Foundation Course in Science and Technology

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE BaBUR The foundation of the empire was laid in 1526 by ahir al-Din Mu? ammad Babur, a Chagatai Turk (so called because his ancestral homeland, the country north of the Amu Darya [Oxus River] in Central Asia, was the heritage of Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan). Babur was a fifth-generation descendant of Timur on the side of his father and a 14th-generation descendant of Genghis Khan. His idea of conquering India was inspired, to begin with, by the story of the exploits of Timur, who had invaded the subcontinent in 1398.Babur inherited his father’s principality in Fergana at a young age, in 1494. Soon he was literally a fugitive, in the midst of both an internecine fight among the Timurids and a struggle between them and the rising Uzbeks over the erstwhile Timurid empire in the region. In 1504 he conquered Kabul and Ghazni. In 1511 he recaptured Samarkand, only to realize that, with the formidable ? afavid dynasty in Iran and the Uzbeks in Central Asia, he should rather turn to the southeast toward India to have an empire of his own. As a Timurid, Babur had an eye on the Punjab, part of which had been Timur’s possession.He made several excursions in the tribal habitats there. Between 1519 and 1524—when he invaded Bhera, Sialkot, and Lahore—he showed his definite intention to conquer Hindustan, where the political scene favoured his adventure. Conquest Of Hindustan Having secured the Punjab, Babur advanced toward Delhi, garnering support from many Delhi nobles. He routed two advance parties of Ibrahim Lodi’s troops and met the sultan’s main army at Panipat. The Afghans fought bravely, but they had never faced new artillery, and their frontal attack was no answer to Babur’s superior arrangement of the battle line.Babur’s knowledge of western and Central Asian war tactics and his brilliant leadership proved decisive in his victory. By April 1526 he was in contro l of Delhi and Agra and held the keys to conquer Hindustan. Babur, however, had yet to encounter any of the several Afghans who held important towns in what is now eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and who were backed by the sultan of Bengal in the east and the Rajputs on the southern borders. The Rajputs under Rana Sanga of Mewar threatened to revive their power in northern India. Babur assigned the unconquered territories to his nobles and led an expedition himself against the rana in person.He crushed the rana’s forces at Khanua, near Fatehpur Sikri (March 1527), once again by means of the skillful positioning of troops. Babur then continued his campaigns to subjugate the Rajputs of Chanderi. When Afghan risings turned him to the east, he had to fight, among others, the joint forces of the Afghans and the sultan of Bengal in 1529 at Ghagra, near Varanasi. Babur won the battles, but the expedition there too, like the one on the southern borders, was left unfinished. Developme nts in Central Asia and Babur’s failing health forced him to withdraw. He died near Lahore in December 1530. Babur’s AchievementsBabur’s brief tenure in Hindustan, spent in wars and in his preoccupation with northwest and Central Asia, did not give him enough time to consolidate fully his conquests in India. Still, discernible in his efforts are the beginnings of the Mughal imperial organization and political culture. He introduced some Central Asian administrative institutions and, significantly, tried to woo the prominent local chiefs. He also established new mints in Lahore and Jaunpur and tried to ensure a safe and secure route from Agra to Kabul. He advised his son and successor, Humayun, to adopt a tolerant religious policy.

Working with Exceptional Children

The importance for an Educational Assistance in getting more general information about children with exceptionalities is needed because more schools across Canada are integrating more exceptional children into regular classrooms settings . According to a study that was done and revealed that in the mid 60’s there was about 1000 children with learning disabilities within the public school system, almost 20 years later, the numbers sky rocketed to be around 197,000 these numbers were mentioned in the EADP course. These numbers are still growing and the concept of inclusion was first implemented in the mid 1980’s. Many institutions were shut down and many of the children were either sent back home into their communities and in other cases where this wasn’t an option they were sent into group homes. In the classroom it change to where some student were sent to experience educational integration. The children would have the joy of the experience some of the school structure and activities which includes gym, arts, home economics and other program to suit their needs. With the process of mainstreaming the class sizes are increasing, therefore the teacher’s responsibilities are greater. This impacts educational assistants by having to upgrade their knowledge. The teacher’s responsibilities towards all students is to make them feel safe in the school environment. They are also responsible for planning a curriculum that will meet every students needs, to the child who are considered normal and to the children who are considered exceptional. In the teacher’s curriculum adaptation is needed so each child receives the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to progress in their abilities. With the help of an educational assistant who has received general information about children with exceptionalities the teacher’s work load is alleviated. Knowledge helps the educational assistant effectiveness in interacting with children who are exceptional. The educational assistant will have a better understanding of the teacher’s needs and the needs of children with exceptionalities. There is a broad range of different exceptionalities so the educational assistant need to be flexible and learn how to deal basis. The educational assistant will know how to carry out the program that was adapted for the child without any long explanations from the teacher. The educational assistant, will facilitate the task and give the teacher more time to give one on one time to every individual student. Also knowing how to carry out the program will help to facilitate the integration of the child to the regular classes. The knowledge and importance of knowing how to take proper written documentation will ensure accurate and helpful data on the child progress. It will record on daily a basis which will help the teacher and the team to make adaptations in their intervention plan so that the child will be able to reach their long and short term goals. As a team player the educational assistant will have the knowledge and help play an important role with the teacher in implementing techniques of behaviour management which will increase effectiveness in the classroom. With time, peoples view and acceptance have changed making children with exceptionalities easier to integrate in the classroom . The demands of educational assistant have also changed with time . The task of an educational assistant has become more complex and they are now playing a bigger role and assuming more responsibilities. Having more general knowledge about exceptional children is essential. Well trained educational assistants are a key resource for teachers, children and the whole school system as they all work together as a team for the child.

Music and Magic in the World of Arda

MUSIC AND MAGIC IN THE WORLD OF ARDA In Tolkien’s legendarium, magic as it appears in contemporary sword-and-sorcery stories does not exist. Tolkien makes it clear in essays and debates that his magic is far more complex than the waving of a wand, and does not follow strict, clear-cut rules. Instead, power over the laws of nature and reality lies to a great extent in song and music.The first act of creation in the â€Å"Ainulindale†, by which the foundations for Arda’s creation were laid, was the singing of the Music of the Ainur by Iluvatar and the divine beings beneath him. When the beings of Arda create song, the result is often ‘magical’, whether in an emotional sense or if it has a tangible effect upon the world around it. In both the â€Å"Ainulindale† and â€Å"Of Beren and Luthien† this is quite evident.Singing in Tolkien’s legendarium is in some ways a magical act, in that any of the Children of Iluvatar engaged in it ar e reflecting the original creative acts of the Ainur, sub-creating and greatly affecting the world around them, and that the only limits on a being’s ability to create music are its purpose – whether to dominate or to create – and the sheer force of will it places behind its magical, musical intent. Singing has a variety of effects within Tolkien’s works, but the most dramatic ones by far are those visible in the â€Å"Ainulindale†.Here, singing is synonymous with creation itself. The notes of the many Ainur, including Melkor, as well as those of Iluvatar, all coalesce in order to form the basis for Arda and its history. The act of song-making as creation is not metaphorical: the Ainur originally conceive of the world through music, and the voices of the Ainur are even described as â€Å"like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs with words† (Tolkien 4).Even the conflict between Il uvatar, who seeks to create a world of beauty and freedom for its future inhabitants, and Melkor, who seeks to dominate all that is, is done through their respective melodies. No music existed before that of the Ainur in their acts of creation, and although a great deal of music existed afterward, none was ever as powerful or influential in shaping the world, as the passage reads â€Å"Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this music† (Tolkien 4) This original music created the first true polarization between good and vil – through the conflict between Iluvatar and Melkor – and initiated the creation of the world. The fact that the Music of the Ainur created the world itself is no less visible than when Iluvatar declared â€Å"behold your music! † and the Ainur first saw the world (Tolkien 6). In fact, all later music stemmed from this music, in that the Music of the Ainur set the stage for the genesis of all Children of Iluvatar and the music they would go on to produce. The effects of song are equally as visible, if not quite so dramatic, in the tale of Beren & Luthien, particularly through Luthien herself.Throughout the story, many of Luthien’s actions revolve around music and song. When Beren first sees her, he is spellbound by her appearance, and it is not until she sings out loud and â€Å"flowers [spring] from the cold earth where her feet had passed† that he is released from his shock enough to call out to her (Tolkien 194). Her music is also powerful enough to put the great wolf Carcharoth, as well as Morgoth himself in Angband, to sleep. In addition, it aids her and Huan in combating Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth.Finally, her heartfelt song of sorrow at Beren’s death at the end of the tale proves moving enough to warrant restoring Beren to life, and allowing Beren and Luthien to spend their final, mortal years together in peace. Indeed, it is stated that â€Å"The song of Luthien before Mandos was the song most fair that ever in words was woven, and the song most sorrowful that the world shall hear† (Tolkien 221). She is not the only character who uses song to great effect, however. When King Felagund and Sauron battle in the dark lands of Morgoth, they duel with words and songs of power rather than physical weapons.Felagund fights with inspirational songs, harkening up images of â€Å"trust unbroken† and â€Å"resisting†, while Sauron utilizes songs of â€Å"treachery† and â€Å"betrayal† (Tolkien 201). Sauron proved more powerful however, and once he defeats Felagund, the others are entirely helpless against him. In these particular stories, the greatest singers are either connected to the Ainur, or are Ainur themselves. This point is fairly obvious in the case of the â€Å"Ainulindale†, in which all participants of the Music were Iluvatar’s â€Å"Holy Ones† , but is also quite evident in â€Å"Of Beren and Luthie n† (Tolkien ). There, Luthien is half-Maia as the daughter of Melian, and her power is extraordinary for a Child of Iluvatar. She proves capable of contending with a fallen Valar, a powerful Maia, and a vicious beast-servant of Morgoth through her skills with song. Sauron himself is also quite skilled in the art of song as a Maia, and in a duel with a mortal he â€Å"had the mastery† (Tolkien 201). The reason for the magical superiority of the Ainur is quite simple: they were involved in the original music of the world.They were originally formed by Iluvatar for the express purpose of creating â€Å"in harmony together a Great Music† and through it the world, and so it is far more natural to them (Tolkien 3). Although Luthien herself has no experience with true creation, as Sauron and her mother do, she nonetheless has the blood of a being that was essentially created for song, as Melian also sprang from the mind of Iluvatar for the purpose of creating the world. By no means are all great singers in Tolkien’s world Maiar however, or even those related to them, as the example of Felagund illustrates.While Felagund may not be able to best a Maia such as Sauron, he is still able to compete with a Maia for what appears to be the majority of their conflict, and it is outright stated that â€Å"the power of the King was very great† in the conflict (Tolkien 201). He lacks the experience and inborn purpose for song that any Maia would possess as a being originally born to create Arda, but he remains a force to be reckoned with, and he is unquestionably more powerful through his skill with song than most other characters in the tale.It is clear, then, that force of will and drive can – to an extent – mitigate the difference in natural ability between a Child of Iluvatar and an Ainu. Luthien’s exemplary skill with song in the latter half of the tale may have thus been influenced by her drive to help Beren and the â €Å"weight of horror† that her love caused her to feel at the possibility of his death (Tolkien 202). The act of song-making in the â€Å"Ainulindale† is, at its core, an act of creation.What is present throughout â€Å"Of Beren and Luthien† however – and, for that matter, all other stories set in Middle-Earth during the First through Fourth Ages – is sub-creation. Just as Iluvatar created the Ainur originally for the purpose of creation, the Children of Arda and those that Iluvatar would – humans, elves, hobbits, and dwarves – were made to sub-create. In other words, they were meant to create even further, through art, literature, and above all, song. By attempting to emulate the song of creation, the Children would make the world even more vibrant, rich, and pleasant than the Valar had originally managed.Tolkien states in his letter to Milton Waldman prefacing â€Å"The Silmarillion† that for the Elves, magic is â€Å"Art, d elivered from many of its human limitations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"Art not power, sub-creation not domination and tyrannous re-forming of creation† (Tolkien xvi-xvii). The effect of song in â€Å"Of Beren and Luthien† was somewhat different. If songs made by the Valar were what originally brought about and shaped the world, then songs made by the Children could do the same, beyond merely in terms of producing music for pleasure’s sake.As exemplified by Felagund, a sufficiently strong, refined will could sub-create in a way that mirrored creation itself, and shape the world despite lacking the natural affinity for song that an Ainu possesses. What this evidence points to is a notion that at first may seem ridiculous: that the magical song-making of the Ainur and the Children are fundamentally exactly the same. The ability of several of the Children in â€Å"Of Beren and Luthien† to contend with Ainur in contests of power through song already lends credenc e to this idea, suggesting that the music created by the Ainur is the same, only greater.It would appear that the difference between the use of songs by the Ainur and the Children merely results from the inherently greater willpower of the Ainur. As beings that are not only older but are also â€Å"the offspring of [Iluvatar’s] thought†, their wills are considerably more refined and honed than those of the Children (Tolkien 3). Theoretically however, any elf, man, hobbit, or dwarf with sufficient mental discipline and/or training could make music as great as that of an Ainu.Thus, the closeness to the natural world and ‘magic’ of the elves is simply a consequence of their having spent more time amongst the Valar and within the world than the other Children, gaining more competence with song and closeness to the musical skill of the Ainur as a result. In addition, the ability of Melkor to overpower the songs of the other Ainur in the â€Å"Ainulindale† resulted from him having â€Å"been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge† and resulting musical affinity, and that greater force of will alone was that set him apart (Tolkien 4).The two sections being discussed point to one other significant notion: that there is an inherent difference between the music produced by the Children and good Ainur, and the music produced by the Dark Powers of Morgoth. The â€Å"Ainulindale† indicates that the Music of the Ainur was initially harmonious, with â€Å"endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony† (Tolkien 4). It was only once Melkor, desiring to overpower and control the course of the Music, decided to interfere, that the Music became disjointed and violent.Eventually, Iluvatar himself steps in, at which point it is clear that the melodies of Iluvatar and Melkor are diametrically opposed, and that only Melkor’s music â€Å"hath not its uttermost source in [Iluvatar]† (Tolkien 6). The music o f the other Ainur, which was harmonious with that of Iluvatar, was gentle, melodious, and pleasant. Melkor’s music was violent and aggressive. To an extent, the musical conflict between Felagund and Sauron in â€Å"Of Beren and Luthien† mirrors this, though in that case Sauron’s aggressive, spiteful song proves victorious due to his superior will.While the songs produced by the forces of good and evil are somewhat similar, their basic nature and purpose – to create, and to dominate, respectively – are polar opposites, and the dominative nature of evil is the source of the violence and cacophonous nature of the songs. Indeed, Tolkien’s statement of the Elves’s magic as â€Å"Art not Power, sub-creation not domination†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in contrast with that of Melkor and Sauron, supports the notion that the nature of their magic – and this applies to all other forces of good as well – is irreconcilable with that of Melkor and his minions (Tolkien xvi-xvii).In the â€Å"Ainulindale†, as well as â€Å"Of Beren and Luthien†, Tolkien reveals the true nature of magic and song: in his world, they are synonymous. While there may be major differences in the fundamental nature of the songs used by good and evil, only force of will and purpose make the song of an Ainu such as Morgoth any greater than that of a half-Maia such as Luthien, or a mere elf-king such as Felagund. Keeping these conclusions in mind, one may reach a single, overarching definition of magic in Tolkien’s works: an act of musical creation or sub-creation with enough force of will behind it to tangibly affect the world.There is no need to understand the mechanics of music in the legendarium, only that any being is capable of it and that it is the source of all magical acts. Truly, the significance of song in Tolkien’s work, especially for the purpose of understanding the magic of the world and the nature of the confl ict that spans the entire legendarium, cannot be overstated. WORKS CITED Tolkien, J. R. R. , and Christopher Tolkien. The Silmarillion. 2nd Ed. Del Rey Books, 2001. Print.

Procedures in Collecting Forensic Evidence Essay

Procedures in Collecting Forensic Evidence - Essay Example The auditor would first check the design of the system and if he is satisfied with the design then he goes on checking the operation of the internal control system. The auditor must make inquiry of the management of the reasons for which the pervious auditor withdraws from the assignment. Management should be inquired as to the facts of not allowing the current auditor contacting the previous auditor. There are certain chances of irregularity in the financial statement or the withdrawal of the auditor may also indicate fraud. The auditor use both statistical techniques and non-statistical technique to select sample from any given population. When using the non-statistical sampling auditor uses his professional judgment to select the sample. The purpose of this type of sampling is to achieve satisfactory basis for the auditor to draw conclusion about the population. It is essential for the auditor to select a sample that represents population to avoid bias. The most common methods of sample selection are described below; In this type of sampling population is divided by a sample size to obtain s sampling interval. For example the auditor may select every 25th item from the population. The auditor should be careful if the population units are not structured in that way that the sample population represents a particular pattern (Pickett, 2006). This is the sampling technique in which the auditor selects a sample without following any structured techniques. With the use of this sampling the auditor avoid any biased selection, but it has no basis to justify the reason for which any particular item was selected. This sampling method is not appropriate when statistical sampling is used. In this method the auditor selects samples of contiguous items from the population. This type of sampling is not normally used in audit because the population is structured. It is only effective in

Alienation and Emancipation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alienation and Emancipation - Essay Example This thesis was presented in the broad frame of the doctrine of political alienation. The theme of economic alienation was broached in a separate concluding section of the article. Here he offered a trenchant formulation of the idea that the economic life in the 'state of egoism' is a practical religion of money-worship. He gave the religious analogy a special new twist and emphasis by calling the practical religion 'Judaism'. This may have been prompted by Hess' reference to the 'Christian merchants and Jewish Christians'. It capitalized upon the fact that the German term 'Judaism' (Judentum ) had the secondary connotation of 'commerce'. So Marx describes Judaism or commerce as a religion in which money is the god: 'What is the worldly cult of the Jew Huckstering. Who is his worldly god Money. ' And further: 'Money is the jealous one God of Israel, beside which no other God may stand. Money dethrones all the gods of man and turns them into a commodity. Money is the universal, independently constituted value of all things. It has, therefore, deprived the whole world, both the world of man and nature, of its own value. Money is the alienated essence of man's work and his being. This alien being rules over him and he worships it.' (Karl Marx's, 1959). Following Hess, Marx conceives the practical religion as a material form of self- alienation corresponding to the spiritual form as analyzed by Feuerbach: 'Selling is the praxis of externalization.

Reality television show is presumbly bad for American society Essay

Reality television show is presumbly bad for American society - Essay Example Reality television can be defined as unscripted form of drama or actual events that do not follow any form of sequence involving ordinary people, instead of actors who are professionally trained (Boyd and Emily 2). The origin of reality television is not very vivid in that several undocumented films or television programs have been done in the past some dating back as early as 1950’s (Dimare and Philips 914). However, in 1999 to 2000 reality television become one of the fastest growing television programming in the entertainment scene. In as much as reality television has some positive significance in the lives of several Americans, it is also possible that the same show has numerous effects that are extremely dire to the lives of the entire American population. Scholars and television producers have constantly argued in favor of reality television, terming it as the best for regular television programming. This is because people want to see other ordinary people just acting normal without having to read from a script. Moreover, they can easily relate to such television programming, since it involves ordinary people placed in an exotic place. During the stay, they carry on with their lives as normal, although their actions aired on national or international television channels (Kirszner and Mandell 215). For instance, one of the flourishing and helpful reality television programs that support this argument is â€Å"Extreme Make Over home edition.† This is because they enable real families to own homes, built by an extremely talented crew. Such reality television serves two purposes; it entertains the viewer and utterly transforms the lives of American families who do not have decent living conditions. It has also encouraged viewers to express their opinions and, in some cases, vote for their favorite contestant. As a result, the viewers get involved in the show, and they feel that they have the ability to

Project risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Project risk - Essay Example nd, this method engages defining a variety of threats, devising countermeasures should an attack take place, measuring the degree of vulnerabilities (TechTarget, 2009). 19 At the present the corporations are coping with reduced cycle time. Here, the critical delay is between the idea and implementation. Thus, corporations need to continually adjust corporate operations to meet up new marketplace conditions. In addition, successfully handling and managing new information as well as establishing it all through the business is critical to handling and managing these challenges. However, constant, business-wide knowledge sharing has, consequently, turned out to be essential. In addition, businesses implement solutions to tackle and share knowledge. The mainly widespread preliminary application has been in the area of learning and training. Unluckily, customary classroom training programs are excessively time-consuming and expensive to facilitate businesses to deal out mission-critical information rapidly as well as efficiently (OneTouch, 2009). Efstathiades, Tassou, Antoniou, & Oxinos (1998) stated that businesses whose survival relies on maintaining new, modern, well-informed business information require a flexible knowledge sharing. Thus, the business-wide learning is immediately one advantage of a comprehensive business knowledge sharing. In case of new technology establishment at the business enterprise there is need to assess a lot of factors and issues regarding the corporate management and technology implementation. Since, modern and up-to-date tools and techniques are offering huge business advantages, however in some cases the development of the information system was not a successful experience. Therefore, by means of risk assessment we could be able to manage and handle business new technology system implementation successfully (Efstathiades et al., 1998). This report presents a detailed analysis of the new business technology systems establishment at

My Prejudice Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My Prejudice Experience - Essay Example I have come to the United States from Indonesia to study and make a name for myself. Sadly, I am stereotyped by most of my American friends as a studious Asian who goes abroad to study. I do agree that I have the same hard working and professional attitude that most Asians have, and the process of learning interests me a lot. At the same time, I also believe in living the life to the fullest and hence, enjoy attending parties, love to take a night off every now and then, and let myself loose and have a good time. Hence, I feel isolated when some of my friends leave me out when indulging in fun activities. as they misunderstand me as a person who does not love having fun. Many times it has happened that I was not asked out by my friends as either they considered me to be too religious because of me following Christianity faith, or they thought that I am concerned about nothing but my academic work. Sadly, this stereotyped thinking suffocates me as I am quite a fun loving person and my inherent personality is that of an extrovert. Fearing prejudiced treatment, when I first came to the United States and started attending my university, I made friends only with Asian people, thinking that Americans would be too snooty or would not show acceptance due to my nationality. I was under the impression that American people were a little difficult to be friends with, as a popular culture had made my thinking biased. For example, I stereotyped Americans to be racist or having a discriminatory attitude against people belonging to other countries. Furthermore, I was also under the impression that most Americans were not too fond of Asians due to the fact that they were academically smarter, and hence, had more potential in education and more opportunities in a career in the U.S., than the Americans themselves would have. This led me to cut myself off from anyone who was not an Asian and as a result, I wound up making very few friends. This prejudice that I had towards America n people soon changed when I began to let them enter in my life.  

Recyclable Drinking Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Recyclable Drinking Water - Essay Example The city chosen for this purpose is Bangkok considering the current flood scenario that has affected the lives of locals and tourists. The shortage of drinking water has jeopardised the physical and mental state along with the health of people. Bangkok is the capital and largest city of Thailand known as a tourist destination across the globe. The influx of tourists from different parts of the world has strengthened the economy of the country boasting on impeccable infrastructure and hospitality that is good enough to allure people across the globe. Bangkok has 50 districts and each district is managed by the district chief appointed by the governor. There is also an elected government body; Bangkok Metropolitan Council that managed municipal ordinances and city’s budget pertaining to infrastructure and other activities. The government of Bangkok of is known as Bangkok Metropolitan Administration that manages the city and its resources in an effective and efficient manner. The re are a number of national and international retailers present in Bangkok with the likes of Tesco, Family Mart and Big C dominating the market. The economic activities are majorly restricted to agriculture and tourism. In Bangkok, Metropolitan Waterworks Authority offers tap water that is used for the purpose of drinking and other activities. Many households have water purifying machines that further purifies water through different mechanisms and processes. At the same time, a number of packaged drinking water bottles are available that can be bought to ensure good quality of drinking water. However, there is no organisation developing or promoting recycled water for the drinking purpose. This marketing plan would ensure successful introduction of the product in the markets of Bangkok... The paper tells about integrated marketing communication as one of the highly preferred marketing tools within the competitive business environment. It can be defined as the coordination and amalgamation of marketing communication tools and functions into a program or function that helps in impacting customers along with enhancing the feasibility and acceptance of the product. However, the common perception states that recycle water is not safe for drinking and can be used in irrigation, industrial usage and flushing toilets. Bangkok has been severely affected by floods creating shortages for safe drinking water. It needs to be mentioned that common people in the city are facing serious water crisis with tap water pouring contaminated and dirty water. On the other hand, packaged drinking bottles are quite limited in the market and the city does not have a marketer offering recycled drinking water. It can be assumed that development of recycled drinking water would help in offering a useful product to the masses using an integrated marketing communication approach. This would also help in assessing the present use of recycled water and its importance and acceptance in the business and social environment. Thus, the marketing plan has a great scope that requires effective planning and implementation. The city of Bangkok has been developing wastewater treatment system from a long period of time and efforts have yielded good benefits in last few years. There are a number of sewerage zones that have helped in improving the overall water shortages in the short as well as in the long run.

Corrections Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Corrections - Research Paper Example Therefore, this paper evaluates the various available forms of corrections for offenders ranging from incarceration to community based corrections. Appreciating the important role played by correction officers in charge of handling and controlling prisoners, the paper evaluates the in-depth responsibilities of these officers, their academic qualifications and attributes necessary for effective executions of their mandate. It would also be critical to analyze the classifications of prisons and the security levels that define these classifications. Introduction In the US, sentencing ranges from restitution, fines, probation supervision, community service, suspended sentences and imprisonment terms to execution in cases of capital offences. Sentencing as a legal process defines the anticipation of the correctional function which carries out these sentences. The correctional function on the other hand define the last component of the criminal justice activities continuum in the criminal justice system responsible for the execution of sentencing orders issued by criminal courts (Cripe, Pearlman & Kosiak, 2012). Correction encompasses the probation authority, jail terms, community corrections agencies, prisons and paroling authorities. In addition to these five traditional and principal components of corrections, this component of the justice system could also include clerks of courts charged with collection of fines and restitution money and also those who assist in the supervision of offenders in the community. Probation refers to imprisonment alternative sentences which allow the defendant to be integrated into the community, stay at home and continue working (Cripe, Pearlman & Kosiak, 2012). However, such a person would be needed to report to a probation officer on a regular basis for counseling and assistance in crises. Violation of the conditions normally imposed by the court to govern the defendant’s activities could result in negative report being subm itted to the court. If serious enough, the probation could be revoked by the court. The courts rely on probation officers for such reports which could cause the defendant to be imprisoned. Lack of payment of fines and restitutions could cause the defendant to possibly face a jail term to serve as a sanction. As another form of correction, incarceration involves confining inmates in a prison. These include boot camps, weekend programs, half-way houses, also referred to as residential reentry centers and other entities for locking up individuals overnight. But a prisoner could be released before finishing the prison term if such a prisoner agrees to abide by certain conditions. This is referred to as parole and if the parole conditions get violated, the prisoner could be returned to prison. Fines would normally be used with or in lieu of prison terms. Less severe crimes such as traffic offenses have come to appreciate fines as the acceptable mode of punishment due to being punitive, e asier to administer and easily fits within a wide range of severity of crimes. However, it has been argued as being unavailable to indigent defendants and not being punitive enough for the wealthy defendants (Clear, Cole, Reisig & Petrosino, 2012). Restitution on the other hand tries to make the injured whole through administration of monetary awards as damages. In as much as

Causes of Obama's victory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Causes of Obama's victory - Essay Example This was said to have figured prominently in the election and was one of the main issues that propelled Obama towards victory. In the perception of the electorate, electing John McCain was tantamount to rewarding the very people who got the country into the financial mess. The other issues that mattered were the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thus, Obama is widely seen as a transformational figure who would provide relief and succor to a nation divided by partisan politics, besieged by economic problems and insecure in the aftermath of the 911 attacks and the subsequent war on terror. The election of Barack Obama came as part of a historic mandate that saw record turnout by the electorate and a campaign team that relied extensively on the internet to propagate their message as well as secure funding is a sign of our times. Given the track record of the 2000 election that saw the election being decided in the Supreme court led some commentators to wonder,† whose election is this a nyway† (Wayne, 2007). Drawing from the experiences of Al Gore and John Kerry in the previous elections, the Obama team made sure that they did not repeat the mistakes of the democratic predecessors. First, he came at the right time and was consistent in his theme of â€Å"change†. For instance, President Bush’s approval ratings were at 27% because of the financial meltdown and thus change echoed with voter sentiment. Secondly, Obama won â€Å"middle America† more than John Kerry did.

African American Culture Essay Example for Free

African American Culture Essay African American culture in the United States includes the various cultural traditions of African ethnic groups. It is both part of and distinct from American culture. The U. S. Census Bureau defines African Americans as people having origins in any of the Black race groups of Africa. [1] African American culture is indigenous to the descendants in the U. S. of survivors of the Middle Passage. It is rooted in Africa and is an amalgam of chiefly sub-Saharan African and Sahelean cultures. Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of Africans in America to practice their cultural traditions, many practices, values and beliefs survived and over time have incorporated elements of European American culture. There are even certain facets of African American culture that were brought into being or made more prominent as a result of slavery; an example of this is how drumming became used as a means of communication and establishing a community identity during that time. The result is a dynamic, creative culture that has had and continues to have a profound impact on mainstream American culture and on world culture as well. After Emancipation, these uniquely African American traditions continued to grow. They developed into distinctive traditions in music, art, literature, religion, food, holidays, amongst others. While for some time sociologists, such as Gunnar Myrdal and Patrick Moynihan, believed that African Americans had lost most cultural ties with Africa, anthropological field research by Melville Hersovits and others demonstrated that there is a continuum of African traditions among Africans in the New World from the West Indies to the United States. The greatest influence of African cultural practices on European cultures is found below the Mason-Dixon in the southeastern United States, especially in the Carolinas among the Gullah people and in Louisiana. African American culture often developed separately from mainstream American culture because of African Americans desire to practice their own traditions, as well as the persistence of racial segregation in America. Consequently African American culture has become a significant part of American culture and yet, at the same time, remains a distinct culture apart from it. History From the earliest days of slavery, slave owners sought to exercise control over their slaves by attempting to strip them of their African culture. The physical isolation and societal marginalization of African slaves and, later, of their free progeny, however, actually facilitated the retention of significant elements of traditional culture among Africans in the New World generally, and in the U. S. in particular. Slave owners deliberately tried to repress political organization in order to deal with the many slave rebellions that took place in the southern United States, Brazil, Haiti, and the Dutch Guyanas. African cultures,slavery,slave rebellions,and the civil rights movements(circa 1800s-160s)have shaped African American religious, familial, political and economic behaviors. The imprint of Africa is evident in myriad ways, in politics, economics, language, music, hairstyles, fashion, dance, religion and worldview, and food preparation methods. In the United States, the very legislation that was designed to strip slaves of culture and deny them education served in many ways to strengthen it. In turn, African American culture has had a pervasive, transformative impact on myriad elements of mainstream American culture, among them language, music, dance, religion, cuisine, and agriculture. This process of mutual creative exchange is called creolization. Over time, the culture of African slaves and their descendants has been ubiquitous in its impact on not only the dominant American culture, but on world culture as well. Oral tradition Slaveholders limited or prohibited education of enslaved African Americans because they believed it might lead to revolts or escape plans. Hence, African-based oral traditions became the primary means of preserving history, morals, and other cultural information among the people. This was consistent with the griot practices of oral history in many African and other cultures that did not rely on the written word. Many of these cultural elements have been passed from generation to generation through storytelling. The folktales provided African Americans the opportunity to inspire and educate one another. Examples of African American folktales include trickster tales of Brer Rabbit and heroic tales such as that of John Henry. The Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris helped to bring African American folk tales into mainstream adoption. Harris did not appreciate the complexity of the stories nor their potential for a lasting impact on society. Characteristics of the African American oral tradition present themselves in a number of forms. African American preachers tend to perform rather than simply speak. The emotion of the subject is carried through the speakers tone, volume, and movement, which tend to mirror the rising action, climax, and descending action of the sermon. Often song, dance, verse and structured pauses are placed throughout the sermon. Techniques such as call-and-response are used to bring the audience into the presentation. In direct contrast to recent tradition in other American and Western cultures, it is an acceptable and common audience reaction to interrupt and affirm the speaker. Spoken word is another example of how the African American oral tradition influences modern American popular culture. Spoken word artists employ the same techniques as African American preachers including movement, rhythm, and audience participation. Rap music from the 1980s and beyond has been seen as an extension of oral culture. Harlem Renaissance [pic] Zora Neale Hurston was a prominent literary figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Main article: Harlem Renaissance The first major public recognition of African American culture occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1920s and 1930s, African American music, literature, and art gained wide notice. Authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen and poets such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen wrote works describing the African American experience. Jazz, swing, blues and other musical forms entered American popular music. African American artists such as William H. Johnson and Palmer Hayden created unique works of art featuring African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time of increased political involvement for African Americans. Among the notable African American political movements founded in the early 20th century are the United Negro Improvement Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Nation of Islam, a notable Islamic religious movement, also began in the early 1930s. African American cultural movement The Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s followed in the wake of the non-violent American Civil Rights Movement. The movement promoted racial pride and ethnic cohesion in contrast to the focus on integration of the Civil Rights Movement, and adopted a more militant posture in the face of racism. It also inspired a new renaissance in African American literary and artistic expression generally referred to as the African American or Black Arts Movement. The works of popular recording artists such as Nina Simone (Young, Gifted and Black) and The Impressions (Keep On Pushin), as well as the poetry, fine arts and literature of the time, shaped and reflected the growing racial and political consciousness. Among the most prominent writers of the African American Arts Movement were poet Nikki Giovanni; poet and publisher Don L. Lee, who later became known as Haki Madhubuti; poet and playwright Leroi Jones, later known as Amiri Baraka; and Sonia Sanchez. Other influential writers were Ed Bullins, Dudley Randall, Mari Evans, June Jordan, Larry Neal and Ahmos Zu-Bolton. Another major aspect of the African American Arts Movement was the infusion of the African aesthetic, a return to a collective cultural sensibility and ethnic pride that was much in evidence during the Harlem Renaissance and in the celebration of Negritude among the artistic and literary circles in the U. S. , Caribbean and the African continent nearly four decades earlier: the idea that black is beautiful. During this time, there was a resurgence of interest in, and an embrace of, elements of African culture within African American culture that had been suppressed or devalued to conform to Eurocentric America. Natural hairstyles, such as the afro, and African clothing, such as the dashiki, gained popularity. More importantly, the African American aesthetic encouraged personal pride and political awareness among African Americans. Music [pic] Men playing the djembe, a traditional West African drum adopted into African American and American culture. The bags and the clothing of the man on the right are printed with traditional kente cloth patterns. African American music is rooted in the typically polyrhythmic music of the ethnic groups of Africa, specifically those in the Western, Sahelean, and Sub-Saharan regions. African oral traditions, nurtured in slavery, encouraged the use of music to pass on history, teach lessons, ease suffering, and relay messages. The African pedigree of African American music is evident in some common elements: call and response, syncopation, percussion, improvisation, swung notes, blue notes, the use of falsetto, melisma, and complex multi-part harmony. During slavery, Africans in America blended traditional European hymns with African elements to create spirituals. Many African Americans sing Lift Evry Voice and Sing in addition to the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, or in lieu of it. Written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson in 1900 to be performed for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the song was, and continues to be, a popular way for African Americans to recall past struggles and express ethnic solidarity, faith and hope for the future. The song was adopted as the Negro National Anthem by the NAACP in 1919. African American children are taught the song at school, church or by their families. Lift Evry Voice and Sing traditionally is sung immediately following, or instead of, The Star-Spangled Banner at events hosted by African American churches, schools, and other organizations. In the 1800s, as the result of the blackface minstrel show, African American music entered mainstream American society. By the early twentieth century, several musical forms with origins in the African American community had transformed American popular music. Aided by the technological innovations of radio and phonograph records, ragtime, jazz, blues, and swing also became popular overseas, and the 1920s became known as the Jazz Age. The early 20th century also saw the creation of the first African American Broadway shows, films such as King Vidors Hallelujah!, and operas such as George Gershwins Porgy and Bess. Rock and roll, doo wop, soul, and RB developed in the mid 20th century. These genres became very popular in white audiences and were influences for other genres such as surf. The dozens, an urban African American tradition of using rhyming slang to put down your enemies (or friends) developed through the smart-ass street jive of the early Seventies into a new form of music. In the South Bronx, the half speaking, half singing rhythmic street talk of rapping grew into the hugely successful cultural force known as Hip Hop. Hip Hop would become a multicultural movement. However, it is still important to many African Americans. The African American Cultural Movement of the 1960s and 1970s also fueled the growth of funk and later hip-hop forms such as rap, hip house, new jack swing and go go. African American music has experienced far more widespread acceptance in American popular music in the 21st century than ever before. In addition to continuing to develop newer musical forms, modern artists have also started a rebirth of older genres in the form of genres such as neo soul and modern funk-inspired groups. Dance [pic]. The Cakewalk was the first African American dance to gain widespread popularity in the United States. [pic] African American dance, like other aspects of African American culture, finds its earliest roots in the dances of the hundreds of African ethnic groups that made up African slaves in the Americas as well as influences from European sources in the United States. Dance in the African tradition, and thus in the tradition of slaves, was a part of both every day life and special occasions. Many of these traditions such as get down, ring shouts, and other elements of African body language survive as elements of modern dance. In the 1800s, African American dance began to appear in minstrel shows. These shows often presented African Americans as caricatures for ridicule to large audiences. The first African American dance to become popular with White dancers was the cakewalk in 1891. Later dances to follow in this tradition include the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, and the Jitterbug. During the Harlem Renaissance, all African American Broadway shows such as Shuffle Along helped to establish and legitimize African American dancers. African American dance forms such as tap, a combination of African and European influences, gained widespread popularity thanks to dancers such as Bill Robinson and were used by leading White choreographers who often hired African American dancers. Contemporary African American dance is descended from these earlier forms and also draws influence from African and Caribbean dance forms. Groups such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have continued to contribute to the growth of this form. Modern popular dance in America is also greatly influenced by African American dance. American popular dance has also drawn many influences from African American dance most notably in the hip hop genre. Art [pic] Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859-1937 From its early origins in slave communities, through the end of the twentieth century, African-American art has made a vital contribution to the art of the United States. During the period between the 1600s and the early 1800s, art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. These artifacts have similarities with comparable crafts in West and Central Africa. In contrast, African American artisans like the New England–based engraver Scipio Moorhead and the Baltimore portrait painter Joshua Johnson created art that was conceived in a thoroughly western European fashion. During the 1800s, Harriet Powers made quilts in rural Georgia, United States that are now considered among the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting. Later in the 20th century, the women of Gee’s Bend developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional African American quilts with a geometric simplicity that developed separately but was like that of Amish quilts and modern art. After the American Civil War, museums and galleries began more frequently to display the work of African American artists. Cultural expression in mainstream venues was still limited by the dominant European aesthetic and by racial prejudice. To increase the visibility of their work, many African American artists traveled to Europe where they had greater freedom. It was not until the Harlem Renaissance that more whites began to pay attention to African American art in America. [pic] Kara Walker, Cut, Cut paper and adhesive on wall, Brent Sikkema NYC. During the 1920s, artists such as Raymond Barthe, Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, and photographer James Van Der Zee became well known for their work. During the Great Depression, new opportunities arose for these and other African American artists under the WPA. In later years, other programs and institutions, such as the New York City-based Harmon Foundation, helped to foster African American artistic talent. Augusta Savage, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and others exhibited in museums and juried art shows, and built reputations and followings for themselves. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were very few widely accepted African American artists. Despite this, The Highwaymen, a loose association of 27 African American artists from Ft. Pierce, Florida, created idyllic, quickly realized images of the Florida landscape and peddled some 50,000 of them from the trunks of their cars. They sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents, thus receiving the name The Highwaymen. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history. Their artwork is widely collected by enthusiasts and original pieces can easily fetch thousands of dollars in auctions and sales. The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was another period of resurgent interest in African American art. During this period, several African-American artists gained national prominence, among them Lou Stovall, Ed Love, Charles White, and Jeff Donaldson. Donaldson and a group of African-American artists formed the Afrocentric collective AFRICOBRA, which remains in existence today. The sculptor Martin Puryear, whose work has been acclaimed for years, is being honored with a 30-year retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York starting November 2007. Notable contemporary African American artists include David Hammons, Eugene J. Martin, Charles Tolliver, and Kara Walker. Literature [pic] Langston Hughes, a notable African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance. African American literature has its roots in the oral traditions of African slaves in America. The slaves used stories and fables in much the same way as they used music. These stories influenced the earliest African American writers and poets in the 18thcentury such as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano. These authors reached early high points by telling slave narratives. During the early 20th century Harlem Renaissance, numerous authors and poets, such as Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Dubois, and Booker T. Washington, grappled with how to respond to discrimination in America. Authors during the Civil Rights era, such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about issues of racial segregation, oppression and other aspects of African American life. This tradition continues today with authors who have been accepted as an integral part of American literature, with works such as Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Beloved by Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison, and series by Octavia Butler and Walter Mosley that have achieved both best-selling and/or award-winning status. Museums The African American Museum Movement emerged during the 1950s and 1960s to preserve the heritage of the African American experience and to ensure its proper interpretation in American history. Museums devoted to African American history are found in many African American neighborhoods. Institutions such as the African American Museum and Library at Oakland and The African American Museum in Cleveland were created by African Americans to teach and investigate cultural history that, until recent decades was primarily preserved trough oral traditions. Language Generations of hardships imposed on the African American community created distinctive language patterns. Slave owners often intentionally mixed people who spoke different African languages to discourage communication in any language other than English. This, combined with prohibitions against education, led to the development of pidgins, simplified mixtures of two or more languages that speakers of different languages could use to communicate. Examples of pidgins that became fully developed languages include Creole, common to Haiti,and Gullah, common to the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. African American Vernacular English is a type variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language closely associated with the speech of but not exclusive to African Americans. While AAVE is academically considered a legitimate dialect because of its logical structure, some of both Caucasians and African Americans consider it slang or the result of a poor command of Standard American English. Inner city African American children who are isolated by speaking only AAVE have more difficulty with standardized testing and, after school, moving to the mainstream world for work. It is common for many speakers of AAVE to code switch between AAVE and Standard American English depending on the setting. Fashion and aesthetics [pic]. A man weaving kente cloth in Ghana. Attire The cultural explosion of the 1960s saw the incorporation of surviving cultural dress with elements from modern fashion and West African traditional clothing to create a uniquely African American traditional style. Kente cloth is the best known African textile. These festive woven patterns, which exist in numerous varieties, were originally made by the Ashanti and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo. Kente fabric also appears in a number of Western style fashions ranging from casual t-shirts to formal bow ties and cummerbunds. Kente strips are often sewn into liturgical and academic robes or worn as stoles. Since the Black Arts Movement, traditional African clothing has been popular amongst African Americans for both formal and informal occasions. Another common aspect of fashion in African American culture involves the appropriate dress for worship in the Black church. It is expected in most churches that an individual should present their best appearance for worship. African American women in particular are known for wearing vibrant dresses and suits. An interpretation of a passage from the Christian Bible, every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head , has led to the tradition of wearing elaborate Sunday hats, sometimes known as crowns. Hair Hair styling in African American culture is greatly varied. African American hair is typically composed of tightly coiled curls. The predominant styles for women involve the straightening of the hair through the application of heat or chemical processes. These treatments form the base for the most commonly socially acceptable hairstyles in the United States. Alternatively, the predominant and most socially acceptable practice for men is to leave ones hair natural. Often, as men age and begin to lose their hair, the hair is either closely cropped, or the head is shaved completely free of hair. However, since the 1960s, natural hairstyles, such as the afro, braids, and dreadlocks, have been growing in popularity. Although the association with radical political movements and their vast difference from mainstream Western hairstyles, the styles have not yet attained widespread social acceptance. Maintaining facial hair is more prevalent among African American men than in other male populations in the U. S. In fact, the soul patch is so named because African American men, particularly jazz musicians, popularized the style. The preference for facial hair among African American men is due partly to personal taste, but because they are more prone than other ethnic groups to develop a condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, commonly referred to as razor bumps, many prefer not to shave. Body image The European aesthetic and attendant mainstream concepts of beauty are often at odds with the African body form. Because of this, African American women often find themselves under pressure to conform to European standards of beauty. Still, there are individuals and groups who are working towards raising the standing of the African aesthetic among African Americans and internationally as well. This includes efforts toward promoting as models those with clearly defined African features; the mainstreaming of natural hairstyles; and, in women, fuller, more voluptuous body types. Religion While African Americans practice a number of religions, Protestant Christianity is by far the most popular. Additionally, 14% of Muslims in the United States and Canada are African American. Christianity [pic] A river baptism in New Bern, North Carolina near the turn of the 20th century. The religious institutions of African American Christians commonly are referred tocollectively as the black church. During slavery, many slaves were stripped of their African belief systems and typically denied free religious practice. Slaves managed, however, to hang on to some practices by integrating them into Christian worship in secret meetings. These practices, including dance, shouts, African rhythms, and enthusiastic singing, remain a large part of worship in the African American church. African American churches taught that all people were equal in Gods eyes and viewed the doctrine of obedience to ones master taught in white churches as hypocritical. Instead the African American church focused on the message of equality and hopes for a better future. Before and after emancipation, racial segregation in America prompted the development of organized African American denominations. The first of these was the AME Church founded by Richard Allen in 1787. An African American church is not necessarily a separate denomination. Several predominantly African American churches exist as members of predominantly white denominations. African American churches have served to provide African American people with leadership positions and opportunities to organize that were denied in mainstream American society. Because of this, African American pastors became the bridge between the African American and European American communities and thus played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement. Like many Christians, African American Christians sometimes participate in or attend a Christmas play. Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is a re-telling of the classic Nativity story with gospel music. Productions can be found a African American theaters and churches all over the country. Islam [pic] A member of the Nation of Islam selling merchandise on a city street corner. Despite the popular assumption that the Nation represents all or most African American Muslims, less than 2% are members. Generations before the advent of the Atlantic slave trade, Islam was a thriving religion in West Africa due to its peaceful introduction via the lucrative trans-Saharan trade between prominent tribes in the southern Sahara and the Berbers to the North. In his attesting to this fact the West African scholar Cheikh Anta Diop explained: The primary reason for the success of Islam in Black Africaconsequently stems from the fact that it was propagated peacefully at first by solitary Arabo-Berber travelers to certain Black kings and notables, who then spread it about them to those under their jurisdiction Many first-generation slaves were often able to retain their Muslim identity, their descendants were not. Slaves were either forcibly converted to Christianity as was the case in the Catholic lands or were besieged with gross inconviences to their religious practice such as in the case of the Protestant American mainland. In the decades after slavery and particularly during the depression era, Islam reemerged in the form of highly visible and sometimes controversial heterodox movements in the African American community. The first of these of note was the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded by Noble Drew Ali. Ali had a profound influence on Wallace Fard, who later founded the Black nationalist Nation of Islam in 1930. Elijah Muhammad became head of the organization in 1934. Much like Malcolm X, who left the Nation of Islam in 1964, many African American Muslims now follow traditional Islam. A survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows that 30% of Sunni Mosque attendees are African Americans. African American orthodox Muslims are often the victims of stereotypes, most notably the assumption that an African American Muslim is a member of the Nation of Islam. They are often viewed by the uneducated African-American community in general as less authentic than Muslims from the Middle East or South Asia while credibility is less of an issue with immigrant Muslims and Muslim world in general. Other religions. Aside from Christianity and Islam, there are also African Americans who follow Judaism, Buddhism, and a number of other religions. The Black Hebrew Israelites are a collection of African American Jewish religious organizations. Among their varied teachings, they often include that African Americans are descended from the Biblical Hebrews (sometimes with the paradoxical claim that the Jewish people are not). There is a small but growing number of African Americans who participate in African traditional religions, such as Vodou and Santeria or Ifa and diasporic traditions like Rastafarianism. Many of them are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean and South America, where these are practiced. Because of religious practices, such as animal sacrifice, which are no longer common among American religions and are often legally prohibited, these groups may be viewed negatively and are sometimes the victims of harassment. Life events For most African Americans, the observance of life events follows the pattern of mainstream American culture. There are some traditions which are unique to African Americans. Some African Americans have created new rites of passage that are linked to African traditions. Pre-teen and teenage boys and girls take classes to prepare them for adulthood. They are typically taught spirituality, responsibility, and leadership. Most of these programs are modeled after traditional African ceremonies, with the focus largely on embracing African ideologies rather than specific rituals. To this day, some African American couples choose to jump the broom as a part of their wedding ceremony. Although the practice, which can be traced back to Ghana, fell out of favor in the African American community after the end of slavery, it has experienced a slight resurgence in recent years as some couples seek to reaffirm their African heritage. Funeral traditions tend to vary based on a number of factors, including religion and location, but there are a number of commonalities. Probably the most important part of death and dying in the African American culture is the gathering of family and friends. Either in the last days before death or shortly after death, typically any friends and family members that can be reached are notified. This gathering helps to provide spiritual and emotional support, as well as assistance in making decisions and accomplishing everyday tasks. The spirituality of death is very important in African American culture. A member of the clergy or members of the religious community, or both, are typically present with the family through the entire process. Death is often viewed as transitory rather than final. Many services are called homegoings, instead of funerals, based on the belief that the person is going home to the afterlife. The entire end of life process is generally treated as a celebration of life rather than a mourning of loss. This is most notably demonstrated in the New Orleans Jazz Funeral tradition where upbeat music, dancing, and food encourage those gathered to be happy and celebrate the homegoing of a beloved friend. Cuisine [pic] A traditional soul food dinner consisting of fried chicken, candied yams, collard greens, cornbread, and macaroni and cheese. The cultivation and use of many agricultural products in the United States, such as yams, peanuts, rice, okra, sorghum, grits, watermelon, indigo dyes, and cotton, can be traced to African influences. African American foods reflect creative responses to racial and economic oppression and poverty. Under slavery, African Americans were not allowed to eat better cuts of meat, and after emancipation many often were too poor to afford them. Soul food, a hearty cuisine commonly associated with African Americans in the South (but also common to African Americans nationwide), makes creative use of inexpensive products procured through farming and subsistence hunting and fishing.

Verbal Communication And Presentation Skills

Verbal Communication And Presentation Skills Introduction During the Impact Workshop we were asked to mention our two skills which we think we need to improve during our tenure at Leeds Metropolitan University. According to me the skills which I want to develop are Verbal Communication Skills and Presentation Skills. After the completion of the workshop I went through few books and found out certain methods which authors believe, can be usefull to improve these skills. Skill 1: Verbal Communication Skills Many teachers worlwide have to teach mainly grammar and vocabulary because these areas are tested in examinations. This means that speaking is a neglected language skill in many classrooms. Even after good knowlegde of grammar, students tend to find difficult to speak English outside tha classroom. Students who can speak English well may have a greater chance of, finding employement and gaining promotion. Good English speakers will be in a strong position to help their conutrys economic, political and social development. Speaking activities can reinforce the learning of new vocabulary, grammar or functional language. Speaking activities gives students a chance to use the new language they are learning.( Baker, J and   Westrup,H, 2003, pp. 6-8) It is very important to speak in English during the classroom sessions; it is not only a place where we learn about the rules of language. It is also a place where students can practice using the language in a supportive environment. People learn language in different ways. Many learn to speak in english without taking a single lesson however other learn it by taking classes in the language.( Baker,J and   Westrup,H, 2003, pp.6-8) When we talk about speaking, we mean using language for a purpose. The author says that instead of asking students to repeat sentences, some time give students a topic and ask them to construct and say their own responses. And this examples is related with me as this is one technique which I have been following since my schooling however when I decided to come to U.K. and pursue masters I had to appear for IELTS exam, I found that this is not enough as my score was pretty low in spoken english as compare to other metrices. I realised that speaking in English requires a lot of practice, not just discussion on small topics in the classroom. It requires a hold over the language so that one is able to comprehend first what needs to be spoken. And should be able to make others understand what they want to say by communicating effectively. Hence I realised after reading this book that to have a good command on the language one need to practice and use his/her skills to create his/her own s entences and try to communicate in english as much as possible. In order to be affluent with the language and stand out of the crowd one should not repeat what others say, but one should make his/her own sentences and dialogues. I have started applying the methods suggested by the author in order to improve my spoken English. I have seen a change in me, as I have started speaking a lot in the class, started asking questions during the claassroom sessions. I found that I am not that much hesitant anymore, while interacting with students from different counrties, cultures and I have realised that by doing this on a daily basis I happen to improve on my vocabulary and I fumble less while speaking. And I think that because of this i have become more confident and started taking part in group discussions and presentations in the class. Now I feel that flying from India to UK is worth, and I feel this leap in my life and opportunity to study here and have a good grasp over the language will help me in near future i.e. HR in which I would like to pursue my career. As English is a universal language one must have a good command over it as it is required worldwide for employment. The author suggests that an individual can improve speaking skills in english by activating and extending their linguistic competence; increasing their confidence in using spoken english; developing their ability to analyze and evaluate spoken performance; sharpening their competence in face to face interaction. By using these points one can improve the quality of their speaking skills as well as to increase the quality of their knowlegde of the language system. ( Anderson,K et al.,2004, pp.7-8) After attending theImpact workshop I realised that it is very important to develop speaking skills, if I have to sustain in this competitive world. I thought a lot on how I can improve this skill and I confronted this to my tutors and with the help of their guidance I found that I should read a lot of books and also look at different approches which various authors have suggested to improvise this skill. Then I found this book and i discovered that in order to improve spoken English one needs to have good vocabulary knowlegde so that he/she can use different words while interating with others. Doing this helps in increase in confidence while speaking in English and along with this one also enculcate an ability to observe and measure different ways of speaking. Polishing their skills by interacting with more and more people personally and talking to yourself by looking at the mirror. Hence building your self confidence and thus enhancing your skills. Since these factors are very helfull in order to build up ones speaking skills, I have also started implementing them in my day to day life. I try to speak and interact in English on a daily basis with my friends, classmates, family members etc. I also try to participate in those activities which require use of spoken English as a whole so that my skill is developed. In order to speak good English one should also be able to pronounce words clearly aand correctly. While pronouncing a word one must take care to voice the sound at the end of the word. If one dont and intend to say I need a cab, the listener ill hear I need a cap. The author further explains with this example that if all vowels are voiced, then this should help cleary the voicing through to the end. The author put forward the methods to improvise on ones pronunciation and speaking by praticing the pronunciation of such words by speaking them on a daily basis and during spare time. Practising it has added benefit of carry-over to its homophones, too and two, also used with high frequency. ( Bareithe, T, 2007) As per the author one needs to practice this skill by communicating more and more even during the spare time, be it wailking from one place to another, or driving from one workplace to home or vice a versa, or waiting for someone. The author says that there are few words which are pronounced similarly however written differently and have different meanings. We need to practice pronounciation of such words along with others. And there are few words if not pronounced correctly, then the listener might interpret it something else. E.g. if we dont pronounce backed correctly then the listener may hear it as packed. Earlier I use to listen to English songs and use to think that I can extract few English words that are considered as part of good vocabolary. However later on I realised that by doing so I am not improving, rather hampering my vocabulory and restricting myself as I have fallen prey to use a lot of slangs and cannot communicate frequently as I was not able to grasp the words from the songs. When I read this book I realised that the methods given in the book are right ways of improving spoken English and now I have been practising all the methods mentioned by the author. I try to utilise my spare time in practicing pronunciation of different words. And I think this method is very usefull and easy as compare to other methods. Skill 2: Presentation Skills In order to improve our presentation skills, the author says that one should be able to deal beter with the feedback. When someone is sharing their perception one should be gracious, not defensive, take notes and should not try to explain or rationalize. One should always be specific and should ask them to clarify, with simple, open questions in a cordial, calm tone. And should thank them for their feedback. According to the author the prsenter should always be open to the feedback given by the audience or the assessor. One should take the feedback positively and should try and implement advices into actions. Also while presenting the speaker should be very clear, should use simple words and should have a pleasant tone. Earlier I was very bad in presentation skills, I figure this out when I started giving presentations during the classroom sessions. I use to get annoyed from the no.of questions asked as I was not able to handle the pressure. And I was not able to accept that my classmates are cross questioning me rather than my tuitor, which made me further phobic to presentations as it hurted my ego. However after reading this book and suugestions given by author I learnt to hold on to be patient and starting accepting the feedback, be it from anyone, my classmates or janetor. (Rotondo, J and Rontodo, M, 2001, p.167) As per the author for better presentation one need to use good visual aids to make it clearer, so that it makes sense to the audience- if they follow the outline of your speech and they succintly present that outline. Follow your outline. Refer to your Outline Worksheet, and start your presentation by designing one slide for each idea. For Example the basic presentation may have the following slides: title; attention grabber; purpose; agenda; benefit of audience; point 1 with the example; point 2 with the example; point 3 with the example; summary, action step; final statement. The author suggests that for a presentation one should try and use some good pictures, so that the audience is able to understand it easily. The language used should be simple and clear. The structure should be clear starting from the title, with each part of the presentation divided separatly and elaborated with examples, should always have a conclusion. Before reading this book I use to think that presentation need not require much effort, which can be done without visuals as well, just by reading from the paper but after looking at the suggestions given by the author I thought that visuals are very usefull, especially to build the interest of the audience. Adding up images adds colour to the presentation and makes it more entertaining for the audience. I have presented on few topics during the class sessions and have started using images. It is very usefull in order to maintain the rhythm. (Bienvenu, S, 2000, P.76) The author believes that there are few steps which one should always follow in order to present effectively. Its starts from staying relax; lets say theres is a weird question from the audience which you think is can make you nervous, that your heart starts beating too fast. However one should stay calm before answering it so that the flow of the presentation is maintained. And the thinking process remains active. The next step can be being firm and polite to the audience while answering their questions and not being hyper or rude if someone asks too many questions. Check the audiences body language, whether they are paying any attention or not, or whether they are being distracted by anyone or they are paying more attention to someone else then you, if they look irritated or if they are genuinly intrested in the presentation and if this is the case then they would want you to answer all the questions quickly without wasting any time. I discovered after reading this that its a human behaviour to get nervous while standing and presenting in front of number of people. Especially when the audience is very proactive in asking questions and due to nervousness one tends to forget things or gets diverted. One should be able to control the presentation with the help of his/her communication skills and sense of humour. So that the audience does not looses its interest. One should be able jugde after looking at the audience, whether they are paying attention or not, whether they are getting annoyed or taking more interest in gossiping or doing some other work. Also one should be able to maintain his/her calm when someone asks a question which is irrelevant or which can create confusion for others. One should always try to answer questionss clearly and should be to the point. One should be thorough with the presentation so that he/she is able to answer evry question asked. I have realised that after coming to U.K. I started fumbling and started getting nervous while answering questions during the presentation. I use to get annoyed with the no.of answers however after reading through this book I am able to present more confidently and I am able to answer questions without getting irritated. This has really helped me in order to stay calm and present effectively. I always am thorough with the topic of presentation sso that I am able to solve any of the queries based on the topic. (Bradbury,A, 2006, pp.132-134) Conclusion After reading all these books related to my weaknesses which I wanted to work on, and after the application of the methods suggested my all the authors I see myself improving day by day and comprehensivley overcoming my weaknesses. Though I dont have any evidences to show but my active participation in the classroom, group work, presentations proves it all. Thus far I am satisfied with my progress and more than happy to make this decision of coming to U.K. and then attending the Impact workshop under my skills module, which made me realize that knowing your weaknesses is not an embarasment rather it is more beneficial. As one knows the areas of development and can be improved before entering the corporaate arena, where we are suppose to perform and compete. Appendices Log 1 Name Miss Divya Manohar Description of experience? I was an  introvert and was never bothered that it might affect my professional front before coming to Leeds because I thought it was a matter of personal choice. However making various presentations at Leeds made me realizes that I had to gear up to work on both my presentation skills and my shyness. What did I previously think was true, but now know to be incorrect/ wrong?   I use to think that being an introvert will not effect be adversly. What was new or surprising to me? What have I changed my mind about, as a result of this? Back in India I was not at all shy talking in front of the crowd during different celebratory activities but when it came to do the same in a conference hall confronting my tutors, I was nervous. And was unable to perform effectively. One thing I learned from this? One should be always ready to learn, and its never too late. How do I plan to cope up with it?   I have started working on it after becoming a part of Leeds Metropolitan.In order to become better I am trying to speak more frankly while talking to my classmates and try not to hesitate to ask for help from others. Also Iam trying to include some good vocabulary to my verbal communication that will help me make a mark for me in order to assess my progress. Also apart from this, I will put a habit of rehearsing my presentations before I get on the stage. And doing good research on the topic so that I will be able to answer all the questions which aundience might have, effectively. Log 2 Name Miss Divya Manohar Description of experience?   After I came to leeds I realised that I my spoken english was not that good. Even after studying in an english medium school, I was required to polish my speaking skills. I never thought that it might affect my professional front because it was appropriate as per the Indian aundience. However after giving my IELTS exam I figured out that when it comes to speaking english fluently, especially when you are being jugded I am not good at all. Moreover after communicating with people from various cultures specially who are from U.K at Leeds made me realizes that I had to gear up to work on spoken communication skills. What did I previously think was true, but now know to be incorrect/ wrong?   I thought that my spoken language is effiecient enough, however it was not that great when it comes to profeesional level. What was new or surprising to me? What have I changed my mind about, as a result of this ? When I was in India I was never hesitant whenever it comes to speak in front of general public or in a classroom whenever there was a discussion on various topics or an event but when it came to do the same when I was being assessed during IELTS and after coming here, I was not confident enough. And was unable to express my view points effectively. One thing I learned from this? One should be always ready to learn, and its never too late. How do I plan to cope up with it?   I have already started working on it after becoming a part of Leeds Metropolitan.In order to become better I am trying to speak more frankly while talking to my classmates and trying not to hesitate to ask for help from others. Also Iam trying to include some good vocabulary to my verbal communication that will help me make a mark for me in order to assess my progress. Also apart from this, I am reading good books, newspaper, magazines etc. that will help me express more effectively in this language with instances. And have started speaking in english even at home so that I feel comfortable while talking to others in public. Unsent Letter 1 I am wirting this to tell you about a workshop I have recently attended, after which I am able to answere those questions which I use to ask myself, however couldnt get an answer. That was to present in public about a certain topic or case. †¦ (In the workshop) we had to present about the decision of the group in the end of the day. I was supposed to present as I chose this particular skill for improvement. There were situations while presenting, I was nervous and due to thaat I was hesitant while speaking, knowingly that I need to improve my speaking communication skills as well, I tried to present. Apart from this workshop there has been instances when I found myself tense while pressenting in the class. During other module sessions as well, when ever we had to present something, I could feel the uncertainity in me, whether to present or allow my classmate to do so. I feel that this feeling has become more prominent after coming to U.K. I use to make presentations when I was in India; however mu confidence was not this low. I always wanted to be in a group where there are students who are better then me in presentation skills, so that they can be the ones who can do the talking part, and use to stick to the prepa ration of the presentation. At the end of every presentation I give I look for feedback from the audience and I try to inculcate their feedback in me for the next time. I also needed to recognise that I am overly tough on myself and that this can then have an impact on my confidence a whole. Unsent Letter 2 Dear †¦ A few months ago, I had to appear for my IELTS exam, where I was jugded on 4 different parameters of English language. These paarameters were: listening, reading, speaking and writing. I thought I will be able to perform equally in all of the above metrices but when it came to speaking, I found that not only while answering the question, I was even nervous while communicating with the examiner. Gradually during the session, which lasted for not more than 15 minutes, I did improve as I knew that I have to perform in order to score good bands in that section. Apart from that score part I had other things in my mind as well, which included my friends reaction if did not score well. I still remember I did a disaster by stopping early in the last question where I was given a scenario, on which few questions were based and in the very last question of that part I was suppose to tell the examiner in brief the reason behind my answer. I was not only nervous I remember I couldnt even say much , I could not express my view points, I was short of content, lacked in confidence on narating her something which I had been doing for years. It was very dissapointing of me. I wanted to ask the examiner for some feedback but couldnt do that due to embarassment. That was when I knew I need to work on this skill, that too hard. And after coming to Leeds this has been confirmed.

A literature review on corporate social responsibility

A literature review on corporate social responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility has earned much salience over the last decades in academic literature. The literature offers various interpretations of the concept of corporate social responsiveness. The concept is understood as a process or set of processes on the way a firm approaches its environment. It is argued that business and society are interwoven: society has certain expectations regarding business and therefore the firm has responsibilities towards society. Hence, being a steward of the needs of society is deemed to be a socially responsible, appropriate, and natural act. The first book acknowledged on CSR is the Social Responsibilities of the Businessman by Howard R. Bowen in the mid 1950s. But, the term CSR came in widespread use in the early 1970s. In fact, it owes its origin due to the globalisation which took place after many multinational corporations were formed. In brief, globalisation means an increase in international transactions in markets for goods, services and factors of production and a growth in institutions that straddle international barriers. All these developments have brought in force the corporate governance mechanisms to ascertain fairness and transparency as well as social responsibility. Thus, this is how CSR was shaped and came into existence in the corporate world. 2.1.1 CSR across Countries CSR, also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (SRB), or corporate social performance, is all but a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model where companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. CSR has been defined in various ways in different countries, of about being the capacity building for sustainable livelihoods from Ghana to about giving back to society from Philippines. Conventionally, in the United States, CSR has been presented in a philanthropic model whereby companies make profits and then they donate a certain share of the profits to charitable causes. It is seen as tainting the act for the company to receive any benefit from the giving. As such, according to Caroll (2003), The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary (philanthropic) expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time. The European model is much more focused on operating the core business in a socially responsible way, complemented by investment in communities for solid business case reasons and voluntary interaction with the stakeholders. Ideally and broadly, the concept of CSR is a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. 2.1.1 Views on CSR According to Hancock (2005), CSR can be viewed through 3 ways namely: Sceptic view According to this view, the notion of CSR is opposed to democracy and freedom, frustrating business focus on its purpose of wealth creation. Milton Friedman best defines this approach: Few trends would so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as they possibly can. Utopian view A utopian view of CSR reflects the idea that companies have a prior duty to anyone touched by their activity, their stakeholders rather than their shareholders, and especially the vulnerable that may be exploited by the companys operation. This is based on the work of Evan and Freeman who are for the stakeholder theory where a corporation must recognise and respect the vital interests of each of its surrounding stakeholders. Realist view This view gathers the greatest following of an alliance model advocated by Patricia Werhane. It states that CSR is not simply about whatever funds and expertise companies choose to invest in communities to help resolve social problems. But, it is also about the integrity with which a company governs itself, fulfils its mission, lives by its values, engages with its stakeholders, measures its impacts and reports on its activities. 2.1.2 The Key Drivers CSR is seen by Porter and Van Der Linde (2000, p. 131) as a competitive driver that requires appropriate resources. CSR programmes, however, on their own, have certain main drivers which are as follow: Bottom Line Effect This is the most relevant driver of CSR programmes as it incorporates a socially responsible element into corporate practice. As John Elkington (1997) rightly underlined that many companies exhibit corporate citizenship through charity or philanthropy. Nevertheless, a new perspective evolved over time for some corporate stakeholders. Success of a corporation is now weighted and defined by evaluating businesses using a Triple Bottom Line comprised of its social, environmental and financial performance. Managing Risk An endeavour to adopt CSR programme has been the gain in market share, key personnel and investment which pioneering companies enjoy when they seriously address labour and green issues. In fact, corporations implement such a programme to manage risks and ensure legal compliance as denoted by Levine Michael A. (2008). They try to avoid investigation, litigation, prosecution, regulation or legislation. Influence of the Corporate Disasters There has been an increased perception of greed amidst senior business officials in the corporate world following corporate scandals affecting Enron, WorldCom and the like. CSR is important in counteracting allegations of corporate greed. As a result, as described by Hancock (2005) in his book, corporations are now shifting away from the philanthropic approach towards CSR and are moving towards the greater alignment of CSR with business strategy and corporate governance. Lower Equity Risk Premium Reputation Management Corporations can face economic damage when their corporate reputations and brands are assailed or sales are affected by consumer boycotts. As argued by some rating agencies, a comprehensive CSR programme will lower a companys equity risk premium. A direct correlation between reputation and financial outcome measures share price and credit rating (Hancock, 2005) has been illustrated through a model designed by the global public relations company Bell Pottinger. In fact, companies may face a variety of legal and reputational risks if they do not have adequate social compliance or corporate social responsibility/sustainability programs in place. Customer Loyalty In todays markets, companies have to focus on building and maintaining customer loyalty. As proposed by Zhou Y. (2009), this can be done through a CSR programme which builds loyalty with customers by offering a competitive advantage in a marketplace where consumers find ethically delivered or produced goods and services. Stakeholder Activism Investment Incentives As perceived by Visser, W. (2008), CSR is encouraged through the activism of stakeholder or pressure groups which often address the alleged failure of the market and government policy. The trend of socially responsible investment gives CSR an incentive where funds are screened on ethical, social and environmental criteria. Thus, this proactively encourages businesses to inform shareholders of potential risks and issues and it helps them to better understand their stakeholders, including shareholders. According to Hill Knowltown (2006), surveys have indicated that analysts place as much importance on corporate reputation as they do on financial performance. 2.2 Theoretical Review A theoretical framework can be constructed around the several theories that emerged to explain the reasons behind environmental reporting over the time. These are as follow: Operational Efficiency Theory Operational Efficiency occurs when the right combination of people, process, and technology to boost the productivity and value of any business operation, while reducing cost of routine operations to a desired level. In the context of CSR, operational efficiencies can be achieved through managing impending risks and liabilities more effectively and efficiently through CSR tools and perspectives by reducing costs; streaming information to stakeholders concerning the investment community for better transparency and by using corporate responsibility and sustainability approaches within business decision-making to result in new market opportunities, newly developed manufacturing processes that can be expanded to other plants, regions or markets. Social Contract Theory This theory dates from the classic period of history but it took its modern form between the sixteenth and eighteen centuries with the best known philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau who talk on social contract. Rousseau, in fact, conceptualised the individual-society relationship as a symbiotic situation whereby the two parties mutually confer some right to the state in order to maintain social order which makes human life and cohabitation better and to gain benefits of community and safety. In parallel to the social contract, the corporate social theory, pertaining to a firms indirect social obligations, has been advanced as a theoretical basis to explain the practise of CSR by corporations. Accordingly, businesses are bound by the social contract whereby they consent to perform various socially desired actions in return for approval of their objectives and other rewards. This ultimately guarantees its continued existence. Legitimacy Theory The theory is close to the social contract theory. Here, the corporations constantly seek to ensure that they operate within the limits and norms of their respective societies and the outside parties perceive their activities as being legitimate. Society grants legitimacy and power to business. In the long run, those who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it. This principle developed by Daviss (1973) is commonly known as the Iron Law of Responsibility. It expresses legitimacy as a societal-level concept and describes the responsibility of business as a social institution that must avoid abusing its power. Thus, this principle expresses a prohibition rather than an affirmative duty, and it applies equally to all companies, regardless of their particular circumstances. According to A.K.H. Khor, the legitimacy theory is fundamentally a system-oriented theory where organisations are viewed as components of the larger social environment within which they exist. Stakeholder Theory A key feature of CSR involves the way that a company engages, involves, and collaborates with its stakeholders including shareholders, employees, debt-holders, suppliers, customers, communities, non-governmental organisations, and governments. Companies can use stakeholder engagement to internalise societys needs, hopes, circumstances into their corporate views and decision-making. While there are many questions about how far a companys responsibilities extend into communities relative to the roles of governments and individual citizens, there is a strong argument that CSR can effectively improve a companys relations with communities and thereby produce some key features that will improve business prospects for its future. Agency Theory This theory comes to explain the relationship that exists between the owners/shareholders and the management. As such the latter is the agent which appointed by the principal (owner/subsidiary) and problems such as the potential moral hazard and conflict of interest are likely to occur. CSR comes as a middle way so that both parties can maximise their gains. As such, when CFP is strong, managers may reduce social expenditures in order to maximise their own short term private gains whereas when CFP weakens, managers will try to offset their disappointing results by engaging in conspicuous social programs, hence increasing their own wealth and that of shareholders as well, pursuant to the managerial opportunism hypothesis by Preston OBannon (1997). 2.2.1 Corporate Social Performance (CSP) In todays competitive market environment, business is confronted with a new set of challenges that are not only economics-related. To survive and prosper, firms must bridge economic and social systems. Maximising shareholder wealth is a necessary but by no means sufficient condition for financial prosperity anymore. A new performance measure called corporate social performance (abbreviated as CSP) is used to capture the performance of a business in the social realm allowing us to be more precise in thinking about corporate social responsibility. CSP defined as a business organizations configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firms societal relationships (Wood, 1991), clearly shows that social performance is not limited to corporations only, but also applies to any firm and organisation. 2.2.2 Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) Most of the businesses operate with a view of yielding profits. The financial performance of a company is reflected through its policies and operations in monetary terms. These results are reflected through its return on investment, return on assets, value added, return on sale and growth in sales. Managers work in the best interest of shareholders to maximise profits. Financial performance is the most common, however, it cannot be considered as the only indicator used to measure a firms wealth. A broader definition of financial performance is accompanied by additional indicators such as short-term profits, long-term profits, market value, and other forms of competitive advantage, as noted by Jensen (2001). In todays world, for a firm to achieve a good and high level of CSP, it has to go beyond the limits of its own corporate strategies and adopt views of other stakeholders who may be directly or indirectly related to the company. 2.2.3 Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance Since over the three decades, the study of the correlation between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CSF) has gained much salience. Many studies conducted in this effect have yielded positive correlation, while others produced contradictory results with negative or non-significant different causal directions being found. In effect, there are several competing theoretical models which are proposed to explain three varying findings on the CSP-CFP link. Owing to these differing relationships, I.Y. Maroam (2006) proposes a unified theory of the CSP-CFP link that explain the different relationships that may be observed between CSR and CFP, thus basing itself on the parallels between the business and CSR domains. The concept of CSR instils in corporations the moral responsibility towards society that go beyond the goal of simply making profits for their owners and shareholders (Berman et al., 1999). As Freeman (1984) rightly pointed out that corporations should be socially responsible for both moral and practical (instrumental) reasons, by reflecting a socially responsible posture, a corporation can enhance its own performance. Thus, CSR activities can, inter-alia, be rewarded with more satisfied customers, better employee, improved reputation, and improved access to financial markets, all pertaining to improving financial performance and sustain the business. However, social accomplishments may equally involve certain financial costs which can effectively reduce profits and comparative performance. Hence, Vance (1975) came up with the trade-off hypothesis to show negative linkage between CSP and CFP whereby corporations displaying strong social credentials experience declining stock prices r elative to the market average. 2.2.3.1 CSP as Business Strategic From the above, it is clear that CSP can be used as a business strategy which can contribute to the competitive advantage of firms. A study by N.A. Dentchey (2004) on the effects of CSP on the competitiveness of organisations reveals that CSP should not be thought of an innocent adventure for executives. It is rather a strategy for achieving corporate strategies, which if not carefully implemented, may harm the competitive advantage of the firm. Competitive advantage, as seen by Porter (1996), denotes the ability of a company to outperform others from successful differentiation from rivals actions. This strategic fit between the outside environment and companies internal resources and capabilities (Hoskissoon et al., 1999) results in superior financial results, as indicated by various measures of profitability. Hence, as per Burke and Logsdon (1996), a strategic implementation of social responsibility brings benefits for all since it results in strategic outcomes such as customer loyalty, future purchases, new products, new markets and productivity gains. Arguably, CSP can be a source of competitive disadvantage for firms which regard CSP as an additional cost. Business contributions to social prosperity (CSP) are seen by Keim (1978, p.33) as an investment in public good which is consumed or enjoyed by a number of individuals disregarding the cost sharing. Thus, investing in CSP is likely to bear negative effects for the fir ms which are incurring costs that might otherwise be avoided or that should be borne by others, for example, individuals or government (Aupperle et al., 1985). 2.2.4 CSP, CFP and the Stakeholder Theory Following the above arguments, a new perspective of CSP, based on the stakeholder analysis, emerges to argue furthermore that there exists a positive relationship between CSP and financial performance. As such, S.A. Waddock and S.B. Graves (1997) propose that a tension exists between the firms explicit costs (for instance, payments to bondholders) and its implicit costs to other stakeholders (for example, product quality costs, and environmental costs). Therefore, a firm which tries to outweigh its explicit costs by increasing its socially responsible actions incurs higher implicit costs, resulting in competitive advantage. Thus, high levels of CSP are seen as indicators of superior management by Alexander and Buchholz (1982) which lead to lower explicit costs and enhanced financial performance. The stakeholder theory accompanies the concept of CSR by shedding more light on the issue of social responsibility. This theory is spread over three aspects (Donaldson and Preston, 1995) namely, descriptive, instrumental and normative. While the descriptive aspect describes and explains the theory, the instrumental aspect discloses the cause-effect relationships between stakeholder management practices and improving corporate performance. The normative aspect, on the other hand, as perceived by I.Y. Maroam (2006) emphasizes on the moral imperatives for practising stakeholder management, rather than the business benefits it may provide. A parallelism between the core business domain and the CSR domain will maximise a firms profitability. The stakeholder theory provides a framework for investigating the relationship between CSP and CFP by examining how a change in CSP is related to a change in financial accounting measures. In fact, the two concepts of CSR and stakeholder share the proposition that social responsibility affects financial performance in some way or other. This subject area has been so vastly explored that this trend is now seen as a natural progression which goes associatively with developments in the industrial and business world. There is an increasing concern and emphasize on humanity, environmental preservation and enlightened social consciousness. Thus, a new area of research began to pave its way within the field of business and society where the relationship between corporate social conduct, both toward the corporations stakeholders and the wider society, and the corporations financial performance was and is still being investigated across several countries. Over environmental issues, research h as revealed that businesses which are eco-friendly and demonstrate good CSR practices enjoy increased consumer purchase preference (Gildea, 1994; Zaman, 1996) and good economic performance (Al-Tuwaijiri, et al., 2004). A stakeholder group, as identified and defined by Freeman (1984), is one that that can affect or is affected by achievement of the organisations objectives, that is, which can be harmed as well as can help it to achieve its goals. Therefore, there is a growing need for firms to address the needs and expectations of the stakeholders to avoid negative outcomes and produce positive outcomes for themselves (Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Freeman, 1984; Frooman, 1997). Pursuant to the stakeholder theory perspective, CSP can be assessed in terms of a company meeting the demands of multiple stakeholders, ranging from cost minimisation to societal maximisation. Building on the previous mentioned definition of CSP, Wood and Jones (1995) propose that stakeholder theory is the key to understanding the structure and dimensions of the firms societal relationships. This theory thereby assumes that firms are responsible for honouring all the implicit and explicit contracts they hold with their variou s constituents. Therefore, the stakeholder theory provides a system-based perspective of the organisation and its stakeholders where it acknowledges the dynamic and complex nature of the interplay between them. The various stakeholders of the firms, such as the employees, shareholders/ financers, environmentalists, government, communities, customers and even competitors should be convinced by the management that it is working harder to satisfy them. The more important the stakeholders to the firm, the more effort the firm needs to put to uphold its relationship with the former. According to Clarkson, Donaldson and Preston et al. (1995), the stakeholder theory must place shareholders as one of the multiple stakeholder groups which managers should consider in their decision-making process. However, like the shareholders, the other stakeholders may have a say upon the firm, bestowing societal legitimacy. Notably, Bernadette M. Ruf et al. (2001) asserted that firms must address these non-shareholder gro ups demands otherwise they might face negative confrontations which can ultimately result in diminished shareholder value, through boycotts, lawsuits, protests and so on. Hence, firms have a fiduciary duty relationship not only to the shareholders, but to all stakeholders (Hasnas, 1998, p.32). So far, recognising a companys contractual relationship with the various stakeholders has been instrumental in better comprehending the relationship that CSP and CFP share. Stakeholders have expectations from the organisation. Nevertheless, these expectations may conflict with the firms limited resources leading the firm to evaluate its costs and benefits tradeoffs. Firms must thus come with measures representative of the various factors of CSP and stakeholders interests. Unlike neo-classical stockholders who were only interested in financial performance (Grouf, 1994; Shapiro, 1992), the major stakeholders of today, that is, the stockholders are more interested in the firms current and future financial benefits and social performance. 2.3 Empirical Review This section reviews the works done and methods used by researchers on the relationship of CFP and CSP. Empirical results on the correlation between these are mixed whereby some yielded in positive, some in negative or some in non-significant relationships. Basing on the stakeholder theory approach, several models on the CFP-CSP relationship have been proposed, where the largest number of investigations found a positive CSP-CFP relationship. Notably, different methods to compute indexes for CFP and CSP have been used since data on both cannot be possibly obtained in absolute figures. As such, using aggregated weights assigned to K dimensions of social performance obtained through questionnaire for CSP and using change in Return of Equity, change in Return on Sales and growth in sales as financial measures on a sample of 496 firms, Bernadette M. Ruf et al. (2001) came up with a positive relationship between CSP and CFP. They, in fact, regressed change in CSP on change in CFP. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between change in CSP and change in Return on Equity and change in Return on Sales in the long term but that with the Growth of Sales to be significantly positive only in year 0 and 1. The study suggests that improvements in CSP have both immediate and continuing financial impacts. A paper by S. A. Waddock and S. B. Graves (1997) also came up with positive linkage between CFP and CSP. An index for CSP was computed using eight attributes, rated consistently across the entire Standards Poors 500 by a rating service, which were related to stakeholder concerns. The firm financial performance (profitability) was measured using three accounting variables, namely, return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and return on sales (ROS) used to assess CFP by the investment community. Factors such as size, risk and industry which affect both CFP and CSP were taken as control variables. Used on a sample of 469 companies and using CSP as both dependent and independent variable, the results revealed that CFP does depend on CSP and vice-versa and also indicated the importance of controlling for industry in assessing such a relationship. To bring more integrity, M. Orlitzky et al. (2003) conducted a quantitative meta-analysis on the CFP-CSP relationship building on the hypothesis that CSP and CFP are generally positively related leading to competencies, learning, efficiency and reputation-building with its external stakeholders. Taking CFP as a companys financial viability through three broad subdivisions consisting of market-based (investor returns), accounting-based (accounting returns), and perceptual (survey) measures and constructing CSP through four broad measurement strategies, namely: (a) CSP disclosures (annual reports, letters to shareholders); (b) CSP reputation ratings; (c) social audits, CSP processes, and observable outcomes; and (d) managerial CSP principles and values (Post, 1991), the study suggests that corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility can pay off, despite the CSP-CFP operationalisations can also moderate the positive associa tion. CSP appeared to be more highly correlated with accounting-based measures of CFP than with market-based indicators, and CSP reputation indices were more highly correlated with CFP than are other indicators of CSP. This meta-analysis establishes a greater degree of certainty with respect to the CSP-CFP relationship than is currently assumed to exist by many business scholars. According to Mahoney L. and Roberts R.W. (2007), there is no significant relationship between a composite measure of firms CSP and CFP. Using four years panel data of Canadian firms, they calculated a composite measure of CSP score by summing all dimension strength ratings, such as, community relations, diversity, employee relations, environment, international, product safety, and amongst others and subtracting all dimension weaknesses ratings. As concerned the CFP, following Waddock and Graves (1997a), return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) were used separately to measure a firms CFP. As CFP was expected to be positively related to CSP, a one-year lag between CFP and all independent variables (CSP, firm size, debt level, and industry) was used. Inconsistent with their expectation, they found no significant relationship between the composite CSP measure and either ROA or ROE. However, the use of individual measures of firms CSP regarding environmental and international act ivities and CFP resulted in a significant relationship providing mixed support for the business case for CSP. A study, using the Granger causality approach, by Rim Makni et al. (2008) reaffirms Mahoney and Roberts (2007) works on the non-significant relationship. However, there may also be a simultaneous and interactive negative relation between CSP and CFP, forming a vicious circle. Building on P. L. Cochran and R. A. Wood (1984) CSR-financial performance model where average age of corporate assets was found to be highly correlated with social responsibility rankings, D. J. Wood (1991) reformulated the CSP model to build a coherent, integrative framework for business and society research. The principles of social responsibility were framed at the institutional, organisational, and individual levels; processes of social responsiveness were shown to be environmental assessment, stakeholder management, and issues management; and outcomes of CSP were posed as social impacts, programs, and policies. The third part of the CSP model concerning the social outcomes was the only portion that was actually observable and open to assessment and any real performance, determined by stakeholders, existed. It was noted that stakeholders were likely to evaluate CSP differently, depending not only on their own interests, but also on their understanding and acceptance of social res ponsibility principles and their relationship to CSP. Building on this model, many researchers worked on finding the linkage between CFP and CSP. Using Wood (1991)s model, the results of a study conducted by P. A. and S.D. Stanwick (1998) showed that a firms CFP is indeed affetced by the size of the firm, and the amount of pollution emissions released. Where many numerous quantitative studies have been carried out to establish, largely in samples of multiple industries, the CSP-CFP relationship, M. Soana (2009) investigated this very linkage in the banking sector using a sample of national and international banks where social performance was proxied using content analysis, surveys, reputational measures, unidimensional indicators, ethical ratings and financial economic performance was proxied using market and accounting ratios. The eventual examination resulted in a no statistically significant link that could indicate any positive or negative correlation between CSP and CFP. The reason was that the majority of studies revised till now are also almost exclusively focused on the USA and UK markets. Corporate governance was also used as control variable, but it showed a non-significant and negative link with ROA and ROA. The study also confirmed the hypothesis that those banks that have the most transparent and efficient ownership st ructure are also the least profitable for shareholders.