Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Questions - Assignment Example Moreover, sub-division of goods was necessary without which the barter system could not take place (Suri, Budhiraja and Rajput 2005). Some of the other problems associated with barter system were in storing the materials that would be used for exchange. Since they were in material forms, they required enough spaces, for example materials like rice, grains, etc. Facilities of credit could not be made available in this system. Also, difficulty was faced in transferring the goods and products from one place to another (Suri, Budhiraja and Rajput 2005). In a barter system, even when the number of commodities would be few, the exchange rates for different products and goods became burdensome (Thomas 2005). The establishment of the monetary system has improved upon the barter system owing to different reasons. The barter system has proved to be a system that caused inconvenience for the reasons mentioned above. With all its associated difficulties, the scope and scale of trade became limit ed with use of a barter system. The monetary economy eliminated such difficulties. Money could be used for the purchase of products where the value of the goods could be measured and monetary payments done accordingly. In the monetary system, thus goods are exchanged with money. ... With the new system, the economy of the world could be seen to specialize with higher levels of labor divisions as well. While in the barter system only tangible assets could be used for economy; in the monetary economy, money could be included in the list of assets of any individual. Thus savings is possible to be achieved more in the monetary economic system, where investments can be made with the money depending on need and time. With the monetary economy in place, problems with consumption and distribution have been found to be solved, leading to better investment measures in the economy as well (Kolars et al 2013). Thus it can be said that the establishment of monetary economy has improved upon the previous barter economy. Solution 2: Considering the introduction of money in the economic system of the world, all forms of money are actually incorporated. Thus money could be in the form of anything, any goods or products having some intrinsic value, or that which might not have an y intrinsic value (Karimzadi 2012). Money does not possess any inherent value of its own. It is valuable because people are in needed, while its supply is limited. Goods and products are the most essential factors in the economy. Money is essential as it allows to purchase or sale such needed goods and products. However, the value of money gets affected or influenced depending on factors like inflation that severely affects trade and business activities and people tend to react badly in such situations. Increase in supply of money leads to conditions like inflation in an economy, resulting to increase in prices of goods and products. Hence, essentially the value of

High School and Public School Enrollment Essay Example for Free

High School and Public School Enrollment Essay In the essay â€Å"Still Separate, Still Unequal,† the author Jonathan Kozol criticizes the educational system practiced in the urban areas of the United States and where he writes about his beliefs that minorities are being placed in poor conditions while the Caucasian majority is obtaining funding for the schools that the majority of them attend. He supports his personal viewpoints, with statistics which he himself gathered from different schools around the U.S. Kozol starts out his essay with logic to prove that the school systems of today are separate and unequal by using demographics from public schools from the larger cities in the country; for example, â€Å"In Chicago, by the academic year 2002-2003, 87% of public school enrollment was black or Hispanic; less than 10% of children in the schools were white. In Washington D.C., 94 % of children were black or Hispanic; less than 5% were white (220).† He emphasizes on these statistics to prove his point that schools are still segregated. Later in the essay the author then mentions in his essay that the word â€Å"diversity†, â€Å"cease to have real meaning; or, rather, they mean the opposite of what they say(223).† Kozol mentions that when he â€Å"visited in the fall of 2004 in Kansas City, Missouri, for example, a document distributed to visitors reports that the school’s curriculum ‘addresses the needs of children from diverse backgrounds.’† He goes on explaining that when he went â€Å"from class to class, [he] did not encounter any children who were white or Asian—or Hispanic (223).† He then makes the reader connect emotionally by writing comments that high school students and third graders from segregated neighborhoods and public schools made about their different situations in their school. For example, he quotes a letter that an eight-year-old girl wrote to him saying, â€Å"We do not have the things you have. You have Clean things. We do not have. You have a clean bathroom. We do not have that. You have Parks and we do not have Parks. You have all the thing and we do not have all the thing. Can you help us (224)?† Kozol then presents facts about how physicians were removed from elementary schools. The author continues presenting conversations with people that he met. Jonathan Kozol’s essay shows how the school system today is in fact still divided and unequal according to somebody’s skin color or race even though the course of ‘Brown vs. Board of Education’ allegedly resolved this. Prev Page

Monday, October 14, 2019

A leadership in healthcare

A leadership in healthcare Introduction Effective leadership is essential in health care organisations as in other organisations. It is necessary for driving innovation, effective patient care, patient safety, improving working within clinical teams, sorting out issues within emergency context and other aspects necessary for effective and efficient running of healthcare organisations. Transformational leadership has often been prescribed as the ‘gold standard of healthcare leadership(Gopee and Galloway 2009).This essay sets out to: briefly discuss the concept of leadership; highlight why leadership is important in healthcare; make a distinction between the closely-related concepts of leadership and management; briefly highlight how power relates to leadership; describe some leadership approaches applicable within the context of healthcare organisations; describe leadership styles visible in healthcare; present a case study set in a teaching hospital practice setting in Africa ; critically assess the leadership approaches operating within the setting and its effect on organisational performance ;and make recommendations on improving leadership practice within the specified setting. What is leadership? Leadership can be defined as â€Å"the ability of an individual to influence a group of people to achieve a goal(Bryman 1992).It is also noted that ‘leadership can have four possible meanings, namely: the activity of leading; the body of people who lead a group; the status of the leader; and the ability to lead'(Gopee and Galloway 2009). Kouzes and Posner (2007) suggest some characteristics of an effective leader namely to: be more effective in meeting job-related demands; be more successful in representing their units in upper management; create higher performing teams; foster renewed loyalty and commitment; increase motivational levels and willingness to work hard; and possess high degree of personal integrity. Why leadership in healthcare? Effective leadership and management has been found to contribute to efficiency of health care services, performance (McColl-Kennedy and Anderson 2002) and satisfaction of staff employed within them.(Bradley and Alimo-Metcalfe 2008) researched the causal relationship between leadership behaviours and the performance and productivity of staff and found that ‘engaging leadership improved employee engagement and performance. (Morrison, Jones et al. 1997) studied the relationship between leadership style, empowerment, and job satisfaction on nursing staff at a regional medical centre. They used Basss Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire to measure leadership style, items from Spreitzers Psychological Empowerment instrument to measure empowerment, and the Warr, Cook, and Walls job satisfaction questionnaire to measure job satisfaction. The authors found that both transformational and transactional leadership were positively associated with job satisfaction. Some other researchers reported that good leadership skills impacted on patient safety and quality of care (Corrigan, Lickey et al. 2000; Firth-Cozens and Mowbray 2001; Mohr, Abelson et al. 2002).Furthermore, leadership skills are essential in the world of public health policy and leadership is one of the core competencies required of public health trainees(Faculty of Public Health 2010). Leadership versus management Relevant to this discourse is making a distinction between leadership and management. They are two similar but distinct concepts. Management is seen as seeking order and maintaining stability while leadership is seen as seeking adaptive and constructive change. Leadership in the healthcare context aims to influence practitioners towards the achievement of the common goal of quality patient care. On the other hand, management as a process coordinates and directs the activities of an organisation to ensure it achieves its set objectives. Management ensures healthcare resources (human such as doctors, nurses and clerical staff and non-human resources like medical devices and consumables) are utilised in an efficient way whilst delivering effective healthcare service(Gopee and Galloway 2009). However, leadership is known to be complementary to management (Kotter 1999; Zaleznik 2004). Leadership theories and styles in healthcare A number of theoretical leadership approaches can be applied within healthcare. However, not all aspects fit in perfectly into healthcare, and thus some adaptation may be required. Transformational leadership Transformational leadership is a widely advocated approach for healthcare. Transformational leadership is one of the contemporary leadership approaches that are concerned with how an individual influences others in a group in other to achieve a common goal. Transformational leaders seek to accomplish greater pursuits within an organisation by inspiring other members of the group to share their vision for the organisation. Transformational leaders motivate and raise the morality of their followers and help them reach their fullest potential. Mohandas Gandhi Nelson Mandela have been cited as transformational leaders(Northouse 2007). In an organisational context, a transformational leader is one who attempts to change the organisations values in order to portray a standard of fairness and justice while in the process emerging with a better set of moral values. Transformational leadership is about the collective good of an organisation; it is expected to bring about organisational change. It aims to inspire commitment to the organisations vision and ideals. In healthcare, teams of health care professionals are inspired to achieve the highest quality of patient care irrespective of limiting situations (Gopee and Galloway 2009). The concept of transformational approach of leadership was popularised by the political sociologist, leadership expert, and presidential biographer- James Macgregor Burns in his seminal work Leadership written in 1978. In this book, he described the leadership styles of some political leaders. Bernard Bass widely cited in leadership literature built on the work of Burns and argued that leadership is an influence process which motivates followers to perform above their expected output by ‘raising the followers level of consciousness about the importance and values of the shared goals, operating beyond their self-interests and addressing higher level needs'(Bass 1985). He also suggested that transformational and transactional leadership models where a continuum rather than mutually exclusive entities. Four qualities or behavioural have been widely cited as the leadership factors which are an integral part of transformational leadership- the 4 IS(Bass 1985; Avolio, Waldman et al. 1991) namely: idealised influence-describes the ability of the leader to act as role model s whose followers emulate. This factor is sometimes mentioned as being the same as charisma; inspirational motivation-the ability to inspire the members of the group to become integrated with the vision of the organisation while transcending their own self-interest ; intellectual stimulation-the stimulation of creativity and innovation in the followers so that they are able to discover and develop new ways of sorting out issues within the organisation as they arise; and individualised consideration-portrays the need for leaders to recognise the strength and weakness of each member of the group foster on the development of followers and help each in the achievement of goals through personal development. Transactional leadership, on the other hand, is one based on reward for performance. A transactional leader is described by (Bass 1985)as one who prefers a leader-member exchange relationship, in which the leader meets the needs of the followers in exchange for meeting basic expectations. In essence, a transactional leader has a penchant for avoiding risks and is able to build confidence in subordinates to allow them to achieve goals. The transactional leadership construct has three components: Contingent reward -clarifies what is expected from followers and what they will receive if they meet expectations. Active management by exception- focuses on monitoring tasks and arising problems and correcting these to maintain current performance. Passive -Avoidant Leadership-reacts only after problems become serious and often avoids decision-making(Avolio, Bass et al. 1999). Connective leadership is a theory based on the premise that establishing alliance with other organisations via networking is essential to the success of an organisation. Collaboration between different clinical teams within a hospital and with other health care organisations and service industry exemplifies this.(Klakovich 1994) suggests that ‘empowering staff at all levels facilitates the collaboration and synergism needed in the reformed health care environment of the future. Distributed leadership Clinical leadership Leading change in the University College Hospital Ibadan: a failed effort in transformation? Healthcare in Nigeria is faced with enormous challenges. The University College Hospital Ibadan was established in 1948 is the foremost tertiary hospital in Nigeria. It is basically organised as a public sector organisation whose primary goal is to provide the best available healthcare service in the western region and the country as a whole. Funding is from the Federal Government and its activities are regulated by the Federal Ministry of Health which is also responsible for the implementing healthcare policies. However, a private section of the hospital was established recently modelling the prevalence of internal markets currently prevailing within healthcare. Currently, the University College Hospital produces 1 in every 5 physician in the nation. It was initially commissioned with 500 bed spaces but has now grown to a 850 bed hospital. The current average bed occupancy ranges from 60-70%. The hospital board of management comprises: the Chairman the Chief Medical Director; the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee; the Secretary of the Board; representatives of public interest; representative of the Nigerian Medical Association; representative of the State Government; representative of the University of Ibadan Senate; representative of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan; and the Provost of the College of Medicine. The organisation has three principal officers but the day -to -day running of the hospital falls on the Chief Medical Director who demonstrates some attributes of transformational leadership in order to bring about change. Vision ‘To be the flagship tertiary health care institution in theWest Africasub-region, offering world-class training, research and services, and the first choice for seeking specialist health care in a conducive atmosphere, renowned for a culture of continuing and compassionate care'(University College Hospital Ibadan 2009). Mission Statement ‘Rendering excellent, prompt, affordable, and accessible health care in an environment that promotes hope and dignity, irrespective of status, and developing high quality health personnel in an atmosphere that stimulates excellent and relevant research. (University College Hospital Ibadan 2009). The Chief Medical Director is an assigned leader-one whose leadership is based on formal position and legitimate authority. His appointment by the Federal Government in 2003 was proposed to be vital contribute to the improvement of the hospital. A trained obstetrician, he participates actively in the care of pregnant women. With increasing satisfaction of healthcare staff, patient satisfaction rates began increase. A new magnetic resonance imaging, centre, cancer treatment and research centre.new innovationsthe bank to collect..Satellite pharmacies were established in order to reduce the time and effort spent by staff in getting patient medications.staff development through exchange programmes, establishment of day care centres.shows his entrepreneurial qualities. Despite it all, mortality rates remain high, medical errors are frequent, post operative patients developed infections frequently and physicians were verbally and physically abused by patient relatives. Private patients get more attention from the junior doctors and other specialist consultants. It has now been found wanting in serving the needs of the local population. Repeated nurses strike, junior workers strike.. Despite recognition that transformational leadership has some positive benefits, it is particularly difficult to act out within public services organizations Frederickson 1996 cited in (Currie 2005).Though with its own merits, the view that transformational leadership is the solution for healthcare leadership has been criticised. While there are advantages of using the transformational approach, it is not a universal panacea. Transformational leadership alone cannot account for effective outcomes in this health care organisation. Other aspects like of organisational behaviour such as management practices, knowledge management, and organisational culture are also key determinants. A US study of 370 hospitals explored the relationship between leadership, quality and knowledge management and found that transformational leadership is fully mediated by knowledge responsiveness in its effect on organisational performance (Gowen, Henagan et al. 2009). Effective knowledge management is thus strong confounder in the relationship between leadership and organisational performance. In relation to organisational culture, there is also a link between hospital and ward culture with patient outcomes. Research has shown that hospitals with a strong hand-washing policy and practice recorded fewer infections. Transformational leadership, while focusing on change, may not be in consonance with performance management needed for accountability in healthcare(Firth-Cozens and Mowbray 2001). The context in which a leadership style operates is also a key determinant on outcome irrespective of leadership style. Studies have shown the relationship physician working hours, stress, and burnout on quality of care and patient outcomes (Firth-Cozens and Cording 2004; Landrigan, Rothschild et al. 2004).Tackling job stress is thus a key avenue for improving quality of care. The Chief Medical Director needs to understand the complexity within which healthcare is delivered and translate it to his practice setting rather than trying to adopt a prescribed process. Conclusion This essay has highlighted a number of leadership theories, skills, style leadership in healthcare has been assessed. There is no perfect style or approach to leadership and healthcare organisations pose a complex setting. Several approaches may operate simultaneously. Context, political environment and social factors will affect leadership styles and approach. Clarifying the situation of a practise and flexibility is very important. Numerous challenges face healthcare organisations in Nigeria. The ability to deliver safe, effective, high quality care within organisations with the right cultures, the best systems, and the most highly skilled and motivated work forces will be the key to meeting this challenge. Conflicts still exist as to what constitutes good practice in leadership and there is no perfect set of prescriptions for effective leadership. All the existing theories merely provide a framework for which practise can be based. Healthcare organisations are a complex setting and to achieve efficiency and effectiveness, healthcare leaders need to be very flexible in their leadership. The University College Hospital should adopt an blend of different theories and styles in practice. Recommendations Leadership can be taught (Parks 2005)and improved through organising leadership development programme. It is also noted that leadership development programmes improved efficiency and quality in healthcare(McAlearney 2008). Top management and clinical staff can take these.(Kotter 1990) suggests that organisations can nurture and ‘grow their own leaders while adapting to constant changes(Parks 2005) There appears a need for leadership approaches that are sensitive to a context in which there are significant professional and moral concerns graeme. Avolio, B. J., B. M. Bass, et al. (1999). â€Å"Re-examining the components of transformational and transactional leadership using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire.† Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 72: 441-462. Avolio, B. J., D. A. Waldman, et al. (1991). â€Å"Leading in the 1990s:The Four Is of Transformational Leadership.† Journal of European Industrial Training 15(4): 9-16. Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York, The Free Press. Bradley, M. and B. Alimo-Metcalfe (2008). â€Å"Best actors in a supporting role: managers who are engaged with their staff create well-being and better care..† Health Service Journal. No 6105(8 May): pp28-29. Bryman, A. (1992). Charisma and leadership in organizations. Newbury Park, Sage Publications. Corrigan, P. W., S. E. Lickey, et al. (2000). â€Å"Mental Health Team Leadership and Consumers Satisfaction and Quality of Life.† Psychiatric Services 51(6): 781-785. Currie, G., Boyett, I., Suhomlinova, O. (2005). â€Å"Transformational leadership in the public sector: A panacea for organisational ills?.† Public Administration 83 265-96 Faculty of Public Health. (2010). â€Å"Key Area 4: Strategic leadership and collaborative working for health.† Retrieved 24 Jan, 2010, from http://www.fph.org.uk/training/curriculum/learning_outcomes_framework/KA4.asp. Firth-Cozens, J. and H. Cording (2004). â€Å"What matters more in patient care? Giving doctors shorter hours of work or a good nights sleep?† Quality and Safety in Health Care 13(3): 165-166. Firth-Cozens, J. and D. Mowbray (2001). â€Å"Leadership and the quality of care.† Quality in Health Care 10(suppl 2): ii3-ii7. Gopee, N. and J. Galloway (2009). Leadership and Management in Healthcare. London, Sage Publications Ltd. Gowen, C., S. Henagan, et al. (2009). â€Å"Knowledge management as a mediator for the efficacy of transformational leadership and quality management initiatives in U.S. health care † Health Care Management Review 34(2): 1. Klakovich, M. D. (1994). â€Å"Connective leadership for the 21st century: a historical perspective and future directions.† ANS. Advances in Nursing Science 16(4): 42-54. Kotter, J. P. (1990). ‘What leaders really do. Management and organisational behaviour L. J. Mullins, Financial Times Prentice Hall Kotter, J. P. (1999). John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do Boston, Harvard Business School Press. Landrigan, C. P., J. M. Rothschild, et al. (2004). â€Å"Effect of reducing interns work hours on serious medical errors in intensive care units.† New England Journal of Medicine 351(18): 1838-48. McAlearney, A. S. (2008). â€Å"Using leadership development programs to improve quality and efficiency in healthcare.† Journal of Healthcare Management(Sept-Oct.). McColl-Kennedy, J. R. and R. D. Anderson (2002). â€Å"Impact of leadership style and emotions on subordinate performance.† The Leadership quarterly 13(5): 545-559. Mohr, J. J., H. T. Abelson, et al. (2002). â€Å"Creating Effective Leadership for Improving Patient Safety.† Quality Management in Healthcare 11(1): 69-78. Morrison, R. S., L. Jones, et al. (1997). â€Å"The Relation Between Leadership Style and Empowerment on Job Satisfaction of Nurses.† Journal of Nursing Administration 27(5): 27-34. Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications Inc. Parks, S. D. (2005). Leadership can be taught: a bold approach for a complex world. University College Hospital Ibadan. (2009). â€Å"UCH Homepage.† Retrieved 16 Jan, 2009, from http://www.uch-ibadan.org/. Zaleznik, A. (2004). â€Å"Managers and leaders: are they different?† Clin Leadersh Manag Rev 18(3): 171-7.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Buddhism Essay -- essays research papers fc

High in the mountains of the Himalayas chants ring out from the Tibetan monastery. For most this is a dream-like vacation to a far away land. For some of the people who live in Tibet and India this is everyday life as a Buddhist. Buddhism revolves around a strict code of daily rituals and meditations. To an outsider they can seem mystical or even odd, but these are the paths to enlightenment and spiritual salvation. Throughout the centuries, Buddhism has evolved into a major religion in Asia and other parts of the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mystical roots of Buddhism can be traced back to the first century BCE. Buddhism began with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. When Siddhartha was born he was noticed as having â€Å"the 32 auspicious signs of an enlightened one† (Clark and Brown 3). His father, fearing Siddhartha would shun his inheritance, confined him to the walls of the palace, never allowing his son to experience want or suffering. However, Siddhartha on several occasions ventured outside the confines of the palace. On one of his visits into the city â€Å"he saw an ascetic begging for alms in the city square. It was then that he realized that there was meaning beyond physical existence† (Clark and Brown 3). Siddhartha then gave up his possessions to search for enlightenment. He discovers that by following the path of moderation, one can become enlightened (Clark and Brown 3). And so, he attained Buddhahood. Afterwards Buddha, the name given to an enlightened one, travels thro ugh India â€Å"preaching and educating others about the middle path† (Clark and Brown 3). From this, Buddhism was born.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The religion of Buddhism is not entirely in a sphere of its own. In fact, it combines several influences born in and around the Asian continent. The first religious influence is Taoism. Taoism embraces the belief in the fluid like spirit that flows throughout everyone and everything. The primary belief of Taoists is that the universe is in constant change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taoists believe that nature and the earth is constantly in flux. Simply, the only constant in the world is change. When individuals learn that growth and movement are natural and necessary, they can become balanced (Clark and Brown 7). Taoism teaches self-control and the importance of meditation in searching for enlightenment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  &nbs... ...ver which the imperial family presided, had been largely eclipsed by Buddhism† (Ralph et al 34). Aspects of the religion have also moved into the U.S., Growing interest in Asian culture and spiritual values in the West has led to the development of a number of societies devoted to the study and practice of Buddhism. Zen has grown in the United States to encompass more than a dozen meditation centers and a number of actual monasteries (McDermott 2). The Buddhist religion encompasses a large spectrum of people all diverse but united under the words and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Works Cited Clark, Laura, and Suzanne Brown. Vietnamese Buddhism. 18 Jan. 2000. . Dharma Haven. Healing, Relaxing and Awakening: Tibetan Buddhist Methods. 16 Jan. 2000. . 18 May 1999. Hansen, Jytte. Mandala. 17 Jan 2000. . 1 March 1997 McDermott, James Paul. Buddhism Today. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. Ralph, Phillip Lee, et al. World Civilizations: Their History and Culture. 9th edition. New York: Norton, 1997.

Friday, October 11, 2019

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay -- Glass Menagerie Ten

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams -Joseph K. Davis, " Landscapes of the Dislocated Mind in Williams' 'The Glass Menagerie'," in Tennessee Williams: A Tribute Tom and his sister Laura is symbolically the actual glass menagerie, the play belongs to neither of them. The play belongs to their mother, Amanda, as substantiated by the above quote from Joseph K. Davis. Amanda indulges herself in memories of the past and refuses to accept the present. The play is also hers because it is her "tragedy". It is about how she behaves after her husband leaves her and her reaction when her son shows signs of doing the same. She also controls the two conflicts of the play, as well as the glass menagerie represents her fragile world of illusions and memories of the past. Amanda's control over the two conflicts of the play exists in the fact that she creates them. She supplies the conflict between herself and Tom as well as provides the conflict of having Laura marry. In the case of Tom she constantly nags him and questions where is he. Is going and then openly states her doubts of his truthfulness. Her nagging starts in the beginning of the play in her conversation with Tom, in which she tells him how to eat his food. Later she tells him how costliness of his smoking habit, " You smoke too much. A pack a day at fifteen cents a pack. How much would that amount to in a month? ". Later in the play she also manages to comment on Tom's appearance and how she wished he would take better care of himself in that respect. She also accuses Tom of lying about where he is going at night. When he says that he is at the movies she states that he could not possibly be going to the movies every night, " Nobody goes to the .. ...longer a Southern Belle just standing around waiting for rich men to come by and propose. By her speaking like a Southern Belle, she is connected her to the world she creates of illusions and the one for show. The connections are achieved by the fact that in the past she was Southern Belle with many rich suitors vying for her hand in marriage. This is also an illusion because she is no longer a Southern Belle but tries to maintain that front. It is also this connection to her illusions of the past that combines the proof that this is her play. She is the one who creates the world she lives in to protect herself from the tragedy of her husband leaving her. She is also the one who causes the conflict of the play out of her illusions of the past and therefore she is the person who dramatizes the tragedy of not living honestly and fully in the present.

Favourite Place

Question no. 2 As we all know that everyone has their own favorite place which they want to go. The place is whether in our own country or overseas. Before travelling they need to have some preparation in term of financial. Some people like to travel from their country to other country or overseas, they need to have some preparation on their financial because the budget is not very cheap. While others who like to travel locally they no need to worry about the budget because it is cheaper than travelling overseas.Most of the people like to travel overseas because they want to survey their place, their lifestyle, and their society. For me, I prefer Bintulu as my favorite place because I like their environment. Even though they Bintulu is smaller when compare to other city but people who live in Bintulu is very polite and friendly. I have a lot of friend in Bintulu which I wish to meet up with them and hang out together.Due to the increasing population in Bintulu the minister of Bintulu are trying the best to increase the facilities such as hospital, shopping mall, Wi-Fi area and public telephone. The government is built cafe shop and shopping mall near to the housing estate. As the result, these facilities can help the society the better way of living and it’s easier for them to walk to the cafe shop or shopping mall. Besides, in Bintulu the environment is very clean. Other than that, the security in Bintulu is very reliable because the police done their duty.I also want to visit their beach which nearer to the Centre of the city. The beach is very beautiful and many people have their family vacation there. Other than that, while visiting, the visitor have the chance to drink sweet coconut. As a conclusion, this is the reason why Bintulu is my favorite place. Other than the facilities, security, society and environment which are clean, safe and enjoyable. Bintulu can also know as my second home because I feel safe and comfortable. I would like to visit my friend in Bintulu.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

The Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition was a controversial time primarily during the 15th century. However, it kept reoccurring during other parts of history rather than only in the 15th century. There were many different methods used in which non-Christians would be tortured. Sometimes, the wrong people would be tortured if they believed that the person they were torturing really wasn’t Christian. The torturing of people because of their religion is what makes the Spanish Inquisition such a disturbing and dark part of history. The reason for the Spanish Inquisition was because the Christians conquered Spain again, which led to the Christians forcing non-Christian people, such as Jews, to convert to Christianity. Any non-Christian who refused to convert to Christianity would be prosecuted and tortured using different methods such as starvation, strappado, racking and many other forms of torture. In 1478, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabelle of Castile established the Spanish Inquisition. The reason the inquisition was established was because Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabelle of Castile wanted to unite Spain. The Spanish Inquisition could help economically because money could be made by stealing property from accused heretics. Another reason for the Spanish Inquisition is because Ferdinand and Isabelle believed that Spain could be united under Christianity. Also, Ferdinand and Isabelle discriminated against Jews simply because they were anti-Semites. The first Inquisitors arrived in Seville in 1480 to abolish heresy. Heresy is a belief or opinion that is contrary to an orthodox religious doctrine (especially Christianity). Many Spanish Jews were forced to convert to Christianity and some of them converted by choice. There were different sentences for those found guilty of heresy. If you were found guilty of heresy, then your property would be confiscated and you would be burned to death. There would be public humiliation for those found guilty at the auto da fe, which is the ceremony where the heretic would be burned to death. The time of the greatest influence during the Spanish Inquisition was under the reigns of Philip II and Philip III. This time period occurred in 1569-1621. The Inquisition had suffered previous to this time period because of a lack of direction under Charles V, who ruled from 1517-1556. But, during the reign of Philip II, there eventually became 16 tribunals in Spain, two tribunals in Italy and three in the New World. The Inquisition greatly expanded its prosecution of many different religious crimes. Ordinary Spaniards were drawn into the tribunals as well as Protestants, conversos, Moriscos and foreigners. There was detailed questioning even to people who most likely didn’t commit heresy. These people would be fined one or two ducats, which was considered a very heavy fine. The tribunals relied on unpaid officials. First, there were the two networks of familiars and camisarios. The familiars were laymen charged with carrying messages, arresting suspects and delivering them to the Inquisition. The comisarios were priests who assisted in the gathering of evidence at the local level. Calificadores would advise the inquisitors about the accusations to whether someone was a heretic or not. There was a cruel way in which the Inquisition functioned. Possible heretics weren’t treated like in today’s standards mostly because the phrase â€Å"innocent until proven guilty† wasn’t followed. First, there was the accusation. When the Inquisition arrived in a city, the first step was known as the Edict of Grace. It was called this because a period of grace was offered to the people accused of a crime to bring the accused person to the church without severe punishment. Next, there was the detention. The case would be examined by the calificadores would determine if there was heresy involved. Many cases lasted up to two years before the calificadores examined the case. The property of the prisoner would be taken during detention. This property would be used to pay for expenses and the own costs and maintenance of the person being accused. The entire process was done with much secrecy. The trial process is after the detention process. The trial consisted of a series of hearings. The denouncers and defendants both gave their testimonies. Torture was used until the defendant would confess. The torture used was very unsystematic. It was applied mainly to those suspected of Judaism and Protestantism. Torture would even be applied regardless of a person’s age. Basically even children and elderly people would be tortured. Torture played a major role in the Spanish Inquisition. There were many different methods of torture. One method of torture was strappado. Strappado was when the victims would be suspended from the ceiling by their wrists. The victim would fall from a height and be stopped by an abrupt jerk right before they reach the ground. Another method of torture was starvation in which the person accused of heresy would be starved. Racking was also used. A rack was an instrument of torture consisting of a frame on which the victim was stretched by turning rollers to which the wrists and ankles were tied. Toca was a method of making the victim believe they were drowning by putting a cloth in their mouth and pouring a jar of water in their mouth.