Case Analysis Cornwell Glass Essay - 822 Words

Case Study: Cornwell Glass Introduction Aggregate Planning strategies have helped us in analyzing the case of â€Å"Cornwell Glass†. The data from the case study was utilized to assess the considerations of the economic benefit and availability of resources in providing the best strategy recommendation. The limitations in each plan were considered and the case was then evaluated. Cornwell is a glass manufacturer, with a variety of different glass in its production. The company utilizes an advanced forecasting system that uses data from past years to find seasonal factors and long-term trends. The current system yields data from its previous weeks to find the most recent trends. The following table presents the forecasted demands for the coming year on a weekly basis. Forecasts have been provided to show Cornwell Glass’ production planning, with demand for glass quantified in pounds. According to the forecasts, there is a clear abundance of seasonality in the demand pattern. This will be one of the considerations for Cornwell in its construction of a production plan for the following year. Cornwell must be cognizant of the costs of its employment, from its hiring processes to its termination alike. The holding cost for glass is $0.12 per pound per week, and the company concluded that the cost of a late order is $20 per pound per each week that they’re late. Cornwell currently calculates each hire at $5.63 per pound (this being hinged on trainingShow MoreRelatedSolving the Puzzle of Jack the Ripper1510 Words   |  7 Pagesmurders to one killer, analysis reveals that six of them display similarly rare crime characteristics: mutilation of genitalia, prostitute victims, and posing of bodies (Keppel, et al. 18-9). Five are commonly attributed to Jack the Ripper (1-2). Though they may not have been well known in life, these women—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catharine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—would be discussed for the next hundred years. What is it about these cases that have captured theRead MoreSuspended Solid Experiment2744 Words   |  11 Pagesimproper management of solids within the system can result in process failure. The amount of suspended matter in wastewater increases with the degree of pollution. Sludges represent an extreme case in which most of the solid matter is suspended. The determination of suspended solids therefore valuable in the analysis of polluted waters. It is one of the major parameters for evaluating the strength of domestic wastewater and for determining the efficiency of treatment units. One critical concern for bothRead MoreOperation Strategies for Coca-Cola vs Pepsi Companies to Attract Their Customers10701 Words   |  43 Pagesimage(Gwinner, 1999). More specifically, strategies that are aimed at increasing brand recognition, are typically employed using a wide range of advertising tools which are designed to expose the sponsoring brand to as many potential customers as possible(Cornwell, 2001). However, certain factors such as the sponsor industry and company size influence the choice of sponsorship activity and thus the objectives vary between companies. For example, m anufacturers often look for extensive publicity opportunitiesRead MoreCost Accounting134556 Words   |  539 Pagesfor COST ACCOUNTING Creating Value for Management Fifth Edition MICHAEL MAHER University of California, Davis Table of Contents Chapter 1 Cost Accounting: How Managers User Cost Accounting Information Chapter 15 Using Differential Analysis for Production Decisions Chapter 2 Cost Concepts and Behaviour Chapter 16 Managing Quality and Time Chapter 3 Cost System Design: An Overview Chapter 17 Planning and Budgeting Chapter 4 Job Costing Chapter 18 Flexible Budgeting

The Purpose of the Literature Review - 730 Words

The purpose of the literature review is to identify and highlight the important variables, and to document the significant findings from earlier research that will serve as the foundation on which the conceptual or theoretical framework for the current investigation can be based and the hypotheses developed (Cavana, Delahaye Sekaran 2000). This stage is important to convince the reader that the researcher is knowledgeable about the problem area and has done the preliminary groundwork to conduct the research, and also that the conceptual framework will be built on the solid foundation of existing knowledge The literature review has emphasised on the importance of four major and common factors in regards to managing knowledge work, that†¦show more content†¦KM activities are the overall organizational activities that positively affect performance. 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Knowledge processes can be defined as a structured coordination for managing knowledge effectively, typically, knowledge processes include activities such as creation, sharing, storage, and usage. The measure of performance represented the degree to which an organisation achieved its business objectives. Measures of performance outcomes may include individual, team, and organization in terms ofShow MoreRelatedAbstract. The Purpose Of This Literature Review Is To Compare1120 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract The purpose of this literature review is to compare the benefits and risks of electronic health records (EHRs). This literature review has provided different journal articles to compare the risks and the benefits of having electronic health records in a hospital. Some of the articles believe that the use of EHRs in a hospital will be more effective and helpful while others suggest that the use of EHRs in a hospital will not be beneficial due to the complications that may arise with it. 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Prevention of the Environmental Pollution

Question: As an environmental consultant, your role is to provide guidelines and information on issues related to the impact of the present transportation systems on the environment, in general, and the local populations, in particular. Analyse and discuss how this kind of impact can be prevented, if not, minimised. At the same time, link the most efficient approach in implementing renewable energy systems such as biofuel production and electricity generation to be used for the new transport system you are presently advising and supporting to replace the old one. The new system should confirm to sustainability in relation to the economic, social and environmental issues. By doing so, you may need to establish a monitoring scheme and an enforcement programme. Provide a critical analysis related to the present system: Harmful Waste Materials Air Pollution Noise Land Take Answer: Introduction Now days the pollution of the environment has increased in a rapid manner. The transport system has the great impact on the pollution of the environment because of the burns of the petroleum product. Due to this impact of such a huge range of the pollution the health issues also becomes the matter of concern. The impact of the environment is categorized into three categories (Triantis and Maddox, 1956): Direct Impacts: Under the direct impact it includes the recent consequence that affects the environment in a very maximum rate. Indirect impacts: The indirect impact is the secondary impact of the environment due to the environment. The consequences of the indirect impact are much powerful in nature than the direct impact, and the effects of the relationship are misunderstood and also become the matter of the difficulty to establish. Cumulative impacts: The cumulative impacts concern both the direct and the indirect impacts of the environment which is the indirect multiplicative of the both the direct and the indirect impact (Patricios and Stretton, 1980). The main approach to this assignment focused on the impact of the environment. It mainly includes the transport related environmental issues like the noise pollution, air pollution, reduction of the harmful waste materials, land take, etc (Ameh, 2014). Harmful Waste Materials The modernization and the rapid growth of the world have both the advantages and the disadvantages. In the disadvantage part, the main issues of the concern are land, air, and water. The solid waste material that causes the harmful effect on the environment is mainly the solid waste materials of the industry. The exposure of these harmful wastes, which cannot be decomposed affect the human health. As a result, it can cause the serious diseases and on the other side it is the environment issues that can lead to the chemical poisoning of the environment. Under the topic of the harmful waste materials, there come some of the points as the waste materials of the agriculture and the industries which obstruct the flow of the water resulting the formation of the stagnant water. It becomes the good place of the breeding of the deadly diseases. Direct disposal of the untreated substances from the industries to the rivers, seas results in the accumulation of the toxic substance and after that it becomes used in our food chain because both the animals and the plants are served with this water. Disposal of the waste materials of the hospitals to the environment can create the serious health issues. These types of the waste come from the laboratories, hospitals, health care center etc. In these waste materials it includes the disposal of the used syringe, bandages, plaster etc. In the prevention of these harmful wastes to cause the dangerous impact on both the health and the environment there should be needed for the implementation of the waste treatment plant so that after the disposal of all the industrial waste can go to these plant so that the treatment can be done so that it cannot effect the environment before coming in contact with the environment. The waste materials should be disposed of to any of the particular areas so that it cannot effect the environment and after the disposal it needs to be filling that dumped place. Recycling can also be done of the but if it is not done in the proper way it can also effect the environment. Some of the things that cannot be recycled are plastic that is causing the severe damage to the environment, syringe, etc. Air pollution Alongside by harming the human health, air pollution can also the serious effects on the environment also. Some of the environmental effects of the air pollution are listed below: Ozone depletion: we all know ozone is the layer of the gas in the earth's upper layer which is also known as stratosphere. Ozone gas forms a particular layer that affects the Earth from the UV rays of the sun. But this protecting layer is now depleting due to the man-made chemicals that are also known as the ozone layer depleting. It also causes some of the health issues that includes skin cancer, cataracts, etc. Changes of the global climate: due to this imbalance of the environment it occurs the severe changes of the climate. To balance this environment there are some naturally occurring gas which traps the excess of the sun rays so that it prevents the earth forms this excess heat that is also known as global warming and the protected phenomenon is known as green house effect. Due to this global warming the amount of the rainfall also decreases at a maximum rate (Domańska and Wojtylak, 2014). To prevent these changes of the environment it is needed to plant more trees so that it can balance the atmosphere and also bring the rainfall that can give the cooling effects to the environment (Othman et al., 2014). Needs to reduce the numbers cars and bikes form the road through which the fumes of the petroleum can be decreased and also can use the vehicles that are using most the renewable energy such as wind energy and solar energy. Here it needs to minimize the emission of the smoke which can severely cause the environment directly. Avoid the burning of the house hold garbage's on own which emits the smoke in a very maximum in number. At last needs to follow the rules and the regulation on the daily basis so that the environment pollution can be reduced to some extent (Sax and Goodman, 2014). It requires implementing the advanced technology to control the air pollution. Some of these are fabric filter, wet scrubbers, etc. (Climate science: Warming could boost air pollution, 20 14). Noise The disturbing or the excessive of the noise may effect or harm the natural balance of the human, and the animal life is referred to as the noise pollution. There are some of the effects of the noise pollution which are described below (Morgul and Dal, 2012): Transport system: Excess numbers of the vehicles, underground trains, etc. produce the excess amount of the noise that leads to the massive noise pollution. These types of the noise sometimes reduce the hearing capability of the human. Industrialization: Industries are using the some of the large machines that produce the excess amount of the sound. If the industries are placed in the rural areas, it can cause the severe effects of the environment which results in the loss of the hearing capacity of the people. So to reduce this type effects the workers are must see doing work by wearing the ear plug (Michel and Rutherford, 2014). Construction activities: Some of the construction activities like construction of the dams, mine, bridge, roads, etc. which is very common in the every place of the world also effect the environment severely. It also creates the disturbances in the human life. The equipments that are used for these large constructions are also very noisy in nature. Poor urban planning: urban planning also plays the most important part in the noise pollution. Congested structure of the house, the large structure of the families in a small space, occurrence of the frequent fights also creates the negative impacts on the environment of the society. Some of the steps that prevent the noise pollution are listed below (Mutairi, 2012): To use the car horns when needed unless no need to beep the horns. Keep the switch off the TV, radio, etc. if nobody is watching so that it cannot cause the unnecessary sound pollution. Plants more numbers of trees and plants that help in reducing the sound by absorbing the maximum percentage of the sound (Olayinka, 2012). Cutting the large usage of the DJ, public function, etc. so that it can reduce the pollution of the noise to some extent and also use the loudspeakers into the considerable amount. Strengthening the laws to control the noise pollution and also makes it punishable if anybody violates the laws (Duncan, 2014). Land take Land take is the other name of the land pollution. It tells about the destruction of the land surfaces or the misuse of the land resources on the direct or the indirect basis. Land pollution is also classified into the various categories some of them are given below: Throwing of the solid types of the wastes like plastics, papers, and also the some of the things which are not biodegradable in nature acquires the places in more amounts which also lead to the land pollution (Chen and Ye, 2014). As the things are not, get easily decomposed they are getting piled up for the many years that get the harmful effects of the land. Some of the causes of the land take or land pollution is given below: Soil erosion and deforestation: Both the soil erosion and the deforestation are the matter of concern for now days. Plants and the trees are cutting down at a very rapid rate that is resulting in both the soil erosion and the deforestation. One of the main reasons of this land take is the land conversion that means the modification or the alteration of the natural land to the suitable land so that it becomes worthy for the specific purpose. Due to this the destruction of the land occurs. Lack age of the rainfall is the cause of the soil erosion, and the deforestation is the reason of the shortage of the rainfall (Kleiber, 2012). Agricultural purpose: as now days the rate of the increase in the human population is growing very fast so gradually the demand of the food is also increasing. To meet this demand, the farmer are using many of the toxic fertilizers and also the many of the other substance so that they can protect the plant from the acts of the pest and insects. So the use of these types of medicine affects the soil abruptly. Industrialization: The rates of the industry are also growing very fast to meet the daily needs of the human. It also creates the much numbers of the disposal of the waste material on the land which is also the one of the main reason of the land pollution. As the used chemicals and medicine is highly toxic so that the direct disposal of these types of waste makes the soil highly contaminated (Chen and Wei, 2014). Construction purpose: as the urbanization is also increasing so the naturally the amount of the construction is increasing gradually. Due to this construction the plants and the trees are cutting down miserably. And also the waste articles like bricks, woods, plastic are covering the most areas and also contaminating the land in a major rate. Nuclear waste materials: Nuclear plants are also producing the huge amount of the energy by nuclear fission and the fusion. After this producing all the waste materials are also becoming very toxic in nature that after coming to the contact with the nature becomes very toxic for the environment and the people (Bradley, 2012). Human health effects: as the land becomes contaminated with the toxic materials it also affects the human health by leading to the skin cancer, problem with the respiratory system which leads to the major effects in the human health (Krger, Mrotzek and Wirtz, 2014). To prevent the land pollution needed to take some of the major steps that can reduce the land pollution to some extent: Minimize the use of the insecticides, fertilizers and the pesticides in the time of the agriculture because the much use of these types of materials makes the land contaminated and also harmful for the environment. Use of the biodegradable product so that it can easily decompose and not causes any type of the environmental issues. Needs to organize the campaign, programs, etc. so that people can get aware of this type of problem and also the concept of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse (Cincinelli et al., 2012). Recommendations Some of the recommendations for preventing the environment pollution are given bellow: 1. It needs to achieve the objectives by the appropriate combination of some or most of the following means by doing the efficient use of the energy, by strictly controlling the emissions of the air pollutant and also to increase the energy of the non-fossil sources. 2. It needs to refer to some of the guidance principles that are set out below, which becomes the most of the important part of the recommendation to control the environmental pollution. 3. It needs to pursue the more policies which are needs to control the pollution more effectively at an acceptable level to decrease the pollution of the environment. Conclusion Thus, to conclude it can be said that the study appropriately identified the overall effects of the environmental pollution and also discusses the prevention of the environmental pollution. The study also explained how to maintain these steps of the prevention so that it can reduce the pollution to some extent. In addition, it also discusses the issues that are occurring due to the rise of the pollution. Further, the study also appropriately also explained the issues how they are affecting the human and also to what extent the human health are also getting effected by this type of environmental pollution (McCrink-Goode, 2014). Reflective log In this assignment I represented the whole about of the types, causes and the prevention of the pollution of the environment. In the above study I describe elaborately all about how prevention are needed to be taken if the prevention of the environment are not taken what are the major issues are reflected due to the pollution. First of all I describe about the pollution of the environment which causes by the harmful waste materials, air pollution and the soil pollution or land take and also describe the main reason of these types of pollutions. By doing this study I also get to know about many things of the pollutions which is not known to me to that elaborate extent. I get shocked to know that how the waste materials of the hospitals, industries and also the house hold work are disposed openly to the bare land and by that how the environment and the human are gets effected. How the ozone layer are getting depleted due to the increase of the maximum percentage of the air pollution an d due to this how the environment and the human are getting effected with the UV rays which are coming from the sun. I also get to know that the vegetables which we are consuming are getting affected and also becoming toxic due to these different types of the pollution which are causes in our environment. By getting the ideas about the pollution I also acquire the ideas of the prevention of these pollutions to some extent because I know that the pollutions cannot be removed from the environment in a full manner. So we needs to take steps how to tell the people and also makes them more conscious about the pollution so that everybody can take the daily measure to protect the environment because it is all about us only. To makes the people more conscious there needs to make the people more conscious and also the people who do not know about these there needs to organize the campaign, awareness program so that they can about the whole disadvantage about this types of pollution and also have the proper idea about the prevention. I feel that mostly in the rural side they needs to organize and to take the drastic steps to give the whole knowledge about the pollutions which will helps them in a greater way. I also get to know that how the rural people excessively polluting the environment because they don't have that much of knowledge about the pollutions. So there needs to organize the campaign program where they can actively take part and also know the prevention and also how to take that prevention in a more appropriate way. So I suggested that everybody needs to do some things on their daily basis so that it can improve the environment in such a little extent on their daily basis and also needs to be remembering that it is only for us not for others as we all live in this environment only. References Ameh, E. (2014). Geochemistry and Environmetric Approaches to Estimate Pollution Impacts on Soils around Okaba Coal Mines. British Journal of Applied Science Technology, 4(17), pp.2513-2527. Bradley, D. (2012). Glassy solution to nuclear waste. Materials Today, 15(10), p.425. Chen, R. and Ye, C. (2014). Land management: Resolving soil pollution in China. Nature, 505(7484), pp.483-483. Chen, W. and Wei, H. (2014). Active Networks Considered Harmful. AMM, 556-562, pp.5239-5242. Cincinelli, A., Martellini, T., Misuri, L., Lanciotti, E., Sweetman, A., Laschi, S. and Palchetti, I. (2012). PBDEs in Italian sewage sludge and environmental risk of using sewage sludge for land application. Environmental Pollution, 161, pp.229-234. Climate science: Warming could boost air pollution. (2014). Nature, 510(7506), pp.447-447. Domaska, D. and Wojtylak, M. (2014). Explorative forecasting of air pollution. Atmospheric Environment, 92, pp.19-30. Duncan, R. (2014). Regulating agricultural land use to manage water quality: The challenges for science and policy in enforcing limits on non-point source pollution in New Zealand. Land Use Policy, 41, pp.378-387. Ezeh, A., Kodzi, I. and Emina, J. (2010). Reaching the Urban Poor with Family Planning Services. Studies in Family Planning, 41(2), pp.109-116. Gardoni, D., Vailati, A. and Canziani, R. (2012). Decay of Ozone in Water: A Review. Ozone: Science Engineering, 34(4), pp.233-242. Kleiber, T. (2012). Pollution of the Natural Environment in Intensive Cultures Under Greenhouses. Archives of Environmental Protection, 38(2). Krger, B., Mrotzek, A. and Wirtz, S. (2014). Separation of harmful impurities from refuse derived fuels (RDF) by a fluidized bed. Waste Management, 34(2), pp.390-401. Land, L. (2012). Chesapeake Bay nutrient pollution: Contribution from the land application of sewage sludge in Virginia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64(11), pp.2305-2308. Ljungman, P. and Mittleman, M. (2014). Ambient Air Pollution and Stroke. Stroke, 45(12), pp.3734-3741. McCrink-Goode, M. (2014). Pollution: A global threat. Environment International, 68, pp.162-170. Michel, J. and Rutherford, N. (2014). Impacts, recovery rates, and treatment options for spilled oil in marshes. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 82(1-2), pp.19-25. Morgul, O. and Dal, H. (2012). A preliminary study on noise pollution of Sakarya province city centre. SA Fen Bilimleri Enstits Dergisi, 16(2), pp.83-91. Mutairi, N. (2012). Assessment of Traffic Noise Pollution Impact of Residential/Commercial Development. Journal of Civil Environmental Engineering, 02(01). Olayinka, O. (2012). Noise Pollution in Urban Areas: The Neglected Dimensions. Environmental Research J., 6(4), pp.259-271. Othman, J., Sahani, M., Mahmud, M. and Sheikh Ahmad, M. (2014). Transboundary smoke haze pollution in Malaysia: Inpatient health impacts and economic valuation. Environmental Pollution, 189, pp.194-201. Pandve, H. and Chawla, P. (2014). Noise pollution: Recent challenges in Indian scenario. Noise Health, 16(71), p.248. Patricios, N. and Stretton, H. (1980). Urban Planning in Rich and Poor Countries. Leonardo, 13(3), p.259. Sax, S. and Goodman, J. (2014). Residential Air Pollution and Lung Cancer. Epidemiology, 25(1), p.159. Triantis, S. and Maddox, J. (1956). Processes and Problems of Industralization in Underdeveloped Countries. International Journal, 12(1), p.72.

Rhetoric and Religion in Mary Astells a Serious Proposal Essay Example

Rhetoric and Religion in Mary Astells a Serious Proposal Essay The late 17th century is known as a time of religious devotion. Though the Church of England’s monopoly on Christian worship was coming to an end, its ideological influence remained. Throughout the scientific revolution and into the enlightenment, many notable thinkers (i. e. Newton, Descartes and Spinoza) shaped the intellectual landscape while remaining devout in their faith. Despite the obvious challenges their discoveries yielded, the groundwork for modern science and philosophy was set in Christian values. The origins of feminism are not dissimilar; Mary Astell, often accredited with being the first English feminist, was a deeply religious writer. Her Tory Anglican views helped persuade the highly devout and conservative aristocracy in advocating the establishment of academic institutions for women, which otherwise may have been dismissed as radical. In her book, A Serious Proposal to the Lades for the Advancement of Their True and Greatest Interest, Astell aims to promote women’s education by appealing to Christian values. The thesis and key points of part I of A Serious Proposal are nicely summarized in the excerpt titled â€Å"A Religious Retirement†, in which Astell outlines her argument for the erection of a â€Å"monastery† dedicated to women’s education (Astell 18). This monastery, or institution as she calls it (deliberately eschewing the word convent), is suggested to be a kind of seminary where women would be taught things like literature, philosophy and â€Å"Christianity as professed by the Church of England† (22). We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetoric and Religion in Mary Astells a Serious Proposal specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetoric and Religion in Mary Astells a Serious Proposal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Rhetoric and Religion in Mary Astells a Serious Proposal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Astell says that such an institution will have a two purposes; to keep women â€Å"out of the road of sin† (19), and to â€Å"expel that could of ignorance which custom has involved [women] in† (21). That it would function as both an isolated retreat, where women would be kept innocent and uncontaminated, and academic academy, where useful knowledge could be feasted upon. Astell stresses quality over quantity. In true Anglican fashion, she boldly (or, perhaps, naively) envisions a perfect educational ideal. [The retreat] will be the introducing you into such a paradise as your mother Eve forfeited, where you shall feast on pleasures that do not disappoint your expectations,† she writes, â€Å"[which] will make you truly happy now, and prepare you to be so perfectly hereafter† (19). This undoubtedly sounds pretty appealing. To anyone ignorant of the â€Å"good works† she refers to (namely, most women of the time), this highly romanticized account of e ducation as â€Å"entertaining employment† would sound not only fun, but life-affirming. Astell’s vision is of a high-functioning, efficient institution, committed solely to necessary and relevant works, always striving toward perfection and against impertinency. The genius of this argument is it’s ability to appeal to more several demographics. It not only appeals to women readers enticed by this pedagogical utopia, but male readers as well, many of whom would have been highly educated and conservative. In the passage, â€Å"[She need not] trouble herself in turning over a great number of books, but take care to understand and digest a few well chosen and good ones† (22) Astell speaks to the erudite, conservative male mentality. Astell argues that women have an equal capacity for knowledge as men. The influence of Descartes (whom she later mentions) is apparent in her treatment of mind and body as separate entities. â€Å"For since God has given women as well as men intelligent souls, why should they be forbidden to improve them? † she writes, â€Å"Since he has not denied us the faculty of thinking, why should we not we employ our thoughts on himself their noblest object? † (22). This statement is the crux of Astell’s argument and was probably its most controversial, the assertion that both sexes have equal intelligence would have been highly disputed. Astell supports her claim by pointing out the egalitarian root of Christian values. â€Å"Being the soul was created for the contemplation of truth as well as for the fruition of good,† she writes, â€Å"is it not as cruel and unjust to exclude women from the knowledge of one as from the knowledge of the other? † (23). This line of reasoning is rhetorically brilliant because of its multi-audience appeal; on one hand it speaks to women about the unjustness of being denied education, on the other it appeals to the men of the time by its appeal to Logos. As the argument progresses, the intended audience seems to shift further toward males. Astell points out that the education of women would benefit not only the women themselves, but those who have to spend time with them. The line â€Å"learning is therefore necessary to render them more agreeable and useful in company† (23) suggests that uneducated women are not very good conversationalists, and are likely to tend toward insipid or banal subjects. Astell argues that the view that women are concerned only with vapid, frivolous issues is merely the result of ignorance, and that with a better education, women would be more relatable and easier to talk to. There is a prevailing sense that education allows women to be better judged by God. Astell argues that our earthly â€Å"habitude and temper of mind† carries over into the afterlife, and that those who have reflected upon â€Å"noble and sublime truths† will be better prepared for Heaven (23). She criticizes the idea that innocence, when resulting from ignorance, relieves a woman of sin, evident in the line, â€Å"seeing our beatitude consists in the contemplation of divine truth and beauty† (23), which shows that she believed active engagement in theological issues was necessary for salvation. She underscores the importance of a deep, spiritual seriousness in intellectual pursuits and warns against studying the trivial, secular topics of plays and romances. This is seen in the lines, â€Å"There is a sort of learning indeed which is worse than the greatest ignorance: a woman may study plays and romances all her life, and may be a great deal more knowing but never a jot the wiser† (23). Astell makes a strong distinction between spiritual and secular knowledge, her entire argument is in support of the former. To her, the spiritual is the practical, and the only type of knowledge worth pursuing. She defines practical knowledge as that which â€Å"will convince us of the absolute necessity of holy living as well as of right believing, and that no heresy is more dangerous than that of an ungodly and wicked life† (24). Her vision of â€Å"necessary† knowledge taking precedence over the frivolous â€Å"froth and trifles† (23) popular in women’s entertainment of the time is given considerable weight throughout the book, which turns her argument, in part, into a critique of superficiality. Modern readers may have trouble reconciling Astell’s religious convictions with her feminist beliefs. Indeed, her version of feminism is a far cry away from the sexually liberated second- and third-wave feminism we know today. I would urge such readers to look closely at what she really means by things like holy retirement, and freedom from sin. What Astell is suggesting is an earnest commitment to a pursuit; she is asking women to take themselves seriously. The greatest obstacle she saw for the establishment of women’s education was an obsession with â€Å"froth and trifles† (23). She saw that in order to effect significant change one first had to care deeply and sincerely about their cause, and it was in spiritual devotion that she saw this. It is no surprise she reveres the biblical saint Priscilla, who found the inspiration to do missionary work from her profound devotion to her cause. And much like Priscilla, Mary Astell found the strength to lead her cause in the face of fearsome opposition from a deep, sincere commitment to Truth. She had no idea, at the time, of the enduring influence her writing would have thereafter. Works Cited Astell, Mary. A Serious Proposal to the Ladies. London: Pickering Chatto Ltd. 1997