cost, then (ceteris paribus) one should consult such people. This prescription links expertise and rationality by means of expert-consultation. When our cars are kaputt, when our tooth aches, when the soufflà © collapses, when our French falls short, and when our business lacks efficiency we consult the appropriate experts in order to believe and behave in ways that are sufficiently non-arbitrary so as to count as rational. Expert consultation is thus a resource for rationality: we have the remarkable cognitive ability to let the outcome of expert consultation affect what we believe. (1) The preceding paragraph captures in a simplified way the powerful idea that the connection between expertise and rationality is that of expert consultation.

Confederate States Of America Essay -- essays research papers

"Don't kneel to me. You must kneel to God only, and thank him for the liberty you will enjoy hereafter" (Brinkley 414). President Abraham Lincoln spoke these words to a former slave that kneeled before him while walking the streets of the abandoned Confederate capitol of Richmond in 1865. Although there are several different questions of why the North won the Civil War, factors involving manpower, economy, military tactics and leadership, and presidential leadership, are all parts of a puzzle historians have tried to put together for years. I believe that these four factors should prove to be the most powerful reasons for the Union's destruction of the Confederate States of America. The presidential leadership of Lincoln will be revealed as the major influence over the other three factors. According to Robert Krick, an interviewee of Carl Zebrowski's article "Why the South Lost the Civil War," "the basic problem was numbers. Give Abraham Lincoln seven million men and give Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee twenty-one million, cognitive dissonance doesn't matter, European recognition doesn't matter, the Emancipation Proclamation and its ripple effect don't matter. Twenty-one to seven is a very different thing then seven to twenty-one" (Zebrowski 223). Despite the North's enormous population advantage over the South during the Civil War, other wars proved that size doesn't matter. For example, the Colonist's success in the American Revolution proved to Great Britain that America was an insignificant, but a successful opponent. "While Northern superiority in numbers and resources was a necessary condition for Union Victory, it is not a sufficient explanation for that victory," says James McPherson (Zebrowski 224). When looking at economic factors in the Civil War, we find that the war had a devastating effect on the South and a converse effect on the North. Because of the Northern blockade and the disconnection of Southern farmers from markets in the North, sales of cotton became nearly impossible. In the North, the war produced the same suffering as in the South, but "it also produced prosperity and economic growth by giving a major stimulus to both industry and agriculture," says Brinkley (Brinkley 384). Since all Southern products were out of reach for Northern Americans, the North enacted a completely natio... ...rs a sense of nationalism by letting them know that they didn't need help from other countries or from the seceded Southern states. Conversely, Confederate soldiers often disapproved of the Confederate president's own decisions for the South, rather than joint decisions with his cabinet. According to David Herbert Donald, of the article "Died of Democracy," "an Englishman reported that he had never heard such handsome cursing as when Confederate privates, off duty and "squatted cross-legged on beds," spent their evenings damning their superiors' "eyes and limbs" (Donald 84). Meaning the Confederacy's soldiers mocked their own government. In the North, Lincoln gave the Union armies the sense of enthusiasm and nationalism it needed to help breakdown the Confederate States of America. Lincoln and the North were destined to defeat the South. Regardless of whether it was manpower, resources, economy, or military, Lincoln knew he had the advantage and was not willing to let it go. Referencing the first quote of this report, Lincoln knew that God was on his side and that he was the man that would lead the slaves to their God-given right to freedom.

Business Writing: Memoranda Essay

Currently, our policy provides for three kinds of leaves – Vacation Leave, Sick Leave and Bereavement Leave. There is no provision for Emergency Leaves and are deducted on a â€Å"no work, no pay† basis. For those who do not want outright deduction, consideration is given such that, upon request, these are deducted later and applied under our Sick Leave policy rule. In consideration of a request formalized through our Suggestion Box regarding absences which have to be taken due to an emergency, we are pleased to advise you that the following adjustment in the Personnel Policies of Smith, Smith and Smith regarding Vacation Leaves will be made effective from 01 October 2006: ARTICLE 7 VACATION LEAVE The Company shall grant an Annual Vacation Leave with pay of 30 days per calendar year for all regular employees who have rendered one (1) full year of continuous service. A maximum of five (5) days out of these 30 days can be applied as Emergency Leave. An Emergency Leave is defined as leave taken due to unforeseen circumstances such as sickness in the family limited to spouse, children, parents, grandparents, siblings or parents-in-law and events due to force majeure. However, if the said employee entitled thereto fails to use the same vacation leave within a year, she/he shall forfeit the same Vacation Leave. Moreover, any leaves taken beyond what is provided shall be on a no work, no pay basis. If the employee is prevented by the company from taking leave, this rule shall not be applicable. Furthermore, management reserves the right to put any employee on forced vacation leave to give effect thereto. We trust that the above addresses one of our common concerns. Thank you for your support and cooperation.