What is leadership ability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What is leadership ability - Essay Example This ability involves exercising leadership skills and potentials over the subjects. If a person, for instance, has poor leadership ability, he or she will not be able to organize the subjects into maximized output. The lack of influence over the lead group will be an obstacle towards exploiting the capacity of the group towards output. A leader with strong leadership ability can on the other hand easily influence his group towards solving even difficult problems through motivational qualities. As a result, leadership ability is a measurable quantity that is determinable through its results. As Maxwell explains, effectiveness in organizational output is a result of leadership ability and is associated with measurable output values. A poor level of leadership ability therefore implies poor effectiveness into lower output of an organization while an effective leadership influences group members into high group effectiveness (Maxwell,

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Law Essay Example for Free

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Law Essay Introduction Our assigned topic deals with a phenomenon that has taken the corporate world by storm rather recently, particularly in Pakistan. It entails the dilemma that every corporation faces when they have to make decisions regarding the firm’s profitability and their corporation’s social responsibility. The term corporate social responsibility came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organizations activities have an impact. It was used to describe corporate owners beyond shareholders. The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has developed exponentially in the last decade. Nevertheless, there remains a lingering debate about the legitimacy and value of corporate reaction to CSR concerns. There are different views of the function of the firm in society and disagreement as to whether wealth maximization should be the sole goal of a corporation. An escalating number of shareholders, analysts, regulators, activists, labor unions, employees, community organizations, and news media are asking companies to be accountable for an ever-changing set of CSR issues. There is rising demand for transparency and growing expectations that corporations measure, report, and continuously improve their social, environmental, and economic performance. According to Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), corporate social responsibility is defined as â€Å"achieving commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and respect people, communities, and the natural environment.† Each company is at variance in how it implements corporate social responsibility, if it does so at all. The differences depend on such factors as any particular company’s size, the particular industry involved, the firm’s business culture, stakeholder demands, and how historically progressive the company is in engaging CSR. Some companies focus on a single area, which is regarded as the most important for them or where they have the highest impact or vulnerability—human rights or the environment, for example—while there are others who endeavor to incorporate CSR in each and every one facet of their operations. For successful execution, it is fundamental that the CSR principles are part of the corporations’ values and strategic planning, and that the management and employees, both are committed to them. Furthermore, it is important that the CSR strategy is aligned with the company’s specific corporate objectives and core competencies. As CSR comes into contact with many of the problems conventionally addressed by government, like human rights and community investing, there is strong censure that societal problems are best solved by freely elected government bodies as the resources of a corporation are poorly matched for addressing those social problems, and therefore, it is argued, they should not be misallocated. According to Friedman (1970), in a free society, â€Å"there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.† The idea is that the state should address social problems, supported by the argument that an executive, by taking money and resources that would otherwise go to owners, employees, and costumers, and allocating them according to the will of the minority, and will fail to serve the interests of her or his principal. In this way, the executive imposes a tax and spends the proceeds for â€Å"social† purposes, which is insupportable, since she or he has neither the skills nor the jurisdiction to do so. On the other hand, there are many demands by others for corporate adoption of the CSR principles. Although the government is chiefly responsible for addressing those issues, the contribution of private firms can be substantial. There is also the argument of the shifting balance of power. According to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of the 100 largest global economies, as indicated by their respective GDP, 51 of them are US corporations, and only 49 are nation states. So economic supremacy has shifted to the corporations; they, therefore, should have an increasing role in and accountability for addressing social problems. For example, the government sets the regulations and the minimum standards for the workplace, but a company can further improve the work environment and the quality of living of its employees. A firm cannot stay oblivious to the problems of the environment in which it functions. The poverty of a nation state’s citizens, political unrest, and the exhaustion of natural resources can have destructive effects for a corporation. For example, resources that are inputs in the production process and which, at the foundation of the industrial revolution, were plentiful are now scarce, polluted, or diminishing in many regions of the entire planet. As one would expect, this imposes an extra cost to the corporations and may force them to reposition or to cease operations. From one perspective, companies may be poorly equipped to address some of the social or environmental problems, but from another perspective, no matter how poorly equipped, companies may still be best positioned to improve the problems. Undoubtedly, adopting the CSR principles involves costs. These costs might be short term in nature or continuous outflows. They may involve the purchase of new environmentally friendly equipment, the change of management structures, or the implementation of stricter quality controls. Since being socially responsible involves incurring costs, it should generate benefits as well in order to be a sustainable business practice. A corporation could not continue a policy that constantly generates negative cash flows. The shareholders invest their money in a corporation, expecting the highest possible risk adjusted return. Therefore, being socially responsible should have bottom-line benefits in order to be sustainable. Socially responsible corporate performance can be associated with a series of benefits with the final outcome. But in a lot of cases, it seems that the time frame of the costs and benefits can be out of alignment—the costs are in the near future, whereas the benefits are not often realized until long periods of time have lapsed. Nevertheless, many benefits can be identified. Firstly, socially responsible companies have enhanced brand image and reputation. Consumers are often attracted towards brands and companies with good reputations in CSR related issues. Therefore, a corporation’s brand equity is automatically enhanced. A company regarded as socially responsible can also benefit from its reputation within the business community by having increased ability to attract capital and trading partners. However, reputation is hard to quantify and measure; it is even harder to measure how much it increases a company’s value. But since companies have developed methods to measure the benefits of their advertisement campaigns, similar methods can and should be able to be applied in the case of corporate reputation. Socially responsible companies also have less risk of negative rare events. Furthermore, companies that adopt the CSR principles are more transparent and have less risk of bribery and corruption. In addition, they may execute stricter and, thus, more costly quality and environmental controls, but they run less risk of having to bear in mind defective product lines and pay heavy fines for excessive polluting. They also have less risk of negative social events which damage their reputation and cost millions of dollars in information and advertising campaigns. The scandals about child–labor and sweatshops that affect the clothing industry are two fine examples. Thus, socially responsible businesses should have more stable earnings growth and less downside volatility. Since companies that adopt the CSR principles carry less risk, when valuing those companies, a lower discount rate should be used. In the company valuation this lower tail risk should be taken into account. There are also other cases in which doing what is good and responsible converges with doing the best for the particular business. Some CSR initiatives can dramatically reduce operating costs. For example, reducing packaging material or planning the optimum route for delivery trucks not only reduces the environmental impact of a company’s operation, but it also reduces the cost. The process of adopting the CSR principles induces executives to reconsider their business practices and to seek more efficient ways of operating. Companies perceived to have a strong CSR commitment often have an improved ability to attract and to retain employees (Turban Greening 1997), which leads to reduced turnover, recruitment, and training costs. Employees, too, often evaluate their companies CSR performance to determine if their personal values conflict with those of the businesses at which they work. There are many known cases in which employees were asked, under pressure of their supervisors, to overlook written or moral laws in order to achieve higher profits. These practices create a culture of fear in the workplace and harm the employees’ trust, loyalty, and commitment to the company. Companies that improve working conditions and labor practices also experience increased productivity and reduced error rates. Regular controls in the production facilities throughout the world ensure that all the employees work under good conditions and earn living wages. These practices are costly, but the increased productivity of the workers and improved quality of the products generate positive cash flows that cover the associated costs. Thus, firms may actually benefit from socially responsible actions in terms of employee morale and productivity (Moskowitz, 1972). Literature review CSP is a global concept that encompasses those of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsiveness. It provides a coherent framework to explore business-society relationships by looking at the social impact of corporations with business criteria of performance measurement, such as quality, efficacy, effectiveness, innovation (Carroll, 1991; Wood, 1991). The challenge for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries is framed by a vision that was distilled in 2000 into the Millennium Development Goals—‘a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for women, and a healthier environment’ (UN, 2006: 3). The penetration of the social realm into corporate strategy has gathered momentum in the last years. The movement for CSR has â€Å"won the battle of ideas† (Crook 2005). By now, most well managed companies have adopted th e practices and certifications mandatory in their industries, having gone through what Zadek (2004) calls the â€Å"defensive† and the â€Å"compliance† stages of CSR. Managing the social and environmental footprint of economic activity is generally accepted as part of the cost of doing business. But much remains to be done. If companies are to move their CSR activities from satisfying behavior and take their commitment to society and the environment to the next level, they will need to rethink their current approaches to CSR, tapping into the creativity of every individual. CSE, like all entrepreneurship, is not about managing existing operations or CSR programs; it is about creating disruptive change in the pursuit of new opportunities. It combines the willingness and desire to create joint economic and social value with the entrepreneurial redesign, systems development, and action necessary to carry it out. Accelerated organizational transformation faces a host of obstacles well-documented in the change management literature. Some people argue that media pressures the corporate managers and directors to behave in ways that are â€Å"socially ac ceptable†. Sometimes this coincides with shareholders’ value maximization, others not (Zinagales, 2002). Although there are several contested notions of what CSR should be and how it should work, there is some agreement upon what it broadly entails. A number of concepts and issues are subsumed under the heading of CSR, including human rights, environmental responsibility, diversity management, sustainability, and philanthropy (Amaeshi Adi, 2006), meaning that it is a complex area with an interdisciplinary focus. It is generally agreed that CSR involves corporations voluntarily exceeding their legal duties to take account of social, economic and environmental impacts of their operations. Consideration of the social, economic and political context demonstrates how CSR forms part of a wider strategic direction being taken internationally with regard to market relations and the pursuit of a range of objectives and goals. The context is in part provided by concerns about the numerous examples of irresponsible behavior on the part of corporations, ranging from colluding with oppressive regimes and in the overthrowing of governments (Alston, 2005) to issues relating to working conditions and the impact of unethical marketing practices (Richter, 2001). Such examples have demonstrated the need for the worst excesses of business to be curbed. The globalised economy is understood to raise important issues for businesses and governments due to changes in patterns of production and consumption. In particular it is noted that the manufacturing of goods is highly mobile (Cassell, 2001:263) and that supply chains are often dispersed in various countries, creating difficulties in terms of legislation and regulation. Moreover, economic globalization presents challenges to the ability of states to protect peoples rights (Cassell, 2001). The notion of corporate social responsibility is part of the third way (Gond Matten, 2007), where the role of the state is now to provide steering for the promotion of social development and social justice (Giddens, 2001: 6). There is increased involvement of the private sector in traditionally statutory provision through privatization and public/private partnerships (Meehan, 2003). Economic policies have created a need for markets and business to self-regulate in order to continue to pursue an international free market economy, but also to ensure sustainability of economic, human and other resources, and of the environment. CSR is seen as a solution to these problems of regulation. The private sector is increasingly seen as a key player in the achievement of many national and international strategic objectives for governments, which is also enabled by CSR. Methodology To gather information, we used secondary research as our main source of information. Various academic journals and internet sources were pursued to cater to the important aspects of the given topic. Moreover, since we thoroughly researched this topic, personal opinions were formed and using those and logic, we justified our opinions accordingly. How can business persons act in an ethically and socially responsible manner and at the same time make profits? Suppose clear-cutting is profitable and legal, but is nonetheless regarded as environmentally irresponsible under prevailing social norms. Can management of a timber corporation decline to clear-cut its timberland even though that sacrifices profits? One might be tempted to evade the question by claiming that being environmentally responsible is profitable in the long run, either because it preserves the forest for future harvesting or because it maintains a public goodwill that aids future sales. But suppose, in an incautious moment, management admits that the present value of those future profits from not clear cutting cannot hope to match the large current profits that clear-cutting would produce. Or, more realistically, suppose a takeover bid by a firm known to clear-cut establishes precisely that proposition by offering far more than the stock price that reflects the current stream of profits. Can management reject the profitable takeover bid on the grounds that it will lead to socially undesirable clear-cutting? The answers to these questions will challenge the canonical law and economics account on corporate social responsibility, which goes something like this. Unless modified by statute, traditional fiduciary duties require corporate managers to further the interests of shareholders, and thus require them to maximize corporate profits subject to the obligation to comply with independent legal constraints. Ethics and social responsibility are very important values in business ventures. This is particularly essential in decision making process. Ethical conscience reminds business persons to make trustworthy and profitable business decisions. Likewise, the social responsibility component requires business persons to make entrepreneurial decisions that can enhance benefits and repelling harms to the stakeholders. The canonical law and economics view holds that corporate managers do and should have a duty to profit-maximize because such conduct is socially efficient given that general legal sanctions do or can redress any harm that corporate or non-corporate businesses inflict on others. If certain conduct imposes excessive harm on others or merits taxation, then an independent law should regulate and impose liability or taxes whether or not the actor is a corporation, and if the conduct does not impose any impermissible harm or merit taxation, then the most socially desirable thing for corporations to do is maximize profits. Other stakeholders could either legally protect themselves by contract with the corporation or have their legal protection provided by judicial gap-filling of such contracts. Part of what makes this account canonical is that it helps define the boundaries of the corporate law field. It leaves corporate law scholars free to ignore issues about any effects the corporation may have on the external world as topics best addressed by other legal fields, and to focus on more tractable models about which corporate rules would maximize shareholder value.

Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart and the Symbolism of the Eye Essa

Edgar Allen Poe is the genius responsible for dark, twisting, and often uncomfortably wondrous gothic tales, and one of the best is 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' This is a classic tale of a confused man who is so incredibly bothered by his housemate's eye, that he (I am assuming this sexless character is male) thinks the only solution is to resort to cold-blooded murder. Poe incorporates the symbol of the old man's eye in 'The Tell-Tale Heart,' which has both physical and psychological meaning, it also helps to develop the plot and central conflicts in the story. The eye allows a better understanding of the narrator's mental state, represents an omniscient/fatherly figure, and helps illustrate the theme of good verses evil. The story?s conflict revolves around the narrator plotting, planning, and executing a man?s death, yet it is the eye that causes this man?s obsession with murder. Another important conflict in the story is that of the narrators struggle to prove he is sane, he does this by trying to make the eye seem evil, more evil than his own deeds. The only reason the narrator gives for his decision of murder is the man?s eye, and it is the eye the narrator must see before he can actually kill the man. In the end of the story, the disposing of the eye actually leads to the narrator?s downfall. As you can see, the eye is the story?s main conflict, which helps to develop the plot, and really allows for a deeper understanding of the story. The author uses the eye to provide clues as to why the narrator is so unreliable. ?I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this!? (Poe 721), the narrator uses the statement ?I think?, implying that he is obviously not very sure, and definitely unstable, since something he ?thinks? is a problem... ..., which is one reason why he?s trying to prove himself as sane. This theme can be tied into the fatherly figure, by showing his struggle to stay ?good? in the eyes of his father, yet we have already established that he really does understand that he is going insane, and since he comprehends this transition, he must kill the judging fatherly figure so he doesn?t see his turn to ?evil.? The eye helps to show the narrators spiral into insanity, the father/son relationship occurring between the narrator and old man, and the ever transient theme of good verses evil. ?The Tale-Tell Heart? uses such blatant symbolism that it?s almost easy to skip right over and not notice, but the understanding of the ?eye? is the key to this famous tale. Edgar Allan Poe is absolutely ingenious, and for obvious reasons his work will always be considered as distinguished ?classics?.

Just-in- Time in Kalamazoo Essay

A firm specializing in motor homes located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Discusses changes in inventory and other cost since the recent expansion of its market from the local Midwest to a national one. The companies also have to deal with another major problem because it only manufactures a few of it components while the others are purchased form outside vendors. In an attempt to reduce component part expenses, the president of the company considers implementing the Just-in-time system in his firm. The just in time is a system developed by Toyota designed to control quality develop supplier and distributors’ relationship and minimize inventory. 1.What is the total annual cost of maintaining the components inventory under the present system? Under the present system the total cost to maintain the component per year is $1,292824.00 2.What would be the total annual cost of maintaining the components under the JIT system (Assuming no safety stocks)? The annual cost of maintaining the components under the JIT system would be 3. Should Ballenger take into account any other cost or benefits from JIT system? if so what are they? With the JIT system Ballenger would be less concern about maintaining a large inventory and they would less likely to experience shrinkage. The just-in-time system will also ensure that parts are available to manufacture products and will better serve customers more effectively and efficiently. 4. If the JIT system is adopted are there safety sticks of any item that should be maintained? If so which ones and how much If JIT system is adopted DVD players should be placed under capacity safety because they seem to be quite expensive. 5.If JIT system is adopted, what changes if any should occur in the relationships between Ballenger’s firm and his suppliers of components? Discuss They would need to be more alert keen and discipline in terms of delivery therefore the firm and the supplier would have to maintain good communication skills to avoid any defects. 6. Assume that Ballenger has switched to the JIT system and that he receives a surprise phone call from a competitor who is going out of business. The competitor wants to sell Ballenger 7,000 dome lights of the type listed in Exhibit 2-A. Should Ballenger buy them? If so, at what price? I don’t think that Ballenger should purchase these lights because according to the JIT system one of its aim is to instill discipline and this therefore will ruin such vision not only that but Ballenger would also have to consider storage for these light bulbs. 7. Carrying cost are 20 percent. Is there a level of carrying cost at which both Ballenger’s present system and a JIT system have similar cost what is that? There won’t be a level when the two systems have the same cost but if so it would be at a extremely high rate possible exceeding 100 percent.

Divine Command Theory Essay

Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory which claims that God’s will is the foundation of ethics. Based on Divine Command Theory, things are morally right or wrong, compulsory, allowed or disallowed if God or deities commands it. In Divine Command Theory, what makes an act moral or immoral is that God commands or prohibited it. Apart from being commanded by God to do certain thing, some other aspect of Divine Command Theory, also hold that an action is moral if Divine motivated. In this motivation aspect of Divine Command Theory, we can say that apart from the religious documents someone can be motivated to carry out moral. The Divine Command Theory is divided by some Scholars into three ethical sub frame work: (1) Religion communities, (2) Command as motivated (3) Created morality. These three sub frame work is in practice in all the major religion of the world today, like Christian, Islam and Judaism, but with slit difference. The Religion Communities Frame Work This type of Divine command Theory hold that only God commands is moral. And that only the true believers of God’s command or religion community members can explain and obey God’s command. For instance some Christian denomination claim that when you are in the Church auditorium and it compound one need to put off his shoe to follow what God instructed Moses in Media, thus seeing the auditorium to represent the holy place in that particular passage of the Bible, while other do not interpret the passage that way. The Religion Community Frame work views the Divine Command Theory meaningless to unbelievers. And that they (non believer) cannot abide with God command except they believed in God. The Command as Motivation Framework This frame work holds that some actions are morally right without Divine commands, but God’s commands empower or motivate people to act morally. In other words some actions are morally good even if God do not issue command, but the commands of God put people in proper shape to act in accordance with that morality The proponent of this frame work believed that only individual who truly believed in God can obey God’s command. They claim that if someone did not believe in God, he may want to be moral, but such person will act contrary to these moral when they are in difficult situation because of lack f motivation. For example if someone who does not believe in God, he may decide not to steal but when faced with challenges like; lacking or hunger he may revised his decision. But someone who believed in God will be motivated by the command to abide by the term. The Created Morality Frame Work Created morality hold that only God will and commands are moral. Any actions outside God are immoral. This framework tries to establish that only those who believed in God can do things which are moral. And that anything done without acknowledge to God’s will is immoral. In other words no action is good on its own, rather God determine what is good. For instance if someone refuse to steal in other not to put pains on ethers as a result of the loose of his property, the person is not moral because he is not refraining because God is against that act. The view of divine command theory is one that ties together morality and religion in a way that is very comfortable for most people, because it provides a solution to pesky arguments like relativism and objectivity of ethics. An action is morally acceptable if God commands such an action and morally wrong if God prohibit such an action. The theory has been criticized by numerous philosophers, including Plato, Kai Nielson, and J. L. Mackie. The theory also has many defenders, both classic and contemporary, such as Thomas Aquinas, Robert Adams, and Philip Quinn. Although the basic premise of the divine command theory is rather simple (what God commands is good, therefore do only that). Things get somewhat complicated once we start to consider why God’s commands are good. In the light of the foregoing, had it been that God commanded otherwise e. g. we should inflict suffering on others for fun, then doing so would be morally right. We would be obligated to do so, because God commanded it. If God commanded us to inflict such suffering, doing so would become the morally right thing to do. People would conclude by saying that the foundation of morality becomes arbitrary. The main fact is that, that God could have made a different decision does not make His decision arbitrary. What is in accordance with God’s command is moral and what is contrary to that command is immoral, period. It must be concluded that any independent views people have on what is moral and immoral are irrelevant and irreverent. As God will never change, so moral truth will never change. A major assumption of the divine command theory of ethics is that God is good (benevolent) and only wills good things (or issues good commands) for the sake of humanity. Any concern over the nature of God’s command merely indicates that such people do not have complete faith in God, and therefore, in His command. If they did, then they would be wholly unquestioning of, and obedient to Him. The criticisms over divine command theory would simply not arise, for people who have the genuine, and therefore complete, faith in Him. God created the universe and everything in it, including human being. If God created human beings, then God has an absolute claim on our obedience, if God has an absolute claim on our obedience, then we should always obey God’s commands. Therefore, the divine command theory is true. Criticism of Divine Command Theory: The Euthyphro dilemma Critics of Divine command theory have used the Euthyphro dilemma since the period of Plato who spoke through the mouth of Socrates to criticize the Divine command theory, that says morality should based on what God or gods commanded. The Euthyphro dilemma is named after Plato’s dialogue â€Å"The Euthyphro† in which Socrates posed a question â€Å"Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? † In other words Socrates is asking, whether something is good because God or gods pronounced or commanded that we should do it, or something is good that made God or gods to pronounce or commanded it. Whichever way one support on this Euthyphro dilemma, it is still very controversial. For instance, if someone says something is good because God or gods pronounced or commanded that we should do it, such person will be met with two objections: the abhorrence objection and the emptiness objection. The Abhorrence Objection If an action is good only because God command such action, then what would happen if God or gods chose to issue an abhorrent command? What if instead of God command that we should not kill, He changes it to we should kill or commit other atrocities like robbery, raping, etc. Under Divine command theory or to support divine command theory, an abhorrent would be requiring. That is it a most that such atrocity is committed, in order to be moral. This may contradict a believer expectation of God or gods yet it would require abhorrent to the commandment because God or gods commanded such. In Divine command theory we say the mass killing of people including children by the Israelites recorded in the Holy Bible or the fanatic Muslim like â€Å"boko haram† who kills in the name of religion is moral. But does these really justifies morality? A deep look at this will continue to generate more problems. For instance some people will classify that some act that others do, that they do not subscribe to is not from God or gods. So how can we then know that which is from God or how can we identify those that God directed to carry out his will? This will be the next question that might be raised. The Emptiness Objection If any particular action is good because God commands such, then God serve as the ultimate arbiter of what is morally right and wrong. An issue will then arise, whether the statement â€Å"God is good† has any meaning where God determines what is good. Divine Command Theory proponent state â€Å"God is good†, while the Divine Command Theory itself claim that â€Å"good is whatever God commands†. The emptiness objection transposes these statements and claim that saying â€Å"God is good† is the same thing as â€Å"go Some said the multiple religions in the world which claim to have different command from the same od is whatever God commands†. The argument is then made that this statement is empty or meaningless. Because abhorrent of Divine Command Theory strongly believed that the concept â€Å"God is good† and â€Å"good is whatever God commands† are meaningful. The Irrelevance Objection Looking at the other aspect of the Euthyphro dilemma, that is, if someone says something is good that made God or gods pronounce or commanded it becomes more problematic. This is called the irrelevance objection which is totally against the divine command theory. This holds that something is moral or immoral independence of God’s will. So even God commanded it or not it is still morally alright. Other Criticism of Divine Command Theory Apart from the Euthyphro dilemma oppositionist of Divine command theory also try to argue in other form to render the Divine command theory uncalled for. Some said the multiple religions in the world which claim to have different command from the same God in which some of the commands are against each other. For example, Muslim and Christian even Judaism will have different view or notion on a particular issue and each will claim that God commands such. The question then is, how can the same God give out this kind different command to this people? The critics said if God is the one that gave this command it must be a universal command. Meanwhile other critics of Divine Command Theory asked an epistemological question, how can we know the will and command of God? They asked further, if the scripture can be used as guide to morality? Some proceed to asked, if the scripture is still the will of God to this present age or for the living then? They, the critics said if Divine Command is a motivator, how then can we use the scripture as guide to morality? They claim that obey the scripture should not be seen as obeying divine command. Because, God or the deities that gave this command is still alive and we continue to issue new commands, they added that as people heard the command many centuries ago, people must hear it now and will continue to hear until the deity or God does not exist again. Many Philosophers and Religious over many centuries have attempted to proof the objection raised by the Euthyphro Dilemma as unsound argument against the Divine Command Theory. These defenders of Divine Command Theory argue that the logical flow of the argument of Socrates is invalid. The Divine command Theorist claim that it is not necessary that the believer in this command of God or gods limit them self to either of the two point of the Euthyphro dilemma postulated by the Plato’s intellectual work. The Divine Command Theorist also tries to disagree with each of the objection raised by the Euthyphro dilemma. Some of the advocates of the Divine Command Theory said, the abhorrent objection is not correct because God is a loving God and can never or we never issue a command which is abhorrent. With this they rule out any possibility of God issue an abhorrent command. Meanwhile others proponent of Divine Command Theory hold that, God nature will prevent him from issuing abhorrent command. On the emptiness objection, defenders of Divine Command Theory argue that, it is never an empty statement to claim that God is good and that what God commands is good. They argued logically that if God is good, everything he does or says is good, therefore God command is good. The irrelevance objection was counter on the ground that, if something is good prior to the time God issue a commands such, God is the one that made it good then. And now that he issues a command to effect it can never be said to be irrelevance to the goodness of that. In other words things that are good are made so by no other person but by God. And if God decided that what is good before should now be made a command, it is to make people act in accordance to the nature of God which is good. New form of Divine Command Theory The critic argument against Divine command Theory and many other problems raised about it have made it difficult to be practice by religion in society of this world. This has also made advocates to put forth strong argument for Divine Command Theory. Philosopher like Robert Adams postulated a reform Divine Command Theory, where he substituted the word God with ‘loving god’, he argue that a loving God will never issue an abhorrent command. He therefore suggests that any command that tends to be abhorrent in nature is not from loving God. And that that must not be obey. In other words people that do things that are not moral, and tried to link it God’s command should be disregarded, because God cannot give abhorrent command. This reformed Divine Command Theory is now what must religions of the world practice which also go in line with normal ethical theory.

Frustrations With Japan Essays - United States, Free Essays

Frustrations With Japan Essays - United States, Free Essays Frustrations With Japan December 8, 1941 was a solemn day. The day after Japan dropped the bomb on Pearl Harbor, the people of the United States mourned. If ever there was a time when Americans wanted to enter World War II, it was then. The United Sates had been deceived by the Empire of Japan, with whom they thought they were at peace. Franklin Roosevelts speech to Congress, asking for permission to declare war on Japan, shows the resentment and despair of the American people. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many Americans felt a lot of resentment against Japan, and the Japanese. Much of this resentment arose because Japan gave the United States a false hope of peace between the two countries. Also, from the evidence, it appeared that the attack was premeditated. Because of the distance between Japan and Hawaii, it was found that the attack had been planned days, possibly weeks beforehand (Roosevelt, 170). During the time before the attack, the Japanese had deceived the United States into believing they were at peace with one another. Because of the bombing by Japan, the American people were mourning the loss of their soldiers lives. They also were angry with the destruction of the naval and military forces, along with the attacks on Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island, and Midway Island all within hours of each other. The American people, along with the government, wanted nothing more than to destroy Japan, and win the war. In the Monica Sone document, I belief that the frustrations that the Americans were feeling are expressed in their entirety. The American people were so angry with the Japanese people, and so afraid that the Japanese would attack again, that the Americans basically rejected anyone that looked Japanese. To the Americans, regardless of whether you were native born, if you looked Japanese you were the enemy. The American government did not want to take chances, so they gathered all the people of Japanese decent and made them live under military law. They even had to live in military camps. How horrible for all those innocent people to be assumed the enemy when they had lived as Americans their whole lives. In the Monica Sone document, it is evident that, at first, the government was looking to only interview the important people in the Japanese community to ensure none of them were spies. However, things got out of control and the United States government declared that all people of Japanese decent give up their property and move into assembly centers, in order to isolate them from the rest of the American people. This shows how terribly desperate the American people felt after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Looking at Franklin Roosevelts speech and Monica Sones document memoire, it is evident how desperate the American people were to save their country and destroy Japan. They would go to such extremes to save what they believed to be right and just. There are many similarities between the two documents, but they are showed in an opposite manner. In Roosevelts speech you see the American determination to defeat Japan and win the war. In the Monica Sone document you see the desperation of the American people to protect their country, and their resentment of the Japanese people. Both represent the feelings of the Americans, but unfortunately, the Monica Sone document shows what extreme measures the American people were willing to go to protect what they believed to be right.

Dead Poets Society Essays - Dead Poets Society, Films, John Keating

Dead Poets Society Essays - Dead Poets Society, Films, John Keating Dead Poets Society is a famous drama film shot in the USA in 1989. This film was directed by Peter Weir and the main role was played by Robin Williams. The action takes place in Welton Academy for aristocratic students in Vermont in 1959. Dead Poets Society is about English language and literature teacher John Keating who decided to inspire his students to change something in their boring everyday lives and encouraged their fascination with poetry and literature. John Keating is a new teacher in a conservative academy. Everyday life and activity of students is controlled strictly by the officials of this academy. He decided to help his students develop their spiritual side and he conducted his lessons in the original manner. The motto of this film is carpe diem or seize the day. Mr. Keating stated that students should start changing their lives at this very day, because it is useless to delay your happiness and dreams until a later time. When he was young, he was a member of an unsanctioned Dead Poets Society, a group of students who enjoyed poetry. The main characters of the film, Neil Perry and his classmates, decided to revive this society and got involved into poetry. Neil was the most promising student of the academy and he dreamt of playing at the theatre, though his father opposed him to do it. Neil committed suicide under the pressure of his father who did not understand the real dreams of his son. The film teaches to work hard if you want to achieve your goal. Moreover, it teaches to respect your family and make a compromise for the solution of any important problem. Dead Poets Society is an interesting and thought provoking film that can be useful to every student who is involved into social work or pedagogy. It is useful to watch this film and learn something new about perception of life. When you need to analyze Dead Poets Society in detail, you should watch it attentively, take notes and learn about every main character of the film. Then one should focus on the main idea of this film, observe its motto and say something about its hidden ideas. Finally, you are able to observe Dead Poets Society from technical side and evaluate the directors work, performance of the camera operator and actors play. Students always have troubles with term paper writing, because this assignment consumes time and efforts. Luckily, every student is able to improve his writing skills and prepare a successful paper if he reads a free college term paper sample on Dead Poets Society analysis composed by a multitasking and intelligent writer.

How to Write Dialogue That Captivates Your Reader

How to Write Dialogue That Captivates Your Reader How to Write Dialogue That Captivates Your Reader And unfortunately, your first reader will be an agent or an editor. You can’t slip anything boring past them. Your job is to make every word count. That’s the way to keep your reader riveted until the final page- no small task. Making every word count is how to write compelling dialogue. Readers love dialogue because: It breaks up intimidating blocks of narrative summary. It differentiates (through dialect and word choice) and reveals characters. Done well, it can move the story without author intrusion. But, as you have likely discovered, writing great dialogue is hard. If yours is bloated or obvious or telling or is in any other way uninteresting, readers won’t stay with you long. So how about we leave them no choice? Need help writing your novel?  Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide. How to Write Dialogue in 6 Steps Cut to the Bone Reveal Backstory Reveal Character Be Subtle Read Your Dialogue Out Loud Create a Make My Day Moment Step 1. Cut to the Bone Unless you need to reveal a character as a brainiac or a blowhard pretending to be one, omit needless words. Obviously, you wouldn’t render a conversation the way a court transcript includes repetition and even um, ah, uh, etc. But even beyond that, see how much you can chop without losing the point. Like this: â€Å"What do you want to do this  Sunday?  I thought wWe could go to the amusement park.† â€Å"I was thinking about renting a rowboat,† Vladimir said.  on one of the lakes.† â€Å"Oh, Vladimir, that sounds wonderful! I’ve never gone rowing  before.† That doesn’t mean all your dialogue has to be short and choppy- just that you’ll cut the dead wood to keep to the point. You’ll be surprised by how much power it adds to your prose. Step 2. Reveal Backstory Layering in backstory through dialogue is another way to keep your reader turning pages. Hinting at some incident for the first time is an automatic setup that demands a payoff. Example: As they headed toward the house, Janet whispered, â€Å"Can we not have a repeat of Cincinnati?† Jeanie shot her a double take. â€Å"Believe me, I don’t want that any more than you do.† â€Å"Good,† Janet said. â€Å"I mean- † â€Å"Can we not talk about it, please?† What normal reader wouldn’t assume they will talk about it at some point and stay with the story until they do? As the story progresses, you can reveal more and more about your protagonist’s past and have your story come full circle. This accomplishes two things: it offers a setup that should intrigue the reader, and it helps you avoid flashbacks. Need help writing your novel?  Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide. Step 3. Reveal Character Your reader learns a lot about your characters through dialogue. You don’t have to TELL us they’re sarcastic, witty, narcissistic, kind, or anything else. You can SHOW us by how they interact and by what they say. Step 4. Be Subtle Dialogue can accomplish a number of tasks. Here are three: 1. Subtext- where people say other than what they mean. This can be fun. Example: My friend sold a short story to a general-market magazine years ago about a girl named Cindy who falls in love with the slightly older boy next door, who sees her as just a little sister type. When they get to high school, Tommy is the big man on campus, captain of the football team, dating the head cheerleader, and pretty much ignoring Cindy. She’s just his younger neighbor and friend. Tommy leaves for college and word soon gets back to Cindy during her senior year of high school that he and his girlfriend have broken up. So when he comes home after his freshman year of college and is changing a tire on his car, Cindy just happens to walk outside. She strikes up a conversation with Tommy, and he looks up, stunned. Who is this beautylittle Cindy from next door? She says, â€Å"Making a change, are you?† Tommy looks at the tire and back at her and says, â€Å"Yeah, I actually I am making a change.† Cindy says, â€Å"Well, I’ve heard that rotating can be a good thing.† And he says, â€Å"Yeah, I’ve heard that too.† That’s subtext. They’re not saying what they really mean. They’re not really talking about changing the tire, are they? 2. Sidestepping- when a character responds to a question without answering it. Instead, what the character says is so profound and unexpected that it offers a whole new understanding of what’s going on. Example: In the movie Patch Adams, the late Robin Williams played a brilliant young doctor who believes the Old Testament adage that â€Å"laughter is the best medicine.† He goes into the children’s cancer ward of a hospital wearing an inflated surgical glove on his head, making him look like a rooster. He wears bedpans for shoes and stomps about, flapping his arms and squawking. The children find it hilarious, but hospital directors consider it undignified and demand he stop. Patch Adams is trying to make one girl in particular- a hospital volunteer- laugh. But while everyone else thinks he’s funny, she never cracks a smile. Finally, Patch leaves the hospital to open a clinic in the country. Imagine his surprise when that humorless young lady appears to help him set up. At one point, she goes outside to rest, so Patch follows and sits opposite her. He says, â€Å"I’ve got to ask. Everybody thinks I’m hysterical, but you. I’ve tried everything. What is it with you? Why don’t you ever think anything I say is funny?† After several seconds of silence, she says, â€Å"Men have liked me all my lifeall my life† And we realize by the way she says it, she was abused as a child. Suddenly, we understand what this girl is all about. She doesn’t trust men, and she doesn’t laugh, because life isn’t funny. The way she responded did not answer his question. Her problem had nothing to do with him or his humor. Finally, Patch realizes that some things aren’t funny. Some things you just don’t make fun of. Sometimes, you need to quit cracking jokes and just listen. It’s a great turnaround in the story. And an example of sidestep dialogue. 3. Silence The old truism that silence can be golden rings true for our last technique. Many, including Abraham Lincoln, have been credited with the line: â€Å"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.† One of the toughest things to learn as a writer is to avoid filling silent gaps. Just like we shouldn’t tell what’s not happening in a story, neither do we need to write that someone didn’t respond or didn’t answer. If you don’t say they did, the reader will know they didn’t. Example: â€Å"Well John,† Linda said, â€Å"what do you have to say for yourself?† John set his jaw and stared out the window. â€Å"I’m waiting,† she said. He lit a cigarette. Linda shook her head. â€Å"I swear, John, honestly.† Now, too many writers feel the need to write here, â€Å"But he refused to say anything,† or â€Å"But he never responded.† Don’t! We know, we get it- and it’s loud, effective, silent dialogue. The reader knows because John is saying nothing, and yet saying everything. Silence is golden. Step 5. Read Your Dialogue Out Loud One way to be certain your dialogue flows is to read it aloud or even act it out. Anything that doesn’t sound right won’t read right either, so rewrite it until it does. Step 6. Create a â€Å"Make My Day† Moment Certain iconic lines of dialogue have become as legendary as the films and books they originate from: â€Å"Frankly my dear† â€Å"There’s no place like home.† â€Å"We’re not in Kansas anymore.† â€Å"To my big brother George, the richest man in town.† â€Å"What we have here is failure to communicate.† â€Å"Go ahead, make my day.† â€Å"May the force be with you.† â€Å"Houston, we have a problem.† â€Å"Run, Forrest, run!† â€Å"You had me at hello.† Most writers - even bestselling novelists - never create such an unforgettable line of dialogue. But striving to create one is a worthy effort. Ironically, it should fit so seamlessly it doesn’t draw attention to itself until fans begin quoting it. How to Use Dialogue Tags to Identify Speakers Dialogue attribution tags- he said, she said, etc.- indicate who is speaking. Resist the urge to get creative here. Said is almost always your best choice. Teachers who urge you to find alternatives are usually unpublished and believe agents and editors will be impressed. Trust me, they won’t be. Avoid mannerisms of attribution. People say things. They don’t wheeze, gasp, sigh, laugh, grunt or snort them. They might do any of those things while saying them, which might be worth mentioning, but the emphasis should be on what is said, and readers just need to know who is saying it. Keep it simple. All those other descriptors turn the spotlight on an intrusive writer. Sometimes people whisper or shout or mumble, but let their choice of words indicate they’re grumbling, etc. If it’s important that they sigh or laugh, separate that action from the dialogue. Jim sighed. â€Å"I can’t take this anymore.† Not: Jim sighed, â€Å"I can’t take this anymore.† Though you read them in school readers and classic fiction, attribution tags such as use of reply, retort, exclaim, and declare have become clicheÃŒ d and archaic. You’ll still see them occasionally, but I suggest not using them. Often no attribution is needed. Use dialogue tags only when the reader wouldn’t otherwise know who’s speaking. I once wrote an entire novel, The Last Operative, without attributing a single line of dialogue. Not a said, an asked, anything. I made clear through action who was speaking, and not one reader, even my editor, noticed. A common error is characters addressing each other by name too often. Real people rarely do this, and it often seems planted only to avoid a dialogue tag. Fictional dialogue should sound real. Don’t start your dialogue attribution tag with said. Rather, end with said. said Joe or said Mary, reads like a children’s book. Substitute he and she for the names and that will make it obvious. said he or said she just doesn’t sound right. Use said after the name for the best sound. Joe said or Mary said. Resist the urge to explain, and give the reader credit. The amateur writer often writes something like this: â€Å"I’m beat,† exclaimed John tiredly. Besides telling and not showing - violating a cardinal rule of writing - it uses the archaic exclaimed for said, misplaces that before the name rather than after, and adds the redundant tiredly. The pro would write: John dropped onto the couch. â€Å"I’m beat.† That shows rather than tells, and because John’s action has been described, we don’t need an attribution tag to know he’s speaking. How to Punctuate Dialogue Few things expose a beginner like incorrect punctuation, especially in dialogue. Agents and editors justifiably wonder if you read dialogue, let alone whether you can write it, if you write something like: â€Å"I don’t know.† she said. Or, â€Å"What do you think?† He said. To avoid common mistakes: Start a new paragraph for each speaker When one character’s dialogue extends to more than one paragraph, start each subsequent paragraph with a double quotation mark, and place your closing double quotation mark only at the end of the final paragraph. Place punctuation inside the quotation marks, the dialogue tag outside: â€Å"John was just here asking about you,† Jim said. The attribution tag goes after the first clause of a compound sentence: â€Å"Not tonight,† he said, â€Å"not in this weather.† When dialogue ends with a question or exclamation mark, the dialogue tag following the quotation marks should be lowercase:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’m glad you’re here!† she said. Action before dialogue takes a separate sentence: Anna shook her head. â€Å"I can’t believe she’s gone!† Quoting within a quote requires single quotation marks: â€Å"Lucy, Mom specifically said, ‘Do not cut your bangs,’ and you did it anyway!† When action or attribution interrupts dialogue, use lowercase as dialogue resumes: â€Å"That,† she said, â€Å"hurt bad.† Dialogue Examples If you’re old enough to remember the original Twilight Zone (hosted by Rod Serling) or Dragnet (starring and narrated by Jack Webb), you know how dialogue set the tone for their shows. Serling was sometimes whimsical, sometimes mysterious, but always provocative. â€Å"Consider one middle-aged adult, lost in space and time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jack Webb, as L.A. police detective Sergeant Joe Friday, was always deadly serious and monotone. â€Å"Just the facts, ma’am.† Contrast those with the dialogue between Tom and his Aunt Polly in Tom Sawyer. If you’re anything like me, you were laughing from page 1. There! I mighta thought of that closet. What you been doing in there? Nothing. Nothing! Look at your hands. And look at your mouth. What IS that truck? I dont know, aunt. Well, I know. Its jam- thats what it is. Forty times Ive said if you didnt let that jam alone Id skin you. Hand me that switch. The switch hovered in the air- the peril was desperate- My! Look behind you, aunt! The old lady whirled round and snatched her skirts out of danger. The lad fled on the instant, scrambled up the highboard fence, and disappeared over it. Great dialogue can set the tone for your entire story and also differentiate characters, as we discussed earlier. In Huckleberry Finn,  Mark Twain delineates between Huck the Southern white boy and Jim the runaway slave by just hinting at their respective accents. Twain doesn’t use tags to tell who’s speaking, yet the reader never confuses the two. Huck says, â€Å"Jim, did y’all ever see a king?† Y’all is the only word in that sentence that implies a Southern accent, but it’s enough. Jim says, â€Å"I sho enough did.† Huck says, â€Å"You liar, Jim. You never seen no king.† Jim says, â€Å"I seen foh kings in a deck of cards.† Huck’s bad grammar and Jim’s sho and foh are the only hints of their dialects. Contrived phonetic spelling would slow the reading, but look what Twain accomplished with simple choices. The Cardinal Sin of Dialogue The last thing you want is to produce on-the-nose dialogue. Apply to your own work those principles and the tools I’ve outlined here, and I believe you’ll immediately see a huge difference. So will your reader. In the Comments, ask me any questions regarding how to write dialogue. Need help writing your novel?  Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide.

The Abyss of Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Abyss of Love - Essay Example But there was just one problem, the younger sister of Princess Kali, Princess Viviana also loved the prince and wished to marry him in order to become queen of the united kingdoms. Though Viviana was a thousand times more beautiful than her older sister, she was gifted with a black heart. Her jealousy caused her to do many evil things to Kali that could have killed her if Kali were not only highly intelligent and able to get herself out of the predicaments that Viviana conjured through the use of Black Magic. Viviana knew that the prince was arriving in two days and the wedding was to take place on his fifth day in the kingdom. So devised her most devious plan yet in order to win the heart of the prince. Using her black powers, she created an army of black soldiers to do her bidding. They ambushed the prince in the Rosewood Forest as he was making his way to their kingdom. His soldiers were outnumbered and easily overcome by the devil army of Viviana. They took him prisoner and placed him deep inside the The Abyss of Love where an imprisoned person would easily fall for the charms of the dark arts, turning the persons heart black and allowing the masters of black magic to steal the loving hearts for their own. Disguising herself as her sister, Viviana came to the prince and asked him to drink a magic potion. One that would make him see Kali each time he saw Viviana while he would see his despised Viviana each time he saw Kali. After making sure that the potion had worked. She allowed the prince to continue on his trek, his memory of the ambush erased forever. He arrived at the palace all aglow with love. But instead of calling out for Kali, Prince Gabriel called out for Viviana, causing much embarrassment for Kali who was waiting for him with open arms at the top of the palace steps. Viviana brushed her sister aside and allowed the prince

Cloning and the Future Doom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cloning and the Future Doom - Essay Example I believe cloning is treading on thin ice, danger lurks below the surface; it is like opening a Pandora's Box. Dr Patrick Dixon has written several articles that prove the disadvantages of cloning (http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm). He enumerates three reasons why we should say no to cloning: health risks from mutation of genes; emotional risks; and the risk of abuse of the technology. An abnormal baby is one possible result of cloning since the material used is taken from an adult, there is a tendency that the newborn baby will have adult genes. According to Dixon, "Many attempts at animal cloning produced disfigured monsters with severe abnormalities." He adds, "Dolly the Sheep died prematurely of severe lung disease in February 2003, and also suffered from arthritis at an unexpectedly early age - probably linked to the cloning process." The many abnormal results are aborted and terminated by the researchers for fear that they would grow to be dangerous beings. Secondly, Dixon illustrates that the cloned person will be faced with a number of problems in relating with the other members of the family and the community and vice versa. Confusion that is brought about by the usual relationships as brother, sister, mother and father and even twins will have to be dealt with. For instance, how can a father relate to his daughter who is a clone of his wife, and how will the other members of the family relate to a clone of their dead brother or sister Finally, there is the risk of abuse of the technology where certain powerful leaders in every generation will be tempted to "seek to abuse this technology for their own purposes." Dixon adds, "You cannot have so-called therapeutic cloning without reproductive cloning because the technique to make cloned babies is the same as to make a cloned embryo to try to make replacement tissues" (http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm). Obviously, the aforementioned disadvantages are solid reasons for me to believe that cloning does not promise a brilliant and safe future. Although most of the cloning researches are aimed at alleviating solutions to scientific and medical problems, more danger is in store for the coming generation. What if the abnormal clones will not be controlled and terminated at an early stage According to scholars, certain abnormalities are not detected at an early stage. Some may take twenty or more years to manifest. What will happen to the emotional make-up of the clones Can they ever live normal and happy lives when they appear to intrude into the normal and natural means of family reproduction and relations There will be a need for more psychologists to cater to the clones' emotional and psychological needs. Lastly, is cloning technology safe enough from possible abuse of powerful leaders who may want to use it for their personal purposes Life is sacred. Human beings are created in the image of God. Each individual is endowed with unique characteristics that even identical twins are not really identical in many ways. Creating a replica of a person close to you or a loved one does not assure that the clone will behave and react in the same way as the original. Just recently, my brother died of vehicular accident. It was so sudden that we were not even able to tell him how much we love him. My other brother did not even have a chance to be reconciled with him. Such a loss was so intense that until now we still grieve so much for

Investigating a strategic problem (Proposal) Research Proposal

Investigating a strategic problem ( ) - Research Proposal Example The first problem concerns the license bid. The Omani government, through its regulator, TRA announced a tender for mobile license. The license biding process was highly competitive, with approximately 28 international firms bidding for the license (Birnik and Cormack 2010, p. 405). In addition to the problem of acquiring the license, the firm has to attract talent. Even though Nawras has the resources to launch its operations, it faces the problem of recruiting the right people for permanent employment. Most importantly, the firm has to develop effective strategies for competing with Omantel that has already established its presence in the country. Omantel has already acquired a customer base, developed its infrastructure and created networks with influential people. A multi-dimensional approach targeting organizational objectives and situational factors will address the problems. It will allow the organization’s administrators to approach the license problem using a collaborative strategy. Consequently, it will create meaningful relationships to address the issue. The challenges in recruiting meaningful talent can be addressed through modern recruitment processes that use social media. In addition, Omantel’s influence can be countered through dynamic pricing techniques and creating flexible services. Nawras Telecommunications is a relatively new company in Omani. Its operations face a number of strategic problems given the fact that it is yet to develop its infrastructure or acquire an efficient human resources. The challenges are compounded because it operates in a country that has underdeveloped its telecommunication regulatory and legal

Relegion - Islamic studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Relegion - Islamic studies - Essay Example al Mundhir's vision of "a commander (amir) from among us and a commander from among you."1 and the combination of Umar b. al-Khatab's oath of allegiance and the beating of the Khazraji leader Said b. Ubaida resolved the dispute.2 Despite the general baya that took place in the main mosque shortly after this event, several sahabi from Bana Hahim and al-Shams refused to give Aba Bakr the baya for six months. A significant reason for this delay may have been Abu Bakr's confiscation of the Prophet's significant revenue producing lands and the subsequent denial of the right of inheritance to his relatives on the basis of a purported prophetic saying that prophets "do not bequeath [to heirs." Ali, Al Abbas, Abu As b. Abi Rabia, Aban b'Said and Khalid b. Said are all reported to have delayed giving Abu Bakr the baya until after the death of Fatima, who was buried secretly without the knowledge of the caliph. Ibn Ubaida, the beaten Ansari, who was one of the prestigious twelve nuqaba who fac ilitated the emigration of the Prophet to Yathrib in his time of need, never gave the bya to Abu Bakr and may have been the only sahabi who withheld his allegiance to Umar.3 The second major conflict among the sahaba was the ridda wars whose execution was justified again on the basis of a prophetic hudith over the objections of Umar. These battles pitted Abu Bakr and his Muslim armies against tribes that ranged from advocates of the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylama to Muslims who did not wish to pay the alms tax to the caliph in Medina. Iba Said identifies six men of the fourth tabaqa of sahaba, namely those who embraced Islam after the conquest of Mecca, who participated in the ridawars against Abu Bakr's fiscal policy. Only one of these men, Malik b. Nuwayra. is reported to have been killed, despite his claim that he was not an apostate. All of the remaining five men were captured and pardoned by Abu Bakr, and two of them later played a role in the victory at Qadisiya against the Sasanids. Abu Bakr even married his sister Umm Farawa bint Abi Quhafa to the powerful Yemeni rebel al-Ash-ath b. Qays. who later served with distinction at the battle of Niha vand. Qays b. Makshub, who killed at least two Muslims in the riddo wars, was forgiven by Abu Bakr over Umar's objections. 'Uyayna b. Hisn. who had lied to the prophet during the campaign against Al Taif was "brought back to Islam" by the words of Abu Bakr despite having joined Tulayha's prophetic challenge. The third episode of intra-Moslem violence involved various members of the "pious opposition" Uthman's policies and the Egyptian delegation, some of whose partisans ultimately murdered him. The most flagrant confrontations include the beating of Abdallah b. Masud and Ammar b. Yasir, as well as the banishment of Abo Dharr al Ghifarri to Ribadha. Uthman's harsh treatment of these early sahaba was publicly condemned by Aisha; other sahaba who stirred up protests against the caliph included Talha b. Ubayd Allah and Amr b. As.4 Abdel al Rahman b. Awf, the sahabi on the shura who essentially appointed Uthman as Umar's successor, stipulated that Uthman was not to lead his funeral prayers, a request that was later honoured in

What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the Essay - 1

What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the environment and its preservation or restoration - Essay Example And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth† (King James Version Genesis 6:26) One of the priorities that Christians should have within the framework of the way in which they conduct their lives is to be good stewards of the Earth. As good stewards of the Earth it is the responsibility of Christians to make sure that their associations and personal responsibilities are toward an effort to support the creation of the Earth in the manner that God intended. Through looking at the creation story in Genesis, one can clearly see that human kind was given dominion over the Earth. This is further supported in Psalms. However, the concept of dominion often is misunderstood as having the use of the Earth, rather than being held responsible for the way in which the Earth is cared for as a living world. The concept of free will is sometimes considered more the manifestation of God’s will rather than taking responsibility for what has happened to come to terrible outcomes where the Earth is concerned. In looking at the way in which the dominion over the Earth has be en considered, the way in which Christians engage their world should be revised with the attitude that in giving human kind this responsibility, a great trust was handed to human kind. This trust should not be violated by those who believe in Him. When God created the Earth and all of the creations within the realm that is the Earth, the Bible states that man was given dominion over all of His creation. Brown (2011) quotes a portion of Psalms to support the assertion that man was given this power. It states in the Bible that â€Å"You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet† (New King James

M&ms color distribution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

M&ms color distribution - Essay Example Madison assumed all different colors are combined together and made at different time along the way into different size packages. According to the M&M’s website, each package of chocolate milk should contain, 24%, 14%, 16%, 20%, 13%, and 14% of blue, brown, green, orange, red, and yellow respectively. This is what is stated in the consumer office. After doing a practical survey, Madison found out that the percentages indicated in the packages were not even close to the distribution stated. Madison concluded that they produce the indicated percentages of each color and then just fill up the packs off weight based method. This infers that any particular package may be much away off the indicated percentage. Due to this, Madison conducted his study and indicated his results. He did this by random sampling of packs. Madison acquired M&M’s sold in cardboard box containing 48 packages. He then counted every color and then compared the total of all the colors in every package to the sum of the pack as an error checking form. He then did analysis as follows: according to Madison, he expected 24%, 13%, 16%, 29%, 13%, and 14% of blue, brown, green, orange, red, and yellow respectively. However, he observed 18.36%, 14.16%, 18.44%, 20.76%, 14.20%, and 14.08% of blue, brown, green, orange, red, and yellow respectively. The row indicating the quantity expected is based on the total M&M’s observed numbers using expected percent values from M&M’s website. As seen in the results, blue which is the most observed color in the M&M was actually third in popularity watch. It was about 25 percent less than the amount expected. However, orange, brown, yellow, and red were within 2% points on what was expected as their values. Yellow was however closest. At the end of the analysis, it appears t hat pack 22 is much closer to the published

What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the Essay - 1

What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the environment and its preservation or restoration - Essay Example And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth† (King James Version Genesis 6:26) One of the priorities that Christians should have within the framework of the way in which they conduct their lives is to be good stewards of the Earth. As good stewards of the Earth it is the responsibility of Christians to make sure that their associations and personal responsibilities are toward an effort to support the creation of the Earth in the manner that God intended. Through looking at the creation story in Genesis, one can clearly see that human kind was given dominion over the Earth. This is further supported in Psalms. However, the concept of dominion often is misunderstood as having the use of the Earth, rather than being held responsible for the way in which the Earth is cared for as a living world. The concept of free will is sometimes considered more the manifestation of God’s will rather than taking responsibility for what has happened to come to terrible outcomes where the Earth is concerned. In looking at the way in which the dominion over the Earth has be en considered, the way in which Christians engage their world should be revised with the attitude that in giving human kind this responsibility, a great trust was handed to human kind. This trust should not be violated by those who believe in Him. When God created the Earth and all of the creations within the realm that is the Earth, the Bible states that man was given dominion over all of His creation. Brown (2011) quotes a portion of Psalms to support the assertion that man was given this power. It states in the Bible that â€Å"You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet† (New King James

Diabetes Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diabetes - Annotated Bibliography Example The findings attribute a majority of socioeconomic burden in the society to this observation, noting it as a major cause of premature mortality. To the patients, the risk of retinopathy, neurological conditions and renal failure constantly looms. In spite of giving critical findings on the negative impact of diabetes in the society and acknowledging the need to prioritize public health control programs, the researchers fail to give recommendations to curb its effects as contrasted to the subsequent articles by Goyder, Simmons and Gillett (2010) and Malkawi (2012) hereafter. The researchers from the University of Sheffield appreciate the importance of diabetes prevention in reducing morbidity and mortality, and in this study they collect data from national policy documents in the UK to determine the persons charged with preventing diabetes. The evidence found point out at community level intervention as more effective than individual based approach with much synergy observed for diabetes prevention and other major public health priorities, just as indicated in the previous research by Dieren et al. (2010), including obesity prevention, socioeconomic inequality, reducing chronic diseases and climate change. Even though the study was confined within the UK hence unreliable to imply to the whole global population as contrasted to the previous article, it gives an important insight that prevention programs should be aimed at the larger population other than at individuals. Malkawi, A. M. (2012). The effectiveness of physical activity in preventing type 2 diabetes in high risk individuals using well-structured interventions: a systematic review. Journal of Diabetology, 2(1), 1 – 18. This research acknowledges the burden of type 2 diabetes as articulated in the previous two research studies and as such evaluates the effectiveness of physical activity in curbing diabetes spread. It aims at

Sop for Commerce Essay Example for Free

Sop for Commerce Essay I Priyesh Kulkarni completed my Graduation in Bachelor of Commerce (Honors Course) in It taught me how to manage financial affairs, prepare balance sheets, etc. I liked the commerce field so I decided to do masters in that field. In I completed my Masters degree in Commerce. While doing the masters degree I joined our own finance company where my work was totally related to the finance field. Along with that I did Post Graduate Diploma in Management, again specializing in Finance and completed it in While doing the job I thought about getting some acquaintance with the computers so I did Advanced PC Applications from NIIT in and a training program from Indira Gandhi National Open University in C, C++ and JAVA in I am an Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), the certificate provided by Oracle Corporation, USA. I did 2 projects in oracle. One was about Banking System and the second was about the Super Market. The Banking system was small software that handled all the transactions regarding bank, which provides the account holder information, and handling day-to-day transactions. This software automatically updates the account holder’s account mentioning the current balance in his account. The super market was sophisticated software, which stored the information regarding customer, products, vendors and credit card. This software also generated various bills like invoicing bill, receipt bill and customer payment bill. After doing these many courses and 2 projects in computers I found that my interest towards computers has increased further. Moreover, now in every industry knowledge about IT is required. So I discovered that either I have the option to do Masters in Computer Applications (MCA) from India itself or go outside India to get a good Masters degree in computers. As in India, MCA is for three years, which I thought, is not feasible for me. So I decided for the second option i. e. doing MS in Computer Science from USA, which is a two year course. Further, MS in computer science is a professional degree worldwide and it will be easier for me to fulfill my dreams of becoming a software professional and getting a good job in India. Moreover, by doing this course from USA I will get an international l exposure and it will also enhance my overall personal development.

Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs by Stephen Jay G

â€Å"Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs† is written by Stephen Jay Gould, professor of geology and zoology at Harvard. This essay is one of more than a hundred articles on evolution, zoology, and paleontology published by Gould in national magazines and journals. It tells about scientific proposals for the extinction of dinosaurs – a confusing but an exciting problem that humanity tries to solve. By analyzing and describing each of the claims for the reptiles’ demise – sex, drugs, and disasters – Gould differentiates bad science from good science and explains what makes some theories silly speculations, while the other, a testable hypothesis. Any hypothesis, Gould says, begins with the collection of facts. In this early stage of a theory development bad science leads nowhere, since it contains either little or contradicting evidence. On the other hand, Gould suggests, testable proposals are accepted temporarily, furthermore, new collected facts confirm a hypothesis. That is how good science works. It is self-correcting and self-developing with the flow of time: new information improves a good theory and makes it more precise. Finally, good hypotheses create logical relations to other subjects and contribute to their expansion. The disaster theory, Gould claims, is an example of good science. It has testable evidence and has an impact on studies in other fields of science, it develops further and explains why the extinction of dinosaurs occurred simultaneously with other events. This theory suggests that a large comet hit the Earth sixty five million years ago, causing the cloud of dust to rise into the sky and to block sunlight. As a result, world temperatures went down significantly, the ice age bega... ...r optimum temperatures, hot climate caused the dinosaurs to heat up beyond their optimum. However, the heat didn’t kill them, but sterilized the males, because their testes functioned at certain temperatures. Gould argues that this theory is untestable, and the experiments with the influence of extreme temperatures on modern alligators do not necessarily explain the extinction of dinosaurs. Furthermore, many questions are not answered because of the absence of evidence. Gould states that this theory is another example of bad science. Sex, drugs, and disasters are both popular topics that grab public attention and scientific theories of the extinction of dinosaurs. While sex and drug hypotheses represent silly speculations, the disaster claim is good science: it provides testable evidence, has an impact on other scientific fields, and generates continuous research.

College Admissions Essay: My Days as a Gardener :: College Admissions Essays

My Days as a Gardener    'Mom, how do you make a garden?'    'You plant seeds. You can buy them at the nursery.'    'Can I plant a garden?'    Now this is the kind of question a mother wants to hear from her children. Not 'Can I play on the interstate?' or 'If I eat this will I die?' Something, instead, wholesome and good. An activity that not only teaches, but puts fresh produce on her table.    It was decided, then, that planting a garden would be my summer project. My mother and I planned for it to be located behind our garage, in a sunny area of our otherwise shady backyard. With my mom's help, I planted an assortment of vegetables: tomatoes, onions, potatoes ('A potato is a tuber.' 'It's a what?'), and green beans.    I later understood that gardening is generally associated with a life of leisure, with relaxation. For me, it was a competition. I'd ask my seedlings, 'Who's growing the fastest?' 'Who's the tallest?' Fearing bad karma, I tried to stay impartial, lest a subconscious preference for green beans would cause me to water them more often, while dumping bleach on the onions. Every night I'd give my parents an update on rates of growth, any signs of produce, and my never-realized irrigation plans.    One day my mother told me that some of the tomatoes were ready to be picked. We went out back, snagged a few of the plumper offerings, and that evening had salads.    Every other bite earned an accolade. 'Mmm. These tomatoes really are delicious.' 'There's just nothing like fresh tomatoes. Mmm.' 'I think we can quit saving for his college; he's a natural migrant worker.' Whatever that meant, it sounded promising. I told my family that they needn't worry: the garden was in full-swing, and that meant more fresh produce was on the way.       About a week later a tornado razed a better part of North Houston. It brought rain. It brought hail. It upended cars; it flooded houses. And in its trail it left fallen branches and trees, and removed, in whole, one tiny tomato-onion-potato-and-green-bean garden located behind my garage.

MGT

Comprehension State the dilemma's main problem: -The dilemma's main problem is whether you should report that your coworker Careen's breath smelled like alcohol to a man named David Chain, or not report the instance. This is a dilemma because of the fact that you do not like to ‘rock the boat' and you do not like to be ‘disloyal to your coworkers', Identify at least three points (more Is better) the dilemma makes to highlight the main Idea.Some points that the dilemma makes to highlight the main idea is: Karen is often late to work Karen is not someone you can count on Karen can be unprofessional with coworkers Karen is not your favorite person to work with What are some significant points presented In the dilemma?Some significant points that are presented in the dilemma are: You could conform to David that you did smell alcohol on Careen's breath By doing so you could ruin any relationship or any chance of a friendship/relationship with Karen You could label yourself as a ‘tattle tail' or a ‘whistler's' to other coworkers You could give yourself a sense of guilt for being a person to point fingers You could add stress to our own life because of this complicated situation You could decide not to tell David about the alcohol breath By doing so, you could be dodging an attempt to solve this problem You could cause more harm to Karen by not helping her You could stress yourself out by knowing you did not help You could have helped contribute to more suspicion and gossip in the workplace by not confirming anything You could walk away and live your life as If It never happened You could decide not to tell David and talk to Karen on your own By doing o you have a chance of confronting the issue in a private matter You might be able to get an honest answer by showing genuine feelings You could avert any more stress towards anyone by solving the issue You could make Karen feel as if she has been violated of her privacy What have you learned from the textbook that correlates to this case?Some things that I have learned from the textbook that correlates to this case is: that emotional intelligence can be used to form harmonious teams you could use your El to help inspire others alluding social awareness can help you identify with Karen emotions and feelings An ongoing negative emotion can result from dissatisfaction, leading to burnout Affect-driven behavior may cause you to respond to people in a certain way Being unfairly treated by your boss or coworkers can cause you to behave negatively towards others Affective Events Theory says events can cause people to behave differently A certain work even could motivate some, while it Just discourages others Negative emotions linger around much longer than positive emotions Negative emotions can result from undesired events including not having your opinion heard, a lack of control over your environment, and unpleasant interactions with coworkers or customers Those with a strong s ocial support network are less stressed that those without one A USN can buffer the effects of stress Karen might not have a USN Factors such as diet, sleep, timeliness, work/life balance, and personal life situations are main contributors to stresses Summary [25%] What are the main lessons from this dilemma for leaders in a business organization? -The main lessons from this dilemma for leaders in a business organization is how o approach a situation like this one. A leader of a business organization does not want to rush to Judgment or conclusion especially when it comes to something like alcohol on one's breath. There could be a million explanations about alcohol on ones breath and many causes as well.Making the right ethical decision involves discretely approaching the situation and try to understand the cause and effect of the problem. What does this dilemma fundamentally teach you about Organizational Behavior and why does it matter? -This dilemma fundamentally teaches me that in Organizational Behavior, it takes team to move forward. You truly are as strong as your weakest link. Linked with this situation, gossip and pointing fingers is only going to make the situation work. It takes a caring and understanding person to help prevent this issue from going any further. It matters because it is good for the organization and it is good for your employees and customers. Give an overall impression of this dilemma. Is it effective, useful, confusing, informative, etc.?Explain why you are characterizing the article as you are. Point to specific features or details to validate your impression. Overall I thought this was a confusing dilemma. First off, it is a very brief dilemma in which a lot of detail is left out. For example, you work at a paper company but your role is not stated, Careen's role is not stated, and neither is Davit's. For all I know David could be a random stranger that sells me hotdogs right outside of work. Even if David is a coworker, if he i s not upper management, it is none of his business to confirm gossip or not. Without specifics, it is hard to come to a conclusion about how to approach a situation like this one.

The Daily Telegraph

For my coursework piece, I decided to a newspaper editorial which had been published online. The piece was written as if it had been published in The Daily Telegraph, a right-wing middle class newspaper. I chose to do the piece because I am interested in current affairs and newspapers, and I am a very opinionated person. I thought that a newspaper column would be a good place to share my opinion on the topical story of waterboarding. For my style model, I went onto the Telegraph's website and found a newspaper column by Boris Johnson, the Conservative Mayor of London. As a Conservative, his column had a slight anti-Labour bias, although it was very subtle and often humorous. I attempted to replicate this when I mentioned that waterboarding is classed as an ‘enhanced interrogation technique' and quickly quipped that that was â€Å"more spin in one phrase than Alaistair Campbell managed in an entire dossier† – a reference to the controversial September Dossier which ‘sexed up' claims that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction. From that quote, we can see some of the writer's persona, seeing immediately that they are critical of the Iraq War, despite later making it clear he is a Conservative (â€Å"thankfully, I'm a son of Thatcher†). We can see more of the writer's persona throughout, by writing with a high register, we see that they are quite sophisticated and maybe slightly arrogant. The piece starts with a graphic description of what would happen to a victim of waterboarding, but as it features direct address, it makes the reader feel like that it is happening to them – â€Å"you have a bag over your head†, â€Å"you are shackled†, â€Å"you feel like you are drowning†. After each description of the torture, the actual theme is introduced. Originally, my piece was going to follow a structure by which each waterboarding scenario would be followed by the writer's opinion, but before my final draft I decided that this actually distracted from the main point of the article, so I decided not to continue with this idea. My main argument starts in the paragraph beginning â€Å"Let's be clear on this matter†. That sentence of â€Å"let us be clear† makes it seem like I know what I am talking about and that I am being completely honest. My arguments are further bolstered by listing officials who have disagreed with George Bush's claims, such as the Director of Public Prosecutions and the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights. The summing up of my arguments begins with George Bush's original comment which sparked this news story. The language used in the ensuing four paragraphs is emotive, and reads almost as if it were a speech. It really attempts to put the reader on the side of writer, and make them believe that Bush was completely out of order. The story was published on the week on which Remembrance Day fell, so I as the writer incorporated this to try and shock the reader and make them nod sagely in agreement with me when I state that the reason we entered the Word Wars in the first place was to â€Å"fight for our lives and our rights†, and then contrasting that by saying that Bush â€Å"a former leader of the free world† can say that â€Å"freedom and democracy†¦ can go to pot if it might save some lives†. The following one clause sentences have a short and long lasting impact by simply refuting Bush's claims. I enjoyed writing this piece, as it gave me a chance to put my opinions forward. Having my peers read my work and give feedback was a good experience that I enjoyed, as I like people correcting me and reading my work.

Anderlini and Clover Essay

In their article, Anderlini and Clover (2009) speak about China’s and Russia’s desire to purchase IMF bonds. While China considers buying about $50bn of IMF bonds, Russia seeks to spend no more than $10bn for these purposes. Both countries will use these investments according to essential criteria of reasonable returns and safety, which are in no way associated with the countries’ search for additional political power in international contexts. It appears that for Russia and China to purchase IMF bonds means to express their desire to trace and monitor the distribution of international monetary commitments. The money Russia and China are prepared to pay for IMF bonds is expected to help developing countries tackle with the major economic challenges. For example, Russia proposes that IMF uses additional funds to help Ukraine resolve its gas issues with Russia (Aderlini & Clover, 2009). Although the IMF is not very optimistic with regard to sponsoring Ukraine in its balance payment issues, purchasing bonds may shape a good ground for better stability in broader financial markets. Response The fact of Russia and China seeking to purchase IMF bonds signifies the growing international commitment to reducing trade barriers. With the growing realization of the benefits which the reduction of trade barriers can bring internationally, the IMF bonds and additional funds can be readily used to support developing countries in their striving to better trade liberalization and business openness. On the one hand, the developed countries’ desire to stimulate international trade signifies their preparedness to better dialogue with developing countries in terms of business and trade. On the other hand, such openness also provides developing countries with better chances to become a part of the developed business community. As a result, whether the changes in the structure of international financial assets help reduce trade barriers also depends on how well countries and organizations manage them. Response 1 In his article, Bogoslaw (2009) suggests that the time has come when India, Brazil, and China should become the major investment targets. Given that the state of economy is not limited to economic markets in the U.  S. , it is more than important to look beyond the boundaries of the American economic attractiveness and to provide other countries with a better chance for economic growth. It should be noted, that the concept of market economic system is integrally linked to the concept of economic freedom, and where countries seek to implement the principles of market economy these imply the absence or minimization of governmental involvement. In case of China, India, and Brazil, governments still remain the powerful elements of economic growth. Simultaneously, dozens of smaller developing countries need additional investments for their gradual transition to free market relationships. Thus, not Brazil or India with their well-established economic images, but other developing countries with sound legal systems and investment opportunities should attract additional funds. In any case, stocks and investments always involve risk, and if investors believe that by cooperating with India or China they secure themselves from the major losses, they are deeply mistaken. Response 2  For many years, embargos have been an effective measure of economic and diplomatic discipline. The leading world powers frequently apply to embargo as the measure of last resort, and whenever countries are unwilling to follow the basic principles of international legal or economic conduct, embargos appears the most reliable method of imposing balanced legal and economic requirements on them. It appears that to stop supplying countries with the critical resources is more important that trying to persuade such countries to change their convictions and political beliefs. It should be noted, that embargo implies putting a legal ban on commerce, and individuals are those who suffer these limitations the most. As a result, whether embargo is an effective measure depends on what perspective one chooses to review its benefits and drawbacks, but that embargos significantly reduce the scope of the major business operations and prevent individuals from achieving their individual purposes is clear.

Teaching Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teaching Music - Essay Example The song is in five sections composed with an introduction and a coda, which is, based on the introduction material obscure the tonality (measure 87). The introductory materials are used throughout the art as a transitional and unifying material. Therefore, regarding the tone, it is heavily influenced by jazz harmonies as initially discussed and with linear passages. The key centers are undecided between C and D. Moreover, the song’s tonal centers are weak because it has used Quartal harmony in horns and trumpets, it lacks cadential harmony structure and emphasizes on horizontal lines, as opposed to vertical sonorities. The vertical sonorities that are present in the composition are cluster chords, extended chord structures, double inflection sonorities and at the very end, one C Major Chord. Wilson makes a broad use of jazz or changed and synthetic scales, which include, changed blues scales, and Minor and major-Locrian scales (Treadwell 8). The opening rhythm in C Section is hocked between all voices. The theme of the piece is to make a harmonious journey to â€Å"home† and with a C major Chord at ever end. Whitacre produces pieces of art that have a unique style that is amazingly powerful and captivating to its audience because of its originality. He is known to write his music in at least eight voice parts, with the strange chord progression, and use of spoken word and percussion. Cloudburst is incredibly complex, and it is set to adopt a Spanish poem by Octavio Paz, â€Å"El Cantaro Roto.† The first part sung without instrumental accompaniment (Cappella section) brings the tone of the piece. In addition, it has a section where the choir has sustained notes with the text that each choir members randomly speaks. The spoken words are not meant to consist of a rhythm as they also have a haunting and disorientating effect on the public or spectators.