Baseball and Philosophy Thinking Outside the Batters Box essays

Baseball and Philosophy Thinking Outside the Batters Box essays Baseball and Philosophy Thinking Outside the Batters Box Baseball and Philosophy is a book that brings philosophy to the center stage or the pitching mound so to speak. Baseball and Philosophy is the sixth volume in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series. Other Books in the series include Volume 1 Seinfeld and Philosophy, Volume 2 The Simpsons and Philosophy, Volume 3 The Matrix and Philosophy, Volume 4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy, and Volume 5 The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy. The editor of the book is Eric Bronson, who also contributed to this book by writing one of the essays. Bronson heads the Philosophy and History Departments at Berkeley College in New York City. He co-edited the Lord of the Rings and Philosophy and contributed chapters to The Simpsons and Philosophy and Seinfeld and Philosophy. Baseball and Philosophy is comprised of 32 professors who wrote 24 essays. These professors explored philosophical questions about the who, what and why of baseball which demonstrate the games connection to larger issues of truth, justice, American identity, and human fulfillment. The topics covered in this book cover everything from How can Zen be applied to hitting to women playing baseball. Another topic which is highly controversial as well as highly publicized is is it ethical to employ deception in sports. This topic alone covers the controversy of Pete Rose being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as well as the use of steroids in the game of baseball. My favorite part of the book was the second essay in chapter 8 called Women Playing Hardball by Leslie Heaphy. This essay dealt with the parallels between men and women playing baseball. In this essay Heaphy argues that masculinity and femininity are culturally defined. Masculinity has come to mean power, strength, and muscle; femininity tends to mean weakness, passivity, and grace. Heaphy gives...

Juveniles in the Adult System essays

Juveniles in the Adult System essays If a twelve-year-old child murdered a person, what should be his/her punishment? If a thirty-year-old adult murdered a person, what should be his/her punishment? Should there be a difference in punishment? Should one be more strict then the other? Should one be more lenient then the other? These are all questions that most people have thought about. With all the youth crime talk in the media, these questions have been asked many times, and we always get the same outcome; DEBATE. One side of the story is that of the juvenile correction system. This system is about a hundred years old and has been revised before. This system has a positive outlook on what youths in trouble can become. They believe that one can be rehabilitated and taught differently. They believe that pre-adolescent children do not know the difference between reality and fantasy. They believe that they do no know the difference between right and wrong. The juvenile system was started in England after they opposed to the killing of young convicted felons. The English invented a juvenile correction system that would re-teach values and morals to the young, rehabilitate them, and give them a second chance at a happy life. They also set up a separate court system from that of adults. In this system, there was to be no sort of media, no jury of peers, and no lawyers, there would only be a judge and the accused party. The judge would listen to the accused and decide for him/herself the correct punishment. This punishment could include lock up in a juvenile correction facility, probation, foster care, and community service or any combination of. In this system, the young adult could only be kept until the age of twenty-one. At this age, the young adult would be released and he/she would be able to start a new life. This system was started because the citizens of England thought that children were being punished to harshly. They thought that ch ...

International Auditing Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Auditing Standards - Essay Example ISA 400 provided a description of internal control and the types of internal controls, as well as the factors and procedures included in each type. One of management's responsibilities is to ensure that there are adequate internal controls implemented in an entity. What is required of the auditor is to have a "sufficient understanding of the internal control" as such an understanding will mean a more efficient and effective audit planning and audit approach". According to Ricchiute (2003), in actual application, to obtain such an understanding, the auditor will need to perform the following: (1) perform a preliminary review of the internal control system through the "review of prior-year audit working papers", inquiries of management and personnel and observations; (2) document the internal controls found in the system and identify transaction cycles, either through a flowchart or a "narrative memorandum"; (3) perform a walk-through of a sample transaction; and, (4) identify controls that will reduce to an acceptable or low level the risk of material misstatements (Ricchiute, 2003, p. 214 - 220). In number 4, the auditor may op t to perform only a walkthrough of a transaction or a walkthrough of the transactions and the related controls and test of controls. The choice depends on the auditor's assessment of control risk. If the assessment is high, the auditor will just do a walkthrough of a sample transaction and go directly to substantive testing. If the assessment is low, the auditor will have to perform a more detailed walkthrough, not only of the transaction but also of the related controls, and test the controls the auditor thinks will support the lower risk assessment. The understanding of the internal control system and the subsequent walkthrough or testing is critical to the external auditor since this will dictate the substantive audit procedures that will be done subsequently. This is because a lower level of control risk assessment will decrease the level of detection risk of an auditor. This generally means less extensive and persuasive substantive audit procedures that could be done during the interim rather than during the year-end, resulting to earlier completion of the audit work (Ricchiute, 2003, p. 232). What about fraud concerns, as these is one of the purposes for setting up the internal control system, in the first place' An external auditor's procedures "cannot be expected to detect immaterial frauds". If a fraudulent transaction or event results to a material misstatement in the financial statements, the external auditor's audit procedures may discover the fraud incident. However, "there is certainly no guarantee of detection" as the "perpetrator(s) may go to extensive lengths to deceive the auditor and hide the defalcation" (Tedd). Lastly, one of the concerns regarding ISA 400 (and the other auditing standards) is that this may

Studying in U.K V.s studying in U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Studying in U.K V.s studying in U.S - Essay Example Both countries are extremely large, though American obviously larger, which means they have a variety of schools that serve a variety of different purposes. In terms of top-range schools, America has world-renowned schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of California Los Angeles and so on, while the United Kingdom has such renowned schools as the Oxford, Yale, and the London School of Economics. At lower tiers each country as a variety of schools as well, meaning that anyone will be able to get whatever educational quality they wand and can manage from either country, as the educational qualities of schools are largely similar. Similarly, both countries have schools that are well known world-wide, and American and UK educations tend to be well regarded internationally. While America and The United Kingdom are very similar in terms of educational quality, the two countries and their universities can be extremely different in terms of culture. One must remember that wherever one studies one will be doing much more than simply going to school, so the people in the culture where you attend university will be extremely important. America is a much more conservative country, and in some ways more isolated from the rest of the world, whereas the UK as a more liberal, though also more strongly hierarchical, society. The cultures of America and the UK are very different, and one must take that in to account when deciding which schools would be better to attend. Finally, one must always consider cost when determining where to study. While the educational quality may be very similar in America and the United Kingdom, one has to look at education as an investment – what you get at what cost you can get it. In America, most of the best schools are private institutions that receive little or no government funding, while in the UK they are almost entirely public and thus very affordable for people from that

Compare and Contrast Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Compare and Contrast Research Methods - Essay Example However, the entire activity could either be quantitative, qualitative or both. Experimental research methods are commonly used in business particularly in finding cause and effect relationship while isolating and controlling variables in a scientific approach (Lam & Bauer, 2008). Experimental methods could be used in business communication research (Lam & Bauer, 2008). These methods could also find their way in information systems research (Levy & Ellis, 2011). In today’s getting advanced information systems that are integrated with the business world, experimental methods are therefore finding their importance in generating reliable information that could help in the actual decision-making process and gaining systematic guidance on the future actions. These are just some potential applications of experimental research methods in which the purpose is to gain considerable information through the use of experiments in order to test hypotheses and come up with the necessary resu lts. There are other research methods such as qualitative methods like focus groups and participant observation. Other methods include questionnaire-based surveys, case studies and observation. Focus groups are qualitative research methods, and as the name implies they focus on certain groups or samples with the inclusion of a clearly identifiable agenda particularly on obtaining perceptions, thoughts and impressions of a selected group on a specific topic or investigation (Milena, Dainora & Alin, 2008, p.1279). There are many potential applications of focus groups research methods and there is one study in which the goal is to show the relation between business environment and academic research (Milena, Dainora & Alin, 2008, p.1280). On the other hand, since they could generate perceptions of a selected group on a given topic, focus groups could also be used in studying potential market segments for a new product and service offerings which is a common approach by some manufacturin g companies to generate information prior to the new launching of their products. Participant observation is another qualitative research method which involves researchers joining the members of a social group, and having direct participation with them while functionally exposed in the actual field work (Vinten, 1994, p.30). Participant observation is a method of considerable interest among individuals with managerial functions or those studying human behavior in the business context (Vinten, 1994). Questionnaire-based surveys are among the most commonly used research methods employed in the business context. A study reveals that mail questionnaire surveys are common practice in international business research methodology (Yang, Wang & Su, 2006, p.601). Questionnaire-based surveys involve the use of relevant questions to be filled up by the chosen respondents. The supplied data will then be processed to convert them as useful information. Another relevant research methods commonly u sed in the business context are the case studies. A case study tries to integrate theoretical knowledge with new empirical insights, especially on topics that have not yet been widely explored (Vissak, 2010, p.371). According to Vissak, a case study could be used in international business research, both in a quantitative and qualitative approach. However, Vissak added that the case studies are not commonly used as quantitative methods. Vissak’s study about the â€Å"recommendations for using a case study method in international

C-myc Monocular Antibody (McAb) on Gastric Cancer Cells

C-myc Monocular Antibody (McAb) on Gastric Cancer Cells Introduction Gastric cancer (GC) is estimated to be one of the most common and frequent malignant tumor of the digestive system. The incidence and mortality of GC have ranked the second among all tumor diseases worldwide [1-5]. However, it ranks in first place in China[6]. Complete surgical resection is still the standard for all patients with resectable GC. It remains highly problematic for the regional and less common systemic recurrences[7]. Recent improvement in surgical technique, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy has increased the survival rate of patients with early-stage, but the patients who have advanced GC are difficult to cure. With more and more research of molecular biological mechanisms known by us, molecular targeted therapies including cell growth, cell cycle, apoptosis and invasion have become a popular tumor comprehensive therapy[8]. Some of single-targeted spots are mainly Human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER-1, HER-2), Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Human epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI), Human proto-oncogene (c-MET)[9, 10]. However, it needs a huge space to develop the targeted anticancer drugs. An elegant way to accumulate therapeutic agents at the tumor site is their specific antibodies[11]. Oncogenes are well documented to be involved in mediating apoptosis and cell cycle resulting in cancers[12, 13], its activation can play an important role in the progress of cancer. C-myc is an important member of the c-myc family and a master regulator of genes involved in diverse cellular processes in GC[14]. The c-myc is a nuclear transcription factor which centrally regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle and apoptosis, once c-myc is activated in vivo or in vitro, it is easy to make the cells far from the normal growth and promote cell malignant transformation to cancer finally[15-17]. It was reported that the expression of c-myc is an important consideration in the biological characteristic of GC [18-20]. The previous studies also have proved that c-myc has tight relation with Brest cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, hematopoietic cancer [21-24]. Currently few da ta exist on the occurrence of the c-myc McAb targeting against GC. In this study, we assessed the effects of c-mycMcAb on the Balb/e2nu/2nunude mice model of GC and the human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells, and tried to investigate the function of c-myc McAbfor targeting against GC. Materials and Methods Preparation of c-myc monocular antibody (McAb) All experiments involving animals were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine. Mice were used in this study from Animal Science Laboratory of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and all effects were made to minimize distress.Thec-myc proteins prepared in E.coliBL21 were used as immunogens.[U1] Before McAb preparation, the c-myc proteins were mixed withequal volume of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Female Balb/c mice aging from 6-8 weeks [U2]were immunized intraperitoneally with 50 ÃŽ ¼g c-myc proteins (1v:1v) in CFA. The immunization was repeated with the same amount of immunogens[U3] in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) at 14d. A final immunization was performed with 100ÃŽ ¼g mixture of c-myc proteinsand IFA at 28 d. Then, the blood was drawn from the caudal vein and serum titers were measured by ELISA at 35 d. A booster injection was given intraperitoneally at the antibody titers of 640,000[U4] tested by ELISA at 35 d. Five days after boost, spleen cells were isolated and mixed[U5] with SP2/0 myeloma cells. When the Hybrid cells grew to 50%, the positive clones were collected by ELISA. The hybridomas processed by Silica gel H was inoculated intraperitoneally into unsexed Balb/c mice. Then, the mice were scarified and the ascetic fluid was collected. The McAb was purified and the concentration was determined by bicinchoninic acid assay (BCA) Protein Assay Reagent Kit. Characteristic Identification of c-myc McAb The subtype of purified McAb was determined by antibody chips according to the manufacturer's instructions (Raybitech Company, USA) and antibody titers were measured by ELISA kit (Cistron Biotechnology, Pine Brook, NJ)[25]. The assay was carried out in 96-well polystyrene plates according to the standard procedures [26]. Briefly, c-myc protein (10ÃŽ ¼g) were loaded onto plate in 0.1 M carbonate buffer (PH 9.6) and reacted with McAb at 37oC for 2 h. After washed, the mixture was monitored with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated rabbit-anti-mouse IgG (diluted 1:100; Sigma) at 37oC for 1 h. Nonspecific antibody binding sites wereblocked with 2% FCS in blocking reagent for 15min.The OD450vaule was read with a 96-well plate reader. The antigenic specificity of McAb was determined by Western blot. Purified c-myc protein was transferred into E.coil DH5ÃŽ ± and Cells were lysed inice-cold radioimmunoprecipitation buffer (RIPA) for 30 min and centrifuged to collect the supermanant[27]. Cell lysates were blent with 3Ãâ€" loading buffer (6 % SDS, 15 % 2-mercaptoethanol, 30 % glycerol, and 0.3 mg/mL bromphenol blue in 188 Tris-HCl, pH 6.8), heated at 90oC for 10 min, and then separated by 16 % SDS-PAGE. Separated proteins in the gels were electrophoreticaly transferred onto nitrocellulose membrane, boiled in phosphate buffered saline for 4 min, and blocked with 5 % nonfat dry milk for 20 min[28]. After several rinses, the membranes were incubated with c-myc McAb overnight at 4 oC. McAb were detected by HRP-conjugated goat-anti-mouse IgG (50 ÃŽ ¼g/mL) at 22 oC for 1 h. The establishment and treatment of nude mice model of GC Four-to-five-weeks old Balb/c nu/nu mice (body weight was 18 ±1.5g) were purchased for the establishment of nude mice model of GC . The human gastric cancer cell line (SGC-7901) was grown in 10% DMEM (Gibco) supplemented with FCS (100 mL/L), penicillin sodium (100 U/mL) and streptomycin sulfate (100 ÃŽ ¼g/mL), and cultured at a 5% CO2 incubator at 37 oC. Exponentially growing SGC-7901 cells were trypsinized resuspended to make a cell suspension of 2Ãâ€"107 cellls/mL. The nude mouse was injected subcutaneously with the suspension (0.2 mL) into the right and left root. Tumor masses were obvious at 10 d. Mice were randomized into 4 groups including low-dose group, middle-dose group, high-dose group and saline group (10 mice/group). Mice of each treatment group were inoculated intraperitoneally with c-myc McAb weekly (10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, respectively), and mice of saline groups were injected with normal saline (0.2 mL) instead. Four weeks after injection, the mice were sacrificed and tumors were examined to calculate the tumor inhibition rates (). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) The procedures of SP immunohistochemical kit (SP kit, Maxim Biotech) were as follows: The tissue of tumors was fixed in 10 % phosphate-buffered Formalin, embedded in paraffin, and sectioned at a thickness of 4ÃŽ ¼m. Tissue sections were deparaffnized, hydrated and washed in PBS. Antigen retrieval was performed by combining the tissue with 10mM citrate buffer (pH 6.0) in a microwave for 10 min. Nonspecific protein bindings of tissues was blocked with 5 % normal sheep serum (NSS) for 10 min. after rinsing in PBS, sections were incubated with c-myc McAb at 4 oC overnight at a dilution of 1:100. Secondary antibody (Carpinteria, goat anti-mouse biotenylated, 1:50 in PBS) was applied at room temperature for 30min after washed, and then HRP-conjugated streptavidin were added. The slides were visualized by diaminobenzidine (DAB) (Dako, Carpinteria, CA, USA) for 5 min and counterstained with hematoxylin for 2 min, terminated, dehydrated, transparentized, sealed and photographed step by step. Negative controls were prepared by replacing primary antibody with PBS. Western blot analysis C-myc McAb (1 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 2 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 4 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, respectively) were added into SGC-7901cells andcultured for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, for blank controls, the SGC-7901cells were omitted and HFE-145 cells were used instead. Cells were collected and lysed in ice-cold RIPA,and then following sections were mainlysimilar with the procedures of the Characteristic Identification of c-myc McAb. MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay Cells were seeded into 96-well plates (10, 000 cells/well) and cultured at 37 oC in a 5% CO2 incubator after HGC-7901cells and normal gastric cell line HFE-145 were trypsinized. The culture medium was washed with PBS 3 times, and thenc-myc McAb (1 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 2 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 4 ÃŽ ¼g/mL,) were added respectively, 20 mL (5 mg/mL) At the indicated time points (1 d, 2 d, 3 d, 4 d, 5 d), each well were added with 20 mL MTT cultured at 37 oC for 4 h. Then 150 ÃŽ ¼L DMSO was added again to stop the reaction after the supernate were dropped, The plate was read on multiwall plate reader (Thermo Fisher, Basingstoke, United Kingdom) at 570nm. . A dose-response curve was plotted for the HGC-7901cells and HFE-145 cells. Cell adhesion assay Before cell adhesion and migration assays, SGC-7901 cells and HFE-145 cells were serum starved in bascal culture medium overnight. In brief,6-well tissue culture plates were coated with 10ÃŽ ¼g/mL fibronectin and 10 ÃŽ ¼g/mL poly-L-lysine overnight, the wells were washed with PBS-T and blocked with 5 % BSA in PBS-T[29]. SGC-7901cells and HFE-145 cells were released with trypsin to prepare of single cell suspensions. The cells were applied to 6-well tissue culture plates (50 ÃŽ ¼L/well) and incubated at 37oC for 12 h. When cells were grown to approximately 90 % confluence, the c-myc McAb(1 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 2 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 4 ÃŽ ¼g/mL,) were added respectively. Cells were allowed to attach for 2 h, and the culture medium were discarded. Before released with trypsin, cells were washed twice with PBS and 1mM Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid (EDTA). The formula of was used to calculate the adhesion rates. Cell migration assay Cell migration assays were performed in transwell bicameral chambers as described[30]. Matrigel (Becton Dickinson Company, Bedford) at a dilution of 1:100 were coated with culture medium without serum at 37oC for 30 min in the apical chamber. Cells were released with trypsin, washed ,and resuspended at a final concentration of 5Ãâ€"105 cell/mL in serum-free bascal culture medium (EBM) containing 0.1 % BSA. The suspension (100 ÃŽ ¼L), which were seeded on the upper chamber, were mixed with c-myc McAb (1 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 2 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 4 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, respectively). The lower chamber was filled with 500ÃŽ ¼L mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH3T3) which were cultured with RPMI (10mM Hepes, 0.5% BSA, pH 7.4). Migration chambers were incubated at 37oC in 5% CO2 incubator for 72h. After removing stationary cells from the upper side of the membrane with a cotton-tipped swab, migrated cells were fixed and stained with 1% crystal violet. Cells were counted in three fields at a magnification of Ãâ€" 400. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle assays HGC-7901cells and HFE-145 cells were seeded into 6-well plates containing Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) with 10% FCS and cultured at 37 oC in a 5% CO2 incubator overnight. Supernatants were discarded, before c-myc McAb (1 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 2 ÃŽ ¼g/mL, 4 ÃŽ ¼g/mL,) were added respectively and attached for 72 h. cells were fixed with pre-cooled ethanol (75%) and stained with Propidium Iodide (PI, Sigma) in the dark at room temperature for 15 min , after centrifuged at 1,000 rpm and rinses in PBS several times. The cell cycle and apoptosis rates were analyzed by FACS (Elite ESP, Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA). Statistical analyses Statistical analysis was performed using Software version SPSS11.0. All data was expressed as mean  ± SD (standard deviation). Comparisons were made by Student's t-test and comparisons of parameters were made using one-way analysis of variance among 4 groups. A value of P

Work and play in the city :: essays research papers

Work and Play in the City   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The city had been a place of work for a long time, but it was beginning to become almost as much of a place for play. As the average person was able to earn more money and have more free time, it was desirable to have some fun at the end of a hard day. Everyone found different ways to enjoy themselves, whether it is in one place that caters to many interests or many single interest places. Having a bit of fun became more and more important as the years progressed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the major reasons the city became much more of a place for play was that there was a major shift in the types of work people were doing. Instead of intertwining enjoyment into your workday, people were sacrificing fun for shorter workdays and a more concentrated day. This also caused a great increase in wages. As this change occurred â€Å"recreation and play were not luxuries [anymore] but necessities in the modern city.† Different types of people found various ways to have their fun. Depending on how much money you made, your sex, or your race, you may have enjoyed much different methods of amusement. In theaters the African Americans always got the worst seats, and the rich people were usually box holders. In fact it became very difficult for performers to please such a mixed crowd. In fact, one English actor named Macready caused a riot because of a play he was performing. During his performance â€Å"a crowd of 10,000 gathered to protest. The militia was called to restore order, which it did, but only after 22 people had been killed, 150 hurt and 86 arrested.† Though, soon after the theaters began to cater to certain interests instead of trying to cater to everyone at once.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though the theaters were not a person’s only source of entertainment there were plenty of other forms. One could go to a beer hall, billiard room, variety theaters, or a concert hall. Though these were for men mostly, and men with money to spend at that, there were also places such as parks, museums, libraries, and lecture halls for people to spend their leisure time. Everyone was finding more and more leisure time and more places to spend their time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the nineteenth century was ending the city became as much of a center for fun as it was for work.

Authorship of the book of Ruth Essay

The book of Ruth has been historically claimed to be written by the prophet Samuel. It dates back to the 1011 and 931 B. C. It was a message of the love of God directly to the Israelites. With the main theme of sacrifice, it was essential for them at that time to hear such words of love. In the heathen land of Moab, located North of the Dead Sea, Ruth is resides for a period of time and them moves further into the town of Bethlehem, during the era of the judges which occurred directly after the Pentateuch books which are the first five biblical books. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and Elimelech, who were an Israelite couple with two sons. Mahlon and Chilion were their names and both married Ruth and Orpah. Sadly, all three men in the family died, firstly Elimelech and then later on his two sons, leaving three widowed women. The actual period is not actually stated. However, most scholars have attributed its authorship to the pre-exilic era; the period after the enslaved Israelites were freed and permitted to return back to their homeland of Israel. As a historical book of the Bible and an excellent piece of literature, it has challenged the conception of the era and the norms of the periods as recording the attitudes and conducts between people. It demonstrated tremendous practicality and dealt with serious relational issues and we can learn a lot from it today. Its authorship is unknown. It clearly begins by alluding to the period of the judges and it is perceived by some to have been written around that time. The prophet Samuel has been given the credit for its authorship by many scholars. In recent times however, there have been speculations as to the real author of this book. It has been recognised as having been written by a female author. According to an ancient Beraithato the Talmudic treatise it stated that the prophet Samuel did write the book of Ruth. As it is does not provide strong evidence concerning the authorship, several authors in recent times have refuted the prophet Samuel as the actual author of this phenomenal book. Does it really matter whether it was written by a male or female author? This has been a question in the minds of many because in its entirety, the content of the book is very positive and has a lot of moral, social and legal coverage, which has provided a lot of insight into the way the Israelites interacted amongst themselves as well as among foreign nations, like the Moabites. In this essay, various perspectives of scholars will be addressed and references to the actual text will also be made to support and refute arguments which have been put forth by various intellectual minds. In a recent book entitled the Widow’s plea, a group of authors cited a number of key points about the book of Ruth. Central to their arguments were factors that provided an insight to the gender identity of the author. Firstly, they referred to a deliberate attempt by the author to strengthen the plight of widowed women in this book, by the avoidance of dealing with the Leveriate marriage, a popular custom that existed during that period. Lawson Younger in made inference to this point by referring to the book ‘Three Shekels’ by H Shanks: The inscription is puzzling. According to the law of levirate marriage, a man must marry his brother’s widow if his brother died childless (see Deuteronomy 25:5–6). Why wasn’t the husband’s brother, who had already received the wheat ? eld in Nacamah, required to do his duty by marrying his brother’s widow? Alas, the ostracon does not tell us(p 32) The laws relating to marriage and redemption were strongly intertwined and since it was not completely applicable in this case because Ruth did not marry her direct next of kin, these scholars have speculated that it might have been authored by a female. Furthermore, H Avolos backed this argument by purporting the deliberate exclusion in this case. (Avolos 616) In an attempt to further prove this point Young referred to various Hebrew texts and phrases used to give a better view point. For instance, the use of the words ‘Amah’ and ‘siphah were used at different times, suggestive of various points regarding the nocturnal influence of Ruth in Chapter 3:9. This is what he noted: Amah seems to be used to emphasize a slave’s feminine qualities (need for protect weakness, sexual attractiveness, etc. ), while siphah seems to be used when the female is viewed as a possession and a laborer. 41 Both terms can be used as self-designations. When it is used this way, amah appears to suggest a female petitioner’s weakness and need for help or protection when presenting a request before a more powerful male, never before another female. When siphah is used as a self-designation of obeisance, it seems to signify the woman’s subservience and readiness to serve or obey instructions. (p127) With the usage of the term amah, despite the fact that she was a labourer or indirectly in servitude, she was still able to realize her feminity even in hardship. It was suggestive of her need for protection and dependency on the one who is stronger than herself, especially when requesting a favour from an influential male figure. This point alludes to the kind of writing by a male author, realizing the need of the woman for protection and a bulwark. The usage of the term siphah suggested the readiness of the woman to adhere to instructions from the male and obey and to do is bidding. In both cases, there is a strong suggestion of a male authorship based on this viewpoint. Further Hebrew terms used indicate more usage of feminine forms of verbs. For instance, the word hyrja, meaning ‘them’ was used to refer to bodies of individuals. Its frequent usage indicated that the author made reference to a wide range of people who were female. Perhaps this could have been suggestive of a male author appreciating the role of the women or in actual fact, a woman who sought to enhance the role of the female in that era? The Feminist Companion of the Bible addressed several points that alluded to an obvious female authorship. (pg 34) It was argued that this book presented various points which gave credence to the importance of women in the Holy Bible. For instance, several women were identified who played excellent roles in biblical event, including Deborah, Dorcas, Esther and Miriam just to mention a few. It was also admitted that there were also major indications to the book of Ruth being authored by a male because of its superscription, just as the case was in other books like the book of Ecclesiastes. An interesting point to note was that there was a chance that although it may not have been written by a woman, the male author certainly had a profound respect for women and valued their contribution to the society. Interestingly, this book under the ‘Unconventional Life Partnership, Women Do Go Unconventional Ways’ heading also referred to the instruction by Naomi to Ruth, to use her natural female charm to win the heart of Boaz. (Athalya 29). This could very well have been a masculine viewpoint, in the sense that Naomi did recognize that Ruth needed a man in her life and hence was giving her advise on how to make Boaz notice her. During that period, it was generally expected that the women realized that they were being prepared for marriage at some stage and it would have been the role of an experienced woman like Naomi to share this with Ruth. This is a very feminine disposition which could have been expressed by the author. In the second chapter of the book of Ruth, she was portrayed as a hardworking lady who went to ‘glean with the reapers’. In Hebrew, the word ‘reapers’ refers to masculinity. Hence, irrespective of this fact, she was able to go and work with the men, gathering enough food supply for herself and for Naomi. As a matter of fact, it was emphasized that she worked through to the period of harvest. By so doing, she was able to gather more than sufficient rations to tend to the needs of a whole family. This was a progressive woman who knew that it was essential that she managed the home front successfully. In other words, she was a traditional homemaker – the major role of the woman. A female author would not have put this point any better. In his comparative study of the book of Ruth, Younger suggested that to a large extent, it seemed that a woman’s economic well-being was directly related to her link with some male. (p 129) From a feminine perspective it could be argued that this exhibited self-reliance and independence of the woman. On the contrary, there is also the aspect of the masculinity portrayed. The head of the reaper, when approached by Boaz who had not yet met Ruth at the time to ask about who she was, the reaper made excuses on her behalf, as she was a foreigner ( a Moabite girl) who did not the customs and modest requirements of the women of Israel. This impled that she was gleaning with the wrong set of people, in other words, the men. Hence, when Boaz eventually spoke to her, he advised her to glean with the girls or young ladies (Chapter 2:8). This was indicative of the male dominance and belief in the distinct and separate roles of the woman and the man. The geneological account in Chapter Four included women in it and this has made people suggest its female authorship. It was uncommon to have women included in the genelogical chronology. Especially in this instant, this geneology led all the way down to David, from whom the expected lineage of the Messiah was from. The character of Boaz was one of a generous and extremely loving individual. He saw the needs of Ruth and Naomi and took the necessary steps to ensure their happiness. By so doing, he tremendously brought a lot of benefits to himself. Eventually, he got married to Ruth. His numerous character traits are worthy of further study. Ruth was described as a virtuous woman. From the beginning of the book, she displayed loyalty and love, even to its end. When Naomi was bereaved of three members of her family including her husband and sons, Ruth did not seek out her own gain but decided to remain with Naomi, always. It took superhuman power to make such a profound statement in Chapter 1:16, entreating Naomi to let her (Ruth) remain with her. There was nothing that Naomi had to offer her. Both her sons were now dead, including the husband of Ruth. As was pointed out by Naomi, she had nothing to offer Ruth. Notwithstanding, Ruth made a selfless commitment to stand by Ruth, through times of sorrow and happiness. Naomi was a wise lady whose experience was of great benefit to Boaz and Ruth. In essence, she took the practical steps to facilitate their union. In all three characters, excellent themes of relational interactions have been displayed. Humility, sacrificial love, generousity and empathy just to mention a few, are required in everyday dealings with people. Regardless of the authorship, these character traits spread across boundaries and are pertinent in dealing with practical real-life matters. Especially today, these attitudes are still required and go along way in boosting human interactions. Works Cited Brenner, A. The feminist companion to the Bible (Second Series) Sheffield Academic Press Avalos, H. Legal and Social Institutions, 616 Malick, D. An Argument of the Book of Ruth from < http://www. bible. org/page. php? page_id=952> Shanks, H. (1997). Three Shekels pg 32. Younger, K. L. (1998). Two Comparative Notes on the Book of Ruth. Trinity International University

How to Write an Essay in MLA Format

How to Write an Essay in MLA Format How to Write an Essay in MLA Format MLA is a type of research essay that is usually written in colleges. MLA stands for Modern Language Association and has strict rules not only for the context, but also for the technical organization of the essay. The technical requirements for writing an MLA essay format are the following: The pages must have 1-inch margins. The text should be double spaced with 12-point font usually Times New Roman including quotations and notes. Different paragraphs must be separated with half an inch. The first page (the header) is slightly different from the rest of the paper. The name of the student is placed in the upper left corner. Below there is the instructor/professor’s name, followed by the name of the specific course and the date. The title of the MLA essay is located on top and centered. A separate title page is not required. The page numbers are placed on top, in the upper right hand side. An outline is optional. Here is an example how the page should look like: Adam Smith Professor Jonson English Literature 17 February 2015 Advantages and disadvantages of writing an MLA Essay There are many advantages in being capable of writing essays. First you can express your thoughts, making them reachable for bigger audience. Writing an essay can be a creative experience which will help analyze a specific problem and your opinion on it. Disadvantages of writing essays exist only if you write an essay that lacks logic and proper organization. You should feel free to write and experiment expressing your own thought but do not forget to research your thesis thoroughly, the technical parameters of the essay and read your instructor notes. How to write an essay in MLA format Writing an essay in MLA format is similar to writing any other type of essay. The basic structure of the MLA essay is: introduction, body of the essay and conclusion. Introduction of MLA essay The introduction is the first paragraph of the essay. In it you introduce to the audience the topic you are going to write about. The tone and the thesis given in the introduction should set the context of the whole essay. You should explain to the audience why you are going to write on that specific thesis, what makes it interesting for you and what is your overall opinion and attitude on it. The length of the introductory paragraph will depend on your instructor’s notes. Usually the last sentence in the introduction is the thesis of the essay. It is precisely the thesis that you have to support through the whole essay. Body of MLA essay The body of the MLA essay consists of transition, topic sentence, evidence and brief summary of everything written in the body so far. In order to write a good essay you should research the thesis well and draft your essay in advance. You can use quotes to support your thesis and when you use quotes in the MLA essay format do follow the rules for proper quotation. Use transition between paragraphs in order for the essay to sound organized and well written. In its essence the MLA essay is just like any other research paper. So follow the rules you already know, research the thesis thoroughly, make the draft and start writing. Conclusion of MLA essay It is a general rule for the conclusions of the essays to be strong and convincing. The conclusion usually sums up everything you have written so far for one last time. The sentences of the conclusion should be strong and clear. You should leave an impression that everything said so far is reasonable and trustworthy and the subject is coming to a closure. Always proofread your essays at least once in order to remove any grammatical and contextual mistakes that you may have made. You can also ask a friend for his/ her opinion by giving him or her the essay to read in advance prior to submitting it to your instructor.

NAFTA effects on Mexico essays

NAFTA effects on Mexico essays The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been implemented with the intentions to eventually open the borders between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This paper will only deal with the effects of the trade agreement on Mexico. This paper will attempt to show that the implementation of NAFTA and its guidelines have increased flows of U.S. foreign direct investment into the country of Mexico, and subsequently improved Mexico s economy. With the United States, Mexico, and Canada signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the ground rules are set into place to allow Mexico to prosper from inflows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The rules of NAFTA will protect the investments of foreign investors by locking Mexico into NAFTA regulations on direct investing (Krueger 2000). Domestic U.S. firms will be eager to invest in Mexico for a competitive advantage made possible by the NAFTA agreement and Mexicos economic conditions. This paper will discuss how NAFTA helped secure investment from the U.S. into Mexico. Additionally, why domestic U.S. firms would consider FDI into Mexico, and how U.S. FDI may have helped Mexico through its economic crisis in 1995. In order for a domestic firm to undertake foreign direct investment (FDI), they must first be able to compete effectively in their home market. Once the firm obtains a domestic competitive advantage that is strong enough to sustain and compensate for investment damages incurred by investing abroad, the firm can consider FDI (textbook). Once a firm has decided it is ready to directly invest in a foreign market, the firm must decide where to invest. The decision to invest is made by locating markets that may have a comparative advantage, or a market imperfection that would allow the investor to prosper by entering the market. For example, motivating factors of investment include: profits attainable through lower tax rates, more le...

HUM112 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HUM112 - Essay Example What he is basically doing here is to avoid prior philosophical prejudices and embark on his journey with something fresh. It is the accumulation of his thought process that he summarizes the direction he takes as ‘I am thinking, therefore I exist’. He cannot doubt this knowledge which makes it easy for him to vouch for this fact. So the direction of his thoughts is built on ‘clear and distinct perception’; headed in a direction towards things that are purely impossible to doubt. This is when I was sure that the ending would be very different from the way that the reading had begun. And I was correct in the way the surprise ending was Descartes ends up confirming that God formulates the truth of apparent and distinct perceptions. 2) Since you were expecting a different ending, evaluate how successful the author was in convincing you to accept the validity of the â€Å"surprise ending† that was not clearly suggested at the beginning. Well while I appre ciate the interesting conclusion that the reading takes there are certain points that lead me to think that the evidence and argument that Descartes has put up to validate God are neither original nor very satisfying.

The Dangerous Climate Change And Some Of The Strategies That Can Be Essay

The Dangerous Climate Change And Some Of The Strategies That Can Be Used To Avert The Beginning Of A Dangerous Climate Change - Essay Example Articles 2 of UNFCCC refer dangerous climatic change as dangerous anthropogenic interference caused by human activities. However, Parker and Shapiro (2008) give a more specific definition of a climatic change. They state that dangerous climatic change refers to any or combination of the following; three feet rise in sea level, beyond 50 percent extinction of species or / and regional change in climate that cause severe reduction of local food and water supply. According to climate change experts, dangerous climate change is caused by additional 2oF (1.2oC) rise in global warming above 2000 levels. 2oF (1.2oC) rise in global warming above 2000 levels is equivalent to 450 (per particle million) ppm of Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration. In May 2008, there were 385 ppm CO2 levels (Parker and Shapiro, 2008). Increase in carbon dioxide concentration is caused by human activities that release carbon dioxide into the atmospheres. All combustion, which are made to generate energy releases ca rbon dioxide into the atmosphere and should be controlled if dangerous climatic change is to be avoided. Figure 1-Reasons for concern about climate change impacts Temperature Change (0C) Sources OECD, 2004 The above figure shows the warming range per every unit of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Each column represents a tipping point caused by a given concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The rate of warming is indicated by the graph that cut across all the columns. Column one shows that an increase in carbon dioxide concentration from 350 ppm to 550 ppm generate additional temperatures of between 1.5oC and 2oC respectively. The impact of increase in temperatures in column one can only harm handful species and can threatened earth system, which may trigger things like ice melt or dieback of forests. If carbon dioxide emissions were to stabilize at around 850 ppm substantial additional warming would occur at this range because the slope of the graph is very steep. If carbon concentrations were to go beyond column five in the above diagram, then temperatures will rise by about 5oC and 6oC respectively. These are extreme rise in temperatures and life may cease to exist. 2) The most affected by dangerous climate change The number of people who die or in danger in developed nations is less as compared to those who die or in danger in developing nations. This is because infrastructure and social safety nets are inadequate or non-existent to cushion people from less developed countries from dangerous effects caused by drastic changes in the climate. People in developing countries are mainly affected by dwindling food suppliers while people in developed countries suffer from weather related conditions such as heat strokes and hurricanes. According to Dawson and Spannagle (2009 p.115), precipitated patterns have caused extreme weather events. Rainfall patterns are changing and incidences of drought have increased due to global warming in devel oping countries. These have affected agricultural production in Sub-Sahara Africa, South Asia and Mediterranean region. Developing countries are hard hit by failing crop yields and declining water supply. Worsening food securities are evident in Africa and South Asian countries. It is estimated that twenty three million people will be hit by severe drought and rising food prices in Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. As a result, Oxfam Launched $152 million appeal to help most affected people in