Democratic Eco-Humanism, Market Civilization Essays -

Democratic Eco-Humanism, Market Civilization In an effort to dramatize his neo-Polanyian critique of neo-liberal global capitalism, Stephen Gill questions the tenability of his own term market civilization, proposing it as oxymoronic in that a market civilization qua the neo-liberal order contradicts Gill's view of civilization qua democratic eco-humanism (i.e. representation, civility, social well-being and inclusion). In this formation, Gill's argument is essentially circular in its reliance on his own subjective standard of civilization, (democratic eco-humanism), to prove the uncivilized nature of the neo-liberal order. By adopting a more objective, (and necessarily more general), definition of civilization, we can disband with Gill's tautology, allowing us to embrace the term market civilization as a precise definition of neo-liberal global capitalism. In doing so, however, we merely adjust Gill's propensity for grandiose formulations; what remains is his well-reasoned explication of the inherent contradictions of neo-libe ralism, an explication that underscores the ways in which Anglo-American neo-liberalism departs from a certain aesthetic of civilization as democratic eco-humanism. Though he fails to prove the system uncivilized in the broad sense, Gill's arguments make a strong case for the rise of a Polanyian double movement that would address the critical excesses of the neo-liberal order. To understand Gill's claim about the oxymoronic nature of market civilization, one must understand the differences between the two relevant definitions of civilization. In Gill's words: civilization implies not only a pattern of society (def. 1) but also an active historical process that fosters a more humanized, literate and civil way of life, involving social well-being on a broad and inclusive basis (def. 2). (Gill, 422) Gill's claim regards only the second definition, a version of which the American Heritage Dictionary pictures as: An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development, progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions.(American Heritage) Though Gill's version of civilization mirrors closely the story told by the dictionary, both claims about the parameters of civilization are so problematically subjective as to add little or nothing to Gill's analysis of neo-liberalism. The fallacy of both definitions of civilization is rooted in a subjective set of truth claims masked in an ethos of democratic eco-humanism that is as guilty of attempting to proclaim the end of history as neo-liberalism itself. The embedded nature of these claims makes them initially hard to penetrate; broader political participation, literacy, civility and wealth distribution all function in a sort of Hegelian determinism where humanity appears to be progressing towards ever-deeper understanding of civilization qua democratic eco-humanism. And yet this very determinism, though perhaps satisfying in that it situates Gill's rejection of neo-liberalism within a certain sociopolitical philosophical system, dissolves when outside Gill's limited context. In other words, what does Gill's definition allow us to make of past civilizations like the Romans, where a slave class existed, the Hebrews, where religious tolerance was subsumed under a telos of religiopolitical election, or the Mayan s, where the state sanctioned human sacrifice? To claim that these civilizations were mere stepping-stones to our more enlightened version of civilization is to refuse to treat their participants as self-conscious agents and to lapse into cultural chauvinism. Gill's subjective aesthetic of civilization is equally problematic if we turn our eyes in the other direction. What effect will artificial intelligence and the creation of cyborgs have on Gill's definition of democratic eco-humanism? Will these new beings be included in the franchise? Will the depletion of natural resources create a future civilization where it is more humane to denude the earth in order to save humans? Even with the neo-liberal straw man as a foil, Gill's idea of civilization rings hollow; after all, while one ideological pole would have us include plants as neo-sentient beings deserving representation in society, another would proclaim human dominion of the earth (a la Genesis 2) as the paradigm for rational human interaction with the planet. Where Thoreau might call a cabin in the wood civilized, Donald Trump sees a new apartment building. Though we can prefer one model to the other on a subjectively aesthetic basis, it seems artificial and indeed impossible to cr eate a salient line of progress that could possibly reconcile drastically different worldviews and material

A Brief History of Cameroon, Africa

A Brief History of Cameroon, Africa The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were likely the Bakas- or pygmies. They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani- a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel- conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants. Arrival of the Europeans Although the Portuguese arrived on Cameroons coast in the 1500s, malaria prevented significant European settlement and conquest of the interior until the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine, became available. The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily devoted to coastal trade and the acquisition of slaves. The northern part of Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. The slave trade was largely suppressed by the mid-19th century. Christian missions established a presence in the late 19th century and continue to play a role in Cameroonian life. From German Colony to League of Nation Mandates Beginning in 1884, all of present-day Cameroon and parts of several of its neighbors became the German colony of Kamerun, with a capital first at Buea and later at Yaounde. After World War I, this colony was partitioned between Britain and France under a June 28, 1919, League of Nations mandate. France gained the larger geographical share, transferred outlying regions to neighboring French colonies, and ruled the rest from Yaounde. Britains territory- a strip bordering Nigeria from the sea to Lake Chad, with an equal population- was ruled from Lagos. Struggle for Independence In 1955, the outlawed Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), based largely among the Bamileke and Bassa ethnic groups, began an armed struggle for independence in French Cameroon. This rebellion continued, with diminishing intensity, even after independence. Estimates of death from this conflict vary from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. French Cameroon achieved independence in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the largely Muslim northern two-thirds of British Cameroon voted to join Nigeria; the largely Christian southern third voted to join with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The formerly French and British regions each maintained substantial autonomy. A One Party State Ahmadou Ahidjo, a French-educated Fulani, was chosen President of the federation in 1961. Ahidjo, relying on a pervasive internal security apparatus, outlawed all political parties but his own in 1966. He successfully suppressed the UPC rebellion, capturing the last important rebel leader in 1970. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state. The Road to Multi-Party Democracy Ahidjo resigned as President in 1982 and was constitutionally succeeded by his Prime Minister, Paul Biya, a career official from the Bulu-Beti ethnic group. Ahidjo later regretted his choice of successors, but his supporters failed to overthrow Biya in a 1984 coup. Biya won single-candidate elections in 1984 and 1988 and flawed multiparty elections in 1992 and 1997. His Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) party holds a sizeable majority in the legislature following 2002 elections- 149 deputies out of a total of 180. Source Public Domain material, US Department of State Background Notes.

Requisitos de la carta de solicitud de asilo en EE.UU.

Requisitos de la carta de solicitud de asilo en EE.UU. La carta de declaracià ³n personal del solicitante de asilo afirmativo ante el Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) o del asilo defensivo en corte es una parte fundamental de la solicitud, ya que contribuye a demostrar que merece que se le reconozca en Estados Unidos la condicià ³n de asilado. En este artà ­culo se explica en quà © momento debe enviarse dicha carta y quà © elementos debe contener en su redaccià ³n.  ¿Cundo debe enviarse la carta de  declaracià ³n personal en la peticià ³n de asilo? Esta carta forma parte del paquete con el que se solicita al USCIS o a la corte que reconozca una situacià ³n de asilo. En otras palabras, es uno de los documentos que se envà ­an junto con la planilla I-589 y que inicia el proceso. Dicha planilla debe acompaà ±arse por una serie de documentos de apoyo, entre ellos, la  declaracià ³n personal del solicitante de asilo en forma de carta. Requisitos de la carta de declaracià ³n personal para solicitar  asilo en EE.UU. Esta carta se escribe habitualmente en una o varias pginas, las cuales se adjuntan a la planilla I-589  porque el espacio en esta no suele ser suficiente. Es fundamental que la carta resulte creà ­ble al oficial del USCIS o al juez de corte migratoria y para ello es necesario que la declaracià ³n que contiene sea consistente con todo lo que previamente se ha dicho o posteriormente se alegue. No debe haber discrepancias grandes, porque darà ­a pie a pensar que se est mintiendo y, por lo tanto, se negarà ­a la peticià ³n de asilo. Entre otros elementos, la carta de declaracià ³n debe contener una explicacià ³n de por quà © el solicitante de asilo ha dejado su paà ­s y por quà © tiene miedo de regresar.   Adems, debe incluir la redaccià ³n de incidentes sufridos por razà ³n de religià ³n, raza, nacionalidad, opinià ³n polà ­tica o pertenencia a un grupo social,  incluyendo todos los detalles que se recuerden. No es necesario especificar fechas exactas, pero sà ­, al menos, una cronologà ­a aproximada. Tambià ©n debe incluirse una descripcià ³n de situaciones de persecucià ³n sufridas por el mismo motivo por familiares o amigos. Finalmente, si el solicitante de asilo sospecha que su peticià ³n puede ser negada porque el gobierno puede creer que le aplica alguna de las prohibiciones legales para obtener dicho beneficio, deber incluir en esta carta una explicacià ³n de las razones por las que dicha prohibicià ³n no le aplica. Por ejemplo, es relativamente comà ºn que el gobierno niegue el asilo alegando que el solicitante se ha establecido previamente de manera fija en un tercer paà ­s. Si eso no es asà ­, deber aclararse este punto. Documentacià ³n de apoyo Una vez que se tiene la carta escrita debe buscarse otra documentacià ³n que sirva para corroborar razonablemente las condiciones que se describen sobre el paà ­s del que se huye y los hechos especà ­ficos que se alegan que le  han sucedido a la persona que pide el asilo.   Para ello pueden utilizarse recortes de perià ³dicos, declaraciones juradas de expertos y testigos, rà ©cords mà ©dicos o psicolà ³gicos, fotografà ­as que demuestren golpes, diarios personales, documentos oficiales como rà ©cords de detenciones, cualquier documento  con amenazas, carnets de pertenencia a un determinado partido polà ­tico,  declaraciones personales del solicitante de asilo en forma de carta, etc. En realidad, se puede presentar cualquier prueba que sirva para demostrar lo que se afirma en la carta de declaracià ³n personal, pero siempre tiene que ser pertinente y relevante.   Tener en cuenta que el gobierno de Estados Unidos es muy consciente de que determinados documentos del paà ­s de origen del solicitante de asilo no es posible obtenerlos. En estos casos es suficiente explicar que se ha intentado pero no ha sido posible. Lo que nunca debe hacerse es presentar documentacià ³n falsa. Idioma de la carta de declaracià ³n y documentos adicionales El solicitante de asilo puede escribir la carta de declaracià ³n en el idioma en que mejor pueda explicarse. La carta y todos los documentos que se adjunta en apoyo de la misma deben estar traducidos al inglà ©s, si es que estn redactados en otro idioma.   Para ello, no es necesario pagar los servicios de un traductor jurado, siendo suficiente que traduzca toda la documentacià ³n una persona con conocimientos fluidos de espaà ±ol e inglà ©s y que certifique la traduccià ³n adecuadamente. Adems, es recomendable no adjuntar ningà ºn documento oficial, como por ejemplo un carnet de identificacià ³n, una carta emitida por otro gobierno, etc. y sà ­ enviar en su lugar una copia legible del mismo. El dà ­a de la entrevista con el oficial del USCIS o de presentacià ³n en Corte migratoria se deben llevar esos documentos originales para que se puedan cotejar con las copias que previamente se enviaron. Si se envà ­an los originales lo que probablemente suceda es que nunca podrn recuperarse, de ahà ­ que se envà ­an solo fotocopias. La importancia vital de contar con un abogado migratorio para casos de asilo En los à ºltimos aà ±os ha habido un fuerte incremento de peticiones de asilo en Estados Unidos por parte de ciudadanos de Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mà ©xico y Venezuela, pero  la mayorà ­a de dichas peticiones son negadas, particularmente las que se intentan defender sin abogado. Por ejemplo, en el caso de asilo afirmativo, solo un 1,5% de los casos de mujeres y nià ±os centroamericanos que se presentan sin abogado a la entrevista de miedo creà ­ble logran aprobarla. Por otro lado, los abogados migratorios estn teniendo à ©xito presentando los casos en cortes receptivas. Por ejemplo, mientras que en Georgia se niegan un 90% de los casos, en Nueva York se aprueban el 75%.   Asimismo, los letrados estn siendo exitosos a la hora de convencer a un buen nà ºmero de jueces de que las amenazas y los daà ±os perpetrados contra mujeres y nià ±os por pandilleros encajan en los casos de persecucià ³n por pertenecer a un grupo social y, por lo tanto, ameritan la consideracià ³n de asilo. La presencia de un abogado en un caso de asilo es altamente recomendable desde el comienzo, contando con su asesoramiento en la redaccià ³n de la carta de declaracià ³n de peticià ³n de asilo ya que esta determina la razà ³n por la que se hace la solicitud y posteriormente no se puede cambiar su esencia ni contradecir su esencia. Si no se puede pagar a un abogado, se recomienda contactar con alguna organizacià ³n de apoyo legal a inmigrantes con buena reputacià ³n en la defensa de este tipo de casos. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Definition and Examples of Therapeutic Metaphor

Definition and Examples of Therapeutic Metaphor Definition A therapeutic metaphor is a  metaphor (or figurative comparison) used by a therapist to assist a client in the process of personal transformation, healing, and growth. Joseph Campbell attributed the broad appeal of metaphor to its inherent ability to establish or recognize connections, especially those connections that exist between emotions and past events (​The Power of Myth, 1988). In the book Imagery and Verbal Process (1979), Allan Paivio metaphorically characterized a therapeutic metaphor as a solar eclipse that hides the object of study and at the same time reveals some of its most salient and interesting characteristics when viewed through the right telescope. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a MetaphorWhat Is a Metaphor? Examples and Observations Where description is the main function of a literary metaphor, altering, reinterpreting, and reframing are the main goals of the therapeutic metaphor. In order to achieve these, the therapeutic metaphor must evoke both the imagistic familiarity of the literary metaphor and a relational familiarity based on a sense of personal experience. The story itselfthe characters, events, and settingsmust speak to the common life experience of those listening, and it must do so in language that is familiar. An example from a modern fairy tale might be The Wizard of Oz (Baum, 1900), which functions as a metaphor for the common theme of searching for magical solutions somewhere outside the self. The image of a wicked witch, a good witch, a tinman, scarecrow, lion, and wizard all depict aspects of the listeners experience as mirrored in Dorothy.(Joyce C. Mills and R. J. Crowley, Therapeutic Metaphors for Children and the Child Within. Psychology Press, 2001) Extended Metaphors[T]herapists can corro borate the aptness of a metaphor [by helping to] construct a chain, to assist in weaving an elaborate web of correspondences that tease out additional ramifications and add new dimensions. Rather than presenting metaphors of their choosing, therapists can try to emphasize the raw material presented by clients, and, if possible, use the lead established by them to spin out further connections. In this fourth manner, they can exploit a natural aspect of language, lexico-semantic cohesion, as a strategy to densely layer semantic associations in jointly constructed extended metaphor.(Kathleen Ferrara, Therapeutic Ways With Words. Oxford University Press, 1994) The Power of Storytelling[T]he concept of therapeutic story-telling . . . [emphasizes] the power of metaphor to slip past the defences of the conscious mind.Such practitioners have little acquaintance with literary historyotherwise they would surely have recognized that their therapeutic metaphor amounts to little more than a relabelling of the time-honoured genres of allegory and fable. What is new is their highly individualised focus. Therapeutic stories, they maintain, must be constructed specifically to suit the emotional dynamics of individuals.(Hugh Crago, Bibliotherapy and Psychology. International Companion Encyclopedia of Childrens Literature, 2nd ed., edited by Peter Hunt. Routledge, 2004)

Inequality for women in the workplace Research Paper

Inequality for women in the workplace - Research Paper Example 565) and yet just over thirty-years later, The Glass Ceiling Commission reported that equity was far from being achieved. The report noted that women continued to earn proportionately less than men for the same work or that there was a wage-gap, and that they made up only a very small fraction of the upper-level positions in U.S. Organizations (Russell, 1995, p. 8). Hence, where there are no visible or concrete (legal) barriers for advancement, the barriers are invisible or made of glass. The following will examine the barriers faced by women in the workplace, and this essay will try and make the transparent visible. It will be argued that inequality can only be explained by how the dominant class in society legitimates and perpetuates power, and how the distinction between gender and sex is important to understanding the actual barriers to equality. In order to arrive at understanding the invisible or glass barriers for women in the workplace, a brief overview of some of the legal o bstacles will first be presented. While it is true that many barriers remain for women in the workplace, it can also be held that the twentieth-century was marked by a significant amount of progress. At the turn of the twentieth century, many obstacles existed for women in the workforce. ... 154). However, as science progressed this form of legitimation proved untenable. Likewise, attitudes changed significantly, and access to higher education meant access to better positions in the workforce. As with progress in education, likewise with the the percentage of women in the workforce in the twentieth century. One of the main contributing causes for this change, are the two World Wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945) where women were needed to work in the place of men who were participating military action. For example, in 1900 only 5.6 % of all women worked outside of the home, and following the First World War this percentage rose to 23.6 % (Webb, 2010, pp. 1-2). During the era of the Great Depression after the stock market crash of 1929, there was a public sentiment that maintained that the few jobs that existed ought to be given to men, but again, the Second World War changed the workforce demographics again and between 1942 and 1945 over 6.5 million women entered the workforc e in the U.S. (Webb, 2010, p. 2). And, while attitudes were still negative about women in the workforce, there were many public campaigns that promoted it because of the necessity of the War. This had a significant impact on changing attitudes toward women in the workforce, and as with the period following the First World War, the period following the Second was marked by a higher percentage of women who remained employed outside of the home (Webb, 2010, p. 2). Along with the barrier's of access to education and the workforce, a number of legal or legislative changes improved egalitarian conditions in the twentieth-century. The right to vote for women largely came about through the lobbying and

UK Crime Rate Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

UK Crime Rate Indicators - Essay Example The current paper will look into these issues and finally draw conclusions with certain issues that should be incorporated to improve their quality and acceptance. The United Kingdom offers an open society where people of different ethnic origins and nationalities are living together and are contributing to the overall country's economic and social setup. The society itself including the government aims to provide an environment where conformity and balance among cultural and social values can be achieved. However, with economic and social challenges arising disparities and evil emerges. This is important to understand as the crimes in the country are soaring and the authorities attempt to tackle the staggering crime levels. The current paper will discuss the current crime situation in the country as presented by Home Office in its yearly statistical bulletin. The yearly bulletin derives its data and subsequent analysis from two resources that include firstly, reporting from police stations across the country and secondly from British Crime Survey. ... The current paper will look into these issues and finally draw conclusions with certain issues that should be incorporated to improve their quality and acceptance. The crime levels in the United Kingdom are considered to be at higher level as compared to other countries including United States, Australia, Middle East and few other European countries. The UK is listed among Ireland, Estonia, Denmark and Netherland which have crime victim rates at 30% higher than the European average. The survey carried out by Gallup Europe for UN crime prevention agency has marked the capital city of London as the "crime capital of Europe" with 32% of the resident admitting that they have been victim of 10 categories of offences ranging from assault to sexual harassment. Furthermore, the U.K. is estimated to have the highest burglary rate, hate crimes and risk of thefts from car compared to European counterparts (Guardian, 2007). But all this is presented differently by the government of the U.K and claims are made through its Crime Statistical Bulletin that crimes in the U.K. are reducing. Crime Statistical Bulletin is published every year which incorporates st atistics and analysis of crimes under different defined categories. Through this report the U.K.'s Home Office attempts to measure and analyse crime statistics in view of estimating crime trends and reviewing its achievement in lieu of crime reduction and its impact on the individuals and society as all. The bulletin draws its statistics from two resources which include reporting from police records and an independent British Crime Survey (Home Office, 2008). The police records consist of figures collected and reported by regional police stations. These consolidated records on monthly

SEE BELOW FOR INSTRUCTION Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SEE BELOW FOR INSTRUCTION - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the components of Betty Neuman’s theory and how they can be employed in the nursing practice Every system that deals with patients is an exceptional array instrument that responds to the environment. Ideally, the responses are covered in a structure that determines the relationship with the environment. Consequently, the theory assumes that there are stressors that have universal tendencies that have a potential of upsetting the stability of the patients. The theory also assumes that the line of defense should act as a caveat to environmental stressors (Meleis, 2011). Essentially, the assumption is that in the absence of a barrier enables the stressor to penetrate the line of defense effectively affecting the well-being of the patient. Every patient has the internal mechanisms that act as a resistance to any form of external aggression. It is essential that potential risks to patients are determined and appropriate measures taken to deal with the issues that may affect the stability of the clients. The theory also notes that clients in hospital environments constantly exchange energy with external surroundings. Moreover, the model intimates that there should be prioritization in terms of identifying the first line of action in so far as dealing with the stressors is concerned (Meleis, 2011). The treatments should be ranked as a consequence of making treatment effective. Neuman’s theory focuses on the extent to which an individual can interact and relate to the environment. Patients have a basic reaction to the environment, and the degree of response leads to the depletion of energy effectively leading to illness. The flexible line of defense is an important component that acts as a barrier to potential threats (Meleis, 2011). Stressors portend a number of negatives that may affect the stability of a patient. Prevention is critical in dealing with the stressors. The primary treatment is important and