The Factor that Determining the Efficiency of Distribution of Zakat in Sibu, Sarawak - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 770 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/10/10 Category Religion Essay Tags: Islam Essay Did you like this example? 1.0 Background of the Study The literal meaning of Zakat can be defined as pure, blessing, good, grow and renowned. Zakat is the third pillar from the five fundamental pillars of Islam. With e well functioning Zakat, it enables economic growth and income equality, in other words, economy with equity (Ahmad Muflih,1986). The government should be accountable in collecting and distributing zakat funds for a few reasons (Yusuf, 2000). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Factor that Determining the Efficiency of Distribution of Zakat in Sibu, Sarawak" essay for you Create order There are two important roles of Zakat institutions which are collecting and distributing Zakat funds. But nowadays, the distributing of Zakat has become a big issue. Therefore, this research aims to study the factor that determining the efficiency of distribution of Zakat in Sibu. The findings of this study will explain the method and the effectiveness of distribution of Zakat in Sibu. By doing this study also we will get to recognize the challenges that been encounter by the Zakat institutions in Sarawak in distributing the Zakat fund. 2.0 Problem Statement Zakat is the third pillar in Pillars of Islam. It is vital for Malaysia to have a proper zakat management to demonstrate a good image of Islam. The systematic and effective of zakat management will increase the zakat payers confidence in paying their zakat. According to Muhammad Syukri (2002, p. 2), in Malaysia, the zakat collection has been increased averagely from year to year. For 2012, the total Zakat collected from Pusat Pungutan Zakat (PPZ) Selangor is RM451 million, where this amount is exceeding the target set for that year. These total collections have shown and increasing value in Zakat collection for 2011 which is only RM 394.1 million. However, even though the management of Zakat collection getting better from year to year, but when it comes to Zakat distribution, it is still become a big issue. The difficulty with the distribution methods, zakat distribution to the qualified and unqualified asnaf, the problem with poverty that is still happen even though the zakat distribution has been implemented, some zakat institution having shortage zakat fund while some having surplus, are among the issues that has decreased the performance and achievement of the zakat institution itself (Mohamed Dahan 1998; Abdullah 1999). This show the unjustice in Muslim economics and lead to the bad impression of the ability towards Zakat institutions. 3.0 Significance of the Study As a result, this situation creates an interest in the researcher to perform study to review the method of distribution of Zakat and its effectiveness, the factor that determining the efficiency of Zakat and the challenges in distributing Zakat. This research is to find a solution for better way in distributing Zakat in smaller community at Sibu. These research findings can help in improving the efficiency of distribution of Zakat, assist in increase Zakat payers confident toward Zakat institutions by paying their Zakat and help to makes a better strategy for the Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak in increasing their Zakat profesionalisme in Zakat management. This research also significance to a better development of Islamic economy. 4.0 Research Objective Based on the above discussion, the research objective for this study are; 1. To find out the method of distribution of Zakat in Sibu and their effectiveness. 2. To investigate factors determining the efficiency of Zakat distribution in Sibu. 3. To examine the challenges that Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak encounter in distribution of Zakat. 5.0 Research Question In order to meet the objectives of the research, there are few research questions that are conducted in this research. The following are the research questions of this research: 1. How is Zakat distributed in Sibu? 2. What are the factors that determining the efficiency of Zakat distribution in Sibu? 3. What are the challenges that Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak encounter in distribution of Zakat in Sibu? 6.0 Expected Contribution This study expected to help, Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak (TBS) for Sibu area to improve their efficiency in distributing Zakat. When the result of this study indicates the challenges that the institutions encounter, the TBS can come out a strategy to improve their effectiveness in distribution of Zakat in Sibu. Through this new strategy proposed, it is hoped that TBS can increase the profesionalisme of Zakat management and also increase the confidence of the zakat payers. This later will contribute to increasing number of zakat funds and indirectly help the capability of asnaf to improve their life. 7.0 Conclusion As conclusion, this study is vital to increase the confidence of people towards our Zakat institutions. By providing an efficiency and a transparent system of Zakat management, this will attract more people to pay Zakat. Since the collection of Zakat is no longer become an issue in managing Zakat, thus, the government play an important role in finding a solution in enhancing and improving Zakat distribution to Asnaf.

The Creation Of Mickey Mouse - 1136 Words

The Creation Of Mickey Mouse Oswald is my character, I m the one who created the rabbit with a round, white face, big button nose and floppy black ears, That was all my creation! I shouted frustrated. We know that Walt, but if you just -, Scott an executive at Universal tried explaining to me before I cut him off. I shouted again, No, I made this rabbit and I refuse to let you guys take it all away! Listen, Walt were giving you a chance to keep Disney only if you just take a lower salary, Scott tried explaining once again. A lower salary? What even is this mess? Nothing he s say is making since and why should I consider taking a lower salary.... I want explanations. You can t just come and try to take what I build and created away from me, Walt defended. Scott tried to reason with me again, We re offering you a chance to keep everything, all you have to do is agree to receiving lower pay. No, there has to be a reason why you re doing this, I questioned not listening to what Scott was trying to explain. We tol d you this before, Oswald is currently riding high and you have the upper hand in all of this, but currently you have hired away all of your employees so this is your only decision, Scott explained. Oh I see now, they just want a part of all the hard work I did. But, why should I let them? The didn t help me one bit. I said angrily, None of this makes since and I m not agreeing to anything. Well then I guess you better come upShow MoreRelatedMickey Mouse1393 Words   |  6 PagesMICKEY MOUSE, Walt Disney s most famous character, made his screen debut on November 18, 1928, as star of the first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie. Since his debut, Mickey Mouse has become an international personality whose success laid the financial foundation upon which Walt Disney built his creative organization. Besides being the personification of everything Disney, Mickey Mouse has become one of the most universal symbols of the Twentieth Century. Mickey Mouse was born in Walt DisneyRead MoreWalt Disney Has Left On Society And How His Legacy Continues1393 Words   |  6 PagesPurpose: To inform the audience about the impact Walt Disney has left on society and how his legacy continues on. Thesis/Central Idea: To understand the impact Walt Disney has left on society, it is important to learn that his empire all started with a mouse, how his newfound success contributed to his ability to create accomplished film works, and eventually bring his imagination to life through the construction of Disney parks. Organizational Pattern: Topical I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: WaltRead MoreCasey Blackwell. Spc 1608. Professor Workman. 7 February1234 Words   |  5 PagesCasey Blackwell SPC 1608 Professor Workman 7 February 2017 Walt Disney Introduction I. Open With Impact A. A creative person famously stated â€Å"It all started with a mouse.† You may be thinking that you know who this mouse is, but not too fast. Yes, it is Mickey Mouse, but who was the brilliant man that created this happy little creature? II. Thesis Statement A. Walt Disney has made a significant impact to the entertainment industry with his cartoons, movies, and theme parks. III. Connect With AudienceRead MoreEssay on The Life of Walt Disney1667 Words   |  7 Pagesto be the impossible and created a Disney empire that was made up of cartoons, movies, amusement parks, and much more entertainment. To think if Walt Disney never shared his visions with the world, there would be no animation, amusement parks, Mickey Mouse, or any classic Disney movies like Snow White, Mary Poppins, or Beauty and the Beast. Also, children wouldn’t have gotten to experience walking through Cinderella’s Castle into Magic Kingdom, a child’s oasis. Although Walt Disney is no longer withRead MoreInspiring Many : The True Story Of Walt Disney1352 Words   |  6 PagesHe would sell newspapers, popcorn, and soda to travelers (JustDisney.com). After being rejected by the military, Walt worked for the Red Cross driving an ambulance. The ambulance he ran was anything but normal. Walt s was drawn with his very own creations. He drew things all over it to make it hi s own. (â€Å"About Walt Disney†). In the beginning of his career he worked with Ub Iwerks, this is where he worked on two-minute shorts called â€Å"Laugh-O-Grams,† but soon went bankrupt with them (University Meghan’sRead MoreWalt Disney : The Man Behind These Characters, And The Creation Of One Of The World1039 Words   |  5 PagesALMOST EVERYONE KNOWS THE CHARACTERS OF MICKEY MOUSE, MINNIE MOUSE, AND DONALD DUCK. WALT DISNEY WAS THE MAN BEHIND THESE CHARACTERS AND MANY MORE. A BOY BORN IN CHICAGO, IL AND MADE HIS WAY TO HOLLYWOOD, CA CREATED MANY OF THE GREATEST CARTOON CHARACTERS AND BROUGHT FAIRY TALES TO LIFE. THE DISNEY NAME IS KNOWN NOT ONLY FOR CARTOONS BUT MOVIES, TELEVISION, RADIO, AND THE CREATION OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST AMUSEMENT PARKS. WALT WAS BORN IN CHICAGO, IL IN 1901, ONE OF FIVE CHILDREN, 4 BOYSRead MoreWalt Disney America`s Great American665 Words   |  3 PagesOn December 5, 1901, Elias Disney and Flora Call Disney gave birth to a man who would eventually change our world by the creation of a little mouse. Walter Elias Disney, who was also known as â€Å"Walt,† was born in a small town in Chicago, Illinois, by a father who was an Irish-Canadian descent, and his mother who was a German- English descent. Walt was one out of five children, four brothers and a sister. Their names were Herbert Arthur Disney, Raymond Arnold Disney, Roy Oliver Disney, and Ruth FloraRead MoreWhy Do Dreams Come True?1712 Words   |  7 PagesWalt Disney. Through a long road of rewrites, rejections, and reconstructions, Disney created a new look for the entertainment in America. It all started with one little cartoon mouse, originally named Mortimer Mouse, but later changed to a more recognizable name of Mickey Mouse. Not o nly did Walt Disney create Mickey Mouse, but he also developed many other famous works, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and Peter Pan. All of these movies and shows were developed under the Walt DisneyRead MoreThe Magic of Walt Disney 838 Words   |  3 Pageschanged and improved because he â€Å"†¦pioneered the fields of animation, and found new ways to teach, and educate† (â€Å"Walt Disney, Biography†). Walt Disney was a man that made a magical company come about by taking inspiration from his own life, creating Mickey Mouse, drawing animations, filming his first movies and expanding the company that came about. The Disney Company came about by Walt Disney’s inspirations throughout himself. Walt was a boy who loved and had an interest to draw ever since he wasRead MoreWalt Disney : The World s First Theme Park1044 Words   |  5 Pagescharacter Mickey Mouse. Originally, Mickey was portrayed as an airplane pilot, then an adventurous pirate. Disney’s first sound movie was called â€Å"The Jazz Singer†, which led to the world’s first talking-and-music cartoon called â€Å"Steamboat Willie† featuring Mickey Mouse. Because the cartoon was getting so much positive attention, Disney decided to add a few new characters by the names of Minnie Mouse (Mickey’s girlfriend), Goofy, Plato, and Donald Duck. After eight years of its creation, Mickey Mouse was

Knowledge Management Organisational Culture

Question: Discuss about theKnowledge Management for Organisational Culture. Answer: Knowledge management infrastructure is a reflection of the long-term foundation for knowledge management. In the context of an organisation, knowledge management infrastructure is effected to a large extent by a number of factors including organisational culture and organisational structure. Organisational culture is the reflection of the beliefs and norms found to be guiding the behaviours of the members of the organisation. It is an enabler of knowledge management in all organisations. Characteristics of enabling organisational culture include having a clear insight of the value of knowledge management practices, managing support for knowledge management and encouraging the interaction between members for creating and sharing knowledge. Knowledge management also is dependent on organisational structure to a considerable degree. The extent and manner in which responsibilities, power and roles are delegated, coordinated and controlled in an organisation are determined by organisational structure. How information would flow within the organisation is also determined by the organisational structure. The most widely applied organisational structures are centralised and decentralised, hierarchical, tall nd flat. Defining the roles and responsibilities of the employees in an organisation is facilitated by the structure of the organisation, and this definition affects who is to share information and to whom. Relationships in an organisation influence the flow of information and change the decision making process (Hislop 2013). A Community of Practice (CoP) is a self-organised and organic group of individuals dispersed organisationally or geographically but hold a strong communication network among themselves for discussing issues of interest and debate. Researchers have argued that learning cannot be successful if it is within the mind of an individual and only social interactions can foster proper learning. Communities of practice are related to sharing, transferring, exploring and archiving knowledge. Such practices also make knowledge explicit. Thus it can be stated that communities of practice play a major role in being a rare source of tactic knowledge. CoP can undergo evolution in a natural manner as the common interests of the members in a certain domain change with time. CoP might exist in physical settings as well as a virtual community. Both have equal contribution towards the exchange of ideas, experiences and concepts and enable the individuals to learn and gather knowledge (Becerra-Fernandez a nd Sabherwal 2015) Community of Practice would be beneficial for a local hospital as it is vital for optimal healthcare delivery. Engaging in a Cop would be the foundation for bringing improvements in the quality of health and safety of all concerned stakeholders. Cop would enable the hospital to generate and share knowledge and improve the performance of the organisation. Information could be shared regarding the latest technological advancements that can be applied to the setting for delivering better quality medical procedures. Views and opinions of healthcare professionals can help them to understand the evolving needs of the patients and the ways in which the patients can be better dealt with. The unique perspectives of the individuals through interaction would be shared, and this would be the setting to bring suitable reforms in practice (Ranmuthugala et al. 2011). References Becerra-Fernandez, I. and Sabherwal, R., 2015. Knowledge management. Routledge,. Hislop, D., 2013. Knowledge management in organizations: A critical introduction. Oxford University Press. Ranmuthugala, G., Plumb, J.J., Cunningham, F.C., Georgiou, A., Westbrook, J.I. and Braithwaite, J., 2011. How and why are communities of practice established in the healthcare sector? A systematic review of the literature. BMC health services research, 11(1), p.273.

Special Needs that Children Aged 0 to 5 Years Would Have in Time of Disaster in Anne Arundel, Maryland

Introduction Odenton, which is in Anne Arundel, Maryland, has experienced a 28.11% population growth rate in the past 10 years. The city is comprised of diverse ethnic groups, the whites being the largest ethnic group, making up to 72.3% of the entire population, while the blacks, the Asian, the Hispanic, and the mixed races make up 27.7% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Special Needs that Children Aged 0 to 5 Years Would Have in Time of Disaster in Anne Arundel, Maryland specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An increase in demographic data, however, goes hand in hand with an increase in social amenities, including amenities related to traumatic events. This paper will determine the special needs that infants aged 0-5 years in Odenton would have in time of disaster, and then provide an overview of the current community resources available in Montgomery County to help these infants. Special N eeds That Children Aged 0 to 5 Years Would Have In Time of Disaster The rate of population growth for children aged 0 to 5 years in Odenton is highly increasing over the years, as it currently stands at 11.58% of the entire population (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). Thus, this population is one of the most vulnerable groups in times of disaster, especially during mass casualty incidents. Knowledge on the special needs for this population can be obtained from health services that handle the critically injured patients in Odenton, commonly known as the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Determining special needs for this group necessitates the need for an effective data collection procedure, as the assessment should involve both human and capital resources. It is imperative to understand that undertaking a need assessment for this population should start from the onset of mothers’ pregnancy period because a disaster during pregnancy contributes greatly to adverse effect on unborn chi ldren’s health (Phelps Hassed, 2011). Hence, the special needs for this group should include screening pregnant women for the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder after a disaster, holding interventions aimed at reducing levels of stress for the affected pregnant women, screening toddles, and providing financial support to the low-income earners. These needs, however, can only be facilitated by the presence of the community’s resources, which include the level of Odenton’s family-centered practices, the level of Odenton’s policies on child protection, and the level of networks from neighborhood within Odenton.Advertising Looking for essay on anthropology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Community Resources Currently Available In Montgomery County in Maryland to Help This Group Families in Odenton seem to understand that, even though the infant’s group is more vulnerable to disaster, it is also more receptive to intervention as compared to the other groups. Thus, the families associated with this group are more receptive to availability of human resources currently available in Montgomery County since this county evaluates and comes up with a program that provides early intervention to children who have experienced a deficiency resulting from a disaster (Health and Human Services, 2011). This support concurs with Odenton’s family practices since the intervention is provided through a family centered approach that seeks to understand the special needs of infants aged 0 to 5 years. However, despite the fact that the Montgomery County has the capacity of providing this group with adequate interventions, the county puts more emphasis on postnatal support [0-5 years] than the prenatal support [during pregnancy]. Montgomery County protects infants aged 0 to 5 years by adopting practices that fit the needs of every child regardless of its character traits, interest s, health status, talents, and ethnicity, among other factors. Because of this, the guardians to the children of this group are receptive to the childcare financial support provided by the Montgomery County, as the county’s policy evaluates the low-income earners who are qualified for receiving this financial support (Health and Human Services, 2011). More so, Montgomery County protects this group through a model that facilitates decision-making process by taking into account that coordination and cooperation between the diverse ethnic groups within Odenton can enhance the intervention of this vulnerable group. Despite the fact that Odenton is ethnically diverse, the Montgomery County facilitates planning, implementation, as well as coordination of projects that cater for the welfare of this vulnerable group in a manner that averts racial discrimination (Health and Human Services, 2011). References Health and Human Services. (2011). Children, Youth, and Family Services. Web.A dvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Special Needs that Children Aged 0 to 5 Years Would Have in Time of Disaster in Anne Arundel, Maryland specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Phelps, K., Hassed, C. (2011). General practice: The integrative approach. Sydney: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Maryland 2000: 2000 census of population and housing (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. This essay on Special Needs that Children Aged 0 to 5 Years Would Have in Time of Disaster in Anne Arundel, Maryland was written and submitted by user Jair H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Avenge vs. Revenge

Avenge vs. Revenge â€Å"Avenge† vs. â€Å"Revenge† â€Å"Avenge† vs. â€Å"Revenge† By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between avenge and revenge? They can be used interchangeably as verbs, though avenge is more common and revenge is used more often as a noun. Both avenge and revenge, which share the Anglo-French root venger, meaning â€Å"to avenge† (ultimately from Latin vindicare, whence also vindicate and vindication), mean â€Å"to take vengeance, to retaliate for a wrong.† (The former is slightly more exalted in tone than the latter, implying righteous retribution rather than mere payback.) Unlike revenge, however, avenge is not used in noun form to mean â€Å"vengeance, retaliation.† In addition, one who avenges is an avenger, but there is no parallel form based on revenge. Venge, an obsolete variant, is the basis of the noun vengeance, which has a literal meaning nearly synonymous with revenge (as with avenge and the verb revenge, vengeance has a more elevated connotation than the noun revenge), but in the idiomatic phrase â€Å"with a vengeance,† it means â€Å"excessively† or â€Å"vehemently.† The adjective vengeful (and the adverb vengefully and the noun vengefulness, meaning â€Å"the quality of feeling vengeful†) also stems from the archaic form. One can also be said to be revengeful, and to act revengefully or to feel revengefulness, but these are needless variants of the simpler forms described above. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, Whether"Replacement for" and "replacement of"Neither... or?

6 reasons you need to quit your jobâ€now

6 reasons you need to quit your job- now If you hate your job, most people will tell you to stick it out for a number of very reasonable reasons. They’ll try to convince you that it’s not so bad, that you can make lemonade, that it takes lots of time to plan another move. Here, however, are 6 reasons why you should think about actually quitting  sooner rather than later. We know that some things are not worth sticking out even another week.1. It’s making you physically ill.Your body is literally done with the place. Your stomach is in knots, you have headaches, you feel anxious and depressed at work- or even at the thought of going into work. Listen to your body. This job is wearing you down. The stress is making you sick. Staying at a job like this can have really bad long-term effects on your overall health and happiness.2. The best you can hope for is mediocrity.If you aren’t being given sufficient opportunities to grow or challenges that allow you to stretch your abilities, chances are you won’t excel- personally or professionally. You’ll continue to be bored, your work will be mediocre, and your self-esteem will have nowhere to go but down. Is that the best you can expect (or want) for yourself?3. You’ve stayed way too long- and everyone knows it.Do you get the sense that your job has effectively passed its sell-by date and you’ve outgrown the position? When you think of doing the same tasks you’ve been doing for ages, does it leave a rotten taste in your mouth? If this sounds familiar, there’s a good chance your job has run its course. Why are you sticking around? You have the experience and skills, so come up with a plan  now for how you can use them to get a promotion or new position that deserves the new you.4.   You have dreams of entrepreneurship.You really want to go out on your own, have a great business idea, and are sick of working for other people and pushing papers around. Take a deep breath and put yourself i nto position to take a shot at your dream. If you fail, you can always go back, but if you never try you’ll never know what’s out there for you.5. Your boss is terrible.Bad bosses never get better or more bearable. If there’s no way for you to move to a different department or get promoted to a new manager, then you’re just signing yourself up for endless, daily misery by staying under your toxic boss.6. Your good reputation is fading fast.You’re miserable, so you’re calling in sick all the time. You’ve had a few public confrontations with your boss. Your work has begun to suffer. Leave now before your formerly stellar reputation starts to slide.Ask yourself: can you survive (i.e. pay rent and bills and feed yourself) if you were to quit today? If the answer is yes, go forth and quit. Make sure you have some vague idea of how to line a job up for yourself next month, but focus on getting out of a bad situation this month. You might fi nd that actually quitting forces you to make the changes you need to end up where you really want to be.

Antz Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antz - Movie Review Example In addition, there is a hierarchy of different offices in the movie as well as in the general society. Moreover, the movie ANTZ depicts the rights of individuals in the community as well as the role of democracy in the commonwealth. On the other hand, the works of Plato also elaborates on the ability of individuals to make their choices regarding their leadership. For instance, Plato puts it that the community is primarily formed to for mutual benefits to satisfy especially certain common needs. Plato goes ahead to explain what makes up the community. For instance, he describes the community to be an economic structure maintained by the working class and the merchants. Moreover, he explains that the military and leadership continue the guardians guarantee security needs. However, this entire are indicated the movie ANTZ in that; the film gives a clear indication of direction and author as well as a hierarchy of offices. The tension is viewed in the society in that, it majority who makes up the community in that; the rule of democracy governs them. On the other hand, Aristotle has the same view when it comes to his opinion about the community. That is, Aristotle has the same political point of view just in Movie ANTZ and Plato’s point of view. In Aristotle works, he agrees that the community is created with an objective towards some kind. That is, the leadership of the people needs to bear the needs of the population and make them be their responsibility. However, a tension exists in an individual as well the community in both works of Plato and Aristotle in that; they both have a clear definition on how justice should be implemented. In addition, they all explain the merits of having the rule of democracy in place. That is, the state of the majority should be followed. However, there are various characters in the play as well as in the works of Plato and

BATNA Basics Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BATNA Basics Assignment - Research Paper Example It is, therefore, before this stage that an individual takes time to think about all other possible options available, including the possible no-deal options (NMR 1). If the individual think and explore best options, then he or she has higher chances of proper and satisfying outcomes. Evaluate your alternatives. After listing all the possible options available, an individual moves to give the options a close examination and calculates the value attached to each of them before pursuance of each. Establish your BATNA. At this step, the individual must be careful to choose only courses of action that are viable in terms of yielding the expected value. The individual pursues the BATNA if the ongoing negotiation fails. It must have high chances of providing a positive solution. Calculate your value of reservation. In this step, the individual calculates his or her reservation value. The lowest proposed value deal that would be acceptable to the individual must not be lower than the reservation value chosen. If the proposed reservation value is lower than his reservation value, then the individual better rejects and subsequently pursues the original BATNA. However, if the reservation offer has higher value than the calculated reservation value, then accept it. Forgoing options after investing your resources in it creates a feeling of wastage. It thus requires that the individual find way of counterbalancing the situation (NMR 1). In addition, negotiations that are more costly during strong BATNA development may deter an individual’s efforts and behavior. The other hazard is that the negotiating individual may feel disappointed and exposed if all the details he reveals fail to yield expected outcomes. Prior investments have high likelihood of compromising ethical standards and emerging from sunk cost shadow cast become

Social Educational Theories Essay Example for Free

Social Educational Theories Essay Education plays a major role in any society. But the specifics involved in this role are still subject to debate. That is, the methods of teaching, the strategies of handling students, the style of managing schools, and the goals and standards of the educational system have been the subject of deliberation and reflection among educators, psychologists and social theorists. Educational systems have also changed numerous times throughout history and such changes are often the results of the emergence of social theories that influence the decisions of policy makers. In this research paper, four social theories will be examined: functionalism, Marxism, interpretivism, and post-modernism. These four social theories will be compared and their strengths and weaknesses will be discussed. In doing so, this paper will to what extent do these social theories explain the function of education in American society and how do these theories compare with the realist theory. What is functionalism? Functionalism is believed to have been developed by several philosophers in the nineteenth century but it was only during the early part of the twentieth century, the 1930s, did this social theory take official form in the United States through the work of Talcott Parsons. Unlike the earlier social theories that treat society as one vaguely defined system, functionalism boasts of focusing on the parts of the system and how these parts interact and influence each other. The parts have needs that the other parts can meet and this is why the parts exist in a state of cooperation. The system is then considered to be in equilibrium. However, the functionalists also recognize the changing nature of this system and that the parts adjust to these changes towards a new equilibrium (Parsons, 1951). Strengths and weaknesses. In the field of education, the major strengths of functionalism lies on the emphasis of interdependence and a path of evolutionary change that is not dramatic or chaotic. This is because the functionalists shun conflict and believed that any conflict can be avoided because each individual is influenced by the society’s norms. If an individual scorns these norms, there would be consequences such as social disapproval or even imprisonment. Unfortunately, despite the discouraging presence of these consequences, and based on the history of the world, the history of the American society, and of American education, conflict seemed to be significantly present. This made the tenets of functionalism naive and incomplete. Within the classroom, a functionalist teacher may induce the students to behave in an equilibrium-producing manner by emphasizing the classroom norms and the consequences that are given if such norms are ignored. Some of the consequences might be time-out, lower grades, suspension, and other sanctions. Again, similar to the greater society, the classroom society may have a few students who are not deterred by the consequences. This is not because the student intends to create conflict but because there might be some needs of the students that were not met. In the same way, there would be dissent and revolutions if social problems, such as poverty and tyranny, persist and come to a point when they become unbearable (Ballantine, 1997). Functionalism and education in an American society. Within the American society, functionalism might propose that the whole education system is entrusted with the responsibility of meeting one particular need of the society – to produce responsible and productive citizens. From one perspective, this functionalist role of the educational system may explain the function of education in America. This is because one of the purposes of the current NCLB or No Child Left Behind Act is to produce highly skilled citizens, who will be competitive in the global market (U.  S. Department of Education, 2004). Another perspective of functionalist that can describe the changes in the educational system in America is the concept of equilibrium. For example, the American society realizes that it needed to have better teachers and better students. The educational system responds by establishing standards and a more extensive evaluation procedure for school performance. Unfortunately, these two perspectives seem to be the only obvious connection between functionalism and education in a modern American society. Functionalism and realism. In the same manner, the aims of functionalist education doe not agree with the educational aims of realism, which is to produce perfection in an individual. Despite this difference in stated goals, functionalism and realism indirectly agree on some aspects of pedagogical methodology, such as the use of positive rewards. Functionalists espouse negative consequences for misbehavior while realists applaud positive rewards for admirable behavior (Merton, 1968). What is Marxism? Marxism is essentially a critical theory, which means that it seeks to reveal the negative and detrimental characteristics of an existing system. In this case, Marxism critiques capitalism. The major criticism is the way capitalist societies prey on the people who are stricken by poverty or possess vulnerabilities (Kellner, 1989). For example, capitalists praise the industrial revolution, which brought about rapid economic progress. The Marxists reveal the other side of industrial revolution that is unpleasant, which is the exploitation of children. Children, who may be as young as three years old, are allowed to work in factories (Cody, 2002). Strengths and weaknesses. In the field of education, the major strength of Marxism is the emphasis on teaching methods that encourage critical thinking. Marxists teacher engage in teaching approaches that develop collaboration and independence. Marxists teachers are critical of methods that only demand emulation and passive listening. Thus, some of the preferred methods of the Marxist approach to education are hands-on activities, cooperative learning, and constructivist methods (Kellner, 1989). However the social theory developed by Karl Marx often deludes clear understanding among philosophers, psychologists, and educators. This is because the terms used by Marxists are interpreted in a different way by the largely dominant capitalist society. And here lies the major weakness of Marxism. It cannot be completely understood and its tenets are viewed negatively by the society. Marxism and education in an American society. Politically, the American society is primarily against Marxism. It might be because America is a capitalist country or because Marxism is vaguely understood. In the area of education, however, the aim of Marxism to have students who are capable of thinking independently and critically agrees with the aim of many American teachers. There is a campaign towards the creation of questions that encourage critical and creative thinking. There is also an emphasis towards the creation of activities that encourage collaboration. But, the other Marxist educational aim, which is to produce individuals who will lead radical changes in the society, does not agree with the function of education in the modern American society. The American society may welcome critical-thinking individuals but these individuals must conform to well-established norms. Marxism and realism. Some aspects of Marxism agree with realism – especially about the view on knowledge. One of the pillars of realism, Francis Bacon, cautioned people to be aware of factors that prevent the acquisition of truth, such as limited experience, popularity, religion, and prejudice. Being cautious about these conditions equates to thinking critically. Another tenet of realism, which is espoused by Russell, states that education must lead towards the solutions of the ills that the society has. This can be translated into the radical changes that Marxists wanted. Unfortunately, Marxism is too radical for many realists and these two schools of thoughts are difficult to merge (Grabb, 1990). What is interpretivism? Interpretivism is one of the lesser-known social theories that emphasize the convergence of truth and perception. That is, the truth is similar to what is perceived. Since there might be different perceptions among individuals, these individuals must agree to one level of perception that is unanimously accepted. Once accepted, the common perception becomes a reality. Essentially, the reality that interpretivists create is based on the perceptions of the individuals. Due to this nature of reality, interpretivism can be perceived as a process rather than a theory. That is, in the field of social research, a society’s reality is obtained through interpretivism. And in the field of law, individuals must agree upon the interpretation of practices, statutes, and legal duties (Brink, 2001). These individuals, therefore, must have another basis for their agreement on interpretations. The basis is the set of norms and values of the society. Stated in this way, interpretivism can be deemed similar to functionalism, in which individuals or the parts of the society must conform to norms. And with regards to norms, both interpretivism and functionalism are opposed to Marxism. Strengths and weaknesses. In the field of education, the major strength of interpretivism is that it attempts to develop creativity in the learners, teachers, and education researchers. An object does not remain a simple object but takes on other forms. For example, a chair is no longer a simple chair but a place of rest, a symbol of sentimental moments, or a private corner. All these and more can be the forms of the chair. In this manner, the students not only develop creativity but a degree of open mindedness that will be useful in a global community (Vrasidas, 2001). Unfortunately, interpretivism lacks the structure that many educators wanted. This lack of structure is probably due to the history of interpretivism – which is a critical theory of positivism. Thus, Marxism and interpretivism have one thing in common – both are critical theories that offer a contradiction to an existing and dominant theory. Interpretivism and education in an American society. In the modern American society, interpretivism has been limited to the area of research. Due to this, it cannot be reliably utilized to explain the function of education in the American society. Except for the goal of producing creative thinkers, the interpretivists do not offer much detail or position regarding the teaching and learning processes. At the same time, there are tenets of interpretivism that contradicts the present educational system. For example, Interpretivists, due to their interpretation of reality, may not agree to the presence of standards and curriculum. They may also want to change the predominant methods of evaluation. Interpretivism and realism. The concept of reality between interpretivism and realism are conflicting. The reality of interpretivism is based on the perceptions of people whereas the reality of realism exists even without the presence of any person who can perceive such reality. Due to the opposing nature of reality, there would also be opposing perceptions about the nature of knowledge, which leads to differences in curriculum (Shinn, 2004). What is post-modernism? Similar to Marxism and interpretivism, post-modernism rose at the heels of a dominant existing theory. In this case, that theory was modernism. But, unlike the two previously described social theories, post-modernism adopts many of the tenets of modernism, which are futuristic in nature. Both modernism and post-modernism see a world that is not categorized by labels but fused. For example, in literature, there are no genres that separate poems and stories. But, there is no existing and recognized unity because both modernists and post-modernist realize the fragmented nature of the world. The difference between modernism and post-modernism is the attitude that the proponents and followers have towards this fragmentation and ambiguity. The modernists are saddened by it while the post-modernist embrace it. For example, post-modernist artists display their delight and fascination with chaos and disorganization (Heartfield, 2002). Strengths and weaknesses. In the field of education, the major strength of post-modernism is its ability to embrace and utilize the rapidly changing, chip-driven world. The teachers who are influenced by post-modernism will have the needed flexibility and adaptability to maintain and create direction for the students. For example, the meteoric rise of computers and other electronic gadgets might drag a teacher from his comfort zone and make him less effective. The post-modernist teacher would embrace the changes and will become computer savvy, along with his students. However, the post-modernist approach to education might endanger other aspects of the teaching and learning process. This is because the learning process needed structure and order – a concept that is not respected by post-modernist (Klages, 2007). Post-modernism and education in an American society. The theory of post-modernism might be used to explain the function of education in a modern American society, which is to help the learners adapt to their changing world. Obviously, the world perceived by the learner will change constantly and continuously. But, many of the educators and policy-makers in the American society will have second thoughts regarding this eager attitude towards change. Embracing the change might not be the best action to take. However, post-modernism wanted the students to think less of subject but more of purpose (Sarup, 1993). For example, the student must first determine his reasons why he must get a college degree. In this manner, post-modernism is aligned with the other social theories. However, post-modernism, at this moment, could not be utilized to fully explain the function of education in American society. Post-modernism and realism. Post-modernism, in the field of education, is not compatible with realism. This is because realism values the influence of science whereas post-modernism shins the importance of science. However, post-modernism embraces technological advances. These technological advances will not be possible without science. This attitude might lead to some compromise with the attitude of realists towards science. Realists believe that science will influence philosophies and post-modernists recognize the influence of changes. The function of education in the contemporary American society cannot be described fully by using only one social theory. A composite of these social theories must be used because the present American society has an eclectic view of the function of education.

Raves :: Free Essay Writer

Raves What is a rave? A rave usually refers to an all night party, open to the general public, where loud â€Å"techno† music is mostly played and many people can partake in a number of different chemicals (Official). Raves are fairly decent and you don’t hear much about them on the streets. Yet some people who go to the raves try to sell their drugs to ravers and that’s what makes the word rave so bad. Because of those people Mayor Daley has planned crack down on jailing building owners and managers who let their properties be used for raves where drugs are peddled. They approved of this Thursday, April 19, 2001. The range for jail term runs from two weeks to six months (Rave). But why are raves getting the reputation they are? Raves are getting bad reputations because of the drug peddlers that go to the raves to sell their ecstasy and stamina enhancing drugs. According to a website called Dancesafe.com ecstasy is a safe drug if you stay away from the listed k inds of ecstasy. The parents of the kids going to these raves are not saying a word about the drug situation there. They still let their kids go because they know it is safer than being out on the street or at some drinking party getting drunk and then having the risk of them driving home. If you ask me raves aren’t so bad, I’ve been to several of them and out of all of the ones I have gone I have only seen two peddlers selling X. They were all-night raves and tons of people and everyone was all wired and dancing and moving around like mad. â€Å"It’s a love circle, It’s like a 1960’s scene – all the races together, dancing, having a communal experience.† says Laze (Gracia). At raves there are different rooms. One room is the main room where the dancing goes on and all the music is spun and where most of the people are. Some of the music that is played there is House, Techno (most common), breakbeat, Trance, Tribal, and Progressive. The visual eff ects and a lot at the raves. Most of them use laser shows, others use laser that goes with the beat, and of course the classic strobe light. Then there is another room called the â€Å"cool down room† where you can buy water and energy drinks and sit down and talk to all the other ravers there and meet different girls and stuff.

The Two Nation Theory

i) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: The man who spoke first the Muslims as a â€Å"nation† in the modern times was none other than Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. In 1867, he said: â€Å"I am convinced that both these nations will not join whole heartedly in anything. At present there is no open hostility between the two nations. But on accounts of so called educated people it will increase in the future. † Analyzing on the demand of Indian National Congress for introduction of parliamentary elections he said: â€Å"The proposals of congress are exceeding expediently for a country which is inhabited by two different nations. Now suppose if the English leave India who would be the ruler of India? Is it possible under these circumstances that the two nations, the Indians and the Muslims would sit on the same throne? Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of them should surrender the other. To hope that both would remain equal is to desire the impossible. † ii) Allama Iqbal: He was a great philosopher and political thinker. He had studied Islam deeply and had profound likening for the Islamic principles. He compared the western culture with Islam and reached the conclusion that the welfare of mankind laid in the adoption of Islam as a way of life. He awakened the Muslims of the subcontinent and asked them to struggle for a separate homeland. This he did through his poetry. He said: â€Å"I am fully convinced that the Muslims of India will ultimately have to establish a separate homeland as they cannot live with Hindus in United India. † Allama Iqbal openly negated the concept of one nation and emphasize on the separate national identity of Muslims. He was against the separation of religion from politics: â€Å"India is a continent of human beings belonging to different languages and religions. To base a constitution on the conception of homogenous India is to prepare her for civil war. I, therefore demand a separate Muslim state in the best interest of the Muslims of India and Islam. † The Allahabad address: The Allahabad address of Allama Iqbal carries great importance in the freedom struggle of the Muslims of India. In his presidential address he classified the two nation theory and demanded a separate homeland for the Indian Muslims. He said: â€Å"I declare that the protection of the separate identity is in the best interest of Hindus and the Muslims. Since the Muslims of the sub-continent are a separate nation with their distinct culture and religious values and they wanted to have a system of their own liking, they should be allowed to live under such a system in a separate state comprising of north western frontier province Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. † The spirit which Iqbal infused in the Muslims by his Allahabad address developed into an ideological basis for the Pakistan movement. The famous Pakistan resolution passed on March 23, 1940 at Lahore was in fuel based on Allama Iqbal’s presidential address of Allahabad. iii) Quaid-i-Azam: Quaid-i-Azam gave practical shape to the ideology given and enunciated by Allama Iqbal. He was at last successful in convincing the Hindus and the British of the reality of two nation theory and the Pakistan ideology. Jinnah, after entering into politics advocated Hindu-Muslim unity. He wanted joint effort of Hindus and Muslims. Thus, he came to be known as the â€Å"Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity†. Lakhnow pact became possible for his sincere acts in (1916) but later on he was greatly disappointed by the prejudicial attitude of Hindus and Congress towards Muslims. Now Jinnah believed that Congress will never recognize rights of Muslims. He said in the second round table Conference (1931). â€Å"I want to inform everybody openly that the Hindu-Muslim dispute must be settled before the enforcement of any system or constituent. Until you cannot provide guarantee for the safeguard of the Muslims interests, until you do not win their co-operation, any constituent you enforce shall not last for even 24 hours. Jinnah was a firm advocate of two-nation theory. On March 23, 1940 he said: â€Å"It has been taken mistakenly that the Muslims are a minority. They are not a minority. They are a nation by all definitions. By all canons of international law we are a separate nation from Hindus. † In 1942 he said: â€Å"We are a nation with our distinct culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendars, history†¦we have our own outlook on life and of life. He further defined the two nation theory, â€Å"The Muslims are a nation by every right to establish their separate homeland. They can adopt any mean to promote and protect their economic, social, political and cultural interests. † In 1942 he said: â€Å"Islam teaches equality, justice and fair play with everyone. We should base our democracy on the principles and concepts of Islam. † He said on 1947 at Islamic College Peshawar: â€Å"We did not want Pakistan to have a piece of land simply but we wanted a laboratory where we could experiment the Islamic principles. † S yed – Iqbal – Jinnah: from unity stance to separatism. Introduction: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah are considered as the key personalities in the history of Muslim nationalism in the sub-continent. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan gave the idea of the two nations, Allama Iqbal dreamed a separate homeland for the Muslims in the basis of this theory and Jinnah made it a reality. But the history is self evidence of the facts that Syed, Iqbal and Jinnah, originally, were not in favor of separatism but the conditions were created in which they were forced to shift from unity stance to separatism. Let us now see why Muslim leaders changed their stance. Sir Syed: Sir Syed — the pioneer of Aligarh Movement, is criticized by some Hindu Historians as anti-Hindu or a narrow communalist in his outlook. This can be repudiated by the fact that, his efforts were decelerated towards the promotion and advancement of all his countrymen, with of course a special reference to the position of Muslims as they were the fallen community. The translation society established at Ghazipur in 1964 which later on developed into Aligarh scientific society, whose object was to translate European literature into Urdu was being managed by Syed Ahmad’s life long friend ‘Raja Kishan Das. Similarly the British Indian Association established in 1866, with the object of keeping in touch with the members of the House of Common was composed of both Hindus and Muslims. He was evidently not addressing his own community when at the inauguration of the British Indian Association he said, â€Å"The Indians (Hindus and Muslims) are loyal to the British. † The year 1867 is particularly significant in the life of Indian Muslims. Syed Ahmed Khan was posted at Banaris when he sent a communication to the viceroy suggesting the establishment of a Vernacular University and a bureau of translation to translate University text books into Urdu. As a counter proposal that the Urdu language written in Persian script should he discontinued in the government courts and therefore should be replaced by Hindi Language written in Devaragri script. It was the first occasion when he felt that it was now impossible for the Hindus and Muslims to progress as a single nation and for anyone to work for both of them. Simultaneously, he met the commission of Banaris and discussed the problems of Muslim education. The British official was surpassed at the change and said: â€Å"Hitherto, you have always been keen at the welfare of Indians in General; this is the first occasion that I have heard about the progress of Muslims alone. † He also said, â€Å"Hindu and Muslims are like the two eyes of a beautiful bride† Allama Iqbal: Allama Iqbal was a poet and philosopher of India. He too was an ardent advocate of Indian Nationalism and Hindu Muslim unity in his early career. He was shifted from this stance in England during his study of western nationalism. The local political situation and Hindu Muslim siftS left its impression over his mind. But the thing which transformed him from a great exponent of Indian nationalism to the advocate of Indian nationalism and pan-Islamic was the modern nationalism which had divided nations into warring groups resulting into two world wars. This was a positive approach. He wanted to solve Hindu-Muslim problems for once and all. In his early career he did his utmost to integrate Indian nations, but the time proved that his spiritualism and ideological change was the exigency of the time. In 1909, when he was invited to Amritsar to attend a meeting of a cosmopolitan organization with the membership opened to the Hindus and the Muslims. Iqbal; politely declined the invitation and in the course of correspondence that ensured, he wrote: â€Å"I have myself been of the view that religious differences should disappear from the country, and even now I act on this principle in my private life. But now, I think the preservation in their separate nation enclitics in desirable for both the Hindus and Muslims. The vision of a common nationhood for India is a beautiful idea, and has a poetic appeal but looking to the present conditions and the unconscious trends of the two communities this idea appears incapable of fulfillment. Jinnah: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who led the battle for the creation of Pakistan, was however quiet a late convert to the creed of Pakistani nationalism. He strived for a long time for a ‘modus ivendi’ between Hindus and Muslims in an undivided India. He was described by Mrs. Sarojai Naido as the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. Gopal K. Gokhle was a literal leader of Indian national Congress who emphasized Hindu Muslim unity and under his influence Jinnah joined Indian National Congress in hope to bring the two communities into closer accord. From 1906 to 1920, when he left the Congress Jinnah stood for separate electorates not so much to stre ngthen the Muslims separatist tendency, but to bring them upon the economic and cultural level of the rest of the Indians. His efforts in the direction of Hindu-Muslim unity were unquestioned. Even when the relations between Hindus and Muslims were steadily deteriorating despite numerous efforts made between 1921 and 1928 to bring the two nationalities together, Jinnah’s faith in Hindu Muslim unity did not weaken. But the cunningness of the Nehru report and later events slowly and gradually transferred this ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity to an extreme concept of Muslims separatism in India.

Intimations of the American Character: Five American Writers

America’s only 230 years old, give or take, therefore to ask after the American character is much the same as asking after the character of a two-year old – not impossible, but hardly definitive. There’s a an anecdote of general reportage that on Nixon’s first trip to China Kissinger asked Mao what he thought of the French Revolution. Mao answered that it was too soon to tell.Perhaps it is too soon to tell what the American character is as can be determined in the literature of the 17th – 19th Centuries, but one cannot mistake that in the various works of its first significant authors (writers who felt themselves sufficiently invested in this democratic experiment spread over some six million square miles of beautiful and infinitely resourceful land) the first intimations if not indications of who and what we are (as opposed to where we came from – the old countries) make themselves known.Harold Bloom, Professor, author, reader, man of extrao rdinary powers of memorization, idiosyncratic, self-proclaimed Falstaffian, wrote, ironically enough, a work entitled â€Å"The Anxiety of Influence. † With reference only to the title, which implies so much, especially for any would–be artist who seeks place his/her own unique stamp on his/her work, one encounters the first problem for the truly creative: We are not born without context. Mozarts aside, we must school ourselves, absorb, learn, model, mimic and copy before we write, paint, sing, play music, dance, in a wholly new and original way.The struggle to achieve what is original implies its own anxiety. Like Michelangelo’s slaves f marble, will we ever break free? Has American broken free of its overwhelming British influences? And if we have broken free, if we have achieved a unique and American voice, to whom do we owe the credit for the great break with our bi-continental past? The important word here is context. No source is tapped in a vacuum. We are the progeny of forebears; we are the ancestors of those to come.Time being what it is we can only look back. First, review the grim declamations of Jonathan Edwards and feel the anxiety of that faith which rested in an angry God, full of spit, fire and fury, an unhappy parent disappointed in his children, a God in a nominally Christian world, who’s narrowed the avenue of salvation to inches of rock-ledge that can be traversed by so few that a minister’s left with little to do but warn his congregation about how bad it’s going to be when they’re dropped like spiders into the eternal flame.Of course, no God is ever as awful as his followers and Edwards’ admonitions are the high point of that drive towards â€Å"purity† which drove the puritans from the corrupt Anglicanism of Elizabeth and James (not to mention Henry VIII who had his own take mercy and forgiveness). If one were to read too much of Jonathan Edwards, one might conclude that the American character is a dour, determined and fatalistic, the unfortunate result of Augustine’s fear dripped through Calvin’s Swiss rectitude by way of Anglo-Saxon provincialism played out in the hands and minds of truly brave pilgrims determined to reform themselves almost out of existence.In short the first expression of America’s self, its character, was a reaction to the wavering, the wiggle-room, and the corruption in late Elizabethan, Jamesian-Protestantism. It is the expression of what one people might attribute to a god who’s angry with the failure of his children. But Edwards’s declamations are not the word of god so much as their expression of man angry with man.Ironically, the supposed anger of this god, by way of Edwards, will move Puritan congregation to embrace a work ethic (Protestant, New England, rural, elemental, purifying) which will stand in opposition to the source of the Reformation, itself – Luther’s reading of R omans which asserts salvation by grace and not by good works. But time passed and America, with its depth and breadth of resourcefulness, its brave and entrepreneurial people who made the move, took the chance, crossed the ocean in search of a better life, and would not be held captive in the ornate chains of those ministers well-schooled in the endless dark night of the soul.Brave people, entrepreneurs, the â€Å"can-do† sort of people who cross oceans are not the type of people to succumb to anxieties. And they are not without humor. Indeed they require humor, because humor is the step-sister of practicality. The ironic point of view, the wit, the clever turn of phrase, the creativity and intelligence of the comedic mode, are often the best means to drive home points and conclusions and directives that might otherwise be lost in the didactic drone of dogma.Ben Franklin gave voice to humor and common sense and practicality in his writings. We look upon him now, perhaps unfor tunately, as a cartoon figure of Disney’s imagination, or that precious gent employed each early summer to dress up in velvet, lace and granny glasses, to walk the streets of Philadelphia and scare children with the stilted language of the poor mimic. But to do so would be our loss. Franklin was a genius.He was a polymath, self educated and like most early Americans, born (as if dropped whole) into a new land affording infinite potential without the â€Å"floors or ceilings† of given classes, gifted with the curiosity and intelligence to make sense out of the new, original American experience, and to express the process for others. He was an inventor, a newspaper man, a man of letters, a political in-fighter, a political theorist schooled in the writings of the Enlightenment.He was a humanist who, unlike his ascetic Puritans ancestors of Boston and environs, believed that humans were of value, body, mind and spirit. Franklin dared to believe, in the most general sense of the lesser-dogmatic theists that man was deserving of something better than Edwards’s angry white bearded, sententious, demanding, unpredictable, inconsistent and contrary God.Through Franklin the American character first developed the genius of common sense, leavened with humor. In the settlement of New York by the inveterate, humanistic Dutch and Philadelphia by the easy, peaceful, sometimes silent Quakers, Franklin, the man who traveled south, denied the anxiety driven, forbidding world view (so often fostered in too-cold climates) that sought to prepare man for eternity while denying the value of the here and now.Through Franklin we learn that man is capable of creativity, here and now, that man can better his station in life, that life is worth living and that process, ritual, form and style (Franklin’s writing can not but reflect some of the 18th Century politesse) are meant to follow function and that substance, rather than appearance, is the determinative va lue.Throughout a review of Franklin’s writings, one is struck by that wave of humanism and democratic values that asserted themselves in the wake of decadent royalties and courts and found their most eloquent expression in the preamble to America’s Declaration of Independence, penned by Jefferson (edited, polished, affirmed, if not ghost written by Franklin. ) Emerson, the sage of Concord, virtually unknown in cocktail conversation today, but for the notion of some salty rigid circumspect New England self reliance, is the American writer with whom all American writers must contend.Like America, itself, full of contradictions and principles that outran its very self, Emerson was an iconoclast, who looked about the beauty of Concord and saw that although the world was good, man made institutions, were, over time, necessarily corruptible and, instead of assisting the individual in his walk through life, ultimately hindered the individual from clear sight, a post-Christian pantheism, a transcendent vision of God’s grandeur and all that can be deduced, derived from that.In a way analogous to the solitary loneliness of the dark night of the soul, Emerson encouraged the brave entrepreneurial American, optimistic, human, and sufficiently wise not only to appreciate the comedic mode of life (i. e. , life is ultimately and always salvageable), but to travel past the thickets of dogma, to apply his gifted and most importantly his co-creative mind to an understanding of the world about him. Yes, the America might be the New Jerusalem, a new place of unbounded physical grace, but the kingdom must be experienced within as well.Emerson’s transcendent view is best appreciated when one posits the pure permeability of the divine through nature and then through the very self. Humanism need not stand in opposition to Edwards’s angry god, but need only accommodate God, affording Him the place he’s had forever, within and without ourselves. Thoreau lived a mile from Emerson. They were friends to the degree that that they could offer and receive friendship.Both were complex, but Thoreau gave voice and body to complexities, contradictions that flowed from Emerson’s first indications of a uniquely American voice. (All men are created equal, and yet Americans buy and sell slaves. ) Thoreau is a photographic negative to much of what Emerson implies. Tough they both lived in this grand new country, Thoreau, the prophet, also recognized problems which would and still occur to this day in a country so bountiful it invited a work ethic as boundless as its resources, size and frontiers.Work is a balm to the anxious and energetic soul. Perhaps it’s too much to say that all work is busy work (though a walk down Park Avenue on a Monday in September might make one wonder), but work and the American’s over-praise of the over-valued activity is a defense to work’s essential nature – a distraction fr om the anxiety of being. Americans praise those Americans who work hard, keep their heads down, work hard, never look up, never question, and might ask after function but never purpose.And these are the workers, the people, the men and women, who live the lives of quiet desperation. Thoreau is a radical in that he goes to the very source of an idea cloaked in so many assumptions and â€Å"givens† that the questioning itself renders him an iconoclast, an eccentric of the first order. Living alone by a pond is nothing compared to asking those questions which might upset the underpinnings of a society too busy to ask anything. Thoreau loafs with the intensity of a Kant.He questions not only the American way of life with its work ethic, but also the proposition that life’s primary value lies in work and that through work (only work) man will find his identity, ultimately his purpose and after this life perhaps his salvation. Thoreau is a â€Å"loafer† like Whitman, but Thoreau does not loaf to escape work, he â€Å"loafs† to escape meaningless work and to question the assumptions of New England in the early 19th centuryThere’s a cliche in the work-a-day world, devoted to the corporate mind and group think that sublimates the individual to the will and survival and perhaps betterment of the group. It is this: Nobody’s indispensable. Thoreau either heard or intuited this dismissal of the human and his efforts (Willy Loman 100 years on), and said: Why do we engage in a system which demands our lives, makes false promises and considers us utterly dispensable? The American work ethic makes promises and offers the appearance of payback to justify itself. Indeed, such a charade is one under-pinning of the capitalist system.We’re promised ticky-tacky houses, country clubs, swimming pools, unlimited credit at usurious rates, nice clothes, the right schools for above-average kids, and of course the magical totem , the icon, t he car, the uber-van, the humvee, the mode of transportation that will â€Å"tell them who we are. † Thoreau anticipated all of this – the uneasy contract by which Americans remain trapped in the first and second levels of the hierarchy of needs while our demi-gods of celebrity and power achieve a self-actualization denied everybody else. Not surprisingly we are then bought off with television, sports, bread and circuses.One of the contradictions in Thoreau is that the assertion of the individual is Romantic, but the means employed is ascetic and classical. To live deliberately is not to live with frippery or Boucher’s swings or the ease of decadent courts. To live deliberately is a radical undertaking, directing the speedy to slow down to take time to loaf and view the smallest, finest things, those effects of creation which in their brief majesty put to shame all the useless memos, briefs, papers, efforts and transactions set down in the 19th Century’s ethos of success and wealth as the outward sign of grace.Thoreau stands in opposition to the America’s madness for work. Walden has changed lives. People have been seen reading it during their rush commutes. Whitman turns within and explodes without. He does not so much challenge the hustle and bustle of the great democratic experiment as he seeks to encompass it, to swallow it, to take it in, because the genius of the poet – this new American poet – is begin enough, grand enough, to express the vastness of it all. Indeed every part of every part is a part of every part.To turn within is to look without, to subsume the All. Whitman breaks the line open. Even a grade student looking at a poem by Whitman and a poem by Philip Freneau can’t help but see the difference in form. The old and tired expresses itself in neat stanzas, century old rules. But Whitman’s lines span the page. They scan and pose propositions only to complete the circle with their o pposition stated like closing a door on a completed whole. The compliment forms the greater proposition.This is a poet not so much of contradictions (though he admits as much), but a poet, like a demi-god, who can reconcile the apparent and real contradictions of life. Does America contradict itself (Slavery – All men are created equal)? Yes. Can America reconcile its contradictions? Perhaps. One war says we have; other wars say we have not. Perhaps it’s too facile to remark that whereas the country was split north and south, Samuel Clemens, born in Missouri, a border state, obtained his unique voice traveling north and south along a river which in its own way sought to hold the warring halves together.In Huckleberry Finn Twain reconciles the optimism and humor of Franklin, the adventuresome self-reliance of Emerson, Thoreau’s marginal iconoclast and Whitman’s reconciled over-soul. And yet, Mark Twain, the humorist, the colloquial voice of wisdom, the woo ly relative we place at the head of the table, soon encountered, as America encountered the cracks and flaws of life, its random terribleness, its self-inflicted wounds.At the very heart of the American character is the mater of slavery, the ludicrous contradiction of eloquence scripted to blow trumpets of gold and light bonfires of freedom that would out-enlighten the enlightenment. And still the ships came from the west coast of Africa. Slaves – bought and sold. These contradictions are essential. They are indicators of life itself and neither America, its character nor its poets and writers are immune.Though we can look fondly on America’s optimism, humor, practicality, favor of substance over form, the acknowledgment that form follows substance, that in America merit counts – we must also look upon the all too common type, born of the all too common fatigue evident in a country that offers just enough in a zero-sum game to keep the citizen alive one more day , for one more effort, for one more expenditure: We know the desperate worker, who expends enormous amounts of energy, convincing himself, fooling himself that what he does has meaning and purpose, that he’s paid enough (as all those bleeding-heart liberal programs for all those minorities don’t get in the way) and that someday, maybe when he retires with a weak heart and a spent spirit, he and his wife will travel the length and breadth of this great country and call to mind something of what that old gay poet wrote – something about atoms and bed-fellows and lilacs This too is the American character – desperate, tired, vain, prejudiced, spent, rigid, utterly human and, for all of it, ultimately forgivable.

Free Essays on Effects on Colored Musical Notes on Learning

Color is an important element in many people’s lives. A reaserch article entitled â€Å"Effect of Colored Rhythmic Notation on Music-Reading Skills of Elementary Students† analyzes the use of color in music. George L. Rogers researched how the use of color affected the learning abilities of young children to read and interpret music symbols. Rogers found that the use of color did not only improve the skills of the children, but they also found the material more fun and enjoyable when the notes were in color. Rogers stated that there is a â€Å" considerable body of educational research outside music suggesting that the use of color in instrumental materials can improve student performance and retention† (15). Rogers presents a number of examples from subjects outside of music that exemplify the benefit of color in educational materials. One of these tests involved students watching instructional videos in class. One group of students viewed the colored version of the video, while another group viewed the black and white version of the film. It was found that â€Å"students who viewed a colored version†¦ scored significantly higher on both immediate and delayed tests than did students who viewed a monochrome version. This study also found that students of different ability levels were affected differently by the presence or absence of color in the instructional materials† (16). There have been other studies that have â€Å"investigated† the effect of color-coded instructional materials in printed form. A reasercher named Lamberski found that â€Å"color-coded instructional materials were more effective than were black-and-white materials† (16). The use of color-coding had a more positive effect on tests of visual memory as compared to verbal memory (16). Rogers also discusses the use of color in math. The use of color in graphs and charts to teach numerical relationships has proven useful in teaching math to low-achieving a... Free Essays on Effects on Colored Musical Notes on Learning Free Essays on Effects on Colored Musical Notes on Learning Color is an important element in many people’s lives. A reaserch article entitled â€Å"Effect of Colored Rhythmic Notation on Music-Reading Skills of Elementary Students† analyzes the use of color in music. George L. Rogers researched how the use of color affected the learning abilities of young children to read and interpret music symbols. Rogers found that the use of color did not only improve the skills of the children, but they also found the material more fun and enjoyable when the notes were in color. Rogers stated that there is a â€Å" considerable body of educational research outside music suggesting that the use of color in instrumental materials can improve student performance and retention† (15). Rogers presents a number of examples from subjects outside of music that exemplify the benefit of color in educational materials. One of these tests involved students watching instructional videos in class. One group of students viewed the colored version of the video, while another group viewed the black and white version of the film. It was found that â€Å"students who viewed a colored version†¦ scored significantly higher on both immediate and delayed tests than did students who viewed a monochrome version. This study also found that students of different ability levels were affected differently by the presence or absence of color in the instructional materials† (16). There have been other studies that have â€Å"investigated† the effect of color-coded instructional materials in printed form. A reasercher named Lamberski found that â€Å"color-coded instructional materials were more effective than were black-and-white materials† (16). The use of color-coding had a more positive effect on tests of visual memory as compared to verbal memory (16). Rogers also discusses the use of color in math. The use of color in graphs and charts to teach numerical relationships has proven useful in teaching math to low-achieving a...

How to Write a Good Psychology Essay

How to Write a Good Psychology Essay How to Write a Good Psychology Essay Writing a good psychology essay is not an essay task, as it depends on adhering to appropriate psychology guidelines for writing. The psychology essay topic should be thoroughly researched with qualified and credible academic sources, such as reputable websites, peer-reviewed journals and other reputable publications. In addition, the essay should be properly formatted according to APA style, which is the most widely used writing style by psychology writers. This style is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA). Choosing a Psychology Topic Although you may be allowed to choose your own topic, the professor often assigns psychology essay topics to students. These topics are often in the form of research questions. If you choose the topic, make sure it is course relevant and one that is interesting to you. If it doesn’t interest you, then chances are it won’t interest your readers either. Structuring the Psychology Essay Be sure to follow all required guidelines given by the professor and ask questions if anything is unclear about the assignment. Your first task should be determining an argument for your essay and presenting it well. You need a concise thesis statement explaining what the essay will highlight and attempt to prove, and this should be backed up with credible sources offering evidence and theories which support and oppose the argument. Once the argument has been determined, it can be used as a blueprint for completing the essay. The psychology essay structure should basically consist of six portions: 1) the title, 2) the abstract, 3) the introduction, 4) the body, 5) the conclusion, and 6) the reference page. Title – Make the title concise and interesting enough to capture the reader’s attention and convince the reader to continue reading your essay. Abstract – This is a summary of the essay argument, explaining how the argument will be proven. You should also include what conclusion you aim to come to in the abstract. Introduction – The introduction gives a brief outline of the topic and pertinent issues leading into the argument. It should be no longer than 10% to 12% of the total essay content. Body – This portion is where the essay topic and ideas are organized and is the bulk of the essay content. The body presents the argument and evidence for and against it, and it examines and highlights theoretical research pertaining to the topic. Conclusion – This portion is a concise summary of the main points of the essay. The argument is restated and information on alternative thoughts and reasons for further research are included. References – Be sure to use the proper citation and referencing style assigned by your professor. Psychology essays are usually in APA style.

Same sex marriage vs heterosexual marriage Essay

Same sex marriage vs heterosexual marriage - Essay Example r inclusive of gay or lesbian partners which means there will be no children from either of the partners, and hence the marriage that takes place looks flawed in entirety. This is the reason why heterosexual marriages are considered the natural process to keep the ecosystem growing in a normal manner. There are no issues that the people find with heterosexual marriages since they are fundamentally based on the premise of bringing in individuals under the institution of marriage with the objective of giving birth to children. Another aspect why heterosexual marriages are deemed as successful is because they are openly accepted by the societal manifestations and hence there are no issues that are encountered by the people at large. The same sex marriages do not give this kind of liberty since they are marred by immense issues of non-acceptance even by the most immediate family members of the gay and lesbian partners. Hence acceptance is a much significant phenomenon that needs to be understood in a proper manner here. Without acceptance, the society will not come about usually as it would in a heterosexual marriage which gives more respect and dignity to the partners than a same sex marriage would do. One more aspect that is deemed as quintessential here is the fact that heterosexual marriages bank on the premise of understanding that people have an equal chance to make use of the resources present in this earth and hence they must do all that they can to interact with the society to keep the cycle growing. By this, what one means to suggest is that the childbirth aspect should not come down at any stage. The same sex marriages are dependent on just the lust factor where as the heterosexual marriages ensure more than lust alone – they are the entire code of life and should be seen as such (Allen 2006). Essentially speaking, the heterosexual and the same sex marriages have a huge amount of differences which need to be properly gauged. The heterosexual marriage is

Reading Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Reading Response - Essay Example Topik argues that voyages lead to the global trade which allowed other goods from Asian countries, particularly tea in becoming part of the European culture2 (Topik 2006). Topik in his article highlights that the revolutionary boom and the voyages boost the trade of cheap drug food like tea in the European region. With the passage of time, people become excessively addictive of tea. On the other hand, James states that the expansion of global trade made cheap goods like tea available to people and they became fashion symbols. I am of the view that James in the article emphasizes on the West Indians of East India Company and salves were the reason for making people addictive, whereas Topik in his article states that the control of the production of the tea plantation was the major issue, and trade of cheap products. In my opinion, both articles present the same idea that the global trade made tea one of the most significant and most widely used commodities. In addition, the adaptation and accessibility of these commodities made tea common in the people. There is a minor difference in the idea presented by the authors. James talks more tea as an imperia l commodity whereas, Topik talks about the trade and slavery as a cause for tea to become a common

The implementation of Express Entry, in the beginning of 2015 IN Article

The implementation of Express Entry, in the beginning of 2015 IN Canadian - Article Example The PNP program may nominate candidates through the Express entry pool, or existing paper-based processes as per their agreement with the government to empower them to nominate immigrants interested in or who they have interest in settling within their territories. Such candidates are offered 600 additional points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CSR). Assessment of potential candidates is grid-based to points that are awarded as per educational qualifications, language, work experience or age (CIC NEWS, 2014). Potential candidates are supposed to score points as per human capital and skills relocation points which are used to invite them for permanent residence applications. Quebec does not use Express Entry but has put in place the Quebec Skill Worker Programme, which establish areas of training as per its economic and population needs (Government of Canada, 2015). Interestingly, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have developed systems similar to that of Quebec despite the fact that they still have their respective Provincial Nominee Programs (Canadavisa, 2015). For example, Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program has established skills gap (for example business investor) that require prospective immigrants with targeted skills and experience. Having identified the need, the province offers a nomination certificate that speeds up the immigration process. Under the reformed federal immigration system that has introduced the Express Entry, the Canadian government will see to it that provinces and territories have the capacity to select a particular number of foreign nationals in line with their local immigration and labour needs

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Following this significant act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to announce the text of the Declaration, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without difference based on the political status of countries or territories. So the question, if everyone is entitled to their own opinion could find ease answer in the article 19, in which is stated that Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.(David Weissbrodt and Connie de la Vega , p102) This universal declaration of human right set a worldwide standard of achievement for all people and all nations, to the end that every human being and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, and make every effort by teaching and encourage respect for these rights and freedoms , nationally and internationally, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the people of Member States themselves and among the people of territory under their influence. Definitely the recognition of equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the underpinning of freedom, peace and justice in the world. We can confirm that wherever, either in the past or in the present time or future there is the absence of such status we will always experience result of barbaric acts. Of course Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan declaration Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts., will change the opinion about opinions .So opinions can hold opposing views, but those opinions must be based on factual truths, and hold specific characteristics such as, prevent harm to others, avoid source of offence or be offensive and of course avoiding moral transgressions. (Tom Gorman, 2007 p.100-102) We can say that, dangerous opinions lead to dangerous actions or fact. And when they do, we need to stand up and strongly criticise those dangerous actions and be critical of the beliefs which lead to those actions. Now again, we are not talking about outlawing those dangerous opinions and beliefs, but we are talking about being critical of those opinions and beliefs. We could be supportive to the ACLU (American Civil Liberty Union) when they protected the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) for their right to march- demo peacefully. But if they wanted to march peacefully in our cities, maybe we would be on the sidelines being very critical of their beliefs and against those views. In our analysis however, no opinions should be above criticism. We believe in the marketplace of ideas and in that bazaar all opinions and beliefs are welcome and should be similarly open to criticism. We all, not only criticise other peoples opinions every day, but no one would argue that it was immoral to express opinion or to criticise them. No one has a difficulty criticising what Hitler did to the Jews. Nor do people have concern in criticising the KKK for their views, or that Tom Cruise is constantly criticised for his religious viewpoint and so for the majority of Christians, Jews and Muslims that usually are underlined with criticism for their opinion .Of course the moment anyone criticises opinion and beliefs, we will have attempt to over dramatise the criticism with claims of intolerance and/or hate. Insinuations are made that their free speech is being taken away; creating a big misunderstanding of what really is freedom of opinion. Then to avoid such misunderstanding we should analyse the ramification of the different aspect of opinion, to fully appreciate the importance of a word and knowledge and how we could make the best use out of it. We could start doing so by using a philosophical approach. Now if we think that Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, we know that opinion and supposition are inconsistent with logic. There is no hesitation in thinking, that philosophy provides the practice of scientific reasoning, and so the knowledge of things and their causes, through reason and dialogue. It is a way of comprehending what is factual and what is correct by focusing on rational understanding and analysis, or simply what makes sense. So once we establish this concept we can move on to the second approach, in which , principles travel the opposite way of the first approach ,but worthy to be taken under consideration .So we will look at the expression of opinion under intellectual point of view and, if it should be voiced freely by any individual . We can say that an Intelligent person whether his opinion is based on fact or not, will make the difference. Already, for someone to have his opinion makes the biggest difference. An educated person has an opinion on any matter; .and can give a plausible answer on any question. The reply does not have to be exact, or even precise, but an individual must have some opinion to discuss on the subject. Thus, it is not indispensable to know the facts in order to express an opinion; an opinion may even be entirely unsupported in an argument. So also examining the expression of opinion under academic view, we can confirm that any one is entitled to their own opinion, especially those individuals with a particular cultural preparation, since, we know that if an opinion is not founded on demonstrated and valid information, it is irrelevant. Of course we can argue that, on a certain extend, because if we do consider the examination of relativity of the opinion, we would find a different prospective. In the language of relativity, everyone is accurate. Possibly from their particular point of view, everyone is in the situation of believing that they have accurately determined the order of events. However, we know that it is not possible for everyone to be right. For example If everyone has a diverse opinion about which is the best classical painter of all time in the world it may not be possible to determine finally who is correct, and so we may be tempted to say that they are both entitled to their opinion or point of view. So entitled or not, the best painter is by designation only one , and the opinions of all but one admirer are wrong, even though its not possible to say whose opinion is correct .At this point it will be important to examine the understanding of true in believing the opinion. Everyone should have the independence to seize their own beliefs and the freedom to attempt convincing others of the truth of those beliefs and opinions. But as we know, not all beliefs can in fact be equally true. If you believe that a painting completed by Mr Jones is superior than the one done by Michelangelo, or that someone says that the summer in Egypt is warmer than the one in Italy and we believe it is wrongly the way around , we could both be wrong , but we can not both be right. If we believe the Mount Etna is an Active volcano, and you believe that it is not, we can not both be right. When it comes to the difference between an active volcano or not, we can not say everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Moderately, we look at the proofs and facts, and try to outline whose opinion is really right. Clearly before expressing opinion we should examine the possible evidence, and not dismiss the case without even looking at it. So it is important before believing in particular opinion the examination of evidence. So, trying to understand, how we could become different from the kind of person who would ignore the evidence, and still believe in his own opinion. And in doing so we may encounter the examination of the probable opinion, philosophically well illustrated by Bertrand Russell: What we strongly believe, if it is true, is called knowledge, provide d it is either intuitive or indirect (logically or psychologically) an intuitive knowledge from which it follows logically. What we firmly believe, if it is not true, is called error. What we firmly believe, if it is neither knowledge nor error, and also what we believe undecided, because it is, or is derived from, something which has not the main extent of self-evidence, may be called probable opinion. Thus the larger part of what would regularly pass as knowledge is more or less probable opinion. A body of individually probable opinions, if they are mutually rational, become more probable than any one of them would be individually. It is in this way that many scientific hypotheses obtain their probability. They fit into a coherent system of probable opinions, and thus become more probable than they would be in isolation. The same thing applies to general philosophical hypotheses. Often in a single case such hypotheses may appear extremely doubtful, while yet, when we consider the order and coherence which they introduce into a mass of probable opinion, they turn into almost certain. (Bertrand Russell, 2001 p.138-139-Probable Opinion By Bertrand Russell, Copyright 2001 (pg.138-139) Concluding we can say that opinions are not the problem , problems occur when people begin using opinion to segregate and insult .Is unquestionably true that everybody is entitled to their own opinion .It is a process that can neither be stopped nor guarded .So the last question is, Should every one be allowed to their own opinion ? The answer is that it is up to each individual to choose whether voicing their opinion on a topic, is valuable or not. We know that voicing opinion in certain circumstances may lead to dreadful consequences and if we would do so, we should be prepared to deal with those consequences.

Comparing the American Dream of the Transcendentalists with that of The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

Comparing the American Dream of 19th Century Transcendentalists with that of The Great Gatsby The American Dream remains viewed as the success which one obtains. The American Dream has had a great impact on literature as well as an impact on the changing of time periods. The 19th century Transcendentalists’ idea of the American Dream focuses on reaching one’s goals by honest, hard work. On the other hand, Gatsby’s idea of the American Dream in the 20th century centers on becoming successful by way of illegal money that was not acquired through working. Ultimately, the Transcendental and Gatsby’s beliefs reveal a great deal of contrast. The American Dream of the Transcendentalists centers on being all that one is meant to be. First of all, the ideas of the Transcendentalists did not revolve around society and materialistic possessions. Transcendentalists felt that â€Å"society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of everyone of its members†(from Self-Reliance 194). Also, Transcendentalists believed that â€Å"The nation itself, with all its so-called internal improvements, which, by the way, are all external and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, cluttered with furniture and tripped up by its own traps, ruined by luxury and heedless expense† (from Where I Lived and What I Lived For 212) and for which the only cure is simplicity. In addition, Transcendentalists believed that man should live life to the fullest by seeking to reach their potential. Thoreau â€Å"did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I [Thoreau] could best see the moonlight amid the mountains† (from Conclusion 217). Seeking to reach one’s potential means that one must â€Å"Absolve you to yourself, and you should have the suffrage of the world† (from Self-Reliance 194). Furthermore, the Transcendentalists sought self-knowledge through the study of nature. â€Å"Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood† (from Nature 191). â€Å"The life in us is like the water in the river† (from Conclusion 217) because some days one rises like the river and drowns out all of ones problems. Most importantly, the ideas of nonconformity and individualism illustrate the Transcendentalist beliefs. â€Å"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist† (from Self-Reliance 194) shows that every man should have a unique quality that separates him from other men.