Arab sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates Essay Example for Free

Arab sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates Essay Dubai is one of the seven Arab sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates (U. A. E. ). Before oil and gas were discovered in 1958, it was among the very poor sheikdoms under British protection and was once called a Trucial State. Today, their sheiks are independent and among the world’s richest men, with a gross annual income of $25. 7 billion. It has vast reserves of oil and natural gas (Ibrahim, 1982). The land is mainly salt mashes, barren desert, and sandy plain. Oases stud the desert areas. To the east, the mountains lie close to the sea. It is also famous as having the highest cost of living in the world – the cheapest apartment rents for $1,000 per month (Peck, 1986). The Emiratians (Dubai people) used to be pirates, fishermen or pearl divers, nomads or oasis farmers. Most are now wage earners or businessmen who feel more conscious of a national identity as a rich and important country. They are famous for two unique sports: (1) camel races, and (2) falconry. Colorful music, dancing and singing also give life to this otherwise dry place. This area of Gulf was notorious for piracy. They preyed on the trade between Europe and China. The British came in 1806 and started to impose oder against the Arab pirates. In 1853, piracy was finally wiped out when the sheiks signed the Perpetual Maritime Truce Agreement with Britain. Thus, the Pirate Coast became the respectable Trucial States (Seale, 1988). Today, Dubai is the largest commercial center and the nerve center for smuggling Western currency, gold, and other goods into the Indian subcontinent, especially Pakistan. Dubai is also the outlet for capital fleeing Afghanistan and Iran. One phenomenon of the oil boom was to fill Dubai’s population (like that of Kuwait and Qatar) mostly with foreigners. The majority of the population or around 50% is Indo-Pakistani outnumber the native Arabs, who populate the land by only 42%. The large foreign population (mostly migrant workers) are lured to Dubai by the high salaries, welfare benefits, and rapid development. To keep discipline, the governing Arab sheiks have emphasized Muslim (Shariah) law, religious education, and the observance of Muslim practices. The Muslim rulers and people are Sunnis, strongly influenced by the strict Wahabi sect of neighboring Saudi Arabia (Peck, 1986). Diplomacy, national security, information, communications, health, education, and the budgets of the three smaller emirates are decided by the federal government. The local sheiks retain control over policy within their emirates. The laws of Dubai (under the United Arab of Emirates) are divided into two main categories: union laws and decrees. A bill drafted by the Council of Ministers for non-binding deliberation by the Federal National Council and then submitted to the president for his assent and the Supreme Council of the Union for ratification becomes a union law when promulgated by the president. Decrees are issued jointly by the president and the Council of Ministers between sessions of the Supreme Council of the Union. As the final say is always on the Supreme Council of the Union, a decree must only be confirmed by them to remain valid (Ibrahim, 1982). Dubai’s political system, which is a unique combination of the traditional and the modern, has underpinned this political success, enabling the country to develop a modern administrative structure while, at the same time, ensuring that the best of the traditions of the past are maintained, adapted and preserved (Ibrahim, 1982). Relations with the other members of the U. A. E. have not always been smooth. The discovery of a big natural gas field in Sharjah reopened a border dispute with Dubai. In November 1982, Dubai sent tanks to the border to prevent Sharjah’s foreign contractors from drilling the field (Seale, 1988). However, not all is coming up roses for Dubai. Bad planning and extravagance have now caused new miseries. In fact, the most outstanding examples of ill-conceived investment in the Arab world are found in the Dubai ports and so-called international airports stand cheek to cheek. Within fifty kilometers of its coast are three major ports, including the Mina Jabel Ali, the biggest manmade port ever built. Its sixty-seven berths are now suffering terrible losses. Being a member of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has an international airport of its own, making cynics joke that the state boundaries end where the next runway begins. The headquarters of the Arab Monetary Fund in Dubai have polished one-way windows done with gold compound (Peck, 1986). References Ibrahim, Saad Eddin. (1982). The New Arab Social Order: A Study of the Social Impact of Oil Wealth. Westview Press. Peck, Malcolm C. (1986). The United Arab Emirates: A Venture in Unity. Westview Press. Seale, Patrick. (1988). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press.

People for Gun Control Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Example Essay

People for Gun Control The recent events that has happened, such as the school shootings and all the violence seen on television, has without a doubt made many of us consider gun control as a possible solution to the violence that has spread across the nation. On the other hand there are other ways to reduce the violence besides using gun control to do that, which are teaching proper gun handling and making mandatory licensing to obtain a gun. With gun control laws the government is putting the average citizen in harms way by taking there gun away from them. More important that gun control is gun safety. People need to learn not only how, but also when to use a gun. Most of the people who go out and buy guns usually don't have the proper training. This is dangerous for them and the people they interact with. There are to many people that treat guns as toys, and forget their killing power. Gun owners need to learn the responsibility that is needed to own and handle a gun. As Carol Simmons once stated, "It strikes me odd that a person has to take a test and get license in order to drive a car, but they don't have to take a test or get a license to purchase a gun. Maybe if such enforcement's were implied and enforced there would be no need to limit the purchase of guns."(Simmons 4) A person must also purchase a hunting license, which gives them permission to use the gun for hunting, but that doesn't mean that they know the proper and safe way to use it. Gun control was designed to protect citizens from criminals who should not have a gun in the first place. But only 27 percent of criminals who are in prison for crimes involving guns have obtained them legally. (Bogus 188) If criminals can get guns illegally n... ...rue gun control lessons the amounts of guns on the streets, but it takes the guns out of the hands of responsible owners, not from criminals. Illegally purchased firearms can't be regulated and these are the guns that are doing most of the killing. By placing a block on legal purchasing the government is denying the common citizens the ability to protect themselves. It seems such a shame that one would have to die because the government wouldn't allow them to have a gun. The emphasis of gun control should be placed on teaching gun safety to those who haven't already had any experience and licensing those wishing to use there firearms and putting stricter regulations on criminals and criminal acts with guns. By doing so, the government would be helping the average gun owner learn what his of her mistakes might be, and keep some of the deaths by guns occurring.

Psychology of Personality Essay

The method by which a person can seek to be successful in the varied areas of their life, can be pin pointed to how well a person is aware of them self. To be more specific, the person needs to have an understanding of self-awareness and the connection it has to success. â€Å"Self-awareness is fundamental to self-leadership. Leaders who have mastered self-awareness are realistic and accurate when they assess their personal strengths and weaknesses.† (Watson, 2004). Thereby self-awareness comes from knowing what are the personal strengths and weaknesses we have as it relates to the areas of our lives such as with family, work and school. Based on my desire to better myself in the different areas of my life, I seek to identify the abilities and skills I hold strongest, discover the areas I am weakest in and define how I can go about in making improvements based on my findings. During my readings at the University of Phoenix, I arrived at discovering learning styles and how understanding your own style can be the key to grasping control of a successful education. The process of which touched on the subject of self-awareness and how assessment tests could help you to reach the level of understanding needed. In chapter 2 of â€Å"Keys to College Studying: Becoming a Lifelong Leaner† (Bishop & Carter & Kravits, 2002), it was stated that, â€Å"Many different kinds of assessments give people a method of self-discovery, providing different means of exploring strengths and weaknesses, abilities and limitations.† (p29). After completing a couple of assessments as covered in the chapter, I found myself to have a logical and adventurer personality style with strengths in being skillful in a variety of fields that make use of my abilities to organize materials logically, explain things in sequential order, analyzing information, and hands-on problem sol ving to name a few. These strengths are not only evident in my line of work as a welder, but in the way I live my personal life and the way I interact in with my learning team members. Along the lines of an old commonly known clich & eacute;, for every positive there is a negative, I learned that just as I have good personal strengths, there are as well weaknesses to bare. â€Å"Human strengths are as real as human weakness, so say history and science.† (Lopez, 2003, p. 5). Among my weak points are the lack of being musically talented, sociable, and even though  being skillful in various fields can be a strength, there is a high sense of pride from doing good quality work, that if not controlled could feed an ego rush that may rub off the wrong way for some people. In addition, while there are strengths to being an adventurer personality type with a desire to be involved in an action-packed environment that is on the constant go with a taste for the variety of things that can be done. The down side comes from the intense want for a personal life, work and school environment that can fulfill that diversified need. Overall weaknesses can be problematic and t he thought of there being kinks in somebody’s armor, can bring a persons moral down. However, it needs to be understood that it is human to have weaknesses and that weaknesses can be strengthen. Among the various study materials I’ve read, in addition to discovering both personal strengths and weaknesses, there was as well supporting information on how a person can go about improving their weaker personality styles. The website for Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2006) defines the word improve as, â€Å"2a: to enhance in value and quality: make better.† (Definition 2a). That enhancing of value and quality is precisely what I seek to accomplish in my areas of home, work and school which I plan to make better so as to improve my overall life. Over and again, in my readings, it was commented that a person should make use of their personal strengths in order to support and improve on the weaknesses. As thus, by taking what I have come to learn about my personality style and in seeking courses, training, self-help books and kits tailored to my learning style on subjects that cover those areas I am weak in, will it be possible for me to improve. Of course, only through practice on top of more practice shall I be able to truly make improvements to my weaker areas and in time when I reassess my personal strengths and weaknesses will I be able to tell where I stand. Anyone with a good understanding of his or her self-awareness, thus knowing what his or her own personality style is, can very well hold the key to having a successful life. So in knowing what your personal strengths and weaknesses are, will you be able to know what type of classes will suite you best in school, what type of job would you be best fitted for at work and understand what reasoning there is behind the way you live your personal  life. In discovering my personality style was I able to grasp an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses I hold, which has allowed me to go forth in using my strong points to over come my drawbacks. In time with practice shall I be able to strengthen my weak points and perhaps one day reach, a level of equal enlightenment between the various personality styles. References: Bishop, J. & Carter, C. & Kravits, S. (2002). Learning Styles and Self-Awareness. Keys to College Studying: Becoming a Lifelong Learner. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 2002, pg. 29. Lopez, Shane J. & Snyder, C. R. & Rasmussen, Heather N. (2003). Striking a vital balance: Developing a complementary focus on human weakness and strength through positive psychological assessment. Positive Psychological Assessment: A handbook of models and measures. 2003, pp. 3-20Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2006). Improve. Retrieved March 6, 2006, from http://www.webster.com/dictionary/improveWatson, Liana (2004). Self-leadership: Becoming an Exceptional Leader. Radiologi Technology. Iss. July-August 2004, p457.

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