Juan Carlos (211 words) Essay Example For Students

Juan Carlos (211 words) Essay Juan CarlosJuanCarlos I, the current king of Spain, was crowned on November 22, 1975. Thecrowning of Juan Carlos restored democracy to Spain after the dictatorship ofFrancisco Franco. Juan Carlos was born in 1938 in Rome. In 1947 Franco announcedthat Spain was a kingdom and that he had decided that Juan Carlos should one daybe king. (He is a grandson of King Alfonso XIII, who had been forced into exilein 1931.) The future king was given a military education. He attended theInstituto San Isidro in Madrid, the Navy Orphans College, and the AcademiaGeneral Militar at Saragossa. He became a lieutenant in the army in 1957. Hethen attended the Naval Academy in 1957 and 1958 and the Aviation Academy in1959. In July 1969 the Spanish Cortes declared Juan Carlos Prince ofSpain. On February 23, 1981, Juan Carlos gained the respect of manySpaniards. Literally millions of people were fallowing a part of the army, whichhad kidnapped many government officials in order to overthrow the Democracy. TheKing appeared on Spanish National TV in his General Captain military uniform,and spoke out against the coup. Hours later, the coups plan failed.This story shows how Juan Carlos saved democracy. I had no prior knowledge ofJuan Carlos I, but he proved to be a very interesting person.

Women and Buddhism an Example by

Women and Buddhism Buddhism is a religion which does not extol a particular personality and a specific sex. This is a fact even though Buddha was a man. Several elements of Buddhism are related to feminism; among these are egolessness, centrality of compassion, Tathagatarbha and worship of the feminine principle in the Vajrayan form of Buddhism. According to Buddhists ego is the major cause of poor mental health (Gross, 1993). Egolessness is a sort of diagnosis of the condition of human beings. This means that all human beings find themselves in similar situations where anxiety, and a situation of impermanence is constantly present. Hence, change is a constant feature in the existence of all human beings. As such the ego, self-identity is also in a situation of constant change meaning that basically human beings ought to be egoless. This is in contrast with the common perception that one needs to have a strong ego to be happy and successful in life. An egoless person is open, calm cheerful and humorous and not in a state of indifference or psychological victimization as the proponents of the importance of a strong ego would have one believe (Gross, 1993). For a long time most feminists have seen egolessness as something that needs to be preached to men. It is however necessary for both men and women so that both genders can strive to achieve egolessness which is not defined by what others have to say. Need essay sample on "Women and Buddhism" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Compassion is defined as a desire for other people not to endure suffering. Buddhist teachings propose that for one to have compassion, the realization that they are suffering is necessary. This coupled with the knowledge that suffering can come to an end and that all beings, do not want to undergo suffering (Buddhism Kalachakranet.org, 2007). Compassion has often been associated with femininity and since it women are more likely to express it more easily, empowering them with the means to perform acts of compassion in accordance with Buddhism teachings is important. Tathagatribha theory asserts that all sentient beings have the potential of Budhahood. The implication of this theory is that all beings, both female and male have equal potential for achieving enlightenment. The theory can therefore, be said to be blind to gender or at least neutral. This then means that an enlightened gene is a characteristic of both men and women and the gene is not stronger of more dominant in males than in females (Gross, 1993). This therefore points to the fact that the sexism that is common in Buddhism has little to do with the religion itself. Rather the cultural situation in which the women find themselves has limited their full participation in Buddhism. The Vajrayana form of Buddhism has a doctrine which is so far the most favorable to women compared to other forms of Buddhism. It has many feminine symbols and images, and women practitioners (laypeople and monastics) who have earned the respect of male and female. Though it is argued that the teachings of the Buddha do not cite sex the Vajrayan form of Buddhism is similar to many religious whose femininity is glorified symbolically and in a mystical way but exhibits a contradiction where the society of the day limits women's practice and how they are regarded in Buddhist religion (Gross, 1993). Tibetan branch of Vajrayan Buddhism recognizes a deity named Tara who is seen as an agent of liberation. She is a female bodhisattva and a representative of the success and virtue that can be attained from an individual's work. Tara is used for the development of certain qualities and in teachings concerning emptiness and compassion (Chodron, 2005). Several changes need to occur for women to experience access equal to that of men in Buddhist institutions. In most of the Buddhist institutions women have experienced exclusion with meditation halls and monasteries being unequally open to women and men. Buddhist nuns are generally considered inferior to monks and experience less support for education and finances than men. Gross suggests that since Buddhism insists that all gender are equal, then the subordination of the orders of the nuns to those of the monks should be ended. This subordination has had a significant role to play in causing the nun's orders to decline. Lay women have great importance in the monks monasteries due to the strong financial support they offer. Teachings that women can obtain enlightenment using the same paths as men are important changes as well as ensuring that monks make you not to discourage women who desire enlightenment and progress in spiritual matters (Gross, 1993 ). The changes that are necessary include ordination of nuns both legally and socially. Among the lay people women are seen as the lowest category and it is viewed as an unfortunate thing to be born a woman. By desiring rebirth as a woman this can be a first step towards achieving some equal access. Further, clarification of texts that seem to disparage women is necessary. This is so that there isn't contradiction in the texts with some teachings glorifying femininity and others putting down women. Allowing girls to be ordained just as boys are ordained before marriage is a change that would empower girls with knowledge and education to care for their families rather than resort to work as housemaids and prostitution (Khuankaew, 1999). Exposure of the marks and nuns to the secular world through involvement of lay people (male and female) monks and nuns is also important to ensure that the monks and nuns are sensitized about issues and social problems the lay society. Other than gaining equal access, another important issue in relation to feminism is the transformative power of feminism. The sexism present in Buddhism defers depending on the cultural context of a place. Feminism does not oppose Buddhism and the fact that Buddhism insists on enlightenment of both genders, allows for the conclusion that Buddhism does not propose or encourage inferiority against women. Ordination of women is likely to lead to an increase in donations to the Sangha. This is partially because of the awareness that women are not donating to a patriarchy, thus leading to greater willingness to donate. In addition, the empowerment of lay women means that their capability for contributions in support of bhiksuni orders are likely to increase. Furthermore monastic women on the way to enlightenment will most likely earn the respect and support of other members of the lay community bringing about further increase in the amount of support available to the Sangha. Ordinary domestic everyday life will also benefit from a feminist change. Nuns in some communities that practice Buddhism are currently very active in provision of social services for education centers, cemeteries, orphanage and retirement homes. This has led to increased quality of life for both men and women and every other community member (Fitz-Gerald, 2000). Proper and adequate spiritual discipline is also another real consequence of feminist change in Buddhism. The Sangha in most Buddhism contexts has had a great association with education. Education of nuns will definitely aid in the education and empowerment of education levels in the community. The new teachers will be in a better position to teach women and the education can also be advanced to men, availing opportunities for education to every member of the Buddhist community ( Fitz-Gerald, 2000). With an increase in education opportunities and better domestic everyday life the likelihood of greater adherence and attractio n to Buddhist teachings will translate to proper and adequate spiritual discipline. The potential for increase of the Dharma's strength is also high following increased involvement of women who form the great percentage of most population meaning Buddhism will be reachable to a greater part of the population of the world. References COMPASSION AND BODHICITTA Gross RM 1993, Buddhism after Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis and Reconstruction ISBN:0791414035 Kerry L. Fitz-Gerald, 2000, Buddhism needs Feminism, http://www.geocities.com/strongmedicine51/Budhfemn.html Thubten C,2005, How to Free Your Mind: Tara the liberator, Snow Lion Publications

Science fiction elements essays

Science fiction elements essays Science fiction can be described as the scientific speculation of things to come. Science fiction writers take modern technology and elaborate and make intelligent guesses about its future, then put a catchy story behind it. Science fiction, like many forms of literature, has several sub-genres such as the space opera, heroic science fiction, hard science fiction, and more. Each sub-genre has its own elements that define them, but all tie into the same basis of excelled science in one way or another. The defining line between science fiction literature and fantasy literature is small but present. Writers and critics alike have debated and argued over the absolute defining characteristics of the two for centuries. The truth is there is no hard set of rules that can define weather a piece of work is science fiction or fantasy. The actual definition usually comes from weather the science fiction aspects or the fantasy aspects are more dominant in the story. Like I said before, there arent any steadfast rules to defining the work, but there are some commonly used identifiers. First of all there is the obvious element of time. Science fiction stories occur most often in the future, and the majority of fantasy stories happen in the past or in different worlds that would be considered to be a younger civilization than our own. These rules of time arent always true, however. There are exceptions to every rule and a good example of an exception in this case is The Giver, by Lois Lowry. The Giver is a fantasy tale that is set in the present or near future about having the ability to control thoughts and memories, thus defying the rule. On the other hand, a good example of a science fiction story that contradicts the rule is the Edgar Rice Burroughs work, A Princess of Mars. This tale, although set in the past just after the American Civil War, is a science fiction piec ...

The Moral Implications of Abortion †Ethics Essay

The Moral Implications of Abortion – Ethics Essay Free Online Research Papers The Moral Implications of Abortion Ethics Essay One out of every four woman made the choice of abortion and the total number of abortions since 1973 is 38,010,378, according to the Alan Gutlmachen Institute in the United States. Abortion rates are increasing every year and have been the world’s controversial topic since the 1980’s. Although many still think that abortion is morally wrong, it is a justifiable issue no matter how one looks at it. Because abortion is women’s freedom of choice and not a sin nor a murder, it should be morally accepted on any level. In civil liberties, abortion is an individual’s choice. As it is in the Constitution, every individual has freedom of choice and the government has no right to take away his or her rights and doing so would be violation of â€Å"privacy†. Hence women can control their own body and make their own decision for themselves. No one is justifiably has the right to tell someone else what to do with one’s body. Another justified reason of abortion is that sometimes women may accidentally get pregnant without their intention. Career women or teenagers may make a choice to abort because of job to do than just to raise a baby otherwise the outcome will be unfortunate for both mother and the baby. Although one may be unfortunate or feel guilt for rest of their lives for abortion, people are given responsibility to bear them. All person must be given full rights unless its existence interferes with the â€Å"right of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.† Not only is abortion â€Å"private choice,† but also does not violate any sin or religious beliefs. Most pro-life supporters refer to the Bible and the Christian belief to justify their view. In fact, abortion itself is not mentioned in the Bible at all. Anti-abortionists show two arguments to support their ideas; however, they are all flawed. First, in both Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:4-10 King David writes that God formed him in the womb. Most Fundamentalists use the argument that God â€Å"knew† his pre-ordained leaders in the womb, and therefore, it must mean that God considers us fully human at conception. This refers that human beings are fully human before the egg and sperm; however it is all flawed. Second common excerpt of pro-life supporters comes from the Ten Commandments. â€Å"Thou Shalt Not Kill.† This does not specifically tell what we cannot kill. The Fundamentalist believes a pre-born fetus is the same as a full term human being. God however, does not. In exodus 21:22-25 God says that if a man accidentally kills a pregnant woman, that man should be condemned for committing murder. However, if he only kills the fetus-if she miscarries-he is not condemned for murder. Therefore, because God does not consider fetus as a human being, abortion is not a sin. Abortion is neither can be suppressed under government nor unjustified because it is not mentioned in the Bible. Abortion is also a moral choice because it is neither murdering nor harming a human being. Anti-activists argue that zygote, which is a fertilized cell, contains the entire DNA necessary to grow into an independent, conscious human being, which is a potential person. But being alive does not give the zygote full human rights-including the right not to be aborted during its gestation. Also, left to grow, it will always be ameba and never a human being. Moreover, consciousness normally does not occur until months, an even year after a baby is born and such individual personhood does not occur until after birth. A gestating fetus has no rights before birth or even after birth. Thus, it is not murder because it is not killing or destroying an independent person. Abortion is an absolutely moral choice for any women wishing to control her body. It is a religiously accepted, morally correct, and a justified right and freedom for women. No one feels good about abortion and killing the embryo. It surely is a hard decision for women. Some may even live the rest of their life with guilt. However, it is important that we understand their situation and why they had to choose abortion, and we should help them, rather than condemning them as â€Å"murderer.† Research Papers on The Moral Implications of Abortion - Ethics EssayPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoCapital PunishmentThe Fifth HorsemanInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Canaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraGenetic Engineering

The value chain and competitive forces model to eBay Case Study

The value chain and competitive forces model to eBay - Case Study Example In this present case of eBay value is created through the interplay of its various activities such as primary and support activities that ultimately creates value to eBay. Its primary activities includes it inbound and outbound logistics, marketing and sales and its operation. Working together, the interplay of these activities enable eBay to operate as an online auction venue where sellers can virtually sell listed items with description and photographs in an auction where potential buyers could bid on item for sale on a fixed duration of time. The trust among the online community of eBay to transact online also provides value to the organization as transactions can easily be facilitated without the hesitation of being cheated. The interaction of these various activities in eBay’s value chain enables eBay to make profit of 1% to 5% for every item sold online. EBay’s business model and business strategy revolves around the idea that anything can be virtually and bought and sold on a global basis through its online auction platform. The business model has been successful because more and more people prefer to transact online due to the ease and convenience of consummating a transaction by a click of a mouse. In addition, online auction and shopping online proved to be cheaper due to the almost no overhead of the sellers which reflects on the price being sold. The range of items available on eBay is mind boggling that almost anything can be bought from there. EBay’s success however is a product of a deliberate strategic management. The whole business concept and strategy was for eBay to build an online community through its platform where anyone can transact without the anxiety of being cheated. 3. What are the problems that eBay is currently facing? How is eBay trying to solve these problems?   The most common problems that eBay perpetually is facing is the common problem that besets any technology based companies. System breakdowns are mo re precocious in eBay because the system disruption disturbs activities which has economic value such purchases and payment that does not go through due to system breakdowns. The incidence of system outages however are minimized as technology improves and with eBay working together with its partners such as PayPal on how to effectively deal system issues during payments. EBay is not also spared from the unscrupulous activities online. It also has its share of being attacked by hackers where its unsuspecting buyers receives bogus emails pretending to come from eBay only to get information from the unsuspecting buyers. There is no known direct action from eBay on how to address such issue as it assumes that its prospective buyers are sophisticated enough to determine which email comes from eBay and which are those who solicits information from the customers. 4. Are these good solutions? Why or why not? Are there any other solutions that eBay should consider?   Working together with PayPal to effectively address system issues during payments is a solution of the payment part of the transaction. The integrity of its systems however has to be made redundant to make sure that the site is up even during outages and breakdowns to ensure that transactions will not in any way be disturbed. With regard to the unscrupulous activities online, eBay can warn its buyers of such unscrupulous acts online that they may become aware of it hence preventing them from being victimized. The non-action on how to deal with

Journal week 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal week 4 - Assignment Example Based on the above perspective, this paper discusses the evolution that marriage has undergone since 1950s, with equally changing roles for men and women in marriages, an aspect that has significantly been influenced by the changing practices in the decades such as TV shows and fashion. The 1950s depicted a decade of changes in families and their modes of operation. Such, was a period after the end of World War II and, therefore, time to start up life anew. However, a serious problem arose, as there were numerous images to depict from in determining the kind of family befitted a couple, most especially from the numerous TV shows and magazines (Lamb, 2011). Media, through its communication aspect, has determined the kinds of families’ people establish since the 1950s, with women as the main targets. The 21st century on its part is the digital age and the magazines, and TV shows play a significant role in determining the kinds of decisions people make in marriages and the roles they play. In the 1950s, women had defined futures of one getting married, having children, and being a good homemaker to the husband and the kids. However, lately, something seems amiss, and the gender roles and attitudes have changed with most women beginning the fight for autonomy (Lamb, 2011). Such an aspect has had a shift with a fundamental alteration towards the establishment of gender equality for both the women and the men (Berger, 2012). TV shows such as ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ in the 1990s, depicts a clear picture of how run family matters have changed over time. In such shows, the man is central in the house, with all the concentrations on him; however, a problem the wife in the house who seems to attract attention equal to that of a man. In the previous TV shows, the traditional marriages depicted roles of femininity and masculinity performed conservatively, in which the man leads the home both economically and socially while the woman stays

Roll of thunder, hear my cry Essay Example for Free

Roll of thunder, hear my cry Essay The first characters name to be mention in the whole story is Little Mans and that is because Cassie is addressing him as he is slowing down the group of people who are on their way to school in their best clothes on their first day of this term. My first impression of him which I got from the second paragraph was that he didnt like getting anything dirty at all, and tried his best to see it that way and that he was also looking forward to his first day of school, which was the opposite to the others. He gave me the impression of the direct opposite of a young boy, as I would have thought he wouldnt have wanted to go to school or stay clean. Mildred Taylor introduces Little Man in another different way because he is described while Cassie is observing him, as if she is writing down exactly what she is seeing at the time whereas Christopher-Johns description is more like an aside to what is happening. The portrait of Little Man is built up gradually as you read about his interactions with the other characters and this builds up layers of details to give the reader on big picture of him. The other character that is mentioned throughout the first chapter who you dont actually meet until the end is Mama, and even thought there is no description of her I immediately got the impression that she was in charge of the children and their lives as she was mentioned as a threat at first and then as a person to turn to when Cassie and Little Man have the episode about the books. The only real information that is given about Mama is just before she is encountered, and it is a description of her hair and nothing else which leaves the rest up to the readers imagination. Mildred Taylor also succeeds in accomplishing a little background to the story as she describes the history of the Logan land and the land around it which gives the story a setting. This is important as this establishes the basic facts about who owns what and how the local area operates and differentiates between black and white people. The author sets the story straight generally about how everyones lives interact with each others, including how people make money and how the children are educated. She also shows the importance of family life because the children are all interacting with each other and they are always mentioning Mama and I think these two facts will come into play greatly at the end of the story. Mildred Taylor also gives the reader information about the situation in history at the time including the Logan land but more importantly how black people and white people have got a long in the past which I think will give the reader some background about why certain people act in certain ways and why somethings have come to be. Mildred Taylor also slips in little pieces of information along the way about how each character reacts with each other and gives the author and overall feel of how they are now as if suggesting that they wont be like this later on in the story. The first chapter is written very cleverly because it combines character introductions, background information and little pieces of information to make this chapter and the rest of the story piece together and I think Mildred Taylor has made it very successful in getting all this information across to the reader. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.