Emergence of Economic, Social and Political Ideas Essay

Introduction The new ideas that shaped our modern world are the influence of democracy, republicanism, nationalism and liberalism. Democracy is a form of gaovernment in which the citizen elects a representative to create laws on their behalf. Republicanism is a form of government in which the head of the state is the citizen of that nation rather than a monarch. A monarch is someone like a king, queen or an emperor. Nationalism is the belief that people of a similar race, culture or ideas ought to belong to the same nation state and liberalism was a movement aimed at protecting and improving the rights of individuals. Age of Revolution American Revolution The American Revolution was a political upheaval, 1765–1783, as the Thirteen American Colonies broke from the British Empire and formed an independent nation, the United States of America. Starting in 1765 the Americans rejected the authority of Parliament to tax them without elected representation. In 1774 the Patriots suppressed the Loy alists and expelled all royal officials. Each colony now had a new government that took control. The British responded by sending combat troops to re-establish royal control. Through the Second Continental Congress, the Patriots fought the British in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. In early 1778, after an invading army from Canada was captured by the Americans, the French entered the war as allies of the United States. The naval and military power of the two sides was about equal, and France had allies in the Netherlands and Spain, while Britain had no major allies in this large-scale war. The war turned to the South, where the British captured an American army at South Carolina, but failed to enlist enough volunteers from Loyalist civilian to take effective control. A combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. A peace treaty in 1783 confirmed the new nations complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada and Spain taking Florida. The American Revolution was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in American society, government and ways of thinking and gained independence. French Revolution The French revolution was from 1780 to 1799. It brought an end to the medieval feudal system of land ownership ain France and eventually Europe but not everyone agreed with this. After the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793, opponents sought to crush it with the help of foreign armies (period known as Reign Of Terror). In the autumn of 1793, Robespierre and the Jacobins focused on addressing economic and political threats within France. What began as a proactive approach to reclaiming the nation quickly turned bloody as the government instituted its infamous campaign against internal opposition known as the Reign of Terror. Beginning in September, Robespierre, under the auspices of the Committee of Public Safety, began pointing an accusing finger at anyone whose beliefs seemed to be counterrevolutionary—citizens who had committed no crime but merely had social or political agendas that varied too much from Robespierre’s. The committee targeted even those who shared many Jacobin views but were perceived as just slightly too radical or conservative. During the nine-month period that followed, anywhere from 15,000 to 50,000 French citizens were beheaded at the guillotine. Even long-time associates of Robespierre such as Georges Danton, who had helped orchestrate the Jacobin rise to power, fell victim to the paranoia. When Danton wavered in his conviction, questioned Robespierre’s increasingly rash actions, and tried to arrange a truce between France and the warring countries, he himself lost his life to the guillotine, in April 1794. ] In conclusion, the outcome of the French revolution is that they overthrew the aristocracy of the day and took control, swept away the French monarchy and nobility, the French Revolution may have been bloody and violent, but in the end it changed the economic, political, and social structure of France forever, Probably the best reforms to come out of the Revolution were the reforms that would be the cornerstone of a legal and administrative system that still endures. There is only one negative outcome I can think of, is that King Louis XVI died, if he hadn’t died then they wouldn’t have attacked France and none would have shed a blood. The Eureka Rebellion The Eureka rebellion in the year 1854 was a historically amazing organised rebellion of gold miners of Victoria, Australia. The battle of the Eureka  Rebellion was fought between miners and the colonial forces of Australia. This event happened because of an act of disobedient in the Ballarat region, during the Victorian gold rush with miners against carrying a miner’s licence due to high fees. The licence fee became the main point of a much larger protest against the lack of democratic rights, and without the right to vote, miners had no say in the governments decisions. The only way their views were known was to either not carry them or even publically burn them and as this gets the Polices attention, they built stockades to protect themselves from the Police. The outcome of the Eureka Rebellion was that they came to symbolize the fight of the ordinary people for justice and basic rights. Female Suffrage The suffragettes argued that women should be able to vote and stand for election because the wishes of women should be reflected in parliament. They argued that a government ‘by the people’ should include government by women, because laws affect women as much as they do men. Vida Goldstein was born in Portland, Victoria. She believed that men and women should have equal rights. She worked for the right of women to vote, called ‘suffrage’, and her parents encouraged her to be strong and free. In 1903 Goldstein was the first woman in the British Empire to try to become a member of a national parliament. She stood for election to the Australian Commonwealth Parliament but did not win. She did not give up but worked towards women’s suffrage in Victorian state elections. Women in Victoria got the vote in 1908. During the First World War, Goldstein formed a group of people who worked for peace. A special tree was planted in the grounds of the Victorian Parl iament to honour her achievements and an electorate (voting area) in Melbourne is named after her. Australian Egalitarianism Egalitarianism basically means a fair go for all. Fairness and equality, mateship and brotherhood are words I would use to describe egalitarianism. Everyone helping everyone through tough and thin, bushfires, droughts and floods, they would all need to co-operate and help each other to survive. However egalitarianism hasn’t applied to everyone in Australia. Within the framework of Australia’s laws, all Australians have the right to express their culture and beliefs and to participate freely in Australia’s national  life. At the same time, everyone is expected to uphold the principles and shared values that support Australia’s way of life. These include: †¢respect for equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual †¢freedom of speech and association †¢freedom of religion and a secular government †¢support for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law †¢equality under the law †¢equality of men and women and opportunity †¢peacefulness †¢a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces tolerance, and compassion for those in need. Australia also holds firmly to the belief that no one should be disadvantaged on the basis of their country of birth, cultural heritage, language, gender or religious belief. So Is Australia an egalitarian society? Australia is a relatively new country, with federation occurring little over a century ago. However, it has progressed steadily and today we are considered a wealthy, internationally competitive democracy. To many outsiders, Australia looks like heaven, a perfect paradise in which to live. Beautiful beaches, unique animals, a laidback lifestyle and a democratic system of government all add to this image of Australia being the perfect place to live. It has become the way of Australians to promote the image of equality in our country. However, Australia has had a very racist past, with policies such as the White Australia policy and the many discriminatory acts of injustice placed against the native Aboriginals. An egalitarian society is one that looks after the poor, treating them with dignity, and taking appropriate measures to ensure the welfare of all its citizens regardless of age, gender or race. An egalitarian society should not condone any form of discrimination, and should attempt to provide equal opportunity for everyone. Since 1901, Australia has come a long way in fighting inequality. Women now have equal rights to men; the White Australia policy and the Assimilation policy were abolished; life has improved for Aboriginals as their rights are now being acknowledged; average life expectancy has increased; and the government does a good job ensuring that  all Australian citizens benefit from the nation’s prosperity. However, there is an ongoing debate as to whether Australia is starting to neglect the important issue of equality in society. In 2003, it was found that the top 10% of Australian households had a higher income than the bottom 50% of households combined. While one may argue that Australia has become wealthier than ever, statistics read that there are more homeless and disadvantaged people than there were 25 years ago. I believe that Australia has improved in becoming a more equal and fair society but it seems that these days were lacking something, like there is a big gap in between the poor and the rich, like no matter how much they work the poor will stay a poor, and the rich get richer as time goes by.

Online Restaurant Management System Essay

Project objectives usually describe the goals or missions of the company to provide better services to customers. The project scope is being developed to describe the function that required in a system. Whereas the project schedule is needed to state the time line for all the task and follow it in order to complete the system on time. For the project team is state out the task that do by the members. Development and operation environment is required to ensure the final system can be develop in a manner way and operate smoothly after being implemented. We discuss about the fact finding technique, system requirements, and all the UML diagrams. A complete and details requirements has to be gathered before a quality informaiton system can be produced. Hence, the process of requiremens analysis is very important. So, the fast finding techniques that we used are interview and observation. Thus, we had more understand about the restaurant workflow. Functional requiements had described the details of each modules. Requirements analysis is an important part of the system design process. Once the client’s requirements have been identified and facts collected, we are then in a position to design a solution. Class diagram is the database structure that comprised of many classes, interrelationships between classes, operations and attributes of the classes. the database dictionary was showed all the database table with attributes name, data description, data types, key, default values and so on. â€Å"Database design is an important step in software development†. Software testing is an important stage to ensure that the software is free of bugs. The purpose of testing is to ensure that the system will propose require function correctly, accurately, efficiency and effectively. 1. 2 Purpose: Nowadays, the world is getting into digital world. System was trying to build out to make people even more convenience on any aspects. INDIA TAKE AWAYS provides an online system to users to make order online. Indirectly, it involves seller (restaurant) and buyer (customer) which could bring benefits to each other and help to sustain the environment. It is a win-win situation that will bring benefit to the world. This system was bringing a convenience for customer that can make order by just press a button. 1. 3 Scope: Online Ordering Subsystem This Subsystem/module enable customer to make order through online. It will display the menu which includes meal name, image, price, and description. Customer can select the quantity and add the meal into order list. Then, customer can view all the orders in order list and send the order to our restaurant by click the confirm button. Staff enables to check the orders from check list and update the status after the meal is cooked. Delivery Subsystem This module is use when customers choose to delivery. They should fill in the delivery information such as name, contact number, delivery address, date and time. After fill in the delivery details, submit/send it to the restaurant. The staff will keep track all the delivery after the meal is cooked. Staff can view all the meal order, delivery detail, total amount, tax and charge by using this subsystem. They also can print delivery information for their reference Meal Maintenance Subsystem Admin or manager enables to maintain the meal by using this module. When chef have introduce a new meal, they can use it to add the new meal by enter the meal information. It also allows to edit meal information like meal price or image. Besides, admin can delete the meal if the meal is lower sales. Report Subsystem This module is use to generate report by admin or manager in order to make decision. The report include monthly sales report, top 5 monthly report, redemption report, feedback report, reservation report and so on. Different report has different purpose or usage. Most of this report is analyst by admin and make adjustment such like increase staff when higher sales month or do promotion when the sales is lower.

Next Plc Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Next Plc Marketing - Case Study Example In 1981 Hepwrth bught the chin f Kendlls shps t estblish new Wmenswer grup f shps. This ws the birth f NEXT. NEXT pertes thrugh five divisins: NEXT Retil pertes the high street shps thrugh mre thn 330 stres cvering the UK nd Irelnd; NEXT Directry is the mil rder divisin which ls cntin the e-cmmerce pltfrm; NEXT verses pertes retil utlets in the United Sttes, si, Cntinentl Eurpe, nd the Middle Est thrugh frnchise greements; Ventur runs the finncil services divisin. ther ctivities include telecmmunictins sftwre services nd prperty mngement. The UK retil clthing mrket is diminishing mrket. The industry is verwhelmed with cmpetitin frm cmpnies which hve invested in hi-tech mchinery leding t greter efficiency r hve plced their prductin t fctries in chep lbur cst cuntries t prduce their prducts. Clthes retilers fll int tw brd ctegries: firstly, thse selling wn-brnd clthing nd, secndly, thse selling third-prty wer. Mjr retilers such s Mrks & Spencer nd the rcdi Grup re gd exmples f the first grup, s re chin pertins such s NEXT nd Gp. The secnd grup includes the mjr deprtment stres nd the mjrity f independent retilers in the UK. The pliticl envirnment f the NEXT plc is quite gd s the stble nd relible ntwithstnding tht Britin filed t rech the greement with sme EU plicies frm time t time. t the present n EU directives re knwn which will hve direct effect n the UK clthing retil industry in the ner future. Due t the EU membership trend cn be seen twrds stricter envirnmentl prtectin legisltin. This my hve direct r indirect effect n NEXT r his suppliers. Ecnmic fctrs Lking t the ecnmic envirnment, it is smewht tricky since n the ne hnd there is the strng sterling cmpred t the Eur. Eurlnd encurges imprts nd endevurs t hld dmestic prices t n ttrctive level. But n the ther hnd it is difficult fr the UK t be cmpetitive utside its bundries becuse f the high pund sterling exchnge rte ginst the Eur. nther issue is the flling unemplyment rte. Fr the UK ppultin this is gd news but fr cmpnies like NEXT, this hs different implictins. Fr NEXT it mens higher expenditure n wges, s well s greter difficulties in recruiting gd emplyees. Scil fctrs Speking f the sci-culturl future it shuld be mentined tht peple retire erlier these dys, s well s wrking shrter hurs. verge wrking hurs per week hve decresed ver the lst 20 yers. s result mny peple hve mre spre time. This mens they hve time t cmpre prices in the High Street nd the qulity f gds nd services frm retilers. But s result, they spend mre time in the shps. nther issue these dys re the "Green envirnmentl issues". Becuse peple hve mre time nd hve mple ccess t the medi vi the TV, rdi, s well s newsppers nd the Internet, the cnsumer

Nurse Leader Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nurse Leader Interview - Essay Example Being honest and fair to everyone, besides sharing information with everyone and operating an open door policy, should dominate the character traits of an effective leader. The leader should go deep to ensure that they have personal contact with their employees through either face-to-face meetings or phone calls to clarify issues or seek for suggestions. In case of a problem, the leader encourages everyone to listen and learn from one another in order to build cohesion and interactivity at the workplace. A good leader does not perceive one’s position as a status but, instead, a responsibility; the leader also understands that assigned authority means that the buck stops with them. For this reason, they bear the ultimate responsibility of making the final decision. Changes in Leadership Style Because of Evolving Leadership Role From my understanding, leadership is dynamic and nursing leaders find themselves adopting new leadership styles depending on situations. Long-term exper ience in leadership and circumstances opens nurse leaders to new leadership roles that make them adopt new styles of leadership. For instance, I have made tremendous changes in my leadership style over the recent years with a notable change being adoption of facilitative and transformational leadership traits. This change has been propagated by the new demands of the medical system, which requires nurse leaders to participate in strategic decision-making and facilitate growth and development in healthcare provision. There is no doubt that our healthcare system has been facing several challenges over a long period. However, there is a sigh of relief, as the system seems to be undoing a transformation process considering the newly enacted laws in the recent past that seek to fill in the existing gaps in the system. The Congress has been steadfast to address key concerns about the ever-escalating costs and variable quality that have dogged our system for a considerably long time. The P atient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one of such incredible roles played by the Congress to address major healthcare system challenges of the 21st century (Nordal, 2011). This law in real sense cannot just be seen as a big thing in the healthcare industry – it must be valued for being transformative. This law, among other things happening in the healthcare industry, both good and bad ones, is a clear manifestation that leadership in healthcare is not just about performing a job, but all about bringing difference. This means that nurse leadership will be about not only motivating, guiding and directing teams but also facilitating change and progress. The evolving role of healthcare leaders demands that they become part of the solution to the diverse challenges the healthcare system is facing nationally and at a professional level (Nordal, 2011). In other words, leaders should be adopting facilitative and transformational leadership traits as the healthcare industry is undergoing a transformation process characterized by standardized quality and increased access for all citizens. New recruits need to be integrated into the strategic objectives of the organization to ensure that they share the same vision with the existing veterans who already understand the facility’s strategic direction. Because I understood my new roles of leading my team into the vision of the medical system, I had to start by thinking about improvements and development as it is a great requirement for a transactional

Introduction outline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Introduction outline - Essay Example the country to withstand negative influences of the Western culture and protect it people against the danger of same-sex marriages, abortion, and drug abuse. Chinese is a religious nation and values their culture and their way of life which has enabled the country to increase its economic, social and political stability (Overview of Chinese Culture). The Chinese government monitors and censure internet access to protect against infiltration of global influence to its citizens. However, despite all the measure to protect it culture, Chinese people have abandoned some of their culture and embraced the trend in trade, commerce and economic integration among nations. Therefore, globalization have taken root and the country is now open to trade with any nation in the world. Globalization has not only increased the economic growth of China, but has ensured the transfer of knowledge in science, medicine and architecture from Africa and other Western countries (Pagel). Therefore, globalizati on has done more good to the Chinese than destroying their

International criminal court Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International criminal court - Essay Example There are several reasons for this inability of national institutions, such as, first, the absence of political will to prosecute their own citizens or high ranking officials. This situation was witnessed in the former Yugoslavia. Second, these national institutions could have been destroyed, as was the situation in Rwanda. In the absence of justice there cannot be peace, without law no justice, and when there is no court to decide what is just and lawful there can be no meaningful law (United Nations, 1999). An international criminal court achieves justice for all, ends impunity, helps in ending conflicts, remedies the defects in ad hoc tribunals, provides an alternative to national criminal justice institutions that are unable or unwilling to act, and to acts as a deterrent for future war criminals. In reality, the ICC has not achieved greater success than the ad hoc tribunals that it supplants. Akin to the tribunals of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, the ICC does not act swiftly. Moreover, it is devoid of a system for enforcing its decisions. This makes it dependent upon governments to arrest and present perpetrators before it. Albeit, the ad hoc tribunals had this defect, they were able to rely on a UN Security Council resolution requiring international cooperation in executing the arrest warrants. In addition, the ICC is devoid of forceful checks on its authority (Schafer & Groves, 2009). Theoretically, the nations that had ratified the Rome Statute were to control the ICC; however, this has not been realized in practice. Schafer, B. D., & Groves, S. (2009, August 18). The U.S. Should Not Join the International Criminal Court. Retrieved May 17, 2015, from The Heritage Foundation:

Evolution of Leadership Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evolution of Leadership Thinking - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that leadership practices have been diverse and dynamic throughout the years. Trends in leadership have always captured the attention of scholars in various academic fields. This follows the evolvement of leadership thinking over time. Essentially, changes and improvements in leadership perspectives are backed up by leadership theories that trace, examine, assess, evaluate, and analyze the evolution of leadership thinking. The movement from traditional to contemporary theories of leadership is aligned with the leadership needs, interests, issues, and concerns of today’s world. Notably, this movement is informed by leadership thinking evolution relative to leadership theories. Leadership perspectives have substantially changed since the 19th century. The traditional leadership theory of the Great Man regarded leadership as something which was acquired at birth. In this respect, leaders were not necessarily expected to emerge every now and then. In the light of contemporary leadership practices, this theory downplayed the skills approach to leadership but relatively upheld the trait approach. Inborn traits and personality development influenced leadership thinking within the period associated with the ‘great man’ leadership. The Great Man Theory made no provisions for learned leadership. This implies that it was not believed a person could actually learn and become a skilled leader.  

Personal Reflection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Reflection - Coursework Example Therefore, having been fully equipped with theoretical knowledge on this aspect, I will put to task this knowledge in my career, as well as in everyday life when faced with situations that might require the application of such knowledge. This course has enabled me to experience significant personal growth and helped me to gain important skills that regard to the program. This is important for me in my professional as well as everyday personal life. I have had access to and read different reading material which bear important knowledge on health promotion and disease prevention, as well as development of programs for various target populations. In addition, the various assignments that I have been subjected to throughout the course have been instrumental in helping master and acquire new information on the area of disease prevention and health promotion. Therefore, I will be able to utilise this knowledge in developing programs that aim at disease prevention and health promotion at different levels in society. Apart from the knowledge imparted in me, different activities that I have undertaken in this course have helped me develop various important skills. First, I have improved on my researching skills. The various assignments I have done in this course have required me to do wide research in order to come up with a good paper. Researching on the internet as well as other literature in the print form has highly sharpened my research skills. This is important in my profession. There is wide knowledge and information on various topics today, either in the internet or physical library. Therefore, it is important for one to have good research skills, so that they can choose and utilise only the relevant and valid knowledge. Therefore, this remains an important skill that I will utilise even in future. The course

DRG Patient Classification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DRG Patient Classification - Essay Example Breakeven Analysis Sales variable cost fixed cost Allocation JFC Total FC Breakeven units HR gross margin DRG M 1700 1000 500,000 415000 915,000 1307 2 41.18% DRG J 2600 1200 280,000 249000 529,000 378 5 53.85% DRG P 900 600 110,000 166000 276,000 920 1 33.33% Total 890,000 830000 1,720,000 The company has three different DRG type patients to which the firm provides its health service. The three different types of patients generate various types of revenues streams. The DRG J patients generate $2600 in treatment cost which is the highest revenue figure among the three types of patients. The DRG J patients also have the highest contribution margin at $1400, but also the highest profit margin at 53.85%. One of the negative aspects about the treatment of DRG J patients is that it takes company 5 hours to complete a treatment session for these patients. Time consuming patients limit the ability of the clinic to have high patient turnover. Fewer patients are served each month when a clini c has to spend 5 hours in DRG J patients instead of the two hours and one hour its takes to serve DRG M and DRG P type patients. The DRG P patients have the lowest patient charge at $900. The good aspect of treating the DRG P patients is that the clinic only has to consume one hour of time to serve them. The DRG M patients generate the Beach Street office of Getwell Clinics a profit margin of 41.18%. These types of patient generate an average patient charge of $1700. The breakeven point in number of treatments varies by DRG type patient. The patients that have the highest breakeven point in terms of number of treatments are the DRG M patients. The reason that the breakeven point for DRG M patients is so high is because the total fixed cost for these patients is $915,000. The contribution margin for each patient is $700. The patient type that has the lowest breakeven points is the DRG J patients at 378 treatments. The high contribution margin of $1400 and the lower total fixed cost a re factor that led to the DRG J patients having the lowest breakeven point. The DRG P patients have a contribution margin of $300 and breakeven point in terms of 920 treatments. Despite having a low contribution margin the DRG P patients had the lowest total fixed cost at $276,000. `When companies have excess capacity they should use that production opportunity on the service or product that provides the greatest profitability which optimizes the use of the resources of the firm. The DRG patient type that provides the highest profitability for the clinic evidenced by its higher contribution margin and profit margin is the DRG J. An advertising program should target the DRG J patients because the treatment given to these patients generate more revenues than any other DRG patient type. The results generated by an advertising campaign can be measured in terms of how many more patients visited the clinic after the ads are run on television, radio, written press, or on the internet. Due to the fact that each DRG J patients bring to the clinic greater revenues per visit than any other patient these patients must be targeted more aggressively by the firm. Based on the scenario that the clinic is at maximum capacity in terms of hours the firm should concentrate its efforts on completing work orders that can be achieved in the fastest time possible. The DRG patient time that requires the least amount of time to complete a treatment is the

Fallacious Statements Essay Example for Free

Fallacious Statements Essay In fairy tales we often read how the Princess is rescued by her knight in shining armor. The knight comes racing in to save her from anything that can harm her and take her away to live happily ever after. It sounds like the perfect ending to a love story. Is it right? In Princess’s Di story that was not what happened. It seemed she was in trouble, but her knight in shining armor must have been out of town. There were many speculations about what happened on the night Princess Di was killed. It would appear that during that night out the Princess was chased by the ever famous paparazzi and the driver lost control of the car and crashed. This crash killed Di and her companion. Is this the end of the story? Not according to the website dedicated to trying to uncover the conspiracy plot against Di. Was the crash really an accident, or was it a planned assassination of the Princess. Many people suppose that she was murdered. The question that comes to mind is why anyone would want princess assassinated. Some say it was because of her alleged relationship with Dodi Fayed. His father has launched a campaign to discover what really happened that night. Other speculations have been mentioned such as the rumor that she was pregnant with Dodis child and that would crush the royal family. One glance at the site of www. dianamurder. com would make any reasonable person begin to question the validity of the crash theory. This site informs the reader that on April 7th ,2008 coroner’s jury ruled Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed through the reckless actions of their driver and the paparazzi in 1997`. Should this make the questions stop? It seems that many people continue to question the truth of how Princess Di was killed. Many questions have been left unanswered and they should be answered before the Princess can really be rest in peace.. To conclude I would like to submit few questions others have posed to make you begin wonder. According to www. dianamurder. com some questions left unanswered are: why were the photographers chasing her on motorcycles, if the driver was experienced? Why did the motorcycles over take a Mercedes? The one that really made me think was: why was the driver allowed to drive her if he was really drunk? If these questions have left you wondering then you are like many other people, who want to know the rest of the story. References: The murder of Princess Diana. (n. d. ). Retrieved March 09, 2009 from http://www. dianamurder. com/ENG 2001 aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" WEEK 3 Peer Critique Evaluation Checklist (4 being the best) 1. Paper evidences clear understanding and 4 3 2 1appropriate use of Avoiding Fallacious Statements or Using Argument by Authority 2. Paper provides a clear position statement in an 4 3 2 1 Introduction that arouses reader’s interest 3. Paper provides a clear focus throughout 4 3 2 1 4. Reasons for position clearly stated and backed by 4 3 2 1 relevant evidence in the form of examples, quotes, etc. There are little quotesin the paper, the evidence is not very clear, those are mostly questions and assumptions that support the author’s position 5. Paper is written from an appropriate perspective 4 3 2 1 6. Ideas in paper are ordered logically with appropriate 4 3 2 1 connections within and between paragraphs The order of paragraphs is broken.

The History Of Holiday Representatives

The History Of Holiday Representatives They are responsible for people between the ages of eighteen to thirty during activities and night life entertainment which is normally held in the clubs around. They have to meet and greet people at the airport so its their job to make sure they know the amount of people they have to pick up at the airport. They are responsible to have great communication skills and to be able to meet new people everyday who they will then have to look after for a couple of days. To the organisation As they will be clubbing away most of the nights including the representative they have to make sure that the surrounding areas are safe for their customers. Health and safety checks are important this is in case of an incident which could occur especially if customers get too drunk so therefore the most important thing is to keep the place clean as possible and keep things where you found them. To suppliers There job is also to sell excursion like club and pub crawls, events outside the hotel and pool parties so therefore there responsibility is to make sure they are buying tickets from appropriate suppliers at a reasonable price especially because the representative look after a lot of people every week. Roles and Duties Meet and greet (Roles) 18-30 representatives have to take thousands of passengers all over the Mediterranean every summer and so therefore they have to meet and greet many people. In order to be keep the passengers entertained they need to have a great knowledge in communicating with them and have loads of confidence and enthusiasm. Transfers They transfer guests to and from the airport and hotels every day, they control airport transfers which means its an early start to take the departures to the airport and meet all the new arrivals. They are there to make sure that there are no problems with lost luggage or coaches. Welcome meetings They have to conduct welcome meetings which could be every day depending on the amount of clients or customers coming into the resort that you are currently working at. Welcome meetings consist of all the information that the guests need to know regarding excursions and activities within the hotel itself. Information booklets They are busy every day looking after their customers and participating in many activities and going on different excursions but they may have a bit of free time to get together an information booklet. This will give customers an idea of what they will be doing during their stay. Health and safety checks They complete risk assessments and health and safety checks which is very important and they will also have to make sure everything is up to standard. When they conduct these checks they will need to report any concerns they may have to someone who is higher than them in their career, they report incidents which they think is serious and they are not able to resolve on their own. Selling (e.g. excursions, car hire) They organise the entertainment for pool parties, club and pub crawls and party nights and they print off all the tickets needed for the events during the week. They also get involved in the activities; they make sure all clubs are safe and that the activities are located in appropriate areas. Calculating payments (e.g. currency, commissions, liquidation) They have to collect and balance foreign money and have a great knowledge to how to give discounts; this may be used if a customer is not happy with their hotel room for example the flush handle on the toilet is broken. Calculating foreign money can be quite difficult so they have to make sure they are giving the right amount to the customers because all pounds and notes are different world wide. Administration and paperwork They sort out all the reports and make sure that everyone has all the paperwork which they will need for the airport and the resorts in general. They also check that no last minute bookings have been made and report all the tickets that have been sold and expenses and suppliers that have been paid out that week. Problem solving (e.g. overbookings, complaints) They answer customers queries and problems, for example a passenger may have an accident in one of the night clubs and have to been taken to hospital in an emergency so its their job to go on that hospital trip with that passenger. This is because you will have to explain everything that happened and also because you are their representative during their stay. Non routine incidents (e.g. accidents, illness, emergency situations) Accidents and illness are a major situation and if for example a customer has jumped into the pool completely drunk, 18-30 representatives job is to make sure that there is a life guard around to jump in and get the passenger out as soon as possible. Transfer Representatives Responsibilities To the customer They are responsible to meet and greet passengers at the airport and take them to their hotel resort along with a talk on their journey to their accommodation keeping them entertained with commentary talk. They also have to keep an eye of each customers luggage so they get given the right one and their main job is to collect money from their customers followed by a receipt to show proof that they have paid. To the organisation Their responsibility is to let the receptionist at the hotel know how many passengers they will be bringing in and taking out each day so they know what rooms to clean. Health and safety checks regularly are important so all passengers can feel safe around the area these include checking hotel facilities and if they meet the customers requirements. To suppliers Transfer representatives are required to transfer passengers to and from the airport so therefore they have to keep in touch daily with coach companies. The reason for this is because the drivers of the coaches will need to know what hotel and airport to travel to and also the number of passengers they will be carrying as there will need to be luggage space at the bottom of the coach. Roles and Duties Meet and greet (Roles) They meet passengers as soon as they get off the plane and arrive at the airport with a welcoming smile and the company placard which is always needed as you dont know what your customers look like. This is followed by showing them their way to the coach with their bags and luggage. Transfers They accompany holiday makers to and from the airport and hotels by coach and they are the first to be seen by the passengers so therefore they always need to be approachable and carry a smile with them everywhere they travel. Coach commentaries During the coach trips down to the resorts they will have to keep their passengers welcomed and entertained and are also responsible for conducting a welcome talk that includes  basic information about the resort which they will be staying in. Welcome meetings They are normally held in the hotel itself which explains the drop offs which they will have to do regularly either at hotels or the airport, how long the trip will last altogether and when their welcome meetings will be conducted. Notice boards They have to read the transport department notice board on a daily basis to remind themselves what coach they will be picking their passengers up with, the time and date, name of airport, name of hotel and also the number of passengers they will be collecting. Health and safety checks They have to ensure all health and safety requirements are met in relation to transfers and carry them out on all hotels. This is important because you do not want passengers to carry a complaint about the rooms especially if its their first time staying in that hotel. Calculating payments (e.g. currency, commissions, liquidation) They will have to collect money from clients followed by a receipt to show evidence that the passenger have paid and also keep in mind the number of passengers they are taking making sure they identify their baggage. To help speed up the routine they could count the number of baggage personally. Administration and paperwork They have to accurately complete paperwork relating to transfers in relation with company guidelines and resort timeframes, complete basic records and write reports. Problem solving (e.g. overbookings, complaints) They have to deal with lost luggage and any injuries and thefts which may occur either at the resort or at the airport before getting picked up. Non routine incidents (e.g. accidents, illness, emergency situations) If any serious accidents occur or someone is seriously ill then they call for help as their role is to only complete the paperwork where they record the accidents for example; time, date, place, name of person and the accident that has happened. Childrens Representatives Responsibilities To the customer They are responsible to look after young children and keep them entertained by involving in a variety of activities in the hotel itself as well as outside and also to organise events and day trips out. Their main job is to tidy up after every mess they make and this is all due to health and safety, if an accident was to happen involving a child you will have responsibility for that and their parents will not feel safe to leave their child with you. To the organisation As they will be busy entertaining young children with board activities, quizzes, painting and drawing they have to make sure every area is clean and suitable for the kids to move around the room. Activities which are held in the resort itself can be quite nosy especially young children as they get excited easily, so therefore its the representatives job to make sure they are on their best behaviour and can keep the noise down as there will be people in their rooms and moving around the building. To suppliers Children Representatives are mainly required to hire a hall or a room at a hotel for the kids to be kept entertained for a day or two so they will have to rely on staff working in the hotel. This is because they will need to know where everything is to put it back at the end of the day and what equipment they are allowed to use. Roles and Duties Meet and greet (Roles) They have to build a great rapport with the children as well as their parents on arrival and explain how you will be their guide throughout their holiday; they will be responsible for escorting guests to their hotel. Welcome meetings They also hold a welcome meeting which consists of promoting holidays to the children and their parents advertising the childrens club alongside an overseas consultant. Notice boards Notice boards are required as they have to advertise what they will be doing each day, the times of each activity including snack and lunch breaks and also where the activities are going to be placed. The notice board will be up for the childrens parents to keep them informed of details of excursions as this includes travelling outside of the hotel. Information booklets Information booklets can be given out to parents and their children either on the coach, at the resort itself on the reception desk or even in their hotel rooms; this includes all the activities, excursions to do, restaurants around, fire exits and contact details of the hotel and the representative. Health and safety checks They have to focus on the health and safety of the children within the club environment and during the activities they participate in. This is to ensure no accidents or injuries occur within the resort and to make sure that the hotel is environmentally friendly. They also complete risk assessments for the childrens club and off-site as well as identifying the risks. Selling (e.g. excursions, car hire) They organise the activities to do and also the excursions meaning days out and taking the children to visit somewhere, they have to contact wherever they wish to visit and to let them know roughly the times they will enter and leave and also the number of children visiting. Calculating payments (e.g. currency, commissions, liquidation) They will have to collect payments from parents if they wish for their child to exit out of the hotel building and visit places with their guide and other children. They also need to have some background knowledge of different currencies because different countries require different types of money. Administration and paperwork Childrens representative complete accident forms in case of a serious fall which required an ambulance and they record incidents including; time, date, place and what happened. Their job is also to maintain attendance lists and register this is in case of an emergency where everyone has to leave the building, occasionally count that they have the right number of children with them, collect parents contact details and book in and out procedures. Problem solving (e.g. overbookings, complaints) They answer any questions parents may have and deal with any complaints for example a child was wearing a cardigan outside the hotel on her excursion with her team leader and came back to her parents without the cardigan. The parents will then argue about their daughters cardigan and it will be the childrens representative job to try and get it back by phoning wherever they had visited for the day. Non routine incidents (e.g. accidents, illness, emergency situations) Children have different needs; some have walking difficulties so therefore uses a wheelchair, some may be either blind or deaf, others may have an allergy to a certain food whereas others may have health needs e.g. eczema, asthma or diabetes. If any child has a serious accident for example a child on a wheelchair falls over then they will have the responsibility to deal with that so before looking after children they have to make sure they know each childs personal details. Organising activities (e.g. childrens club) They organising daytime and evening activities which include singing competitions, quizzes, board games, ball games which is held in the club, around the club and off-site. Excursions include children theme parks, aquariums, water parks, swimming pools, farms and zoos. They read bedtime stories to get them to fall asleep as some kids can be hyper from their day out and therefore cannot fall asleep. They also create safe activities for all ages, including anything from pyjama parties and sports days through to pirate and fairytale  themed shows and activities. Managing groups Using their communication and observation skills they help all the children they look after to manage behaviour, resolve conflict and help them participate in activities. This will help them boost their confidence and enjoy something they have never done before or anything they thought they would never be able to do. Cleaning After each activity they are responsible to tidy up the mess which is left after a full day of different activities, this will help reduce accidents and injuries which could occur during the day if for example someone left a chair in the middle of the room.

call centers :: essays research papers

Call Centers -- RP's Emerging Sunshine Industry The call center service has been dubbed the country's latest sunshine industry, expected to generate around 24,000 jobs in the next two years. When a door closes, a window opens. Even as the Philippines feels the fallout from the global IT crunch, it has benefited from the prevailing cost-cutting trend in an unexpected way -- an unprecedented boom in the call center business. Indeed, the call center service has been dubbed the country's latest sunshine industry, with the sector expected to generate around 24,000 jobs in the next two years, according to Toby Monsod, former assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). "It's a very promising industry. Everybody's growing and hiring," Benedict Hernandez, Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) chair, said in a recent interview. From 2000 to 2001, the segment reportedly grew by more than 200 percent, and local call center revenues are projected to increase from $173 million in 2002 to $864 million in 2004. Optimism runs high as an international research group forecasts the growth of ICT-enabled services to a $200-billion industry by the year 2010, with the call center segment's share at $42 billion. Reports say that in the United States alone, there are 1.5 million call center seats that could be outsourced, and so far the Philippines has less than 10,000 seats filled, indicating the domestic industry's huge potential. What are call centers? A call center is a central customer service operation where agents (often called customer care specialists or customer service representatives) handle telephone calls on behalf of a client. Clients include mail-order catalog houses, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, banks, financial service and insurance groups, transportation and freight handling firms, hotels and IT companies. The size of an operation is described in terms of the number of "seats." A seat consists of a station with two or three people alternating in several shifts to provide 24-hour call center service. The industry's main target markets include the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Many factors contribute to the local industry's sizzling development pace. One is the rising cost of doing business in industrialized countries like the United States, forcing foreign companies to downsize and outsource peripheral e-services to developing countries like the Philippines to cut overheads. CCAP president Jose Ferreros also cites the better power and telecommunications infrastructure, competitive labor cost in terms of quality and value for money, and strong government support for ICT-related industries.

The Truman Doctrine :: American America History

The Truman Doctrine "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure." (Harry Truman mach 1947). This is part of the speech Harry S. Truman gave to congress on the behalf of small countries falling to the pressures of communism. The Truman Doctrine was a anti-communist foreign policy that would change of the world. Turkey and Greece were under a great threat by the Soviet-supported rebels seeking to topple the government and install communist power. This made the United States and especially Truman very nervous. This is why the Marshall Plan which is one of the direct influence to the Doctrine was thought up. This plan was designed to give aid to any european country damaged during WW2. It tremendously helped ravaged European nations such as Italy and France. By helping these countries the United States was economically forcing away communism. This was the way the United States had it all planned out. We weren't making the Communist very mad cause it was very indirect but later on this wouldn't be the case. The process by which the Truman Doctrine came about was a long and tedious one. After WW2 the US and Soviet Union were at the top of all world powers. Everything was pretty much equal such as military, economics, and nuclear power. The one thing that scared the US the most was the fact that the Soviets were greedy and wanted more and more land. This is where we began to see a huge threat to Greece, Turkey, and Iran. Because of all this on March 12, 1947 President Harry S. Truman gave a speech to congress that would later be call the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine would ask for a total of 400 million dollars for both Greece and Turkey (Freeland pg. 87). The money for Greece would be split between economic and military aid and for Turkey the aid was entirely for military purposes. The President had turned debate on two modest proposals into a vote of confidence on his administration's foreign policy and a test of American willingness to resist a threat defined to endanger the basic security and values of the American society (Pemberton pg. 92). By Truman doing this it almost put congress at a no win situation. Congress couldn't go against Truman cause this speech was nationally broadcast which would mean the people would be scared. The Truman Doctrine :: American America History The Truman Doctrine "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure." (Harry Truman mach 1947). This is part of the speech Harry S. Truman gave to congress on the behalf of small countries falling to the pressures of communism. The Truman Doctrine was a anti-communist foreign policy that would change of the world. Turkey and Greece were under a great threat by the Soviet-supported rebels seeking to topple the government and install communist power. This made the United States and especially Truman very nervous. This is why the Marshall Plan which is one of the direct influence to the Doctrine was thought up. This plan was designed to give aid to any european country damaged during WW2. It tremendously helped ravaged European nations such as Italy and France. By helping these countries the United States was economically forcing away communism. This was the way the United States had it all planned out. We weren't making the Communist very mad cause it was very indirect but later on this wouldn't be the case. The process by which the Truman Doctrine came about was a long and tedious one. After WW2 the US and Soviet Union were at the top of all world powers. Everything was pretty much equal such as military, economics, and nuclear power. The one thing that scared the US the most was the fact that the Soviets were greedy and wanted more and more land. This is where we began to see a huge threat to Greece, Turkey, and Iran. Because of all this on March 12, 1947 President Harry S. Truman gave a speech to congress that would later be call the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine would ask for a total of 400 million dollars for both Greece and Turkey (Freeland pg. 87). The money for Greece would be split between economic and military aid and for Turkey the aid was entirely for military purposes. The President had turned debate on two modest proposals into a vote of confidence on his administration's foreign policy and a test of American willingness to resist a threat defined to endanger the basic security and values of the American society (Pemberton pg. 92). By Truman doing this it almost put congress at a no win situation. Congress couldn't go against Truman cause this speech was nationally broadcast which would mean the people would be scared.

Book Review of Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide :: Accounting Finances Businesses Essays

Book Review of Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide, by Robert Murdick, R. Carl Moor and Richard H. Eckhouse, attempts to tie together the broad policies and interrelationships that exist among the many functional areas which undergraduate students typically study. The authors intend the text to supplement the typical case book and/or computer simulations used in teaching business strategy (ix). Situational analysis is presented, as is a structure for developing strategy. Practicality and real world experience is combined with educational theory to provide as complete a picture as possible of strategy in business. The authors have divided the text into 15 chapters with no further subdivisions. It is possible, however, to group the chapters into specific areas of study. For example, the first chapter, "Business Failure -- Business Success," examines why businesses fail, and provides the reason for continuing with the remainder of the text. The next two chapters focus on the "field of action," including the business environment and the business system. The fourth and fifth chapters introduce strategic management (chapter 4) and the struggle not only to survive, but to prosper using strategic management (chapter 5). Chapters Six through Nine address specific functional areas (marketing, accounting/finance, production, and engineering/research and development). Chapters 10 and 11 introduce the reader to the problems of managing human resources (chapter 10) and data processing resources (chapter 11). The last four chapters discuss the issues involved with analyzing business situations. Multinational business analysis is the subject of chapter 12, while chapter 13 turns the reader's attention to how to conduct an industry study. Chapters 14 and 15 focus on how to analyze a case and illustrations of case analysis, respectively. The text concludes with an appendix of symbols used by those who evaluate reports and a general index to topics within the book. The authors make good and frequent use of charts, graphs, forms and other graphic techniques to illustrate their points. Each chapter concludes with a selected bibliography that the student may use for additional research. The book is printed entirely in black ink; the use of color for key concepts would have enhanced the book's value as a teaching text. Visually, the book is crowded without much white space for readers to make notes. Key concepts could also have been separated from supporting text in a more clear manner. While each chapter has a summary, they do not have an introduction or a listing of key words of concepts that the student should learn as a result of studying each chapter. Such aids would make

Praise Song for my Mother by Grace Nichols Analysis Essay

What are the poet’s feelings about family and how does she convey these ideas? Grace Nichols writes Praise Song for my mother as ode, or letter, as a celebration of her mother. Having moved from Guyana to the UK, the ‘ode’ is in a Caribbean style, praising her mother for all that she has done. Nichols writes about what family is, and what it means to her, and the poem seems to be positive, in adoration of her mother, but there are also other standpoints that say the poem could have a deeper, negative meaning. Nichols conveys the powerful, protective love that she receives from her mother in the poem in a variety of ways. She writes that she was ‘water to [her], deep and bold and fathoming’. As water is a necessity to live, she creates the image that her mother was a necessity to her life, and that she ‘couldn’t live without her’. She uses many of these metaphors, using the term ‘You were’ to convey the different roles her mother played in her life, that although she was just a woman, she was to her, the ‘moon’s eye’ and the ‘sunrise’. The use of the past tense in ‘you were’ shows that her mother may have passed away, and that this is not only a celebration of her mother, but also a celebration of her mother’s life, and that the poem is a sort of mourning of her mother. However, this can also be interpreted as the memories of her childhood, when she lived in Guyana with her family, written in the past tense, to convey her feelings in the past. The fact that this poem is written in 14 lines, as a sonnet, shows the ode of love from Nichols to her mother, and the loving bond in family. Nichols could also be trying to convey the message that family is about growing, and allowing the children to develop and learn. Although this at first sight, a poem of positivity, and ‘praise’ for her mother, there could be a more negative, possibly sarcastic side to the poem. The phrase ‘you were water to me’ initially seems positive, but when paired with ‘deep and bold and fathoming’, makes the reader think that there was possible ‘too much water’, and that Nichols’ mother was possibly overprotective or that she enveloped Nichols in her care. The words ‘deep’ and ‘bold’ make you think of the ocean, and possibly that she was drowning in it. In addition, Nichols writes ‘go to your wide futures, you said’. This initially strikes the reader as a message of hope from Nichols’ mother, that she wanted her children to go out into the world and grow. The fact that ‘futures’ is plural, shows that there is essentially a ‘world of oppurtunities’ available, rather than a controlled, decided future. However, this may have been written as a sarcastic ‘you said’, showing that Nichols’ mother expected too much of them, and that life is actually much harder than going ‘out to your wide futures’. This resentment may be a product of Nichols’ mother being overprotective, and not allowing her to learn on her own, and being overprotective. It may also mean that her mother may have essentially abandoned her, and left her to her own actions after she left to England. However, given the circumstances, it is most likely written as possibly a memory of the last thing her mother said to her, before passing away, or before their relationship became too distant. In this way, there are many differing interpretations for this message. Nichols seems to be conveying the message that family is a sort of nutrition, or nourishment. She uses lots of metaphorical language such as ‘You were water’ and ‘you were sunrise’ to make family seem like a very positive factor. She also writes ‘the fried plantain smell replenishing replenishing’, with the repetition of ‘replenishing’ making the reader focus on the word. The lack of punctuation in the phrase, and also the lack of punctuation throughout the whole poem possible harks back to Nichols’ less educated childhood. The words ‘replenishing’, ‘water’ and ‘sunrise’ creates the image of the mother fulfilling all the bare necessities for the Nichols’, and shows the different roles that Nichols’ mother played in her life. The poem itself is very orderly for the first three stanzas, with same sized lines, but the fourth stanza is one line longer, this line being longer still, and then the fifth stanza being one line only. This poem could possibly portray a ladder or staircase, symbolising the ‘steps’ to adulthood and success. As the poem is about Nichols’ mother, this could be creating the image that her mother was the aid to her success. This is all the picture of how family is a sort of nutrition and aid to life. Overall, Grace Nichols provides many different standpoints on the importance of family in ‘Praise Song for my Mother’. Although it is written as a positive poem of ‘celebration’ of her mother, there could also be more negative standpoints and alternative views, highlighting possible sarcasm in the poem. In conclusion, Nichols seems to generally have very positive views on family and uses lots of metaphorical language to create the image that her mother was ‘everything’ to her’. She also uses literary techniques to showcase her memories of childhood, and the importance of family in her upbringing.

John Venn (1834 â€1923) Essay

John Venn was born in 1834, to a highly religious Christian family at Hull, England. His mother died when he was very young and father was engaged with rendering his services to the church. He graduated from the Cambridge University and in 1857 was elected as a fellow of the college. He remained a fellow for the rest of his life. From 1858 he lived at different locations and finally returned to Cambridge in 1862. For the next thirty years, Venn dedicated himself to ‘Logic’. He wrote three books on this subject. The first one was ‘the logic of chance’ in 1866, the second, ‘ symbolic logic’ in 1881, and the third, ‘ The principles of Empirical logic’, in 1889. ( Brinley Lisa ) John Venn is famous for his conception of Venn diagrams, a visual representation of mathematical logic. He introduced the concept for the first time in 1880, in a paper titled, ‘ On the diagrammatic and mechanical representation of propositions and reasonings’, which appeared in the philosophical magazine and the journal of Science, July 1980. ( Brinley Lisa ). Venn Diagrams If three discs R, S ,T are subsets of U , then the intersections of these discs and their complements divide U into 8 regions, which do not overlap. The unions give 256 combinations of the three disks R, S , T. Proper working of Venn diagrams require an order of precedence and operators to follow. This order is, AND, NOT, OR, XOR ( Or and XOR equal ). This implies that if both the operations AND and OR are included in a query, AND operation will be taken up first. This does not happen ONLY IF parenthesis are used, as Expressions in parenthesis are processed first. Venn Diagram ( Brinley Lisa ) Venn continuously kept on improving his theory of visual representation through his diagrams. He never interpreted them as an attempt to clarify, what he thought were the inconsistencies and ambiguities of Boole’s logic. Venn realized that his diagrams were not sufficiently general. So he proposed a method by which a series of circles divide a plane into many compartments so that each successive circle would intersect all the compartments. This idea was to later develop as a concept of a ‘universal set ‘. At a later stage of his life, Venn became more interested in history and made some important contribution by documenting the history of Cambridge. John Venn will always be remembered for his contribution to extension of Boole’s logic, in a visual, diagrammatic way. Venn digrams are very useful in variety of applications including set theory, probability, logic, statistics and computer science. In a recent BBC poll, John Venn emerged as the third most greatest mathematician of recent times, next only to Newton and Euler. ( John Venn ) Works – cited page 1. Brinley Lisa, Gregory Emy, Biography of John Venn 1998, Retrieved on 22 March 07 from: < http://www. andrews. edu/~ calkins/math/biograph/biovenn. htm > 1. John Venn, wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 25 February 2007, Retrieved on 22 March 2007 from: < http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/John_Venn>.

Apocalyptic Literature

The immediate thought most of us have when hearing the word apocalypse is destruction. From modern doomsday novels to movies like the Viet Nam era Apocalypse Now, we associate the word with war and destruction. The word apocalypse actually comes from a Greek word meaning to reveal or to uncover. So, right off the back we have to adjust our view of Biblical apocalyptic literature. In and of itself, it does not refer to disaster and hopelessness. Instead, it refers to an unveiling of something hidden. In this case, it is the final chapter in the story of Jesus Christ and His victory over sin and evil. In this paper I plan to shed some light on the understanding apocalyptic literature, the characteristics of apocalyptic literature, and how a person should interpret biblical apocalyptic literature. How to understand apocalyptic literature? Understanding the meaning of the word apocalypse is key to grasping apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic, as a term in the common language or dictionary definition, means something that is written in a warning and threatening way. It is scary, awkward, and about boding evil. The dictionary tells us it is presaging people of imminent disaster, exaggerated predictions, or allusions of the last days. However, this is not what it meant in the original Greek or Hebrew or in the time this term was penned. What did it mean? It means â€Å"discourser of events,† and that is what it literally and truly means to us today, too. It also means an â€Å"uncovering† or â€Å"unveiling,† and â€Å"Revelation† means â€Å"discourser of the apocalypse. † Apocalyptic is not meant to scare us or keep us away from interpreting Scripture; rather, it is meant to help us understand God, victory, hope, grace, God’s plan, and that He is indeed in control. The only people who should be scared are those who reject and hate Christ. When we see how this literature operates, it will help us greatly as it discloses for us the unfolding of historical events past, present, and future, with God’s plan and purpose being the ultimate goal. There for, if we take the time and effort to understand this type of genre, it will make things clearer for us it will expose, not conceal what God has for us. We need to realize that all languages use symbols and metaphors including Greek and Hebrew. If we assume a word is literal when it is not, we will make a wrong conclusion that will lead us and others away from the correct teaching. Then, if we teach it, we lead others astray from the correct teaching all because of our pride or ignorance of not correctly interpreting Scripture or reading the Bible for all that it is worth. For example, a parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative; the same goes for apocalyptic literature. Most of the apocalyptic literature in Daniel and Revelation came to the writer as inspired by the Holy Spirit in visions. These are visions that came to them from God and or an Angel, with imageries that need to be put into human based words, but no words have the power or substance to contain the meaning. Therefore, a metaphor is used, as it is able to contain far more information about the â€Å"secrets† of Heaven and End Times than what a few sentences could. These images are usually explained and known to the writer and audience, but not so much to us today (Dan. –12; Rev. 4:9). What are some of the characteristics of apocalyptic literature? Apocalyptic literature is written in symbolism, poetry, and imageries, as well as in an Old Testament prophecy style (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21; Rev. 1:2-4; 19:9; 22:7-19), all intertwined as a textile to describe literal events but with a twist, using language with symbols that are cataclysmic, words that are exaggerated, a nd metaphors that may be lost to a 21st century person. Such imagery is often used for God’s judgments and the end of days. These forms of language are often combinations of narrative and poetry written in vivid imagery and rhythmical phrases that are intended to express a deeper but not necessarily a hidden meaning that a regular word would not convey. Take our English word, â€Å"bull. † It normally means a male cow, but in context, it refers to not just a farm animal, but also could mean someone who is aggressive, an upswing in the stock market, someone who is clumsy, or slang for someone who is telling a lie. This simple word can be exaggerated for a purpose just as Daniel and most of Revelation uses language to express a point. Apocalyptic writing is also found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Matthew 24. Apocalyptic literature is a combination of narrative and poetry written in vivid imagery and poetic phrases that are intended to exaggerate for a purpose, such as in Daniel and most of Revelation. Apocalyptic writing is a more specific form of prophecy. Apocalyptic writing is a type of literature that warns us of future events, but the full meaning is hidden to us for the time being. Apocalyptic writing is almost a secret, giving us glimpses of what is to come through the use of symbols and imagery. We may not know the meanings now, but time will flush them out. How to interpret apocalyptic literature? We have to be careful how we interpret the Bible. Most of the time, we are to take his word literally; it means what it means and says what it says. However, in the genre of apocalyptic literature, the language is clear, such as the word, â€Å"lamb,† which is used often. We know what a lamb is and we know that Christ is described as a lamb, but do we also know that Jesus is the lamb been slain which means that Christ is the sacrifice? A lamb is the common animal that was slain and sacrificed for the atonement of sin and used for trade. Jesus replaces this lamb as the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice for our redemption. When you see the word, lamb, it is most likely referring to sacrifice and our Lord who offers us salvation (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-20). In contrast to the image of a lion which means sovereign and judge, the lamb was considered the weakest of all animals, needing constant attention and care just to survive. A lamb would die in the wild, whereas the lion would thrive. The image of the lamb was common in apocalyptic literature, also meaning victory and power through, and sometimes over death (Ex. 12:12-13; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 21:15; Rev. 17:14). You can see that these images and themes have or will have history and significance. When we come to words that seem peculiar to our modern minds, such as stars, the first-century Jews would know that it meant â€Å"angels†. Lampstands meant â€Å"churches;† the phrase, â€Å"wife of the Lamb† meant â€Å"Jerusalem,† and the great prostitute was a covert slogan to refer to â€Å"Nero† or any corrupt leader in power. Babylon usually referred to Rome (Rev. 1:20; 17:1-5, 18; 21:9-10). Babylon the Great mainly referred to Isaiah’s mockery of sin and those who follow it as a harlot does. It is a contrast of evil governments in resentment to God and God’s Kingdom, the captivity of the Jews under Babylon and its moral decadence, and the early Christians under Rome, which was also steeped in immorality. This is also a reference to how people are led captive into sin. It was a metaphor that meant to sin and fall into seduction, meaning what lures us away from faith and what replaces faith. The application of this phrase is that seduction becomes corruption; this can range from pagan worship and atheism to following what is fruitless and meaningless while ignoring our Lord. This is not necessarily referring to one specific person or entity or political system, but pointing the faithful to what is evil in general. Nor, does this mean that Babylon will be rebuilt or restored in some way. This theme is about enmity to God and people’s participation in it which is in direct contrast to what Christ offers and is—Pure and Holy (Is. 1:9; Jer. 51:7-8; Dan. 2:35, 4:30; 44; Rev. 13:1-18; 16:19; 17:1-5; 18:3; 18:2, 10, 21, also 4 Ezra). Another apocalyptic word is star. A star in ancient cultures was a popular expression for divinities or angels; context is the key. Is it talking about messengers, things to come, or stellar events such as astrology? If it is a message being delivered, it could refer to a mighty angel, or refer to a cosmic disturbance, an Angel or ser vant, or an instrument of God (Rev. 8:10; 9:1-11; 20:1). Context and commonsense are the keys. These images are metaphoric, or symbols of specific themes in judgment. The obvious is that the actuality of this passage is pointing to God’s power, but these events are not necessarily verbatim, as it would be seemingly impossible. How could one star, much less billions upon billions land on this plant that is a billion times a billion smaller? The answer is, it is figurative, and it is a mystery how this will be eventually played out and what we will see. This is a depiction, just as a first century Jew would read and write. What we do know is that it will not be the same! The point of this metaphor is that no one is immune from experiencing God’s judgment. The entirety of the universe will bear witness to God’s will as an incredible phenomenon, displayed in the cosmos, that will herald Christ’s Second Coming (Mark 13:24-26; Luke 2:25-27). Overall, it is important to note that 28 percent of the Old Testament is prophecy, most of which came to pass in the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament has over 20 percent of some form of prophecy too, of which most (although this is debated) has not yet come to pass. Therefore, apocalyptic literature is important because God has dedicated a significant portion of his word to it. Again, do not read in what is not there. We are given a clear warning in Revelation 22:18-19 not to add in our ideas or take a way His precepts and then teach what is false. I believe it is ok to speculate academically, research, and argue and deliberate over the views, but we are not to seek or read in what we want and then miss what he as. Bibliography Stein, Stephen L. , ed. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. Vol. 3, Apocalypticism in the Modern World and the Contemporary Age. New York: Continuum, 2000. McGinn, Bernard, ed. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. Vol. 2, Apocalypticism in Western History and Culture. New York: Continuum, 2000. Himmelfarb, Martha. The Apocalypse: A Brief History. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Cook, Stephen L. The Apocalyptic Literature. Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.

English Literature Essay

Describe the contemporary education system as it appears at the beginning of ‘Hard Times’. How does Dickens show his distaste for this system up to the end of chapter four? Hard Times is like several other Dickens novels, it’s full of social criticism. Writing in the 1850’s, Charles Dickens was focusing mainly on the Industrial Revolution underway. As the title suggests, this novel is all about harsh times. Dickens uses the principle of utilitarianism throughout the novel. Utilitarianism is a philosophy which argues that all human activity, including learning, should be useful in the practical sense. Dickens is a social critic and all his other novels criticise institutions in some way or another such as in ‘Nicholas Nickelby’. The title ‘Hard Times’ suggests they were living in some really harsh times, what with industrialism on the way. Dickens’ philosophy is shaped from the characters in the book. The two businessmen believe in this philosophy which indicates that when you teach you have to use facts and calculations. This philosophy turns out to be a selfish one, which only focuses on practical learning. Dickens is very aware and understands this society. He has produced three sections to their novel: – sowing, reaping and garnering. The sowing section is the laying down and scattering of the seeds, mainly the teaching and ideas. This means that you are planting them down for the future and allowing them to grow. The reaping section indicates the harvesting of the seeds and cutting them in order for them to grow quicker. In other words, dickens has taken an agricultural view to portray how the teaching methods are affecting the children. The final section, garnering, is the considering of the lessons that are learned. There is a famous saying ‘you reap what you sow’. This perfectly describes this situation with the system and Gradgrind. He reaps what he’s sown, which is his family being torn apart at the end of the novel. We learn that this system is a failing one. It is based mainly on utilitarianism and all they do is force facts onto the children. The aim of the system is to create children who are like models or robots. Mr Thomas Gradgrind is a businessman who has lived by and supports utilitarianism in teaching. He owns a school which his daughter Louisa and son Thomas attend. The school’s principles are also based on facts but as we realise up to the end of chapter four, this method isn’t working. Dickens gives the name Gradgrind to show us that he is gradually grinding away the children’s freedom. I shall now analyse how dickens shows his distaste for this education system The first chapter is called ‘The One Thing Needful’. Dickens implies that the one thing needful is facts. He is being sarcastic and in doing so, he’s also made the first letter of each word in capitals.

Criminal Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Criminal Liability - Essay Example However, it is worth mentioning in this regard that accusing or adjourning someone to have criminal liabilities, depend on various aspects which generally includes due concentration on the age of the accused, his/her intentions and his/her personal traits, in case it signifies any kind of disability. Emphasising on this notion, the discussion henceforth will intend to develop a general perspective regarding criminal liability of any person, rendering specific ideas concerning the factors which should be considered when accusing someone as a legal offender. The idea generated through the analysis of criminal liability and its defining factors, an analysis of Donnie’s criminal liability will also be portrayed in the discussion. A General Perspective of Criminal Liability The perception of criminal liability is often described as the guilt to perform such acts which apparently harms the well-being of any individual either psychologically or physically along with inhibiting the in terests of the society by a large extent. The notion of criminal liability principally arises due to the breach of a defined code of law with the perpetration of any sort of offensive behaviour which is against the defined codes (Sistare, 1989). It has been viewed that the fundamental assumption in relation to criminal activity signifies the presence of both physical as well as psychological factors when committing the offense to treat the offender as a criminal (RSC, n.d.). Furthermore, a particular individual who commits an unlawful act is considered to be criminally liable, provided the person performs an activity which is against the legal codes being influenced by the factors such as negligence, intention to injure or damage and recklessness (USIP, n.d.). It is worth mentioning in this context that criminal liability can be classified under three distinctive concepts, namely, culpability, capacity, and responsibility. Under the classification of culpability, the crime is believ ed to be committed purposefully, where the wrong doer is found to be completely aware of the consequences. Similarly, capacity intends to verify the age or the mental state of the criminal which impose a strong influence towards committing such acts. However, responsibility intends to elaborate on the willingness of the criminal to conduct such illegal act presuming that he was not forced by any material factors, such as money, threat or similar other elements. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the criminal liability must be justified under all the three concepts to verify a â€Å"corpus delicti rule† (NCWC, 2003). A criminal offense can also be committed by a person acting recklessly i.e. not caring at all about the effects or consequences of the unlawful activities performed by them. Furthermore, by law, in the case of any criminal liability offence, the accused person should have performed any kind of voluntary or involuntary physical activity/activities. The idea of voluntary physical action denotes the fact that the happening or rather the execution of the offensive act was under the control of the accused and thereby deliberating that the person had disregarded his/her minimum responsibility to control their intention of damage.

Global Marketing Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Marketing Communication - Essay Example The project was built with a support from the Australian filmmaker, Darius Devas. The inclusion of Devas was important as he had already travelled to Goa, India. He was allowed to document the reunion of his old friends who were there as part of Goa hippy Mecca in the 1970s. The documentary was built by collecting response from the significant personalities which were key in the entire story. At the first stage, the Dubs has come up with 13 video vignettes on the platform of Facebook. This was done on a regular basis throughout the months of March and April, 2010. The platform was chosen in the wake of customers’ growing attraction towards the online content. The project was an effort by the leading broadcast medium SBS, Freehand Television, Screen Australia and Screen NSW. The strategy was implemented in two stages. At the first stage, the Facebook Group was considered to attract the audiences. At the later stage, the Facebook fan page was included to communicate with the tar get audiences. The project started off with the introduction of ‘Goa Hippy Tribe’, an online community to connect the relevant people and communities. The community page put its effort to be linked and associated with the audience group who is passionate about the group and emotionally tied up with the Goa hippy community. The videos were related to certain themes like drug subculture, young age spirituality and trance music which can be associated with the Goa. Furthermore, the Dubs also used other media platforms like YouTube and Flickr to push its product to additional audiences. The project was a success as there was audience engagement in the making of this documentary TV series. As the people felt that they were actually involved in the making of the process. The loyalty was enormous with the feel of joint ownership. The audience base also increased through word of mouth communication. At the end stage, after the documentary was done, a fan page was created to rea ch out to a larger audience group. Through the group and fan page, the project was able to reach out to 9000 fans without spending a dollar on traditional marketing or advertising on air. Traditionally in a documentary film, there is enough research involved with a considerable number of interview processes. These are never released to the audiences (Tay, 2010). However, as those were released and were used to shape up the documentary films, people felt connected to the making process of the same leading to an emotional feeling and passion for the documentary series. Facebook also allowed the audience sot take part in the group discussion for this project leading to fetching a considerable attraction from its fans. This feeling of involvement was possible through Facebook and led to the success of the documentary series. Link between the Case and Relevant Theories Communication is one unique activity which establishes the relationship. The communication has been central to the integ rative marketing process. Dunca and Moriaty have come up with a communication based marketing model to manage the relationships. They developed a model displaying the significance of communication in the foundation of the marketing efforts. The communication seems to be one of the most significant elements of the marketing leading to the establishment of the brand relationships with

Cryogenic system, gas separation and liquifaction Research Paper

Cryogenic system, gas separation and liquifaction - Research Paper Example It is used in the production of gases like O2, N2, Argon, Neon, Krypton, and Xenon. Cryogenic separation has proved to be economical, increases the difference in the boiling points of constituents, process takes up large quantities and achieving purity of gases is tenable. Cryogens like LOX, LH2 are used in rocket propulsion while LH2 is being considered for automobile (Flynn, 2005). LN2 is used as a coolant in cryogenic systems as well as gas refrigeration in cases where low-temperature gases are required. Refrigeration makes use of the principle of heat change in the system, which is equal to the total internal energies (U) and the work (W); . It makes of the first and second Law of thermodynamics. Cryogenic systems are closed cycle systems comprised of the compressor, liquid containers, expander, and heat exchanger. Analysis of cryogenic process follows the Joule-Thompson expansion, which is an isenthalpic expansion process;  (Barron, 1985). The systems are engineered to obey Laws of physics from the field of thermodynamics, heat transfers and

Moral Issues in Our Lives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Moral Issues in Our Lives - Essay Example I do know that the former always brings the latter; however, I particularly like instances when I am able to influence the consequences directly regardless of the previous actions. In such situations, I feel the maximum freedom. This, in turn, allows me to think about the actions that I am about to perform and the decisions tend to be correct ones. As for the rule that I consider to be the most important in my life, I might mention the Golden Rule of interaction. I do believe that others should be treated just like one wants to be treated. Several times in my life I was able to prove the validity of this kind of thinking and saw that it brings positive results for the people that apply it. For example, I want to be respected, therefore I always behave in a respective way towards other people. I think that this rule allows one to structure social interactions in the most effective way. There are many ideas and role models in my life that I would like to adhere to. However, the most significant of them of the Prophet Mohammed. I admire that He was able to be a successful spiritual guide, effective political leader, and a victorious warrior. It would not be a mistake to suggest that He lived life to its fullest and should become a role model for every active person. Furthermore, many events from His life teach how to behave in difficult situations. A good person is one who does his or her best to contribute to the good in the world. One would make no mistake that such definition engages extremely broad notions such as good and bad. Nevertheless, it is my strongest belief that all people have an innate ability to distinguish between the two and various religious systems simply guide this ability and teach people to use it. Indeed, sometimes, detecting bad can be rather simple.

The Marshall MBA Prime Program Personal Statement

The Marshall MBA Prime Program - Personal Statement Example The opportunity of working in a foreign country excited me and I promptly accepted the nomination. Part of the challenge was to audit an industry I had limited knowledge about since Jordan was not a crude oil exporting country. The other would be to interact with the different cultural mentalities of our clients' multinational staff. The Audit team comprised two Senior Associates and five junior associates including myself. The flight to Tripoli was uneventful and upon arrival at our location a heterogeneous mix of people representing our client greeted us. At first I could not help but go through the motions as I shook hands and tried to keep track of the names of our hosts. As I got settled in my hotel room later that night and after a formal reception with our hosts, I was still astonished as to how many different international delicacies were offered at the dinner. The audit proper began in earnest the next morning as we set up our workstations and devices. About two-thirds of our Client's Finance department staffers were from different countries in Europe, the others being Americans, Egyptians, India nationals, Pakistanis and a few Libyans. Although most of the staffers communicated in English, some of the expatriates were quite knowledgeable in Arabic: this pleasantly surprised me. After work hours most days, we would mostly dine at the hotel or at nearby restaurants with our hosts.

Machiavelli on Powers of NSA and Defense Spending Research Paper

Machiavelli on Powers of NSA and Defense Spending - Research Paper Example The growing security concerns in the country are arguable and justifiably especially following the events of 9/11. The relativity of the organization’s spending is admissible by the dictates of such iconic think tanks as the Italian Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli as the discussion below portrays. Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an early Italian politician, philosopher, and diplomat. Machiavelli influenced modern day politics with most historians acknowledging his ideas as the basis for contemporary politics. Among his major contributions was the political ethics which is a concept that explains the conduct of politicians and the policies they enact. The philosopher developed a concept known as Machiavellianism which is a negative term referring to unscrupulous politicians. Such politicians foster their own ambitions while disregarding the desires of the electorate who Machiavelli explains wield the power owing to their fundamental role of electing the leaders. Dem ocracy is a form of governance through which the population elects representatives who rule on their behalf. In a democratic society, the electorate constitutes a fundamental piece of the society and plays an integral role in the governance of the society. The political ideology arises from the social contract theory which posits that since not everyone can rule, the society elects few people with desirable qualities to lead them for a particular period. Within the period, the leaders make decisions through policies. However, in doing so, the leaders must safeguard the desires of the people. This implies that the leaders must maintain an interactive relationship with the electorate in order to determine the wishes of the people. The policies the leaders formulate and enact must represent the desires of the people and uphold humanity. In his work, The Prince, Machiavelli investigates the creation of democratic institutions and the conduct of politicians at the time (Althusser & Mathe ron, 2000). As a philosopher, Machiavelli explains that elected leaders, unlike in dynasties, must possess desirable qualities and sustain their conduct. In doing so, political leaders must exhibit humility and understanding of the issues facing their electorate. By considering such, the policies the leaders formulate and enact will reflect the desires of the people (Cunningham, Rogers & United States, 2005). Constant consultation between the electorate and the leadership is essential in the representation process as the leaders must always enact policies that uphold the freedoms of the people. Among the issues that Machiavelli contends that is essential in the development of free and fair societies is security. The leaders must sustain the security of their societies. Machiavelli explains that the security of the society is priceless and important to the electorate. The contract between the society and the leaders as explained in the social contract theory centers on creation of sa fe and secure societies. A country must employ its every resources in ensuring that its boarders are safe and free from foreign interference. Machiavelli’s doctrines and philosophies can help explain some of if his possible thoughts on the structure of modern society and the functions and powers of some of the state agencies.

Re-writing a Creative Writing piece Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Re-writing a Creative Writing piece - Essay Example She entered the postgraduate door and nodded to greet the porter who was still on the telephone but was courteous enough to nod back. After checking for mail she turned towards the library, her head full of the dreaming spires and grey skies of Oxford. The hushed atmosphere of the library was like a second home. Mohamed searched his usual furrow of bookshelves, selecting a complete works of Shakespeare, a very large English/Arabic dictionary and the post-colonial journal that he was currently working his way through. He went back to the table where he left his briefcase, passing by the section for women’s studies. The hours passed just like minutes and when the college clock struck eleven, Mohamed retired to the prayer room. As he passed by the common room on the way back, he saw Alice beaming and showing a glint in her blue eyes. â€Å"Yes, but it is our culture. Our women do not feel that it’s unfair. Besides, Islam allows us to have four wives at the most. Usually, we can afford only one. But our society is compassionate. Children are born into a loving home with all that they need. The men do not need to go astray because they always have a woman at home for, for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes, of course. And there are things that I find hard to understand. Sometimes I just don’t get what men are all about. Strange, isn’t it? We both come from far places to seek knowledge in this ancient place.† As I reviewed the article, particularly the dialogue, while taking consideration of the feedbacks gathered, I realized that there was a tendency for the two characters to indeed sound like the other. This was expected if the writer does not put himself into each character’s distinct natures. This could also be the reason why a reader would think that the dialogue sounds too formal or scripted. Because of this, I had to make sure that the manners in which Mohamed and Alice would state

Interpersonal Relationship and True Friend Essay Example for Free

Interpersonal Relationship and True Friend Essay Tens of thousands, or one million? How many people will we meet in a whole lifetime, and how many of them do we have relationships with? Every person is born into a family without their choice, so they try to keep a good relationship with all family members to live happily, but sometimes it can be a misfortune for some people to get along with family members. However, we can choose to have good a relationship or not with acquaintances. Ive met with lots of people, sometimes I don’t get the chance to introduce myself, sometimes I had a good time with them, Sometimes I was disappointed by their behavior, and decided to say good-bye forever. There are many characteristics that determine whether a person is a friend or acquaintance. Considering my experiences, there are three types of acquaintances: true friends, ex-friends, and temporary acquaintances. I believe for a person to be considered a true friend they must be trustworthy and loyal. Someone whom will always stick by your side through thick and thin and would not sell you out. A true friend needs to be fair, caring, and loving. A true friend is someone who can make you smile or laugh; a person that will make you happy when you are sad. However, a true friend needs to be honest and must be able to tell you the truth even if it isn’t pleasant to hear. A true friend needs to be able to tell you something that you might not want to hear. At the same time, a true friend needs to be someone who wont try to change the way a person is and needs to be able to accept different personalities and characteristics. A true friend must know that it is very hard to gain trust; however. it is easy to lose it. People might say that a life without a true friend is no life at all. On the other hand there are people who I can’t say are friends anymore, so I consider them ex-friends. I was once close to them because of good times, humor, first impression, or similar interests, but later found out they used me, lied, and were selfish. I sometimes felt resentful, and realized I had better