Critical review of Narratives of Islamic Origins, The beginnings of Essay

Critical review of Narratives of Islamic Origins, The beginnings of Islamic Historical writing, by Fred M Donner. On Introducti - Essay Example Donner succinctly outlines some of the main problems with the early Islamic sources in his introduction: ‘Chronological discrepancies and absurdities abound, as do flat contradictions in the meaning of events, or even, less frequently, on their fundamental course. Many accounts present information that seems clearly anachronistic; others provide ample evidence of embellishment or outright invention to serve the purpose of political or religious apologetic’ (6). The late Albrecht Noth opened the debate which challenged the conventional, almost literal approach to the Islamic source material in 1973, arguing that many of the accounts were merely anecdotes and themes used by the authors in the contexts they thought appropriate. In this latest work, Donner has built heavily on the work of the latter. Wansbrough produced a more radical critique in 1977, which was developed by Crone and Cook. They asserted that many of the established ‘truths’ concerning the Proph et’s lifetime could not be taken for granted. ... Narratives of Islamic Origins, from the introduction to the conclusion, Donner makes clear that he is an opponent of Crone’s Hagarism, which he refers to as the radically ‘skeptical’ approach. Much of the introduction of devoted to this refutation. Even from this summary, it is clear that the history of early Islam is one of the most bitterly-contested fields in modern historiography, and due to the polarisation of the debate, it is unlikely to be smoothed over in the near future. With his contribution, Donner can scarcely have been hoping to categorically resolve any of the issues at stake. However, in a way somewhat similar to the work of Robert Hoyland, Donner is beginning to build a middle ground in the debate, in which the Islamic sources need not be rejected or passionately advocated, but can be included in a careful and scholarly analysis of the period. Donner’s Narratives of Islamic Origins is just that – a comprehensive and thoroughly schola rly analysis to a wide body of primary sources, which adds little new to the overarching debate, but does distil some important issues. We are concerned in this review with the introduction of the book, which offers a basic summary of Donner’s main argument, and the preoccupations which have motivated the study, and with chapter 5, entitled, ‘Themes of Prophecy’. The introduction focuses on the intellectual context of early Islam, and especially on the key issue of establishing the Quran as a text which existed in some form from the earliest period. This is obviously crucial to the way in which we view this document. Those who tended towards Crone’s view argue that the Quran is a later construction, put together from legendary sayings of the Prophet. It is held by this school to be a collection of sayings

Effectivenes of vitamin D and calcium in preventing falls Essay

Effectivenes of vitamin D and calcium in preventing falls - Essay Example The costs of falls management by the NHS have been increasing steadily and it is apprehended that by 2015 there will be 120,000 cases of fall each year (NHS report 2005). Computerized searches of the following data bases were carried out EMBASE, Medline, Cinahal, Cochrane Library Systematic review, BMJ, PubMed, NHS Economic Evaluation, NHS National Library for Health, Health Techonologly Assessment data base, Cochrane register of controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Google, Ovid, Proquest, British nursing index and Reference list from review articles. Relevant randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, meta analysis in which vitamin D or Vitamin D plus calcium was given and reduction of falls and fractures or prevention of falls and fractures was reported as the primary or secondary outcome. Male and female, male or female community dwelling older adults>60 who participated in randomized control studies that examined the effectiveness of vitamin D and or vitamin D and calcium in the prevention of falls and fractures Of the 10 articles that met the inclusion criteria the majority reviewed showed positive results on the supplementation of vitamin D or vitamin D plus calcium regimen reduced the risk of falls among older adults. In a pooled analysis of the 5 randomised control studies included in this study vitamin D therapy of (200-1000 IU) and calcium significantly resulted in the reduction of falls with an odds ratio of 0.814 in a 95% confidence interval of 0.715 – 0.926. I would like to acknowledge my son Jerome Scott for helping me with the typing of my notes. I would also like to acknowledge the help and support given to me by my colleagues at work whilst undertaking this course. Falls among the elderly is a major health and social care concern in the United Kingdom. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (2009), one in every two women and one in every

The Role Of Patriarchy In Female Characters English Literature Essay

The Role Of Patriarchy In Female Characters English Literature Essay A similarity exists in both the authors writing which is in disagreement to the dominant culture and the standard societal ideas of their time. This is shown by the two modern works which I will be analyzing; Isabel Allendes The House of Spirits and A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen which develop the conflict of gender roles in their works. Both authors use in my opinion an authentic female character(s) and that by the end despite the male domination are able to rebel against societal norm only to be viewed as the protagonist of the play or novel. Allendes novel recounts the story of Estaban Trueba, his wife and children. With the story spanning three generations is off of political corruption, feminine oppression and the movement from old to new. Allende examines and reveals the internal conflict of turmoil, oppression and torture of the female characters in particular. Women have generally been considered silent figures, submissive to the patriarchal powers that govern their society. Neither Allende nor Ibsen attempt to reproduce the culturally ordained silence; instead, both re inscribe female silence as a means for female empowerment which leads to their eventual freedom. The period, in which the novel was written, women were confined by traditional gender roles, with most women performing the work traditionally designated for women: marriage and family, or, if employed outside the home, teaching. Isabel Allende strongly believes that empowerment leads to the strength and freedom of a woman; and these views were shared by Henrik Ibsen as this concept echoes throughout their works. From the early sections of the novel, both Nivea and Clara are involved in the suffragette movement and this was not granted to women until 1949. Their participation in the Suffragette group would have been considered socially unacceptable as the right of voting would only be given to the male members, establishing from the very start that Chile is a patriarchal society. Allende tries to establish that empowerment comes through force of conviction, and uses Nivea as an example to show this. We see that women such as Nivea who have acted against societys norm by fighting for political rights go further than those women who accept their traditional role of subservience and remain staunch in their conservatism. They are shown to finish their days alone and mostly forgotten as is seen with Ferula and Nana. The portrayal of Nivea and her funeral which was attended by many is in direct contrast with that of Nana and Ferula. It is quoted that with Nana None of the many children she had raised with so much love attended her funeral.(P 17). Nana is said to have: been born to cradle other peoples children, wear their hand-me-down clothing, eat their left overs, live on borrowed happiness and grief, grow old beneath other peoples roofs die one day in her miserable little room in the far courtyard in a bed that did not belong to her, and be buried in a common grave in a public cemetery.(P 57) Allende uses Nana to sadly reflect on the women who meekly accept their defined role in society of the time. Allende does not only express empowerment through conviction but also through commercial enterprise as seen with Transito Soto. At the start of the novel Esteban lends her 50 pesos allowing her to seek out a career, but by the end of the novel the tide turns and the arrogant sexist Esteban comes to her to beg a favor. Again, by women taking chances and setting goals and dreams which society restricts them from having end up being successful. Allende shoots her views to the reader through her writing by using these female characters to represent Allendes own brand of feminism. Allende establishes early in her novel that when the family was warned of Claras nine-year silence and psychokinetic skills, Trueba considers the prolonged silencea virtue (88). Such a reading of muted female voice is constant in Latin American culture. However we see that the protagonists of the novel are all women who work in different and subtle ways to assert their rights breaking this silence in an assertive manner to get what they want and need in life. Still, . Clara, Blanca, and Alba remain the focus of the story, while Esteban, Pedro Tercero, and Miguel though the males and automatically assumed superiors of society enter the story only because they are the men those women love or marry. Though they are women and regarded as inferiors to society The House of the Spirits shows that this does not mean that men accomplish things and change things while women do not. On the contrary, the women in The House of the Spirits have a more long-lasting effect and create more drastic changes than any of the men do. This has been done by disapproved behavior such as Nivea and her movement or Transito and the prostitute business while the men lead revolutions that topple governments, those revolutions are themselves quickly toppled. Henrik Ibsens play A Dolls House chronicles the attempts of one woman to find freedom in a patriarchal society. The feminist issues in A Dolls House seem almost contemporary, although it was written more than a century ago. Like Allende Dolls House challenges these patriarchal views and shows the audience a fresh perspective on a womans life. Many women could relate to Noras situation and like Nora, they felt trapped in a dolls house by their husbands and their fathers; however, they believed that the rules of society prevented them from stepping out of the shadows of men. Through this play, Ibsen stresses the importance of womens individuality and like Allende Ibsen uses his characters of the play help to support his strong opinions. Noras initial characteristics are that of a bubbly, child-like wife who is strictly dependent on her husband. This subordinate role from which Nora progresses emphasizes the need for change in societys view of women. For Nora, her inferior, doll-like nature is a facade for a deeper passion for individuality that begins to surface during the play and eventually fully emerges in the ending. An example of this deep yearning for independence is shown when Nora tells her friend, Kristina Linde about earning her own money by doing copying. Nora explains, It was tremendous fun sitting [in her room] working and earning money she says; It was almost like being a man (162) Such comments reveal Ibsens presentation of women to be positive; Nora enjoyed working because it empowered her, and whilst accepting the situations of the time, Ibsen portrays women as active, and struggling in an unequal system. The sheltered, feeble wife proves to be a resourceful masculine life-provider, in literally sav ing Torvalds life. In many instances Nora deceives her husband, even though Nora seeks to be independent, she uses her role of obedience to her advantage and does this by deceiving Torvald into thinking that she can do little on her own, she ensures that he never suspects her of forging her fathers name to borrow 800 cronen from Krogstad in order to save Torvalds life. When Krogstad threatens to expose the truth, Nora must use her craftiness to distract Torvald and sway him into letting Krogstad keep his job. She soon comes to realize the she must take the path that is right for her and no one else. She discovers that Torvald is not the man she thought him to be and that he knows nothing of who she really is. In her sudden awareness, she says to Torvald, you dont understand me. And Ive never understood you until tonight. They have lived as strangers to each other. Noras progression from a submissive housewife to an opinionated, independent woman represents the future progression of women in society. Torvalds role illustrates societys inaccurate perception of women. He sees her only as a one-sided character with little or no opinions of her own. As Nora comments, I came to have tastes as yoursor I pretended to. Noras father also contributes to her oppression. He used to tell [Nora] his opinion about everything, and so [she] had the same opinion. Torvald only continues the behavior that she had come to expect from her father. These male figures in Noras life not only limit her beliefs and actions, but also limit her happiness. Like Allende Ibsen uses Torvalds character, and discards the public view of man to expose a more realistic depiction of male superiority. Ibsen attempts in criminalizing the male protagonist; Torvald, his behavior becomes increasingly more erratic near the plays end, affirming an idealistic self-importance, believing that she has become wife and child to him. Moreover, Torvald exhibits considerable emotional disparity which one may stereotypically associate with women; he becomes angry at Nora for her deceptive act, yet once he appears to be in the clear, he deems his outburst to be a moment of anger. Just as Torvald undergoes an apparent transformation, so does Nora; she proclaims that her leaving Torvald and the children is necessary for her, a notion that is typically assumed by males (to consider ones interests first). To portray Nora as such may not be entirely positive, but it is certainly a contemporary, liberal representation. Overall, we see that Nora is now free from her obligations, and rejects Torvalds further assistance. Moreover, Nora the doll (one whose disposition never changes) now leaves her house, and is free to seek a fuller life as a human being, no longer a malleable doll under the control of her master. No women at the time would have dared to do what Nora has, and just like the characters in Allendes novel it is only by daring or committing actions socially unacceptable like Nora did or even as Nivea displayed that these women can truly feel empowered which leads to their freedom or gain of what they needed. Again Allende and Ibsen reverberates their thoughts through the characters and portray the males as the antagonists of the play which leads to the audience or readers to understand and sympathize with their views that their needs to be a change in the way society views women.

Comparing Odyssey :: essays research papers

The Odyssey vs. American History X   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Odyssey and American History X don’t share similarities in the plot, theme or time period, but they have an ingredient common in many stories. Odysseus and Derek are challenged with deadly obstacles and they overcome these difficulties with the help of a mentor. A guide saves both characters and assists them in their return home. Odysseus and Derek need the support and help of a trusted friend who will guide them through their dramatic adventure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bob Sweeny, a trusted and loyal friend to Derek helped him develop into a well-rounded person. After Derek Vinyard’s father died, he fell into a self-destructive pattern ultimately leading to racism. After spending three years in jail, Derek began to realize he needed to liberate himself and his family from this hate-infested lifestyle. Derek turned to Mr. Sweeny and begged for his forgiveness and his help. While in prison, Mr. Sweeny told Derek, â€Å"your anger is consuming you, your anger is shutting down the brain god gave you† (American History X). Mr. Sweeny guided Derek into the right direction. He understood that in order for Derek to be truly liberated he needed to learn on his own, much like Athena. He guided Derek, but never persuaded him to change. Surviving jail was nearly impossible, but with the help of Mr. Sweeny, Derek overcame imprisonment and returned home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athena is much like Mr. Sweeny, helping Odysseus return home. She disguised Odysseus into a beggar, consulted with other Gods to allow him to return home, and she helped devise a plan to defend his home. Although Athena assisted Odysseus greatly, she never chose a path he should take, much like Mr. Sweeny. Both Derek and Odysseus show their gratitude toward their mentor, however Odysseus boldly states his affection in the following passage, â€Å" Mentor, stand by me and remember your old comrade who always did the right thing by you. We are yearsmates!† (Chapter 22, Page 247). Here, Odysseus thanks Athena for her assistance and her loyalty. This was also done by Derek but in an indirect manner. The most prevalent comparison between these two stories is the relationship between tests and ordeals. Derek must overcome racism in order to survive prison, and Odysseus needs to identify that his excessive pride delayed his return home several years. The gangs in prison threatened Derek every day. They pose a potential negative impact on his family if he continued to demonstrate his hatred.

Philips Versus Matsushita Case Essay

Philips and Matsushita are two giants in the global consumer electronics market. Their international strategies and organizations are very different — while the former pursued a localization strategy, the latter pursued a global standardization strategy; while the former made use of highly self-sufficient national organizations (NOs) for strong local responsiveness, the latter adopted †one product one division† structure for cost cutting. Nevertheless, both companies encountered their difficulties as global environment changed and have then undergone major restructuring over the years. So what are the recommendations for these companies to survive in the changing environment? Philips has developed local responsiveness through its decentralized structure of national organizations (NO). This structure has a great advantage in being able to sense and quickly respond to the differences in the local markets. As a result of product development is a function of the local market conditions. Philips had developed 8 major R&D facilities throughout the world that are highly specialized. They have been a success introducing such products as first color TV in its Canadian NO and first stereo TV in Australia. However, these inventions were not shared with the rest of the NOs in Philips because of the lack of communication between NOs and headquarters. For example, Philips’ Beta videocassette format wasn’t shared with other divisions as the strategically valuable invention, as a result North America Philips rejected this invention outright choosing instead to outsource and sell Matsushita’s VHS tapes. In order to prevent these strategic mistakes, the main role of the headquarters should be scanning of business activities across countries and identifying resources and capabilities that might be a source of competitive advantage for other companies in the firm. In the 1980s, Philips competitive position weakened significantly. Competition from rapid technological change, emergence of global standards for electronic equipment and low cost Japanese manufactures all contributed to the overtaking of Matsushita. Past efforts to develop technological capabilities abroad have f ailed due to the company’s highly centralized R&D structure in Japan. Matsushita have transferred significant resources to local R&D centers, however the delegation of many responsibilities and framework of R&D came from headquarters in Japan. This philosophy was not well accepted by engineers of the acquired local companies because of the excessive functional control from the headquarters.  As the result of central R&D dictatorship overseas companies were not able to develop innovative capability and entrepreneurship. The challenge for Philips is to adopt a more flexible integrative process to balance its decentralization with controls and put in place suitable global coordination mechanisms. As NOs take over the development, manufacturing, marketing and services functions on Philips, these powers have to be reallocated to a centralized module or directly sell to other companies so as to control their powers and facilitate global integration. Yet, the technology capabilities should not be a trade-off for cost cutting purposes as it is where Philipsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ core competency lies at. Customer-focused approaches like quality after-sales service or intensive market researched should be conducted to promote the strength of its technology and branding. Moreover, an information system should be established to allow free knowledge or information exchange between NOs. The challenge for Matsushita is to enhance its local responsiveness to balance its centralization with innovation and entrepreneurship and put in place suitable localization mechanisms. First, Matsushita should establish an information system for technology and produce development for all its subsidiaries. Global knowledge transfer is important to provide basic foundation and technical support for innovations. Second, Matsushita should form cross-functional teams to investigate the local market. By employing a diversified profile of people, they can give findings or suggestions on various parts of operations like customer-relationship management, manufacturing, marketing, rather than just produce development alone. Lastly, they should recruit more local talents to stimulate the company culture as well as gather more insightful thoughts.

Autism and Rain Man

Autism and Rain Man In the movies things are portrayed in ways that are supposed to make the movie sell, which means that movies are not always accurate. The movie Rain Man was about a man and his brother, who happened to be an autistic savant. In Rain Man Dustin Hoffman played Raymond, who was a high-functioning autistic savant. In the movie Raymond had routines and rituals that he did; and when his routines were interrupted or he was afraid of something he had a temper tantrum where he would hit his head. He tended to babble and repeat himself, and when he was stressed he would recite â€Å"Who’s on First? by Abbott and Costello. Raymond had trouble interacting with people and had problems understanding certain concepts. Raymond doesn’t like people touching him or his stuff. He also doesn’t understand the concept of money. The question is, â€Å"Is this a realistic portrayal of an autistic savant? † The answer is that at least part of it is realistic. T he character Dustin Hoffman played was based on a real life savant. The name of the savant that inspired the movie, and got the title of â€Å"real life Rain Man† was Kim Peek. Dustin Hoffman actually spent time with Kim Peek so he could more accurately play the character.While he may have gotten the savant part of his role correct, Dustin Hoffman may not have necessarily gotten the autistic part of his role correct, since he didn’t actually meet with an autistic like he did with Kim Peek. That means that to find out how accurate the movie was in portraying autism, you must first look into and get a better understanding of autism. People with autism usually experience onset prior to age three. It has been estimated that there are approximately two to five cases of autism per ten thousand individuals.Males are four to five times more likely to have autism, but girls with autism are more likely to be more severely mentally retarded. Also, you are more likely to have auti sm if one of your siblings has autism. Autism has been shown to take a continuous course. It has been reported that some children with autism act abnormal from the time of birth. Their parents report being worried since the time they were born. With these kids, their parents notice a lack of interest in social interaction. In infancy, symptoms are harder to notice and define than those found after age two.On the other hand, it has also been reported that other children with autism were developmentally normal for the first year or two of their life. Children with autism tend to have problems with pretend play, verbal and nonverbal communication, and social interactions. In school-aged children developmental gains are common in some areas. Behaviorally, some individuals deteriorate around adolescence while others improve. Only a small amount of autistic people are capable of living and working individually when they reach adulthood.It is estimated that only about one-third of autistic people are capable of achieving any amount of partial independence. Even the highest-functioning adults with autism still have problems with social interactions and communication. The highest-functioning adults with autism will also still have a small range of hobbies and interests. People with autism may have unusual distress when routines are changed. They also may perform repeated body movements, show unusual attachments to objects, and be overly sensitive in sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste.People with autism will also have communicational issues, which may include the inability to start or maintain a social conversation, using gestures to communicate instead of words, having slow language development or no language development, not adjusting their gaze to focus on what others are looking at, not referring to themselves correctly (like by saying you instead of I when talking about themselves), not pointing to direct others' attention to objects, repeating memorized words, phrases, dialogs, and passages (like from books or movies), and using nonsense rhyming.Autistic people are withdrawn. They do not make friends or participate in interactive games. When autistic people play, they don’t imitate the actions of others. They prefer solitary or ritualistic play instead of group games. They engage in little or no pretend or imaginative play. Autistic people may not respond to eye contact or smiles, and may even avoid eye contact. They may treat others as objects instead of people and show a lack of empathy towards others. Autistic would rather spend time alone than with others. Autistic people may also have unusual responses to sensory information. For xample, they may have heightened or low senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste. An autistic person would not jump when they heard a loud noise, although they may find normal noises painful and hold hands over ears. They may withdraw from physical contact because it is over stimulating or ov erwhelming. They may have heightened or lowered responses to pain. They may also rub surfaces and lick objects. Autistic people tend to â€Å"Act up† with intense tantrums when something they do not like happens (like not getting what they want). Autistic people may get stuck on a single topic or task.They may also have a short attention span. Autistic people tend to have very narrow interests and may show a strong need for sameness. An autistic person may be either very overactive or very passive. They may also show aggression towards themselves or others. People with autism have specific neuropsychological deficits that produce many of the symptoms associated with autism. It has been identified that prefrontal impairments are present in autistic people that affect things like spatial working memory, attention shifting, and response inhibition.Also, there have been impairments detected in the medial temporal lobe and in facial processing. It has also been shown that very you ng children with autism have abnormal ERP responses to faces, emotions, and speech. It has also been shown that people with autism have auditory processing abnormalities. There is no cure for autism, but the symptoms can be managed through therapy. Also, it has been shown that early, intensive behavioral programs can significantly improve learning and communication skills and reduce disturbed behaviors.It has been proven that children that are better functioning at the start of treatment are more likely to gain more from the treatment. Biomedical treatments are limited to using medications to manage the disruptive behavior, self-injuring, and stereotyped behavior. According to Abnormal Psychology In A Changing World (Seventh Edition) â€Å"Autistic traits generally continue on into adulthood to some degree or another† (Nevid, Rathus & Green, 2008, p. 485). Even so, some autistic children go on to get college degrees and function independently.Others need constant treatment th roughout the duration of their lives and some even need institutionalized care. Now that we have enough information on autism we can make a judgment on how realistic the movie was in portraying Raymond Babbitt as an autistic savant. Because the actor met with Kim Peek, a real life savant, and studied his mannerisms and abilities, we can conclude that his depiction of savants is realistic. He did not though; meet with an autistic to learn what they are like, so we must look at his actions as Raymond Babbitt and judge their authenticity as the behaviors an autistic person would experience.It has been pointed out that in the movie Raymond Babbitt had routines and rituals that he did; and when his routines were interrupted or he was afraid of something he had a temper tantrum where he would hit his head. He tended to babble and repeat himself, and when he was stressed he would recite â€Å"Who’s on First? † by Abbott and Costello. Raymond had trouble interacting with peopl e and had problems understanding certain concepts. Raymond doesn’t like people touching him or his stuff. He also doesn’t understand the concept of money.Apart from Raymond’s inability to understand the concept of money, all of the oddities about Raymond that are not accounted for by his savant nature are accounted for by autism. The only thing unaccounted for is his inability to understand the concept of money which played a fairly big part in the storyline of the movie. So, in conclusion we can say that Rain Man followed reality pretty well in its representation of autism. ? References NICHD Staff Presentations on Autism Research. (2010, June 2). etrieved April 13 2011, from Autism Research at the NICHD Web Site: http://www. nichd. nih. gov/autism/autism. cfm Treffert, D. , & MD. (n. d. ). Kim Peek – The Real Rain Man | Wisconsin Medical Society. Physicians Page | Wisconsin Medical Society. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://www. wisconsinmedicalsoci ety. org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/kim_peek Kanashiro, N & Zieve, D (2010, April 26). Autism. retrieved April 10 2011, from Autism – PubMed Health Web Site: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/ American Psychiatric