Gender and Sexuality, Race and Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gender and Sexuality, Race and Ethnicity - Essay Example Discrimination at the place of work has worked against women's rights for so long as men continue to monopolize the opportunities. Women have found their position through the provisions of law, to actively engage in serious studies and assume the positions of power in order to champion for the rights of those underprivileged women. The law provides that, under the Act 23 of the Universal Declaration, without discrimination, women have the equal right to equal work and equal pay. Through the platform of empowering from fellow successful women, those who are disadvantaged have taken this advantage to claim their right. By doing so, women have worked against the traditional perception of the masculine society that sees women as not able to assume some positions and not others in a working environment.Women have risen to command the Human Resource positions and avert that notion like in industrialized countries, where women have to bear with a salary that comes with their positions. Agai n, in these commanding positions, either as managers or human resource managers in a company, the voice of women in providing the same platform as men in promotional terms, bridges the gap of discrimination. As a result, today’s women find it easy to choose the kind of work they would feel like doing contrary to the cultural mentalities or educational discrimination. The current global woman lives in a society that would respond to her needs of learning and earn a job, of whichever position, away from the housekeeping bondage.

Solar Powered Auto Irrigation System

Solar Powered Auto Irrigation System CAREER EPISODE 2 CE 2.1 INTRODUCTION My second career episode describes about my project named Solar Powered Auto Irrigation System, which deals with irrigation technique helpful for farmers. I made this project during my 7th semester of engineering. It was completed in six months semester duration. It was completed under the supervision of Prof. Ashima Kalra, electronics lecturer. I completed my Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communication from Surya School of Engineering Technology, Punjab, India. CE 2.2 BACKGROUND Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy in the world. It is a friendly form of energy as well as an answer to energy crisis. My project solar powered irrigation system will be useful for farmers. It just requires an initial investment and then it provides a free energy and is a green way for energy production. This system uses solar power that drives the water from bore well to tank via water pump. The controller automatically regulates the output valve of the tank. It also controls the flow rate of water and optimizes it for the use of water using moisture sensor. Thus, it needs to be used with available telecommunication technology. Plant growth and their produce are to govern or increased directly or indirectly by automating the agricultural field that monitors and controls climatic parameters. CE 2.3 The idea and goal behind opting for this project was to provide a system in which automatic irrigation can be done to plants which would help in saving water and precious time of farmers. It is designed and fabricated in such a way that it would provide fresh water to irrigate the crops to all the farmers. The idea for pursuing this project clicked to me when I was analyzing the problems faced in daily life by common people. And then I realized that the methods of irrigation that is used is one of the oldest technologies having various methods in it. And we always want methods that are fast, efficient, and effective to deliver adequate water to crops. So, the new Agricultural solar method would ensure that the crops are being maintained and the farmers no longer need to slave themself to manual grind of having to carry water in their buckets. CE 2.4 I made a work flow plan for my project. I divided it into various parts to process through it systematically and assigned a time so that my project is completed in that period. First step involved to do some research work on the project and abstract realization. Then analysis on the components to be used was done. Then I started to prepare a block diagram and schematic diagram of the project. I also gave time to learn about the controller and its way of interfacing. And the last stage involved implementing the hardware and software part and gave a troubleshoot before writing the final report thesis. CE 2.5 PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY The pre-implementation research work on the topic helped me gain knowledge on the components that are required. It involves: PIC18F4520 microcontroller it is faster than other series of microcontrollers and can also be interfaced through USB and allows to simulate the program before it can be downloaded on it. Soil moisture sensor many soil moisture sensors make a soil moisture probe that can measure the content of water in the soil. Senses the high/low level of moisture than the threshold set. Solar panel it is directly mounted on the support structure and is a photovoltaic module, a set of solar photovoltaic modules or solar thermal energy panels. LCD display used to get the details of process taking place at that time. Motor two motors are used to give a rotatory movement to the irrigation system. These described above are the main building parts of my project. With the help of all these components its block diagram was prepared which is shown below. CE 2.6 The next step was to put this block diagram in practical implementation. I started with soldering component parts on the circuit and interfacing the LCD, sensor, and motor to the PIC18F4520 microcontroller. It was a little complex structure and involved deep concentration as any mistake would short the whole circuit. The later part involved designing the program on MPLAB software. It is a software that runs on PC and can be used to develop applications for microchip microcontrollers. It provides a single integrated environment that can be used to write programs for embedded microcontrollers and are also known as IDE, Integrated Development Environment. CE 2.7 The development cycle for writing an application code involves various stages. This controller allows embedded system design engineer to progress through this cycle without interruption between an array of tools. It allows engineers to concentrate on writing the code without any interruptions of separate tools and different modes of operation. The basic development system for my project involves the below stages. Using various available tools, a code is written, there is a project manager who organizes all file and databases and settings information. There is some hardware or software part that is useful in connection to the targeted controller and an assembler that is used for code conversion i.e. source code to machine code. CE 2.8 A flow chart was prepared based on the programming code that was used for my irrigation system. The steps and process along with the flow of program can be described using an algorithm as: Step 1: start of the process Step 2: GSM gets the initial power Step 3: it will check for moisture level Step 4: if the level is more than 50%, irrigation is not required Step 5: irrigation is required if moisture level falls below 50% Step 6: it initializes the motor Step 7: gives a brief report about the process/progress Step 8: after the completion of complete process it goes back to the original state. CE 2.9 And the final stage involved to perform a test run and troubleshooting. I tried to solve the maximum problems and errors in the software by myself. If I was unsuccessful in them, I made a list of problems and errors so that I could approach my project guide for the help and learn the technique that would be helpful in solving such errors and later implement it by myself. This type of irrigation system can be customized as per the need and the type of crop and is also having low maintenance. It is designed and developed in such a way that it can be scaled and customized for large open fields or for greenhouses. It has lot of scope for future expansion. One can make use of temperature monitoring in compost production or internet controlled duplex communication can be implemented which would help in taking powerful decisions. Such systems require low maintenance and attention and give long term benefits economically and is environment friendly. CE 2.10 There were many stages which involved complication and trouble pursuing it. The very first and big challenge was to complete it on time. As the process and implementation was a long and tedious process it took time for making it perfect. I made lot of mistakes while synchronization and interfacing of the components with the controller on the circuit board which intern was a delaying my project and making it costly as many components were not interfaced properly and got broken. Even after all such problems I didnt held myself back, I went on with my project by taking steps of guidance and consulted my professors as and when needed. In the end, it was completed and was made as I planned for it. CE 2.11 SUMMARY My project solar based irrigation system was completed on time and proved to the control system that gave real time feedback on monitoring and controlling of all the activities involving auto irrigation system very efficiently. It is a system that proved to be a manpower saver, that would incur profit and improve the production. It is a modernized structure in the agriculture industry with the optimum expenditure. In future, pesticides and fertilizer system can be implemented and added to this system so that it can be added automatically. It can also be developed so that it would measure the ambience temperature, humidity level or light intensity required. This project was a building block in my career. It broadened my views in terms of technology and helped me develop and grow myself as an engineer and market ready. It taught me to handle difficult situations and made me strong enough.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Essay -- International Development

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been identified as one of the growth engines for various countries in the world, since SMEs make up over 90 percent of all enterprises. For instance, United States, 99.7 per cent (Heneman, Tansky, & Camp, 2000), China, 99 per cent (Cunningham & Rowley, 2008), Europe, 99 per cent (Andreas Rauch & Frese, 2000), Holland, 95 per cent, Philippines, 95 per cent and Taiwan, 96.5 per cent (C. Y.-Y. Lin, 1998) as well as Malaysia, 99.2 per cent (Man & Wafa, 2007; National SME Development Council (NSDC), 2009; Saleh & Ndubisi, 2006). The figures above show that countries all over the world recognized SMEs as a key business sector. Besides, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) (2002) pointed out that SMEs are deemed as a supporter to larger enterprises as well as an important foundation in expanding business activities and sustaining economic growth. SMEs even provide more jobs than large companies (APEC, 2002; Department of Statistics Malaysi a (DOSM), 2007; NSDC, 2009). In sum, SMEs play a vital role and contribute to the economy and are likely to be increasingly important as the economy becomes more global. In Malaysia, SMEs are considered as the backbone of industrial development (NSDC, 2009) and give meaningful contributions to the national economy. Hashim (2010) stated that SMEs play a significant role in generating more employment, economic outputs, income generation, export capabilities, training, encouraging competition, innovation and promoting entrepreneurship and supporting the large-scale industries (LSIs) as well. Moreover, Jaswant Singh, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority director in Australia (MIDA Australia), informed that the grow... ...t improve efficiency and effectiveness (J. Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984). However, in examining other variables, researchers found a significant relationship between HRM practices (Jimenez-Jimenez & Sanz-Valle, 2008; Nasution, Mavondo, Matanda, & Ndubisi, 2010) and EO (Nasution et al., 2010) towards organizational innovation. Other studies also found that there is an inconclusive result on the relationship between organizational innovation and organizational performance (Rosenbusch, Brinckmann, & Bausch, 2010). These findings propose that potential researchers could study the mediating effect of organizational innovation on the relationship between HRM practices, EO and organizational performance. It is also suggesting that, there also have a moderator effect (managerial ties) on the relationship between organizational innovation and organizational performance.

Islam Essay

1. The word â€Å"Islam† is derived form the Arabic root â€Å"asalama† which literally means peace, purity and submission. Thus Islam means â€Å"surrender to the Almighty† and Muslim means â€Å"one who is in a state of submission†. It is understood that this submission is to the Will of God, as is laid down in the Quran. This tenet is unequivocally accepted by all sects of Islam be they Shia, Sunni or Sufis. 2. Islam is an unerringly monotheistic religion. It enjoins the existence of one God, his prophet Muhammad who is the Last Prophet (khatam-in-nabiyin) in a long line of prophets sent throughout time and to every civilization, and the Quran as the Word of God revealed to Muhammad through the angel Jibrael. Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of life is to worship him and to adhere to his word, as laid down in the Quran, and in Sunnah (the normative practices of the Prophet), as closely as possible. They believe that Islam is the final, completed and universal version of a faith (Deen-e-Ibrahimi) revealed too many prophets before; most notably Abraham, Moses and Jesus, but whose message has now been distorted. 3. The practices of Islam are based on the ubiquitous â€Å"Five Pillars†. These are, in order of importance, Shahadah or acceptance of One-ness (Taw hid) of God, Salat or five daily Prayers, Saum or Fasting in the month of Ramadan, Zakat or obligatory Alms-giving, Hajj or Pilgrimage to the Kaabah (House of God) at least once in a lifetime, for those able to afford it. These five â€Å"Pillars of Faith† are incumbent upon every Muslim and form the basis for his belief. Some scholars say that the pillars in Shia Islam involve an additional four points in addition to the principal ones. Namely, Nabuwah or Prophet Hood of Muhammad, Jesus, Moses etc., Imamah or Leadership of the Tweleve Imams, Qiyamah or Day of Judgment and Adel or Justice. 4. The fundamental goals of Islam are a complete submission to God and adherence to the teachings of the Quran and the example of Sunnah. When a child is born he is â€Å"ordained† into Islam by reciting the Kalima (the verses outlining Tawhid) into his ear, and thereby giving Shahadah i.e. acknowledgement of the One-ness of God. Muslims must perform the ritual of prayer five times a day, fast and give alms in the month of Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the Kaabah if he is of sound mind and body and is able to afford it. The principles of the Promotion of Virtue (amr bil-maaroof) and Prevention of Vice (nahi an-al-munkar) are long-standing and Muslims are expected to inculcate them in their dealings with others. As Islam enjoins peace and harmony with mankind and with nature there is a great emphasis placed on community. Indeed, the Muslim brethren at large are considered one community (Ummah), irrespective of political, cultural or physical barriers. A Muslim is encouraged to perform good deeds for the community (masawaat) and to call people to worship the One God (Dawah). 5. Authority in Islam remains with God. His injunctions, as laid down in the Quran, and the practices and teachings of the Prophet, Sunnah are to be followed in establishing a political structure. Traditionally the concept of political leadership was embodied by the â€Å"Great Caliphs† (Khulfa-e-Rashiduun), who succeeded Muhammad in leadership of the nascent Islamic Empire. This political set-up personified adherence to the Shariah, duty of the rulers to seek consultation or Shura and of censuring unjust rulers. It is widely believed that the â€Å"Great Four†, the four to succeed Muhammad in succession, were the only ones in practice true to the cause of Islam and subsequent rulers fell victim to dynastic politics and greed. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire there was an abolition of the Caliphate, no matter how symbolic, and closure of the traditional Islamic political setup. Shia Islam has a theological concept of the Imamate. This term is often used interchangeably with the Caliphate but has very different connotations. The Shia believes that it is a divine institution succeeding the Last prophet and the Imams divinely chosen. The chosen Imams take up the mantle of religious, political, social etc. leader of all the Ummah. Traditionally Shia followers and scholars have shown political aloofness or activism against what was viewed as an increasingly corrupt caliphate. 6. The legal ideal in Islam resides with God. His injunctions form the basis for Islamic Law or Shariah. Shariah derives from two sources: divine revelations set forth in the Quran, and the normative practices of the Holy Prophet, Sunnah, as pertained to everyday matters. Fiqh or Jurisprudence extends on matters not directly touched upon in these primary sources. The foundations for Fiqh come from Ijma or consensus of learned scholars and qiyas, analogy from quran and Sunnah. Shia jurisprudence replaces this with aql or â€Å"reason†. Shariah law is not widespread, and even in Muslim countries there are often parallel justice systems. In countries where it enjoys official status Shariah is upheld by the qadis. Shariah has widespread implications; from matters of politics and economics to diet and personal hygiene. Shia scholars employ a different tack. According to them sources of law (usul-e-fiqh) are: Quran, Sunnah, the practices of the Twelve Imams and aql (reason). 7. Islamic philosophy and theology have more or less a harmonious perspective. Theology in Islam centers on six main articles of belief; Belief in One God (Tawhid), Belief in the Last Prophet (Nabi) and all the Messengers of God (Rasul), belief in Angels (Malaika), books sent by god (kutub), judgment (qiyamah) and predestination (qadar). Islamic philosophy as produced in an Islamic society is not exclusively concerned with religious matters nor is it wholly Islamic in origin; rather it has grounds in Hellenistic and Pre-Islamic Indian traditions. The golden age of Islamic philosophy is centered on the 8th to 12th centuries and exemplified Averroes and Avicenna. The first aspect of theology is Kalam which deals with theological questions and the other is Falsafa based on Aristotelianism. Kalam centers on ijtihad or using thought to investigate the doctrines of the Quran, while Falsafa was mainly concerned with the translation of Greek and Hindu texts and expounding them to the community at large. It is quite possible for a Muslim to hold separate philosophical and theological beliefs; believing on the one hand in the Aristotelian principle that the existence of the world is not only a possibility but also a necessity, and also valuing the fact that existence of the world in due only to God. The Shia school of thought differs only in what it considers purely theological matters i.e. Roots of religion (Usul e-Din) and Branches of Faith (Furu-e-Din) 8. By the end of the 12th century, the Islamic Empire was a vast entity. Stretching from beyond the shores of the Mediterranean to much of India. Thus Islamic art and architecture shows wide and varied themes, each influenced by the culture and climate of the particular land. The principal Islamic architectural styles are the mosque, tomb, fort and palace and from these an idea of the recurring themes may be gleaned. Soon after Muhammad, a recognizable style of architecture emerged comprising interior vaulted spaces, a circular dome and decorative arabesques. The great mosque of Samarrah in Iraq, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and the Hagia Sofia in Turkey are prime examples. The conquest of the Persian Empire in the 7th century introduced large arcades and arches. Moorish architecture is perhaps the most familiar example in the western world. The Great Mosque (Mezquita) in Cordova, the Alhambra and the fort of Granada introduced wide breezy interiors and decorative foliage and Arabic inscription motifs. Mughal architecture has built a class of its own. Perhaps the most famous is the Taj Mahal, built in white marble entirely in symmetry with large minarets and cupola domes. The Mughals also introduced gardens as a relevant theme in their architecture, most famously the Shalimar Gardens. While theology does not have a very significant impact on Islamic architecture a recurring theme is the absence of human or animal imagery, widely considered to be forbidden by the Prophet. Instead calligraphic inscriptions of the Quran and geometric patterns replace as decorative influences.

Middle passage of slavery

One of the dark periods of the world’s history is the trading and exploitation of black slaves. The economic expansion in Europe and America through agricultural lands brought a growing demand for labor hands. European traders seized the opportunity by supplying Africans to be sold as slaves. Sources included Kongo and Ndongo (which now became Angola) and Senegal, although major trading took place ion the Atlantic Coast of Africa. As demands for slaves increased, trading spread in Eastern Africa (Perry 227).   Nowhere can one find a more profitable business than slave-trading during these period, which remarkably spanned for about four centuries (15th to 19th century) of continuous trading, estimated to reach about 20 million slaves (Ferguson and Bruun 569). At the height of trading during the 17th to 18th century, a trader who sold one male slave is guaranteed to make more than enough a year’s earnings. In England, a trader can even gain respectability since its society saw nothing wrong with this kind of business and was not regarded as illegal. It is not surprising therefore that many Europeans were lured by the promise of making a big fortune out of slave trading, to the detriment of Africans who were taken captive. The desire to make a sizeable amount of money and the insensibility of land owners had blinded them to see that these Africans were fellow human beings and should be treated humanely. A significant aspect of the entire process involved partnering with Africans. While it is shocking to see how one race could brutally treat another, it is more startling to see how a fellow African could exploit its own kind. Fellow Africans play a key role in helping European traders to succeed. They are responsible for the capture of their own countrymen, snatching and detaining them to a slave factory located at the western coast of Africa (Hibbert 127). Many do not reach the coast, since they could not survive being forced to march as far as 1,000 miles chained and with little food. Those who do were forcibly held in the factory, where working conditions were deplorable and food was scarce. Detention could range from a number of weeks to a year. These African human smugglers would exchange their ‘goods’ for guns, fabrics, metal products for weapons and farm tools, beads, or even cowry shells and other insignificant items brought by their European counterpart (Perry 2 29). Slave trading then became a lucrative business. There were written accounts of the horrific conditions with which captured Africans were subjected to. One captive slave named Olaudah Equiano vividly described through his own experience, the ordeal of many African slaves (Winds of Revolution 123). For this reason, some slaves had come to regard death a blissful way of ending the hardship. From the onset of their captivity to the point of slavery, slaves were deprived of any right to choose for themselves. Slaves were regarded more as a piece of property than a worker. Men, women, or children, common or of noble descent, all were taken captive for selling. Their ‘fate’ totally depended on the hands of their captors and ‘owners’ (Ferguson and Bruun 569-590). I. The Slave-Trade Route and The Middle Passage The course of trading by the Europeans involved different stages. The Middle Passage was usually associated with the trans-Atlantic shipment of human cargoes either to the Americas or the Caribbean. Strictly speaking however, the term was used to describe the second of a three-part stage of a trading process which includes the transportation of captured Africans. This also meant that traders are able to make a big size of income since every stage is able to produce a large amount of profit. The first part starts with the Europeans carrying goods to Africa that will be used to trade-in for the African slaves. Upon completion of negotiations, the now empty vessel is now replenished with purchased humans. The Middle Passage or otherwise known as the â€Å"middle† leg then begins — the second part of the trading route. This voyage would often take two to three months before reaching America or other destinations in Europe. During bad weathers, the trip could stretch as long as four months. Those who survive the trip were sold and the huge profit was used to purchase products such as sugar. The traders will make another huge profit, as they sell these goods in their return trip to Europe, the last part of the voyage (Winds of Revolution 122). II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conditions During the Voyage Those taken to the slave ships were treated worse than animals. The decks were cramped and did not leave much room for standing. Men and women in shackles were packed closely. They were required to lie on their backs, with their heads on another slave’s leg. Such a horrible position caused them to lie down on human discharges of another’s feces, urine, and at times even blood all throughout the passage. The air was putrid for breathing. Consequently, such poor conditions in cargo ships led to the rapid spread of diseases that took the life of many these people. Those who died were thrown overboard to keep sickness from spreading further. In order to control any rebellion, the crew often resorted to cruelty. Women were often abused sexually. The poor physical conditions within the ship, the lack of food, the cruelty of their captors, and the uncertainty of the future caused others to attempt suicide. Traders however, would want as much as each slaves to survive, simply for profit’s sake. When a slave attempts to commit suicide through self-imposed starvation, the method of force-feeding was used.   Others sought death by jumping off the ship. If it is of any consolation, members of the crew’s ship were treated just a little better than the slaves. Others also experienced being severely beaten by their captain. One account even records of a crew who sought his watery death than continue the agony of being repeatedly beaten (Winds of Revolution 124-129). III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reason for Choosing Africans as Slaves When Spain and Portugal took off plans for exploration, it ended in human exploitation. As they reached and colonized parts of the Americas, Native Americans proved extremely difficult for forced labor since they were unaccustomed to agricultural work. They also exhibited poor resistance to Old World diseases. Their familiarity of the surroundings made it extremely difficult for the Europeans to prevent them from escaping. Meanwhile, a small portion of Africans slavery was already being practiced in its outposts in Africa. Europeans had taken the idea from an African practice of enslaving war prisoners.   African characteristics were also observed to be a lot better: Africans were found to be more useful and stronger than the Native Americans. Since they were used to a hotter climate and agricultural work, Africans did not easily fell prey to European diseases. All these factors caused Europeans to rely more on Africans for slavery. IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion The practice was deeply rooted in greed. Actions to counter slavery met with great resistance and were relatively slow. It even tore America apart during a bitter civil war. The dispute concerning slavery continued for many generations between those who are for or against it. England passed the abolition of slavery in 1833 and anyone caught violating the law was fined as much as â‚ ¤ 20 million (Checkland 341). Other European nations also followed suit. Towards its abolition, great damage was already done on the economic, political, and social aspects of Africa. Since wealth was concentrated on slave-trading and possessed only by a few hands; acquired wealth was not used for the development of the land to benefit its entire society. Africa lost much of their human wealth and for four hundred years, suffered the consequences — losing potential leaders and good laborers for its own advancement. Those transported became alienated from their culture of origin (Perry 231). As for the following generations of those people who were transported, the struggle still continuous for people of color even thousands of years after the abolition of slave trading in America and the Western countries. Many still feel the sting of living from the taint of stereotyping created by the past. It left a legacy of racism present in some parts of society today. Although the practice should remain buried in the past, looking back on this bitter history should keep aflame all efforts to prevent it from recurring again. Traders before referred to it as a necessary evil. However, no amount of reason should be sufficient enough to allow anyone to exploit or even look down on its fellow human being. Works Cited: Checkland, S.G. The Rise of Industrial Society in England, 1815-1885. Great Britain: Longman, 1964. Cowell, Alan. Killing the Wizards. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. Ferguson, Wallace, and Geoffrey Bruun. A Survey of European Civilization 3rd ed. USA: The Riverside Press, 1958). Hibbert, Cristopher. Africa Explored: Europeans in the Dark Continent (1769-1889). London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1982. Perry, Marvin. Unfinished Journey: A World History. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983. Winds of Revolution AD 1700-1800. USA: Time-Life Books, 1991.