Tulsa Race Riot Essay Example for Free

Tulsa Race Riot Essay During the early 1900’s, America has experienced an act of hatred and despair. Envy became the motive to suppress the masses and the death of hundreds of innocent people became the result. But how did all of this occur without any written record except for the painful memories forever instilled in the minds of the victims? Where were the authorities? Where was the so called â€Å"justice† that these people deserved? All of these questions replayed in my mind that night. On February 11, 2011, I attended an enrichment program at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College. At this enrichment program, there was a special viewing of the documentary Soundtrack for a Revolution followed up by a questions and answers segment. Before the showing, there was nice musical performance presented by two individuals. The performance itself gave an overview of the Tulsa Race Riot. Shortly afterwards, the film started. Prior to this event, I have the opportunity to do research on this tragedy about a year ago, but never had been as deeply concerned about the incident just by reading about it. The film was well put together and definitely caught my attention. Soundtrack for a Revolution told the story of Tulsa, Oklahoma during the early 1900’s and how it was a haven of flourishing black business. Everyone’s wealth within the black community helped boost each other’s business. It literally was considered the â€Å"Black Wall Street†. The dollar there circulated approximately thirty to one thousand times and sometimes took an entire year before the currency left the community. But, many people did not take a liking to the amount of wealth and success the black people of Tulsa, Oklahoma had. They grew envious and felt the need to suppress and even eliminate this epidemic. On May 31st through June 1st in 1921, they took action and for eighteen hours straight, they attacked. On those two days, hundreds of whites had gathered arms against the unarmed African Americans. So many of them were murdered and those who survived were left with nothing but tears and the painful memories. The movie forwarded to a more recent time and focused on the survivors of that dreadful day. It has been so many years since that event and the survivors have yet seen justice from the state and country whose purpose was to ensure their equality. I’ve watched the film and how they were ignored by court judges and the only reconciliation that those who have managed to live received was nothing but a bronze metal. From what I have been watching, that piece of metal could not have given them proper justice. In the 1950s and 60s, America became a volatile and confused nation as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, and black Americans demanded equality, both in the eyes of the legal and social systems. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. orked tirelessly in the fight against injustice and inequality, and ultimately paid for his dedication with his very life. His main goal was to have peace for both whites and blacks. He wanted everyone no matter what color to get along and live among each other instead of being segregated. His advice, as his speech implies, was not to judge one another by the color of their skin but by the contents of their characters. This injustice that occurred in Tulsa was the exact opposite of Martin Luther King Jr. s vision for the world. This is why he fought so long and hard for. As far as the survivors, I really hope that they will get the justice that they truly deserve. I do not know exactly how they can accomplish this specifically, but I do know that, with persistence and being resilient, they will finally accomplish this long awaited justice. The Tulsa Race Riot was more than just a tragedy against another race, I believe it was another tragedy against mankind.

Quantitative Risk Assessment Essay Example for Free

Quantitative Risk Assessment Essay For the project of redesigning packing for the Canadian market, quantitative risk assessment plays an important role. Quantitative risk assessment is, â€Å"A process for assigning a numeric value to the probability of loss based on known risks and available, objective data†¦ used to determine potential direct and indirect costs to the company based on values assigned to company assets and their exposure to risk† (InvestorWords.com, 2014). For this particular project, quantitative risk assessment will be useful in determining not only which are areas of potential risk, but also to what degree these risks may affect the overall integrity of the project. Revised Project Background The project of the redesign of packaging for the Canadian market currently consists of four different product lines including Dial, Tone, Right Guard, and Dry Idea, and consists of over 50 variants spanning the four lines. Each new packaging design is independent of every other thus there exists no interdependency from design to the next. Each design observes a similar path consisting of initial review of changes, alterations, and additions by management, marketing, and the design team, initial layout of established changes by the design team followed by a first round review of changes by marketing, legal, management and compliance. If additional changes are required, a second round of design and review is implemented up to two additional rounds as needed. Upon successful acknowledgement of new designs, the artwork is then sent to our preproduction team for development to printer-ready artwork. Once completed, the artwork is sent to a third party production house for mockups to be created to be sent to the parent  company in Germany for final approval. If any designs are rejected (and they never are), commentary from Germany is implemented into further redesign and the process is restarted. Upon approval from Germany, artwork is submitted to the printer. Printer will then submit print-ready, color-calibrated proofs for final approval. Proofs are reviewed by management for final approval before actual printing. Once printed, packaging is sent to a fulfillment house to have labels applied to containers and filled with product or have wraps applied to soap bars. Upon completion of fulfillment, finished product is shipped to various holding facilities in Canada for final disposition. As previously stated, project will span eight months from inception to final delivery. Risk Identification Framework Management Delays: As the majority of the work for this project involves objective changes and adjustments to existing packaging, the first phase, initial review by management, involves nominal risk. Management will evaluate and select which products will receive updated treatment for inclusion into the Canadian market. Once the products are selected, management has no further involvement outside of potential cancellations of various packaging designs or their requested involvement during a particular phase of completion. Design Delays: As this project includes approximately 50 variants of packaging including labels and wraps, production must be coordinated to allow for enough time for completion of initial layouts and any necessary revisions, while taking into consideration the design needs and time constrains on the design team from other departments and for other projects running concurrently. While the project has a timeline of eight months, final design layouts must be approved and ready for preproduction within the first four months of the project. The in-house design team will complete the bulk of the design phase of the project, though external design agencies may be utilized if time constraints are threatened. It should be noted that the use of external design agencies would incur additional costs. Also, the design process will require an initial review before being released to the review team for official review, to ensure all parameters have been incorporated. Review Delays: This area constitutes the bulk of all potential delays. While each packaging component is independent of one  another, the review process for each component must be completed sequentially among the review team. There are five departments that will review each design layout and either approve or denote changes. Some of these potential changes are subject to additional changes or cancellations by other departments, meaning the first team may indicate several changes that the third team can then override if the indicated changes are deemed unnecessary. Also, the number of rounds of review may add potential delays to the overall project. Another potential area of delay exists with the timely completion of review by the required departments. Certain key staff may be unavailable to review a packaging design during a given time period. To circumvent potential risks, each member of the review staff will have two alternative staff members capable of reviewing each package design. Should no staff members be available to review, the particular review component is submitted to the manager of the appropriate department for their review. This becomes a last-resort scenario in that traditionally, managers indicate changes that exist outside the scope of the project. Review delays present unique difficulties in that not every team member provides feedback as to their daily availability. Pre-Production and Printing Delays: The preproduction team will transition the artwork from its final design to printer-ready artwork. There is typically no risk for delay in this area. The printer will then produce a final round of art proofs calibrated to their individual presses. One round of revisions is already assumed and build into this process. Additional revisions are not typical though can present a nominal risk. Corporate Delays: While exceeding unusual, corporate can play a small role in delaying a project by canceling one or more packaging designs, adding addition package designs above and beyond what management has previously approved, or by simply delaying the provision of final approval on all finished designed submitted. While these scenarios are unlikely, they do represent the extreme limit of delay-related risk in that they can affect the project for an indeterminate amount of time. Qualified and Quantified Risk Matrix Review Delays Reduce Risk Consistent communication with key reviewers. Engage alternate reviews if primary reviews are unavailable. Enlist managers is alternate reviewers are unavailable. Greater than two days review time by each responsible team member. Project Manager Pre-Production and Printing Delays Reduce Risk Constant communication with pre-production team and printer will reduce or eliminate risks. Buffers in timing are already built into production times. Delays indicated by pre-production team or printer. References Cooper, D. F., Grey, S., Raymond, G., Walker, P. (2005). Project risk management guidelines: Managing risk in large projects and complex procurements. West Sussex, England: John Wiley Sons. InvestorWords.com. (2014). quantitative risk assessment. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.investorwords.com/19179/quantitative_risk_assessment.html Loch, C. H., DeMeyer, A., Pich, M. T. (2006). Managing the unknown: A new approach to managing high uncertainty and risk in projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons.

Religious Views On Abortion Religion Essay

Religious Views On Abortion Religion Essay Abortion is defined in different ways by different people; the medical dictionary defines abortion as a premature exit of the product of conception from the uterus. It is the loss of pregnancy (MedicineNet.com, 1998).Religion is a key factor in the control of morality in the society today; in examining the concept of abortion and the perspective of the religion on abortion one must find how the different religions in the society influence this concept. Within the various religious circles, it is argued and continuously debated whether a fetus is a living being. The main argument is on when or at what stage does the state and religion consider a fetus to be a living being. Some religions argue against the state with the point that a fetus is not a living person. The arguments on the morality of abortion are often based on the religious beliefs. On the grounds of religion, each religious belief has its views on the concept of abortion, In Christianity abortion is considered a bad omen, an evil practice and non-acceptable by God, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that abortion is wrong and any member of the church found involved in the practice can be excommunicated from the church. The Jehovah witness also do share the common belief with the catholic that abortion is wrong, it is concluded that in most Christian denominations, abortion is highly prohibited and at no time accepted in the churches. Like other fellow Christian communities, the protestant churches does not allow abortion, in the Northern Ireland the catholics as well as protestants have come together to oppose the concept of abortion, this does not imply that all the Christians denominations against the act and concept abortion (SPUC,2010). Some of the Christian denominations are pro abortion and believe that abortion can help save lives if carefully carried out with the help of doctors and professionals in the field of medicine such as in the Baptists and Methodists churches. In these cases, a woman was not disgraced after having an abortion unless she went against the advice of a professional. The consistency of the Catholic Church against the abortion has raised questions; however this question was answered by catholic theorist James McCarthy. His argument was based on whether the life of a child begin ate the point of conception or not. It is however clear that there has been no clear church teaching on this matter, there has been lots of argument at what point does a fetus become a human being. Others argue that a person is more than just the biological parts, and believes that a living person has more advance characteristics that a fetus do not posses, like the ability to think and make relationships with other people (McCarthy,1996). The pro -life proponents also argue that the ability of a fetus to exist independently defines it as a person, there argument is based on the right to life and they believe that the fetus can live given time and good environment just like any other human beings. It is however realistic that the Catholics will still view abortion evil no matter what argument are brought forward (Dombrowski, 2000). From this argument we can easily conclude that the Catholics has viewed and will always view abortion as evil regardless of any positive contribution it has in the society; it is also not clear whether they view fetus as a living human being. It therefore raises questions as to why the Catholics carry out fetal baptisms, which were practiced early 1700s. The contradiction is clearly evident, the McCarthy claims that a fetus is not a human being and the early church carried out fatal baptism (McCarthy,1996).From this argument it is evident that most of the religious belief and concept on abortion is based on the human life, and the point at which it is considered to begin. Hinduism view In the Hinduism faith, abortion is considered evil; however some of the Hindus texts prove abortion to be a necessary evil, since it save lives. The Hindu scripture reference the act of abortion as gorha-batta meaning womb killing, the abortionist is referenced as the greatest sinner in the society as described by Atharva Veda. It is therefore clear that in the Hindus faith abortion is an abormination. The Vedas does not show when life begins or whether a fetus is a living being but it is clear that abortion is a sinful activity.This is as outlined in the part of the Aryan scriptures is in the Vedas which states; Whpe off, O Pushan [Lord], the sins of him that practiseth abortion. (Sacred Books of the East). Another compelling evidence that abortion is unacceptable in the Hindu religion is contained in the books of Chandrasekhar (1974) in which he pointed out that induced abortion, which he referred to as bhrunahatya (foetus murder) is a sin. He pointed out that according to Vishnu Smriti (c. 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.) ,the act of abortion which is the destruction an embryo can be considered as the killing of a holy person (Chandrasekhar,1974) Christian view The concept of abortion in the Jewish law is not as strict as the Christian way; the Jewish legal authorities have not established principles by which to determine the morality and validity of abortion in the society. The issue is complex and always refers back to the bible. The Bible on the other hand has a lot to say regarding the concept of abortion, the Biblical arguments indicated that the unborn child is a human being and constitutes Gods creation. God came up with three creations. The conceived life on the conception of God is a living, after conception the result is referred to as the child in the likeness of God, as per the Bible the infant, child, son or daughter refer to the same thing since they are all creation of God. Other phrases of the Bible indicates that when men fight and one of them hit a woman who is expecting with the result of a miscarriage, the responsible person will be charged based on the womans husband judgment, but if other issues occur, the penalty will be life for life (Bible Exodus 21:22). Life for life indicate the miscarriage is the loss of life, the life loss as a result of miscarriage is equivalent to the life of the responsible person. It is therefore concluded that the stands of the Bible on the miscarriage or abortion is defined clearly, in loss of life through abortion is equivalent to the life lost for an existing human being. It is however not easy to simplify what the Bible state concerning abortion, several scholars has indicated that it is not easy to determine the real knowledge on the matters relating to abortion. Most of the Christians however, are just told that abortion is prohibited and not allowed in the society. This concept just simplifies what is hard to comprehend in our society. It has become a matter of doing what God requires from his disciples, no matter what the consequences are to the living and the unborn; the final judgment is however the Almighty God. (Ward,1978). In summary it is evident that the Bible controls most of the judgment in the Christian faith concerning abortion. This is however only true if the decision is in congruence with Gods demands as outlined in the Holy Bible Buddhism view Buddhism on the other hand has a more relaxed approach to abortion. This is evident in the Buddhas way of life, as it tries to get away from making finalization and judgment on matters. Buddha advised his followers not to accept or believe in any teaching from other religions not even Buddha himself. His emphasis was to investigate the teaching on how abortion is viewed from the people themselves and the society of the Buddhist. If an individual within oneself finds a teaching to be true, then he should practice the teaching, but not trust any teaching by simply trusting them. Buddha first percepts state I will not harm any living creature this does not only apply to the human being community but to all animals, once a fetus is alive the Buddhism faith protest not to harm the fetus and protect the fetus. The Buddhist approach to ethical and social issues relating to abortion is based on the concept on compassion. The concept of compassion is important to the Buddhist than any other doctrines r laws set by the land. It is therefore important on any judgment as to whether abortion is good or evil in the land of the Buddhist one should bring in light the concept of compassion to the fetus before any argument is made. Most Buddhist feel that in relation to the concept of compassion abortion is wrong, and regrettable, it is viewed as the act of depriving the unborn the compassionate right to live, however the compassion should be both to the fetus and the mother, it may be to a level where the compassionate on the fetus may deprive the mother the right to life. In this case Buddha then indicates that you do what I feel is right, such circumstances are allowed so that each individual arrive at the right conclusion and not judgmental. In conclusion, reviews of literature from various Buddhist ethicists do bear a universal consensus that education is the best policy in tackling abortion. In this light, they advocate birth control as well as encouraging the use of contraceptives (Tsomo,1998) Discussions This research however makes me to misunderstand the result of engaging in abortion, it relays that if a woman from the Buddhist faith engages in the act of abortion, she should be comforted with compassion rather than judgment and punishment.These religious have had their share of impact in different societies, and they have brought different views on the concept of abortion example, most of the United States population claims to be Catholic (Dombrowski, 2000); however there is no religion that stick to there rules and doctrines. It would be hard to say that religious factors are insignificant considering Roman Catholicism is the leading opponent of abortion (Abernethy, 1994). Hindus had been very firm and so many people. The Catholics have always been strict and against the act, but it is evident that most of the faithful indulge in such activities and the church assume not to know as a result of not losing the faithful. The religion has therefore left us in the dark whether abortio n is good or not allowed within the church. It therefore calls for a personal judgment and that why this question, Is abortion Right? Is an open ended question that can be answered based on the individual judgment and not religious grounds and the doctrines of the church. Conclusions On my opinion the concept of compassion brought in the Buddhist faith, is more appealing, however abortion should be carried out with the assistant of a health professional, and only when it is dangerous to either the mother or the child. The mother side should be given precedence since she is a living being in existence as to the un-born as believed by the Buddhist. It is therefore depended on individual judgment whether to carry out abortion or not. The Buddhist vie of abortion is more liberal this is because it leaves the decision to the person who engages in the act to a large extent. The contemporary society is fuelled largely by the freedom of personal choice and technology. These doctrines seem to be well illustrated in the Buddhist view of abortion. To support my choice for Buddhist way of handling the abortion issue, I present the general universal consensus that the various Buddhist ethicists have advanced. In fact their approach to abortion has been considered by other sch olars and organizations as being the best as pointed out by SPUC (2010). Tsomo (1998) further points out that Buddhists do recognize the level of incongruity that exists in the ethical theory of abortion as well as in the actual practice of the abortion. They however do not in any way condone the inappropriate, meaningless and taking of life. They therefore use their views of morality of abortion to advocate for a universal understanding as well as the expression of compassion towards all forms of living things. Their views are nonjudgmental while respecting both the rights as well as the freedom of all human beings in the making of their own choices.

Offshore Oi Drilling Causes Environmental Damage Essay -- Environmenta

Oil drilling is the process of perforating oil from the earth’s surface. This process can be dangerous. The drilling process can be harmful to nearby animal life. The process used to locate oil waves can be harmful to animal life. When the oil ascends, it brings with it a number of deadly chemicals. The chemicals released can consist of mercury and arsenic. Other substances such as lead have been known to ascend with the oil (Horton, Jennifer, 1). An oil spill is the process by which oil is mistakenly dispensed. The danger and damage an oil spill can cause is exponential. An oil spill can cause millions of dollars in damages. Oil spills are one of the worst catastrophes that happen, and they happen frequently. It has been predicted by the Mineral Management Service, that a spill of one thousand oil drums will occur in the Gulf of Mexico every year (Horton, Jennifer, 1). It is expected that there will be a spill of more than ten thousand oil drums every three or more years (Horton, Jennifer, 1). Oil spills have been defined as inevitable (Climate & Energy, 1). As of now, there exists no truly safe way of cleaning a spill (Climate & Energy, 1). The oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was one of the worst oil spills that has ever occurred (Clean & Energy, 1). The Gulf of Mexico oil spill by British Petroleum is the largest environmental catastrophe in the history of the United States (Clean & Energy, 1). Over two hundred million gallons of oil was released into the Gulf of Mexico (Clean & Energy, 1). The oil flowed for approximately three months (Clean & Energy, 1). Within that time period, the spill was responsible for eleven human deaths (Clean & Energy, 1). Extensive damage was done to the environme... ...e 1-2. 14 Nov. 2014. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BP%2c+firms+made+risky+decisions+before+spill%3a+re... â€Å"BP shares hit 6-month high after Shell takeover report.† Oil & Gas News. Jan 10, 2011: Page 1-2. 14 Nov. 2014. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BP+hit+6-month+high+after=Shell+takeover+report Chelette, Tim â€Å"Options for Dealing with a Spill.† Climate & Energy. Copyright 2010 Oceana: page 1 14 Nov. 2014. http://na.org/en/our-work/climate-energy/offshore-drilling/learn-act/options-for-dea â€Å"The Spill- By the Numbers.† Climate & Energy. Copyright 2010 Oceana: page 1. 14 Nov. 2014. http://na.oceana.org/en/our-work/climate-energy/offshore-drilling/gulf-oil-spill-response-c Why is offshore drilling so controversial? How Stuff Works.com page 1-2. 14 Nov. 2014. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/offshore-drilling-contoversy2.htm

Assyrian Crisis Essay -- essays research papers

THE ASSYRIAN CRISIS, A TIME OF GROWTH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Assyrian Crisis in Judah appears, from the surface, as a time of great luck for the people of Jerusalem. However, by examining the situation with a more powerful lens, one can see the powerful religious infuence such an event could have on a resident’s theology. If I were a Judean during this time, my faith would have faced the toughest test of my life. Going into such a conflict with a nation as strong as Assyria, I could not help but be afraid. My bones would tremble at the thought of destruction of the Holy City of Jerusalem, of the people of Judah, and of my own being. Although I would have believed in God, I would still be filled with fear. This fear would escalate when I heard a messenger for the king of Assyria, as stated in Isaiah 36, mocking God, insulting His power and doubting His saving grace on Jerusalem. He goes on to try and convice us, the people of Jerusalem, that Hezekiah is not trustworthy, and that we will not find help in Egypt becau se they are not reliable. Finally, knowing the path of destruction that Assyria has already created, and their hunger for more, in addition to the messenger’s statement that the Lord has commanded Assyria to go and destroy Jerusalem, my feelings of fear and doubt would uncontrollably well up inside me. We are, after all, only human, and fear is a common feeling, despite where we stand with God. No man lives without fear, but though fear our faith is tested and strengthened.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon hearing and experiencing the truth of Isaiah’s claim that God will spare Jerusalem and force the Assyrians back home, my faith in God would be fortified. In the times of fear, I would have realized how weak, how immature, and how far I must go in my faith and trust in God. But once I heard Isaiah’s prophecy, I would use it as a way to do away with my fear. Knowing that God was going to save His Holy City, and that He was going to continue with His perfect plan for mankind that dated back as far as the times of Abraham and held a future for the arrival of the Messiah, I would know that my God follows His plans and keeps His promises. Through this, I would have peace. I would soon learn that I can trust Him in everything because as it says in Scripture, “if God is for us, who can be ... ...of mockery and insults directed towards God. By attacking the Christian faith in this way, the king of Assyria was trying to prove the Christian’s God was just like all other gods, powerless. Similarly, Paul persecuted Christians by going to Damascus to capture them and bring them back to Jerusalem. He hated the Christian faith and persecuted it without mercy. He, however, converted to Christianity later and became an awesome tool of God’s for spreading the Gospel. Living such a life against God in his past, Paul could have easily compare himself with the king of Assyria. Paul would gain great peace and thankfulneess when he realized God’s punishment to the king of Assyria was death, and that he escaped such punishment and was saved by God. Additionally, seeing the successes of Hezekiah, like returning Judah to the luxury it once experienced, being saved from the Assyrians, and being given 15 extra years to live after his illness, Paul would soon realize that th e only reason God was so gracious and merciful with Hezekiah was because he kept his eyes on Him. This would teach Paul that, if he were to be successful, he must keep his focus in life on God. Assyrian Crisis Essay -- essays research papers THE ASSYRIAN CRISIS, A TIME OF GROWTH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Assyrian Crisis in Judah appears, from the surface, as a time of great luck for the people of Jerusalem. However, by examining the situation with a more powerful lens, one can see the powerful religious infuence such an event could have on a resident’s theology. If I were a Judean during this time, my faith would have faced the toughest test of my life. Going into such a conflict with a nation as strong as Assyria, I could not help but be afraid. My bones would tremble at the thought of destruction of the Holy City of Jerusalem, of the people of Judah, and of my own being. Although I would have believed in God, I would still be filled with fear. This fear would escalate when I heard a messenger for the king of Assyria, as stated in Isaiah 36, mocking God, insulting His power and doubting His saving grace on Jerusalem. He goes on to try and convice us, the people of Jerusalem, that Hezekiah is not trustworthy, and that we will not find help in Egypt becau se they are not reliable. Finally, knowing the path of destruction that Assyria has already created, and their hunger for more, in addition to the messenger’s statement that the Lord has commanded Assyria to go and destroy Jerusalem, my feelings of fear and doubt would uncontrollably well up inside me. We are, after all, only human, and fear is a common feeling, despite where we stand with God. No man lives without fear, but though fear our faith is tested and strengthened.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon hearing and experiencing the truth of Isaiah’s claim that God will spare Jerusalem and force the Assyrians back home, my faith in God would be fortified. In the times of fear, I would have realized how weak, how immature, and how far I must go in my faith and trust in God. But once I heard Isaiah’s prophecy, I would use it as a way to do away with my fear. Knowing that God was going to save His Holy City, and that He was going to continue with His perfect plan for mankind that dated back as far as the times of Abraham and held a future for the arrival of the Messiah, I would know that my God follows His plans and keeps His promises. Through this, I would have peace. I would soon learn that I can trust Him in everything because as it says in Scripture, “if God is for us, who can be ... ...of mockery and insults directed towards God. By attacking the Christian faith in this way, the king of Assyria was trying to prove the Christian’s God was just like all other gods, powerless. Similarly, Paul persecuted Christians by going to Damascus to capture them and bring them back to Jerusalem. He hated the Christian faith and persecuted it without mercy. He, however, converted to Christianity later and became an awesome tool of God’s for spreading the Gospel. Living such a life against God in his past, Paul could have easily compare himself with the king of Assyria. Paul would gain great peace and thankfulneess when he realized God’s punishment to the king of Assyria was death, and that he escaped such punishment and was saved by God. Additionally, seeing the successes of Hezekiah, like returning Judah to the luxury it once experienced, being saved from the Assyrians, and being given 15 extra years to live after his illness, Paul would soon realize that th e only reason God was so gracious and merciful with Hezekiah was because he kept his eyes on Him. This would teach Paul that, if he were to be successful, he must keep his focus in life on God.

The Poets Soul as Described in Emersons The Poet :: Emerson Poet Essays

The Poet's Soul as Described in Emerson's The Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, entitled " The Poet", takes the reader into a new awareness concerning an artistic writer. This essay created new insight about a writer's handicraft. Emerson shows us how a poet uses his gift to connect a non-artist of words to feelings that he is unable to express. A poet uses his God-given ingredient, the soul, to describe the things that engulf our lives. We, that do not have this talent, are given this connection by the writings in "The Poet". Emerson resigned his position as a minister to concentrate his life work as a writer. His education and upbringing was rich in matters relating to theology. He describes the poet in terms of religion. He points out the theological term called Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and then equates a poet to this using triple increments. Emerson calls the poet the Knower, the Doer and the Sayer. A poet's soul knows what is going on around us. He expresses himself by picking up a pen and saying what's going on. Most people know what senses they are experiencing in their world We are unable to write and/or say in words these experiences. The poet has this unexplainable talent or gift to share with the world. Emerson describes the poet as having scientific knowledge. He takes language and creates the words to enlighten us about our surroundings. He uses his God-given imagination to create thoughts in the reader's mind that were not present there before. These thoughts activate ideas in a non-poetic person. The reader then produces questions and inventions in areas that he shows expertise. Emerson shows the reader how a person without this knowledge of writing is omitted from expressing the beauty of nature. He tells us that the poet has the incredible ability to create images by his words to illustrate the things that we observe. Emerson believes that the poet uses his words to represent beauty (1648). The world is beautiful and it is the poet's job to paint his view of this in his words. "... but it is from the beginning beautiful; and God has not made some beautiful things, but beauty is the creator of the universe..." (1648).

Violence against Women

Introduction The United Nations defines violence against women as any gender based violence that leads to or is likely to result in sexual harm, mental harm or any other kind of suffering to women. This includes threats, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty either in private or public life (The UN Declaration on Violence Against Women 1992). Bardwell (2010) describes violence against women as the most pervasive violation of human rights in the world. Violence against women bears significant costs for the society, individuals, public services and the economy as a whole. The prevalence of violence against women and girls in England is more than that of diabetes, stroke and heart diseases (Adams 2010).). The figures published by the Office for National Statistics from 2012 to 2013 estimated that approximately 1.2 million women suffered from domestic abuse and other 330,000 were sexually assaulted. Sexual violence and domestic violence are in most cases hidden because the victims choose to su ffer in silence or are afraid to come out and report (Riecher-Ro?ssler & Garci?a-Moreno 2013).). Violence against women and girls is recognised globally as a violation of fundamental human rights that include the right to non-discrimination based on sex, right to not be treated inhumanly and degradingly, right to respect for private and family life and right to life (Bird & Westley 2011). The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action to which the United Kingdom is committed, states that violence against women is one of the major hindrances to the achievement of gender equality. Although the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee and the European Court of Human Rights on the elimination of discrimination against women recognises violence against women as a form of discrimination. The United Kingdom has an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent violence against women under the European Convention on Human Rights. Under the Beijing Platform and the Convention, the country has an obligation to change stereotypes, cultures and attitudes that perpetuate gender inequality. In the UK the new public sector equality duty under the Equality Act of 2010 requires all public bodies to consider equality, discrimination and good relations between groups in the way they formulate policy, employ people, buy goods and services and deliver services. This means that all the public bodies have an obligation to prevent violence against women. Violence against women voluntary sector The voluntary sector provides important services to support and protect the victims of violence against women. The organisations in the voluntary sector working to end the violence directed towards women in the United Kingdom challenge the system that allows for violence and abuse to continue in the country and at the same time celebrate the women who have survived such violent. The voluntary sector mostly pursues proactive prevention measures that can be categorised into three major groups depending on the target population (Stark & Buzawa 2009). The first group consists of the general measures directed at certain population groups or the whole population. For instance some of the voluntary groups use study courses in preventing violence against women for students and media campaigns targeting specific groups of children. The second category comprises of targeted measures directed at specific high risk groups for instance educating the armed forces on the importance of respecting th e rights of women and all other human beings. The last category consists of the measures directed at the individuals who have already been subjected to violence before with an intention of preventing them from committing the violence again. For example they provide rehabilitation programs for the perpetrators of violence to educate them on the importance of respecting the rights of women and human rights in general. Educational institutions and schools have been supportive of the voluntary sector as they allow them to access the students and educate them on the adverse effects of violence against women. In addition to that, these institutions also pay special attention to violent behaviour as far as the welfare of the students is concerned. The voluntary sector organises awareness campaigns targeting women to inform them that men are responsible for all their acts of violence and that such violence is illegal and as such should be reported and punished. Such initiatives are aimed at encouraging more women to come out and report the violence that they suffer privately at home in order to protect them from repeated assaults which can end up costing their lives in the long run. The campaigns also encourage the men to examine and challenge any cultural orientations that perpetuate violence against women. The programs directed at the young people have particularly been rewarding as it has reduced vio lence in learning institutions although there is still need to do more (Hughes & Owen 2009). The voluntary organisations often target providing education to the young people to correct the system. Most of these organisations believe that it is the system to blame for the high rates of violence against women because the society is not sufficiently educated on the need for respecting the basic human rights thus leading to the violation of the rights of women through battery and sexual violence (Harne & Radford 2008). As such they direct a lot of their effort in educating the young people at an age where the identity of their gender is just starting to take shape and can easily be influenced. For example the 16-20 age groups are often persuaded to stay in love and respect their partners in order to reduce violent behaviour in partnerships. The emphasis is that if they really love their partners then they should always strive to make them happy and not engage in any acts that would harm them. Such programs are often conducted in different communities including youth associations, schools and sports clubs. In terms of protecting the immigrant community, the voluntary organisations often pursue comprehensive integration as the best strategy for preventing them against violence. The aim of comprehensive integration is not just to help them find jobs and settle but to help them restore their sense of life control. One way of helping the immigrants achieve this is by giving them information, support and guidance in the early stages of integration. The voluntary organisations often do this with respect to their cultural backgrounds in order to ensure that they do not perceive the process as one designed to force them abandon their cultures. The intervention programs targeting the immigrant groups are normally well constructed in order to consider their cultural backgrounds as well as the different challenges that come with the process of immigration and integration. Some of the immigrants coming into the country are from countries with patriarchal and hierarchic social structures where the right of women with regard to equality is something that has never existed both in theory and practice. For instance the girls who come to the country from cultures that do not proscribe violence against women often live under several restrictions (DeKeseredy 2011). Such restrictions make the integration process very difficult let alone access to information on physical and sexual violence. In these groups some parents at times prohibit their daughters from using the internet, engaging in leisure activities, meeting boys or doing any other things that their peers are doing and they may also wish to participate in. The voluntary organisations often dissuade the immigrant communities with such cultures from sending their girls to other countries in order to defend their sexual reputation. Although the gendered phenomenon is inculcated deep into their culture, these organisations target the parents from this group with an aim of informing them on the dangers they expose their daughters to by forcing them to move to the other countries. Incidences of forced or early marriages are also common among these people and this increases the risk of the women and girls being exposed to violence because they do not have free will since all decisions are made for them by other people. In order to stop such behaviour and protect the women and the young girls, the voluntary organisations often offer low threshold services and activities as well as peer support groups to inform the population on the availability of such services so that they know where to turn to whenever they need any kind of assistance. Marri age is a voluntary union under the UK legislation and all the marriage procedures are supposed to protect the freedom of choice of all the individuals involved. The voluntary organisations often give the immigrants information regarding gender equality, consequences of domestic violence and rape, and where to report such incidences whenever they are perpetrated. Peer groups are one effective channel that the voluntary organisations utilise in passing information regarding aspects like welfare, wellbeing, life control and prevention of violence against women. These groups are efficient in that the members are in most cases free to discuss their personal challenges with their colleagues making it easy for the voluntary organisations to offer help and assistance to the victims of violence against women. To the victims of violence, the voluntary organisations normally offer them support as well as therapy to help them recover from the trauma caused by the violence. The support is normal ly offered jointly with other health services in selected environments to help the victims recover in the shortest time possible and resume their normal life activities (Thiara et al 2012). In addition to this, the voluntary organisations also help the victims to make use of the legal system by reporting the offenders to the authorities so they can face the law and pay for the consequences of their unlawful actions. For instance they offer financial assistance to the women who are unable to raise the legal fees, file for divorce, social security, and negotiate for child custody among other things. Owing to the fact that child custody and visiting arrangements exposes the victims to the risk of further violence in the form of blackmail, threats or direct violence the voluntary organisations normally help the women with security arrangements like insisting that whenever such visits are made it should never be in private. The voluntary organisations have managed to achieve this level of success because they devised strategies of reaching out to the women and men differently. Once they identified that the issue lies with the system, they embarked on educating the young people on the importance of respecting human rights and upholding high moral values. To the women who are currently at the risk of being exposed to violence, the voluntary organisations have made measures to encourage them to come out and report so that they can be assisted. They inform the women that the men should take responsibility for their actions and as such they should come out and report any incidences of violence early before they escalate to the level of interfering with the quality of their lives (Lombard & McMillan 2013). The men are encouraged to resort to other measures of conflict resolution without resorting to violence because violence is itself a problem and does not provide a solution to anything. This shows that diff erent categories require different intervention mechanisms but all these efforts are aimed at achieving the major objective which is to protect women against gender based violence. The response of the voluntary sector to the issue at hand is directed by both proactive and reactive approaches. These strategies are important as they are useful in helping the voluntary organisations achieve their objectives in the short and long run. The proactive approaches are used on the young populations with an objective of educating them on the need to uphold high moral values and respect human rights (Hughes & Owen 2009). They are encouraged to solve their differences in relationships amicably without resorting to violence because violence only leads to more problems. The reactive approach on the other hand is intended to help both the perpetrators and victims of gender violence. The victims are encouraged to report the perpetrators to the authorities, seek counselling and get out of the abusive marriages. The perpetrators are also offered counselling and educative services to ensure that they do not repeat the crimes again. The response of the voluntary sector differs slightly from those of the statutory agencies because the latter mostly pursues the reactive approach while the former pursues both (True 2012). The statutory agencies help the victims by offering different services like healthcare, counselling, encouraging the victims to report, and helping the victims with the legal procedures among others. Their emphasis is twofold, one is to help the victims and the other one is to deter the behaviour. The sectors response presents a holistic approach as it aims to provide both short term and long term solutions. There is no evidence that the measures taken to control violence against women are working because the number of violence victims is still high in the country as already indicated in the country. There is also a possibility that the figures provided are still an underestimation given that many women still fear coming out to report that they are in abusive relationships (DeKeseredy 2011). Exter nal factors particularly funding has affected the response of the voluntary sector because they have limited resources at their disposal. The devolution of funding for the voluntary sector from the central government to the local authorities has resulted into many inconsistencies in levels and types of funding. For example many local authorities in the country have stopped giving the grant aid and now prefer commissioning of services through tendering and other contract funding. This has led to instability within the voluntary sector and loss of essential services (True 2012). A perfect example is refuge accommodation where the authorities have resorted to support few large organisations providing services to communities that they do not have any previous connections or knowledge at the expense of strengthening the smaller local organisations that are well placed to cater for the needs of the local people. In other cases the housing associations and other providers are taking over t he specialist services offered for the victims leading to loss of expertise and independence of the voluntary sector (Thiara et al 2012). With the limited funds the voluntary sector cannot do much and as such they should focus their energy and resources on services not offered by the statutory bodies. There is need for them to focus on the key areas that they can achieve maximum returns with the limited funds while exploring other means of raising more money to support their activities. Summary and the key issues The prevalence of violence against women is still high in the United Kingdom despite all the efforts made by the government to reduce the problem. The voluntary organisations present a good avenue of mitigating the problem although they face many challenges that hamper the effective execution of their services. These challenges range from inadequate financing to additional roles like caring for men too have destabilised the organisations. The national government should therefore help these voluntary organisations with adequate funds and support to help them reduce violence against women in the United Kingdom. References Adams, R. (2010). The short guide to social work. Bristol: Policy. Bardwell, A. (2010). Domestic violence (DV) as violence against women: A human rights issue. A study of the UK government’s human rights violations against South Asian women victims of DV. University of Essex Bird, F. B., & Westley, F. (2011). 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