Presidential approval rating is a very important benchmark for presidential success or failure in the United States. Predictable argument has it that economic performance is a key factor in determining the ratings of a sitting president. An underperforming economy thwarts the chances of any incumbent president to be re-elected (González-Bailón et al 121-143). This paper takes issue with this conservative wisdom. It establishes that while both unemployment and inflation are statistically important determinants of presidential approval, their significance is not practical and economical. In this study, the researcher wanted to measure President Obama’s approval rating and hence determine how he compares to other presidents. The poll thus compares President Obama to all other presidents since the time of Franklin Roosevelt. It allows current trends interpretation with regard to Obama’s presidency and compares it to others.
The focus of this poll was to measure President Obama approval rating of the way he is handling his presidential job and the way his presidential performance compares to that of the previous presidents. This would give the correlation between his performance and his popularity rate as an analytic tool (Silver 1). In trying to answer the question, ‘Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?’, it becomes possible to use an equation that acts as an influential factor in the prediction of presidential popularity. The rating of presidents indicates the percentages of people responding to opinion polls in approving how the presidents perform at their jobs. The numbers are important as they try to provide theories and guidelines employed by incumbent government and the opposition as well. The poll results give an insight suggesting the thinking of voters; hence influence the process of campaigns and potential voters.
Poll Question
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?
Poll Objective
The general objective of this poll was to measure President Obama approval rating of the way he is handling his presidential job.
Historical Trends
Obama’s Presidential Greatness
President Obama’s standing in polls has evolved just like most of his predecessors in the ratings. A poll conducted by Gallup in February 2011 established that Americans who viewed Obama as the greatest president ever were 5% of the population. One year later, the same poll found that 10% of population considered Obama an outstanding president. On the other hand, 60% believed Obama would finally make history as an average, below average or poor. Scholarly studies have shown inconsistencies. Siena College Institute Survey conducted the earliest scholarly poll that included Obama in 2010 and it ranked him as the 15th greatest American president (Real Clear Politics 1).
How Obama Compare to the Other Presidents
According to a poll conducted by Weatherford (22) of American Political science association on the topic President Obama’s current place in presidential history, results of the survey included findings similar to other previous polls and other exiting evidence.
(González-Bailón, Sandra, Banchs & Andreas Kaltenbrunner 23)
Methodology
Study Population and Sampling Technique
The researcher employed Probability sampling to select 20 domestic undergraduate students from Saint Louis University who participated in the poll. Selection focused on Simple Random Technique and the sampled population participated in the poll. In order to minimize gender bias in the participation, the population study equally distributed owing to the fact that no gender in the university obviously superseded the other.
Sample Size Determination
Sample size was drawn purely from students in the Saint Louis University. The poll used fisher et al method of 1998 to establish sample size given that the poll had less than 10,000 respondents. The formula below was used:-
n = Z2pq/d2
Given that:
n = desired sampling size > 10,000
Z = Standard normal (95% df) is 1.96
P = Population
q = 1 – p
d = Degree of accuracy at 0.05 for 95% df
p = Proportion of objective population projected at 0.30 confidence level
q=1 – p
q=1 – 0.06
q= 0.94
The sample size was 20.
Data Collection Procedures
Collection of data in the poll was verbal and aided through a tape recorder. The poll data was evaluated quantitatively taking into account the primary data collection method used.
Collection of data from Obama’s approval rating poll done in one day following the small sample size used and the small study area involved.
Results and Interpretation
Below are the results of the poll based on the poll question: ‘Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?’
Approve – indicates poll voting of those who were satisfied with Obama’s job.
Disapprove – indicates poll voting of those individuals not satisfied with how Obama is running the United States.
No.
Data 11/9
Approve
Disapprove
1
Male
Approve
2
Male
Approve
3
Male
Disapprove
4
Male
Disapprove
5
Male
Approve
6
Male
Disapprove
7
Male
Disapprove
8
Male
Approve
9
Male
Approve
10
Male
Disapprove
11
Female
Disapprove
12
Female
Approve
13
Female
Disapprove
14
Female
Disapprove
15
Female
Disapprove
16
Female
Disapprove
17
Female
Approve
18
Female
Disapprove
19
Female
Disapprove
20
Female
Approve
Only 40% of the sampled population approved Obama’s presidency in the rating. That was represented by 3 female and 5 male. A number of observations related to the results of the poll merit further discussion. First, linear regression modeling was used to estimate the influence of Obama’s greatness to his last presidential campaigns. This analytical tool has power to estimate the effect of a predictor variable on a dependent variable when other variables are controlled. Second, linear regression analysis requires that each factor examined in a model have a base reference group/factor. The reference factor used against the president’s rating is the overall performance in office.
Regression based on collected data gave the equation,:
Approval Rate: 40%
Disapproval Rate: 60%
Conclusions
Findings revealed that there is a close relationship between the polls and previous conducted polls. The sample used revealed valid results though it was too small to give a representative opinion of the entire United States population. These results on presidential approval rate however, impact significantly on the presidential campaigns in the USA. The concept appears to be true in other nations and states with similar government structures. The findings of this poll calls for further research into other vital factors that would influence the leadership of a country. Citizens engaged in these polls need further monitoring in an attempt to determine important aspects in the political development of an individual country. Based on the results, it is clear to see that Obama’s rating is a result of his contribution to the growth and development of the United States.
References
González-Bailón, Sandra, Rafael E. Banchs, and Andreas Kaltenbrunner. “Emotions, Public Opinion, and U.s. Presidential Approval Rates: a 5-Year Analysis of Online Political Discussions.” Human Communication Research. 38.2 (2012): 121-143. Print.
Real Clear Politics,. ‘Realclearpolitics – Opinion, News, Analysis, Video And Polls’. Realclearpolitics.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa>
Weatherford, M S. T. E. P. H. E. N. “The Wages of Competence: Obama, the Economy, and the 2010 Midterm Elections.” Presidential Studies Quarterly. 42.1 (2012): 8-39. Print.
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I decided to take my poll at the star buck’s cafeteria. The respondents in my approval poll were twenty; eight out of the twenty were black students, four male and four female. The other twelve were Whites six ml end six females. The sample of twenty is for College students, this means that they are below the age of 21. In my poll I relied that it was easy and accurate to get information from the students who sat lone that those who were sitting as a group of friends. Friends tend to influence our decision making process. Out of the twenty, one student said that she did not wish to participate in the poll since she did not care about politics. One male student however was not sure whether he wanted to approve or disapprove since he had to make choice he chose to approve.
The results of the poll were as follows, eleven students approved Obama’s leadership, and nine students disproved of his leadership. Although the female student did not care about politics she chose to approve of the Obama’s leadership. Out of the eleven who approved, six were black and the other five were Whites. Out of the nine that disapproved, six were whites and three were blacks.
When asked about their reason for disproval or approval, the reasons were quite similar. I found out that the students who sat alone in the Cafeteria gave very few reasons than those who were with friends, because they kept on repeating what the others had mentioned earlier. The reason for approval were that Obama made better policies for studies especially for the international students another reason is that better pay for casual jobs, since they are students they needed to sustain themselves. For those who disproved, their reasons included, immigration laws although most could not explain what they did not like bout the current immigration laws. Other reasons related to the price of essential commodities such s food and housing, they said they spent larger portion of their money on rent and buying food. The males who approved of Obama’s leadership all but one mentioned better education policies. The female on the other hand mentioned immigration matters. The female who did not approve mentioned food and rent issues while the male cited general economic issues.
The Poll results
Respondents [Students]
Approve
55%（11）
Disapprove
45%（9）
Gender Results
Male（10）
Female（10）
Approve
40%（4）
70%（7）
Disapprove
60%（6）
30%（3）
Students Results
White（12）
Black（8）
Approve
50%（6）
75%（6）
Disapprove
50%（6）
25%（2）
Historical Trend
In the Gallup Poll Obama has an approval rating of 67 percent at the beginning of 2009. As time passed by the approval rating stagnated between 63.4 percent and 60.9 percent in the fourth quarter, early 2010. In June 2010 the approval rating decreased to 54.8 percent. In March, 2013 the approval rating went to 55.5 percent. As at 2009, 88 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of independent and 4 percent of Republicans approved of Obama leadership. In 2015, the approval rating of Obama dropped to 48 percent in September with only, 49 percent disproval, 83 percent Democrats approval, 10 percent Republicans and 47 percent Independents. The average approval rating of Obama is t 48 percent.
Compared with Presidents before him, Obama’s approval rating is quite low. When leaving office George W. Bush approval rating was even lower than Obama, he had rating of 32 percent. Clinton on the other hand, had higher approval rating of 60 percent when he left office in 2000. George H.W. Bush had an approval rating of 43 percent when he left office. Ronald Regan registerd higher approval rating t the end of his first term in office, the rte however reduced to the end of his second term in office. Looking t the disproval rating, the disproval rating of Obama has increased from the fourth quarter of his term in office. He registered the lowest disproval rating of 3 percent in 2009. In July 20, his disproval rating was 48 percent higher than the approval rating of 44 percent at the time. I have realized that 2011 was not good year for Obama since he registered the higher disproval rating than his approval rating. The last quarter of 2013 was also not good year for Obama. As recent as October, 2014 Obama registered higher disapproval rating of 55 percent higher than his approval rating. In September 2014, Obama disproval rating was one percent higher than his approval rating. I would attribute this high disproval rating to unsatisfactory result by Obama.
The high approval ratings of Obama are from his party. The approval ratings are high in the early years of his term in office fluctuating between 77 percent and 90 percent. The Republicans do not seem o like Obama’s leadership style, since they give him an approval rating of 41 percent and the rte keeps dropping, in my 2010 for example the approval rating drops to 4 percent and in October, 2010 the rating is 7 percent. Another lower approval rating is registered in 2010 at 6 percent. The Republican’s approval rating in September 2015 stands at 10 percent. The approval rating for George Bush from the Republicans is higher and that from the Democrats is lower, I would say it is the opposite of Obama approval ratings.
The independent on the other hand, give Obama an approval rating of 62 percent t the beginning of his presidential term. The rating starts to drop in 2010 where they give him an approval rating of 45 percent. In 2011, the rating drops to 35 percent, in 2012 it starts to rise again and hits 51 percent in December. The approval rating of independents does not seem to vary much when compared to the previous presidents. For instance, George W. Bush has an approval rating of 53 percent at the beginning of his term, in 200 he registers the highest approval rating of 83 percent higher and at the end of his term he registers an independent approval rating of 22 percent. Eisenhower is the only President who registered higher Independents approval rating of 6 percent at the end of his term. Clinton’s approval comes close to Eisenhower’s t 59 percent independents approval rating at the end of his term. Like George W. Bush, Truman has a lower independents approval rating the end of his second term in office. It is clear that the high approval rating for Obama are from the Democrats while the high disapproval rating re largely from the Republicans.
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Prompt: Write a paper of interpretive literary criticism on The Beetle by Richard Marsh, quoting liberally but judiciously from the novel both to support your points and to give you more material to closely analyze. This essay of also requires that you make use of the Tyson chapter on Postcolonial theory, and this will help you decide which significant aspects of the long literary work to focus on. Quote from Tyson also as you define and apply Postcolonial concepts such as imperialism, colonialist ideology, othering (demonic and exotic), Eurocentrism, Orientalism, double consciousness, unhomeliness, subaltern, and cultural imperialism.
Discussion: Postcolonial Criticism is a theory for analyzing the effects of colonialism and imperialism, primarily in the literature of formerly colonized peoples, although it can also be applied to any literature that contains colonialist or anticolonialist ideologies. Since the theory calls into question the ideology of imperialist cultures, it can analyze the literature of those cultures, such as The Beetle. The theory also examines issues of power and its effects on knowledge and psychology as they influence and determine identity. This too makes The Beetle appropriate for postcolonial analysis.
As Tyson says, “novels reveal the ways in which historical reality is not something that happens just on the battlefield or in the government office. Rather, historical reality comes into our homes and affects our personal lives in the deepest possible ways.” This serves as a precise synopsis for the events in The Beetle in which history is depicted invading the private lives of characters with very public consequences.
Below, I have selected and adapted some of the “questions postcolonial critics ask about literary texts” that Tyson includes in her chapter. I have retained her numbering and left out some from her list that do not apply to our selected novel. In focusing your essay and thesis, you may choose a question from this list, a combination of questions, a part of a question, or a new question that you develop on your own.
According to Tyson, “most postcolonial analyses, regardless of the issues on which they focus, will include some attention to whether the text is colonialist, anticolonialist, or some combination of the two, that is, ideologically conflicted.” I suggest you use this question as the starting point for developing your analysis of the novel.
1. How does the literary text, explicitly or allegorically, represent various aspects of colonial oppression? Special attention is often given to those areas where political and cultural oppression overlap, as it does, for example, in the colonizers’ control of language, communication, and knowledge in colonized countries.
3. What does the text reveal about the politics and/or psychology of anticolonialist resistance? For example, what does the text suggest about the ideological, political, social, economic, or psychological forces that promote or inhibit resistance? How does the text suggest that resistance can be achieved and sustained by an individual or a group? And in reversal of question 1 above, how is colonizers’ control of language, communication, and knowledge threatened and undermined?
4. What does the text reveal about the operations of cultural difference—the ways in which race, religion, class, gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs, and customs combine to form individual identity—in shaping our perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live? Othering, both demonic and exotic, might be one area of analysis here. Anxiety about threats to Eurocentrism and universalism might also be explored.
7. How does the text represent relationships between the characters it portrays—for example, culturally dominant characters, subalterns, and cultural outsiders—and the land these characters inhabit? Does the natural or supernatural setting change over time and, if so, what causes it? Does the narrator’s or character’s attitude toward the natural or supernatural setting change over time? What kinds of relationships between human beings, nature, faith, and magic does the text seem to promote?
8. How does a literary text in the Western canon reinforce or undermine colonialist ideology through its representation of colonization and/or its inappropriate silence about colonized peoples? Does the text teach us anything about colonialist or anticolonialist ideology through its illustration of any of the postcolonial concepts we’ve discussed? (A text does not have to treat the subject of colonization in order to do this.)
9. Does the literary text express Orientalist views, either in the pronouncements of its characters or through the allegory of its plot development? Does the text use Orientalism to reinforce a positive national self-definition for Western nations? Does the text depict the projection of all the negative characteristics Western nations don’t want to believe exist among its own people onto characters from Eastern nations? Does the storyline show any acts of military or economic aggression to be justified by Orientalism?
Audience: As always with literary criticism, this is a critical paper, not a book review. You can assume your audience has read the poems, so there is no need to waste space with summary of them.
Purpose: Since this is a critical essay, you will need to find repeated patterns in the poems that support your interpretations and readings. Keep in mind, while there is no one “correct” reading to a poem, story, play, or novel, there can be many wrong ones. It is not “all up to one’s interpretation.” You need to find multiple citations from the text to support your analysis.
Format: Essays for this course must use MLA style formatting and citations. Failure to use MLA or excessive errors can result in a failing grade. The MLA style guide, any good English manual (like the Diana Hacker series), or the OWL at Purdue website (owl.english.purdue.edu) can give you help on using this style correctly.
Highlights include:
All essays must be typed and double-spaced
Margins must be 1-inch on all sides of the page. Align the left margin only.
Use 12 point Times or Courier font
On the first page (only) type your name, professor name (“Smith”), course number (English 110 plus section number), and date at the top left corner margin 1″ from the top of the page
On each page put your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner outside the margin, ½” from the top of the page (most insert page # commands will default to this placement)
The title (not underlined or italicized or in quotes) should be centered above the first paragraph
Proper MLA citations for all sources (for this essay, the poems and the critical theory book as well as any historical sources)
A Works Cited page
WRITTEN ESSAY
The Beetle and Postcolonial Criticism
Colonists had severe impacts on the natives of the nations they colonized felt even after their departure considering they were extremely oppressive as they applied outrageous actions to gain and retain control over their colonies. The colonists applied various techniques to conquer their colonies such as cultural inversion, psychological inversion in addition to physical torture. The Beetle, by Richard Marsh, through the protagonist brings out the monstrous practices by Britain nationals on their colonized subjects mirrored in the Beetle’s deeds against her victims. It expresses the horror of colonial exploitation as well as the fear and pain of foreign imperialism indicating a situation of reversed colonization clearly doubting the notion associated with the absolute termination of colonial manipulation since the oppression by colonists seemed to be continued by those colonized. This paper looks into colonialist ideologies, cultural imperialism, orientalism as well as othering and the consequences of imperialism on the colonized subjects both psychologically and physically attributed manipulation such as identity crisis as expressed in the Beetle and echoed by Lois Tyson in her book, Critical Theory Today.
Colonization contributed to identity crisis among the colonized subjects since their sense of belonging was compromised as a result of their adoption of Western ideologies and appearance. The colonized subjects find themselves outcast of either side, their native societies or the Western tradition. Realignment of their beliefs and practices with those of the colonists associated with colonial cultural and psychological inversion that contribute to their yearning to be white which is disapproved due to their appearance. For instance, the Beetle develops a desire for the white skin thus her resolution to terrorize them. The Beetle longs for a white skin so that she can be able to walk across London fearlessly without being viewed as the racial other considering she has adopted the ways of the colonists yet she is still unable to fit in because of her yellow skin as implied by Marsh (55). The beetle shows interest in being white when she tells Holt she would like to have his skin. British rejection of Westernized Eastern natives seems to be driven by the threat they represent the Victorian national identity taking into account the fact that the subjects after realignment no longer fit into their expectations of the colonized other thus would compromise the power relationship between the two sides that English desired to maintain as implied by Tyson (123).
Post-colonialism through the colonized subjects tend to bring out evil traits Western nationalities tend to associate only with the Eastern nations yet exist among themselves as well as claimed by Tyson (146). However, the Beetle attempts to replicate the British outrageous actions of imperialism by dominating and exploiting the English natives exposing behaviors they deny exists in their society yet are English oriented. The Beetle represents Westernized Eastern natives that were probably educated in Britain thus taught to think and act like westerns thus suffer psychological inversion as they learn to emulate the English in every sense considering she resides in London poorest district reserved for the poor and immigrants thus any behavior exhibited by her reflects the British character whether moral or immoral. Therefore, her evil actions of kidnapping, sexual assaults, and theft however motivated by a desire to revenge implicate the British powers as equally evil. For instance, Marjorie exhibits exploitive traits since her desire in assisting Holt tends to be for her own benefit and not out of sheer empathy for a fellow being as she helps him only after she realized Holt knew Paul, her fiancée as indicated by Marsh (164).
Imperialism is also an element of post-colonialism associated with total control and oppression of the powerless. Imperialism is clearly brought out through reversed colonization in the Beetle presenting a situation where colonial manipulation is far from over considering people experienced oppression under western colonial powers or at the hands of the colonized subjects as echoed by Tyson (149). The Beetle constantly undermined a fundamental aspect every English individual desire to have control over, themselves, since she dominates her victims by rendering them powerless over their own will-power and exploits them. In this manner, Victorian citizens got to experience fear, rage pain and anxieties attributed to oppression by imperial power like they did to the Eastern nations. Therefore, the text echoes the dreadfulness of colonial exploitation as a way of creating awareness. For instance, most of the characters in the novel feel the horror resulting from cruelty at the hands of the Beetle. Paul, Marjorie and Holt, unfortunately, fall victims of the Beetle’s harassment exercised by gaining total control over their bodies and minds and exploiting them sexually at their most vulnerable moment a strategy popular among imperial powers. This horrible experience leaves them traumatized as Marjorie is indicated to have gone insane for some time (Marsh 205).
Post-colonialism is often associated with cultural inversion pertaining to norms governing gender and sexuality as claimed by Tyson (153). The Beetle’s defiance of gender norms is considered outrageous as it undermines gender and sexual identity as defined by British imperial powers thus bring out conflicting perception of gender performance and sexuality. Considering British view of women as objects to be controlled and used in fulfilling sexual fantasies, indicated by British colonizers tendency of sexually assaulting Native women, the Beetle depiction as sexually different which is unacceptable creates fear among the British, who despises her in return. Presentation of a dominating, powerful woman in the Beetle constantly mistaken to be a man demonstrates contradiction and heightens the English unacceptance of gender equality. Marjorie’s character of being independent as she tends to defy her father and her dressing in men’s clothes under the Beetle’s influence also poses a threat to the British foundation of culture and expectations of gender roles challenging their ideology of male dominance and control as suggested by Marsh (241).
Post-colonialism present the notion of othering in which colonized subjects are perceived, categorized and treated as the other in every sense. For instance, the Beetle criticizes racial stereotyping of the other that forms the basis of harsh judgments passed against colonized subjects by the British. The characters in the Beetle constant reference to the Beetle as the oriental solely centered on her appearance since she is perceived to look more like the Orient man other than an English man. The characters apply their establishment of the Beetle as an Oriental from Egypt in unfairly categorizing her as a criminal even before they got to know her and may be precisely one of the factors that drive the Beetle’s rage towards them clearly confirming their ideologies by carrying out dreadful activities against them that are considered evil by Victorian standards as implied by Marsh (116).
Post-colonialism is further characterized by mixture of Eastern mysticism, culture and science seen in the fear of Eastern mysticism by the Western nations as it was considered extremely powerful and evil thus their desire to eradicate Easter mysticism using science innovation. The Beetle seems to possess the ability to change forms, most of the time appearing as a man, attributes to magic from the East. In addition, the Beetle’s possession of mesmeric power poses a great threat to English citizens as it enables her to penetrate the protagonists’ consciousness and body symbolically stripping them off their sense of autonomous enabling her to demonstrate superiority like she does to Holt as indicated by Marsh (69). Apart from the fear of inversion by creatures in possession of metaphysical powers, their evasion of destruction by scientific invention poses a greater threat since the English rely on science as solutions to their problems. For instance, the Beetle dies from a train crash but not from Atherton’s scientific invention intended to destroy her as implied by Marsh (145).
In summary, Marsh in his book, The Beetle explores elements of postcolonial practices such as imperialism, cultural inversion, otherness and orientation that tend to disrupt Victorian England’s view of race, imperial relationship as well as gender and sexuality. The beetle, through the antagonist, explores the anxieties, fear, and pain experienced by Victorian citizens as a result of reserved imperialism perpetrated by her as she confronts them with the realities of their own awful conduct towards the colonized subjects. The Beetle further brings out the identity crisis colonized subjects whose beliefs and customs have been realigned with those of Europeans suffer considering their failure to fit anywhere and their desire to identify themselves with the white who constantly treats them as the other and passes harsh judgments on them based on their racial otherness. Victorian society is further threatened through cultural inversion based on reversion and defiance of gender roles by a female, the Beetle, abolishes the British ideology of male dominance and control. Therefore, the text explores in depth how the colonial powers feel about their interaction with their colonized subjects regarding their expectations that forms the basis under which the colonized other are perceived and treated in Victorian society.
Works Cited
Marsh, Richard. The Mystery of the Beetle, Or, the House with the Open Window. Cleveland: Arthur Westbrook, 1912. Print.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
Augustine’s book of Confessions begins with an account where he praises the Almighty Father. He says that by calling the name of God and recognizing His presence, he indicates that human should have faith that God that exist since; they cannot rely on the Supreme Being they do not know. He mentions the characteristics of God as being powerful, good, perfect, and unalterable. The main for his confession is to call God to intervene in his life. The notion of this paper is to discuss the pre and post-confession life of Augustine and the entire process of his conversion
Augustine designates his conversion as a process of redemption from the manacles of lust. His main pursuit was the carnal pleasure, which had the main features of joy. His hunt directed him to sexual promiscuity, leaving him unmarried but with a woman in the place. Augustine spent his life with one woman whom he never married. He ended up with an experience of the difference between sexual desire and the covenant of marriage (Augustine & Outler, 2002). The Saint argues that worldly preference is non-interminable and goes against the will of God. The disagreement came after the conversion from Manichean, which questioned the power of God, to Christianity.
God intervened into Augustine’s life through the story of confessions of Ponticianus and Simplicianus. He got the knowledge the deformations situation in his heart. The confessions showed him the mighty work of God his the life of his people. The Saint received the Holy Spirit, which moved him the carnal of the pleasure of the spiritual birth canal. In his writing, “You changed me to your object so that I can never place my hope women and earthly things,” he shows how God converted him to desire for holiness but not pleasure (Augustine & Outler, 2002). He encompassed the anointment, became attached to Christ, to enjoy the magnificent and everlasting joy.
The Life of Augustine before and after Conversion
Augustine’s desire to know God and His actions began in his infancy when he fell sick and wanted to go through spiritual baptism. According to stories from his parents about him, he hated attending school forcefully since he never liked Greek and the mechanics of Latin. Wills (2011), explains that informal education focuses on immoral fictions, which leads an individual to various forms of temptations. The knowledge obtained from this style of education, made Augustine move away from God. Even though he had commendable talents, skills, and abilities, he always found himself in troubles. He was vulnerable to mistakes at home and in school. His attachment and attraction to the beauty of the world lured him to believe in the truth provided by earthly desires.
Augustine dirges over the unfilled education at his childhood, which focused on imaginations but not the moral behaviors. His training involved the influence of verses to yield sensitive rejoinders in spectators though the results are immoral to them. Augustine & Outler (2002) discloses that without the involvement of moral content in education, the outcome separation from God and human entrapment. He gives a description of himself as a liar, thieve, and a little boy who snitches from his friends for personal gain. These faults are major evidence of the foundation of his sinful life from childhood, making him lack the description of an innocent child. However, during his infancy, he was intelligent, had good memories, and always seek for the truth about life.
Augustine’s school life clogs him into carnal pleasure and assumes the agonies associated with love. The experience of reading the book of Cicero: Hortensius changed him to direct his love towards philosophy and real wisdom. His main objective career was becoming a lawyer. After first, he resisted peer pressure and focused on his studies. He tried to be rigid to his sexual desire and the impulse to love, which lacked a meaningful direction. Wills (2011), adds that lust is an excessive admiration and selfish desire towards anything, not necessarily flesh. Theses lustrous feelings are the major factors that kept Augustine away from doing the will of God.
The account of sexual sins in the life of Augustine is the created part of confession. He had a huge difficulty in differentiating between physical and spiritual love. Physical love works to satisfy human lust towards flesh while spiritual love comprises companionship, healthy friendship, and heart fulfillment (Wills, 2011). He uses his psychological uprightness to identify his major problem as showing off to his friends about sexual exploitation. Augustine’s parents reacted in a dissimilar way: his mother became worried about his new sexual actions while the father had much pride in him.
The Saint continued his education, where he excelled at school. At his adolescence, he meandered from the will of God by following immoral teachings in the education curriculum. Augustine and his friends broke into a store and stole pears in large quantity. He was never angry for pears but was under the influence of the teaching in Manichaeism that triggered to do mistakes and joy provoking other people (Augustine & Outler, 2002). He relished the act of doing group mistakes and claimed that it added fun to his life. He often used his intelligence to manipulate a group of fellow young men to participate ill in-group motive. However, he writes this was a trap into misdirection to the beauty of the world, which separates the body from the laws of God.
During the adolescent stage, he committed other sins such as lust and love of doing mistakes. Lust refers to love that point in the wrong direction. It is a disordered effort to pursue consummation in passing objects that can never earn real gratification. Augustine had last for women since he never committed into a relationship with the aim of getting into marriage. Besides, the love for doing a wrong thing without any reasons was also part of his youthful sins. These actions showed his lack of reasonable inspiration for his actions. According to Wills (2011), every crime has a motive including greed or other self-interest. The ill actions of the Saint lacked the motivation of crime as he did them mainly for enjoyment.
At early adulthood, he completed his education process and obtained a job. He earned untruthful careers including a rhetorical teaching and Manichaeism (Wills, 2011). He later got into a sex oriented relationship with a woman, whom he lived by her better never mention her in public. During that time, he taught his students how to deceive others with the words from Manichaeism. Contrary, he sometimes teaches virtues as a moral practice among humans. He hated certain rituals such animal scarification to spiritual beings to for his success.
According to Augustine’s book of confession, the mythological aspect of Manichaeism that believes in astrology such as the sun and the moon for intervention. He believed in rationality, which does not appeal to spiritual beings. In his argument that believing in astrology repudiates people from making their choices freely, was to indicate that the practice is contradicting that of Christians (Augustine & Outler, 002). The result of this hinders the intervention of the Supreme God’s greatness and undervalues the upright accountability of human. Augustine emphasized on human reliance on the Almighty God and His elegance for salvation.
Augustine loved the power of truth and good will. During his teachings, he tells his students that he values virtuousness. Augustine & Outler, (2002) supports the point that it is proper to free a guilty criminal than pronouncing an innocent man to the death sentence. He was against the sacrifices made to the spiritual gods: and condemn it as an evil practice. He added that the practice was mythological. For instance, Manichaeism’s astrology that the sun and moon have their spiritual role were some of the myths accomplished. Augustine treasured rationality, where he argues that natural order is a reflection of the divine order of God. He described astrology as violating the belief of Christians since it denies people choice of freedom. “If stars control human behavior, the people are not responsible for their sins,” (Wills, 2011).
For Augustine, he would rather acknowledge scientific findings of philosophers than the myth observed by the Manichean. His doubt directed him to a Bishop from Manichaeism for further explanations on the astronomy. He began losing hope in his religion since he was never certain the astrological myths followed. He says that, even though the scientific findings are non-religious, they hold better meaning compared to the Manichean myths (Wills 2011). Simple faith is much important that great knowledge without spiritual acceptance. He later points out that all those scientific knowledge are useless without the Christ interventions.
The failure to understand that reality about spirits is more powerful than physical authenticity made the Saint shift from reading Christin scriptures. The mythology of Manichaeism was multifaceted enough to convince his inappropriate laboriousness (Augustine & Outler, 2002).The determinant of righteousness and evil depends on the unalterable commandment of God but not the customs of dissimilar places or duration. In his mission to seek for the truth, Augustine considers the nature and origin of sin. He argues that sin originates from curiosity, lust, and pride, and take diverse perspectives. Some sins upset the law of God while some affront human being by inducing pain and suffering to them.
During his teaching in Rome, he listened to Bishop Ambrose’ sermon, which gave him the better interpretation of his doubts. He realized that his actions were a great influence to some of his friends, even though they never adapted the confused world of Augustine. The worldly pleasure such as leaving with a concubine hindered him from dedication himself to God. His church members encouraged him to marry so as avoid sexual lust for women. The suggestion forced him to send away the women he had. The arrangement for his wedding came to cancelation after they realized that he was still young (Augustine & Outler, 2002).
In his mission for seeking for the truth about the nature of God and the origin of sin, he began to see the work of Christ in people live. According to Wills (2011), sin began from the corrupted nature of human towards others. Having read the Platonist, he gained the ability to read and understand the truth in the Bible. He finally became a Christian in his heart but was still unable to give up the pleasure of the world. That is when he visited Simplicianus: who shared with him the confessional stories of two people. The stories moved him to accept baptism and leave the worldly life. He noted that the recovery of lost faith was possible through God’s intervention.
The letters of St. Paul assisted Augustine to surrender his old life and join the work of God. The “take and read” voice helped him to make his final decision to change his life (Wills, 2011). The shame of the inability to follow the new way of Christ become so complex to Augustine since he had a divided argument about God. Together with his great friends, they received the Spirit of God after their long desire. He had to quit his profession as a teacher so that he could find it easy to avoid the carnal pleasure that he made part of his joy. Augustine concluded that faith could give one back what went out of their control.
The Hedonism in Augustine’s life
According to Wills (2011), Augustine’s life what dominated by carnal pleasure from his childhood. Hedonism refers to the feeling that pleasure is the most important objective in life and the act of perusing the joy accompanied by its outcome. He began by doing mistakes at school and home, not because he was stubborn. He enjoyed seeing people’s reactions towards his actions. At adolescence, he started feeling in love without recognizing whom he loved. He later ended up falling in love with a concubine, whose was physical satisfactions and joy. The unique characteristics about him were that he enjoyed the hedonistic behavior of causing troubles to others and watching them suffer. After accepting Christ in his life, he still could not seize the life of leaving without a woman nor sex, thus pushed him to get married.
Conclusion
The confessions about the entire sinful life of Augustine indicates the long process passed by the people of God to turn to him. During confession, the sincerity allows for repentance and forgiveness of sins. Augustine’s story gives a clear picture of the contemporary practices of our churches today. Human being finds the pleasure of the world more enjoyable than leaving life the spirits of God, thus making them seize to change. If someone noticed that self-dedication to God has all the benefits, they would never waste time in lustful life controlled by the devil. God give human the opportunity to gain the experience in their sinful life so that they can voluntarily turn Him in times when he is the only one who can intervene
Reference
Augustine, S. & Outler, A. C. (2002). The confessions of St. Augustine. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications.
Wills, G. (2011). Augustine’s Confessions: A biography. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. P.p. 146
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
Clinical research studies are invaluable in enhancing evidence-based medicine as well as finding a resolution to medical challenges but are the most regulated type of research. Clinical trials tend to put the lives of individuals at risk thus the necessity for their close monitoring and regulation; a role played by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and ICH. The development of the clinical protocol is the initial step and the basis of clinical research study thus vital. The two bodies have set out standards that have to be accounted for in the design of clinical protocols with the main purpose of safeguarding the participants. The rules and regulations are founded on a concern for people’s welfare, justice and respect hence ensures that corporations involved in clinical research do not place their interests before people’s safety and dignity. The utilization of FDA regulations and ICH guidelines consequently enhances transparency and accountability thus safety and trust.
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The Role of Preclinical Studies in Guiding Clinical Trial Development
Clinical researchers are expected by FDA and ICH to describe clearly how the clinical trial will be carried out. The clinical design protocol is supposed to provide information regarding aspects of the research that concerns and affects the participants. For instance, they ought to indicate the trial’s goals and objectives, methodology, quality control and assurance, safety and efficiency assessment, and the selection and exclusion criteria among others. The complete disclosure of relevant information that participants hold important to their wellbeing that assists them to make informed decisions regarding participation is an ethical demonstration of respect as required by FDA. The major aim of these guidelines and rules is to protect the participants’ welfare both emotionally and physically. They do minimize exposure to exploitation and risks associated with the intake of harmful substances during the research thus ensuring safety as indicated by Gallin & Ognibene (2012).
Nwabueze (2013) claims that utilizing ICH guidelines as well as FDA regulations in the clinical protocol design is vital in ensuring the participants’ safety and wellbeing. The ICH guidelines on the basic specification that should be included in the clinical trials’ design protocols such as methodology and quality control as well as assurance enhance transparency and accountability thus aiding to gain participants’ trust consequently increasing the level of participation motivation in providing honest data. The guidelines also act as a reference during the clinical protocol designing to ensure basic aspects are not forgotten. The application of ICH and FDA regulations aid in the appropriate evaluation of possible risk thus promoting safety and avoiding a possible lawsuit in case the trial goes wrong. The incorporation of ethical standards ensures the integrity of the data collected and preserves human rights thus encouraging participation as implied by DeRenzo & Moss (2006).
In summary, clinical research is the most regulated type of research because they directly concern human health thus risky if not regulated due to the possibility of exploitation that may result in the loss of lives. Therefore, the guidelines by ICH ensure that the clinical protocol is designed appropriately with a clear description of major research elements thus helping to minimize omission of those research aspects. Similarly, FDA regulations focus on safety and ethical standards about respect for human life which if considered would enhance transparency and accountability creating trust thus improving the level of participation as well as ensuring individuals’ safety.
References
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (2013). Open Access Policy.
Chow, S.-C, & Chang, M. (2007). Adaptive design methods in clinical trials. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Council for International Organization of Medical Science. (2002). International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. Geneva.
DeRenzo, E. G., & Moss, J. (2006). Writing clinical research protocols: Ethical considerations. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic.
Gallin, J.I., & Ognibene, F. P. (2012). Principles and practice of clinical research. Amsterdam: Elsevier/AP.
Harmon, D. E. (2002). The Food and Drug Administration. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.
Machin, D., & Fayers, P.M. (2010). Randomized clinical trials: Design, practice, and reporting. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
Meinert, C. L. (2013). Clinical Trials Handbook: Design and Conduct. Baltimore, MD: Wiley.
Nwabueze, R. N. (2013). Legal and ethical regulation of biomedical research in developing countries. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate.
With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.
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