Thursday, November 28, 2019

Using the best tools for academic papers writing

Using the best tools for academic papers writing First of all, lets define what an academic paper is. The academic paper examines one or more interrelated problems of a particular subject. We can say that the academic paper is a full-fledged mini-research on a certain topic. The academic paper should contain authors work, conclusions, recommendations. Your works have to include information that you processed and which wasn’t the previously published. I recommend you to pay attention to the following tools that can improve your paper and make your working process easier. Management project and taking notes Research papers are not just the texts to be written they are more like projects that have to be managed. When you are planning to write your paper, you will need some space to put in your notes, knowledge sources, lab results. Scriveneris the tool which provides these options. This tool is often used by students, translators, journalists, lawyers, academics, fiction-writers, and even best-selling novelists. It will help you to organize your writing process and keep you from quitting. Online-based reference management Those who work with an online flow will be happy with such great tool as Paperpile. It is reference manager which is online based, gives you an opportunity to sign-in securely with Google, find the library or search online everything you need. Your personal library is always well-organized and clean. You can use it to save PDF, references or supplementary data online. Get the Automated formatting You know that the processors that we use, for example, MS Word leave a job formatting to the users themselves. There is a real waste of time for researchers who spend hours on trying to format their content so it can be appropriate for the publication. However, each journal sets its own style of formatting. The tool Typeset solves this problem, you have to indicate your journal, then paste your text with adding your references and citing them, the final move is just clicking on Autoformat and three, two, one†¦..and yes your work is done. Finding a collaboration Nowadays, it is really very hard for a researcher to collaborate with their colleagues and to track down all the comments, changes, and edits. But, with Typeset it became possible. This tool addresses the collaboration problem among the researchers. Feel free to use it, and communicate with people who can help you with your academic writing as they have a well-rounded experience to share it with you. I hope this information is useful for you, and from this moment you will spend fewer hours on the technical issue and more on developing a decent writing. I wish you all the best in your research projects.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Canaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion

Canaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion Free Online Research Papers The humble origins of the bible and the religion of the Israelites belie the significant impact it has had on the history of mankind; crusades, genocides, and political insurrection have all occurred in its name. While few would refute the influence it has had, many of the parables and histories portrayed in the Bible are by no means original. General story lines and motifs from ancient writings are spread throughout the Old Testament. Possibly no culture played a more noteworthy role in the development of this monotheistic writing and religion more than the contemporary culture and cult of the Canaanites. The use of the term â€Å"Canaanite† is ambiguous and can be slightly misleading. In modern biblical readings, it is often used to classify a tribe or ethnicity of people. However, it does not appear that was its original meaning. The name Canaanite, scholars’ agree, refers to a group of independent city-states in an area extending from Lebanon in the north to the Nile in Egypt and from the Eastern Mediterranean coast to the Jordan River Valley. The simplistic view of the Canaanites as a homogenous ethnically similar group of people must therefore be abandoned and replaced with a more accurate portrayal as a loose affiliation of city-states, competing against one another for lucrative trade routes between Ancient Egypt and other major civilizations in Mesopotamia. In spite of this competition (or perhaps because of it), interactions amongst the various city-states did lead to similar cultural motifs, the most addressed of which were their religious beliefs. The peoples of Canaan, along with most other civilizations of the time, had a belief system that at first appears to be based on highly diverse pantheons of distinct gods (polytheism). Original support for this view of Canaanite religion came from archeological evidence like the cuneiform tablets found at Ugarit which contain lists of numerous gods, their histories and place in the pantheon, and descriptions of rituals to appease them. Written down by Ilimilku from Shubbani through the dictation of the head priest, Attanu-Purlianni, in the early 1300 BCE, it gives us important insight into the beliefs purported by the priesthood. It is important to remember though that nearly all the commoners at this time were illiterate and therefore, unable to utilize these tablets.2 The writings were the product of the elite for the elite. Once modern misconceptions of ancient people are removed, the polytheism recorded and thus preserved by the Canaanite elite does not seem to represent the religion of the masses. For the vast majority of people living in the land of Canaan during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, life was filled with political insurrection and societal infighting. The Egyptian New Kingdom, most notably under Thutmose III in the mid 14th century BCE, campaigned and eventually integrated much of southern Canaan into its empire for a time. Adding to this disarray, pastoral tribes present in northern Canaan began settling in the urban areas of the Canaanite city-states as well as several coastal areas, bringing their conflicting religious practices and culture.3 Under this backdrop, the people of the land of Canaan could not be taken from their toils to appease the hundreds of gods their religion posited. Possibly in order to simplify matters or to have a more personal connection to a divine being, each city-state had a patron deity or couple deities that protected and controlled their interests. The royal families of each city-state were incorporated to a great extent into this religious system. Divine patronage, a religious practice in which the king derives his power from the patron god, was utilized in most Canaanite city-states (as well as Old Kingdom Egyptians).2 By this claim, the king was given legitimacy to rule and his commands were unquestionable. In return for the people’s obedience, the king was expected to be just and bring peace and prosperity to his people. When the king failed in these duties, the patron god brought retribution in the form of outside enemies and crop failures. An example of this belief is described by Professor Noll of Brandon University; King Mesha of Moab claimed his cities own deity brought outside invaders to destroy the people because of t he actions of his predecessor. Only his divine ascendancy to king saved the people.2 If one was to consider the extent to which the patron god was worshipped, the Canaanite religion might be better classified as a henotheism (the elevation of one deity over all the others). In a similar way, according to Dr. Weippert as cited by Othmar Keel, the Israelite people in pre-exilic times were polytheistic but with the majority of veneration and sacrifice directed toward the national deity Yahweh.4 In his divine capacity, like their contemporary Canaanite city-state patron gods, Yahweh communicated his will and justice to the people through various kings and prophets. An example of this can be found in 1 Kings 3 where Solomon receives guidance from god in a dream after a thousand sacrifices to appease Yahweh had been burnt at Gibeon. In addition, Yahweh punished his kingdom when they did not abide by his wishes. The Israelite God represented in the Bible is in many ways similar to the patron gods of Canaan with one major exception. The covenant with Yahweh was between the people of Israel and not their king. Going even further to assert the similarities between Canaanite and early Israelite religion, Dr. Weippert proposed, â€Å"Yahweh, the national god of Israel did not stand alone in pre-exilic times he had a goddess [Asherah] next to himself.†4 Asherah was Yahweh’s consort and as such carried significant power. It is important to note that the Canaanite’s originally worshipped Asherah as the consort of their high god El. The temples dedicated to her were home to the prostitutes and sacred fertility rituals later staunchly denounced in the Bible. The downfall of the significance of Asherah by the early Israelites is asserted by many feminist theologians to be the direct result of an emerging patriarchal society that wished to downplay the role women had in religious affairs. 2 4 In many ways, religious beliefs of the day were a foundation by which the morals and customs of the society could be justified. By removing the fertility goddess Asherah, and thereby any female divinity, priests were able to justify the subservient role women played in the new society. According to Dr. Weipper, his hypothesis that pre-exilic Israelites were polytheistic is supported by inscriptions at the archaeological site of Kuntillet Ajrud in Sinai.4 Along the unearthed sanctuary walls, inscriptions can be found of both the Canaanite gods (El, Baal, and specifically Asherah) and the Israelite god Yahweh. However, there is a large amount of disagreement about the significance of these inscriptions. Biblical scholars dismiss the findings at Kuntillet Ajrud contending that, while pre-exilic Israelites were aware of the Canaanite religious pantheon, they did not share in the worship of them. Dr. Weippert rejects this theory by noting the familiarity with which the inscribers wrote of Baal and El, as well as certain characteristics later ascribed to Yahweh that were originally meant to represent Baal.4 Notable similarities between the storm god Baal and Yahweh appear in Deuteronomy 33:26-27. â€Å"Ancient sources demonstrate that both gods control the weather, ride on clouds, defeat mythical beasts that symbolize the chaotic floodwaters threatening the earth, and rule as divine king.†2 In name only was there a significant distinction between Yahweh and Baal to the people of Canaan. This must have been noticed by early biblical writers, as many parables and much rhetoric revolved around proving the Canaanite gods false.2 The similarities between Baal, El, and Yahweh are part of a larger trend of adaptation and manipulation of Canaanite deities’ names and attributes occurring well before the Early Iron Age. Whether or not the Israelites and their religion were descended from an earlier tribe of Canaan or were simply influenced by a contemporary society, it is undeniable that the religion of the people of Canaan had a significant impact on the formation of the Israelites monotheist belief structure. The Canaanites city-state patron god framework created a template that was later built upon by the Israelites. Evolving from a polytheist pantheon of gods, into a henotheist view of an omnipotent Yahweh with his consort, the early Israelites ultimately reformed their ideas into a practical monotheistic view that allowed for no other gods but Yahweh. References: Coogan, Michael David. 1978. Stories from Ancient Canaan. Westminster: John Knox Press. Gnuse, Robert. 1999. â€Å"The Emergence of Monotheism in Ancient Israel: A Survey of Recent Scholarship.† Religion 29: 315–336 Golden, Jonathan Michael. 2004. Ancient Canaan and Israel. ABC-CLIO Othmar Keel, Christoph Uehlinger, Thomas H. Trapp. 1998. Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel. Continuum International Publishing Group. Noll, K. 2007. Canaanite religion. Religion Compass 1:61–92. Research Papers on Canaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeBringing Democracy to Africa19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMind TravelPETSTEL analysis of IndiaQuebec and CanadaComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Role and Effects of Financial Intermediaries Essay

Role and Effects of Financial Intermediaries - Essay Example Typically the first party is a provider of a product or service and the second party is a consumer or customer. In the U.S., a financial intermediary is typically an institution that facilitates the channelling of funds between lenders and borrowers indirectly. That is, savers (lenders) give funds to an intermediary institution (such as banks), and then that institution in turn gives those funds to spenders (borrowers). This may be in the form of loans or mortgages. Alternatively, they may lend the money directly via the financial markets. (Wikipedia, 2006) (Paraphrasing made) Riskinstitute (n.d) said, â€Å"The FSA provides that no person shall carry on, or purport to carry on, investment business in the UK unless he is authorised or exempted from authorisation (FSA, s.3). It explained that pursuant to the FSA, a person carries on investment business in the UK if he carries on investment business from a permanent place of business maintained by him in the UK or if he engages in an activity in the UK which falls within one of several categories identified in Part II of Schedule I to the FSA and are not excluded by Part III and, in respect of that activity, he is not an exempt person. It explained, â€Å"A financial intermediary is, therefore, subject to regulation in the UK where investment business is carried on from a UK base, wherever the customer is situated. A financial intermediary will also be subject to UK regulation where that financial intermediary, not operating from a UK base, nevertheless carries on business from overseas into the UK (e.g., soliciting UK customer business). Certain exceptions apply in the latter case, e.g., where the overseas person is: transacting with a UK authorised person; responding to an initiative taken by a UK investor or continuing an existing business relationship with him; or promoting his investment services in accordance with the advertising and cold-calling rules, provided that overseas person is not otherwise