Respect Quotes

Respect is very essential to each of us and it is one of the admirable altitudes that a person always wants to earn. Anyway, everyone deserves to be respected and all of us must respect each other. However, not all people in the world know how to respect other people as well. There are so many disrespectful people that were not taught not taught how to be kind to others. So, if that’s the case, it is much better if they read more quotes about respect. And these disrespectful people would surely appreciate the real meaning of the word respect.Actually, you can read so many quotes about respect from the different sources like books, bible and from the different internet sites. Well, I have in here a list of some interesting quotes about respect. So to start, I have here a quote from Jarod Kintz â€Å"Respect doesn’t have to be shiny. ‘It just needs to be wearable. Would you be so kind as to hold my jockstrap while I stir your hot coffee? † Then I also have in here very famous quotes about respect from Confucius. â€Å"Respect yourself and others will respect you. Next we also have another inspiring quote about respect by Fyodor Dostoyevsky â€Å"If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self- respect will you compel others to respect you. † We also have a heartfelt touching quote by Mahabharata â€Å"Should even one’s enemy arrive at the doorstep, he should be attended upon with respect. A tree does not withdraw its cooling shade even from the one who has come to cut it. † Then lastly, we have a quote from Laurence Sterne, â€Å"Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners. Always put these quotes in mind because these quotes are very important for us because it serves as a guide in making us a better person. It is such a nice thing if a person is respectful; a lot of people will look up to those respectful people. It is n ot hard to respect other people because all you need to do is to be sensitive to other people’s feelings and to know your limitations. Meanwhile, for those people who are not respectful, well, they might just learn their lessons soon and will realize that a person who is rude could not make a person happy and contented.

Abolishing the Death Penalty Thesis

Abolishing the Death Penalty October 18, 2010 Abolishing the Death Penalty The death penalty has been an active force in the United States for decades. In the early history of our country, public executions were quite popular. Thousands have been executed with the majority occurring in the early twentieth century. But public sentiment towards the executions began to wane as the concepts of basic human rights were being developed throughout the century. As a result, a kind of unofficial moratorium was placed on all executions while several Supreme Court cases were taking place to determine the legality of the punishment.The result of the cases actually made the death penalty illegal as it stood, so several states rewrote their laws, being more specific as to the circumstances as to which the penalty can be applied. The Supreme Court reversed its decision and those states that met the new compliance could reinstate the death penalty. Today, it is legal to execute death row prisoners in all but fifteen states. While it may be legal, it still holds that the death penalty has not and cannot accomplish the task that it has been reinstated to fulfill. Part I: ThesisThe death penalty should be abolished for a variety of reasons. Initially, the death penalty has long been held to be inherently unjust. It is considered unjust in relation to its application, unjust as to the type of punishment utilized and unjust as a punishment at all. It has and continues to be argued in court that the executions amount to what is considered cruel and unusual punishment and so barbaric that it should be done away with as a type of punishment. It is a sad but true statement to say that the United States is one of the last democratic nations to continue to utilize the death penalty.Our country has wavered back in forth on the issue of capital punishment being illegal and a breach of human rights. Additionally, even while continuing to use the death penalty it has not shown to be a deterre nt of crime and actually may increase it. Opponents of the death penalty also recognize that it has not been applied fairly. For instance, minorities, the poor, and the mentally disabled tend to receive the death penalty with far greater consistency than their counterparts. That cannot be a punishment representative of a great industrialized country.Those against the death penalty also recognize the cost involved with executing a prisoner. To actually take a death row inmate through the complete appellate system, so as to ensure the inmate’s guilt without any doubt, would cost exponentially more than housing the same inmate for the duration of their life. The monies saved could be better served if used towards something positive, like victim’s programs or the like. Lastly, the death penalty is a punishment that is irrevocable; its effects are permanent and there is the sad reality that innocent lives may be lost. There is no perfect system and mistakes are bound to be made.This is one mistake, however, that cannot be corrected. This is why the death penalty cannot be the United States’ answer for grave offenders of the law. Part II: Anti-Thesis Proponents of the death penalty are large in number. According to many polls, as many as 80% of the American population still favor capital punishment. One reason for this is society as a whole believes that if a person kills another person, the killer forfeits his right to his own life. (Christie, 1990). If a person shows such complete and utter disregard for human life, the question is posed, why should any regard be shown for the person?Also, those in favor of using the death penalty argue that it is a just punishment for the crime and it is reliable. After all, though some states are trying to punish people with death for other heinous crimes, such as rape and repeat child molestation, so far the death penalty can only be imposed on murder cases. As far as the reliability argument, supporters wi ll always point out that because of the thoroughness in applying and appealing death penalty cases, the process itself will weed out the innocent and wrongly convicted. Proponents of the death penalty also view it as a deterrent to crime. â€Å"Same old†, 1990). Just by having the possible punishment of death as an end result to a heinous crime has lowered the murder rate in some states. The feeling is that the more executions you have, the lower the homicide rate you will have. Not to mention the innocent lives you will save. Supporters of capital punishment will cite studies showing that murderers who are allowed to live will inevitably kill again. Studies have shown that murderers awaiting their death penalty sentence to be carried out have killed correction officers, knowing there could be no additional fate assigned to them.Another argument made in favor of the death penalty is one of Biblical proportions. There are some activists that say the Bible itself proclaims the right to execute a perpetrator of the most serious of crimes by quoting a scripture from Leviticus 24:20 – â€Å"†¦fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. † The old adage has not been lost on those who feel that it is their God given right to enforce the laws that God has given them regarding the taking of a human life. Gray, 2010) Lastly, many supporters of capital punishment feel that it is appropriate to give a punishment that fits the crime and one that is universal. It doesn’t matter a person’s color, race, creed, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or financial status; if two people, one white and one â€Å"non-white†, commit the exact same crime under the exact same circumstances, they in fact should receive the exact same punishment. It is believed that the death penalty, when applied under the circumstance of murder in the first degree with aggravating circumstances, is the great equalizer, with everyone being treated the same in the eyes of the law.Part III: Synthesis It is important that the United States realizes, sooner than later, that the death penalty has to be abolished. Proponents want us to think that a killer forfeits his own life. But the reality is all life is precious, regardless of its form or merit. (Thomson, 2001). Although someone has taken a life, and in no way should that be trivialized, it does not change that situation by killing the offender. All it does is show that two wrongs do not make a right. The execution of the murderer does not bring the victim back to life.Quite frankly, the death penalty often provides a way out for the offender and if punishment was the true desire of the sentence then there are situations, other than execution that may be far more punitive than the taking of his or her life. (Thomson, 2001). When it comes to reliability, the argument on behalf of the death penalty doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Yes, it is true that the exhaustive appeals process does on occasion help to find innocent people who have been convicted of murder. This is largely due to the relatively new innovation of DNA technology as it relates to crime scene investigation. (Gzedit, 2010).Well, if anything, this proves the fallibility of the death penalty process. If over 131 death row inmates could be exonerated and released from death row, that shows just how faulty the system is and proves it is unreliable. Again, as stated previously, once a prisoner has been executed, there is no returning from the grave to say a mistake has been made. At least if the inmate was serving a life sentence and found innocent, they could be released, although still wronged by a jail sentence, but it is a correctable injustice. One of the main arguments in favor of the death penalty is that it serves as a deterrent to serious crime.Would it surprise you to know that this simply is not true? It is a proven fact that the death penalty has not demonstrably deterred crime. (â€Å"Same old†, 1990). The 2004 Uniform Crime Report that was published by the FBI published that Southern states demonstrated the highest murder rate in the country, despite being responsible for 85% of the nation’s executions. (Friedman, 2006, p. 37). As further evidence that the death penalty doesn’t deter crime I introduce you to the state of Texas which has been nicknamed the â€Å"killing machine† because they tend to exercise the death penalty frequently and rapidly.Even with capital punishment Texas has a disturbing murder rate of 5. 6 per 100,000 persons s opposed to Massachusetts, which banned executions and only has a murder rate of 2. 6. (Gzedit, 2010). As for the idea that people who kill once develop an appetite to kill again, there have been no definitive studies that prove this theory. This mindset is based on gut reaction, conjecture, and hysteria. Perhaps one of the most controversial argume nts in favor of the death penalty is the interpreted law given by God to exact the same punishment on the criminal as was forced upon the victim.Supporters of this notion quote scripture from the Holy Bible as a sort of guideline to follow. However the Bible also has scripture that specifically refutes the idea of the death penalty as retribution for man to man. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, â€Å"let he who is without sin cast the first stone. This is truly what Jesus would do! Finally, proponents of the death penalty exclaim that executions are given with perfect exactness according to the crime, without regard to race, color, creed, nationality, etc†¦ , basically saying without bias. However, many different studies hav e show that the likelihood of you receiving the death penalty increases according to those very attributes. People of color are more likely than their white counterparts to receive the death penalty for committing the same crime under the same circumstances.Also, blacks that murder white victims are far likelier to end up on death row than whites killing blacks. Furthermore, studies show that prosecutors are more likely to seek the death penalty against blacks than they will for whites who commit the same crime. (Friedman, 2006, pp. 86-89). So much for all being equal under the law! So, as you see, we are a country somewhat divided. While the majority of Americans still favour the idea of using the death penalty, it has become an increasingly more controversial subject.The United States always holds its head up high as the leader of the free world and is quick to condemn other countries with regards to their human rights violations. How then can we continue to justify our use of thi s antiquated, archaic method of punishment? It is time that our country steps in line with the rest of the industrialized countries into the 21st century and do away with the death penalty once and for all.References Gzedit. (2010, January 27). Pro-death: :America alone. The Charleston Gazette,A. 4. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. Document ID: 1948771421). Christie, J. (1990, March 29). At Last, Punishment Fits the Crime Death penalty: It has wide support because ordinary citizens identify with media images of brutalized victims :[Home Edition]. Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext),p. 7. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from Los Angeles Times. (Document ID: 60026222). Friedman, L. (2006). The death penalty. Greenhaven Press Gray, L. (4   November). Houston Chronicle Lisa Gray column: Life, death and the prodigal son. McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Retrieved October 19, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID:  1893533451). Same old anti-crime hype . (1990, October 15). Milwaukee Journal,p. a06. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 64063217). Thomson, R. (2001, June 18). A consistent pro-life stance rules out the death penalty :[SARASOTA Edition]. Sarasota Herald Tribune,p. BS1. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 74204727).

Unionization and the nursing process Research Paper

Unionization and the nursing process - Research Paper Example For instance, there is major focus on addressing issues pertaining to nursing shortages and resource allocations thereby improving the quality of health outcomes. This implies that unionization in the nursing profession plays an important role of improving performance through quality service delivery. An analysis on the effects of unions in nursing profession indicates that unions are facilitators of effective nursing practice. This is attributed to the fact that unions work towards ensuring the wellbeing of nurses yet simultaneously maintaining and improving the quality of services delivered. Therefore, the role and goals of unions in nursing profession are in concurrence with nursing objectives as a profession. Nonetheless, union membership requires participation in the various activities of the union. This implies that members have a role to play in the union and it is not the responsibility of the management only to take part in union activities. For example, members are required to attend union meetings, take part in projects and act in support of the union even in seemingly challenging times such as during demonstrations. This implies that nurse are required to maintain active membership in unions. However, the increased focus towards unionization has seen establishment of relatively many unions with different goals (Benson, 2010). In a bid to reduce conflict of interest there are suggestions on establishment of a centralized union. Formation of a centralized union would arguably be a great step towards strengthening nurses and ensuring fair representation. Considering all the advantages of unions, it is relatively difficult for unionized members to cope in a nonunionized environment. Nonunionized workers have to cope with all their work related problems including possible management oppressions. This implies that working in a nonunionized environment is relatively frustrating and undesirable (Laureate Education, Inc. 2012). Therefore, it

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Finance - Essay Example For example, company’s current financial position and financial performance, its current level of liquidity and its current outstanding long term liabilities are those fundamental factors that influence on the share prices. Mostly, these factors are highlighted in the company’s annually issued financial statements. However, certain other factors have direct or indirect either significant or minor impact over the aggregate performance of shares in stock markets. For example, discount rates, interest rates, political situation, monetary and fiscal policy are among those leading factors that leave a considerable influence over the aggregate performance of stock markets. An overview of writing types of audiences’ variety Three types of writing serve the various stakeholders in the stock markets: informative, instructive and analytical. In the informative type of writing, an author defines certain terms relating to the field of stock markets. Besides explaining, the a uthor tries to elaborate its current and possible implications in different situations. Most of the time, such informative writing is carried out because of being a highly technical field in the structure of finance. Many shareholders and other members of stock markets are not sufficiently equipped with the understanding of basic terms and their meanings. By explaining such type of terms, the author attempts to make audience informative and members working inside the stock markets. Also, an instructive writing helps new and existing institutional and non-institutional shareholders, brokers, and other members of the stock exchange. In this type of writing, an author, who is mostly experienced expert on the topic, provides some suggestions and instructions over the trend of a particular stock. In the instructive writing, shareholders are asked to either follow a certain steps or they are given some other choices to make in order to remain a successful shareholder. Due to the complex f unctionality of stock prices and involvement of various internal and external factors affecting the share prices, shareholders prefer to follow the instructions provided by professional experts on a given stock. Furthermore, the analytical writing is the most challenging area in comparison with other sorts of above mentioned writing. Among other factors, the most significant factor, adding more challenge, is the use of complex trends and patterns in the entire process of writing an analytical piece. Such use of complex patterns in the stocks can only be understood by those stock holders who are well conversant with the basic knowledge of that particular stock. For other members, the analytical piece of writing would be of less use as its content are filled with the complex and deeper understanding of certain patterns. Additionally, various audiences such as institutional and non-institutional investors, shareholders, stockbrokers, regulators, finance students, management of companie s, may require using such writing types to serve their respective objectives. An in-depth analysis of article: Three Reasons To Own Ares Capital Use of language in this community Use of language depends on the ultimate objectives of an author. She tries to convey her own convictions, beliefs, understanding, reasons and knowledge obtained via her personal experiences are those factors that directly influence on the objectives of the author. If she beliefs that a particular company has lucrative business ahead. In order to

Impact on second language learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impact on second language learning - Essay Example rs: an innate capacity for acquiring language or Language Acquisition Device, containing the "universal" features found in all languages and the â€Å"critical or optimal age hypothesis.† Non- linguistic factors which are considered when talking about language acquisition are motivation, opportunity; and language learning ability. (Fantini & Reagan, 1992) According to recent studies (Dornyei, 2005) L2 motivational self system is the equation of the motivational dimension of "integrativeness/integrative motivation" with the "ideal L2 self which is person’s hopes, aspirations, desires or other desired attributes. If ideal self is interested in the mastery of an L2, then one has "integrative" disposition (according to Gardners (1985) terminology). (Csizer & Dornyei, 2005a) "Integrative" disposition supposes sincere interest in the L2-speaking community and its life, culture and routines. Integrativeness reflects a positive outlook on the L2 and its culture which makes learners desire to integrate themselves into the L2 culture and L2 speakers’ community. (Csizer & Dornyei, 2005) If the L2 community has no respect among learners – it is associated with negative characteristics such as poverty or crime - it provides less motivation for students to learn the language of this community. The researcher of attitudinal basis of language attainment Spolsky (1969) arrived at the conclusion: â€Å"One of the most important attitudinal factors is the attitude of the learner to the language and to its speakers" (p. 274 in Csizer & Dornyei, 2005) The attitude to community contains some constituents: attitudes toward having direct contact with L2 speaker or opportunity to travel to the country of origin and on the other hand cultural interest or appreciation of cultural products related to particular L2 and spread by the media - movies, music, magazines and books which provide indirect contact with L2 community. L2 cultural products play an important role in acquiring

Diurnal Rhythm of Cortisol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diurnal Rhythm of Cortisol - Essay Example The most reliable way of measuring the amount of cortisol is a technique known as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). There are three forms of ELISA namely competitive ELISA, sandwich and indirect ELISA. Competitive ELISA is the most dependable way of measuring salivary cortisol because it allows for the detection of active cortisol that can compete with labeled cortisol. In this assay, an antibody specific to the antigen being tested is immobilized on a well or a microtitre plate. A mixture containing a known concentration of the labeled antigen and the test sample is then added to the well. The labeled antigen and unlabeled antigen compete for the binding site on the immobilized antibody. Any unbound antigen is washed after which a substrate is added. The substrate reacts with the enzyme to form a colored substance that is then detected and the intensity of the color is measured using an ELISA reader. The intensity of the color is indirectly related to the concentration of t he antigen in the test sample. Competitive ELISA was used to determine the quantity of cortisol in the salivary samples. The wells were coated with anti-cortisol antibody at a certain concentration such that a given quantity of antigen bound to the antibodies. A mixture of a known amount of cortisol antigen labeled with peroxidase and the patient’s saliva was then added to the well. The labeled antigen competed with the unlabelled antigen to bind to the immobilized anti-cortisol antibodies in the well.

Group Organizational Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Group Organizational Ethics - Essay Example In the interest of keeping a good customer happy and committed to us over the long haul, I determined that the correct business course of action would be to actually reduce the price for this customer, rather than try to increase it. This was also the ethically correct thing to do because we were ripping off this particular customer as evidenced by the fact that the other customers were paying far less. After some serious arm twisting, I was able to convince the company that there is greater potential long-term profit if we reduce this customer's price in order to shore up the business relationship. Fortunately, we were able to do this, and the customer now feels like they are treated fairly. I did not need to compromise my values or beliefs. Yes, I would have an obligation to stay connected, because I would be unlikely to suffer any harm. Under a deontological ethical approach, it is simply the right thing to do to sacrifice one's time in order to save the life of another person. If the facts were a little bit different, and there was some risk to my own life, or I would be putting the life of another person at risk due to my lack of availability, it would be a reason to reconsider.

Nursing leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Nursing leadership - Essay Example The head nurse was having trouble with one of her team members because of some issue on tardiness. The team member’s name is Julia who has just recently become a regular registered nurse. There were already three consecutive remarkable reported cases of Julia’s tardiness that caught the head nurse’s attention. There were even some instances when Julia was not able to inform in advance her reliever and that the patient angrily reported there was no one attending to her when in fact it was supposed to be Julia who was assigned to assess her. As a result to these consecutive demerits on Julia’s performance, the head nurse decided to follow up her condition by sending her a notice to explain her recent performance at work. The entire move was properly documented and all documents were filed at the human resource department. As a result, the human resource department conducted the investigation, called the attention of Julia for a personal interview. Julia reasoned out well and the human resource was able to give her one last chance to give her best shot at work. Furthermore, that would also serve as final and initial warning for her because what she did is a major offense according to the company’s policies and procedures based on the approved memorandum of agreement. Analysis In topic 1, the leadership in context discusses that writers in leadership are somehow faced with many questions about what constitutes a strong and positive leader and leadership in general. These people remarkably embarked their principles on existing theories or even new discoveries in leadership that they could incorporate in their assumptions in order to justify the reliability of their own theory of leadership. However, what they essentially do in general is study the complex social interaction of individuals on day to day situations. As a result, leadership has a strong background foundation in fundamental theories linking social, political, economic, personal, ethics and legal constructs. In the above stated case, it is implied that in an organization, there should be proper implementation of policies and procedures especially in giving disciplinary actions to concerned individual. An organization should be able to provide the right disciplinary action or required structure and system in dealing with concerned individuals. This approach remarkably presents the fact that an organization needs to follow certain structure and system and it is through this that the true essence of what leadership is all about is put into practice. Although it helps us to understand leadership when the concept about various aspects such as personal, economic, politics, social, legal, ethics are integrated with it, what is the most important point is to remain close to the fact that leadership is bounded by specific structure and system. In this regard, it is important to point out that existing theories about leadership are essential. Howev er, relying so much on them would just make the whole thing about understanding leadership complicated. From the above case, it is proven that what is essential in understanding leadership may not necessarily require so much understanding about politics, social, and so on. What is needed and essential in

Report on Primary School Essay Example for Free

Report on Primary School Essay Drop-out problem is not caused by any single reason, in fact, a whole lot of different factors work behind it. These factors are also inter-related to each other and therefore one factor influences many other factors. For example, poverty has inter-linkages with many other factors that influences drop-out like quality of education, parental attitude etc. Poverty also has intra linkages with facts like direct cost, indirect cost and opportunity cost of schooling, early pressure for marriage. As poverty is one of the major reasons behind drop-out, it has various linkages with most of the other problems. Although primary education is declared as tuition-free, there are many direct costs like exam fees, enrollment fee; certain amount from the stipend money is also taken for various reasons. These expenses become a big problem for the poor households and it influences dropping out because when survival is the issue, things like education is less important. Another problem was the hidden costs of schooling that are clothes, pen and paper, etc. all of the 12 samples and their parents said that buying clothes, pen and papers was a huge problem for them. All of the parents said that as they are poor people, these extra costs of schooling are unbearable to them. Almost all of 12 dropouts have missed school frequently due to failure in obtaining these articles. They feared that they will be punished if they go to school without pen or paper. Teachers said that children who come to school without pen or paper cause a lot of trouble because they are unable to do any class work and disturb the other students. So they are given punishment. The opportunity costs of schooling include chore time, sibling care and foregone earnings of children. The opportunity costs of educating children are higher in poor families because these families rely more on each member to contribute to the family’s economic survival. Girls and women are the unpaid household labourers. All of the 6 female samples’ labour in the household is an economic necessity because it frees others to earn outside. All of them had to do important works like collecting water and firewood, washing utensils, helping in cooking and taking care of siblings. Dropouts who belonged to large families, less earning members and unstable income due to illness of earning members had to do wage work for  cash. All of the female samples told that they had worked in rich households as domestic helps when their family needed cash or could not afford a satisfactory meal. It is difficult for poor families to afford the opportunity cost of schooling because the contribution of their child’s labour at household work or earning is essential at certain times for the survival of their families. All of these direct, hidden and opportunity costs are intra-linked with poverty, which causes poor attendance rate. This encourages dropping-out as the school terms clash with the agricultural cycle and those who miss school over several weeks drop behind, teachers withdraw their books and they are disqualified for stipend, as a result, they ultimately abandon school. Poverty is interlinked with quality of education as poor families cannot afford private tuitions for their children. Apart from a few parents most of them were illiterate and they could not give any effective help to their children in their studies. Hence these parents have regarded the need of going to private tuitions as a very urgent one. All the samples agreed that students who took private tuitions performs in the class and does well in exams. All the parents agreed that if the teachers had taught the students well in the class, then the parents would not have to spend extra money to send their children for private tuitions. The parents even said that the teachers do this deliberately to earn money. The students who receive private coaching get promoted to the next class regardless of their results, so they do not get dropped from the PESP receiver’s list. As a result, only the children from solvent families are able to continue their studies. Dropping out due to disqualifying for PESP have been observed in this research amongst those households who sent their children to school after hearing about the PESP. During harvest period, there are many works to be done, so a lot of the children do not go to school. Consequently, many of them fail in the exams as they fail to catch up with the class due to absence. As a result, they get dropped from the PESP receiver’s list. So again the economic factors affect the situation because it can be seen that only the children of the well to do families can receive stipend. This is because since the children of solvent people do not have to work at home, they can attend school regularly and on the other hand, they can attain private lessons by using the money they get from stipend, so they can pass in the exams. Poverty is interlinked to students’ eagerness to learn. As the drop-out children belonged to the poor households they all suffered from certain extent of malnutrition. The samples told that usually they went to school after eating rice, rice crisps, banana, molasses etc and 7 of the children said that very often they had to take insufficient food and so they felt hungry in the class. Some of the children had to do household works and they felt tired and sleepy in the class. All of these children said they found it hard to concentrate in the study. So the eagerness and motivation of the children of the poor households are affected by their economic condition. The irregular and low salary of teachers influences their motivation to teach and forces them to depend on alternative income sources like private tuition. As a result they are obligated to favour their private students which create frustration amongst the other students. These children found school unfriendly and unfair. They become reluctant to attend school and as a result they miss classes and this causes poor performance in exams. All of these factors contributes to disqualifying from stipend program and finally leads to drop-out. Societal reasons are also found to be affecting drop-out of children, especially girls. The people of this village are very pious and they think that school education is the trend of the new age. They think that receiving religious lessons is more important since it will help them in the afterlife. Maximum people think that it is foolish for children of poor people to receive higher education because there are no such job opportunities for them, and the people who have no certainty of their day meal will obviously send their children to work and earn money to run the family, this is reality. Pressure for early marriage is also present as most of the community members agreed that this the safest option for the parents. Incidents of eve teasing were seen and sadly the societal pressure was on the girl as she will earn a bad reputation and her prospect of marriage will be ruined. These types of societal pressures are interlinked with unsupportive parental attitudes, because all parents and especially the poor parents do not have much of a say in the society and they are the most vulnerable ones. So the parents of a girl child prefer marriage over education as that is safest option and also this is what the society expects them to do. So all of these different factors are interlinked with each other which affects dropping out of children. CHAPTER 7: IMPACTS OF PESP 7. 1 BACKGROUND OF PESP. The most notable among the incentive programs undertaken by the government at the primary level were the Food for Education Program (FFE) and the Primary Educational Stipend Program (PESP). The FFE Program was launched in 1993 to increase the enrollment, persistence, and attendance rates of children from landless and very poor families. Forty percent of the children enrolled in primary schools in the targeted poor areas received a monthly allocation of wheat or rice for their family if they attended primary school regularly. To be eligible for receiving the food, the children were to be present at school for 85 percent of classes each month. A sliding scale increased the amount if more than one child per family attended school. Ultimately, the FFE was implemented in 1255 unions, covering 27 percent of the country. The World Bank’s 1998 Poverty Assessment found that the FFE did raise enrollment and attendance rates, and by 2000, the FFE program had covered about 27 percent of all primary schools in Bangladesh. Out of 5. 2 million students enrolled in schools with FFE, about 40 percent received food grains (mostly wheat) through the program. About two million families benefited from the FFE program. But there negative issues related to the FFE program as well. It suffered from high levels of leakage (it cost 1. 59 taka to transfer 1 taka in benefits) and was poorly targeted (50 percent of the beneficiaries came from households above the lower poverty line). Increases in the price of the food commodities in 2001-2002 caused the government of Bangladesh to reduce the amount of food assistance, until the program was discontinued in June 2002. However, universal primary education was still far from achieving. So, a new program, the PESP was introduced. The new Primary Education Stipend Project was designed to provide cash assistance through a stipend program to poor primary school pupils and their families throughout rural Bangladesh. The targeted beneficiaries of the PESP were an estimated 5. 5 million pupils from the poorest households who were enrolled in eligible primary schools in all rural areas of Bangladesh (469 upazillas). In order to qualify for the stipend, selected pupils were to maintain 85 percent monthly attendance and attain a minimum of 50 percent marks on the annual exam administered for each grade. To continue to participate in the program, a school must demonstrate at least 60 percent pupil attendance, and 10 percent of its grade 5 pupils must sit for the Primary School Scholarship Exam. Households of qualifying pupils would receive 100 taka (about $1. 76) per month for one pupil (not to exceed 1200 taka annually) and 125 taka per month for more than one pupil (not to exceed 1500 taka annually). Six designated national banks would disburse the stipends on a quarterly basis to authorized parents/guardians on a pre-determined date at the local bank branch or at a temporary distribution post (â€Å"camp’) established at a convenient location within 5 kilometres of the school site. Stipends would be disbursed to pupils’ parents or legal guardians who present the proper PESP bank-issued identity card. Preferences were to be given to issuing cards to the mothers of the selected pupil. The new features of the PESP were: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Subsidies provided in cash, rather than in kind (as in the FFE Program) would ease transfer to poor recipients and would limit the involvement of school personnel in distribution (FFE required teachers to dole out the wheat and rice). †¢Cost-effectiveness would increase as the government of Bangladesh can offer stipends to more families for the same cost and not be vulnerable to increases in food prices (as with the FFE Program that necessitated decreasing the amount of food provided). †¢The stipend amount is fixed at a level that will significantly offset household poverty (unlike the 25 taka offered through the PES Project). †¢The cash stipend is more flexible, so the family can determine its best use according to their needs—whether it is used for food purchase, school expenses or financing income generating activities (unlike the FFE Program where households often sold the food at less than market value to obtain cash). †¢Disbursing the stipend funds to the mother will increase her power within the household and she will be more likely to spend the money to improve the children’s welfare (earlier programs disbursed to fathers or male household heads). †¢Leakage will be reduced because (i) commodities (such as the FFE Program’s wheat and rice rations) are more liable to misappropriation and (ii) bank-mediated distribution eliminates scope for underpayment or kick-backs. †¢Provision of stipends on a nation-wide basis (rather than in selected areas) will reach the poor families throughout rural Bangladesh who must restrict their children’s participation in primary school. 7. 2 ProgramME Performance. The Primary Education Stipend Project (PESP) aims to increase the educational participation—enrollment, attendance, persistence, and performance–of primary school-aged children from poor families throughout Bangladesh by providing cash payments to targeted households. The new Primary Education Stipend Project is designed to provide cash assistance through a stipend program to poor primary school pupils and their families throughout rural Bangladesh. The impacts of PESP in the research area are described below according to the official objectives of the PESP: †¢ Increase the enrolment rate among primary school-aged children from poor families. The researcher found this objective successful to some extent because the statistics provided by the teachers show that enrolment rate has increased after the PESP have been introduced. The school enrolled the new students in only class one. The numbers of enrolment of last five years has been shown in the table below. YearNumber of students enrolled in class 1Total students of the school 200084270 200195280 2002102288 2003108295 2004116309 Table 6: The number of students enrolled in class 1. †¢ Increase the attendance rate of primary school pupils. The PESP rationale is that regular attendance will improve pupils learning outcomes and contribute to good grades on exams. Attaining 40 percent marks will motivate the pupil to study and the pupil’s family to support his/her studies, by ensuing school attendance (not withdrawing for labour) and providing the necessary supplies and inputs. Combined these conditions are expected to lead to reduced repetition and drop-out and increased completion. Meeting the attendance requirement on a monthly basis will  determine the amount of the quarterly stipend disbursement. If a pupil does not meet the condition, the stipend will not be paid for that month. Classroom teachers record attendance daily, checked by head teachers. The 85 percent target is relatively high, compared with average primary school attendance rates that are reported to be 61 percent or below and even with the FSSAP which has a target of 75 percent. This objective was not very successful as the attendance rate was very poor in the primary school were this research have been done. Teachers said that in general attendance rate is well below 85 percent. Students from the poor households are the most irregular ones. The reason for absenteeism is primarily due to the inability to pay for school expenses and/or the need to work either at home or outside the home. However, in some of the cases, reasons behind absenteeism were temporary or chronic illness, disinclination for schooling, bad weather, flooding, etc. During the rainy season the attendance was low as the roads were muddy and slippery and transportation was unavailable. During the bad whether some of them stayed absent as they didn’t want to damage their clothes. Two of the samples said that they had only two clothes, of which one was torn so they wore it in the house and the other one they wore in the school. They remained absent if the better cloth was wet as they couldn’t were the other one. The direct and opportunity costs of schooling, cultural constraints and prejudices, and special needs of vulnerable children—prevent these children from going to school. Although primary education is declared as tuition-free, there are many direct costs like exam fees, enrolment fee etc and with this there are many indirect costs like pen, papers, clothes etc. Though the stipend money was a help to some extent to the poor families, it was distributed after 3 months and during that time whenever the family couldn’t afford the necessary equipments, the children remained absent. Although the stipend receivers said that they bought pen, papers, clothes etc, they also said they still missed school whenever they couldn’t manage them as they were given punishments. Another reason for low attendance of the students was the opportunity cost of the child. Students frequently remained absent during different times of agricultural cycles as their labour was needed by their family. In the rainy seasons some of the boys helped their father in boat rowing so they stayed absent and because of this, they were dropped from the stipend receivers list. †¢ Reduce the drop out rate of primary school pupils and increase the cycle completion rate of primary school pupil. Unlike enrollment, persistence in primary school requires an ongoing household commitment that, especially among the vulnerable poor, is easily assailed by family circumstances (e.g. illness, death), the economy, and a host of other factors. The continuous payment of a stipend for the pupil’s entire primary school career—does provide both motivation and a monetary cushion for the family by helping to offset the opportunity costs associated with economic hardship that could pull a child from school. However, as a child ages both the direct and opportunity costs (for boys in the labour market and girls in the marriage market) increase, and the stipend is not sufficient to meet these costs. In addition, considerations other than monetary—such as lack of interest in schooling, dissatisfaction with the quality of schooling, cultural imperatives to marry, etc. –may come into play that are not amenable to financial incentives. Although primary education is declared as tuition-free, there are many direct costs like exam fees, enrolment fee; certain amount from the stipend money is also taken for various reasons. These expenses become a big problem for the poor households and it influences dropping out. The number of drop-out children in last five years is given below. Table 7: Number of dropouts in the last 5 years provided by the school YearNumber of drop-out childrenNumber of children completed class fiveTotal students in class five 1999104555 2000124254 2001114455 2002114960 2003124759 Chart: The number of dropouts and completions during last five years Although the dropout numbers provided by the school shows that dropout from school in class five is around 10 to 12, the researcher found that in reality the number was more than that as certain amount of underwriting is done so that the school remains in the PESP allotting list. The PESP stipend does not appear to meaningfully offset the opportunity costs of child labour, averaging less than 5 taka per day or $2 per month. But, its ability to attract children from the labour market to school clearly depends on the situation of the family. It is unlikely that a desperately poor family would be able to forego the income or even the food earned by a regularly-employed child. However, in some cases the child may continue to earn a sufficient amount outside of school hours and during school absences tolerated by the PESP (15 percent). The additional 25 taka per month for any subsequent children enrolled in primary school represents a much smaller contribution towards meeting the opportunity cost of schooling, and acts more as a reward to those households who have already made the decision to send their children to school than to encourage households to send non-attending children to school. Since opportunity costs must also be added to direct costs of schooling to assess the real cost, families of working children may not be able to cover both the sacrifice of a child’s income or labour and the cash outlays for the direct costs discussed above. Both the direct and opportunity costs of schooling increases as the child ages and progresses in primary school, increasing the burden for very poor families. Consequently, the PESP stipend may not be sufficient to overcome the financial barriers to primary schooling in families where children must work constantly to increase household production or income or to feed themselves. †¢ Enhance the quality of primary education. The PESP is least likely to be successful in improving the quality of education (as defined by learning outcomes and completion rates), because it places the entire burden of quality improvement on the child (maintaining high attendance) and household (purchasing educational inputs to ensure good grades), rather than on the teacher or school. First, failure to achieve is more often the result of poor instruction than of incapable students. Second, families targeted for support are poor, and it is far more likely that the stipend will be used to provide additional food and clothing for the family than purchase educational materials or tutoring for a primary school child. And while it would not be reasonable to expect a stipend program to also be a quality improvement program, the PESP may have negative consequences for educational quality of the 75-85 percent of primary school-age children already in school by diverting resources away from  needed supply-side improvements. The impact of PESP in the research area seemed to favour access over quality. The teachers said as the most of the parents who enrolled their children for stipend, they don’t worry about the quality of education; instead they want to receive the stipend money anyhow. This attitude can never help to improve quality of education. †¢ Ensure equity in the provision of financial assistance to primary school-age children and alleviate poverty. Bangladesh ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of $350. The poor account for about 50 percent of Bangladesh’s total population, and 37 percent are counted among the â€Å"hard-core† poor, who live in the direst circumstances (Bangladesh Human Development Report 2000, BIDS). That fifty-three percent of pupils in the primary education system come from poor households reflects the high demand for primary education among Bangladeshi parents. Ultimately, much of the success of the PESP in combating poverty and helping families deal with the direct and opportunity costs of sending their children to primary school will depend on the validity of the targeting mechanism and on the real value of the stipend in offsetting those costs. Primary school-age children become eligible for stipend benefits if their families meet at least one of the following five targeting criteria: ? Children from a landless or near-landless household that owns less than half an acre of land; ? Children of day labourers; ?Children from female-headed households (i. e. , a household headed by a female who is widowed, separated from husband, divorced, or having a disabled husband); ? Children from households that earn their living from low-income professions (such as, fishing, pottery, weaving, blacksmithing, and cobbling); and ? Children of sharecroppers. At present, the targeting methodology does not appear sufficiently well-defined to ensure that the poorest families in Bangladesh benefit, but rather the poorer families relative to their specific locale (which may not be terribly poor). With no clear-cut guidelines or empirical methods for identifying the poorest students, it is not clear how poor children can be identified. More over, a lot of community members and parents of the dropout children blamed the teachers and SMC members of deliberate biases and distortions. Almost universally, those interviewed said that SMC members and teachers complicit in giving favour to local elites and the non-poor in school admission and enrollment in the PESP or extracting some form of payment for consideration. Because the SMC members are generally members of the local elite, it has been told by the parents of the drop-outs and community member that they have a tendency to favour their own friends and relatives. The stipend amount appears sufficient to cover the education costs of one child, but the PESP often employs a rationale that double- and triple-counts the stipend, by stating that it will offset direct costs, eliminate opportunity costs, and increase household income. It is unlikely that the stipend is adequate to address all three at the same time. It does not appear to fully recognize that the PESP will also cause the families—especially those with working children—to incur significant costs that may not represent a net gain for the household (at least in the short-term). The PESP may be too expensive for very poor households whose children are not already enrolled, as the stipend amount is not sufficient to pay for education, compensate for lost wages/production and increase household income as well. Poverty impedes households’ ability to pay for school fees and/or other direct (e. g. textbooks) and indirect (e. g. â€Å"donations† for school authorities) costs that may be required for school admission or full participation in primary school. Poor households are more likely to need children’s labour for income-producing or cost-saving activities, and be less able to sacrifice the child’s time to schooling, resulting in frequent absenteeism and/or early withdrawal from school. The poor are more prone to disease and malnutrition than the non-poor. Poor health and nutritional status among young and school-aged children can result in illness and/or physical and cognitive impairment or delays, causing late enrollment, drop-out, absenteeism and poor learning outcomes. Additional objectives (mentioned by MOPME officials): Eradication of child labour and empowerment of women were the additional objectives. PESP could not eradicate child labour as it was seen that the samples often missed classes because of various household works. All of the 6 male samples helped their fathers in the field at different times of agricultural cycles. The boys who worked in the agricultural field worked in two phases. For working in the morning from 8AM to 1PM, they received 1 meal and 50 to 70 taka and for working from 2PM to 5PM, they are given 30 taka. In the rainy season a some of the male samples helped their fathers in boat rowing. Girls and women are the unpaid household labourers. All of the 6 female samples’ labour in the household is an economic necessity because it frees others to earn outside. All of them had to do important works like collecting water and firewood, washing utensils, helping in cooking and taking care of siblings. Because of these reasons, parents were reluctant to spare their daughters for schooling. There is no evidence of gender disparity in enrollment rates among the poor, but it is likely that girls who belonged to poor families are less likely to persist and perform in school than boys. But as there is a stipend programme for the secondary female students, girls are now getting the opportunity for higher studies. Social Impact of PESP: Irrespective of the PESP’s impact on primary education or its reaching the poorest 40 percent of families, the prevalence of poverty in Bangladesh is such that the PESP must be regarded as a positive move in improving social welfare, in that it represents a substantial redistribution or transfer of income from the wealthier sections of society to the poorer ones. Given the rural focus, it is seen that these cash transfers has some positive impact on the economies of small rural communities. As households spend the PESP stipend on commodities (books, food, clothing, etc) and services (tutoring, medical, etc. ), the effects are rippling through the community, generating additional income for merchants and suppliers. Insofar as mothers are the stipend recipients, it is expected that they will have decision-making authority over its use and their economic prestige will be enhanced somewhat. The political and social impact is also positive as beneficiary poor families and community members appreciate the recognition of need and the benefits offered by the PESP. But the major negative impact of this program is that those parents who sent their children to school after hearing about the stipend money, many of them withdrew their children when they were dropped from the stipend receivers list. These parents were unaware of the rules for achieving the stipend and they became angry and  annoyed by the rules. They also claimed that rules are strictly followed in the cases of poor students and teachers showed biasness while distributing stipends. According to them, the students who take private tuitions from the teachers and the children of the rich and powerful people receive stipend even if they are irregular or have failed in exams. Many of the parents said with anger that the strictness of rules happens only for the poor. Thus even though the stipend programme has increased the enrolment rate it has also became a reason for dropping out of children. The people who have two or more children enrolled in school do not support the rule of Tk. 125 for two children. They feel that all of their children should receive Tk. 100 each. Some of the parents of the dropouts were very annoyed with this rule. Few dropout children had their siblings reading in the same schools as well, so the amount of money received from PESP due to this rule made the parents take different strategy. Although both children received stipend, many of these parents withdrew their eldest child from school and engaged them in work, while the other children continued studying as long as they receive stipend. It is difficult for a poor family to afford the opportunity cost of more then one child. Matrix 1—Knowledge, attitude and perception towards the primary education stipend project Key issues Students ParentsTeachersCommunity 1. Knowledge regarding the project. Selection criteriaFor poor and regular students, in primary school are eligible for stipendFor poor and regular students85% attendance and at least 45% pass marks in each subjects in all examsGiven to all poor and good students schools Retention CriteriaRegular attendance and at least pass marks in all examsRegular attendance and good result85% attendance and at least 50% pass marks in each subjects in all examsRegular attendance in school and good result Disbursement ProcessDistributed by bank officials or teachers to the students in school/nearby camps arranged for disbursement. Distributed from school and received by studentsDistributed from school or camps arranged by UPO in the presence of headmaster, class teacher, and SMC members Distributed by school among students 2. Attitude towards the projectBeneficial for all especially the poor. Helpful for allHighly beneficial particularly to the poor studentsHelpful for children Adequacy of stipend amount Disbursement processNot sufficient and should be increased ReasonableInadequate for expenses of direct and hidden costs but still helpful. ReasonableThough inadequate but helpful for the very poor students Though reasonable but takes a whole working day Key issuesStudentsParentsTeachersCommunity 3. Impact of the project Enrollment Attendance Increased, particularly for the poor students Increased a little Increased Increased a little Increased for all, and especially increased for poor students Attendance is still the same amongst poor students but in general increased a little Increased Probably more regular than before Dropout Completion rate Incidence of early marriage. Support towards female education Family pressure for marriage Social pressure for marriageDecreased High Still the same Same as before Still the same Still the sameLess than before Higher than before Still the same Increased a little Decreased a little Still the sameDecreased a little Higher than before Still the same Increased a little Still the same Still the sameDecreased a little Higher than before Still the same Increased Decreased a little Still the same Key issues Students ParentsTeachersCommunity 4. Problems regarding the project. Inadequate stipend amount Late distribution of text books Late disbursement of stipend Extortion of stipend money in forms of school fees and private tuitionInadequate stipend amount, Indirect cost of schooling (fees, uniform, cost of education aids), Late distribution of stipend Extortion of stipend money in forms of school fees and private tuitionInadequate stipend amount for the very poor students, Lack of training opportunities for teachers in the project Late disbursement of stipend money by the government Inadequate stipend amount 7. 3 IMPACTS ON BENEF.

Robert Morgan’s novel Essay Example for Free

Robert Morgan’s novel Essay Robert Morgan’s novel Gap Creek is the story of Hank and Julie Herman and their struggles in life and marriage through things like poverty and natural disaster. It deals with marital issues as well as with issues of finances, death and family loyalty in relation to gender roles. Gap Creek could be considered a simple chronicle of the couple’s struggle to prosper and make their lives better on a poor country farm, but it is also an examination of the gender roles of Hank and Julie. Gap Creek is an illustration of the traditional roles and voices that men and women have in marriages and in life and of what happens when they are forced to step outside of those roles for the benefit or survival of themselves and their families. The character of Julie represents a woman fulfilling male roles out of necessity but struggling to retain her identity as a woman. Julie Harmon’s voice is the one that the reader hears the loudest because she is the character that tells the story. The book deals with the inner and outer strength of the characters against life obstacles and even though Julie is the primary female character her strength and self worth or identity are often displayed through physical strength and manual labor. The jobs that Julie is given to do are left to her because the women around her take for granted that she is as physically strong as a man and capable of doing them. Julie sacrifices a lot of her own wishes and her femininity as the manual laborer first for her own family and later for Hank. From the beginning of the novel Julie’s masculine traits are evident, making her emotionally and physically stronger than her own father. She seems resentful of being the family member that is counted on to do most of the outside farm work: â€Å"I seen what I was going to have to do. I resented it, but I seen what had to be done† (Morgan 12). Although this statement is made about chopping wood, it is also the attitude that Julie has towards all of the responsibilities she has been given, from the work on the family farm to sitting up at night to care for her dying father. She is strong enough to handle it, so she has to do it. Julie is resentful of her masculine role in the family partly because none of her other sisters are willing to help out. She talks about how one of them is too busy cooking and baking and another is dressed in lacy dresses and won’t get her hands dirty. These are things that Julie should also be experiencing as a woman, but has set aside to embrace her farm hand duties. She recognizes that by taking on all of these typically male duties and responsibilities that she is sacrificing some of her female identity. She tells her sister, â€Å"I hope no man ever sees us working like this†¦because he would never think of us as ladies†¦I don’t want to be looked on like a field hand† (Morgan 34). She does display some typically female traits but is quick to set these aside to assume her role as the strong one in the family. Her feminine emotions conflict with her male role. She cries and mourns her little brother when he dies, but then she has to help her father carry the body home because he isn’t strong enough to do it himself. Because of her sense of family obligation, Julie struggles with conflicts between her feminine identity and her masculine life roles. Julie’s gender role conflicts are internal when she’s still living at home with her parents but they become external when she marries Hank and moves to Gap Creek. In many ways Julie is still left to fulfill the domestic household roles that would usually fall to a man, like chopping wood and butchering hogs, because she is once again emotionally and physically stronger than the men in her life. The widower they rent the Gap Creek property from, Mr. Pendergast, is old and sick, leaving daily farm chores for her. Hank is gone working every day so she has to be the capable responsible worker she was for her own family. Later Julie’s outer and inner strength is shown to be superior to that of the men around her when she saves each of their lives. She pulls Mr. Pendergast from a fire and she keeps Hank from killing himself when the property is damaged in the flood. She doesn’t resent this strength the way she did with her family, but she does recognize it as being outside the normal balance of male and female roles. She knows she is again fulfilling roles that should be taken by men rather than her. She says, â€Å"It was strange to think that I was stronger than Hank. He was wore out and I still felt like fighting† (Morgan 336). She realizes that in spite of Hank’s physical size and strength, she is stronger than him in many ways. Julie’s masculine roles and traits conflict with Hank, who seems to rely on her for household duties he can’t fulfill while still wanting to be viewed as the dominant male in the household. He repeatedly tells her that he will be the one to make important decisions for the family when she tries to offer her opinions and he hits her the one time she acts on her own and mistakenly gives their savings away to a con man. He calls her dumb and insults her for not being able to describe the man better. He is as angry at her for doing something without asking him first as he is for her losing their money. Julie acknowledges that part of her role as a wife is â€Å"†¦to make Hank feel good about hisself, to make him feel strong and in charge of things† (Morgan 231). Because she follows this expectation of a wife whenever Hank is around, she ends up doing all the physical labor that Hank can’t do but he still feels like he’s the stronger one. There are two key events in the novel when Julie uses an inner strength that is uniquely female. The first of these is when Julie begins attending church after the flood. She does this as much to meet other women as she does for religious reasons. Hank doesn’t want to go and holds her back for a while, using his discouragement over their poverty and his job loss to convince her that church and God won’t help them. When she does finally get him to attend but he still tries to hold her back. She is walking up the church aisle to devote herself to God and she describes, â€Å"I think Hank reached out to hold me back†¦but I was doing what I had to do† (Morgan 368). She goes through with it because it is what she feels like she must do for herself, not for him. She finds peace in attending church and after making friends with some of the women in the congregation she says, â€Å"I felt like a human being again. A woman has to have a woman friend to talk to† (Morgan 374). She rediscovers a part of herself that she has neglected when she communicates with other women instead of just the men in her life, and the women give her a satisfaction that the men can’t. Julie attends church to reclaim part of her feminine identity that she has lost to Hank and to her marriage. Giving birth to her daughter is the second event where Julie recognizes power within herself that is completely feminine. While she is in labor she realizes that, â€Å"This is the work only I can do. This is work meant for me from the beginning of time† (Morgan 424) and after giving birth she finds that, â€Å"I was so tired I couldn’t hardly stand up, yet I felt stronger than I ever had before† (Morgan 427). These thoughts that she has during labor and delivery show how she comes to realize that not all of her strength is the masculine kind she’s been forced to have. She sees that there are elements to her inner and outer strength that only a woman can have. Julie and Hank Harmon each represent traditional male and female roles of strength and subservience. Much of their struggle comes when Julie is forced to step outside of this traditional role and Hank continues to act as though she hasn’t been. Their struggles with money and land is representative of their inner struggles to be respected for the work they each do, to assert their individual gender strengths and to be considered equal in their efforts and worth. Gap Creek represents the struggle between being what one’s gender says one should be versus what life circumstances forces one to become. Julie Harmon represents women everywhere who wear the pants in the family because they have to and find themselves struggling not to lose their identity as women in the process. Works Cited Morgan, Robert. Gap Creek. Thorndike: Thorndike Press, 1999.

An Islamic Perspective On Human Resource Management Religion Essay

An Islamic Perspective On Human Resource Management Religion Essay Human behavior is a direct function of perspectives. How an individual human subject would behave and react under certain specific circumstances would depend entirely on the outlook that his psyche wants him to view certain situation or event as. And herein life the distinct contrasts between the two most widely talked about perspectives- The Western Thought and The Islamic View. Relating the same fundamentals to a business viewpoint, organizations manipulate themselves as per the legal, political and social values of the particular country where they exist. The values and culture of countries which are western and those which are Islamic differ. As a result the operations and human resources of business entities are handled as the environmental fabric of that country suggests. Some authors have emphasized the universality and similarities between organizations (e.g. Cole, 1973; Form, 1979; Hickson et al., 1974; Kerr et al., 1952; Negandhi, 1979; 1985), and some others the uniqueness of organizations given their cultural contexts (e.g. Hofstede, 1980; Laurent, 1983; Lincoln et al., 1981; Meyer and Rowan, 1977). Hofstede (1993) argued that a societys values are among the most influential cultural differences. He studied national culture in sixty countries and identified five major dimensions that accounted for the sharpest differences among employees. These ma y be called individual-difference factors. * Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, AMU, Aligarh. ** Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, AMU, Aligarh. *** Research Scholar, Department of Business Administration, AMU, Aligarh. However, as Tayeb (1988) argues, the two sides of the debate are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they complement one another. That is, certain aspects of organizations are more likely to be universal, such as shopfloor layout, hierarchical structure, division of functions, organizational process, information management; and some areas are more culture-specific, such as human resource management (HRM). HRM is a significant aspect of organizations which is most likely to be subject to cultural influences. Human resource management practices reflect the Islamic values in the countries where Islam plays a dominant role. This paper deals with different aspects of Islam which teach the management of the most significant resources of any organization- Human Resources. Two key issues which will be addressed are: human resource management and the teachings of Islam highlighting the manners in which human resources should be dealt with. ÙÂ ¡ HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The origin of HRM in modern organizations is a largely Western phenomenon that can be raced to the personnel management function (Burack and Smith,1977). The gradual parting of ways of personnel management and HRM culminated in a total separation when HRM, as a distinctive discipline, was introduced to their MBA curriculum by the Harvard group (Beer et al., 1984) and Michigan/Columbia group (Fombrun et al., 1984) in the USA in the early 1980s. Experience has shown that human resources are the most valuable asset of any business. It is more valuable than capital or equipment. Unfortunately, it is also the most wasted. People can be your biggest asset or your biggest liability (Khera, 1999). The scope for HRM varies across organizations. Walton and Lawrence (1985), for instance, identified four major areas of HRM policy: reward systems, including compensation and benefits; employee influence mechanisms such as participation; job design and work organization; and employee selection and development. Generally the components of manpower planning are: recruitment, selection, training, and performance appraisal. The purpose of having a manpower plan is to have an accurate estimate of the number of employees required, with matching skill requirements to accomplish organization goals. Recruitment is the process of locating and promoting potential applicants to apply for existing or an anticipated job openings (Sherman et.al., 1996) . It could be through advertisement, employment exchange agencies or private employment agencies and present employees. The component selection can be defined as the process of offering jobs to one or more applicants from the applications. Great attention has to be paid to selection because it means establishing best fit between job requirements on the one hand, and the candidates qualification on the other (Monappa and Saiyadain, 1989). Different kinds of selection tests are achievement tests, aptitude tests, interest tests, personality tests and intelligence tests. After recruitment and selection, training provided to the employee focuses on improving skills, or to add to the existing level of knowledge so that the employee is better equipped to do his present job, or to prepare him for higher responsibilities. In order to identify employee for salary increase and promotion, to determine training needs for further refinement of the skills of employee and to motivate them by inform ing them about their performance levels, performance appraisal technique is used. Appraisals are judgements of the characteristics, traits and performance of others. Techniques for performance appraisal includes confidential report, rating scales, ranking system, paired- comparison method, force- choice method, critical incident method, cost accounting method and forced distribution method (Monappa and Saiyadain, 1989). HRM policies are generally decided by the companies senior managers, with or without consultation with their employees. But they are often adopted and implemented with some reference from the national context within which the organizations operate (Tayeb, 1996). These include: national culture, political ideology of the government, the economic conditions, trade unions, and the legal system. In countries where the government and political environment is honest, generally one finds that the people are honest, law abiding and helpful. And the reverse is true too. In a corrupt environment, an honest person has a tough time. Whereas in an honest environment, the corrupt one has a tough time (Khera, 1999). Similarly, religions in many countries, with either secular or religious constitutions, have a certain degree of influence on the cultural characteristics of their people and their institutions. This influence is far more extensive and inclusive in the countries that follow a model base d on religious ideals, as illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1:Contextual Influence on HRM Source: Adapted from Tayeb (1997) LITERATURE REVIEW Naeur Jabnoun (1994), in his book Islam and Management says that the Islamic evolution has made tremendous and highly essential contributions in many areas of human life. In regards to management and leadership, he presented several traits, as to how Muslim leaders should behave to deserve good followers. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr. (1998) developed and wrote modules for training in leadership skills from Islamic perspective since he was motivated by the fact that leadership is an essential aspect for management. Islamic Management for Excellence: Revitalizing People for the Future, a book written by Al- Habshi et al. (1994), explains the significance of a stable family institution. Khaliq Ahmad (2002) explains the importance of Islamic ethics in business and management in his book Ethics in Business and Management: Islamic and Mainstream Approaches. Muhammad Zafrullah Khan (1999) talks about human rights in the light of Islam in his book Islam and Human Rights. Chodhury (1989) presented Islam as a comprehensive way of life for its adherents. The spiritual and ethical reconstruction of individuals, societies and the world order are given in a socio- economic framework. Metwally (1997) highlights the desire of many Muslim countries to turn to Islamic laws and teachings in modelling their way of life, including their economic behavior in Economic consequences of applying Islamic principles in Muslim Societies. This paper attempts to investigate the consequences of applying Islamic principles in Muslim societies. In Islamic Revival in Asia and Human Resource Management, Tayeb (1997) clearly describes the ethics and values to be followed at the workplace and how different Islamic countries are managing their employees. The purpose of the conceptual paper, Corporate Governance in Islamic Perspective by Chodhury and Hoque (2006) was to develop a discussion expounding the Islamic perspective of corporate governance as a special case of a broader de cision-making theory that uses the premise of Islamic socio-scientific epistemology. The end results of the conceptual framework of this paper on corporate governance are contrasted with the approach to corporate governance in mainstream literature. Ali and Owaihan (2008) presented a coherent but critical treatment of Islamic work ethic in their article Islamic work ethic: a critical review. They found Islamic work ethic has economicas well as moral and social dimensions. In Problem solving: an Islamic management approach, Fontaine (2008) presented a problem- solving model that incorporates Islamic values and concerns. He found out that the focus in the international business literature has been on the Quran alone and not on the verses of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). METHODOLOGY This paper deals with the Islamic Perspective of Human Resource Management. Islam helps in teaching the various manners in which we can manage our most valuable assets effectively. This way a Muslim manager can not only deal ethically but can also please God (Allah). This paper is based on secondary data which has been collected from books, journals, newspapers, and internet. A conceptual framework has been developed describing the aspects of modern day HRM and HRM from Islamic perspective. The framework is presented in five broad categories- The message of Islam, Islam in different nations, Islam and Work, Islam and Managerial Dimensions, and Islam and HRM Practices. THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM Islam is an Arabic word, derived from the root which means both peace and submission. It thus connotes the attainment of peace, here and Hereafter, through submission to Allah, or, in other words, through conformity to His Will. A person who thus submits is a Muslim. In the Quran (the scripture of Islam), the appellation Muslim is applied to all the righteousness. For Muslims, Islam is not a man-made institution; the Quran contains the words of God, revealed syllable by syllable to Mohammed some 1,400 years ago. The deeds of its adherents are therefore inseparable from divine commandments. Islam is generally viewed by some non-Muslims as being a fatalist religion. But the Quran specifically asserts that humans are able to choose and to intervene in their destiny, and that they are held responsible for the consequences of their deeds. However, they are not left alone to run their life. God has equipped them with the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Mohammed, which in Islamic view is one of the most important sources of guidance that humans can use to steer their actions and beliefs (Tayeb, 1997). Social Values All values affecting man are based on the common concept that every human being is capable of achieving highest stage of moral and spiritual development and that his personality must be respected. The Quran takes note of diversities of race, color, language, wealth, etc., which serve their own useful purpose in the social scheme, and describe them as Signs of God for those who hear and possess knowledge (30:23). But none of these confers any privilege or imposes any disability. The Quran says God has divided mankind into tribes and nations for greater facility of intercourse. Neither membership of a tribe nor citizenship of a state confers any privilege, nor are they sources of honor. The true source of honor in the sight of God is the righteous life (49:14). The prophet said: The best among you is who treats the members of his family best. With regard to servants, the Prophet said: They are your brothers, and you should treat them as such. Provide them with the kind of clothes you w ear, and if you set them a hard task, join them in it to help them complete it. The wages of the laborer must be paid to him before the sweat dries upon his body (Ibn Maja). Younger people are admonished to show due respect and consideration to older people, and older people are exhorted to treat younger people with kindness. The Prophet said: He who does not behave kindly towards younger people and does not show due respect of Allah and His blessings. The Quran directs that one should greet his fellow beings with a better greeting than one receives oneself, or atleast return the same (4:87). Perhaps the most comprehensive dimensions within the domain of social values is: Help one another in the righteousness and virtue; but help not one another in sin and transgression (5:3). When the Prophet said on one occasion, Go to the help of your brother whether oppressor or oppressed, he was asked We know what is meant by going to the help of brother who is oppressed, but how shall we help a brother who is oppressor? The Prophet replied: By restraining them from oppressing others (Bukhari II). Economic Values In the economic sphere the basic concept of Islam is the basic ownership of everything belongs to God Alone (2:108, 3:190). Man is Gods vicegerent on earth. The objective of the Islamic economic system is to secure widest and most beneficent distribution of wealth through institutions set up by it and through moral exhortation. Wealth must remain in constant circulation among all sections of the community and should not become the monopoly of the rich (59:8). Islam recognizes the diversity of capacities and talents, which is in itself beneficent, and consequently the diversity in earnings and material rewards (4:33). It does not approve of a dead- level equality in the distribution of wealth, as that would defeat the very purpose of diversity, and would amount to denying the favor of Allah (16:72). It is obvious that if the incentive of the proportionate reward for labor, effort, skill and talent were to be removed, not only would initiative and enterprise be adversely affected, but intellectual progress would also be arrested. That is why the doctrine of equal reward irrespective of the diversity of skill, capacities and talents that have gone into the production of wealth has never been maintained for long, even when it has been proclaimed as State policy, and has had to be modified through recourse to various devices designed to secure diversity in reward. On the other hand, Islam does not leave the principle of competition and proportionate rewards to work itself out mechanically; that too would lead to hardship and injustice and would retard the moral and spiritual development of individuals and of society as a whole (Khan, 1999). Another major provision is the prohibition against the making of loans on interest. The word used in this connection in Quran is riba, the connotation of which is not identical with that of the word interest as commonly understood; but for the present purpose interest may be used as a rough equivalent. Riba is prohibited because it tends to draw wealth into the hands of a small circle and to restrict the exercise of beneficence towards ones fellow beings (2:281). ISLAM IN DIFFERENT NATIONS In the Islamic republic of Iran, for instance, all social institutions mentioned above and many more, such as the educational establishments and their priorities, the media, the arts, the political structure, the army, and private and public sector organizations, are all required to conform to Islamic values and instructions (Tayeb, 1997). An important point to note is that although Muslim nations have a great deal in common, there are also differences among them. And these differences can be observed in economic and business as well as social aspects of life. Saudi Arabia, for instance, adheres strictly to the Sacred law {Sharia) in many spheres of life, while Turkey has turned to secular laws for the administration of its economic and social affairs. The position of women in society and socially acceptable codes of behavior for people in general, and in business life, are cases in point (Tayeb, 1997). In Malaysia, the government has been implementing an Islamization policy for some time now, according to which companies have to organize their activities and manage their employees in accordance with the Quranic teachings. The chief Minister of the State of Kelantan has taken this further {The Economist, 1996). In Saudi Arabia women are not allowed to drive their own cars. As far aswork is concerned, they are barred from public office. As a result, they have turned to business and professions for employment. But here too they work under certain constraints. According to The Economist (1995) most women whoare active in private businesses (as owners) are in the retail trade: in a shopping mall in Jeddah, eight out of 20 shops are owned and run by women and notices forbid men to enter the shops women run. Teaching is a profession open to women but it is difficult for them to apply for positions which are located outside their home towns. In this patriarchal society, women must have written permission from their husbands or fathers before they can travel. In Kazakhistan, now that the country is independent, its old, predominantly patriarchal culture, which lay dormant under the Soviet rule, is enjoying a revival, replacing the Russian Communist culture. As a result, the perception of the role of women in society and in the workplace is changing. In the short term at least it is unlikely that women will have the same opportunities as they had before (Pollard, 1994). Furthermore, the reviving Kazakh Islamic culture places a great emphasis on age and seniority and prescribes proper junior-senior relationships, stemming from its nomadic traditions (Rywkin, 1982). This could have repercussions for organizational issues such as hierarchy, authority structure, and promotion and compensation policies. Tayeb (1997) adds information regarding women in Iran who have to follow a strict Islamic dress code at work, and indeed elsewhere. Men and women remain separate in prayers, wedding ceremonies, public transport, etc. However, unlike Arab women in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states, Iranian women are doing well in many spheres of public life. Some 95 per cent of young girls go to primary school. Older girls get less chance of getting higher education, but the gap is closing. Girls are doing well in technical schools, colleges and universities. Women can go into most jobs and professions, and, unlike their Saudi counterparts, they can drive their cars and vote. They can stand for parliament and there are many women members of parliament. Latifi (1997), who closely observed a sample of Iranian managers at work over a period of time, discovered traces of Islamic values in Iranian managers Human Resource Management style. She found that Iranian employees viewed their managers as sympathetic brothers and sisters or compassionate fathers and mothers. In addition, this family-like relationship also includes social and teacher roles for the managers. They were frequently involved in the private lives and family matters of subordinates to make them feel they are family. A survey of nine organizations was conducted in Malaysia by Endot (1995). The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahatir, initiated and implemented an Islamization processes in the country which aimed at infusing Islamic values throughout the society at all levels, from individual to institution. In pursuance of Islamic teachings one company offers its workers interest free loans for vehicle or house purchase, or for arrangements of wedding ceremony. Another company organizes Islamic study circles for managers where they can participate and get together once a week to discuss different aspects of teachings of Islam and socio- political issues with an intention to develop their Islamic personality. It also helps in creating cohesiveness of relationships and unity of thoughts on the issue discussed. One organization sends its employees on short courses in Islamic teachings with the main objective to make them understand Islam and its values. The process of selection for new recruits and their training are also influenced by the Islamization process. One organization recruits individuals who have graduated in Islamic studies. They are then exposed to techniques for modern management. Another recruits business-related graduates and then trains them on the Islamic aspects of their work. In all the firms in Endots study, the management made their subordinates understand and believe that they were accountable for their work not only to the organization, but to God (Allah), and that Islam consider their work as a form of worship of Allah. ISLAM AND WORK Islam is more a way of life than a mere religion. In a nutshell, it teaches how a believer has to oblige to the commitment to his faith. In the context of Islam and Work, it sheds light on the obligations of the worker towards his work in particular and his employer or employee in general. The more committed to his religion, the more committed he has to be to his work. Hence, as per the teachings of Islam- by working more dedicatedly as per the agreed terms of his employment, the employee justifies his earning and livelihood and at the same time stands out as a role model for the believers and non- believers alike. Sherif (1975) identified nobility, patience, self-discipline, good appearance, abstinence, resolve, sincerity, truthfulness, servitude and trust as major Islamic values. These could clearly have an impact on both management and productivity of employees. Islamic Values Related to Work Latifi (1997) identified the following work-related characteristics: Equality before God; Individual responsibility within a framework of co-operation with others; Employees respect and honor should be prominent; Principle of Equity to be followed; Fatalism but also a recognition of personal choice; Consultation at all levels of decision making In order to plan Human Resources on the lines of Islamic Culture, the manipulations which are common in the modern business world must be avoided. The will of Allah and messages of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) are to be followed by the managers if they want to be successful in both the worlds- Here and Hereafter. Below are the few areas discussed from Islamic perspective which are to be taken care of for an effective Human Resource Management. Characteristics of Good Managers from Islamic Perspective In the modern world, business managers major aim is to earn profits. Sometimes they forget to follow the correct path and move on the most traveled path, because they believe materialistic accumulation is all they are living for. If they try to come out of this misconception, they will see the world from a different perspective. They will realize that this material which they aim to earn is only a temporary asset. But what will remain forever is their good deeds and behavior with people with whom they are associated. The ethical path consisting of the message of Allah and Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) will give them internal peace and help them pleasing God- which is the ultimate aim of any Muslim. Motivated leaders clarify goals, set objectives, consult and respect followers, deal with followers kindly, humanely and with fairness. Spiritually people are classified as those who have: Nafs Ammarah, Nafs Lawwamah, Nafs Mutmainnah. Nafs Ammarah are those who possess negative motivation due to worries, lack of self- confidence, never respect others right and are not able to make followers feel secure. Nafs Lawwamah are the motivating ones who believe work is challenging, meaningful and provides directions for advancement, learning and personal growth. Nafs Mutmainnah provides a high level of the sense of responsibility towards Allah and contentment since there is a feeling of being away from fear and anxiety; and gives job satisfaction (Kazmi and Ahmad, 2006). In one of the Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), a person is encouraged to develop good characteristics and behaviors (Bukhari). It implies a manager should have a balanced personality where he is strong but not violent, lenient but not weak, and generous but not extravagant (Ahmad, 2006). According to another Hadith, kindness is a strength and, therefore, managers are expected to be kind enough to others whether they are your employees, customers, or suppliers (Muslim). Islam emphasizes on relationships among people which should advocate equal rights for all, and urges leaders to seek advice or information from their followers in the carrying out their affairs. If this is translated into behavior at workplace then this should mean a consultative decision-making process, and a fairly diffused power structure. Self-discipline, trustfulness, honesty, respect, resolve, and loyalty should encourage managers to trust their subordinates judgement and integrity, which could result in a participative management. Co-operation, perseverance, and family-like relationships among people, should encourage teamwork and mutual support, and enhance productivity within an organization (Tayeb, 1997). Manager should be trustworthy since trust is a moral responsibility for everyone in the performance of their duties and their social, political and economic lives (Hanafy and Sallam, 2006). The Quran says Allah doth commend you to render back your trust to those to whom they are due and when ye judge between man and man. That ye judge with justice. (4:58) In one of the Hadith, the Prophet (s.a.w.) mentioned the importance of trust in this public administration as: Any ruler who has been entrusted with the affairs of a group of Muslims and who dies as a dishonest ruler, to him paradise is forbidden by Allah. To treat people equally is a prerequisite of fairness and justice, an ethical code that modern corporations are trying to achieve. Islam has emphasized justice among human beings (Hanafy and Sallam, 2006). Averse in the Quran says, Allah commands justice, the doing of good and liberality to kith and kin. He forbids all shameful deeds, injustice and rebellion; he instructs you, that ye may receive administration. (16:90) Another verse from Quran says, To those who believe and to deeds of righteousness hath Allah promised forgiveness and a great reward. A manager should judge employees in an unbiased manner, because employees expect justice from their employer. ISLAM AND MANAGERIAL DIMENSIONS Corporate Culture Culture is the particular way of life in a specific society (Foster, 1965). With respect to corporate, Pettigrew (1979) explained culture as a system of publicity and collectively accepted meanings operating for a given group at a given time. This system of terms, forms, categories, and images interprets peoples own situation to themselves. The idea of collectively accepted meanings is prominent which suggests that the culture is related to those things that can be shared. Louis (1983) also came up with the idea of common understanding. She believed organizations are culture-bearing milieux, that is, they are distinctive social units possessed of a set of common understanding for organizing action. The Islamic Culture is derived from Islamic worldview that does not necessarily reflect contemporary Muslims societies. Ideal Islamic culture neither subscribes high power distance nor low (Kazmi and Ahmad, 2006). Islam teaches to respect and care others at workplace irrespective of the power or position one holds. Prophet (s.a.w) says, someone who fails to be affectionate to young, respect elderly and accords high honor to scholars, dont belong to me (being a Muslim). Therefore any power distance and authoritys respect is due to the benevolence in mutual relationship. Islamic culture promotes the feeling of social belongingness where a respect for individuals right is guaranteed. For the cultivation of an Islamic corporate culture, Islam has provided a number of values to be applied in organizations such as sincerity, conscientiousness and good knowledge to be applied in all endeavors, justice, truthfulness, patience, prohibition of loving world and wealth, and avoidance of pride. The modern ways to compete in fast growing environment and Islamic culture to succeed in accordance to the teachings of Quran are most of the times contrast to each other as depicted in Figure 2. Figure 2: Distinction between Modern Culture and Islamic Culture Modern Culture Islamic Culture Pure individualism Collectivism Pure materialism Aesthetical Value Supports Favoritism Favoritism is unethical Social belongingness missing Social belongingness guaranteed Competition with personal differences Healthy competition without envy and jealousy Training for deserved ones Training and knowledge for all Power Concentration Power Distribution Respect those who are in power Respect irrespective of power and position Planning Planning to reach the final aim should be done in such a way that it goes parallel to Allahs will. If one has to follow the Islamic perspective to plan and compete then the intention should be to strive and achieve in the cause of Allah. While competing one should remember the teachings of Quran and Prophet (s.a.w.). If the intention is dishonorable such as envy, jealousy, mutual rivalry, etc., then it does not follow the Islamic view (Kazmi and Ahmad, 2006) Leading Robbins (2001) defines leadership as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals. Great leaders possess distinct qualities of confidence, iron-will, determination and strong decision power. (Kazmi and Ahmad, 2006) informs that in Islam, leadership is trust. It is psychological contract between a leader and his followers that he will try his best to guide them, to protect them and to treat them fairly and with justice. The focus of leadership in Islam is on doing good. According to Islam, the two major roles of a leader are those of servant- leader and guardian- leader. A leader is the servant of his followers (Saiyyad Al- Qawn Khadimuhum). He is to seek their welfare and guide them towards good. On the other hand as the guardian- leader, the Muslim leader should protect his community against tyranny and oppression, encourage God- consciousness and promotes justice. Leadership in Islam is rooted in belief and willing submission to the Creator, Allah. It aims at serving Allah. To serve God, a Muslim leader is to act in accordance with the order of God and His Prophet (s.a.w.), and must develop a strong Islamic character. Kazmi and Ahmad (2006) highlight the four moral bases of Islamic Leadership- Islam Iman (faith in God), Taqwa (inner consciousness) and Ihsan (love of God). Islam means achievement of peace, with oneself and with the creation of God, through willing submission to Him. Iman implies in the Oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad (s.a.w.). A leader with strong Iman will consider himself and all his possessions as belongings to God. He will bow his ego, his ideas, his passions and his thinking to God. A leader with firm Iman will not dodge responsibility for his actions, and will continuously emphasize good deeds. Taqwa is the all- encompassing, inner- consciousness of duty towards God and awareness of ones a