Cost of Health Care Essay Example

Cost of Health Care Essay Example Cost of Health Care Paper Cost of Health Care Paper Cost of Health Care   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Among developed countries, the U.S. spends the most for health care with over-all government and per capita spending steadily rising within the past years to reach $2.0 trillion in 2005 translated to $6,697 per person (ACP, 2008). The cost of health care is the amount the government through its programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and individual consumers as well, spend for health care. It can also be seen in the rapidly increasing expenses for drugs, treatments, technologies and health insurance premiums. Health care spending is estimated to double by 2015 and will drain Medicare funds (ACP, 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   High spending for health care has not translated into a healthier populace, however. The higher rates of insurance premiums have led employers to cut down on their costs for this benefit and have passed on a larger portion or even the entire costs to their employees. This has led to the increase in the uninsured and underinsured who, having limited finances for out-of-the-pocket health expenses, give up preventive or maintenance treatments until their medical conditions worsen (Colliver, 2004). They then end up in hospital emergency rooms where the costs for their care are mainly shouldered by government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are also other factors that contribute to the rising costs of health care such as lack of government regulation on the health care industry and the prices of health services and products, the aggressive use of treatments by physicians to include various tests or procedures that are not medically necessary but would serve to protect doctors from malpractice and the expenses for the health care bureaucracy, such as hospital administrative costs, passed on to consumers (Colliver, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     In order to mitigate the high costs of health care, (1) the government should attempt regulation of the health care industry in order to put a cap on prices of related goods such as health insurance and medicines and (2) the government should provide for universal access to health care which could be achieved using different strategies in order to decrease the number of underinsured or uninsured and prevent the kind of negative health practices they adopt (ACP, 2008 and Colliver, 2004). List of References ACP (American College of Physicians) (2008). â€Å"Achieving a High-Performance Health Care   Ã‚  Ã‚   System with Universal Access: What the U.S. Can Learn from Other Countries†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Annals of Internal Medicine, 148(1). Retrieved 28 April 28, 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚   annals.org/cgi/content/full/0000605-200801010-00196v1. Colliver, V. (2004). â€Å"In Critical Condition: Health Care in America, How the Health Care   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   System is Failing and Why it’s Hard to Fix†. The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   28 April 2008 from sfgate.com/cgi-  Ã‚   bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/10/11/MNGII96CVP1.DTL.

Julia Ward Howe Biography

Julia Ward Howe Biography Known for: Julia Ward Howe is today best known as the writer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She was married to Samuel Gridley Howe, educator of the blind, who was also active in abolitionism and other reforms. She published poetry, plays and travel books, as well as many articles. A Unitarian, she was part of the larger circle of Transcendentalists, though not a core member. Howe became active in the womens rights movement later in life, playing a prominent role in several suffrage organizations and in womens clubs. Dates:  May 27, 1819 - October 17, 1910 Childhood Julia Ward was born in 1819, in New York City, into a strict Episcopalian Calvinist family. Her mother died when she was young, and Julia was raised by an aunt. When her father, a banker of comfortable but not immense wealth, died, her guardianship became the responsibility of a more liberal-minded uncle. She herself grew more and more liberal- on religion and on social issues. Marriage At 21 years old, Julia married the reformer Samuel Gridley Howe. When they married, Howe was already making his mark on the world. He had fought in the Greek War of Independence and had written of his experiences there. He had become the director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts, where Helen Keller would be among the most famous students. He was a radical Unitarian who had moved far from the Calvinism of New England, and Howe was part of the circle known as the Transcendentalists. He carried religious conviction in the value of the development of every individual into work with the blind, with the mentally ill, and with those in prison. He was also, out of that religious conviction, an opponent of slavery. Julia became a Unitarian Christian. She retained until death her belief in a personal, loving God who cared about the affairs of humanity, and she believed in a Christ who had taught a way of acting, a pattern of behavior, that humans should follow. She was a religious radical who did not see her own belief as the only route to salvation; she, like many others of her generation, had come to believe that religion was a matter of deed, not creed. Samuel Gridley Howe and Julia Ward Howe attended the church where Theodore Parker was minister. Parker, a radical on womens rights and slavery, often wrote his sermons with a handgun on his desk, ready if necessary to defend the lives of the runaway slaves who were staying that night in his cellar on their way to Canada and freedom. Samuel had married Julia, admiring her ideas, her quick mind, her wit, her active commitment to causes he also shared. But Samuel believed that married women should not have a life outside the home, that they should support their husbands and that they should not speak publicly or be active themselves in the causes of the day. As director at Perkins Institute for the Blind, Samuel Howe lived with his family on campus in a small house. Julia and Samuel had their six children there. (Four survived to adulthood, all four becoming professionals well known in their fields.) Julia, respecting her husbands attitude, lived in isolation in that home, with little contact with the wider community of Perkins Institute or Boston. Julia attended church, she wrote poetry, and it became harder for her to maintain her isolation. The marriage was increasingly stifling to her. Her personality was not one which adjusted to being subsumed in the campus and professional life of her husband, nor was she the most patient person. Thomas Wentworth Higginson wrote much later of her in this period: Bright things always came readily to her lips, and a second thought sometimes came too late to withhold a bit of a sting. Her diary indicates that the marriage was violent, Samuel controlled, resented and at times mismanaged the financial inheritance her father left her, and much later she discovered that he was unfaithful to her during this time. They considered divorce several times. She stayed, in part because she admired and loved him, and in part because he threatened to keep her from her children if she divorced him - both the legal standard and common practice at that time. Instead of divorce, she studied philosophy on her own, learned several languages - at that time a bit of a scandal for a woman - and devoted herself to her own self-education as well as the education and care of their children. She also worked with her husband on a brief venture at publishing an abolitionist paper, and supported his causes. She began, despite his opposition, to get more involved in writing and in public life. She took two of their children to Rome, leaving Samuel behind in Boston. Julia Ward Howe and the Civil War Julia Ward Howes emergence as a published writer corresponded with her husbands increasing involvement in the abolitionist cause. In 1856, as Samuel Gridley Howe led anti-slavery settlers to Kansas (Bloody Kansas, a battlefield between pro- and anti-slavery emigrants), Julia published poems and plays. The plays  and poems further angered Samuel. References in her writings to love turned to alienation and even violence were too clearly allusions to their own poor relationship. When the American Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act- and Millard Fillmore as President signed the Act- it made even those in Northern states complicit in the institution of slavery. All U.S. citizens, even in states that banned slavery, were legally responsible to return fugitive slaves to their owners in the South. The anger over the Fugitive Slave Act pushed many who had opposed slavery into more radical abolitionism. In a nation even more divided over slavery, John Brown led his abortive effort at Harpers Ferry to capture arms stored there and give them to Virginia slaves. Brown and his supporters hoped that the slaves would rise in armed rebellion, and slavery would end. Events did not, however, unfold as planned, and John Brown was defeated and killed. Many in the circle around the Howes were involved in the radical abolitionism that gave rise to John Browns raid. There is evidence that Theodore Parker, their minister, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, another leading Transcendentalist and associate of Samuel Howes, were part of the so-called Secret Six, six men who were convinced by John Brown to bankroll his efforts which ended at Harpers Ferry. Another of the Secret Six, apparently, was Samuel Gridley Howe. The story of the Secret Six is, for many reasons, not well known, and probably not completely knowable given the deliberate secrecy. Many of those involved seem to have regretted, later, their involvement in the plan. Its not clear how honestly Brown portrayed his plans to his supporters. Theodore Parker died in Europe, just before the Civil War began. T. W. Higginson, also the minister who married  Lucy Stone  and Henry Blackwell in their  ceremony asserting womens equality  and who was later a discoverer of  Emily Dickinson, took his commitment into the Civil War, leading a regiment of black troops. He was convinced that if black men fought alongside white men in the battles of war, they would be accepted as full citizens after the war. Samuel Gridley Howe and Julia Ward Howe became involved in the  U.S. Sanitary Commission, an important institution of social service. More men died in the Civil War from disease caused by poor sanitary conditions in prisoner of war camps and their own army camps than died in battle. The  Sanitary Commission  was the chief institution of reform for that condition, leading to far fewer deaths later in the war than earlier. Writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic As a result of their volunteer work with the  Sanitary Commission, in November of 1861 Samuel and Julia Howe were invited to Washington by President Lincoln. The Howes visited a Union Army camp in Virginia across the Potomac. There, they heard the men singing the song which had been sung by both North and South, one in admiration of John Brown, one in celebration of his death: John Browns body lies amouldering in his grave. A clergyman in the party, James Freeman Clarke, who knew of Julias published poems, urged her to write a new song for the war effort to replace John Browns Body. She described the events later: I replied that I had often wished to do so.... In spite of the excitement of the day I went to bed and slept as usual, but awoke the next morning in the gray of the early dawn, and to my astonishment found that the wished-for lines were arranging themselves in my brain. I lay quite still until the last verse had completed itself in my thoughts, then hastily arose, saying to myself, I shall lose this if I dont write it down immediately. I searched for an old sheet of paper and an old stub of a pen which I had had the night before, and began to scrawl the lines almost without looking, as I learned to do by often scratching down verses in the darkened room when my little children were sleeping. Having completed this, I lay down again and fell asleep, but not before feeling that something of importance had happened to me. The result was a poem, published first in February 1862 in the Atlantic Monthly, and called Battle Hymn of the Republic. The poem was quickly put to the tune that had been used for John Browns Body - the original tune was written by a Southerner for religious revivals- and became the best known Civil War song of the North. Julia Ward Howes religious conviction shows in the way that Old and New Testament Biblical images are used to urge that people implement, in this life and this world, the principles that they adhere to. As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free. Turning from the idea that the war was revenge for the death of a martyr, Howe hoped that the song would keep the war focused on the principle of the ending of slavery. Today, thats what Howe is most remembered for: as the author of the song, still loved by many Americans. Her early poems are forgotten- her other social commitments forgotten. She became a much-loved American institution after that song was published but even in her own lifetime, all her other pursuits paled besides her accomplishment of one piece of poetry for which she was paid $5 by the editor of Atlantic Monthly. Mothers Day and Peace Julia Ward Howes accomplishments did not end with the writing of her famous poem, The Battle Hymn of the Republic. As Julia became more famous, she was asked to speak publicly more often. Her husband became less adamant that she remain a private person, and while he never actively supported her further efforts, his resistance eased. She saw some of the worst effects of the war- not only the death and disease which killed and maimed the soldiers. She worked with the widows and orphans of soldiers on both sides of the war, and realized that the effects of the war go beyond the killing of soldiers in battle. She also saw the economic devastation of the Civil War, the economic crises that followed the war, the restructuring of the economies of both North and South. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause. Distressed by her experience of the realities of war, determined that peace was one of the two most important causes of the world (the other being equality in its many forms) and seeing war arise again in the world in the Franco-Prussian War, she called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common above what divides us, and commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a  Declaration, hoping to gather together women in a congress of action. She failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mothers Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who had attempted starting in 1858 to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. Ann Jarvis daughter, named Anna Jarvis, would of course have known of her mothers work, and the work of Julia Ward Howe. Much later, when her mother died, this second Anna Jarvis started her own crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mothers Day was celebrated in West Virginia in 1907 in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. And from there the custom caught on- spreading eventually to 45 states. Finally the holiday was declared officially by states beginning in 1912, and in 1914 the President, Woodrow Wilson, declared the first national  Mothers Day. Woman Suffrage But working for peace was also not the accomplishment which eventually meant the most to Julia Ward Howe. In the aftermath of the Civil War, she, like many before her, began to see parallels between struggles for legal rights for blacks and the need for legal equality for women. She became active in the  woman suffrage movement  to gain the vote for women. T. W. Higginson wrote of her changed attitude as she finally discovered that she was not so alone in her ideas that women should be able to speak their minds and influence the direction of society: From the moment when she came forward in the Woman Suffrage Movement ...  there was a visible change; it gave a new brightness to her face, a new cordiality in her manner, made her calmer, firmer; she found herself among new friends and could disregard old critics. By 1868, Julia Ward Howe was helping to found the New England Suffrage Association. In 1869 she led, with her colleague  Lucy  Stone, the  American Woman Suffrage Association  (AWSA) as the suffragists split into two camps over black versus woman suffrage and over state versus federal focus in legislating change. She began to lecture and write frequently on the subject of woman suffrage. In 1870 she helped Stone and her husband, Henry Blackwell, found the  Womans Journal, remaining with the journal as an editor and writers for twenty years. She pulled together a series of essays by writers of the time, disputing theories that held that women were inferior to men and required separate education. This defense of womens rights and education appeared in 1874 as  Sex and Education. Later Years Julia Ward Howes later years were marked by many involvements. From the 1870s Julia Ward lectured widely. Many came to see her because of her fame as the author of the  Battle Hymn  of the Republic; she needed the lecture income because her inheritance had finally, through a cousins mismanagement, become depleted. Her themes were usually about service over fashion, and reform over frivolity. She preached often in Unitarian and Universalist churches. She continued to attend the Church of the Disciples, led by her old friend James Freeman Clarke, and often spoke in its pulpit. Beginning in 1873, she hosted an annual gathering of women ministers, and in the 1870s helped to found the Free Religious Association. She also became active in the womans club movement, serving as president of the New England Womens Club from 1871. She helped found the Association for the Advancement of Women (AAW) in 1873, serving as president from 1881. In January 1876, Samuel Gridley Howe died. Just before he died, he confessed to Julia several affairs hed had, and the two apparently reconciled their long antagonism. The new widow traveled for two years in Europe and the Middle East. When she returned to Boston, she renewed her work for womens rights. In 1883 she published a biography of Margaret Fuller, and in 1889 helped bring about the merger of the AWSA with the rival suffrage organization, led by  Elizabeth Cady Stanton  and  Susan B. Anthony, forming the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). In 1890 she helped to found the General Federation of Womens Clubs, an organization which eventually displaced the AAW. She served as director and was active in many of its activities, including helping to found many clubs during her lecture tours. Other causes in which she involved herself included support for Russian freedom and for the Armenians in the Turkish wars, taking once again a stand that was more militant than pacifist in its sentiments. In 1893, Julia Ward Howe participated in events at the Chicago Columbian Exposition (Worlds Fair), including chairing a session and presenting a report on Moral and Social Reform at the Congress of Representative Women. She spoke at the to the  1893 Parliament of the Worlds Religions, held in Chicago in conjunction with the  Columbian Exposition. Her topic, What is Religion? outlined Howes understanding of general religion and what religions have to teach each other, and her hopes for interfaith cooperation. She also gently called for religions to practice their own values and principles. In her last years, she was often compared to Queen Victoria, whom she somewhat resembled and who was her senior by exactly three days. When Julia Ward Howe died in 1910, four thousand people attended her memorial service. Samuel G. Eliot, head of the American Unitarian Association, gave the eulogy at her funeral at the Church of the Disciples. Relevance to Womens History Julia Ward Howes story is a reminder that history remembers a persons life incompletely. Womens history can be an act of remembering- in the literal sense of re-membering, putting the parts of the body, the members, back together. The whole story of Julia Ward Howe has not even now, I think, been told. Most versions ignore her troubled marriage, as she and her husband struggled with traditional understandings of the wifes role and her own personality and personal struggle to find herself and her voice in the shadow of her famous husband. Im left with questions to which I cannot find answers. Was Julia Ward Howes aversion to the song about John Browns body based on an anger that her husband had spent part of her inheritance secretly on that cause, without her consent or support? Or did she have a role in that decision? Or was Samuel, with or without Julia, part of the  Secret Six? We dont know, and may never know. Julia Ward Howe lived the last half of her life in the public eye primarily because of  one poem  written in the few hours of one gray morning. In those later years, she used her fame to promote her very different later ventures, even while she resented that she was already remembered primarily for that one small accomplishment. What is most important to the writers of history may not be necessarily the most important to those who are the subject of that history. Whether it was her peace proposals and her proposed  Mothers Day, or her work on winning the vote for women- none of which were accomplished during her lifetime- these fade in most histories beside her writing of the  Battle Hymn of  the Republic. This is why womens history often has a commitment to biography- to recover, to re-member the lives of the women whose accomplishments may mean something quite different to the culture of their times than they did to the woman herself. And, in so remembering, to respect their efforts to change their own lives and even the world. Source Hungry Heart: The Literary Emergence of Julia Ward Howe: Gary Williams. Hardcover, 1999.Private Woman, Public Person: An Account of the Life of Julia Ward Howe from 1819-1868: Mary H. Grant. 1994.Julia Ward Howe, 1819 to 1910: Laura E. Richards and Maud Howe Elliott. Reprint.Julia Ward Howe and the Woman Suffrage Movement: Florence H. Hull. Hardcover, Reprint.Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Biography of Julia Ward Howe: Deborah Clifford. Hardcover, 1979.Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown: Edward J. Renehan, jr. Trade Paperback, 1997.

Financial management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Financial management - Assignment Example In a perfect market, it is assumed that no taxes are imposed and interest rates are derived by the market demand and supply function (Layton, Robinson & Tucker 2012, p. 895). If we consider a perfect competition in the market, an investor would be indifferent of the capital structures followed by each firm. The M&M theory suggests that in a tax-free economy, capital structure becomes irrelevant to the value of the firm. Some assumptions that the theory makes include: Investors are concerned about the returns or future cash inflows. Hence, they expect the same whether the investment is made in bonds or equity. As a result, investors would make decisions based on the firm’s value. Debt and equity components are traded in perfect markets, such that the transaction costs, taxes and bankruptcy costs are nil. Competitors, in a perfect competition market cannot set their own price for similar product offerings. Moreover, investors do not bear the burden of transaction costs leading to their indifference to moving funds from one company to the other. Keeping an eye on the above discussion, it can be concluded that investors would go for an geared company if they are interested in the investment returns. In the case provided, Aguia seems to be a more lucrative opportunity for the investors. Aguia, being a geared company will have lower cost of capital and have higher expected returns in future. Since, it was assumed and provided above that investors are only concerned about the future cash flows, a rational investor would prefer a geared firm i.e. Aguia over the un-geared firm i.e. Pomba, in our case. In addition, a rational investor can make decision on future prospects and plans of the management. Let’s assume that Pomba plans to switch toward debt financing, it might be a more attractive option compared to Aguia as it has higher profit margins comparatively. Hence, financing arrangements in a

FDIC takes the Banks back Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

FDIC takes the Banks back - Research Paper Example The following brief discussion will focus on the FDIC and its second mission, to reduce the economic disruptions caused by bank failures. Specifically, the role of the FDIC in the recent spate of bank closures will be examined. In conclusion the FDICs intervention in the bank failures will be critically analyzed to determine its impacts, or lack thereof, on the American economy during the recent economic crisis popularly known as the Great Recession. Written in the 1980s the FDIC official history described American banks as â€Å"more closely regulated than in any other nation.† (â€Å"The First Fifty Years†) In the quarter century since that volume was written the situation changed significantly. American banks underwent a comprehensive process of deregulation that climaxed during the former Republican administration. In 2007 Philip E Strahan summarized the effects of more than a decade of deregulation: â€Å"Interest rate ceilings on deposits were phased out in the early 1980s; state usury laws have been weakened because banks may now lend anywhere; and limits to banks’ ability to engage in other financial activities have been almost completely eliminated, as have restrictions on the geographical scope of banking.† He also praised the positive impacts of deregulation. It â€Å"allowed banks to offer better services to their customers at lower prices. As a result, the real economy—Main Street as it were—seems to have benefited† and â€Å"Overall economic growth accelerated following deregulation.† (Strahan, 2007) Strahan was a firm proponent of the stimulative effect of banking deregulation. He also saw its benefits being distributed throughout society and including, notably, Main Street. When Strahans remarks were published in the influential, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Reviews July/August issue in 2007.

Evaluating Truth And Validity Exercise Essay Example for Free

Evaluating Truth And Validity Exercise Essay The argument â€Å"a mature person is self-directing, so parents who make all their children’s for them are doing their offspring a disservice† has allot of validity to it, and in more ways than one is true. A child whose parents or guardians make all of his or her decisions for them, are in a way hindering the child because the child does not have the opportunity to think for himself. When that child grows up and needs to be able to make important decisions such as what college to go to, who to marry, or what kind of job to apply for, that child will more likely than not, not know how to properly decide based on the information or facts provided to him or her. For instance if a child grows up and is faced with what college to go to and that child has never had to make any important decision for himself, that child may end up in a college going after a degree program that is not truly what he or she wants to do with their life based on what his or her parent tell them they should go into. That child has then wasted four to five years of his or her life and has to start all over searching for the proper degree or job where he or she can thrive financially and be happy. There is a minute percent of children who will be able to overcome the mentality of not having to think on his or her own and be able to make the important decisions that need to be made, but at what price? How many times will that child have to make the wrong choice and suffer because they were not allowed to think on their own? The constant failure and rejection could possibly make matters worse for the child, and could lead to relinquishing all hope. The argument â€Å"the Bible can’t be relevant to today’s problems; it was written many centuries ago and is filled with archaic phrasing† is another argument with some validity and non-validity. There are people who claim since the Bible was written over 2,000 years ago that it does not apply to today’s standards, and there are people who say the teachings in the Bible  are meant for all people to follow as a general guideline. The argument can go either way, but if you look at what the Bible really is, it is a book with stories, such as a history book, about people who lived 2,000 plus years ago and the things they went through. If you were to say because it was written back a long time ago it does not apply to today’s standards, would be the same thing as saying because our history books teach about Abraham Lincoln and when he lived in the 1700’s, that those stories are irrelevant. The Bible is a book for Christian based people to read, and is intended as a guideline for these people on how to properly live their life. There are many stories in the Bible that may or may not apply to today’s standards, such as the Old Testament teachings, but that is not to say the entire Bible is not relevant to today’s problems. The Bible teaches not to kill and steal, and if 90 percent of people who are in prison followed these two teachings, they would not be in prison today. The other stories about the people who lived in the Bible days are interesting to some, and not to others, as are most history books ever written about the history of the world. Does this mean we need to stop teaching our children about the history of the world because the teachings in the history books occurred over three centuries ago? I think it just because the Bible represents a faith based book, and that is why it is so ridiculed. The argument â€Å"it’s ridiculous to think that there will be fewer deaths if we ban handguns. Handguns don’t kill people; people kill people† has no validity to it in that an actual handgun itself cannot do anything on its own, it is an inanimate object. A handgun or any other type of gun requires a person to physically pick it up, point, and shoot in order to make it operate; a handgun cannot just fire on its own. When people say that handguns kill people, it is the same as saying that a spoon made another person fat, or a car made another person steal it. These are objects that must have an operator or some sort of life force to operate these inanimate objects. Did handguns assist in the killing of a person is a more proper question to ask. If a person wants another person dead and there is not a handgun around, that person will be creative and come up with another means to kill that person. Take John Wayne Gacy for instance, he did not need the use of a handgun to murder hundreds of young boys, he used rope and scarfs  to strangle his victims. There are people who claim without handguns certain crimes would not take place, and that may be possible, but if the person wanting to perform the crime was adamant on doing it and did not have a gun, that person would use alternative measures to finish the crime.

Trusted Systems: Protecting Sensitive Information :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Introduction With the widespread use of the internet, networked applications have expanded to provide many services that a few years ago would have seemed impractical or futuristic. Among them are applications that allow you to find your perfect date, to file your taxes online, rent movies or even to send away gifts you don’t like. With the proliferation of the internet the demand for programs that use information in more complicated and advanced ways has risen. Commercial entities have come forward to fulfill this demand, and the internet has become the center for many applications driven by information. As information use and sharing among applications becomes more desirable we have seen the downside of sensitive information being accessible to entities for which it was not intended. When we look at the development goals of the internet and of computer networks in general we can easily see the contradictory goals that protecting privacy would present. The internet was developed by people who saw great potential in being able to share scientific and military information quickly and easily between computers. Concerns about the privacy of information created by the new applications mentioned above, give us the goal of making sure that information is only accessible by the entities that it is intended for. By definition this means making information sharing more difficult as we don’t want a legitimate user of information to be able to share that information with someone who does not have a legitimate right. For example if I submit my personal information to an insurance company, I don’t want the insurance company to share my information with others who might use it to send me advertisements or for more sinister purposes. Current computer systems a nd networks have been built with the first goal of ubiquitous access and information sharing in mind. Therefore protecting sensitive information requires us to completely rethink the way that computer systems are designed. Potentially there are two routes that we could take. One is to allow computer systems and the internet to enjoy the free architecture that they have at present but to prosecute violators with strict laws on information security. The other is to completely redesign computer systems with the additional goal that information should only be accessible by parties that the owner of the information trusts.

Importance of Muhammad for the Success of the Arab Conquests Essay

When considering the question of the Prophet’s success in the Arab Conquests there are various factors that must be taken into consideration. These factors shape the success, give reason for the rapidity of the spread and illustrate why Arabia was so responsive to his message. Factors such as the state of Arabia and its pagan tribes, recent historic events and the dissatisfaction of the peoples, shape this drastic and historic change in the area. Arabia was in a constant state of war due mainly to the power struggle between the Sasanian and Byzantine empires; the emperors spoke different languages and believed in other religions than their peoples. There was little loyalty and it did not much matter to the folks under which rule they lived. The lack of community, a sense of unity between the various tribes in Arabia and multiple wars were predominant factors that made way for the imminent success of Muhammad in the Arab Conquests. From the time of the Prophet’s first re velation in 610 to the death day of the Prophet in 632, Arabia had undergone a drastic and, for such time limitations, incredible changes. Starting with the geographical aspects it must be elaborated in context how the state of Arabia, the birthplace of Muhammad, was functioning and what its beliefs were pre-Islam. It must also be mentioned that in comparison to the rest of the Middle East, Arabia was considered fairly primal. It lacked any form of government or state policies as every clan was totally independent and had its own rules and leaders, called Shaykh. Such leaders acted as mediators to disputes and needs of the tribe. The tribes mostly lived off pasturage as opposed to agriculture, excluding the harams that were implemented on travel routes, in oasis and in junctures to neighbouring areas. These served as a common point for economic, social and political trade, as well as worship. Arabia was home to various pagan tribes, including the Banu Hashim into which the prophet was born, spread over the area in no apparent kind of structure. Thus, it is fair to say that Arabia was a socially and culturally less developed area than the rest of the Middle East. Secondly, Arabia was subject to numerous power struggles, which fragmented it severely. From local tribal wars, to clashes between Yemeni, Nabatean and Roman kingdoms (sixth century BC – 271 AD ) to finally the main exhaustion of the region in the early seventh century – wars  between Sasanian and Byzantine empires. Only the rise of Mecca in the late sixth century as a centre for economic trade and pilgrimage, could establish a semi treaty between the leading tribe called Quraysh, Byzantines and Bedouins to ensure safe passage of goods, which was beneficial to all. Mecca won recognition as a commercial and political influence in Arabia. However, most of Arabia was still home to incompatible Bedouin communities, which opposed each other in political, social and religious views. This resulted in many conflicts and portrayed, once again, Arabia as a torn and unstable area. Having illustrated the state of Arabia, it portrays â€Å"a world waiting for a guide† around the time of the rise of Islam. A new form of existence, social trend and way of life was to be largely appreciated by rivalling tribes. The main documents of Islam, which emerged or deal at the time of the Prophet, include the Qur’an, a divine revelation of God’s words through the angel Gabriel to Muhammad himself around 610 and the hadiths, traditions and sayings of and about the Prophet. In 613 Muhammad first started to publicly preach and attracted early converts of mostly socially and economically weakened classes to whom this monotheistic message offered salvation from the falling order in Mecca. The sheer force of Muhammad’s inspiration and beauty of speech, as he was illiterate, seemed to persuade people as well as raise universal opposition. Muhammad and his followers shortly became a threat to the Quraysh clan whose pagan religions were challenged by his message, that there was one God only. Muhammad was still able to preach, protected by his uncle Abu Talib and his tribe the Banu Hashim and flourished as a leader of the community. The Quraysh declared Muhammad as a madman and discredited his preaching, boycotting his motions. When it became apparent that his word was no longer considered reliable and that he was not gaining more converts, Muhammad was in search of a political base that could shelter him and his followers from the attacks of ridicule and harassments. This base would act as a home for the community. The Prophet’s forceful and leading persona was attractive to solve Medina’s anarchic feuding. The year 622, after the pledge of al-‘Aqaba to defend Muhammad, is known as the most dramatic event in Muslim history and the first year in the Islamic calendar. This year marks the hijra, the migration and the entry  into a community of Muslims. Due to no existing leadership or effective rule in Medina and through the portrait of an â€Å"Arab Elite† most communities wanted to pertain to, as this included fiscal and job protection advantages, remaining pagans learned Arabic and soon converted to Islam. Jewish clans that rejected the Qur’an and Muhammad as a Messenger of God were either executed or forced to exile, their properties taken into claim. Not only had Muhammad, in 10 years, managed to attract a large amount of converts, but he had also created a base for his Brotherhood, called the umma. Here, the fellow Muslims shared the same beliefs and they were given clear structure by the five pillars of Islam. The Zakat, almsgivings, were a way for everybody to assume responsibility for their brothers within the community and support the less fortunate. In addition, Muhammad changed social norms by giving the patriarchal family a greater importance and rewarding women and children with more rights. Furthermore, he implemented rules for fair business transactions. Thus, Medina was an exemplary state, which prided itself with patriarchal values and a confederation for political and economic legislations. The Umma brotherhood integrated individuals, clans, cities, disparate peoples and ethnic groups into a community under a common law and political authority. Creating this Muslim community, consisting of the early followers muhajeruun and Medinan converts ansar, and a monotheist religion alongside Judaism and Christianity was a vital accomplishment, which marked Muhammad as a man of great influence and importance for the Arab Conquests. Having established a foundation for Islam, Muhammad proceeded with spreading Islam throughout Arabia. At the battle of Badr in 624, the Prophet’s army attacked an important Meccan caravan and claimed victory. The battle described as â€Å" a sign of divine favour† , earned Muhammad a renowned reputation around Arabia and marked an important defeat of Mecca since the hijra. This was succeeded by two more battles, Uhud in 625 and Khandaq in 627, which both had rather positive outcomes in extending his influence and eliminating further Jewish clans. Finally, at al-Hudaybiya, in 628, while Meccans intercepted Medinan pilgrims, a truce between Muhammad and the Quraysh was established enabling Muslims to pilgrim to the Ka’ba. This was  the first sign of recognition of defeat by the Meccans. Merely two years later, in 630, Muhammad gained complete rule over Mecca without resistance and managed to claim the Ka’ba as the holiest shrine of Islam. Through his divine revelations, his preachings and his persuading character, Muhammad was all around respected and worshiped as the Messenger of God. He made his â€Å"religious visions operate in the body of a whole society† enabling a complete social habitual change in Arabia. Through tactic moves such as the hijra, the building of the first Muslim confederation in Medina and the Islamization of larger parts of Arabia he laid out the first step for Islam. Needless to say that without his effective leadership, it seems unthinkable that the communities of Arabia would have been able to act in such unison. Muhammad did not only perform as a religious messenger but also as a political leader, unifying the tribes and clans under one belief and a set of rules. He formed such a powerful bond between the umma that even after his death in 632, the Muslim Caliphates continued to spread Islam and conquered virtually the entire Middle East, parts of southern Spain, India and Northern Africa. Muhammad’s enormous influence in the success of the Arab Conquests and as the Messenger of God in the rise of Islam is indisputable. Bibliography 1.A History of Islamic Societies – Ira M. Lapidus 1988 2.A History of the Arab Peoples – Albert Hourani 1991 3.The Arab Conquests – Kennedy 4.What do we know about Muhammad – Patricia Crone 10 June 2008 5.Muhammad and Jenghiz Khan – Khazanov 1993

Forensic Psych

Forensic Psychology Psychology involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors of the human body. It can be looked as being broken down into two categories, basic psychology and applied psychology. Basic psychology is the use of theories and fundamentals to explain how attitudes, personalities, values, and behaviors are related while applied psychology is the use of these psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in real life situations.Some of the basic psychology studies include abnormal, cognitive, developmental, and social psychology. Applied psychology applies these studies in things like clinical, forensic, health, and educational psychology. I chose to explore the study of an applied type of psych, forensic psychology. Forensic psychology is the application of the science and profession of psychology to questions issues relating to law and the legal system. The word ‘forensic' comes from the Latin word ‘forensis,' meaning ‘of the forum,' where the law courts of ancient Rome were held.Not only does forensic psychology require understanding of the different psychological studies but also an understanding of the law and how it works. Looking at legal issues from a psychological standpoint combines psychology and the law. This form of psychology is used frequently in the legal system. Legal systems make use of forensic psychologists and their practice in evaluations of the mental status of defendants before, during and after trial proceedings.Most may think forensic psychology is only used in criminal matters but forensic psychologist may also assist in a wide variety of civil matters. Civil matters can include lawsuits or insurance claims where emotional affliction is a part of the claim. Determination of competency of an aged or ill person to make decisions, or whether a death was an accident or a â€Å"disguised suicide† in an insurance claim case are both examples of how forensic psychology can he lp aid certain legal cases.The idea of forensic psychology first came about in the late 1800’s. But it wasn’t until the 1900’s when a German psychologist by the name of Hugo Munsterberg claimed that psychology should be applied to the law. Even though this is a couple hundred years from today, it wasn’t until 2001 that the American Psychological Association recognized forensic psychology as a specialization under the study of psychology. In 1906, a defense attorney asked Hugo to review his convicted client’s investigation and trial records.This promoted his 1908 book â€Å"On the Witness Stand†. It detailed how psychological factors can influence the outcome of a trial. In the book, he discussed problems with eyewitness testimony, false confessions, and interrogations. Munsterberg points out that for various reasons why eye witness testimony is essentially unreliable, he describes how eye witness testimony is naturally susceptible to what he calls â€Å"illusions† where a subjects perceptions could be affected causing an inaccurate testimony.In the portion of the book that he calls â€Å"The Detection of Crime†, he discusses the many factors that can influence testimonies, gain confessions, and force confessions from those who are innocent. He explains some of the ways that police have of making suspects confess to crimes that they had not committed, some of these including making their life as uncomfortable as possible while in holding to be able to break down their energy, and â€Å"worst of all giving brutal shocks given with fiendish cruelty to the terrified imagination of the suspect. Later, in 1917 one of Munsterberg’s students, William Marston, discovered that systolic blood pressure and lying were directly correlated. This discovery helped lead the creation of the modern polygraph detector Forensic psychology was largely stagnant until the 1940s and 1950s, when psychologists began regularl y testifying in courts as experts on a range of psychological topics. They became able to conduct evaluations to help the court with mental statuses, the sanity of defendants, and legal competence. One of the first uses of forensic psychology in the court was in the landmark case Brown v.Board of Education (1954) that ended legal segregation in public schools. Psychologists showed that segregation had a negative effect on the self-esteem of young children and the court believed this was a persuasive argument. This proved that psychologists were an extremely useful form of testimony for both the plaintiffs and defendants. Another example of the importance of forensic psychologists came around in 1962 when psychologists serving as mental illness professionals were strongly supported by the court in the case Jenkins v. United States.Here the court ruled in support to psychologists being used as expert witnesses when mental illnesses are concerned. Following this example many other cour ts, both federal and local, began to accept the use of psychologists and psychological assessments more willingly. Psychological assessment refers to scientific methods used by psychologists for the purpose of understanding and explaining an individual’s, couple’s or family’s psychological functioning. Psychological assessments help to define and understand personality, behavior, emoti ons, intelligence, and how they come together.Such assessments help to answer diagnostic questions, to specify a person’s strengths, weaknesses and personality structure, and to explain and to predict behavior. Assessments that are used in the forensic setting are a leading activity for those whom are involved. Forensic psychological assessments are an in-depth process utilizing extensive interviewing, and standardized psychological tests, which produce reliable, valid and reproducible results. To be all-inclusive, an assessment needs to examine a range of psychological fac tors, such as cognitive and personality functioning, developmental history, and interpersonal relationships.These factors can be further broken down into emotional, cognitive, intellectual, developmental, executive, educational, social, neuropsychological, and physiological functioning. Information obtained from standardized psychological assessment has a normative, statistical scientific basis, as it compares the individual against data collected in samples of normal and clinically disordered individuals. It allows the evaluator to determine how similar or dissimilar this person is to people in these samples.While individuals may attempt to â€Å"look good† or â€Å"look bad† in interviews, depending on the case at hand, most test instruments contain multiple validity scales on which to evaluate the extent to which the individual is providing honest, candid, defensive, socially desirable, or exaggerated depictions of their psychological health or symptoms. An overall aim of forensic psychological assessment is to provide the basis for concluding both previous and active factors that can help to explain specific actions, and to make recommendations applicable to the legal issues at hand.The court appoints a psychologist to determine a range of things including mental state, diminished capacity, and competency. When it comes to mental state, a determination is made as to whether there is substantial evidence that the patient suffers a mental disorder. Emotions are not considered a mental disorder. The psychologist needs to consider psychological influences at the scene of the alleged crime. Depending on the outcome of the examination, the psychologist may testify in court how the impaired mental abilities â€Å"actually caused a malformation of the mental element of the crime. The psychologist does not have to be certain that the defendant's disorder caused him or her to be unable to form the intent or knowledge or the crime, but the expert must have some belief in the â€Å"probability or possibility† that it did. Experts need to testify with reasonable medical or psychological certainty. Three main areas of defense related to mental health include diminished capacity, competency, or mitigating (justifying) circumstances. A diminished capacity assessment focuses on whether or not a person was able to comprehend the alleged crime being committed.The psychologist assessed whether the individual, in his/her opinion, was organized, purposeful, and goal oriented. The main question is, whether the defendant's behavior was affected by a mental disorder of mood or thought, by alcohol and or drug intoxication or an irresistible impulse induced by a mental disease affecting the person so that the person is unable to resist the impulse to commit the act that he or she has been charged with. A competency evaluation assesses whether a person has the mental facility or ability to understand the legal proceedings against them.Also , the evaluation focuses on determining whether they are able to assist their attorney in their own defense. Mitigating circumstances are sometimes considered regarding the defendant's capacity to â€Å"appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. † Whether a person is charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, their mental state or mental illness is an issue to consider before conviction or before sentencing. The attorney representing the accused person may request a psychological evaluation or sometimes an evaluation is court ordered.Psychological expert witness testimony may also be used in a personal injury case when the plaintiff makes a case that they suffered undue  mental or emotional  pain and suffering. In family law cases, the parties may be evaluated with regard to the best interests of the child or children, and a custody and parenting-time recommendation is made. An in-depth evaluation of the parties, an assessment of their parenting and relationships with their children, and an assessment of their children's status and developmental needs is devised in terms of the children's best interests and a parenting and custody plan which best meets the children eeds. The following is a list of most widely known and commonly utilized psychological tests in forensic contexts: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) – The most recent of the adult Wechsler tests is a general test of intelligence, IQ (general measure of intellectual ability). There are 15 subtests that make up the WAIS-IV; at least 10 must be administered to derive an IQ score. In addition to providing an IQ, scores are derived on the following groups of the WAIS-IV subtests:   Verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.For adolescents and children, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition is used. Rorschach Ink Blot Method – This is a performance-based test instrument. The examinee is presented with the Rorschach inkblots and asked, â€Å"What do you see? † Score results provide insight into the individual’s basic psychological processes such as thinking, impulse control, stress tolerance, reality testing, imagination, and interpersonal relationships.Compared to self-report measures, the Rorschach is not nearly as vulnerable to impression-management or attempts to exaggerate problems. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) –  A self-report personality inventory, and is the most commonly used test in forensic psychological assessment. The MMPI-2 provides information along multiple scopes including clinical syndromes, personality characteristics, psychosocial stressors and severity of disturbance. Scoring provides a number of validity scales.There are 10 primary clinical scales and a multitude of content and symptom scales. Psychology is a growing field and will continued to b e used in the legal content. It is an essential part of cases when dealing with the mentally ill and it aids in providing proper conviction, sentencing and rehabilitation. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Kitaeff, J. (2010). Forensic psychology. Pearson College Div. [ 2 ]. Fulero, S. M. , & Wrightsman, L. S. (2010). Forensic psychology. (3rd ed. ). New York, NY: Wadsworth Pub Co. 3 ]. Munsterberg, H. (1909). On the witness stand: Essays on psychology and crime. New York: Doubleday, Page (74). [ 4 ]. Costanzo, M. , & Krauss, D. (2011). Forensic and legal psychology. New York, NY: Worth Pub. [ 5 ]. Heilbrun, K. (2001). Principles of forensic mental health assessment. Springer. [ 6 ]. Wrightsman, L. (2001). Forensic psychology. Australia Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Thomson Learning. [ 7 ]. Rosenfeld, Barry, Steven Penrod, and Barry Rosenfeld. Research Methods in Forensic Psychology. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2011

How to Make Your Laptop More Ergonomic

How to Make Your Laptop More Ergonomic Laptop computers are wonderful pieces of technology. They allow you to take immense computing power with you where ever you go. Unfortunately, certain ergonomic features are compromised for the sake of portability. Posture, keyboard spacing, screen size and positioning, and pointing devices usually take the biggest ergonomic hit. Even though laptops are designed for portability, many people use them as a desktop computer. Despite the poor ergonomics inherent in most laptops, certain steps can be taken to create a sound ergonomic laptop setup as a desktop. Whether its the main computer or a temporary setup, you can improve your ergonomics. The Main Ergonomic Issues With Laptops Keyboard spacing - laptop keyboards are often compact with odd placement of some keys and cramped spacing of others. Hand cramps and repetitive stress injuries are more of a concern on compact keyboards. Preventing wrist repetitive stress injuries becomes even more of a priority.Monitor size - laptop screens are often smaller than desktop monitors. Small screens can cause more eye strain than larger ones. Preventing eye strain becomes even more of a priority as well.Monitor placement - the relation of the keyboard to monitor on a laptop is fixed. A proper ergonomic monitor setup has the monitor and keyboard at different levels and spaced far apart. This placement causes bad posture with either arms and hands held high or the neck and back bent low. Both of which can cause some serious problems and pain.Small pointers - laptops usually have an integrated pointing device such as a touchpad or dot. These devices are adequate for the task, but not very comfortable or easy to use for long periods of time. Wrist related repetitive stress injuries pop up here as well. General Ergonomic Tips Make your laptop setup as close to the desktop ergonomic computer station setup as possible.Keep the wrists in the most natural wrist position that you can achieve.Rotate the screen so that bending of the neck is minimized.Tuck the chin into rotate the head instead of bending the neck. The Best Ergonomic Laptop Solution Use a laptop docking station. These devices let you plug in your laptop to a base station that has a monitor, keyboard, and mouse already connected. You basically have a desktop setup with a removable computer that just happens to have a keyboard and screen attached. Laptop Docking Stations Compare Prices The Next Best Ergonomic Laptop Solution If a docking station is out of your budget or otherwise impractical do the next best thing. Have a separate keyboard and mouse at the desk. This lets you place the laptop at the correct monitor position and have a comfortable keyboard and mouse at their proper locations. The Makeshift Ergonomic Solution If you can not get a separate keyboard and mouse, or you are in a temporary location there is still plenty you can do to improve your laptop ergonomic setup. Run through a quick task analysis to determine what the main thing you will be doing is. If it is reading, then set the laptop up in a proper ergonomic monitor position. If it is typing, then set the laptop up in a proper ergonomic keyboard position. If it is a mix, then set the laptop up in a proper ergonomic keyboard setup. The large muscles of the back and neck can take more stress than the arms and wrists so the bending of the neck to read the screen is the lesser of two ergonomic evils. If you have to place the laptop on a desktop, and thereby be higher than a good keyboard height, try changing planes. Elevate the rear of the laptop so that the keyboard is inclined. Then lean back in your chair so that your arms are now in line with the keyboard. Final Word on Laptop Ergonomics Laptops do not make good ergonomic desktops. They are not even that ergonomically sound on your lap. But that is not why you have one. Still, with a little diligence and a few accessories you can make your laptop work for you as a desktop.

The Social Contract and Its Impact on American Politics

The Social Contract and Its Impact on American Politics The term social contract refers to the idea that the state exists only to serve the will of the people, who are the source of all political power enjoyed by the state. The people can choose to give or withhold this power.  The idea of the social contract is one of the foundations of the American political system. Origin of the Term The term social contract can be found as far back as the writings of the 4th-5th century BCE Greek philosopher Plato. However, it was English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) who expanded on the idea when he wrote Leviathan,  his philosophical response to the English Civil War. In the book, he wrote that in early human history there was no government. Instead, those who were the strongest could take control and use their power over others at any time. His famous summation of life in nature (before government) is that it was nasty, brutish, and short. Hobbes theory was that in the past, the people mutually agreed to create a state, giving it only enough power to provide protection of their well-being. However, in Hobbes theory, once the power was given to the state, the people then relinquished any right to that power. In effect, the loss of rights was the price of the protection they sought. Rousseau and Locke The Swiss philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) and English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) each took the social contract theory one step further. In 1762, Rousseau wrote The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right, in which he explained that government is based on the idea of popular sovereignty. The essence of this idea is that the will of the people as a whole gives power and direction to the state. John Locke based many of his political writings on the idea of the social contract. He stressed the role of the individual and the idea that in a state of nature, people are essentially free. When Locke referred to the state of nature, he meant that people have a natural state of independence, and they should be free to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature. Locke argued that people are thus not royal subjects, but in order to secure their property rights, people willingly give over their right to a central authority to judge whether a person is going against the laws of nature and needed to be punished. The type of government is less important to Locke (except for absolute despotism): Monarchy, aristocracy, and republic are all acceptable forms of government as long as that government provides and protects the basic rights of life, liberty, and property to the people. Locke further argued that if a government no longer protects each individuals right, then revolution is not just a right but an obligation. Impact on the Founding Fathers The idea of the social contract had a huge impact on the American Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) and James Madison (1751–1836). The U.S. Constitution starts with the three words, We the people..., embodying this idea of popular sovereignty in the very beginning of this key document. Following from this principle, a government established by the free choice of its people is required to serve the people, who in the end have  sovereignty, or supreme power, to keep or overthrow that government. Jefferson and John Adams (1735–1826), often political rivals, agreed in principle but disagreed about whether a strong central government (Adams and the federalists) or a weak one (Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans) sufficed best for supporting the social contract. Social Contract for Everyone As with many philosophical ideas behind the political theory, the social contract has inspired various forms and interpretations and has been evoked by many different groups throughout American history. Revolutionary-era Americans favored social contract theory over the British Tory concepts of patriarchal government and looked to the social contract as support for the rebellion. During the antebellum and Civil War periods, social contract theory was used by all sides. Slaveholders used it to support states rights and succession, Whig party moderates upheld the social contract as a symbol of continuity in government, and abolitionists found support in Lockes theories of natural rights. More recently, historians also have linked social contract theories to pivotal social movements such as those for Native American rights, civil rights, immigration reform, and womens rights.  Ã‚   Sources and Further Reading Dienstag, Joshua Foa. Between History and Nature: Social Contract Theory in Locke and the Founders. The Journal of Politics 58.4 (1996): 985–1009.Hulliung, Mark. The Social Contract in America: From the Revolution to the Present Age. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2007.  Lewis, H.D. Plato and the Social Contract. Mind 48.189 (1939): 78–81.  Riley, Patrick. Social Contract Theory and its Critics. Goldie, Mark and Robert Worker (eds.), The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought, Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 347–375.White, Stuart. Review Article: Social Rights and Social Contract- Political Theory and the New Welfare Politics. British Journal of Political Science 30.3 (2000): 507–32.

Summary of an article , Standing alone in mecca, by asra q.nomani Essay

Summary of an article , Standing alone in mecca, by asra q.nomani - Essay Example The sense of emancipation and the exploring the actual sense of Islam is vigorous. The paper discusses her experiences and highlights the difference between the written facts in the holy book of Islam i.e. Quran and the harsh realityThe name of Asra Q. Nomani bears particular significance within the feminist struggle and emancipation of woman’s right especially in the Muslim world of today. Born in Bombay, India and brought up in West Virginia, America an outright liberal journalist and a former Wall Street Journal reporter, Nomani tries to find out the atrocities attached with the Muslims in the Western world and blames that it is due to unscrupulous activities of some extremists of her own religion that have attached the notion of violence and terrorism with the Muslim religion as a whole and still makes a major section of the Muslim women , a piece of subordination to the male society. In her desperate creation of the book, â€Å"Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggl e for the Soul of Islam" reveals her bitter experiences about the pilgrimage to Mecca and exhibits her utmost efforts in reclaiming the right of the Muslim women in the 21st Century (Nomani, 2012). ... According to the sharia law of Pakistan, two women were regarded as witness. At this instance she states that, â€Å"Neither relenting nor opposing the edict, I had my grandmother and my aunt serve as one witness† (Nomani, 2005, p. 195).In her locality in America she also experienced the stereotypes of her religion. One of the converts in the newly opened mosque organized private swimming for the Muslim women on Sunday nights in an indoor pool taping the newspapers to the windows. But the puritanical gossipmongers sliced her efforts. There was also an organization of an entertainment with an innocent four person ride at the Valley’s Worlds of Fun but it was protested by the Protestants as â€Å"Rock and Roll Cage† (Nomani, 2005, p.196) as they thought that it would be promoting improper western dance. Thus it can be said that in America her experience of treatment with the Muslim women were quite harsh. Adversities faced in the trip In the initial phase of the tr ip, she receives permission in making the trip but faces criticisms in going to Saudi Arabia as she was an unwed mother. Nomani became pregnant when was in Pakistan and decided in raising the child with her parents in West Virginia. Ultimately she got the sponsor from her father and family members. Even at the pilgrimage in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem she did not received proper welcome from the people. As for instance, the board president who was an Egyptian American with PhD degree yelled at her stating that, â€Å"Sister, take the back entrance!† (Nomani, 2005, p.197). The tone was not all good and she experienced this same behavior from the men and women in Mecca as well as in Jerusalem. The man didn’t even greeted her with