Things Fall Apart :: essays research papers

After the stock market crash of 1929, hundreds of people ended their lives because they just couldn't cope with the fact that they had lost such a great deal of money. Some had lost their life savings - but most hadn't. In fact, most of them still had enough to live better than a lot of lower-class families. But why had they committed suicide? Many prisoners who have been institutionalized for thirty or forty years have been known to commit suicide not long after they are released. Why? Isn't freedom a better alternative than imprisonment? The answer to both these questions is the same: CHANGE. Even if the change is for the better, a good number of people can't handle it. In the novel Things fall Apart, the main character Okonkwo is driven to suicide by change he can't handle. The book is written by Cinua Achebe, a twentieth century author. Born in Nigeria, Achebe grew up in a transitional culture much like the one described in the book. He is currently a professor of literature at the University of Nigeria. Many factors can be attributed to the cause of Okonkwo's demise, But the three most drastic ones are: hisson's conversion to Christianity, the change in daily life the new religion brings, and his frustration caused by his apathetic clansmen. Nwoye's conversion to Christianity was a sharp blow to Okonkwo because the Christians are looked down upon as being insane. The missionary tells them that all of the Ibo's gods are false images of wood and stone, and can do them no harm. Upon hearing this, the men of Mbanta decide that 'these men must be mad [for] how else could they saythat Ani and Amadiora were harmless? And Idemili and Ogwugwo too?';(146) The missionary goes on to tell them about the Holy Trinity. 'At the end of it Okonkwo [is] fully convinced that the man [is] mad.';(147) Also, the first members of the new church were the clan's rejects, like Nnka who '[has] had four previous pregnancies and childbirths. but each time she [bears] twins, and they had been immediately thrown away. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and [are] not unduly perturbed when they [find that she has] fled to join the Christians. It [is] a good riddance.';(151) The other group of people that join are the osu, or outcasts. The changes the new religion brings almost pushes Okonkwo to the edge.

Bodegas Caballe – an International Recruitment Excersise

Case Study 2: Bodegas Caballe – An International Recruitment Exercise Bodegas Caballe – An International Recruitment Exercise Dear Mr. Caballe, Dear Bodegas Caballe Selection Committee, First of all we would like to thank you for putting trustfulness in our work as newcomers in your company Bodegas Caballe. After considering the commissioning letter and the four reports we have analysed them carefully to make a reasonable choice, who is the most suitable applicant. We established the following criteria to select the best applicant for your company: Nationality, marital status, current employer and position, reason for leaving, expected salary, educational background, language skills, professional background, further information and interview assessment. We have ranked each applicant from 1 to 4 in all criteria. On top of that we have evaluated the importance of each criterion for your company. Based on this we have multiplied the ranking with the quantifier. So in the end the best possible result is 1, while 4 is the worst case. In the following section you will find the explanations for the weighting of the criteria. We evaluated the nationality and the marital status as least important, because these criteria have no significance about an applicant’s qualities. The criterion â€Å"Reason for leaving† has more importance, due to the fact that based on this point general working attitudes can be assessed early and possible problems in business relationships can be foreseen. However this should not be the most decisive factor in comparison to other criteria. Your company proposes a yearly salary of $45000 – $60000. Therefore we quantified this criterion less important, because no applicant exceeds this limit significantly. The educational background has more relevance because it offers a first sight on the applicant’s knowledge. Hence, this criterion has middle weight importance for the assessment of the applicants. The further given information and the applicants’ interview outcome are of equal importance, because they indicate more information about the applicants’ personalities and characteristics. The language skills are of crucial importance. In consequence of your expansion to Central Europe and especially Poland, we expect good communication qualities in English and Polish. The current employer and position of the applicant is weighted as a significant factor. With the aid of this information you can tell if the applicants are able to represent the company and if they have sufficient abilities in the fields of coordination and management. The most essential criterion is â€Å"Professional background†. It describes working experience, market knowledge and external relationships that are of high relevance for the applicant’s position at Bodegas Caballe. Ranking chart The chart below shows the above mentioned criteria and their weighting-quantifier. Furthermore you can see the applicants ranking for each criterion in detail. The lowest row â€Å"Total result† shows the overall ranking. Criterion |Quantifier |Boleslaw |Maria |Sergei |Stanislaw | |Nationality |2,50% |1 |2 |4 |3 | |Marital status |2,50% |4 |2 |3 |1 | |Employer & position |15,00% |2 |4 |3 |1 | |Reason for leaving |5,00% |4 |2 |3 |1 | |Salary |7,50% |4 |2 |1 |3 | |Education |10,00% |3 |2 |1 |4 | |Language skills 12,50% |1 |2 |3 |4 | |Professional background |25,00% |4 |2 |3 |1 | |Further information |10,00% |3 |2 |4 |1 | |Interview assessment |10,00% |1 |3 |4 |2 | |Total result |100,00% |2,75 |2,4 |2,875 |1,975 | Discussion of applicants The results of our assessment show a great tendency towards Stanislaw Michalski. Maria de la Garriga is ranked second with an average score of 2. 4. The third position is held by Boleslaw Piasecki with a total result of 2. 75. The least qualified applicant with a score of 2. 875 is Sergei Nikitin. In the following sections each applicant will be discussed separately. We have an overall negative impression of Sergei Nikitin. He seems to be very dissatisfied with his current employer and showed unsuitable behaviour during the interview. Although he has a good educational background and experience as a sales representative that should qualify him to realize the expansion plans in Central Europe, his company does not want him as the manager of the sales team. So there must be a reason in his attitude or work that makes him less suitable for such an important position. He has the lowest expectations of salary with $45000, however his plans to move to the United States and his American working mentality do not fit into your company. Furthermore, his language skills are not optimal for a position in Central Europe and Poland. The third ranked applicant Boleslaw Piasecki has the best language skills among the four applicants and he made a good impression during the interview your company held with him. His current employer Torum Hotel and Restaurant and his position as the Manager of Catering Services and Purchasing seem to be rather fitting for Bodegas Caballe at first sight. But his rankings in the other criteria are mostly 3s and 4s. His reason for leaving indicates that he has very high expectations of compensations from his company. Therefore he wants to earn $65000 per year, which is above your limit of $60000. On top of that he demands commission, car and expenses from Bodegas Caballe. Especially his previous education and professional background as a priest and Ph. D. in history do not lead to choosing him, because it is rather unusual for the business world. The further information given on Boleslaw shows that he has overbearing manners and irregular working attitude. Maria de la Garriga is ranked second in almost every criterion, which would be a generally good choice. Her experience and position at the University of Cracow show that she did not work in the sales of wine and spirits for the last 10 years. But during the interview she made clear that she wants move into selling, because she is tired of the academic world. Her nervousness and little signs of arrogance appear as character weaknesses that may result in problems when entering a new market and establishing business relationships. Apart from that she has good qualities in various fields. She is capable of leading projects and has achieved great management skills in her position. For example she provided other universities with training programs. Her language skills of Spanish, Russian, English and Polish and her degree in Foreign Literature and Languages are suitable for the central European region. She expects a salary of $55000 per year, which is in your proposed range of $45000 – $60000. Moreover, she established good contacts with major retailers during her activities at the University. As stated above our preferred applicant for the position as the Sales Representative is Stanislaw Michalski. Although his educational background (High-school leaving certificate) as well as his language skills are not impressive, he has reached a high position on the career ladder and seems to enjoy a quite good reputation in the market. He started with merchandising, stocking and ordering, moved into buying as Assistant Buyer and is currently the Head Buyer of alcoholic beverages. This implicates that he has been always loyal towards his company. His reason for leaving Intersection Hypermarkets is perfect for Bodegas Caballe. He wants to move to Poland together with his wife and his four kids, which indicates that family is of high importance for him. His expected salary of $60000 for this position is also your proposed limit, which should definitely not be a reason for refusal. The extended information you provided on Stanislaw makes a great impression of his character and personality. He is involved into different cultural, ethic and public organisations, which shows that he can take over responsibility and reliability. He has great knowledge of and interest in Poland, so he will have no problems communicating and working in Poland. The evaluations and recommendations stated above should only be regarded as an advice for your final decision. Depending on how the different criteria are weighted, some deviations may occur. Nevertheless we think that either Stanislaw Michalski or Maria de la Garriga are the most suitable applicants for your company and the position offered, because both applicants convince due to their skills and attitude.

Human Society

In discussion of inhumane treatment, a controversial issue is whether animals are entitled to their rights. While some argue that only humans have rights, others contend that animals should have the same privileges as humans. The author of â€Å"A Change of Heart about Animals,† Jeremy Rifkin, claims that animals should have better treatment. Rifkin rhetorically changes one’s view on this subject without the consent of the reader. Rifkin begins by showing the animals’ human qualities, then giving a counter statement to common objections, and finally ends it by utilizing negative language. Rifkin’s expressive strategy is to note the similarities between animals and humans. Rifkin mentions Koko, a 300-pound gorilla. Koko was able to learn sign language and yet some people never even learn how to communicate in sign language. Rifkin also notes the similarity between rats and humans. He states, â€Å"Recent studies in the brain chemistry of rats show that when they play, their brains release large amounts of dopamine, a petrochemical associated with pleasure and excitement in human beings. Rifkin shows that not only do animals have the ability to learn the things we do, but also have some features that we do. After providing the analogy between the two, Rifkin anticipated that many people would view animals as one of them. The result is that to believe that animals are not any different than us, so they shouldn’t be in the brutal situations they face every day. It also, makes much more likely to accept the statement he makes based on the similarities he provides, that we must work to increase the benevolent treatment of animals. Among Rifkin’s subtly persuasive strategies is to denote the common objections and give a counter statement. Jeremy Rifkin for showing us that science supports what we pet owners and animal rights activists have known in our hearts all along: animals have feelings and abilities not very different from humans. When will more people begin to realize that we share this world with many creatures deserving of our care and respect? Animals have a right to live without being confined, exploited, and tormented.

Memoirs of a Geisha

I. Title: Memoirs of a Geisha (1997) II. Author: Arthur Golden (1957- ) III. Setting: a. Where: Gion, Kyoto, Japan b. When: Early 1900’s (1930’s, World War II) IV. Character and Characterization: c. Principal Characters i. Sayuri Nitta (Chiyo Sakamoto) Sayuri is the main character of the book. As a child, she always thought well of others. She has determination and does not give up easily. Her gray eyes are what make her stand out the most. ii. Mameha Mameha was a well-known geisha in Gion. She was Sayuri’s older sister (not by blood) and mentor. She taught Sayuri what she needed to do for her to become a successful geisha.She is very determined and would do anything to achieve her goal. iii. Hatsumomo Hatsumomo was a geisha of the Nitta Okiya, the same okiya that Sayuri came from. She boasts of herself and thinks that no one is better than her. She despised Sayuri and saw her as competition, which led to her numerous attempts to destroy Sayuri’s life. iv. Chairman The Chairman was the reason why Sayuri had a purpose to live, which was the result of his act of kindness to Sayuri when she was a child. He is a person who thinks of other’s feelings. As a geisha, Sayuri wanted nothing more than for the Chairman to take notice of her. . Nobu Nobu was the Chairman’s right-hand man, the Chairman owed him a lot. He is patient and kind. Nobu’s appearance is peculiar because of his skin which was damaged by a bomb. He fancies Sayuri and waited most of his life to become Sayuri’s danna. d. Secondary Characters i. Pumpkin Pumpkin was Sayuri’s friend when they were young. Their friendship was destroyed by Hatsumomo, who was Pumpkin’s older sister. She was sweet and very helpful at first, but was influenced by Hatsumomo. Pumpkin also became a geisha from the Nitta Okiya, but she was not as famous as Sayuri. ii. AuntieAuntie was the first person to show kindness to Sayuri when she arrived at the Nitta Okiya . She wanted Sayuri to become successful and to not end up like her. When Sayuri became a geisha, she continuously helped her through what she needed to do. iii. Mr. Tanaka Sayuri, as a child, idolized Mr. Tanaka and thought that no other man is higher than him. Mr. Tanaka was the person who offered Sayuri’s father to sell Sayuri and her sister Setsu. He was the reason why Sayuri ended up in Gion. iv. Mother Mother was the sister of Auntie and the owner of the Nitta Okiya. She was very fond of money and would do anything to become richer.She later adopted Sayuri as her daughter and as the successor of the Nitta Okiya. v. Dr. Crab Dr. Crab was one of the men who were attracted to Sayuri when she became a geisha. Dr. Crab is a kind of person who would let nothing to stand in his way. He is known for spending a lot of money in the pursuit of mizuage. V. Subject Matter: a historical fiction about the life of a geisha in Japan before World War II VI. Thesis/Main Idea: The story re volves around a girl whose life was transformed from rags to riches when her father sold her until she became a well-known geisha in Kyoto.VII. The Part I Like The Best. Why? I was thrilled the most when I was reading the part where the Chairman met Sayuri in the Ichiriki Teahouse after the incident with the Minister on the island of Amami. I was so consumed by the book since I badly wanted to know what the Chairman would say to Sayuri. Shock and disbelief came over me when the Chairman admitted that he knew Sayuri was the child he saw crying near the Shirakawa Stream. VIII. The Part I Like The Least. Why? I did not like the part where the war was going on and Gion closed down.I felt as if the part was not that significant to the main topic of the story and that the story would just have the same effect to the readers without it. As a reader, I thought that this was the dullest part of the story. IX. Vocabulary Improvement: 1. Geisha-(n. ) a Japanese women educated to accompany men as a hostess, performing different skills such as dancing and playing instruments * Most Americans confuse geishas as prostitutes because of the pretend geishas who called themselves geisha girls and sold their bodies to American soldiers in Japan during the World War II. . Okiya-(n. ) the lodging house in which a geisha lives until she has paid all her debts from the okiya for sending her to school * Mameha was a geisha who was allowed to live in her own house since she was able to pay off all her debts from the okiya she was from. 3. Danna-(n. ) a geisha’s patron, a wealthy man who supports the geisha’s needs in exchange for spending time with him privately * Nobu spent almost his entire life waiting to become Sayuri’s danna which unforntunately never happened. 4. Shamisen-(n. a three-string musical instrument that is played using a plectrum * Many geishas, if not all, were taught how to play the Japanese instrument called shamisen, which they used in performa nces. 5. Mizuage-(n. ) the coming of age ceremony of an apprentice geisha, usually associated with the geisha’s loss of virginity; a large sum of money is to be paid to the geisha in return for her mizuage * According to Mineko Iwasaki, the geisha Arthur Golden interviewed for his book, a geisha’s mizuage was never won by means of bidding.X. Brief Summary: Chiyo Sakamoto, a girl from a little fishing village called Yoroido, was 9 years old when her father sold her and her sister Satsu to a man named Mr. Tanaka. They were brought to Kyoto where Chiyo and her sister were separated; Chiyo stayed in Gion in the Nitta Okiya as a maid, whereas her sister was brought to Miyagawa-cho where she worked as a prostitute. Chiyo started going to school to become a geisha, but when she learned about her sister’s location, she went to look for her.When they met, they decided that they would runaway a few days after, Chiyo tried to runaway but failed, which caused her her school ing priviledges. As Chiyo continued to live as a maid, knowing that she won’t see her sister again, she felt as if she has no purpose in life; then he met the Chairman who treated her kindly, which gave her hope for a better future. After this incident, she wanted to become a geisha hoping that she would please the Chairman someday.Mameha, a well-known geisha in the Gion district, became her mentor and trained her to become a successful geisha; she then changed her name to Sayuri Nitta, of the Nitta Okiya. Though she had numerous admirers, she wanted no one but the Chairman to take notice of her; she strived hard to for this and in the end, she eventually learned that the Chairman acknowledged her way back then from the very first time they met. Memoirs of a Geisha â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha† is a book written by Arthur Golden. The plot takes place in Japan and tells us the story of a young girl; a fisherman’s daughter and her journey through life to become a famous Geisha, a Japanese female entertainer. The book describes the struggles of a young girl, Chiyo, who is abandoned; sold by her father. The story is told in flashback format with reference to the protagonist's present and past. The focal point of the story is constantly on the internal narrator, Chiyo, who later changes her name to Sayuri when she becomes a geisha. Sayuri, who is our protagonist, is eight years old and lives in the small fishing village of Yorido at the beginning of the story. She lived happily with her family until one day her mother becomes sick. Her father who is a fisherman can't afford the medical treatment of her mother. Seeing no other way out, he sells Sayuri and her clumsy older sister Satsu to Mr. Tanaka; the owner of the seafood company which all the villagers work for. Mr. Tanaka brings the girls to the cultural city of Gion. Satsu who is the less beautiful of the two is sold to a brothel while Sayuri is sold to the Nitta Okiya, a geisha house. At the Nitta Okiya she meets a number of different people. There is the owner of the Okiya who is referred to as â€Å"Mother†, a bull-dog looking woman, whose main concern is money as described by Sayuri. The main â€Å"Villain† of the story is Hatsumomo , a famous and successful geisha who lives in the same Okiya as Sayuri. Hatsumomo is the main resource of the Nitta Okiya since all the money she earns goes to support it. From the day Sayuri arrives at the Okiya, Hatsumomo dislikes her, she tries to make Sayuri's life as hard as possible. At first it is hard to understand why she has that kind of behaviour towards Sayuri but as the story continues we understand that it is all about jealousy. Hatsumomo can't stand that Sayuri is beautiful and sees that in a few years she might become a successful geisha unless she gets rid of her. Hatsumomo clearly states that she hates Sayuri and doesn't want her in the Okiya: â€Å"I shall destroy you† (pg. 78)1 Sayuri comes to the Okiya with a debt which she has to pay off. The debt just keeps getting bigger because she has to take geisha ‘lessons. Sayuri is taken out from geisha practice,e after several accidents, and made a slave at the Okiya. She has no hopes for her future when Mameha, a character who becomes very important to the story, comes to convince Mother to let Sayuri continue her geisha practice. She helps Sayuri throughout her career by introducing her to many famous and rich people who can invite her to their parties and by taking her to all important places where the big parties are held. Mameha gives her personal lessons and gives her all help she can and if it weren't for Mameha, Sayuri would never have become a geisha. Throughout the story we see how Sayuri's character changes drastically, from a simple and a naive country girl to a slave with no future to a graceful famous geisha and when the story turns again, a seamstress trying to survive the second World War. Although the story mostly concentrates on Sayuri and we get to know the secrets of a geisha's life, there's a lot more that can be learnt from the story. It tells us about the life in Japan before, during and after the Second World War. The story which is set in Japan wouldn't have existed if we were to set it elsewhere. Geishas are something unique to only Japan and can't be found in any other culture around the world. It tells us about the time before the war when everything was good. Sayuri mentions the war a couple of times, in the beginning but she talks about it as if it were something that was far off and didn't concern her. Then slowly she starts realising that the war is affecting them more and more when they start using ration books. Still, the reality of the war isn't realised fully by either Sayuri or the reader until it hits you in the face when suddenly the heads of different Okiyas are selling fancy kimonos and jewels at the black market for their survival. The book mentions real-life incidents such as the bombing of Tokyo and other big cities. It tells us about the problems that the people of Japan were faced with and how even graceful geishas are forced to become normal seamstresses, making parachutes for the war. The theme of the book in my opinion is first of all, the life of a geisha since it tells us about how geishas lived and what they had to go through. Arthur Golden takes us into an unknown world and reveals the secrets of what seems to us a glamorous life. The book shows that the life of a geisha is far from glamorous. Both in sense of the social problems they have to face such as jealousy from other geisha and the struggle to make a good reputation for themselves in order to survive and also personal problems such as those older geishas, whose skin has rotted and become yellow because of the paints they used, had to face. Another theme of the book may also be; destiny. Sayuri's destiny was to become a geisha no matter what came in her way, no matter how impossible it seemed at times, she finally succeeded in becoming a geisha and not just that, she even became a very successful and famous geisha of her time. When the book starts and we see the village of Yoroido through the eyes of a young innocent girl, you wonder ‘what does this little girl living in a small fishing village have to do with a graceful and glamorous geisha? It's almost as you wonder whether the title of the book is wrong. As the story develops, we see how Sayuri ends up in the cultural city of Gion, but then suddenly when the story turns again and Sayuri is made a servant at the Okiya you start wondering if the story will instead start focusing on Hatsumomo. The book is very slow and boring in the beginning, several times I thought of just putting it down but just then the story takes a new turn. It really tells about a life I knew nothing about before and got really interesting the further I got into the book. The author has tied in historical events into an interesting story reflecting not only the lives of geishas but also the lives of ordinary people of that time. I found the book very interesting and different but a bit slow. Since it is semi-reality based I would recommend it to people both my age but also older people. The story catches your interest whether you are young or old. I would give the book 3 out of 5 points.

CRM technologies paper (Customer Relationship Management) Essay

CRM technologies paper (Customer Relationship Management) - Essay Example Internet and telephones are helping the organization to build a good relationship with the customers. CRM is a vital resource for the organization. The main goal for the organizations is to convert customer relation keen on higher profitability by growing rate of repeat purchase as well as dropping customer purchase costs. CRM helps the organization in understanding the customer expectations and behaviors. CRM also helps the organization to focus on profitable customers who can obtain long-term profit. Digital transformation has fetched a huge and rapid reconfiguration and restructuring in present day business - the reformation of interaction, products as well as payments from the customers to the organizations and also from organizations to suppliers is generating much consternation and bafflement among the organizations decision makers. Managers in every organizational level are closely engaged in this turbulent period. They are being required to reconsider customary definition of competition, value and service. Certainly a method for this great alteration has been a volatile development of internet. Moreover, the internet adaptation as well as the technologies adaptation has changed the path that many of the businesses developed in terms of strategies, competencies and models. E-Business is the process and strategy of meeting business drivers and also initiatives with the technology drivers as well as information services especially relating the internet. It plays a crucial role to the organization for profit maximization and sustain in this dynamic world. It is a technology driven. It essentially increases the value of the organization. Customers are the essential part of the organizational vision and strategy. So, it can be easily said that building a long term as well as loyal relationship is a key to the profitability for the organization. Furthermore, modern technology has made a good classification in

Lawyering for a social change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lawyering for a social change - Essay Example ome aspects of economic, social or/and political status quo believing that the societal conditions hinder the participation and adequate benefits for the subordinate people. According to Professor Martha Minow, defines political lawyering as an art that involves exacting efforts by using the law to alter the allocation of power or change the society. She connotes law to encompass both the customs of opposition and authority arising from the public institution and the formal rules promulgated by the different branches of government (Loewy, 2009). Social connotes the important links between culture and politics where people shape their ambitions and awareness for the society. The change includes both the discrete alterations and the processes of continuing and refurbishing constant challenge. The first contention is the impact of political lawyering on the relationship between a lawyer and the client. The contention focuses on how the political lawyers can influence their clients and how they may elevate the advantages of the cause of the individual client. The institutional role of a lawyer is to immerse himself in the position of his client and forcefully represent that interest in a legal way as soon as possible. The state of being a legal advocate in the legal system where the causes are not chosen encourages a non-evaluative, non-critical and uncommitted condition of mind. Client-centered lawyering is a traditional model of the relationship between a lawyer and the client where the clients have to bear all the consequences of their decisions suggesting the best position in understanding both non-legal and legal importance of their choices. The lawyer always has a duty of counseling his or her clients in an efficient manner by assisting them to explore the results of their actions where they can be able to make best decisions, which will serve their needs. The second contention is the anti-majoritarian use of the courts. The contention is based with an idea

Feminism in Iran Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Feminism in Iran - Essay Example Such a rejection in Islamic societies is often associated with the fact that it is seen as being part of western, middle class ideology and a very negative aspect of modernization. Modern day Iran is a strongly fundamentalist Islamic nation, at least as far as those who control it are concerned, with only 2% of the population being non-Islamic. Of the Muslims 89% are Sunnis and the rest are Shia. Despite all the elderly clerics who the media seem to concentrate upon Iran is a relatively young country with a median age of 28.6 years and only 5% of people living beyond retirement age.( World Fact Book, undated) Both sexes average the same length of schooling, but men out do women as far as literacy rates go – a difference of 13.1% in 2002. (World Fact Book) . The women have comparatively few children compared with many other countries – an average of 1.88 each. This is in part explained by an infant mortality rate running at almost 10 times that of the United Kingdom (World Fact Book), but also be the easy availability of contraception. What the figures do not show is how a society that was privately patriarchal has now become publicly patriarchal. Has women’s position really been changed as the post revolutionary state put in place a strongly patriarchal system of legislation – or is it just that the control over women has become more public – as the picture at the head of this piece seems to show? Less than 4 weeks after the downfall of the ruling family and the exit of the Shah, Khomeini was launching an attack on female Iranians. His timing was important - the eve of International Women’s Day - this was when he demanded a strict observance of Islamic dress codes.(Shahidian 2002, page 112) In June 2009 there were elections in Iran. The two main contenders were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the pro- polygamy incumbant, and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a more liberal thinker who had vowed to remove laws which were oppressing women . However he did not win the election . In the period immediately followin g the Second World War many Islamic nations embraced modern , Western inspired ideas. ( Haddad and Esposito 1998, page ix) .These ideas included such things as educational patterns, legislation and social codes. Mnay women stopped wearing the veil and became increasing involved in public activities, and to a certain extent barriers between the sexes were