Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Heliocentric Theory vs. The Catholic Church Essay

The Heliocentric Theory vs. The Catholic Church We view the world today as the Earth and planets revolving around the Sun. Naturally, this always wasnt the case. Aristotle created a model in which since God created the Earth and man, therefore everything should revolve around us, creating a geocentric model of the known universe. This model was widely accepted by the people, as well as the Church, since the theory was God-centered. It wasnt until Aristotles time when scientists started to challenge this model due to advances in technology and theories, and the heliocentric model was starting to take form, which went againts what the Church strongly believed. In this paper I will†¦show more content†¦The spherical nature of the Earth and Universe according to Aristotle, is the natural movement of Earthly matter from all places downwards, to a center, around which a sphere of matter will build up. Only circular motion is capable of endless repetition without a reversal of direction, and rotary motion is prior to linear because what is external, or at least could have always existed, is prior, or at least potentially prior, to what is not.(North,80) In Aristotles book De Caelo (On the Heavens), he speaks of the celestial sphere, the Earths center being the same shape, and dismissing the idea of the Earth rotating at the center of the universe. He also dismisses the idea of an orbital motion of the Earth. (North, p.81) Contradicting Aristotle, Heracleides, an astronomer, believed in the rotation of the Earth on its axis and is known to be the earliest astronomer to stand by it. He was thought to have taken the first step toward heliocentricity. It is believed in the years to follow that Copernicus was said to have mentioned Heracleides name in this connection. (North, p.85) Aristarchus of Samos was the first astronomer to clearly put forth a true sun-centered theory, learned from Archimedes. (North, p.85) ...Aristarchus hypotheses are that the fixed stars and the Sun are stationary, that the Earth is carried in a circular orbitShow MoreRelatedConflicting Ideologies : Religion Vs. Science1713 Words   |  7 PagesMeyer 1 Eric Meyer Mr. Hensley AP 11 English Per. 3 3 February 2015 Conflicting Ideologies: Religion vs. Science in the Search for the Truth The vast majority of the world’s population is religious, with 84% affirming their belief in at least one god. Globally, 32% identify as Christian, 23% as Muslim, and 15% as Hindu (Langer), and 83% of all people in the United States associate with one denomination of Christianity or another (Harper). Nearly all people of faith claim that their religious ideologiesRead MoreGeography Topics3206 Words   |  13 Pagesidea of â€Å"Geocentric† means everything revolves around Earth. It wasn’t long until Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), an astronomer from Poland came up with a new theory that the solar system actually revolved around the sun. He invented the idea of a solar system. Revolutions (1543) was Copernicus’ final work explaining the heliocentric view of the universe. â€Å"The trouble was that nothing he could say or do made people feel they were living on a moving, spinning planet† (Gingerich amp; MacLachlanRead MoreEssay on The Positive Rel ationship Between Science and Religion6961 Words   |  28 Pagesscientific research. For example, the Catholic Church’s objection to Galileo’s defense of Copernicus’ heliocentric model where he offered his observations that he felt furthered the theory that the planets revolved around the Sun. At that time, the belief that the Holy Scriptures were perhaps inaccurate was one thing, but attempting to confirm it as Galileo tried to do was a completely different issue and resulted in Galileo being forbidden by the Church to write or teach his findings. Another

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Typical Selling Approach And Societal Marketing - 1449 Words

TYPICAL SELLING APPROACH AND SOCIETAL MARKETING INTRODUCTION: Marketing is usually understood as a bridge between the companies (offering products and services) and ultimate customer or consumers. Through marketing sales of goods and services take place between customer and a company in exchange of money. Companies generally use typical or traditional selling approach for their offerings. Traditionally company gather knowledge of and target the needs and wants of a particular group of people and then market their products and services to that targeted group and then through their sales professional sell their goods and services to the people of targeted group (William, 2011). This is the general practice of all most all the companies and it is referred to as typical selling. Typical selling approaches has become absolute now as world is changing at a very fast pace. The globalization has created a very strong competitive environment. Therefore now companies have started thinking differently in order to cope up with the competition in the market and corporate sectors. Companies have started switching to societal marketing approach from typical selling approach. This helps them to gain not only competitive edge over the other companies’ offerings but also provide maximum customer satisfaction and contribution towards the well-being of a society. SOCIETAL MARKETING APPROACH: The societal marketing approach entails the concept that a business should make the decision about theShow MoreRelatedCalvin Klein And Its Brand s Prestige And Image1869 Words   |  8 PagesCalvin Klein offers products such as fragrances, women s apparel, footwear, eyewear, watches and jewelry. A tiered-brand strategy was established for Calvin Klein to provide a focused, consistent approach to global brand growth and development. Each of the Calvin Klein brands occupies a distinct marketing identity and position that preserves the brand s prestige and image. â€Å"We see great long-term global opportunities to drive the Calvin Klein business as we leverage our recent strategic investmentsRead MoreSocial Marketing Essay1845 Words   |  8 PagesMarketing is defined as follows: Marketing is the process of interesting potential customers and clients in your products or services. In this essay, I am going to address the concept of â€Å"social marketing† and how does social marketing differ from â€Å"societal marketing† or â€Å"socially responsible marketing† in the first part, and in the second part, I am going to provide examples of each of the three approaches to marketing and analyse how these represent a departure from traditional marketing practiceRead MoreSocial Responsibility, Consumerism, and the Marketing Concept4723 Words   |  19 PagesSOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, CONSUMERISM, AND THE MARKETING CONCEPT Robert D. Winsor, Loyola Marymount University ABSTRACT This paper compares the often-criticized selling orientation or selling concept with the commonly-praised societal marketing concept from the perspectives of consumer rationality and persuasibility. It is suggested that both orientations view consumers as relatively irrational and as easily prone to manipulation by marketers. The implications of this similarity are exploredRead MoreBusiness7439 Words   |  30 PagesChapter 16 Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility GENERAL CONTENT: Multiple-Choice Questions 1. The marketing concept is a philosophy of customer satisfaction and _____. a. mutual interest b. mutual gain c. innovation d. needs met e. none of the above (Answer: b; p. 495; Moderate) 2. You have just read the latest survey about consumers’ attitudes toward current marketing practices. It reveals that consumers in general hold _____ attitudesRead MoreHow Religion Has An Impact On Marketing1783 Words   |  8 PagesName Instructor Course Date HOW RELIGION HAS AN IMPACT ON MARKETING 1.0 Introduction The Islamic religion encourages commerce and trade and commerce as it is recommended in the Quran. In Quran (2:275), it states that ‘God has made business lawful for you’. Furthermore, the prophet of the Islam, Prophet Mohammed was involved in commerce and he is known for his integrity in business and was referred as the most trustworthy businessman. He noted that ‘Nine tenths of sustenance is in commerce’. TheRead MoreAmity Sol Marketing Management Assignment5165 Words   |  21 PagesSECTION A ANSWER 1.. Marketing management is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of programs designed to create, build, and maintain beneficial exchanges with target buyers for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives. The various management philosophies are: a. The production concept: This concept is one of the oldest philosophies that guides sellers. The first occurs when the demand for a product exceeds the supply. The second situation occurs when the product’sRead MoreConcept of Modern Marketing6559 Words   |  27 Pages1 The Concept of Modern Marketing Learning Objectives By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: focus †¢ Define marketing. †¢ Specify the three basic propositions of the marketing concept. †¢ Name and describe the four components of the marketing mix. †¢ List the five major environmental forces that affect marketing. An exciting, dynamic discipline, marketing affects our daily lives in many ways. We are all consumers, and many people are part of the marketing process—as salespeople, advertisingRead MoreMarketing Orientation6794 Words   |  28 PagesMarketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit tChapter 1: An Overview of Marketing Learning Objectives 1 Define the term marketing Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholdersRead MoreContemporary Issues in Marketing2924 Words   |  12 Pagesrelationship marketing in contemporary business context. Relationship Marketing: Relationship marketing is not about having a buddy-buddy relationship with customers.   Customers do not want that.   Relationship Marketing uses the event-driven tactics of customer retention marketing, but treats marketing as a process over time rather than single unconnected events.   By molding the marketing message and tactics to the LifeCycle of the customer, the Relationship Marketing approach achieves veryRead MoreAbdul Monem Ltd6230 Words   |  25 PagesMarketing Mix Analysis and Competitors Evaluation: A study on 2011 ABDUL MONEM LTD. BANGLADESH Prepared for RODRICK, STANLEY SUMON ID: 1001-1017-2 Faculty of Marketing AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY-BABGLADESH Prepared by ABIR, MD. ZABER TAUHID ID: 10-15556-1 i â€Å"Marketing Mix (4 P’s) Analysis and Competitors Evaluation: A study on Abdul Monem Ltd. Bangladesh† ii LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL April 26, 2011 Mr. Stanley S. Rodrick Lecturer, Faculty of Business Administration

Monday, December 9, 2019

Entertainments Role in our Lives free essay sample

This paper reviews many of the issues relating to societys need to be entertained. This paper takes a look at `Entertainment` and how it allows society to have a very distinct high and low culture mentality present without really questioning it which can lead to our civilization turning to machines for the answers to everything. `Entertainment is liable to sweep what is left of reality by the wayside and usher in a new world that could be similar to Ray Bradburys or George Orwells fantasy futuristic times. As Richard Dyer points out about entertainments meaning in the first chapter of his book Only Entertainment, Part of its meaning is anti-seriousness It rejects the claims of morality, politics, and aesthetics in a culture which still accords these a high status (2). Strangely enough people who seem to be getting diverted from reality do not realize the entertainment they enjoy is only historically and culturally constructed as common sense. We will write a custom essay sample on Entertainments Role in our Lives or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, what would a mother think is she came to a McDonalds today and there was no equipment for the soccer team she brought with her to play on. It is common sense the play place will be there. However, would anyone consider McDonalds to be a highbrow place? No, not even if rich people do happen to bring their kids there to eat and play after school twice a week, because McDonalds is a fast food eatery and fast food is common sensibly known to be part of low or mass culture. Michael Wolf comments on, ?The `E` factor having to be present in everything,? (LECT, 1/17) as pointed out by Professor Banet-Weiser in class, and that there will always be a differing of opinion between what appeals to the elite and the masses. `

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Concept of Satan in World Religions Essay Example For Students

The Concept of Satan in World Religions Essay The concept of Satan in world religions is an interesting one that has not sufficiently been studied by scholars. We all know that Satan is a familiar character from Christianity; does the red-pajamad, soul-stealing badass, however, appear in other religions as well, drinking the blood of newborn babes and raping evildoers with his white-hot thorned penis? As it turns out, he does (although not in his characteristic red pajamas). In Hinduism, for example, there is an evil trickster known as Majapudu, who is reputed to have twelve horns, eyes of fire, and noxious flatulence that can kill an entire village in minutes, like mustard gas. Worshipers in the south of India and in Burma, fearful of Majapudus power, reportedly have developed an elaborate set of rites intended to pacify this worst of demons. Some of the rites include the ritual sacrifice of all infants born in the month of Dvindi (roughly mid-November to mid-December of our calendar). We will write a custom essay on The Concept of Satan in World Religions specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The religion of the aborigines of the Ukraine has a similar character, Thauraza. No traditions give any direct description of Thauraza, though, He is said to travel around the countryside in a giant ball of fire, only stepping out to devour the occasional soul and send it to thousands of years of torment in his miles-long sulphurous bowels. Not all Satan characters in world religions, though, are terrifying. Others are more like tricksters, or, even worse, like that frat brother everyone had who was always able to score at any party, no matter what. The Indonesians, for example, tell of a mysterious stranger known as Jobimba, or mystery man, who would occasionally come into a town, seduce all of the women under thirty, and then leave them pregnant and unfulfilled by their less seductive husbands. The resulting social dysfunction that would ensue was said to be worse than that caused by a thousand episodes of Dr. Phil.In sum, many world religions talk about Satan (or someone who looks a lot like him). Maybe thats the most important thing about Satan he goes by many names and wears many faces (the Devil, the Lord of the Flies, Prince of Darkness, even Jobimba). So we should all be on our guard, just in case the next person you meet or the author of the next paper you read isnt the Devil himself!BibliographyJones, Stella. Figures of Evil among the Pacific Islanders. Journal of Comparative Anthropology 58.2 (Spring 1976), 23-57. Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Sokal, Allan. The Devil is in the Details. Annals of Improbable Research 3 (1956), 765-781.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Civ

Civ Constitutional Parliamentary monarchy and absolutism are two styles of government which came about in England and France respectively. However, who can say which one form of government is better or worse? John Locke's idea on government is that "political power is the power, which every man having in the state of nature, has given up into the hands of society, and therein to the governors, whom society hath set over itself . . . "(Locke) Bossuet, on the other hand, says that power is given from the grace of God. The ruler, or person with the power, is the minister of God. The role that religion has in government now is very clear, There is a separation between the two. From the middle ages until recently religion had been a very strongly involved in government. In both England's constitutional parliamentary monarchy and in France's absolute monarchy religion played a big part in the government.Law was an ardent disciple of John Locke.The situations in France and England were much the same in that religion was controlling the government. In France, the Catholics and Henry II disliked the French Protestants. This continued with Henry II's kin. This hatred of the Protestants led up to the Saint Bartholomew's Massacre of August 24th 1572, where 3000 Huguenots were killed. Henry IV was made head of the Catholic Church in France, which still had a major influence in the decision of whom became king. With French Absolutism, the king is, appointed by God to rule over the kingdom as God would if He was here. Everything that the king does is done because God would have wanted it that way. To question the king's/queen's judgements or ideas would be to question God. "It was seen as a perfect form of government, the consolidation of power in the hands of the divinely...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Ole Kirk Christiansen and the History of LEGO

Ole Kirk Christiansen and the History of LEGO Hailed as the â€Å"Toy of the Century,† the plastic Lego bricks that make up the Lego System of Play were invented by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a master carpenter, and his son, Godtfred Kirk. From these small interlocking bricks, which can be connected to assemble an infinite number of designs, Lego has evolved into a huge worldwide enterprise that makes toys and movies and runs theme parks. But before all that, Lego began as a carpentry business in the village of Billund, Denmark in 1932. Although he initially made stepladders and ironing boards, wooden toys became Christiansen’s most successful product. The company adopted the name LEGO in 1934. LEGO is formed from the Danish words LEg GOdt meaning play well. Fittingly enough, the company later learned that in Latin, lego means I put together. In 1947, the LEGO company was the first in Denmark to use a plastic injection molding machine for making toys. This allowed the company to manufacture Automatic Binding Bricks, created in 1949. These larger bricks, sold only in Denmark, deployed the stud-and-tube coupling system that was the forerunner of the Lego bricks the world has come to know.   Five years later, in 1954, the redesigned components were renamed LEGO Mursten or LEGO Bricks and the word LEGO was officially registered as a trademark in Denmark, positioning the company to launch the LEGO System of Play with 28 sets and 8 vehicles. The current LEGO stud-and-tube coupling system was patented in 1958 (Design Patent #92683). The new coupling principle made models much more stable. Today Lego is one of the biggest and most profitable toy companies in the world, with little sign of slowing down. And the LEGO brand has gone well beyond plastic toys: dozens of video games based on LEGO have been released, and in 2014 debuted to critical acclaim.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Strategic Positioning of Southwest Airlines Assignment - 1

Strategic Positioning of Southwest Airlines - Assignment Example The world of the 21st century presents a global scenario which is powered by rapid change, ever-evolving business environment and high productivity of the masses.   The fast evolution and penetration of the internet in various corners of the globe along with the speedy acceptance of various kinds of sophisticated technological gadgets by the global masses has brought in a tremendous change in the nature and means of communication all over the world. The highly advanced level of development along the lines of communication has transformed the planet Earth into a single and highly connected entity. It is important to mention the fact that because of tremendous connectivity, the spreading and diffusion of various kinds of global trends which are emerging in various advanced and established markets are happening at a much faster rate. The fast diffusion of global trends is creating a steady demand among the consumers located in various parts of the world, which is automatically paving the way for the emergence of many new markets from various corners of the world. While studying the trend of emergence of new markets, it has been realized that majority of the new markets are emerging from young and growing economies, which are spread all over the world. Trend analysis and subsequent research have pointed out the fact that the new markets that are emerging from the developing economies will be the center point of future growth. As a result, there has been a growing trend which highlighted the fact that the businesses organizations, that are located in both the developing as well as developed economies are aggressively trying to enter into many new markets for the purpose of generating significant competitive advantage as well as solidify their future growth prospects.  

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Local and Surrounding Ecologies and Environment Essay

Local and Surrounding Ecologies and Environment - Essay Example There is a marked difference between the â€Å"built† environment and the â€Å"natural† environment, because the perception of the natural environment is prominent by its varied workings that consist of total environmental and biological groups with specific functions, which includes all plant life, flora, undergrowth, foliage and shrubbery, bacteria microbes, germs and soil, rocks, atmosphere and all non-artificial events in the physical sense that are not produced by humans, although they effect humans. Also included in the environment are general natural resources and natural phenomena that cannot be mapped and have no geographical limits such as air, water and climate and manmade resources or originating from manmade activities such as energy, radiation, electrical charges and magnetism. ... tropical rain forest or desert. The world's lakes and oceans may also be considered biomes, although they are less susceptible to climatic influences than terrestrial biomes. Other factors could be related to, living, or occurring in the waters of the ocean or the open sea as opposed to near the shore such as bird populations, and other deep sea or shallow marine, evergreen forests, deciduous forests, steppes, and grasslands. Also equally important is the factor that fills the various places in the local ecosystem. The ecosystem consists of all the physical and free living systems that describe the physical and chemical aspects of organism environments. Human activities that affect local ecosystems: Human activities that have greatly damaged the ecosystem is the junk discarded from homes and factories which causes the most pollution, has resulted in the loss of habitat and produced acid rain which has in effect resulted in the deprivation of the ecosystem. Urban development of farmla nds for mass agriculture has replaced grasslands with crops that are consumed mostly by humans. Space for crops has been made by chopping down and burning forets, and lumber supplying trees have been cut without letup to feed the growing demand for lumber and other wood products. The flow of rivers, streams and waterways are diverted for use on agricultural lands and for other human requirements in cities and towns. Humans have depleted the amounts of fish in the oceans, seas and rivers by mechanical fishing without giving the fish the time to rebreed and produce thereby severely depleting existing reserves. Every type of human conveniences such as cars, generators etc. use fossil fuel that has caused global warming, acid

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Existence of God Argumentative Paper Essay Example for Free

Existence of God Argumentative Paper Essay There are many different types of arguments for the existence of God. With each argument there is a conception presented of God. For each argument there are different approaches. I will be focusing on the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments. Teleological Arguments are known to be arguments from divine, arguing from order in the universe to the existence of God (1).With the ordering of the universe, created by an intelligent being, they hold that it is ordered towards a purpose or an end. The Cosmological Argument â€Å"is the argument that the existence of the world or universe is strong evidence for the existence of a God who created it. It is a first caused argument where the existence of the universe, the argument claims, stands in need of explanation, and the only adequate explanation of its existence is that it was created by God† (1). Behind this argument, it holds that though the universe still needs explanation for its existence, the existence of God Himself does not. In the article McCloskey is critical of these arguments for God’s existence supporting his stance by offering the problem of evil as reasoning to not believe. He believes the belief in the existence of God is not a source of strength and security (2). However, if we are to use the Cumulative Case approach we can have successive truths. This case cumulates the Cosmological, Teleological, as well as, the Moral Arguments together. It gives us the conclusion of a personal, moral, intelligent creator of the universe as the best explanation for the universe we experience (3). McCloskey maintains that the Teleological Argument is not satisfactory and that it can be rejected simply by rejecting its premise. The premise holds that there is in fact evidence of purpose and design. McCloskey says though, that there were many things that were considered evidence or proof, prior to evolution, but those very things are now not being considered as so. Thus, in order to be a proof, there has to be given indisputable examples. Given that the Teleological Argument, presenting disputable examples, says McCloskey, there is no proof. There can be no form of argument with evidence of an intellectual design and/or designer. I would have to argue with McCloskey by using the â€Å"fine-tuning argument.† Within the universe is nothing short of precision, not only of natural laws, but the beginning stages and state of the universe. These both are pointers to an intelligent Creator. The universe is finely-tuned maintaining physical constants of nature (5).The strength of gravity should be considered. With the occurrence of the Big Bang. The gravity had to have precision because even with a little more force used on either side, it would not have occurred as the Big Bang, but the Big Crunch. Even with the slightest change in gravity, it could change the world into something completely other than what we know. That which is being offered as evidenced cannot be questioned. If we were to give to evolution as truth, there is still no grounds for believing it is true. It does nothing but in the end support the theist position, and shows that evolution needs teleology. McCloskey’s main objection to theism is the presence of evil in the world, â€Å"No being who was perfect could have created a world in which there was unavoidable suffering or in which his creatures would(and in fact could have been created so as not to) engage in morally evil acts, acts which very often result in injury to innocent persons† (1). With this problem on McCloskey’s mind, he holds it to the theists. He still wonders how the theist does not take this to mind seeing that it goes against the perfection of the divine purpose. There can be no grounds in a belief of a perfect being. Even if all reason was thrown out, he says the theist at best could only present a pool of beings full of â€Å"concern, dismay, and anxiety, rather than comfort and security† (1). There is a logical problem of evil and there is logical inconsistency when there is both the existence of God and of evil. The atheist holds that there is severe contradiction between claiming God is good, yet evil exists. Mackie, an atheist, says the contradiction does not arise immediately; to show it we need some additional premisesthese additional principles are that good is opposed to evil, in such a way that a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can, and that there are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do. From these it follows that a good omnipotent thing eliminates evil completely, and then the propositions that a good omnipotent thing exists, and that evil exists, are incompatible(8). There exists two kinds of evil. There is â€Å"human evil,† and â€Å"natural evil† in which atheist claim are both forms of needless suffering. The logical problem of evil claims the â€Å"tension† between simultaneously having evil in the world, while also having a perfect God. This would without a doubt be a logical contradiction according to the atheist. There is also the evidential problem of evil. With this claim, there is not contradiction, but the fact that evil exists, if give grounding evidence for being able to reject that God is all-powerful. It is a weaker version of the former, and claims that it is highly unlikely that an all-perfect God exists. Plantinga responds with trying to defend that it is reasonable to believe in God, even without evidence. His position is kn own as â€Å"Reformed Epistemology†. In order for his view to hold he would have to reject the Evidentialist Credo., which he claims rests on Classical Foundationalism. This led him to his positive view, or â€Å"Reformed Epistemology.† This holds that a belief in God is â€Å"properly basic.†Some object to these claims, saying that evil is logically required for good and is needed for us to see the good. Evil is a means and will cause good. There is given the â€Å"free will† defense that is meant to try and answer the problem of evil. Either this would come about by humans free will resulting in a greater good and that evil is ascribed the humans and not God. However, those who oppose this, bring up the issue of natural evils. Mackie stands his ground that God should have given human beings free will in such a way that we always chose the good. The atheist propose God did not create men to choose between right and wrong, and that God is morally inconsistent. In response, the free will theodicy attempts to defeat the former by claiming the suffering of the innocent is justified because of the existence of free will. We as humans have misused our free will, thus what is known as ‘moral evil.’ Other sufferings from evil come from the natural evils. While McCloskey challenges the free will defense, Plantinga proposes the law of non-contradiction. He argues for there could be logically possible affairs whereby God would be unable of creating a world of both evil and autonomous humans (9). Evans puts it simply, â€Å"It does not seem to be true that a good being always eliminates evil as far as it can. What is true, perhaps, is that good being always eliminates evil as far as it can without the loss of a greater good or the allowance of a worse evil† (1). McCloskey objects to the cosmological argument claiming, â€Å"mere existence of the world constitutes no reason for believing in such a being†(1). There has been great objection to this however because of the fact of contingent objects. God is the â€Å"first cause,† the one who began it all. Because there is not explanation for contingent beings, if God is a necessary being, He is the necessary cause of the existence of creation and we as beings. God has no cause, otherwise He would not be God. It is the very existence of the world that implies the existence of God. The â€Å"laws of nature† imply the existence of a lawgiver, God. This position was held by Aristotle, holding firmly against the possibility of infinite regress. The argument from contingency suggests that it is possible the universe might not have existed, thus needing explanation of why it does in fact exist. In essence, it must have a cause. This leads to the belief in â€Å"necessary being,â⠂¬  meaning a being that needs no explanation. The temporal cosmological argument holds that the beginning of the universe was either caused or uncaused. However, objectors to this say we cannot actually claim whether the universe â€Å"had to exist.† Also, a â€Å"necessary being† comes into question. The refuters say this line of argument does not give enough explanation of why there could not be more than one cause. There is no ground for putting God as the first cause or prime mover. Time and causality as we know it cannot be grounds for explaining the beginnings of the universe. However, those objecting to McCloskey, hold if there were a being like the universe, then he would exist in time, thus he himself came into existence. But, the ultimate cause must not have come into existence. For it to be an ultimate cause, the ultimate Creator must be outside of time. (10).What McCloskey fails to realize, is that not every argument is going to capture every aspect of God. There are many different arguments that go abo ut doing that. If God does not exist, then all has no hope of immortality. Life, the world, and everything in it is meaningless. There would be no purpose or significance to anyone or anything. This leaves us with no ultimate meaning without immorality and God. Would we be able to say there was any purpose or meaning to someone who lived just to die? To be born just to pass out of existence? Lane says that it is not just each individual person that is headed towards the grave, but the universe itself is headed for extinction. This all in all is hopeless. Dying man, in a dying world. If this is the case, the small details in life do not matter, it does not make a difference. Our behaviors, our choices do not matter. Dotoyevsky said â€Å"If there is no immortality then all things are permitted† (11). Without God, there is no accountability, morality, or sense of right and wrong. Even more so, in a universe without God, good and evil do not exist (11). However, if we were to say there were no God, we would still be without purpose because we would just be accidental. We would just be accidents of chance. The only view that can save the human race from itself is a theistic view (11). The only thing going for an atheist is living with the fact of the absurdity of life. Such a view makes it impossible to live a fulfilling, happy life. For the atheist, absurdity of life and creating meaning for one’s life is a contradiction. A major disadvantage of atheism is that no one has hope or faith for reward of good or and punishment of evil. A believer’s hope is this, Christ. Ephesians 3:11 tells us that God had a purpose I mind before He created. Man within his own voluntary will would be able to love and choose God. Nature alone points to God. Humanity and the universe itself does not have to exist. Both are not self-existent but caused. There is no explanation for their existence. Within a Christian world view, life is not meaningless and pointless ending at the grave. We have hope in the resurrection and of eternal life. God and immortality are both necessary for a meaning full life (11). Bibliography 11- Craig, William Lane. The Absurdity of Life without God. In Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, by William Lane Craig, 71-90. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008. 1-Evans, C. Stephen, and R. Zachary Manis. Philosophy of Religion: Thinking About Faith. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009. 8- Kunkle,Brett. â€Å"The Logical Problem of Evil.† Truth Never Gets Old. April 21, 2009 2- McCloskey, H. J. On Being an Atheist. Question (1968): 63-69. 5- Biologos. â€Å"What is the â€Å"fine-tuning† of the universe, and how does it serve as a â€Å"pointer to God?† 9- http://kevinfannystevenson.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-being-theist-response-to-h-j.html 10- http://www.existence-of-god.com/first-cause-argument.html

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Alcohol Abuse and Native Americans Essay -- Substance Abuse

The impact of various kinds of substances to cultural groups has historically been precipitated by the significance of particular substances on different cultural groups (Moore, 2010).This is mainly because the long term usage of these substances leads to the integration of the consumption of the substance into the cultural patterns of the given group. One such group that has been affected by the extensive usage of a particular substance is the Native American community. According to the Associated Press (2014, August 28), as noted on the MSNBC website, out of ten deaths among the Native American population, one is Alcohol related. Additionally, the prevalence of Alcohol consumption among the Native American population relates to the fact that it’s associated with the various cultural events that define the way of life of Native Americans. Therefore, the focus of this paper shall be on the cultural aspects, effects and prevalence of Alcohol among Native Americans. Par ticularly, the paper shall outline a brief introduction of the Native American culture and the prevalence of Alcohol in this culture; compare the aspects of alcohol abuse between the Native Americans and the African Americans; analyze the particular effects of alcohol in the body; and demonstrate the cultural impact of Alcohol abuse among the Native Americans. The Native American Culture and Alcohol Prevalence Native Americans refer to a Nation of related tribes that form the indigenous peoples of the North American Continent. They form one percent of the United States population where 500 tribes are now recognized by the government (Substance Abuse Policy Research Program, n.d.) The history of the Native Americans stretches beyond the European settleme... ...vation of normal livelihoods. Works Cited Moore Gay (2010, July 25) Native American Alcoholism -- Myths, Reality & Solutions. American Diversity Report. Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (n.d.) Key Results: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Substance Abuse Treatment. Web 2 Feb 2015. http://saprp.org/knowledgeassets/knowledge_results.cfm?KAID=11 The Associated Press (2014, August 28) 1 In 10 Native American Deaths Alcohol Related. Web 2 Feb 2015. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439767/ns/health-addictions/t/native-american-deaths-alcohol-related/ U.S. National Library of Medicine (2011, November 7) More Than A Third Of Teens Turning To Alcohol, Drugs: Study. Healthday: U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 2 Feb 2015. "http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_118411.html" http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_118411.html

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Covent Garden Essay

In this quadrangle the Abbey or Convent of St. Peter, Westminster, maintained a large kitchen garden throughout the Middle Ages to provide its daily food. Over the next three centuries, the monks’ old â€Å"convent garden† became a major source of fruit and vegetables in London and was managed by a succession of leaseholders by grant from the Abbot of Westminster. This type of lease eventually led to property disputes throughout the kingdom, which King Henry VIII solved in 1540 by the stroke of a pen when he dissolved the monasteries and appropriated their land. King Henry VIII granted part of the land to John Russell, Baron Russell, Lord High Admiral, and later Earl of Bedford. In fulfilment of his father’s dying wish, King Edward VI bestowed the remainder of the convent garden in 1547 to his maternal uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset who began building Somerset House on the south side of The Strand the next year. When Seymour was beheaded for treason in 1552, the land once again came into royal gift, and was awarded four months later to one of those who had contributed to Seymour’s downfall. Forty acres (160,000 m? ), known as â€Å"le Covent Garden† plus â€Å"the long acre†, were granted by royal patent in perpetuity to the Earl of Bedford. [edit] 1600s to 1800s The modern-day Covent Garden has its roots in the early seventeenth century when land (â€Å"the Convent’s Garden†) was redeveloped by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford. The area was designed by Inigo Jones, the first and greatest of English Renaissance architects. He was inspired by late 15th Century and early 16th century planned market towns known as bastides (themselves modelled on Roman colonial towns by way of nearby monasteries, of which â€Å"Convent† Garden was one). The area rapidly became a base for market traders, and following the Great Fire of London of 1666 which destroyed ‘rival’ markets towards the east of the city, the market became the most important in the country. Exotic items from around the world were carried on boats up the River Thames and sold on from Covent Garden. The first mention of a Punch and Judy show in Britain was recorded by diarist Samuel Pepys, who saw such a show in the square in May 1662. Today Covent Garden is the only part of London licensed for street entertainment. In 1830 a grand building reminiscent of the Roman baths such as those found in Bath was built to provide a more permanent trading centre. [edit] Modern day period By the end of the 1960s, traffic congestion in the surrounding area had reached such a level that the use of the square as a market, which required increasingly large lorries for deliveries and distribution, was becoming unsustainable. The whole area was threatened with complete redevelopment. Following a public outcry, in 1973 the Home Secretary, Robert Carr, gave dozens of buildings around the square listed building status, preventing redevelopment. The following year the market finally moved to a new site (called the New Covent Garden Market) about three miles south-west at Nine Elms. The square languished until its central building re-opened as a shopping centre and tourist attraction in 1980. Today the shops largely sell novelty items. More serious shoppers gravitate to Long Acre, which has a range of clothes shops and boutiques, and Neal Street, noted for its large number of shoe shops. London’s Transport Museum and the rear entrance to the Royal Opera House are also located on the Piazza. The marketplace and Royal Opera House were memorably brought together in the opening of George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, where Professor Higgins is waiting for a cab to take him home from the opera when he comes across Eliza Doolittle selling flowers in the market. In the mid 1950s, before he directed such films as If and O Lucky Man, Lindsay Anderson directed a short film about the daily activities of the Covent Garden market called Every Day Except Christmas. It shows 12 hours in the life of the market and market people, now long gone from the area, but it also reflects three centuries of tradition in the operation of the daily fruit and vegetable market. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 film, Frenzy, likewise takes place amongst the pubs and fruit markets of Covent Garden. The serial sex killer in Frenzy is a local fruit vendor, and the film features several blackly comic moments suggesting a metaphorical correlation between the consumption of food and the act of rape-murder. Hitchcock was the son of a Covent Garden merchant and grew up in the area; and so, the film was partly conceived (and marketed) as a semi-nostalgic return to the neighbourhood of the director’s childhood. Supermodel Naomi Campbell was also discovered by a model scout at the age of 15 whilst walking through the streets of Covent Garden.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Growing in Intimacy with God Essay

Introduction The beginning of our relationship with God is from the moment we accept and believe Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. As it gets personal, it grows daily until it becomes deeper and intimate. Intimacy generally refers to the feeling of being in a close personal association and belonging together. It is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of a bond that is formed through knowledge and experience of the other. In this lesson, we will learn and understand the work of God in our lives for us to be intimate with Him, yet it doesn’t require full force of effort from us. The following insights will help us to set ourselves to submit in the Lordship of God until we reach personal intimate relationship with Him. How would you complete the following statement? The most essential ingredient to living the Christian life is to†¦ †¢Fill your heart and mind with Scripture †¢ Pray as much as you are able. †¢Attend Christian meetings for inspiration. †¢Get involved in ministry. †¢Choose to do what is right and Godly. †¢None of the above. Each of the above choices are important to living the Christian life, but none of them qualifies as the â€Å"most essential† because they all fail to adequately deal with the primary obstacle Christian must overcome. This obstacle not only makes the Christian life difficult to live, but impossible to live. Why we can’t live the Christian Life? The primary obstacle that hinders Christians is the Sin Nature. Contrary to the belief that we are all born innocent, Scripture teaches that we do not become sinners, but that we are already born sinners. Psalms 51:5 The following Scriptures describes this problem Romans 3:10-12 Mark 7:21-23 Romans 8:7-8 Because of our sinful nature, not matter how many Scriptures we know, not matter often we pray, no matter how many inspirational meeting we attend, no matter how involved we are in ministry, or no matter how strong will to do right, our best efforts will fail because we do not deal with the main problem. When done in our own strength, these activities simply produce Spiritual pride! But God has provided a solution for us. God’s Solution God’s Solution to our Sin nature is to give us a New Nature! He did this by putting His Holy Spirit in us at the moment we received Jesus Christ! The following Scriptures describe this miracle. John 3:5-7 Ephesians 4:23-24 God’s spirit imparts God’s nature and power in us! Ezekiel 36:26-27 Acts 1:8 Philippians 2:13 (TLB) God’s Spirit gives us the Desire (Ezekiel 36:26-27) and the Power (Acts 1:8) to do His will! God’s Spirit in Us The desire in you to please God is the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart. It is evident of the New Nature you inherited when you were born again by God’s Spirit. We are born into this world with a Sin Nature. But the moment we trust Jesus Christ for forgiveness, we are â€Å"born again† with a new nature, which is not only the new me but the real me! The sin nature, or Old me, can never please God and does not even want to, but our New Nature not only desires to please God, but it is able to by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Notice that the Christian’s Sin Nature will cease at the moment death, while our new nature will continue for eternity! The challenge we face in this life is the battle between these two natures to rule in our minds, our hearts and bodies. They are at war within us! The good news is that this struggle is temporary. Once we are free of Sin Nature, our new nature will be unhindered to do all that God desires. It is important to understand that the key to victory is God’s Spirit within us. Only by allowing His Spirit to live through us will we experience God’s Will and Power in us! Be Filled with the Spirit Ephesians 5:18 teaches us how to apply God’s provision to overcome sin. The word â€Å"filled† means to be filled to the full! A person â€Å"filled with the spirit â€Å"leaves no room for the Sin Nature to control his life. Command: This verb teaches that we are â€Å"filled with the Spirit† by an act of our will! God is not asking us to be filled with his Spirit if we feel like it. God is commanding us to be filled. No matter how we feel †¦ no matter what our circumstances, we can choose to be filled and allow God to rule in our lives! God’s Work: This verb also indicates that it is God who fills us. We simply make ourselves available to Him! As we yield our lives to God, His Spirit empowers us with His Desire and Ability! Present Tense: Finally, this verb commands us to continually allow God’s Holy Spirit to fill us ~ moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. No breaks and no allowance for the Sin Nature to reign! How can we be sure God will fill us with His Holy Spirit? Because He said He would, and God does not lie! 1 John 5:14-15 1. Is it God’s will for us to be filled with His Spirit? ⠝  yes ⠝  no 2. If we ask God to fill us with His Spirit, will He hear us? ⠝  yes ⠝  no 3. If we know God will hear us, can we be sure we are filled? ⠝  yes ⠝  no Application The following steps can help us experience God’s Power continually 1. Confess ~ Not being filled to the full with God’s Spirit is sin. Confess this to God and claim His forgiveness (1 John 1:9) 2. Be Filled with the Holy Spirit ~ Ask God to fill you with His Spirit! Filling of the Holy Spirit doesn’t end our relationship with God. Rather, it only set our condition with the Lord. Each of us can posses a spiritual relationship with Christ. Jesus is very well aware of our individuality and want to give us just what we want to grow in our walk with Him. The following presents a guide that may help you find time to spend with God.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

How to Write a Good Thesis Statement

How to Write a Good Thesis Statement In composition and academic writing, a  thesis statement (or controlling idea) is a  sentence  in an essay, report, research paper, or speech that identifies the main idea and/or central purpose of the text. In  rhetoric, a  claim  is similar to a thesis. For students  especially, crafting a thesis statement can be a challenge, but its important to know how to write one because a thesis statement is the heart of any essay you write. Here are some tips and examples to follow. Purpose of the Thesis Statement The thesis statement serves as the organizing principle of the text and appears in the  introductory paragraph. It is not a mere statement of fact. Rather, it is an idea, a claim, or an interpretation, one that others may dispute. Your job as a writer is to persuade the reader- through the careful use of examples and thoughtful analysis- that your argument is a valid one. Developing Your Argument Your thesis is the most important part of your writing. Before you begin writing, youll want to follow these tips for developing a good thesis statement: Read and compare your sources: What are the main points they make? Do your sources conflict with one another? Dont just summarize your sources claims; look for the motivation behind their motives.Draft your thesis: Good ideas are rarely born fully formed. They need to be refined. By committing your thesis to paper, youll be able to refine it as you research and draft your essay.Consider the other side: Just like a court case, every argument has two sides. Youll be able to refine your thesis by considering the counterclaims and refuting them in your essay. Be Clear and Concise An effective thesis should answer the reader question, So what? It should not be more than a sentence or two. Dont be vague, or your reader wont care. Incorrect: British indifference caused the American Revolution. Correct: By treating their U.S. colonies as little more than a source of revenue and limiting colonists political rights, British indifference contributed to the start of the American Revolution. Make a Statement Although you do want to grab your readers attention, asking a question is not the same as making a thesis statement. Your job is to persuade by presenting a clear, concise concept that explains both how and why. Incorrect: Have you ever wondered why Thomas Edison gets all the credit for the light bulb? Correct: His savvy self-promotion and ruthless business tactics cemented Thomas Edisons legacy, not the invention of the lightbulb itself. Don't Be Confrontational Although you are trying to prove a point, you are not trying to force your will on the reader. Incorrect: The stock market crash of 1929  wiped out many small investors who were financially inept and deserved to lose their money. Correct: While a number of economic factors caused the stock market crash of 1929, the losses were made worse by uninformed first-time investors who made poor financial decisions.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

House-Sitting Puts Ink in the Travel Writers Pen

House-Sitting Puts Ink in the Travel Writers Pen Staying for extended stretches in exotic and culturally rich places for free? Then being paid for pieces you’ve written about your stay? Sounds unreal, but the reality is anything but: over the past several years I’ve spent one- to two-month periods in Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, the Bahamas and St. Vincent and the Grenadines with my sweetheart Alice, without paying a cent for lodging. With some careful prep, and an open eye and mind for stories when you get there, you can set yourself up for exciting travel- and even some green from writing about that excitement. Finding the Opportunities For the past few years,  mindmyhouse.com  has been our house-sitting site of choice. The site provides descriptions and photos of the properties, dates and length of stays, and what the homeowner wants you to do in exchange for staying at their home. MindMyHouse emails listings almost daily, and they are truly from all over the world. Some owners want you to do things like manage multiple Airbnbs or groom their herd of buffalo, but most of them want someone to take care of pets, water plants and keep the house secure. The Net, Cast Wide To be doable, you have to have work that allows you to leave your house for relatively long stretches of time. The Internet has opened the floodgates for such â€Å"solopreneurs.† Both Alice and I have been freelancing out of our home for years. Of course, house-sitting means someone probably has to take care of your home as well. We have a cat who needs attention, as well as a garden, and we’ve found house-sitters on MindMyHouse who have done fine jobs. We wrote a small manual of the idiosyncrasies of our house so that there aren’t any surprises and have made sure the bills are set up to be paid in advance. One sour surprise is when the Internet is spotty in the house-sit home, or worse, out for days at a time. That’s happened to us in the Bahamas, and that didn’t help with some deadlines. However, that does allow for time to engage in travel writing. Look for Angles, Before, During and After Look for story angles in advance to see if there’s any editor interest. I pitched stories about biking to the lava flow on the Big Island and on things to do in Hilo before we spent time there, and later had the pieces published in the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. At the same time, it’s smart- and fun- to be open to story ideas that crop up. When we stayed in the Grenadine Islands, we found out that there’s a rum distillery on St. Vincent and took a private tour there. Haven’t placed that story yet, but I did place a fun one on looking for whiskey on an island of rum. Always have your camera at the ready when you’re out and about, as you’re likely to find sights for your lenses that most short-visit tourists wouldn’t. And I never travel without a notepad, making sure to type up my scrawled notes about people, places and things within a day or two of scrawling them, when my memory is fresh. Your Office Is the World Even if you have to take care of ill or psychologically-damaged pets (a couple of times for us), or a psychologically-damaged owner (once, and that was enough), the opportunities for travel writing as a house-sitter are deep. House-sitting puts you in a great position to see splendid sights- and then set them on the paying page.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

An NFL Redskins Football Match Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An NFL Redskins Football Match Experience - Essay Example This descriptive essay portrays human expression from visiting a football match between Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, which took place in Arlington, United States.Author explaines the commencement of the match, and thousands of fans of both the teams, that could be seen outside the stadium in the form of a huge crowd. They were seen carrying the flags of the respective teams and wore colorful clothes. The live match experience, described in this essay is second to nothing in terms of companionship of the audiences, their unity and support for their respective teams, the adventure and thrill that every goal accompanies, and the memories that stay with the audiences for a lifetime. This essay also focuses on the fans, ways of representing their favourite teams wearing bright colorful dress shirts and ties like red, maroon, dark blue, and even yellow. The match was between Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. Accordingly, blue and red were the most prominent colors in the c rowd. The stadium was overcrowded with at least 40,000 audiences. A brief summary of the match also was given, especially the transition of the game from Dallas Cowboys to Washington Redskins and the effects on the crowd it caused. The atmosphere on the stadium was raised to the next level of thrill and excitement. In conclusion author outlines that, the experience of watching a football match on the television in no way compares to the experience of watching the team perform live in the stadium.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Ecological Colapse of Past Civilizations Research Paper

Ecological Colapse of Past Civilizations - Research Paper Example This risk has been existing in the human history, resulting in the current destructive modern technology, which is contributing a lot towards environmental pollution. It is widely believed that pre-industrial societies respected and preserved nature, lived with their environment in a harmonious manner, and were wise when it came to the consumption of natural resources. However, Diamond points out that there is a large number of pre-industrial societies that did collapse. He defines â€Å"society collapse† as a local radical decrease of the number of human populations and economic, political, and social complexity (363). He further states that collapse can result in a certain human population disappearing completely over a wide area. Some of the victims of past civilizations listed in this article include: Great Zimbabwe, Greenland Norse, Anasazi, Angkor Wat, Classic Lowland Maya, Mycenaean Greece, and Easter Island among many others. Human beings should have learned from the collapse of these societies and work tirelessly to find appropriate solutions to the current environmental difficulties. Diamond notes that the recent devastating evidence from archaeological and other disciplines demonstrates that some of the past collapses actually stemmed from ecological disasters that are similar to the current ecological suicide that human beings are risking to commit nowadays. Even though the past societies were made up of smaller populations with less destructive technology compared to the ones we possess nowadays, the pre-industrial ecological suicides unfolded resulting in collapsing of some societies. This indicates that things will become worse if we continue participating in modern activities that cause a lot of harm to the environment. People can really learn from these past happenings. However, the problem seems to be very complicated. This is a problem that requires critical thinking to come up

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Growth of Contemporary Christianity Research Paper

Growth of Contemporary Christianity - Research Paper Example According to the Pew Research Center, total Christian population is estimated to be 2.18 billion, out of 6.9 billion world population. Although the faith is considered to be a new advent in comparison with Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Judaism, yet the religion got popularity in all corners within few centuries of its advent. The credit certainly goes to the saints, preachers and the dedicated adherents of the faith, which turned out to be supportive in spreading its noble teachings. Although the founder of Christian faith belonged to Nazareth, the present day Asian state of Israel, yet it is very popular in Europe, America, Australia, Africa and remote areas of Asia. Growth of Christianity in India Although there is a misconception about the advent of the Christian faith in the aftermath of the European invasions on the sub-continent and colonization era, yet the belief has been introduced in the region during the apostolic age. Historical evidence reveals the very fact that Christianity got its way to the Indian sub-continent during the first century A.D., where St. Judas Thomas, one of the most dynamic pupils of Jesus Christ, was instructed to reach the northern parts of the country in order to spread the message of Christ and Scripture to the indigenous Indian population during the era of Indo-Parthian Kingdom of Takhshashila (Ninan, 2004: 5). ii The Acts of Thomasiii demonstrates that Thomas was successful in communicating the religious belief system to the monarch and subjects as well. Consequently, the king, his family and significant number of courtiers embraced Christianity. Kerala is stated to be the first region to accept Christianity by 3rd century A.D. Missickiv (20 02) notices the existence of an ancient Christian people living along the coast of Malabar in southern India whose origins extend back over one thousand years before they were discovered by European explorers. This is the same community that is claimed to be established by St. Thomas. Taken after the name of St. Thomas, this Mar-Thoma Christian community followed the Assyrian traditions of the faith, which actually consisted of the same conventions, language and teachings that had been attributed to Jesus Christ and his followers belonging to the areas situated in the present day Middle East. With the passage of time, Assyrian faith got popularity in the neighboring parts of the country, and the Indians suppressed under the nefarious clutches of caste and class Hindu system, sought relief in a religion that used to advocate equality, justice and respect of every citizen without discrimination. Consequently, the eastern and southern parts of the sub-continent also started welcoming C hristianity with open arms. Ninan also observes the arrival of Apostle Barthemew by 55 A.D. near Bombay, (present day coastal cosmopolitan city of Mumbai), who taught Gospel and other religious teachings to the local people, and played very important role in convincing different strata of the then Indian population. As a result, the members from the religious Brahman, warriors and peasant communities embraced new faith quite willingly.v However, it does not mean that the apostles and saints did not undergo trials and oppositions altogether in India. On the contrary, they had to face chains of difficulties and mountains of hardships during the course of introducing a religion that appeared to be quite opposite to the prevailing idol-worshipping teachings of the indigenous Hinduism. Thus, the apostles determined to spread Christianity in India had to meet with the same fate the African saints including St. Perpetua, St. Monica, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine of Hippo and others

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Procedures for communicating health and safety

Procedures for communicating health and safety SYSTEMS, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMMUNICATING HEALTH AND SAFETY It is important for organisations to understand how to administer health and safety for social care workers in health and social care workplace in accordance to legislative requirements. It is vital for all clients and carers cooperate to categorise health and safety risks and identify the best means to manage them. Usual changes in health and social care work environments include: health and safety, and it is best to respond to these usual changes which can influence workplace practises. Communication is vital in ensuring the safety or users and staffs. Every worker must the risks faced and prevention methods put in place and any emergency action plans. This information must be provided in concise and non-technical terms for easy understanding. Good communication between workers and employers includes: Itemisation of all hazardous substances used or produced within the workplace. Having a readily available Safety Data Sheets for any confidential hazardous substances in use. Converting any useful information from Safety Data Sheets into workplace information that provides specific instructions on handling substances that are in constant use. Ensuring proper labelling of hazardous substances, with hazard warnings for physical and health hazards. Communicating the outcome of risk assessments. Regular enquiries from workers about probable health and safety issues. Providing workers with all applicable instructions, lessons and training on the hazardous substances available in the place of work, and the safety measures they should take to guard themselves and other staffs. Making sure that every worker has the knowledge of appropriate usage of every control measures provided, who problems should be reported to, and what should be done in the occurrence of a mishap concerning hazardous substances. Management Responsibilities of Health and Safety relating to Organisational Structures. Under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, it is the obligation for an employer (host employer, contractor, and service provider) to ensure, so far as is reasonably viable, a healthy and safe workplace for themselves, their workers, including agency staff and subcontractors, and anyone else in the workplace. To meet up with these obligations, service providers must carry out a risk assessment in the care home, before service provision of any kind clients, to discover probable hazards and put suitable controls in place to reduce the threat of injury or illness for clients, carers and other employees. Figure 1 below outlines the five- step risk management process the risk assessment must follow. This assessment must be done in alliance with service users and their families and every other involved client. Developing client’s care plan must be done identifying suitable control measures. Management has certain responsibilities to employees working in the home environment and should: Communicate plainly and identify with what services are to be provided. Consider supplementary services before being performed. Evaluate any activity that may have altered to guarantee the controls are still working or need to be modified. Document on a daily basis the monitoring of the service using various methods especially where a particular client has various service providers or community workers. Managers should engage in the following to ensure quality control in areas of health and safety: Perform regular audits to guarantee effective controls are in use. Evaluate client’s condition and the work settings on a regular basis. Promote timely reporting of hazards, incidents and early symptoms. Check with with staff and follow-up on issues raised. Ensure suitable staffing by reviewing staffing levels. Providing visibly distinct job descriptions, procedures and policies. Ensuring required competencies of managers. Managing staffs exposure to occupational stress. Providing information to clients about expected behaviour and its effects to service provision. Evaluating organisational and performance management systems. Putting policies and procedures in place for controlling conflict and workplace harassment. Providing staff training and approach on dealing with workloads and handling conflicts and job rotation. Sustaining an unbiased relationship and proper boundaries with clients. Providing relevant therapy services for employees. Declining or transforming client services if in high risk environment. APPROPRIATE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRIORITIES FOR SPECIFIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE WORKPLACE SETTING Employers have a common obligation under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to guarantee, so far as is logically practical, the health, safety and welfare of their workforce. These policies intend to make certain that work settings meet the health, safety and welfare desires of every employee, including individuals with disabilities. Most of the systems involve things to be ‘suitable’. Regulation 2(3) makes it clear that things should be suitable for anyone including those with disabilities. Where essential, parts of the work settings, including in particular doors, stairways, showers, passages, basins, sinks, toilets, bathrooms and workstations, should be made reachable for disabled persons. Health Ventilation Workplaces need to be effectively ventilated. Fresh, hygienic air should circulate and can be from a suitable source outside the work setting, unpolluted by discharges from any process outlets like chimneys and flues, and be disseminated through every room. Temperatures in indoor workplaces Individual preference complicates specification of a satisfactory thermal environment for everyone. For organisations with mainly desk activities like offices, the temperature should usually be no less than 16 Â °C. If the job involves physical effort it should be no less than 13 Â °C (unless other regulations require less temperature). Lighting Lighting should be adequate to permit people to work and move around in safety. If essential, local lighting should be supplied at certain workstations and areas of particular hazards such as passage way to the basement. Lighting and light fixtures should not cause any hazard. Automatic emergency lighting, motorized by an autonomous source, should be supplied in case of sudden loss of power that would generate a risk. Cleanliness and waste materials Every workplace and the furnishings, equipments, surfaces of floors, walls and ceilings and fittings must be in clean and hygienic condition. Cleaning and the taking away of waste have to be carried out by a compulsorily effective means. Waste must be stored in appropriate containers. Workstations and seating Workstations should be fit for the individuals using them for the job. Employees should be capable of exiting workstations quickly in an emergency. If work must be done in a sitting position, seats should be made suitable for those using them for the kind of work they do. Seating should provide sufficient support for the lower back, and footrests should be available for employees who are unable to place their feet flat on the floor. Safety Maintenance The workplace, and certain tools, devices and equipments should be properly retained in competent operational order for health, safety and welfare. Such protection is mandatory for mechanical ventilation systems; apparatus and devices which pose risk to health, safety or welfare in the event of faults; and equipment and devices proposed to avert or reduce danger. Floors and traffic routes The term ‘Traffic route’ is used for any route for pedestrian traffic and/or vehicles, and includes any fixed ladders, gateway, stairs, passage, and doorway, loading bay or ramp. There must be adequate traffic routes, of plenty distance across and headroom, to permit individuals and vehicles to flow effortlessly and safely. Windows Operable windows, ventilators and skylights must be able to open and close freely or adjusted safely. In an open position, windows should not be of any unwarranted risk to anyone. Ventilators should be designed so for safe cleaning. Doors and gates Doors and gates must be properly built and integrated with safety devices were appropriate. Swinging doors and gates and traditional hinged doors on central traffic ways should have a translucent viewing panel. Escalators and moving walkways Escalators and moving walkways should operate in safety, be fitted with the required safety devices. They must be equipped with emergency and panic controls that can be easily identified and are readily accessible. REFERENCES Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Commencement No.1) Order 1974, 1974/1439, art.2(a)/ Sch.1

Friday, October 25, 2019

Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay -- essays research papers

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4,1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. He was the only son and second child to be born to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hawthorne. When Nathaniel was four years old his father died of yellow fever in Dutch Guiana. After Nathaniel’s father died, his mother’s family took in his family. As a child Hawthorne developed a love for story telling. When Nathaniel was nine years old, he got an injury to his foot that caused him to stay home for fourteen months. While nursing his injury at home, he got into the habit of constant reading. In his late teen years, he was a handsome, vigorous, and bright young man. Nathaniel was the first in his family to be sent to college.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While attending college, Hawthorne studied to be a writer were he met two other soon to be famous writers, Longfellow and Pierce. Hawthorne then graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825 in Brunswick, Maine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Nathaniel graduated, he went back to Salem and set his goals at becoming a professional writer. â€Å"Hawthorne was for many years the undistinguished man of America.†1 Nathaniel’s first project collection was â€Å"Seven Tales Of My Native Land†. From 1825 to 1830, Nathaniel studied intensively, wanting to know more about New England history. In 1829, Nathaniel published, â€Å"The Token†, an annual Christmas gift book, which contained fiction, short essays, and poetry. Hawthorne also published sketches and over seventy tales in various maga...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Hannibal Barca and the Carthaginian Campaign Essay

Hannibal Barca is the famous Carthaginian general, who is especially renowned for his successful campaign against Rome during the Second Punic War in 218 BC. Hannibal won some of the most famous victories against a numerically superior Roman army in Roman battlefields, notably the Battle of Cannae, which is universally considered as a masterpiece of military strategy and ranks among greatest military achievements in history (Gabriel, 2001). The innovative use of strategy and resources and capitalizing on enemy’s slightest weakness to turn into decisive victory for himself had been unique characteristics of Hannibal’s leadership that has earned him place in annals of great military leaders of history. Even today, many military schools still teach Hannibal’s military strategy, specially his placement of forces and improvisation in attack maneuvers. Hannibal Barca (247 BC-183 BC) Hannibal rose to his fame during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) during which he established himself as one of the most brilliant strategists and tactician of the war seen by ancient world. If analyzed from the overall view of leadership, there are very few generals even in modern times who can compete with Hannibal. Hannibal was not only extremely proficient in military techniques and innovations but he was also excellent in understanding the delicate balance between military and political power. He was also very apt in exercising directed will and personal leadership-indeed, it was his sheer personal presence and force that motivated soldiers under him for 16 years in a foreign land. A study of Hannibal’s style of campaign is highly relevant even from modern perspective. Further, the Second Punic War introduced the concept of strategic endurance and tactical engagement, which still form the basis of military strategy. In these senses, the Hannibal’s campaign in the Second Punic War is watershed event in the military history of the West (Gabriel, 2001) . Historians still debate about the exact causes that inspired Hannibal to muster Carthaginian Ships and lead the army to Italy on an inordinately long and, in the end, deliberately unaccomplished campaign. While in more than one ways, Hannibal continued to injure, wound and dent the Roman pride to the degree where Romans were afraid to send an army against him, Hannibal never did actually sack the Rome or take control of the Empire (Gabriel, 2001). It is suggested that Hannibal’s chief motivation was to neither to humiliate Rome for their victory in first Punic war, nor to settle any personal score, but rather a more prudent vision of checking the expansionist ambition of Rome and keep Carthage secure in the only feasibly way-by attacking the Rome itself. Rome of the third century B. C.  E. was still on the way to power and glory that it would acquire a century later. At this time Rome was largely a land power while Carthage had emerged as the richest and most powerful trading nation due to its control over sea and its access to market of Sicily, Corsica and Spain. But the expanding Roman interests soon brought Sicily in their purview, leading to direct conflict with Carthage (Gabriel, 2001). The strategic position of Sicily had placed it in such position that while it marked as a check over Roman expansion, its loss would translate into a direct threat over Carthage. This conflict of interests led to the first Punic War in 261 BC where Rome and Carthage were locked in a 20 years long war, bitterly fought by each side. Despite suffering huge casualties, Rome won by 241 BC and Carthage suffered heavy losses. Its major markets were annexed by Rome, its trading fleet was reduced and it was subjected to heavy indemnity. Faced with prospects of financial ruin, the state stood at the verge of civil war when it was rescued by its most able general Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal Barca. Hannibal was born in 247 BC and he grew up while closely watching his father’s style of leadership and military tactics (Gabriel, 2001). It can be said that defeat of first Punic War was one of the motivating factors for young Hannibal Barca, who quickly rose through military ranks to command the forces of Carthage. At this time, most of the fighting units were primarily composed of tribal mercenaries who only valued chieftains who could lead them to victory and subsequent plunder. Therefore, Hannibal’s rise among these soldiers in itself is a testimony to his formidable reputation as a brilliant young tactician, competent to deliver victory even in most adverse of the situations (Gabriel, 2001). The Second Punic War (218BC-201 BC) The Punic Wars are recognized as the harbinger of modern style of warfare, which is dependent more on strategy, skill and technique than numerical supremacy. They marked an important shift from the earlier one-day affairs where the fates of empires were often settled in a single engagement. The Second Punic War lasted for 16 years, during which Rome hardly ever won a single engagement; however, it maintained its tenacious grip over the empire without collapsing until it gathered sufficient strength to achieve victory (Gabriel, 2001). The war also established the important of political will and social organization as decisive elements towards victory. Eventually, Rome’s victory started the era of political and strategic resource gathering that ultimately led to creation of the Roman Empire. However, these results came much later on. At the time of Hannibal’s campaign, Rome was still a very strong nation-state with ample economic resources, manpower and competent generals with large legions of armies under their command. On the other hand, when Hannibal started his campaign his resources were severely restrained. After discounting all the forces required to secure Carthaginian mainland, Hannibal was left with only 40,000 men and 8–10,000 horse, mostly Africans and Numidians, from Carthage itself. The rest would have to be raised from friendly Iberian tribes. By comparison, Rome had a reservoir of 250,000 foot and 23,000 horses, which it could gather in any instant of war. Including the forces of its allies, the Roman swelled to Drawing swelled to 700,000 foot and 70,000 horse, an army that was even larger than Napoleon’s Grand Army that invaded Russia in 1812 (Gabriel, 2001). With these difficulties in sight, Hannibal was well aware that he could not win a war of attrition or a direct battle against Rome. His only route to success lied through a prolonged campaign where he hoped to defeat Roman army in separate encounters and thus alienate Roman allies, who would no longer see Rome as a significant power. This strategy was dangerous because Hannibal would be directly leading his army to play against Roman strength in ground war. Further, with Roman control over sea routes, the campaign would be required to be self sustaining for its entire period as no help could be reached from Carthage if the troops were entrapped by Roman army (Gabriel, 2001). Added to this multiplicity of difficulties was the fact that the entire campaign was to take place on Italian lands, where Roman generals had better advantage in understanding the weather and terrain. By 218 BC, Rome was itself preparing for a double assault under its two generals, Publius Cornelius Scipio and Sempronius Longus. Scipio was to attack Spain with a force of 24000 thousand soldiers and 1500 horses while Sempronius was preparing to invade Africa with 36000 men and 1800 horses. He started his invasion in May 218 BC, with strength of 50,000 men 9000 horses, and 37 elephants, hoping to recruit the Celtic and Gallic tribes en route during the campaign (Gabriel, 2001). He had to face some hostility from local tribes but after crushing them ruthlessly in a six week campaign he led his forces through Alps. Records show that Hannibal started his crossing with almost 60,000 men and 37 elephants and by the time he crossed the Alps, only 23000 men and horses and 10 elephants were left alive, though barely in fighting condition. This was a terrible setback to his campaign plans, but he did not let despair sink in (Morris. 1937). His sudden and completely unexpected descent by Alps had indeed taken the Roman Senate by surprise and thrown many of their military plans into haywire. Both Scipio and Longus were called from their planned invasion to counter impending threat of Hannibal. The Roman generals were indeed somewhat overconfident, having to operate within their own country lands. Further, they had remarkable degree of vanity, anger, impetuousness and ego-elements which Hannibal used dexterously to his advantage in drawing them to battle (Tony.  1992). Battles of Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae. Hannibal’s forces had won a number of small skirmishes and minor battles against the pursuing army of Scipio which had given them confidence and also support of a large number of native tribes. Even some of the Celtic contingents within Scipio army revolted, killed Roman soldiers and joined Hannibal’s forces. This alerted the Roman general who then stationed his army over a hill near river Trebia, awaiting Longus and his army, to jointly take upon the Hannibal’s army that was resting across other side of the River (Tony. 1992). When Longus joined Scipio, the Roman contingent swelled to an impressive degree, far outnumbering Hannibal’s troops. However, even under these circumstances, Scipio urged caution and asked Longus to wait for winters and further reinforcement before beginning the battle. Semponius Longus was instead in favor of a quick action and quick glory. Hannibal provided further provocation to him as small part of his troops attacked Roman legions repeatedly, challenging them for war. Longus took the bait and ordered his troops to cross the Trebia river for a direct showdown against Hannibal’s army(Tony. 1992). However, unknown to him, Hannibal had concealed an elite force of 2000 cavalry under the banks of river, who were ready to spring a trap to Roman army. Further, Hannibal’s forces were well rested and had a definite action plan against their enemies. A 40000 strong Roman and allied army crossed the river Trebia to engage with Hannibal’s 30000 troops on a cold December morning. As the battle started, the hidden units of Hannibal attacked, taking them completely unawares and causing great disarray and confusion in the Roman columns. This confusion, along with strategic marshalling of Hannibal, cost Romans heavily (Tony.  1992). More than 30,000 of their soldiers died and rest fled to safety, handing Hannibal his first great victory of the campaign. His losses were minimal in comparison, which boosted the spirit of his army and drew more native tribes to him. Battle of Lake Trasimene The defeat prompted a change in of command in Roman army and senate appointed Cnaeus Servilius and Gaius Flaminius as counsel of wars to block Hannibal’s invasion to Rome. Hannibal found Flaminius not much different from Longus and therefore decided to lure him to battle using the same strategy that he used at Trebia. Hannibal ordered his troops to burn countryside, towns, villages and slaughter livestocks, but prevented them from taking directly on the Roman armies. The tactics was to enrage the generals, trick them into making a mistake and then destroy the Roman army at the place that offered Hannibal’s troop maximum advantage.. Flaminius fell for the these tricks and he decided to pursue Hannibal’s army through the valley besides lake Trasimene. He mistook 6000 of Hannibal’s troop as his entire army and entered the valley with 15000 of his force to defeat the Roman tormentor. But the full strength of Hannibal’s 30000 strong army was hiding in forest, under the veil of a thick fog, so that the entire Roman army went past them without taking any cognizance of their presence! At the right moment, Hannibal ordered the attack, which completely routed the Roman army. The battle lasted two hours during which 15000 Roman soldiers were killed at cost of 1500 men in Hannibal’s army (Gabriel, 2001). Battle of Cannae Hannibal’s victory in battle of lake Tresimene sent waves of fear through Roman empire. In just two years he had defeat four of the best Roman counsels and caused more than 50,000 casualties. Rome realized for the first time that it was up against one of its most formidable foe and to counter the challenge, it placed the command of battle in hands of Quintus Fabius, who was a very competent commander with acute understanding of military as well as political affairs (Daly. 2002). Fabius made a correct strategic assessment of the situation and concluded that in the end of war, Rome’s domestic advantage, its superior alliance relation and its vast resources would lead to its victory against Hannibal. Therefore, he did not show any hurry in marching to the battlefield and apprehending the culprit. He very well knew that time was working in Rome’s favor (Daly. 2002) The military policy he started was in accordance with this understanding and it was aimed at containing Hannibal rather than defeating him. For more than a year, Fabius policy paid dividends as he strengthened defenses, retained the alliances and by refusing to engage Hannibal in a direct conflict, denied him any opportunity of a victory. Fabius was fighting the true war of attrition, which would have destroyed Hannibal’s army (Gabriel, 2001). But the mood in Rome was favoring war and they viewed Fabius working style as too cautionary. The senate replaced Fabius by L. Aemilius Paulus and C. Terentius Varro as generals of war. These generals immediately fell for the bait of war that Fabius was deliberately avoiding in summer of 216 BC a 86000 strong Roman army under generalship of Varro took to field against Hannibal’s 45000 strong force near the village of Cannae (Daly. 2002). Varro made two crucial errors. First he positioned the river Aufidus on his right flank, which denied his soldiers any space of maneuver and secondly he completely ignored the strong Carthaginian cavalry. Hannibal, in his usual display of brilliance kept his strongest units at flanks and weakest at the center. Varro took the bait and his army pushed deep inside the Carthaginian formation, where they were trapped in a pincer movement by Hannibal’s superior strong force (Daly. 2002). It was akin that they were trapped in a V shaped formation with no route to escape. The battle was over within few hours and its end, 52000 Roman soldiers were laying dead, and 5000 were taken prisoner. Hannibal’s forces had suffered 8000 losses. The combined casualty was around 60000, making it one of the bloodiest battles fought (Gabriel, 2001). Further Campaigns Cannae was a great victory for Hannibal, and it marked culmination of his three years of war efforts where he had incapacitated more than 20 percent of entire Roman population that was capable of entering military. However, it is said, that the terrible sight after battle of Cannae had affected Hannibal deeply and despite the fact that there was no hindrance to his journey to Rome, he refused to take the coveted road, earning him censure and criticism from his own generals (Gabriel, 2001). Post the defeat of Cannae, Rome re-mobilized its army and within two years, it numbers had swelled back to 200,000 men under arms. However, it had learned from the mistakes and instead of attacking Hannibal directly, it played on Fabian strategy of tiring him, denying him an opportunity of waging a direct battle. This tactics worked successfully and by 210 BC, was Hannibal had been contained in southern Italy, while Roman armies won victories in Greece and Spain. True, Hannibal was still out of their reach and every effort to touch him resulted in a defeat for the Roman troops, but overall the Roman grip had greatly strengthened (Gabriel, 2001). By 204 B. C. E. Scipio launched a campaign against Africa, which threatened Carthage itself. This prompted the state politicians to negotiate with Rome which led to recall of Hannibal and his armies from Italy. Hannibal’s last battle was with Scipio on the African plain near the small village of Zama where he was as defeated, and thus ended the military career of one of the greatest generals of the ancient world/ Conclusion Of all the adversaries that Rome faced in its long history, Hannibal Barca is indelibly etched as its greatest foe and for very concrete reasons. In the entire history of Rome, no other general had single handed ravaged the empire to the degree that Hannibal managed, staying virtually undefeated through his 16 years long campaign, while outsmarting best of the Roman generals and strategist. It’s the testimony of Hannibal’s enterprise however, that his most authentic biography is given by none other than Roman historians. . His campaign against Rome produced some of the finest military strategy and thinking that ancient world had seen, or for that matter even the modern world has seen. Like all military leaders he was cruel and ruthless, but only to the degree where these traits served to meet the objective of his campaign. His very decision to abandon the route of Rome in wake of the slaughter at the Battle of Cannae shows the finer elements of his character.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

A Leadership Journey

A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY. Created by SHARATH KUMAR Abstract The paper records the evolution of the author’s thinking on leadership through the course of his work involvement. Leadership is viewed as a dynamic process which consists formal and informal roles. The process is introduced as an individual recognizes opportunities and urged to answer back to evolving patterns and pledge action to enable positive change. The dynamics between formal and informal leadership structures and leadership as a state of mind are conferred.The following paper shows a reflection on my personal journey and growing understanding of leadership based on my work experience. As I look back in time, I identify that most of my current interest in leadership and complexity has evolved. This paper archives the development of my view about leadership. Stages in the Journey Over my career I have experienced various milestones that have shaped and inclined my perspectives on leadership. Vitally I have witnessed my role as a leader as one who pronounces and puts into action a vision that inspires others to join in to an extent at least.Along the way, the instability of resistance to that vision that has been the extreme influence on restricting my focus and ideology about leadership, as I’ve fought to overcome obstacles. Now I leadership as a dynamical distributed process among performers. I believe I have inculcated an informal methodology similar to grounded theory, as I take in information on the area concerned, formulate a theory and then test and modify that theory actively. There have been crowning events that have shaped my perspectives about leadership.I evoke the poignant enthusiasm of joining the company. I had been employed as Assistant Chief Information Officer multinational company. My position in the company in my opinion was a dream job – aiding in devising a long-term strategy for the growth of the business unit from a process and technology perspective. I ins tantly noted operational issues and developed suggestions to address them. Although, my dream was shattered as I soon I was made to realize my position and the inclination of the management team to clinch new ideas were not necessary. Organization as OrganismMy first day at work struck by the oppression of meetings absorbed so much time there was no time left to do work. Employees were exasperated because they had no access to their managers for direction. Projects were not being completed in a time due to the perspective experts needed on them were unavailable due to other bookings. Organizational beliefs about alliance needed key employees that were patrons to a project indulge in discussion and decision making. Still, decision making was a tremendously slow process as it lacked clarity as to who had the decision making authority.A group would discuss the issue because one key person was not present (being double booked in another meeting) hence, the decisions were not finalized. Line of meetings being unresolved was common. Although I was brought into a company as a change agent tasked to bring strategic change to the business unit, I realized that it was not truly the case. Interest in change was driven by the instantaneous short term demands of particular clients, executives. At this point I managed to gather a team responsible for coordinating technology linked projects.After extensive talks with my head, the team that reported to me was handed over to someone else, and I was to report to this new head as an independent contributor. This change was an extremely difficult period for me, yet important in shaping my views of leadership. This was a period where deep reflection on my sense of identity, my values, and sense of personal integrity was brought out. I interpreted this change as the system. I will speak more about what I learnt of the change in a later section. A new major acquisition had just been signed and the focus had shifted from long-term st rategy to short term integration.After six months in the position, I moved out of the business unit to work with a larger parent company. My favorite definition of leadership relics Sun Tzu in the Art of War: â€Å"The way [of leadership] means inducing the people to have the same aim as the leadership, so that they will share death and share life, without fear of danger† (Sun Tzu, 2005, p. 43). The definition recognizes the collaborative dynamic that leader and follower share– both share the benefits and risks in its pursuit. Moreover, Senge’s work presented me to systems thinking and understanding the unified wholeness of organizations.This view was reinforced by my study of Neurolinguistic Programming and Neuro-Semantics, understanding human communications and the way in which we learn to construct our mental maps of the area. I saw conscious decisions to be freeing and challenging at the same time. This commitment was a challenging as I began to explore the process of leadership outside the hierarchical power structure that could command action by positional authority. Now as an independent contributor I found myself able to lead freely in a variety of ways, highlighting the need of influence in the contexts that I was called for.I mentally stepped back from the situation and took a look at the business, it’s internal and external stakeholders. I would foresee the recede and flow of people as they enthused about their work, the processes of numerous departments that enabled this organism to be effective. I also realized that minor issues evolved into major problems. I witnessed that an aspect of leadership is to distinguish this ebb and drift of the organization and identify the systemic pain points – soon enough so that adequate time is available to resolve the pain points.Often key issues remain intact solely because the situations have not reached the pain point to seize adequate attention. Partly it appeared to be an issue of prioritization; partly a problem of prevailing beliefs within the culture that impacts what employees attend to. A fundamental belief I have about leadership is that the leader is one who recognizes a potential future and asserts in motion actions that move those involved. Disequilibrium Disequilibrium is a vital situation in the dynamics of an organization, point at which the possibility for self-excelling construction of novel approaches to specific challenges to occur.The pressures associated with disequilibrium is the point when pain thresholds reach a important point that gives an organization to be receptive to emerging possibilities. Although, there are differences in the role that leadership plays in such situations. I was one of the senior employees called to speak to the other employees after the declaration that the company was to be closed. After weeks of discussions of the positive doles of the merger, one hundred and fifty people were told of losing their jobs (a third of them, the very day! I bid everyone to come together, acknowledged that there had been a death in the family and we knew where we all stood. Also, I was able to distribute a booklet to each employee on tackling with consequences of a merger. I had prepared these booklets without awareness of what the outcome of the merger would be. After discussions with the employees post meeting, I got validation for the value of the confab in bringing about a collective sense of acceptance to the veracity we faced. They also agreed that the booklet carried a tangible sense of being cared for in the development.There is a paradoxical dynamic to disequilibrium states. A disequilibrium state can although have the inverse effect occasioning in a resistance to transformation. In my understanding, the test of leadership is the capacity to anticipate and influence change afore the state of disequilibrium becomes serious. My sense of obscurity assisted as a motivator to securing the â€Å"me rger transition† booklets prior to the settlement of the merger (It was intuited that the result may not be as favorable as had formerly been voiced by management).As organizations operate as complex adaptive systems, the dynamics leading to disequilibrium usually exist as symptoms which could be observed and responded before the problem becomes serious. In this context, the process of (proactive) leadership shows self-regulating effect in the organization by permitting the process of self-transcending structure. Leadership as a Process Concluded by my experiences I see leadership as an ongoing process that befalls in human organizations through the interplay of formal and informal relationships. Leadership as a process is personified by actors who respond to a situation.Therefore, the manager should be able to carry more complex thinking to issues that a subordinate may encounter, and bring value to understanding the work. Similarly, the subordinate is responsible for sharing visions about the work with his/her manager who can pass on the developments and insights further up the hierarchy. Whatever skills I may have in endorsing leadership may be totaled by ineffective structure in the system. In fact, I point the lack of an obligatory organizational structure as one if not the major inhibitions to organizational ineffectiveness within my work environment.Leadership as a State of Mind To finish, I have come to see leadership as a state of mind. This lures originally from the work of Robert Quinn (2004), which recommends that there are certain states that act as attractors for the performer to take action that can be viewed as leadership in a particular setting. The Fundamental State of Leadership (FSL) generates the internal context that motivates the performer to respond and is replicated in interrelated attitudes, which Quinn gaps with opposing attitudes reflecting the â€Å"normal state. The FSL serves two functions: mainly by creating an attractor that boosts active behavior that aids the greater betterment of the organization. Second it gives way for the performer to be more aware of his/her perceptions and arrays of behavior. In the year of my tenure with my employer, I was aware of the requirement for a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to be able to serve the organization and needs of its customers efficiently. My suggestions met substantial confrontation with management as an earlier attempt to put in a CRM system had been unsuccessful.I was determined in expressing this requisite – to the point that my manager expressed that if I brought the matter up again I would be left out from management meetings. And then came the day when he wanted a current clients list and found out that our current systems could not yield an accurate list. All of a sudden putting in a new system became a primacy- months after the actual recommendation. In an akin manner, as I transitioned to a role in the parent company, I p iloted a research, which headed me to an awareness of the important of e-business and germaneness for the growth of the company.I became a fervent advocate of e-business and presented several proposals to senior executives. But, my recommendations were not incorporated, mainly because senior executives did not trust that it was a feasible tool within the industry. Atypically, a few months later there is renewed concern in expanding e-business for the company. These situations reinforced for me a primary norm that the process of leadership is introduced as an actor who recognizes a specific need and makes an effort to take action, even in times of obstacles.This shows an alignment with the core defiance described in the FSL. I end with a case study where I intentionally experienced the FSL in exercising leadership. I took part in a voluntary cross-functional team looking to enhance employee work experience. With gas prices on the hike, there was a strong curiosity in developing a str ategy for telecommuting. Numerous solutions were suggested and were instantly shot down by the representative from IT as either being too expensive, too time consuming for the IT staffs, or too risky from a company’s security.I do not terminate the importance and connotation of formal leadership structures, rather I am noting that leadership fundamentally functions as an internal response to attractors that allow self-transcending construction as an answer to a perceived reality. Inside the organizations, the interplay of actors captivating action to lead in formal or informal capabilities is dynamic and complex and outside the scope of this discussion. Note that this portrayal is not intended to reflect deleteriously on the behavior of the IT representative.As an entity caught in the webs of loftier meaning – synchronization of the myriad of service appeals from multiple functional departments with partial resources in staff and dollars can impart a mindset that by a specific technology that had not been discussed. Despite obvious resistance from IT to propose a solution, I decide on doing my own research and found that a technology that had been conversed seemed to offer a sensible compromise on low cost, minimal IT backing, and strong enterprise security. I went back to the board with a bid to pursue this option.This was not a job that was part of my normal work assignment, and also I could have drop the idea. Yet the internal states that fixated on serving the greater good, and sighting the opportunity that this solution could deliver served as an attractor to endure through the resistance and eventually lead to a successful outcome. Had I opted to stay within my comfort zone, the new process and organizational dynamics would not have been developed. I’ve gratified on a number of aspects of the leadership process, which I have garnered through my work experience.In summary, I have emanated to see leadership as a dynamic process that en sues in human organizations as actors identify emerging possibilities and elect to take action. The inclination to do so is sturdily related to the actor’s internal states, and engagement of the Fundamental State of Leadership. Lastly, the efficiency of the actor may be wedged by the actor’s sphere of influence and by the actors’ formal or informal eminence and authority to act, and organizational willingness to embrace the transformation. 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