Political Structure Of The Roman Empire Theology Essay

Political Structure Of The Roman Empire Theology Essay The public sphere of Rome, which included religious norms, social settings, as well as some other cultural divides, has been known to greatly affect the Roman political system throughout, from its inception to its fall. Our world has seen many great empires and perhaps the most popular one by name is the Roman Empire. A great number of books have been written on this subject, many movies have been made, and the Roman Empire remains rich in our minds to this date. The Roman history involves some great moments as it recounts such great leaders as Julius Caesar (see Picture 1), the birth of Christ and his exploits, and then the setting up of the Church and the Vatican by Constantine. Just like any other state or empire, the Roman Empire was also much affected by the people that were its subjects. These people had their own religion throughout the various epochs of the Empire, and these people had their own norms and practices. The Roman citizen was instantly recognized by his toga (See Illustration 1) and the Roman army by his uniform (See Picture 2) The political structure of the Roman Empire was affected by the way that its citizens had behaved during the various times, including their religion, their social structure, gender relations and economics. This paper shall follow the course of the Roman Empire through history, from its inception to its decline and fall and relate how the various factors were able to influence the Empire in different ways. It is also important to realize that the Roman public was able to influence the political structure of the Roman Empire. The culture of the Roman Empire was influenced by many factors. The Roman Senate declared Augustus (See Picture 3) as the Emperor of Rome in 27BC. This was the beginning of the Roman Empire that was destined to last for the next five hundred years, adding more and more territories to its name. The diversity in the Roman Empire came because of the number of regions that it was able to incorporate into its boundaries. The Roman Empire included ancient Britain, Arabia, and Romania. Augustus was a good ruler and he was able to stabilize Rome both politically as well as socially. A lot of development in the areas of art, literature, and philosophy took place in the Roman Empire, as it continuously borrowed from various civilizations and cultures. Among the most important of things that came out of the Roman Empire include the religious and ethical elements of Judaism, the teachings of Christianity, the study of astronomy and astrology, and so much more information from other Eastern count ries like Persia and Egypt. This spread of information gave power to the Roman politics since they were able to use this knowledge to introduce new reforms in their political structure, as well as add some mystery to it. The Romans left such a mark of their culture on the world that people and artists, centuries later, such as Michelangelo in the 16th century A.D, This is how the Roman culture was able to spread its architecture and literature all over Europe, and we can still find their elements in various Western traditions today. One of the areas where we see the most of Roman influence is that of mathematics. Many of the theories and principles that are employed in mathematics have been the product of Greek/Roman minds such as Archimedes and Pythagoras. Their ideas have formed the basis of what we call geometry. Many innovations and inventions have been made based on these ideas and hence we see a large influence of Roman mentality in things like weapons and architecture. Much of theoretical as well as practical science has also been laid down by the Romans. They established the field of botany and many of the early Roman scientists worked to collect a horde of information about many of the plants that existed in the region. Aristotle and his Theophrastus (often referred to as the father of botany) classified and named these plants. Although no apparent connection exists between the advancement in mathematics and the political structure, we find that as more and more mathematical concepts were introduced and adopted in Rome, the politicians also were able to adopt their versatility. One of the concepts that arose out of mathematics was economics and the Romans were able to carry out trade on a better level. This gave a boost to the Roman Empire and the politicians were able to use mathematics to their advantage. Many of the ideas of economics and politics that the Western world follows toady have also been derived from Ancient Romans. The Romans system of the senate is still employed by many Western countries today. In addition, the Romans were the first ones to introduce the ideas of interest in business and loans and we all know that the whole economic arena of the world today works on the principles of interest. Many of the Greek/Roman philosophers, such as Aristotle and Socrates, also played their role in Roman influence and we see that many Western countries have their contemporaries who are always building upon the original ideas and concepts. The Roman influence on art is phenomenal. We find that many of the artists of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment era used to follow the art techniques of the Romans. Many of the sculptures and murals painted by Michelangelo (See Illustration 2) are evidence of the fact that he was motivated and inspired by Roman art. These theories, aspiration s, and ideas were passed from the Greeks to the Romans and then to other nations in Western Europe. The most comprehensive aspect of the social life and the Empire that the Romans were able to develop and spread to the rest of Europe includes the details of the Roman Law. The Romans were able to take the basic framework provided by the Greeks and transform it into an extremely sophisticated and scientific legal system. The history of Roman law spans almost a thousand years from the law of the twelve tables (449 BC) to Justinians codes (aroung 530 BC). The twelve tables still reflect a relatively primitive and pre-scientific legal system. However, from the 2nd century B.C, the Romans began to apply the methods and categories of Greek philosophy to legal problems (which the Greeks themselves had never thought of). A legal profession began to emerge and the production of scholarly treaties on Roman law started. It was in the second century AD that the Roman legal science was able to reach its peak. This happened when the economic and political conditions of the principate became favor able to the scholarly activity of Roman jurists. However, this classical age of the Roman jurists ended in the 3rd century and no one has been adequately able to explain that. The following centuries saw a general decline of Roman legal culture, which was not stopped by the efforts of emperor Justinian to revive classical Roman law in the 6th century. Justinian did manage, however, to preserve a great part of the literary legacy of the classical jurists by incorporating their writings in his codes. The Digest, which is the most important part of the codification and was published in 533, is a gigantic collection of fragments from classical text books and commentaries. While it was unknown in Western Europe in the early middle ages, it was rediscovered around 1070 in Italy. From that time onward, Roman law and especially the teachings of the classical jurists preserved in the Digest became the basis of continental European. It has been said quite rightly, that the Digest is one of the most influential books in European . Perhaps the most important aspect of the Roman culture that was able to affect the political structure the most was religion. Rome had grown up to be a formidable empire by 120 AD (See Map). The history of Rome is embedded with wonder. Much of what Rome was to become in the later stages of its life was due to the ancient yet colorful religion, one that is now known as Roman mythology. The Romans had gods and goddesses for every element, and for every occasion. These gods were in a continuous state of tension, balancing the good and evil, while keeping the humans happy as well. It is in this religion that we find the basic impetus for the Roman Empire, its political structure, and its social environment. Perhaps Ovid was best able to present this relationship between the gods and humans in his Metamorphoses. The first story of a human involves a sinner, punished for his offence against the gods. Lycaons case represents one example of the wickedness of all humanity in the Iron Age. Lyc aon (wolf man in Greek) is the reason for the flood, Jupiter explains, but not the origin of evil (Ovid does not mention the famous story of Pandoras box). Lycaons metamorphosis into a beast reveals his true nature; the description translates literally, his mouth gathered savagery from the man himself. The reaction of the other gods to Jupiters punishment of Lycaon resembles a senate of yes-men; at first it sounds as if the gods feel pity for humanity, but soon their selfish motives are revealed: without men they will lose their sacrifices. Jupiter claims that he wants to make the world safe for lesser divinities, nymphs, fauns, satyrs, but as we will soon see in the stories to follow, the biggest threat to pretty young nymphs are the amorous gods themselves After the ancient religions in Rome, came the slightly modern ideas that pertain to cynicism and stoicism. One of the most famous of the Stoics was Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (See Picture 4). His whole political system was dictated by the Stoic way of life as he was in favor of the human being devoid of all emotions, where things like envy, fear, etc were all thought to have come out of false judgments of the human minds. The focus of much of Aureliuss philosophy had to do with the ethics that were involved in the Stoic way of life. These ethics involved the four basic virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Aurelius was also an advocate of going through continuous meditation and exercises in order to keep the mind and the body in a state of togetherness. In Meditations, Book II, part 1, Aurelius writes: Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill I can neither be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him; for we have come into the world to work together This is not just him making a statement; rather it is giving the reader a practical technique of reminding oneself every day, repeatedly, of the problems that the person might face, and how they can be solved. This is somewhat reminiscence of what later became to be known as the self-fulfilling prophecy. This Stoic way of life was greatly reflected in Aurelius political structuring of Rome. But perhaps the one religion that had the most impact on the Roman empire and its political structuring is Christianity. The fall of the Roman Empire brought about a rise of Christianity and the Christian Church and this affected many changes in the view of the world. Some of the rulers of Christianity, like Saint Augustine (354-430 AD), upheld that the Bible should be considered the only legitimate source of information about important questions and this led to a great devotion to the Bible as the main source of intellectual reserve for the Western civilization for many years to come. Many of the Christians fell into the dark ages right after the fall of the Roman empire as well and only a few found salvation in the religion. The evolution of the Christian church in terms of contributions by various rulers are discussed herein. Constantine I (See Picture 5) was one who helped contribute a lot to the rise of the Christian church as he was one of the most advantageous advocates of the Orthodox Church. He was a Roman emperor who legalized Christianity and founded Constantinople, and by doing so he single handedly laid the foundations of the Greco-Christian Empire of Byzantium. He adopted Christianity as the religion of his state and gave freedom to the priests and bishops to practice Christianity without bounds. Another emperor who was instrumental in the expansion and vital to the race of Christianity was Theodosios I (born 347 AD). In 380, he proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of the state. He also convened the second Ecumenical Council and finalized the Articles of Faith. As with these two aforementioned Emperors, there was many who ruled Byzantine and helped it progress in terms prospective growth as well as religious development of Christianity. By the 11th and 12th centuries, Christianity saw a divide into the East and the West sections due to the vast land distances that the religion covered. There was hardly even any contact between the Christians of the East and the Christians of the West because of the great geographical distances between them. They did, however, remain to be the same religion, and were only kept apart in their cultural and historical upbringing by imaginary lines of directions. Thus were born many different independent and self-governing churches that answered to either the Western or the Eastern Orthodox Church. All these churches were in contact with each other and were bind together by the canon law and followed the same traditions, literature, ecclesiastical calendar, and customs. The Roman Empire remained a powerful one for more than 300 years, but it also met its doom when it disintegrated into two parts, the Western and the Eastern empire. No one is quite sure exactly when the division occurred but everyone agrees that it was a gradual transformation. It all started because of power struggles between the rulers of the area. There were many times in the history of Rome when the rulers were undecided as to the determination of successors to their thrones. After 330 A.D, Rome was often engaged in civil wars between martials, all of whom wanted to be the rulers of Rome. The Roman economy aslo played a vital role in its division. Eastern Rome found better uses for its slaves and there was a change in the social and economical system of that region. The Eastern part of the empire developed a different political system, one that resembled the fuedal system of today, and this gave a boost to their economy. The Western part, however, stuck to conventional norms and soon their middle class disappeared in the wake of excessive taxing and the Western Roman Empire fell. Since Byzantine was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the region came to be known as the Byzantine Empire. The Eastern Empire survived because it had a more developed urban culture and it was not invaded as much as the Western one was. Since the Byzantine Empire had been a part of the grander Roman Empire, it retained much of the Roman laws and its heritage, although the legal code was updated. The official langiage of the region remained as Latin in the beginning and was changed to Greek later on. Many new churches, including the famous Church of Agia Sofia (Holy Wisdom), were also contructed. Some of Byzantiums contribution to Western Europe include great works of literature and art, a framework for an extremely efficient and highly centralized administration, and trading norms and regulations. Perhaps the biggest contribution comes out of the setup of the Orthodox Church that defined the cultural, political, social, and religios life of the region and its people for many a years to come. The Orthodox Church originated with Christ himself and can be said to be as old as Christianity itself. The Orthodox Church is geographically considered to be an Eastern Church because it is basically a creation Middle Eastern, Hellenic, and Slavic history and culture. Most of the growth and progress of the Orthodox Church, whether it is historical or spiritual, has been done on its own, almost entirely with segregation from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The divide between the two parts, the East and the West, cannot be easily identified, but this divide occurred mostly in the 11th and 12th centuries. There was hardly even any contact between the Christians of the East and the Christians of the West before this and because of the far greater distances of those, these two, however same religions, were kept apart in their cultural and historical upbringing by imaginary lines of directions. There are many different independent and self-governing churches that answer to the Easter n Orthodox Church. All these churches are always in contact with each other and are bind together by the canon law The Orthodox Churchs administration was directed over managing the people around the land, people, which were known as a community. There were many such communities all over the ancient Russian and Greek regions of the land and each city of the era had a community that served the Orthodox Church. The highest rank amongst the governors of these communities was the bishop, who was assisted in his duties by priests (or presbyters) and deacons. The idea of martyrdom was common to the people of the Orthodox Church as it attracted much persecution from the other forms of governments that were in operation in those times. The administrative ideas about holding a council were always very important to the Orthodox Church and they believed that the council was the only able body to administer the laws and rules of the Church unto the people of the area. These councils were setup so that any problem that could not be solved by one person alone was put to the vote and many able heads were put together to work out the will of God on the problematic issue. The first council was converged in Jerusalem and it was convened so that the Apostles could come to a decision upon a serious issue. Many different types of council were setup, local ones and the famous Apostolic Council. It was only in the fourth century, when an Emperor of Constantine embraced Christianity that the Christian Empire was founded. Another important aspect of religion that greatly affected the Roman Empire were the Seven Ecumenical Councils. The Seven Ecumenical Councils were the most important councils of the Orthodox Church. The first one was convened in Nicea in 325 A.D. By Constantine the great and the last one again in Nicea in 787 A.D. The main topics that the Councils addressed were mostly on the nature of Jesus advent on Earth. The first Council was very sure in its decision and it described the nature of Christ as being the same as of God Himself. The Father and Son image of God Jesus was discussed in the second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 381 A.D and it decreed the Trinitarian ideology that there were three states of God: Father, Son and Spirit. The Macedonians were condemned as heretics in this second Council. The third Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus in 431 A.D. Nestorians were deemed as heretics and Jesus was proclaimed to be both complete God and complete man in one person and thus Mary became theotokos, or God Bearer because she gave birth to both God and Man. The Third Council also declared that both the parts of the Creed were final and complete. The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Councils were all on the debate of whether the Christ was God or man and all of them declared him as being both occurring in the same form. There were some ideas by the Monophysites and the Monoethlites that Jesus humanity dissolved in the presence of his divinity. So Jesus was only divine. There was vehement condemnation of this theory and all the Councils announced that Jesus is complete God and complete man. There was an intermediate council between the Sixth and Seventh one and it was called the Qinisext Council (Trullo) and was held in Constantinople 692 A.D. This council was held for the completion of the fifth and sixth one and it was held for purely administrative reasons from where the canons were ratified. The seventh Ecumenical Council was held in Nicea in 787 A.D and is also called The Sunday of Orthodoxy. The main debate of this council was what to do with all the images of God and Jesus. So, we find that just like any other political regime is affected by the way that the people orient themselves in it, so was the Roman Empire affected by the various cultural and social aspects of its citizens. And as it is with most of the states, we also find that religion had the biggest part to play in determining the political structure of the Roman Empire. This religious intervention had been instilled in the Roman culture and politics ever since the prehistoric times, where the ancient religions governed the way that the emperors would rule the empire. These religious undertones were also responsible in setting up the social structure of Rome, as it differentiated between the men of different classes. The elites in Rome enjoyed a privileged class where they were free to engage in artistic and intellectual ways of life. Some of the Romans, those who could afford to, would import slaves from distant land and would flaunt them as being more talented than the average Roman slave. This sophistication of the Roman citizens allowed for many other innovations in the social, and hence, the political system of Rome. It was required to make special laws for the foreigner and the slaves, and the elites also enjoyed some special rights. No slaves were allowed to enter the government, while it was the elites birth right to be a Senator. Thus, the more sophisticated the Romans became, so did their political structure. The reason for the public sphere being so much effective in influencing the political realm in the Roman Empire is because it was a very sophisticated empire. We tend to think of those times as being the ancient ages, yet the Romans were very ahead of their time and they were able to live a life that was essentially very different from those people who lived all over the rest of the world. The Romans had confidence, they had ability, and they had their pride, all of which made them into a culturally and socially strong nation. This strength of their nation was also reflected in their political sphere as their citizens were very closely tied up to the government (the senate was elected democratically from the common citizens). Thus the public sphere was greatly able to affect the political structure of Rome, as discussed above in this paper. Picture 1 Julius Caesar, perhaps the most famous Roman of them all Illustration 1 The Roman toga: dress sharp to be a politician Picture 2 The gladiators suit, a soldiers uniform Picture 3 Augustus, the first Roman Emperor Illustration 2 Michelangelos Ceiling of the Sistine Vault Map The Romans had conquered most of Europe by 120 A.D. Picture 4 Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Picture 5 Constantine I, the Christian Roman Work Cited Aurelius, Marcus, Meditations Book II, Part 1, London: Modern Library, 2003 Ovid, Allen Mandelbaum, The Metamorphoses of Ovid, New York: Harvest Books, 1995 MacMullen, Ramsay, Romanization in the Time of Augustus, Yale University Press, 2000. Veynw, Paul, editor, A History of Private Life: I From Pagan Rome to Byzantium Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992 Wikipedia, Culture of Ancient Rome, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_culture (Accessed November 28, 2005) Pictures and Maps Portrait Gallery, Online, http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/laterep-gallery-index.html (November 21, 2005) Reenactment Event at Corbridge, Online, http://www.cavazzi.com/roman-empire/diverse/reenactment-corbridge-2002.html (November 21, 2005) Rome: Map of the Empire, Online, http://intranet.dalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html (November 20, 2005) Wikipedia, Caesar Augustus, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus (November 21, 2005) Wikipedia, Constantine I, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_%28emperor%29 (November 22, 2005) Wikipedia, Marcus Aurelius, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius (November 22, 2005) Wikipedia, Roman Culture, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Toga1.png (November 21, 2005) Web Gallery of Art, Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, Online, http://gallery.euroweb.hu/art/m/michelan/3sistina/1chapel.jpg (November 22, 2005)

Adam Smith Biography :: essays research papers

Adam Smith was born on July 5, 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. At the age of fourteen, Smith entered the University of Glasgow, where he studied moral philosophy under Francis Hutcheson. Here Smith developed his strong passion for liberty, reason, and free speech. In 1740 he was awarded the Snell Exhibition and entered Balliol College, Oxford. In 1746 Smith left Oxford. In 1748 Smith began delivering public lectures in Edinburgh under the patronage of the Lord Kames. In 1751 Smith Was appointed the Chair of Logic at University of Glasgow, the next year he was appointed the Chair of Moral Philosophy, which was the position of his old teacher Francis Hutcheson. In 1759 he published The Theory of Moral Sentiments, it was embodied several of his lectures from his roles at Glasgow. In 1762 the academic senate of the University of Glasgow conferred on Smith the title of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.). Smith subsequently resigned from his professorship and from 1764-66 traveled with his pupil , mostly in France. On returning home to Kirkcaldy Smith was elected fellow of the Royal Society of London and he devoted much of the next ten years to his magnum opus. The Wealth of Nations was published on March 9, 1776. It was written for the average educated individual of the 18th century rather than for specialists and mathematicians. There are three main concepts that Adam Smith expands upon in this work that forms the foundation of free market economics: division of labour, pursuit of self interest, and freedom of trade. As for Smith?s characteristics and personal views, not much is known beyond what can be deduced from his published works. Shortly before his death, Smith had nearly all his manuscripts destroyed. In his last years he seemed to have been planning two major treatises, one on the theory and history of law and one on the sciences and arts.

Jorge Luis Borges – Use of Ambiguity

The Art of Being Ambiguous In his collection of short stories, Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges uses dreams, imagination and fantasy to establish ambiguity in his stories. With the use of juxtaposition and symbols, Borges blends a realm of dreams and imagination into the individual’s everyday worldly experiences. Through these devices, Borges commonly blurs the line between aspects of reality for his characters versus the constructs of his or her mind.By combining the real with the fictitious, Borges incorporates ambiguity into his stories and introduces his readers to new perspectives of world around them. In â€Å"The South,† Borges establishes ambiguity by dropping subtle textual hints that would ultimately allow for the reader to attain vastly different interpretations of the same text. If taken at face value, the main character Dahlmann is released from a sanatorium after a serious head injury.On the train ride back from the sanatorium, Borges hints that Dahlmann perio dically transitions into his illusory past of the old South. Even as he enters the cab that would take him to the train station, he admits that â€Å"reality is partial to symmetries and slight anachronism† (175) meaning that his past, although misplaced and irrelevant to modern times, continues to have significance in the present. The reader can argue that Dahlmann’s nostalgia induces illusions of the world from a time he remembered and celebrated it.On the train ride back to his ranch, he describes that the car â€Å"was not the same car that had pulled out of the station†¦ the plains and the hours had penetrated and transfigured it† (177) and that Dahlmann â€Å"was traveling not only into the South but into the past † (177). Borges uses this description to indicate that Dahlmann transcends into his fantasies of the old South on the train ride home as a result of a longing for the past. However, Borges also hints that Dahlmann might not have left the sanatorium at all, but has actually only dreamed about his release.Some readers find it improbable how Dahlmann is told he is â€Å"coming right along† (175) by the doctors at the sanatorium when only the day before Dahlmann was told that he was on the brink of death from septicemia. For Dahlmann, dying in the sanatorium would be a humiliating ending. When he is informed of his near death experience, Dahlmann felt â€Å"suddenly self-pitying† (175) and broke down crying. Borges points out that Dahlmann aspires to be like his ancestors and die heroically in the old Argentinian manner. Because dying in the sanatorium would have een a disgrace for Dahlmann, Borges highlights the possibility that Dahlmann dreamed up a perfect, heroic death in which he would defend the honor of the Old South. This is portrayed when Dahlmann gears up to fight â€Å"a young thug† (179), symbolic of modern Argentina, outside a country store at the end of his journey. When Borges sta tes that â€Å"it was as the South itself had decided that Dahlmann should accept the challenge† (179), he emphasizes how Dahlmann viewed himself as about to fight in the name of the Old South.For this reason, it is arguable that Dahlmann fantasized his whole journey home and his dreams reflect how he desires to die a heroic death in reality. By incorporating these subtle hints throughout â€Å"The South†, Borges establishes ambiguity between whether Dahlmann had actually left the sanatorium or simply dreamed the whole story. Through this ambiguity, Borges allows for readers to form multiple interpretations to the same story. In â€Å"The Secret Miracle†, Borges blurs the line between the factual world and what constitutes as a fantasy by introducing the idea of having dreams transcend into reality.The main character Hladik has begun to formulate his own play through the inner-workings of his imagination. Aspects of this play mimic Hladik’s reality as he reveals in the end that the main character of his play, Jaroslav Kubin, actually dreams up the events that occurred before in the story. â€Å"The play has not taken place; it is a circular delirium that Kubin endlessly experiences and re-experiences (160). † As Kubin dreams up the plotline of his story, Hladik constructs and reenacts the plotline of the play in which Kubin is part of through a dream, thus incorporating a dream within a dream.By juxtaposing Hladik’s reality and the play he has constructed in his mind, Borges introduces the overarching idea of how the mind constitutes for a different realm in which the dreamers and thinkers can shape, share, and confide in. This idea is again prominent when the bullet that is intended to kill Hladik on the day of his execution stops seconds before taking him. Borges states that, â€Å"in Hladik’s mind a year would pass between the order of the fire and the discharge of the rifle† (162) as a result of God.I f taken at face value, God has intervened as promised in Hladik’s dream. If the reader was to interpret this story in this manner, it is clear that events from Hladik’s dream transform and impact his reality. In which case, Borges clouds the distinction between Hladik’s reality and dreams. However, oddly enough, when Hladik requests the assistance of God in a dream the night before, the librarian states â€Å"I myself have gone blind searching for it [God]† (161), indicating that presence of God is questionable at most.If God is not yet found, He could not have given Hladik the extra year. By incorporating these subtle hints, Borges also allows the reader to interpret that it was solely Hladik’s perception of time, rather than the intervention of God, that allowed him another year. By blurring the line between aspects of Hladik’s reality versus the constructs of his mind, Borges permits the reader to question the presence of God in Hladikâ⠂¬â„¢s execution and introduces the idea that time is relative to how an individual’s mind perceives it.In the last short story â€Å"Circular Ruins,† Borges again uses dreams to introduce the reader to a new way of perceiving the world. In this story, the protagonist would dream each individual part of a boy until he would have finally engineered a son using his own imagination. However, the irony lies herein that the creator realizes at the end of the story he too â€Å"was but appearance, that another man was dreaming him† (100). The protagonist was nothing but a dream of another dreamer like his son was the dream of himself.Through â€Å"The Circular Ruins,† Borges asserts that the individual’s perception of reality might simply be an elaborate illusion. The protagonist did not realize he himself was a dream until the end of the story when he steps into the flames. Similarly, Borges questions the credibility of the reader’s own existence . Borges uses the circular ruins where the protagonist dreams his son – and where his son might possibly dream his own creation – as a symbol to represent the infinite loop of dreams.Additionally, because a circle does not have a definite beginning or end, it signifies the dreams itself have an ambiguous beginning and an indefinite end. In essence, the ambiguity within this story lies in that the reader is left to question the original dreamer, had there even been an original. The individual is left to ponder whether the circular ruins are to constitute reality or whether the dreamer is simply experiencing a dream within a dream, another popular style of Borges as delineated within â€Å"The Secret Miracle. Overall, Borges opens up a door of possibilities that lead to a string of unanswerable questions left to the reader’s interpretation. In general, Borges uses dreams, imagination, and constructs of the mind to brilliantly incorporate ambiguity into his short stories and thereby allow his readers to ponder new thoughts and ideas. In â€Å"The South†, the readers are left to question whether Dahlmann’s journey back to the South had actually taken place or whether it was only a dream in which he portrays his desire to want to die a heroic death like his ancestors.Within â€Å"The Secret Miracle†, Borges weaves aspects from Hladik’s own imagination into his reality such as the possible presence of God. This in turn allows the reader to question the distinction between factors of Hladik’s real world versus that in his mind. Finally, in â€Å"The Circular Ruins,† the ending leaves the reader to question whether dreams constitute a reality of its own or whether these dreams had an original dreamer who was simply dreaming within a dream, a popular motif in other Borges stories.When Borges blurs the line between reality and fiction, he establishes ambiguity and often induces his reader to question the cr edibility of their own reality. Through this ambiguity, Borges asserts that there is no clear or correct way to understand his short stories and that each story is open to the individual’s own interpretation. As a result, the short stories are open to a wide range of interpretations. Through these multiple interpretations, the reader opens him or herself up to new ways of perceiving the world.

Social Media HIPAA Essays

Social Media HIPAA Essays Social Media HIPAA Essay Social Media HIPAA Essay Essay Topic: Social Media Social Media HAIFA Jacqueline Ford Healthcare Compliance Increasing privacy violations is more evident than ever. Usage of Social Media to network between friends, colleagues, and family is at an all-time high. Cellophanes or smartness are used not only to communicate socially, but also professionally. More innovative are cellophanes and portable tablets with high megalith cameras built-in, to instantly share a real-time event(s). For example: a loved one delivering a baby; a witness to an accident; injuries and/or wounds, Just to name a few. This is occurring daily not only with civilians, but healthcare workers; especially those who witness graphic or invasive procedures not normally seen to the average Joe. Unfortunately, some healthcare workers have no medical conscious; and for those who disclose patient information online can find themselves in violation of patient privacy laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HAIFA. If caught, this can result in not only getting disciplined or fired, but being subject to fines of up to $250,000 and even a prison sentence. Another potential active consequence is an investigation and discipline by the professionals state board. But that threat hasnt stopped some medical professionals from posting confidential patient information online without permission. Some recent examples of social networking HAIFA breeches include these violations in Healthcare: A nurse who posted a patients picture and chart on his Faceable page because he thought it was funny and since it was only Faceable, there was no real harm in it A doctor who treated a patient over Twitter Emergency room personnel who posted pictures on the Internet of a man being rated for fatal knife wounds A doctor who asked a patient on a date after seeing her profile on a dating website A Rhode Island doctor was fired from the hospital and reprimanded by the Medical Board after she posted on her Faceable page about a long day at work. She never referred to the patients name but gave out enough details about the injuries to allow others to guess who it was. Although these are extreme examples of social networking gone wrong, even seemingly innocuous behaviors like writing about work on a blob, befriending a patient n a social networking site or taking a photo with a cellophane can lead to HAIFA Phoenix, on December 19, 2007; Dry. Adam Hansen, chief resident of general surgery at Mayo Clinic Hospital, admitted that he took a picture of a patients penis prior to surgery. Strip club owner Sean Dubious has a tattoo on the top of his penis that reads: Hot Rod. Hansen had admitted to Dubious that he took the picture with his cell phone while the patient was unconscious being prepped for gallbladder surgery. One of the primary purposes of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is to make it an actual federal offense for anybody to release any information about any patient without their written consent. Yet violations of HAIFA are only misdemeanors. Hansen is presently practicing as a Thoracic Surgeon at United Hospital Center in West Virginia. In order to address the growing problem of HAIFA violations by medical professionals, a company that develops mobile solutions is creating technology that will monitor social media sites to find HAIFA violations and evaluate the severity of the privacy breeches, which will help a medical facility take appropriate action. Some medical schools are also doing their part to help solve the problem by giving future doctors tips on how to conduct themselves professionally online, as well as examples of people in the profession who have made serious mistakes on social networking sites. According to a one professional In the current health care environment, we do not need to look any further than our nightly news program or daily paper to understand that health care costs have risen precipitously over the past decade and are on a similar path for the coming years unless we do something drastic to reverse he trend (p. 33). Mr.. Sullivan statement does bring a vital point, what drastic measures can be taken to keep patient privacy, private? With the ease and magnitude of the misuse of our social network technology; only a clear, well-defined and widely disseminated social networking policy that emphasizes compliance responsibilities during both work and non-work hours, and in using both company computer systems and any other devices with access to the Internet, is an employers most effective weapon against liability for employee misuse of social networking sites. From a reflections standpoint, operating social media to enhance your health organization can be accomplished in a compliant way.

Were Romeo and Juliet Truly in Love Essay Example

Were Romeo and Juliet Truly in Love Essay Example Were Romeo and Juliet Truly in Love Paper Were Romeo and Juliet Truly in Love Paper Essay Topic: Romeo and Juliet Love is a universal language that may be interpreted in several different ways. According to St. Paul, the criteria stated in the bible passage 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 must be followed in order for one to have true love. In William Shakespeare’s classical tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, love is the dominant theme; Romeo and Juliet’s romantic love being the most significant. This story revolves around the fast-paced relationship between Romeo, the young heir of the Montagues and Juliet, the daughter of the Capulets. Because of an ancient feud amongst the two families, Romeo and Juliet are forced to keep their relationship hidden causing their love to end in just a matter of days. St. Paul’s standard of love defines itself to be: patient, truthful and honest. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) The above quote is a very specific description of love according to St. Paul. Although Romeo and Juliet have one of the most iconic love stories to date, it is often wondered if their love lived up to its reputation and the question still remains as to if they were ever truly in love. Based on the standards specified in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Romeo and Juliet were not in love because they did not practice patience, they dishonored their families and friends, and they were egotistical. The virtue of patience was not demonstrated in the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. At the beginning of the play, Romeo is heartbroken over a girl named Rosaline who does not share mutual feelings for him; however, as soon as he sees Juliet he loses all of the emotions he has for Rosaline and they immediately fall in love. After Romeo and Juliet’s second encounter that night, they exchange vows of affection and Romeo insists that they get married even though Juliet is skeptical. She says, â€Å"Although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract tonight. It is too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden† (Act II: ii: 116-118); however, Romeo is eager to have her hand in marriage and asks, â€Å"O wit thou leave me so unsatisfied?† (Act II: ii: 125). If Romeo had truly loved Juliet he would have been enduring and waited until she was fully prepared to exchange her vows with him. Juliet also does not follow Paul’s criteria that states one must have patience. This is shown in the following quote where she insists that Romeo professes his love for her or she will be upset. Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say â€Å"Ay,† And I will take thy word; yet if thou swear’st Thou mayst prove false: at lovers perjuries, They say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully. Or if thou think’st I am too quickly won, I’ll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, So thou wilt woo, but else not for the world. (Act II:ii:90-97) If Juliet had been truly in love with Romeo she would have waited for their relationship to progress and not insisted that he professed his love for her. Juliet shows that she must have her own way and does not show patience. In addition, St. Paul states that love â€Å"does not dishonor others†. In this play, Romeo and Juliet are forced to defy their loved ones wishes in order to be together which essentially leads to the dishonor of both family and friends. In the following quote Juliet wants Romeo to deny his family for her love and if he will not so do, she will no longer be a Capulet if he solely swears that he loves her. O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet. (Act II:ii:33-36) Romeo also defies his loved ones when he abandons his friends Mercutio and Benvolio to go see Juliet outside of the Capulet’s orchard. Even though Romeo hears their calls he does not respond. Frustrated and annoyed, Mercutio begins to tease Romeo but Romeo only responds to himself saying, â€Å"He jests at scars that never felt a wound†, meaning that Mercutio’s opinion does not matter because he has never been wounded. Not only does Romeo dishonor his family and friends, but he also disobeys his ruler, Prince Escales. Romeo is exiled from the city of Verona after he kills a Capulet named Tybalt. The Prince proclaims that if Romeo is seen within the city, he shall be murdered; however, he takes the risk and visits Juliet. He is willing to disregard the orders of the Prince and put his life in danger in order to stay with Juliet for one more night. In Act III: IV: 17-18, he says to Juliet, â€Å"Let me be tane, let me be put to death, I am content, so thou wilt have it so.† Furthermore, Romeo and Juliet’s love was self-seeking. Neither Romeo nor Juliet takes into consideration the harm that they may cause by getting married, given the fact that their families are sworn enemies. Not only did their relationship end in their own deaths but it also contributed to the deaths of others. Romeo demonstrates a selfish behavior when he continues to pursue Juliet despite the fact that he was putting his life and the lives of his family in danger. For example, Romeo’s mother, Lady Montague dies of grief because of her son’s exile. This is learned in Act V: iii: 210-211 when Montague announces â€Å"Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight; Grief of my son’s exile hath stopp’d her breath† Another scene where Romeo exhibits selfishness is when he hears the news of Juliet’s death. He does not take time to think about the situation; instead, he immediately decides to commit suicide. He disregards the advice of his servant Balthasar who advises him to have patience. Instead Romeo says â€Å"Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight. Let’s see for means. O mischief, thou art swift to enter in the thoughts of desperate men!† (Act V: i: 34-36). Had he been levelheaded and evaluated the situation at hand, he could have talked to Friar Laurence and discovered the truth. Instead he thought solely of himself, and as a result both his and Juliet’s lives ended tragically. Juliet also shows acts of selfishness when she fakes her own death. She is so self-absorbed that she does not think to discuss the matter with her parents and neglects to consider their opinions. She only thinks about how she feels and not of how her family and friends feel. If her parents had disagreed with her decisions to be with Romeo she could have left and lived how she pleased. In conclusion, it is clear that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship did not follow the criteria stated in St. Paul’s description of what true love is. They decided to live for each other’s love but died for it too. Perhaps if they had been more patient, honorable and thoughtful, they could have had a long-lasting relationship. Romeo and Juliet were so concerned about each other that they did not bother to consider the consequences of their actions and the effect it would have on their lives and on the lives of their loved ones. Because their love was selfish, impatient and self-centered, it did not follow the criteria of love and they did not have true love based on the description St. Paul provides in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum as motivator Annotated Bibliography

Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum as motivator - Annotated Bibliography Example In the article, he announces that the Dubai’s economy is expected to grow amid 4.5% to 5% in this year. According to the source, the leadership skill shown by Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, is exemplary since the broad results show that inflation in the UAE had risen by index of 0.3%. The article majorly talks about the global economy status of different regions and continents in the world. It highlights the European plans of stabilizing the financial status by concentrating on some of the few individuals working exceptionally hard to advance the lifestyle of citizens (Al-Alawi, 2012). Global Markets has noted Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum as an influential personal with exemplary skills that assist in making his country compete favorably globally. This was seen as a motive to support and empower women in society to emerge and compete favorably with their counter parts in the society. By supporting such organizations and groups motivates all genders to focus on promoting equality wh en conducting business and other significant issues in society. The article begins by stating the different titles Ahmed bin Saeed has in his country and the entire United Arabs Emirates region. Firstly, he is the president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, and holds the chairmanship of various organizations such as Dubai Airports, Airline and Group and Honorary Patron of the Dubai Quality Group. This depicts how important the person is in the society, since he has the ability of influencing and motivating the populace. The article talks about the ceremony that was held in May 2012 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai. Emirates Women Award (EWA) is held annually to appreciate winners and honorees that have achieved in society (Dubai Quality Group, 2011). Almed bin Saeed was thanked for the effort and interest he had on popularizing the EWA, which was assisted in improving and appreciating the personal skills in society. The article is significant since it honors Almed bin Saeed as

Nonverbal communication in organizations Research Paper

Nonverbal communication in organizations - Research Paper Example However, it can be apparently observed that business organizations often face certain problems (such as misinterpretation of non-verbal signals), leading towards ineffective business performance and corporate culture. In this regard, certain recommendations have been provided with the objective of enhancing communication process. Contextually, it can be affirmed that business organizations, with effective communication process may aid in enhanced performance of business operations in the present competitive business scenario. Nonverbal Communication in Organizations In the present business scenario, market competition has augmented to a substantial extent with the development in the field of technologies and increased level of globalization. A similar argument has remained in focus of various studies conducted in the recent era, for example in Mujezinovic (2011), Rho (2009), Ambady & Rosethal (1998) and Vasu, Stewart & Garson (1998) to name a few. Although the arguments in these stud ies have been varying and often contradictory, the inferences drawn have been commonly in agreement with the statement that modern business organizations are required to be much competent in performing internal along with external business activities with the intention of executing business operations in a competitive along with a profitable manner. In this regard, communication is determined to be playing an imperative role in assisting business organizations to conduct their respective business activities efficiently. While this particular notion is agreed upon by many, the way through which, communication processes within organizational contexts can be managed remains to be a major point of dispute among researchers. Recent researches in this regard, have viewed that business organizations often communicate externally along with internally1;2;3. As argued by Rho (2009), externally, business organizations communicate messages for conducting various activities such as marketing. On the other hand, internal communication denotes the process on the basis of which effective communication is made between employees and employers. In this context, effective communication will facilitate organizations in better management, coordination and execution of effective business operations towards the accomplishment of desired business targets4. Arguably, non-verbal communication is regarded as a procedure of communicating information and messages through expressions, mimics and gestures. As noted by Spaho (2013), this type of communication involves conveying of messages in any form other that language or words. The impact of non-verbal communication is based on various factors that include inner coherence, dissimulation capacity, ability and strength to manipulate information among others. Non-verbal communication often plays a decisive role in conveying important messages within a business organization in accordance with which business operations can be executed in an eff icient manner5. Discussion Explanation of Non-verbal Communication in Organizations In the most simple way, non-verbal comm