Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Creating a united ummah between 622 and 632 Essay Example for Free

Creating a united ummah between 622 and 632 Essay Explain and comment on the ways in which Muhammad set about creating a united ummah between 622 and 632 Key to explaining the creation of the united ummah is the admission by Islam of the wars that were necessary in achieving their aim. The Muslim belief about 622 is that Muhammad and the muhajirun who followed him from Mecca to Medina were mostly accepted by most residents of Medina. The foundation for this was that they had been asked there in the first place they were supposed to bring about a peaceful revolution in a city wrought with violence and feuds between seperate tribes of people. As such, Islam was going to be the heal on the wounds that were plighting Medina. The non-Muslim view however is that Jews and munafiqun had difficulties in accepting the ideals of Islam and ridiculed it. Muhammad was faced with a challenge in bringing the people round to his point of view, and by the end of 622, had only managed to persuade 1000. The first undisputed, all-out battle of the creation of the ummah was in 624. This was the Battle of Badr. While Muslims claim that the battle was fought out of loyalty to Allah alone, non-Muslims claim that it was based on a desire for revenge against the Meccans who had forced them to leave their original home. The evidence that Muslims claim to have supporting their argument is the very fact that Muhammad and his followers won the battle they had Allah on their side, as is described in Sura 7. Sura 7 is however believed by opponents to have been written at a different time to the Quran, so cannot be taken at face value. Non-believers claim that Muhammad was acting with intolerance, which overrided the supposed obligation from Allah that he had to act on. 625 saw the Battle of Uhud, which saw Abu Sufyan setting out in opposition to Muhammad. His 3000 men would logically make light work of the 700 that Muhammad could call upon Muslim belief follows that Allah was testing the faith of his followers in allowing one side to be so much bigger than the other. Non-Muslim belief obviously ranges, but some have argued that God could not have solely been on Muhammads side, given that the prophet emerged from the battle with war wounds, and that some Meccans disobeyed orders, so there were other forces acting on the battle than those of Allah. Abu Sufyan set out to kill Muhammad again in 627, with the Battle of the Ditches. In this battle, Muhammad and his army were met with the force of 10,000 men. Stalemate arose when Muhammad dug trenches, and a storm saw off the Meccans, who had started disputes between themselves anyway. Non-Muslim suspicion of this story is largely insubstantial, although the morality of murdering 600-900 Jews later on in the year has been brought into question. This, and the sale of women and children into slavery by Muhammads followers has been backed up with the teaching from the Quran reading God does not love the treacherous, the belief by many Muslims that it was the only way they had of creating the religious theocracy that they wanted, and the belief that they had every right to return the violence that they claim had been initiated on them by the Jews and Meccans. Muhammad set out to improve the relations between the Medinans and the Meccans in 628, when the two cities agreed to sign the Treaty of Hudabiya outside Meccan city boundaries. Muslims consider this treaty to authenticate Muhammads status as a reluctant warrior because it was supposed to secure peace and the right for any Meccans to become Muslims if they wanted to. Islams status as being more than a religion is also authenticated by the treaty, which Muslims believe portrayed Muhammad as being a capable politician he also allowed Jews to enjoy religious freedom, in return for an extra tax. The Islamic belief that the Muhammad communicated with emperors of Byzantium and Abyssinia is toned down by non-Muslim theory, which suggests that he spoke to Arabian peninsula leaders at the most. Some Meccans were voluntarily converted to Islam when the faith reached Mecca on a small pilgramage in 629, but the main influx of population to the faith came in 630 when Muhammad took the ciy by force. In the following year, he sent out armies supporting his leaders when they spread the word of Islam the role that these forces played in converting people to Islam is disputed by Non-Muslims. There is much evidence to support the view that Muhammads motives were political and personal, rather than religious. Firstly, it would not have been reasonable for Muhammads motives to have been solely religious. He would not have been able to have been as successful as he was if they had been this is because Islam is, in the eyes of believers and non-believers alike, more than just a religion. The Islamic beliefs take precedence over politics, and the individual desires of one person. This makes it almost socialistic in its principles, which in turn explain how Muhammad found it such a task to actually spread the faith. It is unlikely that Muhammads motives were personal, as in the event that they had been, it would have been unlikely he would have set himself aside for so much criticism or persecution in fighting the Meccans. He would have stayed in Mecca and made a living as a trader if this was what he wanted. He would however have had political motives. These would have been necessary in converting a brutal city into a religious theocracy, and would have to have been backed up with a resolution to act in possibly violent ways to carry them through. What Muhammad was doing was by no means easy he put his life on the line for Allah, who had already put him through visions to tell him what he had to do. Muhammad has been described by some people as being hungry for power, leading to his crusades, battles and treaties across Arabia. What it must be remembered is that he died in 632 as a reasonably old man he fought not for himself but for Allah.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Reforma Tributaria y Modernización de la Administración Tributaria :: Politicas Fiscales

Reforma Tributaria y Modernizacià ³n de la Administracià ³n Tributaria En mayo de 1992 se promulgà ³ un nuevo cà ³digo tributario que modificà ³ sustancialmente el sistema tributario anterior. Entre los objetivos que se trazà ³ esa reforma tributaria estuvieron: 1) reducir distorsiones que generaban las elevadas tasas de impuestos sobre los ingresos; 2) disminuir el sesgo que generaba el anterior sistema contra el ahorro; 3) elevar el grado de elasticidad del sistema impositivo a los cambios en los precios; 4) aumentar el peso especà ­fico de impuestos de amplia base y baja tasa, a fin de reducir la distorsià ³n que generaban los impuestos en el sistema de asignacià ³n de recursos; 5) reducir la evasià ³n fiscal; y 6) aumentar las recaudaciones y la presià ³n tributaria. La reforma tributaria redujo las tasas marginales mà ¡ximas de impuesto sobre los ingresos de las personas de 70% a 30% inicialmente, para llegar en tres aà ±os a 25%. La tasa de impuesto sobre las utilidades de las empresas se redujo de 49% a 30% inicialmente, para llegar en tres aà ±os a 25%. Se elevà ³ el deducible a RD$60,000.00 anuales. Esto implicaba que mà ¡s del 90% de los asalariados quedarà ­a prà ¡cticamente exento del pago del impuesto sobre la renta. Esta exencià ³n elevà ³ el grado de progresividad del sistema impositivo. A nivel del impuesto selectivo al consumo, especà ­ficamente el que grava el consumo de cigarrillos y bebidas alcohà ³licas, se sustituyeron las tasas especà ­ficas por tasas ad-valorem. Las tasas establecidas, sin embargo, quedaron muy por debajo de las inicialmente propuestas. En 1995 estas tasas fueron elevadas a 20% y 25% , lo que todavà ­a las dejaba por debajo de la propuesta inicial de 30%. Finalmente, la base imponible del ITBIS f ue aumentada y la base elevada de 6% a 8%, por debajo del 10% que se habà ­a propuesto inicialmente. Los ingresos fiscales y la presià ³n tributaria aumentaron de manera apreciable, alcanzando esta à ºltima 14.4% en 1995. Sin embargo, el aumento de las recaudaciones no se ha debido a la puesta en marcha de un nuevo Cà ³digo Tributario, sino a las mayores recaudaciones de las aduanas, producto en gran parte, de la adopcià ³n de la tasa de cambio del mercado libre para liquidar los impuestos sobre las importaciones, y al establecimiento ad-hoc de un apreciable diferencial en el precio aplicado al consumo de los combustibles. El 42% de los ingresos tributarios en 1996 se debià ³ a los impuestos sobre las importaciones y al diferencial del petrà ³leo.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Effective Communication in a Criminal Justice Settings Essay

In the criminal justice system, a police officer’s ability to communicate is one of the most important traits an officer can have. Police officers communicate with everyone from the public to peers, arrestees, victim and suspect families, and court personnel. A police officer must determine the most effective way to communicate, using several different methods, with everyone without offending or sounding weak. Public Announcements to the Press Police officers deal with the public on a constant basis. Many times, police officers will have to address the public in a professional, staged appearance. Public announcements can be in person, often live in front of news cameras, or a written statement the press uses to publish in the print media, website, or news broadcast. High-profile cases, riots, or inmate suicides are reasons a corrections officer may need to provide an announcement to the press. Upon making a public announcement, it is important for the corrections officer to speak directly to the audience and keep sentences short to avoid confusing the audience (Wallace & Roberson, p. 71, 2009). Usually, when giving a public address announcement, the press will follow up the message with questions of their own to clarify the remarks, or in an attempt to get additional information if the message is too vague. When a police officer speaks to the media publically, it is important for the officer to know his or her facts and be very keen on the topic (Wallace & Roberson, p. 79, 2009). If there was an officer involved shooting, the public and the media could care less to hear about the new patrol cars or k-9 unit. It is important to be punctual and understand the timeframe the speaker has to present his or her information to the media. The speaker should prepare him or herself by having notes or an outline to  follow, it is not a good idea to â€Å"wing it,† especially if the purpose for the public announcement is serious. A speaker’s appearance is important because the media and public could be critical and doubt the sincerity of the speech if the speaker fails to take the time necessary to look presentable. When a police officer provides a written announcement he or she needs to be as professional as possible. It is important to avoid the use of legal or technical jargon, slang, or words the audience may be unfamiliar with (Wallace & Roberson, p. 73, 2009). The print media may not have the time to contact the speaker and ask for clarification so it is important to use clear and concise language when providing written statements for the media. Testifying in court Effective communication in the courtroom is a necessary cog in the wheel of criminal justice. As a police officer, it is important to understand the importance of effective communication while presenting evidence or testifying in court. Defense attorneys will try to confuse try to make the officer second-guess his or her actions or the content of an incident report. An ill-prepared corrections officer may become impatient and exasperated if challenged by an aggressive defense attorney (Wallace & Roberson, p. 111, 2009). Police officers commonly make errors because of the lack of preparedness prior to taking the witness stand (Wallace & Roberson, p. 71, 2009). Police officers should meet with the attorney they are being summons by in order to read over their report and refresh their memory in preparation for the stand. If a police officer is set to testify during a trial, it behooves the officer to communicate with the prosecution to prepare for questions the Prosecution will ask, and potential questions the defense attorney will ask. When a police officer writes a report, it is essential to include important and necessary information. Police officers write various types of reports. However, the information contained in each type of report must be clear, concise, and honest. Future court cases may depend on information contained in an officer’s report as evidence in a criminal case (Miller & Whitehead, p. 4, 2011). Disciplinary review boards may rely on an officer’s incident report to determine if an officer operated outside his or her scope of duty. Prior to the court appearance, the police officer must analyze his or her report to enhance his or her preparedness for the trial. The court will not wait for the corrections officer to fumble through his or her notes. Preparedness will enhance the officer’s credibility with the jury; whereas, an unprepared and confused corrections officer may look incompetent to a jury, which may cause the jury to questions the validity of the events recorded in the report and the officer’s testimony. When a police officer testifies in court, it is not only essential but also the law to be honest in everything said. If the corrections officer does not know the answer, saying, â€Å"I do not know† is appropriate. If the police officer does not remember a specific event, it is appropriate to ask the judge to review notes or a copy of his or her report if he or she has one (Wallace & Roberson, p. 115, 2009). However, reading the report word-for-word or taking too long to locate the answer to a question may cause the jury to doubt the truthfulness and competence of the officer. The jury may think, â€Å"you were there, how could you not remember?† The officer must never assume the next question, but wait for the defense or prosecuting attorney to ask the questions and provide an honest answer in a clear and loud voice. Effective communication applies to the back and forth conversation the police officer has with both the prosecutor and defense attorney. It is important for the police officer to understand the questions the attorneys ask (Wallace & Roberson, p. 115, 2009). It is appropriate for an officer to ask for clarification if he or she fails to understand the wording of the questions (Wallace & Roberson, p. 115, 2009). A police officer must remember the court records his or her testimony in a written transcript, and sometimes by audio recording. The officer must master communicating orally when testifying in court because a stenographer cannot and will not type hand gestures, nods, shrugs, etc. (Wallace & Roberson, p. 115, 2009). It is important for the police officer to remember they are in a court of law, and he or she represents his or her agency. The police officer must show respect for the court, the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense  attorney. A jury may look poorly upon a rude, belligerent, and disrespectful officer. Disrespect for the court could result in administrative reprimand or contempt charges. Appellate courts use written trial transcript when they review a lower-court ruling. The appellate courts do not review or see new evidence; therefore, it is imperative for a corrections officer to do his or her part in practicing effective oral communication. A police officer appearance is also important when testifying in court. An officer’s appearance is the first thing a jury sees, and the jury will judge the officer on his or her appearance. An officer should have a clean, wrinkle free uniform shirt and trousers. The officer should have his or her shirt tucked in and shoes shined. A sloppy looking, unkept officer will look unfavorable on the jury, who may use that negative first impression when deciding the believability of the officer’s testimony. Communicating with Peers and the General Public Effective communication with peers in the general public is not only necessary but also life saving. Police officers tend to use their own â€Å"lingo,† or â€Å"cop-talk† to communicate with each other. Most non-law enforcement people are familiar with the term â€Å"Code 4,† which can mean, â€Å"Yes, okay, copy, etc.† Code 4 is one of a normal range of 13. Each number represents a message an officer uses instead of explaining word-for-word what they need. This abbreviated form of communication is known as â€Å"common code.† In police departments within the County of Boulder, Colorado departments use the common code. For instance, â€Å"code 4, code 5 with one† means an officer is okay with one person in handcuffs. Code 13 would mean â€Å"I need one additional officer as fast as possible.† Communicating with superior officers is also important. Higher-ranking officers in a police department supervise the officers. If there are ineffective rules or policies in place, it is the responsibility of the officer to follow the chain of command and provide feedback and possible suggestions on how to improve the ineffective policies. Police officers see the world differently from non-law enforcement citizens.  Police officers spend most of their day running from call to call. Experienced police officers have a different perspective on humanity; they often share and agree with those jaded views of society with fellow officers (Gilmartin, 2002). This can cause poor communication methods when speaking to the general public. It is easy to look at an arrestee and judge him or her as a â€Å"loser, a drug addict, or pervert.† Not all arrestee are guilty of their charges; everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. However, it is important for a police officer to put aside feelings of contempt and communicate with arrestees in a respectful and professional manner. Gilmartin (2002) stated, â€Å"Officers control 100% of their integrity and Professionalism. Everything else – policies, uniforms, required procedures, budget, assignments, organizational goals, and just about every other central aspect of the officer’s role, is controlled by someone else† (p. 80). Communicating with arrestees is different from communicating with people who are not under arrest or detained. Arrestees are under a great deal of stress because of their limited freedom and the unknown future that awaits them. Although difficult, it is important to remember the current situation of an arrestee when communicating with them, especially telling them they cannot do certain things. Many arrestee are not accustomed to somebody telling them â€Å"no.† Communicating with Peers and Juvenile Arrestees Communicating with peers in a juvenile arrestee situation is quite similar to communicating with peers in an adult situation. Clear and concise lateral communication is impotent between officers over radio transmission as well as face-to-face communication. A juvenile arrestee situation can be a dangerous setting even though the arrestees are usually under the age of 18. An officer must use careful consideration when dealing with juvenile offenders. Juvenile minds are not fully developed. Juvenile minds may also lack the comprehension to understand the seriousness of their actions. Most of the offenders do not think and act as adult offenders do; therefore, officers must try to communicate closer to their level. A police officer has to remember that a juvenile offender attains certain special rights when detained. The juvenile cannot be questioned without a lawyer or parent present. Many officers forget this note in many state laws and end up losing a case because admitted evidence is thrown out during trial. In conclusion,  police officers have a duty to themselves, their peers, arrestees, the courts, and the public to be effective communicators. Verbal and nonverbal communication skills are important to learn, and continue to improve upon. A police officer who learns to apply effective communication skills in his or her occupation will become a valuable asset within his or her department. The community will have more confidence in a department if they have confidence it the officers who represent it. Officers who communicate with different types of people will also gain the respect and trust of their peers and supervisors. References Gilmartin, K. (2002). Emotional Survival For Law Enforcement. Tucson, AZ: E-S Press. Miller, L., & Whitehead, J. (2011). Report writing for criminal justice professionals (4th ed.). Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection database Wallace, H., & Roberson, C. (2009). Written and interpersonal communication: Methods for law enforcement (4th ed.). Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection database

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Symptoms And Treatment Of Alzheimer s Disease - 1780 Words

When you think of Alzheimer s disease, the first thing that comes to mind is memory loss. This is something that may affect a family member, a close friend, a coworker, or someone dear to our heart. Currently, there is no cure for it, yet due to extensive research, there are more treatment options for it. The available medications that have been approved by the FDA can possibly slow the progression of the disease, but it is a temporary benefit. Research is ongoing and recent developments in treatment has occurred in the last fifteen years. The name was derived from a German physician Dr. Alois Alzheimer. He is the one that first discovered the brain disorder in a female patient and continued studying her brain even after her†¦show more content†¦Being suspicious of everyone and making false accusations of close friends and family members may seem normal, but when it accompanies memory loss, it should be checked out by a physician. The symptoms may start as early as the thirties, but they do not become more prominent until the senior years. Symptoms of dementia can be triggered by high blood pressure, diabetes, or coronary artery disease. Additional testing has not confirmed this. Crystal (2015) It is always best to see a physician before a self-diagnosis and take a series of tests to get a positive diagnosis just to be sure. It is now one of the leading causes of death. One out of three senior citizens will die from it or another form of dementia. The average life expectancy is eight to ten years. There are myths behind what causes Alzheimer’s. A half a century ago, it was believed that if you consumed any beverage from an aluminum can that you were susceptible to getting it. Equal was feared to cause many health problems and this was just another one to add to the list but no studies have linked the two to date. The flu shot is widely believed to cause more harm than good, but this myth has also been ruled out. The mercury content in dental fillings was believed to be a contributing factor and science disproved this theory. We hope one day there will be a cure or treatments which progressively slows down