Machiavelli vs Islamic political thought :: essays research papers

Machiavelli vs Islamic Political Thought   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Niccolo Machiavelli was a political realist. He thought there were certain skills and characteristics needed to become a political ruler. In his work, The Prince, Machiavelli gives advice on how to be a successful prince, or ruler. â€Å"Successful† is partly based on how powerful a ruler was during his lifetime (reign), but largely based on how much the prince affected the lives, through laws or societal norms, of future generations. Machiavelli was mainly interested in attaining and keeping political power. He believed people were inherently selfish and would, by nature, not respect the law or work for the common good, without civic virtues. The only way to ‘control’ these human urges was to instill national pride and mutual respect for all citizens of a state. The difference in Machiavellian thought, up to this point in history, from other philosophers was he believed political authority was no longer justified by religious or spiritual doct rines. Although Machiavelli believed this to be true, he still knew it was important for citizens to maintain a commitment for the common good, through national pride and respect. Another aspect of differing thought up to this point in time was Machiavelli knew promoting civic virtue in citizens needed to be coupled with the pursuit of individual liberty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Machiavelli, in his writings, talks about several different forms of government. Specifically, monarchies, aristocracies, and democracies. He was able to pick apart monarchies, establishing the difference between ‘new’ and old monarchies. The new monarchies are the hard ones to maintain, because people are not susceptible to change, in fact they almost revolt against it, unless the new ruler can make good on his word and keep his promises. Machiavelli’s preferred form of government was the republic. A republic is a mixing of the three governments aforementioned. Having the government made up of the nobles, the elite, and the commoners establishes a set of checks and balances against one another. No one, particular group will be able to take control of the state again. And in fact, the people (citizens) tend to have more leverage than any other faction. Machiavelli knew people were mainly concerned about their property and well being of their fa mily. He also knew the government’s job was to protect both, in addition to helping the people prosper and follow their â€Å"hearts,† if you will. Machiavelli believed only certain people could become rulers, because it took a special sort of person.

Define the Term Micr

Question 1 Define the term MICR and explain what it is. Using a suitable example, discuss how does MICR readers work and what is it used for? Answer: MICR, or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, is a character recognition technology used primarily by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of cheques and makes up the routing number and account number at the bottom of a cheque. It allows computer to read account number off printed documents. Its different and unlike with barcodes or other similar technologies, MICR codes can be easily read by humans. MICR characters usually contain iron oxide.They are printed in special typefaces with a magnetic ink or toner and in the form of either and E-13B or CMC-7 Font. Each font series is made up of a series of numbers and symbols specifically designed for readability on check sorting machines which read and extremely high rates of speed. The machine can always determine what each series of number signifies quickly, due to the symbols provide a beginning and end pint for each group of numbers. Line placement, character placement skew and quality are several critical components of printing MICR; the line must be precisely positioned in the MICR Clear Band area.The use of magnetic printing allows the characters to be read reliably even if they have been overprinted or obscured by other marks, such as cancellation stamps and signature. The magnetic scanning of a typical check has a smaller error rate than with optical character recognition systems. As for well printed MICR documents, the â€Å"can’t read â€Å"rate is usually less than 1% while the misread rate is in the order of 1 per 100,000 characters. A cheque is a suitable example to discuss how MICR readers work and what it is use for does.When a bank receives a check for payment, is uses an MICR inscriber to print the amount of the check in MICR characters in the lower-right corner. The check then is sorted or routed to the customer’s bank, al ong with thousands of others. Each check is inserted in an MICR reader, which sends the check information – including the amount of the check – to a computer for processing. When you balance your checkbook, verify that the amount printed in the lower-right corner is the same as the amount written on the check; otherwise, your statement will not balance. Some retailers use MICR reader to minimize their exposure to check fraud.Corporations and government agencies also use the technology to speed up the sorting of documents. The banking industry has established an international standard not only for bank numbers, but also for the font of the MICR characters. This standardization makes it possible for people to write checks in other countries. Question 2 Discuss what a laser printer is and how it differs from Thermal Printers. Answer: A laser printer is a high-speed, high quality nonimpact printer. It’s a printer that uses a focused beam or light to transfer text an d images on to paper.Though contrary to popular belief, the laser does not actually burn the images on to the paper. The laser beam will fire at the surface of a cylindrical drum called a photoreceptor instead of as a paper passing through the printer. This drum has an typically positive electrical charge, that is reversed in areas where the laser beam hits it. The laser beam is able to print patterns such as text and pictures on to the photoreceptor by reversing the charge in certain areas of the drum. Once the pattern has been created on the drum, it is coated with toner from a toner cartridge.The positively charged toner clings to areas of the drum that have been negatively charged by the laser. The drum is given a strong negative charge which allows the toner to transfer and stick to the paper when the paper is passing through the printer. Laser printers do not use ink therefore they have less smearing problems that ink-jet printers and are able to print pages faster. While lase r printers typically cost more that inkjet printers, most laser toner cartridges last longer than ink cartridges, which makes their cost per page is about equal.Based on this reason, businesses tend to use laser printers, while consumers are more likely to use inkjet printers. A thermal printer generates images by pushing electrically heated pins against heat-sensitive paper. Basic thermal printers are inexpensive, but the print quality is low and the images tend to fade over time. Self-service gas pumps often print gas receipts using a built-in lower-quality thermal printer. Many point-of-sale terminals in retail and grocery stores also print purchases receipts on thermal paper.Two special types of thermal printers have high print quality and can print at much faster rates than ink-jet and laser printers. A thermal-wax-transfer printer generates rich, nonsmearing images by using heat to melt colored was onto heat-sensitive paper. Thermal wax-transfer printers are more expensive tha n many color laser printers. Both printers have advantages and disadvantages; by comparing we are able to differentiate them. The advantages of a laser printer are it is an accessible and efficient office document printer. The document quality is very high, except for barcodes.There are a few disadvantages for a laser printer. It prints labels in sheets and resulting in waste. Its label and wristband adhesives can ooze from fuser and cause jamming. The barcodes require more ink and the toner is driving up the costs. Lastly, output susceptible to toner flaking and smudging. As for thermal printers it has more advantages than a laser printer, such as it is designed specifically for label and wristband printing, print on demand which does not lead to wastage, it is simple to operate and the best part are its durable, it has low maintenance and its does not have toner expenses.The disadvantages of a thermal printer are, for example they cannot print 8 1/2- by 11-inch documents and the p rinters are not readily available in hospitals today. Referencing List Question 1 – http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Magnetic_ink_character_recognition – http://www. whatismicr. com/index. html – Pg 281 from Discovering COMPUTERS by Gary Shelly Question 2 – http://www. techterms. com/definition/laserprinter – Pg 321 from Discovering COMPUTERS by Gary Shelly -http://www. datarayusa. com/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=70

Patrick Henry Speech

Patrick Henry, a devoted patriot and wise man fulfilled a position in the Virginia convention. After the Intolerable Acts imposed by King George on the colonies, Americans suffered an unfair rule, where Great Britain took control. In 1775 Patrick Henry introduced a resolution to the Virginia Convention to form the local militia to be prepared to fight the British. In order to gain approvals from his collies, Henry employs rhetorical appeals witch help him urge his purpose and take the lead with the use of an urgent tone witch induces his audience to support his statement towards war. Patrick Henry begins his speech by stating an ethical appeal with the statement â€Å"Mr. President No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities of the very worthy gentlemen†¦. But different men often see the same subject in different lights. †At this juncture, Patrick Henry defends his position as a patriot; he uses the word â€Å"light† to introduce the idea that light represents truth and spiritual illumination. By doing this, he is aligning his view of the need to fight with God’s purpose. Also one can conclude that Henry is confident of what he is presenting on this day, he takes the advantage of his abilities and knows that fighting war is the way that leads to liberty. Continuing his speech Henry makes use of another ethical appeal, he declares â€Å"It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country† by the use of this words Henry creates an appeal of authority, to the authority of God and appeal that proves his position that shows him as a Christian. By this he attempts to transmit that what he says is that fighting for freedom is God’s truth and that it is a responsibility to both God and country. After establishing and ethical appeal, he uses mythical allusion, which he literary compares how the British are saying things to the colonists which are promising false hopes, â€Å"listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts† (Henry), and by this use of words at the same time Henry creates an emotional appeal because he transmit fear, meaning that the colonies are going to be under British rule forever. Henry Changes subject and creates an emotional precis, he imparts by saying â€Å"Are we disposed to be of the number of those who having eyes see not, and having ears hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation. †(Henry). By using the words â€Å"nearly† and â€Å"concern† Henry strives to create in the colonists an emotion of fear, because he knows that colonists’ goal is reaching heaven. In addition Henry uses a Biblical allusion to support this statement; this comes from Ezekiel 12:2 which says that â€Å"those who can’t see and can’t hear the truth about God will lose their spiritual salvation† (Bible & God). Furthermore Henry constructs a Biblical allusion â€Å"I have but one lamp by which by feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience† (Henry). Symbolically speaking he uses the choice of words like â€Å"experience a lamp†, he says is that that â€Å"experience† or â€Å"light† will show the way for the future, just like the scripture which says that God’s word is a â€Å"lamp unto thy feet and a light unto thy path† (Bible). But also this is an ethical appeal because it shows him as a spiritual person and a true believer. Henry continues using many ethical appeals throughout his speech. Articulating his word choice, Henry utters â€Å"Is it that insidious smile with which out petition has been lately received? †(Henry). He says that the colonists’ petition have been met with â€Å"an insidious smile. † The use of the words â€Å"insidious smile† creates an ethical appeal because it implies that the British are fooling the colonists into believing that they will act on these petitions in a positive manner, but it is really only a trap to keep them under their rule. Henry presents rhetorical questions to provoked his audience and create fearful thought for them to start acting. He is forcing the colonists to think about their arguments and through the declarative sentences, he refuses their arguments immediately. Henry gives evidence in his inductive argument as he cites the actions which the colonists have taken to get the British to respond to some of their demands which also creates a logical appeal. Henry presents his evidence in a series of parallel independent clauses. With the parallel structures he indicates that all actions are equally important. Henry prolongs verbalizing his speech with the opposing argument that the colonists are weak with the use of an ethical appeal. He pronounces, â€Å"But when shall we be stronger? †(Henry). Yet again he creates an emotional appeal through his description of the outcome of waiting until they are stronger such as asking if they will be stronger. Carrying on Henry declares â€Å"when a British guard shall be stationed in every house. † He creates a terrifying image in figuratively comparing their waiting and hoping for someone. He keep on continuing with rhetorical questions like â€Å"Lying supinely on their backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until their enemies have bound their hand and foot? †(Henry). At this time again, he metaphorically refers to hope as not being real phantom but an image of slavery is extended here as he refers to the colonists being â€Å"bound hand and foot† which is a metaphor for their lack of freedom under British rule. Henry once again makes his point of ethical appeal and also emotional comparing British rule with death by saying, â€Å"but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! †(Henry). Henry uses a parallel structure in an exclamatory sentence to show that liberty is equally as valuable and desirable as death which is destructive and undesirable but also still keeps his image as a loyal patriot. By paralleling them in a balanced sentence, he says that the outcome will be one or the other and there can be no compromise. He completes his topic here of comparing slavery, lack of freedom because of British rule with death. Patrick Henry operates down his speech of influence by successfully and compellingly articulated his support for war with great Britain through well organized arguments and affective use of simile, personification, logical reasoning, rhetorical questioning and more important emotional appeal. He concludes that the colonies need freedom, and request back their independence from Britain.

The Decline of Literacy and Education in America

The Decline of Literacy and Education in America Attention Getter: One of the major problems in America today is the decline of literacy and education. A recent study found that only 50% of high school students in major cities graduate. A 2007 study by the National Endowment for the Arts proved that Americans read less and not as well as previous generations. Americans teenagers are ranked behind countries such as Poland, Korea, France and Canada in reading. Many educators believe illiteracy is to blame for negative teen endeavors.Literate, educated people are more like to partake in positive activities because they are more confident. Psychological Orientation: Education is taken for granted in America. Americans are worried about all the wrong things and that is why our country is suffering. Speaking correctly is laughed at. Memorizing historical events and multiplication tables is outdated because we have Google and calculators. We would rather read pre-digested textbooks than ori ginal sources. We spend more time on our phones and watching reality shows than visiting libraries.We are not concerned with spelling because we have auto-correct. It has become difficult to put in the hard work of literature because we spend our time writing in 140 characters. We believe school should be entertaining, if learning is not fun it is not effective. That education is the job of the professionals and not the parents. Statistics don’t lie. Our modern education system is not working. We are failing to demand the best in students we let them get by instead of making them do what they are capable of. Resulting in our failure to compete in the global economy.We are far less literate and educated than our competitors. Logical Orientation: There are many reasons for the decline of literacy and education in America but I believe technology, parents, and unqualified teachers hold the biggest responsibility. Body I. What impact does technology have on literacy and education ? A. New media- radio, cinema, television, computer are making writing obsolete. B. Lack of reading causes our brains not to decipher the meaning of words. II. What impact do parents have on literacy and education?A. Today’s parent does not work with their child. B. They use technology as a baby sitter instead of using it to educate their children. III. What impact does people with learning disabilities not being taught properly have on literacy and education? A. The teachers do not care are not qualified. B. Their parents feel it is professionals job to help their child learn and not theirs. Logical Closure: I believe that the way for Americans to increase literacy is to stop taking education for granted. Technology is not all bad.Parents should use technology to educate their children instead of using it as a baby sitter. Teachers should truly care and Truancy laws should be enforced. Psychological Closure: Instead of being brainwashed with fashion, reality tv, and cell pho nes we need to be brainwashed with math, reading, and science. Clincher: It was Clive Lewis that said â€Å"We all want progress but if you are on the wrong word, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road. † It is not to late to stop the decrease in literacy. Promote education not entertainment.

Food Safety - Chemical, Microbiology, etc Term Paper

Food Safety - Chemical, Microbiology, etc - Term Paper Example In the wake of the salmonella outbreak, many companies withdrew their peanut butter products from the market. Nearly seventy companies recalled 125 peanut butter products. A large number of adults and children had fallen ill, after consuming the King Nut brand peanut butter. Tests conducted by the CDC and other state health institutions have confirmed traces of salmonella in the peanut butter, manufactured by the King Nut company. This brand is supplied in large containers to organizations, such as nursing homes, schools, and hospitals. However, consumption of peanut butter products of other companies that were sold to customers in retail outlets or grocery stores did not contain salmonella. The contaminated peanut butter was not sold directly to the consumers. It was supplied to food service providers in the States of Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Florida. It was then redistributed to retail sellers. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, traces of salmonella bacteria were found in a container of King Nut brand peanut butter. This came to light on account of preliminary laboratory tests conducted on samples of peanut butter. The E. coli outbreak of 1993 had claimed the lives of three children in Western Washington. In January and February of that year, these children had consumed meat contaminated with the E. coli bacteria. This outbreak also caused 450 people to fall ill; in addition, a few others were rendered ill after being exposed to people who had been infected with these bacteria. Finally, the cause of this infection was traced to the undercooked meat served in the Jack in the Box Restaurants. Acylamide is a carcinogen and neurotoxin that is formed in a number of food products.

No Smoking Legislation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

No Smoking Legislation - Essay Example The designated locations for the display have similar characteristics, they all holds large number of persons. The legislation has some exceptions to particular business premises; the law allows the businesses to designate or allocate enclosed regions where their customers can smoke. No smoking legislation is effective in reducing health problems in the population (Ahn, 2012). Different countries globally have adopted the legislation after carrying out researches. There has been evident change in terms of health as a result of the ban; cases related with both active and passive smoking drastically reduced. Personally, I support the ban or no smoking legislation, with the bar it has reduced the number of children admitted as result of asthmatic attacks in hospital at both United States and United Kingdom (Carter, 2012). Children are the most victims of passive smoking in the society, hence, ban in public smoking will be an initiative to safeguard children’s and passive smokerâ €™s health. Statistics shows that before the ban, the percentage of children being admitted due to serious asthma attacks were increasing by 2.2% each year in United States. After the implementation of the no smoking legislation, the percentage of children admission accordingly to asthmatic attack reduced by 12.3% and there is further reduction by 3% annually. Other research conducted in Scotland and china had similar outcome, reflecting in the reduction of public health problem because of passive or active smoking. Therefore, on personal perspective, the ban on public smoking should continue to be implemented (Carter, 2012). Past and Current Cases Related To Ban There have been many cases that evolved after execution of no smoking in public policy, which are both positive and negative. On the past cases, after public ban, there was court petition at Ohio to stop implementation of the law. People who filed the petition were citizens and other business personalities. For the busi ness owners, they filled their petition citing that the law was invading on the business property rights, hence affecting their ability to generate income (Ahn, 2012). Citizen filed petition on the ground that it affect their personal life, thus citing that the law should either be amended or abolished. After implementation of the law, there has been imposition of fine to the public and private premises that violates the act. Many businesses have been taken to court after failing to abide to the law. In some of the past cases where bars at Ohio failed to respect laws; bars did not have posters on No smoking and it allowed its citizens to smoke in public. The magistrate fined the bars showing examples to other business to abide to the provided decree. After the attainment of ban in several parts globally, countries have gone further to abolish or prohibits advertisement of tobacco product. Some countries prohibited Tobacco Company to sponsor any sporting events. The ban of sponsorshi p and advertisement in the European Union (EU) in the year 2005 impelled formula one management to find other ways, which allows display of the livery or racing color of tobacco sponsorship (Gilleskie & Strumpf, 2000). These later led to some of the scheduled races to be cancelled in the

Reading Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reading Journals - Essay Example In addition to that one magazine called To The Bride, about a hundred another different texts written in the postwar period are analyzed by Neuhaus in order to develop an understanding of the ideology behind female gender norms popular in those years. It dawned on the author that most of those texts targeted newly wed women thus getting them familiar with the path men wished the women to follow for the rest of their lives and which stretched from their kitchens to catering to their husband’s needs. The article interestingly reveals how marital concepts during the 1950s set in contrast with the present ideologies by identifying that a woman was only eligible to get married if she knew how to make the best steak or pie for her husband to be. In this way the author aims to convey to the public how stereotypical gender roles were promoted during the 1950s through cookbooks that young girls were encouraged and even pushed to act out. One question regarding this article that I would like to be discussed in the class is about how women’s dependence on men in the 1950s could be demonstrated by the fact that men claimed themselves as meat consumers and women as meal