The Issue of Death and Cormac McCarthy - 1101 Words

Cormac McCarthy wrote a visually stunning picture of how it looks at the end to two pilgrims on the road to nowhere. Color in the world—except for the red of fire and blood—exists mainly in memory and dream. Fire has consumed forests and cities, and from the fall ash and soot the land is monotone, the rivers black. Hydrangeas and wild orchids stand in the forests, sculptured by fire into â€Å"ashen effigies† of themselves, waiting for the wind to blow them into dust. Intense heat has melted and tipped city buildings, and window glass hangs frozen down their sides. On the Interstate â€Å"long lines of charred and rusting cars† are â€Å"sitting in a stiff gray sludge of melted rubber. ... The incinerate corpses shrunk to the size of a child and propped on the bare springs of the seats. Ten thousand dreams sepulchered within their crozzled hearts.† McCarthy has said that death is the major issue in the world, and that writers who dont address it are not serious. Death reaches very near totality in The Road. Billions of people have died, all animal and plant life is no more: â€Å"At the tide line a woven mat of weeds and the ribs of fishes in their millions stretching along the shore as far as eye could see like an isocline of death.† the survivors of the barbaric wars that followed the initial event wear masks against the perpetual clouds of soot in the air. Blood cults war against one another. Cannibalism has become a major enterprise in the days after readily available food. DerangedShow MoreRelatedThe Road by Cormac McCarthy1708 Words   |  7 PagesThe Road by Cormac McCarthy is set in an apocalyptic world filled with hopelessness, mental fatigue, and few instances of happiness. Throughout the story, the man and the boy are looking for hope in anything and everything. Unfortunately every turn they take they co ntinue to fall further into despair until they find a Coca-Cola. This soda has a unique meaning to the boy and the man. The Coca-Cola in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road symbolizes the world’s regression and gives hope to the man and boy byRead MoreEssay on Flight in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses1845 Words   |  8 PagesFlight in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses In an enticingly realistic novel, contemporary western writer Cormac McCarthy tells the coming-of-age story of a young John Grady Cole whose life begins and, in a sense, ends in rustic San Angelo. Page by page, McCarthy sends his protagonist character creation on a Mexican adventure, complete with barriers, brawls, and beauties. The events which bring about John Grady’s adventure and the reasons behind his decision to flight familiarity areRead MoreThe Road by Cormac McCarthy Essay examples2349 Words   |  10 Pages In the novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy illustrates the expressions, settings and the actions by various literary devices and the protagonist’s struggle to survive in the civilization full of darkness and inhumanity. 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Other categories of anxiety are test anxiety, stage fright, stage fright, and somatic anxiety. Stranger anxiety and social anxiety occur when a person is around strangers (Karam 193). Anxieties and its effects evident in Cormac McCarthy s, The Road are both short term and long term and in clude food shortage, repercussions of war, and extreme fear. Unlike trivial anxieties in the day to day world, those of a post-apocalyptic situation are long lasting and some never end and requireRead MoreEffect of Colonialism and Modernization on Old and Traditional Culture1577 Words   |  7 Pagestraditional culture? Throughout history the result of new cultures or traditions always created problems for old ones. Sadly, this results in the destruction of the old one. Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Poisonwood Bible, as well as Cormac McCarthy’s, All The Pretty Horses, deals with this issue through its plethora of themes and symbols. The underlying theme of The Poisonwood Bible throughout the novel is the idea that arrogance makes westerners indifferent to how third-world countries are affected by colonialismRead MoreThe Road by Cormac McCarthy and Blindness by Jose Saramago Essay3315 Words   |  14 Pagesrest, one able to hold onto their morals, one that would rather d ie than give in to immorality. However, given certain circumstances; even these people turn to pure barbarianism in order to survive. The Pulitzer Award-Winning novel, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, details the numerous obstacles a man and his son face, in an attempt for survival, in a post-apocalyptic world. The man, the protagonist in the novel, hesitates to help any random strangers who he and his son encounter along their path. MeanwhileRead MoreThe Road By Cormac Mccarthy1962 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"The Road† by Cormac McCarthy. The novel tells a story of the nameless protagonists as they traverse through a post-apocalyptic land in an attempt to reach the warm coast before winter. McCarthy’s story also covers many dark and heavy topics - primarily death. He has said himself that death especially is a major issue in the world, and that writers who do not address it are not serious. As a man of his word, McCarthy has written â€Å"The Road† with imagery and metaphor alluding to how death stays as a heavyRead MoreThe Road By Cormac Mccarthy, Ray Bradbury, And 19842199 Words   |  9 Pagesit as mass poverty, public mistrust, police state, or oppression. This genre was chosen because it allows for readers to feel better and thankful for our society’s current state. The works that I used to investigate this genre were The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and 1984 by George Orwell. All of these books are categorized in the dystopian genre but have very different symbols, styles, and implications. Each of these novels have different styles because some include aRead MoreAmerican Violence – a Critical Film Analysis of No Country for Old Men1940 Words   |  8 PagesCountry For Old Men A violent contract killer, a blue-collar welder, and a weary sheriff are all players in the ensemble No Country for Old Men. The Coen Brothers adaptation of the novel written by Cormac McCarthy is a multi-genre, visual buffet about a man’s strength of will and dedication. It’s about death, fate and American violence. It is set in 1980 and centers around the chaos of questionable decision making and killing without a purpose or at the very least killing without ethics. Every Coen

Socio-Economic and Demographic Features of Kidnapping in...

SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF KIDNAPPING IN NIGERIA: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY Abstract This study analyzed and reviewed the Nigerian print media coverage of kidnapping cases between 2005 and 2011. The focus of the study was to determine socio-economic and demographic features of kidnapping in Nigeria. Content analysis was adopted for the study as well as use of frequency tables for analysis of data. Anomie theory of crime based on Robert K. Merton’s analysis of Durkheim’s theory provided our theoretical frame work in this analysis. The study argued that a plethora of factors have been implicated as the causes of kidnapping in Nigeria. This paper recommends that some drastic measures be taken to nip in the bud the menace of†¦show more content†¦Kidnapping has of recent assumed alarming dimension in the states in Niger Delta region opening up opportunities and avenues for dangerous socio-political degeneration. This has implication on the social, economic and political development for not only the Niger Delta region in particular but also for the N igerian state in general. The degree of deprivation suffered by the Niger Delta people and the complexities that characterize their problems made them adopt the various strategies at different times. By 1990s resistance groups began to emerge. They had a broad ethnic base an epitomized by the Movement for the survival of the Ogoni people ( MOSOP) and the Movement for the survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND). They organized rallies, civil disobedience, boycott of state programmes, violent protests, vandalisation of oil pipelines and wells, hostage takings and sabotages. These groups later discovered kidnapping as one of the strategies in agitating for their rights. OBJECTIVES The central objective of this study is to analyze socio-economic and demographic features of kidnapping in Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to: 1. Examine the categories of people that carry out kidnapping. 2. Categorize the kind of the people being kidnapped. 3. Analyze the bases for causes of kidnapping in Nigeria. 4. Determine the trend of kidnapping within Nigeria. RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to achieve theShow MoreRelatedCase Study148348 Words   |  594 PagesAcknowledgements Introduction Using this Manual Planning Your Approach Designing the Teaching Scheme A Guide to Using the Work Assignments A Guide to Using the Case Studies Strategy Lenses The Exploring Strategy Website A Guide to Using the Video Material Exploring Strategy Teachers’ Workshops Teaching Notes for Student Work Assignments Case Study Teaching Notes 6 7 8 8 12 19 20 25 27 27 28 28 29 Chapters 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Introducing Strategy The Environment StrategicRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagessocioeconomic circumstances and dynamics rather than standard but arbitrary chronological break points. In the decades that followed the Great War, the victorious European powers appeared to have restored, even expanded, their global political and economic preeminence only to see it eclipsed by the emergence of the Soviet and U.S. superpowers on their periphery and a second round of even more devastating global conflict. The bifurcated international system that resulted from the cold war standoff

Bendigo Education Plan Project Management

Question: Describe about the Stakeholder communications management, Project Management Information System, and Project monitoring and change control of Bendigo Education Plan? Answer: Executive Summary Project management has different processes and aspects. To carry out a project successfully, those are to be understood in details. For bigger projects like BEP, (BEP, 2006)collection, processing, sharing of project related information manually is not possible. It is time consuming and prone to errors. PMIS or Project Management Information Systems help in this context. Those works efficiently in managing projects coherently with the project life cycle. Project life cycle is asset of phases, the project development process goes through from the initiation to closure. It is needed to integrate different processes and aspects of project management. This integration is done and managed by project integration management process. Then there are change control and management. As it is almost impossible to carry out project management process without change control management, so this is carried out in parallel to the project execution process. Project closure is also very important. It wraps up the whole project into a single phase. Thus there are various checklists to be followed before delivering the final deliverables to the project owner. BEP projects have undergone through these processes also. There are very little information about details of the BEP project life cycle, and managerial aspects. BEP project is analyzed to find out the roles of PMIS, stakeholder management, project life cycle, project integration management, project change control management and project closure in the context of BEP. (BEP, 2006) Introduction Bendigo is the second largest municipality area in Victoria. The city has significant socio economic importance in Victoria and in Australia. There is a huge part of the total population of Australia and of Victoria that comes from Bendigo. Thus the lives of the people from the Bendigo Community is important for the government. Education in Bendigo is facing a few challenges for quiet sometime. The city has 1 primary, four secondary and 1 senior secondary schools other than several private school. The futue of the youth from Bendigo is largely dependent of these school. The Government had taken an initiative in 2005, to upgrade the educational infrastructure of the schools and blend technology, innovation and personalized learning processes with better student-teacher relationships. They want to bridge the gap between the expectations of the community and the current infrastructure of the schools, coping up with problems related to attendance and retention of the students. Bendigo Education Plan had 39 recommendations. There were multiple projects under this plan. These projects had interdependencies, schedule, risks etc. In this report the Bendigo Education Plan project will be analyzed. Focus will be given on the stakeholder communication management, use of PMIS or Project Management Information System in the project, project life cycle, critical success factors of the project, project monitoring and change control etc. Stakeholder communications management Stakeholders are the people whose lives are supposed to be affected by the outcome of the project. In the Bendigo Education Plan project, the project sponsor was the Government. Other stakeholders are the students, parents and teachers, the project management teams, core teams, etc. (Eskerod Jepsen, 2013) For any project there should be clear and adequate communication among the stakeholders of the project. Continuous involvement of the stakeholders bring s continuous improvement in the stakeholder communication management. The first step of stakeholder communication management is to carry out a stakeholder analysis, identification of the potential stakeholders, their roles and impact on the project. And then the second step in stakeholder communication management is to ensure effective engagement of the stakeholders in the project. (Roeder, 2013) There are several factors behind a successful stakeholder communication management. Insufficient communication and involvement are the two critical issues behind the success of stakeholder communication management. Some important things are, While deciding the scope and objectives of the project, the stakeholder management issues should be focused on. Identification of the stakeholders and their relations to the project is needed to be done in this stage. Then the stakeholders should be engaged into the project. Their active participation and interest can boost up the project management process. The management needs to communicate with the stakeholders about the project. This is not a one time activity, rather, they need to follow the process throughout the entire life cycle of the project. The stakeholders are needed to be agreed on the deliverables of the project. Otherwise there are high chances that, in the project completion phase, the deliverables will fail to meet the expectations of the stakeholders. (Friedman Miles, 2006) Also it needs to make sure that the stakeholders has a clear understanding of the project, it project management plan etc. Some of the issues that may rise up due to poor stakeholder management may include, Late communication with the stakeholders. Having very little knowledge about the expectations of the stakeholders or not even considering their views in the project. Early engagement of the stakeholders in the project too early and that creates a chaotic conditions in the reality. Rather than some fruitful outcome, it makes the project management process tougher. Wrong identification of stakeholders at the first place will introduce wrong stakeholders into the project. Misconception of management about the stakeholders and their participation. In many cases, management finds the participation of stakeholders in not necessary at all. So, a proper stakeholder communication management plan will have the following, (Kimmich, Janetschek, Meyer-Ohlendorf, 2012) Stakeholder analysis A stakeholder communication plan Implementation of the communication plan Evaluation of the communication plan Project Management Information System PMIS or Project Management Information System organizes the information that are required by an organization to run some project properly. It is a collection of software, processes and methodologies that are required to collect and process data related to a project. The electronic PMIS system components helps in planning, execution and closing of project management and its goals. There are various types of PMISs that differs in the context of scopes, features, designs and the operational requirements of the organization. Normalized methodologies like PRINCE2, PMP or Project Management Professional etc. can be used for collection and organization of project related data. Various project management knowledge like integration, scope, time, quality, human resource, risk, communication, stakeholders and procurement management, are supported by any PMIS software. A PMIS software is generally a multi user software. There are variety of such software for different platforms like on-premise solution, cloud based solution etc. (Heldman, 2011) PMIS is usually used by project managers for collecting, processing, combining and distributing of the project related data. Other than project manager, managers from other levels can also use PMIS for communication, planning, execution and closing of project. (Forbes, 2000) In case of project planning phase, a PMIS can help in preparing budget based on different frameworks, cost estimation, scheduling, defining baselines of project scopes etc. In the project execution phase, all information collected by the project management team is stored into a single database. Then the database is connected to the PMIS. The baselines are compared with the accomplishment of those activities in reality, materials, financial data, record keeping process, reporting processes. (Sanghera, 2007) While closing a project, a PMIS needs to review whether the goals of the project have been successfully accomplished or not. Then the final report on closure of the project is created. There is a lot of scopes of use a suitable PMIS in the Bendigo Education Plan project. There are 39 recommendations, and a number of projects under this plan. Each of these projects has different sets of input and deliverables. So, there is a huge volume of project related information to be shared with a number of stakeholders like the school managements, teachers, students, community parents, government offices etc. A well set up and managed PMIS will help to collect different types of information about the stakeholders, their requirements, project planning etc. During the project Execution Phase, it will help in to store and manage all information into a database. This will integrate the schools and the project into a single place. The integration will help to reduce redundancy, provide higher level of availability of information etc. (Heldman, 2011) The PMIS diagram is, PMIS diagram Source:(Raymond, 1987) At any time instance the information of the PMIS used in the project will provide accurate, timely, integrated, precise, reliable and accountable. (Cleland, 2004) Project life cycle Project life cycle is the detailed process including all phases of the project, from inception to completion. Any project will have project initiation, planning, execution and evaluation as different phases of the project life cycle. The execution phase includes monitoring and controlling. Bendigo Education Plan also has different phases in the project life cycle. The initial phase in project planning. Then it has execution, evaluation, monitoring and controlling. The initiation phase of the project will start right from the identification of the scopes, objectives, purposes, resources, required timeframes, structure and different sets of deliverables from the different projects under BEP. (BEP, 2006) Then it will build different solution approaches and will check cost and benefits for each of those. To decide the risks associated with a project, it needs to have a feasibility study of the project. It will ensure that the approach taken for the solution of the project is feasible and the level of risks associated with the solution are under acceptable level. Before appointment of the project team, the terms of references of the project should be defined. Next comes the planning phase in the project life cycle. During this phase, a detailed project plan is created. This project plan is an important document for the rest of the project, this will be used as a reference documentation for the project. It may be referred frequently during the execution and evaluation of the project. Three important factors of project management, cost, quality and control, are defined clearly in the project plan. Based on the project plan, further plans for resources, quality, financial information, risks and acceptance may be developed. (Westland, 2007) The assessment of the deliverables produced so far, can be done at any point of the execution phase. During this phase, the project team delivers different types of deliverables and the project manager will be responsible for monitoring and controlling the delivery details and delivery of the entire project. During this phase, different management processes like time management, cost management, quality management, risk management, human resource management, risk management, communication management, procurement management, change control management etc. start falling into pieces, if the project is moving to the right direction. (PMBOK, 2013) When the deliverables are accepted by the intended clients of users and the phase review process is completed successfully, then the project goes to project closure phase. In the project closure document every actions related to the project are documented. After approval of the same, the resources acquired for the project are released, the project deliverables are submitted to the higher authority. Just after the closure of the project, the evaluation or post implementation review of the project is started. It determines the overall success of the project. It is checked that whether the project has met all benefits as expected in the project initiation. According to PMBOK, the project life cycle diagram is, Source: PMBOK The critical success factors of the project are, Realizing the requirements of the students, community, teachers and schools. During project planning, a detailed project management plan is to be created that will cover all critical aspects of the project management. Considering factors including project cost, time and quality (Atkinson, 1999). These three criteria is the Iron Triangle for measuring project success. But, actually these are nothing but two types of guesses and one phenomenon. Delivery and post-delivery phase of a project is also important to consider while deciding project success. Other than doing something wrong there may something that have not been done well in the project. Both of these are types of errors in the project management. So, these are needed to be considered while estimating success of the project. Scope creep a type of problem that can be there in the project management life cycle. This is unwanted. The project management life cycle phases should stick to the scope management and nothing should go beyond the scope. (PMBOK, 2013) Risk management is another critical success factor in project management. Proper risk management helps to bypass a bunch of possible unwanted situation and threats to the project. Efficiency, skills and experiences of the project managers and the team members play important role in project management. Leadership is also a factor here. Communication management across the project stakeholders is also critical factor. Monitoring and controlling of the project progress is necessary to do during the project life cycle. Project integration management Project integration management is a set of process and activities that helps in identifying, defining, combining, unifying and coordinating the activities within the process group of the project management. For successful completion of the project, unifying, consolidation, articulation and integration are needed for very much. It also needs to manage the expectations of the stakeholders, requirements of the project etc. Project integration management is involved in deciding a tradeoff among the competitive project objectives, interdependencies among the project objectives and different knowledge areas. (PMBOK, 2013) As already said, there are different types of processes in project integration management. There are inputs to the processes. In most of the cases, assets of the organizational processes are the input to the processes of project integration management. Other than that there are other types of inputs like environmental factors. In the closing phase of the project, the inputs differ than the environmental factors. Project integration management is needed to deliver seven key knowledge areas in the project. Those are, Development of project charter during the project initiation phase. The key deliverable from this process, is the project charter. Development of project management plan in the planning phase. The key deliverable from this process is the project management plan. Directing and managing project work during project execution phase. There are different types of deliverables depending on what type of work is being done. Monitoring and controlling project work during the project execution phase. The key deliverables from the process are the change requests. Performing integrated change control during the project execution phase. The key deliverables from this phase are the status updates of the change requests from the previous process. Closing the project during project closure phase. The key deliverable from this process are the final products from the project. Project integration management helps in coordinating resources across the project activities, ensuring right selections of tradeoffs made during the project life cycle. It helps in directing the project towards successful completion. The project integration management diagram is, Source: (Schwalbe, 2004) The project plan for BEP contains details of the project initiation, execution, risk management and governance. In a standard project plan, there should be details about the project integration management, scope management, time management, quality management, human resource management, risk management, communication management, and procurement management. Every details of the project like project charter, schedule, stake holder details, and risk analysis details, etc. should be a part of the project plan. According to PMBOK, a project plan is a formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and project control. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and document approved scope, cost, and schedule baselines. A project plan may be summarized or detailed.. (PMBOK, 2013) Project monitoring and change control In project management, change control is an important part. It is highly likely that during the project life cycle, there will be requests for changes in the activities of the project. The requested changes may range from smaller changes to significant changes. Thus it is needed to manage those changes so that those are aligned with the project management process and the project. Change control is needed in project management as it ensures that each and every proposed change will be defined, evaluated and approved/ denied during the project life cycle and all these will be done before the implementation process. Change control also ensures that there will be no unwanted or unnecessary change, there will be no disruption in the services and all resources will be utilized efficiently. (Gudda, 2011) There are five components in the monitoring and change control management system of the project. Those are, Proposal of a change Summary of the possible impact of the change Decisions taken for the change Implementation of the change Closure of the change request Usually there are two types of documentation in the change control and monitoring process. Those are the, Change log, it is used for recording all requested changes and the decisions taken for those changes. Change request form, it is used for documenting details of the change and its context. In the summary of the impact of a change, a number of factors to be considered. Those are, the cost savings and benefits that are quantifiable, estimated cost for implementation of the change, impact of other projects, resources required for implementation of the change, impact of the schedule, if there is new risks from the change. (PMBOK, 2013) A decision on a change can be either of, an acceptance, an acceptance with conditions, deferral or rejection. According to PMBOK, the Monitoring and Control Process Group consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project.(PMBOK, 2013) During the life cycle of the project management, monitoring and controlling changes in the project runs in parallel to the project execution process. The reason is, if there is a change request during the execution of the project, then that will be monitored, evaluated and controlled as soon as possible. There are a number of processes under monitoring and change control. Those are, (PMBOK, 2013) Monitoring and controlling the activities of the project by collecting, measuring and disseminating information related to performance of the project. Carrying out integrated change control throughout the project life cycle. Ensuring acceptance of the deliverables according to scope verifications. Ensuring and controlling changes to the scopes of the project. This is carried out by proper scope control. Controlling the changes to the schedule of the project. Controlling changes to the cost of the project. Ensuing monitoring and controlling quality according to different standards. Tracking and managing the performance of the project team members. Managing stakeholders Carrying out proper project closure. Project closure Project closure is the final stage of the project life cycle. During this phase the deliverables are delivered to the project owner and the post implementation review phase starts. Project closure process should ensure that the objectives of the project are met in the final deliverables, the deliverables are within the scopes of the project, and all documentation of the project are available and reviewed. All activities in the project are stopped during project closure. These are archived for auditing then. Project manager should take care of the project closure phase. The stakeholders are to be informed and ensured about the operational and maintenance details of the project deliverables. (Westland, 2007) Conclusions In this report, the analysis of the stakeholders, use of PMIS, project life cycle, project integration management, project monitoring and change control, project closure have been discussed from literature and in the context of BEP. There is very little information available on the BEP projects. So, critical analysis of the project was difficult. Details of PMIS, like what is PMIS, role of PMIS, diagram etc. are discussed in details. Then there is discussions on project integration management. Project integration management is important for any project. There is information about project integration management, its roles etc. Changes are inevitable. So, change control is necessary for any project. The role of the change control in the project has been discussed in details. Finally there is a discussion on project closure. Project closure includes a lots of checklist activities to ensure right set of deliverables are being delivered to the project owner and those meet the objectives a nd scopes of the project. Recommendations The case study lacks information about use of PMIS, change control, integration management, project closure etc. In spite of that, different aspects of project management like stakeholder analysis, details of PMIS, project integration management, project life cycle, change control etc. have been learned from the report. PMIS plays an important role behind any project. Details of PMIS and how it is connected to the life cycle of the project that is an important lesson. Other than that details of change control, project closure etc. are also learnt from this report. References Atkinson, R. (1999). Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria. International Journal of Project Management, 337- 342. Barber, R. B. (2005). Understanding internally generated risks in projects. International Journal of Project Management, 23, 584590. BEP. (2006). Bendigo Education Plan: Project Plan. BEP. Binder, J. C. (2007). Global Project Management. Gower Publishing, Ltd. Carroll, J. (2012). Effective Project Management in Easy Steps. In Easy Steps. Cleland, D. 2. (2004). Project Management Information System. In D. Cleland, Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation (p. 349). Singapore: McGraw-Hill International . Eskerod, P., Jepsen, A. L. (2013). Project Stakeholder Management. Gower Publishing, Ltd. Forbes, D. E. (2000). Project Management Information Systems. Transportation Research Board. Friedman, A. L., Miles, S. (2006). Stakeholders : Theory and Practice. Oxford University Press. Gudda, P. (2011). A Guide to Project Monitoring Evaluation. AuthorHouse. Heldman, K. (2011). PMP Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide. John Wiley Sons. Horine, G. (2009). Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management. Pearson . Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project Management. John Wiley Sons. Kimmich, C., Janetschek, H., Meyer-Ohlendorf, L. (2012). Methods for Stakeholder Analysis. BoD. Kloppenborg, T. (2011). Contemporary Project Management. Cengage Learning. Meredith, J. R., Samuel J. Mantel, J. (2011). Project Management. John Wiley Sons. PMBOK. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Project Management Institute, Incorporated. Raymond, L. (1987). Information systems design for project management: a data modeling approach. Project Manage Journal, 94-99. Roeder, T. (2013). Managing Project Stakeholders. John Wiley Sons. Sanghera, D. P. (2007). PGMP Program Management Professional Exam Study Guide . John Wiley Sons. Schwalbe, K. (2004). Information Technology Project Management. Thomson. Shenhar, A. J., Dvir, D. (2013). Reinventing Project Management. Harvard Business Press. Tudor, D. J. (2010). Agile Project and Service Management. Stationery Office. Westland, J. (2007). The Project Management Life Cycle. Kogan Page Publishers. Young, T. L. (2013). Successful Project Management. Kogan Page Publishers.

Reincarnation in Eastern Religious Traditions Essay Example

Reincarnation in Eastern Religious Traditions Essay Eastern religious traditions are the spiritual believes prevalent in Asia. These traditions are mostly evident in India, Japan and china. They are most common in India revealing the reason why the term eastern religion is also used to refer to the Indian religion. The most common eastern religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. These four religions have a number of aspects that cuts across them. Some of these elements are dharma, karma, samsara and maya (Atkinson, p.25). One of the doctrines that are common among the eastern religions is reincarnation. Reincarnation is a concept that refers to the coming back of the soul or the spirit after death.They believe that after the body dies, the soul returns back to the earth in a new form, depending with the kind of life the person led before death. Reincarnation is also known as the transmigration of the soul. Apart from the Indian religions, the idea of reincarnation was also evident in the ideologies of the Greek philosoph ers. It is still evident in some few regions around the world such as Siberia, North America, Australia and West Africa. While the eastern religions have upheld their belief in reincarnation, most of the Christians, Judaists and Muslims have completely done away with it. While majority in the East still believe in the doctrine of reincarnation, only about 20% of the West still believe in it. Whenever this concept is referred to, eastern or Indian religious traditions are what come to mind. It is a doctrine that is almost characteristic to the religious beliefs of the west (Markham and Ruparell, p.18).DefinitionThe term reincarnation emanates from a Latin term. The term in Latin means â€Å"entering the fresh again.† There is also a Greek equivalent of the term that relates to the English version, â€Å"transmigration of the soul.† All these phrases represent the idea of coming back to life or reincarnating after one dies. Reincarnation refers to coming back to life as either a human being or animal. The emphasis of this doctrine is the continuing of the soul, rather than the body. The general process that produces the cycle of dying and being reborn, controlled by karma is known as Samsara in the eastern religious traditions. Birth is the state that a person is reborn into. The term also refers to the single process of coming back to the earth. According to the eastern religious traditions, even gods can die and become reborn again. In this case however the term reincarnation is not firmly appropriate. Nevertheless, Hindus claim that their gods do reincarnate. For example, Lord Vishnu whom they claim has reincarnated ten times. Celtic religion also tends to believe that their gods also reincarnate. Most of the Christians tend to believe as a holy incarnation. These Christians and majority Muslims hold to the belief that Jesus and some of the prophets may be incarnated again (Coogan, p. 34).Origin of reincarnation doctrineReincarnation is a concep t that is central to human life. The origin of this doctrine is not very clear, as it is not evident in the world’s oldest religious traditions. The doctrine is not as old as some of the other doctrines in religion like deity, nor is it a current concept. It is most common in the history of India and Greece. The recorded history of the term is in the first millennium BCE. The doctrine is likely linked to the early eremitical (sramana) era in India. The concept was later used by the Brahmin orthodoxy. In India the concept was employed along with others like karma, Samsara and Moksha. The term was later developed in various ways and applied in many traditions both in India and other parts of Asia. It was used by Upanishads, Mahavir and in yoga sutras (Atkinson, p.52).There are scholars who claim that the dourine in India might have its origins in the pre-Aryan non-Vedic culture. Other scholars claim that the doctrine has a connection between Druid, Vedic culture and ancient Gre ek. They suggested that the doctrine was there in proto-indo-European religion. Diodorus Siculus believed that the Druids might have had influence from the ideas of Pythagoras. One contemporary philosopher has claimed that some missionaries of Buddhism went to Britain as an order from king Ashoka. Some ancient literatures have confirmed that Pythagoras argued that he has reminiscence of his past life. This is the ancient revelation of the fact that there might be existence in more than one life. Some of the philosophers have claimed that Buddha found out the idea for himself (Coogan, p. 67).The characteristic structure of reincarnation was developed in India. This took place not prior to the ninth century BC. This is the time when the Brahmana writings were established. The concept was properly defined between the seventh and the fifth century BC. After the definition of the term it was adapted in majority of the eastern religious traditions. After the use of the concept spread in I ndia, it was later accepted by Taoism in china. This is probably later in the third century BC (Atkinson, p.83).Reincarnation in HinduismThe source of this doctrine is accredited to Hinduism. There were no ideas of reincarnation in the Vedic Hymns. During the time there was the belief in continuity of life in the same body after death. There was a clear distinction between human beings and gods. This was the reason why the dead were buried with everything they would require in the afterlife. There was also the belief that the dead would be reunited with their relatives who were already dead. They also believed that the dead has some form of influence on the living (Markham and Ruparell, p.74). The whole person was also preserved after death and this is the reason why as a ritual the family members addressed the dead as though they were listening and understanding. The god of death, Yama received the offerings of the relatives in place of the dead. These offerings were offered as a p lea for pardon on behalf of the dead. This god was believed to be the ruler over the souls. The idea of reincarnation in Hinduism began with Brahmana writings. This is where the idea of penalty and reward in a new form on earth came up. The writings revealed restricted heavenly immortality which depends on the kind of life that one led. Still in heaven, one has to die the second time, after which he would come back to earth again. The answer of this to this destiny came to be deemed obscure knowledge that would only be attained in the life on earth (Coogan, p. 123).The writings that moved the idea of the second death from heaven to the earth were Upanishads. This is what the writings deemed right according to the understanding of the atman-Brahman identity. In this writings it was believed that one becomes what he behaves. The person who does good becomes good, and the one who does evil becomes evil. According to these writings reincarnation is the definite way where people receive the fruits of their actions. The soul is made to enter into another form into existence until such a time when all the debts are paid. Depending on the kind of actions of the person, the self enters into various forms depending with the circumstances. Hinduism believed that reincarnation was a way of man paying for the kind of life he lived in the previous life (Coogan, p. 102).Reincarnation is explained as a process of life that is inevitable. This is the explanation offered in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna says in verse 2: 13 â€Å"Just as the self advances through childhood, youth and old age in its physical body, so it advances to another body after death. The wise person is not confused by this change called death† (Valea, 1999, para 15). In verse 2:22, â€Å"Just as the body casts off worn out clothes and puts on new ones, so the infinite, immortal self casts off worn out bodies and enters into new ones† (Valea, 1999, para 15). The Laws of Manu (12, 54-69) establish es the fact that it is as a result of large karmic debts that one life cannot be sufficient in repaying it. As a result many lives become essential so that one can be freed from the debts. There is the belief that nothing can liberate one from coming back to repay karmic debts. Any form of intervention from gods or gurus it unnecessary for it would go against the work of karma (Markham and Ruparell, p.84).According to Upanishads and Vedanta ideology, it is atman that is involved in the reincarnation. Atman refers to the impersonal permanent self. It can be described solely through counteracting personal attributes of a being. This element of a being does not carry any spiritual progress. This is recorded by karma or by a certain amount of karmic debt. The whole being is reconstructed during reincarnation according to karma. It is at this point that the new being is ready to repay its karmic debt. From this point a human can do everything possible to avoid a repetition of the cycle. This can be achieved by payment of all the karmic debts (Atkinson, p.105).Reincarnation in BuddhismUnlike Hinduism, Buddhism does not support the idea that there is an impersonal permanent self that keeps on reincarnating. The idea of a permanent self is brought about by the existence of five elements: the body (rupa); feeling (vedana); cognition (sanna); mental constructions (sankhara); and consciousness (vijnana). The five are not constant and have no permanent uniting factor or self. Due to the fact that they are always changing, they cannot be identified with the unchanging self. Buddha argues that it is only karma that moves from one life to the next. This means that according to the Buddhists there is no self that undergoes reincarnation. This is explained as reincarnation without passage of self from one form to the next. There is a somewhat detailed explanation of reincarnation in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. This book explains that the dead retains some human attributes as he reincarnates. In Buddhism, there is no reminiscence of the past life. This is due to the fact that there is no psych-mental attribute that is passed from one form to the next (Coogan, p. 83).Reincarnation in TaoismReincarnation in the Chinese religious beliefs, might have appeared later in Taoism. This is why there is no teaching in the Tao-te Ching concerning the doctrine. However, the doctrine is not properly explained, for example the element that reincarnates is not known. What is clear is they believe that there is something that passes from one life to another. Chuang Tzu, scripture of Taoism reveals this. In Chuang Tzu 23, â€Å"Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point. Existence without limitation is space. Continuity without a starting point is time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. That through which one passes in and out without seein g its form, which is the Portal of God† (Valea, 1999, para 28).Modern view of reincarnationThe meaning of reincarnation changed once the idea reached Europe. During the middle ages, it was an idea that was common with a few sect traditions like Hermetism and Catharism. In the west the concept of reincarnation began gaining popularity in the nineteenth century. During the time of the New Age Movement, there was a wide approval of the doctrine. Regardless of the fact that the idea of reincarnation has gained roots in the modern society, it is not similar to the ideas adapted in the eastern religious traditions. The current notion of reincarnation is the progress of the soul to a higher degree of religious understanding. From this point of view, the element that reincarnates is the soul. While trying to marry reincarnation with the western religious traditions, the idea of atman was too obscure to be accepted. As a result the western regions accepted the milder notion of reincarn ation. This is why they adapted the idea of the soul as the element that underwent reincarnation (Markham and Ruparell, p.92).SummaryReincarnation explains the kind of differences that are evident in people. People are different in many aspects and there has never been any satisfying explanation of these differences. While some people are born health, others have deformities. While some are rich, others live in poverty. Some people are successful while unreligious, and others are always suffering despite the fact that they are religious. The eastern religious traditions have provided answers to these questions. They have explained that people are born the way they are as a result of how they lived their past life. It is their life, either good or bad, that determine how they are reborn through the process of karma. From this point of view, reincarnation offers a perfect explanation of punishment and rewards for one’s actions, without acceptance of the almighty God as the fina l reality (Coogan, p. 25).ConclusionThe concept of reincarnation is one that provides a very interesting explanation on the origin and destiny of man.   Knowledge of the fact that one lives many lives before the current one and that there are many more lives that one will live, is definitely an interesting point of view. Additionally, reincarnation brings comfort in knowing that death is not the end of life. It offers a consolation in continuity of life and thus providing liberation. It is also a way of opposing the idea of final judgment by the almighty, whose likely consequence is eternity in the fires of hell.