Relationship Between The Catholic Church And Chivalry

Relationship Between The Catholic Church And Chivalry Except for the occasional knighting conferred by the Queen of England, actual knights in shining armor are basically extinct. Despite this, the principles that govern chivalry, a defining quality of knighthood, merit closer inspection to understand the relationship between chivalry and the Catholic Church and the sociological impact on the Medieval Era and on society today. In no order of precedence, I will explore the seven of the principles that help to define chivalry as practiced by Epic (definition) or Chivalric Heroes (definition), compare those principles to some of the basic principles of Christianity as practiced by the Catholic Church, and weigh the sociological impact on both the Medieval Era and Society today. The first of the seven principles is fair play. According to dictionary.com fair play is just and honorable treatment, action, or conduct (dictionary.com). It was an expected custom for knights to show chivalry. One way in which a knight demonstrated chivalry was to show fair play when participating in jousting. Under the rules of fairplay knights were expected to show self discipline, practice mercy and justice, and never attack an unarmed enemy. Because jousting, also known as tournament, was a very bloody sport which often resulted in death or dysentery, the Statue of Arms for Tournaments was established in 1292. In the article The Historical Sport of Jousting Dmedley states: they were required to abide by the ideas of chivalry and fair play reducing the abhorrence of the church considerably (Medley). The second principle for consideration is valor. Valor is typically identified with heroism. To further understand valor, it serves to understand who was considered a hero during medieval times. According Anniina Jokinen in the article Heroes of the Middle Ages Morton W. Bloomfield said: the original hero in early literature was probably based on the king who died for his people, the warrior who defeated the tribes enemiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦these men were celebrated in song and story and presented again to the people so that they could participate in their magic (Jokinen). The custom of celebrating heros through song and story gave rise to what we know today as Epic Literature. According to Jokinen, Bloomsfield went on to say: Epic literature is a stately, solemn celebration of national life in the heroic age. Its heroes are simple men, versed in the activities of common lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they are leaders not through class status or wealth or even birth, but through the excellencies of heart and mind and hands. Their motives are linked with the practical necessities of life (Jokinen). Men of valor were expected to inflict harm or pain as an act of revenge on behalf of those who were wronged or in defense of the weak and innocent. They were also expected to be courageous and not to abandon a friend, an ally, or a noble cause. Good examples of heroes who epitomized valor are Beowulf and Sir Gawain of Sir Gawain and the Green Knights. Beowulfs noble cause was the fight for the survival of his tribe or nation. Sir Gawains fight was not for a tribe or nation, but was a fight for his ideal. Though Beowulf knew that he might not return from his fight with the dragon, he did not let that fact sway him from his cause. Though Gawain was weary, he traveled through the land for a year in search of the green knight. Both men showed courage even though the stakes were high with little or no chance of overcoming them, both men worked toward the noble causes without retreating. Next, is the characteristic of honor. It was customary for a man of chivalry to keep his word since any departure from the principles of chivalry was uncharacteristic. Men of chivalry did not betray the trust of a friend. Honor is one of the cornerstones of chivalry. For example in Beowulf and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, they were both committed to keeping their words. Beowulf took on the challenge of helping King Hrothgar defend against the terror inflected by Grendel. Despite the challenges that Beowulf met, he remained committed to his word. The same is true for Sir Gawain. In his quest to keep his promise and meet the Green Knight a year and a day later, Sir Gawain, though there were temporary setbacks designed to stop him from showing up at the Green Chapel, remained committed to his word. The fourth characteristic of chivalry is Courtesy. Today, we use the word courtesy to characterize the expressions please, thank you, excuse me. We also use it to describe the practice of holding doors open and shaking hands. However, in the 14th Century the word courtesy was used to define much more. According to the article Important Ideas, Concepts and Terms in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because the root of the word is court the word courtesy is deeper than its modern use as we know it. The article states: To be courteous means to uphold and demonstrate all of the high values and virtues of the Kings court. Therefore, courtesy means to be faithful, virtuous, a defender of truth, a fighter of the devil, and a resister of temptation (Masterworks of British Literature). Interestingly, most people today misinterpret courtly love. In this era, courtly love is commonly associated with basic gentlemenly overtures that are superficial compared to what courtly love represented in medi eval times. For example, today, a man is generally expected to fall in love with a woman who is not already engaged or married. The man will show his intentions by doing nice things for lady. Generally, sexual relations should not take place before the wedding, however, it is customary for the couple to show affection by a kiss or holding hands; some couples engage in sexual activities as part of their courtship. Paradoxically, in medieval times, and during the fourth period of chivalry the knights generally fell in love with ladies who were already taken. These knights showed courtesy by doing nice things for the lady, just as men do today, but these knights could at no time disgrace themselves, the women, or the king, by having any level of sexual contact. Sir Camelot is famously known for violating this principle of chivalry because he had sexual contact with Genevere. It can be surmised that courtesy as a characteristic of chivalry held a strong christian value as it showed the strength of the men to keep themselves from yielding to temptation. The fifth characteristic for evaluation is loyalty. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, when the Green Knight showed up in King Arthurs court the Knights around the table were clearly scared. The Green Knight teased the Knights of the Round Table. In Beowulf, Grendel terrorized the King and his people. The teasing by the Green Knight and the terrorizing of Grendel represented tests of loyalty for the Knights. One of the first expectations of loyalty was loyalty to God, the Sovereign Kingdom, and the Code of chivalry. Both Beowulf and Sir Gawain epitomized loyalty when they rose to defend the Sovereignty of the Kingdom. Next, men of chivalry were expected to be generous and to show hospitality to strangers. Lord Bertilak showed hospitality to Sir Gawain. Of course, Sir Gawain did not recognize Lord Bertilak as the Green Knight. So for all intents and purposes, Gawain believed that he was being treated with generosity and kindness because to Lord Bertilak, Sir Gawain was a stranger. Incidentally, the practice to generosity and hospitality to strangers are common to chivalry and to Christianity. The seventh and final principle of chivalry for consideration is Piety. Men of chivalry were grounded in their faith, dependant on God, the saints, and Mary, and opposed the infidel. The Code of Chivalry is a fusion of Christian values and Military practices. Christian values are interwoven in the fiber of chivalry. For example, jousting or tournament was not acceptable until the sport adhered to the Statue of Arms of Tournament which allowed it to garner the favor of the Catholic Church. As with chivalry, the spiritual principles of the Catholic Church are based on their belief in God, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. As a result of their spiritual beliefs the Catholic Church has a strong core of moral values. The value system include the principles of human dignity, respect for human life, association, participation, protecting the poor and needy, solidarity, human equality, common good, stewardship, and subsidiary. Basically all of the moral principles are self explanatory. What may not be so obvious is how some of the principles work in concert for the common good of humanity. For example, the principles of solidarity and subsidiary provide a balance in working for the common good of all the people. Solidarity works best when a higher authority is in control as in the case of law. If every man in a society was left to police himself, undoubtedly that society would be chaotic. However, my having a central law enforcement agency, the common good of that society is taken care of by the higher authority. In the case of subsidiary, the people of the society are generally left to make the decisions that would best serve that community. For example, it is the people of a community who generally name a street within their community. Therefore solidarity and subsidiary work to bring about the common good. Another set of Catholic values that work together are those of human dignity, respect for human life, and human equality. While human dignity and human life are derivative of Godly principles that give rights to individuals that humanity should not violate, the principle of human equality are of the laws of the land that should be available to every citizen of the nation. As with the first set of principles mentioned, these three principles work to ensure the overall common good of humanity. For these reasons the Catholic Church is against social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. The principles of association and participation recognize individuality while seeking to promote unity. The principle of association holds that an individual is not only sacred but also social and as such is better off relating to others than being alone. The principle of participation requires that all people take active roles in shaping the socio economic, political and cultural values in their community. Indisputably, there are more similarities between the Catholic Faith and chivalry than there are differences. The similarities are as prominent as they are because the Catholic Church played an important role in the development of chivalry. The role of the Catholic Church is very apparent in the the first two of the four periods of chivalry. The major differences between the Catholic Church and chivalry are in the latter periods of chivalry in which there was a clear departure from many of the ideals of the Catholic Faith. The four periods of chivalry are time of The Crusades , of Military Orders, of Secular Chivalry, and of Court Chivalry. The first period of chivalry, The Crusades, lasted from 1095 to 1099. During this crusade, Knights rescued holy places from Moslem dominiation in Palestine. In exchange for this protection, the church took care of knights by conferring on them special privileges which protected them from the law of the land. The second period is the time of Military Orders which dates from 1147-1149. Out of the necessity of continual protection of the Holy City, knights vowed perpetual warfare against the infidels. Religious and spiritual laws were fused and chivalry reached the level of its highest acclaims. The third period was the era associated with the practice of Secular Chivalry and lasted from 1189 to 1192. In this period chivalry lost its religious ideals and became more of a romantic overture. It is said that Literature contributed to the decay of chivalry. Knights were mo re concerned with the love of a woman than with the love for country or for God. The fourth and final period is that of Court Chivalry . In this final period which lasted from 1202 through 1204, chivalry became a court service. Knights were no longer crusaders, they became courtiers and instead of making oaths in chapels and on crosses, they now made vows on emblemic birds. Chivalry was reduced to a futile pasttime and an empty promise, a staunch departure from the principles that were foundational to the order of chivalry. Undeniably, there is as much irony in the practices of Chivalry and of the Catholic Church as there is in any other practice. The irony of chivalry is woven in some of the very principles that guided Knights. For example, Knights were expected to protect the weak so of course, the peasants were protected. Wrong! The principles of chivalry did not extend to the common people known as peasants. In the Chivalric Code the word weak was a description ascribed to the women and children of nobility not the poor and needy as many might be inclined to believe. As a matter of fact, the relationship between Knights and peasants was that of servant and master or predator and prey. Knights often slaughtered peasant men by the hundreds and young peasant girls were often sexually exploited by Knights. In an article entitled Chivalry during the Reign of King Edward III Rich Larson writes: Between the warlike, religious, and courteous aspects of chivalry, there were many inherent contradictions within the ideals of chivalry. Even though these contradictions existed, it seems as if they were often ignored. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦For example, in his description of the siege of La Reole, Froissart writes that the towns-people suffered greatly, but he does not speak negatively of those attacking the town (Froissart 49). In this, just as in other descriptions of Froissart, the ferocity of warfare and any negative effects it may have do not seem to be attributed to chivalry, even when it was chivalric knights who were contributing to the death and destruction that took place (Larson). The peasants during medieval times were enslaved not only by virtue of their class, but also by virtue of the crippling fear caused by the violence that surrounded them. In exchange for protection, for a very long time, peasants accepted the exploitation of the Lords and of the Knights. Accordingly to the article The Barbarian West on Honolulu.hawaii.edu which states: It is important to understand why people would enter into this kind of unequal relationship. The answer is simple only by giving into the demands of the military elite, only by agreeing to this exploitative reciprocal agreement, could a defenseless peasant hope to survive the violence of this age. To survive, to achieve some kind of stability, millions of people suffered repression, impoverishment and exploitation (honolulu.hawaii.edu). Like the Code of Chivalry, the Catholic Church was also oxymoronic in its virtues. Peasants, the poorest of people, were expected to pay taxes to the church; the tax was called a tithe equal to 10% of their earnings and they also worked the land owned by the church. It seems that the church should be giving to and providing for the needs of the peasants, not taking what little they had from them. Another criticism of the role of the Church during Medieval Times was that the church condoned bloodshed. Heretics and infidels were killed to protect the teaching and the property of the church. Though the end does not justify the means, it was believed that the killing was for the greater good. During Medieval Times the church offered forgiveness of sins and protection to knights for killing in their line of duty to protect the Church and State. Given the irony in the Chivalric Code and in the Catholic Church, It is hard to ignore the sociological impact of both of these establishments during the Medieval Period and how the effects of those principles helped to shape our society today. Both are in some way responsible for the creation and or, the enforcement of the Class System and Slavery, Torture, Unfair Labor Practices, Taxation, and Civil Wars. The Feudal System or the Class System which included military, social, and political power structures had five divisions of people; there were Kings, Bishops, Barons, Lords, and Peasants. Peasants were the farmers of the land and boons that did other manual workers. While the overt practice of the Class System is taboo, there are still remnants of the Feudal System in Germany. The similarities of the Feudal System and the Caste System which exists in places such as in India and in Haiti are remarkably close. Though in todays societies there are laws that abate many of the injustic es of human rights such as unfair labor practices and excessive taxation, and limit the practices of inhumane treatment such as torture, there are many who are still considered second class citizens, many who are overtaxed without proper represented, and just as many who experience torture in more sophisticated manners and by more structured means. In summation, one could argue that the contributions of the Knights under the Chivalric Code and those of the Catholic Church based on its christian values are substantial enough to overlook the misdeeds since the bad practices are no longer condone. Equally, one could argue that because the Catholic Church supported chivalry, and because the Catholic Church is responsible for mass murder by approving the Crusades during which times many lives were lost, and because the church had unfair labor practices by requiring the peasants to pay taxes in the form of tithes, just as the Vassals required them to do, that the church is hypocritical in its teachings that call for respect and protection of human life. It is true that understanding history is important in understanding the present. Undoubtedly, the principles of the Catholic Church and of Chilvary may be compared to a coin, each having two sides. Which ever side of the coin one may examine, one thing is clear, all things considered, in every good there is some bad and in every dark cloud is a silver lining, therefore it is important for one to know what is important to him or her and find a way to keep a balanced perspective.

Urban Planning Strategies in Cairo

Urban Planning Strategies in Cairo Cairo is the Egyptian capital, the largest city in Africa. It is located in the Nile Delta, 14 kilometers south of the Nile River. The most area of the city is in the east of the river and it is 120 kilometers east of the Suez Canal. The urban area is about 214 square kilometers. Great Cairo included Helwan, Maadi, Nasser, Aslamm, Ramadan City, October 6 and other satellite towns with a total area of 1200 square kilometers. The population of those satellite towns is about fifth of the countrys total. It is standing for both financial centre and transportation hub. The city is the countrys largest business and financial center. Manufacturing output value is nearly half of the country. Textile industry is the most important sector. Raw cotton material is particularly well-developed but also wool, silk, hemp textile industry. And they are followed by the food, sugar, cigarettes, cement and household appliances. There are also included traditional leather tanning, show-making, as well as gold, silver ornaments and other handicrafts. The satellite town, Helena which is 25 kilometers away from south of the city, focus on heavy industry in order to iron and steel industry. It has developed coking, machinery, automobile, motorcycle, oil and chemical sectors. Cairo gathered the national third of the trading companies and nearly a quarter of the banking, commercial and various service industries flourish. Tourism is an important part of the city economy, as directly or indirectly employed about 40 million. It also stands for an important transport hub. The nations major rail ways and roads meet at this intersection, connected Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, Aswan and other major cities. The Nile to the west is the major way connected through Upper and Lower Egypt. Canal Ismailia which has access to Canal Suez is just on the west side of Nile. Eastern suburb of Heliopolis has a modern international airport, the provision of Article 30 domestic and international routes. There are 13 elevated railways, highway overpasses, and three large pedestrian bridges in the city. The bridge in the 6th Oct is more than 10 kilometer. From the foregoing, Cairo is a city is the Egyptian center of economic, transportation and politic. The development clear influences the country. Today, many developing countries are faced with problem of urbanization. As the first open country in the Arabian world, Cairo plays a crucial role in urbanization which cannot be ignored. Existing urban planning strategies The general master plan which established in 70s in to create a super agglomeration or poly-nuclear City to accommodate large population growth caused by rural-urban migration. In each individual satellite town, it expected to be self sufficient which included residential, commercial and entertainment development in order to reduce the need for commuting. Ring road, metro and other transportation system should be built in order to serve expanding settlements. In agriculture aspect, it encourages development to spread to the east and west of the city centre, into desert land, to avoid building on valuable nutrient-rich arable land in the Nile Delta. In Figure ii, it shows the original proposal of expansion gesture at west and east direction. Unfortunately, the master plan has failed. The plan doesnt have significant effect on the urban development. Its mostly because of naà ¯ve urbanization which didnt consider some basic social issues well. First, the master plan covered large areas; however, the infrastructural development fell behind. Second, the new satellite town failed to attract population. (Table 1)The target of population cannot be carried out and there are not enough employment opportunities in some of development areas. Feedback from Interview Peoples points of view are always considered as the most powerful evidence. Before starting deep research of the project, an interview has been taken by M. Shaker in Cairo. Therefore, the public opinions have been investigated and analyzed. The interview is focusing on their residence history, the location they aspire to live in and their opinions about the downtown area. The population of downtown is shrinking sharply and the reason why people dont want to live in the downtown area is basically showed in the pie chart. Quality of living and traffic condition seem to be concerned mostly. Also, in the bar chart, it clearly shows that working close to residents is the most important factor for job selection. To sum it up, people intended to move out of the downtown for better housing and living environment. They also want the new settlement to provide job opportunities so that they can work close to their residence. pAs the analysis of interview information, the main problems and contradictions come out in two aspects: one is about the living quality and the housing status with large number of rural population, and another is about traffic problems with the developments of satellite towns. Living Quality The population of Cairo increased sharply from 1970 to 5.9 million, up to 8.7 million to 1980. In 1996, it reaches 14.6 million which is a quarter of this countrys. However, Cairos population is still growing at a rate of 0.35 million per year. The population is too large to enormous pressure on Cairo. (CAPMAS 1997) Firstly, there are the food shortages. Cairo consumed half of the total imports of the country; any city in the world cannot be compared in this point. Import food prices keep rising, although the government spends huge sums of money for food subsidies, the result is not pleasing. Secondly, it caused the residents of Cairo declining standard of living. From 1985 to 1989, the general consumer price almost increased double, and it keeps increasing. Third, the large number of people ran into the city cause a serious shortage of rural labor force and unemployment to the citizens. In 1961, the national unemployment rate was 4.7%, Cairo unemployment rate was 7.5%. In 1970, the national unemployment rate was 2%, Cairo was 7.6%. Meanwhile, the young population is another challenge in Cairo, According to statistics, 1988 the population aged 0 to 14 accounted for 40%. The large number of young people will put a huge pressure on Cairo social and economic development in the future. What is the reason for population expansion in Cairo? It has the heavy urban function. The density of its urban functions is highest in Africa. It loads half of the industry in the country and it has to main international and domestic trade activities. In addition, it has education institute such as Al-Azhar University, Cairo University and American University. As the Governments road construction, housing, water, electricity and other public facilities placed in Cairo, which determines the governments majority of investments are staying in the area. Therefore, it provided substantial employment opportunities in this area, on the other hand, small towns and rural areas infrastructure construction will be lack of funds. It so that expand the gap between urban and rural areas. The contrast cause rural youth do not want to go home after graduation. In the other hand, basically, there are three types of housing in Cairo: A. Legitimate housing. It was divided into three types: 1. Countries to rent and sell or provide housing for the national staff. 2. Cooperative housing (Cooperative). 3. Private housing. B. Illegal construction. Since 1960, annual housing construction accounted for 70% of urban housing about 60000 units of housing annually, is mainly for citizens with low income. C. Slums. They are mainly used by people with lowest income and new immigrants. The legitimate housing is getting old and loses their attraction to citizens, but the slums are keeping growing and cover most of the urban places. The Government cannot stop the poor to build that as the very low incomes they have. The Roof room effect shows a housing shortage in Cairo. Today, in the city, the many buildings left room on the top and those places are nice place for the poor. Therefore, the slum and informal settlements became strong impression of some development site. These dense concentrations of human and economic activity are often located near factories, garbage dumps, or other noxious activities where eviction pressures are relatively low. While slum residents typically plan, finance, and build their own communities, they do not have the financial resources to also construct basic infrastructure like waste disposal and drainage facilities. With little assistance forthcoming from outside the slums, these facilities are often inadequate, resulting in degraded and unhealthy living and poor environmental conditions. Informal housing and slum areas are, in most cases, the source of environment pollution, both above and underground, slum and informal communities in the GCMR are typically found in the developed portions of the GCA. (M. EI Araby 2002) The pollution of Cairo is another big issue and makes people get away from it. Today, the motor vehicle emission is major source of the air pollution. Another source is industrial emission. Because some of the high density of heavy industry located near the city, the air pollution is really dangerous to public health especially children. All the people are trying to escape from those industrial regions. All of those show that the environment of living in downtown area is really bad and even getting worse; therefore, new settlements were built for people especially for those can afford a new house and want to have a better living standard. Some of those settlements included working, education and other living infrastructure; it became more and more self sufficient and part from the city main part. In the future, as satellite towns increasing, the population will be drag out of the city and disperse to the desert. Transportation issues Traffic and transport situation is a measure of urban functions, while the city has promoted the evolution of modern transportation. In 19th Century, as several trams developed, various modern transports are turning up in Cairo. With the development of the city, vehicle grows rapidly. Until early 1995, an official statistics shows a total of 3.6 million various types of motor vehicles. All the auto motor companies take notice of the huge markets in this country, variation types of cars and new cars exhibitions emerge one after another. However, car congestion has been a threat to pedestrians on the sidewalk. The disorderliness gave a bad impression of this city. When people say that a city, or a part of it, is dangerous or is a jungle what they mean primarily is that they do not feel safe on the sidewalks. (Jacobs, J 1961 p. 37) In downtown area, many pedestrian are exposed with motor vehicle on the street. The lack of effective management and the underlying dangerous created an image of chaos. The problem is also charged upon urban distribution. The urban layout is unreasonable in some ways. Some of the government departments located in the central business district, others located in the Nasser City which is one of the satellite cities. Industrial areas occupied the south of Helwan, housing area are around the north. Major education institute, Cairo University, Al-Azhar University and Ain Shams University located in the different sites. As a result, almost half of the citizen in Cairo is far away from their workplace. About 1 million people have to get out of town for work every day. Therefore, public transportation becomes the key issue of the economic development. From 1970 to 1980, passengers are rising about 10% per year, while public transport is almost not increased. However, in 1990, it accommodated 13million passengers. It is not easy to imagine a bus can carry so many passengers and spend more than an hour for about 1mile. Inadequate of public transport is getting worse; however, several solutions have been established by the Government to solve that. In order to relieve the traffic crisis from the 70s, Cairo, built 13 large-scale motorway bridges and more than 3 thousands pedestrian bridges. The new road system has been built; a large road network connects the city with other towns. New ring road is built surround outside of the city and connected with most of the districts. Especially, the motorway bridge located in the heart of 6th Oct. is up to 10 kilometers. Also, because of the high pressure of public transportation, the need of cheep and fast transport revealed. A study was made about the needed capacity in 1990 for the transportation power, which showed the need of 8,400 Million trips a day for public transportation like buses and 2,770 million trips a day for other transportation systems like taxis and cars. The actual available capacity for public transportation is 4,872 million trips a day which is 3.5 million trips less than the needed capacity. The Government reached an agreement with France, in March 1982 1 September 1987. It takes five and a half years, costs 500 million Egyptian Pound to build 43 kilometers Metro. This is the first subway in the Middle East and Africa, which operates daily from 5:30 to 12 midnight, with a passenger capacity of 60000 people per hour. From 1996, they began to build the second line which connects from Shobra El Kheima to El Mounib and it finished construction in 2005. But as the need of the large capacity keep growing; Egyptian Railway Authority has already proposed another two lines: Line 3, Mohandiseen to Cairo Intl Airport; Line 4, October to Oasis Highway to Mubarak Police Academy. It is expected to finish by 2020. The subway construction to solve the traffic problems has made a significant contribution. Meanwhile, the Government started to develop the river transport on the Nile to relieve the traffic congestion, particularly, the peak traffic congestion pressure. International Airport is also a crucial factor in the economic development of a capital. Cairo international airport stands for the gateway of the city and the country. It located in the Heliopolis district, which is about 10miles away from the city central area. However, the air port will be connected with Metro Cairo in couple of years. It also is the second busiest airport in Africa. Cairo Airport handles about 3,400 daily flights, more than 12,100 weekly flights and about 125,000 yearly flights. The airport has three terminals with the third (Terminal 3) opening in April 2009 which houses Egypt Air and its Star Alliance partners. (Wikipedia 2009) Practically speaking, the airport really contributes international communication of Cairo and promotes the development of economic. Future developments Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has commissioned the Ministry of Housing, a representative in the General Authority for Urban Planning, to prepare a comprehensive plan for the development of all Downtown Cairo.'(The Boursa Exchange 18 Oct. 2009) Therefore, several large downtown development competitions have been hold recently. The Urban Planning Authority planed to create open space to the citizens by this redevelopment. For example, the Cairo Expo City designed by Zaha Hadid and the Sorouh City district designed by Callison. From 2009, the Government is planning to develop the Ramses Square in the central Cairo. A comprehensive vision of the area will primarily rely on the transformation of downtowns main streets into pedestrian areas, so that it becomes an area of open-air restaurants and spaces. Said Mustafa al-Madbouli, president of the Urban Planning Authority Among the other proposals is to design the areas principal squares, such as Talaat Harb and Abdel Moneim Riad Squares, in a distinctive way, creating multi-story underground garages, so that most of the traffic remains underground. Conclusion about Cairos urbanization problems Theoretically, the right urban planning strategy is a proof for urban development. It is important to note, Egypt is an agricultural country with a high proportion of the population, a large number of peasants moved to cities, particularly in large cities. As result, the urban intensity of Cairo in different levels is rare in the world. The large expansion, rapid growth of population, housing issue, traffic congestion and environmental problems are coming out under this situation. It shows that the main development strategy today is to build satellite towns which can be self-sufficient and be part from the city. It is good for economic growth in the few years but it might be cause more and more problem in the future. First, many projects which have done or are going to do are not considered with sustainable issues. The architecture which introduced might not fit with the Cairo culture and climate. Many critics are still questioning if those new landmark development project will reall y attract people as the failure of 70s master plan. Second, the large expansion will rely on the infrastructure which cost huge amount of money and will take a long time to complete. Before that, how to solve the traffic problem? Lots of people live in new settlement are still working in downtown; they need to travel a long way to work. So this will put more loads on the transportation again. The expansion will make more contrasts between old Cairo and new towns. The poor and people who could not move will leave there. This has lead to a lower standard of living than in other areas and the standard of living in downtown will keep getting worse. However, the development should never leave the old city behind and make escape for upper-mid class people. Cairos development process must make efforts to their self-awareness, to overcome the excessive dependence on external weaknesses. The Government should prevent the blind copy and follow other foreign capitals, seek for large developmen t to leave away from the reality. Many issues are undergoing right now and those are really what should be improve and solve in the first place. Bibliography Alexander, C. (1977), A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction, Oxford University Press. Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) (1987), Population, Housing and Establishment Census 1986, Preliminary Results, CAPMAS Press, Cairo. CAPMAS (1990), The Statistics Annual Book for A.R.E., 1952-1989, CAPMAS Press, Cairo. CAPMAS (1991), Housing Units and Buildings Characteristics,Final Report, Vol. 4, CAPMAS Press, Cairo. CAPMAS (1997), Population, Housing, and Establishment Census 1996, Preliminary Results, CAPMAS Press, Cairo. Jacobs, J. (1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House Inc. Internet Sources World Architecture News.com, http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectviewupload_id=12571 The Boursa Exchange, http://nottooshaabi.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-boursafication-of-downtown Wikipedia, Transport in Cairo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_Cairo (modified on 21.11.09) Wikipedia, Cairo Metro, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Metro (modified on 5.1.10)

Agamemnon :: essays research papers

After reading Agamemnon, I have come to the conclusion that Greek mythology can cause many debates. One of the debates that could be referenced from this story was rather or not Agamemnon deserved his fate. Some critics would say he did after he killed his innocent daughter, as a sacrifice. Some critics would say he was killed because he left his wife at home for ten years. Those ten years while they were apart, Clytaemestra had time to let all of her anger and hostility boil up inside of her. He was portrayed as an arrogant man. Another thing that condemned him was when he walked on the purple carpet. â€Å"She knew that by saying â€Å"If Priam had won as you have, what would he have done?†(935). Even though his wife coaxed him, his cowardliness in doing so shows his true side. He was very arrogant about the war, acting as if him alone won the war. All of his arrogance and betraying his family killing his daughter lead to his death. Another debate is what kind of women Clytaemestra is. Clytemnestra is portrayed as strong willed woman. This characteristic is not necessarily typical of women of her time. Her most important characteristic is like the watchman calls it, "male strength of heart." Later in the play after Clytemnestra murders her husband, Agamemnon, and his concubine, Cassandra, she reveals her driving force and was has spurned all of her actions until this point. The Chorus sees Clytemnestra as untrustworthy and although suspicious of her they still could not foresee the impending murders. Her words are plain but her meaning hidden to all those around her. She more or less alludes to her plan of murder without fear of being detected. Only the audience can seem to understand the double meaning in her words. One example of how Clytemnestra hides meanings in otherwise plain words is stated in her hope that Agamemnon and his soldiers do not commit any sacrilege in Troy that might offend the gods. Now must they pay due respect to the gods that inhabit the town, the gods of the conquered land, or their victory may end in their own destruction after all. Too soon for their safety, the soldiery, seized with greed, may yield to their covetousness and lay hands on forbidden spoil. They have still to bring themselves home, have still the backward arm of the double course to make.

Illegal Immigration in America Essay -- Cons of Illegal Immigration, Im

Illegal Immigration in America America's past is made up of immigrants who have came and formed our country. However illegal immigration has now plagued our economy. What happens when you allow millions into the country, both legally and illegally? Exactly what is happening today? You have tens or hundreds of groups, made up of various nationalities, from various places. Forming themselves into isolated communities, and then trying to get the country to change for them. This paper confirms detailed information on how America is being altered by mass immigration and by uncontrolled illegal immigrants. Americans like to believe that people should have the chance to better themselves. That is why people come to the United States to make things better for themselves. They come here to ha...

Teaching Numeracy to Adults with Learning Disabilities Essay -- Teachi

Introduction As an employee of County Community College, I teach an Adult Basic Skills Numeracy class. I originally started the academic year with 18 learners, but by April 2015 I had approximately 6 learners per session. Most learners are female, of Afro-Caribbean or African origin and aged between 20 and 50 years. It has been suggested that many learners see numeracy as a male domain (Cemen, 1987; Gutbezahl, 1995; Levine, 1995; Miller et al, 1994) and I have noticed that I teach predominantly female learners who are particularly shy and have low self esteem. They are also full of self doubt and lack confidence in their mathematical ability and some do not see numeracy as a useful subject when compared to literacy. To some it is just a means to an end and not something to learn for the sake of self-improvement. Most learners are not in full time employment when they start the course, but as the course proceeds, approximately half of all learners will leave to take a job. The main motivation of learners is to achieve a numeracy qualification and couple this with a literacy qualification and use this as route for entry into the Access to Higher Education programs offered either by County Community College or neighboring colleges. Most of the learners can see the benefit of gaining qualifications as a way of improving their lifestyles by allowing them to have more employment options. The majority of learners have school age children and it has been noted that a lot of the learners want to make a good example for their children in regards to education and employment. I have chosen two learners to use for a case study of learning difficulties experienced by adult numeracy learners. The learning difficulties that are ... ...on to the special section. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 130 (June): 163 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_05.htm23/07/2007 Physical Relaxation Technique: Deep Breathing, PMR and the Relaxation Technique [accessed July 2007] http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/anxiety/23/07/2007 Coping with Math Anxiety [accessed July 2007] http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010630/fob4.asp23/07/2007 Math fears subtract from memory, learning [accessed July 2007] Trujillo, K. M., Tracing the Roots of Mathematics Anxiety through In-Depth Interviews with Preservice Elementary Teachers http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_2_33/ai_62839422 [accessed July 2007] Bibliography Cofield, F. et al. 2004. Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: A systematic and critical review. Learning and Skills Research Centre, London.

Analysis of SDB

This report aims to provide an analysis of a proposed investment in Sheen Development Bank (SAD) by Unabridged in 2002 and assess whether the P/B ratio of 1. 6 for Unabridged to pay for its 18% stake in SAD is appropriate. The analysis of Newbie's acquisition of Sad's stocks Is based on several aspects of Sad's asset quality, earnings capability and capital adequacy. According to price-to-book ratio of SOB's Industry peers and some acquisition precedents by foreign Investors, Unabridged made a correct decision that It paid 1. Times book value of Sad's stake on basis of SOB's performance. This Is because of Sad's high P/B ratio and low ROE Indicating that SOB's share price was overvalued; therefore, Unabridged acquisition of Sad's stocks was appropriate with a P/B ratio of 1. 6. Finally, this report provide a reasonable recommendation for Investors to make a correct occultation decision In terms of real profitability of occultation targets. Table of contents: Four Chinese banks had be gun to accept investments from foreign banks or financial investors since 1999.As a listed bank with huge developing potentials, SAD was snagged by government officers and encumbered by massive low-quality loans which resulted in high Naps, an under-capitalized balance sheet and disappointing profitability. In order to bring to SAD the best management practices and expertise in banking, the Sheen government was primarily seeking long-term foreign strategic investors. Therefore, SAD decided to sell its four Joint shareholders' 18% non-traceable legal person stake of SAD.At the same time, Newbie's successful experience in South Korean bank and its strong expertise in financial institution significantly enhanced the quality of its loan portfolio and its operating performance. Then, Unabridged was actively acquiring Sad's 18% stake in order to improve Sad's bad performance. This report will analyze how Sad's ratios in its balance sheet influence Newbie's acquisition decision as to Sad's price-to-book ratio. The paper also Justifies that Unabridged pays 18% Sad's shares with a reasonable P/B ratio. 3. 0 Main Body 3. Asset quality Difficulties in cash flows in a bank are always caused by a high NAP ratio. NAP ratio is a crucial tool to assess a banks performance, which is calculated as net non- reforming loans divided by total gross loans. Banks often report their NAP ratio as a measure of the quality of their outstanding loans. The higher the NAP ratio, the more possibility such returns will be lost and vice versa. As is shown in the Appendix 2, the NAP ratio decreased from 22. 7% to 1 1. 6% during the period from 2000 to 2002 Compared with Sad's industry peers, Sad's NAP ratio is higher than the average amount of its peers.The NAP ratio of SAD was only below Bosom's, but far higher than other Joint-stock banks in 2002. Sad's NAP ratio was 1 1. 6% in 2002, to some extents, this ratio means that Sad's cash flows were falling into much more troubles and difficulties than other Joint-stock banks. On the other hand, Loan Loss Reserves by Gross Loans determines the quality of loans of a bank. LARK is a percentage that reflects accumulated provision expenses and gives an indication of the management's expectation of future loan losses. The higher the ratio, the more suspicious the loans are and vice versa.The LARK ratio of SAD declined from 7. 1% to 3. 9% from 2000 to 2002, which was approximately the them. Although the LARK ratio of SAD decreased by nearly 3% during these three ears, Sad's loan loss reserves increased almost 100 million. By comparison with its industry peers, Sad's LARK/NAP was largely lower than the average level. Hence, Sad's high NAP ratio led to a low asset quality in 2002. 3. 2 Earnings capability Obviously, Sad's net interest margin declined by 1% from 2000 to 2002; compared with its industry peers, Sad's net interest margin was 0. % higher than the average ratio of other five Joint-stock banks in 2002. This indicates that S ad's ability of making profits is stronger than the average level. Meanwhile, Sad's non-interest income level ND operating expense were above the average level in 2002. Nevertheless, Sad's ROAR was 0. 9% in 2000 and was only 0. 3% in 2002. This ratio was merely half of the average ROAR of other five Joint-stock banks in 2002 indicating that Sad's profitability of the assets was relatively weak as well as its ROAR at the same time. Sad's ROAR was only one-third of the average ROAR of five Joint-stock banks.Therefore, Sad's performance was not good compared with its industry peers; the reason of Sad's bad performance is that an increasing assets generating low net income. 3. 3 Capital adequacy In commercial banking, capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is used to monitor a banks situation of capitalization by regulators and managers. CAR is calculated as the sum of tier 1 capital (equity and retained earnings) and tier 2 capital (subordinated debt and reserves) and dividing it by its risk-wei ghted assets. Sad's CAR decreased from 10. 6% in December 2001 to 9. % in December in 2002, but still above the Chinese regulatory floor of 8%. It is particularly worth mentioning here that Sob's CAR was 0. 7% higher than the average CAR of other five Joint-stock banks in 2002. Not all the mime the CAR is good if high; a high CAR means that a banks large amount of money is stuck in provisions or risk management, and there would be fewer money left for investment or for the continuation of some activities. Therefore, from the situation of Sob's declining CAR, SAD suffered in substantial loan quality troubles caused by its poor credit management. . 4 Price-to-book ratio It would be appropriate for Unabridged to pay 1. 6 times book value to get 18% stocks of SAD. There were some precedent that foreign banks and financial investors acquired domestic banks' minority-stake from 1999 to 2001. For example, AFC acquired Bank of Shanghai 5% stake at a price-to-book ratio of 1. 5 in September of 1999; and acquired 15% stake of Nanjing City Commercial Bank at a price-to-book ratio of 1. 2 in November 2001. Even if Newbie's acquisition of Sad's stake at the price-to-book ratio of 1. Is higher than If's; however, it was still lower than the average ratio of other three domestic listed banks. Significantly, the price-to-book ratio of SAD was around 5. 5 to 5. 9 from 2002 to 2003; and at the same, the other three banks average price-to-book ratio was 3. 1 to 2. 2. Hence, the appropriate ululation range should be below 2. 2 for Newbie's acquisition. As we can calculate that the ROE of SAD was decreasing from 12. 07% to 9. 02% from 2000 to 2002. P/B provides a valuable reality inspection for investors seeking growth at a reasonable price.Large differences between P/B and ROE, a key growth indicator could sometimes send up a red flag on companies. As a result. Sad's low ROE and high P/B ratio indicate that Sad's shares were overvalued at that time. If a company's ROE is Unabridg ed pays 1. 6 times book value that is far lower than Sad's price-to-book ratio, it would be an appropriate decision. . 0 Conclusion By way of conclusion, this report introduces the background of Chinese banks' stocks acquired by foreign financial investors and analyzes lots of ratios in Sad's balance sheet.The report also proves that Unabridged paying 1. 6 times book value through assessing Sad's asset quality, earning capability, capital adequacy and comparing its industry peers' P/B ratio and analyzing the relationship between P/B ratio and ROE ratio is appropriate. In addition, this report provides a considerable recommendation for investors to acknowledge a banks real performance. 5. 0 Recommendations However, much attention should be paid to comparing a banks key ratios analysis before acquisition its stocks for foreign investors.

The Ideal Late 1700 Woman

The Ideal late 1700 Woman Susanna Rowson and Judith Sargent Murray were women from the late 1700s who had their own image of the ideal woman. Susanna Rowson’s Charlotte: A Tale of Truth and Judith Sargent Murray’s On the Equality of the Sexes were written to educate, inform, and to guide women in the right path. Murray and Rowson hoped to change the way women were being seduced by men and the way they were viewed by society and themselves, Susanna Rowson and Judith Sargent Murray saw women’s roles in the early United States similar. In the 1700s women had a basic education of reading and writing and most were trained to become mothers and house wives. Women’s job was to take care of the children at home, cook, clean, and do housework; they were kept from the world. They had no say in politics, government, or legal issues unless their husband allowed them to do so behind the scenes. Susanna Rowson’s motive in writing Charlotte was pure, she wrote â€Å"If the following tale should save one hapless fair one from the errors which ruined poor Charlotte, or rescue from impending misery the heart of one anxious parent, I shall feel a much higher gratification in reflecting on this trifling performance, than could possibly result from the applause which might attend he most elegant finished piece of literature whose tendency might deprave the heart or mislead the understanding. † Rowson wrote Charlotte to try to change the way young women were educated. I believe she wanted parents to teach their daughters that they should listen and pay attention to the advice her parents give her, but also to teach them of the consequences can come if they decide to go in their own path instead of what her parents had planned for her. Susanna Rowson apologized for her novel because everyone expected a happy ending but received the opposite. When Charlotte’s father was on his way for her from England, she passed away after she gave birth to her illegitimate daughter Lucy Temple. Many questioned, why did Charlotte have to die? Rowson wrote, â€Å"The mind of the youth eagerly catches at promised pleasure and innocent by nature, it thinks not of the dangers lurking beneath those pleasures, till too late to avoid them. † I believe the reason Rowson did this was to try to teach young women that there are pros and cons in every decision they make. Rowson’s intentions were to guide young women live the ideal life she believed was meant for a women in the late 1700s. Mademoiselle La Rue’s life was one she approved of; she â€Å"had eloped from a onvent with a young officer, and, on coming to England, had lived with several different men in open defiance of all moral and religious duties†. Even though La Rue had been with several men she was strong and never allowed men to stray away from her path. Mademoiselle had never been seduced by a man. Susanna Rowson’s believed in order for a young women to grow up and have the ideal life, she should not only listen to her parents but also do as they say. Women in the 1700s were only given a basic education and trained to be housewives. Judith Sargent Murray’s On the Equality of the Sexes was written to give women the education they deserved and needed. Murray felt that women were capable of doing more than housework; she believed they could do the same as men if not to be better than them. To prove that women and men were equal and should be getting the same education she questions, â€Å"May not the intellectual powers be ranged under these four heads- imagination, reason, memory, and judgment? † As the Enlighten women she gave evidence to everything she said or wrote. She proved that men and women had the same capability to imagine. She wrote â€Å"but as proofs of a creative faculty, of a lively imagination†, Murray’s evidence that women had an imagination was gossiping. If women didn’t have an imagination how would they be able to come up with such interesting rumors and gossip? Murray goes on to say, â€Å"Are we deficient in reason? We can only reason from what we know, and if an opportunity of acquiring knowledge hath been denied us, the inferiority of our sex cannot fairly be deduced from thence. † She is saying if they teach women physics, psychology, and other subjects besides the basics they can prove they have the same power of reasoning as men. She then proves that women also have the power of memory, because women memorize stories and share them with others. Murray wrote, â€Å"Female would become discreet, their judgment would be invigorated, and their partners for life being circumspectly chosen, an unhappy Hymen would then be as rare as is now the reverse. † She believed if women had the same education as men, women would be not only smart but also better wives. Murray believed that everyone was born equal but society taught them that they were different. To prove that equality is given by nature she questions, â€Å"Will it be said that the judgment of a male of two year old is more sage than that of a female’s of the same age? † She compared two year olds to prove that they are equal until they get to school. Once in school society doesn’t allow women to have the same opportunity to learn. They are automatically put in different schools where they are taught different material. She goes on to say â€Å"How is the one exalted and the other depressed by the contrary modes of education which are adopted! The one is taught to aspire and the other is early confined and limited. Women are limited and that is why they do not have the same knowledge as men do. She believed women should not only get educated on not being seduced by men but also felt that they should have the same education as men. Murray believed women should have the same opportunity as men in society. Women should be able to independently provide for themselves, but due to lack of education they were not allowed to do so. Murray brings religion into her essay when she writes, â€Å"our souls by nature equal to yours; the same breath of God animates, enlivens, and invigorates us†. She proves that men are no different from women when they came into this world. God took the same breath into both men and women so what makes men better? Susanna Rowson and Judith Sargent Murray both intended to reach, like Rowson wrote, the â€Å"young and thoughtless of the fair sex†. When she wrote Charlotte: A Tale of Truth, she wanted to protect vulnerable young women from doing the wrong thing. She wrote, â€Å"Oh my dear girls—for to such only am I writing—listen not to the voice of love, unless sanctioned by paternal approbation: be assured, it is now past the days of romance. Rowson felt that women should know some of the basics to protect themself from rakes, and wanted to teach them to marry the right man. She felt as if young women were easily seduced by men. She warns the reader by writing â€Å"In affairs of love, a young heart is never in more danger than when attempted by a handsome young soldier. † For example, Charlotte decided to rebel against her parents and became romantically involved with Montraville, a man her parents disapproved of. Charlotte was a young naive 15 year old girl that got seduced by an attractive man that promised â€Å"the world† to her. He promised to marry her but instead, took her to New York, and then he abandoned her and their unborn child. Charlotte’s fate went bad when she decided to follow her heart instead of her parents. She was seduced and betrayed by the man she fell deeply in love with, this is what Rowson was trying to prevent in the lives of her young readers. In Part II of Judith Sargent Murray’s essay she wrote, â€Å"Praise is sweet to the soul; we are immediately intoxicated by large draughts of flattery, which being plentifully administered, is to the pride of our hearts the most acceptable incenses. In Murray’s essay she writes that women were seduced by men with their intellectuals. She felt that women should be educated on how not to be tempted when a man tried to seduce her. Rowson and Murray both believed that women should be educated on how to avoid falling into temptation and how to save their reputation. In the late 1700’s women were seen as the temptress and p unished for seducing men. But why is it okay that men are allowed to tempt women and get away with it? In Charlotte, Rowson tries to inform everyone that men are the temptress, not women. Charlotte falls for Montraville’s lies and betrayal because she had sympathy for him. Rowson stopped her story to put her input about women being too compassionate, â€Å"when once she has lost sight of the basis on which reputation, honor, everything that should be dear to the female heart, rest, she grows hardened in guilt, will spare no pains to bring ceeds from that diabolical spirit of envy†. Men know that once women start feeling sympathy for someone they drop the wall that they was there to protect them from becoming the fallen woman, Rowson and Murray wanted this to change. Judith Sargent Murray and Susanna Rowson were smart women that wanted young women to be educated. They differed on their opinions on how much education a woman should have. Murray believed that women should have the same education as men, and Rowson believed there was a limit on the amount of education a woman should receive. Both believed that young women should be educated to the extent where they did not fall into temptation and be marked as a temptress. In their stories they gave proof of what they believed should be done and why.