Salesperson Job Essays - Sales, Human Resource Management

Salesperson Job Gina Kubasko Chapter 12 The knowledge salespeople develop throughout entrance training is essential for their future position in the company. They will benefit from the skills they learn in training when they are out on their own. Training can be divided into two categories. The first one is operation, which is used for the operation of the territory. The second is behavioral, which involves the sales skills development area. Technology is playing a big part in training for companies, more so then in the past. Developing sales skills include persuasive communication and the selling process. The trend for persuasive selling is for sales people to better understand themselves. The selling process is seen as a series of steps. There steps are prospecting, the pre-approach, the approach, the presentation, and the trial close. If all the first steps work then the trail close should be a sure thing. Gina Kubasko Chapter 13 The greatest challenge in a company is for salespeople to be motivated. This is the job for the sales manager. It is their responsibility to make sure the salespeople are working to their ability. There are seven components for sales managers to do to motivate their employees. The first component to look at is understanding of the motivational concept and what motivation means. The second concept is having a high performance sales culture with good behaviors, values and ideas. The third aspect a sales manager needs to know is that all sales people are different and they need to be motivated in different ways. The fourth concept involves realizing that sales people need to know what this is going to do for the customer and not just what it is going to do for them. The fifth concept is the sales manager has to know their employees personality and ability. The sixth concept is motivational coaching and teaching, which leads us into the last concept of being realistic. A sales manager mu st be realistic when setting goals for his team. Gina Kubasko Chapter 14 Compensation plays a big part it motivational selling. The best way to compensate employees is, of course, cash rewards. A good sales manager must be able to reward their employees properly and fairly. A lot of companies give their employees many ways to increase their salaries through compensation. Many employees are hired with a living wage and top sales people should be able to increase their salary to as much as 50 percent. Companies often pay for daily expenses incurred during an employees project. When developing new compensation plans. Managers should take into account the job and the market it is involved in. if a manager is going to reward with materialistic compensations, he/she should put a dollar value on the reward. Gina Kubasko Chapter 15 Leadership is a very influential thing in companies today. Sales managers must have good leadership skills and show good examples for their employees. There are many different leadership skills. It is best to cheese the one that fits with the employees personality. The sales group will eventually for a personality. Some of the virtues that make up this personality are characteristics, norms, expectations, and sales culture. Gina Kubasko Chapter 16 There are many ways to find out if a companies sales people are doing their job in an efficient way. Net sales volume analysis and marketing analysis are just two useful things that many companies use. There are many aspects of these analyses. A sales manger cannot use one with out the other. They would not be able to tell whether the company is benefiting from their sales people. Basically there are a lot of small equations and reports that help the sales manager make a good decision about his company. Gina Kubasko Chapter 17 Job performance is the most important aspect of good marketing. A company must be able to compete with other companies. They should use both quantitative and qualitative performance criteria. Evaluations of theses performances should be done on a regular basis. Rewards should be given out accordingly. By giving these evaluations, problems in the company can be fixed in an efficient manner. Bibliography Marketing book Business Essays

15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns

15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns 15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns 15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns By Mark Nichol To help keep your writing crisp and precise, observe the distinctions between each pair of similar or closely associated words below: 1. admission/admittance: Admission is the act of being admitted, or allowed to join or enter; admittance is almost identical in meaning but is usually associated with permission (or lack thereof). 2. avocation/vocation: An avocation is a hobby or pursuit, as distinct from a vocation job or career. The former is derived from a word with the literal meaning of â€Å"called away,† and the latter is an antonym; it literally means â€Å"calling† and is related to the word voice. 3. bloc/block: Bloc refers to an alliance of people, groups, or countries. It is the French version of block, which may be but seldom is used to refer to the same concept. 4. bonds/bounds: A bond, among other meanings, is a restraint, so it is similar in meaning to bound, which means â€Å"extent, or limit† (as in boundary). But they are complementary, not interchangeable; one is bound with bonds. 5. cement/concrete: Technically, cement is the powder that constitutes the base of concrete, so any mass of material formed from a moistened mixture of cement and other ingredients should be referred to as concrete. 6. crevice/crevasse: A crevice is a narrow crack; crevasse, from the French version of the word, is a specific term for a large fissure in the ground or in ice. 7. dilemma/difficulty: A dilemma is a particular type of problem exacerbated by the fact that no solution is satisfactory. (The etymology of the word assumes only two possibilities, but it can apply to any number.) The term sometimes applies to any difficult decision but like many words is best reserved for a usefully distinct meaning. 8. dogma/doctrine: Dogma is employed as a synonym for doctrine especially in religious contexts, but the definition of the latter is â€Å"a statement or principle,† and the former often has the connotation of repressively authoritarian, rather than authoritative, opinion. (There’s another distinctive pair of words the former meaning â€Å"absolute† and the latter referring to expertise.) 9. ecology/environment: These words are often used interchangeably, but ecology has the more distinct connotation of a system of interrelationship between an environment and the organisms that inhabit it. 10. elegy/eulogy: An elegy is a sorrowful composition, usually for a person or a personification that is literally or figuratively dead. A eulogy, on the other hand, is a statement of praise for a deceased person. 11. empathy/sympathy: Empathy refers to the action of vicariously experiencing the thoughts and emotions of another, and the capacity for doing so, whereas sympathy is the mere act of consolation or feeling compassion. 12. ethics/morals: Ethics are, collectively, the principles of conduct according to a philosophy of moral behavior. The distinction between the two terms is one of theory as opposed to practice. 13. gamut/gauntlet: A gamut is a range. A gauntlet (or gantlet) is a glove. Confusion between the two unrelated words stems from the fact that you can run either one: To run the gamut is to move along a spectrum of choices; to run the gauntlet is to endure the punishment of literally or figuratively passing through a series of ordeals. (Originally, it referred to a double line of soldiers who rained blows on the victim.) 14. review/revue: The latter word is derived from the French form of the former term, but in the sense of a form of entertainment involving songs, skits, and other performances usually commenting on recent publicized events, only it is applicable. A similar production might be termed something like â€Å"The Year in Review,† but a production of musical and/or comical pieces is a revue. 15. tenant/tenet: These terms, unrelated in meaning, do share etymology: Each stems from the Latin word for â€Å"to hold,† the same one that is the root of tenacious. But a tenant is a person or other entity that holds property, and a tenet is an idea held to be true. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Slang Terms for Money5 Lessons for Mixing Past and Present TenseEnglish Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases

The Challenges ahead in Purchasing and Supply Management Essay

The Challenges ahead in Purchasing and Supply Management - Essay Example manufacturing processes, or for the purchase of goods for the inventory that are to be resold as new products in distribution and the retail outlets. Purchasing and procurement have been used interchangeably in many industries2. In many sectors, the acquisition or the buying of services is referred to as contracting, while that of commercial or industrial goods is known as purchasing or procurement. Purchasing needs to satisfy two primary objectives in business. These are to ensure intact operation in the company by facilitating the economic supply of procurement of goods and services and maintaining the profit levels by controlling the flow of money3. In a supply chain management a vendor or a supplier is known to be an enterprise that provides goods and/or services to the buyers in a supply chain. For any business venture as the distributors and the dealers form its one arm, the other arm is formed by the vendors or the suppliers. It is thus essential to form a good bond with the v endor chain4. a. Distribution network configuration which can be the number, location, network connections of suppliers, the production facilities, the distribution centers, warehouses, the cross-docks and their customers5. b. Distribution strategy that will consist of the questions related with control whether it is centralized or decentralized or even shared, the delivery scheme which can be direct shipment, pool point shipping, cross docking, DSD, i.e. direct store delivery, mode of transportation etc. c. Trade-Offs in logistics activities that needs to ensure that the activities are well coordinated in order to achieve the lowest total logistics cost. Trade-offs can increase the total cost if there is only one activity that can be is optimized. The trade-offs are the keys to develop the most efficient and perfect logistics and SCM business strategy6. The petrochemicals industry plays a significant role in many economies. SCM philosophies are used in this sector now-a-days to

Immigration reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Immigration reform - Research Paper Example The United States Immigration Reform is focused on the population of immigrants currently resident in America, legal and illegal, aimed at managing the impacts of immigration, especially illegal immigration and overstaying of visas. Immigration Reform originated from the view that immigration has and still is, impacting the United States negatively and began with the 1986 Act. The large numbers of immigrants into the country who come seeking employment have resulted in a reduction of wages for American natives who have lesser skills while the costs incurred in providing such services as education, healthcare among others bear unforeseen negative impacts on the economy. However, the high immigration rate has helped to compensate the low birth-rate and large aging population, helping to expand America’s workforce and their contribution to taxes and government programs for the aging like Medicare and Social Security have helped increase America’s help support (Schmidt, She lley and Bardes 575). The 2012 Immigration Reform is influenced by the Republican and Democratic leaders’ positions that support a STEM immigration bill, and the IEEE-USA’s fight for a high-skill visa reform. This 2012 Immigration Reform package includes such propositions as the issuing of 45,000 to 55,000 new green cards for international; graduate students, putting an end to country-cap restrictions within the EB visa program for skilled workers, a provision to extradite the family-visa immigrants’ process, and a new entrepreneur’s visa program for immigrants with plans to set up businesses upon immigration (Harrison). The proponents of the Immigration Reform believe that it presents an opportunity for legalization of undocumented immigrants and shall help to end workplace immigration raids. The proponents of the Reform propose securing of the United States which they view as a chance to stem cross-border violence. Their proposal

Research and write a 1000 word critical review on an exhibition (see Essay

Research and write a 1000 word critical review on an exhibition (see the list overleaf) - Essay Example It also explored the key projects and their inspirations. The exhibition also highlighted his education; love for the environment hence the title the green fuse. The exhibition explored the central significance of the notion of sense of place in Pearson’s work. The exhibition was an involving multimedia experience where artisanship, materials and space are critically considered as texture, color and seasonality in planting. Through this, spaces are created and are emotionally moving and have a unique sense of place. His works have the spontaneous superiority of his casually qualified design eye and the gardening vigor. They also still depict his painterly quality in his plantings. The art exhibition at the garden museum gives the people a close experience in noticing and admiring Pearson’s work. This exhibition at the London gallery influenced commissioning of other works by Pearson. This work has projected three films in the last five years. These include the Old Recto ry -Naunton, a reserved customary country garden-Maggie, London – public scenery and private patios for cancer  treatment center and  Tokachi Millennium Forest, Hokkaido. This is a two hundred and forty hectare public environmental park. Pearson has also developed an innovative planting project for the edge in front of the Museum, which was fitted in time for the exhibition inaugural. This monochrome planting borrows heavily from his previous work on Tokachi millennium forest. He engages a mixture of woodland species and dramatic inflections of sculptural basics. Pearson began his career as a garden designer, developing common properties in his works. In the past decade, however, Pearson has transformed into a unique designer and plants man. He has consistently been involved in making landscapes in ne building across London. Feilden Clegg Bradley is among the first architects that Pearson worked with in his debut. They developed the landscaping and sitting of the PPS7 hou se in Lincolnshire. He consequently initiated other projects with various other art exhibitionists like Zaha Hadid and 6a. Pearson agrees that architecture solely depends on landscaping to produce the fine touch in new buildings. This has informed his apt work streak across London and acclamation all over the world as one of the best gardeners and landscapers. Pearson’s unique characteristic of using monochrome with a little touch of modernity influences many people’s perspective about gardening and landscaping. Pearson, however, just like any other art exhibitionist has escaped limitations. As a latest Garden Museum meeting confirmed, there is a growing craving for British metropolises to capitalize in aspiring green organization projects. This is in the way of New York’s High Line has exhausted this feature (Mertens, 2010 p1). If any of this plans go through, it would be surprising to leave out Pearson as a pioneer member. He together with others played an imp ortant role in informing this concept to the conference. A vitrine collection of ephemera demonstrates Pearson’s innovation of plants and their habitations. It also depicts his encounters with initial tutors, his gardening education and travels. It also affords the viewer a concluding making of the over-the-edge garden; he developed at Home Farm in Northamptonshire. The films in the exhibition transport the

Edgar Allan Poe: The Black Cat Translation

Edgar Allan Poe: The Black Cat Translation Translation is arduous and strenuous work that demands not only translation competence from translators, but also broad-based knowledge in many if not in all professional spheres. Any written text is a potential translation assignment. It might be a law or a press release, a letter or a historical document, a play or a novel. Thorough understanding of a subject enables a translator to produce an excellent translation. Practically, it is impossible for a translator to be an expert in every subject and in every professional field. However, there are reliable resources that help translators broaden their knowledge in any particular theme. In order to deliver a quality translation, legal translators read documents that deal with the law and legal system; medical translators use scientific journals and medical encyclopedias; and literary translators have an opportunity to rely on literary criticism. There are three primary reasons why reading literary criticism is advantageous when transl ating literature. First, reading critical articles helps literary translators distinguish the implicit authors ideas and the mood of the story The Black Cat. Second, many authors of critical articles investigate and discuss significance of the chosen stylistic devices that may be beneficial when translating the story into target language. Third, reading criticism aids the translators better understand the vocabulary of the story and choose equivalent lexicon in the target text. In order to provide original motif of The Black Cat in Russian, a translator should define the Poes actual plot. However, without reading criticism, determining the purpose of the story might be challenging since many clues of the story are implicit. As Ed Piacentino unfolds in his work Poes The Black Cat as Psychobiography: Some Reflections on the Narratological Dynamics, the possible purpose of the story is to evince the readers that not alcohol is the reason of the deplorable crime, but the narrators psychological problems, his own childhood trauma(165). It may be difficult to determine this potentially possible authors idea, though. At first sight, it may seem to the readers that the authors intention is to emphasize the negative impact of alcohol on human behavior. However, Piacentino pinpoints that much of the narrators violence occurs when he is sober (163). Many critics also consider alcohol an indirect reason for the crimes. The narrator blames alcohol for the committed crim es, but he simply conceals the psychological cause for the crimes, or he even may not comprehend it for himself, as Piacentino mentions. He suggests the readers reconstructing narrators psychobiography to investigate the possible true motives of the horrendous murders. The author says that the true purpose of the cruel crime might consist in psychological trauma which the narrator incurred being a child. He differed from his peers in the peculiarity that he was very kind, merciful, and sensitive. His friends made fun of his sensitivity and humiliated him because of his tenderness of heart since in the nineteenth century those characteristic were thought of as feminine and shameful traits for males. Thus, the narrator as a child had no friends and spent most of his time with his pets, as he was fond of them. When he grew up and got married nothing changed. The narrator tells a lot about his pets, but almost nothing about his wife and their relationship. Most likely, they did not love each other; and he got married with her because she shared his interest in cherishing pets. He appeared to be lonesome throughout his entire life. In addition to his psychological problems, alcohol corrupted his personality too. He got a hatred for ones he loved before. They began annoying and disgusting him. After killing his favorite cat, the narrator was conscience-stricken; therefore, he sheltered another cat that resembled Pluto a lot. Despite the fact that the new cat displayed evident fondness for the narrator; yet it disgusted the owner. Piacentino asserts that the narrator might have hated the cat because his wife seemed to be giving much attention to the cat and he narrator might have felt jealous and neglected by her. In addition, it seemed to him, she deliberately emphasized the cats white mark on its breast which imaged the GALLOWS to taunt him. He started hating this cat and all mankind. From Piacentinos view Poe intentionally used this word to emphasize that it inc luded his wife (164). The question of motive is one of the most troubling and puzzling aspects of the story says another literary critic, Joseph Stark (258). He writes that there are so many diverse clues, that they give rise to the variety of explanations of the Poes tale. Some childhood criticism led the narrator spontaneously to put an axe in his wifes head and then calls this act a predictable natural reaction, Stark raises the issue of determinism of human nature and the problem of human instability. As Stark explains in Motive and Meaning: The Mystery of the Will in Poes The Black Cat,' the possible purpose of the Poes story is to prove the limitations of both the human will as well as human accounts of the will (263). For these reasons critical articles are indeed useful translators means for determining principal and significant details of the story in order to better understand the plot of Poes story and provide an adequate Russian translation. Numerous literary critics who study Poe argue that The Black Cat is created in the gothic mood. Leslie Ginsberg says that one aspect of the genre is that it includes elements of horror (100). In Slavery and the Gothic Horror of Poes The Black Cat' Ginsberg states that the story follows the gothic literary traditions since it explores the narrators disagreeable emotions of fear in a quite enigmatic manner. Ginsberg says that the gothic mood helps the readers realize that the narrator is a brutal person with instable personality. The author also mentions that The Black Cat contains many hidden elements to support the gothic mood; for example, in Greek mythology, Pluto, the cats name, is the god of the underworld. This fact suggests that the cat is a bad omen for the narrator. Additionally, Poe deliberately uses the black color for the cats because it is a common superstition that a black cat is a bad omen too. Furthermore, by using witches in disguise the author possibly implies that t he second cat is reincarnated Pluto. While reading The Black Cat, in Russian, it is obvious that the translator was aware of the authors implication since he translated witches in disguise as à Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ Ã‚ ±Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã‚ ¸, which means werewolves. A werewolf is a dual-natured creature with the ability to shape-shift. Reading Ginsbergs criticism helps the translators decode elusive elements of the gothic mood that are meaningful for translation of The Black Cat. It is essential for translators to read these articles since it helps them identify and better understand the gothic mood applied in the story. The translation should maintain the authors planned gothic mood in order to get the same effect on the target readers. Poes diction also helps to create the storys sense of horror. Right at the beginning, the story abounds in emotive and strong words, such as terrified, tortured, destroyed, and terrible, to provoke a sense of fear in the readers. The lexicon used throughout the story helps the readers to realize that the narrator is a perverted and dangerous person, addicted to alcohol, as Michael Williams explains in A Word of Words: Language and Displacement in the Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. He states that Poe uses emotive diction to emphasize narrators PERVERSENESS. Critical articles enable translators to analyze and better comprehend the lexicon that Poe uses to create the storys frightening mood. A word might have many synonyms, and a translators aim is to decode what exactly the author implies in a particular case and supply an equivalent word in order to maintain the authors idea. Williams also mentions some stylistic devices that the author of The Black Cat applies to the tale to signify the nervousness and excitement that extend throughout the story. For instance, he uses alliteration fiendish, fibre, and frame, to emphasize the intensity of the murderers anxious condition (94). According to Williams this device intensifies the horrific gist of the brutal crimes. Alliteration is one of the most challenging tasks for a translator, since it is not always easy to match and convey the same sounds, however criticism might be helpful in this case. The vocabulary and stylistic devices used by the author in The Black Cat definitely support the mood and specific style of the story. Consequently, it is crucial when translating to understand the meaning of Poes lexicon in order to choose a pattern able to convey the same idea. To conclude, I would say that reading critical articles is a beneficial means that enables translators to analyze and better comprehend the hidden clues and implicit purposes of the author in order to transmit Poes original idea of the plot and achieve the same impact on the Russian readers that the original text does on the English ones.

Cinchona and its Product--Quinine Essay -- Botany

Cinchona and its Product--Quinine The bark of cinchona produces several alkaloids. The most important alkaloid, quinine, has certain febrifuge properties. Quinine was used in the battle against malaria since the 1630's. Of 38 species of cinchona, four species have economic value for the production of quinine: C. calisaya, C. legeriana, C. officianalis and C. succirubra. Cinchona, of the family Rubiaceae, is native to the South American Andes. It thrives best on steep mountain slopes in rich volcanic soils and an annual rainfall of 1,500 cm.(9) The cinchonas flower in 3-4 years. The flowers form small fragrant yellow, white or pink clusters at the end of branches, and are similar to lilacs. The fruits are 1-3 cm oblong capsules with numerous small, flat, winged seeds. The bark of wild species may yield a quinine content of as high as 7%, whereas cultivated crops yield contents up to 15%.(l) HISTORY Malaria has been credited to bringing down whole civilizations. Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C., was afflicted with the fevers which rendered him lifeless and crushed his dream of uniting the regions of his world. The fevers, heavy set in Rome, instilled such fear in the Catholic Church that the Vatican fled to Avignon, France for 68 years. Commoners with malaria were left too listless to work. Field hands and farmers neglected the crops. The fevers may well have been a hindrance to the progress of agriculture. Consequently the search for a cure was intense. Countless theories on causes were put forth. Cures ranged from logical to the ridiculous. Physicians mixed herbs for medicine. Some bled patients to achieve a balance of blood and bile. One physician, determining the blood was bad, tied off the arteries of the pat... ...nt Science-An Introduction to World Crops, Ad Ed. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Co., pp 650-652. 5. Lambert, A.B. An Illustration of Cinchona. Louisville: Lost Cause Press, 1980. 6. Markham, C.R. 1862. Travels in Peru and India. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. 7. Missouri Botanical Garden. 1930. Proceedings of the Celebration of the Use of Cinchona. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden. 3. Nichols, H.A. Textbook of Tropical Agriculture. 1911. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., pp. 221-229. 9. Payne, W.J., Dr. 1980. Tree and Field Crops of the Wetter Regions of the Tropics. London: Longman, pp. 78-79. 10. VonOettingen, W.F., M.D., Ph.D. 1933. The Therapeutic Agents of the Quinoline Group. New York: The Chemical Catalogue Co., Inc. 11. World Health Organization. 1979. World Health Statistics Annual. Geneveve:

Immanuel Kant Metaphysics of Morals Essay

Kant argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the â€Å"Categorical Imperative† (CI). Immorality thus involves a violation of the CI and is thereby irrational. This argument was based on his striking doctrine that a rational will must be regarded as autonomous, or free in the sense of being the author of the law that binds it. The fundamental principle of morality ? the CI ? is none other than this law of an autonomous will. Thus, at the heart of Kant’s moral philosophy is a conception of reason whose reach in practical affairs goes well beyond that of a Humean ?slave’ to the passions. Moreover, it is the presence of this self-governing reason in each person that Kant thought offered decisive grounds for viewing each as possessed of equal worth and deserving of equal respect. In Kant’s terms, a good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral demands or as he refers to this, by the Moral Law Kant’s analysis of commonsense ideas begins with the thought that the only thing good without qualification is a ? good will’. While the phrases ? he’s good hearted’, ? she’s good natured’ and ? she means well’ are common, ? the good will’ as Kant thinks of it is not the same as any of these ordinary notions. The idea of a good will is closer to the idea of a ? good person’, or, more archaically, a ? person of good will’ The basic idea is that what makes a good person good is his possession of a will that is in a certain way ? determined’ by, or makes its decisions on the basis of, the moral law The idea of a good will is supposed to be the idea of one who only makes decisions that she holds to be morally worthy, taking moral considerations in themselves to be conclusive reasons for guiding her behavior. This sort of disposition or character is something we all highly value. Kant believes we value it without limitation or qualification. First, unlike anything else, there is no conceivable circumstance in which we regard our own moral goodness as worth forfeiting simply in order to obtain some desirable object Second, as a consequence, possessing and maintaining one’s moral goodness is the very condition under which anything else is worth having or pursuing. Intelligence and even pleasure are worth having only on the condition that they do not require giving up a commitment to honor one’s fundamental moral convictions In Kant’s terms, a good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral demands or as he refers to this, by the Moral Law A holy ordivine will, if it exists, though good, would not be good because it is motivated by thoughts of duty. argues that a dutiful action from any of these motives, however praiseworthy it may be, does not express a good will and other outcomes of lawful behavior. Indeed, we respect these laws to the degree, but only to the degree, that they do not violate values, laws or principles we hold more dear. Yet Kant thinks in acting from duty that we are not at all motivated by a prospective outcome or some other extrinsic feature of our conduct. We are motivated by the mere conformity of our will to law as such Kant holds that the fundamental principle at the basis of all of our moral duties is a categoricalimperative. It is an imperative because it is a command (e. g. , â€Å"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.†) More precisely, it commands us to exercise our wills in a particular way, not to perform some action or other. It is categorical in virtue of applying to us unconditionally, or simply because we possesses rational wills, without reference to any ends that we might or might not have. It does not, in other words, apply to us on the condition that we have antecedently adopted some goal for ourselves. Kant’s first formulation of the CI states that you are to â€Å"act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law. † First, formulate a maxim that enshrines your reason for acting as you propose. Second, recast that maxim as a universal law of nature governing all rational agents, and so as holding that all must, by natural law, act as you yourself propose to act in these circumstances. Third, consider whether your maxim is even conceivable in a world governed by this law of nature. If it is, then, fourth, ask yourself whether you would, or could, rationally will to act on your maxim in such a world. If you could, then your action is morally permissible. Kant held that ordinary moral thought recognized moral duties toward ourselves as well as toward others. Hence, together with the distinction between perfect and imperfect duties, we recognize four categories of duties: perfect duties toward ourselves, perfect duties toward others, imperfect duties toward ourselves and imperfect duties toward others Kant’s example of a perfect duty to others concerns a promise you might consider making but have no intention of keeping in order to get needed money At the heart of Kant’s moral theory is the position that rational human wills are.

The relationship between God and human beings, use the example of Rabia al-Adawiyya and al-Hallaj Essays

The relationship between God and human beings, use the example of Rabia al-Adawiyya and al-Hallaj Essays The relationship between God and human beings, use the example of Rabia al-Adawiyya and al-Hallaj Paper The relationship between God and human beings, use the example of Rabia al-Adawiyya and al-Hallaj Paper Essay Topic: Religion Mysticism, according to Evelyn Underhill is The great spiritual current that goes through all religions1. Mysticism seeks to understand the nature and relationship of the human soul and God. The mystical aspect of Islam is known as Sufism (tasawwuf) and in practice is the seeking of an intimate relationship with God through meditative practice or the behaviour of self-denial, the ultimate aim, to achieve union with God. Sufis want to know God in the heart, as a lover and a friend and, as God is an immaterial entity the union can only be achieved emotionally. In the mystical idea, humans gain knowledge of God not through rational thought or religion but with the fusing of the soul to the divine world. Thirteenth century prophet, Jalal al-Din Rumi explains, All the hopes, desires, loves, and affections that people have for different things fathers, mothers, friends, heavens, the earth, gardens, palaces, sciences, works, food, drink he saint knows that these are desires for God and all those things are veils. When men leave this world and see the King without these veils, then they will know that all were veils and coverings, that the object of their desire was in reality that One Thing They will see all things face to face. 2 In order to embrace the love of God, Sufis must disregard the material world that the rest of us so readily and unquestioningly inhabit. The Sufi mystical path has several stages and is open to each and every Muslim who wishes to connect their soul with the divine. The whole of life is spiritually one in its source, goal, beginning and end, with the divine manifest in all our souls (though the soul was created before, and is separated from the body). The attempt to attain unity with God is all the more desirable when earthly matter is deemed evil; no incentive is left, other than for anything other than mystical behaviour. Sufis take the For man was created weak3 aspect of the Quran seriously; scripture like it proves to Sufis the evil status of matter. There are contradictions though in other parts of the Quran: Thy Lord said to the angels: I will create a vicegerent on earth4. Although this is an inconsistency within the Quran, rather than within Sufism itself, it doesnt give Sufis a clear textual backing. We might bear in mind though that if this is the case for Sufis then it will be the case for the Orthodox Muslims too. So, bearing this in mind, a key understanding for the mystics may be that We are nearer to him than the jugular vein5 Such revelations are of great importance to Sufis in giving them an insight into their relationship with God, though they too are also good at expressing themselves: thirteenth century mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi explains that, All the hopes, desires, loves, and affections that people have for different things fathers, mothers, friends, heavens, the earth, gardens, palaces, sciences, works, food, drink the saint knows that these are desires for God and all those things are veils. When men leave this world and see the King without these veils, then they will know that all were veils and coverings, that the object of their desire was in reality that One Thing They will see all things face to face. Our earthly desires are fanciful yet are always seeking a truth that is God. Sufi mystics are highly regarded and specially remembered and revered long after their deaths. Rabia Al-Adawiyya and Al-Hallaj provide us with very interesting examples of how mystical experience had so overcome them that to Sufisms logical extent, existence came to have no meaning for them. Their experience explains a lot about the ideas and ideology of the mystical tradition. Commentaries on Rabbia and her works have been passed down through devotees, historians, translators and commentators for almost thirteen centuries. Our picture of her is created by these scholars and coupled with the passage of thirteen centuries; the picture may well be an accordingly anachronistic one. Her work that was not already poetry seems, through these mediums and the refinement of re-telling 6 to have become such. In this instance however, we might suggest that the accounts of how talented or prolific she was as a writer are greater affected than our understanding of the mystical path which she followed, it being easier to alter what she left us than what she did. Our understanding of Rabbia doesnt suffer through our appreciation of her relative poetic merits but it does if she didnt write them. For our purposes it is necessary to take what we know of Rabbia subjectively and in doing this, we might come to recognise her as a brilliant proponent of Sufi mysticism. Through her poetry, ethic of self-discipline and emotional devotion to Allah she created in herself an icon of Sufi devotion, highly regarded throughout Islam. Islam has embraced Rabia, despite frowning on, not so much the fact that she was a woman, but unmarried life and withdrawal from society as a path to God. Rabbia was a slave who, was seen by her master praying one night (after a hard days work, at the expense of her sleep) and who saw a bright light above her head, so the story goes. He released her immediately and she, in turn, moved to the desert. As people became aware of her and her holiness, they began beating a path to her door in search of spiritual direction. She was the recipient of numerous marriage proposals. Upon receiving one of them she replied, Im not interested, really, in possessing all you own, Nor in making you my slave, Nor in having my attention distracted from God even for a split second. 7 Even love on earth was incomparable to the love she shared with God. The love expressed in her verse, whether it existed or not (why should we be disinclined to believe her? ) is the essence of this mysticism. If I die for love, before completing satisfaction, Alas, for my anxiety in the world, alas for my distress, O Healer (of souls) the heart feeds upon its desire, The striving after union with Thee has healed my soul8 The love and devotion expressed in this verse is the essence of the mystical. There is no rational or formal relationship with God, just love. Love rarely reconciles itself with rational thought and interestingly, in his incomprehensible nature, neither does God. It is romantic for us to think of this (unconventional female) mystic completely absorbed in her love for God, and expressing this through beautiful poetry. Poetry is one of the most highly esteemed vehicles for expressing emotion, what better way for Rabia to get her message across? Rabia helps us see that the Sufi tradition is not about the regularity with which Muslims pray or how closely they follow the rules extracted from the Quran, but is about the raw emotion Sufis feel for God. Al-Hallaj, another prominent Sufi was killed for his devotion to the mystic quest. Louis Massignon gives us an authoritative account of Al-Hallaj in his book of the same name. He was one of Islams most controversial writers and teachers. Because he was the embodiment of the Muslim experience, Mansurs life and death represent to many, a reference point in Islamic history. Al-Hallaj was fascinated with the ascetic way of life, in his teens he memorized the Quran and began retreating from the world to gather with other like minds to study Islamic mysticism. He travelled and soon apprentices began to follow him. The situation in which al-Hallaj taught and wrote was shaped by social, economic, political, and religious stress, which eventually led to his arrest. Sufism was new at the time, and provoked extensive opposition from the Muslim orthodoxy. Sufi masters considered his sharing the beauty of mystical experience with the masses undisciplined at best, disobedient at worst. It wasnt long before the political leaders made a case against him. Al-Hallaj was considered an intoxicated Sufi, who became so enraptured in ecstasy by the presence of the Divine that he was prone to losing his personal identity, blurring the lines between the Divine and the Man. During his arrest he experienced one of these breaks and uttered: Ana al-haqq, or I am the Truth (or God). An inappropriate statement to make in the Islamic tradition. He spent 11 years in confinement in Baghdad, before being brutally tortured and crucified. Witnesses were believed to have stated that al-Hallaj was strangely serene while being tortured, and sincerely forgave his persecutors. He is referred to as Loves Prophet. Al-Hallaj is one of the most influential Sufi writers and an important character in Islamic history. I saw my Lord with the eye of the heart. I said: Who art Thou? He answered: Thou. 9 By proclaiming, I am the truth he had achieved the Sufi goal in that he felt himself to be God incarnate in the world10. He was so overcome with his mystical existence that he felt, to the logical Sufi extreme that he was God. There has been a certain tendency for Christians to view Sufism as an Islamic derivative of Christian mysticism. Islam appears to be sensual, physical an d practical these aspects all being manifest in Islamic law. How can Sufism reconcile itself with this? The Christians seemed to think that it couldnt and mysticism within Islam could trace itself back to the sophisticated Christian tradition and the Holy Ghost. 11 This may be true in certain instances, Al-Muhasibi, for example, has been shown to have borrowed heavily on the new testament for various sayings and commendations of the Sufi life the practice of wearing woollen garments is said to have been done in imitation of Christian hermits, though how recognition and borrowing of ideas can make a religion inferior to the lender is odd. The examples we have looked at of Rabbia and al-Hallaj serve to discredit this idea, in fact the Sufi idea stands up very well on its own: In a human being is such a love, a pain, an itch, a desire that, even if he were to possess a hundred thousand worlds, he would not rest or find peace. People work variously at all sorts of callings, crafts, and professions, and they learn astrology and medicine, and so forth, but they are not at peace because what they are seeking cannot be found. The beloved is called dilaram because the heart finds peace through the beloved. How then can it find peace through anything else? 12 To treat Sufism as a derivative of Christianity deprives Islam of an integral part of its spiritual nature. Sufi practice seeks to achieve a goal of oneness and absorption into God. They seek to attain the state humanity was in before creation13. To achieve this as Rabbia and Al-Hallaj claimed they did, it is necessary to regard emotion, love and spirituality as all-important and all else irrelevant. Few, if any people will deny the existence of emotion despite its un-quantifiable nature and its defiance of physical definition. Many people, regardless of their religion believe that God is emotion or our collective spirit, in that idea and especially in the examples we have looked at, the heart and love are the keys to understanding, despite their un physical nature For the reality that is the goal of the mystic, and is ineffable, cannot be understood or explained by any normal mode of perception; neither philosophy nor reason can reveal it. Only the wisdom of the heart, gnosis, may give insight into some of its aspects. 14 To share in the love of God and to attain existence on a spiritual plane where it is possible to interact with him, the role of the heart is obviously crucial. Another important point to remember is that in the world, of evil matter, all that is then not evil, is emotion. Perhaps the legacy that Rabia and Al Halaj have left us with, is of love and emotion. They did not teach us practical lessons or how to do our best, but simply, how to feel; perhaps this is why they are still so well regarded. Our hearts and souls are individually and collectively the sources of our love. By feeling their relationship with God emotionally, at the expense of all else, the Sufis are quite radical in their approach to him. It is a kind of religious anarchism; the only necessities are the heart and the soul, whilst nothing else matters. Sufis use their hearts to direct their emotions towards God; its importance is not partial but total.

Essay about forward and future

Essay about forward and future Essay about forward and future Futures and Forward: Basics ïÆ' ¼ ïÆ' ¼ ïÆ' ¼ ïÆ' ¼ Payoff Market Mechanics What drives the gains from trade? Reading: Ch. 2 What is a Derivative? Definition: A derivative is a financial instrument (contracts) whose value is based on the value of other underlying assets Type of Contract Underlying Assets Forward/ Future Investment Asset Options Commodity Swap Stock Price Interest Rate Exchange Rate †¦.. Energy: gas, Oil Corn Weather derivatives †¦. Road Map Payoff Type of Contract Underlying Assets Forward / Future Investment Asset Options Commodity Strategy Swap Pricing Fin330_Chang 3 Plans for Forwards/Futures ï  ¬ Basics ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ Hedging Strategies (Ch.3) ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ Payoff and mechanics of Forward and Futures (Ch.2) What drives the gains from trade? Presentation 1: OTC vs. Centralized market How to hedge properly as a firm/trader? Presentation 2 : the use of derivatives Pricing ï  ¬ ï  ¬ Interest rates basics (Ch. 4) Arbitrage pricing (Ch. 5) Fin330_Chang 4 How Big Is the Derivative Market? Source: Bank of International Settlements (www.bis.org) Fin330_Chang 5 Forward Contracts ï  ¬ Definition: a binding agreement (obligation) to buy/sell an underlying asset at a predetermined date in the future, at a price set today ï  ¬ A forward contract specifies ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ The features and quantity of the asset to be delivered The â€Å"expiration date† The price the buyer will pay at the time of delivery: â€Å"the forward price† Agreement 0 Fin330_Chang Settlement/Delivery T time 6 Features of Forward Contracts ï  ¬ Features of Forward Contracts ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ Customized Non-standard and traded over the counter (not on exchanges) No money changes hands until maturity Non-trivial counterparty risk Futures contracts are the same as forwards in principle except for some institutional and pricing differences. Fin330_Chang 7 Notation ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ ï  ¬ S0: Spot price at time 0 ST: Spot price at time T F0: Forward/Futures price at time 0 T: Time until delivery date (in years) Fin330_Chang 8 Payoff on Forward Contracts ï  ¬ The payoff on a forward contract is its value at expiration. ï  ¬ Payoff on a long position = Spot price at expiration – Forward price = ST – F0 ï  ¬ Payoff on a short position = Forward price – Spot price at expiration = F 0– S T Fin330_Chang 9 Payoff on Forward Contracts ï  ¬ The payoff on a forward contract is its value at expiration. ï  ¬ ï  ¬ Fin330_Chang Agrees to buy the asset at time T Payoff on a long position = Spot price at expiration – Forward price = ST – F0 (Pay F0 and get something worth ST) Agrees to sell the asset at time T Payoff on a short position = Forward price – Spot price at expiration = F 0 – ST (Get F0 for something worth ST) 10 At expiration Payoff Diagrams Long Position: Payoff = Spot – Original Futures Price = ST – F0 (at expiration) ST Fin330_Chang Short Position: Payoff = Original Futures Price - Spot = F0 – ST (at expiration) ST 11 Cash Settlement ï  ¬ ï  ¬ An alternative settlement procedure Instead of requiring delivery of the asset, two parties make a net cash payment, which yields the same cash flow as if delivery had occurred ï  ¬ Why? ï  ¬ ï  ¬ A physical transaction likely have transaction costs Example: The stock index ST=$1040 ; F0 =$1020 ï  ¬ Fin330_Chang Net payment $20 from the short position to the long 12 Example: Gold-diggers A gold-mining firm enters a short forward contract, agreeing to sell gold at a price of $850/oz. in 1 year ï  ¬ What is the payoff on this short forward position? ï  ¬ Fin330_Chang ST 13 Questions ï  ¬ Why entering this contract? ï  ¬ Who might want to take the long position of this contract? Fin330_Chang 14 Why entering this contract?

Response to Intervention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Response to Intervention - Research Paper Example The promoters of RTI claim that this olden method brings more confusion to the individuals with disabilities. However, Response to intervention teaching method provides clear and simplified identities to the students with learning disabilities and friendly to the subject. Response to intervention is a process that aims at shift of educational resources toward the delivery and evaluation of instruction, which are comfortable for the relevant student. It works away from the classification of the disabilities through instructional approach. This method has gained credibility in the recent years as an alternative for students with special education criteria for the case of students with incidences of disabilities (Mark and Brown 39). The model is very eligible to the disabled students. It provides data based decision-making for any student in deed of extra interventions in order to improve his or her performance. The introduction of the RTI was after the change of definition for the disa bled. Disability has changed its definition to mean the persons who have one or more psychological complication, which may dominate in the listening, thinking, reading, and writing or in mathematical calculations. These brain disorders may include some conditions like brain injury, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. This definition has changed a little to term disorders as those with basic psychological misunderstanding of language, whether in speech or written and exhibits majorly on the reading and writing difficulties. A child may be termed as disable if he does not achieve the common measure of knowledge following parameters like age and ability level. The child could also have a discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in areas like oral expression, listening and understanding and the basic reading skills. Response to intervention model is a know method of problem solving which is a variation of the scientific method but used to study natural phenomenon. The f irst step in the response to intervention method is clearly defining the difficulties experienced by the student. Clarity and precision are essential for developing hypothesis of knowing how to treat the affected individual. Reliability of assessment for the underlying behaviors is typically low but the perceived behavior has more accuracy. After identification and definition of the problem, the teacher is now in position to change the instructional intervention to cater for the child (Roth and Worthington 412). The response intervention model has a very important component of evaluation whether the child is making progress. This evaluation process is oriented to instructional decisions that help to design the appropriate programs for the student. The effectiveness of the RTI strategies The individuals with disabilities have greatly benefitted from the response to intervention practices since its authorization in United States. The government of the states funded the 12.5 billion US dollars project that supported the early intervention services for infants and toddlers with special education requirement. The program has

Women in the French Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women in the French Revolution - Essay Example The French Revolution is commonly considered in the light of governmental changes and democracy; however another important aspect of this war was the women and the way that their rights were affected. There has been significant interest in the role of women during this time, particularly women writers who attempted to promote their opinions and desires through writing. Although women played a significant role in the French Revolution of 1789, this contribution was neither acknowledged nor rewarded. Instead, the concerns of women were relegated to the sidelines, and those that attempted to express or desire their own rights were suppressed1. Although the French Revolution brought about change for the country and resulted in the creation of a constitution, and a declaration detailing the rights of men, it was until 1944 that females were legally considered to be French citizens. Consequently, while the political environment of France was focused on the social change occurred as a resul t of the revolution, females were fighting for their rights, and striving for their voices to be heard2. The changing roles of women The French Revolution spurred many ideas about the role of women and significant debate about the way that women should be treated in society. Although many of these concepts were not new, but had been debated in the previous century, the change that accompanied the French Revolution increased passion and urgency in these ideas and brought them to the forefront3. The dominant culture in France prior to the Revolution as well as after it, considered females to be important in the domestic arena, and that it was not right for them to be involved in any public sphere4. However, the 17th century was the beginning of women gaining knowledge and seeking education for themselves. Women began to engage in discussion about subjects that had previously been beyond their reach, such as politics, science, literature and philosophy5. Because of this, women were beg inning to form strong opinions of their own, and were gaining the strength to speak out against their male counterparts and against those in authority. A number of women played a significant political role during the French Revolution, despite the expectations of their society, which felt that females should be passive in terms of political expression6. All-female clubs In 1791, mid-way through the French Revolution, Etta Palm d’Aelders was responsible for the creation of the first club that was exclusively for females, known as the Society of Friends of the Truth7. Another club was formed in 1973 named the Society for Republican Revolutionary Women, which was created by Pauline Leon and Claire Lacombe. This club was strongly focused on the Revolution, and females who joined swore an oath of loyalty to the Republic and to the society. One argument that the co-founders of the society made was that women should have the right to bear arms and to govern. Less than five months af ter the society was first created a law was passed outlawing all women’s clubs8. Feminist movement During the French Revolution, the approaches that women took to their rights were significantly different, and can be broadly grouped into three categories. The first were theorists, such as Gouges, who focused on writing and on promoting the rights of women in general. The second group were female militants who believed that women should be heavily involved in fighting, and imagined armies of women battling against the enemies of the republic. The final group were