Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Questions

'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet' - Questions Published in 2009, this historical fiction novel has been a book club favorite since it was released. Use these book club discussion questions on by Jamie Ford to lead your book club into Fords novel. Spoiler Warning: These book club discussion questions reveal important details about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Finish the book before reading on. Why do you think Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was told in flashbacks? What perspective can an older Henry give?How was Henrys relationship with Marty different than his relationship with his father? How was it the same? Even though tradition was important to both men, how did Henry and his father view tradition and heritage differently?Was the information the novel presented about Japanese-American internment new to you? What did you learn?Do you think Henry was right to stay with Ethel even after he found out about his fathers deceit? Should he have searched for Keiko?Do you think Ethel knew what was happening to Henrys letters?If you were Henry, could you forgive your father?What do you think happened after the novel ended?Rank Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford on a scale of 1 to 5.

Damned vs. Dammed

Damned vs. Dammed Damned vs. Dammed Damned vs. Dammed By Simon Kewin An article from the Yale School of Forestry Environmental Studies recently revealed the shocking news that some South Korean rivers have been condemned to eternal punishment : The natural landscape of South Korea has been largely re-engineered, with nearly every river damned or forced into concrete channels. Of course, what the piece really meant to say was dammed with a dam on it. Dammed and damned are two words that are often confused, not least because they are homophones; they sound the same. Its also easy to miss an incorrect usage because the two words look so similar. The main evening news on the BBC recently displayed a graphic for a story about a damming report into the UK Ministry of Defence. The report had nothing to do with dams. To add to the confusion, the words are often deliberately mixed up by writers for the purpose of creating witty or ironic titles. The distinction is straightforward. Rivers are dammed and sinners are damned. LONDON - There are three kinds of lies, goes the old saying popularized by Mark Twain: â€Å"lies, damned lies, and statistics.† That’s been on my mind this month as I’ve watched a big scandal over aid workers’ (www.nytimes.com) gnawed through by the beaver family, all dead or dying under 3ft of water. The beavers have done what beavers do – dammed the stream that links one loch with another, allowing them to swim their territory instead of walk it. The result (www.theguardian.com) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating ConjunctionsThe Difference Between "will" and "shall"While vs. Whilst

BUCHANAN Last Name Origin and Meaning

BUCHANAN Last Name Origin and Meaning The Celtic last name Buchanan  has several possible origins: A habitational or geographical surname meaning who came from the district of Buchanan in Stirlingshire, a location near Loch Lomond in Scotland. The place name is thought to derive from  the Gaelic elements buth, meaning house and chanain, meaning of the canon.An anglicization of the German buchenhain, meaning beech wood. Most last names originate in more than one area, so to learn more about your Buchanan last name or to identify a Buchanan family crest that may have belonged to an ancestor, you really need to research the history of your own specific family. If you are new to genealogy, try these steps to begin tracing your family tree. Surname Origin ï » ¿Scottish Alternate Surname Spellings BUCKCANNON, BUCANNON, BUCHANON Famous People With the BUCHANAN Last Name James Buchanan  - 15th President of the United States Where Is the BUCHANAN Name Most Common? The Buchanan surname is interestingly most commonly found today in New Zealand and Australia, according to surname data from WorldNames PublicProfiler. It is also a fairly common surname in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom. Within the UK, the name is by far the most prevalent in Scotland, especially in Stirling, where the name originated, as well as the Western Isles.  The top cities for the Buchanan last name worldwide are all in the UK and Ireland: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool and Aberdeen. The Buchanan surname currently ranks as 117th most common in Scotland, according to surname distribution data from Forebears. Data from the 1881 British census showed that Buchanan ranked highest in Dunbartonshire at #15, followed by Stirlingshire (27th), Renfrewshire (59th) and Lanarkshire (60th). The largest density of individuals named Buchanan, as a percentage of population, can be found in Anguilla, where one in 585 people use that last name. Genealogy Resources for the BUCHANAN Last Name Meanings and Origins of the 100 Top Scottish SurnamesInterestingly, Buchanan is the 67th most popular Scottish surname in the United States, but doesnt even crack the top 100 in Scotland. See which Scottish surnames are more popular! Buchanan Y-DNA Surname ProjectOver 200 men with the Buchanan last name have already tested their DNA and joined this project to help identify Buchanans of Scottish or Irish heritage into broad family groups. BUCHANAN Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Buchanan last name to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Buchanan query. FamilySearch - BUCHANAN GenealogySearch and access records, queries, and lineage-linked online family trees posted for the Buchanan surname and its variations. FamilySearch features over 1.2 million results for the Buchanan last name. DistantCousin.com - BUCHANAN Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Buchanan.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Inside Secrets to Greeting Card Writing Revision

Inside Secrets to Greeting Card Writing Revision The legendary Emily Dickinson once stated, â€Å"A wounded deer leaps the highest.†Ã‚   The same holds true for successful greeting card writers. We constantly pour out creative ideas into verses in hopes of landing a sale, and when some of our creations receive rejection, taking a leap to revision is our wisest recourse. Greeting Card Publisher Oatmeal Studios (www.oatmealstudios.com), accepts short humorous verses that possess a punch line sure to bring a smile to the toughest consumer. Sun Day Greetings (www.sundaygreetings.com), however, is more subtle regarding humor and sentimental verse. In lieu of this, is it possible to revise a rejected verse like this: (Picture of a pretty woman sitting on a bus bench) O:   Dear friend, getting older I:   is such a bummer! Let’s try lightening this statement up to the one hundredth power! (Picture of a beautiful older woman dressed impeccably.   Her husband escorts her to the table at a restaurant.   Her husband speaks.) O:   Getting older I:   sure looks amazing on you!   Happy Birthday! Understanding what is not working and opening up your mind to telling a more interesting story are the keys to revision. Whenever a publisher requests to see samples of my work, I like to have sample verses handy that I can just cut and paste in an email like the one below: (Picture of a cat standing on two paws/the other two paws rest in a chair. A birthday cake and a bottle of champagne sit on a table near O:   Break open the bubbly! I:   And don’t forget to pour a little bit in my bowl! Happy Birthday. Try a few of your own Wordy Verses    Most people tend to wait until the last minute to shop for a birthday party or any other special occasion. Imagine a consumer in a store with only a few minutes to choose the perfect card. Consumers prefer words that have a smooth flow- a perfect rhythm. Wordy verses like â€Å"your caring loving beautiful character† and â€Å"you’re the super kindest most thoughtful angelic person I know† are simply too much to chew on, especially when you are in a rush. Publishers avoid buying wordy verses because consumers avoid them as well! Instead, aim for clarity. The Sentimental Publisher There are publishers that prefer emotional-type verses like Blue Mountain Arts (www.sps.com). I love writing these type of verses because I have so many family members and friends who invoke loving emotions within me.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Revise rejected sentimental verses List what makes the recipient unique. State feelings the recipient invokes. Explain the hopes you have for the recipient on the occasion   Ã‚   you’re celebrating. What to Do When Revisions Do Not Work If you have revised your piece with no success, keep hope alive!   Send your work to another publisher. Another pair of eyes may be just what you need to make a sale. Reach For Success According to the Greeting Card Association, the greeting card industry raked in over seven billion dollars in annual retail sales last year. That is more than enough incentive to aim high

Ethics College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics College - Essay Example They bind people to perform certain actions, or to avoid them, as the case may be. These obligations differ from person to person. They are also dependent upon the type of relationship, that is whether personal or professional. Nevertheless, a person is morally bound to fulfill the same. Secondly, ideals are a set of standards, on the basis of which a person performs actions. It varies on the basis of culture of a person. Moreover, there may be several ways of pursuing these goals or standards. The most common virtues or ideals found in all cultures include loyalty, compassion, tolerance, justice, peace etc. These virtues help us determine whether an act is morally justified. Further, organizational ethics include customer satisfaction, efficiency, superior quality, productivity, fair pricing etc. An action either honors these ideals or disregards them. Hence, these standards help us to determine the morality quotient of the action. Lastly, ethics are concerned with the consequences of our actions and their effect on other concerned people. While determining the likely procedure, one has to consider the outcome of the action. Thus, while evaluating various options available, one must identify the parties involved and carefully analyze the pros and cons involved. From the above, it can be concluded that any course of action which recognizes the obligations, keeping in mind the ideals and benefits all the people concerned, can be acknowledged as morally correct. An action which does not qualify either of the above three factors, cannot be regarded as morally sound, therefore it should be revised. However, one might be in jeopardy, because of conflicting ideals, obligations or effects. To simplify, the course of evaluation to determine the correct action, can be divided into two steps. (Shaw, W.H., Barry, V. and Sansbury, G. 2009) In the first step we ascertain the obligations involved and towards whom they are involved; the ideals which are recognized and those which are ignored. We also identify the people who are affected by our action and the extent of effect on them. The second step involves prioritizing, that is, we deduce which action will prove to be most appropriate out of the set of alternatives. While making a decision one should adopt a stronger objective of the two and the more important ideal which would result in "greater good and lesser harm". Part 2: In real life it is difficult to categorize ideals or objectives on the basis of the importance, so is balancing objectives ideals and effects. Hence the crux of the decision making criteria is left unanswered here. Some propagate that business ethics has unique principles to determine right and wrong on the basis of its business settings. They say that business ethics need not be in tandem with the ethics laid done by the society of right and wrong. (Warlick, Staten Leslie.1998). Some action may be considered as ethical from the point of view of business while it may be unethical from society's point of view. While marketing a company's product, people resort to lying or exaggerating the quality of the product or service in order to sell the product. Say a firm promoting a fairness cream may exaggerate that the effectiveness of the cream shows in a month of usage, while in

Letters Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Letters - Assignment Example When I attempt to toast a bagel or any other type of food, the toasting units only become mildly hot. Rather than glowing red as they typically do, the toaster is unable to even moderately toast the thinnest slice of bread. Although this is a major inconvenience, it also represents a unique safety hazard due to the fact that it requires me to hold down the toasting apparatus until such a time that the pieces of bread or bagel are sufficiently toasted. Accordingly, I tried to return this unit to Target only to be told that I should contact the original manufacturer as a means of attaining a repair or a replacement. I’m perfectly willing for your firm to either repair or replace the toaster, however, I do not want to be responsible for the necessary shipping and handling fees this might incur. Accordingly it is my hope that you will be able to fix this situation in the shortest timeframe possible. Sincerely, James Smith 123 Main Street Anytown USA April 28, 2013 Mark Witte Human Resources Department CKLB Radio Station 111 Bush River Road Columbia, SC 29201 Dear Mr Witte It is come to my attention that there is recently been posting for position of market research analyst for CKLB Radio station. Accordingly, I would like to express my interest in this position and briefly introduce myself as a highly qualified candidate who could appropriately fill such a position. Currently, I’m employed with TV6 as a lead researcher and their marketing department. I’ve been working in this position for a period of around three years and have gained a valuable network of individuals within the local community that I believe would be helpful within the position that you are currently advertising. Ultimately, the position that you described appears to be of mutual benefit both for myself and for your firm. I represent an individual who is talented, motivated, and highly dedicated. My references will be attached to this letter should you have need of conferring upon any professional sources to a test to my level of dedication to work. Although I’m satisfied with the current level of work that I’m performing, the job opportunity that you have recently posted is attractive and represents a unique opportunity for me to branch out and seek to leverage some of my talents with regards to publishing the tasks that would necessarily be part of the job. I sincerely appreciate your time and consideration this matter and look forward to your response in the near future. Sincerely Tom Jones March 15, 2001 Mr. John Smith, Director of Operations SomeGroup Group SomeStreet Drive Sometown, GA 30815 Dear Mr. Smith I am writing with regards to a bicycle purchase that took place from Maritime Sports Equipment on April 1st of 2013. Although I have enjoyed the bicycle exceptionally, the reason that this prompted me to write this letter is with regards to an overcharge that took place when the order was placed. When I made the decision to purchase the bicycle, the list price was $185 plus $25 shipping and handling fee. Accordingly, this represents the total expenditure of $210. However, when I received my bike and my bill from Maritime Sports Equipment, it came to my attention that I was being charged $22.10 in addition to the $210 which has already been noted. Upon examining my receipt to a closer degree, I have been unable to determine what the origin of this additional charge might be. Accordingly, I would kindly request that your firm honor the original agreement that existed via

Childhood Obesity in America Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Childhood Obesity in America - Research Proposal Example The number of cases in past three decades have raised to three times. It is unfortunate that the rate of incidence obesity is reported to be exceptionally high for the minor population i.e. the population belonging to the age group between 2 to 18 years. It is also reported that 25% of Black and Hispanic kids are flabby (Child Obesity In America). The tern emerged for these exceptionally fat children as super-obesity and it has take a toll with a rise of 100% in past 20 years. It is evident that when these kids will grow they are going to be obese adults (Child Obesity In America). Such overweight kids start reporting with the problems of high blood lipids, insulin resistance, elevated blood pressure, and other troubles. The jeopardy of an high blood cholesterol concentration is maximum amongst children with body loads more than 90th percentile (Child Obesity In America). Reports illustrate that around 7 million American children and teenagers are supposed to have elevated cholestero l concentrations. If LDL concentration rises at young age and when these kids grow as adults they are bound to have prominent LDL cholesterol intensities (Child Obesity In America). ... Besides these critical issues the obese child also witness physical health issues and social troubles (Child Obesity In America). Morbidly obese children also suffer from emotional distress and this results in their profuse eating habits. It is observed that obese children relish a lot if they get all the eatable they wish for. They develop a tendency to eat constantly and do not feel satisfied even after eating a large full meal. It is reported that eating behavior of children have considerably altered over the past twenty years or so. Children are achieving a greater percentage of their calories from junk foods and snacks, these food items have high proportion of fat, salt and sugar (Child Obesity In America). The most favorite food items for kids in today's scenario are ice creams, soda pop, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, French fries made of potatoes that is full of starch, shakes that are sugar syrups, chips, and candy bars. These food items are devoid of fibers and are rich in fats and cholesterol. Children do not like to eat raw fruits and salads. They like to opt for juice with sugar from these juices fibers are being strained out. They do not like salads and vegetables, if they eat fruits and vegetables they eat with toppings of cream and sugar or with ice-cream (Child Obesity In America). Additionally, Children have developed a tendency to eat more and they are not satisfied with the little amount of food they consume. Estimates reveal that the average size of the food items have been enhanced three times i.e. from 50 to 135 calories, apart from food items augmentation in beverage serving has also enhanced from 8 to 20 ounces. With the increase in diet the body is also increasing in girth making the children to develop

United States Court System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

United States Court System - Research Paper Example In spite of the belief that the adversarial system is a contest between two rivals, in reality a complex system of collaboration between judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers is usually present. In the U.S. court system, members of the courtroom work team create guidelines about how specific kinds of cases must be dealt with and what type of petitions is legitimate for particular kinds of offenses (May et al., 2007, 159). At present, the United States implements a dual system of state and federal courts that often work autonomously, even though state cases are often petitioned to the federal courts. The dual court system developed from the belief of the founding fathers that every state has to have substantial judicial sovereignty and legislative power (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2012, 105). The federal court system emerged after the nation gained its independence from England. The existing federal court system emerged as a concession between the founding fathers who preferred a powerful federal government and those who supported the rights of the states with a restricted federal government. At present, there are several independent court systems in the United States. Even though some American Indian communities and the military have their own court systems, the general U.S. court systems are the state court systems and the federal court systems (May et al., 2007, 161-162). Figure 1. Structure of the federal court system (May et al., 2007, 162) Even though state court systems emerged with almost no interaction with other states’ court systems, the state court systems that ult imately progressed noticeably resemble one another in structure and organization. Almost all court systems at present are structured in a hierarchical way (Cole et al., 2012, 363). The first major characteristic to remember when looking at state court systems is the difference between courts with appellate jurisdiction and courts with original jurisdiction. Because cases come from them, trial courts are usually called ‘courts of limited jurisdiction’. These courts handle cases of misconduct or less serious offenses, cases of small claims, family disputes, and traffic disobedience. These courts seldom conduct jury trials and rely greatly on the judge for the final resolution (Neubauer & Fradella, 2010, 95). Courts of general jurisdiction handle both felonies and misconduct cases and function as a round-table for major civil actions. Courts of general jurisdiction, in numerous states, facilitate the first appellate level and give the accused who came from a court of limit ed jurisdictions the opportunity to open up another trial. These courts employ prosecutors, defense attorneys, witnesses, juries, and all the other players usually connected to American courtrooms (Walston-Dunham, 2008, 147). These courts are more formal than courts of limited jurisdiction. They operate under the adversarial framework. The intermediate appellate court level—court of appeals-- is the subsequent level in state court systems. The main task of these courts is to evaluate petitions that came from resolutions given in the courts of general jurisdiction. The topmost court level in every state system is the court of last resort—the Supreme Court (Cole et al., 2012, 364-365). A petition can progress no further after the Supreme Court gives

Key Events and Timeline of General Electrics Assignment

Key Events and Timeline of General Electrics - Assignment Example Data collected by State Information Centre for the sales of washing machine from January to October 2010, sales of domestic market shoots up to 25.17%. Increase in urban consumption is also emphasis. Consumption rate is drastically improved and future structures are under planning. Operational profit of GE Consumer &Industrial is 2.1% and revenue is 6.1%. They sell home appliances, industrial equipment and other services related to them (Brooks, 2009). General Electric Company or GE is a multinational company in New York, headquarter is in Fairfield. Company is providing their services in four major sectors. These sectors are Energy, Industry, Technology setup, Capital Finance and last but not least are Consumer. According to Fortune ranking, GE in 2011 is the sixth largest organization is US and also ranked on 14th position for the most profitable setup. The other ranking of 2011 are Interbrand ranked them on 5thfor best global brand, Newsweek gives them 82nd position for green company, Fortune gives them a title of most admired one and kept them on 13th rank and Fast Company rate them as 19th rank in innovative company. In 1890, Edison General Electric Company comes in market by the owner Thomas Edison. In the same year Charles Coffin also host the flag for Thomson-Houston Electric Company. The increase in number of competitor introduces new patterns and strategies. In 1892 the merger of both companies, Thomson-Houston Electric Company and Edison General Electric give the emergence to General Electric. The integration of company takes place in city of New York. Canadian General Electric also came in to being in same era (Shim and Siegel, 2008). The future plans of GE are to introduce new ap pliances and technology which reduce the consumption of energy. Energy refers to electricity. Global Research section of GE makes management strategies to control the use of electricity by consumers in home and industry sectors. Many of the research programs want to help the customers globally and face all the challenges gifted by environment. Researchers of GE are studying the techniques to implement systems that will use smart appliances. The efficiency will increase in grid of power-transmission. We can consider any home having multiple electric appliances like washing machines, microwaves, refrigerators, air conditioners and other are working simultaneously will affect the power consummation on overall basis. Consumer will go to pay less as compared to consummation because of proper management control on out of electricity (Tennent, 2008). The basic aim of GE is to introduce such technology in market which is efficient in electricity usage and reduce the use the emission of gree nhouse gas footprints in air. Key Events-GE Timeline 1876 First laboratory in New Jersey opened by Thomas Addison. 1892 Edison General Electric (formed 1890) and Thomas Houston (formed 1879) merged to for m The General Electric Company 1932 GE Credit corporation formed 1942 First American Jet Engine developed by GE 1981 Jack Welsh becomes CEO 1985 GEnie developed 1989 CNBC Developed 1996 Genie is sold out 2001 Honeywell and GE merger 2003 GE acquires Transamerica finance 2004 Partly acquires Vivendi Universal, and fully, InVision technologies 2006 Acquires IDX and Zenon environmental systems 2007 Acquires Microwave data systems, Smiths Aerospace and Vital Signs 2011 NBC sale to Comcast completed by retaining 48% share. Source: www.ge.com General Electric Company Business Model: General Electric

Inventory System Essay Example for Free

Inventory System Essay The need for computerized system in our modern time, especially on the field of business is undeniable. The manual process in a business may be the cause of poor services, unorganized data or unreliable security. In this documentation, the big differences of a manual process to a computerized system will be manifest beyond the following chapters. Â  The researcher, propose a computerized system to the company of I.T Mechanics. Even though they have a point of sale they don’t have a computerized system when it comes to their inventory. The proposed system, are efficient in tracking the movement of the inventory, secure all the data from any possibilities to misplace it and providing reliable reports that are easy to generate and understand It will help the company to manage the business in terms of inventory management system. The importance of Information Technology in this project is well known. Information Technology helps the students as well as the teachers in studying the course material easily because of fast access. Studying the subjects with the help of online libraries and dictionaries has made grasping and increasing the knowledge easy for the students. Information technology is also useful in terms of business. There are many businesses, which are in need of the software packages for satisfying their operational as well as functional needs. For fulfilling this requirement, these companies sign deals with the software manufacturing companies. 1.1 Project Overview The project is tending to change the manual system of I.T Mechanics when it comes on their inventory system that results to their poor inventory process and time wasting data storage, for better storage of data. Our system will provide I.T Mechanics a quality in terms of inventory system. Our inventory system is a friendly user program, has a high security system and a good interface with special features like calendar, calculator for the computations and time. Our system will automatically track the numbers of raw material after the transaction with the customer. So that the employees will easily know the current numbers of raw material and it will warn them for any demand or re-ordering of apply. 1.2 Project Scope and Limitation and Features SCOPE * Has a sale reports, daily, weekly and monthly * Has a high security features * Our system will; automatically track the numbers of raw materials after the transaction with the customer. Limitation * Inventory management is not necessarily simple or easy to learn, A company’s management team must dedicate a certain amount of time to learning a new system, Including its software and hardware, In order to put it to use. * Our system exclusively for IT mechanics company only. 1.3 Project Objectives * The proposed system is the inventory System w/ point of sale that can replace, handle and manage easier the manual inventory managing system of IT Mechanics. * To develop a system that can secure all the transaction record of the company * To develop a database for the customer service and products to reduce wasting time of transaction. 1.4 Time to be spent on the project * We’re already to spend a lot of time not only to a minimum total of 162 Hours required of school for report writing and for the preparation of this project, much early time to be done much better, until we meet the submission and deadlines. 1.5 Selecting a project * We choose this system because we are familiar to the processes of this system, And it will not be difficult for use to make a change in our system if it is needed and also we can put some features if our client want. 1.6 Project Adviser * Our project adviser Mr. Billy Tierra, We decided to choose him because he was graduated from PUP as Bachelor Science of Information Technology and work as professor in Bestlink college of the Philippines, he has experience as personal programmer in private company. We think about him, he should be able to handle and can help us to our project proposal.

The Effects of Mobile Phones in Society

The Effects of Mobile Phones in Society IMPLICATION OF HANDPHONES TO THE SOCIETY TODAY INTRODUCTION In the recent years, handphones have become ubiquitous in our society, it have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Handphones have been around for several decades in some form or another. The technology began in the late 1940s, when the idea of a handphone was bring to the society. A handphone, also referred to as mobile or cellular phone is defined as a portable telephone device used for mobile telecommunications which does not needed the use of landlines over a cellular network of specialized base stations. Unlike the usual home phones, handphones can be easily carried anywhere, from place to place. Handphones utilize the frequency transmitted by cell towers to join the calls between two devices. The base stations and also handphones send and receive signals using radio waves. Handphones are different from the cordless telephones that usually being used in a home or an office. Handphones does not have the same characteristic as the cordless telephones as the cordless telephones only provide telephone service inside a limited scope or area through a fixed line and a base station as well as from radio telephones and satellite phones. Handphones transmit and receive information such as voice messages by the use of radio communication. The phone transmits radio frequency signals to the base station and incoming signals are sent to the phone from the base station at a slightly distinct frequency. The base stations connect handphones to rest of the mobile and also fixed phone network. When the moment signals reach to a base station, it can be transmitted to main telephone network. Handphones are looked upon as a modern invention, but their origin can be traced back to the invention of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1870s and success in capturing of radio message. Since then, these basic technologies have combined and shaped themselves together as what we called handphone. The history of handphones is divided into different generations (first, second, third, fourth and so on) which used to indicate the significant step changes in power or abilities as the technology getting better and better each year. In the first generation 1G, analog circuit-switched technology is used together with FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access). It worked mainly in 800 to 900Mhz frequency bands. 1G is the earliest cellular system to build up. The network contained unreliable handover, poor voice quality as well as poor security. As the limitation of the 1G, people are trying to create a newer generation of mobile communication, this is the second generation. 2G introduced for the first time the system used purely digital technology. Even though quite a few of the principle connected in a 1G system apply to 2G, there are deviations or a significant change in way that the signals are handled, and 1G networks does not have the capability to give more features ahead in development of the 2G systems, such as text messaging and also caller identity. 3G The third generation networks are the latest stage in the process development of wireless communications technology. They can support higher data transmission rates and provide increased capacity. This allows them to be used for high speed data applications and also for the normal voice calls. 3G systems are created according to a design in such a way to process data, and since the voice signals are transformed into digital data, this leads to the speech being dealt with in similar way as other kind of data. 3G systems use packet-switching technology, which is more effective and faster as compared with the traditional circuit-switched systems. 4G The fourth generation networks are more reliable. At the present times, more and more companies have began researching and creating the 4G communications system, this technology can have a high uplink rate to approximately 200Mbps, therefore a large number of data can transfer in the handphones. The 4G handphones contain more function such as the television. A large portion of handphone networks are digital and use the standard such as CDMA, GSM, or iDEN. They are all operating at various radio frequencies. A multi-mode phone operates across different standards whereas a multi-band phone is designed to operate on more than one radio frequency. In addition to the standard voice function, current generation handphones can support numerous additional services and also accessories rather than only voice calls or text messaging. For example, Bluetooth, infrared, USB, memory card reader (SD), MMS for sending and receiving multimedia elements, email, WiFi connectivity, instant messaging, camera with video function added, music (MP3) and video (MP4) playback, radio, alarms, memo, GPS navigation and so on. Some of the phones also include a touchscreen to make it much easier to be used. IMPLICATION OF HANDPHONES TO THE SOCIETY TODAY The changes of communication technology do have a critical impact on society today which associated with time and space as fundamental dimensions. The investigation on the structure and dynamics of the network society has shown the emergence of new forms/processes of space and time: the space of flows and timeless time (Castells, 2000). For examples, space of flows are consider of the material organization of simultaneous social interaction at the distance by networking communication via telecommunications technology support, interactive communication support systems, and fast transportation technologies. In a simple word we can call it as the territorial basis of each communication node (network). While, timeless time referred to the random order of moment when using handphone. The great advancement of communication technology greatly influenced our daily life by spreading the space of flows and timeless time. On the other hand, communication technology enhancement does benefit the people, â€Å"distance† can be shortened, and time can be saved. The â€Å"freedom of contact† provided by the handphone means for people to free themselves from the place-based context of their interaction, shifting their frame of reference to the communication itself, that is to a space made of communication flows, based on the availability of the technological infrastructure that makes it possible. (Crabtree et al, 2003) And yet, when society is too dependent on such high-tech mobile, those whom not equipped or forget to bring their handphones will be socially disabled. As what Misuko Ito said, â€Å"To not have a keitai (cell phone) is to be walking blind, disconnected from just-in-time information on where and when you are in the social networks of time and sp ace† (Ito, 2003) Moreover, the availability of wireless communication may saturate time with social practice making other practices cannot be conducted by inserting communication in all moments , such as the â€Å"in-between† time during transportation or in a waiting line (Larimer, 2000, p. A29). For examples, leisure time or working time would be affected when people use this time playing, sending SMS, or listening to music. Mobile communication may have greatly enhanced opportunity of reach of interpersonal sociability and shared practices but lots of undeniable impacts of handphones to the society. Implications of both positive and negative impacts draw up the contribution to the advantages and disadvantages of handphone to the users. First advantage of having handphone implies when someone is having emergency. The hand phones are undoubtedly a lifesaver on numerous occasions. When travelling abroad, peoples still can keep in contact and it become the most convenient way to communicate. On the other hand, having a handphone for some people, gives them a sense of security, they have the knowledge that the can contact and be contacted at anytime of the day. This is especially important where teenagers are concerned, more or so on the female, were parents may worry if they are out late; if they have a handphone with them, then they can be contacted to see when they are coming back. Therefore, parents boug ht handphone for their children to act as a safety device. Through the handphone, parents may know the location of their children as well as the activities their children were conducted. Nowadays, handphone is also use as an entertainment tool. Examples of service that provided are personal organizer, gaming, mp3 and mp4 player, camera, camcorder, Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS navigation RDS radio receiver, and more. No doubt, the rapid developments of handphone do bring a lot of advantages to the world. Short Message Service (SMS) spreads into everyday life is one of the facets in which technological evolution acts as a factor of cultural and behavioural change in the mobile society. First of all, SMS influences the writing skill of both children and teenagers. The length limitation to 160 characters and the challenge of the interface are two main influential factors in the mobile communications. According to Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Ling and Yttri (2002), young users have to improve their ability to synthesize and summarize their messages in order to optimize each sent SMS. Therefore, young users develop a new language that can be defined as a new â€Å"writing orality† based on symbols and abbreviations. The new language is based on phonetics due to the reproduction of the oral language helps to save characters, a scarce resource when texting. According Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Kasesniemi and Rautiainen (2003), messages often bear more resemblance to co de than to standard language and a text filled with code language expressions is not necessarily accessible to an outsider. The unique writing style creates opportunities for creativity. A mistake in one letter such as a typing error can produce a new term of endearment, which may remain in the SMS language either for a short time or permanently. SMS can lead to discreet and asynchronic communication. Texting turned out to be a more â€Å"relaxed† way to inform about feelings and delicate subjects because SMS is not direct confrontation. Users may be more embarrassed to communicate the same information without SMS. Texting helps teenagers and some adult male to overcome awkwardness and inhibitions and to develop social and communication skills. They communicate with more people, and more frequently, than they did before mobiles. (Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Fox, K, 2001) The creativity being observed among SMS users is the compression of text dates back to shorthand wr iting, for example for taking class notes and secret codes among friends. On the other hand, older generations are uneasy about the effect this has on the Standard English language as messaging language seeps into formal writing tasks. Besides that, users can now both send and receive images in addition to text using Multimedia Message System (MMS). MMS is normally used by the teenagers to send a photo/graphic or a short video. Real state agents use camera telephones to forward pictures to prospective buyers for giving a speedy edge in a competitive market. Interns are allowed or permitted to send pictures of an x-ray to the senior doctors in order to speed up the diagnosis as well as suggested treatment process. Apart from that, the social learning process through handphone can be identified as the social appropriation or domestication process. People have learned how and when a handphone could be used and, moreover, some old embarrassments are not usually happening nowadays thanks to the generalization of some technical features. New design of devices has evolved in this direction such as vibration or silent modes. The use of handphones in indoor public places entails the possibility of being overhead and disturbing people around. A common rule of mobile etiquette (Crabtree et al, 2003) is to talk in a low voice as noisy users are considered the main negative aspect of mobile telephony in public places. Handphones use has been incorporated to everyday life activities whether they are legal or illegal. According to Crabtree et al (2003), one of the main reasons to purchase a handphone is safety and security. For example, car accidents or main catastrophes in which lives were saved thanks to the availability of a handphone. Besides that, people were able to report to their dearest ones some dramatic situations in which they were involved and even let them know their love (Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Agar, 2003). According to Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Ling and Haddon (2001), the device is useful for the coordination of the daily family activities. Almost all the family members are networked and remote care-giving functions can be developed more easily nowadays. This is valid for children and old-aged persons. Coordination is related to the members of a family habitually do travelling. These journeys can be made by car, public transportation or foot, and include diverse activities. For instance, the activities could be to go to the supermarket or to pick up the children from school and drive them to any out-of-school activity. According to the study done by Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Ling and Haddon (2001), the mobile telephony is not significantly changing the number of trips a person makes, but allows the redirection of journeys that have already begun. Micro-coordination is the nuanced management of social interactions and can be seen in the redirection of trips that have a lready started. It can be seen in the iterative agreement as to where and when can meet friends and the ability to call ahead when we are late to an appointment. (Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Ling, 2004) Next, handphones are helping, and allowing, communication with and within some handicapped individuals. For example, texting is bringing a kind of new normality in the communications of deaf-mute persons and has facilitated improvements in dyslexic children (Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Kasesniemi el al., 2003). Handphones are very useful in particular situations. For instance, vibra-call is a very interesting feature for deaf persons or even the possibility of preprogramming the automatic dial of a given number when pushing just one button helps old-aged people to begin a remote communication. However, there are still some deficiencies to be solved with the handphones. For example, blind persons have more problems with handphones than they have with traditional wired telephones because interfaces are more complicated. Furthermore, our working world has been changed by mobile telephony. Indeed, first adopters of the device were truckers, construction workers and maintenance engineers and the device was used as a tool for work. First affected what we can call mobile workers is the staffs that work both at the office and out of the office considering both long distances travels and short distance ones. For example, a mobile worker could be a commercial that has to visit different clients located in the same city where the office is or in another continent. Although technological facilities to be used could be different, but the situation is similar because as long as the staff is away from the home office, contextual constrains become unpredictable (Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Perry et al. 2001). Handphones reinforce networked activity and allow new ways of connectivity to be more easily than other ones. For instance, in long distance travels that need at least one night away from home office, e-mail is generally checked in the evenings, at the hotel room; while the handphone is used more often and, sometimes, as a way of solving disconnection problems which is created during a trip. Moreover, mobile workers who cover short distances routinely also use the handtelephone during car travels. According to Manuel Castells et al (2004) cited Laurier (2002), the workers take advantage of certain situations and try to complete particular pending tasks. This includes making calls or going on with some practical and limited business when there is some time between two programmed activities. All these activities are done despite the fact that access to documents and information is usually poorer than when working in the home office. The disadvantages brought along with this fast grown development cannot be ignored. First of all, handphone that provided us safety and protection may bring opposite effects. It might attract danger, the danger of being rob. Example was taken from an article, â€Å"A girl was seriously ill in hospital last night after being stabbed by a gang of teen robbers for her mobile phone. The youngster was jumped by three youths as she stood at a bus stop in Croydon, South London. The gang stabbed her twice in the back and the leg, before snatching her mobile phone and running off, leaving her lying in a pool of blood. She was rushed to hospital suffering from a punctured lung.†(Versatile, 2002) Besides that, it inflicted handphone addiction is also a big social problem. People, especially teenagers are easily attracted by the services provided by the handphones in all time. Moreover, it is a trend to get up to date handphone model makes people tend to change their handphone frequently and this caused unnecessary spending on bills and costs. After all, being fully acquainted with the handphone, people find uses, that they are able and desired to and thus it lead to another crimes call cyber crimes by abuse people using handphone. Next, many scientists do believe that radiation coming from the handphones may affect our health such as headache, earaches, blurring of vision and most crucial sickness, cancer. Thus many people are advice to reduce the usage of handphone although there is still no concrete evidence since this may only appear in long term of using. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS RESPONDENTS OPINION OVER IMPLICATION OF HANDPHONES TO THE SOCIETY Figure above shows the opinion of the respondents over the implication of handphones to the society. The result shows that most of the respondents agree that handphones will bring positive impact to the society. Out of 100 respondents, 73 of them believe that handphones will bring positive impact to the society while 27 of them believe that it will bring bad impact to the society. From the respondents of who choose handphones will bring positive impact to the society, they believe that handphones are good because it bring the people closer together. This is because they could use handphones to contact their love ones. For example, parents could use handphones to contact their children who are studying abroad or far away from their hometown to keep in touch with them. Besides that, they could use it to fill up their free time by playing games or listen to the music using their handphone. For example, people who are waiting for LRT or bus to go to work could use handphone to play some simple games or listen to the music. For the respondents who choose negative impact, they believe that handphones wasted their childrens time because they become addicted to the game provided by the handphone manufacturer. Besides that, some of them also believe that handphone will bring negative or bad impact to the society as those students will busy â€Å"SMS† during the class and pay no attention to the teacher. In short, there are more respondents agree that handphones will bring positive impact to the society as compared to negative impact. WHEN STUDENTS START TO OWN A HANDPHONE Based on the feedback from the students, out of 100 students, 20 of them got their first handphone during primary school while 7 of them received their first handphone after secondary school. Besides that, as we can see from the pie chart, majority of them received their first handphone during secondary school. According to one of the students who received his first handphone during primary school, he said that due to the poor condition in the school facilities, his parent was buying him a handphone so that he could make a call to them if he was in urgent. In the sense of care, this is correct but in the sense of security, this might cause jealousy in between classmates and caused some conflicts. Minor of them received handphone after they graduated from the secondary school. Their reason is because their parents think that they are more suitable to get a handphone after they finish their secondary school as they will be more mature and think wisely. As we can see from the pie chart shown above, majority of the students received their first handphone during secondary school. This is commonly happening everywhere. A lot of the parents will allow their children to own a handphone during secondary school. According to one of the students, her parent gave her handphone is due to the numbers of tuition class that she needed to attend and some other activities that she involved. Handphone make her contact her parent easily and report to them about her current location. Another reason that mentioned by a student is because some fall into a relationship during secondary school time, thus they need more privacy to talk and handphone is the solution. Other reason is due to the peer pressure. One convinced his/her parent to buy him/her a handphone because his/her friend had it. IS IT A NEED FOR THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO OWN A HANDPHONE TO CONTACT PARENTS DURING EMERGENCY? Figure above shows the opinion of respondents on whether should a child own a handphone. The result shows that 68 percent of the respondents think that the students do not need a handphone while only 32 percent of the respondents think that it is needed. The reason that the respondents think the students do not need a handphone is that the primary students are still very young and they will only abuse the handphone and use it to play games. Even if emergency really happens, the students can always consult their teachers to ask for help or contact their parents using a public telephone booth. On the other hand, the respondents who agree that primary students do need a handphone because in some of the rural school, the facilities are very limited and some school even do not have a public telephone booth. Therefore, it is more convenient for a student to own a handphone since it does not cost much to buy a handphone with a basic call function. In short, most of the respondents think that there is no need for a primary school student to own a handphone. IMPORTANCE OF HANDPHONE According the chart above, we can see that 10% of 100 students think that handphone is very important while 15% of them think that handphone is not important to them. Besides that, between moderate and important, it is only 5% different which is 40% for important and 35% is for moderate. Based on the feedback from the students, they feel that handphone is important because handphone make life easier. They can contact their friends without whenever they need. Besides that, due to the service like SMS, MMS, 3G that offer by the operators, handphones become a need. Other than that, handphones nowadays do allow public to install some applications like calculator, to-do-list, languages translators etc do make their life even easier and flexible. Some even use handphones to watch live show or TV. Another function that comes with the handphone is the camera which is the big temptation and the reason why handphone is important for them. THE IMPORTANT OF THE FUNCTION PROVIDED BY HANDPHONE BASED ON THE RESPONDENTS OPINION The importance of the function provided by handphone based on the respondents opinion Figure above shows the respondents opinion over the function provided by the handphones. Based on the survey, we can see that voice call is the most important function for a handphone. Out of 100 respondents, 57% of them think that voice call should be the most important function on a handphone followed by SMS (20%), gaming (8%), music player (6%), camera (6%) ,GPS navigation (3%) and also video call (1%). Most of the respondents choose voice call as the most important function of a handphone because of the fact that the main function of a handphone is to make voice call to other person. Besides that, SMS becomes the second important function because it is convenient and cheaper way to contact other person. Moreover, gaming becomes the third most important function because nowadays, many teenagers buy sophisticate handphone such as IPhone which provides numerous free games for the user. For other function such as Camera, Music Player, GPS navigation and video call, they are just optional function and it is implemented as an extra credit for the user. Some respondents do think that camera is an important function as they could capture down those memorable moment with his handphone while others prefer music player as they like to listen to music anytime and anywhere. In short, voice call remains as the most important function of a handphone. However, more function equipped inside it will definitely attract large number of customers to purchase it. CONCLUSION Almost everyone owns at least one handphone in today society. Over 50 percent of the population now owns a handphone, and the percentage is growing rapidly each year. During the time when handphones hit the street many years ago, it is a fantastic and wonderful invention that brought to this world, beside providing us the ability to communicate with our beloved family, friends as well as colleagues anytime and anywhere, at the same time, it also brought along a great impact to our society, transforming our social behaviour and made a enormous cultural impact as well. Based on the results of the survey, we can clearly conclude that most people think that handphones are important to them. Handphones can be considered to be a necessity nowadays. There are enormous numbers of additional functions added in the modern handphone, making life easier as well as flexible. The additional functions included are calculator, alarm, to-do-list, stopwatch and many more. Some of the handphones are just like a mini computer which can provides access to the internet if configured. Next, we can also make a conclusion that majority of the people strongly agree that handphones will bring positive impact to the society rather than negative impact. Handphone is a device that enables to bring people closer together regardless of how far the distance between both of them. Handphones bring into existence of massive social change in our lifestyle patterns and also behaviours. From the research that we have conducted, we can observed that the impact of handphone on the society varied in both positive and negative outlooks. Even though there are quite a number of negative impacts of handphone to the society. However, one cannot overshadow the comfort provided by handphone. With no doubt, handphones have successfully making the world look smaller than ever before. APPENDIX Assignment 1: Implication of handphones to the society today. Questionnaire: 1. Handphone is the most important and common device nowadays for communication. Agree? 2. According to your opinion, handphone gives positive impact or negative impact to the society? Why would you say so? a) Positive impact, because __________________________________________ c) Negative impact, because __________________________________________ 3. When you start to own your first handphone? a) primary school b) secondary school c) after secondary school (university time or working time) 4. Is it a good or bad to own a handphone during early age? Why? 5. The students nowadays normally own a handphones. This is encourage by the parents in the sense that student can contact parents during emergency. Is it a need for a primary school student to own a handphone? Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ No†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6. Nowadays students bring their luxury handphones to school just to show off. Agree? Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. No†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7. Some said handphone is part of the accessories for the body in nowadays. Do you agree that? Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. No†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8. How important is the handphone to you? a. very important b. important c. moderate d. not important 9. Please rate from 1 to 6 most important to unimportant according to the function of the handphone. (Eg: 1 = unimportant, 7 = most important) ___ Voice call ___ Take photo ___ SMS ___ Listen to music ___ GPS navigation ___ Gaming ___ Video Call REFERENCES * Castells, M. (2000). The Rise of the Network Society (2nd Edition). * Crabtree, J. N. (2003). MobileUK. Mobile phones and everyday life (Electronic Edition). * Ito.M., D. a. (2003). Camera Phones Changing the Definition of Picture-Worthy. Japan Media Review. * Larimer, T. (2000). What Makes DoCoMo Go. Time. * Manuel Castells, Mireia Fernandez-Ardevol, Jack Linchuan Qiu, Araba Sey. (2004). The Mobile Communication Society: A cross-cultural analysis of available evidence on the social uses of wireless. * Versatile. (2002). Mobile Phones in Society/General A DEADLY TREND. Retrieved from ciao!: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Mobile_Phones_in_Society_General__5176697

A Comparison of Hawthornes Scarlet Letter and the Garden of Eden Essay

Parallels Between The Scarlet Letter and the Garden of Eden      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Hawthorne's intricately woven tale The Scarlet Letter, his characters create a parallel theme with the Biblical story of Original Sin. By examining the characters and their interactions and insights about each other, one can examine the symbolic parallels with the Garden of Eden.    One aspect of the Garden of Eden theme is portrayed by the connection of Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester's story parallels Eve, the original mother of mankind, a woman exiled from the New Garden of Eden due to an unforgivable sin. She is doomed forever to walk outside the garden, no longer able to partake of the fruits of paradise, barred from reentry by seeming "divine intervention." Hester is the temptress of Dimmesdale, offering him the fruit of good and evil which, heretofore, removes all naivete and forces him to walk, tortured, through the world with the knowledge of right, wrong, and the magnitude of his sin seeming to accost him at each new turn of the dim path down which he walks.    Dimmesdale is a fallen hero, one of God's chosen, who has fallen from grace in the moment of his original sin. He, also, is excluded form society because once his eyes are opened with the knowledge of good and evil, he cannot remain a true member of the blind, child-like Puritan society. Instead of leading the life of brilliance one would expect to arise from Dimmesdale's profound faith, he is ever tortured by his two-faced appearance. He imagines, "A herd of diabolic shapes grinned and mocked at the pale minister, and beckoned him away with them" (Hawthorne 141). Thus, Dimmesdale provides his own character insight as he examines his divided character and his appearance. He re... ...ne 168). Thus, Chillingworth handsomely finishes the parallel of Original Sin, ensconcing himself in darkness and malevolent desires.    By examining thematic links to the story of the downfall of man, one can trace a new level of character insight. One examines the role of Adam, Eve, and the Devil in the New Garden of Eden, following their sin and exile closely in the characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.    Works Cited and Consulted: Canby, Henry S. "A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past." Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne (pp. 55- 63). San Diego: Greenhaven. 1996. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: St. Martins, 1991. Scharnhorst, Gary. The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. New York: Greenwood, 1992. The Holy Bible. KJV. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville. 1984. A Comparison of Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter and the Garden of Eden Essay Parallels Between The Scarlet Letter and the Garden of Eden      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Hawthorne's intricately woven tale The Scarlet Letter, his characters create a parallel theme with the Biblical story of Original Sin. By examining the characters and their interactions and insights about each other, one can examine the symbolic parallels with the Garden of Eden.    One aspect of the Garden of Eden theme is portrayed by the connection of Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester's story parallels Eve, the original mother of mankind, a woman exiled from the New Garden of Eden due to an unforgivable sin. She is doomed forever to walk outside the garden, no longer able to partake of the fruits of paradise, barred from reentry by seeming "divine intervention." Hester is the temptress of Dimmesdale, offering him the fruit of good and evil which, heretofore, removes all naivete and forces him to walk, tortured, through the world with the knowledge of right, wrong, and the magnitude of his sin seeming to accost him at each new turn of the dim path down which he walks.    Dimmesdale is a fallen hero, one of God's chosen, who has fallen from grace in the moment of his original sin. He, also, is excluded form society because once his eyes are opened with the knowledge of good and evil, he cannot remain a true member of the blind, child-like Puritan society. Instead of leading the life of brilliance one would expect to arise from Dimmesdale's profound faith, he is ever tortured by his two-faced appearance. He imagines, "A herd of diabolic shapes grinned and mocked at the pale minister, and beckoned him away with them" (Hawthorne 141). Thus, Dimmesdale provides his own character insight as he examines his divided character and his appearance. He re... ...ne 168). Thus, Chillingworth handsomely finishes the parallel of Original Sin, ensconcing himself in darkness and malevolent desires.    By examining thematic links to the story of the downfall of man, one can trace a new level of character insight. One examines the role of Adam, Eve, and the Devil in the New Garden of Eden, following their sin and exile closely in the characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.    Works Cited and Consulted: Canby, Henry S. "A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past." Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne (pp. 55- 63). San Diego: Greenhaven. 1996. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: St. Martins, 1991. Scharnhorst, Gary. The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. New York: Greenwood, 1992. The Holy Bible. KJV. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville. 1984.

A Comparison of Butlers Life and Kindred Essay -- comparison compare

A Comparison of Butler's Life and Kindred    What lies in the mind of an author as he or she begins the long task of writing a fiction novel? This question can be answered if the author's life is studied and then compared to the work itself. Octavia E. Butler's life and her novel Kindred have remarkable comparisons. This essay will point out important events of Butler's life and how they link to the mentioned novel. Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California (Voices From 1). She began her life with many hardships as an only child and having her father die when she was very young (Voices From 1). She grew up in a location that had a wide variety of racial backgrounds, however Butler never felt like she lived in a world of segregation (Notable Black 144). She describes the situation best when she states, "I never...lived in a segregated neighborhood nor went to segregated school; the whole community was an economic ghetto" (Notable Black 144). The lack of money sometimes creates a humble atmosphere and that must have been the case with Pasadena throughout her childhood. Until this point it seems as if Butler had a very unhappy childhood, but the life that she was living was shaping her to become the great author that she is today. Trials can become positive experiences for one to grow and mature and this was definitely her case. Having been an only child, Butler spent most of her time surrounded by an adult crowd, presumably the acquaintances of her mother (Notable Black 144). Thus, she grew up as a "very solitary individual" (Notable Black 144). She was also inflicted with dyslexia, which made it very difficult for her to keep up with the rest of the children her age (Notable Black 144).... ...utler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979. Doerksen, Teri Ann. Into Darkness Peering : Race and Color in the Fantastic. Ed. Elisabeth Anne Leonard. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1997. Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, and Dorothy Allison. Reading Black, Reading Feminist: A Critical Anthology. Ed. Henry Louis Gates. New York: Meridian Book, 1990. Jackson, Jerome H. "Sci-fi Tales from Octavia E. Butler." The Crisis 101.3(1994): 4-5,10. Smith, Jessie Carney, Ed. Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. Stevenson, Rosemary. Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia. Ed. Darlene Clark Hine, Elsa Barkley Brown, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Carlson Pub., 1993. "Voices From the Gaps -- Women Writers of Color." July 31, 1998. October 14, 1998. http://english.cla.umn.edu/Ilkd/vfg/Authors/OctaviaButler.

Bead Bar

The primary objective would be to encompass the business processes and functionalities of Bear Bar enterprise into an information system which would manage all its resources and cover up the negative aspects of the system. All the internal and external factors which make the enterprise function in a diligent manner would be taken care by the proposed system. The information system would make the enterprise to flow in a planned, organized and decisive manner.Each department would be able to capture, nurture and share effectively valuable business information so as to remain synchronized with the latest events and decisions can be framed accordingly. Order tracking, fulfillment, inventory and supply dynamics can be managed optimally. Prior to outlining the input and output information, the system development life cycle must be in place so that the analysis is done accordingly. The correct nature of the inputs and the outputs would make the system design vary accordingly as it requires to capture the information and put it into a frame to interpret in a decisive manner to take further decisions.The systems development life cycle for Bead Bar is as follows: 1. Feasibility analysis: The new proposed system and the present working system are analyzed so that the ROI (Return on Investment) is obtained. The proposed system is further analyzed for economical, technical, schedule and other feasibilities so that it stands in front of all difficulties in the development of the project. The Bead bar enterprise’s key management people are involved in the process of feasibility analysis.All the inputs, outputs and external environment are studied in detail so that the underlying intricacies would be researched well for their impact and development. Inputs: Bead Bar’s inputs are in the form of company’s short and long term objectives, its financial base and credibility for years to come, its general strategic plans, consent of the advisors and directors, r isk handling strategies and many others. Outputs: The feasibility has outputs in the form of higher management approval for the sustenance of the systems development, its full length use to cover all business functions, risk mitigation strategies and many others.2. Systems planning and requirements gathering: After the system is thoroughly checked for all its inputs and outputs, the requirements phase takes the lead. All the key stakeholders of the departments and the users of the system must be taken into account for gathering the crucial departmental functions, requirements and its interaction with other departments to achieve the central goal of the enterprise. Input: It must be in the form of the users of the system who are better-off to understand and figure out the exact ground level happenings in the business.Their view of the workings of the enterprise must be captured so that appropriate implementation can be done. Output: The valuable information fetched from the users of the system must be given a representation and frame it accordingly to fix it into a system. 3. Systems Analysis and Design: Bead Bar’s system requirements are studied and the system is analyzed and designed accordingly. The flow of data is analyzed so that the system captures the entire business cycle and their functions.Inputs: It would come from the requirements gathering phase and the order of business flow. Outputs: It would result in helping the analysts and designers in the process of database handling and further development of the system. 4. Database Model: The database model for Bead Bar is as follows, which shows the interaction of the different entities of the business. Figure 1: UML Class Diagram 5. Coding: The above design is given a representation of the business and the various functions are finally implemented at this stage.Inputs: It is in the form of requirements gathered from the previous stages and the design documents. Outputs: It results in actual implem entation of the system so that it can be viewed physically. 6. Implementation and Training: This stage correlates with actual planting of the system at the Bead Bar so that the present system is replaced and the proposed system takes its place. The users must be trained to operate the business functions with the system, store and retrieve data whenever it is demanded.

Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Executive Summary The aim of this write up is to provide a brief overview of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, its purpose, mission and vision statement. The key stakeholders of the VAA and the duty of care VAA owes to these stakeholders are analysed. Being a global service provider, Virgin Atlantic & British Airways are affected by various political, socio-economic and technology factors and these are reviewed. The macro economic factors, such as fiscal & monetary policies and how it affects these airlines are studied. Furthermore, the impact of EU on the airlines industry and BA & VAA in particular are detailed. 1A Introduction: In the United Kingdom, the Virgin group is a very popular and preferred brand. Virgin Atlantic is a subsidiary of the Virgin group and is one of the major airlines in the UK led by Sir Richard Branson where the Virgin group owns 51% of the shares and the remaining 49% owned by Delta Airlines, USA. The mission statement of Virgin Atlantic is â€Å"to embrace the human spirit and let it fly†. Virgin Atlantic operates short and long haul flights across 35 different destinations covering the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Far East and Australia. Purpose of VAA (Virgin Atlantic Airlines) In 1984,Sir Richard announced his decision to operate Virgin Atlantic Airlines that would provide world class quality and great value for money. By the end of the 80’s there were more than one million loyal passengers travelling with VAA, one of the first airlines to provide individual TV screens for the passengers. In the 90s, the business developed further given the competitive pricing, the unique service offerings and the introduction of the Premium economy was a great hit with the customers. In 1999, 49% of Virgin Atlantic’s shares were sold to Singapore Airlines. VAA vs Fire Services Virgin group is one of the well-known business establishments and the purpose of VAA is to expand the service line offering of the business in order to earn profits. Unlike the fire services, which is used to cater to the emergency needs of the people of the country and safeguarding them, the primary purpose of VAA is to be able to cater to the travel demands of the public and to be able to run it as a marketable business. Keeping this in mind, the main objectives of VAA is to earn profits and be able to service the customers in an effective way to ensure customer loyalty is maintained. As opposed to the fire services, the VAA faces stiff competition from various other airlines. The key accountability for VAA would be towards its customers and key stakeholders including the board of directors and the shareholders whilst the key accountability for the fire services would be to that of the general public by ensuring that there is transparency and all funds allocated by the government are used in an appropriate manner. The services offered by Virgin Atlantic caters to the luxury and travel needs of the people and the services offered by fire services are basically around protecting the people, responding to emergencies and also improving the safety within local communities. Virgin Atlantic Stakeholders, Strategies and Responsibilities Virgin Atlantic has various key stakeholders and owes a duty of care towards all the key stakeholders. To be able to manage all the stakeholders and to ensure that they are happy, Virgin Atlantic has various policies.The key stakeholders of Virgin Atlantic include:Shareholders; Customers; Employees; Vendors; Government Agencies; NGOs; Community at large. To ensure that the shareholders are satisfied, VAA achieves its primary objective of earning profits and ensuring that all the shareholders receive a good Return on their investments. Customers are given world class treatment and Virgin Atlantic is very well-known for their quality customer services. Customers always come first with Virgin Atlantic and this has been a new concept in the airlines industry. A good in-flight entertainment service, VIP treatment for first class customers including opting for a beauty therapist, check-in by chauffeur to avoid waiting in the queue, flexible meal service options etc, are examples of customer care standards that have been set by the airlines. VAA also takes customers safety seriously. Employees who form the integral part of the VAA community and VAA is committed to serve its employees better. Good work is recognised by the rewards and recognition program and Virgin Atlantic provides world class training to all its employees. Virgin Atlantic has a good diversity policy and is strictly against discrimination. All employees are treated with respect and honesty. Equal opportunity is provided to all employees and potential candidates who aspire to become a part of the Virgin Atlantic team. Vendors play a key role in the Virgin Atlantic community. Virgin Atlantic has strict policies about creating lasting relationships with vendors and aims at sourcing goods responsibly. All suppliers are thoroughly screened to ensure that key international standards such as Human Rights Convention by UN and International Labour Convention laws are met. Environment & Community: As its commitment to the environment, Virgin Atlantic has incorporated ‘Change is in the Air’ (CIITA) strategy which aims at reducing carbon footprint by using novel technologies and fuels to increase efficiency. Virgin Atlantic is keen on becoming energy efficient and sources sustainable energy where possible. It has a strong recycling and reuse policy which reduces waste and ensuring sustainability. 1B: Impact of Fiscal & Monetary Policies on VAA Fiscal policy can be defined as the policy whereby the governments change the levels of tax and its spending in order to have a positive impact on the nation’s economy. It helps redistribution of wealth, decreases in unemployment rates and provides a way to effectively control the economy. Fiscal policies can either be expansionary or reductionary. An expansionary fiscal policy encourages the growth of the economy by means of expanding the supply of money to combat inflation. This can be done either by cutting down taxes or by increasing the spending of the government (Chambenlin 2009). Fiscal policies are effective when it comes to reduction of unemployment in the shorter term. However, in the long-term they cannot bring in much change as the supply curve is vertical and pushing the demand curve would lead to pushing in the prices, which results in inflation (Gillespie, 2008) Monetary policy on the other hand can be defined as the action that is taken by the central bank or other financial regulators to determine the rate of growth of money supply. It also influences the demand and supply of money as it impacts the interest rates (Chambenlin 2009). The recession has had a very bad impact on Virgin Atlantic. The increase in the competition in the transatlantic services and given the rise in the fuel prices, the airline has seen a loss of ?135m. The airline has also frozen salaries of employees for the current period and has cut over 600 jobs which accounts for 7% of its workforce. Virgin Atlantic has not planned clearly and anticipated the costs. If the planning had been done effectively, Virgin Atlantic would not be facing issues due to increase in fuel prices. Oil is one of the key costs that is incurred by Virgin Atlantic and hence it has a serious impact on the Airlines. Also, in the recession of 2008, there has been a decrease in the passengers for long-haul flights which combined with the oil price has led to a loss of ?150m in 2009. Virgin Atlantic can take advantage of the expansionary fiscal policy whereby there is a cut on taxes and the expansionary monetary policy on the reduction in the interest rates as opposed to contractionary monetary policy. Reduced tax rates would help Virgin Atlantic transfer the reduced costs to the customers and expansionary monetary policy would help reduce exchange rates which would therefore help Virgin Atlantic to export oil at reasonable costs. Given the poor demand for travel due to increase in costs, Virgin can make use of the savings that it has achieved by using expansionary monetary and fiscal policies by slashing down the costs of travel, which would promote and encourage more customers to use their services. Though VAA has been hit by recession, making use of these policies should enable Virgin to regain some of its losses. 1F Benefit for Virgin Atlantic through International Trade Being a global brand servicing various destinations has been a key benefit for Virgin Atlantic as well as British Airways. There are various advantages of International Trade for Virgin Atlantic. These include: Increase in profits: International trade and servicing various locations globally has led to increase in profits for Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. More Sales: Having been a success in the UK and the second largest Airlines in the UK, global destinations and international trade were the next logical steps which increased the sales and turnover of Virgin Atlantic. The same holds good for British Airways. Dependence on one market reduced: International trade helps reduce dependence on one local market. If due to various reasons one market segment fails, another segment can be used thus reducing sole reliance on specific market segments. Better competitiveness in local markets: Serving international destinations and becoming a global brand has increased knowledge, services and experiences for Virgin Atlantic which makes it a very tough competitor amongst local airlines. Expansion into the international market also gives British Airways and Virgin Atlantic new ideas to be able to s atisfy all their key stakeholders, good marketing techniques to promote their ideas and better customer services. Market diversification: Diversification into the global markets has helped BA & VAA to be able to leverage better its resources and make use of booming markets in a bad economy. 1G Global Factors Affecting BA/VAA Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are global brands operating on various international locations. There are various key factors that affect the operations of both BA and VAA which relate to the global factors. Political Factors Airlines industry is highly regulated by governments and there are various laws that determine where the airlines can fly, the services offered, planning, their policy and strategies as well as pricing. For airlines to be in the business it is mandatory for them to adhere to these rules and regulations. Thus, compliance is one factor that affects both British Airways as well as Virgin Atlantic. Since both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operate both nationally and globally there are pivotal national and international laws and obligations, such as H&S regulations, security legislations, taxes etc. For instance, the VAT that has been increased to 20% would affect the stakeholders of both Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. There are various operating restrictions due to political factors. One way to overcome these restrictions is to have tie ups with national carriers. Thus, political factors have a great influence on the operating environment of the airline industry. Economic Factors Recession, and the cost of fuel, and other economic factors, such as cost of having empty seats play a major role which affects the activities of Virgin Atlantic and BA. Global economic markets, strong/weak home currency influences the costs of travel. In a bad economic situation companies might tend to cut down on their travel costs and discourage employees from taking a flight. An increase in the price of the fuel might force BA & Virgin Atlantic to transfer its costs to the end customers making it more difficult for people to afford. Any fluctuation in the oil price will have a direct impact on the currency which in turn impacts the cost of flying for both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Social Factors International airlines, such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, that serve various nations need to understand the social and cultural values of the destinations served in order to be able to successfully drive the business. Social and cultural values encompasses all aspects of understanding the special needs of the destination, the key holidays and any special arrangements that might have to be taken into account while serving a specific destination. For example, the meal choices have to be restricted to non-pork based foods whilst serving Muslim nations to not only ensure the sentiments are catered to and also to drive business in these locations. Technology Factors Technology provides a competitive advantage to businesses and there is an increasing demand for the use of the latest technology to enable customers to get a better experience. Having a good e-commerce application to provide customers a portal to purchase tickets, fast check-in services online would be useful as it would cater to the more tech-savvy and young customer base. However, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic should make sure that they are not overly reliant on using high-end technologies as this might lead to the isolation of certain groups that are not entirely comfortable using these high end technologies. BA & Virgin Atlantic should therefore find a good balance between these two and should be able to optimise the use of technological advancements and leverage the opportunities appropriately. 1H Impact of EU on BA & VAA The EU has a great impact on both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. The EU has enabled an increase in competition in the market. An increase in the competition and a market promoting a healthy competition would now mean that both BA and VAA have to face a lot of competition from various operators within the EU. Hence, in order to be able to successfully steer the business, it is key that BA & VAA keep their prices at check, increase their value added services, and build on their brand value and their unique selling point to ensure customer loyalty and also to attract more customers. The EU has various positive impacts on BA & VAA. Tourism is the third largest sector in the EU and there is a lot of scope for development. EU has had talks with the aviation industry to promote sustainable and reliable services within the EU and BA & VAA can take advantage of this to provide high quality services to the customers. The EU has relaxed its visa policies for member states and also promotes fair international trade system that improves competitiveness and has opened up its markets by unblocking tariff and non-tariff barriers making. This promotes trades and import and export of goods and services. Indirectly this help travel to and from various European Union nations. This can be used by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to offer specialised services to businessmen and frequent flyers to and from Europe. Relaxing trade restrictive measures means that there are various political factors that are relaxed and this paves way for better collaboration and negotiation. Opening up the markets would mean that the procurement of goods and services can be accessed and available freely across EU without restrictions. This removes any legal and regulatory obstacles that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic faces and helps promote growth and sales in the industry. Increased competitiveness within the EU would mean access to better services, keeping prices in check and ensuring that the brand value is maintained. Conclusion This paper helped to identify the vision and the mission statement of Virgin Atlantic, how it is different from other services. It identified the key stakeholders of the airlines and the responsibilities of Virgin Atlantic towards its stakeholders were discussed in detail. The fiscal policies and monetary policies were then explained and how these related to Virgin Atlantic were also specified. A PEST (Political, Economic, Social & Technology) factor analysis was done in order to understand various global factors that affected Virgin Atlantic & British Airways. Finally, the impact of the EU on BA & Virgin Atlantic was discussed in terms of competition, trade restrictions and markets. Works Cited Virgin Atlantic. (2014, September 2014). Retrieved on 06/09/14 from http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/us/en.html Investopedia. (2014, September 2014). Retrieved on 06//09/14 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/europeanunion.asp European Monetary Policy. (Septmber 2014). Retrieved on 06/09/14 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/european+monetary+union Chamberlin, G. (September 2009). Economic Review Sep 2009. Economic and Labour Market Review Gillespie, A. (June 2009). Foundations of Economics. New York; Oxford University Press

Ardagh Group International Management Trainee Programme.

Have you got global ambition? Explore our world on the Ardagh Group International Management Trainee Programme. Ardagh Group is one of the largest rigid packaging manufacturers in the world. We operate 100 facilities in 26 countries, specialising in research, development and production of metal and glass containers for the world’s biggest brands, manufacturing  32 billion containers a year. We’re looking for proactive, ambitious, dynamic new talent to join our other 18,000 employees to become future leaders of our company. The challenge: gt; Spend 30 months working in our business across multiple specialities (Corporate and plant operations,   commercial, IT, HR, procurement) > Tackle various strategic business assignments > Maximise your opportunity to develop a long-term career at Ardagh The requirements: > Graduate with a Masters or Bachelor degree > Maximum of three years’ working experience > Essential: English-speaking and able to travel > Willing to le arn additional languages > Ideally an engineering, economic, business or financial background > Flexible, results-driven team player gt; Be prepared to regularly re-locate and work in multiple countries The reward: > Intensive leadership and management development > International travel and all-round global business experience > Work in a technical, challenging operational environment > Clear career paths and future opportunities after programme > Professional development programme > Competitive benefit package All you have to ask yourself is:   ‘Am I ready to take on the world? ’ Application You must answer every question for your application to be considered. Please answer each of the following questions in 150 words of less: . Why do you want to be an Ardagh Group International Trainee? 2. Think of a goal that you have achieved and are proud of. Tell us what the goal was, describe how you achieved it, and explain why you are proud of it. 3. Think about an individua l or a team that you have helped achieve a goal. Tell us whether you led of supported the effort, and describe what you did. 4. Describe how you ensure that you communicate effectively with others. 5. Think about a team that you belong to. Briefly describe your role within that team and tell us what you like about it. 6.Describe how you have tackled a problem to deliver a successful project or action. 7. Give one example of a mistake you have made, including what you have learned from it. 8. Describe what ‘TRUST’ means to you and tell us how you build trust with others. We look forward to receiving your application including the answers of the questions above, motivation and c. v. Please send it to: Astrid. [email  protected] com Closing date: 15 April 2013 More information and applications: Internet:  www. ardaghgroup. com HR:Astrid Portegies: +31 13 579 2911 / Astrid. [email  protected] com

arminianism vs calvinism Essays

arminianism vs calvinism Essays arminianism vs calvinism Essay arminianism vs calvinism Essay Arminianism and Calvinism Christian Doctrine Calvinism Historically, the doctrine of Calvinism arose out of the teaching of John Calvin. Five point Calvinism as it is exposed by its followers today was not taught by Calvin, but instead implied by those who carried his teachings to what they considered to be their logical conclusions. Calvinism is often called Reformed theology, and is founded in John Calvins Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Puritans and independent Presbyterians of Great Britain were heavily influenced by Calvins writings, but some of its greatest followers were Dutch. Most Baptist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches base their doctrine off of John Calvins teachings. Calvinism can be summarized using the acronym TULIP, which stands for the following: 1 . Total depravity, is the belief that man is dead in trespasses and sins and totally unable to save himself. Many advocates of Calvinism carry this a step further, saying that man cannot even desire a relationship with God apart from His working in their hearts. 2. Unconditional election is the belief that in eternity, God chose or elected certain people to obtain salvation. Some Calvinists (although not all) carry this belief further nd teach what is referred to as double predestination, the teaching that God selected some people to go to heaven and others to go to hell, and there is nothing anyone can do to change Gods election. John Calvin taught this, but called it a terrible doctrine. 3. Limited atonement is the Calvinist teaching that Jesus did not die for the sins of the entire world, but that He only died for those that He elected to go to heaven. The argument is that Christs work on the Cross must be efficacious, that is, it must work for all for whom He died, that He could not have shed His blood for hose who are lost. Some Calvinists have gone to great lengths to explain limited atonement, saying, for example, that Jesus died for all, but does not pray for all, or tnat HIS aeat n tneoretlcally could save everyone, out Is eTTectlve only Tor tne elect. The end result is the same in each case the belief that Jesus only died effectively for some people, not all. 4. Irresistible grace is the doctrine that teaches that God will draw to Himself those whom He elected regardless of their rebellion against Him. It is the belief that man cannot resist the drawing of God to Himself. . Perseverance of the saints, or eternal security, is the doctrine that often attracts people to Calvinism because it is the belief that a true born again Christian cannot lose or give up his salvation because salvation is entirely Gods work, not mans. Arminianism Jacobus Games) Arminius was a Dutch theologian who lived from 1560-1609. Arminius taught that man is only guilty of Adams sin when he sins voluntarily . Arminius started out as a strict Calvinist, but later modified his views, which were expressed in a document called The Remonstrance in 1610. Arminianism is the heological basis for the Methodist, Wesleyan, Nazarene, Pentecostal, Free Will Baptist, Holiness, and many charismatic churches. Arminianism teaches: 1 . Election based on knowledge, the belief that God chose those who would be saved in eternity past based on His foreknowledge of those who would respond to and receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Arminianism rejects the concept that God elected anyone for hell. 2. Unlimited atonement is the belief that Jesus died on the Cross for all people, that His blood is sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of every man, woman, and child who has ever lived. Thus, all mankind is savable. 3. Natural inability is the teaching that man cannot save Himself, but that the Holy Spirit must effect the new birth in him. Strict Arminians do not believe that man is totally depraved and condemned as a result of Adams sin. . Prevenient grace is the belief that the preparatory work of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to respond to the Gospel and to cooperate with God in the salvation of that person. 5. Conditional perseverance is the belief that man can choose to reject God, and therefore lose his salvation, even after he has been born again. Rather than the once saved always saved doctrine of the Calvinists, the Arminian believes that you must abide in Christ to be saved, and that you can ch oose to walk away from God. Arminius himself, and his early followers, stated that they were unsure of this doctrine and that it required further Biblical study. Evaluation of the Doctrines At the heart of the controversy between Calvinism and Arminianism is the emphasis on the sovereignty of God by the Calvinists and on the free will of man, or human responsibility, by the Arminians. Arminians teach that man has free will and hat God will never interrupt or take that free will away. They say that God has obligated Himself to respect the free choice with which He created us. Calvinism, on the other hand, emphasizes that God is in total control of everything, and that nothing can happen that He does not plan and direct, including mans salvation. Both positions are logical, both have Scriptures to back up each of their five points, and both have truth to them. Both are right in what they claim, but both are wrong in what they deny. If truth is pressed to the point of excluding another truth, it becomes an error. The Bible presents a theology that is more man centered than calvinists make it out to be, and theology that is more divine than arminianism present it as. Certainly, the Bible does teach that God is sovereign (Psalm 135:6; Daniel 4:35, Ephesians 1:1 1), and that Dellevers are preaestlnea ana elected Dy (Romans B) to spend eternity wltn However, the bible never associates election with damnation. Scriptures teach that God elects for salvation, but that unbelievers are in hell by their own choice. Every passage of the Bible that speaks of election deals with it in the context of salvation nd not damnation. It is simply not biblical to say someone is elect for hell. The idea of total depravity is consistent with Scripture (Ephesians 2:1, Romans 3:1 1), but the doctrine of limited atonement, that Jesus did not die for the sins of the whole world, is clearly anti-Biblical Cohn 3:16, I Timothy 2:6, II Peter 2: 1, I John 2:2). The Bible teaches that Jesus died for everyones sins and that everyone is able to be saved if they will repent and turn to Christ. Limited atonement is non-Biblical doctrine. Cohn 3:16,17; Romans 5:8, 18; II Corinthians 5:14,15; 1 Timothy 2:4; 4:10; Hebrews 2:9; 10:29; II Peter 2:1; I John 2:2; 4:14. Irresistible grace is taught by some, who do not understand the concept, to mean that God drags people to Himself contrary to their wills. Actually, the Biblical view, and the view of most Calvinists, is the belief that God works on our wills so as to make us willing to surrender to Him. In other words, He makes us willing to come to Christ for salvation. Many Scriptures teach that a true believer is safe and secure in Christ, tha t salvation doesnt depend on our ability to keep ourselves, but on Gods ability to keep s. l John 5:11-13; John 10:28; Romans 5:1 and 8: 1). The only condition for salvation is faith in Christ Cohn 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9). On the other hand, the Bible teaches us that we must abide in Christ Cohn 15; Luke 13:14; Colossians 1:29; II Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 6:4-6; I Peter 1:10) to persevere in salvation. Finding a Balance The truth of Gods Word flows between the extremes of Calvinism and Arminianism. Both Calvinism and Arminianism have truth in their argument, yet both contain error. Election and predestination are Biblical doctrines. God knows verything and therefore He cannot learn anything or be surprised by anything. He knows, and has known from eternity past, who will exercise their free will to accept Him and who will reject Him. The former are the elect, the latter are non-elect. Every person who is not saved will have only himself to blame; God doesnt send anyone to hell, people choose to go there by exercising their free will to reject Christ. On the other hand, no one who is saved will be able to take any of the credit. Our salvation is 100% Gods work, and is based entirely on the work of the Cross. We were ead in trespasses and sins, destined for hell, when God in His grace, drew us to Himself, convinced us of our sin and our need for a Savior, and allowed us to call Jesus Lord. God will do everything short of making humanity puppets in order for Him to draw us towards salvation but this does not mean that His grace is irresistible. The concept of a limited atonement, that Jesus only died for the elect, and not for the sins of all people, is clearly unbiblical. The Bible is very clear that Jesus death on the cross was for all people, and that there is sufficient power in His blood to cleanse way every sin. Whosoever will may come is meaningless if man has no free will and no ability to choose God. The question of whether or not a Christian can lose or walk away from salvation is academic. When a person who claims to be a Christian and shows some fruit of salvatlon turns nls DacK on ana llves tne IITe 0T a pagan, tne Armlnlan says ne was saved and is now not saved, while the Cal vinist would say that he was either never really saved to start with, or that he is severely backslidden, but his salvation is secure. Ultimately, no one knows the truth but God. The true believer in Christ never has to doubt his salvation. He can rest in the perfect assurance that God saved him and will keep him, and nothing will ever separate him from Gods love in time or eternity. We are secure in Christ, kept by the His loving grace. It is important to remember that both Calvinism and Arminianism are systems of theology devised by godly, devout, Bible-believing men. Both systems are based on the word of God, and both contain important elements of truth, but neither can be substituted for reading and believing the word of God. The New Testament church new nothing of either system, they simply believed what God had revealed in His word. The problem arises when it seems that some of what God has revealed contradicts something else He revealed. How can man be absolutely free and God absolutely sovereign and in control at the same time? How can salvation be entirely Gods work, yet simultaneously require the cooperation of men? These questions are ultimately unanswerable. The Bible teaches both the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. It teaches what appears to be unconditional perseverance in some places and conditional perseverance in others. The human mind can never understand the balance between these points because God is simply too big for us to understand. Both systems of theology emphasize one set of chapters or verses while ignoring or twisting another. We are not called to understand God, only to believe Him. We are free willed creations, responsible for our own sin, hopelessly lost. Jesus not only died for us, He drew us to Himself with love and grace. Jesus died for all of us and desires fellowship with all of us. Gods election excludes no one; Jesus atonement includes everyone. Its as if we are looking at two sides of the same coin. Election is Gods side, free will is our side. Rather than interpreting the Bible based on any theological or philosophical structure, we are to simply read and believe it. As we teach the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, verse by verse, in context, we will at times sound like devout Calvinists, preaching passages which emphasize Gods sovereignty, while at other times we will seem like Arminians, when we preach the passages which emphasize mans responsibility. The key is to find a balance to stay focused on the Word of God, and not become distracted by the doctrines of men.