Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and Paul Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and Paul - Essay Example Shrines, temples and any other stationary fixtures housing sacred deeds mark sacred sites. Temples can function as churches, synagogues, mosques or congregational meeting places. A site like altars contains holy objects and designated sacred spaces within a building. Sacred buildings may be used for congregational gatherings during the occasions for making sacred time. Examples of sacred building are prayer rugs, tallit’s and Torah scrolls, altars or objects, shrines, roadside memorials and other portable sacred spaces for prayer, sacrifice, etc. Architecture and art have led to the design of sacred places like altars that appear elevated within a building space. Designs of the altar may signify that the place is sacred like decorating them with the purple color, etc. The general design of sacred places and building distinctively identifies the area from other ordinary structures by having some prominent signs on them e.g. the signs of the cross on top of the roofs of any Catholic churches. Art and idolatry are interconnected like Iconoclasts (Jews, Muslims, Catholics and some Protestant churches) consider images and statues to be idolatrous, and these mostly are forbidden in their religious laws. Icons in some churches serve as focal points for encountering God. According to Tillich, history moves from powers of origin, with their legitimate unjust structures of traditional domination by prophetic criticism and kairos to fulfillment based on justice structures. The whole process being one of sacramental participation to end in culminating sacrament of theology. Secular history manifests autonomous movement parallel to that of ecclesia-movement of its Catholic sacred substance through independent yet prophetic principle to the fulfillment of both religious and its prophetic elements. There is a paradox at the coupling of art and sacred places. They seem naturally apt to one another, similar to present forms of sacred and art are both

Persuasive research paper-- quit smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Persuasive research paper-- quit smoking - Essay Example dangerous smoking really is, the other day I saw a video of a man who was coughing incessantly and I saw him bleed and this really scared me to an unprecedented extent. I am completely motivated and geared up to stop smoking, I remember I smoked for the very first time when I was young and I knew nothing about the damage which smoking could cause, I got to know about the damage only later on and I have been trying hard to quit but the temptation always lingers on and it is quite hard to stop it but this time around I am going to do it and I have already been quite successful. I do not even remember the last time that I smoked and this I think is really a big achievement for me and I am going to carry on and completely stop it because I have realized that it is really dangerous and can cause lung cancer, I have already seen enough pain and suffering in those videos. Those videos have been really useful and have motivated me to quit. Chewing gum has also helped me a ton, whenever I feel the urge to smoke I start chewing and this has been of great help to me, the urge to smoke goes away as soon as I pop it into my mouth and the urge to smoke instantly goes away. â€Å"Nicotine replacement therapies work by giving you a small amount of nicotine, but without the dangerous effects of inhaling tobacco smoke. This helps relieve the withdrawal symptoms and cravings for a cigarette that you get when you stop smoking, and allows you to get on with breaking the psychological habit of smoking. If you are physically addicted to nicotine, using NRT has been shown to almost double your chances of successfully quitting smoking.† (Nicorette Gum) This idea was first suggested to me by a good friend and I tried it and it works like a charm for me, the first time I tried it and I was very happy with the results and I knew this was going to save me, I have bought several gums to help me quit. These are a couple of ideas that have really helped me, discipline in life is really

Conflict in Sudan Essay Example for Free

Conflict in Sudan Essay There have been many conflicts in different regions of the world, causing a lot of effects to the humanity and the natural environment, which has always remained a silent victim. Many people have been killed because of these conflicts, while causing lot of devastating effects to the environment. During the war, a lot of pollutants are released to the environment which ends up affecting human beings and the natural resources. Other resources are depleted in the ensuing conflicts. The major concerns on the current issues about conflicts, both internal and regional are found in the developing countries. These countries do not have the economic capacity to deal with the conflict situation, hence making the problems even worse (IRIN, 2007). Africa has had along time history of civil war from the colonial times, and many are still evidenced today. Â  Most of the African nations fight over borders, which were mostly demarcated by the colonialists. These are regional conflicts, while internal conflicts arises due to the people fighting for scarce natural resources, for instance fertile farming land, and water. The Sudanese president is a wanted man on the list of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity in the conflict that has been taking place in the country for almost 20 years, leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead (Goldberg, 2009). Causes and Effects of War in Sudan There has been a long civil war in Southern Sudan that has led to the international community through the United Nations and the African union to try and broker peace. The war witnessed in the region is considered as a fight between the different ethnic and tribal groups (IRIN, 2007). The mostly known conflicting groups are the government side and the Janjaweed rebel group. There is however other smaller rebel groups that have complicated the matter further. The major cause of the war in Sudan has been attributed to fighting for water between the Baggara nomads who moved to the South (an area occupied by the farming community), in search of water. This conflict has led to many deaths in the region, despite the presence of the peace forces. There are other reasons that have been cited as having contributed to the conflict, although the major reason has been the increase in population which the natural resources are not able to hold, hence making the groups to fight over the scarce resources. On the other hand, there have been claims that the Arab dominants, who are Muslims, have been fighting the Black Africans, who are mostly Christians to wipe them from the region. This is what has led to the US declaring this to be a form of genocide, which has taken place under the watch of President Al Bashir who the ICC wants arrested for the crimes (Goldberg, 2009). As already mentioned, the war was triggered by fighting for scarce resources, which was water. However, considering the continued fights, the environment is even endangered more, making it more impossible to support the population. This on the other hand aggravates the situation when the natural resources are not able to support them. The conflict over resources in Sudan started at a local level in Darfur region, but developed into becoming a national issue whereby economic and political marginalization has been heightened. The situation has been made worse because of ethnicity differences. Therefore, despite economic and political and religious factors contributing to the conflict in Darfur Sudan, the major problem has surrounded the environment. The Sudanese Arabs who are nomads moved southwards in search of greener pastures and water for their animals and entered the territory of the Black farmers, leading to the two groups to conflict. The Black farmers complained to the Khartoum government, but on realizing that the government was not keen on solving the problem, the Black farmers rebelled against the government. This rebellion led to fighting between the people, destroying a lot of property, both manmade and naturally (Borger, 2007). The two groups fighting each other have distinct life styles, hence through their fights; each tries to destroy the strategic areas that the other depends on, as a way of weakening them. For instance, the nomads usually would graze their animals on the crops of the farmers, destroying their source of livelihood. On the other hand, the farmers set the grazing land for the nomads on fire so that they lack animal feeds. Furthermore, as the nomads are known of moving from one region o another in search of greener pastures, the farmers have blocked their migration paths, forcing them to overgraze in one region, hence also affecting their source of livelihood. Such actions from both camps have made the situation to be worse as the conflict continues. Many of the refugees from Sudan have fled to the neighboring countries like Chad. The asylums in the neighboring countries have not made the refugees completely safe, but have even put the lives of the residents of the host country in danger. This is because the Janjaweed rebels have been following the refugees to their camps, and attacking them from there. This has made the residents in the host country who live near the refugee camps to move away from them to areas that are more secure. In essence, the citizens have been made insecure in their own land. This on the other hand might thus cause conflict between the refugees and the citizens of the host country, which again might rise to the national level (Gouroukoun, 2006). Conclusion The major effect of the Sudan’s conflict has been on the number of the people who have been killed. This is basically a major concern to everybody, including the humanitarian groups that are mostly found in Sudan, and the international community. However, it has to be understood that since the Sudan conflict is directly linked to the natural resources, which is an environmental, issue, the conflict has continued to affect the environment even to higher magnitude. The Arab Sudanese have always been cutting trees which the farmers have planted in their farms, as well as grazing on the farmers’ crops. On the other hand, the farmers have been burning the grazing land for the nomads. All these actions have got detrimental effects to the environment. The nomads moved southwards in search of greener pastures, yet they are cutting the trees that are important in rain formation, then it is obvious that a dry spell would be in the region for a long time. On the other hand, as the Black farmers burn the grazing ground, this also affects their farming activities since important macro organisms are killed. Therefore, all these environmental impacts would make the conflict to remain for a long time as long the involved bodies are only concerned with solving the immediate humanitarian crisis, rather than looking at the root cause of the problem, and how to avert it occurring in future. Reference: Borger, Julian (2007). Darfur conflict heralds era of wars triggered by climate change, UN report warns. Retrieved on March 24, 2009 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jun/23/sudan.climatechange. Goldberg, M. L. (2009). The President of Sudan to be a Wanted War Criminal, retrieved on March 24, 2009 from http://www.undispatch.com/node/7698. Gouroukoun (2006). Chadians Increasingly Feel Impact of Darfur Conflict, Retrieved on March 24, 2009, from http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-04/2006-04-21-voa44.cfm. IRIN. (2007). Sudan: Climate change only one cause among many for Darfur conflict, retrieved on March 24, 2009 from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2007/06/mil-070628-irin03.htm.

The Importance Of Having Good Communication Skills English Language Essay

The Importance Of Having Good Communication Skills English Language Essay Introduction Most of us know the importance of having a good communication skill if we want to have a successful career and enjoy a harmonious interpersonal relationship with people. But it is quite another story for us to practice it appropriately in our daily life. In this paper we focus on some necessary steps of acquiring a good communication skill which includes how to reduce communication noise, non-verbal communication, and suggestions to practice communication skill properly. I shall first present a communication event at the beginning. This event happened in a clinic between a dentist and a patient. Due to the dentists good understanding of verbal communication, and well-acquired non-verbal communication technique, he finally succeed in persuading his patient to accept dental treatment. Details on the analysis and related communication theories based on the event will be discussed in later sections. Mr Smith was an experienced dentist. Many of his previously satisfied patients became his loyal customers due to his excellent medical skill and thoughtful service. One day, a man dragged a little girl into his clinic. The girl was about 7 years old. An anxious expression was wearing on her small tearstained face. Her frightened eyes told Smith that she did really scare of being taken to see a dentist and her stiffed body showed that she would never be willing to accept any dental treatments. The girls father was at a loss for what to do to coax his daughter to accept treatment. Mr Smith smiled at the girl and approached to her, spoke to the girl in a gentle tone Darling, what makes you so scary? People hate dentist, so do I. Seeing a dentist hurts a lot, the girl answered with tearful eyes. Mr Smith knew it clearly that many children can not endure dental treatment due to fear. But he is experienced enough to cope with such problem. He explained the process of treatment in details i n a way that a child can understand in a mild tone. Mr Smith noticed that she has stopped shedding tears. He added If you behaved well during the treatment, you can choose a small toy to reward yourself for your great courage. Mr Smith smiled at her with a toy box waving in his hand. Thanks to the patience and kindness of Mr Smith, the girl finally accepted the treatment readily. Again he built a new good relationship with his patient. When we consider why and how Mr Smith wins his patients trust and loyalty, it is obvious that his success is inseparable from his distinguished communication skills. For supporting my viewpoint I will analyze Mr Smiths effective communication with related theories and authoritative opinions from authorities and books. Communication noise is an obstacle blocks the way of receivers receive our messages. Communication noise includes mechanical noise, semantic noise and psychological noise. Communication noise is something refers to have a profound impact on effective communication which influences the interpretation of conversations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_noise December 2009). The basis of communication is the interaction between people. However the barriers built by communication noise prevent us from properly percepting others intentions during the interaction of a communication. How did Mr Smith deal with these noises? Firstly is the trouble brought by mechanical noise. Mechanical noise is actual physical interference with the signal (Mohan et al. 1997, p. 7). In dentist Mr Smiths clinic the main mechanical noise is the noise generated by the dental drill. As Mr Smith is a thoughtful man he offers a separated waiting room especially designed for his patients which decorated wi th lovely ornaments, so that the noise from the consulting room can be isolated. Thus, the quite environment made by Mr Smith can enable him to make a more effective communication with his patients. Secondly is the Semantic noise. Semantic noise is the study of meaning. (Mohan et al. 1997, p. 7) For our receivers can understand our messages fully. We should choose words carefully. The words should be chosen within the understanding ability of receivers that is simple but concise to the point. We must take our receivers age, gender, religion, education, career, culture, and cognition into consideration. Carl Rogers, based on his experience as a psychotherapist, contends that the major barrier to interpersonal empathy is our very natural tendency to judge, to evaluate, to approve (or disapprove) the statement of the other person or the other group (Nebell, 1991, P. 217) That is our interpretation of some words and phrases are tend to distort the meaning of the communication by nature. For avoiding distortion and misunderstanding, Mr Smith chose his words mainly according to his patients age. Mr Smith tried to use simple and short words to communicate with his little patient. We can infer that long and complex words can only confused the little girl. What is worse it may make her distorts the meaning. Since the girl has bias toward dental treatment. Mr Smith also avoided to describe the oral surgery in a professional way with terminology instead he use interesting and vivid analogy to let the girl understand that the surgery is good to her health and easy. Then on the basis of the girls cognition, he simply told what should the girl to do during the treatment. He use proper words wisely simplified the concept of dental treatment in her mind. Those words have made a great contribution to diminish the fear inside of the girl. Thirdly is the psychological noise. Psychological noise is use of language or other communication symbols can set up emotional barriers betwe en people. (Mohan et al. 1997, p. 7) Mr Smith judged according to a kids psychological interest and preference, he gave the little girl a small toy as a reward. In this way Mr Smith collapsed his patients emotional barriers. Moreover the lovely ornaments on the wall is also a kind of communication. They use their cute out-looking, vivid colors telling the patients that here is a warm cozy place. Theres nothing to be afraid of, thus calms nerves inside of the patients. In his little patients fathers eyes Mr Smith has offered her daughter considerate service. From the above analysis, we can reach to the conclusion that only when we minimize or reduce the three kind noise of mechanical noise, semantic noise and psychological noise, can we offer a clear access to send our messages to others and get matchable feedback from our receivers. Non-verbal communication involves a transmission of information via sigh language, gestures, facial expression or other forms of body language. (Mohan et al. 1997 P. 7). Most people understand the importance of communication skills in the social life. But when they practice it, they usually neglect their facial expression, tone, body language in non-verbal communication unconsciously. As a mater of fact, ones facial expression gestures and body language is really important, it can imply others his attitude. For express ourselves better, we need to lay emphasis on the way to achieve success in non-verbal communication. The following are some suggestions. First, putting yourself in others shoes is a good way to sense others feelings on the condition that youve been well observed others facial expression, gesture, tone and body language. Prophet Muhammad is related to have said that any one of us is not considered to be a believing person, until he/she does unto others what he/she wishe s they do unto him/hertheytheydountohim/( July 2008). In the event, Mr Smith judged from the facial expression and body language of his patient, such as tearstained face, stiffed body, frightened look. Those body language reveals lots of information to him, thus help him gets to know what do his patient worries about so that he can adjust his language, facial expression, body language and paralanguage accordingly to cater to the psychology needs and wants of his patient. Second, use your own facial expression gesture, tone and body language and some other paralanguage properly. Never take it for granted that people can always fully understand you at ease. Combine your paralanguage and body language with your words is crucial. In this aspect Mr Smith has made a good example for us. He used a series of facial expression tone, body language and words to communicate with his stubborn patient to talk her into accept dental treatment readily. Mr Smith uses his gentle tone and smile to relax the little girls mind at ease and with the words he selected he successfully convinced his little patient that the process of treatment is painless. Combine proper paralanguage with selected words can make Mr Smiths words sounds more acceptable and credible in the girls ear. Many research studies have been carried out on this point: Non-verbal communication has been extensively studied in the psychology and psychotherapy disciplines and has been shown to have a central effect on participants perceptions of an event. (Mark Gillian 2003 pp. 384 398). That is if you well used your eye movement and gestures and body languages in a non-verbal communication that can help you to yield the twice result with half effort! So I can say with sure that without Mr Smiths paralanguage and facial expression or other body language the outcome will be much worse, or even end up in failure. That kind of communication starts from the heart which can be more effective in achieving a satisfied outcome of communication. His smile, his friendly manner, and his gentle tone reinforced the effectiveness of sending his sincerity to others. In conclusion to this, if we want to express ourselves more clearly to dissolve others hostility and misunderstanding to the greatest degree. It is essential for us to sense others feelings. In other words the way to achieve success in non-verbal communication is not only rely on to have a better understanding through others body language facial expression and paralanguage, but also important for ourselves to properly used our sign language, facial expressions, gestures and body language to enable others feel easier or even comfortable in receiving our messages. Conclusion It goes without saying that communication is playing an important roll in keeping a good relationship with people and improving efficiency in our work. After all have been discussed, acquire a good communication skill is identified as you are able to put yourself into others shoes, to sense others feeling. To collapse the communication barriers which build by mechanical noise, semantic noise, psychological noise. Whats more, well used your facial expression, gesture, and body language will definitely enhance your chance of sending your message to your receiver correctly.

Baseball and American Popular Culture :: Baseball Sports Athletics American Culture Essays

Baseball is an integral part of American pop culture. Many Americans grow up with baseball, playing it before they can even count all the bases. It is glorified, taught, and fed to us. When we play baseball, we find a respect for the game. The respect we gain from playing it has turned the game into a tradition of American culture. It has formed itself into the business of professional baseball, namely major league baseball. Professional players have become recognized all over the world. They are sought out and admired by fans. Because of their popularity, these players have written books, endorsed commercial products, and found successful and rewarding careers by playing a game. According to Wallup, author of Baseball: An Informal History, baseball has been apart of our culture since the mid to late nineteenth century(Wallup, p16). Our great grandparents, grandparents, and parents have been brought up with it and our parents teach the sport to us. When the notion of baseball comes to mind, a feeling of nostalgia and tradition come to me. Many of my feelings and memories originate from my childhood. I remember a beautiful summer day. My dad and I arrived at the baseball stadium to watch the game. We walked up the concrete walkway inside the stadium. The concrete walls and floors made my surroundings drab and grey. Finally, we made it to entrance into the stadium. I came out of the dark tunnels into the bright sunlight. The first thing to catch my eye was the vivid rush of color. Underneath the fluffy white clouds and their deep blue canvas, I could look down and see players in vibrant red and blue uniforms warming up for the game. The well-watered grass on the field was a brighter green than any other grass I had seen. The outfield seemed to be so perfect. It appeared that each blade had been cut by hand. The edge of the infield, where the dark, watered-down dirt met the intensely green grass was a precise and well-defined cont rast. We sat down and I took in my surroundings. There were men walking up and down the stairs selling various concessions. They had peanuts, beer, soda, ice cream, popcorn, and many other tempting treats. The players soon finished their warm-ups and the crowd became frenzied with excitement. The game was about to start. Baseball has its own traditions in America and playing the national anthem is one of them.

Sonic Case Study :: essays research papers

Executive Summary Beginning with one restaurant, Sonic has become the largest drive-in chain in the United States. While they are smaller than their competitors, they are still leading in sales growth, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Sonic restaurants saturate the southern U.S. This gives them the opportunity to expand to other area. However, Sonic is reluctant due to the colder climates and their basis as a drive-in restaurant. Sonic should look at adding or combining capabilities to it’s restaurants to increase competitiveness and make it easier for them to expand into other areas without limiting themselves. Situational Analysis In 1953, Troy Smith, the founder of SONIC and World War II veteran, was living in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Troy dreamed of owning his own restaurant business. In fact, he had already tried twice. Troy first owned a small diner called the Cottage Cafà ©. The income he received was barely enough to make a living for himself and his family. Troy sold the Cottage Cafà © and bought a bigger restaurant. His next business, the Panful of Chicken, was so successful that he tried opening more. Unfortunately, fried chicken didn't do well in early 1950s Oklahoma and Troy closed his Panful of Chicken restaurant. Troy then owned a steak house that had a root beer stand attached. This root beer stand, called The Top Hat proved more profitable and eventually outlasted the steak house. While traveling to Louisiana, Troy saw some homemade intercom speakers in use at a local hamburger stand. He contacted the innovator in Louisiana and asked him to make an intercom for the Top Hat. He then hired some local electronics wizards to install the system. He then added a canopy for cars to park under and servers to deliver the food right to customers’ cars. During the first week after the intercom was installed, the Top Hat took in $1750. With his new partner, Charlie Pappe, four more Top Hats were opened. However, their lawyers informed them that the Top Hat name was copyrighted. They changed the name to Sonic to go along with the restaurant slogan of "Service With the Speed of SoundSM."1 In 1973, a group of ten principal franchise owners became the officers of the company. Shares were offered to each store owner. Because of the amount of stock offered, Sonic became a publicly traded company with 165 stores in the chain. Between 1973 and 1978, Sonic grew tremendously. 800 new stores were opened and a Sonic School that formally trained new managers was established.

Analyse on “Broken boat” by John Galsworthy

Good time management is essential for coping with the pressures of modern life without experiencing too much stress.If you never have enough time to finish your tasks, better time management will help you regain control of your day.Good time management doesn't mean you do more work. It means you focus on the tasks that matter and will make a difference. Whether it’s in your job or your lifestyle as a whole, learning how to manage your time effectively will help you feel more relaxed, focused and in control.â€Å"The aim of good time management is to achieve the lifestyle balance you want,† says Emma Donaldson-Feilder, a chartered occupational psychologist.Here are her top tips for better time management: Work out your goalsThis first step towards improving your time management is to ask yourself some questions. â€Å"Work out who you want to be, your priorities in life, and what you want to achieve in your career or personal life,† says Donaldson-Feilder. â€Å" That is then the guiding principle for how you spend your time and how you manage it.†Once you have worked out the big picture, even if it's quite general, you can then work out some short-term and medium-term goals. â€Å"Knowing your goals will help you plan better and focus on the things that will help you achieve those goals,† says Donaldson-Feilder.Make a listA common time-management mistake is trying to remember too many details, leading to information overload. A better way to stay organised and take control of your projects and tasks is to use a to-do list to write things down.â€Å"Try it and see what works best for you,† says Donaldson-Feilder. She prefers to keep a single to-do list, to avoid losing track of multiple lists. â€Å"Keeping a list will help you work out your priorities and timings, so it can help you put off the non-urgent tasks.† Work smarter, not harderGood time management at work means doing high-quality work, not high quantity. Donaldson-Feilder advises concentrating not on how busy you are but on results. â€Å"Spending more time on something doesn’t necessarily achieve more,† she says. â€Å"Staying an extra hour at work at the end of the day may not be the most effective way to manage your time.†You may feel resentful about being in the office after hours. You’re also likely to be less productive and frustrated about how little you’re achieving, which will compound your stress. Have a lunch breakMany people work through their lunch break to gain an extra hour at work, but Donaldson-Feilder says that can be counter-productive. â€Å"As a general rule, taking at least 30 minutes away from your desk will help you to be more effective in the afternoon,† she says.A break is an opportunity to relax and think of something other than work. â€Å"Go for a walk outdoors or, better still, do some exercise,† says Donaldson-Feilder. â€Å"You’ll come back to your desk re-energised, with a new set of eyes and renewed focus.†Planning your day with a midday break will also help you to break up your work into more manageable chunks. Prioritise important tasksTasks can be grouped in four categories:urgent and important not urgent but important urgent but not important neither urgent nor importantâ€Å"When the phone rings, it seems urgent to pick it up but it’s not necessarily  important,† says Donaldson-Feilder. â€Å"It may be more important to continue with what you were doing rather than be distracted by a phone call. When it is appropriate, it may be more effective to let your voicemail pick up the message.†Donaldson-Feilder says people with good time management create time to concentrate on non-urgent, important activities. By so doing, they minimise the chances of activities ever becoming urgent and important.â€Å"The aim is to learn how to become better at reducing the number of urgent and important tas ks. Having to deal with too many urgent tasks can be stressful,† says Donaldson-Feilder. Practise the 4 DsWe can spend up to half our working day going through our email inbox, making us tired, frustrated and unproductive. A study has found that one-in-three office workers suffers from email stress.Making a decision the first time you open an email is crucial for effective time management. To manage this burden effectively, Donaldson-Feilder advises practising the 4 Ds of decision-making: Delete: half of the emails you get can probably be deleted immediately. Do: if the email is urgent or can be completed quickly.Delegate: if the email can be better dealt with by someone else. Defer: set aside time at a later date to spend on emails that require longer action.