Babylonia and the Law Code of Hammurabi

Babylonia and the Law Code of Hammurabi Babylonia (roughly, modern southern Iraq) is the name of an ancient Mesopotamian empire known for its math and astronomy, architecture, literature, cuneiform tablets, laws and administration, and beauty, as well as excess and evil of Biblical proportions. Control of Sumer-Akkad Since the area of Mesopotamia near where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers emptied into the Persian Gulf had two dominant groups, the Sumerians, and Akkadians, it its to as Sumer-Akkad. As part of an almost endless pattern, other people kept trying to take control of the land, mineral resources, and trade routes. Eventually, they succeeded. Semitic Amorites from the Arabian Peninsula gained control over most of Mesopotamia by about 1900 B.C. They centralized their monarchical government over the city-states just north of Sumer, in Babylon, formerly Akkad (Agade). The three centuries of their domination is known as the Old Babylonian period. The Babylonian King-God Babylonians believed the king held power because of the gods; moreover, they thought their king was a god. To maximize his power and control, a bureaucracy and centralized government were established along with the inevitable adjuncts, taxation, and involuntary military service. Divine Laws The Sumerians already had laws, but they were administered jointly by individuals and the state. With a divine monarch came divinely inspired laws, violation of which was an offense to the state as well as the gods. The Babylonian king (1728-1686 B.C.) Hammurabi codified the laws in which (as distinct from the Sumerian) the state could prosecute on its own behalf. The Code of Hammurabi is famous for demanding punishment to fit the crime (the lex talionis, or an eye for an eye) with different treatment for each social class. The Code is thought to be Sumerian in spirit but with a Babylonian inspired harshness. The Babylonian Empire and Religion Hammurabi also united the Assyrians to the north and the Akkadians and Sumerians to the south. Trade with Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine spread Babylonian influence further. He further consolidated his Mesopotamian empire by building a network of roads and a postal system. In religion, there wasnt much change from Sumer/Akkad to Babylonia. Hammurabi added a Babylonian Marduk, as chief god, to the Sumerian pantheon. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Babylonian compilation of Sumerian tales about a legendary king of the city-state of Uruk, with a flood story. When, in the reign of Hammurabis son, the horse-back invaders known as the Kassites, made incursions into Babylonian territory, the Babylonians thought it punishment from the gods, but they managed to recover and stayed in (limited) power until the beginning of the 16th century B.C. when the Hittites sacked Babylon, only to withdraw later because the city was too distant from their own capital. Eventually, the Assyrians suppressed them, but even that was not the end of the Babylonians for they rose again in the Chaldean (or Neo-Babylonian) era from 612-539 made famous by their great king, Nebuchadnezzar.

Unknown Citizen VS The enormous radio essays

Unknown Citizen VS The enormous radio essays The Unknown citizen by W.H. Auden and The enormous radio by John Cheever both share the same idea about society. Both the poem and the short story are hypocritical and show how individuals hide behind the shield of conformity. In the Unknown Citizen Auden describes the perfect man, yet in whos eyes does he meet perfection? The first time I read the poem I interpreted it differently than I do now. I first thought that the character was the ideal person who reached ultimate perfection yet as I read it a second time I realized I was wrong. In all of the lines that I thought were complimentary, as I reread them I found them very impersonal and vague. In line nine Auden says he wasnt odd in h is ways, In lines fourteen -fifteen he bought the paper everyday...reactions ...were normal in every way, and also in line twenty-three he held proper opinions for this time of year. I read all of these as very general, like the speaker is rewarding him for being a perfect clone of what every one else is. The speaker in this poem is always referred to as we therefor the speaker must be society. In the conclusion of the poem the speaker questions wether the man was happy and free and answers it himself by saying the question is absurd and if he was not okay, they would know. Yet Im sure everything was not perfect in this mans life, but they didnt know. I also interpreted the title differently, the unknown citizen this also contributed to my idea of this man being just like everyone else. Because he is unknown for his accomplishment because it is the norm, he did nothing more and nothing less than what was expected of him. He didnt get fired and noone complained about him yet the speaker doesnt go on to explain the important role he played. The speaker identifies the man as JS/07/m/378". ...

In relation to perception,what does it mean that we all lok at Essay

In relation to perception,what does it mean that we all lok at different situations in the work place though different lenses Why it is important for a manager - Essay Example The mind then processes it and makes it available for retrieval. The perceiver then responds according to the interpretations of the perceived situation or object. In the workplace, it is very important for a manager to understand how perception may help or hinder his management. There are different situations happening within the workplace that may affect the performance of the management and the employees depending on their perception of the issue or situation. The issues and events happening around the workplace are interpreted differently depending on their rank and status in the workplace. For example, an employee may see a rewards program as ineffective because of the lack of enticing rewards it offers and a manager may see it as ineffective because of the lack of participation from the employees. Depending on his role in the workplace, the individual interprets the situation in relation to his level of work. Understanding that the workplace is a vast field of opinions and interpretations, the manager can use his perception and that of his subordinates to improve their work performance and work relationships. The primary responsibility of a manager is to oversee and to manage the business or his assigned department, including the people within. With this responsibility comes the different situations in which he has to use his decision-making skills effectively and efficiently. Perception is very important in fulfilling this responsibility. Filtering out information that are not necessary to fulfill the task is important (Howard n.d.). Knowing what is needed information and what is not needed is important as it will define how the manager interprets and analyzes the situation. When making decisions, analyzing facts is more important than judging the situation based on intuition. Perception of an action depends on the meaning attributed to the

Competitive Benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Competitive Benefits - Research Paper Example Therefore, this discourse kicks off by analyzing the benefits that come with compensation components and ways in which organizations whose employees are unionized can remain competitive. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees who are represented by a union receive higher salary as compared to the non- union workers. Moreover, they have more access to various benefits such as medical insurance, despite the declining rate of union membership. Research shows that in the year 2001, only 18 million workers were under a union as compared to 16 million workers in the year 2011. Nevertheless, it is without doubt that unions have an affirmative effect on various aspects of job quality such as employee benefits and wages (Long, 2013). Therefore, this treatise focuses on analyzing how a firm whose workers are represented by a union can remain competitive against the non-unionized workers. It will also give limelight to the role of benefits and the components of an employee benefit package. It is without doubt that compensation benefits play a major role in reducing turnover, enhancing productivity, and increasing the rate of morale among workers. Employee benefits are non-wage compensation that is offered to workers in addition to their normal salaries. For organizations that endeavor to hire competitive workers, they have an attractive benefits package that is either monetary or non-monetary. For instance, the monetary compensation benefits can include bonuses, profit sharing, and stock options among others. There are also the non-monetary benefits such as health insurance, pension plans, disability insurance, paid holidays, educational assistance, flexible working hours, sick leave, work at home oriented programs, retirement plans, and dental insurance among others. It is to be noted that such benefits are paramount in attracting, motivating, rewarding, and retaining workers (Reddick & Coggburn, 2012). Research shows that

Thinking and Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Thinking and Decision Making Essay The following are the three different styles of thinking that would be discussed in this paper a) Pragmatists, b) Synthesists and c) Realists. Pragmatists: People possessing this thinking style are practical thinkers. They do not believe in making long-term plans or setting long term goals. Rather they set small goals to be accomplished in a short phase of time. So their penchant for quick results means they divide the long-term goals in different parts and accomplish them one by one, which gives them a sense of achievement from time to time. They are very quick at acknowledging others’ ideas and possess a good sense of humor. They consider conflicts as a means of understanding other people’s viewpoint and make maximum use of it by brainstorming and experimenting its impact. Since they try to make use of every situation, good or bad they are very creative in nature. They easily adopt any strategy that suits the situation or has the potential for success or further growth. They are innovative and pay attention to minute details as they think that every minute step or detail play a significant part in the larger picture. They have the zeal and stamina of accomplishing their goals, come what may and also have the potential to make others believe that what they are doing is right. This style of thinking is what makes one a leader. They convince everyone about their vision by moulding the same idea in different ways so that it looks convincing enough to everyone. They plan the risks beforehand so there is little chance of them not being able to handle a crisis situation. Synthesists: The people belonging to this style of thinking love arguments and conflicts. They do not have the patience to wait for the conflict to get fully blown up. So they try to trigger up the trouble so that the problem gets solved as soon as possible rather than waiting for it to gradually come in full force. Even when there is not much conflict or commotion in a particular situation, they find one point or the other to be satirically amused or skeptical. In conflict situation they observe both the sides of the argument and come up with a new angle or idea. Hence this style of thinking helps in building good observation skills and fuelling creativity. Synthesists want to grasp all that is going in a person’s mind. They are smart enough to understand but still in order to let the person open up, they start a debate then quietly observe his feelings. They love to ruffle up hidden reactions. People possessing this style of thinking don’t set aside others’ ideas. Rather analyze different viewpoints to understand a situation well. Synthesists style of thinking makes a person good at speculation. They have the ability to brainstorm and come to different solutions or reactions of a situation, which can be termed a creative activity. So nothing surprises them much, because their minds are engaged in so much of speculation that nothing is unexpected for them. Realists: The people possessing this type of thinking style are ‘no-nonsense’ kind of people. They are frank, forceful and direct. Instead of relying on others’ point of view, they rely on themselves the most to discover things. They are always engaged in empirical discoveries and love concrete facts. In order to handle a crisis or conflict situation they ask straight questions. They always know where they are heading because they have a set objective, know what resources they have at hand and have the capability of analyzing how those resources could be used in the best possible way. They very well know their strong and weak points and do not hesitate to take outside help in areas where they are not capable enough. They break a problem into several logical parts and then solve them one by one. They calmly handle situations but can get aggressive if someone or something is very ambiguous or unrealistic. If the three styles of thinking are compared and contrasted then it is quite evident that the three of them overlap in certain areas while are poles apart in others. Both pragmatists and synthesist’s believe in quick solutions. Both these styles of thinking facilitate creativity. Goodbrand had described pragmatists in the following way: â€Å"they dont shy away from conflict but neither do they relish it like the synthesist.† (para.24) This aptly brings out the contrast between the two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like realists, pragmatists have a definite goal and they too break the task into small targets and try to accomplish them systematically. Both the styles of thinking believe in acknowledging any outside idea that has been used in the process of thinking.   Both these styles of thinking oozes confidence and strong will power. While people of pragmatist style of thinking are good tacticians and find one or the other way to get a task done, the realistic styles of thinkers are very frank and straightforward. It is difficult for them to use any tactics rather; they propagate the ‘matter of fact’ aspect of getting a task done.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The following qualities are common in both realist and synthesist style of thinking: â€Å"Understanding that people see situations from their own perspective and that all perspectives have their own viewpoints and that as much can be learned from looking at a situation from another viewpoint as can be learned from looking at it through your own eyes.† (Goodbrand, para15) However, where synthesists believe in speculation, realists believe in matter of fact and empirical evidence. Also, in order to get other’s point of view or a hidden fact synthesists might ask ambiguous or dumb-smart questions. The realists abhor ambiguity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since critical thinking means dividing information into categories and sub categories, realist and pragmatist style of thinking affect critical thinking because both these styles of thinking focus on this format of problem solving or target achievement. Since one of the steps of critical thinking is synthesis, synthesist style of thinking naturally has an affect on it too.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the workplace scenario the process of decision-making involves the following three steps: a) intelligence, b) design and c) choice. According To Rue and Byars (1992, p.52) â€Å"The intelligence stage involves searching the environment for conditions requiring a decision. The design stage entails inventing, developing and analyzing possible courses of action. Choice, the final stage, refers to the actual selection of a course of action.† The different stages of critical thinking overlap with the decision making process. In workplace conflict the motive of both decision-making and critical thinking is to bring an end to the problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The three styles of thinking discussed in this paper can be explained in the context of critical thinking and decision making by the help of the following workplace example: An organization’s, departmental head is under pressure by the conflict between his two colleagues. He wants to bring this conflict to an end because it affects the work of the whole department. Now we assume that he has the pragmatist style of thinking, he would use tactics to end the problem. He would try to speak to both the subordinates separately and try to mould them to come to a common viewpoint and settle their conflicts. He would find out who of the two is less rigid and try to convince him that if he behaves more rationally then the whole department would benefit. He will not try to jump in the problem but wait for the right time to confront both of them together. On the other hand if he has the synthesist style of thinking he would not wait for the problem to aggravate further. Rather he would try to coax them to speak up their mind and let them argue. He would consider this argument as an opportunity to observe both the sides of the story. Then he would critically analyze the whole situation and decide their further course of action. If the departmental head thinks from a realistic angle he would ask both the parties to have a meeting with him and would fire straight questions to them to get the entire reason of the conflict. Then on the basis of the concrete fact he would try to come to a decision in the best possible way and calmly sort out the problem between the subordinates by dealing with each aspect of their problem one at a time. References Rue, L.W., Byars, L.L. (6 Ed.). (1992). Management Skills And Application. USA: IRWIN. Goodbrand, A.D. (1997) The Art of Thinking. Retrieved Jun. 28, 2007 from http://sern.ucalgary.ca/courses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   /seng/698/alang/minor.html Wikipedia. (2007) Critical thinking. Retrieved Jun. 28, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thinking

Dialogue Essays - Freshly Cut Grass -- Dialogue Essays

Dialogue Essays - Freshly Cut Grass The air sings with the fragrance of freshly cut grass. As a backdrop to other things, children are at play, swinging too and fro, running and skipping; there are toddlers who toddle and mindful mothers who watch on in painful and patient distraction. The sun is everywhere: in the corners of the pavilion, bearing down on the tennis courts, caressing the flower beds, the convection of its heat pulling at the carpet-like lawns, dragging out bodily its scent. Meanwhile the park keeper potters about, the days' work done, reluctant to leave his eternal garden with its endless memories. Standing in the shade of elm he drifts away, and almost never comes back. He half-watches half-feels the bumble bees bumble from flower to flower. Else where, there is great inactivity, and everyone is busy doing it to a degree close to perfection. The park keeper, a simple man in blue overalls, T- shirt, straw hat, blue pumps and pockets full of silence, seeks out the cool of deeper shadow, retiring to the hidden security of his tool shed, where he sits in the stripy curve of a well worn deck chair. Door ajar, pipe smouldering, gazing out into the summery world through eyes bright with the light of nearly wisdom, he surveys his universe with unhurried care. A days grass cutting concluded, the park keeper presently plays part of an extra, superfluous to the tale's needs, and knowing this, he fades from focus. Over a ways, cross legged, mounted on a blanket and hiding on the inside of a book, sits the person of Doris, who, like her name, is of another age. On display, for the world to see, like a dusty exhibit in the quiet, unvisited corner of a dead museum, she aw... ...im again. She saw him everyday for the rest of her life. It was all so long ago, akin to a dream. It had been real enough though, and she is strangely thankful for it. Thankful to have known existence, and felt the terrible pain of it. She can almost feel the echo of its sorrow. Doris is all but dead, and she all but knows it. The fire of her life is fuelled by a few remaining drops of hope, but even they will soon be exhausted. She stands to leave. Walking by the park keeper in his hide-away, he gives a smile of recognition. Of his routine, she knows it well. Next Friday he will once again mow the lawns, releasing their fragrance into the air, to fill the world with sweet perfume. Doris will be there, to breathe it deeply, gasping for more, until it fills her mind, until she becomes drunk, once again, with that smell of freshly cut grass.

Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe Research Paper Since the beginning of time, people have been interested in dark and depressing stories about horror. Edgar Allen Poe was a great writer of his time. Many people enjoyed his dark and gloomy stories. Edgar Allen Poe wrote during the romantic era and his dark and depressing life greatly influenced his gothic writing and his famous story The Cask of Amontillado. Edgar Allen Poe lived a really depressing life. Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. He died two years after his wife in 1949 due to brain lesion. TCA) (gothic literature) Before his death he went to the best schools then later joined the army, after he was forced out of school due to bad depts, where he published two of his collections. (TCA) After he got discharged from the army he joined the United States Military Academy at West Point were he published his last collection. (TCA) Poe Published three collections. (TCA) His first collection published while he was in the army, Tamerlane, and Other Poems â€Å"by a Bostonian. † Went unnoticed. TCA) His second collection, AL Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor poems published in 1829 only received slighty more attention when it appeared. (TCA) His third collection Where Peoms was published in 1831. (TCA) Poe wrote during the romanticism period. Although Poe wrote in the romanticism era, Poe mainly wrote gothic literature. (gothic literature) Romanticism was the era of writing the focused on humankind and used emotion to show its writes works. (gothic literature) Romanticism began in the mid 18th century, the n later picked up 19 century, and then declined in the late 19th century. gothic literature) Romanticism was very touching to most individuals during its time. (gothic literature). The romanticism era included writers such as Edgar Allen Poe , Nathaniel Hawthorne, and many other writers of its time frame. The Cask of Amontillado is one of Poe ’s famous stories. (TCA) The Cask of Amontillado is like many of Poe’s other stories, One in particular The Tell-Tale Heart I, another one of Poe’s famous stories. (TCA) Were in most of his murderers, Montressor doesn’t understand his antagonist. Read also Edgar Allan Poe DrugsMany of Poes other stories have a narrator harming another human. (TCA) The Cask of Amontillado is about two men Montressor and Fortunato who are great friends. (TCA) One day   Montressor made Fortunato believe that they were just going to see  an Amontillado, a type of alcoholic beverage called cherry. (TCA) When really Montressor lures Fortunato into his families wine cellar. (TCA) Were Fortunato gets very intoxicated. (TCA) As Montressor and Fortunato get deeper into Fortunato’s families wine cellar Fortunato gets even more intoxicated. TCA) Until Montressor Later traps Fortunato into a room very deep into the cellar, were Fortunato later dies. (TCA) Edgar Allen Poe wrote during the romanticism era and his dark and depressing life greatly influenced his famous story The Cask of Amontillado. Edgar was a well know american poet and short story writer. Poe was particularly important to the ongoing influence of the Gothic on contemporary liter ature Edgar depressing life lead him to be one of the world’s most know horror writer of his time. â€Å"Gothic Literature. Literary Movements for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Literary Movements. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 281-309. Gale U. S. History In Context. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. www. galegroup. com Benton, Richard P. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado: Overview. † Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. www. galegroup. com Clendnning, John. â€Å" â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Edgar Allen Poe. † Short Story Criticism Ed. Anna Sheets Nesbit.Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 335-341. Stewart, Kate. â€Å" â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Edgar Allen Poe. † Short Story Criticism Ed. Anna Sheets Nesbit. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 347-350 â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Edgar Allen Poe †Short Story Criticism Ed. Anna Sheets Nesbit. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 297-298 Poe, Edgar A. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado. † Web. 9 Dec. 2011. . Didn’t know how to make the single equation mark so I just used another equation mark*