It is not unusual to think of changing to a new career if you are not happy with your present job or if you are interested in taking up something new. Starting out in a completely new field may seem scary to most people initially, but a well-planned change is guaranteed to be the right choice in the long run.

Research, Plan And Then Decide

Planning plays a vital role in ensuring success when you set off on a new job. While planning a change in your career, the first thing to do is to research the prospects of the new job. Understand what the job will offer you personally and professionally. If possible, it would be great to decide on a job that will allow you to tap into the skills and experience that you may have acquired from your previous job.

For instance, if you have been working as an engineer for some time, it may not be obvious how to use those skills while planning a career in writing. However, if your new career is going to be writing on subjects related to engineering, it is definitely a wise choice that will allow you to make good use of your valuable experience.

Great Tips On Making A Career Shift

Here are some tips that will help make your career switch easier and less stressful.

- Recognize your strong points.

Are you like most people who consider shifting to a new career because they were not happy about something in their previous job? If yes, keep this in mind and make sure you do not repeat the mistake. Understand your weaknesses and try to improve those areas in which you lack talent.

- Utilize your skills.

A new job does not necessarily mean abandoning all your previous skills. Some skills are absolutely essential no matter what career you choose. Skills like motivation, planning, leadership and communication are a few such skills that will come in handy in your new career.

- Update your education

To ensure you have adequate education and training required for the new job, it would be a good idea to enroll in online courses or night classes.

- Get relevant experience.

If you are shifting to an entirely new industry, you may not have relevant experience to get into a good company. In this case, it is highly recommended that you take up a part-time job that is related to your new career.

- Seek advice from a mentor.

It would be great to get a mentor who can guide you through the difficult phase of shifting to a new job.

- Be up-to-date with emerging careers.

As science and technology continue to evolve, there are exciting career options sprouting up regularly. Keep track of these career options and research your options well before making a choice. The IT sector in particular is a fast growing one with plenty of wonderful opportunities.

- Create a great resume.

The first impression that an employer gets from your resume is going to be a lasting one. So, update your resume and include details relevant to your new job.

Adopt all or a few of these tips to give yourself a great start on your new career.

James Copper is a writer for http://www.ocdp.co.uk/retraining.html where you can find information on how to retrain for a new career

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Finding that perfect surface for the countertops or flooring that matches your style and taste as you build or remodel your home is challenging. Today’s builders offer a variety of styles and materials. But there is one building material that is timeless and is the epitome of luxury. Natural stone comes in many styles and colors and can be used throughout your home. Unlike other substances, natural stone care is easy. And you can use natural stone in every room of your home.

• Close your eyes and picture the perfect bathroom. Most people dream of marble countertops with a natural stone finish. But don’t stop there. Imagine a shower without tiles that easily accumulate grout and soap scum. A natural stone shower is easy to clean with mild detergent and retains its beauty for years.

Complete your perfect bathroom with natural stone floors. Don’t forget to add slip rugs and mats in places where water may accumulate.

• Gourmet chefs love working on marble and granite countertops. These surfaces are resistant to many scratches and are long lasting. Marble and granite come in a variety of colors.

• Stone floors are beautiful in any room of the house. You will find a plethora of colors and types to choose. From the natural beauty of slate to the dazzling brilliance of onyx, your home will become a showroom when you add natural stone floors.

While caring for natural stone is easy, you should consult a professional about maintenance. One of the biggest challenges is keeping moisture from absorbing into the floors. Excessive moisture can cause odors and even erosion. Sealing stone floors will ease moisture absorption. When consulting a company that specializes in Scottsdale floor care, ask these questions:

• What type of sealer do my floors need? That depends on the type of stone floor. If you are looking to add more color, consider an enhancer sealer that uses a wetter silicon. A top grade sealer will work on almost any type of stone. A natural stone care specialist will advise you on which sealer is best for your floors.

• Will sealing help with grout? Grout color sealing is a different process. The grout must be cleaned before a color sealer is painted on the grout’s surface.

• Can I seal my floors myself? You can find “do it yourself” manuals that will describe the natural stone sealing process. But if you want to guarantee that your floors will retain their natural beauty, consult a Scottsdale natural stone care professional. Acidic compounds and abrasives can damage the floors, marring their beauty. A professional will know the right products to use and the right way to use them to preserve your floors.

Remember that you have a wide variety of choices when decorating with natural stone and that no two stones are alike. Limestone, slate, onyx, travertine, marble and granite will add luxury and elegance to your home. With proper care, their beauty will last for many generations.

Stone Touch is a unique service contractor in Scottsdale, Arizona, specializing in the treatment of natural stone including protection and finishing. Brent Davis is a licensed stone care professional with Stone Touch Natural Stone Care company specializing in Scottsdale Floor Care

This paper investigates from an Islamic perspective the consequences of globalization in general. To specify my argument in accordance with my understanding of Islam, I would strive to argue that globalization might be very harmful before society reaches maturity but very useful after that. Allow me a brief prefatory note about my methodology in this essay: in the first part, I provide many specifics about how Islamic texts and sources view the human being as God’s creation and his ultimate goal in the world. In the second part, after a brief definition of globalization, I apply the analytic method employed in the conventional literature of economics to show why the market mechanism fails to satisfy equality and eradicate poverty in the globalization era. Finally, I try to explain how a free but virtuous, mature society can satisfy equality throughout the world in this era. Obviously, my argument relates, to some extent, to normative aspect of economics. However, it does not follow the ideological methodology at all.

Let me begin by elaborating briefly on the ultimate goal of man’s creation in Islam, since this is so essential to understanding my argument.

The Human Being as God’s Creation

From monotheism, the pivotal pillar of the Islamic worldview, we can conclude that the universe is the best and perfect manifestation of God’s beautiful names and that there is no better alternative system to govern the universe. Indeed, this principle refers to the conception of creation. That is, God is like a secret treasure, so He creates and expands the universe not only to give a clue to His throne but also to reveal His beauty and His brilliance. Some facets of His attributes such as His majesty may manifest themselves in a deterministic environment such as with galaxies and other physical phenomena. There are, however, other facets of His characteristics such as His wisdom and His mercifulness that are impossible to manifest themselves except in indeterministic form.

There seem to be many common elements in the explanation of the philosophy of man’s creation in all Abrahamic religions of which Islam is believed to be a sequel and culmination. By investigating the quality of Adam’s creation, which stands as the symbol of human being in the Quran, we can infer the kind of status he occupies in the sight of God in Islam, as well as in other religions.

In the beginning the Lord addresses all the angels[1]that He wants to create a viceroy[2] on earth. This position will be held by man. The angels object to Him and say that He wants to create a vengeful and vindictive creature to commit crime and bloodshed on earth again! But God responds that He knows something they do not know. And so, God became engaged in creating man. And this is the point which symbols, loaded with profound anthropological connotations, come into being.

From a faithful Muslim point of view, God is the greatest and most exalted. Thus, with this providential address the mission of man on earth is clarified. That is, man’s mission on earth is to fulfill God’s creative work in the universe. Therefore, man’s first superiority is that he represents God on earth.

Since God wants to create a viceroy for Himself on earth, He must, as a rule, choose the most valuable and sacred material. Yet He selects the basest matter. In the Quran there are three references relative to the material that man was made of: from sounding clay[3], like unto pottery[4], and from mud[5]. Finally, the Lord blew His spirit into the dry mud and man came into being.

In the human tongue, God is the most sacred and exalted being so the spirit of God refers to the most exalted, and the noblest manifestation of His being, while mud stands as a symbol of the meanest and the basest thing. Accordingly, He blew His own Soul, not something else like His breath, blood, or flesh, into man in its creating process. God is the most sublime being and His spirit is the finest entity for which man can possibly have an epithet in his language.

Thus, man who was formed from mud and God’s spirit is a two- dimensional being. For unlike all other beings which are one dimensional, man is two-dimensional; one dimension tends towards mud, lowliness, sedimentation, and stagnation while the other aspires to the loftiest imaginable point possible. Thus man’s significance and grandeur lie in the fact that he possesses two poles: mud and the spirit of the Lord. It is up to man to choose where to go, towards mud or providence. And as long as he has not selected either of the poles as his fate, struggle will perpetually rage within him.

Another surprising point in man’s creation in the Quran is that God calls upon the whole universe that He has a trust to offer it, but everything refuses to accept this offer except man[6]. This is indicative of the fact that man possesses another virtue; that is, his acceptance of a trust that everyone else refused. This means that man is a representative of God in the universe as well as His trustee. As to what the trust is, Islamic scholars mention many things. Some of them such as Mawlavi and Shariati[7], believe that it is will and choice. I agree with that, however, it means much more than that. It means that man has adopted a great responsibility to personify all His beautiful names; individually and collectively. Of course, such responsibility requires the ability of will and choice.

Shariati (1981) says that the only superiority that man has over all other beings in the universe is his will. He is the only being that can act contrary to his nature, while no animal or plant is capable of doing so. It is impossible to find an animal which can fast for two days. And no plant has ever committed suicide due to grief or has done a great service. Man is the only one who rebels against his physical, spiritual, and material needs, and turns his back against goodness and virtue. Further, he is free to behave irrationally, to be bad or good, and to be mud-like or divine. The point is that possession of will is the greatest characteristic of man and it throws light upon the relationship between man and God.

Man is a viceroy of God on earth as well as His trustee among the universe, and the spirit of both quenches their thirst from the same fountain of virtue: possession of will. God, the only being in the universe, who possesses an absolute will and can do whatever He wishes, blew His spirit in man. Hence, man is capable of working like God (not on par with Him, only as an image of God), or acting against the physiological laws of his own nature. Therefore, as in the Old Testament[8], He has created mankind as a potentially perfect image of Himself. Obviously, this perfect image goes beyond the interpretation that some distinguished scholars have given it[9]. It shows that all God’s beautiful names may manifest themselves with man and human society. Consequently, it requires the ability to mastery and rule over the universe.

Two kinds of rationality

As mentioned above, according to my Islamic understanding, man is a two-dimensional being. During his spiritual evolution, he should pass from being mud-like to approaching God-like. In other words, God has invited him to pass through an important reference point, maturity[10]. Thus, we can imagine that he has two distinct parts of his life: an individualistic, selfish period (before maturity of society, when the real love is not the dominant flow in the society); and a God-like, selfless period (after maturity of society). Clearly, each specific period requires a certain and separate corresponding rationality. The rationality[11] discussed in the conventional literature of economics, which is based on a low-level self-interest, only corresponds with the period of childhood. Mainstream economics, based on Adam Smith’s invisible hand and the market mechanism, quenches its thirst from this fountain of rationality. In the next part, I will explain how the market mechanism increases the gap between poor and rich countries as well as the gap between poor and rich classes. That is, the more international trade and the more integration of financial markets, the more market failure and more divergent economies! However, when society evolves from selfishness and being mud-like to altruism and being God-like, this rationality will not be effective at all and will collapse instantaneously. The alternative and mature rationality creates a special dynamism for the economy which is very powerful and without any failures. The driving force of this rationality is still self-interest, but a high-level one rooted in being God-like.

I would like to refer to one verse of the Quran, which clearly argues that the individual desires derived from a low-level self-interest lead to harm and corruption[12]: “Corruption doth appear on land and sea because of which men’s hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return.” We may deduce this corruption is only a part of the consequences of what man has done as a result of his selfishness, and that there might many other bad consequences washed clean by God’s forgiveness. In other words, the invisible hand in an immature society not only is not able to optimize social benefits, but also it creates a great deal of harm and corruption that surpasses our imaginations. However, most of this corruption will be removed by the mechanism provided in the universe by God. The remaining corruption serves to warn the people and deter them from being selfish.

Due to self-interest maximization in immature society, we may also observe clearly many, many problems such as global warming and environmental destruction which will definitely jeopardize future life, while the market mechanism and its price signals fail to reduce these consequences, much less to motivate sustainable development.

Globalization and the issue of equality

In this part of my essay, I would like to show why globalization in the context of low-level self-interest motivation and based on the market mechanism may not lead to equality. Instead, it is biased to developed countries where there is located a complex of various industries and the benefit of economies of agglomeration can be utilized. To do this, it is necessary to have a brief definition of globalization first.

The definition of globalization

As globalization is a multi-layer concept and it has become a buzzword in recent years, globalization has already been defined in many ways. I, in some extend, agree with what Thomas L. Friedman defines globalization. He says: “it is the inexorable integration of market, nation-states and technologies to a degree never witnessed before- in a way that it is enabling individuals, corporations, and nation states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that it is enabling the world to reach into individuals, corporations, and nation states farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before” (Friedman 2000, 9). He says: globalization “also has one overarching feature- integration. The world has become an increasingly interwoven place, and today, whether you are a company or a country, your threats and opportunities increasingly derive from who you are connected to. This globalization system is also characterized by a single word: the Web”(ibid, 8). This system is a dynamic ongoing process, with a driving idea of free-market capitalism, and “its own dominant culture” involving “the spread of Americanization” (ibid, 9). It has its own defining technologies, and is measured by its speed, “speed of commerce, travel, communication and innovation” (ibid, 10). He suggests that “globalization is not simply a trend or a fad but is, rather, an international system. It is the system that has now replaced the old Cold War system, and, like that Cold War system, globalization has its own rules and logic that today directly or indirectly influence the politics, environment, geopolitics and economics of virtually every country in the world” (ibid, IX).

What I want to focus on is strictly the economic layer of globalization. In my view, economic globalization refers to a completely different process of internationalization. Although in internationalization the cross-border relations between countries will increase, the nation-state institution will play the main role in the economies, they can still make economic policies and decisions. Economic globalization, however, refers to the process of removing government-imposed restrictions on movements between countries in order to create an “open”, “borderless” world economy’ (Scholte 2000: 16) so that the nation-state institution will be eradicated and no longer play no role in economy. Instead, the Transnational Companies (TNCs) will be the main players in the economy. More technically speaking, the nation’s Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) makes nonsense in the literature and there is only the worlds PPF and TNCs follow fragmentization policy in their production and distribution which is definitely alien from conventional international trade and international finance.

The Inevitability of Asymmetry in Globalization

According to mainstream economics, policies of openness through liberalization of trade and investment regimes, and capital movements have been advocated worldwide for their growth and welfare enhancing effects on the basis of the propositions embedded in the well-known economic theories of international trade and investment (i.e. the Ricardian comparative advantage theory, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) model, the new trade theories of Krugman, or the model of intertemporal international borrowing/lending or portfolio allocation models). In these models, the main goal of openness is assumed to increase social welfare through: (i) static efficiency gains associated with improved resource allocation for national economies as well as for the world economy due to increased specialization; (ii) dynamic efficiency gains from such factors as economies of scale, diffusion of information, technology transfers, knowledge spillover effects as well as intertemporal trade gains from cross-border borrowing/lending for increased investment and consumption smoothing and portfolio risk diversification.

Convergence in accordance with international trade theories is still a serious dilemma. That is, there is no doubt that the level of social surplus will increase totally after free trade or integration of financial markets. However, there is a lasting concern regarding how these gains are distributed between trade partners; are they biased toward developed countries or at least unbiased. Mainstream economics’ theories including static and dynamic insist that international trade will reduce the per capita income gap amongst the open countries. For instance, one of the main theorems that derived from the static model of HOS Theory, implies that when the prices of the output goods are equalized between countries as they move to free trade, then the rewards of the factors (capital and labor for instance) will also be equalized between countries. Therefore we should expect that the increase of free trade due to globalization will reduce the North-South per capita income gap. The dynamic version of this model also suggests a convergent per-capita income trend between north and south countries.

To explain cross-country differences in economic performance, Matsuyama (1996) employs symmetry-breaking methodology. Symmetry-breaking creates asymmetric outcomes in the symmetric environment. It is the key concept for understanding self-organized (a.k.a. endogenous) pattern formations[13].

As a key answer to the increasing gap between North and South countries in the level of cross-country differences as well as the increasing gap between poor and rich classes inside the countries, Matsuyama (2005), rejects coordination failures as the key notion to understand these questions. Instead, he argues that such emphasis is misplaced; the key to understanding the diversity is symmetry-breaking. The notion of coordination failures is not only irrelevant but also misleading when thinking about diversity.

Quoting Matsuyama’s (1996) explanation briefly, it will be shown how globalization can be considered as an endogenous (or a self-organized) factor to create the inequalities.

He offers a model of the world economy, where many (inherently) identical countries trade with one another. It is shown that cross-country differences in the standard of living and in income appear as a stable outcome of international trade. According to his model, the coexistence of rich and poor countries is not just a possibility. It is an inevitable aspect of the world trading system. Although his model adopts many assumptions for the sake of simplification and concreteness, the logic behind the result is fairly general and can be understood intuitively.

Imagine that there is a list of goods that need to be consumed. Furthermore, there are some agglomeration economies in the production of each of these goods. In the absence of international trade, these goods must all be produced in each country. Without any innate difference across countries, each country produces these goods in the same amount, and there is no cross-country difference.

Now introduce the possibility of international trade in these goods. As different countries start acquiring comparative advantage in different goods, the production of each good concentrates into some countries, which leads to an emergence of a system of international division of labor. The stable cross-country difference appears as a result of ‘‘symmetry-breaking’’ in the world economy, caused by international trade. Some countries become rich if they are lucky enough to acquire comparative advantage in goods associated with large agglomeration economies, while other countries, those which happen to acquire comparative advantage in goods with small agglomeration economies, become poor. They fail to achieve a necessary coordination to reach a Pareto-superior equilibrium and find themselves in a Pareto-inferior equilibrium. The problems thus seem just a matter of coordination failures. The global perspective, however, offers a different view. The international division of labor requires different countries to take charge of producing different tradable goods with differing degrees of agglomeration economies. International trade thus creates a kind of ‘‘pecking order’’ among nations. Not all countries can be rich: some countries must be excluded from being rich, just as in a game of musical chairs[14]. At the same time, the model does not rule out the possibility that some (but not all) countries might succeed in overcoming the coordination failures, and becoming rich. This feature of the model makes it possible to talk about the effects of such an ‘‘economic miracle’’ in the world economy.

Since the economies of agglomeration requires the diversity of industries which produce intermediates available in the marketplace, we can conclude that only those countries which have already bypassed the threshold of diversity have a chance to be industrialized and reach to a Pareto-superior equilibrium. Hence, this shows how the phenomena of economies of agglomeration cause a symmetry-breaking to separate the otherwise identical regions into the manufacturing belt and the agricultural hinterland.

Globalization in Mature Society

To explain how globalization in mature society accomplishes beneficial goals, first we have to take into account the two following challenges:

1. The problem of static market failure: This problem arises mainly because of externalities (including public goods, pollution and common pool resources), transaction cost, asymmetric information (such as incomplete markets[15], moral hazards and adverse selection), as well as organization failures. The most common response to a market failure in the literature of the public sector is to use the government to produce certain goods and services. However, government intervention may cause non-market failure. Besides, as mentioned above, globalization causes nation-state eradication so there will be no effective government in such an era. Furthermore, I can hardly believe that international institutions are able to fulfill this responsibility, even if they were independent from the USA.

2. The problem of dynamic market failure: As Matsuyama showed accurately, international trade creates a specific chaos in the symmetric environment so that the operations of markets normally lead to increasing inequality across the countries over time. Likewise, inequality across inherently identical households is caused endogenously by symmetry-breaking. Matsuyama (2004) explains how the class structure is an inevitable feature of capitalism. Even if every household starts with the same amount of wealth, the society will experience “symmetry-breaking,” and will be polarized into the two classes in steady state, where the rich maintain a high level of wealth partly due to the presence of the poor, who have no choice but to work for the rich at a wage rate strictly lower than the “fair” value of labor. Hence, in the capitalistic context we may consider these increasing gaps –whether between countries or inside countries – as an indication of market failure in a dynamic version.

It is now necessary to show how mature society, using a different rationality, may bypass these challenges. This rationality formally is very similar to the conventional one. It is, however, very different in content. I would like to refer to a few verses of Quran related to this subject. God says: “Man has been created restless, so he panics whenever any evil touches him, and withdraws when some good touches him; except for the prayerful who are constant at their prayers and whose wealth comprises an acknowledged responsibility towards the beggar and the destitute; and the ones who accept the Day for Repayment.” These verses show sufficiently that the rationality that guides immature people is definitely different than that which guides mature people, although they benefit from the same potential characteristics. The main distinction between mature and immature is that the mature direct these potentials toward a transcendental personality which is beyond selfishness. They are concerned with all human beings’ needs in all generations rather than their own selves individually or at most their families.

It is very appropriate to ask about the driving motivation in this society. Of course, conventional self-interest cannot motivate people efficiently to be concerned about others. It is extremely in need of a stronger motivation based on an exalted worldview. This worldview should consist of specific beliefs that grant the greatest reward to the doer when he considers all people of all generations altruistically. As I understand, the mature society may not be blind and aimless. Society can achieve this reference point of maturity only when the true beliefs such as the belief in oneness of God, the Day of Judgment, Justice drive it entirely. Passing this reference point is a necessary condition, but divine love, which requires perfection in selflessness, is the sufficient condition for the maturity. In general speaking, love when it appears, has no room but for itself and the lover thinks of no one except the beloved. In other words, selfishness destroys love and it can never be considered as co-existent of love. Nonetheless, worldly love is too weak and ineffective to last and motivate society toward its transcendental goals. In contrast, divine love is quite sustainable and powerful. Since nature is the realms where God’s beautiful names are exhibited, divine love implies, in turn, love of the entire world and the whole creation particularly human beings, the most comprehensive fruit of existence. Therefore, love is at the core of the concept of mature rationality and creates a specific invisible hand to satisfy social benefits including prosperity and equality for all regions and all generations.

Now, allow me to explain how globalization might be useful in a mature world society. As mentioned above, a mature society is a society where all God’s beautiful names have flourished. Therefore, as God provides mercifully all necessary requirements for all creatures, in such a society, each person possesses a certain portion of natural resources consistent with his area of interest. All initial endowments are redistributed by lump sum among the people so technically speaking, all individuals move to the central points of Edgeworth’s box. All members subject to all generations’ benefits do their best to produce more and more creatively because they are His representatives. According to symmetry-breaking methodology, there is still some potential of asymmetry. However, people will share their incomes voluntarily to produce public goods and to reduce the existent gap.

The communist system is as far away as the capitalistic system from the system based on love. The lack of motivation in people’s activities as well as the inefficiency of government –especially when the size of society grows enough- are the essential issues in communism while there is no concern about them in mature society. It is because the people are mature enough to understand that more being active means being closer to God. Besides, there is no need for the presence of strong and big government because this society is governed by many small components of authority connected together in a world wide network. There is hardly conflict of interest between these components because selfishness is the main source of confliction while here the people are selfless. Moreover, they are tolerant and educated enough to avoid violence and to discuss their problems peacefully.

It should be noticed that the economy in mature society serves only as a means by which we can improve the level of virtue so that we are not allowed to sacrifice humanity and its dignity and virtue because of economic benefits.

Endnotes

——————————————————————————–

[1] Quran, 2:30: And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.

[2] It shows very clearly the worth of man in Islam. Even the Post-Renaissance European humanism has not been able to bestow such an exalting sanctity upon man.

[3] Quran, 15:26, 15:28, and 15:33

[4] Quran, 55:14

[5] Quran, 6:2, 7:12, 23:12, 32:7, 37:11, 38:71, 38:76

[6] Quran, 33:72 Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it.

[7] See: Sahriati (1981)

[8] Old Testament, 1:27-28 Elohim said, “Let us make humanity as our image, according to our likeness. And let them rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the heavens, the beast, the whole earth, and all the swarmers which swarm on the earth. And God created humanity as his image: as the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

[9] Thomas Aquinas (1976) located the image in the human ability to think and reason, to use language and art, far surpassing the abilities of any animals. Leonard Verduin (1976) says that the image consists in our dominion over animals and plants, which continues despite our sinfulness. Emil Brunner (1976) says that it is our ability to have a relationship with God, reflected in the tendency of all societies to have forms of worship.

[10] Quran, 90:10-17 And [Did We not] guide him to the parting of the mountain ways? But he hath not attempted the Ascent. Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Ascent is! (It is) to free a slave, And to feed in the day of hunger, an orphan near of kin, or some poor wretch in misery, and to be of those who believe and exhort one another to perseverance and exhort one another to pity.

[11] I will discuss the other kind of rationality which corresponds with mature period later on.

[12] Quran, 30:41

[13] For example, cosmologists wonder why the matter in the universe is distributed in clusters, leaving much of the universe empty. Earth scientists study the formation of wave patterns, such as jet streams, ocean currents, and continental drifts. Material scientists study phase transitions, how molecules aligned themselves when they reach the critical temperature. Molecular biologists ask how life began in the primordial soup of amino acids, and developmental biologists attempt to explain how living organisms acquire forms through cell division and morphogenesis (Weyl 1969, Prigogine 1980). Similar questions of pattern formations also exist in economics. Why are there rich and poor countries? Why are industries clustered? Why are there booms and recessions? Why are some ethnic groups underrepresented in certain jobs or neighborhoods?

[14] Musical chairs is a game played by a group of people (usually children), often in an informal setting purely for entertainment such as a birthday party. The game starts with any number of players and a number of chairs one fewer than the number of players; the chairs are arranged in a circle (or other closed figure) facing outward, with the people standing in a circle just outside of that. A non-playing individual plays recorded music or a musical instrument. While the music is playing, the players in the circle walk in unison around the chairs. When the music controller suddenly shuts off the music, everyone must race to sit down in one of the chairs. The player who is left without a chair is eliminated from the game, and one chair is also removed to ensure that there will always be one fewer chair than there are players. The music resumes and the cycle repeats until there is only one player left in the game, who is the winner.

[15] The theory of incomplete markets is an extension of the general equilibrium approach to intertemporal economies with uncertainty, where the set of available contracts which can be used to transfer wealth across time is limited relative to the possible probabilistic states that an economy might find itself in. Unlike in the standard Arrow-Debreu model where all trade takes place at beginning of time, in an economy with incomplete markets, agents trade in sequential spot markets.

References

The Noble Quran.

Aquinas, T. (1976), Man to the Image of God, in Millard Erickson (ed.), Man’s Need and God’s Gift: Readings in Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, pp. 37-43.

Emil, B. (1976), Man and Creation,” in Millard Erickson (ed.), Man’s Need and God’s Gift: Readings in Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, pp. 45-54.

Friedman, T. L. (2000), The Lexus and the Olive Tree, New York: Anchor Books.

Krugman, P. (1992),Geography and Trade (Gaston Eyskens Lectures), The MIT Press

Matsuyama, K. (1996), Why Are There Rich and Poor Countries?: Symmetry-Breaking in the World Economy, NBER Working Paper Series

Matsuyama, K. (2005), Structural Change, forthcoming in L. Blume and S. Durlauf, eds., the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition, Macmillan (available at: http://www.faculty.econ.northwestern.edu/faculty/matsuyama/Structural%20Change.pdf )

Prigogine, I. (1980), From Being to Becoming: Time and Complexity in the Physical Sciences, Freeman, 1980.

Scholte, J. A. (2000) Globalization. A critical introduction, London: Palgrave.

Shariati, A. (1981), Man and Islam, Translator: Fatollah Marjani, Houston: Free Islamic Literature-Filinc.

Verduin, L. (1976), A Dominion-Haver, in Millard Erickson (ed.), Man’s Need and God’s Gift: Readings in Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, pp. 55-74.

Weyl, H. (1969), Symmetry, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

A solar eclipse is a New Moon with tremendous impact. The Sun that gives us life and lights our path is joined briefly with the dark and mysterious qualities of the Moon.

All eclipses indicate change; solar eclipses signify beginnings and usually manifest as events in the outer world.

The heightened impact of eclipse energy can be felt by everyone as much as 3 months in advance and has slight after effects for as long as 3 years afterwards. Although the energies are most prominent for a week on either side of the eclipse (many feel a heightened sense of anxiety during this period), the influence on events continues. Eclipse periods are extremely active, often associated with meaningful events and public exposure.

A total solar eclipse- Purna Surya Grahan will be visible in India on July 22, 2009 from early morning 5:28 hrs to 7:25 hrs. According to the Hindu date it will be on Shravan month Krishna paksha, 30 (Amavasi day), Wednesday, Samvat 2066. This eclipse will be on Pushya Nakshatra and Cancer sign. (Karka Rashi).

According to NASA, for New Delhi, maximum time for this solar eclipse is 6:27 am. At this time the lagna or the rising sign is Cancer of 15 degrees and 7 minutes in 2nd decandate (drekkana) and Sun of 5 degrees 22 minutes in 1st decandate. The lagna, Sun, Mercury and Ketu will all be passing through Pushya Nakshatra with the aspect of Rahu.

This solar eclipse will have a major impact on people who have a Grahan Dosha in their respective charts. They should be careful with their health concerning bones, eyes, stomach and heart. As the Sun is in conjunction with Ketu, surgeries can also be expected.

As the eclipse this time falls in Cancer which is a watery sign, and Sun being a dry planet, severe changes in weather such as drying up of rivers, lack of rainfall and drought like conditions are indicated. Agriculture and crops may suffer and sun which represents government will give ups and downs to politicians and people holding honorable ranks like barristers, administrators or rulers especially in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar as these areas will see total solar eclipse. India’s natal chart has a Taurus ascendant and Cancer falls in the third house and henceforth the significances of the third house will suffer. Transportation industry can expect problems which are evident in form of metro mishaps. Good relations with the neighboring countries are also unlikely. Since the lagna is Cancer which is a movable sign, the adverse effects will only be temporary and would not last for a long time.

Though the impact of an eclipse on an individual is not significant but it can be foreseen only through natal charts. However the effect on various signs can be given as follows:The solar eclipse is not auspicious for the natives of Aries, Cancer, Leo and Sagittarius sign. Care should be taken. While it will be favorable for Taurus,Virgo, Libra and Aquarius. Good results will flow. Average results for Gemini, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces are indicated.

Vijay Sharma is a renowed astrologer based in Gurgaon,India.He provides counselling and articles related to astrology,palmistry and Vastu.More information about him is available at www.astrogaurav.com

When you marvel on how your Mazda’s engine works, you will discover that it uses different forms and types of fluids in sustaining smooth operations. These fluids are crucial to the service of the engine system and component for they serve as the vessel for efficient pressure build up, cooling, and engine maintenance mechanisms. Most of these engine fluids are called thermal fluids are they may change from liquid to gaseous phase when pressure or heat is applied. Thermal fluids also expand and contracts which explains the need for Mazda expansion tank. Expansion tanks are employed to eliminate fluid wastage when thermal fluid expands. When the original reservoir becomes inadequate, employing a custom designed expansion tank comes necessary. By eliminating fluid spillage and wastage, your engine becomes protected from contamination and early wear. Because engine fluids could speed up corrosion and wear rates among metal engine components, always check the tanks and reservoir for leaks.

Mazda expansion tank designs vary on the type of engine fluid held for specific year, model, and make of vehicle applications. Serving as the safe outlet for sudden liquid volume increase, this type of tank is directly connected to the original fluid reservoir to receive the overflowing fluid. In a thermal system like your engine, there are three common types of expansion tank designs. The surge tank is designed to be a receiver of thermal fluid that are circulated through pumps drawing thermal fluid from the bottom of the tank as the fluid routes about the heater. This design offer no oxidation protection as it allows aeration of thermal fluid as its cooling mechanism. The surge tank is not ideal for extended operations as its poor design does not provide excellent thermal system venting capabilities. The baffled tank is an expansion tank with three chambers or baffles. This tank design allows the thermal fluid to efficiently cool as they are separated through chambers that prevents co-mingling of hot fluids. Thermal systems normally have a heat transfer loop, baffle expansion tanks aim to decrease the degradation rate of thermal fluid due to oxidation. Lastly, the straight leg tank design allows expanded thermal fluid to directly enter the main expansion tank via small diameter pipe that bypasses the flow-through valves under the expansion tank. As expansion tanks are often located at the highest point of thermal system, the volume of the thermal fluid flows directly to the heater with no fail. This tank type does not offer oxidation protection.

Thermal fluid oxidation greatly alters the recessive behavior of engine fluids. Because it degrades your engine fluids, thermal oxidation best explains the need of keeping track of the recommended schedules of fluid replacement for engine maintenance. By overextending their use, you risk your engine from serious damages due to contamination. So to minimize fluid oxidation, eliminate engine fluid wastage, and prevent early fluid replacement; you might as well consider investing with a high grade expansion tank. Also, having your engine equipped with an expansion tank keeps the radiator always full which is critical in efficiently maintaining ideal range of engine operating temperature. As a general rule, standard expansion tank volume is approximately 26 to 30-percent of the estimated volume of the specific thermal fluid your engine use. The tank must be about ¼ full at start-up temperatures and ¾ full at operating temperatures. Whatever design of Mazda expansion tank you choose, sticking with custom designed and fitted tanks is advised to eliminate the need for modification on installation.

Miranda Restelle is a freelance writer and car enthusiast. She believes that women should see the beauty and style in cars, as they see the beauty and style in fashion.

Whenever we hear something on the news about the “war against drugs,” meth is almost always mentioned as well. We hear about how badly it is spreading. For those of you who are around meth then you know that it is spreading throughout our neighborhood, our friends, even spreading to our kids. Whether it is spreading or not, is it really as dangerous as they say? Is it really a cause for concern? We will cover the 3 main problems of meth and why we should do everything in our power to stop its spread.

Meth is one of the most addicting substances on the planet; many experts consider it the most addicting. The main, of many, reasons for why meth, speed, crank, tweak, crack (crank mixed with cocaine)and crystal meth (all of these are different names for the same thing) is so addicting is the severe and long recovery. The coming down (recovery) process lasts 12 to 24 hours, depending on how long you tweaked (was high on meth) straight (typically 3 to 7 days.) During this excruciating 12 – 24 hours you generally cannot sleep, even though your whole being starts to feel like you’ve been awake forever. Remember how your knees start to hurt when you are starting to get to the 24 hour mark of no sleep? Imagine that 7 times worse and not just on your knees, but all over your body. During this whole time the only thing that you are thinking about is “How do I get rid of this feeling?” You can’t sleep it away. Weed can help sooth some of it out, but not by much. You have spent all of your money on the crank, you’ve pawned most of your stuff already and you are thinking twice about how much you really need your TV or stereo and how much will the pawn shop offer you for that? Nobody will every loan you money again, you’ve promised everyone you know that you’ll pay them back. Your mom even let you borrow the money twice, but it’s not going to happen again because you lied to her about where you were going to spend that money. In the end you decide that your TV will go to the pawn shop, knowing that you are going to regret this decision later, just like the many other decisions you have made, since you’ve started using meth. Of course if you do make it past this stage the mental and physical addiction is so strong that pretty much the next time you get some money in your hands, you instantly forget how horrible it was to come down because you remember that you enjoyed the high so much more.

This is the typical experience that a tweaker (a person who is addicted to meth) has when he is coming down. What about someone who has never done meth before? Will they have a different experience? Sadly, the answer is yes. The first time you do tweak, it is perhaps one of the more enjoyable experiences ever. This is of course determined by your environment also. If you are downtown hanging out with friends, having a good time and this is where your first time is, you will get a high that you will hunger for, for the rest of the time that you are tweaking and even your life. Your first time, you are more sociable, picking up chicks or guys will seem so easy, you have the energy to take on the whole world, and you just feel great all over. Your recovery? Yes, the first time there is a very little, if it can be called that, recovery. The reason why is because your body is still able to normally produce endorphins and therefore compensates when you start to withdraw. The whole point is that the first time you felt great with little to no consequence, not to mention that the first time it was probably free. These all point to you likely trying the stuff again. Meth is perhaps the only drug that most of the people who try it become addicted after using it just one time. And if that was not enough, one of the truly unique things about a meth addiction is that with other drugs, when you are done with the high, you feel guilt for using them. Not so with meth, with meth you actually feel great for doing it because you get so accomplished. You worked harder at work; you cleaned your house; fixed every conceivable thing that could be fixed, or while trying to fix it, broke it so bad that it could only be thrown out; you did all of the things that a “good” person would do. This means that there is no guilt, in fact you feel like you discovered the secret that could help you achieve all of those insurmountable goals that you have; you feel like everyone else is a dope, but you are somehow special, that you are in control, and you are only using it to help you achieve your worthy objectives. What a lie. You end up wasting that time, and instead of moving forward in your life you seriously take a few steps back, you are not somehow special and you are just addicted as the next guy…just try quitting and you’ll see. I don’t mean to make this sound any worse, but one other thing…official records state that 90% of those who do actually quit crank, go back to doing it again and again and again.

Meth will cause permanent brain damage. This may seem like such an empty statement, anymore, because it seems like half the stuff in this world will somehow damage your brain. However this stuff does it in a really nasty way. First of all you are pretty much guaranteed that when you finally mange to quit tweaking within just a year or two, pretty much all of your experiences during those three years are erased you will only remember a few of your most memorable of memories, and even that is foggy. On top of that you begin to function at only a fraction of what you were able to do before you started tweaking, intellectually. You will be slower at figuring out math problems, literacy becomes an issue, crudely said, you become stupider. On top of that a significant percentage of the people permanently stop producing dopamine, the chemical that is responsible for your body’s natural high. Without dopamine, clinically you are considered depressed, which makes it that much harder to quit in the first place, but even worse; you will suffer the consequences of your mistake for the rest of your life.

Meth will destroy your life, both physically and socially. Just listen to this true story of someone who used to be a meth addict “… is still badly brain damaged and locked into brain-induced psychosis — another way of saying schizophrenia. He also has Hepatitis C which will eventually kill him, because of the nasty life his addiction lead him into (male prostitution included).” Or another interesting fact, “meth users might form open sores that ooze. These sores are commonly referred to as speed bugs or crank bugs. The sores are formed when the unabsorbed toxins from taking high amounts of meth are being rejected by the user’s body and emitted through the skin. Heavy users may experience the feeling that bugs are “crawling” under their skin. The user can severely injure themselves by scratching, digging or cutting at their skin trying to get the imaginary bugs out of their skin.” These are just a few of the ugly sides of crank. The anti-meth pictures you see on the billboards don’t commonly get that bad, but the sad fact is that they are still very true. There is more info out there about how badly meth messes you up but I think you get the picture.

If you are someone close to a user, it is best to see them as a person who is driven by another evil force. They may be themselves when they are around you, although a bit withdrawn, but inside they are really hurting and are desperate. Meth fills the void for them, temporarily. Yet, it is like filling a hole in the ice with hot water, the only thing it does is make the hole bigger and bigger. You should have pity for them, even if they steal your money, even if they make you really upset; but don’t you dare for one second excuse their behavior or even worse enable it. They are ultimately responsible for their life and need to pay for their own consequences, no matter how terribly it may cost them. If you are dealing with this situation then I ask that the God of heaven gives you the wisdom and the strength to get through this very difficult time in your life.

About The Author Serj Sagan is the CEO and owner of a Natural Male Enhancement company, Male Enhancement Research. Dedicated to find the real truth about male enhancement products and companies and expose it to the consumer. Copyright 2009 Serj Sagan of http://www.enhancementresearch.com. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Optical microscopes use visible light and a system of lenses to magnify small samples that are usually un-seen to the bare eye. The optical microscope is the first, oldest and simples type of microscope (as opposed to the much more advanced electronic microscope). The first optical microscopes were created in the 18th century. Due to it’s compact sizes, simplicity and relatively low price, the optical microscope is very popular, and can be found in use in many areas of biology. Optical microscopes mostly magnify objects for up to 1500 times.

The first optical microscopes were structured in a way that is called “the simple microscope”. This structure utilizes only one pair of lenses to create a magnified image of the sample. Today, the simple structure is in use only in the magnifying glass, hand lens and the loupe.

The more advances optical microscopes, and the ones that are popular today, are what’s called “compound optical microscopes”. These microscopes use a system of many lenses, in order to “compound” and multiply the magnification, and therefore maximize it. The two main lens systems in an optical microscope are the objective lens (near the examined object), and the eyepiece lens (up near the eye of the scientist). Modern optical microscopes use multiple lenses both in the objective part as well as the eyepiece part.

The old optical microscopes also used a mirror to provide illumination below the object. The modern optical microscopes use a strong lamp to provide constant and strong illumination.

So what are optical microscopes used for now a days?

The main uses of compound optical microscopes include:

The examining small pieces of material, or even a smear or a squash preparation. This is due to the fact that the optical microscope uses light to pass beneath the object and enter the lenses. That’s why the item is better be half-transparent. In other uses the optical microscope may be used to examine metal samples, in order to study the metal’s structure.

At low power, microscopes can be used to examine small living animals and plants. At high power, they can be used to examine bacteria.

It is important to note that the vast advancement in medicinal fields and biology in general, is owed to a large extent, to the invention of the optical microscopes. For example, the way the blood flows in our body was not fully understood until the microscope made in possible to examine small blood vessels behavior.

Alex Dale is the owner of a microscopes website called microscopes-recommended.info. Visit our site and learn all about compound microscope as well as other tips about /www.microscopes-recommended.info”>light microscope.

These days, everything is very systematic and computerized. The introduction of computer system has made the lives of people very easy and comfortable. However, this digital technology is well known for its accuracy, speed and collection of information. Moreover, with the ease of internet technology, now it becomes quite easy to stay connected to each other. This is all about its internal functions but it is necessary to make the external appearance of computer screen well attractive. Isn’t it? That is why we see people downloading multiple wallpapers, themes or even screen savers for their PC to make it physically appealing. With the increasing craze for making the computer screen beautiful and attractive, everyone is trying to get more and more new innovative ways. The rapid growth of latest technologies allows user to fulfill their desire and need at any point of time with the ease of internet facility. In order to change the overall look of your laptop or computer, pictures play an important role. There is a wide variety of pictures available on internet through which the user can easily download photos of his choice. The photos can range from wildlife to nature, celebrities to history, cartoons to animated pictures. Well, it is quite easy to download images from internet but these days, the popularity of flash photos are increasing with the phase of time. Now people like to download flash images. This is the latest technology of photographs which can be downloaded from internet with the help of flash software. For instance, if the user wish to flash photoson his computer then he needs to download flash software. Only flash software is capable of downloading flash pictures. The best part is internet provides this software for free of cost. These days, more and more websites are offering flash images. The best part is that these pictures quality is excellent as compared to normal photograph. Moreover, many websites are offering the opportunity of free photo upload through which the user can upload multiple photos on his computer at free of cost. Flash photos have high resolution power which make it more attractive and different from the normal ones. Moreover, the user can also upload his photos on various social networking sites like Twittter, Facebook, Orkut using flash technology. Nowadays, the scope of flash photography is increasing very rapidly. As it is one of the time consuming method of uploading pictures, so people generally use flash technology to change the overall look of their system.

Aradhana Gupta is an expert author. She has written many articles on flash photos and flash technology.

If you’ve ever done an upgrade of operating systems, then you might possibly encounter problems with regards to incompatible devices not being recognized by your computer. While it may be a little unlikely by this point, if you’ve only recently made the switch to Windows XP, you might find that some of your older devices and peripherals that had worked previously might not work on your newly upgraded operating system. If this is the case, then the most likely remedy for the problem is for you to download the latest XP drivers for your peripherals. This article will tell you how you can overcome driver issues with a simple driver download, and where you can find such downloads for a quick and painless resolution.

Before we get to the heart of the matter, for the benefit of novice users who may not have an understanding of what drivers are to begin with, let’s take a look at the importance of drivers in relation to devices and operating systems. Now, what drivers are essentially are a group of files that enables the device in question to interface with the operating system. You can think of it as a common language, a set of instructions, or even a translator that translates data into manageable output that we’re all familiar with, whether it’s in the form of audio from your speakers, to whatever you see on screen, to even enabling you to connect to the internet via your router or modem.

You see, practically all devices cannot do without drivers. Removing drivers from the system is akin to cutting off all communication capabilities of a person or a device. Your device will become unresponsive, unless you provide it with the necessary drivers required for it to communicate with the operating system. The dangers of not having a proper driver installed include interrupted operations of your computer or even system crashes. While it might not seem like a big deal to you, numerous crashes may result in serious damage to your computer in the long run.

It is possible for a driver to become corrupted over time, and as technology progresses and operating systems change, drivers can also become outdated and unable to keep up with the new coding structure of the new operating system. This happened when Windows Vista first came onto the scene; a lot of computer users griped that their devices no longer worked because the coding of Vista was so vastly different than what the device drivers were initially made for.

So how do you ensure that you have the latest driver updates on hand and able to overcome driver-related problems? Well you can consider two alternatives. One is a tedious, manual task of finding and downloading the necessary drivers from the various manufacturers’ websites for all your devices. The other is a cool, automated program called a driver scan software that makes the entire process as easy as 1-2-3. All you need to do is download the driver scan software and run it on your computer. Let it scan for any discrepancies in your device drivers, and just sit back as it updates your computer with the latest XP driver downloads.

Click Here to download Driver Scan for free and instantly get your Windows XP Driver Download. Logan Albright is an authority on troubleshooting drivers issues at http://driverscan.org and has helped many to optimize their computers for peak performance.