The Christian Fundamentalist Movement free essay sample

As it exists in America, the Christian fundamentalist movement is comprised of Protestant evangelical fundamentalists who seek a complete restructuring of the social and political order, so that all proceeding generations may be brought up in accordance with their doctrine. The most central tenet to their movement is the idea that their sacred scripture, the Bible, is indisputably inerrant, and provides a strict set of rules and guidelines that can be applied to a person in any context. In Martin Marty’s anthology â€Å"The Fundamentalism Project,† he explores the role that fundamentalism plays in politics, the family, and society as whole. Understanding that â€Å"fundamentalism† is a word often misused or wrongly attributed to certain groups, Marty’s works primarily aim at distinguishing the term, and illustrating it’s distinct origin. Furthermore, he describes the integral role of women in sustaining a movement that is essentially patriarchal, and helps us to see how this fits into Manuel Castells notion that the patriarchal family may soon be a thing of the past. We will write a custom essay sample on The Christian Fundamentalist Movement or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Defining and Distinguishing â€Å"Fundamentalism† Fundamentalism, in the most general of senses, is a strategy used within religious communities to reclaim their sacred past, and therefore maintain their identity as a distinct group. They refer to selected doctrines and scriptures, which are considered to be the â€Å"fundamentals† of their beliefs. They are zealously driven by a sense of self-preservation, and the need to convert their adversaries (who, in their case, is anyone but themselves) (Marty, 1). Protestant fundamentalists fit this definition well. They emerged in the early 20th century in opposition to, what they considered to be, an increasingly morally corrupt world. They have since continued to revere the â€Å"fundamental† requirements for salvation by basing every aspect of their lives on the perceived â€Å"divinely inspired† writings of the Bible . Several central features of Protestant fundamentalism shape its identity not only as a religious faith, but also as a strict, oppositional, closely-knit social cohort. The first of these is evangelism, which fundamentalists hold to the up-most importance. Since they see only themselves as saved, they xpend most of their energy on convincing outsiders that they must avoid eternal damnation through conversion (to fundamentalism) by broadcasting evangelical messages over radio and television and various other means. Secondly, fundamentalists believe in a strict biblical inerrancy. That is, they claim â€Å"that the only sure path to salvation is through a faith in Jesus Christ that is grounded in unwavering faith in an inerrant Bible,† and that â€Å"the Bible can be trusted to provide an accurate description of science and history, as well as morality and religion† (Ammerman, 5). Hence their upsurge at the turn of the 20th century, when various scientific and philosophical theories (such as Darwinism) that did not adhere to the written word became increasingly accepted, and they sought to turn everyone back to the strict, unwavering accuracy of the scriptures (Moore, 46). Thirdly, fundamentalists are a pre-millennialist group who use their faith in the Bible to â€Å"predict the future,† that is, the coming of the End. This belief provides them with even more motivation to evangelize, because they think there is only a limited time before the second coming of Jesus and thus a limited time to save non-believers before they are condemned to hell. Lastly, separatism is one of the more crucial features of fundamentalism, because it is the basis for how fundamentalists exist in society. They insist that a true believer will not only follow a strict set of guidelines for his or her own life, but will also shun any person who does not share their lifestyle. In fact, it is this desire to ostracize the mainstream population that originally set fundamentalists apart at the emergence of their movement, as they share much in common with closely related factions such as conservative, or evangelical Christianity. For example, fundamentalists agree with conservative Christian’s â€Å"traditional† understanding of such doctrines as the Virgin Birth, the historical accuracy of Jesus’ miracles, and the imminent second coming of Christ. However, not all conservative Christians agree on how one achieves salvation, which is where evangelical Protestantism veers off. While certain conservative Protestants consider themselves â€Å"saved† if they are baptized and active, faithful members of their church, only evangelicals believe that salvation is solely for those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior and devote their lives to living in his name (a tenant crucial to fundamentalism). And, since many evangelicals place revelatory powers in experience, they cannot all be considered fundamentalists who seek revelation through the scriptures alone. But still, for most of the early 20th century, â€Å"fundamentalists† and â€Å"evangelicals† were barely distinguishable; both groups â€Å"preserved and practiced the revivalist heritage of soul winning and maintained a traditional insistence on orthodoxy† (Ammerman, 4). It wasn’t until fundamentalists chose to actively oppose liberalism, secularism, and communism in a militant fashion that they ostracized themselves from the rest of society, which evangelicals sought to remain in. Historical Background of the Fundamentalist Movement In every society social change proceeds at an uneven pace. Some society members embrace change with relish, while others find it oppressive and troubling. And, when people feel that change is being imposed on them, many will find it necessary to resist. Such was the case with America’s earliest fundamentalists. The early 20th Century Fundamentalist Movement sprung from the Great Awakening in objection to its principles of liberal theology, German higher criticism, Darwinism, all which appeared to undermine the Bible’s authority. The growing discontentment of numerous religiously conservative Christians pushed them to unify and organize, aided by the emergence of a twelve volume series between 1910 and 1915 titled The Fundamentals. This collection was conceived by a Southern California oil millionaire and edited by Bible teachers and evangelists. It contained ninety articles, twenty-seven of them devoted to the Bible, which outlined clearly what were thought to be the essential, fundamental beliefs of Christianity that could not be compromised. It detailed fundamentalism’s core tenets, specifically: The inerrancy of the Bible, the literal nature of the Biblical accounts (especially regarding Christs miracles and the  Creation account in Genesis), the Virgin Birth of Christ, the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross, and the bodily resurrection of Christ (Witherup, 7). These provided the disunited body of participants with a single set of goals, prompting them to ban together to enact change and essentially transforming fundamentalism into a specific movement. However, throughout the following decade this new religiously conservative coalition against liberalism was merely a nagging voice of dissent, still widely considered bigoted or anti-intellectual, and failed to gain significant credibility (Marsden, 124). Fundamentalists remained divided on several key issues, which prevented them from gaining any real solidarity. For example, while most fundamentalists were mainly concerned with biblical inerrancy, many were more focused on dispensationalism, a eschatological theology concerned with the so-called â€Å"end of times. At this end of the spectrum a â€Å"small group of dispensationalist spokes-men pushed the cultural pessimism to its logical extreme,† who used rhetoric that â€Å"was certainly not in any way connected with positive, progressive reformism† (Marsden, 125). This prevalent face of fundamentalism was in no way appealing to the American public, and was counter-productive to the movement. In 1925, the infamous Scopes â€Å"monkey trial† brought to the forefront of the American Public the clash between modernity and fundamentalists. The trial concerned a high school teacher, John Scopes, who was convicted of teaching the scientific theory of evolution in opposition to the biblical teaching of creation. Though the fundamentalist prosecutor William Jennings Byron won the case, liberal press coverage of this legendary trial ultimately led to a severe loss of public support. Nevertheless, Byron would go on to becoming one of the most popular and appealing faces to the movement, and would continue to fuel its growth. The economic depression of the 1930’s provided a context in which fundamentalism could not easily thrive. Such dark times called for a comforting, optimistic theology†¦characteristics not often attributed to fundamentalism. However, this sense of social crisis brought to the fore moral reformist leaders like William B Riley, who began to stress political change as essential to fundamentalist goals. A number of conservative conferences in  New York City  and Philadelphia led to the formation of a larger and more comprehensive organizations the  World’s Christian Fundamentals Association and the Fundamental Baptists of America. Having also lost control of the denominational seminaries, fundamentalists regrouped around a set of independent Bible institutes and Bible colleges. Many of these schools, such as the  Moody Bible Institute  in Chicago and the  Bible Institute of Los Angeles not only provided instruction to their students but assumed many of the duties formerly performed by denominational institutions. They published periodicals, broadcast from their own  radio stations, held conferences, and maintained a staff of extension speakers. They operated like a denominational headquarters, providing a bond between otherwise isolated congregations (Bruce, 55). Although fundamentalism was pushed to the fringe of the Christian community by the new Evangelical movement, it continued to grow as new leaderships arose. The  Baptist Bible Fellowship, formed in 1950, became one of the largest fundamentalist denominations. By 1975 there were 34 Regional organizations, 16 active military chaplains, 11 student chaplains, 1261 individual members and 614 churches. A total of 28 missionary organizations were members of the IFCA movement. They included 13 church extension missions, 11 home missions, and 4 foreign missions. Five Bible institutes and colleges also were members. Then, in 1979 Jerry Falwell pushed the movement into political sphere by founding the Moral Majority, a civic organization that crusaded against what it viewed as negative cultural trends, especially legalized abortion, the  women’s movement, and the  gay rights movement. It also lobbied for prayer in public schools, increased defense spending, a strong anticommunist  foreign policy, and continued American support for the State of Israel. The Moral Majority led a new generation of fundamentalists beyond simply denouncing cultural trends and back into an engagement with contemporary life in the political arena, a place where they have been quite outspoken for the past couple of decades. For example, fundamentalists were strong supporters of President  George W. Bush  and played an important role in the election of Republicans at all levels of government. They also continued to promote conservative positions on various questions of social policy. They took advantage of the post-cold war liberalist attitude by zealously lobbying for political and moral reform at abortion clinics, funerals for homosexuals, etc, to make their point loud and clear. According to Marty Martin, fundamentalists entered â€Å"a new phase of intense activism in the aftermath of the Gulf War (1990-1991) and the collapse of the Soviet Union, in a world that now seemed beset by an inward turning of peoples, or by antipluralist particularisms† (Marty, 7). Even further fueled by the ultural revolution of the 1960’s and early 70’s, especially the assaults on traditional standards of family and sexuality, fundamentalists sought to completely re-structure American culture. They continued to promote conservative positions on various questions of social policy, and given that their â€Å"end† is in sight, have been increasingly forceful in doing so. In other words, the fundamentalist movements’ participants believe that their t ime is running out to achieve their movement’s goals, therefore they need to take advantage of every opportunity they can. In fact, â€Å"the politicization of fundamentalistic evangelicism in recent decades and its unexpected resilience as a political force points to another larger story in American culture, the weakening of the progressive modern scientific liberal consensus that seemed to be building in the first half of the 20th century† (Marsden, 255). Fundamentalism and The Family According to Marty, the fundamentalist desire to return to a â€Å"sacred past† is the motivation behind their focus on re-establishing â€Å"the family† as a staple of social order. They believe that the â€Å"traditional† family is one reminiscent of 17th century Puritanism, a time when religion played as large a role in society as it should now. Christian fundamentalist see the family as the ultimate authority, as it has become a â€Å"potent symbol of an idealized moral order† (Hardacre, 131). Thus, â€Å"the imperative to ‘return’ to an idealized form of the family is perhaps the highest priority of the fundamentalist social agenda† (Hardacre, 131). They see the family as the divine infrastructure that is the basis for all other institutions in society, and are encouraged by spiritual leaders to make the home a moral haven from a corrupt world. The â€Å"traditional† lifestyle that is so revered by Christian fundamentalists is a patriarchal one, in accordance with the Bible. As a result, women willingly assume the subordinate position which is widely considered anti- feminist. In their idealized family, the husband is the sole breadwinner who exercises final authority in all matters, and the wife’s role is simply to serve her husband, children and God. Additionally, females in fundamentalist households are taught to stifle their sexuality, as it could be used as a tool to manipulate the males in society. And, â€Å"women’s personification of tradition also takes the form of (often explicit) restrictions on their physical movements away from home† (Hardacre, 139). In order to stick with â€Å"tradition,† women are often required to forego education beyond basic literacy, and employment in leading sectors of the economy (and most other professions). Especially from a feminist standpoint, it is oftentimes difficult to see why women would become such passionate advocates for a creed that deepens their subordination to men and requires them to relinquish most of their power. However, within fundamentalism, the female role of motherhood is considered to be the most crucial foundation for the family and society as a whole. Since many fundamentalists chose to homeschool their children, these mothers are also the sole educators for their oftentimes many offspring. And, as a large part of their educational focus is on Biblical study, females are called to pass on the meaning of their sacred scripture to the next generation. So though their perpetuation of patriarchy is widely considered anti-feminist, fundamentalist women do not see themselves as such. Instead, they see themselves as carrying out the ultimate female duty as God calls upon them to do. The Quiverfull movement is a smaller, more recent group who share the same desire for a â€Å"traditional† patriarchal family. They are a movement of people who believe is eschewing all forms of birth control, and willingly accepting as many children as they conceive. Not only are they unwilling to prevent pregnancy, but in the same effort to maintain patriarchy wives are required to engage in sexual intercourse whenever their husband so chooses, oftentimes resulting in frequent reproduction. The basis for their lifestyle is found in Old Testament Bible verses in Psalm 127:3-4 that proclaims â€Å"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward; As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his  quiver full  of them† (Quiverfull). Despite the premise of their movement being selection from a religious text, the Quiverfull movement is self-described as non-denominational, though it is often described as both evangelical and fundamentalist. Though their members are predominately evangelical (if not evangelical fundamentalists), look closer will see how they really fit in as a subset to the overall fundamentalist movement. As was just mentioned, the foundation of Quiverfull beliefs comes from a literal translation of the Bible, a characteristic of evangelicism and fundamentalism. And, they don’t only base their reproductive habits off of the Bible; Quiverfulls maintain that the Bible is inerrant in it’s entirety. In consequence, Quiverfull families base their familial structure off of the same scriptures that fundamentalists do, creating the same male-headed families. However, it would probably be inaccurate to say that all members of the Quiverfull movement share the same desire for separatism that is characterized in the participants of the fundamentalist movement. The fact that they do not self-describe themselves as Christian fundamentalists (though they do refer to the â€Å"fundamentals†) alone is suggestive of their less-exclusive nature. For example, if I were to decide now that I want no part in birth-control or family planning, and advocated that as the correct way of life, I would be part of the Quiverfull movement despite any of my other personal ideologies. Nevertheless, the premise of the movement coincides with objectives of fundamentalists, so it still can be considered a contribution to the success of the larger Fundamentalist movement as a whole. The Fundamentalists Identity In Castells’ â€Å"The Power of Identity,† he provides three origins of â€Å"identity building,† the basis for the formation of â€Å"purposive collective actions whose outcome, in victory as in defeat, transforms the values and institutions of society† (Castells, 3). One of these, â€Å"resistance identity,† is similar to McAdam’s idea of â€Å"oppositional consciousness. The latter is vital to the success of any social movement, because the creation of a common enemy creates solidarity between its members, allowing them to link their experiences of injustice to their oppressors, thus providing them with a common obstacle. This type of identity-building â€Å"constructs forms of collective resistance against otherwise unbearable oppression, usually on the basis of identities that were, apparently, clearly defined by history, geography, or biology, making it easier to essentialize the boundaries of existence†. In this case, a collective identity is formed in response to dominant institutions or ideologies, just as fundamentalism emerged to combat the scientifically-progressive ideologies of the early 20th century. Fundamentalism is understood to be â€Å"the construction of collective identity under the identification of individual behavior and society’s institutions to the norms derived from God’s law, interpreted by a definite authority that intermediates between God and humanity† (Castells 2, 13). Thus, to be properly perceived by fundamentalists one has to share their commitment to a authority, as they do in respect to patriarchal order and God. Castells also argues that the new global order with its uncontrollable processes of globalization and individualization of identity is accompanied by several brand new demographical tendencies. Among them there are the high rates of divorce, separation, delayed marriages, children born out of wedlock, violence in the family, gay and lesbian couples, single lifestyles etc. Castells 2, 26) All of these challenge patriarchalism by undermining its material and ideological bases, and Castells sees the Christian family as the only source of stability to this order. He claims that American Christian fundamentalism is not a rationalization of class interests, or territorial communal movements, but is rather â€Å"a political process of defense of the moral, Christian values† with the help of images from the past projected into the utop ian future (Castells, 25). Therefore, fundamentalism derives its strength from the American culture with its deep religiosity as well as â€Å"familistic individualism† and pragmatism as a shelter from solitude and uncertainty of the contemporary  world (Castells). Fundamentalism: A Self Sustaining Movement For its participants, fundamentalism began with the formation of the scriptures and its sustainability is inevitable due to its universal validity. The only threat to its existence is the event after which worldly matters are no longer a concern to fundamentalists: the imminent second coming of their savior, Jesus Christ. Until then, fundamentalism continues to exist in the social order as a well-organized, un-relenting, unified movement, fighting to influence American institutions in accordance with their beliefs. And, with America in the midst of major political and religious upheaval, there has never been a better time for fundamentalists to impose a structural change on our society. Concerning its sustainability, the fundamentalist movement has a clear, unwavering set of tenets and goals which can apply to every society. Furthermore, the solidarity of it’s members has been highly influenced by the movement’s ubiquitous enemy: contemporary American culture. Their formation of an oppositional consciousness has been inherent in their basic dogma, and their list of enemies remains lengthy and ever growing. Their political opportunity has also continued to grow in strength, with an increasing number of right-wing conservatives standing behind their cause. This increase in ideological allies has been paired with a decrease in the strength of repression in society, as more and more Americans have become sympathetic to the fundamentalist message. This has been partially due to the post-9/11 need for revenge against a common enemy, which called for Americans to ban together and generally promoted the idea of returning to the â€Å"family. † This idea is further supported today by public figures like Sarah Palin and Glen Beck, the latter of whom is regarded higher in public-opinion than the president himself. Even despite their philosophical differences, evangelicals and fundamentalists have come together in their plight to change the schooling system, in opposition to secular humanism. Together they seek a â€Å"God-centered education that emphasizes character development and spiritual training,† which requires a totally upheaval of the standard American educational system (Rose, 456). They have pressured public schools to remove certain books from classrooms and libraries, to teach scientific creationism alongside (or in place of) evolution, to eliminate sex education entirely, to adopt textbooks that reinforce â€Å"traditional† American values, that can be found in the scriptures and to avoid â€Å"controversial† subjects in the classroom, such as sex or evolution (Rose, 453). Protestants have developed their own branch of Christian schools, which though may not be strictly comprised of fundamentalists, is most popular among the more separatist and conservative wing of the evangelical movement. Since the 1960’s enrollments in non-Catholic religiously affiliated schools, or schools of which the majority are evangelical, have increased some 149 percent (Rose, 454). These schools have been the fastest growing sector of private education, with approximately one million students (K-12) enrolled in roughly ten thousand schools, which equates to 20% of the total private school population. The goal of this alternate form of education is to restore religious authority in society, re-strengthen parental authority, and educate their children while protecting them from â€Å"drug, sex, violence, and the lack of discipline in the public schools† (Rose, 455). The schools form a sort of protective bubble around the fundamentalist youth, limiting their knowledge of diversity and progressive society. At fundamentalist universities, the Bible is the only form of literature that students study, and many times neither group discussion nor essay writing is part of the regular curriculum (Rose, 461). In other words, students read (for the most part) only the Bible, and do not practice the normal skills that an education requires. This singularization of their knowledge successfully teaches children that fundamentalism is not only the right way, but the only way to live. All in all, it is clear that Protestant fundamentalism is concerned with protecting the sanctity of their ideology in every aspect. Worship, education, the family, friends, recreation, etc. must all adhere to a strict set of doctrinal beliefs, which can only be found in their inerrant Bible. Due to their confined nature, there is little room for desegregation with people of other faiths, which helps to perpetuate the distinct roles that women and children play in this sometimes described anti-progressive or anti-modernist movement. In their plight to change the schooling system, fundamentalists have merged with evangelicals to oppose the secular humanism that they consider to be contaminating their children’s minds. Together, they seek a â€Å"God-centered education that emphasizes character development and spiritual training,† which requires a totally upheaval of the standard American educational system (Rose, 456). In addition, their patriarchal communities have restrained the role of women, keeping them solely in the households to raise and sometimes educate their children. Furthermore, children are encouraged to confine their friendships, dating partners and spouses within the church, allowing little room for outward mobilization. For the most part, they constrain their children to educating them only the â€Å"basics† of Protestant fundamentals, and by rearing them in such a male dominated environment, perpetuate an anti-feminist ideology (Hardacre, 134). Conclusion It is the fundamentalist insistence on â€Å"uniformity of belief within ranks and separation from others whose beliefs and lives are suspect† that has shaped a fervently unique demographic (Ammerman, 9). Their determination to accumulate ideological allies through zealous evangelism has taken fundamentalism from being a theological doctrine, to existing as a strong and ever growing social movement. Their separatist nature has led them to develop their own faith-based communities, churches, schools, universities, radio stations, television shows and more. By creating their own neighborhoods and penetrating the education system, fundamentalists have succeeded in mobilizing and growing in size and authority.

Believes is a Verb

Believes is a Verb Believes is a Verb Believes is a Verb By Maeve Maddox Some bloggers, academics, and authors with books on Amazon seem to be confused about the verb believe and the noun belief. Here are just four examples: INCORRECT: Manobo Religious Believes and Practices- title of paper published at Academia.edu. CORRECT : Manobo Religious Beliefs and Practices INCORRECT: A recent study examines how religious and spiritual believes can impact our health in different ways.- Science World Report. CORRECT : A recent study examines how religious and spiritual beliefs can impact our health in different ways. INCORRECT: Awakening of Religious Believes of Islam- Facebook page title. CORRECT : Awakening of Religious Beliefs of Islam INCORRECT: Why do I mention believes, I really mean  religious believes, because more or less we have been forced to belief that a supernatural world doesnt exist, or it is a  world where only god’s reside.- Paul J. Linke, The Conspiracy Rhetoric of Mankind, Xlibris, 2012. CORRECT : Why do I mention beliefs, I really mean  religious beliefs, because more or less we have been forced to believe that a supernatural world doesnt exist, or it is a  world where only gods reside. Believe is a verb. Its principal parts are believe/believes, believed, (has) believed. Belief is a noun. Paul Brians (Common Errors in English Usage) sums up the difference nicely: People can’t have religious â€Å"believes†; they have religious beliefs. If you have it, it’s a belief; if you do it, you believe. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business LetterAnyone vs. Everyone"To Tide You Over"

Personal mission statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal mission statement - Essay Example Leibowitz (1997) claims that reflections, complex thinking and communication helps the students to be able to align their goal to their career. During my last semester, I performed poorly in two units (Ancient History and Political Science) and this made me a have a low grade overall. Personally, my goal for this semester was to improve on my grade in these two units I did not perform well in order for me to increase my GPA and graduate with a good grade. During the beginning of semester, there are a number of personal and academic goals that I have been looking to accomplish. There are some goals that I have accomplished and some that I have not. Therefore, reflection on one’s goals is important as it helps one to know where he has come from and where he is going. I chose to improve on these subjects as it has greatly affected my chances of making it to the Dean’s list. My academic goal for this semester was to make it the Dean’s list and I could only achieve this through improving in my performance on the two units. With hard work and discipline, I am proud to have achieved this goal. I was able to plan a timetable that was very demanding and stack to it to the latter. My timetable required me to organize and motivate myself to complete all my assignments on time so that I would create more time for the two units. At the beginning of the semester, I made a list of the course assignments, jotted down the key points and with the help of my calendar I was able to plan my day and week respectively. On the weekdays, I allocated my designated study time table for 9pm to 11 pm. Nonetheless, I was forced to push the back this study period to accommodate time for my friends which conflicted with my set goals. Over the semester, I believe that I have accomplished most of my goals while other goals have been changed to accommodate others. I was able to communicate more with classmate that I never used to talk to. By making new friends, I was able to

How capital markets led to the new economy bubble and the banking Essay

How capital markets led to the new economy bubble and the banking crisis - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the occurrence of the global crisis in 2008 started with developed countries particularly in the United States of America, and its impact spread rapidly to other parts of the world. The crisis was contributed by the negligence of the financial institutions that issued insecure loans to the investors hence making the repayment hard during and after the recession. The decline in the prices of residential houses made it difficult for mortgagees to repay their debt. Consequently, the investors withdrew their wealth from the capital market to repay their loans with other investors lost trust and confidence with financial institutions resulting to the withdrawal of invested wealth from the capital market. Capital market refers to the financial market in which the long-term debt or equity-backed securities are traded. The role of the capital market is to collect resources of the savers and distribute them to the long-term investment opportuni ties, especially in government and companies’ investment saving schemes. This document gives the detail of how the capital market was responsible for the global crisis and its impact on the world economy. The contribution of the capital market to global financial crisis gives and understanding of the financial markets operates and how different financial institutions are interlinked across the globe. During the period between 2000 and 2007 investors generated a lot of wealth and had enough to save in the banks.

Principles of Time Management Essay Example for Free

Principles of Time Management Essay Time is one of the most difficult resources to manage. You can not take back what is already lost, you can not renew the times that you missed. Moreover, it is one of the measures that all men are created equal because everyone is just given 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours a day. In our fast paced world where everything seems to run ahead of you and you just have to chase time after time to accomplish things, you need a real good time management. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 in the Bible talks about time for everything. â€Å"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,† states in the first verse. This chapter alone teaches or urges people to set a time for everything to better manage time. There are a lot time management principles that we can suggest to a person however, it would be up to the individual to make the principles work. Dr. Jan Yager (1999) outlined seven principles in the book â€Å"The 7 Principles of Creative Time Management.† These include: Being active not reactive, setting goals, prioritizing actions, keeping focus, creating realistic deadlines, doing it NOW and balancing life. The D-O-I-T-N-O-W Principle states the following: Divide and conquer what you have to do. Break big tasks into little tasks and give each part of that task a realistic deadline. Organize your materials, how you will do it. Ignore interruptions that are annoying distractions Take the time to learn how to do things yourself. Now, not tomorrow. Dont procrastinate. Opportunity is knocking. Take advantage of opportunities. Watch out for time gobblers. Keep track of, and in control of, how much time you spend on the Internet, reading and sending e-mails, watching TV, or talking on the phone. Before you know how to manage your time, you should first know what time is it. It is not telling the time in your watch but knowing the right thing to do at the right and proper time. However, you should also get a sense of time by tracking your watch. You can take control of your whole day if you know what time it is and what you should be doing on those times. Other than you good watch, you should still use other tool. One of which is a planner. Sometimes you can not memorize everything that you need to do in a day or in a week. Sometimes, you can not know if you have already done one job if you do have your list and you may result in doing it again; thus wasting your time. Grab a planner and make you checklist for the day. A planner use wisely will help you keep track your activities and help you evaluate regarding having balance. When you keep track on all your activities, you have a way to evaluate throughout the week and make it better if necessary. If you have the tools above and you still have the problem in managing your time, you need to identify the problem. Do you procrastinate? Do you always entertain interruption and waste your time in unproductive work?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time management may be difficult but as the Bible says, make time for everything. Do not focus on how to manage

Government Surveillance in the Digital Age Essay -- Privacy in the Dig

Government Surveillance in the Digital Age Imagine walking along a busy street in the middle of a sunny day. Also imagine that someone is following you around, videotaping everything you do. Disturbing thought? Even more disturbing is the fact that the United States government is already doing this, and it's perfectly legal. According to Robert Trigaux, a reporter for the St. Petersburg times, until August of 2014, in Ybor City, Florida, the Tampa Police Department used fourty-six surveillance cameras that scanned faces of all people walking around the entertainment district. These surveillance cameras captured facial images and then compared them to a police database of known felons. This same surveillance system was also used during the Tampa Bay Super Bowl at the Raymond James Stadium, and other cities are attempting to install such a system. However, even though the cameras are used in public places, they still represent a large violation of privacy. Also a violation of our privacy is the government's usage of the Carnivore Internet surveillance system that can track all of a person's online activity. The FBI not only has the capability to do so, but in many cases it can lawfully enter a person's home and alter or even steal information form his or her computer, all without the knowledge of the owner of the computer. The government's ability to gather personal information on its citizens is similar to methods of surveillance in the novels The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, and 1984, by George Orwell. In order to prevent the extreme cases of surveillance presented in these novels, it is the public's responsibility to remain alert to new developments in law enforcement so as to prevent an unreasonable s... ...ore/000724fbi.shmtl>. Herdy, Amy. Tampabay: They made me feel like a criminal. 8 Aug. 2001. St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov. 2013. . Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations. July 2012. Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. 26 Oct. 2013. . The Nature and Scope of Governmental Electronic Surveillance Activity. Sep. 2001. Center for Democracy and Technology. 27 Oct. 2013. . Trigaux, Robert. Tampabay: Cameras scanned fans for criminals. 31 Jan. 2001. St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov. 2003. . Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classic Printing, 1950.

Importance of Biogas plant Essay

The energy prospect is generally assessed on the basis of available commercial sources of energy i.e., fossil fuel like gas, coal, oil etc. Worldwide, there is a major transition underway in the energy sector. Biogas can be a potential source of renewable energy, Residues from biogas also proven as a significant source of organic fertilizer. If there is proper policy and implementation, Bangladesh’s energy crisis and organic fertilizer demand can be control through biogas plant. 1. Introduction By 2020, the world is throwing into turmoil as demand for energy begins to greatly exceed the supply – crippling many economies and triggering widespread social unrest. Many countries in the West may experience a decline in living standards – with oil rationing and conservation measures introduced by governments and substantial reductions in travel, tourism and aviation. The crisis plays out for nearly two decades, gradually being resolved by a switch to renewable energy and alternative fuel technologies. In Bangladesh context, neither the decision-makers nor the experts pay due importance on proper extraction and use of renewable energy. Here grater population is using natural gas and imported oil, with the present rate of consumption, natural energy resources like gas will be exhausted shortly and this is high time to derive policy and practice for exploration and use of alternative renewable sources if we want to meet energy crisis in near future. Biogas has been fou nd to be a proven renewable energy option. 2. Biogas Biogas, a cheap secondary renewable energy, is a gaseous fuel obtained from biomass by the process of anaerobic digestion or fermentation. Biogas fermentation is the process by which organic materials such as human or animal excreta, domestic wastage, agricultural wastage etc, are degraded, by huge quantities of various microbes of different functions, under anaerobic conditions, to yield methane (about 55-70% content), carbon dioxide (about 3045% content) and low amount of other gases in the end. Biogas can be used as a vehicle fuel or for generating electricity. It can also be burned directly for cooking, heating, lighting, process heat and absorption refrigeration. Cattle dung, agricultural residue, poultry dropping, water hyacinth, human excreta may be used as raw materials for biogas plants. A typical biogas plant consists of a digester in which the slurry (dung mixed with water) is fermented; an inlet tank used to mix the feed and let it into the digester; a gas holder/ dome in which the generated gas is collected; an outlet tank to remove the spent slurry; distribution pipelines to take the gas into the kitchen. 3. How Biogas produced Biogas is produced by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as biomass, manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste, plant material, and crops. Biogas comprises primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes. The gases methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide (CO) can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel. Biogas can be used as a fuel in any country for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in anaerobic digesters where it is typically used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat. Biogas can be compressed, much like natural gas, and used to power motor vehicles. 4. Advantages of Biogas Technology: A potential source of renewable energy. A source of improved organic fertilizer. A mechanism for wastage management. Save environment. 4.1 A potential source of renewable energy. Energy is one of the basic ingredients required to alleviate poverty and socio-economic development. The energy prospect is generally assessed on the basis of available commercial sources of energy i.e., fossil fuel like gas, coal, oil etc. Worldwide, there is a major transition underway in the energy sector. It is happening due to the following three major reasons: (I) A decline in fossil fuel availability, their predicted gradual extinction in the next Few decades and the resultant price volatility due to demand-supply gap. (ii) The need to drastically cut global emissions for mitigating climate change (80% Reduction by 2050). (iii) The need for energy security. In Bangladesh efficient utilization of renewable energy resources is yet to assume commercial dimensions and hence rational policy dissemination on renewable energy usage is essential. The renewable energy includes solar, wind, biogas and biomass; hydro, geothermal, tidal wave etc. Despite of above scenario biogas source can be use as a potential source of renewable energy. 4.2 A source of improved organic fertilizer. Bio product of biogas plant is improved organic fertilizer. This fertilizer contains organic component like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium &Micro Nutrients: Nitrogen: Producing compost fertilizer Nitrogen losses calculated 50 % in every three months at the time of aerobic fermentation, on the other hand 10 % losses calculated while producing from biogas residues – Figure- 2 shows, Nutrition’s comparison between Chemical fertilizer and biogas residues from Biogas plant (Production in percentage): Biogas can outline sustainable land use. Reduced use of fertilizers and insecticides compared with lands used for row crops, protection of riparian areas, and erosion protection for sensitive land areas. 4.3 A mechanism for Wastage management Municipal waste is the abandoned materials which have been thrown away after use in daily life in the urban area. Municipal waste generally compose of food scrap, packaging materials, used plastic materials, tire etc. Due to the increasing growth of urban population in Bangladesh this municipal waste is getting high concerns from the management perspective. Also the management of this huge amount of waste is a worth of large expense. The huge amount of waste in the urban areas of Bangladesh due the rapid growth of population can be a potential source of biogas production. The calculation shows that by adopting active biogas collection procedure in the major landfills of the main cities can produce 319989.36 KWh of electricity. Recommendations are given to develop this technology within minimized cost and ensuring environmental safety. The unhygienic dumping zones in every city could me turned into a potential source of renewable energy by adopting active gas collection technology instead of spending money to manage the waste in that areas and keeping a huge land area unused. To explore the untouched potential of biogas source of municipal waste following actions are recommended: -To attract the investment in this sector government should demonstrate one pilot project with the help of foreign Development partners. -Private sectors should be given incentives to invest in biogas from municipal waste. -The technologies used in the countries successfully adopted waste to electricity system should be imported with necessary subsidies. -To facilitate the consciousness media should be used properly. 4.4 Save Environment. The greenhouse effect is caused by gases in the atmosphere (mainly carbon dioxide, CO2) which allow the sun’s short wave radiation to reach the earth surface while they absorb, to a large degree, the long wave heat radiation from the earth’s surface and from the atmosphere. Due to the â€Å"natural greenhouse effect† of the earth’s atmosphere the average temperature on earth is 15 °C and not minus 18 °C. The increase of the so called greenhouse gases which also include methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, etc. cause a rise of the earth’s temperature. The World Bank Group expects a rise in sea levels until the year 2050 of up to 50 cm. Flooding, erosion of the coasts, Stalinization of ground water and loss of land are but a few of the consequences mentioned. Until now, instruments to reduce the greenhouse effect considered primarily the reduction of CO2-emissions, due to their high proportion in the atmosphere. Though other greenhouse gases appear to be only a small portion of the atmosphere, they cause much more harm to the climate. Methane is not only the second most important greenhouse gas (it contributes with 20% to the effect while carbon dioxide causes 62%), it has also a 25 times higher global warming potential compared with carbon dioxide in a time horizon of 100 years. The Bio gas plant effectively reduces the amount of methane directly released into the atmosphere, by trapping it and facilitating its use as a green fuel. After burning, methane only releases harmless gases in air. Other uses of biogas: With the help of biogas we can drive gas generator to produce electricity in rural area. We can use gas incubator to produce poultry chicken from egg. We can use gas lantern by using bio gas in night time in village area. Hotel and restaurant can use biogas for cooking purposes by using the residue of vegetable and food waste. We can drive gas hitter for hitting water during winter season. Different poultry and dairy farm can mitigate their need of gas by using their own animal excreta. 5. Biogas significance in Bangladesh As a country of large population and for the convenient environment Biogas might be the potential source of energy. Though recently government has initiated some pilot project with the help of some foreign NGOs, but the utilization of the full potential is yet to reach. The main problem is lying in lack of public awareness and social prejudices. Government should supply the needed equipments to the private organization with less expense to encourage the involvement in this sector. 5.1 Types of Biogas Digester invented by Bangladesh government organization’s LGED: There are three types of basic designs of biogas plants tried in Bangladesh: (I) Floating cover digester: It works on the principle of constant pressure, changing volume. The digester, cylindrical well, commonly made from brick and cement, is covered with a floating steel cylinder with an open bottom (Fig. A). As the cylinder has a constant weight, it moves up when gas production is higher than consumption and comes down under the reverse conditions. (ii) Fixed cover digester: It works according to the principle, constant volume, changing pressure. When the rate of gas production is higher than that of gas consumption pressure inside the digester rises and expels some digester contents into the outlet compartment. When the consumption is higher than production, pressure inside the digester falls and the expelled materials in the outlet compartment run back to the digester (iii) Plastic Cover digester: A long cylindrical polythene/PVC bag, half-buried longitudinally in the ground, is fed with fresh cow-dung slurry at one end and discharged at the other. With the formation of gas, the bag swells like a balloon and the gasis led out to the point of use through a pipe by putting pressure on the balloon form outside In early 80’s, the floating type design was used for biogas plant. But dueto corrosion of the steel dome, the gas leakage problem happened and it could not be removed. Later on BCSIR tried with fixed done type desig n and it has been successful in all biogas plants. The plastic bag type designs not used in Bangladesh it is used in China. In this project, the fixed dome type design has been proposed. 5.2 Availability of biomass in Bangladesh for energy generation. The total annual generation and recoverable amounts of biomass in Bangladesh are about 165 and 9 MT/year respectively. Agricultural residues represent 48% of the total recoverable biomass followed by 23.9% from animal wastes and poultry droppings. In 2006, the biomass consumption for energy in Bangladesh was about 350 pico-Joules (PJ). At an average annual growth rate of 1.3%, the consumption in 2010 will be about 370 PJ. The total recoverable biomass energy of the country in 2006 was about 1250 PJ from which about 820 PJ of biomass energy was available for electricity generation. On the other hand, the total biomass energy consumption in 2006 was about 473 PJ. Assuming the same average annual growth rate of 1.3%, the biomass consumption in 2010 will be about 286 PJ. Therefore, the amount of biomass energy available in 2006 was 777 PJ, which is equivalent to 216 terawatt-hours (TWh). According to these two estimates and considering that the consumption of biomass for non-energy purposes is negligible, the annual available biomass energy potential for electricity generation in Bangladesh is in the range of 216- 250 TWh. 5.3 Present biogas Generation Rate: According to Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) sources, Bangladesh has 215,000 poultry farms and 15,000 cattle farms where electricity could be generated by establishing biogas plants. So far, 35,000 biogas plants have been established for the production of gas for cooking purposes in the rural areas. IDCOL has set a target of establishing 60,000 biogas plants by 2012, each of which could produce, on average, 94.22 square feet of gas. At present, 3.3 million square feet biogas is being produced in the country. 5.4 Affordability Biogas is a proven technology; there is no risk of failure if proper design and supervision can be ensured. Most of the micro finance institutions are now convinced and took decision to provide loan for the construction of Biogas plants. Most of the urban poor can not afford gas connection as it costs Tk. 200 to Tk. 400 per month. Instead they can install Biogas plants with. Bank loan and repay the loan out of their fuel savings ‘domestic’ size Biogas plant of 100 cft capacity cost Tk. 15,000 to Tk.18, 000 and can meet the cooking energy need for a five- member family. Impact on health and environment: Large scale bio energy development in Bangladesh could bring significant environmental benefits. Sustainable bioenergy development could: Reduce higher level of deforestation. Reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Improve air quality and reduce acid deposition. Improve soil quality and reduce erosion. Reduce land filling by adding value to residues. 5.5 Few case study: Biogas plants in different institution: LGED has constructed 61 Biogas plants in different educational institutes, orphanages, hospitals, school/college hostels for solving the sanitation problems and getting biogas as an alternative energy source. One of these important plants is in Faridpur orphanage. There are 250students and staff in Faridpur orphanage. For their night soil disposal they needed to construct a septic tank for 250 users with Tk.60, 000. LGED in mid 1992 constructed a Biogas plant with Tk. 16,000which served the purpose of septic tank as well as a source of gas and fertilizer. This has reduced the investment by Tk. 34,000 and the mission has been saving Tk. 25,000 against fuel cost per year. Case 1: Ganaktuli Sweeper colony, Dhaka: There are five buildings for sweepers and 40 families reside in each building. The latrines of the buildings were not connected with any septic tank or sewerage system. Previously, night soil was passing through surface drain creating health hazard. To connect the latrines of building No-I to the nearby sewerage line Tk. 60,000 and to construct a septic tank for 221 users of the building Tk. 50,000 were necessary. Instead, LGED constructed a Biogas plant for Tk. 20,000 in 1993which is working till today without any problem giving sufficient gas to meet fuel need of all families of 1 building. There was some maintenance for leakage and Tk. 300 was spent. Observing the performance of the plant, residents of other 4 buildings created pressure on the city corporation to construct similar plant in those buildings. By now Biogas plants have been constructed in all the remaining 4 buildings. Case 2: ‘Ecological Village’ Amgram/Uttar Hogla in Madaripur: LGED took up ‘Ecovillage’ project on experimental basis as pilot programme with the objectives to make the villagers aware about environment and technology, create clear, healthy and acceptable environment in the villages and inspire the people around the villages to accept such project. There are 662 people in the village in 123 families. Besides other socio economic activities, the following facilities were also provided: There was no latrine in the village and 95latrines were constructed. As an alternative source of energy 15  Biogas plants were installed, three persons were trained in the construction of Biogas plant. The Biogas plants are providing energy input to the villagers. 6. Conclusion: Different implementing agencies in Bangladesh, which are active in promoting bio gasification technology, are not paying sufficient attention to effective and focused groupcollaborative R&D aimed at renovating, optimising and improving the design for adaptation to local conditions. Limited R&D facilities and capabilities and lack of co-ordination among the researchers and implementing authorities may well pose a major stumbling-block towards the success of this endeavour. Moreover, the follow-up action program is also very limited. Sometimes, the plant-owners do not get proper technical guidance for the operation and maintenance of their plants. Thus, the successful application and extension of this option depends on: Institutional measures and close collaboration between sectors involved. This should include, among others, provision for soft loans and/or subsidy; availability of standard prototype for design and construction and site-specific maintenance guidelines; meaningful public involvement which should aim at passing relevant information of this technology to the community to increase awareness and promote acceptability of this technology; Accurate calculation of the benefits of this technology. Biomass could play a role in reducing C02 emissions in both of these sectors. As the slurry remains in the digester for 30-40 days in anaerobic condition, the effluent becomes pathogen free and the output is smell-free combustible gas and organic fertilizer which is improving the environment and preventing diseases. At present Bangladesh meet 46.15% of its energy need by agricultural residue, 10.5% by cow dung, 12.9% by fuel wood and 33% by tree residue. This means that to meet our energy need we are depriving, ourselves from organic fertilizer and creating environmental imbalance by  deforestation. One pragmatic estimate puts that the use of biogas will reduce energy deficit at least by 15%. Reference: Bangladesh Power Development Board. Annual Report of 2006-2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh: BPDB, 2008. Available www.bpdb.gov.bd/download/Annual%20Report-10.pdf Biogas Digest,Vol 1, Information and Advisory Service on Appropriate Technology (ISAT),GTZ (PREGA), Bangladesh Country Report,2003. Obozov, A.D. and Asankulova, â€Å"Biogas in Kyrgyzstan†, Applied Solar Energy, 2007, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 262–265 Waste Concern Database, http://www.wasteconcern.org/database.html M. Alamgir and A. Ahsan,† Municipal Solid Waste and Recovery Potential: Bangladesh Perspective† ,Iran. J. Environ. Health. Sci. Eng., 2007, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 67-76 S. 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