The exact dates for certain books of the Bible are often unknown. However, through theological analysis of the texts, it is possible to gain a better understanding of the context that they were written in. The differences in style of writing and the message can be explained by the events that triggered the creation of the book. This paper will attempt to outline the historical events that prompted the writing of these books.
Lukes Gospel
Lukes gospel has a strong theme rebellion. However, it is not an open rebellion but a hidden one. It does not advocate violence and often shows the Roman Empire in a favorable light. Instead, Lukes gospel is focused on creating a third alternative to Roman rule and open rebellion the rule of God. Carroll and Cox suggest that the triggering historical factor for Lukes Gospel was the universal census enacted by the Roman Empire (399).
He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods (Common New Testament, Luke. 20-25) is a passage that shows the willingness of Jesus to pay the universal census. However, it is written in such a way that suggests that the rule of God is still superior to the rule of the Roman Empire. The rest of the gospel continues the idea of non-hostile resistance.
Johns Gospel
The writing of Graham Stanton suggests that Johns Gospel was written approximately between the years 80 A.D. and 100 A.D. (120). Although the date is vague, the historical factors that triggered the writing of this gospel can be extrapolated based on the language used in its verses. Stanton points out that the majority of writing in the gospel is directed specifically at Christians (118). He suggests that the historical factors that affected Johns Gospel are the religious disputes between Christians and the Jewish people and the subsequent parting of Christians from the synagogues (Stanton 117).
We speak of what we know, and testify to what we have seen; but you do not receive out testimony is one of the verses that Stanton points out to illustrate the religious disputes (John. 3-11). The word we represents the Christians, while you is referring to the Jewish people.
Acts of the Apostles
The book of Acts shows the open opposition to the followers of Jesus from the Roman Empire, as Jesus predicted earlier in Lukes gospel. The verse They are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus (Acts. 17-7) shows that the previously hidden rebellion has become known and that it gained detractors. Balentine suggests that the writing of the Acts was motivated by the religious pluralism of the Roman Empire and the need to establish the roots of Christianity in Israels scriptures. The gospel is often seen as a critique of the Roman imperial rule and culture, motivated by the executions of Jesus and Paul (Balentine).
Conclusion
Not all books of the Bible have a have a known historical context. The three of the outlined sections suggest that historical factors played a large role in the content of the books. These factors might be the conditions or needs of the era, or a specific event such as the universal census. Further examination of the texts could help to shine a light on their origins.
Works Cited
Balentine, Samuel, editor. Lukes Acts. Oxford Reference. Web.
Carroll, John T, and Jennifer K Cox. Luke: A Commentary. John Knox Press, 2012.
Stanton, Graham. The Gospels and Jesus. Oxford University Press, 2002.
The Bible. Common New Testament Version, Project Guttenberg, 2002.
The case history is based on the hurricane of Galveston, Texas 1900. There was a vicious storm which hit the Galveston Island, killing thousands of the inhabitants, properties destroyed while thousands were left itinerant without homes.
It is considered as the most crucial meteorological event in the United States and the entire world. Storm warnings had been put into place, but the weight of the event was too huge, more than it was expected or thought of.
The storm is considered to lie on the 4th category of the tempest hurricane, and it had been recorded as the tropical storm in Mexico Gulf. Category four of the hurricanes cause extreme damages as what resulted in Galveston.
It destroys the buildings and all mobile structures, those that contain overhanging coverings. It is also responsible for beach erosion and flooding extension to the interior areas far from the sea.
Galveston island description
The island is approximated to be thirty miles long and three miles broad sand islet. Galveston happened to be the prevalent trading midpoint which was the biggest city found in Texas in the nineteen-century endings.
Businesses grew as a result of the port facilities with approximated forty-two thousand number of the populace. The island was tremendously susceptible as it was low-lying approximately just 9 feet higher than the sea altitude.
At the same time, the city had no sea wall which could guard the city on the dangers caused by the sea level rise. The city also had some lower areas. Thus the dunes which are found on the shore were not spared as they were used to fill these lower areas (McComb 1986, 6).
The path of the hurricane
The storm had been already detected by 30th August of the same year from the first signs on the Windward Isle. On the 31st morning, it had moved southwards in an approximate 200 miles to Porto Rico isle.
By on 1st September, it had moved to the Caribbean Sea, and by 2nd it was near Jamaica. On 3rd and 4th September, the storm had moved to Cuba with no descriptive force even though there were cases of heavy rains.
It crossed over Cuba on 5th nearing Key West on 6th with the presence of high winds. The high winds continued on 6th and by 7th afternoon there were heavy swells in Mexico gulf which continued over the night with the unusual rise of the tides.
On 8th September, high winds amplified steadily to the 4th category hurricane in the Galveston city. It was all hell at Galveston when the gulf waters went above the shoreline.
At this point, the efforts of getting into safer shelters were all in vain as people were drowning while those in buildings faced deaths out of wreckages (Muller and Stone 2001).
Damages caused by the catastrophe
The storm is considered as the deadliest catastrophe that ever occurred naturally in the United States historical records. It is approximated that at least 10 to 12 thousand people died during the storm with at around six thousand being from Galveston isle.
This was after the entire gulf was brushed off by waters as the houses which were found close to the beach started to collapse and the timbers which made these houses were pulled out by the strong winds.
Out of the dangers which the residents had experienced, they ran for their safety in elevated parts which were found in the city while some went into stronger buildings. The rescuing process used boats and wagons to take out them that were already stranded in waters.
Bay waters and those from the Gulf met at around 3 p.m, as the entire city became submerged. The wind brew at speed referred to as cyclonic velocity which left the roofing, telegraph posts, and other structures falling with the terrifying noise which came from the wind as well as the crashing of structures.
Everything was brushed off by the winds whereby 4 p.m up to around midnight, the raging hurricane was very furry. An approximated amount of twenty-five to fifty thousand U.S dollars was worth the properties that were destroyed.
Buildings that did not collapse were damaged in one way or another, where it was hard to find any dry house which was habited in the city.
At this point, it cannot be approximated at which the heights had the winds arrived at as the instrument had also been carried away by the wind and the waters (Grace 2010).
Environmental issues and geology
The storm preceded the sea level rise which is known to have caused the flooding in Galveston. Due to the sea level rise that led to flooding, the shoreline was eroded as well as the beaches. The storm surges were very high in that it ended up sweeping all the properties.
Even though there were signs of the storm, the effect of the disaster could not be predicted as Galveston had been got used to storms, but the unrealistic expectations became real.
There was no sea wall which could have prevented the flooding to over flooding in the city, and the shore and had already been eroded.
Storm effects after 8th September 1900
On 9th at around 8 a.m, the wind had already diminished in its speed at a relatively moderate rate of 32 kilometers per hour of the hurricane force which was present on 8th evening.
Even after winds diminished from the hurricane force, the storm went on its vicious conduit into Texas as it crossed into southern plains and later re-curving into Great Lake.
On 12th and 13th of September, it arrived at the Atlantic Ocean. On leaving Texas, it moved to Minnesota, Michigan then into Newfoundland. By 13th September, the storm curved on the way to Scandinavia where it finally died (Muller and Stone 2001).
Conclusion
After the Galveston hurricane, a seventeen feet high seawall was built exceeding mean low wave and tide where there was an extension of the protective barrier.
The ground which is across seawall was inclined by 5 feet elevated above the inland side compared to the concave surface which is found at the top. The slope is very significant as it breaks action waves that make their way to the top of the seawall.
The entire city was also raised, which involved the raising of the city structures. After the destruction of the city, it was hard to regain its position of the commercial setup, but still, it holds the fashionable tourist desirability and attraction at the same time it holds a key ship port.
The 1900 hurricane experience in Texas held up significant position on the responses which were made after it. It was a historical event that left a mark as even after a period of more than one hundred years; it seems that it is fresh to the historians as though it happened a few years back.
Reference List
Grace, Ernestine E. 2010. The Galveston, Texas 1900 Storm, Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E. Web.
McComb, David G. 1886. Galveston: a history. New York: University of Texas Press.
Muller, Robert A. and Gregory W Stone. 2001. A Climatology of Tropical Storm and Hurricane Strikes to Enhance Vulnerability Prediction for the Southeast U.S. Coast. Journal of Coastal Research 17(4): 949-956.
Most scholars believe that the story of Pakistan commenced in the period between 3000-1500 BC. It was the beginning of the Indus Civilization. People who settled in those places were known as the Harappans. The Indus Valley Civilization worshiped many gods, and one of them resembled the Hindu Shiva. The prosperity of Civilization began to decline with changes in weather patterns. Earthquakes destroyed the system of the river, and agriculture became impossible in such conditions.
The Aryans, aggressive, and strong fighters replaced previous settlers. The Aryans invaded Central Asia in approximately 1700 BC. The Aryans society established the beginning of the modern Hinduism. They had the social caste system, and the Vedas were Aryans collections of sacred hymns. The Aryans moved to the Ganges valley, and the vast territory remained unprotected from numerous invasions.
During 400-500 BC, the Persian Emperor, Darius I, invaded the territory of modern Pakistan and founded the province of the Achaemenian Empire. Sindh and Punjab became the flourishing and well-developed province in the Empire.
The rule of the Persian Empire ended when Alexander the Great invaded territories one hundred years later. After the invasion of Alexander the Great, the territories of modern Pakistan underwent drastic changes. They were under the control of various rulers. The promotion of Buddhism by Mauryan Emperor in 200 BC was distinguishing. Besides, Mauryans ruled all subcontinent, and it was a differentiated feature of the reign.
In 711 AD, the invasion by the Arab General, Mohammed bin Qasim, occurred in Sindh. It was signed as far as it brought the Islamic religion to the region. By that time, Muslims were already considered as the ruling class of the society, and their religion became widespread in the area. Nevertheless, Muslims became truly superior to people with the arrival of the dynasty of Mughal. The dynasty of Mughal also took control over the whole subcontinent. The rule of the dynasty was indubitable in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The rule of Mughals was successful due to the advanced administrating system and an efficient government. For instance, Akbar, one of the rulers, realized the necessity to build rapport with Hindus as far as their numerousness made it impossible to invade them. The end of the Mughal Empire was a logical consequence of its rapid spread and prosperity. The Mughal Empire became so large that it was almost impossible to govern with maximum efficiency.
The next significant stage of Pakistans history refers to the period of British colonialism. Initially, the British arrived at the subcontinent for profit. They collaborated with representatives of the Mughal dynasty. However, the profit from the subcontinent countries increased, and the British became more interested in local politics. Finally, at the beginning of the 19th century, they began acting like imperialists, who aimed to seize new territories.
The British rule was established over India and Pakistan. It meant that both Hindus and Muslims had to live as one nation or population. It was unacceptable for both sides. In 1906, the Muslim League was formed to support the interests of the Muslim population. The division occurred in 1947 with the end of the rule of the British Empire. Since 1947, Pakistan started its way as an independent country.
In 1948, the first war with India commenced. It concerned the territory of Kashmir. In 1951, the era of military rule began in Pakistan. It lasted until the death of General Zia in 1988. Then comes the period of tense political relations accompanied by corruption and extremism. The conflict over Kashmir continued at the beginning of the 21st century. The following years were full of political changes and instability including testing of nuclear weapons and terrorist attacks.
Geography and Demography
Pakistan is located in Southern Asia. It borders the Arabian Sea, India, China, Afghanistan, and Iran. The climate is predominantly hot. In the northwest part of the country, it is temperate and arctic in the north. Pakistan has notable terrain features. Thus, there are mountain ranges in the northwest and north and a flat plain in the east. The Himalayas are located in the northern part of the country. There is the second largest worlds mountain in Pakistan K2 or Mt. Godwin-Austin (8611 m).
The total area of Pakistan comprises 803 940 square kilometers. Indus River is the primary source of freshwater in the country. The countrys land is rich in natural gas resources. The geographical location of Pakistan is also the reason for devastating natural hazards such as earthquakes and floods.
The following demographic data of Pakistan were gathered in 2014. Thus, the population of the country comprises 196 million people. More than thirty-five percent of the residents are 24-54 years old. The population growth rate is 1.49%. The population of major cities is as follows: Islamabad (capital) 919 thousand, Karachi 13 million, Lahore almost 8 million, 3 million people live in Faisalabad.
The dominant ethnic group of the population is Punjabi (nearly 45% of the population). There are other ethnic groups such as Pashtun, Sindhi, Saraiki, and Balochi. The official and dominant religion of the country is Muslim (96.4 %). Hinduism and Christianity are minor religions. Urdu is the official language. English is also official, and it is regarded as the lingua franca of governmental authorities and official representatives. There is also a variety of dialects in every region of Pakistan.
Political System
The official name of the country is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistans form of state is the federal parliamentary democracy. The Government represents the legislative branch of the state. The Government is made up of two houses: the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (the National Assembly).
The head of the Government is Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President of the state. Prime Minister is chosen from representatives of the National Assembly. The National Assembly includes three hundred and forty-two seats. Sixty seats are given to female representatives in the Government.
Ten seats are reserved for minorities who profess other religions. The rest of the seats are granted to selected candidates. The Upper House or the Senate includes one hundred seats. Eighty-eight seats belong to representatives from four Provinces. The other twelve seats are for representatives from the capital of the state and tribal people. Women may occupy approximately twenty percent of seats.
The President of Pakistan is the Head of the State. The Presidents represent the executive branch. Only Muslims may become the Head of the State. The electoral college has the right to elect the president. The current president of Pakistan is Mamnoon Hussain, who has been elected in 2013.
The President can be elected for two consecutive terms, each lasting five years. The Federal Cabinet or the Cabinet of Pakistan also presents the executive branch. The Prime Minister, being the head of the Government, is the primary adviser to the President. PM has a broad range of rights and responsibilities. The President has the right to dissolve the National Assembly and remove PM if necessary. The current PM is Nawaz Sharif.
Leaders
Leadership approaches varied in the country due to the continued instability and conflicts. The first powerful leader of Pakistan was Ayub Khan. He became the president of the state in 1958 the period of high instability that was caused by the assassination of the founding father of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Although many people criticized the military regime of Khan, others considered that it was the only way to bring the state into the condition of stability. Ayub Khan made several positive things that improved the life of people and the status of the country in general.
First, he made everything possible to stabilize political relations with both the United States of America and China. Second, Khan introduced new constitution to eliminate the instability and possess control over other political powers. Also, he diminished the role of clerics in the political decision-making processes. The last positive thing about Khans leadership concerned his paying attention to the economy and the development of infrastructure.
The second distinguished leader of Pakistan was Benazir Bhutto. She became the first female Prime Minister in the Islamic country in 1988. Bhutto fought against the military dictatorship and, finally, achieved her goal. The first democratic elections were conducted due to persistence. She was the founder of the Peoples Party of Pakistan.
The PPP is still one of the major political forces in the government. Bhutto improved the system of education and changed the status and rights of women in the country. In 1996, she had to leave the country as far as the military-based government took control over the state. Eleven years later, Bhutto returned to participate in the general elections, but she was assassinated.
Asif Ali Zardari was the president of Pakistan in 2008-2013. His personality is extremely controversial. Zardari is known as a corrupt individual. At the same time, his reforms changed the state for the better. Thus, Zardari decentralized executive power. His civilian government existed all five years and did not end with dismissal or coup. Also, Zardari reestablished the freedom of the press.
Economy
Pakistans index of economic freedom is 55.6. The country is 121st, among others, from this perspective. The index increases slowly annually. It exemplifies the fact that the country makes some positive changes. The general condition of the economy of Pakistan is regarded as not efficient according to the worlds average rates. GDP per capita was almost $900 in 2014. GDP per capita PPP was $4600. GDP annual growth rate comprised 4.14.
The level of unemployment is more than 5%. Despite this fact, a substantial part of the population lives in poverty. The most common way of survival is agriculture. Starting a business can become rather a challenge for residents of the states. It usually takes three weeks to conduct all necessary procedures.
However, the execution of license may last for more than two hundred days. The financial system of the country is largely controlled by the government. It impedes the successful development of the economy and well-being of the population.
Economic Structure and Resources
Agriculture is the central sector of Pakistans economy. The country belongs to the biggest suppliers of agricultural products, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This sector contributes more than twenty percent of the total GDP.
Also, it is the primary job market for almost half of the population. Livestock is another significant constituent of the economy. It comprises more than ten percent of GDP. The fishery is the third substantial component that provides more than four hundred thousand people with job opportunities. The industrial sector of Pakistan forms almost twenty-five percent of GDP.
The natural resources of Pakistan are also significant for its economic structure. The land is a vital natural resource. It is used for agriculture. It is estimated that the gas reserves of the country will remain for the following twenty years. Besides, some reserves have not been utilized at all. Not long ago, low-quality coal beds have been found in Pakistan too. There are approximately one hundred seventy billion tons of coal reserves that should last for the following two hundred years if the consumption remains the same.
Current issues
Although Pakistan gained its independence more than sixty years ago, it did not achieve a significant level of development and progress. Nowadays, the country survives mostly on contributions from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and other countries. The largest part of the population lives in rural areas without any basic facilities for a comfortable and healthy life. Nowadays, the country faces a variety of problems that hinder its development and prosperity of residents.
Poverty is one of the most significant issues in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan conducted research aimed at the evaluation of the well-being of the population. According to results, the level of poverty increased by 30-40% over the past decade. Almost half of the population lives below the poverty line. It means that these people do not have access to proper education or medicine. They have nothing to eat or wear. This problem leads to other subsequent concerns.
When people need to think of the satisfaction of their basic survival needs, they neglect other aspects of civilized life. This situation results in the increasing illiteracy rate. Fifty percent of the Pakistan population is illiterate. It is necessary to mention that literacy means the ability to read and write. These skills are not enough for efficient development in the modern world. Thus, Pakistani people know almost nothing about modern technologies.
Terrorism is also a significant concern in Pakistan. It should be noted that Pakistan is reputed for terrorism. A majority of countries consider Pakistan as a source of terror. Acts of terror are often conducted in Pakistan too. After the events of 9/11, Pakistan began to fight with jihadi groups.
Besides, the US military forces Pakistan pursued members of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Terrorism is a grave threat to the development of Pakistan. The world cannot accept the country with high level of terrorism as equal. Besides, terrorist attacks damage the economy drastically.
Health issues are becoming more and more urgent for the population of Pakistan. People live in poverty, and it affects their condition of health. The country faces the problem of increasing rates of diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases. According to the World Health Organization, there are outnumbered cases of such illnesses as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, diseases of the skin. They are caused by the poor quality of food and living conditions. The situation aggravates as far as people do not have money to pay for appropriate treatment.
Corruption is another problem in Pakistan. Efficient governance is impossible when corruption becomes an integral part of activities at all levels of society. In 2013, Transparency International conducted a survey of levels of corruption throughout the world.
Pakistan was 127th of 177 countries. Corruption is still the major problem of the country. Most deals are executed with the help of bribery. This way of decision-making process hinders the overall progress of the country and makes it impossible for the country to achieve prosperity.
The energy crisis is another worrying issue in Pakistan. The country experiences a lack of electricity. The available supply level cannot meet the pressing demand. Besides, the country has severe gas shortages. The country imports gas from Qatar. It is a long-lasting process that is extremely expensive. It is necessary to note that the government of Pakistan does not utilize the available coal reserves.
Malik writes that Pakistan has the second-largest reserves of coal and the USA largest reserves in the world. The United States of America uses coal as the source of energy through it pollutes the environment. In Pakistan, there are no such issues, but authorities fail to use available coal and prefer buying gas from Qatar.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Pakistans primary strength relates to its location and size. Thus, its location is advantageous in Asia. Besides, a large size of the country provides possibilities for the development of the domestic market. Pakistan also benefits from foreign aid. It receives donations from IMF, World Bank, and the USA. It means that it has the potential for the development of international relations.
Weaknesses outnumber the strong sides of Pakistan. First, almost all workers are unskilled. People do not have the necessary knowledge to become a modernized society and enter the IT infrastructure. Most residents work in the agricultural sector. The second problem is the cause of the first one. Pakistan lacks an efficient system of education. Also, the English language is not taught at all. Pakistan is an Islamic state. It is necessary to shift priorities and emphasize the significance of education. Numerous coups have also undermined the development of the country.
Foreign and Domestic Policy
Many elements of the domestic policy have been already discussed in previous parts of the paper. They refer mostly to the economic development of the state. The domestic policy of Pakistan is not efficient. Pakistans government does not modify the economy. The agricultural sector is not enough for the development of the country on the global level. Pakistans domestic policy impedes development and globalization.
The foreign policy of Pakistan had undergone several changes over sixty years of independence. Pakistan was involved in tense international relations with the USSR, India, and Afghanistan since 1947. Pakistan commenced the formation of foreign relations with the US during the period of the Cold War. Thus, Pakistan became the ally of the US when the Soviet Unions military forces invaded Afghanistan. Besides, Pakistan had significant political relations with other neighboring countries China and Iran. The foreign policy towards India has always been hostile.
The international relations with the US are of particular importance for Pakistan. Since 9/11, Pakistan joined the US in its War on Terror . These relations were often concerned as extremely controversial. Nevertheless, the fact was that Pakistan aimed at finding and eliminating extremist terrorist groups within the country. Pakistan assisted the US in Afghanistan, but the consequences were adverse. The US military forces intended to kill all terrorists. However, many civilians suffered or were slaughtered too. Thus, American Drone attacks killed almost three thousand Pakistani people.
Future
Future prospects for Pakistan are not very positive. The improper governance, lack of an efficient system of health care and education, old and agriculture-based economy cannot provide the country with developing opportunities. Many scholars agree that the current state of Pakistans development is noticeably disadvantageous. No meaningful changes are expected to occur in the following five or seven years.
There is the dilemma of governance in Pakistan that will exist for a long time. Military representatives rule the country, but they are not the best governors. At the same time, they will not let anyone else take control of Pakistan. This controversy puts Pakistan in a kind of deadlock. Experts agree that Pakistan should collaborate with India. These two countries can create a powerful alliance that will protect their interests in the global arena of politics. The future of Pakistan is not clear at the current stage of its development. The country needs comprehensive reforms in all spheres to begin the way towards prosperity.
Works Cited
Akbar, Malik. The Future of Pakistan. The Express Tribune. Web.
Benazir Bhutto. 100leaders.org. Web.
Bhattacharya, Sanchita. How does Pakistans domestic strife influence its foreign policy, and vice versa. Academia.edu. Web.
Economy of Pakistan: an Overview. CSS Forum. Web.
Geography and Map of Pakistan. Geography.about.com. Web.
Malik, Farid. Energy Crisis of Pakistan. Pakistan Today. Web.
Mashru, Ram. Pakistan: as corrupt as ever. The Diplomat. Web.
Natural Resources of Pakistan. Pakistan Insider. Web.
Algebra is a mathematical concept that basically involves the applications of operations and relations, and the concepts that are as a result of the combination of the two. The history of algebra can be traced back to ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia in Babylon. The early basic algebra involved finding solutions to linear equations which were of the form ax = b and quadratic equations which were of the form ax2 + bx = c. In most of the algebraic equations, there was more than one unknown (Snell 5). The procedures that were used to find the solutions to the algebraic equations use basically the same approach that is used today.
The mathematics of algebra was continued by Diophantus, who originated from Alexandria during 250 AD. Diophantus is always viewed as the father of algebra. His major contribution towards algebra was his compilation of books that were called Arithmetica (Snell 7). With his Diophantine equations, he contributed majorly to the number theory and the mathematics of algebra. The Diophantine equations were complex and were on a much higher level whose solutions were not easy to arrive at. The knowledge of the algebraic solutions then landed in the Arab World around the 9th century, it was then referred to as the Science of restoration and balancing (Rashed 45) which is an Arabic translation for al-jabru. Algebra is always thought to be of Arabian origin possibly due to the fact that the first algebraic work was found in the work of Mahommed ben Musa al-Khwarizimi (Rashed 48), who was famous during the 9th century (Rashed 50). His works basically involved the comparison and resolution of the various basic al-jabru equations that were later to be renamed algebra. It can be inferred that Mahommed ben Musa al-Khwarizimi exposed the basic theory of algebraic equations; he used both examples and proofs to confirm his assertions (Rashed 50).
Towards the end of the 9th century, an Egyptian mathematician called Abu Kamil affirmed and provided evidence on the basic algebraic laws and algebraic identities which were used to provide solutions to complicated problems such as solving for x, y, and z in quadratic equations such as x + y + z = 85, x2 +y2 +z2 = 0 and x z= y2 (Boyer 26). Ancient civilization denoted algebraic expressions using through the use of occasional abbreviations, contrary to the medieval Arabian mathematicians who used higher-order representations that involved the use of the x raised to given powers. This resulted in the development of polynomials and the operations that are related to manipulation of polynomials such as multiplication, division, and evaluating the square roots of the given polynomials (Boyer 30).
Omar Khayam, a Persian mathematician established how to evaluate cubic expressions through the use of the line segments which was as a result of the intersection of the conic sections. His limitation however was that he could not find formulae for finding the roots of the cubic expressions. During the 13th century, Leonardo Fibonacci, a mathematician from Italy, found an approximate solution to the cubic expression of the form x3 +2x2 +cx = d. It is however assumed that he used the Islamic mathematicians approach of Successive approximations to find the solution since he traveled across the Islamic lands (Boyer 32).
During the 16th century, a group of Italian mathematicians: Gerolamo Cardano, Nicolo Tartaglia, and Scipione Del Ferro found the exact solution to the cubic expression using the method of using constants. Developments on their methods were made to find solutions to higher-order expressions. However, during the 19th century, the Italian approach to the solution of higher-order expressions was disputed by Niels Abel from Norway and Evariste Galois from France. Important contributions to 16th-century algebra mathematics were the introduction of symbols to represent the elements being solved in terms of algebraic powers and operations (Boyer 35). These contributions were made by Rene Descartes, a French mathematician. He laid a framework for modern algebra through analytical geometry which expresses geometric problems in terms of algebraic problems, the theory of equations, and the number sign rule which are used to express numbers as either positive or negative, and as a result, the existence of negative roots. Recent developments are being made in modern algebra to aid in the solution of mathematical problems (Boyer 40).
References
Boyer, Carl ,B. A History of Mathematics, Second Edition. New York: Wiley, 1991.
Rashed, Roshdi. Al Khwarizmi: The Beginnings of Algebra. Beirut: Saqi Books, 2009.
Thermodynamics can be defined as the science behind heat and work. These two terms were known in ancient times. However, energy, which brings heat and works together, was recognized and studied in the 1800s. A famous ancient painting of the machine that was attributed to Hero of Alexandria as the inventor in the first century points to the beginning of thermodynamics (Chandra 77). In the picture, steam is seen rotating a vessel.
However, the commercial use of heat emerged in the 17th century after different devices were used to draw water from mines via steam pressure. In the early years of the 18th century, Thomas Newcomen came up with an advanced pump that could raise the water using the vacuum created by condensing steam (Muller 126). However, James Watt and Mathew Boulton faulted Newcomens device as it used too much energy. Therefore, the two invented an improved device that could accomplish work with steam creation and condensation taking place concurrently (Weinberger 2577). By the start of the 19th century, mechanical power produced by steam was being used extensively in manufacturing and transport industries.
However, as the field of thermodynamics continued to evolve, several challenges were encountered along the way. One of the important hurdles was to understand heat and its nature. The second issue was to differentiate between heat and work and determine their relationship with energy. In the 17th century, the concept of heat started taking shape, with scientists coming up with different explanations. However, the prominent account on energy hinged on the motion of atoms and molecules as part of the matter. In 1620, Francis Bacon argued, &the very essence of heat, or the substantial self of heat, is motion and nothing else (Atkins 106).
In the late 18th century, Joseph Black had started his works on calorimetry as a technique of measuring heat quantitatively. Lavoisier adopted the term caloric in 1789 and classified it as an authentic element which meant that it could not be created or destroyed. As such, heat only moved between bodies. However, this presumption was overruled after Benjamin Thomson successfully carried out the famous cannon boring experiments.
In 1843, James Prescott Joule derived accurate values associated with the mechanical equivalent of heat. At the same time, Robert Mayer started hypothesizing the relationship between the heat produced and work done after human beings consumed a certain amount of food. According to Mayer, the mentioned three aspects underscored an indestructible quantity (Cengel and Boles 114). At that time, this quantity was termed as force, but it was later named energy.
Later in the 19th century, Sadi Carnot furthered the concepts of thermodynamics. By 1850, the first and second laws of thermodynamics had been established under the works of Rudolf Clausius and William Kelvin (Sandler and Woodcock 4487). Additionally, Clausius revisited Daniel Bernoullis proposition that gases are molecules in motion. Afterward, the kinetic theory of gases was established. At the start of the 20th century, works on thermodynamics were overtaken by quantum physics. However, in 1913 Max Planck stated the third law of thermodynamics as the entropy of each pure element or substance in a perfect crystalline state is zero at absolute zero (Atkins 86).
The field of thermodynamics continued to develop slowly throughout the 20th century, and its application in different areas like engineering, chemistry, and architecture, among others, diversified. Currently, the concept of thermodynamics is still evolving, and with technology, the future will be interesting.
Works Cited
Atkins, Peter. The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Cengel, Yunus, and Michael Boles. Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.
Chandra, Sanjeev. Energy, Entropy and Engines: An Introduction to Thermodynamics. Wiley, 2016.
Muller, Ingo. A History of Thermodynamics: The Doctrine of Energy and Entropy. Springer, 2007.
Sandler, Stanley, and Leslie Woodcock. Historical Observations on Laws of Thermodynamics. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, vol. 55, no. 10, 2010, pp. 4485-4490.
Weinberger, Peter. The Discovery of Thermodynamics. Philosophical Magazine, vol. 93, no. 20, 2013, pp. 2576-2612.
Cryptography is an integral part of almost everyones life, even if people are not aware of it. Encryption is used in commerce, technology, business, and criminology; however, it was only in the last century that such opportunities for using cryptography became possible for regular people. At the same time, one must know the origins and the first variants of ciphers to understand the complexity and features of modern cryptography. For this reason, this paper will discuss and analyze the history of cryptography to demonstrate its development and significance in modern life of society.
History of Cryptography from its Origins
Cryptography is an ancient science, although its development peaks during the 15th and 20th centuries. The origins of cryptography were found in Egyptian civilizations culture, since only kings and their scribes used secret hieroglyphs to convey messages. Later, different types of simple monoalphabetic ciphers were used in Assyrian, Greek, and Roman cultures for the same purpose of transmitting secret messages (Verma et al., 2017).
Although today such ciphers are simple for almost every person who can read and write, at that time, they were considered complex and were more efficient. For this reason, monoalphabetic ciphers in different variations were used until the 15th century, although during the Dark Ages in Europe, they were practically forgotten (Dooley, 2018). The flourishing of culture, politics, and diplomacy in the 15th century marked new stages in the history of cryptography, as kings, cardinals, and courtiers needed ciphers that would be difficult to break but easy to use, which led to the development of polyalphabetic ciphers that used a key phrase or word (Verma et al., 2017). Their variations with complications are still used today.
Nevertheless, it took cryptography several more centuries to reach a new development stage, which fell at the beginning of the twentieth century. The First and Second World Wars forced the military to look for new ways of transmitting secret messages, and as a result of the search, machines that could generate complex combinations were created (Verma et al., 2017). These machines were the prototypes of computers that today can process information hundreds of times faster. Over the years, computer programs have allowed people to encrypt information and use them daily, but at the same time make them unbreakable because of their complexity. Thus, one can say that the advent of modern technology, the Internet, and the use of encryption for commercial purposes has progressed cryptography in a few decades much further than in previous millennia.
The Use of Cryptography Through the Ages
The use of cryptography has changed together with its development, although the use of ciphers and codes was a government advantage for a long time. The first ciphers appeared 4000 years ago, at a time when Egyptians, Assyrians, and later Ancient Greeks and Romans could convey a message only on wooden or stone tablets, leather ribbons, or parchment (Verma et al., 2017). Cryptography was used to send a message to allies or rulers about troops disposition or plans, so that information would not reach the enemy. Since enemies could easily intercept a letter, a senders main task was to make it unreadable to the enemy.
During the Dark Ages in Europe, cryptography was practically not used due to the fall of general literacy. Only monks studied cryptanalysis to decipher the Bibles messages and some religious writings, and, eventually, different available manuscripts (Dooley, 2018). However, during the early Renaissance, cryptography again began to actively develop as, during this period, diplomacy and political intrigue flourished between city-states and empires.
Kings, courtiers, and aristocrats used encrypted messages to negotiate and build politics while avoiding the spread of information to the public and enemies (Verma et al., 2017). In the early 19th century, the invention of cryptography was the telegraph, which transmitted information between cities using encrypted signals (Dooley, 2018). However, in this case, the code was open, and the messages did not maintain confidentiality, so the cipher was aimed only at simplifying the transfer of information.
During the First and Second World War, cryptography was an essential means for military affairs and espionage, since the transmission of radio messages was the primary way of communication between units of troops. For this reason, codes and ciphers have been used to convey strategic information that opponents cannot decipher. The militaries needs led to the development of computers and then the Internet, which led to the emergence of a new purpose of cryptography. At the end of the 20th century, data encryption took on commercial goals as companies wanted to encrypt their data and protect it from theft.
Advances in commercial cryptography have led to the use of automated codes to encrypt financial transactions; thus, today, every person can shop online without worrying that frauds can steal his or her bank account details. Nevertheless, cryptography also has its original purpose and is used to encrypt and transmit information, such as evidence for criminal investigations, and avoid leak or corruption of important information.
Growth and Development of Cryptography
Scientists can observe the history of cryptography development by the complication of codes and ciphers used to encrypt messages. One of the first and simplest was the Caesar ciphers, which was practiced during the Gallic Wars, and the essence of which was to shift the letters of the alphabet forward by three (Qadir & Varol, 2019). A slightly more complex variant was the monoalphabetic cipher, in which letters of the alphabet were replaced by any other letter of the same alphabet (Qadir & Varol, 2019).
This kind of cryptographys main feature was that the recipient knew what letters replaced the original letters. The next stage in the development of cryptography was the use of polyalphabetic substitution ciphers, one of the most famous was the Vigenere cipher. Such a code used numerous Caesar ciphers, which greatly complicated the search for a keyword and made the cipher unbreakable for 300 years (Nasution et al., 2017). However, the mystery was solved by identifying patterns.
A new stage in the development of cryptology was the use of computers that could perform calculations in minutes, while people needed hours or days to do this. One of the most famous cryptographic inventions of the First and Second World War was the ENIGMA machine. ENIGMA used three scramblers and a plugboard and created ciphers so that the total number of keys rises to over 1015, which made the cipher practically unbreakable (Verma et al., 2017). However, after years of work, in 1939, Alan Turing was able to unravel the structure and logic of message creation and build a machine that could solve the code in an hour (Dooley, 2018). However, at the time, these machines were not much like computers, since they were room-sized and took much longer to calculate.
Currently, the Internet and computers allow more sophisticated encryption algorithms to be created; thus, people can encrypt, transmit and decrypt data on the other side of the world in a few seconds. Today, the most secure and unbeatable ciphers are The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and asymmetric fonts, as they use a complex encoding system. For example, an asymmetric cipher means that the sender and the recipient have a public and a private key, and they only need to know only each others public key to send information (Verma et al., 2017). Thus, the recipient and the sender do not need to exchange information that gives access to the cipher, making it almost impossible to break it.
Thus, the development of cryptography becomes evident if we compare just the Caesar cipher for breaking, which a person only needs to know the alphabet and modern encryption methods that the human brain cannot unravel without the help of computer programs.
Conclusion
Therefore, the history of cryptography analysis demonstrates that this science has an ancient origin, although its development was slow and inconsistent. The reason for this uneven development was that the study of cryptography was available to few people due to the high level of illiteracy and lack of educational resources. Although ciphers have been used for centuries by the aristocracy, the increasing demand for secret methods of transmitting information, as well as the development of technology, have become an impetus for the growth of cryptography. At the same time, the science of information encryption has made the most ambitious leap in the last century, as the means for transforming text have changed significantly.
References
Dooley, J.F. (2018). History of cryptography and cryptanalysis: Codes, ciphers, and their algorithms. Springer.
Nasution, S.D., Ginting, G.L., Syahrizal, M., & Rahim, R. (2017). Data security using Vigenere cipher and Goldbach codes algorithm. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 6(1), 360-363.
Qadir, A. M., & Varol, N. (2019). A review paper on cryptography. 2019 7th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS). Web.
Verma, A., Kaur, S., & Chhabra, B. (2017). Design and development of robust algorithm for cryptography using improves AES technique. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS), 15(3), 66-82.
Geography plays a crucial role in shaping the economy. The city of Shenzhen in China is an evident example. Its defining geographic feature is proximity to the coast and the Pearl River, which lowers transportation costs and allows maintaining the competitive production of IT components.
In geographic terms, Shenzhens main feature is its position in the Pearl River Delta on the coast of the South China Sea. This circumstance offers considerable advantages in terms of transportation it is a known fact that being on a coast or a navigable river facilitates trade and commerce (Henderson e al. 366). Shenzhen possesses both these characteristics: the Pearl River connects the city with the inland regions of China, while the harbor on the South China Sea coast enables it to engage in maritime trade. However, the geographical position of Shenzhen in mainland China has also impeded its economic growth for the greater part of the regions history.
Judging on the facts listed above, Shenzhen was bound to become an important trade center early on, but this did not happen because neighboring Hong Kong overshadowed it during most of its existence. The significant advantage of Hong Kong was its position on an island, which was close enough to the shore and the Pearl River for effective communication and transportation, but easier to defend due to being surrounded by water.
However, what was initially a benefit turned into a disadvantage because of rapid industrialization and urbanization (Henderson e al. 365). Hong Kong Island proved too small for the ever-growing urban population, meaning that mainland coastal territories such as Shenzhen had a considerable economic potential in the industrial age precisely because of their geographic position.
The economic and geographic development of Shenzhen during the last half-century illustrates the benefits of its geography. In 1979, Shenzhen became the countrys first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) (Lindtner et al. 89). The government has chosen Shenzhen due to its position on the coast and on the major river, as the proximity to both lowers transportation costs (Rappaport and Sachs 35).
In 1979, Shenzhens population was approximately 50,000 people, but it superseded 10 million by 2010 (Lindtner et al. 89). Judging by these facts, the decision to make Shenzhen an SEZ because of its geographic position demonstrated a clear understanding of how geography influences commerce and the economy in general.
Contemporary Shenzhen is particularly notable for its success in manifesting IT components. During the 1980s, companies from the developed world, including those in the IT industry, began moving their production facilities to regions with lower labor costs (Lindtner et al. 89). In this respect, Shenzhen constituted a particularly attractive site, as the Pearl River provided workforce from inland China, and its harbor on the South China Sea coast enabled cheap transportation (Lindtner et al. 89). Consequently, Shenzhens geography enabled the city to become one of the worlds greatest manufacturing hubs for IT parts.
Geographic features played a defining role in Shenzhens economic history. Before the rapid urbanization, Hong Kong superseded it due to being on an island. Yet in the age of urbanization, Shenzhens location in the mainland, combined with the coastlands benefits, made it a perfect place for an industrial metropolis.
Works Cited
Henderson, J, Vernon, et al. The Global Distribution of Economic Activity: Nature, History, and the Role of Trade. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 133, no/ 1, 2018, pp. 357406.
Lindtner, Silvia, et al. Designed in Shenzhen: Shanzhai Manufacturing and Maker Entrepreneurs. Proceedings of The Fifth Decennial Aarhus Conference on Critical Alternatives, Aarhus, Denmark, August 17-21, 2015, edited by Olav. W. Bertelsen, Aarhus UP, 2015, pp. 85-96.
Rappaport, Jordan, and Sachs, Jeffrey D. The United States as a Coastal Nation. Journal of Economic Growth, vol. 8, 2003, pp. 5-46.
Indonesia is located in Southern Asia and consists of 17,000 islands. The biggest islands are Sumatra, Bali, Java, and Kalimantan. Indonesia is the neighbor to Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. There are many active volcanoes in Indonesia, and earthquakes are very common. Indonesia is a republic with a population of 234,694 citizens. The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta; the monetary unit is Rupiah; the national religion is Islam; the official language is Bahasa Indonesia. Indonesia is a poor country. However, the literacy rate is rather high 89 percent. Indonesian culture is a mix of indigenous traditions and foreign influences.
Historically and geographically, Indonesia linked the Far East with the Middle East, and, as a result, it has influenced the political, cultural, and economic development of the country. Today, Indonesia has an unstable political situation but promising economic predictions.
History
The first written accounts of Indonesian history refer back to the year 78AD, when the Sanskrit language was introduced by Indian Prince Aji Caka. The first trade relations were established between Indonesia and South India: Sumatra was named the island of gold; Java was referred to as the rice island. Until the 13th century, the life of the Indonesian population was peaceful.
Muslim invasions (started in the 13th century) led to the conversion of the population to Islam; later, the land was occupied by Portuguese, Dutch, and British. In 1922, Indonesia was still a part of the Dutch kingdom, while during WWII, Japan conquered the islands. In 1946, the agreement between Netherlands and Indonesia was signed, but it resulted in the war for independence. In 1956, Netherlands transferred sovereignty to Indonesia, and the islands got the status of independent union (Taylor, 2004).
Sukarno, the father of Indonesian guided democracy, was named the President for life in 1966. His policies were supported by the population. However, there was a political struggle between the Indonesian Communist Party and the military. The debate has led to military conflicts in the result of which hundreds of thousands of Communists were killed. Suharto, the General, took the rein of the government and strengthened the role of the military in national affairs. Indonesian economy improved, and national elections were allowed (Taylor 2004). Ten years ago, in 1997, Indonesia experienced an economic setback. The national banks failed, and the currency was devalued. Citizens organized antigovernment strikes demanding Suhartos dismissal.
Suharto, after 32 years of rule, declared the new President B.J. Habibie.
The year of 1999 was marked with the first time free parliamentary elections in the country. The majority of voices were in support of the Indonesian Democratic Party led by the daughter of Sukarno. Rioting and violence spread all over the Indonesian land, and according to the UN organized referendum, almost 80 percent of people voted to secede from Indonesia (Vickers, 2005).
For the following three years, numerous political leaders were judged for corruption on a national level.
Violence, bombing, riots, killings, ethnic clashes, political corruption, earthquakes, and war still remain the key features of modern Indonesian political and cultural life.
Politics
As the overview of history showed, Indonesia has unstable politics. Today it is referred to as a republic; however, it lacks any features of a democratic state. The political stability of any country is determined by the uniformity of governance. A stable government attracts foreign investments and ensures peace in society.
Indonesia has an unstable government and is known to the world for its political irregularity and anti-social movements (Vickers, 2005). Formally, Indonesia has the presidential form of government, with the central power being in the hands of the national government (headed by the elected President). Indonesia was under the rule of a single leader, President Suharto, for a long time. Since his downfall in 1998, the country has experienced a number of important political and social reforms. In particular, the constitution written in 1945 was revised in 1999 and 2002; the new liberal form of government was established; the presidential term was minimized to five years (Vickers 2005). The Peoples Consultative Assembly, the representative national body with the function of formulating state policies, was created.
The Assembly, similar to the American form of government, is divided into two houses: the Peoples Representative Council (550 members) and the Regional Representative Council (168 members).
Indonesia consists of many islands, and till this time, the disputes over the country boundaries continue. In 1997, the treaty between Indonesia and Australia was signed, settling the issue of maritime boundaries. Indonesia is rich in oil supplies, and political disputes over land often result in hostile confrontations. The current President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has failed to create a strong government and ensure the economic development of the country.
The recent scandals involving the President and his appointees have indicated that the political system in Indonesia is still very corrupted. As a result, economic development is at the stage of slow down, the employment rate is very high, and foreign investors are not in a hurry to invest funds into the national economy.
Demographics and Economy
Indonesia is ranked fourth in the world in terms of population, and the national growth rate is 1.3 percent. Only 43 percent of people live in urban areas, with 17 percent of the total population living below the poverty line (Ahnaf 2006). The main economic sectors are agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing. Agriculture is the key sector in terms of employment and national output. Indonesia is rich in mineral resources and oil, while manufacturing exceeded in GDP agricultural sector only once (in 1991). The services sector accounts for 40 percent of the national GDP, and approximately one-third of the population is working in the tourism industry. Despite the efforts to change the regulatory framework and encourage economic development, private investors are focused primarily on the oil and gas sectors. United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Singapore are the major foreign investors to Indonesia. Economic growth reached the level of 5.1 percent in 2004; however, it was driven mainly by domestic consumption (Parry, 2007).
The government plays a central role in the Indonesian economy. There are more than 150 government-owned enterprises, and the state controls fuel, rice, and electricity prices. Notably, Indonesia is the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from Asia. The country accounts for 2.4 percent of the worlds oil production. In 1997, when the economic and political crisis occurred, Indonesia experienced an inflation rate of 77 percent, and GDP decreased by 13 percent (Parry, 2007). The disposable income is very low in Indonesia, and historically, the exports consist of small primary commodities such as oil, plywood, and textiles. The key imports include machinery, chemicals, and foodstuffs. The fast development of the tourism sector has a positive impact on the national economy. However, political corruption minimizes the positive effects of tourism sector development. If prior to the crisis in 1997, Indonesia was developing economically much faster than most of the Asian countries, today it has the worst income disparity in the region. The recent tsunami disaster has worsened the economy even more. More than 200,000 individuals are still missing, and the estimated damage reached as much as $4.5 billion (Parry, 2007). Approximately 20 percent of total crops have been destroyed; educational and healthcare facilities have been damaged as well.
Culture
Indonesia is populated by the representatives of all global cultures, and, as a result, the national culture is a mix of local traditions and western customs. Western culture has influenced Indonesia mostly in the entertainment sector: movies and television. Despite the foreign influence, Indonesians strive to preserve the unique culture because most of the tourists come to Indonesia to learn about its indigenous traditions and customs. For example, ethnic groups in Dani, Dayak, and Mentawai follow all ethnic rituals and wear only traditional clothes. Traditional games are very popular among the local population and are often played to entertain tourists. For example, the stone jumping in Nias was originally introduced to train the warriors to jump over the walls of enemies (Vaisutis, 2007). Indonesian cuisine is very diverse and has influenced neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. Native population eats a lot of rice, vegetables, meat, and sweet potato. Pork and alcoholic drinks are forbidden. Islam is the national religion 90 percent of all Indonesians are Muslims, 9 percent are Christians, and 1 percent are Hindu and Buddhists (Vaisutis 2007). Notably, the official ideology of Indonesia promotes the idea that the state must be based on the belief in one God.
Foreign Relations
According to the official accounts on foreign policy, Indonesia has an independent and active foreign policy. Independent because the country does not side with the world leaders, and active because it seeks active participation in international issues (Ahnaf, 2006). The primary objectives of foreign policy are to support national development (major emphasis made on economic development), preserve internal stability, and protect territorial integrity. Along with Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Laos, and Burma, Indonesia is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Association promotes the goal to enhance the economic, social, and cultural development of the member countries. Indonesia is one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement aimed at broadening the cooperation between the North and South. Indonesia maintains close relations with United States, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia. Indonesia supports the initiative of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to implement free trade in the region.
Indonesia has the potential to become a developed nation if political and economic reforms are introduced. Prior to the economic and political crisis in 1997, Indonesia was the most developing country in the region, with less than 10 percent of the population living below the poverty line. The turbulent history of social wars and disputes over national boundaries, authoritarian rulers, and national oppression have shaped modern Indonesia. Even though today Indonesia is in peaceful relations with global powers and neighbors, the natural disasters and political corruption slow down the foreign investments inflows into the national economy development. Having unique natural resources, beautiful landscapes, and indigenous culture, Indonesia attracts millions of tourists every year.
According to the recent forecasts, Indonesia will survive the crisis, manage to overcome the developmental drawbacks and return to the same economic development pace as it was in the middle of 1997.
References
Ahnaf, M. I. (2006). The Image of the Other As Enemy: Radical Discourse in Indonesia (Islam in Southeast Asia: Views from Within Series). Silkworm Books.
Parry, R. L. (2007). In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos. Grove Press.
Taylor, J. (2004). Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. Yale University Press.
Vaisutis, J., Bedford, N., Elliot, M. & Ray, N. (2007). Indonesia. Lonely Planet Publications.
Vickers, A. (2005). A History of Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press.
Eusebius is commonly referred to as The Father of Ecclesiastical History. He was born in Israel and received his education in Caesarea. He spent most of his years in this region and later became a bishop. He was among the first scholars to write about the history of the church. Therefore, he set an example to the rest of the people who have written about the church and its history. The literary texts by Eusebius trace the church history from the time when Christ was physically on earth, the persecution that befell the church after Christ ascended as well as the conversion of Emperor Constantine.
His literary works have been grouped into four major categories namely: the historical, the apologetic, the Biblical, and the dogmatic. His writings were greatly inspired by Pamphilus, a church leader and a theologian. The persecution of the church did not dissuade Eusebius from writing the text known as the history of the church. Later, he also suffered persecution due to his faith. However, he was not killed and his life was spared by God. He was able to write literary texts that have been useful in the history of the church. He was born around 260 A.D. he lived in Caesarea until 339 when he died. During his time in Caesarea, he was a bishop from 313.
Introduction
This book deals with the history of the early church, particularly what happened from the time of Christ to Constantine. To accurately give an account of the events that took place during this period, Eusebius mentions everyone who was there before him. This includes both Christians and non-Christians. He further notes all the legal decrees that were given by the various emperors during their reign and how they affected the church.
Eusebius also writes about the persecution of the church and the martyrs who suffered greatly because of their Christian faith. These are people who decided that it was better for them to be imprisoned, tortured, and even killed instead of them renouncing Christ.
An overview of the assigned reading from the authors book and an evaluation of the writing as a historical document
Diocletian was one of the Roman emperors who started persecuting the early church. He is believed to have initiated the great persecution among the Christians. This happened in A.D 303. He was motivated by his great desire to do away with the Christian faith. According to Pamphilius (259), the laws that were formulated during his reign were meant to weaken the Christian faith, wipe out all places that were used by Christians during worship, kill those who refused to obey his laws because of their Christian faith and encourage people to move away from Christianity. It is not clear how many people died because of their Christian faith during the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
However, numerous testimonies are explaining how Christians were tortured and killed because they refused to renounce their faith in Christ. Most of the Christians who refused to renounce their faith were taken in the Roman Coliseum, where fierce lions devoured them before cheering crowds. Although it was not possible to record everything that Christians went through because of their faith during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, Eusebius was able to document some of the atrocities that were committed against the Christian community at that time.
It was under the reign of Diocletian that the cathedral in Nicomedia was destroyed. Davids (1) notes that he also issued a decree that required all Christian writings to be destroyed completely. Christian meetings were also banned. The decree also required that all clergy be arrested and put in prison. This happened until all prisons were full. When Diocletian retired and his position was occupied by Galerius, the persecution of the Christians increased.
Persecutions attributed to Maximinus are also very significant in church history. His record in Christian history is not a positive one. This is because he is the one who rekindled persecution among the Christians after it was halted by his predecessor Galerius. Persecution among the Christians had been halted by Galerius when he published a document known as the edict of toleration. According to Pamphilius (289), he pretended that he was forced by several urban authorities to persecute the Christians. At first, he carried on the persecutions through forbidding Christians from gathering to worship as well as putting into prison and torturing those who continued to propagate the Christian faith.
Before his death, he eventually agreed to give the Christians some freedom by allowing them to congregate, put up houses where they can worship, and reinstating the church property that was previously destroyed. He did this by issuing his edict of tolerance like the one that was previously issued by Galerius. Maximinus became obsessed with a Christian girl known as Alexandria. This was mainly due to her education, wealth, and the fact that she was a virgin. However, the girl refused to give in to his advances. Consequently, he ordered that the girl be killed through beheading.
When Constantine, who had been ignored during the Diocletian succession, took over as the emperor, he decided to halt Christian persecution that had been going on for many years. Also, he offered to compensate Christians for whatever they had lost during the persecution period. This made him appear as a person who was concerned about the Christians. By around A.D 324, Constantine had converted to Christianity and was solely in charge of the whole empire.
He, therefore, became the first Christian emperor. The persecution of Christians stopped and the clergy was able to visit and dine with him without any fear. It is Constantine who set the ground for Christianity to be declared the state religion. During the Constantine period, the church enjoyed a lot of peace and recovered from the past era, when it had suffered immensely due to persecution. Constantine gave Christians the liberty to worship, an edict that became a form of cancellation of the laws that were previously in existence. The emperor also gave any other person the right to practice whatever faith they chose. In the same copy of imperial ordinances issued by Constantine, people who had occupied the places that were previously used by Christians as their worship centers were required to rededicate them to the Christians.
This was to take place without any further delay. People who had also taken over property belonging to Christians were also required to return them immediately. According to Pamphilius (310), Constantine continued to show favor to the Christians through acts such as giving out money to the churches and attending conferences and workshops organized for bishops and the clergy. However, he did not persecute those who belonged to a different faith.
Although Constantine became a Christian, his motive for becoming one was not right. This is because he was motivated by the fact that the Christian God was more effective in giving them military victory as opposed to other gods. His conversion to Christianity happened as a result of a vision that he had just before he went into war. In the vision, he was advised to tell each soldier to put the sign of Christ on their shields before they went into warfare. This was supposed to give them victory in the battle. When Constantine obeyed the instructions he was given in this vision, he and the entire army won the battle. This was one of the reasons why he chose to convert to Christianity.
He also admired the fact that Christians practiced monotheism. Additionally, he believed that it was easy for people who feared God to respect and obey the laws of the land. During his reign, there emerged a new type of Christianity that propagated the notion that the roman tradition was acceptable in Christianity. Constantine was advised by his advisor to allow Christians to practice their faith since the religion encouraged the fear of God as opposed to pagan religions which encouraged immorality. Although he is the one who legalized Christianity, Constantine was not a very good person. He took part in the killing of his son as well as his wife. He ordered his sons execution because of treason charges. He also participated in civil wars so that he would start reigning in the empire.
Works Cited
Davids, Joshua. History The Christian Persecution According To Eusebius. Web.
Pamphilius, Eusebius. The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine, trans. G.A. Williamson, Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1989.
It should be noted that the previous studies of the homeless population were partially based on the data from quantitative research. However, qualitative research also appears to be a very beneficial tool for the investigation of the topic. In particular, this paper aims to observe the application of qualitative research to the chosen vulnerable population group and to utilize the life history methodology according to the developed outline of the research proposal. Additionally, two related scientific approaches will be discussed, and also the question of determining gaps in the literature about the topic will be mentioned.
Designing a Qualitative Research
Application of Ethical Principles
It could be hardly denied that the issue of homelessness is in many ways connected with ethical dilemmas and questions. When conducting qualitative research, it is critical to be consistent with one of the most important moral principles of respecting autonomy since every individual has a free will to decide how he or she lives his or her life. Also, the principle of beneficence is also of high importance because the primary goal of any vulnerable population research is to improve peoples quality of life.
How Qualitative Research Study Is Designed
The critical difference between quantitative and qualitative research is that the latter is primarily based on the exploration of ideas and underlying reasons rather than on the gathering of precise, numeric data. Qualitative research provides the understanding of the current situation or upcoming trends by the investigation of peoples ideas and experiences and the provision of helpful insights into different aspects of the research question. In the majority of cases, this type of study provides a basis for further quantitative research.
Developing an Outline for a Research Proposal
It is possible to note that one of the more frequently employed types of qualitative research is the interview. For this study, it was decided to utilize the life history methodology since it could be an important, relevant and appropriate contribution to the studying of the homeless vulnerable population (Etherington, 2009, p. 225). It is also possible to notice that the mentioned approach is vastly based on the concept of discourse, developed by Michel Foucault, according to which narratives are seen as ways of positioning oneself as a subject (Germeten, 2013, p. 612). Developing an outline for the interview with a member of a homeless vulnerable population group, it is possible to set the following objectives:
to ask about positive and negative role models
to impose broad questions about barriers to success and facilitative factors
to encourage an individual to recount his or her personal story and its critical points.
Report of the Interview
The interview was conducted with a member of the homeless vulnerable population group, who is male, White, 28-year-old. The major concepts that emerged in this interview were:
vulnerability as an integral part of life
experiencing the ethical dilemmas from the personal perspective
the quality of life as a complex factor.
These concepts were synthesized from the interview, in which the participant was describing his everyday life. From the researchers perspective, the core of the young mans vulnerability is the exposure to different life threats and burdens of living on the street; however, in his opinion, he is vulnerable because he has no access to proper medication and caregiving. Among the challenges that he faces daily, the struggle to maintain personal hygiene should be noted as of high importance. Mentioning the positive factors, the young man observed that he has access to sufficient nutrition in the local shelter. It is possible to notice that the persons self-efficacy is on a relatively high level since he does not give up on his situation and searches for solutions. In both opinions of the researcher and participant, the young mans quality of life is adversely impacted by the inability to get proper medications for his vision disparity, which is a significant gap in his healthcare. The only healthcare resource which is available for the participant is the community-sponsored monthly distribution of medications. Concerning the suggestions for the improvement of his quality of life, he was offered to attend the local meetings for the unemployed to find a job.
Discussion of Related Scientific Approaches
Further, it is important to mention two approaches that could also be used in the research of the homeless population. The first one is the community-based participatory action research, a collaborative approach that could be employed to analyze a problem from the perspective of the whole community (De Chesnay & Anderson, 2016). The second one is a Model for Evidence-Based Practice Change approach by Larrabee. The core assumption of this model is that practitioners, possessing the required skills, can synthesize and translate the evidence from theoretical research into practice (De Chesnay & Anderson, 2016). It should also be mentioned that the qualitative analysis of the homeless population is not presented enough in the scholarly literature, and thus the further investigation is needed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that the outline for the interview was developed and the report for it was provided. Additionally, several related concepts, including ethical principles and the notion of qualitative research, were discussed. Overall, it is possible to say that the employment of life history methodology is significantly important for building theoretical evidence for the research of the homeless population.
References
De Chesnay, M., & Anderson, B. (Eds.). (2016). Caring for the vulnerable: Perspectives in nursing theory, practice and research (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Etherington, K. (2009). Life story research: A relevant methodology for counsellors and psychotherapists. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 9(4), 225-233.
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