Service project final report

As mentioned before, the responsibility of our group was to remodel a couple of the rooms at the shelter. We are to paint the rooms, add items to the rooms such as desks, stands, comforters, bins, frames, and other accessories. Dr. Guy estimated that we should be done with everything by 3:30 pm. With that said and considering how ecstatic the shelter was about our handiwork, it would be safe to say that this portion of our project was a complete success, especially with how everything turned out as well as the estimate of our completion time, which was right on the dot. Usually with projects, there are some sort of setback but in this case, the only failure would be, well, none. In my opinion, the project turned out better than expected and I'm sure other class mates would agree with that.

This project is a result from one of the many problems that go on around the globe; in this case, domestic violence. We know that global problems are experienced by countless countries, all with similar problems; hunger, thirst, violence, domestic violence, corruption, abuse, sex trafficking, drugs and much much more. We also know that the potential of local solutions are well within the public's grasp. We know that the public, though not all, is willing to lend their skills to help. Take our project for example, just explaining the cause and purpose, gave people a legitimate reason to help; whether its by donating what they can or contributing their skills.
I believe the foundation of any potential local solution would first have to capture the public's awareness to that situation for then, would the solutions affect of the solution take flight.

We know that the general public's knowledge of domestic violence is present, but the fact that it is a troubling subject and actually putting the solution into play is what makes it difficult. So then what good is local action? In actuality, those that want to make a difference will make it happen, i.e. us, and taking into account how successful, appreciated and how much awareness we spread about this subject, we can say local action is very effective and valuable. We, one class, with planning, a few days to collect donations, and a single day to make this project happen, made that much of a difference. Now imagine if ten, a hundred or even 1000 classes took that kind of action towards a much troublesome global issue; then would there be any question if local action is valuable of affective. To put in perspective, if we can not cure, locally, the same issues the entire globe copes with, how can there be changes. I guess you can say that it is equal to working our way from the inside out; Metaphorically speaking, one can take down an empire by working from the inside and I believe that is the magnitude of the potential of local solutions.

So with all of that thrown out there, i would rate my share of the project with perhaps a B+

The Industrial World

As a generation well past the industrial Revolution, I can only understand what effects it had back then and the foreshadowing it gives to today's generations. I nor our generation do not experience the various health issues, disease infested villages/cities, or contaminated water, the basic after math of industrialization still remains, survival. Because of that, Engle's and Chadwick's account only re-enforces what i and probably others understand of it so there was no surprise to how conditions were. Though the idea, of the extent of the problem does surprise me. And that would be the reason that makes me question Europe's Industrial revolution principles.

It is because Engle is the son of a manufacturer that makes his excerpt recognizable as well as Chadwick's; Engle experienced what became of the revolution sort of speak. They both show their concern with how they proposed the problems the public faced. For Engle, his first hand experience and witness is what makes it legitimate. However, it does seem as thought they are biased, based on the notion that there seems to be a collection of negative impacts by the revolution. Then again, that is the reason for these accounts - motivation from the revolution because of the revolutions impact. Engle and Chadwick's motivation in writing is to improve the system so the fact that it is trustworthy is reasonable. Not only that but the idea of industrialization comes with these effects. That can be compared to with the issues that Rukmani and her family had to deal with.

What similarities do the industrial working class and urban poor of our modern era show? As difficult as it may seem to expose, we actually share too much to be a modern era that is different from back the,n. Rukmani and her family barely made enough to make ends meet, which evidently means hunger. As for Rukmani's daughter Ira, she would rather resort to prostitution to of course make money than to accept the idea that she is starving, an undignified idea. Because of that, she bears a child and therefore cannot work. Not only that but one of Rukmani's son, resorts to thievery and Rukmani, believing Kunthi is stealing food almost resorts to murder. Does any of that sound similar to what our modern era poor class have to deal with; hunger, prostitution, murder, thievery, young motherhood, etc? Though we may not have to deal with the sanitation issues as mentioned by Chadwick and Engle nor the epidemics, contaminated water, and millions of deaths (only in America) that resulted from that, it is the key idea of surviving that pushes the similarities between the earlier industrial working class era and our modern class poor era which is way too close to consider the difference in time.

Project Resposibilities and Outline

Paige, as the chair of the shelter portion of our World Civilization project and I as co-chair intend to "better" two rooms in the women's shelter. We intend to, prep the rooms for a new paint job, paint the room, and after it dries, decorate it with a general theme. But since there are others in our class that are more experienced in the areas of what we intend to do with the room, we left those parts to certain people; the painting supplies to Dr. Guy and Juan and the docor portion to Barbara.

I will most likely be there all day so i will coordinate the moving around of the furnitures before the painting and after as well as keep everything on line along with Paige since there is going to be people coming and leaving. Quite possibly I might have to monitor the dog kennels and/or the painting since they should be running at the same time. If all goes well and we have enough people, the room renovation should run smoothly.

Muslim faith

The Muslim faith is fairly related to many other beliefs in the case that the people believe and worship one God known as "Allah." When translated, the word "Islam" is equivalent to peace and submission so in this case, Islam refers to the Muslims that submit to the will of God. They are directed and guided by the words of the Qur'an (kor-ran), much like the bible. In this book are the religious words believed to be the revelation of God, revealed and translated by the last prophet of God, Muhammad, who is also the founder of the Islam faith. Muslims believe that those who live accordingly to the Qur'an are true Muslims. They are very strict with their actions due to the fact that most everything they do, they do with dignity and honor to bring glory to God. Many of their beliefs are very similar to other beliefs; for example, they pray but for five times at a specified time. Another point would be to abstinent, basically no sex before marriage. To go even further, they reject pork. This is because pigs are known to be dirty and live in their own filth so eating pork would make impure.

This faith is divided into two main groups, Sunnis and Shi'ites, much like how Christians, Catholics and Protestants are subgroups but all believe in the same basic principles. So Sunnis and Shi'ites share the same Islamic faiths and the 6 articles of faith; God, Angel, Scriptures, Prophets, Resurrection and Divine Creed. So what is the difference? Both groups believe that the Islam faith stemmed from different origins. Not only that but after the death of Muhammad, confusion took hold since he was the last prophet and left the people on their own so something must be done. Therefore, the Sunnis believe that a new Muslim leader should come forth and inherit the leadership role and a respected, trusted conservative elected by the council was chosen; Abu Bakr took the role as the first caliph. The Sunnis believed that the first and upcoming three caliphs was rightfully chosen. Of course the Shi'ites did not agree with that state of mind. They felt that someone of blood, of family should rightfully inherit that role as the Muslim leader.

Boruque Art

Baroque art was first established by the Catholic Church in Europe. This form of art reflected a contrast between light and dark. It appealed to the emotions of that specific piece of artwork or the art works message, such as that of "The Last Dinner."





Baroque art is the type that takes your breath away because of its size, materials used and nevertheless the ridiculous price. Therefore, one can tell that the main purchasers of these pieces of art would be those who were in high standings...monarchial figures or nobility. These days, when one tries to show off their wealth, one would own a mansion, a Ferrari or even own an island but back then having Baroque pieces of art was their way of showing off their significance. This style emphasized how complex, exquisite, brilliant, significant, and how ridiculously detailed each art piece was.




The Meritime Revollution was a time of new discovery, and Boroque art was one aspect that came from it or rather the Europeans spread the art form from when they colonized. During this time, the people began to not need the church because, in a religious point of view, according to Martin Luther, the people can get their own salvation through a relationship with God. Because of that, the Catholic Church needed money due to the fact that since the pope made money off the concerned about their souls though indulgences, they now need to find a new way.

Baroque art, reflected change; change in how the church manifested its power through their baroque architectures built from money made off of the people. Through this, the Church tried to re-establish its role in society. This form of art reflected an overall change with technology (compass, ships, sails, and astolobe), the people's religious perspective, society, agriculture (new methods of shipping crops, new fertilizer, productive land, and new crops) and the environment. All of which were motives of exploration.

Joys of Motherhood Alt. ending

Nnu Ego is a mother that has attempted sucide after the death of her first born child. After a divorce that resulted from that death, she remarries to Nnaife but he moves from job to job. He however, leaves money for the famliy. Nnu Ego soon has another son and twin girls. During this time, she has to deal with competition from another women Nnaife inherited from his brother, Adaku and tensions ruin high. Nnu Ego is able to adhere some income from her cigarette stand but it is not enough to provide for the family as well as Adaku and at the same time care for her children. Nnaife is forced into the army, but still sends money and to make matters worse, Nnu Ego has not been getting the stipend. As time passes, her sons realize the importance of education and puts their ambitions over family traditions and accept the opportunity to go to America for the education. Not only that but Kehinde, one of her daughters become "rebellious" In the end, Nnu Ego dies a lonely, sad death, never having to experience the motherhood she wanted but her oldest son, Oshia returns to properly bury her.

To certain extents, if there were micro-financing there may and very well could have been a very different ending for Ona, Ego's mother. She could have had the money for proper maternal care. Since she died giving birth, the money from her business that came from micro-financing could have made things better. Who's to say that if she alive, Ona could have helped Ego in some way to to where she did not have to die a lonesome death.

For Ego, so many different endings come to mind. She had her own stand and was able to provide some income but with microfinancing, she couldve have avoided malnutrition for the family. She could have been the head provider and in turn, Nnaife would not feel as high and mighty to where he would accepted another mate, Adaku. Ego could have had the opportunity to send her kids to school and keeping Oshia, Adim and Kehinde from being compelled to leave because of their ambitions. However, what may be the most significant change maybe the respect of her children; her children may actually care for her well-being. She gave everything and gained nothing. She dreamt of how miraculous motherhood would be but never experienced it but the chance was quite possible with micro-financing.

What crosses my mind as well is her children's ambitions. Even if the financing does change the ending for Ego, one cant help but wonder if their ambitions would run as deep. She may be able to experience motherhood with financing but would the better lifestyle, colonialism, and expectations to adopt the changes that was brought over, drive their ambitions just as it did without financing? Her daughter wanted to choose her own mate so regardless of lifestyle, she would have that same mentality. With micro-financing, Ona may have had a better ending and for Nnu Ego, there were certain aspects that would have definitely looked bright but there are some parts, i believe, that would not change regardless of "what if, what could or what may have been."

Articles Comparison

For Aljazeera, many of their front page stories are concerned with the middle east or the east completely. As mentioned in class, violence around the world is normalized and top stories are focused on that as well as politics. Despite that fact, there was a coverage focused on the well-being of the blue-fin tuna in the Mediterranean and the issue of overfishing. Evidently, there is some variety in their news but only a minute part. Their news coverage, do cover media in Africa, the Americas, Pacific Asia, Europe and the Middle East but again it deals with violence so information towards those stories are biased. Coverage of other media is quite limited compared to The Guardian and The New York Times. Throughout the three news source, few of the same stories are in unison. For example, the NATO investigation of a jet bombing was mentioned in this source and NYT. What could be pointed out is Aljazeera is biased against many other countries along with the U.S.

As for The Guardian, they give a more diverse set of sub-categories of media and they are not as biased toward one section of the world as Aljazeera (Middle East) or The New York Times (U.S.). The Guardian's coverage is very global; covering from the Congo's children to Russia's battles to a global stimulus package to something as insignificant to many as the death of an author/playwright/ journalist. With one of the few stories such as the sinking of a boat in the Macedonian Lake. Whats interesting is, these sources have limited similar stories. Nonetheless, this source seems more varied, unbiased and globalized than ALjazeera and The New York Times.

The New York Times, similar to The Guardian, has a variety of sub-categories of media but with one set back - many of the stories are U.S. related which leads me to believe they are biased. For example, one of the top stories is about Roger Federer's victory, which is not at all significant compared to what else is going on in the world. Their coverage - Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle Eat is limited compared to The Guardian but the other sub categories are quite informational but also biased towards the U.S.'s perspective.

Telling Prof. Guy about myself

First off, my name is Anh but i prefer Nick....that makes it easier for the both of us. History may not be my strongest area but i find it interesting, plus later on in life i wont sound ignorant talking about how or why something happened and explain it the wrong way. I am a very Godly person and i try to live everyday for God. Most everything, if not everything about me revolves around the previous statement. One of my favorite songs would have to be "The Altar and the Door" by Casting Crowns:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7HkcxkUOjI&feature=related