The Soul, God, Religion, & Evil Essays - Philosophy Of Religion

The Soul, God, Religion, & Evil The Soul, God, Religion, & Evil Being raised in a Catholic family, I have always been told that my body contains a soul. I have often wondered where my soul is and how it functions. Being asked by my friends questions about the soul, I could not answer because I never really knew myself, so I looked to the writings of the church. According the Catechism of the Catholic Church, written by Pope John Paul II, the soul is not just part of the body, it is the body. In Sacred Scripture the term soul often refers to the life or the entire person. But soul also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: soul signifies the spiritual principle in man. The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the form of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a s ingle nature. The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not produced by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be united with the body at the final Resurrection. That is the belief of my church. Other religion hold different views, are they right? If what I believe is right, then the soul is there, not for Catholics, but for everyone, so that we all have a spiritual awareness and can become closer to God. But what if I am wrong? What if we really do not have soul? How then am I to live my life? What if there really is no God, and religion is just a security blanket for people so that they seem to have some meaning in their lives? How can one justify the existence of God if there is so much evil in the world? What about reincarnation? If we have a soul, then it is supposed to be reunited with the body on the final Resurrection, but then how do certain people have spe cial talents where as others do not? These questions are ones that my personal experiences and beliefs will try to answer. I do not believe that the Catholic Christian religion is the only true religion in this world. If I were to believe this, then I would not be the ideal, loving, open minded person that I am called to be by my beliefs, and by God. I believe that each religion is right for each person involved, depending on where they are located. God calls each person in different ways because all people are not the same, and live in different surroundings. Each culture has certain beliefs based on their cultural pasts, and physical environments. For example, Europe and the Americas are considered to be part of the Western World. The Western World is modern, destructive, fast paced, and highly independent. That is the way our society has developed, and the religions that we believe correspond to these factors. African religions are different then the European religions, just as Asian and Middle Eastern religions are different then African religions, because they do not have the same pasts. The way tha t people had lived, their ancestors, helped to develop their religious ideas. Each culture had to have believed in some higher power, and someone (Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, etc.) helped to lead their people into a system that corresponded with their lives, and contributed to bringing some sort of meaning to the society, fulfilling some void that was present. So in a sense, the religions that were created, were created by a certain type of people to fill something missing in their lives, caused by the type of society they were residing in. It was not that the religions created the people, it was that the people created the religions. In line with that idea, religions have also been

Rhamphorhynchus - Facts and Figures

Rhamphorhynchus - Facts and Figures Name: Rhamphorhynchus (Greek for beak snout); pronounced RAM-foe-RINK-us Habitat: Shores of Western Europe Historical Period: Late Jurassic (165-150 million years ago) Size and Weight: Wingspan of three feet and a few pounds Diet: Fish Distinguishing Characteristics: Long, narrow beak with sharp teeth; tail ending with diamond-shaped skin flap About Rhamphorhynchus The exact size of Rhamphorhynchus depends on how you measure itfrom the tip of its beak to the end of its tail, this pterosaur was less than a foot long, but its wings (when fully extended) stretched an impressive three feet from tip to tip. With its long, narrow beak and sharp teeth, its clear that Rhamphorhynchus made its living by dipping its snout into the lakes and rivers of late Jurassic Europe and scooping up wriggling fish (and possibly frogs and insects)much like a modern pelican. One detail about Rhamphorhynchus that sets it apart from other ancient reptiles is the spectacularly preserved specimens discovered at the Solnhofen fossil beds in Germanysome of this pterosaurs remains are so complete that they display not only its detailed bone structure, but the outlines of its internal organs as well. The only creature to have left comparably intact remains was another Solnhofen discovery, Archaeopteryxwhich, unlike Rhamphorhynchus, was technically a dinosaur that occupied a place on the evolutionary line leading to the first prehistoric birds. After nearly two centuries of study, scientists know a lot about Rhamphorhynchus. This pterosaur had a relatively slow growth rate, roughly comparable to that of modern alligators, and it may have been sexually dimorphic (that is, one sex, we dont know which, was slightly larger than the other). Rhamphorhynchus probably hunted at night, and it likely held its narrow head and beak parallel to the ground, as can be inferred from scans of its brain cavity. It also seems that Rhamphorhynchus preyed on the ancient fish Aspidorhynchus, the fossils of which are associated (that is, located in close proximity) in the Solnhofen sediments. The original discovery, and classification, of Rhamphorhynchus is a case study in well-meaning confusion. After it was unearthed in 1825, this pterosaur was classified as a species of Pterodactylus, which at the time was also known by the now-discarded genus name Ornithocephalus (bird head). Twenty years later, Ornithocephalus reverted to Pterodactylus, and in 1861 the famous British naturalist Richard Owen promoted P. muensteri to the genus Rhamphorhynchus. We wont even mention how the type specimen of Rhamphorhynchus was lost during World War II; suffice it to say that paleontologists have had to make do with plaster casts of the original fossil. Because Rhamphorhynchus was discovered so early in the history of modern paleontology, it has lent its name to an entire class of pterosaurs distinguished by their small sizes, big heads and long tails. Among the most famous rhamphorhynchoids are Dorygnathus, Dimorphodon and Peteinosaurus, which ranged across western Europe during the late Jurassic period; these stand in stark contrast to pterodactyloid pterosaurs of the later Mesozoic Era, which tended to larger sizes and smaller tails. (The biggest pterodactyloid of them all, Quetzalcoatlus, had a wingspan the size of a small airplane!)

Summarize a reading related to issues of human diversity in working Assignment

Summarize a reading related to issues of human diversity in working with individuals of minority status - Assignment Example Hence, the topic is very vast, and gives extensive information regarding the importance of human diversity in organizations. As is obvious from the title of the research article, it is important to understand where we stand now in terms of human diversity, and what we are doing to promote diversity and reduce all sorts of discrimination against minorities at the workplaces. The authors have stated that previous researches focused on only one or the other type of discrimination; while, this research puts forward a more diverse model of human diversity, giving the reader a more exact idea on how we can promote the idea of human diversity in organization. The research also goes in detail of the outcomes of human diversity. Thus, the reader gets to know the importance of the topic in terms of pros and cons. Although there are no definite research questions or hypothesis that is to be tested, still we can say that the research focuses on queries, such as, what past literature is available, explaining different dimensions of diversity in organizations; and, does past literature tells the reader about the limitations and strengths of each dimension. Hence, the focus is on reviewing past literature, and providing suggestions to improve the research. 2.1. Race and ethnic diversity. The authors start with race and ethnic diversity. They state how humans judge each other on the basis of race and ethnic backgrounds. They have also cited much literature, all of which agrees that racial and ethnic discrimination against minorities results in negative effects on social integration and communication, thus, increasing organizational conflict. 2.2. Gender diversity. It is another dimension of human diversity. The authors state that gender diversity is important, but at the same time, it is important for the organizations to eliminate gender discrimination. Women are more at risk of gender discrimination at

Zadie Smith's White Teeth Identity and Progress Essay

Zadie Smith's White Teeth Identity and Progress - Essay Example Joshua supports the environmental group FATE, while his own father supports the genetically-produced FutureMouse. Samad’s twin sons, Magid and Millat, also believe in different goals; the eldest is one with Marcus and his scientific future, while Millat embraces a fundamentalist view of religion and society. White Teeth argues that people build relationships based on their inner preferences and external pressures on life and their differences will perpetually clash, but they have to accept that as part of human identity and progress. People are born to be different in ideas and beliefs, because of their own choices in life and external influences on the development of their human identity. The novel includes three generations that intersects the â€Å"themes of heritage and family history† (Chernysheva 3). Every generation has important questions that they wish to answer. For Samad, he wants to conserve history, which he also does through promoting the myth of his great -grandfather, whose role in Indian history is not entirely reliable. Archie also feels the same nostalgia for the past. His so-called war wound is not real, because he put it on himself. Despite this self-inflicted wound, Archie creates a memory of the war with a strong sense of â€Å"self-defensiveness† (Chernysheva 3). Samad and Archie essentially promote a traditional approach to history and identity formation. They repeat their wartime concerns, where they usually find people forgetting the war, as if it is not important. These best friends, nevertheless, do everything to preserve their fabricated history of the war. Samad comes from a generation that sees history in a linear relationship, where every action has a consequence (Chernysheva 3). He supports the notions of karma and fate. Clara’s mother, Hortense, has the same views but for her, religion has become a different lens from which she makes sense of history. The generation of the youngest characters experie nce and see the future in diverse prisms and for different expectations and goals. The Iqbal twins believe in conflicting values. Magid, who lives most of adolescent life in Bangladesh, returns to England with a more Westernized view than the English themselves, while Millat finds truth and peace in fundamentalist religion. Samad is disappointed that Magid becomes more ultra-Westernized, when he planned for him to continue their traditions. The twins follow extremes ideologies that threaten to break their family apart. Irie has her own personal struggles. She is divided between her volunteer work in Africa and an occupation as a dentist and also faces diverse choices for hairdos and weight-loss plans. Irie’s child, however, bears the consequences of Irie’s choices (Chernysheva 3). The demolition of the Berlin Wall represents the demolition of obstacles to individual freedoms and differences (Chernysheva 3). Traditions versus modernity clash in influencing human progres s and identity. Samad â€Å"moves between positions of authority and deauthorisation or subordination† (Gustar 335). He wants to impose his authority, but he does not have any power over his own family. He exaggerates his claims regarding his life, but he is â€Å"also emasculated by a radicalized discourse in an ethnocentric culture that often treats him as subaltern† (Gustar 335). Ironically, he spreads lies about his heritage that only makes him smaller as a person, since he cannot achieve the same level of greatness. Since he cannot control his life, he applies power chiefly over his family and children and even uses kidnapping to send his elder child to Bangladesh (Gustar 335). He does this because he knows that in the end, his

Apple Computer Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple Computer Culture - Essay Example The positive feature of Apple is that it uses informal communication method which helps it to achieve the goals. It helps to provide satisfaction of members' social needs, and a sense of personal identity and belonging. This type of communication provides additional channels of communication and provides a means of motivation, for example, through status, social interaction, variety in routine jobs, and informal methods of work. Informal type of communication provides a feeling of stability and security, and through informal 'norms' of behaviour can exercise a form of control over members. "The informal approach to management meant that influence was a primary way of The culture and structure of Apple develop over time and in response to a complex set of factors. "Employees expressed great concerns about both Apple's management and its working environment. Many felt that executive management did not have a clear business direction, and that they did not keep employees adequately informed' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Apple management team did not take into account that the nature of the 'business' and its primary function have an important influence on its culture. Usually large organizations like Apple have more formalised structures and cultures. Increased size is likely to result in separate departments and possibly split site operations. Nevertheless, this created a problem for Apple's "old" employees who felt that, "There is not as much chance to talk at Apple now. There is less passion or personal commitment. Hotlinks keeps Apple people passionate." (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). This caused difficulties in communication and inter-departmental rivalries with the need for effective co-ordination. A rapid expansion, or decline, in size and rate of growth, and resultant changes in staffing will influence structure and culture. Unfortunately, Apple management did nothing to improve this situation because information through Hotlinks went round them, and they "need managerial shift from control to context" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). It is important to note that Apple "encouraged individualism". Individuals in the organisation are not guided at all times by the primary goals of the organisation. On the other hand, Apple culture is based on a team work: "people in Apple valued teamwork and liked to work in teams' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Goals and objectives pursues profitability, but this is not by itself very clear for its effective management. Apple must give attention to objectives in all key areas of its operations. The combination of objectives and resultant strategies influence culture, and may themselves be influenced by changes in culture. The problem is Apple is that employees have to complete "immediate objectives". It means that the main focus is made on "to get the job done than to get it right" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). The primary function of Apple determines the nature of the technological processes and methods of undertaking work, which in turn also affect structure and culture. Employees doe not know long-term strategies which prevent them from effective performance. In order to be effective Apple tries to be responsive to external environmental influences. Apple operates within a dynamic environment and it requires a structure and cul

Compensation techniques for 50 Gbps Duobinary System

Compensation techniques for 50 Gbps Duobinary System Pre, Post and Mix Compensation techniques for 50 Gbps Duobinary System Rupinder Kaur, Sanjeev Dewra Abstract: In this paper, the performance of duobinary system is analyzed by using different dispersion compensation techniques. The dispersion compensation techniques tested are Pre Compensation, Post Compensation and Mix Compensation. These techniques are applied to duobinary system, which operates at a bit rate of 50 Gbps. It is found that for 50 Gbps system, Mix Compensation technique shows better performance matrices like quality factor (i.e. 7.54 at 25 km)and bit error rate (i.e. 7.52e-15 at 25 km) as compared to other techniques. Keywords: Mach-Zender Intensity Modulator (MZIM), Single Mode Fiber (SMF), Q-factor, Bit Error Rate (BER), Low Pass Filter (LPF) Introduction For higher data rates, research in optical communications is being constantly driven by requirements. At a minimum bandwidth cost, Fiber Optics has reorganized the data communication technology by examining the limits of high speed network accessibility for the end users [1]. In high speed optical communication system duobinary modulation is a valuable solution that provides the better spectral efficiency and minimizes the performance degradation due to the nonlinear effects and dispersion [2–4]. Due to the promptly growing capacity requirements for long distance transmission, fiber optic communications are advancing into higher bit rate enabled [5]. To increase the capacity of system and to reduce the performance degradation caused by transmission impairments, systematic investigation is essential [6]. Duobinary formats are known for their high tolerance to residual chromatic dispersion and low spectral occupancy [7]. These features make them very attractive for both high spe ctral efficiency and high data rate. For high speed systems, Duobinary signaling has become an essential transmission format as the broadband networks and the bandwidth requirement has increased. By selecting suitable pulse shaping, the selection of optical modulation format has become an essential standard in any high speed link design. This optical signal pre-distortion based pulse shaping increases the dispersion tolerance related performances considerably [8, 9]. In long distance transmission systems, Fiber chromatic dispersion is one of the most severe limiting factor. If the fiber transmission length exceeds several tens of kilometers, dispersion effect can cause intolerable amounts of distortions that ultimately lead to errors. Therefore it is necessary to use dispersion compensation devices such as dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) [10, 11] to overcome dispersion effect and consequently decrease the nonlinear distortion. In this study, we propose three DCF compensation scheme, pre-compensation and post-compensation scheme. Simulation studies show that mix compensation scheme is the best. It can greatly reduce the influences of the fiber nonlinearity and increase the transmission distance greatly System Setup Duobinary Transmitter is designed with laser diodes, filters, modulators and all components which are essential to build an optical network. This simulation is carried out to observe the comparative study with various compensation techniques in the presence of chromatic dispersion. Duobinary signal is launched over DCF SMF spans of 5 km and 25 km each for post, pre and symmetric compensation schemes. Duobinary modulation is achieved by driving an external Mach-Zehnder intensity modulator. MZIM has three inputs, one for laser diode and other for data from the channels. It converts the electrical signal into optical signal. On the receiver side the output of the Lorentzian optical filter a photodiode converts the optical signal into an electrical signal an electrical low pass Bessel filter follows the PIN photodiode. This has a cut-off frequency 193.41449 THz. Finally at the output of the low pass filter visualization tool called Scope, BER estimation Q meter. It is an optical or elect rical oscilloscope with numerous data processing options, eye display and BER estimation features. The system setup of 50 Gbps duobinary transmission with pre, post and symmetric compensation techniques is as shown in figure below. Fig. 1 Duobinary system with Post Compensation technique Fig. 2 Duobinary system with Pre Compensation technique Fig. 3 Duobinary system with Mix Compensation technique Pre-compensation scheme achieve dispersion compensation by place the DCF before a certain conventional single-mode fiber, or after the optical transmitter. Post -compensation scheme achieve dispersion compensation by place the DCF after a certain conventional single-mode fiber, or before the optical transmitter. Mix compensation scheme is consist of post-compensation and pre-compensation Result and Discussion To evaluate the performance of 50 Gbps duobinary system several measurements for Pre, Post and Symmetric compensation techniques were taken. The quality factor versus transmission distance is as shown in Fig.4. The graph shows that the performance of pre, post and mix compensation is compared by varying the distance from 5 to 30 km. Fig.4 Quality Factor vs Transmission distance Fig.4 depicts quality factor versus transmission distance graph. It is observed that by increasing the transmission distance from 5 to 30 km, Quality factor is decreasing. The variation in Q factor is 22.26 to 5.67 for mix compensation, 19.47 to 4.84 for post compensation and 14.04 to 4.69 for pre compensation. It is observed that maximum quality factor is shown from mix compensation technique i.e. 7.54 (at 25 km transmission distance) as compared to post and pre compensation techniques which is 6.33 and 6.12 respectively. Fig.5 Bit error rate vs Transmission distance Fig. 5 shows the transmission distance vs bit error rate graph. The variation in BER from different compensation techniques is 4.05e-72 to 8.20e-8 for mix compensation, 4.61e-58 to 6.57e-7 for post compensation and 4.50e-45 to 4.48e-5 for pre compensation. This simulation result shows that at 25 km transmission distance, the minimum bit error rate value is obtained by mix compensation technique which is 7.52e-15 whereas the bit error rate value for post and pre compensation technique is 3.04e-13 and 1.75e-10 respectively. Fig. 6 Quality Factor vs Input Power Fig. 6 display the influence of signal input power on the performance of duobinary system. From the graph, we can find that as the signal input power increases, quality factor increases upto certain limit, after which it starts falling. This can be understood from the fact that for low powers, the performance of system improves with the increase in input power. However, at higher powers, the wavelengths tend to overlap each other causing more dominance of non-linear effects and thus reduce the quality factor. From the graph it also concluded that the quality factor of mix compensation is greater than the other two kind of compensation techniques. Conclusion In this paper, we investigate the behavior of Pre, Post and Mix compensation techniques on the basis of quality factor and bit error rate at 50 Gbps system and conclude which compensation technique perform better. From the comparative performance analysis for different compensation techniques, it is found that mix compensation is better than pre and post compensation techniques for long haul communication system. It may also be concluded that for lower laser input power, quality factor is better for all compensation techniques. References X. Zheng, F. Liu, and P. Jeppesen, â€Å"Receiver optimization for 40-Gb/s optical duobinary signal,† IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., vol.13, pp.744–746, July 2001. Yogesh Chabra, R.S.Kaler,†comparison of various compensation techniques at high bit rates using CSRZ formats,† Optik (Stuttg),121(9), 813–817, 2010. Dewra, Sanjeev, and R. S. Kaler. Performance evaluation of an optical network based on optical cross add drop multiplexer†,Journal of Optical Technology, 2013, pp. 502-505. Barnoski, Michael, ed. â€Å"Fundamentals of optical fiber communications†, Elsevier, pp. 109-133, 2012. S. L. Jansen, G.-D. Khoe, H. de Waardt, S. Spalter, C. J. Weiske, A. Schopflin, S. J. Field, H. E. Escobar, and M. H. Sher, â€Å"Mixed data rate and format transmission (40 Gb/s NRZ, 40 Gb/s duobinary, 10 Gb/s NRZ) using mid-link spectral inversion,† Opt. Lett., vol. 29, no. 20, pp. 2348–2350, Oct. 2004. W. Kaiser, M. Wichers, T. Wuth, W. Rosenkranz, C. Scheerer, C. Glingener, A. Farbert, J.-P. Elbers, G. Fischer, â€Å"SPM-Limit of duobinary transmission†, pp. 22-28, Sept. 2000. Debabrata Sikdar, Vinita Tiwari, Yajnaseni Saha, V.K. Chaubey, â€Å"Investigation of modulator chirp and extinction ratio in different RZ- and NRZ duobinary transmitter modules for performance optimization†, vol. 124, no.13, July 2013, pp. 1411–1414. K. Yang, S. Ou, K. Guild, H.-H. Chen, â€Å"Convergence of Ethernet PON and IEEE 802.16 broadband access networks and Its QoS-aware dynamic bandwidth allocation` Scheme†, IEEE J. Select Areas Commun. 27, 2009, pp. 101–116. H. Kim and C. X. Yu, â€Å"Optical duobinary transmission system featuring improved receiver sensitivity and reduced optical bandwidth,† IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., vol. 14, pp. 1205–1207, Aug. 2002. Debabrata Sikdar, Vinita Tiwari, V.K. Chaubey, â€Å"Optimized transmitter module for NRZ-duobinary in long-haul optical transmission link†, vol. 124, no. 17, September 2013, pp. 2597–2601. P. Pecci, S. Lanne, Y. Frignac, J. C. Antona, G. Charlet, and S. Bigo, â€Å"Tolerance to Dispersion compensation parameters of six modulation formats in systems operating at 43 Gb/s,† in Proc. Eur. Conf. Optical Communication, Rimini, Italy, 2003, pp. 528–529.

Alternative Methods to Prison Sentencing in Britain Essay -- Papers

More and more people in Britain are being sentenced to jail time: this is a fact. In 2004, there are currently over eighty thousand inmates.[1] (Peter Reydt, 2004 / Scottish Executive, 2003) Crime is on the increase but our prisons are already overcrowded. Consequently, new prisons will be required to accommodate prisoners. Where will the money come from to pay for the construction of new prisons? Will they have a sufficient rehabilitation programs in place? The prison system is obviously failing because it is not acting as a deterrent. Clearly we should now be examining why the system is failing and possible alternatives to prison. What should these alternatives be? Would they work and would they be seen as a suitable punishment? First of all, I'd like to look at why the prison service is failing. Ten years ago, Britain's prison population was actually on the decline (Casciani, 2002)[2]. This was due to the government at the time implementing more community based punishments over the use of prison sentencing. However, not all of the Home Secretaries of the time - Kenneth Baker and Kenneth Clarke - agreed with this policy and soon changed their minds and began to follow up on the 'rhetoric of being 'tough' on crime'[3](Cascianni, 2002) by asking the courts to sentence more people to prison. Due to these sterner policies being put in place, the government figures in 1999 actually showed that there were now more than twenty four thousand people being sent to prison than there were ten years previous.(Cascianni, 2002)[4] This was despite no change in the amount of adults being convicted of offenses. The government's 2001 Halliday ... ...m the best way forward. If one life - even that of a prisoner - can be saved, then this must surely be a very good idea? If these alternatives were in place they would help the overcrowding in jails and the building of more jails - which cost on average sixty million pounds each to build.(Rethinking Crime and Punishment, 2002)[12]. This would be less of a burden on the taxpayer and this money could go into developing these alternatives and having them implemented instead of prison. If the offender is shown to be fully rehabilitated and to want to give something back to society, this can only be beneficial: not only to the offender to but to society as a whole. "There are some duties we owe even to those who have wronged us. There is, after all, a limit to retribution and punishment." Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)[13]