Gertrude and Ophelia (Hamlet) Essay

In Hamlet, the women act the small roles portraying their historical status at the time. Although Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark and Ophelia is the prince’s lovers, they have no standing in the society and their voices are never heard. Their actions and fates are greatly influenced by the men’s decisions. All their lives Ophelia and Gertrude are led by the men’s power; they together make a weak image of dependent women at Shakespeare’s time. Although Gertrude and Ophelia are not well developed through out the play, their actions, language and influence on the play portray them as the obedient passive type of women. Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother, a queen who betrayed her husband and got seduced by the prince’s uncle Claudius. She remarried with him and thereafter obeyed every order from Claudius. Gertrude is objectified by Claudius, as he said: â€Å"my crown, mine own ambition and my Queen.† To him the queen is one of his possessions and not even listed as the first. This suggested Gertrude is used by Claudius to get to the throne. The hasty marriage only a few weeks after her husband’s death shows her great dependence on men. Hamlet’s proclamation that he will â€Å"speak daggers to her, but use none† illustrate that he perceives her to be inferior, weak enough to fall foul to his words. Overall, Gertrude is the type of women that cannot survive without a man in her life, with suc h a weak soul she betrays her own husband and son. Ophelia is different from Gertrude. She is innocent, and naà ¯ve with no experience in life. She does love Hamlet with her pure heart, but she is also too submissive to her dad Polonius and brother Laertes. As they claim Hamlet is dangerous, that Hamlet’s â€Å"will is not his own† and that she should â€Å"fear† him, she does not try to oppose him, or justify Hamlet’s â€Å"affections† instead she tells Laertes that he â€Å"shall keep the key† of her memory. Polonius insults her and Hamlet’s love, responding to her declaration that Hamlet â€Å"has of late made tenders of his affection† he cries â€Å"Affection? Pooh!†¦Do you believe his tenders as you call them?† to which Ophelia replies â€Å"I do not know, my lord, what I should think†. She gives all the other male influences in her life. Later in the play, after Hamlet killed Polonius and runs away, Laertes is in France, she has no one to turn to. She depends too much on those people, now without any support she turns to  madness and finally commits suicide. All her life Ophelia is led by others and has never decided anything but her death. â€Å"Hamlet† was written in a time when women were not even allowed to play themselves on stage, women were seen as inferior and women were ‘owned’ by men. Ophelia and Gertrude have no real Autonomy, they are at the mercy of Hamlet, Claudius, Rodrigo, and Laertes moods to define their moods, and when the men are in conflict the women suffer, which is death in this case. They are a portrait of what women in Shakespeare’s time were like, dependent on men and never could control their own fate. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Rpt. in Compact Literature Reading Reacting Writing. By Kirszner and Mandell. 6th ed. 2007.

Letter Form a Birmingham Jail Mlk

Oppressed feelings: No longer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was incarcerated after fighting for his rights in a nonviolent peaceful protest to fight, exercising the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, and the Freedom of speech; an automatic given for those who do not consist of colored skin. In response, Dr. King wrote a powerful letter to the â€Å"genuine† clergymen announcing his strong opinions and beliefs toward segregation, discrimination, and racism. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. executed such an overwhelming piece of writing expressing the poor treatment of African Americans, the explanations of his actions, and his opinions regarding a true and better government. He expressed his desire and faith for the greater good and change in this letter with the use of emotional appeals such as imagery, diction, and descriptions of his harsh personal experiences regarding segregation and discrimination because of his skin color.Paragraphs 14 and 15 consists of emotional twists from unjust laws and release a combination of emotional and harsh events from the African American’s reality that bring the reader into their perspective from a hated level. In these paragraphs, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gets more personal and specific about the harsh treatment of African Americans and personal experiences regarding their harsh reality. Imagery shows all throughout this paragraph to create powerful and tear quenching emotions from the reader to get you to at least slightly understand their perspective.Dr. King immensely expresses what not only he, but all African Americans are and have been going through. He is able to paint a picture in the readers’ head of the abuse, pain, and hatred they have felt. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society†¦(218).All I see is hate filled police and Caucasian’s with disgust in their face causing undeserving pain to people that only have one difference: their skin color. Although I was not there to personally experience this torment, Dr. King is able to withdraw my emotions with just the truth, and put me on his side. His picture withdrew disgust and angriness for what our society is and how human beings can be. That little piece of the actual paragraph is just a glimpse. Dr. King goes on and on about their mistreatment.They are not just pained physically, but they are also haunted emotionally and mentally as well, â€Å"When you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living in constantly tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a de generating sense of â€Å"nobodiness†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (218). Personally, feeling alone and insignificant is one of my worst fears about life, and Dr. King along with â€Å"twenty million† others suffered from this feeling for centuries.Imagery was able to capture my full attention in this paragraph, allowed me to see a glimpse of their pain, suffering, and mistreatment. With the powerful impact of imagery in these paragraphs, it certainly wasn’t the only strategy he used. Diction was an immeasurable aspect of this paragraph. The structure of Dr. King’s vocabulary was eloquent and delivered in such a structured, skillful manner that he was able to draw tear-filled emotions to his audience. He used words such as ‘curse’, ‘kick’, ‘lynch’, ‘kill’, ‘smothering’, ‘humiliated’, and ‘despair’.These words are able to describe to the reader of the completely atrocious way peopl e treated each other because of such an insignificant matter, the difference in skin color. Just reading these chosen words and how well it played with imagery, I winced. Using diction is shown to be powerful in this case because if Dr. King were to have only said, ‘mistreatment’, ‘abuse’, or ‘discriminated’, it would not have withdrawn as much emotion from his audience at the time and the readers now.His in detail descriptions of his barbaric treatment and personal experiences is the most influential and compelling strategy in paragraph 14 and 15. The disturbing events that occurred in that time period showed how cruel mankind to be. Dr. King shares experiences such as explaining to his children their harsh realities at that moment in time: When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her yes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky†¦When you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: ‘Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean? (218). Children are thought to be so innocent, pure from hatred, and chance giving and then when their little hearts are corrupted to think they are less than someone else, and they feel like they are in a world full of hurt, what are they to do then?Dr. King also shares his bleak experiences of witnessing that hatred be performed with murder and being denied what is thought of as automatic rights. These personal experiences not only keep your nose to the paper, but it is appalling to know the easy capabilities we hold as human beings to torment others for little things not only mentally, but physically, to the point of taking their lives completely aw ay from them.These lives taken lived a life where they were beaten and never shown the feeling of whole freedom and life without hypothetical chains. Dr. King was able to use these experiences to squeeze emotions out of his audience. They not only described their cold facts, but it brought me to his level of understanding and on his side. Dr. King did more than just simply explain their experience. Dr.King described that they have been waiting â€Å"for more than 340 years for† their â€Å"constitutional and God given rights† and watching other nations such as â€Å"Asia† and â€Å"Africa† move â€Å"with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence†, but how the United States was still creeping â€Å"at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter† (217). He talked about how it was appalling for someone who never had to watch â€Å"vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters a nd brothers at whim† (218) to say, â€Å"Wait. That with everything they have been through, they cannot and will not endure it any longer. He strongly felt that this could happen no longer, and that if it took â€Å"disobey[ing] unjust laws† (218) then he would. These paragraphs proved to be a monumental breakthrough for this letter. He described how he wasn’t going to take it any longer. After a lifetime of witnessing hate, ignorance, and abuse, personally being discriminated and segregated against for his skin color, and being thrown in jail for peacefully protesting, exercising the first mendment, he was still standing strong in his beliefs, not backing down. He was able to persevere through so much, and he wasn’t going to stop until his point was being made and change was happening. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was able to execute these immaculate paragraphs through emotional appeals (diction, imagery, and personal experiences) to minimally just slightl y understand what he has been through, and that he will not back down or tolerate it any longer.His cruel reality was not the only thing to breakthrough his audiences’ exterior but his strong will and genuine personality was able to make a huge impact. Through everything, and only being shown hate and violence, he retaliated with calmness, peaceful protests, and nonviolent maneuvers. This was more than the rest of the human race was able to do. After that, Dr. Martin Luther King deserves all the respect in the world.

Dracula Essay

Texts such as the novel Dracula, and the film Interview with the Vampire, are often shaped by the values and attitudes within society at the particular time in which it was created. As a result, the context plays a major role in the construction of a text. In Dracula, a novel in epistolary format set and published in 1897 by Bram Stoker, not only do the concepts of sexuality, religion, family, technology, class and gender roles reflect the way they were viewed in the Victorian era, but the actual form of the text itself, a long novel in a book form, mirrors the style of Victorian texts due to the limited technology available. Similarly, in the film Interview with the Vampire directed by Neil Jordan, the different and changing concepts of religion, sexuality, class, family and gender roles from the four different contexts; the 1791 slave period, the 1870s in France, the 1980s in America and the 1994 context, are reflected in the film in a DVD format. In Dracula, the representation of woman as belittled and with limited roles mirrors the rigid expectations of the Victorian era. During the 1800s, women were confined to narrow gender roles, as represented by the virgin/whore dichotomy substantiated through two of Dracula’s key characters, Mina and Lucy. The figure of Mina displays the innocence, loyalty and purity expected from women of the time: â€Å"she is one of Gods women†¦ † (P. 226), whilst Lucy’s character illustrated the non-virtuous figure as she appears as flirtatious: â€Å"you will think me a horrid flirt†¦ † (P. 70), and gives us the subtle impression that she has a hidden desire to break out of the social constraints of the Victorian period: â€Å"why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all the trouble? †(P. 70). Due to Lucy’s desire to break out, she must be punished in order to restore Victorian standards: â€Å"Arthur took the stake and the hammer†¦ hen he struck with all his might†¦ there, in the coffin lay no longer the foul Thing†¦ † (P. 259/60). This use of imagery implies that Arthur returns Lucy to a state of purity, passivity and innocence, as well as signifies the power and dominance males had over females at this particular time due to the patriarchal tendencies and views of the Victorian society. The actions of Dracula constantly using his powers to fulfil his desires also symbolizes this male dominance and superiority over women: â€Å"his right hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her face down on his bosom†¦ terrible resemblance to a child forcing a kitten’s nose into a saucer of milk to compel it to drink. † (P. 340) Stocker uses strong imagery to evoke this. Comparably, in Interview with the Vampire, the positioning of an African American woman as a maid, as exemplified by the close up shot of Yvette’s hand clearing away Louis’ plate, reflects the gender roles in the 1800s slavery period. During this period, white men had great power over their African American slaves. As a result, many took advantage of them. The panning camera shot progressing up Yvette’s body from Louis point of view reflects the temptation many men endured to satisfy their sexual urges. In this case, Louis could not resist and took a bite, symbolizing penetration. The extreme close up shot of Yvette’s face exposes the pain and suffering many belittled African American women experienced, whilst the act of Louis putting his hand over her mouth and killing her due to her screaming symbolizes the concern of other people becoming knowledgeable about such a dirty action of a prosperous, well respected white man. Conversely, the involvement of two men, Louis and Lestat, in the growth of Claudia’s vampirism reflects the contemporary context of the increasing role of males in society as well as in their children’s life: â€Å"you became my mother, and my father†¦ †. The freely expressed conversation between Yvette and Louis also mirrors the contemporary context, as back in the 1800s, a slave would never talk to their master without been spoken to first. In Dracula, the constant mentioning of religious phrases and religious symbols, such as the crucifix and wafer indicates the importance of religion in the Victorian culture even though the introduction of various forms technology began to change this. This change in Victorian values is represented by the conflict between Dracula and the four men; Jonathan, Quincey, Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing. The character of Dracula symbolizes the changes commencing, whilst the men symbolize Victorian sensibilities- belief in the power of God:â€Å"The Professor stood up and, after laying his golden crucifix on the table†¦ Dr. Helsing went on†¦ †but we, too, are not without strength†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ † (P. 286). This battle between good and evil ends with the defeat of Dracula, allowing the return of the important ideals of the Victorian culture: â€Å"after all, these things- traditions†¦ are everything†¦ † (P. 287) The importance of religion and the idea of the vulnerability to evil of those not religious in the Victorian era is emphasised when an old women offers a crucifix to Jonathan after learning he was going to meet Count Dracula: â€Å"she then rose and dried her eyes, and taking a crucifix from her neck offered it to me†¦ (P. 6). Throughout the text, the demonic figure of Dracula is conveyed to be the opposite of Christ as exemplified when he creates â€Å"one of the greatest and suddenest storms†¦ † (P. 91) to aid his arrival into the harbor. This is the complete opposite to the act of Jesus quietening the storm when he was at sea with his disc iples. Similarly to Dracula, the representation of religion in Interview with the Vampire also reflects the way it was viewed its various contexts. The close up shot of Armade saying â€Å"I know nothing of God, or the Devil†¦ illustrates how the belief and understanding of religion has significantly dropped in the 1994 contemporary context. The mid shot of Louis saying â€Å"actually I’m quite fond of looking at crucifixes† elucidates the lack of power religion has in today’s society. The practising of Voodoo as shown in a mid shot of the African Americans waving dolls near a fire accompanied by yelling and chanting, symbolizes the importance of religion and warning off evil during the slave trade in a still highly religious society. Likewise, the use of a religious symbol as shown the mid shot of Armade holding the young girl’s arm up in a similar way to Jesus on the cross whilst performing on stage, is used to signify that death and the resurrection, though as a vampire, is about to occur. In Dracula, the exemplification of sexuality reflects the controversial topics of the rigid Victorian era. During this period, women were belittled and suppressed. If a woman was to be sexually assertive, it was deeply frowned upon by society as there was a great emphasis on the importance of encouraging chastity and innocence of ladies. At the commencement of the novel Lucy is evidently a sexual women: â€Å"My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we are so little worthy of them? † (P. 70), however her full expression of sexuality is released when she is transformed into a vampire: â€Å"Come to me Arthur†¦ my arms are hungry for you. Come and we can rest together†¦ †. As aforementioned, punishing Lucy for being sexually forward will restore Victorian order and put her back in her rightful place: â€Å"She is not a grinning devil now- not anymore a foul thing for all eternity†¦ † (P. 261). During the Victorian period, homosexuality was considered a serious matter, thought to be evil and wrong, and was often punished by time in jail or even death. In Dracula, there are many metaphoric references to homosexuality, the first incident being when Jonathan cuts his cheek shaving: â€Å"I felt a hand on my shoulder†¦ the man was close to me†¦ the cut bled a little†¦ his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat†¦ † (P. 30). This sees Dracula tempted to take a bite, therefore symbolizing the temptation of penetration. Analogously to Dracula, the film Interview with the Vampire also conveys the sexual attitudes of its various contexts. The close up shot showing the homoerotic tensions between Louis and Armade accompanied by emotional classical music reflects the 1990s context in which people were beginning to openly express their homosexuality during the Gay Rights Movement. During this period, many gay couples also began to adopt with the intention of creating a family. This is evoked in the novel when Lestat revives Claudia and turns her into a vampire: â€Å"you’re mine and Louis’ daughter now†¦ †, with the purpose of creating â€Å"one happy family†¦ . During the 18th century in America, the discussion and about sexuality and the act of kissing in public was beginning to be socially accepted as symbolized by the mid shot of Louis and Lestat kissing a girl on a chair whilst in the public’s view. Through analysing the novel Dracula and the film Interview wit h the Vampire, it is evident that the context plays a major role in the construction of a text. Many of the social meanings of a text reflect not only the values and attitudes of society at a particular time, but also the concerns and fears as exemplified through the studied texts.

Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Food - Essay Example Manchego cheese on the other hand is also derived from Spain, specifically the La Mancha region (Manchego Cheese 1). This cheese is produced by combined sheep’s milk and bread and allowing it to cure for a period of time. The final component of this particular dish is that of the croquettes. The observer quickly notes that this word is spelled in the French form. There exists a nearly identical offering in traditional Spanish cuisine; however, it is usually referred to as croquetas. In this way, the observer notes that a particular French influence over this particular dish is noted. As it is impossible to distinctly know what may be French about the way that the dish is prepared until it is sampled, this analysis will await a determination based upon that time. This particular dish is unique in that it is one of the few â€Å"fusion† dishes that exist on the menu. As such, the origin of the ingredients that make up this particular dish are not entirely and/or uniquely Spanish. Furthermore, until the dish is sampled it will be difficult to say with certainty whether the specific origin of the components of the dish. It is also interesting to note that â€Å"croquettes† are a dish that is enjoyed by over 18 different countries and a variety of different ethnicities. As it is such a common and widespread dish, it makes a great deal more sense as to why the dish could borrow the French version without necessarily losing the meaning or adulterating the level of the ethnic food offered. In this way, although it is a uniquely ethnic dish, it has the flair of universality that gives it a particular appeal even to those that may not have a great deal of experience ordering from a ethnically Spanish menu. Lastly, the dish appears to be a very simple yet tasty dish. The ingredients involved in its preparation include ham, cheese, and mashed potatoes rolled in a batter and

Clinical versus management tracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Clinical versus management tracts - Essay Example Pediatric nurses work in hospitals or clinics. According to Datta (2007), they may play many roles, such as providing treatment, inserting IV lines amid other therapies. Informatics nurse helps in identifying, managing and communicating data, information and analytical knowledge to the medical doctor. This entails the incorporation of science and compound data management strategies (Mettler & Raptis, 2012). Geriatrics nurses help provide health care to elderly patients. This is considering that old patients have an increased risk of injuries and illness. Therefore, a geriatric nurse helps these elderly patients avoid further illness and injuries. Additionally, they assist the elderly patients and family in coping with old age illnesses (Makary, Segev & Pronovost et al., 2010). Clinical nursing opportunities entail working as pediatricians, geriatrics in clinical care settings or emergency rooms. According to Alligood (2013), mainly they manage psychiatric or rehabilitative types of care where they attend to patients enduring pain and anxiety. On the other hand, management tracts entail managing or directing nurses who provide nursing care to patients. Besides, nurse managers play a crucial role in hiring and retaining nurses (Alligood, 2013). They also work collaboratively with medical doctors in managing patients and enable patients and their families overcome pain, suffering and illnesses. As a nurse, I am intrigued by taking a managerial position in nursing. I am well aware of the demands that management-level nursing entails, such as carrying out leadership roles and running administrative duties in a clinical setting. I enjoy taking part in a decision-making process in a clinical setting and pursuing the nurse management role will help me achieve this desire. Nursing management also entails undertaking managerial duties, such as strategizing, scheduling, staffing, managing and

Justification of Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Justification of Punishment - Essay Example This research will adamantly define the facts surrounding punishment. It is already generally conceptualized that without a reliable way to punish offenders crime would escalate to uncontrollable proportions. This is just one of the reasons for the use of punishment as a penal tool and why it is utilized by the legal system. In conclusion, this research again emphasizes upon the fact that criminal actions can be controlled and minimized with the proper form of punishment. Furthermore, the conclusive evidence at the end of this research defines the fact that, as has been said, punishment is indeed crucial to law enforcement officials in gaining control over crime and maintaining a more peaceful atmosphere for the general public at large. Restorative justice is one idea of how to relate the theory of punishment to the maintenance of legal control over criminal offenders. Although restorative justice in itself has not been shown to minimize crime, it has been helpful in bringing a relative relation between the victim and the offender and what punishments are best suited to fit the criminal actions of an offender as well (Strang 2005). The main difference between this form of justice and conventional methods is the fact that there is more of a mediating process involved to solve the problems leading to crime in the communities rather than focusing solely on the state as the main victim of criminal offenders, such as the conventional method does (Goulding 2005). It has been found that the main goal of restorative justice is to correct the harm within communities that has been caused by criminal actions placed onto them by the offenders. There is still a process of punishment associated with this new area of the judicial process but it is focused on a more humane way of dealing with crime rather than corporal punishment, or other harsher sentencing, etc (Goulding 2005). However, to some in society this is a positive attribute being added to the judicial system and to others (especially law enforcement personnel) it is neglecting the proper way to control and combat crime as there are those in the judicial system that still feel severe punishments are justifiable for certain criminal actions and therefore should be continued in order to properly control crime (Goulding 2005). Nevertheless, restorative justice does have its benefits and it is effectively being used to try and determine what rehabilitative treatment methods are best for preventing offenders from repeating their criminal behavior patterns in society. Also, in regards to punishment and treatment, restorative justice has the offender become a participant in these decisions. The offender is allowed to voice what treatment and punishment that they feel would be the best solution and penalty for their criminal actions. Researchers are defining this as a positive characteristic of this form of justice because there have been hints that allowing the offender to be a part of the justice process in a more active manner can increase the statistics that they will not continue their actions in a repetitive pattern but will rather conform to societal rules depicted by the legal process (Goulding 2005).

Safety Incentive Program Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Safety Incentive Program - Research Paper Example The researcher states that there has been a recent scrutiny and analysis of safety programs in organizations by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration in order to ascertain their effectiveness in the organizations. Many previous studies on safety incentive programs emphasized the undependable and anecdotal evidence that assesses the advantages and disadvantages of applying incentives on safety programs. The long-term impact of the safety incentive program on the construction of safety in the intervention period has remained hesitant. In general, safety incentive program aims to reduce the losses of the organizations resulting from the work injuries and accidents. Reducing occupational accidents, injury incidents and work down through rewards and application of incentive on safety program archetypical concern in many organizations. In the process of setting the goals, every single employee is involved especially the top management as a safety incentive program is all-inclusive. It is a moral boost to have every particular employee at the same level. All workers therefore need to be motivated to get involved by providing ideas or rewarding employees who identifies safety hazards. Safety incentive program that are considered effective outlines achievable goals, objectives, and assigns responsibility and obligations to employees and management, and implements the safety program goals. In the determination of safety program goals, much focus and emphasis is put where the occupational accidents and work injuries are taking place. Again, the work time lost due to the injuries in the workplace is intensely analyzed. Through doing this, focus areas are identified and required backgrounds are determined so as to set reasonable objectives that will lead to the accomplishment of the safety incentive goals.

Graphic Design of the 20 th Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Graphic Design of the 20 th Century - Essay Example By medieval times, the symbols within the great churches communicated meaning to the largely illiterate citizenry regarding their religion and the lessons to be learned from the Bible. It was graphics rather than words that typically called attention to a place of business within the towns and villages with names such as the â€Å"Boar’s Head† saloon and the â€Å"Red Lion† Inn. This use of symbols to provide a quick and easy message to customers can still be seen in use today, although now refined in keeping with its more sophisticated audience, as company logos. For most who study the development of graphic design, though, the typical starting point begins with the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1860s and the Art Nouveau movement of the 1890s. To get a feel for the evolution of graphic communication, one must therefore trace the movements, events, people, places and technological innovations that have influenced its development. The start of the Arts and Crafts Movement is generally attributed to William Morris in response to the ever-encroaching identical sameness of the machine-made objects churned out during the Industrial Revolution. â€Å"Not only art but also everyday objects, buildings, dà ©cor, everything lacked a face, and it was the realization of its lack in this particular respect which began to make the period so cruelly conscious of its anonymity† (Cassau, 19). In everything they did, crafters working under its influence placed value in art created by hand for limited edition prints such as the highly scrolled first page of â€Å"The Nature of Gothic,† designed and printed by William Morris. This movement naturally evolved into the Art Nouveau movement of the 1880s and 1890s. Rather than repeatedly reinventing the ideals of their ancestors, these crafters wanted to develop a new style, one that emphasized ornament and the curving, flowing lines of nature. Using

Importance of Software Quality and methods for assessment Essay

Importance of Software Quality and methods for assessment - Essay Example The above stated definitions are preliminary and important from different perspectives; even if they share the related essence. The clear understanding of customer needs by software products by means of operating requirements. No doubt, the software quality directly affects the operation as well as maintenance of software; however the question of how to impartially and scientifically assess software quality is turning out be a hot spot in field of software engineering. Software quality evaluation requires a lot of dedicated tasks which are really essential to be performed during software life cycle and it also provides a standard for evaluating software quality that is generally applied and maintained throughout software development procedures and practices. During the entire process of software quality assurances to get the utmost quality and performance we have to persistently found software quality throughout techniques and measures of software development. In the present situatio n, we are required to disclose current status of the software, provide effective and best possible means for buyer, developer and evaluator and thereafter foresee follow-up development trend of software quality (Bawane & Srikrishna, 2008; Aimin & Wenxiang, 2009; Mohanty, 1979).In this section I will highlight some of the main views of the software quality assurance from the perspectives of different industries. So in this analysis we will be determining some of the main characteristics of software quality assurance from the viewpoint of several stakeholders.

How does having dyslexia impact on further education Essay

How does having dyslexia impact on further education - Essay Example It affects the choice of subjects in further learning. Though it is a major problem impacting on performance, students can be assisted through mentorship and other exercises that improve their language, coordination and organizational skills. Dyslexia is a term that refers to difficulties in learning, which is usually manifest in students while they try to pronounce or spell particular words in the course of learning. These are the major characteristics amongst many other aspects that can help in identifying a student with the problem. Research indicates that the problem is associated with the brain’s capacity to interpret verbal or written language. Students usually experience problems in schools and may not perform well in particular subjects or in all of them (Jamieson and Morgan 2007 p. 78). Intellectually, the dyslexic student is usually competent. Learning is the only situation where they fail to compete effectively with the rest of the students. Dyslexic students usually get upset leading to withdrawal and problems with their behavior, especially due to lack of self esteem and confidence. Their persistent difficulty in learning generates the feeling that they are unable to excel in life. This is because the society highly values the ability to learn, and attaching it to great prospects of a student in future. It can affect even the students whose performance in other activities is good. The problem can persist to adulthood. In the institutions of higher learning, it is usually a major problem since the content of education increases, and this requires high learning capabilities in order to accomplish the objectives of education and career choice (Ammon and Levin 1993 pp. 68-71). The aim of this research is to establish the impact of dyslexia on further education. In the teaching profession, it is important to understand dyslexia in order to develop the ability to identify dyslexic students, and be able to help them overcome

McDonald's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

McDonald's - Essay Example He played role for the two brothers of purchasing the chain of their company’s production and his efforts oversaw the company’s global growth. The company is currently the largest producer of fast foods in United States and u can find its products in approximately hundred and twenty countries (Mieth 2007, p. 95). The executive organizational departments of McDonald’s are as follows: the top leaders of the company are chief executive officer and chairperson, and COO (Chief Operating Officer). Under these leaders, there several departments, which are broken into: marketing, corporation affairs, human resources, regional managers, national operations, information technology, finance, and strategic planning (Kincheloe 2002, p. 45). There are also other functional departments in the company, which include franchising, customer services, hygiene, security, property and construction, safety, restaurant services, and supply chain. The company has a multi-department organizational structure; the CEO is the leader of the company with board of directors. The company’s board of directors consists of thirteen members, with whom eleven are directors. The CEO is the head of the company and manages the other departments in the company, which include operations, finance, franchising, and human resource departments. McDonald’s serves in the restaurant sector industry and its name is famous in the world. The main products of the company are fries, burgers, as well as soft drinks. The company also offers chicken, desserts, milkshakes, French fries, cheeseburgers, and breakfast foods (Kincheloe 2002, p. 48). In addition, due to the expanding needs of McDonald’s customers, the management has also decide to expand its menu including other items such as fish, smoothies, wraps, fruits,/ and salads. Most customers prefer the company using some big names such as Quarter Pounder, Big Mac, Egg Mc Muffin, Filet

Security Requirements & Possible Risks Essay Example for Free

Security Requirements Possible Risks Essay Huffman Trucking, an established trucking company since 1936, has recently requested the implementation of a new Benefits Elections System to assist management in tracking and reporting the benefits of both union and non-union employees. A database system will be utilized to store critical data such as employee information, along with the benefit package of their choosing. Storing such information requires necessary security measures to be in place to ensure the total protection of the data within. The risks associated with storing critical information must also be thoroughly addressed so Huffman Trucking can develop effective action plans to prevent potential threats from harming the organization. Regardless of the storage method when handling critical information, security measures must be implemented to effectively protect the data, as well as the company assets from potential threats such as theft or litigation. Security Requirements When it comes to effectively protecting company data, any organization has the great responsibility to identify as well as implement security policies, values, strategies, processes, procedures, and best practices to fully ensure data protection, as well as ensure that organizational goals and objectives are continually being met (Reiner, 2008). The information that will be stored within the Huffman Trucking database will include: employee names, social security numbers, birthdates, etc. The loss of such data can ultimately not only harm the employee, but the organization as a whole. In an effort to reduce and/or eliminate such risks, security requirements for the Benefits Elections System should include: firewall security, encryption, and password protection and renewal. Firewall security is an absolute necessary security requirement to effectively protect the database from malicious attacks such as hackers. Firewall security refers to a network device that will block certain types of network traffic, forming a barricade between a trusted and an untrusted network (â€Å"Dell†, 2013). The purpose of this security measure is to prevent the spread of computer attacks by blocking access to information from unauthorized sources. Due to the amount of sensitive data that will be stored within the system, it is recommended that the firewalls should be configured to support the default-deny policy, in which the allowed network services are listed, and everything else is denied (â€Å"Dell†, 2013). The use of encryption will also enhance the security of the information that will be stored within the Benefits Elections System. Encryption is a simple security measure that will distort the information contained within an employee file so that it can be viewed only by the authorized users who have the proper encryption key to decipher it. Much like firewall security, it will block unauthorized users from accessing confidential information by making the data impossible to view. Password protection and renewal are crucial security measures that must be enforced by Huffman Trucking to ensure the protection of data stored within the Benefits Elections System. Authorized users should protect their passwords at all costs; unprotected passwords leave critical data vulnerable to access by unauthorized users. Recommendations to ensure a password is protected include: * Password length: A password should always be at least eight characters long. * Complexity: Make a password as complex as possible by using a variety of letters, numbers, symbols and punctuations. The more complex the password, the better protected it is. * Variation: Change a password at least every three months, if not more. * Variety: Use different passwords for different accounts. Never use the same password for everything. * Confidentiality: Never share or write down a password. Writing down or sharing a password leaves critical data vulnerable in ways that most people can never imagine. The ability of an organization to renew passwords frequently is a significant step towards enhanced data protection (Brown, 2010). To enhance the effectiveness of password renewal, system users should not have the ability to use previous passwords when renewing the current ones. Implementing password renewal on the Benefits Elections System will ensure security measures are continually enforced, especially in the event that if an unauthorized user were to gain access to the system, the password would only be good for a specific length of time before it will be changed. Possible Risks â€Å"Risk† is a term that most people, as well as organizations, are familiar with. Risk can be defined as the probability of any possible threat turning into a disaster, which is why significant measures are often taken to reduce and/or eliminate such possibilities. By utilizing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), Huffman Trucking can effectively determine the vulnerabilities associated with implementing a Benefits Elections System, and develop action plans to correct the vulnerabilities to prevent the risks from becoming reality. Several risks are often associated with the implementation of a new system, however, the main risks that must be considered by Huffman Trucking include: database corruption, human error, and hacking and other malicious attacks. Database corruption is likely the most common cause of data loss within an information system (Mulvey, 2006). Database corruption damages the database and impairs functionality. Memory errors, network errors, power glitches, PC crashing when the database is open are all examples of incidences that can lead to database corruption. Data corruption is unfortunately inevitable; however, there are several practices that can be done to avoid such a threat. These practices include, but are not limited to: * Ensuring the network is set up properly. * Running Scandisk and Defrag often to ensure hard disk functionality. * Refraining from using databases during thunderstorms to avoid power glitches. * Ensuring the database is implemented correctly, and is ready to be utilized by all system users. Human error is perhaps one of the biggest threats that can lead to data corruption. It is important to keep in mind that the greater the number of system users of the Benefits Elections System, the more chances there are for crucial information to be leaked or mishandled. Taking the proper precautions to safeguard the data (this should include a thorough training after system implementation) to ensure the information is appropriately handled at all times is vital to the well-being of both the employees, as well as the organization. Given the amount of sensitive information that will be stored within the Benefits Elections System, it is obvious that Huffman Trucking must be aware that cyber-criminals will try to gain access to such data should it be left unprotected. Breaking into information systems for malicious intent is something that has made security what it is today: thorough and inflexible. Hackers are smart nowadays; they can make use of a number of tools and techniques to grant them access to information, which can have damaging effects on the victim(s). The possibilities of what a cyber-criminal will do once he or she has access to sensitive information are endless; however, one thing is for sure: the victim(s) could virtually lose everything. Without the proper security measures that were previously mentioned in place, the Benefits Elections System will be vulnerable to hackers and other malicious attacks. Thoroughly examining the potential risks with the implementation of any information system will allow an organization to effectively develop action plans and enforce the necessary security measures required to reduce and/or eliminate such risks. A thorough and effective risk analysis will demonstrate how firewall security, encryption, and password protection can reduce the risks of database corruption and malicious attacks. Like any information system, the Benefits Elections System will prove to be vulnerable to potential threats if not protected at all costs. References Brown, T. (2010). Protecting Organizations’ Most Critical Data with Privileged Password Management. New York, NY: Auerbach Publications . Dell. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.secureworks.com/resources/articles/other_articles/firewall-security/ Mulvey, A. (2006). QA Database Corruption. Retrieved from

How To Revive Ijtihad And Reopen Closed Doors Religion Essay

How To Revive Ijtihad And Reopen Closed Doors Religion Essay This third chapter is to seek what caused stagnation in Ijtihad, than find answers for how to possibly revive and initiate a Revolutionary Contemporary Ijtihad? It looks also at its common misconceptions and finally cites the newly existing subjects; which need an urgent attention from current mujtahids. What Caused Stagnation In Ijtihad? Current Ijtihad is severely suffering crisis of thought and lack of prospective. Ijtihad à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦began to be viewed as limited to legal matters, rather than as methodology for dealing with all aspects of life. (Al-Alwani, 2005, p.65). And even the broad judicial matters that relate to methodology of all aspects of life become narrowed and confined into few legal matters. This limitation made Ijtihad to become more duplicate and unable to prompt solutions, or meet the current challenges. The causes of stagnation are actually at multiple levels; political, social, moral, but the most important for this project is that related to intellect of mujtahids and Ijtihad itself. The methods of reading and interpreting the Islamic heritage itself also suffered from serious lapsesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦reflected in doctrinal splits, political and intellectual muddles. (Tamimi Esposito, 2002, p. 153). There are serious debates and criticism that the Contemporary Ijtihad school has been initiated to oppose the orthodox schools which strictly adheres to Al-Shafi orthodox formulation of the principles of shariah Law, and criticise the Abbasids political coercion of what existed of Ijtihad outside the sphere of the four officially adopted Sunni schools of thought. These debates and criticism reveal the unbridgeable chasm between the adherents of classical schools and some modernist tendencies to seek  more flexible and liberal approach to Ijtihad. People seeking knowledge were thus caught between following alien contemporary thought or sticking to old traditional ways of thinking (Al-Alwani, 2005, p. 1). The core of dispute appears to be about the role and function of Prophetic Sunnah/ Hadith, in the equation of Ijtihad; bedsides to the revering grade of secondary sources such as; consensus, analogy, and Shafi principles! A healthy process of Ijtihad should seek continually for the best way to improve its ways and contemplate on what cause stagnation; rejection of each-others, chronic sectarianism, political oppression, social injustices, economic slowdown and nesting fanaticism. Regrettably  these negativities are even aggravating and running out of control; the Muslim nation lives in turbulence; Palestinian lands are still occupied, imperialist west and sectarian wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somali, Sudanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Muslims are turning against each others, dictatorships flourishing The tricky problem is what caused stagnation in the first place? Imam Shafi as the other early Muslim jurists set the foundation of Muslim classical jurisprudence principles; in order to wipe out the prevailing confusion and bring unity to the Muslims. In theory, Shafii distinguished simply between the argument taken from traditions and the results of systematic thoughtShafii created the usul alfiqh. (Semerdjian, 2008, p.16) He introduced the grade of precedence for the compiled testimonial Based-Hadith of the Prophet as well as the secondary conjectural sources of consensus, analogy, and logical jurisprudential principles, then empowered them to become as revered as the Quranic teachings. He might have a noble intention seeking Muslim unity, but his method is for sure erroneous; as his formulation of principles surely proved not always to be bright. He must have caused a significant problem for every generation, as creativity has stayed confined for over a millennium! The fear of traditionalist that theological debates may create havoc and uncertainty is groundless; as there is already a great deal of havoc and uncertainty because of the accumulated Ijtihad methods and absolute policies. The traditionalist school has to defend its position in free open theological debates, on the base of Quranic teachings that human are able to rationalise for themselves; as it is baseless to claim that such debated matters have already been argued and resolved along before. To advance positively the civilization; every generation need to revise and sift its heritage by retaining the good facets and discarding the bad ones. Within the shariah spheres; the theological debates have to be liberated again from Shafis traditional-blockade. There is prevailing concurrence asserts that the Muslim-thought continued to thrive luminously for three centuries after the Prophets death, introducing such top-calibre historian such as al-Tabari, mathematician such as Al-Khawarizmi, astronomer such as al-Battani, physicist such as Al-Biruni, and many others.  (Said Khan, 1996, p.44). The orthodox school with its anti-evolutionary and absolutist attitude is still the major obstacle for the modern school to re-conquest the Ijtihads territories that was owned once, in the early centuries! This liberal modernist relativist attitude does not wide-open the doors for revolutionary Ijtihad; it is just an add-on tension to the conflict where orthodox Muslims have sporadically labelled them as non-believers and issued death-religious-edicts against them! It will be better to have comprehensive outlook  where absolutism and relativism coexist and cooperate rather as a pair.   One of the key problems challenging the Muslim nation now is frequently swamped in nostalgia for long-ago glories and confined into the past customary approaches of Ijtihad. The hard-hitting equation that the past Muslim scholars paved the way for Western notions of reason which tended to be sophisticatedly categorised for example Western critique of reason is outstandingly segmented into various types of reasoning: critical reason, functional reason, instrumental reason, imperialist reason, abstract reasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ While the Muslim scholars of Ijtihad are still oblivious which definition should be given to reason whether analogical or consensualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of seriously looking how to revive their Ijtihad and enriching it with the new scientific achievements! 02. How to Revive Ijtihad? The classical mujtahids in naÃÆ' ¯ve attempt to establish a uniting universal rules to solve the legislative problems of their time; they ended in abating the Ummah intellectual powers. A proper Ijtihad would not be initiated unless the call to Ijtihad becomes widespread intellectual (Al-Alwani, 1993a, p.234); emancipated from the existing traditional schools of thought while its religious institutions independent from the manoeuvring of political regimes.   What the Muslim Ummah should bear in mind; without the mean of Ijtihad; it will never rise to the Muslims inspiration, solve their problems, and earn a respectful place in the current world! Regarding the question of who is eligible to practice Ijtihad, Allah endowed every human with the right to reason for himself; it would be absurd to claim that access to reasoning in Muslim Ummah is the exclusive right of a few qualified? Ijtihad is not only open to the ones who displays moral excellence of piety and equity, further attained a high status in Arabic linguistics and branches of jurisprudence; deep understanding of the fundamentals of the original sources and Islamic historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In fact, every Muslim has the full right to engage in creative and scientific reasoning, as he should not allow Ijtihad to be hijacked by legal scope, a political authority or handful of male jurists, whose Ijtihad achievement is private and suspending female and collective contributions?   Ijtihad should now confront, in Muslim societies, the reality of current circumstances and variations; which urge a serious study of the Muslim societal needs and aspirations for social justice, freedom of expression, economic prosperity,  and moral governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Hence, the required Ijtihad should be revolutionary and make the present-world patent in the light of Islam not rather Islam interpreted in the shade of the present-world as it is reflected indirectly in the tendencies and forms of liberal contemporary Ijtihad. 03. Revolutionary Contemporary Ijtihad: To escape this long lasting vicious circle, the Muslims should think outside the models of past Ijtihad! By going back to the simple basic Quranic precepts such as Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining the good (Al-Marà »f) and forbidding the wrong (Al-Munkar). And it is they who are the successful. (Quran, 3:104) You (Muslims), the best nation ever raised up to mankind commanding the right, warding off the mischief and believing in Allah. (Quran, 3:110) yet, so simple, but religious theologians mystified them by their inconsistent and idiotic offers such as Muslim would get blessing from Quranic recitals even if he might not grasp a word of what he recites; simultaneously, Muslims should not attempt to comprehend the Quran as it is beyond their comprehensions; in actual fact distancing the Muslims from the essence of Islamic message-the actual Quran itself. How it comes that the Sunni traditionalists have claimed for more revered secondary sources because the Quran for them contains finite rulings; whereas Allah himself certified in his Book that is complete: All the creatures on earth and all the birds that fly with wings are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this scripture, to their Lord; all these creatures will be summoned.(Quran, 6:38). The Quran offers great comprehensive teachings and a right life-guidance to all mankind; as its moral aspects are potently reflected in the successful model of all Allahs Prophets and His last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon all of them). Onceas a source of Muslim creativity the proper theological debates and proper Quranic teachings are liberated, then Ijtihad as rationale and method will automatically rehabilitate and the creative intellectual activity will mechanically flow. On the basis of the universal dogma taught in the Quran; the contemporary Ijtihad should take two principal forms: the practical and the theoretical, In spite of the preservation about philosophy because of 12th century Ghazzalis eminent philosophy-refutation. Muslim societies should allow and encourage the Critical philosophical thinking for inquisitive thought according to the Quranic teachings. While the practical form of Ijtihad should not be just confined in rituals and the dichotomy of what is permissible and not permissible; it has rather to be bravely involved in all levels of legislations at the fields of politics, economics, and social life. Similarly the academic credentials should not be equalised to stern thought or an apprehension for society. Figure.05 summarises what contemporary Ijtihad, in my view, should encompass to stir a revolutionary move towards a fruitful Ijtihad?   All other sciences Challenge/ traditions Primary -Quran Imaginative impulse Qua creative Analogical/ legal Both genders Collective/ communal Consultative/ expertise Figure.05 The Essential Possible Components of revolutionary Ijtihad What Revolutionary Ijtihad should encompass! THE ENTITLED SEVERAL SOURCES CONSULTATIVE APPROACH THE SCOPE SPHERES Sciences Sphere Politico-Societal sphere Religious Sphere TOOLS of RATIONALE/ Rational inquiry Rational Criticism Theological debates In short, the Algerian scholar Malik   Bennabi in his book Les Conditions de la Renaissance (1948) has brought up, the foremost independence; is the mind independence from the lasting effects of both traditional Ijtihad tenets and Western colonialism which nurtured the Muslim feelings with inferiorities and shaped Muslim-mind with fluctuated ideologies. To realise this mind independency, the very basic concept of monotheism (tawhid) should be restored to its origins that a Muslim fears and bows only to Allah, all human are free intellectually and socially equal. From here He would seek and follow what Allah has already defined in His own words as the right-path, this is, in fact, the most significance step towards Ijtihad revival far from misconceptions of the Western influence and classical Ijtihad. 4. Misconceptions in Ijtihad: The aforementioned views concerning current Ijtihad are due to some key misconceptions that have slithered into mujtahids mindset: some scholars state that the Ijtihad-doors are closed because the early scholars have discussed every issue and settle it; simultaneously to practice Ijtihad you need to have the knowledge of one of those leading scholars such as Shafi; the scope of Ijtihad include only definite matters as shariah rule. Ijtihad is the field of only selected elite and only allowed in the absence of clear textà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ijtihad is not a private privilege of some religious or scholarly elite as it does not occurs only in legal areas; therefore Islamic evidences have to be discussed directly upon any novel issues. Ijtihad should be open for private and collective mujtahids based on autonomous ground; as it should cover all areas of a Muslim-life. Ijtihad is also an individual obligation of every Muslimwhether man or women with sound rationale to be involved in the contemporary Ijtihad that can reflect on different old and new subjects. 5. New subjects for Ijtihad: The subjects of Ijtihad are as multiple as the spheres of life; as well as its scope are so-broad and unlimited. Ijtihad subjects might envelop all simultaneous matters of a Muslim-life while its scope might encompass all matters that hold the Muslims interests. Indeed, Islam deals with all life-aspects and covers all human situations. It is therefore not true that Ijtihad should not stipulate upon the complex and far-attaining subjects which need now to be examined and investigated. 1. The mission statement of modern Ijtihad is to spread and imply the creator message of mercy and wisdom to benefit the whole mankind and globe, Islam hence as divine message is global and not monopole of tribe, race, or particular society in particular land. Message of Islam embeds a humanitarian and global spirit; Muslims therefore should reinterpret the classical narrow outlook to divide the world into what is world of Islam and what is world of no-Islam. Emphasis should be placed on responsible citizenship for the whole mankind in the whole globe with all its add-on aspects of other creatures and environments 2. Shariah objectives should be more explored; as its scope in the Quran go beyond the five universal tenets introduced by Al-Shatibiprotection of faith, intellect, life, property, and lineage to safeguarding morality and freedom, prevailing peace and mercy, establishing social justice and order, and protecting peoples stability and interests in all events. Hence; every Ijtihad should observe synchronically ihsan in all the shariah objectives whether universal or conventional; simultaneously eliminate their paradoxes of mental and physical servitude, tyranny, injustice, cruelty, disorder, immorality and harm. The modern Ijtihad should indeed preserve and observe the Shariah objectives and Shariah constitutes. 3. Political and social realities of Modern life have generated about countless and complex problems in the Islamic societies. Following this comprehensive broadened approach necessitates that the contemporary Ijtihads fields and scope should cover all the spheres of what the Muslim-life noticeably occupies and should not stay confined in the jurisprudential notions and their terminological implications; or confined into legal matters in the proficient notions, but they should also cover political, economic, social, administrative, medical, educational, scientific and circumstantial aspects plus any aspect associated in time with the Muslim society. 4. Islamic Economics today need radical U-turn to procure creatively novel Islamic economic theories fully binding to the Quranic ethical guidelines and far away from adaptation to western fluctuated secular economic theories and also far away from reconciling tendencies on the expenses of Islamic Shariah equitable aims. Indeed without denying the due process that incorporates modern elements of the existing economic theories. What cause the Muslim world impoverishment and how can it be altered? How could Muslims build correlation with world economics without compromising their equitable principles of Islam? 5. Muslims today are confronting many new issues that require urgently attention to be inferred such as: The role and rights of women in Islam has to be reconsidered carefully by examining the original scripture-the Quran. The Sunnis and Shiites doctrinal gap and that one existing in between various Islamic schools of thought need a well-devised system to promote similarities and eliminate prejudices; why not dissolve the sectarian spirit among Muslims through spreading tolerance and dialogue. 6. How to create a Unity among Muslim states despite their contingent differences, at the same time how to form Islamic political authority systematically without being subject to influence by the historically formulated Islamic political systems after the demise of the Prophet, and even far from the western doctrine of democracy. How can Muslim states collaborate together and how to create preliminary unity among Muslim states? How to create proper Ethical-based Islamic governmental system that could become even a model to promote democratic systems in the whole world. 7. Modern Ijtihad should look for better concept of formulating treaties whether among the Muslim or across the other humanitarian societies, in a way it preserves the universal ethics and looks for conventional grounds to manage conflicts and clash between mankind societies. Proper Islamic Ijtihad should be used to guide Muslims and to act as model for none Muslims. 8. Ijtihad should inevitably foster a better communication for mutual relations with people of diverse faiths and cultures to promote positive dialogue and peace among various groups and nations around the globe instead of encouraging the impression of a clash across cultures and civilizations. Conclusion: If the current Ijtihad remains unclear and our thinkers stay still captive to that restrictions imposed upon Muslims a long time ago; leaving them with a lot of misconceptions and little room for creative and incentive free thought; there would be never any change in the Muslim Ummah situation: Thus, Allah does not change the condition of any people unless they themselves make the decision to change. If Allah wills any hardship for any people, no force can impede it; for they have none beside Him as Lord and Master. (Quran, 13:11) Hence, all stratums of Muslim-societies regardless to their gender and sect; religious jurists and academic scholars should project mutual sincerity, tolerance, openness, and dialogue to make a change and build a fruitful Ijtihad with a greater Muslim world to represent the Muslim nation with an ideal-image of Islam; work also hand in hand to find an alternative approach for more effective creative Ijtihad which can cope with our current piling-up problems! Chapter IV: Is there any alternative approach to new effective Ijtihad? Introduction: This last chapter is devoted to seek for an alternative approach to Ijtihad where creative impulse and the faculty of imagination are employed to broaden the scope of Ijtihad beyond the narrow legal compass to include all the other subjects of modern life. Then it looks for the suitability of each type of Ijtihad, by pointing out the key points that risen a dispute among Sunnis and Shiite regarding opinionative Ijtihad, and what type of Ijtihad should be forbidden for mujtahids to engage in. Islamic Ijtihad is the sole legitimate device for intellectual rationale within the house of Islam; historically tracing its developments reveals three different modes: for Muslim Ijtihad as a interpretive and legislative tool, a type of technical reasoning for jurists; while for common Muslims Ijtihad was a creative and imaginative impulse. Muslim scholars are still speculative and imprecise about Ijtihad nature and generally the Ijtihad term implies either to an interpretive approach or legal analogical reasoning. Unlike the privileged jurists who knowledgably practiced their Ijtihad technicalities in their private auspices; ordinary Muslims before the nine century employed their initiative, imaginative and creative impulse to practice Ijtihad in their day-to-day life and environment to meet their life necessities within the framework of their Islamic set of beliefs, ethics, and Quranic notions. An Alternative Approach: Qua Creative and Imaginative Impulse: 1. An Alternative Approach: Creative Impulse The contemporary Iranian sociologist, Dr. Ali Shariati suggests an alternative approach to Ijtihad i.e creative impulse and imagination (Ibrahim, 2008, P.188); essentially to emancipate Muslim prospects and construct a new world that would stimulate the Islamic civilization to flourish. Earlier Muslim thinkers of the second period of the nineteenth centuries initiated such a trend of thinking, unfortunately such a refreshing wave was suffocated by the reputed jurists of the time; because for them it might create among the Muslims confusion and disunity which were already swamping the nation. In realty, they did not like the very idea of Ijtihad as creative` and imaginative impulse; because they were captives of classical technical Ijtihad; they also perceived this movement as a threat to their social status and even to their source of revenues. For example the Quran has a great creative impulse as inspiring force behind the birth of the flourishing sciences at a time when Muslim began reflecting on Quranic notions and its inductive reasoning. The dynamic notions of creation and universe in the Quran stirred evolutionary movements; the Quran knowledge also constitute of historical notions that urged its readers to rethink the cited experience of mankind in the Quran à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc Then in so being, by the fourteenth century, a new trend of theological, mathematic, scientific, astronomic and philosophical inquiries were initiated. Sadly this legacy did not last for long, and then the qua creative of Islamic thought endured rapid decline as a result of internal Muslim-turbulences such as the occurrence of rational conservatism Muslims, sectarian storms; sciences declined rapidly while more stiff theory of Ijtihad rulings and narrower prospectus prevailed. The door for Ijtihad was closed and never opened again? Any attempts to free qua creative of Islamic thought -have been tainted by the orthodox and dogmatic radical trends with cynicism kufr and innovations bidah up till now. It seems that the application of Ijtihad that was approved by the Prophet is qua creative thinking as he did not restrain it by methodology; similarly although there is no explicit Quranic text on Ijtihad, the Quranic plea to sensible enquiry and thinking is also not attached by certain attitude of Ijtihad. Hence, it becomes so clear that the Prophet, peace be upon him, also considered Ijtihad as a creative impulse rather than technical and legal reasoning which later was developed in affluence. Alas, the methodology of Ijtihad has been encapsulated in the scope of principle of jurisprudences while they are themselves an artefact of Ijtihad. In the course of time; this methodology has been dramatically shaped by several factors; such as sectarianism, political atmosphere of monarchic caliphate, figurative thought such as analogy (qiyas) and clustered accord such as consensus; and so resulted into an unpleasant cost for Ijtihad. It ludicrously imposes restrictions on thinking by construed culture and untouchable traditions; alternatively, free imaginative and creative reasoning would be enhanced and orientated with an ethical and innate Islamic approach of regulations. 2. An Alternative Approach: Imaginative Thinking to Ijtihad: Imaginative insight is not yet encapsulated by procedures and definitions framework of Ijtihad; Quran seems to provide symbols and markers of the unique thinking attribute such as innateness, imagination, and constructive criticism which inspire quite often the creative mind for new ingenious ideas. The thinking is one of the greatest Creators gifts and sign of His creation that can fit as divine example of Gods power of creation. The imaginative thinking of bien-fait mind of a Muslim thinker can be also glistened by sources and tainted by cultural and religious influence, it is therefore to be explored and explained adequately to avoid being trapped in its deceptive prospects! For instance, imagination is required to grasp the essence of these Sunnis Prophetic statements upheld in a famous hadith in which the Prophet instructed Pursue knowledge even to China, for its pursuance is the sacred duty of every Muslim. ( Al-Bukhari , V. 4, p.357} and in a further hadith explained that wisdom was the lost property of the believer; he was permitted to it wherever he found it. (Al-Tirmidhi, v.1, p.245) Hence, wisdom and knowledge must, therefore have been the ultimate achievements of human marvellous and creative thinking. The outcomes of creative thinking are often experienced in global spirituality and far beyond geographical settings or physical objects. Hopefully those sages of Muslim societies wisely adopt an imaginative thinking in their agendas of deliberations to inspire them into the genuine visions; caused them to narrow the remoteness and division between the intellect and the culture; commit themselves to better serving human fraternity, solidarity and g lobal civilization. Furthermore; Quranic verse which states that Good and evil cannot be equalised. Repel evil with goodness; those who are foes become your best friends. (Quran, 41:34), incite you to envisage a different future, reasoning on this verse without using imagination does not help to get near its essence. So imagination is here an input to a better future, it is also the input to a fine society. Imaginative Ijtihad must cooperate with legal reasoning without being hampered by it. Imaginative and creative Ijtihad should be therefore adopted by mujtahids to practice true Ijtihad, which cannot be a true Ijtihad unless scholars are free to express their opinions and others are free to criticize them if they make errors. (Smock, 2004, p.4) Novelty and success of Muslim nation necessitates the absolute involvement of the average Muslims in practice of a creative impulse Ijtihad to unravel their every day dilemmas. The Rationale is not the only legitimate way to revelation, theological debates should be also left open to average Muslims to express their alternate notions of reality within the given sense of human innateness, which enables them to morally sense what is right and what is wrong. Performing Ijtihad as imaginative impulse, creative thinking or legal reasoning accrues potential dangers that of being confined in the retrains of the past Ijtihad. For example although few Muslim scholars had attempted to ban slavery such as the Algerian scholar Ahmed b. Yahya al-Wansharisi whose famous fatwa described slavery as a humiliation and a servitude caused by previous or current unbelief, and having its purpose as to discourage unbelief(Clearence-Smith, 2006, p.28); most traditional scholars have failed to prohibit slavery, neglecting the essential universal Quranic teachings of human social-equality; since the slavery practice had always subsisted, the scholars were letdown by their poorer imagination and subdued them from accomplishing an insight-change as they could not imagine a world free of slaves, so-many Muslim scholars rather hold on the opinionative Ijtihad of there is nothing wrong with maintaining the evil institutions of slavery up-till- now! Dispute over Opinionative Ijtihad: Verily, the Muslim Shiites and Sunnis opinions are clashingly divided on the issue of what kind of Ijtihad is forbidden in Islam! Unlike fiqh Al-ather narrative based hadith approach to Ijtihad-that thrived in Shiite Jafari, Sunnis Malliki and Hanbali schools, fiqh alray developed in Iraq as (jurisprudence based on personal analogical efforts; This trend, which early on crystallized in the Hanafi School, fostered reasoning by analogy (Qiyas or Ijtihad Alray) and juridical preference (Istihsan). (Crow, 2005, p. 12). But how each school envisaged the trend of Ijtihad is a contradictory problem? This sort of Ijtihad is forbidden according to Shiite Islam and Hanbali School while it is permitted in other Sunni schools and considered as valid proof as Quran and Sunnah in determining Shariah rulings; believing that the Islamic rulings available in Quran and Sunnah are finite and limited while situations and actions are not. They therefore ruled out in the cases which had no ruling by divine text, the mujtahids must exercise his personal thinking to derive a new ruling. This permission has been grounded on some narrated ahadith from the Prophet and the most famous one is the Prophets hadith when he sent to Yemen, the companion Muadh Ibn Jabal, he question him on how he would issue rulings there. He replied: In compliance with the Book. And if it is not in the book? I will exercise the Sunnah of the Prophet. And if it is not in the Sunnah of the Prophet? I will exercise my own opinion (Ajtahidu ra yi) he replied. (Abu Dawud, V.3, p. 303) In fact, Sunni Muslims differ on what is Ijtihad al-ray and how is going to be envisaged as binding testimony in shariah? Al-Shafi`i maintains that the sole valid Ijtihad is qiyas. Nevertheless some other Sunni jurists see beside qyias as Ijtihad alray; finding judicial preference istihsan by jurists personal deliberations in quite independent cases on the base of justice and truth. Similarly with public-interest istislah as weighing one thing as more convenient than another some others counted too as an add-on in opinionative Ijtihad besides to the principles of jurisprudence. (Coulson, 1964, p. 53-64) In contrast; the Shiite Islam believes, that Quran and Sunnah are complete and adequate; it therefore rejects and prohibits both Ijtihad alra y, especially analogy. Shiite Jurists back up their view with so many relevant Quranic verses and ahadith from their Imams and reject the very idea of revering qyias as absolute; because it is a type of conjecture and misleading methodology that can generate various errors. Despite their anti-qiyas attitude, they anonymously adopted the aspects of the principle of jurisprudence. The right of such Ijtihad proved the Sunnis wrong in practice; if everyone is allowed to exercise and revere his own interpretive opinion, and then Islam as religion would be distorted. It might have been for this reason that the validity of independent Ijtihad was gradually cancelled by instructing Sunni mujtahids to exercise taqlid of the four Sunnis famous schools of thought, in the absence of the Abbasid political impulsion. Nevertheless, Ijtihad should not be left hijacked by classical sectarian schools fundamentals and special elite of Muslim scholars whether in Shiites or Sunnis, then what kind of Ijtihad should be forbidden in Islam? 4. The kind of forbidden Ijtihad: Whether is the narrow legal definition of Ijtihad as a struggle of intellectual process to interpret primary sources and derive rulings;

Gender Construction of Roles and Social Learning Theory

Gender Construction of Roles and Social Learning Theory Contextualizing- Gender and Social Background to the Private and Public livelihoods of African women in the Diaspora (Case study -Gothenburg, Sweden). Introduction People in every community are ascribed to gendered attributes that shape and impact their life styles. Darly and Rake (2003) contend that such gendered attributes involve sex relations encompassing resources, social roles and power relations. Hence, the perception and doing of gender is very subjective and much so inferred according to social contexts and history (Gruber and Stefanov, 2002). The implication here is that the significance and consequence of gender construction and the way it is practiced is discrete upon background and contextual factors. The baffle often comes when individuals and groups of people settle on willful or involuntary choices to relocate to new places that have distinctive gender constructions and practices. How are they likely to cope; are their interpretations likely to change and embrace new ones-thereby turning out to be totally transformed? Would their gender norms be inflexibly maintained? Or would people consolidate and get lost between different cu ltures? Gendered research into migration demonstrates that migrant women (particularly those who originate from the developing world) as a rule experience troubles grappling with their changed gender roles as they settle in other countries (Gavanas, 2010; Sawyer,2008; Deacon, 2009). This is on the account that gender roles in the diaspora tend to differ from those of their original nations. This is especially so in the Western World where these tend to give more autonomy, self-determination and freedom (Deacon, 2009). This study sought to examine and clarify how the gender divisions of roles influence the status and position of a group of African women (living in Gothenburg) inside their families as well as their general participation in the Swedish society. The research was conducted between January to June 2012, as part of the fullfullment for my master study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The main research question was; How does the gender division of roles affect the s tatus and position of a group of African women (living in Gothenburg), within and outside their families? The current report will discuss the analysis outcome of three interviews with African women. The process of analysis Analysis can take various approaches including, literal; interpretive; and reflexive (Welsh, 2002; Miles and Huberman,1994). Miles and Huberman (1994) identify three types of activities that make up the analysis process. First, is data reduction. This refers to the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting and transforming the data that appear in written-up field notes or transcriptions (Miles and Huberman 1994, p.10). This procedure may likewise be known as data familialisation (Fielding Lee,1991), indicating a process of condensing and consolidating of the data to make it sensible. The second activity is data display.This refers to an organised, compressed assembly of information that permits conclusion drawing and action (Miles and Huberman 1994, p.11). This includes transforming expanded writings into instantly available, minimal frames of reference so that the researcher can perceive what is occurring and either reach defended determinations or proceed onward to the following phase of investigation.This can als be known as the decriptive (Fielding Lee,1991) stage of data analysis. The final activity of data analysis is conclusion drawing and verification. Drawing conclusions relates to deciding on the actual meaning of phenomenon, in otherwards data is explained. On the other hand, verification means testing meaning for their plausibility, their sturdiness, and their confirmability (Miles and Huberman 1994, p.11). These procedures happen persistently and iteratively and feed into each other, for the entire duration of the research. Advantages and disadvantages of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS). There are different software packages ranging from text retrievers, code and retrieve packages as well as theory building software (Gibbs, Friese and Mungabeira, 2002; Fielding Lee,1991). This section discusses the importance and shortcomings of using CAQDAS sduch as Nvivo. Utilizing CAQDAS can save time and energy of a qualitative researcher. This is mainly because CAQDAS can help with the mechanical aspects of qualitative data analysis which include marking up the highlighted text with the codes, generating reports, searching the text for key terms (Gibbs, Friese and Mungabeira, 2002) which would be time consuming, inconvenient and fatiguing (Lee and Fielding, 1995) for the researcher. Besides, this also decreases the mistakes which could lead to some aspects of data being ignored by the researcher perhaps due to some bias or omission. Despite this though, the art and interpretation depends on the individual researcher. As Gibbs, Friese and Mungabeira (2002) have argued that conceptual aspects of the analysis such as reading the text, interpreting it, creating coding schemes and identifying useful searches and reports all depend on human art ( p.4). CAQDAS can enable teamwork and exchange of ideas throughout the whole analysis process which can thus reduce on delays and also help with member checking as ideas develop. The research team does so by uploading all filed notes into the software and these may be easily shared among them electronically (Lee and Fielding, 1995). The only challenge with this way of working is that attention paid to issue salience or uniqueness of cases and situations may be reduced as teams try to share ideas. CAQDAS such as NVivo decreases boredom which might be experienced in the repetitive procedure of transcribing and creating codes all through to the report writing stage. This is possible because other than the ordinary style working with just plain texts, these programs allow for incorporation of rich text, audio, videos and any multimedia data (Gibbs, Friese and Mungabeira, 2002) which can make the entire process of analysis interactive and engaging for researchers. The risk associated with this is ambiguity because as researchers attempt to deal with a blend of information, consideration might be moved to videos and the richness of content might be ignored. This may lessen the sort of depth of interpretation which they can give to any of the material. Aside from that, the software is not free, one may likewise require extra training in order to have the capacity to utilize it effectively. CAQDAS can also help to make the analysis process more effective and transparent more than the manual method. This helps to improve the quality of the research that is produced. Gibbs, Friese and Mungabeira (2002 ) argue that while in quantitative research there can be techniques for checking authenticity, this might be hard for qualitative researchers.The counter contention by Welsh (2002) is that validity and reliability difficulties still exist notwithstanding when the analysis is done using a software, as a result of the fluid and creative routes through which the themes emerge; suggesting that the human analysist is especially vital and cannot be separated from this process. Additionally, the theoretical lens through which the researcher uses to approach the phenomena, the strategies that the researcher uses to collect and construct data and his or her epistemological understandings about what might be relevant in answering the questions are all analytic process and influence da ta (Thorne 2000, p.68). Hence, the analytic process may not be entirely distinguishable from the actual data produced (Thorne, 2000). That said, we cannot deny the fact that CAQDAS provides an efficient and smarter way of sorting and organizing data for proper management and analysis; much as it is critical to reflect on how much the software can be able to do. The software is not capable of undertaking the intellectual and conceptual procedures which are necessary for transforming data into useful research (Welsh, 2002; Thorne, 2000; Fielding Lee,1991). Process of analysis First, I uploaded the transcripts into NVivo 11 software. After that, I started developing general codes according to the study goals (Bazeley Richards,2000). However, as I read the transcripts over and over again, new nodes kept on emerging. With a full list of numerous nodes, I realised that some nodes actually expressed the same idea and could be merged, so I categorised and classified the related nodes, cut and pasted them into the parent nodes and came up with broader and expanded nodes. Bazeley Richards (2000) assert that codes can are essential for identifying topics, themes or issues and unite the data segments. Categorising the nodes helped me to get rid of the redundant nodes. And actually a few redundant nodes which I had formulated earlier on, have been excluded from the analysis since they could not add up to any thick description of the data. This exercise involved an iterative and reflective process of working back and forth through the transcripts so as to avoid mer ging nodes that expressed different ideas. I also made descriptions and memos as I coded which helped me to reflect on the nodes afterwards. This was also important in developing a deeper analysis of the data. Interview transcripts were analyzed through induction following a phenomenological approach. An analytic induction explores patterns and relationships in the data and uses such to generate tentative hypotheses or ideas so as to develop general conclusions or theory.I will borrow a few features from Grounded theory approach advanced by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and Miller (2000). The grounded theory approach allows for continuous and repetitive working with the findings in order to develop themes which can be built into models arising from the data. mechanisms of women towards addressing their health needs. The grounded theory approach was useful to draw comparisons (Thorne, 2000) between married women and the single woman. Thus, much as there are elements of grounded theory within my analytical approach, my research took a more inductive and phenomenological approach. All interview data were be analyzed using a phenomenological approach done in stages as proposed by (Hycner 1985,p.28 0-293). Firstly, Interview were transcibed verbatim and literally in the way it was it will be presented by respondents. In addition, all nonverbal and para- linguistic communications (Hycner, 1985) from the interviews were noted so as to draw meaning from them.Secondly, I engaged in bracketing and phenomenological reduction. Bracketing involves suspension of the researchers meanings and interpretations and entering into the unique world of the individual who was interviewed while (Hycner 1985). , Keen (1975, p.38 in Hycner 1985) alludes that: The phenomenological reduction is a conscious, effortful, opening of ourselves to the phenomenon as a phenomenon. And since, I already had the transcripts,I read through them with openness to derive meaning.The third stage involves listening to the interview or reading the transcription several times to get a sense of the whole. Hycner 1985 states that as you listen or read, its imporatnt to make memos; which aid in delineating the units of general mea ning. This fourth stage is about crystallization and condensation of the what the respondents said leading to a unit of general meaning while referring to the reseacrh question (p.282).This involves paying attention to the actual content of the findings while referring to the initial research question to see if the collected data is relevant and at this point irrelevant findings might be excluded from the analysis. Next is to have independent judges to verify the units of relevant meaning to see if the findings are authentic, then redundancies are taken out, depending on both the literal content and looking at the number of times and the way meanings were mentioned. The other step is clustering units of relevant meaning. This is an iterative process of working through the units of meaning through examining their essence. This also depends on the context under which a unit was mentioned. Next is to determine central themes from these clusters of meaning. This also involves interrogating the clusters as well as working through the segments of the transcript. After this, next a summary of individual interviews is done while trying to incorporate the themes, this also gives a sense of the whole. After this, Hycner recommends to do validity check with our interviewees to see if what we have actually represents what they tried to bring forward. In my research this process will be done retrospectively, that is, immediately after interviewing. After this then, themes are modified and then general and unique themes are identified for all the interviews. This step looks out for common themes in all the interviews as well as individual variations or uniqueness and these clustered under general themes. This step requires patience so as not to merge themes that do not match or are somewhat unique without which the significance of some themes may be lost. Finally, is the contextualization of themes. This step requires that all the general and unique themes from the rigorous process are placed back into the initial contexts from which they developed so as to get a deeper understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. As such the analysis is presented with evidence from the actual words of the interviewees. Hycner (1985) alludes that the process takes fourteen steps but in this research, some of these were done simultaneously as the research progressed. The phenomenological approach is not without limitations. For example, phenomenological analysis is associated with of the following challenges; Phenomenological analysis may be very exhausting if you are dealing with large amounts of data and since it is suitable for few cases, the data may be difficult to generalise. This holds water but does not eliminate the value of the findings since these usually represent the experience of individuals which is itself unique and informative (Hycner 1985). Secondly, there is the issue of randonmness and the subjective influence of the resaercher. The citisim is that respondents are selected because of who they are, or depending on their experienece with the phenomena. As result there might be subjective influence in both interviewing and in analysing data. The women were chosen purposefully to provide their experince, but the analysis has undergone a thoruogh process. Findings Gender and gender role formation Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women (WHO, 2017). Gender categorization portrays cultural values and norms and is therefore an outcome of extensive interactions between individual socialization processes inside families and broader social-cultural order (Becker-Schmidt 1993, cited in Gruber and Stefanov, 2002). Buckingham-Hatfield (2000, p. 67) contends that the gender identity that individuals acquire over time infers two types of connections, that between the two genders and that between gender and society Gender roles thus allude to the degree to which standards and practices are social and patterned for women and men (Darly and Rake, 2003). The data shows that women mainly predominate in the traditional gender roles like cooking, taking care of children, doing laundry work and making their homes neat. I dont even relax in the evening, I come back directly in the kitchen, starts cooking and then we eat around six oclock then we see homework and what happened at school and then you prepare them for bed (Married woman) Womanly in my view, I mean taking care of the home, having meals done and checking on the childrens work and following up to see that their home works are done, (Single woman) In addition, all the women indicated that they are bread winners. Contrastingly, the married women work mainly to supplement their husbands income but not necessarily to enhance their positions. As such, the married women take on part time work so that they can balance that with home assignments while the single woman labours to sustain her family. Kunovich and Kunovich (2008) contrasts that married women have less egalitarian attitudes toward housework and childcare compared with single women; that even in nations with more noteworthy gender equality (like Sweden) only have more libertarian attitudes toward separate spheres of work, yet not toward housework or childcare. On this account, Gavanas (2010) demonstrates that in European settings, care and household labor have been traditionally viewed as womens domaincarriedout for free as a labor of love. Determinants of womens roles The Swedish values and laws emerged as some of the factors that determine womens roles. According to the Swedish Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality (2009), the Swedish gender equality policy is aimed at fighting and changing systems that preserve the sex-based appropriation of power and resources in society; and, guaranteeing that women and men appreciate similar power and chances to shape their own lives. Such impacts however usually stream less to the immigrants henceforth Swedens gender equality discourse is dominated by various leveled classification of the population into Swedes and immigrants with representations of gender unequal immigrants being eminent(Towns 2002, p.157). Additionally, numerous migrant women are utilized in the informal economy, especially as domestic workers, mind specialists, nurses or entertainers- henceforth, reinforcing conventional gender segregation and inequalities in the labor market (Anja and Andrea 2010, p.48). None the less, Brettell (20 08) has put light to the new changes which happen in family and kinship patterns as an outcome of migration and highlighted the feeling of control that women gain as immigrants. To some extent, the women I interviewed have adopted the Swedish values of equality in their homes. This is partially because they are married to Swedish partners who are used to the values of equality and thus, occasionally accept to take on household chores flexibility. Yeah thats something special for Sweden. And also then taking paternity leave, its very special for Sweden because also a dad participates (Married woman) he earns more than me and he makes more decisions than me but also being in Sweden and being married to a Swedish person, they are very much about equality (Married woman) Further on, women have adopted equality values because of the demands on women. Women have familial roles yet they also have to work outside the home. Metz-Gckel (1993) and Becker-Schmidt and Knapp (1995) contended that the structural significance of gender is attached to the dual role of women in society from one perspective in the private reproductive sphere controlled by patriarchal power structures and then again in the market initiated societal sphere under the control of the profit-oriented organization of the productive sphere (cited in Gruber and Stefanov 2002, p. 3). Yeah its because I have changed, I have changed. I came to understand that its very important to help each other especially in this, this Europe. (Married woman) Aside from demands, the women have also been influenced by the Swedish women whom they see as autonomous and independent in the way they live their lives. These relationships have made African women to reflect on their positions within their families. Again being here and looking at Swedish women here, the way they are independent, the relationships between a man and a woman (Married woman) Yeah in one way I think, I have friends, I have Swedish friends and you see how people live, and you see them in the homes, how things are done, when I talk to my friends they say I did this, and it can a little bit yeah it can help you out (Married woman) The challenge however is that because of the hierarchical gender relationship, male dominance controls the private and public spheres (Gruber and Stefanov, 2002; LeVine, 1966). Despite that, adopting the Swedish values of equality has empowered the women to be able to discuss their grievances with their husbands. Norms also determine what women do inside their families and in general society circles. Each of the respondents battled that there are specific obligations which should be for women and others for men. In their view, the light tasks and those which are less stressful like dealing with the little things in the house are feminine. Male duties are those that need skill like fixing bulbs and those that require monetary assets like dealing with bills. This was alluded to irrespective of marital status. For stance, the single woman was content with the freedom she has-being the major decision maker for her children and family yet communicated trouble with taking care of bills. I think Im comfortable, they are moments when I sit and I think, now I think I need a husband in my life who is going to pay for the rent, I dont want to pay rent, I mean there are times, when I really have this mind that I need to turn down and also feel like a woman (Single woman) once my mother called and then she asked me where I was and I said ok- Im in the living room watching TV, and your husband? I said he is in the kitchen doing dishes so my mother was very hungry on the phone. What! You are sitting and your husband is in the kitchen doing dishes, I didnt teach you that. I was like ok, mama, this is Europe. Yeah its Europe but you are not European (Married woman) Social role theory deduces that people occupy positions in social structures associated with roles that may either be attributed or achieved (Payne, 1997). The model clarifies that the societal division of work produces diffuse gender roles for specific genders and in this way confers broad expectations depending on each gender (Diekman and Schneider, 2010). This sort of development implies that men and women take part in different household assignments to demonstrate and reaffirm their gendered selves as expected of them by others. Personality also emerged as an imperative component that determines womens roles and workload inside their families. For example, one woman insinuated the way she appreciates doing the family tasks yet for some, they are perfectionists trusting that they know best what is useful for their families. All these decide the workload of women and additionally whether they are ready to request for support from their partners and friends. But I sometimes feel that I take too much also and that way Patrick balances me and he tells me I dont think you need to do this, although you have made a commitment here and there. Its personality. (Married woman) I would say that I as a person Im a strong person who would really like to take on what Im not unable to do (Single woman) On the other hand, personality decides womens engagement in the public sphere. Women who are open and ready to connect with the wider society say, through welcoming friends to their homes really have a bigger network or social contacts and a number of social activities to engaged in. I mean naturally Im born, Im a social person. So I easily create social contacts and through that I see that Im reaching out more to others So in that way I have more activities than I really want. (Single woman) like I said, Swedes are very cold people, very difficult to have, its hard to have a relationship with a Swede, I remember I really worked on it because I wanted to meet them. I remember I was calling, inviting people home and all the friends we have now are from me, I mean from my efforts. I did really effort to have them (Married woman) Socialisation is the other factor that determines womens roles. Women implied the way they were raised and indicated pride for their social childhood. The Social learningtheory explains how gender roles are produced in everyday lives particularly in childhood depending on the setting. The model is grounded on three main concepts including, observational learning, imitation, and modeling (Ormrod, 1999). This theory deduces that behavior is acquired through re-enforcements and modeling; however, in the absence of these, social learning may occur through observation and imitation of others (Golombok and Fivush 1994, p.76). Subsequently, gender role practices are acquired through the same procedures as every other conduct (Bandura, 1977, cited in Golombok and Fivush 1994, p.76).Miller (2011) demonstrates that the interplay between cognitive, affective, biological, and socio structural aspects influence the process of gender role development. Many women alluded to their childhood and the qualities they saw and learnt as children. I think its me. I think its also has to do with African upbringing and being the eldest. (Married woman) You have to help your parents. Because I remember when my dad told us about that. We were there not to just lay back and sleep but we were there to help our mum (Married woman) Interestingly these women are married to Swedish partners but one of them maintained that her Swedish partner emphasised the patriarchal structure through encouraging her to maintain her African thing. Now this is not known if this particular husband is really happy with the so called African thing or if it is a strategy for him to relax as the woman takes on the donkey work. Like I said from the beginning my husband is more African than- I mean more Congolese than me, he says to me E, I feel you are losing that African thing when I tell him my husband help me he says that E, men in Africa are not in the kitchen. (Married woman) In the African tradition, family and kinship are the most imperative institutions and social life is mainly structured on norms (Therborn, 2004); thus gender is generally a collective classification with regard to general norms and values (Adkins and Lury 1995, in Gruber and Stefanov, 2002). Therborn (2004, p.118) alludes that African custom is for male control of women and that wifely subordination is still a major phenomenon of African social life. Spirituality is likewise critical in determining what roles women take on as well as the decisions they make for themselves and their families. All the women said that they are Christians and that God is an essential figure in whatever they do. As one of them described, Of course Prayer is the foundation that builds a home. Indeed, they all specified congregational activities as a major aspect of the social activities they take an interest in. One of them recounted, I devoted my life ever since I came to Sweden to do Gods work and that I can do, normally when you are doing dishes, you dont clash with any one. When you are doing your cleaning or dishes (Single woman) These responses mirror Foucaults elucidation of the social distribution of roles by referring to nature. He alludes that gods directly prepared the womans nature for indoor works and the man for works of the open air. Thus, the natural oppositeness of man and woman and the specificity of their aptitudes are indissociably tied to the good order; and inversely, order demands them as obligations (Foucault 1984, in p.158-159). Impact of roles on the status of women One of the effects of gender roles on women has to do with sacrifice. The dual role of women, makes it is inevitable for women to make sacrifices. They need to negotiate between seeking after their careers or to tend to their families. For instance, all the women perceived the significance of education and actually disclosed that they had enrolled for training courses. However, this meant negotiations on the priorities, they felt that they needed to deal with their family demands to start with, before they could consider undertaking courses or even pursue careers. Moreover, women do take on part time jobs as a sacrifice for their families particularly when they have little children. The less priority which women ascribe to activities outside the family further suggests that in the meantime, they forfeit their own economic progress. Family reasons, I mean my children are still young and I had to settle down in my job and I mean, somehow have a base in my working life and also balance it with the children at home, because now being a single mother in Sweden, it takes up all the energy and everything that I have so then I havent been able to take on extra studies beyond what I can do on a normal day. (Single woman) I dont work full time. From the beginning we decided with my husband that I will not do full time. He did- doing full time. We felt like I was needed home (Married woman) These discoveries are not unique to these women. Research elsewhere demonstrates that women are more committed to the private sphere as moms, carers and domestic workers while men are more concentrated in the public circles (Buckingham-Hatfield, 2000; Donato et al, 2006). For instance, in a survey of European women, it was discovered that 90 percent of women valued the family as the most significant sphere of their life (Gruber and Stefanov 2002, p.21). Besides, women are also not completely accepted in the public arena but are rather permitted to participate there just on sufferance (Buckingham-Hatfield, 2000). Thus, for majority of partnerships in Central Europe, housework and caring for children are undertakings performed principally by women while fathers primarily play and only share their leisure activities with the children; yet women who struggle to be productive need to sacrifice child care and much more house work to the formal paid employment (Esping-Andersen, 2009; Grube r and Stefanov, 2002). Finally, power developed as one of the advantages that women derive from the sort of roles they undertake. Because women take care of the homes and children, they are more required in basic leadership and decision making particularly in matters regarding household welfare. This is for both the married and the single woman. In any case, the reasons behind this control are distinctive. The single woman derives her power from the reality that she is the sole provider in the home; whereas for the married women, it is mostly in light of the fact that their spouses tend to distance themselves from family unit matters. I have freedom of independence that at times I feel in myself and say thank you Lord, Im able to make decisions on my own whether I make wrong decisions I come back to myself and say I did that wrongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Independent in every way economic, social, independent woman, very powerful. (single woman) Keeping in mind the end goal to see how gender roles, impinge on the societal position and prosperity of women in the private and open circles; it is reasonable to consider the measure of assets at womens disposal and also power relations (Sen, 2001). Such viewpoints explain the agency aspects (like, womens earning power, ability to act, economic role outside the family, literacy and education, property rights) which exceptionally contribute to womens voice, independence and empowerment (Sen ,2001). For example, working outside the home and acquiring an autonomous wage enhances and upgr