Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe And William Shakespeare...

Roughly based on personal encounters Joseph Conrad uses Heart of Darkness to comment on the negative aspects of colonialism. Colonialism by definition is, â€Å"the policy and practice of a power in extending control over weaker peoples or areas.† In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, colonialism plays a significant role in the break down of humans. The conquerors in both stories disregard the natives believing that they are working towards the greater good of civilization. Conrad’s quote plays a significant roles in these stories by highlighting the negative effects of colonialism and the use of religion to claim foreign lands. In Conrad’s quote the description of the conquest colonialism is summed up by, â€Å"taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves.† The novel Things Fall Apart embodies this definition of colonialism. The Igbo people in Africa are an established tribe with customs, laws, and religion. Colonialists rationalize taking over other lands with the idea that they are helping to better these people. The Igbo culture proves to be very structured and we can see examples of this through the respect of the elders and the following of ancient traditions. These Africans are not savage or primitive in spite of the common portrayal by Europeans. The colonialist came to their land insisting that they need a leader, religion, and government. When missionaries arrive in

Constitutional Restraints on the Executive Powers of the President free essay sample

The case Democratic Alliance v President of South Africa deals with the extent of the constitutional constraints that exist in relation to the exercise of power by the president. s179 of The Constitution together with s10 of the National Prosecuting Authority Act stipulates that a National Director of Public Prosecutions, who is the director of public prosecutions is appointed by the president, as the head of the national executive. In Democratic Alliance v President the issue was whether the appointment of Menzi Simelane as the Director of Public Prosecutions by the President of the Republic of South Africa was within the bounds of the Constitution. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development and Mr Simelane sought to challenge the decision of the SCA that found that the president erred in the process by which Menzi Simelane was appointed as the National Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr Simelane, as Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was intimately involved in the dispute concerning the then National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Vusi Pikoli. The dispute related to the powers of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and the National Director of Public Prosecutions. This tension resulted in Mr Pikoli being suspended by the then President on the 23rd of September 2007. Shortly after that the President appointed the Ginwala Commission to inquire into Mr Pikoli’s fitness to hold the office of National Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr Simelane presented the government’s submissions to and gave evidence under oath before the Ginwala Commission. Upon the evidence given by Mr Simelane the report of the Ginwala Commission criticized the manner in which Mr Simelane presented the government’s submissions and brought into question the credibility of his evidence. This lead to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development requesting the Public Service Commission to investigate Mr Simelane’s conduct during the Ginwala Commission. The Public Service Commission then recommended disciplinary proceedings against Mr Simelane due to his conduct and falsified evidence before the Ginwala Commission. The Minister rejected the recommendations of the Public Service Commission and subsequently the President controversially appointed Mr Simelane as National Director soon thereafter. The SCA considered that the President erred in numerous respects and these mistakes rendered the process by which Mr Simelane was appointed as National Director of Public Prosecutions irrational and hence invalid. The President had the view that Menzi Simelane was the right man for the job without considering whether he was a fit and proper individual to take up the position. Secondly, the President incorrectly reasoned that the absence of evidence contradicting the idea that Mr Simelane was a fit and proper person for appointment justified the conclusion that he was indeed a fit and proper person. The correct approach, according to the SCA was that the President had to determine positively whether Mr Simelane was indeed a fit and proper person for the position of National Director of Public Prosecutions. Thirdly, the President disregarded the criticisms that were made of Mr Simelane by the Ginwala Commission, on the basis that the Commission was not appointed to investigate Mr Simelane, but Mr Pikoli. Lastly, the recommendations of the Public Service Commission that the criticisms of the Ginwala Commission against Mr Simelane merited a disciplinary enquiry and were not taken seriously. As a result of these oversights on the part of the President it became apparent that this appointment was controversial and did not adhere to the provisions of the Constitution (s. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development argued in SCA that neither the Constitution nor the National Prosecuting Authority Act 32 of 1998 prescribes any procedure for the appointment of the National Director of Public Prosecutions. The Minister further stated that it was for the President to determine the eligibility of the National Director, by evaluating the candidates’ qualities, strengths and weaknesses. The Minister argued that the SCA went beyond rationality and this subsequently amounted to an unauthorized intrusion into presidential and executive authority. The Democratic Alliance, however, supported the reasoning and conclusion of the SCA concerning rationality. In addition, the Democratic Alliance contended that the evidence brought before the SCA showed that Mr Simelane was not a fit and proper person to be appointed as the National Director of Public Prosecutions, which they argue was a jurisdictional fact prior to the appointment of Mr Simelane Issues In as much as the President had the vested right to appoint the National Director of Public Prosecutions conferred by the Constitution the fundamental issue at hand was whether this executive decision was rational, especially in light of the findings and recommendations made by the Ginwala Commission pertaining to Mr Simelane. Due to the findings of the Ginwala Commission which cited Mr Simelane as a dishonest person a pivotal question arose pertaining to whether Mr Simelane was a fit and proper person to take the office of National Director of Public Prosecutions.

Kagemusha(Shadow Warrior) by Akira Kurosawa Essay Example

Kagemusha(Shadow Warrior) by Akira Kurosawa Essay Research Paper Shadow Warrior by Akira Kurosawa The film â€Å"Shadow Warrior† also known as â€Å"Kagemusha† was made by Kurosawa in the year of 1980. The film recounted the actual historical event about the death of a great samurai Shingen Takeda who was known as the head of Takeda family. The film started in the year of 1573 while all samurai families competed with each other and the final goal was to unite Japan as a whole. The period was also known as Sengoku period. The story began in Shingen’s place while his younger brother, Nobukado found a thief who looked almost exactly like his brother. The safety for the head of family was top priority during Sengoku period. Therefore, the using of substitute in order to confuse enemies was a common technique used in the battle field. The substitute is called Kagemusha in Japanese. The amazing part of the story is not the using of Kagemusha but the ability of the thief to pretend the real Shingen even he has been dead for more than 2 years. Shingen’s brother and his subordinates also played big roles in hiding the news of Shingen’s death. They tricked the alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu with Kagemusha for more than 2 years. We will write a custom essay sample on Kagemusha(Shadow Warrior) by Akira Kurosawa specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Kagemusha(Shadow Warrior) by Akira Kurosawa specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Kagemusha(Shadow Warrior) by Akira Kurosawa specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Oda Nobunaga was considered one of the smartest Lord and Tokugawa Ieyasu was the person who finally united Japan as a whole later in this period. They once suspected right after Shingen’s death but still could not find hard evidence to prove the Shingen was a Kagemusha. The ending of the movie was rather tragic and sad. While the Kagemusha fell of the Shingen’s horse, the secret was revealed. The Kagemusha was able to hide this secret from his wives and grandson and even became really closed to his grandson who was supposed to be Singen’s inheritor for the Takeda Family. Sadly, he could not hide this secret from a horse which only recognized his real master. The rumor about Kagemusha quickly spread out within the family. Later on, Shingen’s subordinates decided to hold a funeral for Shingen. Kagemusha was not a rumor anymore but a truth. Quickly, Shingen’s son Katsuyori Takeda inherited Takeda family’s army and attacked alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Shingen knew his son’s personality would lead Takeda Family into pieces so he named his grandson as his inheritor and his son as the guardian of the inheritor. However, Katsuyori was disappointed about Shingen’s ecision and want to show his ability badly. The first attack he held against alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu was saved by the Kagemusha but not the second time when he became the leader of Takeda Family. As an excepted ending, Takeda Family was defeated and the Kagemusha who simply influenced by Shingen’s will to protect the fa mily was shot on the battle field and died with sorrow and sadness. Kurosawa was a really successful director for war and action movies. He used pretty artistic approach to film a sequence of actions or a scene on the battle field. For example, he would use different camera angels to film the same sequence of action over and over with different character’s outfit or different usages of colors. This technique he used was to deliver different messages to the audience and to emphasize the quantity, or the quality, or the importance of this particular sequence. â€Å"Invoking imagery associated with the military codes of the samurai, he creates brilliant pictures of 16th-century warring feudal factions competing for predominance in a country in which the arts of war were highly developed. Few movies about medieval warfare have ever been so filled with magnificence in color and design as Kurosawas two history films of the 1980s. †(Manheim) Kagemusha was a historical movie, thus the use of different signs has historical background and meaning. â€Å"Wind†, â€Å"Woods†, â€Å"Fire†, â€Å"Mountain† mean different kind of army from Takeda Family. Since Takeda Family was known for their cavalry both â€Å"Wind† and â€Å"Fire† are cavalry teams which mean their cavalry teams are fast as wind and deadly as fire. Wood† represents infantry which is steady as woods. Finally, â€Å"Mountain† is Shingen himself who is always stable and can not be moved by others. These four signs are exclusive for Shingen himself or the head of family. During last battle fought by Shingen’s son and alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kurosawa emphasized on these four sign heavily and tried to parallel different armies ’ action with the meaning of the signs. So we could actually feel the speed of the wind while Takeda Family’s cavalry was moving. The rows on rows of cavalry bewitching the world with noble horsemanship, the brilliant ensigns in their primary colors representing the different noble houses, the incomparable swiftness of the warriors in their movements and their swordplay, the peremptory long-distance shouts, the precision of the gunfire, the instantaneous obedience of the foot soldiers to their commanders: all bespeak the beauty, glory, and efficiency of an elegant warfare, even in defeat. â€Å"(Manheim)The heavy emphasis on the signs also showed us steps one by one how Takeda Family was defeated. Because the strong connection between these signs with the Takeda Family, while the Kagemusha found the flag with those 4 signs in the water we immediately understand Takeda Family was defeated totally with nothing left. One other great scene was when most of Takeda family’s army was defeated by enemy’s gunmen, the wound soldiers and horses lying on the ground struggled to die. â€Å"In Kagemusha he adds the very effective shots of dying horses to be a more absolute statement of wars absurdity than any death of the warrior could effect. (Manheim) The way he filmed the horses in silent slow motion was just terrific. It was a real pain to watch this part of the movie. The movement of the horses dying was so real and made u think if they actually wounded those horses during the making of the film or not. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find any information regarding the condition of those horses but I hope they were doing fine after filming. In Kagemusha, we could f ind many different aspects of humanity and values. As I thoroughly watch the movie, many questions came into my mind. What’s the importance of selflessness? How could Kagemusha adapt his values and believes as Shingen’s? Those are pretty critical questions but Kurosawa seemed to reveals his answers in the film. â€Å"In his autobiography, Kurosawa remarks, â€Å"The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self-sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life†Ã¢â‚¬ (P203 Malpezzi) It was the power of traditional Japanese’s value and Bushido spirit to create a successful Kagemusha. In the beginning of the movie we could clearly identify the character of the thief who was selfish and rude. After the death of Shingen, we quickly discovered the sympathy inside the thief’s heart. He had a choice to just be himself instead of Shingen’s Kagemusha but he still chose to because he simply didn’t want enemies’ spies to find out the death of Shingen which might lead to the destruction of Takeda Family. Shingen’s brother, Nobukado had guide the Kagemusha fairly well through out those 2 years of period. He taught the thief every behavior of Shingen and he did praise the thief’s reaction if he did a good job on response emergency situations. The film makes us question: Is this heroic gesture still part of the act? Where does it come from, this apparent greatness of soul that finally requires in a counterfeit role an authentic death? Kurosawa implies that it issues from the depths of human nature itself. But if so, as the film makes clear, it hardly arises naturally. † (Cowan) Despite the traditional Japanese values, through intensive training and the influence of the environment, the thief was willing to give up his own values and become Shingen’s Kagemusha. Nobukado himself can understand what a Kagemusha feels as he is usually Shingen’s pervious Kagemusha. â€Å"For Nobukado the needs of society transcend those of the individual. Clearly he achieved oneness with the role he played, identity with his brotherhood; he assets, â€Å"The shadow of a man can never desert that man. † (P203 Malpezzi) Nobukado was basically nothing after his brother’s death. He has been his brother’s Kagemusha for so long that he has lost his own identity. Sadly, exactly same thing happened to the thief. People of Takeda Family discarded him like trash after his cover was blown and even soldiers threw rocks at him. And he still fought for Takeda family to the end without regret. The film showed us the power of tradition, culture and environment also makes people wonder what their own self identities are. I personally had a great pleasure watching this film since I do have the knowledge of Japanese history and I am very interested in watching Asian historical movies. The version I watched was with Chinese subtitle which took me a while to translate character’s name into English. My heart was pounding several times while watching this movie and those scenes were just beautifully done including Kurosawa showed a vast number of cavalry, the Kagemusha was kicked out of the family with soldiers throwing rocks on him and of course the ending scene. There aren’t many movies I could watch till all the credits of the films are played and the DVD is actually in the stop position. This film is something that would make you think about what’s important in your life and how do you identify yourself in different situation. It really took me a while to digest this beautiful work. I highly recommend anyone who hasn’t watch it yet to go ahead do so. But I do suggest that the more knowledge of Japanese culture and history you acquire the more joy you would get out of this film. Work Cited 1. Cowan, Louise The Necessity of the Classics.. Intercollegiate Review, Fall2001, Vol. 37 Issue 1, p3, 9p, 1bw 2. Malpezzi, Frances M. ; Clements, William M. The Double and the Theme of Selflessness in Kagemusha.. Literature Film Quarterly, 1989, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p202, 5p 3. Manheim, Michael The Function of Battle Imagery in Kurosawas Histories and the Henry V Films; Literature Film Quarterly, 1994; 22 (2): 129-35. (journal article)

Holiday Shopping Safety Tips

Holiday Shopping Safety Tips The holiday season is a time when people can become careless and vulnerable to theft and other holiday crimes. People are often in a rush buying gifts, decorating their homes, visiting friends or traveling. There is a big increase in the number of people that are out and about shopping at the malls and grocery stores, packing the parking lots, grabbing taxis, filling up the seats on rapid transit and waiting in lines at ATM machines. Late Nights Many stores extend hours late into the night. People head to the stores after work, then at closing time, you see them emerging with the dazed eyes of sleepwalkers. Amazingly, then the mall parking lots empty out in record time and within minutes become deserted. Without fail, there are always a handful of people wandering the lots alone, looking for where they parked their cars or digging through handfuls of shopping bags searching for their lost car keys. To normal, law-abiding people, all of this kind of holiday hoopla and pressure is just part of the festive mood of the season. And all the gaiety, unfortunately, also tends to cause people to let their innate sense of caution temporarily fall by the wayside. Why Thieves Love the Holiday Season All the hustle and bustle going on over the holidays gives thieves what they want, almost as much as an unlocked bank vault, and that is the opportunity to become invisible. By being as nondescript as possible, they can move through big crowds of rushed and distracted people without anyone noticing them. They can pickpocket and shoplift and when their victims realize that they have been robbed, they will have no idea who did it.   In most communities, the police work additional hours during November and December. They are kept busy the increase in traffic accidents, home fires, bar fights, and family disputes. Also, during the month of December, more people die of natural causes than any other time of the year. Police often have to change their regular routines and leave the nightly patrol through neighborhoods to answer emergency calls. Thieves Feed on Opportunities Thieves know that the police are overloaded during the holiday season and they take full advantage it. They thrive on the fact that the police and stores loss prevention staff have their hands full with amateur thieves who are hauled to jail for trying to steal from the electronics departments or waiting for the parents of pre-teens who pocketed the latest video game. In the meantime, the professional thieves are busy breaking into cars in the parking lots to steal gifts, cell phones, and electronics, or stalking and robbing or scamming the people who are alone. Some thieves prefer burglarizing homes. They spend their time walking neighborhoods, looking for houses that appear that the homeowners are away. Darkened homes nestled between neighbors with front yards bursting with holiday lights will draw their attention. Having the kids off from school is another concern because of the number of unsupervised teens hanging around without anything to do. Homes within neighborhoods are broken in more times by young male teens that live in or near the neighborhood. They often choose a home and then hang out to see when the homeowners leave each day. They might be so brazen and ring the doorbell, then pretend to try to sell something if anyone answers. How to Keep From Becoming a Holiday Crime Victim The following tips can help you be more careful, prepared and aware during the holiday season. Try to shop during the day, but if you do shop at night, do not do it alone.Dress casually and comfortably.Avoid wearing expensive jewelry.Do not carry a purse or wallet, if possible. Consider bringing a security travel pouch instead.Always carry your drivers license or identification along with necessary cash, checks and/or a credit card you expect to use.Recognize when you are rushed, distracted and stressed out, and stay alert to what is going on around you.Avoid carrying large amounts of cash.Pay for purchases with a check or credit card when possible.Keep cash in your front pocket.If you discover that a credit card is missing, notify the credit card company as soon as possible. Dont assume that you misplaced it and will find it later.Keep a record of all of your credit card numbers in a safe place at home.Be extra careful if you do carry a wallet or purse. They are the prime targets of criminals in crowded shopping areas, terminals, bus stops, on buses and other rapid transit.Av oid overloading yourself with packages. It is important to have clear visibility and freedom of motion if you are approached. Beware of strangers approaching you for any reason. At this time of year, con-artists may try various methods of distracting you, including working in teams, with the intention of taking your money or belongings.

Mega events on their effct Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mega events on their effct - Essay Example This work will take into consideration the Muslim event of Hajj as the central theme of discussion and aim to find the effect of Hajj on tourism industry in the region where this pilgrimage occurs annually. Literature suggests further research in the area of consumer behaviour in mega events tourism (Jago, 1997: 113). On the basis of this, it is important to understand the behaviour of those who attend such mega events. Value perceptions have been approached in mega events (Doukas, 2007: 62). However, further research is required to better understand religious mega events attendees’ behaviour, and particularly, value perceptions and place attachment. As far as the research gap is concerned, academic research to highlight the importance of place attachment regarding the holy places of Saudi Arabia is scarce. It is well-known that religion can contribute significantly to place attachment and this attachment is learned through performing rituals and visiting places (Mazumdar, & Mazumdar, 2004: 385-397.). Muslims from all over the world gather together at the holy cities of Saudi Arabia for performing rituals and visiting their sacred places; an act that contributes to their place attachment. It should be understood that place attachment in this case is different from others, since religious emotions are involved in this case. Therefore, place attachment serves additional purpose in this case. If tourists have a purpose of visit, other than entertainment, the behaviour and choices may differ. Since Muslims visit Saudi Arabia due to their religious beliefs, they have a special kind of relationship with this place. Research should be directed towards revealing the differences in behaviour of people if they have a place attachment different from the normal ones. Additionally, an analysis of the perceived value of this form of tourism is an area that has

Ethical Violations Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Violations - Coursework Example According to the leader, the role was more suitable for ladies than for men and so instead of promoting the employee to take up the position, he employed a new person to take up the position. This was immediately identified as ethical violation because the labor laws of the country frowns on discrimination of any type (Johnson, 2012). The consequence of the violation on the leader who committed the violation was that he had to personally face a series of legal suits. This is because the employee involved suited the company and as the leader, the one who violated the ethics had to take off precious hours off his work schedule to attend to the court. All in all, it would be stated that accountability becomes deeply affected when such violations occur. This is because in the present circumstance, it became highly difficult for other employees of the company to trust the credibility of the leader to ensure fairness. The workforce also came to adopt a notion that the worker had taken issues of accountability into his own hands and so the larger workforce could not trust his credibility to be accountable (Wade et al, 2009) Wade, N. G., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Haake, S. (2009). Comparison of explicit forgiveness interventions with an alternative treatment: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87(2),

Business Past Paper Essay Example for Free

Business Past Paper Essay E of the following topics and write it in the space provided. (i) The changing role of women in the family (ii) The involvement of young people in organized sports Topic:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1. (a) State TWO reasons why a researcher would research the topic which you have stated above. (2 marks) (b) Suggest ONE objective on which a researcher may focus in doing a study on the topic you chose. (2 marks) (c) Based on the objective you suggested in 1 (b), write ONE research question. (2 marks) (d) State ONE appropriate method that may be used to collect data on the topic you chose. (1 mark) (e) Outline why a researcher should use the method you stated in 1 (d) above. (2 marks) Total 9 marks 2. (a) For the topic you have chosen, suggest TWO variables which a researcher may investigate. (2 marks) (b) Identify TWO groups from which a researcher may select a sample to get information on the topic you chose. (2 marks) (c) State ONE method of choosing a sample from ONE of the groups you identified in 2 (b) above. (1 mark) (d) Briefly describe the method you suggested in 2 (c). (2 marks) Total 7 marks 3. (a) Suggest TWO ways to display the data that may be collected on the topic you choose. (2 marks) (b) Explain briefly why the data should be displayed in the ways you suggested in 3 (a). (2 marks) (c) Name TWO statistical measures that a researcher may use to determine how numerical data, such as scores obtained in a study, are related. (2 marks) Total 6 marks Use the information in the passage below to answer questions 4 and 5. ALCOHOL AND FAMILY LIFE In a recent study done on the effects of alcohol on family life, the heads of fifty (50) low income households responded. The following information was obtained and analyzed. 30% of the respondents stated that alcohol consumption deprives some families from satisfying their basic needs, 60% indicated that it is a cause for domestic violence in the home while 10% claimed that it prevented family members from enjoying planned leisure activities. These findings have caused concern for many community groups. Leaders of these groups have indicated their desire to find some solutions to these concerns from the local authorities in their communities. 4. (a) (i) Display the findings obtained in this survey in a pie-graph in the space provided below. (4 marks) (ii) Write ONE statement about the data you displayed in the pie-graph. (2 marks) (b) State ONE characteristic of the sample used in this survey. (1 mark) (c) Name ONE research method that the researcher may have used to collect information. (1 mark) (d) Write ONE question that may be included in the research method you named in 4 (c). (1 mark) Total 9 marks 5. (a) Based on the data provided in the survey, write ONE research question. (2 marks) (b) Based on the findings you displayed in 4 (a) (i), suggest ONE recommendation that may be helpful to the community leaders. (1 mark) (c) State ONE change you would make if you were asked to conduct the study. (1 mark) Total 4 marks