Biography of Amalasuntha, Queen of the Ostrogoths

Biography of Amalasuntha, Queen of the Ostrogoths We have three sources for the details of Amalasunthas life and rule: the histories of Procopius, the Gothic History of Jordanes (a summary version of a lost book by Cassiodorus), and the letters of Cassiodorus. All were written shortly after the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy was defeated. Gregory of Tours, writing in the later 6th century, also mentions Amalasuntha. Procopius version of events, however, has many inconsistencies. In one account Procopius praises the virtue of Amalasuntha; in another, he accuses her of manipulation. In his version of this history, Procopius makes the Empress Theodora complicit in Amalasunthas death but he is often focused on depicting the Empress as a great manipulator. Known for: ruler of the Ostrogoths, first as regent for her sonDates: 498-535 (reigned 526-534)Religion:  Arian ChristianAlso known as: Amalasuentha, Amalasvintha,  Amalasvente, Amalasontha, Amalasonte, Queen of the Goths, Queen of the Ostrogoths, Gothic Queen, Regent Queen Background and Early Life Amalasuntha was the daughter of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, who had taken power in Italy with the support of the eastern emperor. Her mother was Audofleda, whose brother, Clovis I, was the first king to unite the Franks, and whose wife, Saint Clotilde, is credited with bringing Clovis into the Roman Catholic Christian fold. Amalasunthas cousins thus included the warring sons of Clovis and Clovis daughter, also named Clotilde, who married Amalasunthas half-nephew, Amalaric of the Goths. She was apparently well educated, speaking Latin, Greek, and Gothic fluently. Marriage and Regency Amalasuntha was married to Eutharic, a Goth from Spain, who died in 522. They had two children; their son was Athalaric. When Theodoric died in 526, his heir was Amalasunthas son Athalaric. Because Athalaric was only ten, Amalasuntha became regent for him. After Athalarics death while still a child, Amalasuntha joined forces with the next closest heir to the throne, her cousin Theodahad or Theodad (sometimes called her husband in accounts of her rule). With the advice and support of her minister Cassiodorus, who had also been an advisor to her father, Amalasuntha seems to have continued a close relationship with the Byzantine emperor, now Justinian as when she permitted Justinian to use Sicily as a base for Belisarius invasion of the Vandals in North Africa. Opposition by the Ostrogoths Perhaps with Justinians and Theodahads support or manipulation, Ostrogoth nobles opposed Amalasunthas policies. When her son was alive, these same opponents had protested her giving her son a Roman, classical education, and instead had insisted that he receive training as a soldier. Eventually, the nobles rebelled against Amalasuntha, and exiled her to Bolsena in Tuscany in 534, ending her reign. There, she was later strangled by relatives of some men she had earlier ordered killed. Her murder probably was undertaken with her cousins approval Theodahad may have had reason to believe that Justinian wanted Amalasuntha removed from power. The Gothic War But after Amalasunthas murder, Justinian sent Belisarius to launch the Gothic War, retaking Italy and deposing Theodahad. Amalasuntha also had a daughter, Matasuntha or Matasuentha (among other renderings of her name). She apparently married Witigus, who briefly reigned after Theodahads death. She was then married to Justinians nephew or cousin, Germanus, and was made a Patrician Ordinary. Gregory of Tours, in his History of the Franks, mentions Amalasuntha and tells a story, which is most likely not historical, of Amalasuntha eloping with a slave who was then killed by her mothers representatives and then of Amalasuntha killing her mother by putting poison in her communion chalice. Procopius About Amalasuntha An excerpt from Procopius of Caesaria: The Secret History How Theodora treated those who offended her will now be shown, though again I can give only a few instances, or obviously there would be no end to the demonstration.When Amasalontha decided to save her life by surrendering her queendom over the Goths and retiring to Constantinople (as I have related elsewhere), Theodora, reflecting that the lady was well-born and a Queen, more than easy to look at and a marvel at planning intrigues, became suspicious of her charms and audacity: and fearing her husbands fickleness, she became not a little jealous, and determined to ensnare the lady to her doom.

Concealed carry Laws in Illinois vs other states like texas Term Paper

Concealed carry Laws in Illinois vs other states like texas - Term Paper Example Later, as the crime rate in public increased by the assailants, many states passed law for concealed carry to prevent individuals from such criminals. Many States in America have recognized the need of concealed carry and subsequent legislations were made. However, in the state of Illinois the bill of concealed carry was not passed in the Assembly even though there are strong demands from people to legalize concealed carry in the state of Illinois. In Illinois the state had taken ample measures for the control of gun. Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook in their work Evaluating gun Policy deal elaborately with Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card which the gun owners need to gain. It prevents the spread of gun among the civilians of the state. The owners can resell their guns to only those with valid FOID card holders. Moreover, they have implemented gun control in the state through radical measures. Thus, it can be seen that the Illinois system â€Å"provides gun owners with an inc entive to verify a buyer’s eligibility status and to resist requests to serve as straw purchaser for friends and family who are ineligible† (Ludwig & Cook, 2003, p. 10). This paper explores a study on the laws prevailing in the state of Illinois regarding the concealed carry, and further, an attempt is made to make a comparative study with other states in America as well. The laws connected with the carrying of firearms in public turned to be a matter of dispute among the states in America. Some states argue for concealed carry and they have made laws in favor of it, whereas the states like Illinois and Wisconsin have objected the notion. To many in Illinois concealed carry seem to a mere dream whereas people in most of the other states are privileged with this freedom. The state laws do not support concealed carry. Among the states 48 support concealed carry. The states that do not allow the citizens to carry a concealed hand gun are Illinois, Wisconsin and the Distric t of Columbia. Even though some relaxations are made in Wisconsin and in the District of Columbia, Illinois stands stubborn in the decision of not permitting the concealed carry. To quote governor of Illinois Pat Quinn’s words: â€Å"If you're going to the grocery store, you bump into somebody accidentally they take offense and they could pull out a loaded handgun to assuage their anger† (Governor to Veto Concealed Weapons? 2011). The growing demand to establish concealed carry from all walks of the people have made the government to think of the issue and grant permission for concealed carry. Some negotiations are on the move with regard to concealed carrying of guns in Illinois. Difference between Illinois and other states: In Illinois the carry of a fire weapon to a public place is prohibited, whereas many other states like Alaska, Arizona, Vermont, etc allow carry the fire arms concealed in public places. The state Arizona has even been exempted from the Federal Gu n Free School Zone Act of 1995.The act was made to prevent the use of gun at the premises of schools in America. As Hanks observes, â€Å"the Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a federal offense to knowingly possess a firearm in a school zone† (Hanks , 2004, p. 16). Some States like Georgia allow those persons who have the license to carry guns to schools. In Illinois it is considered as a serious crime. The case of Joan E. Bruner versus The People of the state of Illinois gets the conclusion that even if a person has been found in

Social origins of evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social origins of evil - Essay Example Without showing what environments will inevitably lead to evil acts, however, the experiments retained very little external validity, outside of showing that given the right set of powers and responsibilities, â€Å"normal† human beings will commit evil acts. In trying to determine the nature and origins of evil acts, sociologists try to explain and determine the social prerequisites for evil acts, rather than trying to utilize the individual characteristics (with its environmental interaction) in its explanation. Based on research in sociology, the most explanatorily useful theory of the origin of evil acts is tied to the theory of bureaucracy, along with concepts like â€Å"authorization† and â€Å"McDonaldization†. Together, these observations into contemporary Western life may help explain the social origins of evil for the past half-century. Ritzer (2007) introduces Max Weber’s theory of rationality as a primer to his talk on bureaucracy and the conce pt of McDonaldization. To Weber, rationality meant â€Å"that the search by people for the optimum means to a given end is shaped by rules, regulations, and larger social structures† (p. 23). The rise of institutions, and institutional power, represented the crux of formal rationality and, as it continues today, bureaucracy is designed to have many advantages over other mechanisms of power. For Weber at least, bureaucracy is the most efficient structure for handling a vast number of tasks. Additionally, bureaucracy relies on the quantification of facts as much as possible to inject objectivity into issues of process and, for that reason, bureaucracies and bureaucratic policies are highly predictable due to the rigidity of the procedures they put into place. Because of all these facts, bureaucracies by definition remove as much power as possible for individuals and place that power within the hands of the organization, such that individuals are not left to make subjective deci sions. In this way, individuals are removed from the actual moral consequences of their decision-making. This fact is significant when looking at the role of bureaucracies in the origins of evil. Ritzer goes on to define a number of dimensions of McDonaldization. â€Å"McDonaldization† is Ritzer’s neologism for the formalization of structures and procedures in modern life. More specifically, a number of advantages to society define McDonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control, which coincide with the advantages that Weber defined as belonging to bureaucracy. Efficiency, for Ritzer, is the optimum method for achieving a goal. McDonald’s cuts the number of steps in a process of food production down to an optimum point, such that its customers enjoy the convenience of its products and the price at which they are provided. McDonald’s offers calculability, or the emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products and services provided to customers (Ritzer, 2007, p. 12). Because sizes are universal between McDonald’s locations, customers who have a favorite meal at one location can travel to any other location, order the same meal, and be guaranteed that the meal will be roughly the same size. McDonald’s offers predictability: a set of policies and procedures that all of its restaurants follow closely. Lastly, McDonald’s removes the power from individuals by transferring control to nonhuman technology. Like on the Ford assembly line, individual

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Constant growing attempts have been made spread awareness among the people for the cause of umbilical cord blood banking. Stem cells derived from umbilical cord have proved to be a boon to mankind. Earlier stem cells were only used to provide some low cost effective treatment to diabetes, stroke and some kind of blindness. But no doubt about it that today we are on the edge of having a major breakthrough with these cells which will get stem cells the credit they deserve. Although it is true that the spread of awareness among people has paid off and the preservation of umbilical cord blood is gaining momentum. Now cord blood bank is a place where cord blood can be kept for the future use. The cord blood banking involves three simple steps. These steps are collection, processing and storage. Collection is a process in which the umbilical blood is collected and can be done within 5 minutes after the birth of the child. Umbilical cord is clamped and cut and is attached to a special bar coded bag. This bag is kept at a lower level than the cord so the blood drains out in the bag.   After collection its the turn for processing. Processing normally involves checking of blood for various possible viral infections and then separating stem cells from the red blood cells. After processing the umbilical blood is stored in liquid nitrogen tank at a temperature of -196 Celsius. This keeps the blood available for use even after a very long time. The banks which handle all these operations can be generally classified into two categories and they are public and private. While the public cord blood bank is set to be for public use, private banks are set up exclusively for parents who want to keep the umbilical cord blood of their baby to themselves. At present, for every 3 public cord blood banks there is 1 private cord blood bank. The public banks can be used free of cost while the private banks charge the fees of $800-$2000. Most parents do not worry about the amount as it can be considered as the cover for medical insurance against so many fatal diseases. The only good thing about the private banks are that with the donation to private banks comes the guarantee of availability, while in public banks the usage of cord blood is subjected to availability. It is due to private banks only that this noble cause of donation is turning into a kind of business that requires investment. That is why medical community strongly supports public banks and not the private banks. The use of public banks widens the number of beneficiaries from medical advances. The government is also spending heavily on the research and storage of stem cells. Recently the Indian government granted Rs 5 crores to a Mumbai based institution to upgrade its stem cell research facility. Also a large number of banks are being set up nationwide to facilitate the process and to spread awareness among the masses.

Euthanasia :: Medical Assisted Suicide Drugs Essays

Euthanasia In recent years, Euthanasia has become a very heated debate. It is a Greek word that means "easy death" but the controversy surrounding it is just the opposite. Whether the issue is refusing prolonged life mechanically, assisting suicide, or active euthanasia, we eventually confront our socity's fears toward death itself. Above others, our culture breeds fear and dread of aging and dying. It is not easy for most of the western world to see death as an inevitable part of life. However, the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death, they are about ones liberty, right to privacy and control over his or her own body. So, the question remains: Who has the right? Under current U.S. law, there are clear distinctions between the two types of euthanasia. One group of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient -withdrawal of life support, referred to by some as passive euthanasia- has been specifically upheld by the courts as a legal right of a patient to request and a legal act for a doctor to perform. A second group of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient -physician-assisted death, referred to by some as active euthanasia- is specifically prohibited by laws in most states banning "mercy killing" and is condemned by the American Medical Association. Although it is not a crime to be present when a person takes his or her life, it is a crime to take direct action intentionally designed to help facilitate death--no matter how justifiable and compassionate the circumstances may be.1 With active euthanasia, it is the doctor who administers the lethal drug dose. Since it is tantamount to homicide, the few U.S. docto rs who perform it have been brought to trial but none of them have ever been convicted and imprisoned. Modern interest in euthanasia in the United States began in 1870, when a commentator, Samuel Williams, proposed to the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be permitted "in all cases of hopeless and painful illness" to bring about "a quick and painless death." The word "painless" is important: the idea of euthanasia began gaining ground in modern times not because of new technologies for agonizingly prolonging life but because of the discovery of new drugs, such as morphine and various anesthetics for the relief of pain, that could also painlessly induce death. Over the next three decades Williams's proposal was reprinted in popular magazines and books, discussed in the pages of prominent literary and political journals, and debated at the meetings of American medical societies and nonmedical professional associations.

Golden Rice

Golden rice Vitamin A is one of the most important vitamins to humans, and it plays an inevitable role in our daily life, thus Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects millions of people, causing serious health problems. Therefore, scientists are searching for the most effective method to let people obtain enough Vitamin A as possible. As a consequence, the scientific program of cultivating Golden Rice has attracted people’s attention. â€Å"Golden Rice is a new type of rice that contains beta-carotene, a source of Vitamin A † (Golden rice, para. ). This new technology has aroused many controversial debates. Some organizations and individuals think that Golden Rice poses unknown threats to the environment and human health, even preventing people from diversifying their diet. In contrast, others hold the opinion that Golden Rice has more benefits than harm to humans, helping to release the severe situation about VAD. This issue is a worth exploring in the aspects of technology , economy and efficiency.As a new project with high-tech content, Golden Rice needs reliable technical supports. Until now, many developing countries, such as African country, have no chances of benefiting from bio-technology, while developed countries have already enjoyed the new invention to obtain their mental health. Many people from the developing country recommend that, since the last green revolution had been missed, they do not want to miss this one, which may allow them to have the opportunity to lift millions of people out of hunger.What is more, International Rice Research Institute( IRRI) is optimistic about the prospects for the Golden Rice project, and they believe that it may open up a kind of new research model creating partnerships with the private institution. On the contrary, people consider that this technique needs to establish its reliability before it becomes available to the general public. Methods such as testing should be done, making sure it could suit the local environment. Moreover, this advanced agriculture technology needs to be promoted through marketing subjects in order to assure its safety.As far as I am concerned, bio-safety cannot be guaranteed. As we know, data on the potential health risks of Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) foods are scanty, which has made it impractical to remove the risk. There is a concern that the transgenic crop may endanger biodiversity, and lead to the extinction of valuable bio-resources, thus it is unwise to take this risk. Beyond that, the economic factors cannot be ignored. For people from developing countries, Golden Rice was thought to be contributed to reach self-sufficient in food to climb out of poverty.After all, economic turmoil and social instability may well happen without food security. It is also significant for the independence of nation and peace to the world. Besides, the IRRI thought they could seek economic help for private sectors, so that they do not have to worry about the f unding issues. On the other hand, Friends of the Earth (FOE) found that such a project can hardly get nearly the amount of funding they deserved according to the data of past years.It is said that† more than $100 million dollars has been spent on developing golden rice, and another $50 million has been budgeted for advertisements touting the crops’ future benefits â€Å"(Pollan, 2001, p. 15). How many cases of blindness could be averted right now if the industry were to divert this investment from advertising spending to a few of the programs such as providing free seeds to poor famers to help more people? In addition, the main purpose of this research is to solve the VAD and the poverty problem.However, malnutrition, diseases and poverty are deeply rooted in social soil, associating with economic and political systems, such as, the unfairness of income distribution. Hence, the Golden Rice has done little to address the fundamental problem. With all these essentials, t he other important factor is on effectiveness on consuming. There is no denial that Golden Rice can supply a certain amount of Vitamin A, and it is necessary for developing countries to operate as stakeholders, instead of just accepting the decision made by government from developed countries.However, the fact is that Golden Rice has too little Vitamin A, a woman has to eat 16 pounds of cooked rice a day to satisfy her minimum daily requirement of Vitamin A, according to the research made by FOE. Hence,FOE advocate diet diversification. â€Å"Previous studies either focused solely on effects of the rice on Vitamin A intakes without considering health outcomes, but used only highly aggregate intake data without taking into account important nutritional features like dietary heterogeneity† (Stein, Sachdev, & Qaim, 2006, P. 4-10). In addition, Krawinkel argued that the general issue is that nutritional deficiencies are rarely focused on one nutrient (e. g. , vitamin A, iron, selenium, zinc or others). In most cases, they are complex conditions and many sources for the various nutrients (Krawinkel , 2007, p. 9). It can be seen easily that the technical issue, economic issue and efficiency of Golden Rice have connected with each other closely.Essentially, I tend to think that disadvantages of developing Golden rice outweigh the benefits, located with three main reasons including doubting about the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops, reasoning the huge payout with small output and disagreeing with the monotonous diet, instead of a diverse diet. From my point of view, developing the varied diet is not only the most radical way to get all the nutrients we need but also helping to improve the life quality as well as developing a healthy lifestyle. References IRRI. (n. d. ). Golden rice.Retrieved from http://www. irri. org/index. php? option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=category&id=764:golden-rice-at-irri&lang=en Krawinkel, M. B. (2007). W hat we know and don't know about golden rice. Nature Biotechnology, 25(6), 623; doi: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1038/nbt0607-623 Pollan, M. (2001, Mar 04). The great yellow hype. New York Times Magazine, 15. Stein, A. J. , H. P. S. Sachdev, ;amp; Qaim, M. (2006). Potential impact and cost-effectiveness of golden rice. Nature Biotechnology, 24(10), 1200-1. doi: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1038/nbt1006-1200b

Minimum Wage Or Overtime Pay For The Working Adults And...

In June of 1938, amongst other bills, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that would intimately become a law to help the Nation’s social and economic development. This law establishes minimum wage or overtime pay for the working adults and employed youths. This meant good for all the industrious people of America, but as times get harder isn t money always the one to come up short? Minimum wage should be increased to $10.00 an hour for many reasons. First off, the wide epidemic of economic growth will lift the people a little above the poverty line; moreover, workers will be financially secured and finally this wage bump up will boost the governments financial system. Initially, million of Americans are considered the working poor and it is because of their status on the social ladder. Despite the amount of over time or extra jobs they are working they just won t make it above the poverty line. When this law was enacted it probably wouldn t have been for a person or a family to live a life of luxury, but it was enough to keep roofs above their heads and food on the table. As of the wage of today even if a person works full time or over time it would not make a difference at all how many hours have been put in it is still not enough to fulfill one s need and wants. As promised working in America had to be part of living the American Dream , which is working one for a decent paycheck that can be brought home and simultaneouslyShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Minimum Wage On The Society1207 Words   |  5 Pages Minimum wage is the topic I chose because there has been a controversy regarding raising minimum wage and the impact of minimum wage to the society. Whether it would aid workers or not. There have been arguments of laypersons of increasing minimum wage to a very high level and there are arguments against it. 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