Operations Mnagement Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operations Mnagement - Case Study Example The need for operations managers to reduce manufacturing costs, optimize productivity and improve product quality in order to stay in the market has become imperative. Many organizations now recognize the importance of automation, optimization of scheduling and a proper inventory management system, and are incorporating total quality management and total quality in their operations. Today, the ordinary customer has become more sophisticated and demanding, and expects more variety, lower costs and better quality. Customers therefore drive demand and the industry has to meet this demand. Inter-firm rivalry and competition have also increased manifold. In line with these changes, organizations are replacing production-driven systems involving mass production, by market-driven systems to enable them to corner market share. This scenario has increased the importance of operations management in an organization, as it is directly responsible for the final product. As a result, operations management is gaining more significance and has become a key discipline in management science. Until recently, the field of operations of management was considered relevant only to the manufacturing sector. But with the increasing influence of service industries, the scope of operations management has widened. ... Controlling Directing Coordinating The following are the activities carried out by the Operations Manager. 1. Planning: Plan product and service mix Location and capacity planning Decide upon production methods to use for each item. Plan procurement of equipment. 2. Organizing: Centralize or decentralize operations. Decide upon functions, products, or hybrid organization structure. Establish work center assignments. Assign responsibility for every activity. 3. Controlling: Encourage pride in performing as expected. Compare costs to budget. Compare actual labor hours to standards. Inspect the quality levels. 4. Directing: Establish provisions of union contracts. Establish personnel policies. Establish employment contracts. Issue job assignments and instructions. 5. Coordinating: Coordinate through use of common forecasts and master schedules. Observe actual performance and recommend needed improvement. Report, inform and communicate. Respond to customer inquiries about status of orders. [ ICMR, 2003] In order to succeed in all the above activities, an operations manager should have both technical and behavioral skills. Budget Airlines - What are they' There has been a revolutionary increase in the number of low-cost airline which are otherwise called the budget airlines in the aviation industry over the last few years. The budget airlines are usually operators who provide low-cost travel options for the passengers. The budget airlines try and cut the indirect costs to the maximum possible extent. Passengers are not offered wet towels, meals etc. Sometimes it may even happen that they do not even offer water to the passengers flying the budget airlines. [(Phillip), 2002] Scheduled airlines are regular airlines that offer considerably high-cost air

Radiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Radiology - Essay Example Each of these is important in recognizing radiological feature, ascribing a level of importance to the various finding in a single radiograph, and interpreting them, in conjunction with other available information.Knowledge of the clinical reason for requiring the radiographic investigation will provide background information to link with the radiological finding, and will often pose specific questions that need to be answer. It is important to decide if the question is been adequately answered, and if not plan the next stage of the investigation.Radiology is not limited for some uses; it is used in approximately all the field of treatment of diseases. Radiology is been used in Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Hematology, Neurology, Renal, Skeletal, and Respiratory Medicine. In these fields different types of radiograph is been used for different fields such as for the complete scanning of brain, CT-scan is used and for the complete bodies a different type. The type of radiology, which is been used in the field of dental surgery, is either plain radiology or a different type, as plain radiology, shows limited evidence of pathology and the signs are subtle. We have to discuss about the usage of radiography in the field of dental surgeries, this can solve the problems regarding the present use of radiography in the dental field. We have to consider the standard guidelines and methods given by the Government organizations for overcoming the problems with radiography used for dental surgeries. About the Dental profession: As we, all know that the dental profession is committed to delivering the highest quality of care to each of its individual patient and... In most of the countries, the health and safety at work statistic’s states that every person working in a hospital or general practice (referred to as HCW’s) has a legal duty to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to prevent cross-infection to protect themselves, their colleagues and the patients. In addition, the management of health and safety regulations 1992 requires that a risk assessment is carried out for all procedures to reduce the possibility of harm to staff and patients. Effective infection control measures are therefore required in dental radiography even though most investigations are regarded as non-invasive or non-exposure prone procedures because they do not involve breaches of the mucosa or skin. The main risk of cross-infection is from one patient to another from salivary contamination of work areas and equipment. HCW’s themselves are not a great risk during radiography but there are no grounds for complacency. This paper makes a conclusion that a dentist must know the patient’s health history and Vulnerability to oral disease, is in the best position to make this judgment in the interest of each patient. For this reason, the guidelines are intended to serve as a resource for the practitioner and are not intended to be a standard of care, requirement, or regulations. A Dentist must always understand the problem of the patient and as per the guidelines; a dentist must perform his operation so that the patient does not complain of any kind of problem in future.

Jewish American Literature Essay Example for Free

Jewish American Literature Essay Jewish American Literature holds an essential place in the literary history of the United States. It encompasses traditions of writing in English, primarily, as well as in other languages, the most important of which has been Yiddish. While critics and authors generally acknowledge the notion of a distinctive corpus and practice of writing about Jewishness in America, many writers resist being pigeonholed as Jewish voices. Also, many nominally Jewish writers cannot be considered representative of Jewish American literature, one example being Isaac Asimov. Beginning with the memoirs and petitions composed by the Sephardic immigrants who arrived in America during the mid 17th century, Jewish American writing grew over the subsequent centuries to flourish in other genres as well, including fiction, poetry, and drama. The first notable voice in Jewish- American literature was Emma Lazarus whose poem ‘The New Colossus’ on the Statue of Liberty became the great hymnal of American immigration. Gertrude Stein became one of the most influential prose-stylists of the early 20th century. The early twentieth century saw the appearance of two pioneering American Jewish novels: Abraham Cahans The Rise of David Levinsky and Henry Roth’s Call it Sleep. It reached some of its most mature expression in the 20th century ‘Jewish American novels’ by Saul Bellow, J. D. Salinger, Norman Mailer, Bernard Malamud, Chaim Potok, and Philip Roth. Their work explored the conflicting pulls between secular society and Jewish tradition which were acutely felt by the immigrants who passed through Ellis Island and by their children and grandchildren. More recent authors like Nicole Krauss, Paul Auster, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Safran Foer andArt Spiegelman have continued to examine dilemmas of identity in their work, turning their attention especially to the Holocaust and the trends of both ongoing assimilation and cultural rediscovery exhibited by younger generations of American Jews. Arguably the most influential of all American- Jewish novels was Leon Uris Exodus. Its story of the struggle to create the modern state of Israel translated into Russian became the inspiration for hundreds of thousands of Russian immigrants to Israel. Modern Jewish American novels often contain (a few or many) Jewish characters and address issues and themes of importance to Jewish American society such as assimilation, Zionism/Israel, and Anti-Semitism, along with the recent phenomenon known as New Anti-Semitism. Two Jewish- American writers have won the Nobel Prize, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Saul Bellow. Bernard Malamud is considered one of the most prominent figures in Jewish –American literature. BERNARD MALAMUD ( 1914-1986). Malamud’s stories and novels, in which reality and fantasy are frequently interfaced have been compared to parables, myths and analogies and often illustrate the importance of moral obligation. Although he draws upon his Jewish heritage to address the themes of sins, suffering, and redemption, Malamud emphasizes human contact and compassion over orthodox religious dogma. Malamud’s characters, while often awkward and isolated from society, evoke both pity and humor through their attempts at survival and salvation. Sheldon J. Hershinow observed: â€Å"Out of the everyday defeats and indignities of ordinary people, Malamud creates beautiful parables that capture the joy as well as the pain of life; he expresses the dignity of the human spirit searching for freedom and moral growth in the face for hardship, injustice, and the existential anguish of life. BIOGRAPHY Malamud was born on April 28, 1914, in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants. His parents, whom he described as â€Å"gentle, honest, kindly people,† were not highly educated and knew very little about literature of the arts: â€Å"There were no books in the house, no records, music, pictures on the wall. † Malamud attended high school in Brooklyn and received his bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York in 1936. After graduation, he worked in a factory and as a clerk at the central bureau in Washington, D. C. Although he wrote in his spare time, Malamud did not begin writing seriously until the advent of the Second World War and the subsequent horrors of the Holocausts. He questioned his religious identity and started reading about Jewish tradition and history . He explained: â€Å"I was concerned with what Jews stood for, with their getting down to the bare  bones of things. I was concerned with their ethnically –how Jews felt for they had to live order to go on living. † In 1949, he began teaching at Oregan State University; he left this post in 1961 to teach creative writing at Bennington College in Vermont. He remained there until shortly before his death in 1986. Starting in 1949, Malamud taught four sections of freshman composition each semester at Oregon State University (OSU), an experience fictionalized in his 1961 novel ‘A New Life’. Because he lacked the Ph. D., he was not allowed to teach literature courses, and for a number of years his rank was that of instructor. In those days, OSU, a land grant university, placed little emphasis on the teaching of humanities or the writing of fiction. While at OSU, he devoted 3 days out of every week to his writing, and gradually emerged as a major American author. In 1961, he left OSU to teach creative writing at Bennington College, a position he held until retirement. In 1967, he was made a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1942, Malamud met Ann De Chiara (November 1, 1917 March 20, 2007), an Italian-American Roman Catholic, and a 1939 Cornell University graduate. They married on November 6, 1945, despite the opposition of their respective parents. Ann typed his manuscripts and reviewed his writing. Ann and Bernard had two children, Paul (b. 1947) and Janna (b. 1952). Janna Malamud Smith is the author of a memoir about her father, titled My Father is a Book. Malamud died in Manhattan in 1986, at the age of 71. WORKS OF MALAMUD Malamud’s first novel, ‘The Natural’ (1952 ) ,is considered one of his most symbolic works . While the novel ostensibly traces the life of Roy Hobbs, an American baseball player , the work has underlying mythic elements and explores such themes as initiation and isolation. For instance, some reviewers cited evidence of the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail; others applied T. S. Eliot’s ‘wasteland’ myth in their analyses ‘The Natural’ also foreshadows what would become Malamud’s predominant narrative focus: a suffering protagonist struggling to reconcile moral dilemmas, to act according to what is right, and to accept the complexities and hardships of existence. Malamud‘s second novel, ‘The Assistant’ (1957), portrays the life of Morris Bober, a Jewish immigrant who owns a grocery store in Brooklyn. Although he is struggling to survive financially, Bober hires a cynical anti-semitic youth, Frank Aloine after learning that the man is homeless and on the verge of starvation. Through this contact Frank learns to find grace and dignity in his own identity. Described as naturalistic fable, this novel affirms the redemptive value of maintaining faith in the goodness of the human soul. Malamud’s first collection of short stories, ‘The Magic Barrel’, (1958) was awarded the National Book award in 1959. Like ‘The Assistant’, most of the stories in this collection depict the search for hope and meaning within the grim entrapment of poor urban settings and were influenced by Yiddish folktales and Hasidic traditions. Many of Malamud’s best known short stories, including ‘The Last Mohican’, ‘Angel Levine’, and ‘Idiots First’, were republished in ‘The Stories of Bernard Malamud’ in 1983. ‘A New Life’ (1961), considered one of Malamuds most true-to-life novels, is based in part on Malamuds teaching career at Oregon State University. This work focuses on an ex-alcoholic Jew from New York City who becomes a professor at a college in the Pacific Northwest. It examines the main characters search for self-respect, while poking fun at life at a learning institution. Malamuds next novel, ‘The Fixer’ (1966), is one of his most powerful works. The winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this book is based on the historical account of Mendel Beiliss, a Russian Jew who was accused of murdering a Christian child. With ‘The Tenants’ (1971), Malamud returns to a New York City setting in a contrast between two writers—one Jewish and the other African American—struggling to survive in an urban ghetto. Malamud further addresses the nature of literature and the role of the artist in ‘Dublin’s Lives’ (1979). In this work, the protagonist, William Dublin, attempts to create a sense of worth for himself, both as a man and as a writer. Malamuds last finished novel, ‘Gods Grace’ (1982), studies both the original Holocaust and a new, imagined Holocaust of the future. The novel is a wild, at times brilliant, at times confusing, description of a flood similar to that in the Bible story of Noahs ark. Malamud continued to place stories in top American magazines. Mervyn Rothstein reported in the New York Times that Malamud said at the end of his life, With me, its story, story, story. In Malamuds next-to-last collection, ‘Rembrandts Hat’, only one story, ‘The Silver Crown’, deals with Jewish themes. Malamud is also renowned for his short stories, often oblique allegories set in a dreamlike urban ghetto of immigrant Jews. Of Malamud the short story writer, Flannery OConnor wrote: I have discovered a short-story writer who is better than any of them, including myself. He published his first stories in 1943, ‘Benefit Performance’ in Threshold and ‘The Place Is Different Now’ in American Preface. In the early 1950s, his stories began appearing in Harpers Bazaar, Partisan Review, and Commentary. ‘The Magic Barrel’ was his first published collection of short stories (1958) and his first winner of his first National Book Award for Fiction. Most of the stories depict the search for hope and meaning within the bleak enclosures of poor urban settings. The title story focuses on the unlikely relationship of Leo Finkle, an unmarried rabbinical student, and Pinye Salzman, a colorful marriage broker. Finkle has spent most of life with his nose buried in books and therefore isn’t well-educated in life itself. However, Finkle has a greater interest – the art of romance. He engages the services of Salzman, who shows Finkle a number of potential brides from his magic barrel but with each picture Finkle grows more uninterested. After Salzman convinces him to meet Lily Hirschorn, Finkle realizes his life is truly empty and lacking the passion to love God or humanity. When Finkle discovers a picture of Salzman’s daughter and sees her suffering, he sets out on a new mission to save her. Other well-known stories included in the collection are: ‘The Last Mohican’, ‘Angel Levine’, ‘Idiots First’, and ‘The Mourners’. This last story focuses on Kessler, the defiant old man in need of social security and Gruber, the belligerent landlord who doesnt want Kessler in the tenement anymore. Malamud’s fiction touches lightly upon mythic elements and explores themes like isolation, class, and the conflict between bourgeois and artistic values. His prose, like his settings, is an artful pastiche of Yiddish-English locutions, punctuated by sudden lyricism. Writing in the second half of the twentieth century, Malamud was well aware of the social problems of his day: rootlessness, infidelity, abuse, divorce, and more. But he also depicted love as redemptive and sacrifice as uplifting. In his writings, success often depends on cooperation between antagonists. For example, in The Mourners landlord and tenant learn from each others anguish. In ‘The Magic Barrel’, the matchmaker worries about his fallen daughter, while the daughter and the rabbinic student are drawn together by their need for love and salvation. Malamuds third story ‘Rembrandts Hat’ collection is noteworthy for its consistently pessimistic tone and theme of failed communication in stories such as ‘My Son the Murderer’, ‘The Silver Crown’, and ‘The Letter’. ‘The volume The People’, and ‘Uncollected Stories’ contains an unfinished novel about a Russian Jewish peddler in the American West who becomes a marshal and is kidnapped by Indians. It also includes fourteen stories written between 1943 and 1985. LIST OF OTHER NOTABLE JEWISH AMERICAN WRITERS †¢ Aimee Bender — novelist and short story writer, known for her often fantastic and surreal plots and characters †¢ Saul Bellow, novelist that won the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts †¢ Bernard Cooper, novelist, short story writer †¢ E. L. Doctorow, novelist †¢ Richard Ellmann, literary critic, won National Book Award for Nonfiction †¢ Barthold Fles, literary agent and non-fiction writer †¢ Emma Goldman, anarchist writer †¢ Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 †¢ Christopher Hitchens, literary critic and political activist †¢ Irving Howe, literary critic †¢ Roger Kahn. The Boys of Summer 1972 †¢ Jerzy Kosinski, author of The Painted Bird †¢ Emma Lazarus, poet and novelist †¢ Fran Lebowitz, author, known for her sardonic social commentary on American life through her New York sensibilities †¢ Seymour Martin Lipset, political sociologist. †¢ Reggie Nadelson, novelist known particularly for her mystery works †¢ Mark Obama Ndesandjo, author, half-brother of President Barack Obama †¢ Cynthia Ozick, short story writer, novelist, and essayist †¢ Jodi Picoult, novelist †¢ Ayn Rand, novelist and founder of Objectivism †¢ Lea Bayers Rapp, non-fiction and childrens fiction writer †¢ Philip Roth, known for autobiographical fiction that explored Jewish and American identity. †¢ Norman Rosten, novelist †¢ J. D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye †¢ Gary Shteyngart (born 1972) Russian-born writer †¢ Isaac Bashevis Singer, leading figure in Yiddish literature, won Nobel Prize †¢ George Steiner (born 1929) literary critic †¢ Daniel Stern, novelist] †¢ Leopold Tyrmand, writer †¢ Judith Viorst (born 1932) author, known for her childrens literature †¢ Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author of 57 books CONCLUSION The situation and the position of the Jewish-American writer have always been different from that of the other ethnicities in America and still remain so until today. One difference is highlighted by a comparison with the African-American writers. The marginal position of black authors has disappeared on the book market in the United States, but the themes of alienation and anger will not vanish as readily from their works. Instead of integration into the Literary and artistic mainstream, black writers and artists wanted, especially since the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, to arrive at their own forms of literary expression which would have direct relevance for their lives. They wished to answer the question of their relationship to white mainstream culture by implementing a multicultural strategy: their literature is not that of assimilation, but in many ways that of establishing difference, separatism, and cultural resistance. While with the African-American writers there is no sense of the success or even desirability of social and cultural integration into the predominantly white mainstream of American society, many Jewish-American authors felt it as necessary and desirable, and as a result even managed to acquire it. Indeed, a great number of contemporary Jewish-American writers such as Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Bernard Malamud, Arthur Miller, Philip Roth and others have had literary success. The language employed by these writers is standard American English, they are socially accepted, and their works are read by a wide Jewish and non-Jewish audience. For this reason it is widely considered that their texts form part of a recognized literary canon, and belong to the American literary center or mainstream, as far as this may still be defined today. As much as we agreed to this idea we cannot ignore several facts which underline the necessity to view Jewish American literary productions as shaped by strong ethnic forces, and Jewish American literature as both belonging to and standing out in the multicultural American landscape. BIBLOGRAPHY Books Sanford, Sternlicht Masterpieces of Jewish American Literature Cristina, Nilsson Jewish American Literature: Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and Cynthia Ozick Websites http://en. wikipedia. org http://www. swiftpapers. com http:// Top of Form.

A Christian Response To Divorce Theology Religion Essay

A Christian Response To Divorce Theology Religion Essay I sometimes wonder if divorce is really acceptable to God or if he really considers it a sin. There are a number of factors to consider in making this decision. For the purpose of this paper I am going to review my personal life, reasons people get divorced, and some religious documentation and opinion to draw hopefully reach a reasonable conclusion. I was raised by my mother and my step father, my parents divorced when I was two years old. I attended a Catholic School from kindergarten to the fifth grade; I dont recall attending any religious classes even though the school was right next to our Church. We went to Church every Sunday and that is the only time I remember learning anything about God. My mother changed my last name on my school records so it would be the same as hers. She said it was just easier that way but I wonder if that was the real reason, because I know now that Catholics view divorce as sinful behavior so they may have been pressuring her. It was around this time that my mother decided she needed to find a new religion as well. She told me we were converting to Judaism because she needed a religion that was more like a way of life than Catholicism. I didnt really care one way or the other at that point in my life I was just a kid. Divorce was a pretty normal occurrence in my family. My grandmother had eight siblings and three of her sisters, that were still living, were all divorced, they were also Catholic. My mothers only sibling my aunt was also Catholic and divorced. I didnt know until I got older that they were all considered sinners at Church. My older cousin knew because we went to the same school but she never told me. I have been married for twenty years and have never been divorced, not that I have never thought about it, just because I would rather just work out the problems than start over. I couldnt imagine that if I chose to get a divorce I would be committing a sin against God. Some of the time I actually think that it may bring me closer to God which is the opposite of sin so how could that be sinful. The divorce rate has declined slightly since 1982 but the number of divorces are still historically high (Alan J. Hawkins). Estimates are that about 40% of first marriages and an even higher rate of second marriages end in divorce. Some policy makers are trying to change both marriage and divorce laws to combat in the hope of bringing the divorce rate down (Alan J. Hawkins). Another way to combat divorce is to work on marriage and there are many faith based programs that offer workshops, retreats and marriage based enrichment programs. In some states take Florida for example you have to wait three days to obtain your marriage license unless you attend pre-marital counseling, and in Illinois you have to wait 60 days unless youve attended 4 hours of pre-marital counseling (Alan J. Hawkins). Some states are even diverting money from their temporary Assistance to Needy Families Funds to support pre-marital counseling. In the State of Florida marriage education is a class just like driver s education, and in Adrian County Michigan one court will not issue a marriage license without pre-marital education to anyone within its jurisdiction (Alan J. Hawkins). Some people feel that it is just too easy to get a divorce now days, and maybe a change in legislature would keep marriages together. Creating tax reforms that will benefit married couples and differentiating the ease of no-fault divorce laws, especially when there are children involved are two ways to combat the problem. The trend seems to be to keep the sanctity of marriage for economical reasons as well as spiritual reasons but how do the causes for divorce play into this dilemma? The top ten reasons I found were infidelity, poor communication, change in priorities due to having kids or job changes, lack of commitment to the marriage, sexual problems, addictions, failed expectations, physical and emotional abuse and the number one reason money (McCloud). These are all things that we have to go through to live and some look like reasonable reasons to file for divorce but for me to evaluate these reasons I have to figure out if they are harmful or sinful. 53% of American marriages end in divorce due to infidelity (Infidelity Facts). People cheat on their spouse for many reasons but men tend to cheat because of sex. They want to spread their seed or loose sexual desire for their wives especially after childbirth. Ive even heard it said that men are not made to be monogamous, or that their spouse is no longer as much fun as she was when they married. Some men commit adultery to feed their ego because they feel a need to be in control or to feel that they have made some type of conquest. Women on the other hand cheat more times than not because of the emotional deficiency they suffer in the marriage. Regarding poor communication I found a quote that summed it up pretty nicely Lack of communication is one of the leading causes of divorce. A marriage is on the rocks when the lines of communication fail. You cant have an effective relationship if either one of you wont discuss your feelings, cant talk about your mutual or personal issues, will keep your resentments simmering under wraps, and expect your partner to guess what the whole problem is about (Panse). Having a family definitely changes the dynamics in any household and all big changes affect the way a husband and wife interact with one another. It will infringe on the time you get to spend together, your finances will be affected, and your focus is altered. Some people get married because they feel they have to either the biological clock is ticking or they have a child out of wedlock, or maybe there is pressure from family or colleagues to tie the knot. Intimacy especially sexual can be a deal breaker only if you let it. In todays society there are surgeries and so many products available to enhance sexual arousal and drive that it seems easy to overcome. Most addictions can be treated in some type of medical forum but the key is in recognizing there is a problem and getting the treatment. Some people dont take any time to get to know the person they are marrying before they get married or tend to think they can change what they dont like about them. They are too often looking fo r a quick solution when it does not work out (Panse). Abuse is a horse of a different color Ive seen firsthand what mental and physical abuse does in a marriage. It tears people down and strips them of their self confidence. It does not seem rational to do this to another human being. Money, the root of all evil, I see the harm in all of these actions but I believe these are things God will forgive you for if you ask him to and as long as you discontinue the action. If the reasons for divorce are considered sinful it would seem to me that if you get rid of the sin causing the divorce you would no longer have reason to divorce. My findings on rationale for divorce may seem rationale to me but there are others who believe differently. The Bible for one is very clear on how God feels about divorce and there are various scriptures to prove it: I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel, and I hate a mans covering himself with violence as well as with his garment, says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith (Malachi 2:16). What God has joined together, let man not separate . . . I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery (Matthew 19:6, 9). Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery (Mark 10:11-12). If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him (1 Corinthians 7:12-13) (Brittan). Some people are of a mind that you need to do whatever you have to do to stay married. They would even go so far to say that if you are already divorced for an unbiblical reason and you were a Christian when you got divorced, then you need to face the awfulness and seriousness of your sin (Brittan) and you shouldnt pretend that is was not wrong in the eyes of God. Additionally they give warning in scripture that you should not ask for Gods grace when you get divorced because that too is a sin They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord (Jude 4) (Brittan). I found one ministry that believes based on experience that staying in a non-feeling relationship and enduring the pain was worth going through because of the growth in the Lord they gained by doing so (Matthews). With all of the documentation in the Bible a good Chris tian would just do what the bible said and not get divorced, but I still wondered if there were ever any exceptions. There is also scripture to support divorce under certain circumstances: I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery (Matthew 19:9). Jesus said God only allowed divorce in the Old Testament because of the hardness of our hearts (Matthew 19:8). If you are married to an unbeliever, it is Gods desire for you to stay married (1 Corinthians 7:12-14, 16; 1 Peter 3:1-6). To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is n ot bound in such circumstances (1 Corinthians 7:12-15) (Brittan). Now all of this made me err on the side of caution if there are exceptions for divorce not being a sin in certain situations maybe I could find some documentation to counter all divorce as a sin. I ran across an article written by a Christian woman who had gone through a divorce and she admitted to being one of those Christians who frowned upon people who divorced. She commented on the spiritual crisis she endured and the questions she as a believer asked herself. She wanted to know if there was a Godly way to get through it, where to find God in the process, and if somehow this changed what type of Christian she was (Carsten). In doing so she found comfort in the word and a few passages that led her to the conclusion that when Gods says he hates divorce he is saying it out of compassion because of the destruction it causes. God wants us to be married for the protection and safety that it gives us and for the love it provides us. He cares more about human beings than he does an act like divorce (Carsten). Jesus showed us on many occasions how important rule keeping was in comparison to the needs of a person. One occasion in the Bible that confirms this is in the book of Matthew: At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. [2] When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. [3] He answered, Havent you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? [4] He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated breadwhich was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. [5] Or havent you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? [6] I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. [7] If you had known what these words mean, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. [8] For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-8) In conclusion I have found that some Christians take the word of God and use it in such a way that they turn Gods condemnation of acts into condemnation of people. They disregard his compassion for people and this discounts the very foundation of their religious faith, Jesus Christ. They speak of sin as sacraments against God when the sin is whatever you do that takes you away from God and causes you to lose faith in him. If you divorce and fall away from God in the process then you are committing a sin, and sinful acts to cause divorce can be forgiven but you have to commit yourself to keeping your faith and staying from those things that you ask Gods forgiveness for. In the beginning I wondered if divorce was acceptable to God or if it were a sin. I am concluding that it is acceptable and it is not a sin because divorce in and of itself is not the sin, the sin of divorce only occurs when you divorce God.

Use of Geographic Data in Natural Disasters Essay -- Natural Disaster

Missing Figures The use of geographic data in the field of preventing and mitigating natural disasters remains a pioneering activity. However the circulation of the technology is still hindered by many issues such as the difficulty in obtaining the appropriate raw data, the lack of effective graphical user interfaces, the intricacy of predictive models and the expense of digitisation (Carrara et al., 1999). Natural disasters are becoming more frequent around the world, as seen in figure 1, which shows that in 1975 there were approximately 50 disasters reported, compared to approximately 400 being reported in 2010. They are a damaging phenomenon upon the Earth’s citizens and the physical environment, but with the use of geographic data, natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, cyclone s and landslides can be monitored and mapped to ensure a successful disaster response strategy can be put in place to ensure we can protect people and the environment as much as possible. The success of these strategies depends upon access to real-time spatial information that can be used effectively by the Geomatics Industry, governments, relief agencies among others to provide a quick response to the disaster areas (Herold et al., 2005). Kunkel et al. (1999) suggest that there is strong scientific evidence of an increase in extreme precipitation events in particular regions, whilst water shortages are becoming more apparent in other regions, which indicates that weather driven natural disasters will surely become more frequent, resulting in the use of Geogr... ...97) Managing the natural disasters from space technology inputs. Acta Astronautica, 40. Kunkel, K.E., Easterling, D.R., Andsager, K. (1999) Long-Term Trends in Extreme Precipitation Events over the Conterminous United States and Canada. J. Climate, 12. Li, Q. and Li, D. (1999) Proceedings of the International Symposium on Digital Earth Science Press. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. National Research Council (1995) The global positioning system: a shared national asset : recommendations for technical improvements and enhancements. National Academy of Public Administration Raheja, N., Ojha, R. and Mallik, S. (Undated) GIS Development: Role of Internet-based GIS in effective natural disaster management. [Online] Available from: http://www.gisdevelopment.net/technology/gis/techgi0030pf.htm

Macbeth, A Spy For Macduff At The Banquet Hall :: essays research papers

Dear Macduff, A short while back you hired me to complete a task for you. This was to spy and collect information about Macbeth. I have now completed this and have some quite shocking news as you will soon be aware of as you read on. It all started at Macbeth’s banqueting hall which I was subsequently invited to. We all sat round a wooden table in the main hall waiting for Macbeth’s feast he had prepared for us. Macbeth and his queen wife, Lady Macbeth, They were both upon their thrones which were raised from the ground. Macbeth stepped down and soon the low hum of mumbling grew to a halt. He told us to sit and welcomed us to his feast. What happened next I found unusual, he announced he was going to join us at our table instead of sitting with his wife at the throne. Lady Macbeth kept her place as the banquet went on. From the corner of my eye I then noticed someone entered the room. At first glanced I presumed it to be Banquo as he had not arrived yet, but then I took a closer look and found it to be no one I knew. Macbeth also had seen this strange man at the doorway and arose and proclaimed that he would be away for a few minutes. It interested me why Macbeth left so abruptly and why it was of such importance. I glanced around and saw my fellow lords deep in conversation so I used the chance to slip away from the table. I leant against the wall so I was just out of Macbeth’s sight. I joined them mid conversation and attempted to settle into their quiet chat. As I joined them my astonishment rose as I heard Macbeth mutter the words ‘ There is blood upon thy face’. I was extremely startled to hear the disturbing news which followed. ‘Tis Banquo’s then’. I was absolutely amazed to hear what was being said. I stayed close to the wall listening in on what was said. Macbeth utterly stunned me by saying ‘Is he dispatched?’. These words could incriminate Macbeth and he would be lynched for having this carried out. I was totally confused, because as far as I knew, Macbeth and Banquo had been friends longer than anyone could remember. They had shared all sorts of experiences together. This sickened me to hear that Macbeth had carried out such a terrible deed.

African Americans in the Civil War Essay

The role African Americans played in the outcome, and the road to the outcome of the Civil War was immense. The fact that the south had slaves and the north did not played an enormous role in the issues. The north wanted to abolish slavery, and the south did not and after the war started this became one of the main reasons for the Civil War. Since most African Americans could not read or write, this made them an easy target, for slavery, against the dominant white man. Once the slaves got to America they started to realize how much trouble they were actually in. The north and the south had a problem brewing, and that was due to the slave uprisings and the run a ways. African Americans played an enormous role in the outcome of the Civil War because of the part they took in it. The civil war, which took place from 1861 to the 1920s, the African American community made tremendous strides toward them becoming apart of America and equals in America. Since they had been controlled by the power of the whites for so long, their independence was extremely unfamiliar to them, with their new emancipation. Since they were so uncertain, they debated about the most effect way to go about actually receiving the rights they deserved. They did not just want to be inferior Negros. Some African Americans thought the actual approach would be to go along with the submissive status the whites held them to, so they could earn their respect until fairness pervaded. Others were more wishful with their thinking and thought the military would make whites surrender and give blacks their basic rights. Those who were still they are thought that no progress would ever come. These blacks decided that it was essential to escape the shackles and cruel attitudes toward blacks. The civil war initially began to save the Union. At the start of the war slave masters were terribly scared that the slaves would run to join the Union and help the war efforts. To subsidize the problem, most owner enforced harsh restrictions on their slaves. Some owners even moved their whole plantations inland to avoid any contact with the outside northerners. This did not stop the slaves one bit though, this just caused more slave to flee to the north. The slaves that did decide to stay just demanded more freedom from their masters. Some would say the ones that stayed even gained more power; this forced their masters to give them offerings in exchange for work. The issues of emancipation and military service were intertwined from almost the beginning of the war. News from Fort Sumter made African Americans rush to enlist in military units. They were all turned away since there was a law dating from 1792 that kept African Americans from joining the U. S. army. In Boston disappointed African Americans met and passed a resolution that requested the Government to modify its laws to permit them to enlist. Then Lincoln’s Second Confiscation Act was passed. The act stated that, Confederates who did not surrender with in sixty days of the acts passage were to be punished by having their slaves freed. The Militia Act was also passed. This act stated African Americans were allowed to fight in the war. These two acts together thoroughly punished rebel slaveholders. The African Americans that enlisted both fought in the front lines and worked behind the scenes labor jobs. All these rights that the African Americans were receiving inspired them to return home and free their families and friends. Some of them even started living in the plantations that they used to be slaves of. They took them over and began their own cropping. Some of the other plantations had been left to older disabled white woman, when the men had left for the Confederate army. All of this led to the separation of slave labor in the south After trying terribly hard to keep the issue of slavery out of the war, the North decided to start enlisting African Americans to help them fight in the war. The Fifty-Fourth regiment was created by the Union Army, and was the only all black unit. This Union in particular contributed to the war efforts of the North and showed a new found power among blacks. The regiment started when John Andrew sent a request to the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, to create a volunteer regiment of African Americans (3). African Americans from all over the country joined. To help recruit even further they called for help from African American leaders like, Frederick Douglas and William Wells Brown. In just two months over one thousand African Americans, one from at least every state, had enlisted in the regiment. The leader of the regiment would not be black though, they wanted the superior officer to have some certain credentials. The job description posted read: â€Å"Young Man of Military Experience Of firm antislavery principles, ambitious, Superior to the vulgar contempt of color Having Faith in the capacity of colored men for military purpose† (2) The man picked for the job was Robert Shaw. The African American regiment and their captain set off for Beaufort, South Carolina on May 28, 1863 (1). They were to attack Fort Wagner, which was a vital key to Charleston. They only way to storm the fort was to go through loads and loads of Confederates. The sheer size of the Confederates to the Fifty- Fourth regiment was an obstacle in itself. The regiment knew the amount of obstacles they would have to overcome to achieve a victory and yet they kept marching. Shaw and a few men marched to the top of the parapet, and there Shaw was shot and killed. Though this was almost a complete disaster for the regiment they had set a path for future African American soldiers. Frederick Douglas said, â€Å"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U. S. , let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. † One thousand seventy-nine African Americans had served in the Civil War. They served in both the U. S. Army and about two thousand served in the Navy. By the time the war was over, forty thousand had died in battle and thirty thousand had died of disease and infection. African American soldiers performed all the jobs needed to run an army. They also served as carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters (4). There were nearly 80 black commissioned officers (4). Harriet Tubman was the most famous spy; she served for the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers. Tubman decided to help the Union Army because she wanted freedom for all of the people who were forced into slavery, not just the few she could help by herself. And she convinced many other brave African Americans to join her as spies, even at the risk of being hanged if they were caught (4). Among Harriet Tubman were many other African American women who served as nurses, spies and scouts. Although, no women were allowed to formally join the army. When black troops were captured by the confederate soldiers, they faced harsher punishments than the white troops. In 1863 the Confederate Congress threatened to punish officers of African American troops and enslave the African Americans, if they were captured. As a result of this, President Lincoln issued General Order 233, which threatened payback on Confederate prisoners of war, if they mistreated African American troops. This order did scare the Confederates a little, but African American soldiers were still treated harsher than whites. In one of the worst examples of this abuse, Confederate soldiers shot to death black Union soldiers, captures at Fort Pillow, TN, in 1864(). Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest witnessed it all and did nothing to stop it. The President, Abraham Lincoln, issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This proclamation eventually led to the freedom of all slaves. The document officially made free all bondsmen in the areas of the Confederacy that were still in rebellion. Slavery although was not abolished in the Border States, Tennessee, or the Union occupied areas of Louisiana and Virginia. The proclamation only affected the states in rebellion, so after the efforts it didn’t actually free any slaves. On the other hand, it did strengthen the Northern war efforts, because they knew they were fighting for a cause. Over five hundred thousand slaves had escaped to the North by the end of the civil war. Many of the escapees joined the Union Army, which tremendously increased its power. As a result of the Emancipation Proclamation, the thirteenth Amendment was created. The Amendment created on December 18, 1865, legally freed all slaves still in bondage. The final step the Emancipation Proclamation was to depress England and France from arriving to the war on the side of the South. England and France wanted to enter the war on the South side, because the South had supplied them both with cotton and tobacco. England and Frances stance changed when they heard that the war had changed to a fight over slavery. Both nations were opposed to slavery, so ended up giving their support to the Union. That led to the winning of the fight for freedom. Juneteenth was the day created to celebrate the emancipation, when the slaves heard about it that midsummer. The holiday is still celebrated today. Abraham Lincoln said, â€Å"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. â€Å"(3) African Americans along with the rest of the Union were fighting for this freedom and equality that Abraham Lincoln, was talking about. African American contributions were not limited to the role of working the fields in the south or supplying labor for industry in the north. Many African Americans in both south and north participated in either direct or supporting roles in the military. The War Between the States proved to be a war fought for democracy. The liberation that the slaves had been waiting for, recovered the ideas that founded the United States of America. All men were equal under the law. Since, the African Americans made such a persistent effort the changes were made more quickly. Africans pushed for their own emancipation by resisting their masters and other labor tasks. Although a formal Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment freed blacks in America, it would be a long time before they received all the rights they deserved. The minds of Americans had been so engrained with racism only decades of hard work would lessen this. Works Cited 1) Freeman, Elsie, Wynell Burroughs Schamel, and Jean West. â€Å"The Fight for Equal Rights: A Recruiting Poster for Black Soldiers in the Civil War. † Social Education 56, 2 (February 1992): 118-120. 2) â€Å"Blacks in the Civil War. †. Colorado College. Web. 3 Mar 2013.