Volumetric Mri, A Future Tool For Diagnosing Alzheimer s...

Volumetric MRI, A Future Tool for Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease? April 13, 2015 In medicine, an early diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. With today’s advancements in technology, early diagnosis is becoming a real possibility for many diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Worldwide it is estimated that 24 million people have dementia, the majority of these people are thought to have Alzheimer’s disease. (Mayo Clinic, 2014) According to Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) (2015) Alzheimer’s disease is among the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. Affecting 5.1 million Americans. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging, but the risk of developing this disease increases with age.†¦show more content†¦According to (Mayo Clinic, 2014) Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia among people over the age of 65.  ¬ In Alzheimer’s disease, the brain cells actually degenerate and die, causing a steady decline in memory and mental function . When a person has Alzheimer’s disease the cortex will shrivel up, this causes problems with thinking, planning, and remembering. The hippocampus of the brain will also shrink, which is the part of the brain that helps form new memories; an Alzheimer’s patient’s brain will also have enlarged ventricles. Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease show two types of abnormal lesions that clog their brain: Beta-amyloid plaques—sticky clumps of protein fragments and cellular material that form outside and around neurons; and neurofibrillary tangles—insoluble twisted fibers composed largely of the protein tau that build up inside nerve cells. However scientists are unclear whether these lesions actually cause the disease or if they are just a byproduct of the disease. (Mayo Clinic, 2014) Some early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease include memory loss that interrupts daily life, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, new problems with speaking or writing, withdrawal from work or social activities, and changes in mood and personality. Alzheimer’s disease dates back to 1906; a German physician named

Alcatel Receivables Case Example

Essays on Alcatel Receivables Case Case Study ALCATEL CASE STUDY Number Department Grade 5th March, Question F: Average Collection Period According to Alcatel’s balance sheet, the trade receivables of the company for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 were 15,819 million Euros, 14,956 million Euros and 8,753 million Euros respectively. This clearly shows that there was a plunge in accounts receivables of 863 million Euros in the year 2001 and a sharp descend of 6203 million Euros in the year 2002. Assuming that all sales are made on credit, 2000’s sales were 31,408 million Euros, 2001’s sales were 25,353 million Euros, and 2002’s sales were 16,547. The accounts receivable turnover ratio for 2000 was 1.9855, for 2001 was 1.6952 and for the year 2002 was 1.1064. This can be established by dividing each year’s credit sales by its account receivables, in this case 31408 divided by15,819 for the year 2000, 25,353 divided by14,956 for the year 2001 and 16,547 divided by8,753 for the year 2002. The average collection period for year 2002 can be established by dividing 365 by year’s accounts receivable turnover rate to get 330 days. The collection period for the year 2001 was 215 days. This is contrary to Alcatel’s CFO who pointed out that that the average collection period for accounts receivable in the year 2001 was 117 days and that of the year 2002 was 104 days. According to the wall street journal of February 5th 2003, the decrease in accounts receivables was as a result of the company’s decision of reduce inventories and compelling their customers to meet their bills faster in the fourth quarter. The decision has also negatively affected the sales of the company since there is an observable decline in sales through the years 2000 to 2002.This action resulted in generation of 704 million Euros during the fourth quarter in operating cash flow in the year 2002. The high earnings were not only affected by the two decisions made by the company but also the issue of convertible bonds in December of that financial year. Question G: Quarterly Average Collection Period The standard compilation period for the fourth quarter of 2002 can be established by dividing 4,508 by 2188.25 (which is a quarter of 8,753) to get an accounts receivable turnover ratio of 2.0601. Therefore, the average collection period of that quarter was 44 days since the quarter had 91.25 days. The standard compilation period for the fourth quarter of 2001 can be established by dividing 6,766 by 3739 (which is a quarter of 14,956) to get an accounts receivable turnover ratio of 1.8096. Therefore, the average collection period of that quarter was 50 days since the quarter had 91.25 days. It is observable that there is a down trend in the average collection period on a quarterly basis and this may have resulted in the yearly decline of the accounts receivables of the company. Question H: Factoring Receivables Factoring is a financial operation whereby a business vends its trade receivables to a third party (known as a factor) at a discount (Chandra 45). Factoring receivables ensures that a company maximizes its cash flow in the event of a credit sale by eliminating the need for cash sales, hence attractive terms of sale and business cycles of waiting for payments. In order for a company to get attractive rates from a factor, the creditworthiness of a debtor should be considered. Most companies which are involved in a credit sale find factoring as of great significance since it not only ensures immediate cash without incurring new debt but, the company has expanded growth capability through an increase in its production and sales. Factoring guarantees relief from the accountability of collecting slow pay or bad debt. Question I: Securitization of Receivables Effects of Securitization on Average Collection Period Securitization of receivables is whereby a company pools together different of types of debts then sell the consolidated debt as bonds, securities or collateral to investors (Chandra 48). The investors are paid back by the interests on the debt on a regular basis. Securitization of receivables therefore ensures that the company involved has finances to cover for its expenses. It transferred debt also guarantees continuous production before the customers pay their debts. Availability of finances to cater for expenses will enable the company to further increase its credit sell which may lead to an increase in the average collection period. On the other hand, the management of a company may compel its debtors to pay their debts since the investors in the company’s security need to be paid interest. This may result in reduction of the average collection period. Alcatel’s Average Collection Period if it had not Securitized its Receivables If Alcatel had not securitized its receivables for the year 2002 and 2001, the average collection period for the two years could have been expected to be higher compared to the current average collection period. The accounts receivable could have been high which could have resulted to a low accounts receivable turnover ratio. The accounts receivable for 2001 and 2002 was 14,956 million and 8,753 million Euros. This figure could have been less by 408.312 million Euros in 2002 and 786.1 million Euros in 2001. This would have resulted to an accounts receivable of 8344.688 million Euros in 2002 and 14169.9 Euros in the year 2001. The estimates for the average collection period for year 2002 could have been 184 days and that of the year 2001 could have been 204 days. Question J: Effects of Securitization on Balance sheet in U.S GAAP In the United States of America, the General Accepted Accounting Principles provide that securitization of receivable should be classified as secured borrowing and therefore taken to be a debt or a liability to the company. All liabilities should be deducted from current assets. Accounts receivables could still be treated as non current assets but factorizing the receivables would mean taking a loan since the accounts receivables are taken to be like collateral for the loan. Works cited Chandra Prasanna. Financial Management: Theory and Practice. New Delhi: McGraw Hill Publishing Ltd, 2008. Print.

Customer Centric Strategy for Woolworths-Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.Identify the Concept of Corporate Objectives and evaluate an Organisation with information available in the public domain. 2.Discuss Marketing Orientation Concepts. Explain with examples which concept your Organisation follows. 3.What is your Organisation's core Marketing Strategy? Discuss thestrengths and weaknesses of the Current Marketing Strategy and explain how this strategy will help your Organisation reach its Corporate Objectives. Answers: 1.Identification of corporate objectives and evaluation of Woolworths Corporate objectives refer to the realistic goal of an organization that influences the internal strategic decision making of an organization. Woolworth is a well known retail organization of Australia. Their corporate objectives are as follow: To develop the store-led culture that is customer and team oriented To manage the physical and financial resources properly to enhance the productivity To provide more value to the customers in order to evolve the business To empower portfolio business to implement strategies to sustain the value of the shareholder To generate sustainable sales in the business The store-led culture of Woolworths that is customer and team oriented includes good price and great service to satisfy the customer. In order to provide good service and enhance productivity, this organization needs to arrange their physical financial resources that are the manpower and the money. Empowering the business portfolio will enable this organization to give value to their internal and external shareholder by involving them in the decision making, which leads them to get sustainable growth in the sales (Woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2017). However, giving value to the choice of consumers is important for such organization to understand the current market demand. 2.Discussion of the marketing concept Marketing oriented concept includes marketing concept, production concept, and selling the concept. Marketing concept focuses on the implementation of the strategy in order to satisfy the target market by identifying their needs. Therefore, the production concept highlights on the development of the quality product with innovative feature (Baker Saren, 2016). Selling concept focuses on the development of sales transaction rather than the establishment of long term relationship with the customers. In the context of Woolworths, they aim to give value to their customers thus they focus on the marketing concept in order to set goal according to the customer requirement. As for example, healthy food is a preferable thing for the customers. Keeping this in mind Woolworths offers sushi restaurant in all the Australia super market, as a result, the customers get fresh and healthy food easily that is handmade by experts. On the other hand, consumers have a demand to get ready food, which is easy to cook. Hence, Woolworths offers seafood in an oven-ready bag that is good marketing concept to satisfy the customers as customers get restaurant quality food at their home without any labor (Chavez et al., 2016). Hence, such innovative marketing concepts will be beneficial for Woolworths to get competitive advantages in the global market. 3.Identification of the core marketing strategy of Woolworth and evaluation of its strength and weakness Establishment of the customer centric business is the core strategy of Woolworths (Woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2017). Customer centric strategy will enable them to understand the customer needs and by developing a strong relationship with their customers Woolworths will implement such strategy. Strengths of Customer centric strategy Establishment of customer loyalty is the big strength of customer centric strategy (Carrilero, 2016). On the other hand, loyal customers act as the good reference that will maximize the sales revenue generation (Chavez et al., 2016). Weakness of customer centric strategy Lack of creativity is the big weakness of customer centric business. However, the organization fails to incorporate innovative idea in their product development as result profitability is affected. On the other hand, customers requirements are ever changing; as a result, it is difficult for the organization to cope up with the changing demand of the customers. Importance of Customer centric strategy for Woolworths Woolworths wants to give value to the customers, develop the business which is customer oriented and get sustainable sales. Hence, by the implementation of the customer centric strategy they will be able to understand the needs of the target market, which satisfies their customers and increase their numbers Baker Saren, 2016). Thus it leads to such organization to get sustainable sales References Baker, M. J., Saren, M. (Eds.). (2016).Marketing theory: a student text. London: Sage. Chavez, R., Yu, W., Feng, M., Wiengarten, F. (2016). The Effect of Customer?Centric Green Supply Chain Management on Operational Performance and Customer Satisfaction.Business Strategy and the Environment,25(3), 205-220. Palacios-Marques, D., Palacios-Marques, D., Guijarro, M., Guijarro, M., Carrilero, A., Carrilero, A. (2016). The use of customer-centric philosophy in hotels to improve customer loyalty.Journal of Business Industrial Marketing,31(3), 339-348. Woolworthsgroup.com.au. (2017).Strategy and objectives. Retrieved 8 August 2017, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-approach/strategy-and-objective

Customer Centric Strategy for Woolworths-Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.Identify the Concept of Corporate Objectives and evaluate an Organisation with information available in the public domain. 2.Discuss Marketing Orientation Concepts. Explain with examples which concept your Organisation follows. 3.What is your Organisation's core Marketing Strategy? Discuss thestrengths and weaknesses of the Current Marketing Strategy and explain how this strategy will help your Organisation reach its Corporate Objectives. Answers: 1.Identification of corporate objectives and evaluation of Woolworths Corporate objectives refer to the realistic goal of an organization that influences the internal strategic decision making of an organization. Woolworth is a well known retail organization of Australia. Their corporate objectives are as follow: To develop the store-led culture that is customer and team oriented To manage the physical and financial resources properly to enhance the productivity To provide more value to the customers in order to evolve the business To empower portfolio business to implement strategies to sustain the value of the shareholder To generate sustainable sales in the business The store-led culture of Woolworths that is customer and team oriented includes good price and great service to satisfy the customer. In order to provide good service and enhance productivity, this organization needs to arrange their physical financial resources that are the manpower and the money. Empowering the business portfolio will enable this organization to give value to their internal and external shareholder by involving them in the decision making, which leads them to get sustainable growth in the sales (Woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2017). However, giving value to the choice of consumers is important for such organization to understand the current market demand. 2.Discussion of the marketing concept Marketing oriented concept includes marketing concept, production concept, and selling the concept. Marketing concept focuses on the implementation of the strategy in order to satisfy the target market by identifying their needs. Therefore, the production concept highlights on the development of the quality product with innovative feature (Baker Saren, 2016). Selling concept focuses on the development of sales transaction rather than the establishment of long term relationship with the customers. In the context of Woolworths, they aim to give value to their customers thus they focus on the marketing concept in order to set goal according to the customer requirement. As for example, healthy food is a preferable thing for the customers. Keeping this in mind Woolworths offers sushi restaurant in all the Australia super market, as a result, the customers get fresh and healthy food easily that is handmade by experts. On the other hand, consumers have a demand to get ready food, which is easy to cook. Hence, Woolworths offers seafood in an oven-ready bag that is good marketing concept to satisfy the customers as customers get restaurant quality food at their home without any labor (Chavez et al., 2016). Hence, such innovative marketing concepts will be beneficial for Woolworths to get competitive advantages in the global market. 3.Identification of the core marketing strategy of Woolworth and evaluation of its strength and weakness Establishment of the customer centric business is the core strategy of Woolworths (Woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2017). Customer centric strategy will enable them to understand the customer needs and by developing a strong relationship with their customers Woolworths will implement such strategy. Strengths of Customer centric strategy Establishment of customer loyalty is the big strength of customer centric strategy (Carrilero, 2016). On the other hand, loyal customers act as the good reference that will maximize the sales revenue generation (Chavez et al., 2016). Weakness of customer centric strategy Lack of creativity is the big weakness of customer centric business. However, the organization fails to incorporate innovative idea in their product development as result profitability is affected. On the other hand, customers requirements are ever changing; as a result, it is difficult for the organization to cope up with the changing demand of the customers. Importance of Customer centric strategy for Woolworths Woolworths wants to give value to the customers, develop the business which is customer oriented and get sustainable sales. Hence, by the implementation of the customer centric strategy they will be able to understand the needs of the target market, which satisfies their customers and increase their numbers Baker Saren, 2016). Thus it leads to such organization to get sustainable sales References Baker, M. J., Saren, M. (Eds.). (2016).Marketing theory: a student text. London: Sage. Chavez, R., Yu, W., Feng, M., Wiengarten, F. (2016). The Effect of Customer?Centric Green Supply Chain Management on Operational Performance and Customer Satisfaction.Business Strategy and the Environment,25(3), 205-220. Palacios-Marques, D., Palacios-Marques, D., Guijarro, M., Guijarro, M., Carrilero, A., Carrilero, A. (2016). The use of customer-centric philosophy in hotels to improve customer loyalty.Journal of Business Industrial Marketing,31(3), 339-348. Woolworthsgroup.com.au. (2017).Strategy and objectives. Retrieved 8 August 2017, from https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us/our-approach/strategy-and-objective

Turkish Banking Sector Analysis Essays - Bank,

Turkish Banking Sector Analysis INTRODUCTION The banking sector constitutes the greater part of the Turkish financial system. Banks carry out a great portion of the activities taking place in both money and capital markets. The share of the banking sector in the financial system as of the end of March 1997 was 71 %. Turkey's financial system and its banking sector are virtually synonymous as a consequence of the country's economic and historical development. There are a number of factors that give banking its prominent role in Turkish economy. These are: The economic structure peculiar to Turkey. The choice to turn resources into long-term investments through banks for the aims targeted in the development plans and programmes, and the establishment of banks by the state to finance certain sectors. The extensive application of continental European banking practices as a model in the legal structure of the banking system, and an emerging capital market that can compete with the banking sector in the forthcoming years. BACKGROUND The development of the Turkish banking sector may be divided into six periods which differ as to policy and method: The Period of the Money-Changers and the Galata Bankers (pre-1847): During this period, all quasi-banking activities were carried out by money-changers The Galata bankers consisted mostly of the ethnic-minorities in Istanbul. The Period of Foreign Banks (1847-1908): Since the financial situation of the Ottoman Empire deteriorated after the Crimean War, the Empire faced the need for external financial support. Representatives of several foreign banks arrived with the aim of extending credits to the empire at high interest rates. The Ottoman Bank (Osmanli Bankasi) was established in 1856. Its head office was in London and it served as a Central Bank until the 1930's. Development of National Banking and Implementation of Etatism (1909-1944): The years following the proclamation of the Second Constitution (1908) gave rise to the national banking movement which was a reaction to foreign banking. Twenty-four national banks were established in Istanbul and Anatolia between the years 1908 and 1923. However, foreign banks continued to dominate banking activities due to consecutive wars (1911-1922), capitulations granted foreigners and the scarcity of national capital. In 1923, the first National Economic Congress was held in Izmir. It dealt with a large number of economic problems that the country would have to solve. The Congress took the decision that banks would be established to finance the main sectors of the economy. T.Is Bankasi(1924), Sanayi ve Maadin Bankasi (1925), and Emlak ve Eytam Bankasi (1927) were established to provide commercial, industrial and housing credits, respectively. However, the negative effects of the Great Depression on the balance of payments and lack of domestic capital called for a government-supported economic development policy in subsequent years. As a result of this policy, six state banks were established in the 1930s, including the Central Bank of the Turkish Republic. Development of Private Banks (1945-1960) Despite the adverse effects of the Second World War, a significant growth rate and industrialisation were achieved with the support of the newly-established state banks. This created a tremendous increase in the capital stock of the private sector. Beginning in the early 1950s, etatism weakened because of positive developments in the private sector, expansion of international co-operation and transition to a multi-party political system. A more liberal and private sector-oriented policy was adopted in the following years, and as a result, more than 30 private banks were established before 1960. Planned Development Period (1961-1979) A new planned development policy was adopted in the beginning of the 1960s. According to this system, the state would administer the economy and issue recommendations to the private sector through five-year plans prepared by the government to cover all sectors. As recommended in the plans, several development and investment banks were established to finance various sectors in the 1960s and1970s: For example Turizm Bankasi in 1960, S.Y.K.B. in 1963, DevletYatirim Bankasi (Eximbank) in 1964, Devlet Sanayi ve Is?i Yatirim Bankasi (T?rkiye Kalkinma Bankasi) in 1975. Liberalization and Internationalization in Banking (post-1980): The new liberal economic policy implemented in January 1980 aimed at integration with world economy by establishing a free market economy. As a reflection of this policy, the 1980s witnessed continuous legal, structural and institutional changes and developments in the Turkish banking sector. During these years, a series of

The Compatibility of Three Differing Ontological Views an Example by

The Compatibility of Three Differing Ontological Views of the Ultimate Feature of Reality The three texts, The Way to Rainy Mountain, The Bhagavad-Gita, and Confessions, represent three ontologies into the nature of reality, or into the nature of human consciousness. In this sense, one can derive and ultimate feature of reality from each of the three texts. After such a conclusion is reached, we can then begin to look at those features as being philosophically or spiritually compatible with one another or incompatible. After a careful survey of each of the three pieces, I will argue that the texts are actually compatible with one another, given the right open-minded and socio-anthropological understanding. This argument is based on not only the studies of these texts, but my understanding that each human is searching for a relief of suffering, and are each working within not only their geographical and cultural backgrounds, but also within the historical paradigm to which they are limited to. Need essay sample on "The Compatibility of Three Differing Ontological Views of the Ultimate Feature of Reality" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The first text, On Confessions, by Saint Augustine, is classic piece of early Christian theological expression, steeped in one human individuals absolute desire to eradicate suffering and anxiety, through a deep communion, or surrender to God. The story is one of surrendering and conversion, an evolution from one state to another through the presence of a divine source. The evolution involving the transcendence of Augustine from stages of this ascent (from ignorance to illumination) are precisely identified: the two 'tentatives d'extases plotiniennes' (Bk. 7) and the vision of Ostia (Bk. 9). Augustine goes on to imply that all human suffering (failure to ascend) is a result of ignorance as to the nature of God and ignorance as well towards the nature of created things. Undergraduates Often Tell Us: I'm not in the mood to write my paper. Because I want to spend time with my family Essay writer professionals propose: Find Brilliant Papers For Sale Here Buy Essay I Write Essays Review Write My Paper For Me Cheap Essay Writing Service Reviews This viewpoint is based on an evolution of spirit, beginning with the early sinful youth of Augustine, and ending in a final analysis of time and God in the last books. Having demonstrated that he was a tempted youth, and what he has become as a transformed man, he shows the benefit of confession or surrender to God. This is the heart of the argument on the ultimate feature of reality: the need for absolute surrender to the Divine. Then, he examines his own actions and mind as being tempted. This temptation can only be remedied by a relationship with God, and self-knowledge. Similarly, the pinnacle of the human experience can only be had through knowing God. This is an arduous journey, as demonstrated by the trials and tribulations of Augustine. He searches and searches for God and ultimately finds his own mind. And so here we see a man, plagued by suffering, who bases reality on the ephemeral momentary awareness of God, ultimately overshadowed by the pull of his own mind. Truly the greatest mystery of the thesis and of the ontology, is the realization that God is above and beyond the constraints of time and space, a God that is perfect in spirit and without limitations, and in every inhuman. And yet, at the same time, Augustine realizes that humans have been created in the likeness of this God, and have inside them a deepness that is Gods likeness, stating Don't you believe that there is in man a deep so profound as to be hidden even to him in whom it is? The second work, The Bhagavad-Gita, is a differing ontological stance if one is to consider the external manifestations of the philosophy. In this depiction of mans ascent from ignorance to bliss (the Godhead), Lord Krishna is the name of the Supreme Lord offering spiritual guidance to Arjuna (a representation of the universal every-man). And yet, if we are to deconstruct the deeper meanings, we see a similar paradigm of mans struggle with his own nature, or mind. "I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him." And so, the essential message, or worldview of the The Gita is surprisingly compatible to that of the early Christian Saint Augustine. The purpose of the message of the The Gita is to deliver humans from the suffering of this material existence, just as Lord Krishna delivers Arjuna from suffering on the battlefield of Kurushetra. It is in the surrender or Arjuna to the Lord, not in battle, that he was delivered from the anxiety that we all feel. This anxiety is essentially a fear of non-existence, and through total surrender to the Lord, we realize that we are eternal. This is similar to Augustines made in the likeness of God. This first step towards removal of suffering, and the essential message of human existence begins, in both the The Gita in the Brahma-sutra and in Confessions, with an ardent inquiry. The Gita calls this inquiry, brahma jijnasa, or Athato brahma jijnasa. Based on this intense inquiry, the jiva then learns the message of surrender, that man and nature are not independent, but are acting within the sphere of the Lord. Krishna says, mayadhyaksena prakritih suyate sa-caracaram, or This material nature is working under My direction. The mind can be considered to be a product of past karmic residue, which we must work at purifying. We are either suffering or enjoying as a result of our past behaviors. This can include actions or thoughts. The purification of thought and action leads to a state where a deeper connection to that which is unchanging, or eternal, can be perceived. The story of The Way to Rainy Mountain is a symbologic expression of the Kiowa oral tradition, based on the voices of N. Scott Momaday, his father and the ancestors, the historical commentary and the personal experiences of the author. More than a religious experience, the Kiowa worldview is based on inherent interconnection of all things, both material and psycho-social. In this sense, there is no separation between the material world, the animal world, the natural world and the psychological cultural world of men. So linked is man to his natural environment, that the Kiowa creation myth begins by stating, You know, everything had to begin, and this is how it was: the Kiowas came one by one into the world through a hollow log. (Introduction) An important aspect off this creation myth is that some of the tribe actually remains stuck in the log. Here we can see a direct connection of the tangible material existence to the other side or ephemeral world, through the connection to ancestry. Understanding the world-view of the Kiowa tradition is more complex, as it is not explicitly stated as in the other works. The author gives an introduction to the reality of the Kiowa experience by explaining the desolation of the landscape. He paints a picture of Rainy Mountain in the introduction, stating that: The hardest weather in the world is there. Winter brings blizzards, hot tornado winds arise in the spring, and in summer the prairie is an anvil's edge. The grass turns brittle and brown, and it cracks beneath your feet. There are green belts along the rivers and creeks, linear groves of hickory and pecan, willow and witch hazel. At a distance in July or August the steaming foliage seems almost to writhe in fire. Great green and yellow grasshoppers are everywhere in the tall grass, popping up like corn to sting the flesh, and tortoises crawl about on the red earth, going nowhere in the plenty of time. Loneliness is an aspect of the land. The Kiowa people deal with this isolation in similar fashion, by searching for God through a manifestation of the sacred Sun Dance doll, the symbol of their worship. We are presented with a similar paradigm of the difficulty of the human interpretation of experience as so eloquently expressed through the landscape of Rainy Mountain. And within this landscape, we find Creation. Similarly as to the Gita and Confessions, from within suffering, of isolation, of even a battlefield, the greatness of the Creator is at work. Each of the three works are from such differing geographic locations, as well as historical time periods, that it is easy to see how the nature of the human experience, the nature of God, and the expression of the remedy for human suffering and the ultimate feature of reality are expressed in highly differing manners. Each human individual will deconstruct reality in accordance to his or her personal collage of experience, culture and genetic makeup, not to mention spiritual tendencies. Despite these superficial differences, ultimately each paradigm attempts to align itself with the Divine, whether through an identification with an external judgmental God, an internal and external, ever-changing Lord, or a simple identification with all that exists within the visual horizon of nature and ones own mental relationship with ancestry. Within these differences, each human can go beyond the isolation, the suffering, and the anxiety of non-existence through an alignment with something beyon d ones self: an alignment with the Divine. It is essentially up to each one of us to give shape, definition or expression to that divinity. Sources Miller, Barbara Stoler. Translation of The Bhagavad-Gita, Krishnas Counsel in Time of War. Bantam Books, 1986. N. Scott Momaday. The Way to Rainy Mountain. University of New Mexico Press, 1969. 16. Warner, Rex (1963). The Confessions of St. Augustine. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-451-62474-2.

Vile and Villain

Vile and Villain Vile and Villain Vile and Villain By Mark Nichol A recent reference to a certain Republican presidential candidate in which he was described as vile sent me to online etymological resources to look up the origin of the term. Interestingly, vile is unrelated to the similar-looking villain. Vile derives from the Latin term vilis, which means â€Å"base,† â€Å"cheap,† â€Å"common,† or â€Å"worthless.† Villain, on the other hand, originally had a neutral connotation: Although it also comes from Latin, its origin is the term villa, meaning â€Å"country house† or â€Å"farm† and still in use for the former meaning in English (from Italian). Villain originally meant â€Å"farmhand,† but from a pejorative reference to the low-born status of rustic farm laborers came to be associated with base behavior and by the early 1800s was associated with an antagonist in a novel or a play. In historical contexts, the variant spelling villein retains the original meaning. (The suffix -ville in the name of a town, and village, are related.) The Old English term ceorl, which survives in churl, also degenerated from a neutral term for a peasant (in this case, centuries earlier), as did the later word boor, derived from the French term bovier (literally, â€Å"herdsman,† and cognate with the Dutch word boer) and also much older in its negative sense than villain. The adjectives churlish and boorish both describe rude behavior; in each case, -ness is added to the adjective to produce the noun form. The verbs revile and vilify stem from vile; they mean, respectively â€Å"to consider with scorn† and â€Å"to slander.† (The noun forms are revilement and vilification.) However, servile and its noun form servility are related to neither vile nor villain; they derive from the Latin term servilis, meaning â€Å"of a slave.† 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeDriver License vs. Driver’s License50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Andrew Johnson (Importance in American History) - Although an honest Research Paper

Andrew Johnson (Importance in American History) - Although an honest and honorable man, Andrew Johnson was one of the most unfor - Research Paper Example There were two attempts made to impeach him from office during his term, although neither was successful. During a time when the nation was greatly wounded in the aftermath of the Civil War, President A. Johnson created a political leadership that did not help the nation towards its recovery. President Andrew Johnson had established a place within history with ill-advised behavior from the moment of his inauguration as Vice President to Abraham Lincoln. During the event, President Johnson had become intoxicated and his inauguration speech was a slurred mess that embarrassed those at the gathering. Later he would claim that he had been drinking because of the pain of suffering from typhoid fever, but whether this was true or not, his position in the administration was tainted by this rambled, incoherent speech. Because of this event, there were frequent accusations of his drunkenness, including on the day that he ascended to the Presidency when Abraham Lincoln was shot, but this accus ation was put down by many witnesses to the event who claimed it was untrue. Still, this issue plagued his career, framing him as unreliable and creating a system that consistently second guessed his attempts at leadership.i Andrew Johnson received his leadership of the country through the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln who was shot and killed at a play by John Wilkes Booth at a play at Ford’s Theater. He should have been the perfect selection for the task of helping the country to recover, a Southern man who aligned his political beliefs with the North giving him an understanding of both cultures. One of the first acts that he committed after ascending to the Presidency was to create the First Amnesty Proclamation. This proclamation gave amnesty to thousands of southerners who had participated in the war. In order to be given a pardon, all that was needed was to swear an oath to the Union. However, fourteen classes of people were not allowed this general amnesty option. Thi s included those who had graduated from military academies, those under indictment, and those who owned property worth more than 20,000.00.ii This last exclusion created economic problems. Those who had to go through the very lengthy process of applying individually for amnesty had their lives disrupted through the inability to participate in the privileges of legal status. This included not being able to marry, to get loans, or to easily conduct business. Johnson is quoted as having stated â€Å"you know perfectly well that it was the wealthy men of the South who dragooned the people into secessionâ€Å".iii With those of means being affected, this meant that commerce was affected. However, the desired result that President Johnson was seeking was to allow for Caucasian Southerners of less means to climb into politics, leadership created by those of average means rather than an elitist class. However, this goal was very short lived as the power that was temporarily given to the a verage farmer was soon to be usurped once again by the elitist class. The acceptance of emancipation was not easily won and the retributions for the loss of the slavery against African Americans were harsh and violent. Southerners were reticent to accept the newly freed people and there were frequent reports of whippings, murders, and the burning of schools and churches. In addition, Black Codes being developed by that middle class leadership that President Jo