Religion Essay Example for Free

Religion Essay 1.) As a person of goodwill, explain the necessity of establishing rapport, amity, and concordance among the various religions in Asia and the world; and more specifically among Muslims and Christians in the Philippines. Why is religion a positive contributor towards peacemaking but at the same time can be a source of societal turmoil? In what way can Asian religions transcend divisiveness by standing side by side with other religions, without losing their very own unique creeds or belief-systems? Based on the films about Muslim Filipinos shown in class, please explain in what way Christians and Muslims can utilize their respective religions for peace and harmony in Mindanao? Answer these questions by citing concrete cases to prove your point (30 points). It is necessary to establish rapport, amity, and concordance among the various religions in Asia and the world more specifically among Muslims and Christians in the Philippines in order to better understand their systematic beliefs, values, and behavior, acquired by people as a member of their society. These patterns are systematic because their manifestations are regular in occurrence and expression: they are shared by member of a group. It is also necessary to build friendship and connection among diverse religions in Asia and the world to build a better society and to have peace in every nation. In such a society it is very important to have harmony and respect amongst the different religions. We must distinguish between belief and respect. Belief refers to total faith, which you must have in your own religion. At the same time you should have respect for all other religions. This tradition of believing in ones own religion and having respect for others. In every religion, there are transcendent things that are beyond the grasp of our mind and speech. For example, the concept of God in Christianity and Islam and that of wisdom truth body in Buddhism are metaphysical, which is not possible for an ordinary person like us to realize. This is a common difficulty faced by every religion. It is taught in every  ­religion, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, that the ultimate truth is driven by faith. As far as the Muslims are concerned it is appropriate for them to have complete devotion to Allah while praying in the mosques. This is also the same with Buddhists who are completely devoted to the Buddha when they pray in Buddhist temples. A society, which has many religions should also have many prophets and sources of refuge. I want to emphasize that it is extremely essential to sincerely believe in their respective religions. Usually, it is very important to distinguish between belief in one religion and belief in many religions. Religion is a positive contributor towards peacemaking but at the same time can be a source of societal turmoil because religion is a perennial and perhaps inevitable factor in both conflict and conflict resolution. Religion, after all, is a powerful constituent of cultural norms and values, and because it addresses the most profound existential issues of human life (e.g., freedom and inevitability, fear and faith, security and insecurity, right and wrong, sacred and profane), religion is deeply implicated in individual and social conceptions of peace. To transform the conflicts besetting the world today, we need to uncover the conceptions of peace within our diverse religious and cultural traditions, while seeking the common ground among them. Traditionally many people focus on how wars and conflicts are seemingly undertaken for religious reasons, or at least undertaken in the name of religion. A significant problem with organized religion and belief, as this relates to peace and conflict, is individuals and groups often confuse the map (their socially-learned version of reality or culture or religion) with the territory (or ultimate reality). Thus people believe that their personal or subjective version of reality or religion is valid, while other views are invalid. Instead it can be argued that the many maps are different, but possibly equally valid interpretations and attempts to understand the same underlying reality or territory. Asian religions can transcend divisiveness by standing side by side with other religions, without losing their very own unique creeds or belief-systems through banding together in interfaith dialogue, cooperation, and religious peacebuilding. The first major dialogue was the Parliament of the Worlds Religions at the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair, which remains notable even today both in affirming universal values and recognition of the diversity of practices among different cultures. The 20th century has been especially fruitful in use of interfaith dialogue as a means of solving ethnic, political, or even religious conflict, with Christian–Jewish reconciliation representing a complete reverse in the attitudes of many Christian communities towards Jews. Christians and Muslims can utilize their respective religions for peace and harmony through sharing the main morals and conducts that are for the benefit of humanity and nature. They believe in the same basic morals that are important for people to follow in order to live in peace, harmony, and love in communities with different faiths and cultures. And to through tolerance, respect and cooperation with respect in each other’s religions. 2.) Explain why Islam is considered the â€Å"most misunderstood religion†. What are some historical, sociological and cultural reasons that paved the way for a misunderstanding of the true nature of Islam among non-Muslims and even among Muslims? Islam means â€Å"submission to the will of God in all areas of one’s life†. Muslim means, â€Å"One who submits to God’s will†. These Arabic words are actually non-sectarian terms if we look at the context of these words in the Qur’an. Can we use the term â€Å"Muslim† in its universal implication to include all believers in One God? Can we use the term â€Å"Muslim† to any person (irrespective of religions) who strives sincerely to submit to the will of God in his life? [Hint: Consider the Islamic doctrine of Risalah (Progressive Revelation) and the Islamic view of the universality of God’s calling of prophethood] (30 points). Islam is considered the â€Å"most misunderstood religion† because most of the time it is considered as a violent religion and is likely â€Å"to encourage violence among believers†. And there is also some outright falsehood for example, â€Å"God sent prophets to every nation for their guidance.† But, According to the â€Å"Doctrine of Progressive Revelation†, Islam is very universal since it admits that Allah sent prophets to everyone whereas Jews believe that prophets only come from them because they are the â€Å"chosen people of God.† Another example, â€Å"One of the missions of the Prophet of Islam was to bring peace and unity to the feuding tribes, the Jahiliah or the ignorant Arabs of the pre-Islamic days. This he succeeded in doing as narrated in several verses of the Qur-an†. The message of Allah were brought by one Prophet and recorded in one holy Qur-an. There is no other Qur-an, or versions or it, or editions which carry different texts. The hold Qur-an is not in the form of Gospels by Muslim saints or ulama. The holy Qur-an is just the record of the messages of Allah in the Arabic of the period. Translations of the Qur-an may be different in minor ways, but they are not accepted as the holy Qur-an. Only that in the original Arabic is accepted. So there can be no differing text or Gospels or versions which can result in differences in the messages or teachings of Islam. Yet, clearly there are differences, serious differences, so serious that Muslims are divided sometimes into warring sects. One of the reasons that paved the way of misunderstanding the true nature of Islam among non-Muslims and even Muslims are the â€Å"media†. Media is the greatest factor on how people view their surroundings. Somehow, criticizing the Islam brings them more readers/viewers. We tend to judge and generalize things without knowing the exact story behind those issues. Infact, the worl Islam means peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense, Islam means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. Yes, we can use the term â€Å"Muslim† in its universal implication to include all believers in One God, as well as, to any person (irrespective of religions) who strives sincerely to submit to the will of God in his life because â€Å"Muslim† believe that God is eternal, transcendent, absolutely one (the doctrine of tawhid, or strict or simple monotheism), and incomparable; that he is self-sustaining, who begets not nor was begotten. 3.) Write a â€Å"reflective synthesizing essay† that answers the following questions: In the future prospect, will the Asian religions move from rhetoric unity and act as one to solve the common problems affecting humanity? As for Asian countries, will they achieve political independence from the clutches of Western neo-colonialism? Is there a need to abandon our cherished worldview and values in the name of development? How will the Asians reconcile their adherence to Asian ethos and at the same time open to the demands of globalization? How will the differing Asian worldviews and religions be properly harnessed to promote nationalism among Asians and global cooperation among countries in the world? (30 points) Yes. In the future, the Asian religions will move from rhetoric unity and act as one to solve the common problems affecting humanity to have a better nation, to have a respect on one another, to fix the unjust and destructive situations. There is no need to abandon our cherished worldview and values in the name of development but rather preserve it and continue following those values to build a progressive and advance nation. With their differing Asian worldviews and religions they can create different ideas and new innovations but with respect with one another’s point of view, and to accept what other countries have made, to promote nationalism among Asians and global cooperation among countries in the world. 4.) Explain what made Japanese civilization unique in its approach to establishing a pro-active Asian civilization capable of having positive ethical patterns as fountainhead of their development? Explain why it is not just enough to simply support one’s parents for one to be called â€Å"filial†; what are therefore the other requirements to be able to truly say that one has completely conducted oneself as â€Å"filial son/daughter† to one’s parents? What makes Indian civilization stuck into conservatism? What are some of the positive role that the caste-system plays in Indian civilization? What are also the negative aspects of the caste system to Indian civilization? Explain in what way did Japan show a purposive and planned-out blueprint for development in their history? (30 points) It is not just enough to simply support one’s parents for one to be called â€Å"filial† because we owe our parents a lot- because of them we able to eat three meals a day, sometimes even more. They give us clothes and sometimes the things that are beyond our needs. They send us to school. But more than simply supporting us in the most basic sense of supporting, our parents loves us. It now becomes something different because when we love them back, we do not do so out of indebtedness. We give our love freely, and not as a payment with a certain interest. Most of all, because of this special filial relationship with them that we had since birth, we also respect and obey them. We not only support our parents, but serve them. The Indian â€Å"caste system† made it stuck into conservatism. The positive roles that the caste-system plays in Indian civilization, provides a sense of community and belongingness. And the two main strands of thought: Divine will- the belief that a hierarchical social structure is part of the divine intention for natural order, and the Purity- the need to emphasize the importance of ritual purity and impurity. But there is also a negative aspect of caste-system to Indian civilization. For example, marrying someone from a different caste, whilst not officially outlawed, is generally discouraged. They only lived, ate, and worked within their group. This was based on the idea that people are different and should have different roles. And a person born into one caste never changed castes and very seldom mixed with members of other castes. Castes were unchanging groups but people from the lowest caste were told that they have to serve the other castes so that they can be reborn into a higher caste in their next life.

Henry V :: essays research papers

O. Henry wrote his own magazine entitled, "The Rolling Stone". The magazine did poorly and Henry stooped to stealing from bank accounts to which he became arrested. Henry's writing came to a halt due to jail time and he eventually died nine years after being set free. The time period in which O. Henry's finest works created, occurred in the late 1800's to the early 1900's where he dazzled readers with his unorthodox, romantic style. A short story titled "A Retrieved Reformation" written by O. Henry, who sold it to George Tyler who later turned the work into a Broadway show. "Alias Jimmy Valentine"as it came to be called dazzled America, England, France, and Spain for over a decade. In the short stories "The Social Triangle" and "A Retrieved Reformation", O. Henry uses the literary devices of symbolism, plot twists, and characterization. "The Social Triangle" one of the great works by O. Henry, uses symbolism, plot twists, and characterization. The triangle includes a poor hard-working, lower-class man named Ikey Snigglefritz who uses his whole weeks pay to setup drinks for a middle-class man named Billy McMahon. Ikey's wife and her three sisters become outraged at his actions. Despite their animosity toward him, he gladly gave up his pay to spend it on someone whom he admires and the way he spent his wages is a symbol of achievement. "Ikey threw is week's wages in a crumbled roll upon the bar." With only slight hesitation, Ikey made a friendly gesture to a man of a higher class who will probably never know how hard it he worked to get that money. Both Ikey and Billy got their jollies by shaking the hand of someone from a social class above them. Jacobs 2 Van Duyskink got his jollies by shaking the hand of the impoverish Ikey Snigglefritz which happens to classify as a plot twist. "To solve the improbable triangle, Van Duyskink...impulsively leaves his car to grasp the hand of Ikey Snigglefritz. The plot appears to be twisted because nobody expects Van Duyskink to be happy to shake the hand of a poor man due to the fact that he is a millionaire. O. Henry developed Ikey and Billy through the story by using characterization. Henry describes Billy McMahon as "...the greatest man, the most wonderful man...flushed and triumphant and mighty. Henry goes on to represent just how important and wonderful this man is. Henry V :: essays research papers O. Henry wrote his own magazine entitled, "The Rolling Stone". The magazine did poorly and Henry stooped to stealing from bank accounts to which he became arrested. Henry's writing came to a halt due to jail time and he eventually died nine years after being set free. The time period in which O. Henry's finest works created, occurred in the late 1800's to the early 1900's where he dazzled readers with his unorthodox, romantic style. A short story titled "A Retrieved Reformation" written by O. Henry, who sold it to George Tyler who later turned the work into a Broadway show. "Alias Jimmy Valentine"as it came to be called dazzled America, England, France, and Spain for over a decade. In the short stories "The Social Triangle" and "A Retrieved Reformation", O. Henry uses the literary devices of symbolism, plot twists, and characterization. "The Social Triangle" one of the great works by O. Henry, uses symbolism, plot twists, and characterization. The triangle includes a poor hard-working, lower-class man named Ikey Snigglefritz who uses his whole weeks pay to setup drinks for a middle-class man named Billy McMahon. Ikey's wife and her three sisters become outraged at his actions. Despite their animosity toward him, he gladly gave up his pay to spend it on someone whom he admires and the way he spent his wages is a symbol of achievement. "Ikey threw is week's wages in a crumbled roll upon the bar." With only slight hesitation, Ikey made a friendly gesture to a man of a higher class who will probably never know how hard it he worked to get that money. Both Ikey and Billy got their jollies by shaking the hand of someone from a social class above them. Jacobs 2 Van Duyskink got his jollies by shaking the hand of the impoverish Ikey Snigglefritz which happens to classify as a plot twist. "To solve the improbable triangle, Van Duyskink...impulsively leaves his car to grasp the hand of Ikey Snigglefritz. The plot appears to be twisted because nobody expects Van Duyskink to be happy to shake the hand of a poor man due to the fact that he is a millionaire. O. Henry developed Ikey and Billy through the story by using characterization. Henry describes Billy McMahon as "...the greatest man, the most wonderful man...flushed and triumphant and mighty. Henry goes on to represent just how important and wonderful this man is.

Political-Legal Environment Affecting the Economy of an Industry

Political- legal environment is one of the economic environment that its development has strongly impacts on the marketing decisions of the company. The political environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. Each factors of political environment has its own functions and impacts on the economic activities of the industry. The economic systems work best with at least some regulation.When an industry with well-conceived regulation, it can have more opportunities in competition and ensure fair market for goods and services. The public policy is a set of laws and regulations that the government makes to guide commercial or to limit business for the good of society as a whole. Almost marketing activites requires a wide range of laws and regulations to stable the system and help to make true marketing decisions.Legislation affect business around the world and it has increased steadil y over the years such as local-content laws, import restrictions, tax controls, price controls, labor problems. .etc†¦China is one of the Samsung market and it has many laws relates to some issues such as custom import and trading, foreign investment, information technology, pricing and etc†¦. o regulate the activites or the development of Samsung electronics industry in China, for example: Provisional Regulations on Trade Administration of Technology Introduction and Equipment Importation 1- 1996, Implementation Rules on Small-Volume Frontier Trade of Importing Machinery and Electronic Products, Notice on Policies for Reform and Adjustment of Import Tax  , Regulation on Administration of Organizations in Charge of Import or Machinery and Electronic Products in Localities and Departments at the Central Level†¦etc†¦ and through those laws, Samsung enterprises located in China must comply with all the articles of Chinese laws and all the regulations that they sig n together. The regulations are constantly changing and the marketer must work hard to keep up with changes in regulations and their interpretations.. . . Another example is the activites of Samsung electronics VietNam (SEV) in export and paying tax.According to some regulations and laws on taxes, the contributions to the budget through taxes including import or export taxes, value added tax (VAT) and environmental protection taxes. The political sanctions, which protect the companies from each other. Although business executives may praise competition, they sometimes try to neutralize it when it threatens them, so laws are passed to defined and prevent unfair competition. For example, Korean companies have been increasingly subject to the extraterritorial reach of foreign antitrust laws, in 2005, the US department of Justice(DOJ) imposed fines of $300 million on Samsung electronic, a Korean manufactuer of dynamic random access memory(DRAM) and its US subsidiary, Samsung semiconduct or, for participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the DRAM market.In addition, according to local reports, the Japan fair trade commission will fine affiliates of Samsung electronics an unprecented amount of several billion yen for price fixing. This was because their sale to subsidiaries of Japanese companies indirectly affected the Japanese market. The Japanese sanctions also protect the right of their authorities and consumers. Another example is the patent infringement between Samsung and Apple. According to US infringement law, US Court ordered  Samsung  to pay $1. 05 billion damages, after ruling that the South Korean firm infringed on some  Apple  patents in  patent infringement trial between Samsung and Apple.And after that, Samsung’s entire line of galaxy were banned in Europe such as the Galaxy S II the Galaxy Tab 7. 7†¦ The government regulation also help to protect the interests of society against unrestrained business behavior. For example, Samsung had been accused by  China Labor Watch  of countenancing illegal and even inhumane conditions at its factories in China, and the group noted that the workers' overtime at the facilities could reach or often times exceed 100 hours a month. Under current Chinese law, overtime is limited to 36 hours a month. After that, Samsung quickly moved to address the problem also further suggests that Samsung is taking this very seriously.

New Orleans’ economy is very dependant on the tourism and lodging industry

New Orleans' economy is very dependant on the tourism and lodging industry. In the past couple of years this industry in New Orleans has declined. In 1996 the city hosted 12 million tourists and conventioneers and they spent close to $4 billion. The average daily room rate was $105. The September 11 attacks had a huge affect on the tourism industry. Although the economy in New Orleans is rising, the number of tourist each year has dropped dramatically. This past year New Orleans hosted an estimated 7.995 million visitors. This is approximately the same number as they hosted in 1991, meaning the increase in visitors throughout the nineties has been abolished. On the positive side, these 8 million visitors spent an approximate $4.5 billion on hotel rooms, food, drinks, entertainment, and shopping. This figure is actually higher than that spent by the 12 million visitors in 1996. This $4.5 billion created 2.9 billion in revenue and helped support more than 138,000 are jobs. New Orleans has done a great job in compensating for the decline in the tourism industry. Because of the lack of visitors they have simply made it more expensive for the guests they do receive. The current average daily room rate for New Orleans' hotels is about $170. Average airfare from Denver to New Orleans is $400. Even though these prices are so high, the great thing about New Orleans is that no matter what day of the year visitors can always find free events. All of this contributes to what should be a very profitable 2004.

Free Essays on E_marketing

Question one It has been suggested that by using internet and online services customer behaviour has changed. For example, consumers have become more demanding with response times (expecting replies to queries within 24 to 48 hours). What changes in consumer behaviour can you find? That is, how has consumer behaviour been affected by online? Introduction This work looks at the behaviour of consumers from an internet perspective. Also discussed in this work will be changes that the internet may have caused in consumers behaviour. The effects of consumer behaviour has on the internet will also be analysed in this question. Legal Lack of legal remedies for misuse of information provided to web sites causes consumers to be discriminating about the information that they will reveal online and to what web sites they will reveal the information. It is possible that the growth in ecommerce is slowing and the potential efficiency of the Internet is affected because of consumer unwillingness to supply information (Lindstrom 2002). Consumer Confidence Relative to retail and financial web sites, consumers appear more willing to reveal personal information to health-oriented web sites (Hardaker & Graham 2001). For several categories of information, consumers appear more willing to provide information if the web site is a well-known web site. Web sites that have privacy statements, opt out features, and third party seals can allay some consumer concerns about unexpected privacy invasions (Hardaker & Graham 2001). Consumers are very aware of the possible negative consequences of allowing personal information to fall into the wrong hands and appeared particularly concerned about lack of control of their information and unauthorised redistribution (Janal 2000). According to Lindstrom (2002) studies have shown that 87.5% of surveyed consumers expect to see comprehensive information regarding privacy policy when visiting a commerc... Free Essays on E_marketing Free Essays on E_marketing Question one It has been suggested that by using internet and online services customer behaviour has changed. For example, consumers have become more demanding with response times (expecting replies to queries within 24 to 48 hours). What changes in consumer behaviour can you find? That is, how has consumer behaviour been affected by online? Introduction This work looks at the behaviour of consumers from an internet perspective. Also discussed in this work will be changes that the internet may have caused in consumers behaviour. The effects of consumer behaviour has on the internet will also be analysed in this question. Legal Lack of legal remedies for misuse of information provided to web sites causes consumers to be discriminating about the information that they will reveal online and to what web sites they will reveal the information. It is possible that the growth in ecommerce is slowing and the potential efficiency of the Internet is affected because of consumer unwillingness to supply information (Lindstrom 2002). Consumer Confidence Relative to retail and financial web sites, consumers appear more willing to reveal personal information to health-oriented web sites (Hardaker & Graham 2001). For several categories of information, consumers appear more willing to provide information if the web site is a well-known web site. Web sites that have privacy statements, opt out features, and third party seals can allay some consumer concerns about unexpected privacy invasions (Hardaker & Graham 2001). Consumers are very aware of the possible negative consequences of allowing personal information to fall into the wrong hands and appeared particularly concerned about lack of control of their information and unauthorised redistribution (Janal 2000). According to Lindstrom (2002) studies have shown that 87.5% of surveyed consumers expect to see comprehensive information regarding privacy policy when visiting a commerc...

Udoka corporation case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Udoka corporation case study - Essay Example Operational process is the core area that has to be very efficient to retain the sustainability of a company. Therefore, in order to maintain a higher level of operational process, proper evaluation and controlling activities are inevitable. The evaluation of operational analysis can be done using the financial evaluation techniques specifically the ratio analysis. Besides, the management decisions and future strategies should also be analysed for determining the future growth of company in terms of operational performance. Hence, in this regard necessary information is essential like the financial data and management planning for operational process. However, merely computing the operational ratios will not offer very clear picture of a company’s performance. The results of evaluation must be compared with the peer rivals and with industrial average performance. There are also other financial techniques apart from the ratio analysis like horizontal analysis which is helpful i n comparing company performance in comparison to performances in previous years. As this report aims to evaluate operational performances of Udoka Corporation, outcome from the horizontal analysis can be used to assess improvements or degradation in Udoka’s performance. The primary aim for this analysis to is identify the underlying issues in Udoka’s operational performances and accordingly a set of plausible and specific recommendation will be offered. Brief Description of Udoka Corporation Udoka Corporation is engaged in mobile manufacturing business and technology and innovation is the base of this company. It is operating in a highly competitive business environment where every aspect of performance is crucial for sustaining in such severe competitive market. It is expected that in coming years the industry competitive will be fiercer and hence, it is necessary for Udoka to take necessary action to acquire an upper hand position in the market. The management of Udo ka is considering for investing for ensuring Udoka’s future, and in this process, it is very necessary to make proper decisions based on prevailing condition of finance and based on industry forecast. Analysis of Operational Performance Operational process includes the management cash receivable, cash payable, inventory turnover etc. Using these parameters, cash conversion cycle and operational cycle can be determined. To make better decisions for future growth, the proper evaluation of current status is indispensible which also offer indication of prevailing operational performance (Walton and Aerts, 2006, p.261). Using the financial data of Udoka Corporation, operational performance of the company has been determined. Table 1 represents horizontal analysis of Udoka’s financial statement and the table 2 depict the analysis of its operational performance. Table 1: Horizontal Analysis of Udoka’s Financial Statements Financial Analysis 2011 2,010 2,009    Actual Actual Variance % Actual Variance %    ?m ?m ?m    ?m ?m    Total sales 50,710 45,639 5,071 11% 41,075 9,635 23% Cost of sales 33,337 26,471 6,866 26% 24,645 8,692 35%                         Ratio of CS/Sales 66% 58% 8% 13% 60% 6% 10%                         Gross profit 17,373 19,168 -1,795 -9% 16,430 943 6% Gross margin 34% 42% -8% -19% 40% -6% -15%                         Operating expenses            

Journal summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal summary - Essay Example Some of the symptoms of the illness include either mood episodes that might constitute an overly joyful state, also known as manic episodes, or depressive episodes, which is an extremely hopeless or sad state (Saunders, 2010). It is possible to use several medications in the treatment of the disorder, which are inclusive of mood stabilizers used for the prevention of manic episodes that might be recurrent. Apart from the medications used, some of the other interventions applicable for controlling the disorder include psychotherapy sessions for the family members as well as the individual, support groups, and psychoeducational classes (Saunders, 2010). Some of the nursing interventions used for patients with the disease might involve the stabilization of acute symptoms, safety measures and crisis intervention mechanisms. However, the application of the interventions depends with the status of the patient. The responsibility of the nurse in this case would be to assess the behavior of the patient, his or her mood or thought processes, which is a consideration that will assist the patient in getting a positive perioperative experience (Saunders,