Alighieri, Dante The Divine Comedy Essays - Divine Comedy

Alighieri, Dante The Divine Comedy The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) Type of Work: Allegorical religious poem Setting Hell, Purgatory and Paradise; A.D. 1300 Principal Characters Dante, the Pilgrim Virgil, the Poet, and Dante's guide Beatrice, Dante's womanly ideal and religious inspiration Story Overview Prologue: Dante, realizing he has strayed from the "true way,. into worldliness, tells of a vision where he travels through all the levels of Hell, up the mount of Purgatory, and finally through the realms of Paradise, where he is allowed a brief glimpse of God. The traveler sets out on the night before Good Friday, and finds himself in the middle of a dark wood. There he encounters three beasts: a leopard (representing lust), a lion (pride) and a she-wolf (covetousness). Fortunately, his lady, Beatrice, along with the Virgin Mary herself, sends the spirit of Virgil, the classical Latin poet, to guide Dante through much of his journey. But as much as Dante admires and reveres Virgil, and though Dante considers him to have prophesied of the coming of Christ, Virgil is not a Christian. To Dante he represents human knowledge, or unholy reason, which cannot lead a person to God. This infidel may not pass into the highest realms. Thus, Dante is finally led to Heaven by Beatrice, his own personal and unattainable incarnation of the Virgin, who represents divine knowledge, or faith. Pilgrimage: Terrified, lost "midway in life's journey" in the worldly darkness of error, Dante met Virgil, who offered himself as a guide. Together they passed through the gates of Hell inscribed with the terrifying words: "Abandon every hope, Ye that Enter." Dante, however, as a living soul who had not yet tasted death, was exempt from such final despair. He found Hell to be a huge funnel-shaped pit divided into terraces each a standing-place for those individuals who were guilty of a particular sin. After passing Limbo, reserved for the unbaptized, Dante observed and conversed with hundreds of Hell's souls, many of whom, guilty of carnal sins, were being whirled about in the air or forced to lie deep in mud or snow, under the decrees of eternal damnation. Ciacco, a fellow Florentine, implored of Dante "... When thou shalt be in the sweet world, I pray thee bring me to men's memory." In pity, Dante frequently offered to write about those he met when he returned to mortality. These gluttons, seducers, and robbers were, for the most part, either historical figures or Dante's personal acquaintances - and each one of them represented one of the apt and horrible possibilities of Hell. For example, Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun were found dwelling in Hell's seventh terrace, forced to grovel in boiling blood - a just end for those who in life loved violence. In the very depths of Hell was Satan - with three heads, each grasping a sinner in its mouth, and with three pairs of wings that continuously beat over the waters around him, freezing them into perpetual currents of ice. Dante and Virgil cautiously climbed down the body of Satan. About midway, they turned and scrambled out through an opening (earth's center of gravity) where all things were the opposite of Hell: The sun was shining; it was Easter morning. Now hiking on in silence, they finally arrived on the shores of the Mount of Purgatory, located exactly opposite Jerusalem on the globe. First and lowest on the mountain was Antepurgatory, a place reserved for those spirits who were penitent in life, who had died without achieving full repentance or without receiving the last sacrament of the church. They were required to spend time there before they could begin their arduous climb up the mountain. A group of those poor souls who had passed away suddenly, unable to receive extreme unction, pled with the mortal visitor to speak with their relatives and friends, urging them to pray that their stay in Ante-purgatory might be shortened. As the pilgrims entered Purgatory, an angel inscribed the letter "P" on Dante's forehead seven times, to represent the seven deadly sins (pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust). As Dante made his way through the seven areas reserved for those who committed each of these sins, the letters were erased one by one, and the climb became less difficult. Like Hell, Purgatory was arranged in terraces. However, the inhabitants here could, through confession, repentance, patience, and the prayers of the living, move on to higher realms after a time of proper purification. In the first terrace (pride), the occupants bowed down under huge stones which they carried on their backs, while reciting The Lord's Prayer, a fitting

Factors Influencing Resource Allocation on Traditional Farms Essays

Factors Influencing Resource Allocation on Traditional Farms Essays Factors Influencing Resource Allocation on Traditional Farms Paper Factors Influencing Resource Allocation on Traditional Farms Paper Biological factors include pests, diseases, and natural conditions (weather) which reflect the fact that crops are living things unlike machines which are not susceptible to weather changes, disease or pests. The spatial factor that influences resource allocation refers to the limited amount of land that a traditional farmer by definition has, therefore traditional farmers must allocate resources to maximize use of the limited land that they have. Seasonal factors refer to the highs and lows that occur In the use of labor because labor Is used Intensively during harvest times and significantly less at other times. In response, farmers develop a farming system which allocates resources in such a way as to make use of labor most intensively all year round. The kinds of farming systems that traditional farmers have developed address the constraints or characteristics of agriculture in order to make best use of land and labor and increase overall average production. Therefore, the farmer must evaluate any new innovation taking into account how It will affect the whole farming system and therefore overall production. While adopting a new Innovation or farming practice may seem more profitable or more productive at first glance, It might increase production of one crop but come at the expense of increased risk, or a decrease in the ability to use land and labor as efficiently as they had been used before. : When viewing the farm system as a complex system that the farmer has developed to minimize risk, and maximize the use of land and labor given the characteristics of agriculture that he faces, the farmers failure to dado a new Innovation/farming practice can be seen as rational because he Is looking out for the overall productivity of his farm which may be negatively Impacted by adoption of the particular innovation. The biological nature of agriculture reflects the susceptibility of agriculture to pests, diseases, and natural conditions. Since these factors negatively affect levels of output and since traditional farmers usually depend (at least in part) on their output for food, they are naturally very risk averse. Some of the risks that farmers face Include risks from natural disasters, weather related uncertainly, agricultural diseases and pests, and price and market related risks. To reduce risk, farmers use crop varieties and breeds of livestock that have proven dependable under poor conditions like low fertility or rough terrain. They also plant root crops which can be pulled at different times of the year in order to make up for an unexpected bad year for other crops. Two commonly used techniques for reducing risk used by traditional Tatters are meal cropping Ana meal Tarring. Meal cropping Is a rills spreading mechanism which reduces reliance on the success of a single crop. With many crops, farmers will not be devastated if one crop does not do well. Mixed farming means that farmers plant multiple crops on a single plot of land at the same time. Mixed cropping has many advantages. Not only does it reduce reliance on the success of en crop, it also creates the opportunity for one crop to provide shade for the other. Mixed cropping also provides protection from natural disasters since pests or diseases may affect one crop but not another, and some crops have higher tolerance in drought or excessive rainfall than other crops do. This technique also provides protection from fluctuating prices for a particular crop. Since crops are harvested and brought to market at the same time by all farmers, competition is often the cause of large price drops. By harvesting crops that few other local farmers produce, traditional farmers can overcome this treacherous loss of income. Mixed farming is the raising of livestock in addition to crops. Livestock can be consumed or sold during crop failures. In addition they provide sources of fertilizer, fuel, hides, and can be providers of power and transport. Thus mixed farming is another risk saving mechanism. The spatial nature of agriculture refers to the limited amount of land available to traditional farmers. By definition a traditional farmer owns less than 10 acres of land. This fact makes allocation of land a very important issue to the farmer. To address this issue, farmers plant different crops on the same plot of land at the same time mixed cropping) in order to use every level of land since different crops take root at different levels in the soil. This technique maximizes the farmers use of land. The seasonal nature of agriculture reflects the fact that there are highs and lows in the use of labor because labor is used intensively at harvest times and significantly less at other times. Thus farmers plant different crops together so that they have different harvest times and can use labor all year round. Similarly, farmers raise both livestock and crops so that when labor is not tending to crops, they can tend to livestock. In this way, farmers maximize their use of labor. Once it is understood that resource allocation makes up a complex farm system designed to address the biological, spatial, and seasonal constraints that farmers face, one can see that introducing some change into it can have many more consequences than one might initially expect. Seen from a limited framework, a particular innovation or practice may increase the productivity of a particular crop and failure to use the innovation by the farmer may cause one to say he/she is irrational. However, when the innovation is evaluated in terms of how it affects the hole farm system and the ability to maximize the use of land and labor, one can see that the farmer is not being irrational at all. While a particular innovation can increase the productivity of a single crop, it may be at the expense of increased risk, a decrease in the ability to mix crops, or a decrease in the ability to mix livestock and crops. So, when considering the issue of rationality versus irrationality, it makes sense to talk about evaluating any new innovation in terms of how its going to affect the overall system and if it will disrupt the system in some way that is unacceptable to the farmer.

Elements of Governance Reform Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Elements of Governance Reform - Coursework Example This act is the latest most effective regulatory reform intended to rectify major corporate misleads in future. Arthur Andersen LLP’s role in the revolutionary scandal of Enron is reflected in one important part of SOX Act which standardized requirements to ensure the independence of the auditors. Major failure in accountability and disclosure of few leading nonprofit firms and penetrated media coverage of this failure by nonprofit organizations cast the nonprofit sector in an unethical and unfavorable light. This also damaged the integrity and trust of people across the world on the nonprofit organizations along with the benefit of the nonprofits organizations. Although most of the provisions of Sarbanes Oxley Act have currently been applied to only publicly traded companies nonprofit organizations could benefit by adopting these provisions. Apart from this, voluntarily adhering to the Sarbanes Oxley Gold standards would generate more ability and credibility to appoint more e fficient members in the boards of nonprofit organizations. This also can attract many potential fund donors, foundations, and many other potential financial funding resources. The nonprofit sector that enjoyed light oversight and little regulations have now highly focused on the new demand for standardized corporate governance. If the nonprofit sector wishes to retain its higher extent of self-regulation, the board and top management of the organizations need to put accountable effort to improve the organizations in terms of corporate governance and financial transparency. If the current situation does not improve the whole sector may come down under unwanted regulations of government. Some attorneys general of states already criticized that additional SOCK provisions need to be applied to nonprofits.

Mercedes-Benz Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Mercedes-Benz - Case Study Example The opportunities and threats section will be generated from Mercedes-Benz's PEST (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) analysis (Strickland & Thomson 2004). Mercedes-Benz has become synonymous with luxury cars. In a global scale, the name enjoys strong brand equity among consumers (Daimler Chrysler 2008). Mercedes-Benz is known to be the best symbol of luxury in automobiles. Armed with the heritage of pioneering innovation, Mercedes-Benz continues its quest of bringing the best products in the market through the use of advanced technology including its Smart cars portfolio. The company's primary objective is to "set new standards in the global automotive industry" (Daimler Chrysler 2008) which they accomplish by embarking on intensive research aimed at identifying and responding to anticipated customer needs and demand. Mercedes-Benz is passionate in shaping the "future of mobility" (Daimler Chrysler 2008) through the introduction of more efficient cars. Mercedes-Benz makes use of Advanced Design Studios in order to develop cutting edge designs (Daimler Chrysler 2008). Technology which produces inputs quickly and at high precision is also being utilized in car design and manufacture. Another is becoming a more s... of the company to become a socially responsible entity is integrated in its effort in creating modern cars which are less damaging to the environment. Mercedes Benz boasts of being the first automaker to run the most tests on fuel cells in its commitment of having zero emission mobility (Daimler Chrysler 2008). Other efforts are aimed at offering the best working environment for all its employees and environment friendly automobiles (Daimler Chrysler 2008). Weaknesses: Secondary in the Mercedes-Benz's set of objectives are maintaining investor relations through profitability. However, the division has been having recent financial blows which can be attributed to the deterioration of its image in the world market (Landler 2005). During 2005, investors have been weary of the company's financial performance as Mercedes Benz reports only 2 million during the last quarter compared to the 784 million it recorded in the same fiscal period (Landler 2005). The declining performance of the stock of its parent company in the market is another indication of its deteriorating financial performance (Figure 1). Figure 1. Stock Price of Mercedes-Benz's Parent Company Daimler Chrysler (August 2007 to July 2008) The weak financial performance of Mercedes-Benz in the market can also be an indication of having not enough funds to allocate to the company's endeavor. Failure to become profitable will further push stock price down. As stated in the previous section, Mercedes-Benz has been recognized as a symbol for luxury. Ironically, one of its pressing problems is in the aspect of product quality. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, it has been noted that the quality of Mercedes-Benz's passenger cars has been in question as indicated by the result of objective measures (Edmondson

Reward Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Reward Managment - Essay Example In case these requirements are satisfied, the company will be considered for tender negotiations that will be held after five years. The report considers the council expectations as the immediate business goals to be met and looks at means to drive the organization to achieve the goals. The company will need to re-look the processes and increase the focus on teamwork. The issues that are likely to hinder the ability of the company to gear up to these requirements lie in the tall hierarchical structure that operates at the plant and the remuneration structure both of which are unsuited to team effort. In addition, the workforce is associated with UNISON, a union with a large membership that has the capability to affect the ‘no service disruption’ expectation of the council in case of a conflict. The report further recommends ways to manage the changed method of working to reach the business goals. The report explores the various incentive schemes that may be considered an d chooses the appropriate options. It recommends a review of the existing pay structure and introduction of an incentive structure that recognizes team as well as individual output. Contents Executive summary 1 Introduction 3 Critical analysis and evaluation 5 Decision to rationalize operations 5 Remuneration structure 5 Organisation structure 5 Recommendations 6 Develop a reward strategy 6 Current pay structure 6 Incentives 7 Union and workforce perception management 8 Expected flashpoints with Unison 8 Bibliography 10 Introduction Refusenicks PLC is in the business of waste disposal and recycling that has a contract with Fellshore County Council. The Council has recently taken the decision to rationalize operations by shutting down 4 out of 6 waste disposal plants and selling the land for buildings and refurbishing two plants with sophisticated machinery. Refusenick must cater to the requirements of the council in order to be considered for tender negotiations to be held after 5 y ears. The requirements to be satisfied are: efficient disposal of waste appropriate management of environment and pollution no service disruption be a model employer These requirements lay the ground for arriving at business goals and consequently the design of business processes to reach them. The workforce that supports these requirements is headed by a Works Manager assisted by the Deputy Works Manager. They are in turn supported by two shift superintendents and deputy superintendents and 12 supervisors to oversee the work done by 75 operatives in a shift. The Works Manager also has a maintenance team that operates over the weekend. Waste processing was earlier conducted in 6 plants which is now curtailed to 2 with more automated processing. The earlier system operated on a 9-hour shift over a 5-day work week. The current system operates on three 8-hour shifts over a 5-day work week. The current financial remuneration components are: Base pay Unsocial hour allowance for the Works Manager and Deputy Works Manager Shift allowance from the level of Shift Superintendent and below Bonus is paid only at the level of the operative The salary ranges are below: Level Min Max Bonus Allowance Min Total p.a. Max Total p.a Works Manager 22512 24000 Â   1200 23712 25200 Deputy Works Manager 20295 21654 Â   1200 21495 22854 Shift Superintendent 17922 19656 Â   10% 19714.2 21621.6 Dy. Shift Superintendent 15675 17460 Â   10% 17242.5 19206 Supervisor 14363 15372 Â   10% 15799.3 16909.2 Operative 13550

Characteristics of leadership

Characteristics of leadership Introduction The characteristics of leadership are examined in the context of business management. Leadership Shackleton (1995) defined leadership as the process in which an individual influences other group members towards the attainment of group or organisational goals. According to Torrington et al (2008) the leader may or may not be the nominal head of a group, implying that managers may or may not be leaders, and leaders may or may not be managers. Hollington (2006) argues that any individual may act as a manager at one stage and a leader at another time, depending on the situation. It should not be assumed that leadership is always a downward process, as there are times when employees or managers lead upwards. There is a degree of confusion between management and leadership, which is clarified by Northouse and Northouse (2009) who state that while management is concerned with the provision or order and consistency within organisations, the prime function of leadership is to drive change and development. Management seeks order and stability, whereas leadership aims to adapt behaviour and promote beneficial change. Qualities of leadership The understanding of leadership involves a blend of approaches according to Adair (2003). The combination of personal qualities (what you are), situational (what you know) and functional (what you do) all form a critical combination which distinguishes a leader. The attributes of a good leader are that they should possess most of the characteristics of the field they operate in. As an example, the leader of a law firm should typically have the characteristics of a good lawyer. More generic qualities are associated with leadership, such as enthusiasm, integrity, moral courage, warmth, and a combination of toughness and fairness. Both generic and typical qualities are necessary for recognition as a leader, supplemented with the natural authority which differentiates leadership from others. The increasing global competition in business has led to a focus on developing high-powered organisations which can differentiate themselves from the competition by the performance of their employees. According to Swart et al (2005) leadership had been identified as a key to the high-performance organisation. Leadership is seen as power to inspire, motivate and fill employees with the desire to change the organisation and to be the best. Leaders can act as change role models within the organisation. Building commitment to a common organisational purpose is essential to gaining competitive advantage and learning and development of employees plays a major part in delivering this. Dave Ulrich, whose work has had a profound influence on thinking within the human resources profession, has developed a framework for guidance of human resource professionals in developing commitment and common core values to organisations (Ulrich and Smallwood 2003). According to Harrison (2005) a key capability proposed in Ulrichs framework is leadership. Harrison relates that the latest human resource research findings show that there is an overwhelming need for effective leaders in the face of the radical change agenda facing the public and not-for-profit sectors of the economy or at the highly competitive environment in which all private sector organisations now operate. Leaders at corporate level are accountable for the results of the organisation and their brand has a major influence on shareholder confidence. At the line manager level leaders play a key role in communicating and enacting the organisations vision and in implementing the human resource strategies to raise employees commitment to it. Whether leadership characteristics can be developed within a person is the subject of debate. Price (2007) offers the following quote from Bennis (1990): I would argue that more leaders have been made by accident, circumstances, sheer grit, or will than by all the leadership courses put together. Price argues that whereas good leaders are comparatively easy to recognise when they are in positions of authority, developing people to achieve the necessary qualities is not so easy. Just as the nature of leadership is not fully understood, the appropriate methods of training and leadership are a matter of controversy. It is arguable that many supposed leadership training courses are actually teaching management skills rather than those of leadership. Training courses have concentrated on identifying the nature of leadership and the form in which the individual trainee wishes to adopt, which incorporates a range of options from being able to give orders to a more specialised form. Self0awa reness is often an optional training requirement for those who feel they lack identified leadership skills, by delivering a general boost in self-confidence. In each case the training depends of factors such as the participants level of seniority, or the organisational culture in which the individual operates. Clearly it would be inappropriate for a junior manager to adopt the manner of a managing director, or apply authoritarian forms of leadership in a business whole culture encourages wide participation in decision-making. Organisational strategy may be clearly stated and communicated, but the primary key to successful strategy implementation is leadership. Daft (2006) states that leadership is the ability to influence people to adopt the new behaviour needed for strategy implementation. An important part of implementing strategy is building consensus. People throughout the organisation must believe in the new strategy and have a strong commitment to achieving the vision and goals. Leadership means using persuasion, motivating employees, and shaping culture and values to support the new strategy. As an example Daft relates that CEO Sam Palasino of IBM used leadership to get people throughout the organisation aligned with the new e-business strategy. His actions included dismantling the executive committee that previously presided over strategic initiatives and replace it with committees made up of people from all over the company who now have a voice in strategy formulation and implementation. He inves ted considerable money in teaching managers at all levels how to lead rather than control their staff. He is also communicating with people all over the company, appealing to their sense of pride and motivating them to make IBM great once more by uniting behind the strategic vision, and facilitating the implementation of the strategy by making people feel they are participating, understand the strategy and therefore have more commitment to achieving it. Leadership in achieving successful strategy can be attributed to the drive and determination of a charismatic leader. Ruddock (2008) relates the Michael OLeary relentlessly drove change in what was a failing airline by concentrating on changing the publics perception of air travel as being somehow elevated above other forms of transport and turned the concept into one as commonplace as boarding a bus. The low-cost-no frills strategy was driven into every aspect of the airlines operation and OLearys considerable ability to generate publicity at every possible opportunity was utilised to the full. Every possible cost-saving action was taken, from negotiation of landing fees to relentless promotion of cheap flights with the lowering of passenger expectations of the service provided by such low costs. Ryanair, like many airlines today is suffering from the economic depression, but has up until recently been profitable and is still planning expansion at a time when many airlines are near collapse. This is in no small part due to the leadership qualities of Michael OLeary. The context in which leadership occurs is often a deciding factor in whether it is successful o not. The kind of leadership exercised will be related to the nature of the task and the people being led. It will also depend on the environment, and the actual leader. An analysis of the qualities of leadership in terms of intelligence, initiative, self-assurance and other characteristics is of limited value. The qualities required may be different in different circumstances, and it is important to take account of the variable leaders have to deal with, in particular, the task in hand, the group being led, and the leaders position relative to the group (Armstrong 2006). Leadership exists at different levels according to Adair (2006). There is the team level, where the leader is in charge of ten to fifteen people. The operational leader is responsible for a significant part of the business, such as a business unit, division or key functional department such as marketing. Operational leaders often have more than one team leader reporting to them. At the strategic level, the leader, often designated as the CEO, is leading the entire organisation. Strategic leadership is the art of leading a large body of people. The key to achieving sustainable business success is to have excellence in leadership at all three levels. Strategic, operational and team leaders need to work harmoniously together as the organisations leadership team. Cole (1997) relates that leadership is exercised against a background of the culture of the organisation. and this fact has important implications for the amount of power assigned to leaders as well as the styles that will be permitted. It does not follow that in any one organisation all leaders will adopt a less task-centred style than line managers, because their particular sub-cultures may be sufficiently different from the organisations as a whole. The sub-culture is a value-system of one part of an organisation which is a variance with the dominant value-system of the organisation as a whole. As an example, the research and development leader may be focussed on future product development while the marketing leader will aim to maximise market penetration. Conclusions Leadership appears to be characterised by many factors, some of which are inherent in the personality and actions of the individual, while others are dictated by circumstance, but are almost always accompanied by change in the circumstances of the organisation being led. Leadership is often confused with management, and the nature of leadership is not fully understood. References Adair, J. (2006) Leadership and Motivation, Kogan Page Limited, London, p 33. Adair, J. (2003) The Inspirational Leader, Kogan Page Limited, London, p 25. Armstrong, M. (2006), A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 10th Edition, Kogan Page Limited, London, p 300. Bennis, W. (1990 Managing the Dream: Leadership in the 21st Century, Training: The Magazine of Human resource development 27 (5): 44-6. Cole, G.A. (1997), Personnel Management, 4th Edition, Letts Educational , London, p 57. Daft, R.L. (2006), The New Era of Management, Thomson South-Western, USA, p 292. Harrison, R. (2005), Learning and Development, 4th Edition, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London, p 256. Hollington, S. (2006) How to Lead your Boss, People Management, Vol 12, no 24, 7 December, pp 44-5. Northouse, P.G, Northouse, P.G. (2009) Leadership: Theory and Practice, Edition 5, SAGE Publications, London, p 10. Price, A. (2007) Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 3rd Edition, Cengage Learning EMEA, London, p 531. Ruddock, A. ((2008), Michael OLeary: A Life in Full Flight, Penguin Books, London, p 194. Shackleton, V. (1995), Business Leadership, Routledge, London, p 2. Swart, J. Mann, C. Brown, S. Price, A. (2005) Human Resource Development, Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann, London, p 179. Torrington, D. Hall, L. Taylor, S. (2008), Human Resource Management, Seventh Edition, FT Prentice Hall, London, p 318. Ulrich, D. Smallwood, R. (2002), Why the Bottom Line Isnt: How to Build Value Through People and Organisations, John Wiley Sons, Inc., USA, p 43.

satan and the problem of evil :: essays research papers fc

Satan and The Problem of Evil Now the Serpent was the most cunning of the animals that the LORD God had made. The Serpent asked the woman, â€Å"Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?† The woman answered the serpent: â€Å"We may eat of the fruit of the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it lest you die’.† But the Serpent said to the woman: â€Å"You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.† (Genesis 3:1-5) Serpent, Devil, Tempter, , Prince of Darkness, Fallen Angel, the Evil One, Lucifer, Diabolus, all of theses titles refer to the same figure, Satan. The name Satan comes from the Hebrew for adversary. It is theorized that Satan is a symbolic figure for those who opposed the Biblical writers, in the Old Testament the Satan was meaning th e other nations, the idol worshipers, and in the New the Pharisees and the Jews who ejected the growing Christian faith from the Jewish community. In the time of the later church, Satan and his works were meaning heretics and such. Anything on the outside that appeared to be a threat became of Satan. It is also a theory that Satan is a real individual, a real spirit, the fallen angel. Some stories hold that selfish pride and lust for power brought about the fall of Lucifer, â€Å"the light bearer†. St. Augustine wrote that the Devil was â€Å"inflated with pride, he wished to be called God†. The words of the prophet Isaiah illustrate this idea: How you are fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! How are you cut down to the ground, you who mowed down the nations! You said in your heart: ‘I will scale the heavens; above the stars of God I will set up my throne; I will take my seat on the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the North. I will ascend ab ove the tops of the clouds; I will be like the most high.’ Yet down to the nether world you go, into the recesses of Sheol! (Isaiah 14:12-15) St.

Heathrow: Terminal 5

Terminal 5 Heathrow London London Heathrow Terminal 5 Project Scope The plans for this project began as far back as 1982, where there was an on-going debate as to whether the aviation industry in the United Kingdom should expand through Heathrow Airport or Stansted Airport. The objective of the operation was to add a fifth passenger terminal to Heathrow to handle the tourism coming into London, also with the intentions of increasing the capacity of Heathrow Airport from 65 million people per year to 97 million people per year. Plans for the building of Terminal 5 began in 1988.The project was given a budget of under ? 4. 5 billion. The main stakeholders in this operation were Willy Walsh (CEO of British Airways at the time), and Tony Douglas (CEO of BAA at the time). Terminal Five was going to be made using the latest technology in order to make the airport experience much easier for the public, and also to keep up with the leading airports in the world. The public were originally ve ry strongly opposing the plans, with local people and local councils claiming it would cause more noise pollution, air pollution and traffic congestion in their area.The first design milestone for this project came in the late 1980's when architect Richard Rogers of ‘Richard Rogers Partnership Architecture Firm' was appointed with the task of designing the structure. British Airports Authority (BAA) officially announced a proposal to expand through building Terminal 5 at Heathrow in May of 1992. Terminal 5 had to fulfil a number of needs as an airport terminal, such as retail facilities, rail terminal, multi-storey car park, production lines etc. Project PlanThe development of Terminal 5 was an extremely time-consuming journey which started in the late 1980's when Richard Rogers Partnership was appointed with the task of designing the terminal. Planning applications were submitted in 1993, and a public enquiry was held from 1995 to 1999 to examine the every need of this new te rminal, and every aspect of the design of the structure that was about to be introduced. Eight years after the initial planning application, the transport minister had made the decision to grant planning permission on behalf of the British government.It was the longest public enquiry in UK history with legal costs reaching 80m pounds and contained over 700 building conditions. At the time Terminal 5 was the largest construction project in Europe and cost a staggering 4. 2bn. Phase one of the project included many systems of systems; it contains two main terminal satellites, car parks with over 4,000 spaces, major tunnelling and excavations, underground bagging system, road rail extensions, air traffic control tower, a hotel containing 600 bedrooms, 60 aircraft stands, as well as transit systems.The British Airports Authority felt they had to upgrade their airport to keep in competition with other main hub airports. Construction of the project went underway in the Summer of 2002 and was originally a five year plan. Five key stages were identified in the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5: * Site Preparation & Enabling Works * Ground Works * Major Structures * Fit Out Site Preparation and Enabling Works A major archaeology excavation took place on the Terminal 5 site, where there were over 80,000 artefacts found during the excavation.Also operations such as levelling the site, laying foundations, extensive tunnelling to cater for the large underground baggage and railway system that was to be put in place for the airport. Groundworks March 2005 also saw the completion of developed road infrastructure (internal airside roads). A new spur road off the M25 was also completed and opened in April 2008 in order to improve access to the terminal. Underground railroad tunnel connections between Heathrow express and Terminal 5 were finally completed in September 2004 after four and half months of tunnelling.Terminal 5 has six platforms, two of which are used for London Underground Piccadilly extension, two for the Heathrow express and the remaining two for additional extensions. The railway service was completed in March 2008. Major Structures Two satellite terminals were built to cater for 30 million extra passengers per year. Phase 1 of building these structures would account for 27 million passengers then a further 3 million on completion of Phase 2. Phase 2 was the further construction of a second satellite terminal neighbouring to the original Terminal 5 structure and was completed in June 2005.March 2005 was a pivotal point in the construction of Terminal 5; the air traffic control tower was fully erected and stood 87 meters tall, which makes it one of the largest in Europe. Fit Out Key elements of the fit out comprise of specific electronic systems. These electronic systems involve new check-in technology. It uses a face recognition system on arrival to reduce waiting time for boarding passengers. The service also includes the Rapid Transit System, which is a personal people mover carriage which links people from the car park to the main Terminal 5 building.It was completed in April 2011 and then opened to the public in September 2011. The baggage handling system is the largest of its kind in Europe and it has two main integrated systems; fast track and main baggage sorter. The systems were designed to handle more than 70,000 bags per day. Working Breakdown Structure Risks Capital Issues Many factors had to be taken into account upon undertaking the Heathrow Terminal 5 build. This at the time was Europe’s largest construction project in its history and was also the British Airport Authority (BAA) largest and most expensive project undertaken.This project would tie up much of BAA’s working capital (4. 3 Billion). Taking up all off this was a huge risk for BAA as any major cost overruns would severely break the budget and would lead to huge exposure to BAA as a company itself rendering them out of money an d needing extra finance. To overcome this BAA set out a new no blame culture Construction Risks The construction site of the Terminal posed huge risks to the project as it was determined the site would be built on an area of wetlands west of the original airport.The site was previously occupied by a sewage works and these wetlands had two main rivers running through them which would need to be relocated in order for any construction to go ahead. The two rivers – The Longford River and The Duke of Northumberland River. BAA came up with a twin Rivers Diversion Scheme to re route these rivers operating under strict time constraints established from the inquiry. The scheme achieved a Civil Engineering Environmental Quality (CEEQUAL) award for maintaining high environmental standards and quality during design and construction.Constraint Issues Being the largest free standing building ever to be built in Europe coupled with the fact that Heathrow had to be fully operational through out the construction project special cranes had to be custom built in order to erect the building while not interfering with air space and possibly causing havoc amongst the airport. Many constraints were also put on the builders, workers and architects of the project from the lengthy inquiry – one of the main issues being that only one access road would be allowed to service the site.This forced BAA to create and off site set up area where the pre fabrication was done for the project and then brought on site when needed. Costs We as a group believe that this project was extremely good value for money although it came in over budget by over â‚ ¬200. T2 received 3 accolades for its structure and design and scored exceptional high in areas of efficiency, cost, aesthetics and innovation. It has won these awards for its smooth operation’s during construction.Terminal 2 was over budget because it was seen as an investment for decades to come rather than a quick solution for an outdated airport. Terminal 2 was a key infrastructural venture, tourism decimated since the onset of the recession and that has had a significant impact on footfall at Dublin Airport. With its new technologies it lays the path for future prosperity and growth within the Irish tourism sector. We believe that the planning of the budget was the problem here and not enough consideration was taken into account about unforeseen circumstances – leading to the budget being hugely unrealistic.The Enabling works along with site logistics & phasing was originally budgeted at â‚ ¬5,925,000 but final cost turned out to be â‚ ¬9,135,000. The works & logistics involved diversion of utility services and the unplanned extensive reconstruction of Corbalis House a post medieval house dating back to the pre 1700’s. REFERENCE Upon reaching our judgement that T2 was a construction success we referred back to and compared Heathrow’s T5. DAA managed to build and Internatio nal Terminal with a final cost of â‚ ¬609 whereas it took BAA â‚ ¬4. Billion to service only double the amount of yearly passengers as Dublins T2. Below are some other stark comparisons where we believe T2 was a massive success as they managed to spend 7 x times less than BAA’s T5. ————————————————- | ————————————————- BAA T5| ————————————————- DAA T2| ————————————————- FINAL COST| ————————————————- â‚ ¬5. 3 BILLION| ————————————————- â‚ ¬609 MILLION| ———————————————— PASSENGERS PER ANNUM| ————————————————- 30 MILLION| ————————————————- 15 MILLION| ————————————————- SQ METRES| ————————————————- 350,000| ————————————————- 75 ,000| ————————————————- CONSTRUCTION LENGTH| ————————————————- 6 YEARS| ————————————————- 3 YEARS| ———————————————— NO. RETAIL OUTLETS| ————————————————- 112| ————————————————- 40| Terminal 2 Terminal 2 as a project in our group’s opinion was value for money, even though it came in at 200 million over budget it has r eceived 3 accolades for its structure and design and scored exceptional high in areas of efficiency, cost, aesthetics and innovation. It has won these awards for its smooth operation’s during construction. Terminal 2 was over budget because . t was seen as an investment for decades to come rather than a quick solution for an outdated airport. Terminal 2 was a key infrastructural venture, tourism decimated since the onset of the recession and that has had a significant impact on footfall at Dublin Airport. , with its new technologies it lays the path for future prosperity and growth within the Irish tourism sector. Bibliography * http://centrim. mis. brighton. ac. uk/research/projects/t5 * http://www. economist. com/node/4300209 * http://www. hacan. org. uk/resources/briefings/hacan. briefing. heathrow_terminal_5. pdf

Crime and Television essays

Crime and Television essays Crime and Television, Could There Be A Connection? Watching the news a few days ago, I came across some startling information. According to new statistics, the crime rate and inmate population in the United States has gone up 20% from the year 2001 to 2002. These statistics include the rise in juvenile crime as well. It is being said that this increasing problem is being caused by the dramatic increase in violent television programs. It is proven that violent acts being witnessed or viewed day after day may numb ones sense of right and wrong, which can result in a lapse in judgment causing violent behavior. This is particularly true amongst young viewers. With the rise of violent television programming and the rate at which young people are watching television, we may soon have a tremendous problem. Most prisons now a day are holding more and more young offenders. The statistics are getting scary and so are the people under the age of 25 who are committing them. In most prisons containing only males, 66% of the inmates are there due to violent crimes and 30% of them are under 22 years old. Such crimes include homicide, rape, abuse, molestation, etc. These are serious allegations that most of the criminals have willingly admitted to or have been proven to commit the crime without a doubt. It is strange to think of a human being actually doing some of these horrible things. What can possibly go on in a person's head to trigger such violent behavior? Violent crime prisoner usually have some sort of "battered past", as the Criminal Psychiatric Division calls it. A "battered past" is defined by having previous criminal history, abuse, neglect, or other such circumstances while growing up. Such issues are said to cause permanent psychological damage sometimes, more often than not, causing violent or damaging behavior in their future. This behavior may not be visible right away. It may tak...

Macroeconomic performance and standards of living in Bahrain

Macroeconomic performance and standards of living in Bahrain Macroeconomic performance and standards of living in Bahrain Levels of income and wealth are the key determinants of individual or the countries wellbeing Macroeconomic performance and economic standards of living involves factors such as income, living costs, household size and even the composition of the family size. When the economy is doing well, this is likely to be shown by a number of opportunities for citizens of a particular country and consequently better conditions of living. Bahrain is a small island state with and in 1996 it had a total population of 598, 652 people. Current indicators show that there is a population growth rate of about 3.6 percent, which is basically among the highest in the world (Hakimian, 2000 30). It has fertility rate of 3.2 % and a population density of approximately 2, 000 inhabitants per square mile and this also is among the highest in the world. The population considerations presented above are an essential dimension of Bahrains sustained economic growth and sustainable development. Bahrain has made steady progress in achieving its development goals meaning the macroeconomic performance is doing very well. The Human Development Report of 1997 ranks Bahrain number forty three out of a hundred and seventy five countries with a human development index of 0.87. Per capita income as per that time was estimated at $7, 460. Social indicators showed that Bahrain has marked improvement in the quality of life. The achievements were aided by the early development of the of the oil industry, which financed projects in the education sector and health services as well as economic diversification (Hakimian, 2000 32). The development of a regional airline and the completion of a causeway to Saudi Arabia stimulated tourism, while the rapid growth of offshore banking advanced Bahrains financial role. Also the aluminum smelter (ALBA) boosted downstream aluminum-based industries promoting the development of petrochemicals, which further laid the foundation for further downstream gr owth. {t_essay_order} Comparison of data for Bahrain Bahrains: Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2007-12 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Real economy (change in percent) Real GDP 2.3 0.4 -3.0 0.4 1.7 1.9 Domestic demand 3.2 0.6 -2.0 0.5 1.7 1.7 CPI (year average) 1.6 3.2 0.3 1.1 1.4 1.8 Unemployment rate (in percent) 8.3 7.8 9.5 10.2 10.0 9.6 Gross national savings (percent of GDP) 21.2 19.9 18.8 18.2 18.2 19.5 Gross domestic investment (percent of GDP) 22.2 22.2 20.4 20.3 20.4 20.4 Public finance (percent of GDP) Central government balance -2.1 -2.8 -5.7 -6.0 -5.7 -5.3 General government balance -2.7 -3.4 -7.4 -7.5 -7.1 -6.6 Structural balance (percent of potential GDP) -3.0 -3.3 -3.9 -3.9 -4.1 -4.4 Primary balance 0.0 -0.6 -5.0 -4.8 -4.0 -3.3 General government gross debt 1/ 63.9 67.5 77.5 83.9 88.3 91.7 Money and interest rates (in percent) Money market rate 2/ 4.0 3.8 1.1 Government bond yield 2/ 4.3 4.2 3.6 Balance of payments (in percent of GDP) Exports of goods 21.1 21.1 15.4 15.4 15.9 16.3 Volume growth (in percent) 2.5 -0.5 -14.5 -0.9 3.8 4.3 Imports of goods 23.2 24.1 17.8 18.4 19.0 19.4 Volume growth (in percent) 5.4 0.6 -10.6 -0.4 3.3 3.3 Trade balance -2.1 -3.0 -2.4 -3.0 -3.1 -3.0 Current account -1.0 -2.3 -1.6 -2.1 -2.2 -2.1 FDI (net) -2.5 -3.6 -2.5 -1.0 -1.0 -0.9 Official reserves (US$ billion) 2/ 45.7 33.6 24.7 ... ... ... Fund position (as of December 31, 2008) Holdings of currency (percent of quota) 86.3 Holdings of SDRs (percent of allocation) 58.1 Quota (SDRs million) 10,739 Exchange rates Euro per U.S. dollar 2/ 0.73 0.68 0.75 ... ... ... Nominal effective rate (2000=100) 2/ 102.4 104.9 103.6 ... ... ... Real effective exchange rate (2000=100) 2/ 103.6 106.0 102.1 ... ... ... Potential output and output gap Potential output 2.1 1.3 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.0 Output gap 0.9 -0.1 -3.9 -4.3 -3.6 -2.7 Social indicators Macroeconomic policies implemented by the government of Bahrain Environmental conservation The government has been consistent with commitment to sound resource management and conservation. A sequence of institutional and regulatory measures was recently including the establishment of a National Environmental directorate and the preparation of a plan of action that will take into account of efficiency in use of natural resources and their subsequent rates of depletion and regeneration; and also consider the ability of the environment to absorb and conform with technology together with its requirements of sustainability. The plan has been incorporating efforts from all agencies, the civil society and also the private sector and it is worth of note that a clean environment has been achieved. To achieve economic growth, people must work in a clean environment and minimizing or no illness to workers will boost economic development. Personnel development There has been extensive human resource development to meet the qualities of personnel needed in the job market. There has been enhancement of institutional capabilities to capture the concern of those who establish the development policy which has brought up new programs that aim at increasing the number of Bahrain nationals in the Labour force and equipped with multifaceted skills. In relation to this the government has also ensured that the right infrastructure is in place for no economy is likely to improve if the state of the infrastructure is pathetic. Cooperation with UNDP The government of Bahrain has recognized the importance of UNDP in supporting socio-economic development. It has sought the co-operation because of the quality of UNDPs programs and their universalism and neutrality. The government has considered UNDP a source of technical and methodological guidance on policy development, as a pathway of working and information sharing, and a facilitator of program implementation efforts. The intercourse with UNDP is aimed at aligning personnel development with sustainable livelihoods and employment generation, strengthening institutional capacity for economic management, and promoting environmental conservation and regeneration. Gender issues The gender dimension is considered as very integral in the employment programs at Bahrain. Bahrain women form part of 34 % of the public sector employment and 13.3 % of the public sector employment. The government has realized that investing in womens capabilities contributes to sustainable economic growth and reinforces the countries goal of increasing the number of its citizens in the work force and in the long run development benefits (Acemoglu, 2006 73). The development of employable skills for women and changing social and family attitudes towards the roles of women have been priotised by the ministry of Labour and Social Affairs which has been a big boost to the economy of the country. Water resource conservation The government has been protecting aquifers from salinity and depletion. Bahrains urban and rural economic activities are highly dependant on water and it should be saved for future use. The government has been making every effort to control excess water use and the reuse of waste water for watering municipal flower, hedges and fodders. Artificial recharge of treated water is being studied, and the distribution of water is under review to prevent leakage (Acemoglu, 2006 68). Conclusion In summary macroeconomic policy in Bahrain has led to the achievement of major among other things, has brought inflation under control, freed up prices within the economy, shedding state owned resources to make them more productive, increase of fiscal revenues, lowering the average custom duties, generating foreign exchange reserves and have strengthened the countries financial institutions.

ILM Level-2 (Understading Change in the workplace) Assignment

ILM Level-2 (Understading Change in the workplace) - Assignment Example As a manager, I work in the government utility that provides electricity to the consumers. My role in the utility company is dealing with contractors and consultants who interact with the customers in order to get the necessary approvals from the utility and connect electricity to their homes and projects. Since joining the organization, there have been problems with the reporting system by the contractors and consultants leading to delays in electricity delivery to the customers. The utility also lacks a customer feedback portfolio system where they can interact and get feedback for their services from the customers. Therefore, as the manager my aim is implementing change in the utility reporting system by incorporating new technology as well as creating a customer feedback portfolio system to get the consumers feedback. Customer feedback will be essential to determine areas of improvement in an effort to meeting the consumer’s satisfaction. Triggers for change can either be from external or internal factors. External factors arise from the outside environment while internal triggers arise from within the organization itself. According to Fenwick (2001), external triggers are not open to planned change will internal triggers are opened to planned change. External reasons for utility change are as a result of development of new technology; thus, the utility needs to change to accommodate new technology. As well, the change is in demand for the organization services. It is crucial to the utility to incorporate new technology to enhance the reporting system to improve electricity delivery to its customers. Internal triggers towards the utility change are for the need of the organization to improve production efficiency, a need to improve the systems standards as well as the need to improve on the quality of service delivery. Incorporation of a customer feedback system will be

Taxonomy Comprehension and Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Taxonomy Comprehension and Application - Essay Example By examining each Character separately, and stating off with Philosopher Aristotle, he has been renowned for Philosophical Works - later to be regarded ad Scientific. He has been and is still remembered to have Initiated the Study of Living Organisms -including Himself. This is the area where his Work has been Most Admired. He made enough efforts to discover the Relationships among the Living Organisms. As a Behaviourist, he was keenly interested in knowing something about Which category behaves how. And, possibly, what influences it to do so. His Crown of 'Father of Science' - is Prime enough to illustrate his Research and Academic Weight in the World of Learning. So, Aristotle looks at the relationship of Living Organisms in their Quest for Livelihood. Aristotle is also interested in establishing Sense of Belonging, characteristic of any Creature. This he does by Classification of things - organisms in this sense. Not only does Aristotle stop there. He goes further to study Plants and illustrate their differences in Species. So his Kin Interest the Origination of Species has sparked off a lot of Ambition among both the Philosophers. And, actually, his innovations have led to complicating the Understanding of the Difference between Religion or Philosophy and Science. The Context of... The study of these two inter-related Philosophers -and Hence, Schools of thought, is paramount for purposes of Study (Research) and day-to-day reasoning inherent among the People on this Planet. As the Ideas that flowed from these Brains has been and lives to be remembered. By examining each Character separately, and stating off with Philosopher Aristotle, he has been renowned for Philosophical Works - later to be regarded ad Scientific. He has been and is still remembered to have Initiated the Study of Living Organisms -including Himself. This is the area where his Work has been Most Admired. So his Kin Interest the Origination of Species has sparked off a lot of Ambition among both the Philosophers. And, actually, his innovations have led to complicating the Understanding of the Difference between Religion or Philosophy and Science. By way of classical reasoning. It can be seen that Aristotle has a Scientific View of the Subject, Taxonomy - which is taken to mean 'Something that one wishes to convey especially by Language' - which he does by addressing himself to the Realities of Life via the Expression of Organic Life. For purposes of this Topic, however, we need to make another point or two about the way is Emotions and Feelings of Human and Nature afflict his Counter-part who seems to be slightly opposed to his way of viewing nature and what constitutes its components.