Living in love

A feeling of overwhelming gratitude to Swami and a sense of oneness with Him washed over me and warmed me to the core. Somehow those words brought home to me Just how much LOVE Swami has brought into my life, transforming my outlook and my interaction with others to such an extent that In some tiny way, people are starting to see Him In me. † Be about My Work, My Beloved Backchat. Your breath will carry the scent of the blossoms of Heaven.Your example will be that of Angels. Your joy will be My Joy. † (Buchanan Sir Asthma SAA Babe) What a breathtaking promise!! It is spectacular but true. As Swami's physical body seems to become smaller and more distant day by day, there is a corresponding exponential growth in His spiritual presence felt in the people around us, be they labeled or unlabelled Sal devotees. More and more we are glimpsing the Divine in the thoughts, words and deeds of those around us.People everywhere seem to be yearning for something more in their lives th an material success, it is as If they are Just walling for the opportunity to serve others and will respond to the call In hordes. Many are not even walling for the opportunity, they are creating their own service projects with a selflessness and zeal which just has SAA written all over it, even if they o not know His physical form.In the same South African newspapers which report unthinkable crime and corruption, we find creeping in regular stories of ‘ordinary people with hearts of gold, reaching out to the orphans, the sick, and the poor masses. The experience at work that I have related above is not unique. I am certain that each and every person on this earth has had or will have at some point, this humbling moment when you have done a small service to someone and yet feel as If you have received a million times more than you gave.That Is the LOVE principle – It has no measure! I am feeling the magic of Swami's Love working in my life more and more each day. Brothe rs and sisters whom I thank for giving me the challenges I need to refine my character. There are no more tragedies, only life experiences which are exactly what I need at that moment. There are no more wrong people, only fellow souls on a journey of discovery. I feel a kinship growing with everyone around me, they are becoming clones of me in different disguises but each with a core of LOVE.How can I ate or despise myself; how can I not give myself a second chance; how can I not accept myself for who they are; how can I not give myself the benefit of the doubt; how can I not appreciate the good in myself; how can I grudge myself the little bit of love they crave; how can I not spare myself a kind thought, word or deed; how can I not reach out to myself when they are in pain and suffering. The feeling that all are myself is guiding me so that more and more I find myself walking in love, talking with love, living in LOVE.

Obesity speech

Overweight and obesity cause the development of diabetes, and contribute to high blood pressure, Infertility, birth complications and amplify asthma and a poor health status. This Is very serious and It has to be taken way more serious by the people living here. Obesity Is largely preventable through changes In lifestyle, especially diet or daily exercise. There are many diseases that are so hard to cure, so why is it that, when we actually have a disease that you can cure yourself, we don't do anything about it?By some changes in your lifestyles, you could actually get a lot healthier than you were before. I am not saying that it is easy. I know that it can be hard to turn things around especially if it's become a habit to eat unhealthy and by eating unhealthy you don't get energy, and that is also a reason why many don't exercise as much as they should do. Younger people have largely grown up in a world, where a greater variety of food than ever before has become available and at a relatively low cost, and so are more prone to develop obesity at a younger age.Obesity is a major cause of death and 1 out of 3 adults and 1 out of 6 children is obese. Obesity costs the US, almost 150 million dollars a year, where almost 10 % of he national medical budgets. The way you eat has changed over the last 50 years. A lot more food is available than before and opportunities for physical activities are lacking. It is a known fact that physical activity improves overall health. Not only does it improve circulation, increase blood flow to the brain, and raise endorphin levels, which all helps to reduce stress, improve mood and attitude, and calm children.Physically active students also achieve more in school, they are less likely to miss school and participate more in class. Michelle Obama speaks about obesity In her beech and tells that because of the support of huge American businesses, Like Disney and Walter etc. Now more than half a million In undeserved communities now have the access to fresh, healthy food. Military leaders are serving healthier menus and products. Nearly two and a half million kids have enrolled In recreational sport classes.And they launched Let's Move Active schools, an unprecedented effort to Invest more than $70 million to promote actively and bring physical education back to your schools. So something Is done, yes. But could more be done? Walt for audience response I think – yes! Guys! I know that I may not Influence you to do something about It, but I may as well try, because this is serious. After I told you all these consequences, it must do outside the restaurant is looking so tasty and the candy in the candy stores can be so tempting, and its okay to eat it once in a while, but it can't be an everyday food or an everyday habit.That's Just too unhealthy for your body and health. I know that it tastes so good when you're eating it, but how do you feel about yourself when you finished the meal? Do you feel good or do you feel insecure about your body? Wait for audience response I can tell you, that I sure don't feel especially good after an unhealthy meal like that. So you got to ask yourself – Is this worth it? Do I want to be healthy? Do I want to be fit? Do I want to look good?I'm not saying that it's wrong to have curves, it isn't at all. But it's wrong, when it's dangerous for your own life. You are the young generation. You can still do something about this and with one step at a time it will help. Even if it's baby steps, you still got to try. I know that after an exhausting day at school it is very tempting to lie down in the bed and watch television, go on your ‘phone and hat with your friends on backbone, go on Mainstream and post a picture, whatever you like to do.

SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT INCLUSION Research Paper

SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT INCLUSION - Research Paper Example hat which makes one breathe, or to that in life worth breathing for. Spirituality is interpreted variously, depending on concerns, expectations, and experiences. For many, the spiritual domain is equated with a specific religious tradition or practice; for some, spirituality is a private experience of connection to some unifying and universal presence; and for others, it is tantamount to a profound sentiment of peace and contentment. For some they are uncomfortable with the parlance of spirituality (faith, belief, soul, God). Soet and Martin (2007) report that spirituality has received increasing attention as an area to be considered in counseling and college student development. But little has been written about specific interventions to address college students' spiritual needs.† (Strange, 2001 p.58) 3 In â€Å"Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously: Spiritual Politics on America's Sacred,† Barbara A. ... one poll, are not part of any religious tradition at all." (McGraw & Formicola, 2005, p.ix) 3 In 2002, the UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute initiated a main, multi-year program of research to study the spiritual development of undergraduate students during the college years. The Astin, Astin, & Lindholm study (2010) was intended to increase the understanding of how college students consider the spirituality, the role it plays in their lives, and how colleges and universities can be more effective in facilitating students’ spiritual development. (Astin, et al., 2010, p.1) Among the primary research questions were: 4 â€Å"What role does spirituality play in the lives of today’s college students?† 4 â€Å"How do students’ spiritual qualities change during the college years?† 4 â€Å"What are institutions doing that aids or inhibits students in their spiritual quest?† (Astin, et al., 2010, p.1) 4 According to the Spirituality we bsite of the UCLA, the school found that students showed the maximum degree of growth in the five spiritual qualities if they are enthusiastically engaged in â€Å"inner work† through self-reflection, observation, or contemplation. Students also showed significant increases in interest in the spiritual quest when their faculty practiced inclusionary policies. 4 â€Å"Religious Engagement, an ‘external’ measure which represents the behavioral equivalent to Religious Commitment, includes behaviors such as presence religious services, praying, religious singing/chanting, and reading sacred books. Attendance at religious services shows a sharp down turn during college, while other forms of engagement show alike but slighter declines. Over the third of the students (39%) attend services less repeatedly in university than they did in high

Health and Wellbeing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health and Wellbeing - Essay Example The main problem is that the impact of stress on performance and lifestyle is perhaps greater now than at any time in history. Modern society lives in an increasingly complex, high-technology world in which the potential for catastrophic error has greatly increased. Knowledge of stresses-related issues plays a crucial role in medial practice, and influences healthcare programs and methods, quality of the decisions made by health and social care professionals. Stress is defined as "relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing ... and endangering his or her well-being" (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 19 cited Fletcher et al 2006, p. 92). For healthcare professionals, it is difficult enough to make decisions in operational settings where the stakes are high and data are ambiguous. Whether the stressors are time constraints, noise, workload, or threat, they can play havoc with the clear thinking needed in these settings. In life of patients, they can degrade the quality of judgments, prevent the use of rational decision strategies, and severely compromise performance; at least, that is a popular appraisal of stressors. Decision makers are adaptive in their reactions to stressors. The decision strategies used in the presence of stressors may be simpler, but they are rational and make powerful use of experience. Health Health and social care professionals should understand internal and external factors that influence the individual and his emotional and psychological reaction to these factors. Stress reactions are controlled by self-regulative processing constructs, including the stable knowledge structures that support self-beliefs and motivations, processing routines for self-monitoring and self-evaluation, 'metacognitive beliefs' about the utility of emotion-focused coping, and coping skills (Fletcher et al 2006). Self-regulation is organized at three levels: a lower, automatic level that generates intrusive thoughts, an executive level that regulates coping, and schema-like self-knowledge in long-term memory. Knowledge gives freedom and guarantees complete control over the programs and methods, ways of treatment and improvements in healthcare plans. A focus on a single health behavior does not adequately represent the complexity of behavioral effects on health (Cribb and Duncan 2002). Strategie s such as decision analysis using subjective expected utility judgments and multiattribute utility analyses are best suited for cases in which there is less time pressure, more carefully collected data, multiple stakeholders, or generally lower levels of experience. The strategies are termed compensatory strategies, because they are designed to compensate for a small weakness on one or two attributes or evaluation dimensions if an option shows major strengths on other evaluation dimensions (Gandee et al 1998). For health and social care professionals, there are a variety of sources of information that can be used to derive a model of human performance under stress: accident analysis, incident analysis, operator protocols and lifestyle (Fletcher et al 2006). Transactional stress processes may generate both direct and indirect effects on performance, mediated by coping and self-regulative processes. Direct effects follow from task-related coping efforts, such as voluntary decisions to adopt a risky speed-accuracy trade-off, to prioritize one of two

Leadership and Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership and Strategic Management - Essay Example Organized management and actions have existed for centauries. Management has undergone, in the past several years more so in the last centaury, methodical investigation, acceptance as a formal discipline of study and attained a common body of knowledge (Robbins & Coulter, 2005). Among the early contributors to contemporary management practices are Henry Fayol and Max Weber who are credited for developing general administrative theories. Their works centered on managers’ roles and what comprised good management practice (Robbins & Coulter, 2005). Current concepts about a managers’ role have evolved from Henry Fayol’s fourteen principals of management. Max Weber’s bureaucracy model was aimed at removing inefficiencies, patronage and ambiguity that characterized most businesses. Most components of his bureaucracy model are still inherent in big organizations to date. The universal point of ideas offered by Fayol, Weber and Taylor were majored on increased eff iciency. Thus the application of scientific management principles resulted in increased productivity of managers and the organizations as a whole (Jones & George, 2011). Leadership has been proven to have a direct cause and effect connection on organizations and their eventual success. Thus leaders have been tasked with shaping organizational strategies including its execution and efficiency (Northouse, 2007). Leaders therefore determine the culture, values, employee motivation and change tolerance within their institutions. With the on set of financial crisis, businesses have attracted keen analysis from shareholders and the general public. This has reinforced the concept of strategic management and a review of current leadership styles. Strategic management, popularized in the 1980s, is a term that covers business-wide strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation (Sadler, 2003). This usually is dependent on the leadership of an enterprise. The concept of strategic management has become important to the success or failure of enterprises, more so now that business environment require quick analysis, monitoring and precise interpretations of th eir surroundings. Though, it must be noted that not all enterprises that embrace this concept are safe from failures. One of the major reasons for failures in strategic management is poor direction from management and poor planning that strategic management is widely believed to have evolved from (Sadler, 2003). While implementing strategic management, leaders will usually be faced with the problem of change management. Change management is the planned approach to transitioning organizations from present state to a desired future state (Jones & George, 2011). Its aim is to help employees embrace and accept change in their present business environment. There are a number of beneficial reasons why an organization leadership will want to adopt change management. These include; increasing efficiency, increasing cohesiveness among employees so as to deliver objectives in a strong team, and also helps to gain a good understanding of what type of change is impending. This will usually help in smooth change transition more so touching on

Disaster recovery plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disaster recovery plan - Essay Example I have a detention center that sits on 4.5 acres of area. It’s composed of approximately 196,000 sq. feet of space, comprised of laboratories, faculty offices, administrative offices, auditoriums, classrooms, gymnasium, cafeteria and housing. All of the buildings on campus are constructed with steel frames and supported by concrete spread footing as per the uniform building codes of the State of Virginia. All basement walls are reinforced concrete and are protected by waterproofing through out. To begin with a few observations are necessary. The construction in this space are all up to code and well-built. That sort of standardization makes coming up with a place much easier. Second, the size of the area is not especially large, but it bigger than an ordinary small business. That must be taken into account. The first step to take is a Risk Analysis. What kind of risks are these operations subject to? Can they be anticipated? How serious are they? Can their impact be minimized? Virginia is not known to suffer from a lot of earthquakes or natural disasters. The most likely disaster are fires and major storms. The more serious of these—a fire—can be effectively anticipated by a serious sprinkler system and well-trained security personnel. The operations do not take place on the edge of a cliff or near a large body of water so many potential risks are therefore averted. Next it is important to look at the budget for any such plan. How much are you willing to spend. In order to protect from a fire it might be a good idea to make all walls fire retardant—that, however, would be prohibitively expensive. There is only so much money in the world. Still, it is important to remember than an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Look for effective and efficient way of reducing risk, with an eye to your pocketbook. No plan should be more than five per cent of operating costs. It is possible to become too paranoid about these sorts of things. Once

Animal Experimentation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Animal Experimentation - Research Paper Example As a result, The use of animals in scientific experiments increased dramatically especially after the discovery of anesthetics in mid-nineteenth century; the number of non-human animals used in scientific investigations in UK alone increased from one million per year in early nineteenth century to exceed five millions per year in the 1970s. This huge increase in the use of animals for research purposes was paralleled with an increase in the resistance and oppositions to animal testing. The animal testing controversy involves three sides; a group that is in favor of using animals for medical research debating that human superiority to animals justifies the use of animals in experiments. On the other hand, there is group of people who opposes the use of animals in experiments for ethical concerns. Obviously, both of these two sides are extreme; we cannot allow animals to suffer just based on the proponent’s claim nor can we stop animal tests due to the fact that it would stop hu mans from advancing in medical fields. This controversy resulted in new laws and regulations such as, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) that limits the number of animals that should be tested and the level of pain an animal can endure. Although, of course, experimenting on animals should be regulated, discontinuing this practice must never happen since it would negatively impact the advancement in the medical fields which will affect both humans’ race and non-human animals. The anti- animal testing movement argues that animals have the same rights as humans and therefore we should not be carrying out experiments on them. Tom Regan, a professor at the North Carolina University, argues that animals have similar emotions to our emotional beings, and considering them inferior species is similar to racism. According to Charles Darwin, best known as the father of evolution, humans are different from other species in â€Å"degree† not in â€Å"kind†. Thus Regan believes tha t â€Å"speciesism† which points to the view that the specie that we belong to is superior to other species is the same as racism and sexism. Furthermore, the response that we would get if we ask ourselves what gives us the right to carry experiments on animal for our benefits would be that we humans are more intelligent than other animals. But what about the case of infants or some mentally disabled patients, wouldn’t there be some animals that are more intelligent in comparison to these two examples? So, animals that are less intelligent than humans shall not be tested for human benefits unless we are ready to scarify some of our specie members. Similar to the philosophy of human rights which state that all people should be treated equally, animal rights as well demand that all animals should be equally treated, which prevent the harm of individuals to benefits other(). Humans as well as other animals experience life, and their rights to live and treated equally shou ld not be ignored. Why should animals be the victims of enduring harmful and procedural experiments that would yield benefits that are mostly useful for humans? The answer to this question is the fact there is not many alternative, and only animals are qualified for carrying out medical experiments. The limitation of sources to gain essential information is the reason why animals are used in experiments; there are no computers

Answer the Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer the Questions - Assignment Example Random error occurs within the experiment itself. Bias is systematic errors in an epidemiologic study that brings an incorrect estimate of the connection between exposures and outcomes. Bias can be divided into categories that is the selection, and information bias. Selection bias occurs when selection into a study gives results that are different from what is expected if the entire population was involved (McDaniel and Roger, Pp 15). If an individual involves the whole population and collects accurate data, then an individual could compute the correct association. If sampling is not represented by outcome distribution of the whole population, the measures of connection will be biased. A typical example is a jar filled with marbles of 500 red and 500 blue that are mixed randomly. If a person pulls out 50 at random, he is likely to get 25 red and 25 blue. It is also possible to get 27 red and 23 or 29 blue and 21 red. An individual can also get 40 red or 10 blue, which is highly unlikely because each is likely to be proportioned (McDaniel and Roger, Pp 35). This is a form of random error. Systematic error might occur when the blue marbles are near the top, and the reds are at the bottom. When an individual pulls from the top, he is likely to get 37 blues and 13 red because an individual is not getting a sample that represent the whole jar. Behaviour targeting is the act of targeting users based on their behaviour of using the internet. This behaviour is used to target online ads, but the techniques can also be used to target products. Behavioural targeting is used to target the people that matter most. Behaviour targeting only needs to give the audience the right information and the message they need. It divides users according to the content they watch on the sites (McDaniel and Roger, Pp 56). They are also targeted with a message that is appropriate to that segment. Behaviour targeting is deployed in two ways, which are on-site and network targeting.

Motivators For Tourist Trips To Different Destinations Essay

Motivators For Tourist Trips To Different Destinations - Essay Example Both outbound and inbound tourism have had a stable growth in tourists. The type and state of weather and climate are a major influence of tourist destinations. The state of the atmosphere in a given place at a particular time describes weather while climate is the prevailing condition of the atmosphere determined after a long period of surveillance(Avraham&Ketter, 2008).The travel and tourism industry has been a major contributor to the economy for a long period. Both outbound and inbound tourism have had a stable growth in tourists. The type and state of weather and climate are a major influence of tourist destinations. The state of the atmosphere in a given place at a particular time describes weather while climate is the prevailing condition of the atmosphere determined after a long period of surveillance(Avraham&Ketter, 2008).Climate is one of the elements of geography that constitute geographical space, contributing to the environmental conditions that encourage or hinder touri sm. People seek to settle in areas that offer the highest comfort and chances of existence in terms of climate. Following this fact, the climate is considered to delimit optimal zones for tourism both at a regional and global scale. For instance, the warm temperate zones are considered optimal for beach and sun tourism.Where tourism uses geographical space, it is because there is specific components which depending on how they are appreciated socially, can be exploited and subsequently assimilated into tourism as a good or service.

Ibn Battuta in China Essay Example for Free

Ibn Battuta in China Essay At a time when most men cover distance astride a traveling animal, 75,000 miles of travel in a span of 30 years is an amazing achievement. When asked to name this historical individual who covered such great distance during the medieval period, most will likely point a credit to Marco Polo who is the well-known traveler of his time in Hakooki. com. But somehow, another person who has traveled longer and earlier than Marco Polo has actually covered this distance and visited 44 countries throughout the world. Ibn Battuta’s travels have almost been delegated into the oblivion if the world continued seeing history through the western view. Marco Polo, being European is far known than Ibn Battuta. Even his visit to China is virtually unknown in comparison to similar books of travel written by Marco Polo despite the fact that even to this day there remains lingering, unresolved questions as to whether or not Marco Polo truly visited China. However, if the myth sounds interesting enough, it will eventually be reported as fact. In the case of Marco Polo, the man has become a mythical folk hero and when a person ascends to such lofty heights in the public’s eye, criticism, scrutiny and a healthy dose of reality will usually fall by the wayside. Marco Polo’s travels will still remain famous regardless of the controversy that surrounds his journeys and the equally lengthy debate among scholars. It will be the goal of this essay to shift scholarly and historical directions and seek to shed light on the subject by comparing Ibn Battuta to Marco Polo’s travel in China. It is not uncommon for influential people from history to be seemingly erased from the documented chronology. In the United States, history is chronicled from a western perspective with Western Europe being presented as the epicenter of the world. As such, individuals from other cultures and parts of the world are often viewed in a peripheral manner and not provided with the same depth of historical coverage. Marco Polo was a hero whose birth origins are in the Western World. Because of this, his feats are given great credibility of honor in text. In the case of Battuta, a Moroccan by descent, his achievements will not be glossed over despite spending 17 years in China in comparison to Marco Polo’s travel which could have distinguished itself in many areas such as extent of land and historicity. In order to understand the work of Ibn Battuta, one must examine his early biographical years to as to put his life’s work into a certain context. Muhammed ibn Abdullah ibn Battuta or Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco in a Muslim family in 1304 and started his travels when he was 20 years old and lasted almost 30 years of his life according to Dunn (2004, 14). Battuta according to Francis in consequence belongs to the religious upper class of the Mohammedan community and received usual religious and scholastic education from theologians (1997:2). His travels started in 1325 when Ibn went on a pilgrimage to Mecca that continued on until he had covered 75,000 miles in Kegan (1929:1). He had stopped on most Muslim cities along his route and paid homage to holy sites in Damascus, Syria, Hebron, Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the face of many obstacles he met along the way as related in Monteil (1930:30).

Gifted Students In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia Education Essay

Gifted Students In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia Education Essay Introduction Making proper stipulation for gifted students is significant for the development and growth of ones society. They are considered as valuable future resources. In the year 1998, the interest in supporting gifted children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia grew. They have established programmes in which they were able to identify gifted children. The General Administration for Gifted Students (GAGS) was established in Saudi Arabias Ministry of Education in the year 2000. (Bondagjy, 2000). There has been not enough research and development in the field of introduction of gifted children in Saudi Arabia. According to Al-Ghamdi, 2007, there are very few programmes for gifted students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was run by the Ministry of Education. The programmes that do exist are new and in need of evaluation and further development in order to provide maximum benefit for gifted students. The Saudi Arabian government believe that the gifts and talents of the young people in the country are nurtured. At the present time, in Saudi Arabia, gifted students who have special characteristics or abilities qualify for provision at the highest levels of services. Since 1999, the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a strong interest in its gifted students by putting in place programmes that are developed specifically for these students; however, these programmes are rare and new. Therefore I feel it is necessary to carry out an in-depth study of the present state of gifted education, find out what is available and identify the strengths and weaknesses of what is being offered. Objectives of the study From the outset, it is acknowledged that the concept of giftedness and its identification is highly complex. As Gubbins (2002) points out, people all over the world are still asking questions about how we assess and nurture peoples abilities. Whilst there are centres around the world focusing on research and development on gifted education, there are also experts (Borland, 2005) who question the whole concept of identification of gifted students and recommend that what is needed is gifted education without labelling a group as gifted. Borland, however, states that there is agreement amongst experts that high achieving or high-ability students are among those who are the most ill-served when curriculum and instruction are not differentiated.This study aims to make a contribution to the on-going debate in aspects of gifted education. It also hopes to add to the research literature by studying the nature of gifted education in Saudi Arabia, which has a different cultural social and educ ational background to many other countries where gifted programmes exist. More specifically, the aims of this study are: to explore the effectiveness and any possible weaknesses of gifted programmes in Saudi Arabia, by seeking the perspectives of all parties involved; to draw conclusions about the Saudi programmes and make recommendations based on the data collected; to make suggestions based on what is known about gifted programmes in other countries. As previously stated, the study also aims to provide an overview of international literature on gifted education by reviewing gifted education programmes and the range of methods used in other countries. The research questions Based on the aims articulated in the previous section, the following specific research questions have been formulated: How does the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia define gifted students? How does the Ministry identify and support gifted students? What is the nature of programmes for gifted students in the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? How effective are these programmes in terms of making provision in terms of the educational methods and resources for gifted students? In 1969 the Saudi cabinet first recognized the necessity of identifying gifted students -Nafea et all (1992), but no actual steps had been taken for action. Between the years 1990 and 1996, King Abdul Azizs City of Science and Technology, with collaboration from the Ministry of Education and the General Presidency for Girls Education, produced a project for extensive national research. The project titled: identification and care for Gifted Students (Bondagjy, 2000) and consisted of three main aims: To design a programme for identification of gifted students. To design enrichment programme models for mathematics and science curriculum. To enlighten Saudi society about the importance of the identification of gifted pupils and provision for their educational needs. Regarding identification of gifted students, the project employs seven methods, which are: Teachers nomination High academic achievement High achievement in science High achievement in mathematics. IQ test Torrance test for creativity thinking Wechsler IQ test. In 1998, a project (identify and car programme for gifted students) designed for identifying gifted students in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was implemented by the Ministry of Education (Alwasruh, 2005). This programme consists of four units: Identification of gifted students. Care and enrichment programmes for gifted students. Training, planning and organization. Finance and administration services. This project was a very significant one in that it would serve the purpose of identifying and supporting gifted children of the kingdom. Therefore, it represents a landmark in the history of gifted education in Saudi Arabia. It provided the Ministry of Education with the opportunity to start special programmes for gifted students. Gifted Students Care Centres in Saudi Arabia: The gifted students Care Centres are establishments charged with the task of offering educational, social and psychological care for gifted students. Such centres are supervised by the General Administration for Gifted Students. The administration body which controls each of these centres includes a Centre Director, assistants, teachers, behavioural specialists, laboratory technicians, learning sources specialists and general support technicians. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the time of writing this thesis, has 31 Care Centres for boys and 20 for girls (MOE, web, 2007). Care Programmes for Gifted Students in the Schools of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The General Administration for Gifted Students emphasises that all students should be provided with equal opportunities, so that their abilities may be identified and their gifts and talents developed. In order to achieve this goal, the General Administration for Gifted Students provides a programme to train teachers so as to achieve this purpose. The teachers duties include the introduction of a complete gifted programme prepared by the General Administration for Gifted Students. These programmes start at the beginning of every school term. Among the responsibilities of the teacher is the use of modern methods which help to improve students skills of leadership, social and scientific research skills, as well as improving the parents knowledge about the importance of provision for gifted students. The duties of teachers also include the liaison between the various Care Centres of Gifted Students. The number of schools that have had benefited from this programme, between the years 2002 and 2004 was 264 boys schools and 97 girls schools (Alwasruh, 2005). Support for Gifted Education The Foundation provides funds and support to students in the six main centres for gifted education of the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia. These centres are located in Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif, Madinah, Dammam, and Al-Hassa. They work on identifying gifted children and providing them with enriched educational activity. They also assist in the teaching of the whole community about the nature of giftedness and about the role that talents and talented people will play in the future of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the Foundation is committed to providing training for all those who interact with the gifted children (KACFG, web, 2007). The KACFG is the first and the biggest foundation to support the education of the gifted and talented in the Saudi Arabia, as it supplies programmes and support with substantial funding. Literature Review This chapter provides a pervasive review of literature relevant to the identification of and provision for gifted students. The contents of this review constitute the basis for the empirical work and the subsequent analysis. It starts with an examination of a range of definitions and conceptions of giftedness. Theories and research relating to various aspects of gifted education are reviewed, accompanied by a critical analysis of various points of view on the complex and contested conceptions of giftedness which provide a theoretical framework for this study. In this section literature on methods of identification of gifted students is reviewed, which will be followed by a review literature on aspects of provision of educational opportunities that will extend and/or enrich the learning of the gifted students. It could be argued that using accurate methods of identification is critical in determining the nature of provision. For example, Gubbins (1995) believes that identifying gifted and talented students is not just about answering the question, who are they? but it must also address the question, how do we find them? and what do we do when we find them? The process of identification may differ from one programme to another. In some programmes, the only means used for identification is the use of standardized tests. In others, the standardized test is only one of the factors in the identification process and in addition to test scores, nominations and recommendations of teachers, parents, staff, and even self-nomination are used (Blackshear 1979; Denton and Postlehwaite, 1984; LPS 1995). ( check spelling of of Post..) Bondagjy (2000) believes that a single test to determine general ability may not be sufficient and that subject specific tests may need to be used: Standardized tests of intelligence offer a good base for staff to identify potential capability, including that of some pupils whose performance is otherwise undistinguished as poor. In a few schools the tests are used in isolation without reference to individual aptitudes in specific areas of the curriculum, either as a short cut for selecting pupils for special enrichment courses, or for determining the composition of teaching groups of. This is less useful than if combined with a subject-specific test. (Bondagjy, 2000, p.20) Standardised tests are used widely by the supporters of the theories of a one-dimensional view of ability, which go back to the first theories of intelligence, such as Spearmans theory ( date) mentioned in the previous section, which has been received with enthusiasm and also with scepticism and rejection. The arguments against this single-dimension view of ability (based on general intelligence that consists of areas that are highly correlated with each other and that are mainly intellectual and tested using IQ tests) led to the creation of multi-dimensional theories of ability, such as that of Renzulli, (1978) Gardner (1983,1993), Sternberg (2000) and others. The multi-faceted theories of giftedness are viewed by many to be more appropriate to define and identify high ability. These authors along with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, ( date ) and Benjamin Bloom (1985) have all made compelling arguments for a much broader conception of giftedness. Chongde Tsingan, (2003) describes the cont ribution to the more liberal conceptions of giftedness as: Many western theories of intelligence focus on its physiological or cognitive components. However, Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences (1983, 1993), Robert Sternbergs triarchic theory of intelligence (1985) and Stephen Cecis bioecological theory of intelligence (1996) are much broader in scope. They combine and extend aspects of the biological, hierarchical and contextual views of intelligence which include interactions between mental processes, contextual influences and multiple abilities. (p.) The following section provides greater detail of the specific models of identification of giftedness and associated views on high ability, which have informed the nature of data collection in the present study. Saudi Arabia has conducted research to find out the best approach to gifted education, but of course for females who are severely restricted in the subjects they are allowed to study, these moves are somewhat academic. An interesting survey of computer use in Arabic countries was made by a Jordanian, Subhi (1997). He recommended that gifted pupils records should be computerised for easier monitoring of their progress, and he has designed a programme to help this. The problem, he found though, is that although there are computers in Jordanian schools, there are very few of them and the teachers do not generally know how to use them. It looks as though most, if not all, Arab countries are willing to recognise and help the gifted, and several have made forays into out-of-school activities, but the overall outcome is still difficult to define. Some authors (such as Sternberg et al., 1986, Ziegler and Heller, 2000) believe that a consensus is yet to be reached on what is meant by the term (gifted), and yet multiple efforts have been made to establish criteria for this, which include components such as motivation, creativity, task commitment, and problem solving. However, personal talent is described by Renzulli (1999a, p.4) as exceptional ability to select and achieve difficult goals that fit ones interests, abilities and social contexts. In his view, personal talent is a capability developed in the field of self-management that is concentrated by the individual in the direction of selected outcomes that contain well-being, happiness, personal relationships, hobbies as well as career achievements. He proposes that personal talent can be referred to as a range where those in the centre of this continuum can be explained as personally competent, while those at the high end of the range can be categorized as personally talente d. On the other hand, Masten et al. (2002) argue that resilient individuals learn how to overcome obstacles in order to achieve their anticipated goals, and that this can be described as personal talent. Also, Bland et al. (1994) refer to specific characteristics of resilience as an indicator of exceptional abilities and talent regarding children from poor backgrounds. In this regard, Marker et al. (1996) propose that numerous of the principles of distinguishing curriculum for gifted and talented learners support the development of personal talent. They refer to learning environments that foster independence, flexibility and high mobility as being potentially more promising for fostering personal talents than the more traditional teacher-centred classrooms that concentrate on lectures with academic content. However, some researchers regret the fact that research on giftedness has been somewhat biased, having mainly concentrated on IQ-related abilities that address academic skills, and b y-passing or simply ignoring other basic skills such as vocational skills (Bals, 1999), practical intelligence in everyday life (Sternberg, 2000), and, most importantly, social skills (Persson, 1997). Motivation is another issue that has been the focus of research with regard to gifted children. According to Sternberg (2000), some theories depict motivation as an assisting internal factor in the expansion of giftedness. One of these theories is Gages dynamic theory of giftedness which depicts motivation, volition and self-management as interpersonal catalysts that help convert gifts into talents. However, these theories have failed to provide guidance in assisting youths of high ability to develop motivation. For this reason, some researchers (for example, Colangelo et al. 2000; Alrasheed, 2001) believe that talented students should be identified and given tasks at a higher level than the normal school curriculum. Renzulli (1999b) is of the opinion that gifted students should be pro ducers of knowledge rather than mere consumers of existing information. He believes that specific programmes and services for the talented and gifted are the only solution to allow them to live up to their potential. This idea is further supported by Reis et al (1995) who argues that it is not fair to make a gifted child sit in a classroom where learning something new will not happen until the second half of the year. Historical review of school counselling in the KSA Initially, in 1981, the Ministry of Education established the General Directorate of Guidance and Counselling. Since that time, guidance and counselling has become formalized and recognized as a profession, and counsellors have been appointed to deal with psychological, social, educational, and vocational problems and deliver protective counselling (Ministry of Education KSA, 1999). It should be mentioned here that the model for and practice of guidance and counselling in SaudiArabian schools was derived from western sources, mainly the United States. More than two decades have passed since the guidance and counselling programme was established in Saudi schools. Its development has progressed at a slow rate and, currently, it faces various problems. The major difficulty relates to the definition of the role and function of the school counsellor (Al-Gamdi, 1999) which is unclear to principals, teachers, parents, students and school counsellors themselves. Due to this problem, counsell ors have found themselves overly involved in paperwork and administrative tasks and duties not related to school counselling. Additionally, counsellors often complain about lack of support and cooperation from others involved in the counselling service, especially parents (Al-rebdi, 2000). In this situation, if school counsellors in Saudi Arabia are to provide better services for students, their role must be clearly defined. It is also necessary for those involved in counselling to have a clear view of what counsellors should and should not do. Added to this, counsellors must choose carefully how they spend their time and energy. As the role and functions of the school counsellors become clearer, they should be able to respond better to the needs of their students. Furthermore, in 1981, following decree number 216/k issued by the Ministry of Education, the Social Educational Administration was replaced by the Student Guidance and Counselling Service, and guidance and counselling in Saudi schools became formalised. That same year, the name was changed again to the General Administration for Guidance and Counselling (Ministry of Education, 1999). The responsibilities of this administration are as follows: 1- To plan, prepare and develop the programme and services of guidance and counselling. 2- To provide professional staff who are capable of delivering such services to all students at various stages of education. 3- To provide students with the appropriate care applicable to their ages and their psychological, educational and social needs. 4- To assist students to develop their capabilities, potentialities and talents, to allow them to face their problems and to help them feel comfortable with themselves and with the community in which they live. 5- To attain a high standard of mental health in a way that reflects the targets and goals sought by educational guidance in general (Ministry of Education, 1999). Saleh (1987) pointed out that, due to the immediate need for professionals to monitor and guide the counselling service in schools, the Ministry of Education sought personnel from among the existing social education supervisors to act as the supervisors; counselling and guidance programmes in addition to carrying out their normal duties. The Ministry of Education also sought personnel from within the existing teaching force, provided they had the relevant experience, to work temporarily as counsellors in schools. To meet the need for school counsellors in all schools, the General Administration for Guidance and Counselling allowed those with a Bachelors degree in psychology, social work or sociology to perform the role of the school counsellor until enough trained professional counsellors could be provided. In order to meet the need for trained full-time counsellors to work in schools, universities in Saudi Arabia were requested to offer guidance and counselling programmes at masters level. Statistical information for the year 2000 shows that there were 229 counselling supervisors and 3381 school counsellors overall (Ministry of Education, 2000). By 2003, the number of counsellors had increased rapidly toabout 4000(Al-Rebdi, 2004). The Ministry of Education (1999) defined the term counselling as the interactive process though which the counsellor assists the student to understand himself and recognise his capabilities and potentialities and gives him a more enlightened approach to his problems and how to face them. Counsellors also help students to enhance their responsible behaviour and to show conformity with their community. Counselling gifted students Landau (1990) noted that gifted students might become isolated and alienated. Moreover, Rogers (1983) pointed out that in an egalitarian system children not only lack the opportunity for confirmation and social acceptance, but they also often lack the freedom to learn. The need for confirmation and emotional support is well known in the literature which focuses on giftedness and talent (Csikszentmilalyi et al., 1993; Kelley, 1999; Stednitz, 1995). Donna (1999) suggests that teachers and counsellors need to encourage minority students to consider a teaching career in general and gifted student education in particular. Ford (1995) however, believes that from an historical point of view, the counselling of gifted students has not been an important part of educational and counselling discourse. He points out that misconceptions and stereotypes of gifted students as being immune to social, emotional, and academic problems have contributed to the lack of counselling for these students, and in cases where counselling is available it is only limited to academic, assessment and placement issues. According to Ford, the fact that more children are entering school with serious personal and academic problems should entail an expansion in the responsibilities and roles of counsellors to meet the needs of all children who seek guidance and assistance. But nonetheless according to Alrasheed, (2001) the limited availability of counselling services has failed to meet the enormous need for counselling services and research regarding gifted individuals. In this respect he endeavoured to provide counsellors, classroom teachers and educationalists as well as parents with advice regarding the understanding of the academic and social needs of gifted and talented students. Persson (2005) considers mentorship as a possible solution to aid the immediate psychological and intellectual needs of gifted individuals, particularly received mentorship. According to Person, mentorship could be direct or indirect by cooperating with the student to find a mentor of his choice, given the fact that not a ll gifted students would be likely to choose their counsellors to be their mentors. Person expresses the conviction that mentorship is the only viable counselling solution in an egalitarian context, which lacks recognition and particular provision for gifted individuals. Ford (1995) outlines the goal of counselling as that of promoting healthy self-concepts and ensuring psychological growth. Bearing that in mind, counsellors must have an awareness and understanding of the many issues that hinder gifted students and affect their psychological, social and emotional well-being. He recognises the role of counsellors in ensuring that such students remain in gifted programmes once identified and placed. Finally the concept of counselling needs to be defined within a context where it is not a task assigned merely to a particular group. Instead, as Brown et al. (1992) suggest the task has expanded from an initial concern with educational and vocational guidance to the remediation and prevention of personal, interpersonal, vocational and educational concerns. Consequently, according to Persson (2005), the aim of the intervention is for the individual to gain an understanding of self and context, in which case individual differences become a sensitive and even problematic issue, particularly in cases where gifted individuals are involved. Research Problem There have been few programmes for gifted students offered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Even though there has been programmes existing, it is new and is for further evaluation to be able to develop it more for the students. It has been believed that if there has been more developed programmes for gifted children then they will be more enhanced and so, benefiting the country. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have put up programmes for gifted students but is new and rare. There has been studies regarding the support of the authorities in the schools on how to support gifted students. The research questions Based on the aims articulated in the previous section, the following specific research questions have been formulated: How does the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia support gifted students? Does the authorities in the schools help in the development of the programmes? How do we determine the effectiveness of the programmes with the school counsellor, principal, and teachers help? Sub-questions Two sub-questions will also be explored: Do the teacher, student counsellor and principal who work with gifted students have special qualifications? What is the level and nature of the response of gifted students to these programmes? Research Design The design of the study is intended to determine: first, the relationship of the roles of student counsellor, teachers, and principals to the performance of the gifted students; second, the effectiveness of the programmes in developing the capacity of the gifted students. Instrumentation and Data Collection The researchers visited the [Insert name of University Library or City Library] for journals, articles and studies needed for the research paper. The researchers gathered time-series data from different physical training institutions to assure of its validity and consistency. The primary data will be gathered using quantitative method, as this is best useful with questionnaires. The use of quantitative method will be appropriate for the research because the results in the questionnaires consist of numerical information, mostly based from the ratings included in the questions. Quantitative methods are used to provide reference to numeric calculations and are often used with questionnaires that have a specific goal and a target to achieve. This is helpful in the research, and its instigation in the process needs to be further culminated so that the problem is solved with efficiency and precision. In gathering data, the researcher would like to clear certain ethical issues that might hinder the processing of data. First, confidentiality will be kept at all costs. As the main reason why questionnaires will be used in the research is for the respondents to feel secure and to be assured that their answers will not be related to who they are. There may be instances wherein the respondent will divulge information that will be detrimental to the company, or to its competitors, depending on the case. Hence, there is a better chance at more responsive respondents if they can be assured of their confidentiality. Second, the Data Protection Act will be followed at all costs. The compliance with the act will be transparently said to the respondents so that they are further assured that anything they say in response to the questions asked them will only be used for the benefit of the research and not in any other practices. It should also be clear to the researcher that any information regarding the respondents cannot be released to anyone who is not immediately connected with the research unless permission from the subject respondent has been secured beforehand. Third, the research must always bear in mind the objectives of the study and never stray away from them. A researcher who has no definite purpose in doing the research is going nowhere and is exerting effort in a research that is not delimited properly and punctually. The purpose of the research is explicitly stated at the beginning of the research and is implied in every step of the realization of the research so as to not delineate the researcher from his goals. Lastly, the researcher must opt to practice objectivity. As the researcher, he is expected to keep an open-minded approach to the topic, keeping from his mind and personal bias in the subject matter or on the people involved. The reason for doing research is to test existing information, validate, prove or disprove existing ideas, or to test the limits of a certain prospect. Given this simple definition, it is clearly seen that in no form is the personal opinions of the researcher expected to hinder in the subject. Any act that might be biased or subjective will hint of the researchs failure to achieve its goals. Planned Method of Analysis The researchers plan to analyze the different test conducted through constant evaluation of the gifted students and how they perform. There will be a weekly evaluation in terms of how the programmes and the role of the authorities, and the effect of it to their performance. The performance in the field will be evaluated by the gifted students progress and development. Conclusion This study adds to a growing body of literature that reinforces the importance of examining the programmes for gifted students adopted by the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for further development. There is no, to the researchers knowledge, research that investigates such programmes. This study is identified as being the first study at the level of a doctorate research project which evaluates the gifted programmes in the Ministry of Education from the point of view of the students, the schools and the workers in such programmes. The study further attempts to use the most effective methods of collecting information, which the researcher obtained data in the form of questionnaires, interviews, observation and documentation. The mixed methods employed in the research made it possible to triangulate both qualitative and quantitative research. Further to these methods, the study used the most popular electronic program (SPSS) to gather and analyse the data as well as to design the tables and diagrams. The study focuses on the research questions at every stage of the research, either theoretically or practically. The researcher also oversaw the validity and procedural aspects of the questionnaire through sitting with students and workers when they answered the questions in order to clarify any ambiguity and confusion on their behalf. In general, the results of the study agree with many of the theoretical studies mentioned in chapter two. Finally, this is a serious explorative study, which has

Caesar and Cleopatras Affair at the Expense of Calphurnia :: Caesar Cleopatra Papers

Caesar and Cleopatra's Affair at the Expense of Calphurnia Abstract In the trailer to his 1934 film "Cleopatra", Cecil B. DeMille confidently suggests that the romance between the Queen of Egypt and Julius Caesar is one of history's grandest love affairs. Perhaps this statement is in a way true, but when buying into the tradition of this romance many disreputable elements of the affair are often overlooked. One such component of the romance that if looked upon with a critical eye can serve to lessen the grandeur of the affair is the ill treatment of Caesar's wife Calphurnia. However, audiences and artists alike often have little problem ignoring the plight of Calphurnia, and Caesar and Cleopatra are rarely ever referred to as adulterous individuals. Neglecting to remember how Calpurnia was virtually thrown to the wayside in the midst of Caesar and Cleopatra's extra-marital relationship is possibly a way of lessening the guilt felt by those who choose to become surrounded by the supposed splendor of Caesar's love affair with the Egyptian Queen. Those who choose to proclaim the glory of Caesar and Cleopatra must be cautioned to remember Calphurnia's situation as an abandoned and insulted wife. If attention is given to faithful Calphurnia's desertion by Caesar and inferior treatment by Cleopatra, it becomes evident that Calphurnia is deserving of sympathy while Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship is not so grand and sophisticated as many wish to think. Faithful Calphurnia History tells us that Calphurnia invested twelve years of her life in wedlock to Caesar. Although a political marriage, Calphurnia treated Caesar with a caring attitude and loving attachment which legitimizes their relationship and for which she deserves respect. The most telling times of Calphurnia's faithfulness toward her husband is her care for his safety in the final days before his assassination, regardless of her being aware of Caesar's adultery. According to Arthur Kahn's historical narrative The Education of Julius Caesar, Caesar had grown "gaunt and haggard" as he lost the support of his colleagues in the Roman Senate. In his final days he often stared into space and spoke with little coherence. In his time of need Calphurnia glued herself to his bedside and although Caesar could not make conversation with anyone, Calphurnia listened attentively as he recited Homer's poems of Odysseus after he had returned home to Penelope.1 This narrative illustrates the luxury Julius' had to depend on his dedicated Roman wife in times of need. Caesar and Cleopatra's Affair at the Expense of Calphurnia :: Caesar Cleopatra Papers Caesar and Cleopatra's Affair at the Expense of Calphurnia Abstract In the trailer to his 1934 film "Cleopatra", Cecil B. DeMille confidently suggests that the romance between the Queen of Egypt and Julius Caesar is one of history's grandest love affairs. Perhaps this statement is in a way true, but when buying into the tradition of this romance many disreputable elements of the affair are often overlooked. One such component of the romance that if looked upon with a critical eye can serve to lessen the grandeur of the affair is the ill treatment of Caesar's wife Calphurnia. However, audiences and artists alike often have little problem ignoring the plight of Calphurnia, and Caesar and Cleopatra are rarely ever referred to as adulterous individuals. Neglecting to remember how Calpurnia was virtually thrown to the wayside in the midst of Caesar and Cleopatra's extra-marital relationship is possibly a way of lessening the guilt felt by those who choose to become surrounded by the supposed splendor of Caesar's love affair with the Egyptian Queen. Those who choose to proclaim the glory of Caesar and Cleopatra must be cautioned to remember Calphurnia's situation as an abandoned and insulted wife. If attention is given to faithful Calphurnia's desertion by Caesar and inferior treatment by Cleopatra, it becomes evident that Calphurnia is deserving of sympathy while Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship is not so grand and sophisticated as many wish to think. Faithful Calphurnia History tells us that Calphurnia invested twelve years of her life in wedlock to Caesar. Although a political marriage, Calphurnia treated Caesar with a caring attitude and loving attachment which legitimizes their relationship and for which she deserves respect. The most telling times of Calphurnia's faithfulness toward her husband is her care for his safety in the final days before his assassination, regardless of her being aware of Caesar's adultery. According to Arthur Kahn's historical narrative The Education of Julius Caesar, Caesar had grown "gaunt and haggard" as he lost the support of his colleagues in the Roman Senate. In his final days he often stared into space and spoke with little coherence. In his time of need Calphurnia glued herself to his bedside and although Caesar could not make conversation with anyone, Calphurnia listened attentively as he recited Homer's poems of Odysseus after he had returned home to Penelope.1 This narrative illustrates the luxury Julius' had to depend on his dedicated Roman wife in times of need.

Fathers and Sons in Hamlet Essay -- Shakespeare Hamlet

Fathers and Sons in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet's father, Old King Hamlet who he looked up to was recently killed, and his mother married his uncle within a month. He receives a visit from the ghost of his father which urges him to "revenge [Claudius'] foul and most unnatural murder" (I, v, 32) of Old Hamlet. It is only logical that under these circumstances, Hamlet would be under great duress, and it would not be abnormal for him to express grief. Fortnibra and Laertes also have to deal with the avenging their fathers' death. Fortinbras and Laertes are parallel characters to Hamlet, and they provide critical points on which to compare the actions and emotions of Hamlet throughout the play. They are also important in Hamlet, as they are imperative to the plot of the play and the final resolution. Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are three young men who are placed in similar circumstances, that is, to get revenge for their fathers' deaths. The way they each come to terms with their grief and how they rise to the call of vengeance is one of the main contrasts between the three. Hamlet is the Renaissance man who is well rounded in all areas. He has a tremendous acting abilities, and he is a scholar who analyzes everything and is very philosophical, as was shown in his assessment of life in the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy. Hamlet's philosophical side is also brought to light in the prayer scene. At this point he has the opportunity to kill Claudius while he is attempting to repent. However, Hamlet does not take that chance because he desires kill Claudius "when he is drunk asleep, or in his rage/ Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed," so that "his soul will be as damn'd and black/ As hell, wher... ...nalyzed and executed as he planned. Fortinbras ability to act upon reason and not emotion is one of the most significant differences he has with Hamlet. Hamlet and Laertes represent the extremes of action. Fortinbras therefore, is the midpoint of the two extremes; his ability to reason and the act upon the reason has resulted in his possession of both lands and throne as he set out to avenge. Works Cited Adelman, Janet. 1985. 'Male Bonding in Shakespeare's Comedies.' In Shakespeare's Rough Magic: Renaissance Essays in Honor of C.L. Barber, edited by Peter Erickson and Coppà ©lia Kahn. Cranbury and London: Associated University Presses, 73-103. Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.   Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. T. J. B. Spencer. New York: Penguin, 1996.   

Antony and Cleopatra and The Aeneid Essay -- Compare Contrast

There are two reasons why The Aeneid is associated with the Shakespearean play Antony and Cleopatra. First, The Aeneid was written by a Roman named Virgil who, among many other reasons, wrote it as a tribute for Augustus Caesar, the leader of the Roman Empire. Augustus Caesar was formally named Octavian and is a character in Shakespeare's play. Secondly, both The Aeneid and Antony and Cleopatra share a common theme of a patriotic, heroic man having to choose between duty to his country and the passionate love of a beautiful, foreign and strong queen. In The Aeneid, the lovers are Aeneas and Dido and Antony and Cleopatra are the lovers in Shakespeare's play. First, an overview of the books of The Aeneid in which Aeneas is with Dido is needed in order to fully understand the historical connection, and the thematic comparison to Antony and Cleopatra. "The Aeneid tells the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas's perilous flight from Troy to Italy following the Trojan War. In Italy, Aeneas's descendents are destined to found Rome" (Sparknotes). However, Aeneas does not go straight to Italy because having been blown off course by a storm, he makes a stop at Carthage and allows himself to stay there and fall in love with the leader of Carthage, Dido (Slavitt 103). Dido is a "Phoenician princess who fled her home and founded Carthage after her brother murdered her husband" (Sparknotes). While in Carthage, Aeneas recounts the story of the Trojan War. Impressed by Aeneas's adventures and sympathetic to his suffering, Dido falls in love with Aeneas. They live together as lovers for a period, until the gods remind Aeneas of his duty to found a new city. Upon this reminder from the Gods, Aeneas leaves Carthage and sets sail to Italy. Dido is deva... ... and the passionate love of a beautiful, foreign and strong queen. And, they are connected through the historical figure Augustus Caesar, for whom The Aeneid honors and Antony and Cleopatra portrays. Works Cited Bevington, David, ed. The Necessary Shakespeare. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005. â€Å"Great Lovers: Antony and Cleopatra.† ABC Radio National. 2005. 1 Nov 2006 . Rose, Mark, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Antony and Cleopatra. Eaglewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1977. Slavitt, David R. Virgil. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991. Sparknotes. 2006. 1 Nov 2006 . Toohey, Peter. Reading Epic: An Introduction to the Ancient Narratives. London: Routledge, 1992. Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. C. Day Lewis. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1953.

Different Sociological Approaches To Health Essay

There are many sociological approaches that explain health and ill health. In this assignment I will be focusing on Marxism, feminism, interactionaist and functionalism perspectives. The Marxist perspective believe that the bourgeoisie (middle class) exploit the proletariat (working class) as we live in a capitalist system and that if we lived in an communist society that would be our ideal society because there would be equality between everyone. In health and social care setting doctors and surgeons are the bourgeoisie who exploit the proletariat who are patients. In England patients are exploited by having to pay for prescriptions whereas Scotland and Ireland do not have to pay for their prescriptions. The prices for medication is also another way the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat as they set high prices for their products which enables them to make a large profit because there will always be a demand for medication and people need them to restore their health so they will b uy the product no matter how much it costs as it is such a necessity. Furthermore private health care only benefits the bourgeoisie as they are the only ones who can afford it, this gives them better access to health care for example if they need to seek emergency medical help they wouldn’t have to wait for a long time whereas the proletariat would have to normally wait a few hours before being seen by anyone at a normal emergency medical centre. Additionally each hospital spends a different amount of money on food for the patients at the hospital. Some hospitals spend very little money and others spend a large amount of money on the food for the patients for example one hospital could spend  £3.50 whereas on hospital could spend  £30. Food is a major factor to getting rid of an illness, as the nutrients in the food they consume help them to build up their full strength so in order to get better they need good nutrients which can only be provided by good quality food but not all hospitals spend a lot of money on food so they don’t buy good quality food. This is also another way in which the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat because mostly only the private hospitals which accommodate to the bourgeoisie provide good quality food. Feminists analyse the status in society between men and women with the purpose to better women’s lives. Feminists state that it is more likely  for women to become ill more often due to the triple shift (emotional, paid employment and domestic work) which can cause them to suffer from stress, anxiety and depression. One problem that might occur from this is that they could suffer from a skin disorder due to the stress; this can cause them to have a low esteem. The stress from the triple shift may lead to women taking large amounts of alcohol to cope with it. Some women may drink a few glasses of wine every night; this can lead to many problems such as addiction, liver damage and poisoning. Others could deal with the stress by over eating as a way of escaping their problems which then leads to multiple health problems like; obesity, heart conditions, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and breathing problems. Liberal feminists focus on the inequalities between men and women in the health care professions. They point out the lack of power women have in their health care professions. Marxists feminists say that healthcare ensures that capitalist societies have a healthy work force which therefore works to prolong capitalism. They also believe that healthcare helps with the reproduction of the next generation of workers through maternal care they provide with the workforce. Functionalists believe that there is a value consensus within society which is when everyone has an agreement of norms and values. Functionalists argue that a free healthcare system would eliminate the pressure of funding healthcare for the family, leaving it to focus on its key functions of primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personality. They also believe each institution has a positive impact for society and its individual members then their healthcare system must be positive. Parsons argue that all social actions can be understood if they have helped society to function effectively or not. The sick ro le disturbs society in the same way as crime does therefore illness can be seen as deviant. Biomedical model for health and illness states five features. Firstly they sate the disease is physical it concentrates on physical symptoms and not social and environmental factors however biomedical do not believe in mental illness ,depression and stress as they only look at physical signs of illness. Only medical professionals can treat the patient, this would be a problem to the mind causing the physical illness and the sufferer only being treated for the physical symptoms. Furthermore the body can be repaired with drugs and surgery but not all medicine is needed to cure the body, also other factors  that can help to recover from an illness e.g. eating disorders which is not cured by medicine but is a mental recovery and accepting and talking about the problem. Also illness is temporary and illness can be cured by the elite however illness like cancer may not be temporary and the drugs used may not help which means the cancer patient will have to leave their job depending on how long they have cancer. Lastly biomedical state that treatment is special and when treatments takes place it is different from the environment where the patient got ill however sometimes people get ill in the hospital when visiting because of the environment however weakness of biomedical model are reductionist because disease is reduced to biological causes without look at social and psychological factors, moreover it underestimates the link between social structure and diseases. However the social model states that it is someone choice whether they see themselves as ill or not. But it doesn’t look at how society would look if someone took the day off for a sore throat because they could still function at work so people do not have a choice to be off. This also links to health and disease is a social construction which is where people are segregated on different factors such as race, ethnicity and gender. Also the social model states that a whole group of people will get ill and not the individual because they are more at risk as there are patterns of social class and ethnic inequalities in health. However the social model has been stated that it ignores the material factors that may affect a person’s mental health such as poverty.

The Women of the Aeneid

The Roman epic of Virgil's Aeneid describes the hardship and misadventures of Aeneas and the Trojans quest from Troy to Italy. Like Homer’s famous epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s narrative style and structure portrays similar attributes in the finding of Rome. Aeneas encounters several women on his journey who play a significant role throughout this epic in assisting or destroying his journey to Rome. His representation of female characters provides the readers with a better understanding of gender politics and reasons why some female leaders failed.Each of Virgil's female characters demonstrates a combination of traits throughout the epic; however, such behaviors of these women tend to develop unwanted conflict due to emotions. Like in every great story the female characters tend to have a enormous influence on the main character in both positive and negative ways. The first female that Virgil introduces is Dido, the queen of Carthage, in Book I of the Aeneid. V irgil provides evidence that Dido is a strong and powerful leader. â€Å"In her stride she seems the tallest, taller by a head than any At the door†¦Of the goddess' shrine, under the temple dome, All hedged about with guards on her high throne, She took her seat. â€Å". This statement illustrates just how supreme and crucial she is. Virgil portrays Dido with a goddess type of image. Not only did she rule Carthage with a strong hold, but she also provided fairness and equality. â€Å"Then she began to give them Judgments and rulings, to apportion work With fairness, or assign some tasks by lot†. This quote certainly demonstrates Dido’s type of rulership.Even though, she is commanding the people of Carthage to do their duties, which provides evidence that she is feared because the people do as she says without questioning her demands; she distributes the work evenly and fair throughout the citizens. Usually people would assume that the men go to the king for help or advice, but ironically, the men of Troy, leaded by Aeneas, were taken to Queen Dido for help. â€Å"When suddenly Aeneas saw approaching, Accompanied by a crowd, Antheus and Sergestus And brave Cloanthus,1 with a few companions†¦He was astounded, and Achates too Felt thrilled by joy and fear:† I feel as though Aeneas and his men did not know what to expect when they came forward to Queen Dido. They were nervous of what was going to happen. Until Dido laid eyes on Aeneas. In every great epic, love plays a key role in bringing people together but also destroying plenty in its way. Even though Dido is characterized as this powerful leader, she slowly starts to fall as her passion for Aeneas starts to grow.As Aeneas tells his story to all the people, Dido slowly starts falling more and more in love with Aeneas. Throughout this Book you slowly start to see the demise of Queen Dido. â€Å"Towers, half-built, rose no farther; men no longer trained in arms†¦ Projects w ere broken off, laid over, and the menacing huge walls with cranes unmoving stood against the sky†. Virgil provides images of how Carthage is being affected by the downfall of Queen Dido. Dido is so infatuated with love that she cannot see how she is running Carthage to the ground for the love of Aeneas.The goddess Juno, the queen of gods, saw this as an opportunity to keep Aeneas from reaching Italy. Dido even broke her vow of chastity and surrenders to her desires for Aeneas. â€Å"Dido had no further qualms as to impressions given and set abroad; She thought no longer of a secret love but called it marriage†. This statement demonstrates how she is becoming weak-minded. She is starting to trick her mind into making something that she knows is not moral in her eyes, into something that seems right. Only to find out that she will regret it in the end.When Mercury, the messenger god, reminds Aeneas that his destiny is not in Carthage and that he must leave for Italy imme diately, Aeneas is not too excited to leave Dido, but he knows he has to obey. Dido at first was furious and cursed Aeneas, â€Å"Midway at sea you’ll drink your punishment and call and call on Dido’s name!†¦ and when cold death has parted.. you will pay for this! †. As soon as Dido realizes that he is gone forever, her emotions transform from furious to depressed and lost. She decided to make an impulsive decision and goes to the extreme of commits suicide.The title for Book IV tells it all â€Å"The Passion of the Queen,†. Queen Dido was supposedly known for being this powerful, supreme, strong minded leader, but her passion for Aeneas turned her soft. She put her responsibilities before love and did not see that Aeneas did the complete opposite. He loved her but he knew what he had to do. I feel as though her importance in the epic was just a distraction for Aeneas to reach his goal. Book XI, Virgil presents another female character that holds pow er like Queen Dido. Camilla, the warrior queen of the Volscians, who just joined the Latins to provided assistance in the war with the Trojans.Camilla shows a lot of strong, composed, and leadership like qualities just like Dido in Book I. Vergil’s epic portrays Camilla’s true powers and strength, â€Å"Amid the carnage, like an Amazon, Camilla rode exultant, one breast bared for fighting ease, her quiver at her back, At times she flung slim javelins thick and fast, At times, tireless, caught up her two-edged axe†. Unlike Dido, Camilla is does not seek love or passion, she is aware of what her duties are and acknowledges that she has to complete such duties. Camilla remains powerful because she has no distractions.Before Aeneas came into Dido life, she had full control on Carthage and all her focus was placed on that; therefore, her land thrives under her leadership. However as soon as she encounters Aeneas, she becomes distracted and slowly starts to lose her c ommanding hand on Carthage. But no one is perfect. Camilla is given this pure and righteous image by Virgil until she also gets distracted. After slaughtering many opponents with her javelin and axes, Camilla’s eyes get caught onto this one Tuscan warrior named Arruns and was left dumbfounded. Camilla Began to track this man, her heart's desire Either to fit luxurious Trojan gear On a temple door, or else herself to flaunt That golden plunder Blindly, as a huntress, following him†¦ she rode on through a whole scattered squadron, recklessly, in a girl's love of finery†. As soon as Camilla laid eyes on this stunning man, her whole mindset changed. Arruns notices and takes advantage of the situation and slays her immediately. Both females were killed by love and lust. Another female that had a huge impact on Virgil’s Aeneid was Juno, the queen of gods.Juno despises the Trojans because of Paris’s judgment against her in a beauty contest. She is also an ad vocate of Carthage, â€Å"And Juno, we are told, cared more for Carthage Than for any walled city of the earth,† and knows that Aeneas’s descendants are destined to destroy Carthage. â€Å"But she had heard long since That generations born of Trojan blood Would one day overthrow her Tyrian walls, And from that blood a race would come in time†. This causes hatred in Juno towards both Aeneas and the Trojans.Throughout Aeneas’s journey, Juno releases her anger on him to make his quest more of a challenge. Juno was the cause of the storm in the beginning of Book I because she summoned Aeolus, the god of winds, to cause an enormous storm while Aeneas was at sea. Vergil provides example of Juno being a manipulative, grudge holding, evil Goddess. In order to stop Aeneas quest to Italy, Juno uses the love Aeneas has towards Dido to her advantage. Juno came up with a scheme to convince Venus to get Aeneas and Dido alone so they can marry and the Trojans and the Ty rians would inally be at peace, even though that was not her true intention. â€Å"Aeneas and Dido in her misery, plan hunting in the forest†¦ My gift will be a black rain cloud and hail†¦ As Dido and the Trojan captain come to one same cavern†¦ There I shall marry them and call his her, a wedding, this will be†. That plan failed when Jupiter found out of such horrid behavior and sent Mercury, the messenger god, to remind Aeneas of his true mission. The goal was to keep the idea of him leaving Carthage a secret from Queen Dido, but she eventually finds out.These get Juno even more furious towards Aeneas and his Trojan men, but she does not give up with her plans to halt Aeneas quest. In Book VII, Juno instructs Allecto, one of the Furies, to create a civil war between the Trojans and the Latins. â€Å"You can arm For combat brothers of one soul between them, Twist homes with hatred, bring your whips inside Or firebrands of death. A thousand names Belong to you , a thousand ways of wounding. † This statement demonstrates how badly she wants to end the Trojan empire and see Aeneas fail.The importance of Juno’s role in Virgil’s epic is that she is Aeneas mortal enemy and will do anything to stop him in his path. Not only does she dislike Aeneas but anyone that is from the Trojan descent. Virgil’s representation of female characters provides the readers with a better understanding of gender politics and reasons why some female leaders failed. Each of Virgil's female characters demonstrates a combination of traits throughout the epic; however, such behaviors of these women tend to develop unwanted conflict due to emotions.Dido was so possessed on the idea of her and Aeneas falling in love, that she did not see how she was burning her city, Carthage to the ground. Camilla, drowned in lust as she laid her eyes on Arrun, causing her to put her guard down and effectively getting killed. Juno is so blinded by hatred towar ds Aeneas and the Trojans, that she makes it her mission to delay his journey. Virgil demonstrates how a female ruler brings too much emotions with her ruling, while a male ruler can run things smoothly without any distractions.

How could the Holocaust have beet prevented Essay

You have probably heard about a period of time, not so long ago, known as ‘The Holocaust.’ A holocaust, according to Webster’s dictionary, is ‘a complete destruction by fire’ (Stadtler, 1). In Europe, during this period, there was a complete destruction by fire – of Jewish homes, Jewish businesses, Jewish neighborhoods, and Jewish people. This destruction was carried out under the direction of Adolf Hitler, during the years 1939-1945, but it actually began earlier, in 1933, when Hitler came to power in Germany. In my opinion, the Holocaust, which was caused by ignorance, could very well have been prevented. There were many powerful nations, such as the United Stated, the USSR, and Britain, whose leaders and militaries could have stepped in and helped the Jewish people who were facing extremely brutal persecution. Throughout most of the war, the American government clung to the delusion that the Nazi’s were persecuting the Jews because of their political or religious beliefs. The U.S. closed its gates to emigration from Europe in 1940-1941, when Jews were still allowed to emigrate. ‘Anti-Semitism in America actually increased during the war and started to decline only at the end of it’ (Bauer, 297). A Soviet attitude toward the murder of the Jews simply did not exist. While fighting a desperate battle for its own survival, Britain saved the Jews of Palestine, North Africa, and much of the British Empire from the fate of European Jewry. ‘The British fought only for themselves, but the defense of their own interests coincided with the defense of civilized humanity, including the Jews’ (Bauer, 296). The May 1939 White Paper on immigration to Palestine stated that immigration to Palestine would end after 75,000 had been admitted between 1939 and 1944. When war broke out, the British decreed that no enemy nationals could enter Palestine, which in effect, closed the doors to those who needing rescue most, specifically the European Jews trying to escape the Nazis. At first, the thought of such destruction in Europe was incomprehensible to other Nations. They heard of what was occurring, but did not believe it, and therefore did nothing. ‘The suffering of hundreds of thousands, soon of millions, was evident for consciences to be aroused, for steps to be taken.  Nothing was done’ (Bauer, 297). I feel the ignorance of these Nations was the cause of the loss of 6 million lives. Had these Nations not turned their heads away and ignored what was happening, they could have saved many lives and prevented the Holocaust. By allowing emigration from Europe into their countries, by trying to negotiate with Hitler, or if worse came to worse, assassinating Hitler, things might have been different. By not recognizing the events leading to the Holocaust and of the Holocaust, they also caused the Holocaust along with Adolf Hitler. The Holocaust could only have been prevented by the World Powers, but they failed to do so because they were so ignorant. During the 19th century, European Jewry was being emancipated, and in most European countries, Jews were achieving some equality of status with non-Jews. Nonetheless, at times, Jews were vilified and harassed by anti-Semitic groups. Indeed, some anti-Semites believed that Jewry was an alien ‘race’ not assimilable into a European culture, but they did not formulate any coherent anti-Semitic campaign until Hitler came to power. Germany was defeated in World War I after a four year struggle that left its people exhausted and divided. The harsh peace terms of the Versailles Treaty placed a heavy economic burden on them. Before the war Germany had thought of itself as Europe’s greatest nation. Now it was confused, bitter, and economically crippled, its wealth drained to pay the vast sums demanded by the Versailles Peace Treaty. Rising inflation left many Germans poor and others jobless. Political differences exploded in assassinations and street fighting. The new democratic government of Germany, the Weimar Republic, was unable to prevent disorder and caused people to lose faith in democracy. With Germans of all outlooks desperately seeking solutions for the nation’s problems, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party began their climb to power. ‘Hitler was gifted with effective political talents. He offered an explanation for Germany’s defeat, and a vision of Germany’s future destiny, that played upon the fears, prejudices, and hopes of many Germans. He promised to rebuild  Germany’s power and restore its prosperity’ (Isaacman, 16). This won the support of many Germans. Hitler was such an effective speaker that anything he said was believed even if it was not true. Hitler believed that the German people were part of an ‘Aryan race,’ a superior group that should be kept pure to fulfill their mission of ruling the world. He felt that the Jewish people were ‘sub-human,’ when in actuality they were virtually the same as his ‘Aryan race.’ Not only did Hitler have a personal hatred toward the Jewish people, but he also blamed them for ‘stabbing Germany in the back’ after Germany’s defeat in World War I. Hitler used them as scapegoats because they were a minority and were easy to put the blame on. ‘Historians agree that the Holocaust resulted from a confluence of various factors in a complex historical situation. That anti-Semitism festered throughout the centuries in European culture is centrally important; the Jews were (and are) a minority civilization in a majority environment. In periods of crisis, instead of searching for the solution of such crisis within the majority culture, the majority will tend to project blame for the crisis on a minority which is both familiar and weak. As the originators and bearers of an important part of civilization, the Jews are a father civilization against which pent up aggressions are easily unleashed’ (Bauer, 330). Anti-Semitism had always played a role in Nazi propaganda, for Hitler blamed most of Germany’s problems on the Jews. Anti-Jewish laws of every kind were passed. Jews could no longer be judges, lawyers, teachers, government officials, army officers. Jewish doctors could not treat non-Jewish patients, Jews could not employ non-Jews, and Jews and non-Jews could not have social relationships. Jewish property was taken by the governm ent, Jewish businesses were closed down, Jewish children could not attend public schools. All the media were utilized to spread anti-Jewish messages. On the street, Jews were mocked, tormented, and even beaten for no other reason but being Jewish. Jewish people were forced to wear Star of David armbands and were often attacked by storm troopers. On November 9-10, 1938, known as Kristallnacht (‘Night of the Broken Glass’), hundreds of synagogues throughout Germany were burned by Nazi mobs, windows of Jewish shops were smashed, and thousands of Jews were arrested. Kristallnacht was a signal to Jews in Germany and Austria to leave as soon as possible. Several  hundred thousand people were able to find refuge in other countries, but a similar number, including many who were old or poor, ‘stayed to face an uncertain fate’ (Stadtler, 12). The countries of Europe and the United States too, only admitted a small number of Jews. Had these countries made an exception for these people who were being treated poorly in their home countries there would have been a smaller amount of lives lost in the years to come. Throughout the 1930’s, conditions for the Jews in Germany worsened. Some people in the United States refused to buy German products in an effort to put pressure on Hitler, but it did not help. This was not enough, the United States was a strong world power and could have done more to aid the Jewish people of Germany. What could a small amount of people not buying German products do? Absolutely nothing because Germany was much stronger than these few people; the aid of an entire nation was needed, not the aid of a few people. Since no one was stopping Hitler, he proceeded to enlarge Germany’s territory. Threatening to use force if he did not get his way, he gained control of Austria in 1938 and of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Later in 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland, World War II broke out. During the early years of the war, Hitler’s armies conquered most of Europe. Millions of Jews were now under German rule, and Hitler felt he was at last in a position to solve the ‘Jewish Question.’ As Hitler saw it, the ‘Jewish Question’ was simply the fact that the Jews existed. Therefore, the ‘final solution’ emerged as a way to destroy them. Throughout Europe, in all the countries under their control- Poland, Western Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, France, Holland, Denmark, Norway- the Jews were rounded up and confined in concentration camps or ghettos. Stripped of their property, brutalized, terrified, and disoriented, they were forced to work as slave laborers in abominable conditions. Many died of starvation and disease. Others were shot or beaten to death. Before long, rumors of this brutality reached capitals of the world, but nothing was done. As the war against the Jews progressed, however, the Nazi’s turned to large scale centralized killing operations. Jews from all over Europe were loaded into trains and shipped to death camps, among them, Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor. LOCATION OF GERMAN CONCENTRATION CAMPS ‘In the death camps, human life was destroyed quickly and efficiently’ (Isaacman, 19). Under the whips of cruel SS guards, the Jewish victims were herded off the trains and into gas chambers, where they were exterminated by a poisonous gas. Millions of non-Jews were also systematically killed- political opponents, Slavic peoples, and other minorities. In the case of the Jews, the Nazi’s were determined to annihilate an entire people. Some Jews fought back at every possible opportunity. Some Christians, too, tried to help. Taking great personal risks, they hid Jewish friends in their homes or cellars. Many of these people were caught and killed by the Nazi’s. People willing to take such risks were few and far between in Europe. Had other nations of the world been as righteous and as brave as these people, and combined their efforts, this attempted annihilation of the Jewish people could have been prevented. To some Nazi’s the ‘final solution’ was more important than anything else. ‘Though Germany was hemmed in by enemies and fighting for its life, they diverted valuable resources to the extermination machine’ (Isaacman, 20). Trains that could have carried ammunition to the front were used to transport Jews to death camps. Soldiers who could have been defending their country were instead sent to round up and guard Jewish civilians. ‘After several years of war, Hitler knew he could not defeat America and the other Allies, but he was determined to win at least one victory by wiping out the Jews’ (Isaacman, 20). The United States and other world powers were too focused on the war to maintain their pride. While in Germany Hitler was trying to wipe an entire people off the face of the Earth. If these other nations of the world were not so ignorant, the lives of six million people  could have been saved. Hitler and his Nazi Party treated the Jewish people so inhumanely. He and his party felt that the Jews were biologically different, when in fact they were and are not. Every human being is equal and should be treated equally. No one is superior to anyone else, even though some may have an egocentric attitude. In 1945, Hitler committed suicide. Rather than correcting his errors, Hitler took the easy way out by committing suicide. The ultraorthodox Jewish theology justifies the Holocaust as an act of God, a punishment for sins committed by the Jewish people against their God. Others feel that the Holocaust was a result of man’s betrayal to God. I feel that the Holocaust is not at all justified. During the Holocaust, six million Jewish people died, that is more than one-third (about 34 percent) of the Jewish population. ‘From the liberated Nazi camps, weeping skeletons of men and women emerged. Among them were 200,000 Jews. These have to be added to the 210,000 that survived in France, about 37,000 in Belgium, 20,000 in the Netherlands, about 1,900,000 in the Polish-Soviet area, 350,000 in Rumania, 130,000 in Hungary, and smaller numbers elsewhere. Including Soviet Jewry, part of whom were never under Nazi rule, about 3 million Jews were left in Europe out of the original 9 million Jews before the war’ (Bauer, 334). As I stated before, there is only one thing and one thing only that caused this horrid event called the Holocaust, ignorance. Not just ignorance of the United States and the other world powers, but the ignorance of Hitler and his Nazi Party as well. Had the U.S. and other nations offered aid to the Jewish refugees, and opened their doors to these refugees, they would have saved many lives. Instead, they were just as guilty as the Nazi’s by helping in the destruction of an entire race. WORKS CITED PAGE Bauer, Yehuda. A History of the Holocaust. New York: Franklin Watts, 1983. Chartock, Roselle, Jack Spencer. The Holocaust Years: Society on Trial. New York: Bantam Books, 1978. Des Pres, Terrence. The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. ‘Holocaust.’ Microsoft Encarta (CD ROM). 1993. Stadtler, Bea. The Holocaust: A History of Courage and Resistance. New York: Behrman House, Inc., 1973. Isaacman, Clara. Pathways Through the Holocaust. New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1988.