Positive and Negative Sides to Religion Free Essays

Positive and Negative sides to religion All religions have one goal for society which is to unite them with a divine reality. People desire this type of reality that exists in all organized religions. Eastern and Western religions all share another commonality which are rituals, prayers, stories about a divine being and symbols. We will write a custom essay sample on Positive and Negative Sides to Religion or any similar topic only for you Order Now Organized religions have varied attributes. Though the goal is common the structure and rules vary from religion to religion. Organized religion has a positive effect on most people because of the structure and consistency. It gives a meaningful purpose to everyday life. People who pray are healthier, less apt to do drugs, or even smoke cigarettes (Fisher, 2005). The power of prayer also helps lower blood pressure, promotes healing, and maintains health in the individuals who pray on a daily basis Medical researchers have done studies on the power of prayer and healing with heart patients. They found those who prayed on a daily had a shorter healing time than those who chose not to pray. There is a negative side to organized religion. Certain groups that have misconstrued the truth about what religion is and use that to manipulate others into thinking their way. By using charisma to brainwash others into thinking that their version of religion is the only way promotes violence against others. Fundamentalists use the outside of the religion to promote their beliefs. The religion of Islam teaches their followers to promote peaceful existence; there are extremists that teach violence and oppression. Even in Christianity also has fundamentalists and extremists that start cults and brainwash others into believing that their way is the only way. This manipulation and oppression is justified because of the charisma that the heretics use. People who are lost in life, that they do not belong anywhere in society are targets because of their vulnerability by these so-called religious leaders. The example that comes to mind is the Jim Jones incident in Johannesburg South Africa. Jim Jones was a charismatic man whom had followers that brainwashed and manipulated to believe he was Messiah. He convinced all his followers to drink poisoned Kool aid in the belief that they were the chosen ones and were going to heaven. Unfortunately, all those innocent people died because they just wanted to believe in a higher power. Not all charismatic religious leaders are manipulating. The late Reverend Billy Graham was a charismatic personality that empowered people to believe in God and good things will happen. He did not use the power of manipulation or oppression to obtain followers. He spoke the true word of God and used the positive aspects of religion to his segregation. Many charismatic religious leaders have made certain impacts in organized religion. The fundamentalists try to enforce the negative aspects of religion by using the outside meaning instead that, which is taught from the holy scripture. The holy scripture of each religion should promote love, well being, and unity. When this is manipulated and the fundamentalists misuse what is originally intended causes not only harm to innocent people but society itself. Reference Fisher 2005 Chapter 1 pages 1-30 How to cite Positive and Negative Sides to Religion, Papers

Interest Groups free essay sample

As the popularity of fantasy, action packed romance films with vampires grows, the fan bases for those thrilling films grow as well. With those fan bases come many duties, including but not limited to: long endless lines waiting for premiers, one of a kind homemade t-shirts that no one else has (for clear reasons), and the formation of interest groups. More often then not, interest groups fall apart before they even have a chance to get anything significant done. That is why Vampires for Justice has hired me to help them with their interest group for the highly rated movie Twilight. The survival of an interest group lies within these key elements: gaining members, effective lobbying, and identifying and solving problems in the most beneficial way. An interest group is â€Å"any group other than a political party that is organized to influence the government† (Kollman 379). The majority of interest groups are large businesses that are looking out for their best interest. ‘Economic interest groups’ have the goal of promoting the economic interest of their members, for example, trade and professional groups (513). ‘Governmental units’ are the state and local governments that lobby the federal government to make decisions in their favor. Mostly, these state and local governments are lobbying to attain ‘earmarks’ or funding from the federal budget that an appropriations bill designates for specific projects within a state or congressional district (513). In 1974, after amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, it became legal for these interest groups to form political action committees (PACs), or officially registered fund raising organization that represents interest groups in the political process. Unlike interest groups, PACs do not have formal members; they simply have contributors who seek to influence public policy by electing legislators sympathetic to their aims. By having so many different kinds of interest groups and PACs, we see that everyone’s opinion comes into consideration politically. Although members of interest groups do not run candidates for office, they become politically active when their members believe that a government policy threatens or affects the group’s goals. Lobbying is quintessential of interest groups. The term lobbying is used to describe the activities of a group or organization that seek to persuade political leaders to support the group’s decision (521). When interest groups become active politically, they use the technique lobbying to make their interests heard and understood by those who are in a position to influence or cause change in governmental policies, usually by testifying at hearings or contacting legislators directly(521). Interest groups often lobby congress by making a congressional testimony on behalf of the group, writing letters from interested constitutes and making campaign contributions. It is no surprise that some of the most effective lobbyists are former members of Congress, staff aides, and other Washington insiders. Lobbying in Congress, as in all lobbying is successful when the lobbyist has a good reputation for fair play and provides the people they are trying to persuade with accurate information (522). Interest groups can lobby one or more levels of the executive branch of government to influence policy by, again, providing accurate information and a clear sense of where the public stands(522). Interest groups also lobby the courts. When interest groups are lobbying the courts, they either use the form of ‘direct sponsorship’ or the filing of ‘amicus curiae’ briefs. Direct sponsorship is when the lobbyist provides resources to direct a case through the judicial system. If a case comes up that an interest group is interested in, but not sponsoring, they can file an ‘amicus’ brief to inform the justices of the group’s policy preferences (523). No matter who is being lobbied, most interest groups have found that they are most successful when ‘grassroots lobbying’ is put into play, where the masses are informed as to what the interest group’s goal is and there is high public awareness of the issue. In addition to lobbying, interest groups play a key role in the electoral process. Interest groups will recruit, endorse, and/ or provide financial or other support for political candidates to focus voter’s attention on candidates who advocate policies that will help achieve the interest group’s goals. Some ideological groups will go as far as to rate the candidates to provide a clear guide for their members and the general public as to how they feel about the candidate. In addition to simply endorsing the candidates of their choices, there have been many get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts. PACs are allowed to raise money to contribute directly to political candidates in national elections. Interest groups are essential during an election because they do the research on candidates for people who would normally not do so(525). Like in any type of group, there have been some cases of corruption among interest groups. In 2006, Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption charges which led to the passing of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act in 2007. The act restricted and reformed a lot of the practices that had been going on. It banned gifts to members of Congress and their staffs, made extensive disclosure requirements, and increased the time limit on moving from the federal government to the private sector (529). Interest groups are essential to U. S. politics in that, through their influence, they enhance political participation by motivating like- minded individuals to work toward a common goal. When the right leaders, funding, and members interest groups can take pride when they know they have made a difference in election outcomes.

Marketing Mix Dell free essay sample

marketing opporunities MARKETING MIX ASSIGNMENT LENOVO VS DELL BRANDS: Lenovo:The company was founded in 1984 by a group of eleven engineers, headed by Liu Chuanzhi, in Beijing. This company had become the biggest PC manufacturer of domestic and distributed third party products through its wholesale business. Today,these two companies lenovo and IBM are united under the Lenovo name. With Lenovos landmark acquisition of IBMs Personal Computing Division in May 2005, the new Lenovo is a leader in the global PC market and products serving enterprises and consumers the world over. Dell:Dell Computer was founded as PCs Limited in 1984 by university student Michael Dell. The company was so successful that within two years PCs Limited had distribution offices in Europe, and changed its grammatically-incorrect name to Dell Computer Corporation. Selling assembled computers from his dormitory room, By 1991, seven years after selling its first computer, Dell Computer Corporation was listed in the Fortune 500. Dell was one of the first companies to offer computers for mail order via the Internet. The Dell Coupon program made many Internet models cheaper than other brands, and continues to be popular to this day. MARKET SEGMENTS From homepage of Lenovo , we can see, there are two main part of his market segments : Professional-grade and Lifestyle. Professional-grade like server computer , the top-level desktop and laptops. These products always make for the professional staff or hardcore players (hot game players). They are very expensive , more than fifteen thousands RMB. But lifestyles are cheaper and closed to our wallet . You can only pay about five thousands RMB. To dell, they are divided into four levels. For home. For small and medium business For public sector and For large enterprise. So we can chose the right level that is perfect for us. From above-mentioned, we can see Dell is more refinement than lenovo and so convenient that chose we need from their homepage. Lenovos computers on the main advantage reflected in the price for Chinas national conditions, but Dells computers main advantage is personalized for each consumer to customize their computers. DELL is primarily direct online marketing, so he saved a lot of middle cost in the links, so if the same price DELL is better than the Lenovo’s . But Lenovo is the state-owned brand, he has the town level dealers , so warranty is more convenient . Even though dell and his similar products in the high cost, but he has little dealers, and only at the provincial level can warranty. DISTRIBUTION: Both of them are global multinational corporations. They operate in the world, products are sold in all countries. Lenovo is headquartered in New York, Purchase. Two main operations center set up in Beijing and North Carolina. The sales network of Lenovos throughout the world. Lenovo has more than 19,000 employees in the world. Lenovo,the largest IT supplier of China, is making moves to consolidate its distribution channels nationwide to streamline its sales in retail sectors and spark profitability. Dell has 13 markets in the region to carry out linear order business at present. Including Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. resume writing service for it professionals Dells new plant in Xiamen, is the second production base in China. It is the fifth largest market for Dell in the world and the fastest growing markets business development. PROMOTION: Commercial desktops are likely to be the backbone of the international market Lenovo race, and China is the largest piece of experimental field. Lenovo has agents through the distribution to the provinces. Through increased the influence of brand to cities to open up new markets. The success of Dells direct model is that the main factors: first, rapid response, on-demand production,Powerful order processing system and production system; Second, powerful data processing capabilities and advanced information management technologies; Third, the excellent customer service, strong call center services; Fourth, a strong and efficient supply chain; s Fifth, low cost and price wars. CONCLUSIONS: Lenovos corporate culture is people-oriented. Lenovo believes that talent is the development of the productive forces. Therefore, the association proposed for each employee to provide equal development opportunities. Employees and business are interdependent and mutually reinforcing . Dells corporate culture, summed up by the company as Dell soul, which describes how Dell is a kind of company, it is the Dell service code of conduct for customers around the world, it eventually became Dells winning culture basis. Difference: Lenovo is the mode of distribution . Dell is the direct model. Lenovos core idea: the pursuit of individual employees into long-term development into the enterprise. Dells core competencies: No direct sales, direct sales model is based on low-cost operating system for parts supply and assembly of the implementation of capacity. Both the Lenovo or Dell are staring at each other tightly, while Lenovo is lagging behind Dell now. Clearly, Dell and Lenovo are the real heart of the competitors of the other side. Lenovo is the leading of Asia-Pacific region, while the regions growth and development potential can not be ignored by Dell, dell is also focus on the global market. Lenovo make Dell feel more and more pressure . [pic]

2016 BSL Cranberry Classic Essays - Swimming, Sports, Leisure

2016 BSL Cranberry Classic Essays - Swimming, Sports, Leisure 2016 BSL Cranberry Classic Invitational Swim Meet November 4-6 , 2016 Birmingham Crossplex Birmingham Swim League " Cranberry Classic Invitational " Birmingham CrossPlex November 4-6 , 2016 SANCTIONED BY:This meet will be conducted under the auspices of Southeastern Swimming, Inc. of USA Swimming. USA Swimming technical rules and regulations will be followed with the exception of items specifically addressed in the meet information Sanctioned by Southeastern Swimming, Inc. Held under the sanction of USA Swimming and Southeastern Swimming, Inc. Sanction No. 16SEBSL11-4, Time Trial Sanction No. 16SEBSL11-4TT HOSTED BY:Birmingham Swim League (www.birminghamswimleague.org) 1025 Montgomery Hwy Suite 106 Birmingham, Al 35216 205-823-5512 (office) LOCATION:Birmingham CrossPlex (www.birminghamcrossplex.com) 2337 Bessemer Road Birmingham, AL 35208 205-279-8900 FACILITIES:Indoor 20 lane, 25 yard or 10 lane, 50 meter pool with non-turbulent lane lines, Colorado timing system and video scoreboard. The competition course has been certified in accordance with 104.2.2C(4). The water depth is a minimum of 8 feet to 16 feet. Warm-up/warm-down lanes available at all times. RULES:Current United States Swimming rules will govern the conduct of the meet. Southeastern Swimming safety guidelines and warm up procedures will be in effect. The use of audio or visual recording devices, including a cell phone, is not permitted in changing areas, rest rooms, locker rooms, or from behind the starting blocks. Deck changing into or out of swimsuits other than in locker rooms or rest rooms is prohibited. In the interest of safety and accident prevention, coaches and swimmers are asked to observe all posted pool rules and facility rules referred to in this meet information and to conduct themselves in a safe and prudent manner. Birmingham Swim League will not accept responsibility for anyone who climbs to an unsafe height for any reason. OFFICIALS:Meet Director:Kristie Muir ([emailprotected]) Meet Referee:Gwen McKenzie ([emailprotected]) Admin Referee:Donna Williamson ([emailprotected]) Officials and apprentices from visiting teams are welcome and appreciated. Please contact Gwen McKenzie ([emailprotected]) with session(s) you are available to work. Dress in khaki pants/shorts/skirts, white shirts and white shoes. Please fill out information on "Team Information" page to be returned with entries. Officials must be members of USA Swimming and must present evidence of certification as required by Southeastern Swimming. Should there be any questions, meet officials will recognize only coaches or their designated representatives. Officials' meeting will take place in the hospitality room 1 hour before each session. Timers' meeting will take place at Clerk of Course 30 minutes before each session. ELIGIBILITY:All swimmers must be 2016-2017 USA Swimming Registered athletes. USA registration number must be listed on the entry form. No entry will be accepted without current registration numbers. There will be no on-deck USA Swimming membership registration. Coaches and officials must present evidence of certification as required by Southeastern Swimming. A swimmer's age on the first day of the meet will determine his or her age for the entire meet. Swimmers must be 11 years old to enter "Senior" events. Any swimmer entered in the meet must be certified by a USA Swimming member coach as being proficient in performing a racing start or must start each race from within the water. When unaccompanied by a member-coach, it is the responsibility of the swimmer or the swimmer's legal guardian to ensure compliance with this requirement. STARTING TIMES:Warm-upCompetition Friday PM:4:00 PM5:00 PM Saturday AM:7:20 AM; 7:50 AM8:30 AM Saturday PM:Not before 12:30 PMNot before 1:40 PM Sunday AM:7:20 AM; 7:50 AM8:30 AM Sunday PM:Not before 12:30 PMNot before 1:40 PM Sessions (AM and PM) and/or events may be combined if necessary, depending on the number of entrants. If sessions are combined the events will also be re-numbered. Teams will be notified by telephone and/or email by Wednesday, November 4th, if this should occur, so please fill out ALL information on the TEAM INFORMATION page and turn that in with your entries by the deadline. WARM-UPS:Morning sessions will have one or two warm-ups depending on entries. Depending on size of meet, there may be designated sprint lanes at end of each morning warm-up. Afternoon sessions will be OPEN warm-ups with sprint and pace lanes to be designated the last 25 minutes at the discretion of the Meet Referee. Warm-up Lane assignments will be posted on www.birminghamswimleague.org and will be in

Hybrid Car Essays

Hybrid Car Essays Hybrid Car Essay Hybrid Car Essay Hybrid Car Name: Course: Lecturer: Institution: Date: Hybrid Car Introduction As we are all familiar to the gasoline-powered cars and electric cars, a hybrid is a cross-brid of the two sets of cars (Oliver Seung, 2010, p.97). The car has a combination of component of both the electronic cars and the gasoline-powered cars. The vehicle distinctly has the two most powerful sources to move the vehicle. In this topic, we compare consumers purchasing behavior in different cultures, in order to establish if culture plays a role to the purchase of a hybrid car. Apart from culture, the purchase of hybrid cars can be affected by the social factor that includes ones income. Hybrid cars’ car purchase intentions: across cultural analysis Apart from expense, air pollution is a factor that affects the consumption of gas. The invention of the hybrid car helps us provide solution to this problem of air pollution (David Richard, 2006, p.30). In France and California, hybrid cars have replaced gasoline vehicles to help prevent urban air pollution. This shows that some countries have embraced the idea of the hybrid car to this effect. Marketers and analysts want to get information in which they would use to update consumers on the hybrid cars. Research has changed over time; this makes it unreliable and less useful to consumers. In a survey of 1083 US drivers and 783 Koreans, it is recorded that there are some social factors and cultures that shapes the intentions of the buyers to purchase a hybrid car (Anonymous, 2006, p.13). In the findings, it showed that some of the determining factors include the self-image analogy and susceptibility to information to the environment played an important factor to the purchase intentions of the drivers. It is seen that things that are more expensive reflect on the image of the consumer and require prior research before purchase (O’cass Lim, 2002, p.45). The association to social value of the consumer also was a key concern to the Korean consumers unlike the US consumers. It is therefore advisable for marketers of the hybrid car in both countries to advise or communicate the social value of the hybrid cars. They should help the consumer understand the positive reflection of possession that reflects on the consumers’ image and focus the information on consum ers that are in need of knowledge on the green products. However, this can only applied to the Korean Drivers as it may be a turn off on US drivers. Green issue and social responsibility is a great concern to most consumers. In another case study, Toyota has tried to sell the hybrid vehicle in China; unfortunately, the Chinese do not appreciate the hybrid car (Jackson, 2006, p.8). Only few shoppers are interested in the car. This shows that the hybrid car is not popular in the developing countries compared to the developed countries. In America, the Mitsubishi Company has conducted a survey with the use of questionnaires, to find about hybrid cars in the country. The results to this analysis made the company sell out the electric cars. This shows that the company had reliable sources for it to choose the electric vehicle over the hybrid car. A qualitative and quantitative analysis has shown that the automobile is highly appreciated by the consumers because it is relevant to the values of the consumer in regards to the consumption of fuel (Povey, 2006, p.95). The Qualitative and quantitative analysis illustrate that the automobile is used in a riskier social setting compared to the hybrid cars. The purchasing of a car involves financial investment and therefore the automobile is a bargain compared to the hybrid car. The automobile is a better choice for most consumers because it relates to the social identity and status of the consumer. In the social context, it is very important to make wise decision on the type of car one purchases. In the cross-cultural perspective, the decisions made are more significant and are geared towards the preservation of the environment by purchasing of environmental friendly commodities. Many researchers have contributed to the importance of environment friendly attitude and behavior by cons umers. However, these studies have been limited to the behavior of the people (Juettner, 2009, p.84). Conclusion In conclusion, culture is seen as an element of importance in the usage of Hybrid cars. Researchers have shown cross-cultural analysis that contributes to purchase intentions of these cars and increases the knowledge on both the social and cultural factors. These factors are very important in the decision-making process in regards to the hybrid cars. It is therefore necessary to replicate the results. Bibliography Anonymous, 2006. Toyota Promises More Hybrids. Business the Environment with ISO 14000 Updates, 19 (8), p10-15. Calef, D.and Goble, D. The allure of technology: How France and California promoted electric and hybrid vehicles to reduce urban air pollution. Policy Sciences, Vol. 40, p. 1-34 David, S., and Richard, B. 2006., Methodology or â€Å"methodolatry†? An evaluation of focus groups and depth interviews. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 9 (1), p26-37. Jackson, K., 2006.Mitsubishi to sell electric car in the U.S. (cover story). Automotive News. 81 (6224), p1-16. Juettner, B., 2009. Hybrid cars. Chicago, Ill. Norwood House Press McIntosh, M. J., 2009. Determinants of environmentally conscious consumer behaviors: Measuring the value consumer environmentalism and predicting behavioral intention to purchase environmentally friendly products. Available through: [emailprotected] Amherst Oliver, J, D. Seung, H, L., 2010. Hybrid car purchase intentions: a cross-cultural analysis. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 27 pp. 96-103 O’cass, A., Lim, K., 2002. The Influence of Brand Associations on Brand Preference and Purchase Intention. Journal of International Consumer Marketing. 14, p. 2-3. Povey, K. D., 2006. Hybrid cars. Farmington Hills, MI: KidHaven Press. Wilson, N. M., Thomson, G., Keall, M., 2008. Vehicle emissions and consumer information in car advertisements. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source. 7.

Questionaire Desgin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questionaire Desgin - Essay Example There is a complete process in questionnaire design, over which the questions to be asked are decided, the steps are: specifying the information needed, specifying the type of interviewing methods, determining the content of individual questions, designing the questions to overcome the respondents inability and unwillingness to answer, deciding upon the question structure, determining the question wordings, arranging the questions in a proper order, identifying the form and layout, reproducing the questionnaire and last as the pretesting of the questionnaire. Regarding the question's design, there are few important points need to be focused upon, as a poor design can provide a poor data. There are many types of questions such as unstructured questions that are need to be answered in own words of the respondents, they should be as minimum as possible as the respondent's time is also important and people also hesitate to provide personal information. There are structured questions as well such as multiple choice, which should be used the most, dichotomous questions, which are having only two answers "yes" and "no" or even "don't know", they also should be used frequently to save respondents time and making it easier for the respondent to answer.

Comprehensive Education under re-evaluation Essay

Comprehensive Education under re-evaluation - Essay Example As a result, as is occurring across the western civilizations, the UK is experiencing significant decline when measuring the academic progress of its students. Specifics of the problem were discussed by Terry Hadyn in his essay on the death of comprehensive schools in England and Wales. He cites that although the comprehensive education system was established in 1965 with lofty ideals, the policy has failed to grow the desired fruit. Previous to the 1965 initiative, the country's secondary school system was divided. Students who were more suited for an academic career path were sent to Grammar schools, and those for whom an academic career did not seem suitable were sent to what was called a secondary modern school, or the equivalent of a trade school for apprenticeship, and transition into the lower class working social strata. (Haydn, 2004) However, since the passage of this educational policy, educators have come to realize much more about the educational needs of the children with which they have been entrusted. The modern educational system recognizes that children learn at different rates, just as they mature physically and emotionally at differing rates. Therefore putting children of different levels of educational abilities together, and expecting them to mutually benefit, as if by osmosis, is a policy that is coming to be understood as a bit short sighted. The children are not building social networks across the educational and social differences. Rather the opposite is occurring, and has been occurring increasingly over the past 15 years. The divide between the educational 'haves' and 'have - nots' is growing. The social order that is present outside the classroom is only becoming reinforced in the classroom. As a result, the more academically able children are being slowed down in their progress, and the less academically inclined are no more encouraged to make better progress. If anything, they are becoming resentful, along with their parents, at being bussed 25 miles or more in order to facilitate a quota system for the schools. At the same time comprehensive school policy was being put into place, influences blew across the educational ponds which included linking the educational institution to social trends. The school organization, as seemingly the single most influential element in the child's life, shifted its focus too. The social fabric of the family and close community was breaking down in the post war era. As a result schools picked up the responsibility to address cultural and social learning issues, in addition to their primary goal of creating educated and intelligent students. The result, as mentioned, was a steady decline in the educational quality as measured in academic progress of the student. The student was learning how to feel better, but not taught how to read better. In the UK, by mixing the more academically inclined with those who may prosper better in a trade school environment, educational policy makers expected to bridge socio-economic patterns. If the wealthier, more academically inclined students were allowed to co-exist in a school setting with lower income, more academically challenged students, the belief was that the barriers would be breached, and lower performing students would