Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Have Unions Had Their Day Essay - 1905 Words

Introduction Since the dawn of time there has been a power struggle in connection to employer and employee relationships. The struggle has been shown over time from the lords of the land collecting dues/taxes from their servants to masters owning slaves and thrashing them into submission. Unionization, workers fighting for their rights and freedoms, has been in evolution for many centuries. Workers have had to fight for everything that we as a society take for granted today. From the Charter of Rights to the Employment Standards Act, the workers have fought for every inch they have gained in rights. Workers gave their lives in unfavourable working conditions, which lead to our Occupational Health and Safety Act. Employees having†¦show more content†¦To be guaranteed that the shoe you just purchased was not produced by child. As Child Labour is not an acceptable practice in our society. Canadians do not want for our children to suffer in regards to social conditions due to our jobs being relocated to an International location, and our jobs being performed by children whom are sustain their family. Our society views the parental role as being the one responsible to support their children, while the children are becoming educated to achieve a better standard of life. Unions are the collective voice of Canadians who know the only way change can happen is in numbers! Unions not only protect their membership but also society, it is imperative they continue to have their day now and into the future! Or else we will resume back to the master-servant relationship again. Discussion The Trends from Craft Union to the Industrial Union to the Public Sector Union shows us society will be forever evolving into diverse trends as time goes on. Even now as we speak the new trend of non standard work such as contingent workers. Today, there is little to no legislation supporting or protecting the rights and freedom of these workers who are considered a part-time worker, temporary full- time worker, self-employment and flex – time workers. Up until recently the union was held fast not to support contingent workers in unionized shops, but due toShow MoreRelatedThe Battle Of Gettysburg By Michael Shaara Essay1662 Words   |  7 PagesBattle of Gettysburg through the brutality the war brought. The Confederates fought on the offensive side and the Union defended the high ground. The foretelling of these events is told through the eyes and minds of the Generals, Colonels, and soldiers. In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara explains in detail the plans, the execution of those plans, and how the soldiers reacted during each day. Shaara explains the means to which men will justify their actions during war to use tactics that show glory andRead MoreIntelligence During The Battle Of Gettysburg1133 Words   |  5 PagesConfederate troops had high morale as they we getting the chance to fight on the enemies land and be on the attack. Gen. Robert E. Lee had a prolific military background compared to Maj. General George Gordon Meade entering the Battle of Gettysburg. Shortly prior to the Battle of Gettysburg Maj. Gen. Meade was promoted from captain to general whereas Gen. Lee served in the United States Army for 32 years. Both commanders attended the United States Military Academy but Gen. Lee had a substantial amountRead MoreEconomics, Political, And Union Leadership1296 Words   |  6 PagesEconomics, political viewpoint, and union leadership were the primary reason the union won the war. Although, Abraham Lincoln, committed to the preservation of the union, his leadership was not the primary reason the north won. The union economy had an advantage to winning the war over the south. The northern states had more money; which allowed them to increase their assets, such as, their industries, technologies, as well as transportation. The North acquired their money by raising loans and issuingRead MoreThe Battle of Gettysburg: The Turning Point of the Civil War861 Words   |  4 PagesWas three days of fighting enough to make that much of an impact on a war that lasted two more years after this famous battle? Well that is what I will be discussing in this paper. I will be going over each day of the battle and how they ultimately led to a Union victory and a turning point in the Civil War. Day one, July 1, 1863, was the start of what some would figure just to be another battle of this lengthy war, but it proved to be a stepping stone on the path of victory for the Union. ConfederateRead MoreTaft Hartley Act And The Civil War855 Words   |  4 Pages1932. This law helped to reinforce flaws that were in the Wagner Act. Where the Wagner Act had only spoken of the right to participate in union activities, the Taft-Hartley Act helped to fill in the gaps by allowing for the right to refrain from union activities. The Taft-Hartley Act was created to level the field that formerly tilted in favor of labor unions. After great numbers of large-scale strikes had nearly disabled the automobile, steel, and packing industries, the government needed to amendRead MoreWhat Caused The Union Of Lose The Civil War?1139 Words   |  5 PagesWhat Caused the Union to Lose the Civil War? By Amelia E. Hicks On April 10, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant surrendered to General Robert E. Lee of Confederate forces and delivered a farewell address to his Union soldiers, â€Å"After four years of tiring service, marked by supreme courage and commitment,† said Grant, â€Å"the Union Army has been forced to concede to overwhelming numbers and resources.† According to Grant, the Union lost the Civil War, more commonly referred to in its time as the â€Å"War ofRead MoreBritain And France834 Words   |  4 PagesAs the Germans entered Paris, The French government had moved into a chà ¢teau in French countryside, possibly preparing for the worst. The French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, had wanted to lead his government in to continuing the fight of France in North Africa. The French cabinet, however, forced him to submit to an armistice between Germany and France. On June 15, 1940, the armistice was signed to the displeasure of the British government who had lost its last ally. Mea nwhile, Britain, who alreadyRead MoreThe Second Phase Of The Battle Of Shiloh Essay1448 Words   |  6 Pagesjoined the Union Army now positioned at Pittsburg Landing. These reinforcements added over 22,500 men to the Union lines13 bringing the total number of Union forces to over 45,000, which is more than they had on 6 April, the first day of fighting.14 On April 7, General Grant renewed the fighting with an aggressive counteract.15 Greatly outnumbered (Confederate forces now around 25,000) and disorganized the Confederate forces now under General Beauregard fought hard but eventually had to retreatRead MoreEssay on Why the American Civil War Lasted for Longer Than 90 Days1149 Words   |  5 Pagesthan 90 days The North had expected their war with the south to last for no more than 90 days. They not only had more men up in the north but they had more resources as well. Now why couldnt they defeat the south? I have to say it is due to the incompetence of the norths generals commanding the army, and the army itself. On April 15, 1861, President Lincoln called on the states to provide 75,000 militia men for 90 days to put down the rebellion of the south. On the other hand, the south had theRead MoreThe Battle Of Gettysburg By Bruce Caton1453 Words   |  6 Pagesbe abolished in the United States. The southern states relied on slave labor to make money. The north did not need slavery as much as the south did because it was more industrialized. The fighting took place between the Union and Confederate armies. The northerners were the Union and the southerners were the Confederates. This war altered the nation as a whole because both sides were from the United States. The country was fighting with itself. The battle of Gettysburg played a very large role in

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Essay on Napoleon at Waterloo - 1452 Words

On March 20, 1815 Napoleon returned to Paris from his exile on the island of Elba. This day marked the beginning of â€Å"Napoleon’s 100 Days†, as many historians have dubbed the brief episode , which ended July 8, 1815 when Louis XVIII was reinstated as the King of France. Within a period of two months Napoleon, capitalizing on France’s enormous population, conscripted an army roughly 280,000 strong . Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces exceeded those of the Anglo-Allied forces, led by the Duke of Wellington, Field Marshall Blucher, and the Prince of Orange, by 50,000 men. The advantage in numbers and Napoleon’s gift for military strategy would not be enough to prevent his loss at the Battle of Waterloo and his second exile to St. Helena . The would†¦show more content†¦The French forces were incapable of accomplishing these feats due to poor communications with Ney, Ney’s indecisiveness, and the tenacity of the Prussians and Dutch. The Ang lo-Allied forces took a more defensive approach in their strategy to oust Napoleon from a complete return to power. The Duke of Wellington, also known as the â€Å"Iron Duke† , kept a defensive and slow-paced approach to his confrontation with Napoleon. The â€Å"Iron Duke† repeatedly avoided confronting Napoleon’s forces directly by refusing to give up the high ground, and not speeding to the Allied forces aid. This is clearly noted in dispatches from Wellington on the June 15, 1815 which state, â€Å"The Prince of Orange is requested to collect at Nivelles†¦ move the 3rd division of British infantry upon Nivelles†¦ This movement is not to take place until it is quite certain that the enemy’s attack is upon the right of the Prussian army†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Wellington also used an ambush method of attacking the French forces, which Napoleon had never experienced such tactics as Wellington practiced them in Spain . Prince William of Orange and his Dutch/Belgian forces were fortified at the Quatre Bras when Marshall Ney attempted to take the crossroads. This defensive posture and Ney’s slow approach on the Quatre Bras allowed Prince William of Orange to fight the numerous French troops to a draw until the arrival of reinforcements . Ney’s inability to crush the opposition allowed the Dutch/Belgians reinforced with BritishShow MoreRelatedEssay on Napoleon at Waterloo819 Words   |  4 Pagesbattle of Waterloo is universally associated with the last stand of Napoleon. It is (for all intents and purposes) the most significant blow to Napoleons final attempt at a return to power, Napoleons loss sealed his fate and consequently lost his empire (once and for all). However was it truly Napoleon’s faults that resulted in the loss at Waterloo? Or as many have stated was it more accurately Marshal Ney’s inability to follow Napoleons orders and command his troops in a custom that Napoleon not onlyRead MoreThe Consequences of The Battle of Waterloo for Napoleon Bonapartes Reputation1373 Words   |  5 PagesThe Battle of Waterloo was a bloody and gruesome battle for everyone involved. Perhaps one of the worst consequences of the battle, however, was that it tarnished the reputation of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon, who was at one time, regarded as a tactical genius and prodigy for his day, became the laughing stock of the world after a number of foolish military mistakes that probably would not have been made if the French forces been commanded by another military leader. Nevertheless, the Battle ofRead MoreThe Battles And Disadvantages Of The Battle Of Waterloo1471 Words   |  6 Pages3. The Battle of Waterloo The defeat of Napoleon during the Battle of Waterloo was the result of many disadvantages, such as weather, topography, and the arrival of Prussian reinforcements to aid the British army. Additionally, Napoleon left his best general, Davout, in Paris instead of using his expertise in battle, and instead, appointed inadequate generals, such as Michel Ney. Most of Sun Tzu’s principles that Napoleon considered for the Battle of Austerlitz were used against him by WellingtonRead MoreThe Battle Of The French Revolution1569 Words   |  7 PagesTHE BATTLE OF WATERLOO Introduction On June 18, 1815, the last battle of Napoleon Bonaparte called The Battle of Waterloo took place in Belgium. Napoleon lived from 1769-1821. He was the French military leader and emperor. Through his ingenious military tactics, he took over much of mainland Europe in the early 19th century. The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a time of unrest. Napoleon took advantage of the unrest and was able to progress up through the ranks of the French army. AtRead MoreEssay about The Battle of Waterloo1151 Words   |  5 PagesThe Battle of Waterloo is one of the most famous battles in European history. The battle itself started when Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. The battle was fought at Waterloo (Spielvogel 600). The battle was fought between the French army and their allied forces, which consisted of the Dutch, Prussians, Germans, Belgians, and British. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was in control of the French Grande Armà ©e (The Battle of Waterloo 1). The Duke of Wellington, of Britain, and GeneralRead MoreThe Battle Of Waterloo By Victor Hugo Essay1375 Words   |  6 PagesVictor Hugo believed that â€Å"Waterloo [was] not a battle [...but] a change of front on the part of the Universe.† Although Hugo’s phrasing is, at first glance, extreme, there is some truth to his words, for the Battle of Waterloo and its unexpected outcome significantly impacted the future of France and the rest of Europe and derailed the course of history. If any battle in history can be called a decisive battle, it is the Battle of Waterloo, which prematurely ended Napoleon Bonaparte’s Hundred DaysRead MoreHow Napoleon Was A Great Leader Who Led The French Empire750 Words   |  3 PagesKenny Stalowski CP World Cultures 10 Mr. Yeckel March 26, 2015 Rough Draft Napoleon Bonaparte was a great leader who led the French Empire, Got the French back into a good economic state after the revolution, and conquered most of Europe. As his power grew so did the French. The French were nearly unbeatable under his leadership. As a child he was also timid and lacked any sense of power. He read a lot on history and military campaigns. Although he was very smart in the art of war his sense ofRead MoreThe Battle Of Waterloo And Its Effect On Today s Artillery1482 Words   |  6 Pages The Battle of Waterloo and its Effect on Today’s Artillery SSG Aviles-Torres, SSG Blackburn, SSG Letalu, SSG Mageo, SSG Rodgers 13B40 001-18 Senior Leaders Course SFC Metz The Battle of Waterloo and its Effect on Today’s Artillery Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the world’s greatest military strategists, led the French at the Battle of Waterloo. During his time as a General, even in defeat, his tactics in the way he used artillery were beyond reproach. His successes and errors madeRead MoreNapoleons Return to France Essay1037 Words   |  5 PagesNapoleon returned to home to France with only about 10% of his Army still alive. He lost most of his soldiers during the Great White Death, which is one of the largest French disasters to date. Since all the coalition allies knew he was in trouble, they decided to follow him and take him out while he was down and burned out. This is when he decided to give himself up and be exiled to Elba with 1000 guards. Before he left though, he promised his men that he, â€Å"†¦ would return when the flowers bloomedRead MoreNapoleons Greed and Ambition Essay1376 Words   |  6 PagesNapoleon Bonaparte was historically not only the powerful invader but also the ambitio us king. Napoleon made various works that effected France and the other country significantly, conquering almost of countries in Europe. Almost people in France praised Napoleon when he won in any war or any invasion. From successful occupation, people started to consider Napoleon as a god of the war and large numbers of people followed his order. Napoleon seems as the greatest emperor in the world. However, Napoleon

Monday, December 9, 2019

Rosa Parks Essay Example For Students

Rosa Parks Essay Rosa Parks Essay is an extraordinary person because she stood up against racism and stood up for herself. It was even harder for her because she is a woman, and in those days, things were much harder for woman. Rosa Parks hated the ways of her life. She had always dreamed of having freedom in her life. As she grew up, she went through different experiences that gave her courage and strength. One day, Rosa Parks had so much courage and strength that when her bus arrived to pick her up, she got on the bus, put her money in the slot, and sat in the front of the bus. Black people were supposed to sit in the back. The bus driver told her to move to the back, but she just sat there and refused to move. The driver called the police and they arrested Rosa Parks. The next day, Raymond Parks went to pick up Rosa from jail. When they got home, Rosa spoke about her time in jail. When the police arrived the bus driver was really mad, and when he was ask whether he wanted Parks to be arrested or let off with a warning he insisted on arrest. She was arrested, jailed and fined fourteen dollars. When word of Parks arrest broke out, it spread quickly. A boycott of the Montgomery bus company was formed by Martin Luther King Jr.. About 90% of the blacks who usually rode the buses joined the boycott and found other means of transportation. The bus company lost a vast amount of money because 70% of the people on the buses were blacks. Rosa Parks Lost her job as a result of the Montgomery protest. A Supreme Court decision outlawed racial segregation on public transportation. That ruling ended the 382 day boycott from the buses. Rosa Parks was born to James and Leona McCauley in 1913. At the age of two she moved into her grandparents house with her mother and younger brother. At the age of eleven she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls. The schools philosophy of self-worth was consistent with her moms advice to take advantage of opportunities, no matter how few they were. There were few opportunities back the indeed for blacks. So on that day in 1955 see toke on a very challenging opportunity. When Parks was twenty years old she married Raymond Parks. She also became an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), were she worked as the secretary of the Montgomery chapter. She was one of the first woman to join. They did not get much publicity even though they got many cases of things like murder or rape. Words / Pages : 430 / 24 .

Sunday, December 1, 2019

What is a miracle Essay Example

What is a miracle? Essay What is a miracle? It is a marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of God A miracle is also a sign-its an event that signifies the act of God in history within the narrative context of Gods way with his people. A miracle can be defined as a violation of laws of nature by God or some other supernatural being if: 1. There are events that seem to be miracles 2. In the absence of a plausible scientific theory, the best explanation for these events is that they were performed by a supernatural being.1 We will write a custom essay sample on What is a miracle? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What is a miracle? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What is a miracle? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to the Oxford Dictionary, a miracle is 1 an extraordinary and welcome event attributed to a divine agency. 2 a remarkable and very welcome occurrence. 3 an outstanding example, specimen, or achievement. However, even if miracles are extraordinary by definition, not all extraordinary events are miracles. A miracle can be used to describe a miraculous event for example the birth of a baby or is used in everyday speech It would be a miracle if We could also say that a miracle is a change for the better that can take place in a person even in the most unlikely situation2 Many people have different views on what a miracle really is. For example, David Hume, an 18th century philosopher identified a miracle as a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent. According to David Hume, a miracle is an event which breaches the uniform laws of nature which otherwise, as we can observe, govern how objects behave with unbroken regularity. These laws of nature are learnt by observation and scientific deduction of patterns. An example of a law of nature would be gravity, and here Jesus walking on water, a miracle told of in the Bible, would be a violation of this natural law.3 There are different types of miracles. There are physical miracles, emotional miracles, spiritual miracles etc. Today different people have different beliefs of what a miracle is. According to an atheist a miracle is merely no more than an undiscovered natural law. However Christians have their own beliefs of what a miracle, these miracle are best known in the Bible where there is written evidence of real miracles. In some translations of the Bible the word miracle is used. In other translations, the terms wonder, mighty work or sign are instead used. Each of these words draws attention to Gods presence and power being manifested in the situation.4 In the Bible, miracles are mighty works of God, they display his power over all creation, and God chooses to reveal himself in a supernatural way. Some miracles in the bible demonstrate Gods salvation and other his judgment. Miracles Coursework: Section aii The Miracles Jesus performed tells us about him and how he saw himself. The Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah and they expected him to chase away the Romans and protect the Jew, however he used Miracles to show people of Gods power and gain their trust and these miracles were revolutionary. His miracles were seen as supreme acts of kindness and they were signs of Gods Salvation. Jesus miracles showed he is the Messiah and the Son of God. The miracles Jesus performed are divided into four groups, Healing the Sick, Power over Nature, Raising from the Dead and Power over spirits/demons. The woman who suffered from bleeding (Luke 8:42) is a story about a woman who had suffered from bleeding for a very long time. The woman came with a crowd behind Jesus and she touched the edge of his cloak and was healed instantly. Jesus knew power had left him and he asked Who touched me? the woman came forward and explained why she had touched him. Jesus said My daughter, your faith has healed you. The woman in this story showed great faith in Jesus; she believed that she only had to be around him to be healed. She was not only healed physically but Jesus also healed her emotionally and he changed her whole life because she would have been an outcast and she would not have been able to take part in Jewish ceremonies. The Jews believed that is she touched another person she would pass her uncleanness onto them. Also when Jesus healed the woman he showed the love of God reaching out to people and changing lives of those who were suffering. It was because of her great faith that she was healed. Also the woman was healed by touching just the tip of his cloak and Jesus instantly felt power leave him, this shows how much power Jesus has and that he has control of it. Jesus heals many people (Luke 4-38-41) is about when Jesus healed many people inflicted with various diseases; he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them. Demons went out from various people screaming You are the Son of God! Jesus gave the demons an order and would not let them speak for they knew he was the Messiah. In this story Jesus showed great power by healing many people and being able to order demons to leave a number of people, this shows how great his power was and that the demons feared him. The friends of the diseased people showed great faith and believed that Jesus could heal their friends. Jesus also showed that the Kingdom of God was stronger than the kingdom of Satan and that Satan was being defeated. However he also silenced the demons as they knew he was the Messiah. Jesus never showed off his powers and he didnt want anyone to know or anyone telling them who he really was as he wanted everyone to decide for themselves who they thought he was and whether they would accept him or not. Jairus Daughter, (Luke 8:40-42 and 49-50) this story is about an official in the local synagogue called Jairus who threw himself down at Jesus feet and begged him to go to his home because his twelve year old daughter was dying. While on the was to his house a messenger arrived from his house and told Jairus his daughter had died, however Jesus said to Jairus Do not be afraid; only believe and she will be well. When he arrived at the house Jesus said to the mourners Dont cry; the child is not dead-she is only sleeping. The people laughed at him but Jesus took the childs hand and called out Get up my child! She got up at once and he parents were amazed but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. In this story Jairus showed faith as he asked Jesus to help his daughter so he believed that he could heal her. Jesus also told him to have faith and his daughter would be well. This story is similar to when Jesus heals many people because un this story Jesus commands the girls parents not to tell anyone what happened, this shows again he didnt want to publicise his miracles and didnt want to show off his powers. He showed that the power of God was stronger than death and nothing could stand in Gods way. This miracle was also an act of love and shows that God can give back what seemed to have been lost forever. Miracles Coursework: Section B The miracle stories in the Gospels indicate the power and authority of Jesus over everything in this world, and this also shows that Jesus as the Son of God and his authority came through his father. Accepting Jesus means acknowledging and understanding his teachings and his work. Christians faith rests on Jesus and accepting him as the Saviour and Lord, this is one of the reasons the miracles stories are so important for Christians today, and it also indicates Jesus presence in the world and in our lives. Christian miracles are closely linked with the faith, and it is through this faith the effect of healing are acknowledged. As mentioned in aii, the Miracles that Jesus performed were seen as supreme acts of kindness and many Christians today have faith in God and believe that miracles still take place around the world. This is because the Bible has recorded evidence of miracles that took place. Christians believe this as the Bible stands as proof of Miracles taken place. There have also been places in which miracles are believed to have occurred. One of the, most famous places is Lourdes, France. In 1858, in the grotto of Massabielle, near Lourdes in southern France, it is believed that Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, and asked the girl that a chapel should be built on the site of the vision. She told Bernadette to drink from a fountain in the grotto. No fountain was to be seen, but when Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify.5 Lourdes is now an international shrine to Our Lady and many people every year visit Lourdes in France in the belief that they will be healed. Thousands go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in order to see the Grotto in which Mary appeared. People also go there to have an opportunity to bathe in water from the spring Bernadette found. There have been 67 recorded miracles that have occurred in Lourdes. Not only physical healing takes place but also miracles in the sense of inner healing occur which enables the sick to cope with their physical condition. It is not only Christians who have been healed, but people of all faiths have been healed at Lourdes. Every year HCPT (Handicapped Childrens Pilgrimage Trust) takes almost 2000 children to Lourdes from UK and Ireland. HCPT was founded in 1956 by Dr Michael Strode Many Christians pray for others when they are unwell; they show faith that Jesus will heal them; there are also special services such as the Anointing of the Sick in the Catholic Church in which healing and forgiveness are the main themes. The priest anoints the sick persons forehead with oil and sign of the cross. The priest then says Through this Holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the Grace of the Holy Spirit. He then anoints the hands, saying, May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.6 The Sacrament of the sick gives strength to those who are seriously sick and give hope and moral support to families. At the Pentecost the power of healing was given, as one of the gifts of the Holy Sprit to the disciples. The power of healing as Jesus performed in his time has been transferred or delegated to those who believe in him and gifted, this shows that Jesus is alive and present in this world and is working through those chosen. Maria Esparenza was on November 22, 1928. She is a healer and a prophet who has claimed to have visions on the Virgin Mary several times among other phenomenons. She had her first mystical experience at the age of five with the apparition of Saint Theresa of the Little Lower, who from the waters of the Orinoco River tossed her a red rose. At twelve she became sick with an acute bronchial-pneumonia; but after having a vision where she saw Our Lady of the Valley, Patroness of Margarita Island, she recovered miraculously. During her adolescence, Maria Esperanzas health was frail and her heart grew weaker and weaker. Later on, the onset of another illness partially paralyzed her. She was told by twenty-two physicians she had no hope of life. Then, she was healed again after the Sacred Heart of Jesus appeared to her, and gave her the first of hundreds of messages. On October 3, 1954, in the Chapel of the Convent, Maria Esperanza had a vision of Saint Theresa of the Little Flower who told her that her vocation was not to be a Religious, but a spouse and a mother; that she would sanctify herself, and would travel the world. That same day, the Sacred Heart of Jesus told her to go to Rome. Maria Esperanza is considered one of the greatest mystics of these times. God continues to bestow upon her extraordinary gifts and charismata: The stigmata, visions of the future or the gift of prophecy, the gift of healing, appearance of a Holy Host in her mouth, emission of scents of flowers and fruits, apparition of rose petals, levitation, bilocation (be in two places at once). One of her most impressive mystical phenomena: The birth of a rose, or a rose which sprouts out spontaneously from her chest, a phenomenon which now has taken place sixteen times. Some claim to see rose petals fall from the sky around her, not just the smell of roses7. Padre Pio is known as a miracle worker; he was also able to bilocate and read souls. He is also said to have possessed the ability to communicate with guardian angels, often granting favors and healings prior to any written or verbal request. On September 20, 1918, Padre Pio had his first occurrence of stigmata while kneeling before a cross. This happened for fifty until the end of his life. The blood flowing from the stigmata is said to have smelled of perfume or flowers. From looking at these different examples of people who believe they have the power of healing it is clear that the miracles of Jesus are important to Christians today as they only have to look at these examples to know that God is still performing miracles through other people. Also from looking at the Sacrament of the Sick, Christians believe that the person will be healed by God as others were healed in the past. In the Sacrament the Priest lays his hands on the sick person and this is similar to what Jesus did when healing a person, he would put his hands on them. The purpose of Jesus miracles is to let people know of the power of God and that Jesus is the Messiah, this is still believed by Christians today as the examples above show. Miracles Coursework: Section C Healing Miracles do not happen today People today hold different views on whether healing miracles happen or not and it comes back to what people define as a miracle. Many people today believe miracles do not take place anymore and one reason to this is because the perception of what a miracle is has changed. Some people would agree with that statement. Scientists today seem to have an explanation for everything and this has altered people opinion of what a miracle really is. An Atheist today may feel that a miracle is nothing more then good luck or a coincidence. Some people need proof that a healing miracle has taken place or they cant see the possibility of miracles happening as they do not believe in God. Another reason why people today do not believe in healing miracles is because of all the advances in medicine, so someone who believes miracles might have happened in the Bible may say that there are explanations for the miraculous events that took place in the Bible. For example in the Bible there have been accounts of where a person is believed to have demons in them however today we know that the person was probably suffering from epilepsy however they didnt know it at the time. Another reason why many people today would agree with that statement is because it is well known that there are hundreds of places where a miracle is deserved, yet it does not happen. Innocent people die young of diseases like cancer which strike many people and it is in no way their fault, however God doesnt seem to help them very often. Therefore people will start to believe that healing miracles do not happen Many Christians would disagree with this statement as they believe in God and they believe that he still performs miracles. The Bible contains accounts of miracles taking place and so many Christians believe they still occur today. As mentioned in section B healing miracles have occurred in places such as Lourdes and there have been people who have claimed to have healing powers and these signs show that God is still amongst his followers and support many Christian beliefs that miracles happen today. For Christians, one of the ways to keep believing miracles still take place is to have an open mind, and not limit what God can do to what we feel comfortable with. The other is to believe only what has credible witnesses to back it, and fits what we know of God. We can more readily accept reports of things like healing the sick than tales of wonders that bring no-one any real benefit.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Open Flow Essays

Open Flow Essays Open Flow Essay Open Flow Essay Load Balancing Surya Prateek Surampalli Information Technology Department, Southern Polytechnic State University [emailprotected] edu Abstract- in high-traffic Internet today, it is often desirable to have multiple servers that represent a single logical destination server to share the load. A typical configuration comprises multiple servers behind a load balancer that would determine which server would serve the request of a client. Such equipment is expensive, has a rigid set of rules, and is a single point of failure.In this paper, I propose an idea and design for an alternative load-balancing architecture with the help of an OpenFlow switch connected to a NOX controller that gains political flexibility, less expensive, and has the potential to be more robust to failure with future generations of switches I. Introduction In today’s increasingly internet-based cloud services, a client sends a request to URL or a logical server and receives a response from a potentially multiple servers acts as a logical address server.Google server is said to be the best example, the request is sent to server farm as soon as the client resolves the IP address from the URL [1]. Load balancers are expensive that acts as a reverse proxy and distributes network or application traffic across a number of servers. Load balancers are used to increase capacity (concurrent users) and reliability of applications. They improve the overall performance of applications by decreasing the burden on servers associated with managing and maintaining application and network sessions, as well as by performing application-specific tasks [1].Since load balancers are not basic equipment and run custom software, policies are rigid in their choices. Specific administrators are required and also the arbitrary policies are not possible to implement. Since running policy and the switch are connected it is reduced to a single point of failure [2]. The order of magnitude will cost less than a commercial load-balancer if architecture with an OpenFlow switch is implemented which is controlled by the commodity server and also provides flexibility for writing patterns which allow the controller to be applied arbitrary political [1].If the next generation of OpenFlow switches has the capability of connecting to multiple controllers, there is a chance of making the system much robust to abortion by keeping the any serv er behind the which that acts as the controller [1]. II. Background A. Load Balancing Load balancing helps make networks more efficient. It distributes the processing and traffic evenly across a network, making sure no single device is overwhelmed [1]. Web servers, as in the example above, often use load balancing to evenly split the traffic load among several different servers.This allows them to use the available bandwidth more effectively, and therefore provides faster access to the websites they host [3]. Whether load balancing is done on a local network or a large Web server, it requires hardware or software that divides incoming traffic among the available servers. Networks that receive high amounts of traffic may even have one or more servers dedicated to balancing the load among the other servers and devices in the network. These servers are often called (not surprisingly) load balancers [1].Load balancing can be performed using dedicated hardware devices such as load balanc ers or having intelligent DNS servers. A DNS server can redirect traffic data centre with a heavy load or redirect requests made by customers for a data centre that is less network stretches from clients. Many data centres use of expensive hardware load balancing equipment that makes in distributing the network traffic across multiple machines to avoid congestion on a server. A DNS server resolves a hostname to a single IP address where the client sends the request. To the outside world there is a logical address that resolves a host name [3].This IP address is not associated with a single machine, but is the type of service a client request. DNS can resolve a host name to a load balancer within a data centre. But this could be avoided for safety reasons and to avoid attacks on the device. When a client request comes to the load balancer, the request is redirected according to the policy. B. OpenFlow Switch An OpenFlow switch is a software program or hardware device that forwards pa ckets in a software-defined networking (SDN) environment. OpenFlow switches are either based on the OpenFlow protocol or compatible with it [1].In a conventional switch, packet forwarding (the data plane) and high-level routing (the control plane) occur on the same device. In software-defined networking, the data plane is decoupled from the control plane. The data plane is still implemented in the switch itself but the control plane is implemented in software and a separate SDN controller makes high-level routing decisions. The switch and controller communicate by means of the OpenFlow protocol. The OpenFlow switch on the other hand uses an external controller called NOX to add rules into its flow table. C. NOX ControllerNOX is a network control platform, that provides a high-level programmatic interface upon which network management and control applications can be built. In brevity, NOX is an OpenFlow controller [3]. Therefore, NOX applications mainly assert flow-level control of t he network meaning that they determine how each flow is routed or not routed in the network. The OpenFlow switch is connected to the NOX controller and communicates over a secure channel using the OpenFlow protocol. The current design of OpenFlow only allows one NOX controller per switch. The NOX controller decides how packets of a new flow should be handled by the switch.When new flows arrive at the switch, the packet gets redirected to the NOX controller which then decides whether the switch should drop the packet or forward it to a machine connected to the switch. The NOX controller can also delete or modify existing flow entries in the switch. The NOX controller can execute modules that describe how a new flow should be handled. This provides us an interface to write C++ modules that dynamically add or delete routing rules into the switch and can use different policies for handling flows. D. Flow Table A flow table entry of an OpenFlow switch consists of a header fields, counter s and actions.Each flow table entry stores Ethernet, IP and TCP/UDP header information. This information includes destination/source MAC and IP address and source/destination TCP/UDP port numbers. Each flow table entry also maintains a counter of number of packets, and bytes arrived per flow. A flow table entry can also have one or more action fields that describe how the switch will handle packets that match the flow entry. Some of the actions include sending the packet on all output ports, forwarding the packet on an output port of a particular machine and modifying packet headers (Ethernet, IP and TCP/UDP header).If a flow entry does not have any actions, then the switch drops all packets for the particular flow. Each Flow entry also has an expiration time after which the flow entry is deleted from the flow table. This expiration time is based on the number of seconds a flow was idle and the total amount the time (in seconds) the flow entry has been in the flow table. The NOX con troller can chose a flow entry to exist permanently in the flow table or can set timers which delete the flow entry when the timer expires. III. Load-Balancer DesignLoad balancing architecture comprises an OpenFlow switch with a control device of NOX and server machines connected to output ports of the switch server. The OpenFlow switch uses an interface to connect to the Internet. Each server has a static IP address and NOX controller maintains a list of currently connected to the OpenFlow switch servers. Each server is running web server emulation on a well known port. [pic] Figure1. Load-balancer architecture using OpenFlow switch and NOX controller The hostname of server to IP address is resolved by each client and a request is sent to that IP address on the known port number.If you consider the above diagram, when a packet is reached to the switch from the client, the header information of the packet is compared with the entries of the flow table. If the header information of t he packet corresponds to an inlet of the flow, the counter for the number of packets, the byte count is incremented, and the actions associated with the input of the flow are performed on the packet. If no match is found, the switch forwards the packet to NOX. NOX decides how the packet for this flow should be handled by the switch. NOX and then inserts a new article in the cash flow of the switch using the OpenFlow protocol.To achieve load-balancing features, the modules should be written in C++ that is executed by NOX controller. NOX should perform the function of handle () when a new flow arrives at the switch. This function sets the load balancing policy and adds new rules in the flow table of the switch. All client requests should be destined for the same IP address, then whatever the module is executed by NOX, should add rules for each flow which can modify the destination MAC and IP address of the packet with a server’s MAC and IP address. The switch will forward the p acket to the server output port after modifying the packet header.When servers return a packet to the client, the module adds an entry flow that changes the source IP address with the IP address of the host that the client sends its request. So the client should always receive packets from the same IP address. If the client connection / server connection is closed or remains idle for 10 seconds, then the inactivity timer expires causing the input stream to be deleted from the cash flow of the switch. This allows input stream recycling Servers wait for a NOX to register and then report their current load on some schedule similar to the Listener Pattern.NOX in a separate thread listening on a UDP socket for heartbeats with reported by server loads and maintains a table with the current loads of all servers. When applying for a new stream is received, it chooses the server with the lowest and the load current increases to the low current server. This prevents flow of all flows routed t o the same server as the server reports a new load. It also breaks ties by turning it into a round robin until the servers report their actual load heartbeat. Flow Algorithm Require: Flow, path 1: sourceHost = LocateSource(flow); 2: destinationHost = LocateDestination(flow); : layer = setToplayer(); 4: currentSwitch = LocateCurrentSwitch(); 5: direction = 1; //upward 6: path = null; //list of switches 7: return search (); This algorithm works as follows. When the OpenFlow controller receives a packet from a switch, it switches the control to the load balancer. Line 1 to 6 introduces the initialization for necessary variables. The load balancer ? rstly analyses the packet’s match information including the input port on the switch that receives the packet as well as the packet’s source address and destination address. Then it looks up those addresses using its knowledge about the network topology.Once the source and destination hosts are located, the load balancer calcul ates the top layer that the ? ow needs to access. We use the search direction ? ag. The ? ag has two values: 1 for upward and 0 for downward. It is initialized to 1. A path is created for saving a route grouped by a list of switches later. Line 7 calls search () that performs the search for paths recursively. In the method search (), It ? rstly adds current switch into path. It returns the path if current search reaches the bottom layer. It reverses the search direction if current search reaches the top layer.Then it calls a method 1: search () { 2: path. add(curSwitch); 4: if isBottomLayer(curSwitch) then 5: return path; 6: end if 7: if curSwitch. getLayer ( ) == layer then 8: direction = 0; //reverse 9: end if 10: links = findLinks(curSwitch, direction); 11: link = findWorstFitLink(links); 12: curSwitch = findNextSwitch(link); 13: return search (); 14:} that returns all links on current switch that are towards current search direction. Only one link is chosen by picking up the wor st-? t link with maximum available bandwidth. And then the current switch object is updated.The method search () is called recursively layer by layer from the source to destination. At last the path will be return to the load balancer. The path information will be used for updating ? ow tables of those switches in the path. Flow Scheduling The Flow scheduling functionality works as follows. Each OpenFlow switch maintains its own ? ow table. Whenever any packet comes in, the switch checks the packet’s match information with the entries in its ? ow table. The packet’s match information includes ingressPort, etherType, srcMac, dstMac, vlanID, srcIP, dstIP, IP protocol, T CP/UDP srcPort, TCP/UDP dstPort.If it ? nds a match, it will send out the packet to the corresponding port. Otherwise it will encapsulate the packet in a PACKET IN message and send the message to the controller. As a module of the OpenFlow controller, the load balancer will handle the PACKET IN message. I t ? nds a proper path by executing a search with the DLB algorithm described in Algorithm 1. The path is a list of switches from source to destination of the packet. Then the load balancer creates one FLOW MOD message for each switch in the path and sends it to the switch.This message will have the packet’s match information as well as a output port number on that switch. The output port number is directly calculated by the path and network topology. If one switch receives a FLOW MOD message, it will use it to update its ? ow table accordingly. Those packets buffered on ports of that switch may ? nd their matches in the updated ? ow table and be sent out. Otherwise the switch will repeat this process. IV. Future Work The OpenFlow specification includes an optional feature that would allow multiple NOXs to make active connections to the switch.In the case then of the NOX failing, another machine could assume the role of the NOX and continue routing traffic. Naturally the syste m would need to detect the failure, have a mechanism to remember any state associated with the current policy, and all servers would have to agree on who the new NOX was. These requirements naturally lend themselves to the Paxos consensus algorithm in which policy and leader elections can be held and preserved with provable progress [3]. We have implemented Paxos in another research project and could add it to our server implementation at the controller/signaler layer.As long as at least half of the nodes in the cluster stay up, state will be preserved and traffic should continue to flow. V. Conclusion It is possible to achieve similar functionality to a commercial load balancer switches using only physical commodities. The OpenFlow switch provides the flexibility to implement the arbitrary policy in software and politics separate the switch itself. Since the policy is decoupled from the switch, we can avoid the machine implementation of the policy of a single point of failure and t he creation of a more robust system. References [1] OpenFlow Switch Specification.Version 0. 8. 9 (Wire Protocol 0x97). Current maintainer: Brandon Heller ([emailprotected] edu). December 2, 2008. [2] Web caching and Zipf-like distributions: evidence and implications. Breslau, L. Pei Cao Li Fan Phillips, G. Shenker, S. Xerox Palo Alto Res. Center, CA. INFOCOM 1999. [3] Paxos Made Simple. Leslie Lamport [4] M. Al-Fares, A. Loukissas, and A. Vahdat. A Scalable, Commodity Data Center Network Architecture. ACM SIGCOMM, 2008. [5] C. E. Leiserson. Fat-trees: Universal networks for hardware-ef? cient supercomputing. IEEE Transactions on Computers, 1985. [6] T. Benson, A. Anand, A.Akella, and M. Zhang. Understanding Datacenter Traf? c Characteristics. SIGCOMM WREN workshop, 2009. [7] HOPPS, C. Analysis of an Equal-Cost Multi-Path Algorithm. RFC 2992, IETF, 2000. [8] W. J. Dally and B. Towles. Principles and Practices of Interconnection Networks. Morgan Kaufmann Publisher, 2004. [9] S. Kandu la, S. Sengupta, A. Greenberg, P. Patel and R. Chaiken. The Nature of Data Center Traf? c: Measurements Analysis. ACM IMC 2009. [10] N. McKeown, T. Anderson, H. Balakrishnan, G. Parulkar, L. Peterson, J. Rexford, S. Shenker, and J. Turner. OpenFlow: Enabling Innovation in Campus Networks.ACM SIGCOMM CCR, 2008. [11] R. N. Mysore, A. Pamporis, N. Farrington, N. Huang, P. Miri, S. Radhakrishnan, V. Subramanya, and A. Vahdat. PortLand: A Scalable, Fault-Tolerant Layer 2 Data Center Network Fabric. ACM SIGCOMM, 2009. [12] Beacon OpenFlow Controller https://OpenFlow. stanford. edu/display/Beacon/Home. [13] B. Lantz, B. Heller, and N. McKeown. A Network in a Laptop: Rapid Prototyping for Software-De? nded Networks. ACM SIGCOMM, 2010. [14] Y. Zhang, H. Kameda, S. L. Hung. Comparison of dynamic and static load-balancing strategies in heterogeneous distributed systems.Computers and Digital Techniques, IEE, 1997. [15] OpenFlow Switch Speci? cation, Version 1. 0. 0. OpenFlow. org/documents/Op enFlow-spec-v1. 0. 0. pdf. [16] N. Handigol, S. Seetharaman, M. Flajslik, N. McKeown, and R. Johari. Plug-n-Serve: Load-balancing web traf? c using OpenFlow. ACM SIGCOMM Demo, 2009. [17] R. Wang, D. Butnariu, J. Rexford. OpenFlow-Based Server Load Balancing Gone Wild. Hot ICE, 2011. [18] M. Koerner, O. Kao. Multiple service load-balancing with OpenFlow. IEEE HPSR, 2012. Figure 2: Load-Balancer block diagram architecture using OpenFlow switch and NOX controller.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Present Participle as Adjective

Present Participle as Adjective Present Participle as Adjective Present Participle as Adjective By Maeve Maddox As one of our readers tells her students, writers should rejoice in the present participle because it is one of the rarities of English â€Å"rules†: one thing they can count on. Unlike its sibling the past participle, the present participle always has the same ending. Reminder: English verbs have five principal parts: Infinitive, Simple Present, Simple Past, Past Participle, and Present Participle. Past participles take different forms, but the present participle always ends in -ing. Used with helping verbs, the present participle forms the continuous tenses: We were living in Taiwan at the time. (past continuous) Tom Selleck has been playing law enforcement characters for thirty-four years. (present perfect continuous) Used without a helping verb, the present participle functions as an adjective. (The -ing verb form has another use, but this post is about its function as an adjective.) Here are some specific uses of the present participle: in front of a noun Poirot solved the puzzling mystery. (modifies â€Å"mystery†) The smell of burning leaves stirs memories of my childhood. (modifies â€Å"leaves†) after a verb of perception They heard someone screaming. (modifies â€Å"someone†) The woman watched the cat creeping toward the bird. (modifies â€Å"cat†) with the verbs spend and waste Don’t waste your time trying to convince him he’s mistaken. (modifies understood subject â€Å"You.†) The inefficient blogger spent her entire afternoon researching and writing one post. (modify the subject â€Å"blogger†) to introduce a participial phrase Weeping bitterly over her loss, Gwendolyn lay on the bed for several hours. The archaeologist, sweeping the shards into a neat pile, cursed his clumsiness. It is this last use of the participle that often leads to the error known as a â€Å"dangling participle.† For example: Stubbing his toe on the step, the heavy chair fell from his grasp. Leaning affectionately toward him, her head rested against his shoulder. The participle phrases in these two examples are â€Å"dangling† because there’s no appropriate noun for them to describe. Dangling participles can be corrected in more than one way: 1. Provide an appropriate noun or pronoun for the phrase to describe: Stubbing his toe on the step, the mover dropped the heavy chair. Leaning affectionately toward him, she rested her head against his shoulder. 2. Rewrite the phrase as a clause: When the mover stubbed his toe against the step, the heavy chair fell from his grasp. She leaned affectionately toward him and rested her head against his shoulder. 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 Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageDoes "Mr" Take a Period?Grammatical Case in English

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Positive and Negative Effects of Confucianism in East Asian Essay - 1

The Positive and Negative Effects of Confucianism in East Asian Cultures - Essay Example This report stresses that the philosophy of Confucianism was practiced in many cultures and countries in East Asia like China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea Vietnam and various Chinese occupied territories like Singapore. China however, was the birthplace of Confucianism. It was came into being from the sixth century to the third century B.C., an age described as "The Age of Philosophers". Eventually during 141 to 87 BC, it was declared as a state philosophy by the Emperor Wu of Han. Confucianism in Japan began at a time when â€Å"Confucianism† was quite different from what it is today. During the long years from the fall of the Latter Han dynasty in 220 CE through the Tang (618–907), the classics esteemed by Confucius remained an important part for those who exercised authority over others. This paper declares that the nations of East Asia constitute a part of the fastest growing economy in the world. In the past 30 years, 3 smalls East Asian nations – South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore have exhibited phenomenal economic growth which now rivals that of Japan’s. These countries are now ranked as having the world most successful economies. The explanation for this boom in the economic systems can be dedicated to the fact that Confucian values form an ethical thread across the East Asia nations. The philosophy of Confucianism is dictates a harmonious collective social order. This in turn ensures absolute loyalty and obedience to authority from the subordinates.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

What do you understand by the term racism Using examples from one of Essay - 1

What do you understand by the term racism Using examples from one of the areas of policy we have covered, explain the existence of racism in contemporary Brit - Essay Example Upon making contact with the natives of these lands, the Westerners had the idea of dominating and subjugating the populace of these lands for providing them cheap labour etc to get benefited from the already existing bountiful resource base. The Renaissance had of course given a fillip to dynamism of ideas in Europe but these ideas were meant only to elevate the immediate environment and such enlightenment was not required for experimentation in the lands which were later to be colonized. It was a deliberate policy devised at the highest levels and its implementation was ensured to keep the status-quo in favour of the would-be colonizers intact. This probably must explain the background in respect of all that we associate racism currently with. And wherever the European colonizers went, they had neither any compulsion to neither extend respect to the way of life under their territories nor incorporate whatever wisdom these lands had to offer in return. Earlier, similar enterprises by powers other than those of Europe and the West also exhibited the same pattern (1). Arabs also under the zeal of their religion became colonial powers and controlled far more territories permitted by their strength in their time. In so far as a comparison is sought to be drawn between Arabs and the West, the former did understand their people and themselves changed in a way that suited their political and social correctness. The Westerns did not learn the same from Arabs despite their same religious and civilizational origins in the Semitic nature of their religion and culture. Racism is generally nourished as a sort of belief that the races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that endows some races with an intrinsic superiority. This belief accordingly involves abuse and aggressive behaviour towards members of another race. Social scientists are of the opinion that ethnic groups have or do create a sense of grouping

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Christian’s Weapons for Spiritual Warfare Essay Example for Free

The Christian’s Weapons for Spiritual Warfare Essay Christianity presupposes the existence of the supernatural. After all, God is invisible and so are the angels and demons documented in the Bible as spirits that are present in the world inhabited by humans. Too often, however, because they are not seen, most people do not believe in the reality of the spiritual world. The Christian worldview takes into account the different unseen beings present and active in the world. This is well documented in the Bible and can be attested to by a lot of people who have been involved in one way or another in demonic possession. The church is also not spared in doubting the reality of spiritual beings at work. As such, they can easily fall prey to the wiles of Satan, which is described as â€Å"a prowling lion† in the Bible. Not only that, when they encounter demon possession or any spiritual activity involving demons. In fact, even Christians sometimes are not spared from demon activities, especially if they place themselves in places and circumstances where demons can work in their lives. Spiritual Warfare The world in which Christians live is full of circumstances where the spirit of light and darkness struggle against each other. Dr. Ed Murphy said that there is a kingdom of Christ where believers belong to and the kingdom of Satan where the powers in the air and in the world reign and influence the lives of people who choose to live outside the fold of Christ’s grace and love. This statement was presented in page 5 and I agree because this dichotomy is reflected in the different activities of people in the world. Part One of Dr. Murphy’s book talks about worldviews and how such worldviews affect the thinking of people in the world. Those who belong to the two different kingdoms necessarily espouse different kinds of viewpoints. Those who have become believers in Christ have been transformed and redeemed. They no longer belong to the sinful ways of the world, where the influence of Satan is very much at work. The saving grace of Christ enables a person to change his views and his outward expressions. As such, spiritual warfare is truly a clash of worldviews between that of the Kingdom of Heaven and that of the world. The Bible also supports the worldview that spiritual beings are very much at work in the world then and now and it is the source of authority of God’s work. Dr. Murphy also expounded on a kind of history of spiritual warfare. Satan used to be one of God’s top angels but was transformed by his desire for power and because of his pride. By relying on what the Bible says, the author traced the source of the cosmic conflict and how such conflict affects the world that we inhabit now. When Satan and his horde of fallen angels were cast down from heaven, the battleground has shifted to the earth. The fall of man in the Garden of Eden became a reality and has become the source of the rift between God and man. Dr. Murphy expounded this history in page 41. Through his explanation, I understood how humans are being influenced by demons and spirits. Christ became the centerpiece of history because He is God’s ultimate way to redeem fallen mankind from sin and shame. The battle is not complete, however, with one’s coming to Christ. It may be difficult to accept, yet, even Christians are not exempt from demon activities such as implanting thoughts and even demon-possession. Encountering such claim has taken me aback at first. However, as Dr. Murphy went on to explain the dynamics and levels of God’s protection towards His children, and the way that Christians put themselves in a position where demons may influence them, it dawned on me that he was right. He even related several real life experiences that he had. Christians therefore had a battle to fight. Such battle occurs in their minds, which is the battlefield for control. In addition, the battle also occurs at a higher level when culture collides with the claims of the gospel. Part III surveys the biblical view on spiritual warfare with a focus on the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, warfare in a lot of instances took on physical war and bloodshed. More importantly, however, is the spiritual nature of this war. The warfare between good and evil has been going on since the beginning of time. When man entered the picture, it has just been intensified. The Old Testament contained a number of promises that dealt with the promise that was fulfilled by Christ—the promise that evil and death will be ultimately conquered. Dr. Murphy made it clear that the Old Testament showed the need for an ultimate sacrifice in Christ and the inadequacy of human agency in waging spiritual warfare. Even if God made a covenant with Israel as a chosen nation in the Old Testament, there were kings and prophets who led the nation politically and spiritually. Dr. Murphy stated the role of kings and prophets in page 253. Through the role of kings and prophets, the author masterfully showed the coming ministry of Christ and of Christians. Spiritual warfare then truly involved warfare in the traditional sense—involving physical weapons. The problem, however, is that the spiritual aspect of the warfare has been disregarded and even denied. Worse, the Israelite nation forgot to keep the covenant they have with God, which led to the downfall of both the Northern and the Southern kingdom. The Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the new one. With the coming of Christ, the New Testament was put in place. Christ and the New Testament The first covenant failed to fulfill the terms of the covenant. In fact, the chosen people have failed to do their duty in becoming the light in the world. Yet, God has put in place a plan for redemption, which, incidentally, was also a part of God’s strategy against the Kingdom of Satan. Jesus Christ represented God’s ultimate plan for the redemption and restoration of creation from the clutches of Satan. Through Jesus Christ, man was no longer in the clutches of demons. Rather, a choice has been given to them so that they can be free. After all, Jesus came to set the captives free. Dr. Murphy also chronicles the encounters of Jesus with the demons. Before he started his public ministry, he was tested in the wilderness and tempted by Satan himself. It was a reenactment of the temptation that Satan presented to Adam and Eve but only this time, he did not succeed. Hence, his dominion and authority was about to be wrested away from him. He did not want to be deprived of such power, however, and so he gave a fight. In other passages in the gospels, Jesus encountered demons in the synagogue and in the tombs. In cases where he encountered demons, they recognized him for who he is—the Son of God. Jesus silenced these demons so that he can proceed with his ministry unabated. It was as if he wanted people to listen to Him instead of having to cast out demons. As the ministry of Jesus progressed, he managed to train his disciples in asserting His authority. When the disciples came back and reported that even the demons were obedient to them, he gave them occasion to celebrate while at the same time asked them to focus on building the kingdom of heaven instead of casting demons out. With the training of his disciples, Jesus passed on his authority to them. Throughout Part Four, Dr. Murphy looked at the development of the training of disciples and the way in which they encountered demons in their ministries. The Book of Acts, particularly, contains a lot of stories of demon encounters that followed the disciples wherever they go. In page 342, Dr. Murphy explained that there were times that the power encounters with demons led to conversions. There are also instances that they did not. Nonetheless, what is important is that, the early disciples knew that demons are real and that they are subject to the authority of believers given to them by Christ. The New Testament chronicles the development of the church from being a simple band of believers to a growing church in different areas of the known world then. As believers were preaching to people about Christ, no doubt the demons were also at work. That is why the believers saw the need to assert the weapons that Christ gave them for spiritual warfare. On the whole such encounters pointed out to the authority of Christ in the spiritual world as much as in the material world. Dr. Murphy also takes a look at different biblical passages dealing with spiritual warfare and the weapons that believers can use regarding against the powers in the air. The author also takes a look at some instances that even believers were besieged by demons in their efforts to live out the gospel given by Christ. Power encounters were also frequent as the church was growing. He said that power encounters were necessary in some places but not in others. This is because the people listening to the gospel of Christ should be able to make the decision of whether or not to accept Him. When the demons interfere, therefore, the Christians can assert their authority in Christ and ask these demons to get away. Christians can also be demonized. Although this may come as a shock to others, Dr. Murphy elaborates why in Part Five, particularly in page 440, where he discussed the different entry points of demons in the lives of Christians. There are sin areas that a Christian may wallow in. These areas then become the entry points for demons to establish their strongholds. I agree with Dr. Murphy’s assertion that demons can assail Christians. It is very similar to the captain of a ship who possesses the authority but refuses to assert it but instead gives the authority to somebody without rank in the ship. Demon possession of Christians works in the same way. There are a lot of manifestations of demonization. A lot of these can be easily spotted when one reads the newspaper—child abuse! The act of abusing a child can both be the cause and the result of demonization. A lot of social issues arise from demonization even though few people would accede to that. Even the mental health of people can be severely affected by demons—they lose their wits and logical judgment but instead rely on the voices telling them what to do. Dr. Murphy draws from psychology to explain that in some instances demonization leads to the alienation of the individual and leads to losing his mind. In closing, he also discusses the way in which people, Christians included can be free from demonization. The section dealing with finding freedom, however, appears to be inadequate given the number of chapters he dedicated to explore the causes of demonization. He also recognized the dangers of spiritual warfare and the way that people may shirk from taking responsibility for their action because of spiritual warfare. Nonetheless, Dr. Murphy’s book derives biblical insight and is a practical guide for all.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

my last dutchess character analyzing Essay -- essays research papers

My last Duchess â€Å"That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive.† The duck of Ferrara starts his monologue with a sight of regret that raises the sympathy of the readers and makes them feel that he had lost his beloved wife and is very upset about that. However, in the next few sentences he reveals the dark side of his character and brings the readers to a realization that the Duck of Ferrara is not a noble gentle man. In fact, he is a hysteric murderer who has killed his wife and is very arrogant, possessive, and oppressive. Like many other renaissance Ducks, The duck of Ferrara is very arrogant and selfish. He is very proud of himself and his ancestors. He believes it is his wife’s privilege to be married with him and she should be thankful for â€Å"the gift of a nine-hundred –year’s-old name† that he gave her. The fact that â€Å"[his] favor at her breast, the dropping of the daylight in the west, the bough of cherries some officious fool broke in the orchard for her†¦all and each would draw from her alike the approving speech† disgusts him. He thinks he should be treated specially not like anyone else and with â€Å"Much the same smile,† but he can not stoop â€Å"to blame this sort of trifling.† Duck of Ferrara is very materialist, possessive and greedy. He has a sense of ownership and a strong desire to control everything. He thinks of his wife’s picture only as a fine art work and refers to it as â€Å"a piece of wonder.† Her pure emotions and sentimental nature ...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Cell Phones While Driving Essay

Are cell phones dangerous while driving? Do you know hoy many deaths occur per year because of the cell phones? Everyday people die in car accidents for using cell phones while driving. According to NSC. Org â€Å"Drivers that use mobile phones are four times more likely to be involved in an accident†. Even though some people think that hand-free set is safe but it still dangerous. People should avoid talking while driving; those who defend the phone use often say that it makes no difference whether someone is talking on a phone or not. Some people who work depend on a cell phone like lawyers or businessmen. They always have to be available to answer the phone in order to keep their business running. However, their habits can create dangerous situations like a collision or an accident. Business issues can be stressful and hazardous while driving because it can cause emotional reactions that can lead to tragedies. Do to the fact that while they talk with someone of their coworkers they might get upset and this can lower their driving ability that can chief to lose control over the car. If people do not make the decision to leave aside their cell phones their routine can harm innocent people. Like mentioned before, other people say that hands-free set is safety. However, hands-free devices do not eliminate the risk of causing an accident and even worsen it by suggesting that the fact of using it is safe. Researches from the state Department of Transportation, show records that using headset can be as dangerous as holding a phone because the conversations distracts drivers from focusing on the road. Scientists had proven that people talking over the phone image person who they talking to and that does not interfere with driving. The problem is when a car swerves unexpectedly or pedestrian step into traffic, and the mind lacks the processing power to react in time. So the problem is not in holding the wheel and cell phone at the same time the cause is the lack of reaction at the particularly time People in favor of the use cell phones, say that it is a good option to do it in case of an emergency. However, I believe that it is a wrong thought. It is an illusion of safety because when people need them, the most their cell phones r they can not either reach them or find them because they could be stuck or hidden in some part of the car. People shouldn’t fully depend on cell phones owing to that fact that they are not reliable; the trusty solution for the difficult situation it could be OnStar. Which is a service that in case of an accident or an emergency will contact you. If you are not able to answer, they will contact the police department, the hospital or the fire service. Therefore, nowadays cell phones are unnecessary devices because they are unreliable in emergency situations while you are in a car accident. In conclusion, I think drivers should be more conscious about using the cell phone while driving. As I said it earlier hand-free device is not safety at all, because requires the brain to be multitask. If drivers do not give up cell-phones the number of mortalities on the roads will continue to increase.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Global economic development Essay

If Gwlad want to achieve any economic growth and attain a strong economy as its neighbors in Western Europe it must carry out detailed SWOT analysis. Such an analysis involves determining the country’s strength, weakness, opportunities and threat. One of the major strength that Gwlad enjoys as a country is it strategic location. Being close to the most developed nation in the world then it will be easier to access and export goods abroad to a market which is willing and able to buy. The second strength is the relative peace that the country enjoys and that of the surrounding nation which means that foreign investors will be willing to set up businesses (Anderson, 2007). One of the main weaknesses in this country is low level of industrialization which will translate to low out put and therefore less export compared to other country in the surrounding. Also with a population of just 3 million people it means that the aggregate demand is very low and for multinational who want to venture into such country and market their produce, the low demand expected for their products may discourage them. Furthermore this country seems to be expecting poor infrastructure and this raises the cost of doing business which discourage foreign direct investment (root 2006). The low level of services may be another hindrance to foreign direct investment. Foreign investors Global economic development 2 values a strong financial system that is able to allocate capital efficiently, mobilizing saving, monitor firms, share and diversity risk with the low level of GDP the consumers’ purchasing power is weak and therefore this further reduces the aggregate demand and output levels in the country. Also the country relies on few sectors to support the economy and there is a need to expand on such areas (Carroll, 2006). One of the major threat that the country faces is competition form rivals who are well established and their industries have become stable such that they are able to supply goods in the global market at low cost. Secondly since the country is not a member of European Union then members may impose both tariff and non tariff barriers to trade from goods exported from Gwlad which will increase the prices of good exported on members country. High prices will discourage consumers’ consumption of such goods which will ultimately reduce export and affect the country’s balance of payment. The country should take steps to proceed with privatization of most public corporations since such move encourage foreign direct investment and also improves on transparency and good governance of such companies (ridout, 2005). Since the financial system play a pivotal role on the growth of an economy the government should implement policies designed to streamline the sector. To encourage investment in the country then it is also vital to revise its taxation policies and develop a scheme geared towards benefiting foreign business. Entry of multinationals in the domestic market have some adverse effects in that some of the domestics firm are not strong enough to compete favorably with foreign firms such that they require protection from the government. Therefore the government Global economic development 3 should develop policy geared towards protecting domestic firms and also protecting capital flight which mostly affect the balance of payment of the country if not taken into consideration. To ensure that employment level in the country rises and that multinational does not take advantage of lack of employment policies to bring in expatriate even in areas where local can work then labor policies should be drawn which includes issues of minimal wages to be paid. Regional trading blocks such as the EU and others aid international trade by reducing or eliminating both tariff and not tariff barriers to trade therefore incase Gwlad want to participate more in the global market then it should realign its foreign policies which will enable it to be accommodated in such trading blocks. Active signing of both bilateral and multilateral agreement is necessary in improving penetration to foreign market thereby improving on export which translates to a higher GDP (melchet, 2005). CASE STUDY 2 Though strategic location and the issue of wages rate are considered by a foreign investor in determining whether to invest in a certain country or not, there are other major factors which are first considered. The availability of energy and associated cost are given priority in manufacturing industries since energy cost comprises a huge percentage of manufacturing cost hence one of the main determinants in making investment decision. The level of infrastructure is also considered by business. The possibility of growth and political stability should also be an integral part of such a marketing strategy since these two factors will determine whether a business will grow in foreign market. Through most of the study conducted it has also been proved that vibrant financial system Global economic development 4 also plays a major role in encouraging FDI (zedillo, 2005). On marketing Gwlad I would include such issues as tax system which benefit inventors e. g. tax allowance on investment. To increase foreign income from tourism then issues such as beautiful scenery and variety of wildlife have to be included. Further more technology play a major role in global market and therefore a mention of the technological achievement and possible advancement in technology should be included in the countries marketing strategy as firms currently rely on technology in performing it core business. Case Study 3 Technology advancement have led countries like china and Japan to be the most industrialized and leading exporters in the global Market. Consequently their economy have grown and a country like china with a population higher than the whole of Africa have been able to support its citizen and even offer loans and grant to other nations. Though technological advancement is key to economic development it has to be matched with good governance and visionary leaders who are able to inspire their people to reach new height (Polanski, 2004). In developing the economic policy there are others sectors which should be considered. This includes, health, financial sector which includes among other banks, insurance market, and the capital market and aerospace and automotive sectors in the transport industry. Case Study 4 One of the major strength of developing domestic companies is that it protects capital Global economic development 5 freight which adversely affects the balance of payment and the exchange rate. Domestic companies mostly employ people from within the country which reduces the level of unemployment. The income generated by domestic firms is usually re invested back thereby improving in economic growth. Some of the other income which is distributed as dividend to the owner increases the level of aggregate demand and saving levels due to increase in disposable income. Where aggregate demand increases business will be forced to produce more goods which lead to their growth and expansion (McDonnell, 2003). As saving levels increase businesses will have available capital for investment and through the multiplier effect where investment increase the GDP will also increase therefore accelerating the economic growth of the country. If steps are taken to develop domestic companies then they may grow to a level of being multinationals which will generate foreign income to the country. One of the major threats in developing domestic companies is that in case of harsh economic condition they may not withstand and therefore collapse. There are also possibility of political interference in the management and operation of such firms. Due to the limited fund available it may not be possible to avail all the required capital for expansion which means that such business will be operating below capacity and there will be under utilization of resources. Further more the economy can grow at a very low rate if only the domestic business are relied upon to accelerate growth. Lack of competition will be another weakness in that business will not improve on core area of performance such as technology therefore products will be of low quality and higher Global economic development 6 price with inability o compete in global market. Where competition lack then there is low level of creativity and innovation in products and service development therefore the economy will lag behind (Coparosa, 2004). Where the country is able to attract foreign direct investment then it is able to improve on technological advancement since such investors transfer technology to the host country. Further more since the country is experiencing a capital rationing this foreign firms do not require any form of financing from government and the funds available could be used to develop other sectors where foreign companies are unwilling to invest. Furthermore this foreign firm introduces competition which forces business to produce goods effectively and efficiently. The major threat of encouraging multinationals to invest in the country is that they can kill local industries incase where such firms are not able to compete favorably. Some of the multinational which occupies a greater stake in the economy sometimes dictate or influence the policy made by government to their advantage since where e government fail to comply they threaten to withdraw. One of the main weaknesses of using FDI is the issue of capital flight. Most usually send the profit generated from its operation back to it parent company which adversely affect the economy. However such businesses are able to sustain harsh economic condition and also improve the level of infrastructure in the host country. In using combination strategy the government ensures that domestic firms grow while at the same time attracting foreign direct investment which steers the economic growth. There should be a balance between protecting domestic firms and maintaining Global economic development 7 environment which enables foreign firms to compete fairly with domestic firms (Roca, 1983) Due to shortage of funds that the country experience and other benefits that accrue from having FDI it is advisable that the country employs a combination of strategy if it aim to achieve faster economic development. Case study 5 In persuading multinationals to develop local supply chain then the country have to change policies on taxation of this foreign firms. Issues such as tax allowance on investment can encourage such multinational to set up business to take such advantages of allowance. Also policies that streamline the financing system are also important since the financial system is a factor considered by multinational before venturing into any market. To encourage multinational to undertake research and development in the country then the country should have a well designed policy concerning copyright, trade marks or use of intellectual property. Also where commercial services such as advertising, local research firms and professional service are established and well regulated then multinational can be motivated to use such services. Furthermore policies concerning regional integration are important since it assist business to supply it commodity to other international market without barriers to trade both tariff and non tariff therefore improving on it competiveness in the global market. In addition the transport system is necessary for efficient operation of any supply chain therefore policies should be designed to improve such systems. Global economic development 8 CASE STUDY 6 Where a country is a member of the EU then there is no obstacle on free movement of goods, people and capital therefore the country can easily market and export its goods to members countries thereby improving on its balance of payment. Through the European social fund then the country will be able to improve on its level of employment thereby raising the standard of living of its citizen. The creation of European investment bank will facilitate the economic expansion of the country through creation of new resources. The EU has also developed a well established system of ensuring that competition is fair in the common markets which will therefore means that weak members states such as Gwlad are not exploited or taken advantage of by other strong and developed nations. However being such a member of EU then you have to adopt a common custom tariff and common commercial policy towards non members which may therefore reduce the country aggressiveness to participate in the global market. Countries such as China, Brazil and Australia are the new fastest growing economy in the world hence they provide a ground on which new market can be found. Further more bilateral and multilateral agreement with such country can be more beneficial than joining a trading block for a country with a weak economy (godison, 1988). For a country like Gwlad which need to achieve faster economic development it need to develop free trade agreement with this growing economies as they present a better opportunity for growth than a trading block. CASE STUDY 7 Global economic development 9 One of the merit of having a cluster development policy is having a balanced economy in that you do not allow foreign firm to dominate the local market but also give chance for domestic business to grow and reach a level at which they can compete in the global market . having both local and foreign firm present multinational from influencing government policy with threat to with draw since their position will be taken up by local firms. One of the problems inherent in such a cluster development policy is development of policy which attracts foreign entity while at the same time ensuring protection to domestic firms. The best option of organizing sector development is having specific policies that take special need of each sector rather than general policies which just give a general outlay instead of specific guideline for sector development (madon, 1997). CASE STUDY 8 As the company is ready to employ 30,000 people this will be a great boost to the economy as it will reduce the level of unemployment and ultimately increase the GDP. However where foreign suppliers are contracted to supply good rather than local suppliers this will lead to loss of business and capital flight from the country. Furthermore the demand by this firm that the country liars with the host country of these suppliers to request for a tax break may be an added cost to the country as they may in return ask for other favors which may hurt the economy. The government should agree to give research and development grant but not succumb to demand of allowing foreign supplies to be contracted as this will erode most of the benefit generated. Global economic development 10 References Anderson, AT 2007, ‘Developing m-services: lessons learned from the developers perspective,’ Communication of AIS, VOL. 2007, issue 20. Carroll, M 2006, ‘An interview with Prime Minister Lee,’ Institutional Investors, vol. 40, issue 9. Caporaso, J 2004,’Dependence, dependency, and power in the global system: a structure and behavioral analysis,’ International Organization, Vol. 32 Issue 1. Emerging Markets Debt Report 2000, ‘Political risk: Thumbs up for Brazil, Stormy Clime in Vennie,’ Vol. 13 Issue 4. Godison, N 1988,’London’s place in the global securities market,’ International Affairs, Vol. 64 Issue 4. Madon, S 1997,’Information-Based Global Economy and Socioeconomic Development: The Case of Bangalore,’ Information Society, Vol. 13 Issue 3. Melchet, L 2005,’The Age of Environmental Impasse? Globalization and Environmental Transformation of Metropolitan Cities,’ Development & Change, Vol. 36 Issue 5. Global economic development 11 McDonnell, I & Lecomte 2003,’ Public Opinion and the Fight against Poverty,’ DAC Journal, Vol. 4 Issue 2. polenske, K 2004,’ Competition, Collaboration and Cooperation: An Uneasy Triangle in Networks of Firms and Regions,’ Regional Studies, Vol. 38 Issue 9.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Free Essays on Sensation And Perception

Sensation and Perception Interactive Lectures Sensation is the detection and direct experience of physical energy as a result of environmental or internal events. Perception is the process by which sensory impulses are organized and interpreted. Our Sensational Senses Sensation begins with the sense receptors, which convert the energy of a stimulus into electrical impulses that travel along nerves to the brain. Separate sensations can be accounted for by anatomical codes (as set forth by the doctrine of specific nerve energies) and functional codes in the nervous system. In a rare condition called synaesthesia, sensation in one modality evokes a sensation in another modality, but these experiences are the exception, not the rule. Psychologists specializing in psychophysics have studied sensory sensitivity by measuring absolute and difference thresholds. Signal-detection theory, however, holds that responses in a detection task consist of both a sensory process and a decision process and will vary with the person’s motivation, alertness, and expectations. Our senses are designed to respond to change and contrast in the environment. When stimulation is unchanging, sensory adaptation occurs. Too little stimulation can cause sensory deprivation. Too much stimulation can cause sensory overload, which is why we exercise selective attention. Vision Vision is affected by the wavelength, frequency, and complexity of light, which produce the psychological dimensions of visual experience- hue, brightness, and saturation. The visual receptors- rods and cones- are located in the retina of the eye, and send signals (via other cells) to the ganglion cells and ultimately to the optic nerve, which carries visual information to the brain. Rods are responsible for vision in dim light; cones are responsible for colour vision. Dark adaptation occurs in two stages. The Structures of the Retina Click here to view t... Free Essays on Sensation And Perception Free Essays on Sensation And Perception Sensation and Perception Interactive Lectures Sensation is the detection and direct experience of physical energy as a result of environmental or internal events. Perception is the process by which sensory impulses are organized and interpreted. Our Sensational Senses Sensation begins with the sense receptors, which convert the energy of a stimulus into electrical impulses that travel along nerves to the brain. Separate sensations can be accounted for by anatomical codes (as set forth by the doctrine of specific nerve energies) and functional codes in the nervous system. In a rare condition called synaesthesia, sensation in one modality evokes a sensation in another modality, but these experiences are the exception, not the rule. Psychologists specializing in psychophysics have studied sensory sensitivity by measuring absolute and difference thresholds. Signal-detection theory, however, holds that responses in a detection task consist of both a sensory process and a decision process and will vary with the person’s motivation, alertness, and expectations. Our senses are designed to respond to change and contrast in the environment. When stimulation is unchanging, sensory adaptation occurs. Too little stimulation can cause sensory deprivation. Too much stimulation can cause sensory overload, which is why we exercise selective attention. Vision Vision is affected by the wavelength, frequency, and complexity of light, which produce the psychological dimensions of visual experience- hue, brightness, and saturation. The visual receptors- rods and cones- are located in the retina of the eye, and send signals (via other cells) to the ganglion cells and ultimately to the optic nerve, which carries visual information to the brain. Rods are responsible for vision in dim light; cones are responsible for colour vision. Dark adaptation occurs in two stages. The Structures of the Retina Click here to view t...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Learn Business English - The Definitive Guide

Learn Business English - The Definitive Guide Learning Business English, like any language, is a process that involves dedication and many different strategies. You need to approach learning Business English in a long-term, holistic, dynamic, and authentic way. Strengthen Your Grammar You must have strong English grammar for business writing. People simply won’t take you seriously if your writing is full of grammatical and punctuation mistakes. Strengthening grammar can seem frustrating and never-ending, but there are several small, daily actions you can take: Use Grammarly - Grammarly is a free app you can use through Google Chrome. It checks any and everything you write online, and you are able to upload documents to the site as well. There is a paid version as well, but for non-native writers I find the free version to be better because it focuses on basic and common grammar issues (the paid version identifies more sophisticated issues that aren’t applicable to all types of writing). Grammarly will help you identify and correct your mistakes. Once you know what your mistakes are, you can study up on those areas here: (grammar only) and punctuation) This blog post and video explain a technique that can help you improve your use of prepositions. Use this same technique for all sorts of grammar. Read our blog! There are lots of posts about different grammar topics, such as Pronoun Antecedent Errors here. Browse through or search by topic. Subscribe to the blog by entering your email in the field on the right-hand side of the screen. Read, Read, and Read Some More Reading is the best way to improve your Business English vocabulary and Business English writing skills. Reading anything and everything is good, but to really build effective business communication in English, you need to read business texts. Here are some good options: The Harvard Business Review. Sign up for a free account and access up to 15 articles per month (without an account, you can only access five articles per month). There are hundreds of articles written at a high level of Business English on all sorts of Business related topics. The Wall Street Journal. There is lots of good content here, though you may need a subscription or at least an account. The Economist. Again, there is good content, but you can only access a certain number of articles each month without an account. Forbes.You'll find lots of shorter articles that are easy to read, as well as longer, more in-depth stories. Paul Krugman’s blog in the New York Times This is a blog, so you willnotice some differences between this and a standard newspaper article (Use of â€Å"I," a more casual and conversational tone, etc.) You can read up to ten free articles per month at nytimes.com. After that, you need a subscription. Paul Krugman is an excellent author, and as an economist, he addresses finance and other technical topics. Fortune Magazine. This publication is most famous for its â€Å"Fortune 500,† the list of the 500 most powerful companies around the world. Bloomberg Businessweek. Another trove of well-written business news. Entrepreneur. This is geared towards entrepreneurs, as you might expect from the title and has many well written articles that will help your business skills as well as modeling good English writing. Fast Company. This publication focuses on innovative and creative ideas, so it’s useful to non-native readers from companies where time-tested approaches are valued more than innovation. It will stretch your business approach as well as providing a good model of business English. The key is to consistently read business texts from a variety of sources dailyto strengthen your business English vocabulary, reading comprehension, and ultimately writing skills. Aim to set 15 minutes aside each day to read good business English. Enjoy it with your morning coffee or tea! Write More Often Reading alone won’t strengthen your writing. Like any skill, business writing takes practice. So, to improve your business English writing skills, you need to write, and write often! Here are some ideas for how to get started: Take some of the topics that you usually write about in your field and write these in English. Google â€Å"business letter topics†, â€Å"business email topics†, or â€Å"business report topics." You’ll find lots of great ideas to get started writing. Here are some good report topics. Use these topics to practice writing letters, emails, and reports. Once you have written a practice letter/email/report, upload it to Grammarly (Can you tell we like this tool?) for grammar feedback. This will help you identify your most common grammatical errors for different styles of writing. As with reading, you’ll need to write a variety of texts consistentlyto build and maintain your business English writing skills. Practice Listening to Business English Sometimes, you need to give your eyes and fingers a break from all that reading and writing. You can still strengthen your business English skills even when you are not reading and writing! Try listening to a business podcast on your way to work or while exercising. Here are some good options: â€Å"5 Business Podcasts to Start Listening to in 2016† from Entrepreneur â€Å"The 8 Best Podcasts for Business Savvy Listeners† from Fast Company â€Å"9 Great Business Podcasts You Should Know† from Fortune Remember that podcasts are spoken English, and they tend to be conversational. The language used will often be less formal than most business English writing needs to be. But, podcasts are a great way to expand your vocabulary and knowledge base about a variety of business topics. Plus, they are a nice break from other types of practice. Like everything else, you’ll get the most benefit from listening daily! Pro Tip:Listening to conversational business English will help you to learn idioms and phrasal verbs. Take a Business English Course The methods above are great for independent work. However, to truly improve your business English communication skills, especially writing, you need to take a course that provides you individualized feedback. You need a person, not just a computer program, to tell you exactly where you are shining and where you need to focus your energy. You may find that your grammar is strong, but you need to work on tone, directness, or more appropriate vocabulary. A good course will teach you strategies and an effective process, not just quick business writing tips and tricks. You can take a face-to-face course or an online course. Instructional Solutions offers both onsite and online business writing courses for non-native speakers of English and for native speakers. We focus on context-specific writing practice with individualized feedback in key areas, including grammar, punctuation, tone, and organization. Combining independent practice with abusiness writing course that includes instructor support is the best way to improve your overall business communication skills in English.