Philosophy-Who needs it :: essays research papers

1. Is there anything you would willingly die for?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to answer the question â€Å"is there anything I would willingly die for† I would want some reassurance that what I was dying for would be successful. But without some type of guarantee it would be hard to know for sure if I would be able to complete my promise. Of course I would like to be able to say that I would die for any of my beliefs but I have to admit that if I was forced to choose dying for my religion or declaring another I would superficially accept the other religion to save my life. I would hope however that I could continue to practice my religion in secret without loosing my life. I would be willing to die for the ones I love mainly my family but in the same aspect I would want to know that my death was not in vain. When the question was posed to the class most students responded with an answer similar to my own. Many of the students stated that they would be willing to die for their family and the people they loved but when it came down to a death that did not ensure the outcome they desired many people seemed to loose their conviction. Many people did believe that they could donate a vital organ or give their life to save a loved one. As in my own mind it would be more difficult to say that you could give your life on the off chance of success. I do believe that it is much easier to say that one could die for something or someone but in truth when at the final moment of decision it would be hard to knowingly give your life. Socrates was able to give his life for his beliefs and â€Å"went willingly to his death†. The Greeks would often choose death over shame of their fellow countrymen and for centuries death (in certain circumstances) was seen as noble and brave. It all seems to come down to the fact that there is no clear-cut way to define what one would die for but that it is more a matter of questioning what it is you are dying for and how your life will change the lives of others. 4. Do you believe in God?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe in my God.

Why We Should Ban Cell Phones And Driving

Every day, millions of people get in their vehicles and drive. Some are mothers, some are fathers, some are students, yet all are in danger from preventable accidents caused by cell phones. For proof that cell phone accidents are increasing, people simply need to look at sections of websites devoted entirely to car accidents caused by people using cell phones while driving (Car Accidents). We live in the now generation. We want everything as soon as possible and preferably before we know we want it.Imagine how many people turn their cell phones on and call people the instant their plane lands, minutes before their plane reaches the gate. Cellular phones feed into our need to have information and always be connected, but that need is only safe as long as common sense is used. When common sense is not in effect, driving while using a cell phone can be dangerous. Problems Cell phone accidents injure 330,000 people a year and kill 2,600 a year (Britt 2005). Most people have seen someone talking on a cell phone and driving erratically.They are typically not hard to see because they are usually weaving into the next lane or have poor reflexes when confronted with a red or green light. We ban drinking and driving because there are so many deaths and injuries caused by it, so why do we continue to ignore the dangers of calling and driving? The problem has not gone unnoticed. The government has recognized the risk of driving while calling and have enacted legislature to counteract the increasing number of people involved in accidents caused by distracted drivers.Yet each state has different laws regarding cell phones and driving. Based on the most recent statistics (2008), some states like California talking on the phone (unless it is on the speaker) while driving, and certain groups of people from using the phone. Other states, like Louisiana, do not have any restrictions on using cell phones while driving (Edgar Snyder and Associates). Statistics Cell phones have made our lives more convenient but also more dangerous. Cell phones have 250 million users in the United States, a number that is increasing yearly at a rate of 40%.Studies have also discovered that cell phone use while driving increases the chance of a car accident. Even the task of dialing numbers can cause a person to potentially lose control of the vehicle. Incidentally, most people who were in car accidents while driving were on the phone. Out of the plethora of accidents where cell phones were involved, the drivers hit large objects that would have been avoidable had the driver been focusing on the road (Edgar Snyder and Associates). People who believe that they have excellent reflexes and can avoid a crash are incorrect.It was found that a 20-year-old driver talking on a cell phone has the reflexes of a 70-year-old driver not talking on a cell phone (Britt 2005). People who use hands-free cell phones also contribute to the heightened danger on the road. The mitigating factor in a ccidents involving cell phones is distraction. The problem is that the drivers can see the road, but they are not involved in what is happening on the road. As strange as it seems, a study found that it is categorically safer to have a person driving with a blood alcohol level greater than .08 on the road driving than to have a person talking on a cell phone driving (Britt 2005). How to Help Now that we know the extent of the problem, what can we do to prevent those unnecessary accidents from claiming more lives, maybe even the life of someone we love? With inconsistent legislation among the states regarding cell phone use and driving, there is a chance that you have driven in a state with very relaxed or nonexistent laws about driving with cell phones. There are several ways people can protect themselves when driving with a cell phone.A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol, Anne Da Vigo suggests pulling off of the road for extended phone calls, to tell the person you are t alking to on the phone that you are driving, ask any passengers accompanying you to do the talking, keep the call short and only use the phone when you need to. (Goepel 2003). Legislature Even though those steps are beneficial when using a cell phone while driving, it is not enough to keep the safe cell phone drivers away from the dangerous ones. We need to petition our government to ban any form of cellular phone use while driving.The government will not know how concerned we are about the dangers of driving while calling unless we bring more attention to the situation. Twenty-two of the 50 states have no legislature banning driving while on a cell phone. That means that people in 44% of the states in the United States are at in increased danger of being in an accident caused by a driver talking on a cell phone (Edgar Snyder and Associates). The first steps for legislation come from the citizens, businesses, lobbyists, elected officials, etc. (Nevada Legislature).If we decide to ig nore the initial steps to have a bill passed because we are confident someone else will do the work, we are wrong. We need to be a collective voice that lets our government know that we are tired of having innocent citizens hurt by distracted drivers. It is time for us to have our government to listen to what we have to say. We need to be proactive so we do not lose more people from our communities to senseless accidents. References Britt, R. R. (2005). Drivers on Cell Phones Kill Thousands, Snarl Traffic. LiveScience. Retrieved July 18, 2009 from LiveScience database. Car Accidents.Cell Phone Accidents Pictures & Stories. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from http://www. car-accidents. com/cell_phone_car_accidents. html . Edgar Snyder and Associates. Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from http://www. edgarsnyder. com/auto-accident/auto/cell/statistics. html . Goepel, J. (2003). Crashes caused by inattentive drivers are nothing new. Cell phones are the latest dist raction. Via AAA Traveler’s Companion. Retrieved July 18, 2009 from VIA Magazine database. Nevada Legislature. How a Bill is Passed. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from http://www. leg. state. nv. us/General/im_just_a_bill. cfm .

Life Before the Internet Essay

Comparison-contrast essay It is hard to imagine life before the internet isn’t it? I have been using it half of my life, but today’s generation of children are growing up without ever knowing what it was like. The internet is a wonderful invention that makes life easier. The internet has truly changed the world as we know it. Forever changed are the ways of completing everyday tasks such as schooling, job searching, keeping up with the news of the world and even socializing. Before the internet became established in every home, newspapers and the evening news were the only way to know what was going on in the world around us. Now a days you no longer have to stay awake to watch the eleven o’clock news come on. All you have to now is a few strokes of the keyboard and you can find out what is happening in any part of the world you want. Social networking has also seen a change as technology has progressed. We now have many more options available to keep in contact with friends and family. Although telephones are still commonly used to call Aunt Sue to wish her a happy birthday, websites such as My Space and Facebook have made it increasingly simple to keep up to date on what is going on in loved ones lives. Simply sign on to one of these websites and instant â€Å"status updates† fill the computer screen. You can find out from your living room in Florida that your family member in New York received two feet of snow this morning, and even instantly see the pictures to prove it. In addition to the advantages of Social Networking, students of today are at a great advantage. The convenience of online courses is growing increasingly popular. People no longer have to be in a classroom at a set time and listen to a lecture for three hours by a professor or teacher. Today, you can log on from virtually anywhere or anytime and read and respond to a lecture online. Research for an assignment has also been made easier. Previously, if someone needed to do research, they would have to go to a library and sift through reference books, newspapers, microfiche and other printed materials, then make copies or printouts. With today’s technology, resources like the online library and internet news sites are available to you at the click of the mouse. Job searching and resume posting have become much more painless as well. Instead of looking at classifieds in the Sunday paper and spending the day driving around town with a handful of resumes, you can now go on one of the abundant job search websites like Career Builder. com or Monster. com and post your resume to a perspective employer in minutes, saving great time, effort and gas money. As Mr.  Kuhn stated in The American Economic Review (2004), The use of internet job and recruiting sites is usually free for applicants and much cheaper for firms that traditional advertisements (P. Kuhn, 2004) As time moves forward, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remember what life was like before the internet. For some of today’s youth, the internet in it’s current form has always existed. Gone are the days of waiting, everything is available in an instant, by the click of a mouse, or the stroke of a keyboard. It has made life more convenient and offers many tools to succeed academically, socially, and professionally.

Christ Impact on My Life

CHRIST IMPACT ON MY LIFE Gary English Literature II April 7, 2013 CHRIST IMPACT ON MY LIFE How Christ has impacted my life is not really the question to ask. The better question would be how has Christ not impacted my life. Every since I gave my life to Christ everything has changed. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says â€Å"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold all things have become new. † Now don’t get me wrong, this change didn’t completely happen overnight. When I decided to follow Christ I wanted to follow Him wholeheartedly.In the beginning it started with a hunger for His word. I couldn’t read or study enough to satisfy that hunger. If I was going to follow Christ then I would need to know exactly what I was suppose to know and do. What changes needed to be made in my life. Now you have to understand I grew up in church. I knew who all the characters were. I had heard all the stories in the bible as a kid, however that’s all it had ever really been to me was a story. When I got out on my own I tried to live my life and do things my way. I was now a 31 year old man with a wife and a six year old son of my own.I knew that there was more to life than what I had been doing. My wife had already been attending a church for about two years without me. I decided it was time to give it a shot. I started going to this church where the people didn’t just talk about living for Christ, they acted it out too. For the first time in my life I felt the love of Christ coming from other people. The more I read about this man, the one who left heaven, became flesh, and died for me, the more intrigued I became. I am the kind of person that if I am going to do something then I am all or nothing.I decided that if Christ would die for me then the least I could do was live for Him. Anything in my life that did not line up with the Bible I tried my best to get it out. Some things took time to stop and I did struggle some. The closer I got to Christ, the more joy I had. It is a feeling that is hard to explain to anyone who has not experienced it for themselves. There is just such a freedom in following Christ. I began to feel like I had a purpose and a calling in life. Since I started following Christ life has been so much more enjoyable.I found that things that were important to me before just wasn’t that important anymore. No matter what it is you are facing in life, Christ has the answer. In the seven years since I started following Christ a lot has happened. This journey hasn’t always been a walk in the park, but it has been so worth it. Even though there was not a major event that happened to me physically that day I gave Him my life; that day was probably the most important day of my life. This new life has giving me a whole new outlook on life. I see people the way Christ sees people. I want others to experience that kind of love.I dove head first into serving others as well. I have been a part of food distribution ministry called Angel Food Ministries were we handed out food that was purchased at a much discounted price. My wife and I have taught Sunday school classes for both youth and adults. We have also had the privilege of leading the youth group which was a huge blessing for me. I really have a heart for teaching young people about Christ and just helping them with life’s problems. I have led a bible study group for men as well as been the over-seer of a married couple’s ministry.I have even completed one year of Bible College. One of the main reasons I decided to go to college was so that I could get my degree and use it to help other people. I have big dreams for my future, but an even bigger God. In Philippians 4:13 it says â€Å"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. † I really believe that with Christ on your side that you can do anything. You just have to surrender to Him and acknowledge that you cannot do it on your own. I can’t say Christ has just impacted my life, because he didn’t just impact it, He gave me a new one.

Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resources Management - Essay Example It is a means of industrial government since it is different from unilateral and workers’ control management. The Donovan Commission bargained for it in 1960s, but in 1980s and 1990s, the employers reduced the range of issues regulated jointly, e.g. work pace and organization, and restored unilateral management (Braton and Gold, 2001:318). After the World War II, bargaining was used to determine the working condition of employees and their pay. This transformed the workplaces bringing with it power balance and the growth of shop stewards’ organization. This organization aimed at fighting for the employees’ rights using striking strategies (Inman et al., 2010:214). The conservative government in 1970 was against the trade unions; a move that led to political and industrial militancy. This saw the labour government create a social contract in order to control the employees’ wages. This was followed by strikes between 1978 and 1979 to oppose the move by the g overnment (Gilmore and Williams, 2009:24-44). In light of this information, this paper examines the managerial styles, objectives and strategies used in trade union and non-union organisations. Employment relationship With the election of Margaret Thatcher under the Conservative government in 1979, the reversal of conservatives’ policies was experienced. ... This saw election of union leaders and an increased union militancy. Major challenges during this time included reduced state jobs and services and an increase in the private sector influence. This had a dramatic influence on employment relations leading to massive opposition from trade unions (Price, 2007:413). Managerial Styles and Objectives of Managing the Employment Relationship There are four styles of managing employment relationships, which influence management strategies and human resource management practices. These are traditionalist, sophisticated paternalists, sophisticated moderns and standard moderns. These styles have different objectives that define their nature. The traditionalist style is authoritative, hostile and does not entertain trade unions (Pynes, 2008:215). Sophisticated paternalists refuse to recognize unions, but they ensure employees are committed to the organizations’ goals and their needs are satisfied. Sophisticated moderns, on the other hand, accept trade unions as well as collective bargains to determine the terms and conditions of employment relations. Standard moderns also accept trade unions, but they change their approach towards them depending on internal and external pressures and responses. It is thus clear that, in traditionalist and sophisticated moderns style, both the manager and employees have the same goals and interests i.e. they are unitary. The other two recognize that the employees and the manager have different goals and interests (Guest et al., 2003:291-314). Managerial Strategies to the Employment of Non-union Organizations Non- union organizations are a disadvantage to the

Interpretive Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interpretive Analysis - Essay Example This essay aims to analyze and understand ‘The Mind’s Eye’ by Oliver Sacks. Moreover, the paper will also present a clear understanding through the different stories of blind people from the book regarding how blind people not only utilize their other senses in an enhanced way but also how they have managed to live a better life and compensate the losses. Dr. Sacks teaches neurology as a professor at the New York University, School of Medicine. His past collection of books is counted to be 10. All these books are case studies of his patients. The Mind’s Eye was published in 2010. In the Mind’s Eye, Sacks major emphasis is on the vision and the perception. Through the seven different case studies, Dr. Sacks has explains how our brain deals with the issue when someone gets blindness, either inborn or acquired. He explains how the brain works and how it makes sense of images that are present, working in a very multipurpose and plastic manner (Sacks 87). In the Mind’s Eye, Sacks has recalled work of various blind writers and authors who he has read or studied or dealt with. With the different case studies, he has described the feelings and experiences which each of the blind authors / writers have discussed in their writings or have shared with him as his patient. Moreover, Sacks has also interpreted that experience from his own perspective and suffering. Oliver Sacks has discussed author John Hull. He demonstrates how all those memories and images kept revolving around his mind and how he has regular attention of all those visions and memories in his mind after John lost his sense of vision. Sacks has emphasized on the role of the brain and how blind people from the case studies utilize other senses effectively. He learns how they adjust themselves with the help of their brains (Sacks). Oliver Sacks in Mind’s Eye has not only discussed the blind authors and writers. He has also talked about those who cannot read or s peak, but still have continued and managed to live their lives. He said all these writers have adopted a new technique to survive in the world by using their brains in a multi tasking manner. From the seven chapters of the book, five chapters discuss the vision and blindness, while the one deals with the incapability to write and speak (Sacks). In almost all case studies, the people that he discussed (writers, professionals, and musicians etc.) were not initially blind. However, they lost their sense of vision in their adulthood. In the third chapter of Mind’s Eye, Sacks has discussed a man who is a writer and a reader. He gradually started to lose his sense of vision. However, reading and writing was his life and he had never envisioned the life without it. Therefore, he did not give up and continued writing and reading with his tongue with the help of his brain (Sacks). Therefore, the chapter had special association with Sack himself as he himself was also the victim of the stereo vision. However, all the people who Sacks has discussed in the case studies had managed to see, read and write in one way or another, with the help of their brains and the images stored in it (Sacks). With all the anecdotal evidence and his personal experience, Sacks was able to come up with an idea or a thought that the people who have lost their sense

A business process method for virtualized enterprises Research Paper

A business process method for virtualized enterprises - Research Paper Example Though the future is commonly tagged as unpredictable, business management gives room to forecasting especially when it is based on principles and empirical theories. Expecting business process improvement to remain competitive or to be even improved is therefore nothing much to ask from businesses in today’s fast changing business environment. Several definitions have been given to the term ‘business process’. According to the Business Process Incubator (2011), business process is â€Å"a co-ordinated set of actions that produce a business result, either within a single organization or across several.† Search CIO (2011) also has it that â€Å"A business process is an activity or set of activities that will accomplish a specific organizational goal.† To implement these set of activities that lead to the realization of organizational goals however, there are a number of methods and supporting frameworks to follow. In this paper, we discuss a business process method and supporting framework, including concepts for business-to-business interaction and human resources: to obtain business process environment with rapid, flexible, straightforward, efficient, and precise operations. Undoubtedly, a similar framework will be widely implemented in the near future, and methods such as this one will be widely used. This future implementation will be directed towards achieving a more advanced system and form of business and organizational structure. As the world progresses and advances by the day, business process methods and frameworks that are instituted must meet the growing needs of businesses and society as a whole. Future implementation would therefore be a huge step for the humanity, similar to transition from postal mail to email, utilization of computer-aided design, and use of professional and general purpose social networks. Just as in a swift of human imagination these innovations came to take over the norm that previously exist ed, it is expected that future implementations would solve more complex problems of humanity and businesses. Virtual profiles system and electronic contract negotiation and formation To allow for a more comprehensive discussion of this session, the session shall begin with the definition and explanation of some the salient terms to be used. Virtual profiles system is more related to virtual systems management that is used in most corporations, organizations and businesses. Virtual systems management basically has to do with the allocation and distribution of resources. Expanding the explanation further, Tech Target (2007) explain that â€Å"virtual systems management (VSM), is the process of remotely managing the allocation and use of resources in conventional networks as well as in virtual area networks (VANs), virtual private networks (VPNs), virtual network computing (VNC) and virtual servers.† Virtual prolife systems therefore work best with all kinds of organizations and businesses as far as they have technological facilities for implementation. Electronic contract has greater linkage with virtual profile systems in the sense that electronic contracts helps in the achievement of the management and allocation of resources; especially data on the institution in question. To this effect, Morciniec et al (2002) explain that â€Å"an electronic contract is its reification in software that can be instantiated as a set of obligations that are fulfilled between parties, refused or waived as future events occur.† This explanation was given in relation to the meaning of an ordinary contract, which was explained by the writers to be â€Å"a statement of intent that regulates behavior among organizations and individuals†