History Paper Burial Practices Essay Example for Free

History Paper Burial Practices Essay The concept of afterlife existed among many ancient civilizations. It was met as a way of understanding the present or as a way to predict the future depending on their needs. As such, in order to explain the unknown phenomenon that impacted their daily life, early tribes saw natural events as simple as the rain and the winds or birth and death and regarded them to be controlled by supernatural powers related to the gods, demons, the moon, the sun or other external driving forces. Ancient people sought protection for survival and power to maintain order with the tribes by practicing rituals which were aimed to invoke the spirit of the deceased. However, as civilizations evolved with time, their beliefs became more complex and profound. Take ancient Romans and Egyptians for instance, they both believed in the afterlife and shared similar underlying ideas; nevertheless, their way to prepare the deceased for the next life and funeral services differed in many ways. To illustrate their practices, I have chosen two artifacts displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met): a coffin from Ancient Egypt and a cinerary urn from Ancient Roman’s times. Both pieces reflect different ways of treating the corpses of their deceased and prepare the dead for the journey to the afterlife which undoubtedly was a long and elaborated process. Ancient Romans and Egyptians demonstrated their firm conviction in the afterlife through solemn funeral services and burial rituals. Unlike the Egyptians who treasured the dead bodies and preserved them in sarcophagus or coffins, Romans cremated the dead bodies and kept the ashes in urns because they perceived the life in physical world to be short and temporary. When a person died, the spirit was released from the body and traveled to the afterlife. The only purpose of the physical body was to host the soul for a period long enough to prepare one to live a life free of suffering in the other world. Souls were sent to different places depending on the level of sins and crimes committed against society during the time people stayed in the mortal world. However, the suffering in the other world would end eventually. Romans’ funeral rituals usually included washing the corpse, laying it flat on a sofa or bed, and dressing it with the finest clothes that individual had ever possessed. A coin would then be placed under the tongue or on the eyes so that he could pay the â€Å"ferryman Charon† for rowing im to the land of the dead. The marble urn I observed at the Met dated from mid 1st – 2nd century A. D. was used to place the ashes of the deceased after the body was cremated. As time went by, they came to understand that the dissolution of the body was inevitable and the physical body was only a temporary host of the soul. This piece of artifact provided evidence that in ancient Romans’ point of view, the remains of the physical body had to be disintegrate d in order for the soul to begin a new life. It is reasonable to conclude that Romans regarded cremating the body of the dead as a naturally faster way to begin the life in the other world than slow disintegration of the corpse. On the other hand, Egyptians believed that the person’s physical body was more than a temporary host and it had to remain intact, a condition necessary to attain the afterlife. Moreover, they contemplated the idea that a person was the combination of several elements such as, the â€Å"ba†, which was the non physical part of the individual and the â€Å"ka† which was a universal force shared by all. Furthermore, in order to preserve the bodies, Egyptians developed a long and arduous process called mummification. This practice requires several steps such as the removal of the brain and internal organs and the cleaning of the body’s cavities with different oils and solutions. Once done, the body was laid to dry for more than a month. Although these steps were crucial for the preservation of the body, it was also believed that the transition process to the afterlife continues with the weighing of the heart. Egyptians believed that in order to gain their way to eternity one’s heart must be as light as a feather. This organ was not removed from the body and was left to be weighted by Anubis, the funeral god and Thoth, the god of knowledge. As such, it is believed that one’s heart is placed on a scale and weigh against a feather. If the scale is balanced, the deceased is deemed to have done good deeds in the present life and the gods would grant them immortality. When the mummification process is finished the preserved body is placed in a coffin as the one displayed at the Met, Gallery 112. This coffin, from Egypt Middle Kingdom time was made for a well respected and wealthy individual. The sophisticated decoration reflects the hierarchical social distinction in this particular society. In conclusion, though both ancient Romans and Egyptians believed in afterlife, they treated the corpses and practiced funeral rituals differently. These mainly resulted from their respective perception of how the mortal life was related to the afterlife as well as the importance to the physical body. By observing the two artifacts displayed at the Met, I’ve found that Egyptians placed more emphasis on the social class of the deceased by putting on splendid decorations on the coffins and sarcophagus than the Romans did on their urns. This difference reflects the core of Roman’s ancient culture which coincided with Greek’s idea of democracy by promoting a society structure with a less rigid hierarchy.

The Effects of Secondary Soil Salinization :: Agriculture Agricultural Essays

Introduction: Irrigation has been used as tool by humans for over 8000 years. Irrigation started in the Nile valley where humans attempted to modify the way that the river seasonally flooded their fields in order to make cropland more productive (van Schilfgaarde, 1994). From 1940 to 1989 the amount of land being irrigated around the world has increased at a rate of 2.7% per year. In 1940 there were 95 M ha in irrigation while by 1989 there were over 280 M ha (van Schilfgaarde, 1994). This large increase in land under irrigation occurred at the same time as an exponential jump in human population, and increases in both are greatest in the arid and sub-arid regions of the Earth. Our population has therefore become reliant on irrigation to fend off large scale hunger (Abrol et al., 1988). As rain falls it carries no dissolved salts. Once this water strikes the earth and travels as surface runoff or in ground water it will come into contact with and carry dissolved salts. Any water used for irrigation carries ions in solution and by depositing this water on our fields in the form of irrigation we can effect the concentration of salts in our croplands. If these salts become too concentrated it can lead to salinization. Salinization can reduce yields in it's earliest stages and eventually lead to the destruction of fertility in the soil. Currently the Earth is losing 3 ha of arable land a minute to the effects of salinization (Abrol et al., 1988). Can we stop this loss? Will we be able continue using arid lands to meet our food needs? The Secondary Salinization Process Salinization has a direct effect on both plant growth and the structure of the soil. If the soil is saline a plant will have to expend energy bringing water into it's cells because it is forced to work against osmotic potential. The cation exchange complex (CEC) effects the stability of colloid size particles in the soil. The cation's positive charge will be attracted to the negative charge found on clay particles which make up most of the colloid fraction. Di-valiant cations(Ca, Mg) will allow the colloidal particle to get close enough together that Van Dehr Wahls forces will cause the clays to flocculate, or form stable aggregates. Sodic soils, whose CEC is dominated by mono-valiant sodium cations, will tend to be dispersed and not form stable aggregates.

Older Siblings: A Second Father Figure Essay

Older siblings! Role models, influences, they carry much more responsibility than it appears. Older siblings, whether they know it or not, shape their younger one’s character and personality. Parents are important, but the older sibling may reinforce or disprove some of the lessons that the parents teach. Younger siblings may not admit to it but they look up to their older sibling and they emulate them. Older siblings particularly serve as agents of socialization who teach younger siblings by example about informal social behaviors, like how to act around friends. Younger siblings are also highly susceptible to acquiring older siblings’ negative habits, including but not limited to: underage drinking and smoking. Here’s an example, let’s look at the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, some of you may have heard of them. Wilbur was 4 years older than Orville, they basically invented the airplane and had had the first controlled, powered flight. I think it’s safe to say that if Wilbur had never played with a toy ‘helicopter’ as a child, Orville never would have had the initial interest in flying. The same could be said for the Staal brothers, they play in the NHL. if Eric had never had interest in hockey and played baseball, Jordan, Marc and Jared never would have gotten into hockey. A lot of recent research shows that children learn undesirable behaviours like smoking, drinking and other delinquent acts from exposure to an older sibling’s behaviours as well as that of their sibling’s friends. It doesn’t matter if the siblings are of a similar age or spaced years apart, or of different gender. What is important was that parents encouraged siblings to develop a relationship where there is mutual respect. Parents are better at teaching the more formal settings – how to act in public or how to have manners at the dinner table. But siblings are better role models of the more informal behaviors: how to act at school or on the street, or, more importantly, how to act cool around friends. Siblings are closer to the social environments that children find themselves in during the majority of their day, which gives them a wider influence on them. Should parents support sibling closeness or not? Studies have shown that siblings may have positive or negative effects on their younger siblings. How would parents be able to moderate what the older sibling teaches to the younger one, or what traits rub off? The best method for it would be for the older sibling to have many positive habits, so that theyre is a greater chance of those habits rubbing off.

Organizational Communication

Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests the major characteristics of the scientific management school are carefully developed chains of command and efficient division of labor† (p. 68). The netmba. com (2010) website, which cites Taylor (1911), suggests the following four major characteristics of the scientific management school: * Replace the rule-of-thumb work methods based on a scientific study of the tasks. * Scientifically select, train, and develop each worker rather than passively leaving them to rain themselves. Cooperate with the workers to ensure that the scientifically methods are being followed. * Divide work nearly evenly between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks. (p. 1) The scientific method implication on communication is manifested in management controlling the chain of communication. Shockley-Zalabak (2009), who cites Faylor (1949), suggests â€Å"orders should come from only one superior and that a bypass of the chain of command would be a source of problems† (p. 9). I believe this suggest that communication is organized from the top down. In addition, I believe this communication method does not afford any input form subordinates or other stakeholders. I believe it assumes that management is always right and is the only source of solutions. Thereby, I believe subordinates are somewhat disenfranchised. Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests, â€Å"The human behavior [school characteristics] assumes that work is accomplished through people and emphasizes cooperation, participation, satisfaction, and interpersonal skills† (p. 72). Therefore, I believe this theory encourages open, participatory communication between management and subordinates at all levels. In my organization, I believe our school based management and planning team utilizes this management style in making decisions. The worldbank. org (2007) website suggests school-based management â€Å"is the decentralization of authority from the central government to the school level† (p. 2). Our school based planning management team encourages cooperation, shared decision-making, and participation among all stakeholders, which are tenets of the human behavior theory. Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests, integrated perspectives characteristics â€Å"attempt to explain how people, technologies, and environments integrate to influence all that happens in organizations† (p. 77-78). I believe this theory, as Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests, affects â€Å"the effectiveness of communication [not only] within the organization, but also to how the organization communicates with its environment, its customers, and community† (p. 88). In my organization, technology is used to communicate real-time attendance, schedule, and grading data to parents and students through a system called SchoolMax. The K12progrms. com website suggests, SchoolMax is one of the most technologically advanced web-based student information systems available on the market today that addresses the broad needs of today's K-12 school districts with a fully integrated and feature rich solution for the management of student information. In final analysis, I suggest scientific method, human behavior, and integrated perspectives influence organizational communication. References http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1099079877269/547664-1099079934475/547667-1145313948551/what_is_SBM.pdf Organizational Communication Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests the major characteristics of the scientific management school are carefully developed chains of command and efficient division of labor† (p. 68). The netmba. com (2010) website, which cites Taylor (1911), suggests the following four major characteristics of the scientific management school: * Replace the rule-of-thumb work methods based on a scientific study of the tasks. * Scientifically select, train, and develop each worker rather than passively leaving them to rain themselves. Cooperate with the workers to ensure that the scientifically methods are being followed. * Divide work nearly evenly between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks. (p. 1) The scientific method implication on communication is manifested in management controlling the chain of communication. Shockley-Zalabak (2009), who cites Faylor (1949), suggests â€Å"orders should come from only one superior and that a bypass of the chain of command would be a source of problems† (p. 9). I believe this suggest that communication is organized from the top down. In addition, I believe this communication method does not afford any input form subordinates or other stakeholders. I believe it assumes that management is always right and is the only source of solutions. Thereby, I believe subordinates are somewhat disenfranchised. Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests, â€Å"The human behavior [school characteristics] assumes that work is accomplished through people and emphasizes cooperation, participation, satisfaction, and interpersonal skills† (p. 72). Therefore, I believe this theory encourages open, participatory communication between management and subordinates at all levels. In my organization, I believe our school based management and planning team utilizes this management style in making decisions. The worldbank. org (2007) website suggests school-based management â€Å"is the decentralization of authority from the central government to the school level† (p. 2). Our school based planning management team encourages cooperation, shared decision-making, and participation among all stakeholders, which are tenets of the human behavior theory. Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests, integrated perspectives characteristics â€Å"attempt to explain how people, technologies, and environments integrate to influence all that happens in organizations† (p. 77-78). I believe this theory, as Shockley-Zalabak (2009) suggests, affects â€Å"the effectiveness of communication [not only] within the organization, but also to how the organization communicates with its environment, its customers, and community† (p. 88). In my organization, technology is used to communicate real-time attendance, schedule, and grading data to parents and students through a system called SchoolMax. The K12progrms. com website suggests, SchoolMax is one of the most technologically advanced web-based student information systems available on the market today that addresses the broad needs of today's K-12 school districts with a fully integrated and feature rich solution for the management of student information. In final analysis, I suggest scientific method, human behavior, and integrated perspectives influence organizational communication. References http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1099079877269/547664-1099079934475/547667-1145313948551/what_is_SBM.pdf

The Old Man & The Sea essays

The Old Man & The Sea essays The Bible, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Catcher in the Rye. All books. Old books that are still enjoyed by old and young readers alike. But what makes these books different from other books? Why are these classics and yet other books arent? Arent ALL old books classics? As we all know, and this paper will prove, is that not all old books are classics. There is a formula, or a blueprint that often can make the book great. The Old Man s known nothing in life other than fishing. And baseball. But theres more than that. Underlying topics, unanswered questions and a great struggle plague the reader as hes reading, and even after completing the book, leaving a sense of wonder much like other classics. First, we start with some undefined hints in the book. The novel uses its characters and events in a way that draws many comparisons to Jesus Christ. For example, if the fish was Jesus, it was consumed by the shark (death), but still his bones (the spirit or message of God) had a profound impact on the people who passed it and saw. Also, if the man is representing the worlds believers, and the fish is their faith and salvation, he should be wary of the evil of the world trying to take it away from him. Besides the obvious, more straightforward symbolism (the man carrying the beam, 3 days at sea, etc.), these demonstrate an aspect for the reader to ponder. Like this book, many classics have themes that are not as easily seen, like racism, religion, and capital punishment to name a few. These themes are often controversial, which is why these books are frequently challenged. Next are the unanswered questions. What happened to the boys family? Or Santiagos wife? What happens between the boy and Santiago at the end? Does Santiago adopt him? All of these are le...

Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X

Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X may have had different takes on the philosophy of nonviolence, but they shared a number of similarities. As they aged, both men adopted a global consciousness that linked them together ideologically. Their personal lives also mirrored each other. Not only did their fathers have much in common but their wives did as well. Perhaps this is why Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz eventually became friends. By focusing on the common ground between Martin and Malcolm, its easier to understand why both men’s contributions to society were so important. Born to Baptist Ministers Malcolm X may be well known for his involvement in the Nation of Islam (and later traditional Islam), but his father, Earl Little, was a Baptist minister. Little was active in the United Negro Improvement Association and a supporter of black nationalist Marcus Garvey. Due to his activism, white supremacists tormented Little and were strongly suspected in his killing when Malcolm was six. King’s father, Martin Luther King Sr., was a Baptist minister and activist as well. In addition to serving as head of  the famous Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King Sr. led the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP and the Civic and Political League. Unlike Earl Little, however, King Sr. lived until the age of 84. Married Educated Women During a time when it was uncommon for African-Americans or the public generally to attend college, both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. married educated women. Taken in by a middle-class couple after her biological mother reportedly abused her, Malcolm’s future wife, Betty Shabazz, had a bright life ahead of her. She  attended the Tuskegee Institute  in Alabama and the Brooklyn State College School of Nursing in New York City after that. Coretta Scott King was similarly academically inclined. After graduating at the top of her high school class, she pursued higher education at Antioch College in Ohio and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Both women mainly served as homemakers while their husbands were alive but branched out into civil rights work after becoming â€Å"movement widows.† Adopted a Global Consciousness Before Death Although Martin Luther King Jr. was known as a civil rights leader and Malcolm X as a black radical, both men became advocates for oppressed people across the globe. King, for example, discussed how the Vietnamese people had experienced colonization and oppression when he expressed his opposition to the Vietnam War. â€Å"The Vietnamese people proclaimed their own independence in 1945 after a combined French and Japanese occupation, and before the Communist revolution in China,† King remarked in his â€Å"Beyond Vietnam† speech in 1967. â€Å"They were led by Ho Chi Minh. Even though they quoted the American Declaration of Independence in their own document of freedom, we refused to recognize them. Instead, we decided to support France in its reconquest of her former colony.† Three years earlier in his speech â€Å"Ballot or the Bullet,† Malcolm X discussed the importance of expanding civil rights activism to human rights activism. â€Å"Whenever you are in a civil rights struggle, whether you know it or not, you are confining yourself to the jurisdiction of Uncle Sam,† he said. â€Å"No one from the outside world can speak out on your behalf as long as your struggle is a civil  rights struggle. Civil rights come within the domestic affairs of this country. All of our African brothers and our Asian brothers and our Latin  American brothers cannot open their mouths and interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States.† Killed at the Same Age While Malcolm X was older than Martin Luther King- he was born May 19, 1925, and King was born Jan. 15, 1929- both were assassinated at the same age. Malcolm X was 39 when members of the Nation of Islam gunned him down on Feb. 21, 1965, as he gave a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. King was 39 when James Earl Ray gunned him down on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in town to support striking African-American sanitation workers. Families Unhappy With Murder Cases The families of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were dissatisfied with how authorities handled the murders of the activists. Coretta Scott King did not believe that James Earl Ray was responsible for King’s death and wanted him exonerated. Betty Shabazz long held Louis Farrakhan and other leaders in the Nation of Islam responsible for Malcolm X’s death, though Farrakhan has denied involvement in Malcolm’s murder. Two of the three men convicted of the crime, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahlil Islam, also denied playing roles in Malcolm’s assassination. The one man convicted of the murder who did confess, Thomas Hagan, agrees that Aziz and Islam are innocent. He said he acted with two other men to execute Malcolm X.

Stratgic Management Accounting (case study) Essay

Stratgic Management Accounting (case study) - Essay Example Management accountants provide important financial information that facilitate strategic planning, help to formulate and review budgets of the organization and identify existing discrepancies in budgets. They also remove wastages, set cost of production and prices of products produced as well as support good corporate governance. The above roles and functions of management accountants are explained below. First, management accountants facilitate strategic planning by providing information on costs and related activities in the organization. This is because they collect and analyze important information on all the activities that organizations engage in. The information may include all production, marketing and administrative costs. They also attempt to allocate costs and revenues to all activities in the organization. The management accountants record all the activities and associated cost. Therefore, they are able to develop indicators of business performance. In addition, they make comparison of various activities and develop benchmarks that form the basis of business monitoring and evaluation system for the business organization. The information they provide, help management teams to make various investment decision. Secondly, management accountants formulate and review budgets of the business organization. Budgets are important in apportioning financial resources to various activities of the company. Financial resources are scarce and require detailed analysis and planning to ensure that all departments receive adequate amount of money to conduct their daily operations. Management accountants enable the organization to allocate money and other resources to productive areas of the company based on their detailed cost analysis. This ensures that the business spends money only on what is important and that all activities are fairly considered. The budgets include capital budgets, cash budgets and production budgets. Management accountants