The problem of 'free will' and the responsibility for exercising 'free will' have been among the central issues of philosophical and religious thought since ancient times. In Christian theology, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Soren Kierkegaard among others have deliberated at length on the issue of free will. Augustine, for example, concedes the existence of free will and its relation to man's salvation, but at the same time emphasizes the need for divine grace. Luther and Calvin, on the other hand, taught that such a thing as "free choice in man" does not exist and such power belongs to no one but God alone, "for God alone is free to do what He desires to be done." Kierkegaard view on man's free will is that only an infinite power can so relate to man as to constitute and maintain man's freedom. I believe that most of these religious scholars have struggled to explain the concept of free will in a clear manner d

Are Americans ethnocentric when it comes to the elderly? If one is to believe the article in the American Psychological Association's Web pages, Americans are indeed ethnocentric towards the elderly in this country. The article by Melissa Dittmann indicates that in a recent survey of eighty-four people who were 60 years of age or older, "nearly 80 percent of respondents reported experiencing ageism." Those eighty percent of the respondents stated that younger people assumed they (the elderly respondents) have "me

In Dostoevsky's work, the Inquisitor presents his case with many wordy arguments. He cleverly discusses the issue of Catholicism, the freedom inherent in oppression and the joy and peace of submission to the iron will of another. The Inquisitor speaks from the position of a dictator; an entity with absolute power. As a person involved with an absolutely powerful institution at the time, the Church, he is obviously not willing to relinquish such power. Hence he attempts to justify his arguments with a focus upon the happiness of those under him. On the other hand, the Inquisitor may believe his case to be sincere. Being indoctrinated since birth with the opinions he holds as truth, it is hardly surprising that he believes people can only be happy when their freedom of thought is taken away. Indeed, he claims this removal of freedom to be the choice of the oppressed themselves. The Inquisition is then used as a tool to demonstrate to those who are oppressed what would happe

1. Which probability distribution should be used when sampling takes place from a small population where the probability of success does not remain the same for each trial? Why? The central limit theorem holds that the totals (and therefore the means) of random samples will be normally distributed no matter what the distribution in the population is like, provided only that the samples are large enough. In most instances where inferential statistics are applied in hypothesis testing, population distributions are unknown. Therefore, the central limit theorem assumes a high-level of importance in hypothesis testing. Thus, one may expect normally distributed data in large samples more so than in small samples. If the sample size is less than 30 and if the standard deviation is not known, but it also is possible to make a rational assumption that the sample is characterized by a near-normal distribution, it is best to use the t distribution in place of the normal distribution. The justi

Guilt and redemption in Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone is a central topic of the novel. The whole story is based on the life of a married woman after committing adultery and describes the effects of this sin. There are two persons who are exposed to this sin and guilt: Hester, a married woman and Reverend Dimmesdale. If Hester was courage enough to struggle this problem and face all hardships and misfortunes with dignity after confessing, then the fear of exposal and shame of the committed sin turned into a personal catastrophe for Dimmesdale. As a result, failing to struggle with the shame and guilt reverend Dimmssdale died. The guilt for Hester as a result turned into a shameful page of her life: she had to wear scarlet letter on her closing, which marked her as "sinner" and she had to raise her illegitimate daughter Pearl, who was embodiment of this sin. After society found out her sin, Hester was cruelly punished for being adulterer. Because novel takes place i

I."God dwells wherever [a person] lets [God] in." As a response to the popular belief that one must "abandon the external and internal reality of earthly being," Buber argues that one should do the opposite if he truly wants to let God dwell in him. This passage is only true, in Buber's terms, if the individual would allow God in himself-that is, the individual accepts willingly that God has given to him as a human individual. A relevant passage from Buber demonstrates this assertion, wherein he used the example of Adam as an example of an individual who 'hid' himself in order to escape responsibilities from God, which in effect, meant that God does not dwell in him: Adam hides himself to avoid rendering accounts, to escape responsibility for his way of living. Every man hides for this purpose, for every man is Adam and finds himself in Adam's position. To escape responsibility for his life, he turns existence into a system of hideouts. A

1. Introduction The threat of international terrorism has increased dramatically in recent years and especially since the events of September 11, 2001. However domestic terrorism threats from within the country have also played a role in America's security landscape. The growth of terrorism in the last few years has added an even greater sense of urgency to monitor and curtail possible internal threats to the country. As one security analyst states "...there is increasing concern from many experts and in numerous studies at the ever-present and growing internal security threat. " (Mowbray J. ) This increased domestic vigilance has placed various ethnic and religious groups in a vulnerable position. This is especially the case with regard to the Arab American population in America. Due to their religious and cultural affiliations with Middle Eastern countries they have been the focus of surveillance and investigation by the authorities. What is of particu

1. Introduction The problem of violence in our schools is a serious issue in modern society. The problem of school violence has reached levels that necessitate intervention on many levels – including community and parental involvement. There is also a general consensus that preventative measures to curb school violence and to address the fundamental causes need to be implemented at a governmental and institutional level. The reason for this is the increasing number of reported incidents of various kinds of school violence. Some experts even claim that that forms of violence are becoming endemic in our schools. There have been increasingly disturbing reports of intimidation and even killings at American schools. One only has to think of the incident at Columbine High School to be reminded of the potential for violence that exists in many ordinary schools. The tragedy at Columbine certainly raised awareness of the problem of school violence in the country. However, what is less obvio

The United States and its Constitution have always laid claimed to the country's policy of "freedom and justice for all". It was also on this basis that the American dream is built. All immigrants coming to the country have in mind a bright future for themselves and their offspring. American-born citizens themselves also perpetuate the dream in pursuing the opportunities the country supposedly offers. However, the reality has often been different for certain demographic groups within the country. History shows how cultural segregation has impacted upon Blacks, American Indians, and other minority groups of the country since the arrival of its founding fathers. At the beginning of the 21st century, however, the assumption is that surely such practices have stopped and that policymakers and indeed all American citizens have learned from their mistakes. Recent events such as 9/11 and other terrorist activities have however proved this assumption wrong. 9/11 for exam

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of American marketing. Specifically it will discuss why Oscar Mayer does a good job in marketing and advertising. Oscar Mayer could be one of the most successful advertisers of all time, because they have expanded their brand awareness throughout the world. Ask just about anyone, and they can tell you about the Weinermobile, or the catchy jingle "I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner." In fact, the Oscar Mayer wiener jingle is one of the twenty most successful advertising jingles of the century according to Ad Age magazine (Locke, 2001, p. 68). Then of course is "My bologna has a first name...." All of these marketing innovations add up to a company that has been around for over 100 years, and is still one of the most popular and successful brands today. The Oscar Mayer Company, now a subsidiary of Kraft Foods, began as a meat market in Chicago in the late 1800s. By 1900, the three brothers were so successf

'Father of the Bride' had Steve Martin play the role of the father, George Banks. Spencer Tracy played the same role in the 1950s original. While the actors change, the character remains the same. Banks is an exceptional husband and a very loving father who turns into a major nutcase following his daughter's revelation that she was getting married. Coming home from her semester in Europe, Annie drops a bombshell on her father when she tells him that she is engaged to be married to a guy named Bryan. The character encompasses all the quirks and whims of a man obsessed with his daughter's image as the little girl he used to play with who is suddenly old enough to get married. He cannot come to terms with the reality and hence goes into this really hysterical state of mind where he hates everything about the wedding and everyone connected with him. Like any father, he doesn't think any guy is suitable enou

The basic foundations of Greek thought can be traced back to the 2nd century B.C.E. when Panaetius attempted to consolidate the schools of Stoicism and Platonism, based on the teachings of Socrates and Plato; also, Posidonius and Antiochus began to vigorously rebuild the Academy and focused primarily on restoring the writings of Aristotle to their proper place in Greek thought and philosophy. With the beginning of the Hellenistic Age, many thinkers began to contemplate the development of the sciences, especially mathematics, astronomy and medicine and then attempted to incorporate these foundational subjects into Greek philosophy. Other thinkers depended upon observation and the collection of facts in order to conceive new ideas related to how human beings live and interact within the natural world around them. Also, scholars made language, literature and history t

In 1985, members of the Papago tribe announced plans to change their name to Tohono O'odham Nation, which means "the desert people." Tribal leaders no longer wished to be called Papago, a Spanish conjunction of the Indian word for "bean eaters" (Herschfelder 45). Such a decision came as no surprise. Over the centuries, most tribal people have been forced to accept names and actions decided for them. Despite this coercion, however, "Native Americans survived as communities and cultures (Champagne 1995: 18)," because conservatism or traditional approach to life allowed many tribal nations to retain varying degrees of their history and pride. There are several aspects of the Native American worldview that gave, and continue to give, American Indians the ability to withstand change and total assimilation. One of the main concepts or natural laws in native communities concerns the land. The Northern Cheyennes of Montana, for example, consider Bear Butte, near Sturgis, South Dakota, a sacre

Dysfunctional family is the term describing a kind of family which is under too much stress and pressure because of the continuous conflict, misbehavior and abuse going on inside the family itself. Moreover, because these things have been going on repeatedly, the kids had the notion that this is just normal (http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysfunctional_family, 2006). Parents and family members are proven to be dysfunctional if they have the following symptoms: Family members, more particularly the parents are in denial – they deny that they are having problems in the family Lack of empathy to and from each family members Parents that are inconsistent and unpredictable that they – husband and wife – could not understa

The Green Anaconda is considered to be the biggest snake in the world but this is not the longest. Physically, it is dark green with black elliptical patches and the length is 9 meters. It can weigh a hefty 250 kg and have a girth of more than 12 inches in diameter (Szdocent, 2006). Anaconda can eat an elephant because their jaw can expand. Scientific Classification taken from Busch Entertainment Corporation (2006): Common Name: green anaconda, common anaconda, water boa Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Family: Boidae Genus Species: Eunectes (good swimmer) murinus (mouse colored) Green Anacondas live in water most of the time; they are good swimmers and can travel in fast motion. But they cannot move fast in the land since they are big enough to carry themselves. The head of the anaconda usually lies on the surface of the water while the body i

Since prehistoric times, human beings have believed in the existence of a reality greater than themselves that serves as a definer and creator of cultures, and as an antidote to the fragility and apparent finality of human existence (Coogan 1998). Each major religion generally recognizes an individual founder responsible for essential aspects of the tradition. Moreover, sacred texts, such as the Ten Commandments of Judaism and Christianity, and the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, are typically the essential principles upon which doctrine is based (Coogan 1998). Four major world religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity. Encounters with the infinite that forbid worshiping anything finite is central to religions, as is showing compassion toward others and acting justly. For example, in Hinduism, Brahmin and Atman are not finite objects and are essentially indescribable. An individual attains the final goal, moksa, by recognizing that concern for one's ow

One situation in my life where I took a position had placed my job at risk. I was a working student then, working as service crew/cashier in one of the leading fast food chains worldwide. The chain has a strict policy on storage and preservation of foods in an objective of looking after the welfare of their customers' health. One policy of the chain is to throw to garbage all cooked foods that were not consumed at the end of the day. This includes burgers, chicken, and potato fries. Even the employees of the chain are not allowed to bring home and eat unconsumed foods. If someone violates th

This paper presents a discussion about the book Casino by Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi. The writer begins by summarizing the story line in the book and then moves into a discussion about the main theme of the book. The writer then closes with how the book addresses the main issues that the book addressed and uses specific examples to support that claim. There was one source use to complete this paper.

1.The long-standing conflict between the Northern and Southern regions of America as the New World stemmed primarily from their respective economic histories, and secondarily because of socio-cultural differences from each other. The economic roots of the animosity between the North and South New World territories is traced from its origins, wherein both regions are represented by Pennsylvania and Virginia and Maryland, few of the many English enterprises and early colonies that helped develop the regions for what it developed to be until America achieved its independence. The South's success as the central source of cotton and location of cotton plantations is due to the focus of the region to successfully achieve economic prosperity, as opposed to the relatively better living conditions in the Northern region. The South experienced difficulties establishing colonies because of the unfavorable conditions of the settlers' environs. The North, meanwhile, experienced abun

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of word etymology. Specifically, it will discuss the word's history including three separate usages for the word. The word "faggot" is mostly used today as a derogatory term for homosexuals. However, its initial meaning was far removed from that definition used today. This shows how the etymology of a word can and does change over time. Most modern words were created in ancient times, and it simply makes sense that definitions would alter as time changes.

"Bluetooth will become the pervasive technology to support wireless communication in various contexts of every day life," F-Secure and Secure Networks announces in their 2006 study, "Going Around with Bluetooth in Full Safety."1 A low-range transmission device now commonly installed in phones and personal computers, Bluetooth has become part of the everyday life of the technological consumer marketplace and holds a very strong bid on its future. Currently operable in low bandwidth radio waves that extend, at best, up to 100 meters, Bluetooth is in a rapid state of change. While the transformations of the 1.0 and 1.1. problem-riddled versions have provided a powerful outlet for utility and created a name for the Bluetooth technology, the horizon of Bluetooth capabilities is only beginning to be seen. Ultimately, with careful planning and exacting growth methods, the Bluetooth protocol could be changed from a communication alternative to a communication norm. T

Perspectives on the Effects of Job Outsourcing from the United States to Asian countries: A Comparative Analysis The influx of outsourcing jobs from the United States to specific countries in Asia, or the practice of off shoring, is both a social and economic phenomenon that demonstrates how, in the advent of computer and Internet technologies, even economic elements such as the workforce can become boundless in terms of geographic location. Because of the surge of outsourcing jobs to Asia, American society is experiencing a perceived "loss" of opportunities economically, wherein jobs are shifted from Americans to Asians, and the flow of profits are targeted towards outsourced businesses rather than domestically-located ones. Socially, it is perceived that outsourcing has also led to an increase in employment, as more and more Americans are laid-off, replaced by the IT expertise and cheap cost of labor in Asia. These perceived notions and assumptions about outsourcing as

What is globalization, and what are some of the traditional international trade theories that support the concept of globalization? Globalization has been defined by a multitude of examples and constructs. In the context of the 21rst century, globalization has been written by Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat (2005) and The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999). In the latter book, Friedman describes globalization as follows: "The inexorable integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies to a degree never witnessed before-in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before. The spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world " (T.L. Friedman, The Lexus, and the Olive Tree, 1999, p. 7-8). The following international trade theories support the concept of globalization. Dr, Michael Porter's Determinant of Competitive Advantage as defined in his books and articles on the C

"Harrison Bergeron," "The Lottery," and "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas" are stories that examine society and the human desire to make it orderly and just. In each story the method for perfecting society is different, but flawed. In each story the author exaggerates the situation in order to show the ridiculousness of assuming that any good can come of these methods. In each story there is a refusal to see beyond or beneath the superficial appearance of everyday events. This will be examined in each of the three stories. In "Harrison Bergeron," for example, the characters suffer from externally imposed "handicaps." Vonnegut begins the story by exposing a common misunderstanding of the meaning of equality, the idea that nobody can be better than anybody else. The narrator tells us: "They were equal every which way. Nobody was any smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else&q

Susan Bordo's stark warning of the American obsession with losing weight and weight control is both disturbing as it is informative. In "Hunger as Ideology", Bordo argues that the bombardment through advertising and social constructs that women must be thin, has negatively impacted American youth into being both unhealthy and overly self-conscious. Her article attempts to break down existing advertisements to deconstruct exactly how the advertising industry attempts to target women. Two ads are carefully analyzed within Bordo's work that exemplifies her observations about advertiser's agendas. Even worse, these advertisements exploit women at a very subtle level, to attract through innuendos and subtle application of sex and desire. In one Jell-O advertisement, featuring Bill Cosby, the ad depicts Bill and his son carrying boxes upon boxes of Jell-O. These two male figures are shown radiant and happy. Bordo argues that this advertisement shows both the subversive nature of sexism as well a