Hinduism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hinduism - Research Paper Example Majority of these writers define Hinduism as the family of religions. Hindus belief that after a person is born, he or she should strive to obtain impersonal supreme in order to lead a righteous life. It is very difficult to define Hindu religion but the most accepted conception is that Hinduism is rooted in India where the holy books called the Veda were found. The belief system (dharma) of the Hindus is derived from the Vedas. Most Hindus believe in the existence of a supreme being whose character and forms are represented by many deities, which originate from him. In addition, they also believe that living consists of cycle of birth, death, and rebirth and finally administered by what they call the Karma. It is written in the Vedas that the soul goes through a cycle of subsequent lives and its coming incarnation is dependent on how a person lived his or her life while on earth (Knott 41-4). Hinduism belief in eternal life or atman, which they think dictate our existence as human beings. Majority of Hindus have developed different explanations of the self where they view it as eternal servant of God. The belief in the eternal self among the Hindus endorses the concept of reincarnation in the sense that the same self can inherit interim bodies. The concept of eternal self implies that self is a soul or a spiritual entity rather than a physical or material being. This makes Hindus emphasize on the significance of complete detachment from material things and encourages practices such as asceticism (Knott 70). Dharma in Hindu religion is very important since it dictates morality, virtue, and duty. Majority of Hindus have a conviction that dharma was revealed to them in the Vedas or the holy text. Through dharma, the society is held together in peace and harmony since it makes the sun to rise, the vegetations to grow, and makes us ethical or moral individuals. Acting morally does not imply precisely the same for everybody because different

Human Resources processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resources processes - Essay Example Finally, employee and union relations are significant to set up the mutual promise required among constituents in a winning organization (Loesch, L. C. 2005). More and more, human resource management activities performed by managers and employees all through an organization in these areas are imperative to spirited performance. Just as information management, excellence improvement, monetary management, and other functions are becoming dim all through an organization, so is the management of human resources. It's flattering everyone's job to build an organization that learns rapidly, adapts fast to change, is staffed suitably, and performs efficiently. The strength of this addition is represented at General Electric, where "Every attempt of every man and woman in the company is focused on satisfying customers' needs ( Kirkpatrick, D. 2006, 54-59). To frame our orientation in a sensible approach to evaluate teacher performance, this research propose borrowing from the realm of corporate, industrial, and adult training and using Kirkpatrick's (1959a, 1959b,1960a,1960b) four level model of training evaluation. This model of evaluation has been the majority reviewed and practical guide to assessing the efficiency of training in the mature world of work since its beginning in 1959. In this research training and development, Kirkpatrick reviews the model and notes that small of the content has distorted. He still posits that the efficiency of training, and this paper propose teaching, is best assess at four increasingly difficult and precious levels. These are the response level, the learning level, the performance level, and the consequences level (Kirkpatrick, 1959a). The rest of this research will define these levels how every can be used to assess the performance of gurus. Integrating Human Resource Strategy and Business Strategy A main way to attain addition is to recognize and address people-related issues in the usual course of managing the business and as part of the strategic planning procedure. Moreover, human resource issues commendable of management attention are as essential to the success of commerce as marketing, operations, technology, monetary, or any other issues. Nowadays, almost all business issues have people implications; all human resource issues have commerce implications. Furthermore, strategies, counting human resource strategies, may be more or less open, near- or long-term, general or exact, depending on the state of affairs. They give plans for actions that will achieve under attack results under conditions of change. Richard Pascale has distinct plan as "all the things essential for the winning functioning of an association as an adaptive device". Strategies are effectual when significant commerce issues are resolved or turn out to be less significant and are replaced by new up-and-coming issues. In this background, human resource strategies play a dangerous role in formative the ability of a business to manage wanted change. No doubt, human resource staff and operating managers be supposed to work together as partners in defining and addressing commerce issues and their human resource insinuation. An opportunity for addition is

Sensory perception Essay Example for Free

Sensory perception Essay Sensory perception cannot be entirely trusted specifically in terms of knowing what is real from what is not and what is genuine knowledge from what is mere belief for several reasons. For one, the human senses have the tendency to fluctuate in terms of its capacity to perform according to its specific functions (Ross, p. 500). For instance, the ears, when suffering from an ear infection, are highly prone to hear things quite differently. If this is the case, then our sensory perception of hearing through the ears does not have a strong merit for serving as the foundation for knowing the real world and distinguishing those that are not real. It is also the case that human sensory perception varies from person to person. For example, an ageing man may hear the same rustling of leaves or speech of an individual quite differently from a little kid. Or perhaps the same note played in a grand piano may faintly be heard by those with hearing defects but may be clearly be distinguished by the master pianist. These are only a few examples to illustrate the point that human sensory perception varies from person to person, and the list may very well be inexhaustible. This leads us towards the idea that, since human sensory perception greatly varies, it may be quite difficult to reach at a solid agreement among individuals concerning the common understanding of reality. Although there may be attempts to resolve such a crisis, the very fact that human sensory perception differs inhibit human beings from arriving at the bottom of the issue. Yet it cannot be doubted that, when asked about what is real from what is not, the tendency of the individual is to rely on sensory perception (Walton, p. 557). One can defend the idea that ‘this’ pencil is ‘real’ because the individual is able to see and touch the pencil. There are many other ways in order to provide possible arguments that support the idea that sensory perception grants human beings an access to reality and a corresponding awareness of it. While it may be true that the individual is able to see and old the pencil does it guarantee the individual that, indeed, the pencil is real? One is to be reminded that our eyes sometimes suffer from a blurring of vision and that our skin has the tendency to be sensitive or numb or somewhere between depending on the external environment and on the internal bodily processes the individual is experiencing. Apparently, sensory perception gives one experiences of one’s external environment and that these experiences may correspond to an actual object existing in the external environment of the individual (Brown, p. 336). If this is the case, then it is also probable that the object perceived through the senses may exist. Nevertheless, whether or not the object perceived exists in the external environment, the question remains: can sensory perception be trusted? With the idea of trusting the senses, we are directed towards the notion that the senses provide a way for the perceiving individual to ‘sense’ an object outside of one’s system (Sorabji, p. 60). It can be asserted that the senses provide the individual with sensory experiences such as the color and smell of the object, the quality of hotness or coldness and many others. The idea can further be stretched by arguing that, without the senses, the brain will have no way of accepting data from the external objects. But how is one to know what is real from what is mere hallucination? Correspondingly, how is one to know that one’s senses are giving an impression of a defective data offered by the impaired visual senses, for instance? The foundation for the refutation against the credibility of the senses rests on the idea that the senses of human beings are open to impairments and oftentimes prone to the trickery of the external environment. For example, mirages tend to trick the human eye and, consequently, the human understanding and the larger sphere of human knowledge. What appears to be a small patch of water in the middle of a scorching desert is the visual effect of heat on sand from afar. Unless the individual decides to get closer to the source of the desert ‘mirage’ can one be able to fully discern the idea that the eyes do not give us what is really the case. This case holds highly probable for the individual. The larger aspect of the faulty functioning of the senses can all the more be observed in terms of two or more individuals. Take for example the case of two individuals and a small piece of freshly baked bread. Assume that the first individual is one who lives in a warm region while the other individual lives near the fringes of Alaska. The first individual may very well claim that the freshly baked bread is not quiet hot while the Alaskan may very well claim that the bread is warm for the reason that the former is used to a warm environment while the latter lives in an environment where a little heat is easily detected by the skin. Or let one assume that the opposite case is true for the two individuals—either way, it can be observed that there is a difference in the way both individuals have ‘experienced’ the bread in terms of its hotness or coldness. The instance where there are variations in the manner in which individuals tend to have a sensory experience on the warmness or coldness of objects is one proof that, when applied to the larger context of humanity, there can hardly be any precise and unchanging sensory experience for the same object. While it may be true that humanity can generalize an object as either warm or cold, it nevertheless remains that it does not guarantee that all of the individuals have experienced one and the same degree of warmness or coldness of the object given the fact that the specific human anatomy widely varies from person to person although individuals may have the same general anatomy of, say, the head composed of the skull, eye sockets, teeth, etc. The point is that, although two, three, or a couple of individuals may agree that this or that object is ‘warm’, there is hardly any coherent and precise sensory perception that unifies all of human sensory experience on the same object or event at its most detailed form. This contention leads one to the consequent argument that sensory perception cannot be trusted and that these variations in human sensory experience fail to provide a substantial account for what is real from what is not. Why can’t sensory perception be trusted even if there are wide variations and disagreements on human sensory experiences? The answer to this question rests on the idea that human knowledge is a very critical aspect in the lives and progress of humanity. Since the daily experiences of human beings pretty much contribute to and define their knowledge of the external world, a corrupted sensory experience may lead to knowledge founded on false assumptions or beliefs. Further, if the wide variations in sensory experiences will serve as the basis for human knowledge, then it is not a farfetched idea that it will result to multiple interpretations and, consequently, multiple forms of knowledge on the same object or event. All the knowledge in the world becomes relative to the numerous individuals asserting their own stand on what knowledge is; knowledge becomes equally proportional to the total number of individuals advocating their own ‘knowledge’. If this is the case, can the separate notions of ‘knowledge’ correspond to a genuine knowledge? Or does it give the guarantee that all of these knowledge claims are sound and valid even though one or two of these knowledge claims come into conflict? The argument is clear: sensory perception cannot be trusted due to its dire effects on the epistemological exploits of humanity inasmuch as there is the primary concern or need for a true and genuine knowledge that transcends individual interpretations and relative sensory experiences. The seemingly ‘imperfect’ condition of the human sensory organs contributes in large parts to the disruptions in the corresponding sensory experiences. This ‘imperfect’ state should all the more prompt the rational mind to do away with trusting sensory perception as a guaranteed medium for obtaining knowledge and in understanding reality. Works Cited Brown, Kevin L. Dating Adam Smiths Essay Of the External Senses. Journal of the History of Ideas 53. 2 (1992): 336. Ross, Peter W. Qualia and the Senses. The Philosophical Quarterly 51. 205 (2001): 500. Sorabji, Richard. Aristotle on Demarcating the Five Senses. The Philosophical Review 80. 1 (1971): 60. Walton, William M. Is Existence a Valid Philosophical Concept? A Metaphysical Approach. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 12. 4 (1952): 557.

Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Treatment

Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Treatment Comparison between anterior approaches and posterior approaches for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a meta analysis Abstract Objective: Both anterior and posterior approaches are used in the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) due to spinal stenosis or ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). However, the optimal strategy remains controversial. To compare the clinical results between the two approaches, a meta-analysis was conducted. Methods: PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library were searched up to July 2014 without language restriction. The reference lists of selected searches comparing anterior and posterior approaches were screened manually. Subgroup analysis was conducted according to the cause of MCSM. A fixed effect model was used for pool data, and a random effects model for heterogeneous data. Mean difference (MD) and odds ratio (OR) was used for continuous and dichotomous outcomes, respectively. Results: Seventeen articles were selected in this study, all of which were non-randomized controlled trials. There were significant difference between two approaches for post-Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score (MD=1.13, 95% CI=0.41, 1.86), operation time (MD=67.43, 95% CI=16.94, 117.91), post-range of motion (ROM) (MD=1.86, 95% CI=0.61, 3.12), length of stay (MD=-1.54, 95% CI=-2.25, -0.5)and complication rate (OR=2.28, 95% CI=1.52, 3.41). Meanwhile, there were no significant difference for pre-JOA, blood loss, neurological recovery rate, pre-ROM, pre- and post-Nurick grade. Conclusions: Based on this meta-analysis, post-JOA and length of stay are significantly better in the anterior group, but high complication rate and no apparent difference for neurological recovery rate made it necessary to conclude more trials with high quality to further confirm the conclusion. Keywords: multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy; clinical outcomes; meta-analysis Introduction Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is caused by compression of the spinal cord due to degeneration. Spinal stenosis and ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) have been considered as the two common causes of CSM. CSM can be treated by a variety of anterior, posterior, or combined anterior and posterior surgical approaches. The decision to use an anterior or a posterior approach depends on many factors, such as the reason of spinal cord compression, the number of vertebral segments, cervical alignment, and the surgeon’s familiarity with the techniques1. Anterior approaches usually include anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion (ACCF) and cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF), whereas the typical posterior approaches involve laminectomy and laminoplasty2. Anterior decompression and fusion has been successfully used for CSM involving one or two levels3, 4. But failures will be observed when three or more levels are involved (multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, MCSM) with anterior approaches5, 6. Compared with anterior approaches, posterior strategies provide an indirect canal decompression by allowing the spinal cord to float away from ventral compression. The disadvantages of posterior approach were also noted, for example, neck pain, loss of lordotic curvature, segmental instability, and late neurologic deterioration7. Although many studies comparing the two approaches have been done, the optimal approach providing satisfactory decompression remains to be determined. No systematic analysis of the two approaches in the treatment of MCSM has been published yet. In order to provide a basis for selecting, a meta-analysis of clinical results of anterior approaches compared with posterior approaches for patients with MCSM was performed. Materials and methods Literature search The authors searched multiple databases, includingPubMed, Embase and The Cochrane library up to June 11, 2014 without language restriction. Additionally, the reference lists of selected searches and related articles that not yet included in the electronic database were screened manually. The searching strings were (1) myelopathy or cervical spondylosis or cervical vertebrae or cervical stenosis; (2) Corpectomy or anterior cervical discectomy or anterior decompression or ventral; (3) laminoplasty or laminectomy or posterior decompression or dorsal, with the operator â€Å"AND†. Literature screening Articles were reviewed according to the following criteria: (1) The researches were designed as randomized controlled trials, case-control studies or cohort studies; (2) Patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) due to spinal stenosis or ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL); (3) The anterior approaches group was treated by anterior cervical canal decompression; (4) The posterior approaches group was treated by posterior cervical canal decompression; (5) The outcomes was clinical endpoint, like neurological recovery rates, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, range of motion (ROM), Nurick grade, complication rate, operation time, blood loss, and length of stay in hospital. Also, there are five exclusion criteria for literature screening. These were: (1) The cases followed up less than one year; (2) Patients with MSCM were caused by tumors, trauma, soft disk herniation, or previous surgery; (3) Patients without MSCM; (4) Researches without control; (5) non-nature literatures, such as reviews, letters and comments. Data extraction and studies quality assessment Two investigators respectively assessed each potentially eligible study and then extracted data from the included studies. Disagreements were resolved through discussion. The information extracted including the author, publication year, area, ages, sex, number of patients, follow-up period, surgical methods and outcomes. Furthermore, We used the Cochrane8 for assessing the quality of randomized studies, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)9 for nonrandomised sudies or cohort studies. respectively. Statistical analysis The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the divergence of all outcomes, and all analyses were performed by RevMan5.2 software. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for Continuous variables, while Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI were calculated for dichotomous data. Statistic heterogeneity was identified using chi-square test and I2 test. If P2 >50%, which indicated heterogeneity exists among all results, random effects model was applied. If P≠¥0.05 or I2 ≠¤50%, which indicated heterogeneity, the fixed effects model was selected10. The publication bias was tested by constructing a funnel plot. Results Search results A flow diagram of the literature search and study selection was shown in fig.1. Basing on the aforementioned criteria, we searched 1216, 1710, and 13 articles from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library respectively. A total of 2234 articles were remained after excluding duplicate publications. And a total of 2191 articles that mismatched the included criteria were excluded after screening titles and abstracts. Therefore, a total of 43 articles were identified. Of these, sixteen articles were excluded after reading the abstracts: ten articles did not compare the effects between anterior approaches and posterior approaches and six articles were reviews. Ten articles were excluded for the following reasons: two articles were not about multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, one was self-controlled study, four were about MCSM due to soft disc herniation, and three articles did not have statistic data. Manual search of references did not find any additional articles. As a result, a total of 17 articles1, 6, 11-25 were identified for the Meta analysis. Baseline characteristics As shown in Table 1, seventeen studies were included for our meta analysis. Patients with MSCM in 10 studies1, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19-21, 24, 25 were caused by spinal stenosis, and 5 studies6, 13, 14, 18, 23 were caused by ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), two studies16, 22 caused by both types above. The articles were published from 1992 to 2013. The mean ages ranged from 51.8 to 66.8 years old. The sample size, gender ratio, follow-up period, and surgical methods of each study are listed in Table 1. All studies included were non-randomized controlled trails. The qualities of all studies were assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOQAS). The scale for non-randomized controlled trails and cohort studies was used to allocate a maximum of 9 points for the quality of selection (4), comparability (1), and exposure (3) or outcomes (3). As shown in supplement table 1, five studies scored 7 points and twelve scored 8 points. Hence, all studies were of a relatively high quality. Clinical outcomes The main outcomes in this Meta analysis were preoperative JOA score, postoperative JOA score, operation time, blood loss, complication rate and neurological recovery rates. According to patients type, studies were divided into three subgroups: subgroup spinal stenosis, subgroup OPLL, subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. The results of heterogeneity for preoperative JOA score was P=0.21, I2=22%, indicating no heterogeneity. So the fixed-effects model was selected and MD was 0.39 (95% CI =0.09, 0.69, P=0.01) (Fig. 2). However, except subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL had significantly differences, the other two subgroups had no significantly differences in the preoperative JOA. By contrast, there has a statistically significance in the postoperative JOA score (MD=1.13, 95% CI =0.41, 1.86) among the three subgroups. But both subgroup spinal stenosis and subgroup OPLL showed apparent heterogeneity (Fig. 3). We also analyzed operation time, blood loss, complication rate for subgroup OPLL and subgroup spinal stenosis, respectively. Comparison of operation time and blood loss of the two subgroups showed that subgroup spinal stenosis had heterogeneity but not for subgroup OPLL. The operation time for both subgroups had statistically significance (MD=67.43; 95% CI =16.94, 117.91), while blood loss did not (MD=52.43; 95% CI =-79.8, 184.66) (Fig. 4, Fig. 5). Furthermore, when we compared the two subgroups we found the following results. The complication rate of subgroup spinal stenosis was significantly higher in the anterior approaches than in posterior approaches (OR=2.60; 95% CI =1.63, 4.15; P2=38%), while subgroup OPLL was not significant (Fig. 6). The neurological recovery rates compared among three subgroups showed no significantly difference (MD=11.85, 95% CI=0.86, 22.84) (Fig. 7). Since few studies was reported, secondary outcomes like pre- and postoperative range of motion (ROM) , pre- and postoperative Nurick grade and length of stay are listed in table 2. Only postoperative ROM (MD=1.86, 95% CI=0.61, 3.12) and length of stay (MD=-1.54, 95% CI= -2.59, -0.50) showed significant difference (P=0.04). there were no statistical difference in pre-ROM, pre- and postoperative Nurick grade between anterior and posterior approaches. Publication bias A variety of clinical outcomes had been calculated, funnel plots only for preoperative JOA score and postoperative JOA score were displayed. As shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, all studies were within the confidential intervals and the shape of the funnel plots revealed symmetric distribution, which suggested there were no significant publication bias. Discussion The surgical treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) has been studied for a long time. Anterior approaches have been widely accepted as an effective and reliable method for the treatment of CSM. but which surgical strategy should be selected for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) remains controversial and challenge. Therefore, we had compared the clinical outcomes of anterior and posterior approaches in the treatment of MCSM due to spinal stenosis or OPLL. In this study, we searched the PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library and found 17 articles comparing anterior and posterior approaches for treatment of MCSM. According to NOQAS, all included studies had high quality. And a meta-analysis was performed to determine which surgical treatment is more effective. Based on the cause of MCSM, the studies were divided into three subgroups: subgroup spinal stenosis, subgroup OPLL, subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. For the clinical results, there was significant difference in preoperative JOA scores in subgroup spinal stenosis and subgroup OPLL. Postoperative JOA scores was better in the anterior group compared with posterior group. This results show that the groups had similar baseline neural function, and the postoperative neural function condition was better in anterior group. Authors selected operation time and blood loss for meta analysis to estimate surgical trauma. In our study, the operation time was significant difference between the two groups, while blood loss had no statistically significance. This suggests that surgical trauma in anterior group was higher than that inposterior group in the treatment of MCSM. In addition, the post-ROM was better in posterior group while length of stay was shorter in anterior group. The preoperative ROM, pre- and post-Nurick grad did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the meta-analysis of neurological recovery rate, significant heterogeneity was found between the studies. Subsequent subgroup analysis was similar for the three subgroups. Complication rate was selected to evaluate complication-related outcomes by some authors. And they found a significantly higher incidence of complications in anterior group compared with the posterior group. Our analysis showed the same results. Subsequent subgroup analysis showed the complication rate of anterior group was higher in subgroup spinal stenosis. This suggests that the anterior approaches were associated with a higher incidence of complications for the treatment of MCSM. There are limitations in our study. First, all studies included in the meta-analysis were non-randomized controlled trails. Second, only few studies were included to evaluate pre- and post-ROM either in subgroup OPLL or subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. Therefore, it is necessary to include more prospective and randomized controlled trials with high quality to provide more data on the clinical results of both procedures. Hence, though anterior approaches seems have better clinical outcomes compared with posterior approaches in our study, we could not draw a strong conclusion about which strategy is preferred to the treatment of MCSM due to spinal stenosis or OPLL. Conclusions On the basis of the meta-analysis of anterior approaches and posterior approaches for the treatment of MCSM, we can conclude that the clinical outcomes of anterior approaches are superior to posterior approaches for post-JOA, length of stay, the outcomes blood loss, neurological recovery rate are equivalent between two groups. Because of the existing limitations of the study, future studies with high quality are needed for update meta-analysis in order to evaluate the strategy for MCSM treatment.

B2B v. B2C Supply Chains Essay example -- Compare Contrast Business Co

B2B v. B2C Supply Chains Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the age of technology business has come a long way and evolved tremendously. It used to be that brick and mortar was the only way to open and run a business. However, the internet has changed all of that now businesses can use technology to reach customers and other businesses all over the world. This has caused a great surge in the world wide economy. In 2003 Business to Business (B2B) commerce tipped the scales at $1.41 Trillion. This is in comparison to Business to Consumer (B2C) that was $90.1 Billion (Naraine, R.2003). All of these purchases need to get transported and that is where businesses supply chains come in play. Contrary to popular belief the supply chains of B2B and B2C are not the same both have unique qualities. This paper will define the term supply chain. Then it will define the terms B2B and B2C. Finally, it will explain how the supply chain differs on a B2C site compared to a B2B site and provide examples. Supply Chain   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to learnthat.com a supply chain is the series of channels a product takes from its initial production to reach it’s finally destination (Learn That, 2004). A typical example of this chain of events that occurs in everyday life would be when a guest walks into a Target Store and purchases a X Box Game. The supply chain begins with the guest and the need for the game. Then it continues to the brick and mortar store. This Target store receives its product from the Target Distribution Center. The Target Distribution center receives the product from the manufacturer. Finally, the manufacturer receives the raw products from several other suppliers. This basic supply chain is liquid and continuously goes back and forth. B2B   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When people hear B2B or business to business they might recall the classic image of an old style ice salesman traveling from business to business delivering ice in order for them to keep their merchandise cold. Fast forward 60 years and now B2B eCommerce occurs when companies are buying from and selling to one and other online. B2B eCommerce has evolved past just basic purchasing. It now encompasses supply chain management as more organizations continue to outsource parts of their supply chain to their trading partners (Varon, E., 2001). B2C   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B2C is pretty straight forward with the title business to consumer, it conjur... ... scale b2b versus the smaller and ever longer b2c. These both are still extremely successful in creating a more global economy and with improvements should provide continuing success. References Naraine,R., 2003, B2C Goes From Rags to Riches, retrieved from the World Wide Web on: http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/2196821 Global Market, 2004, B2B Market Trends, retrieved from the World Wide Web on: http://www.ewowfacts.com/pdfs/chap04/33.pdf Learn That, 2004, Definition of Supply Chain, retrieved from the World Wide Web on: http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=339 Varon, E., August 2001, The ABCs of B2B, retrieved from the World Wide Web on: http://www.cio.com/ec/edit/b2babc.html Patton,S., August, 2001, The ABC’s of B2C, retrieved from the World Wide Web on:http://www.cio.com/ec/edit/b2cabc.html Marketing Profs, 2005, What differentiates B2C supply chain from B2B? retrieved from the World Wide Web on: http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=7770 CIO Decisions, 2005, Executive Guide B2B Integration, retrieved from the World Wide Web on: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid19_gci1067719,00.html?bucket=REF

Shamanism Essay -- Spirit Shaman Shamanism Essays

Shamanism To truly understand the meaning of shamanism one must uncover the original definition. The word shaman comes from the language of the Evenk, a small Tungus-speaking group of hunters and reindeer herders from Siberia. It was first used only to designate a religious specialist from this region. By the beginning of the 20th century it was already being applied to a variety of North America and South American practices from the present and the past. Today people have gone as far as defining the word shaman as any human that acknowledges that he/she has had contact with spiritual entities. Well at least the term still refers to human beings. The Siberian shaman's soul is said to be able to leave the body and travel to other parts of the cosmos, particularly to an upper world in the sky and a lower world underground. How can anyone know what the people of Mesoamerica were seeing if they in fact were even in these states of trance. A broader definition is that shamans would include any kind of person who is in control of his or her state of trance, even if this does not involve a soul journey. This broader definition stills does not include a culture that no one was around to document. Does anyone really know if these ‘shamans’ controlled their state of trance? Not to mention, there is no evidence of a written language of either the Olmec or West Mexican regions to date. These definitions of shamanism are very brief and really can not be upheld as a specific precise and accurate definition, however shamanism within these parameters has been widely accepted both in the early and late twentieth century, and into today. Shamanism due to its many definitions could be just about any being that can be observed practicing. Shamanism is not a single, unified religion but a cross-cultural form of religious sensibility and practice. It is a complex set of practices, beliefs, values and behaviors that enable the practitioner to elect a shift from ordinary consciousness into a trance state with a specific goal in mind. Such as healing, obtaining information, power, vision, divination, contacting the spirit of the deceased, soul retrieval or guidance for right action. Shamanism is scattered and fragmented and should perhaps not be called an -ism at all. There is no doctrine, no world shamanic church, no holy book as a point of reference, no priests with... ...ght to be a part of some religions. Some have completely discredited the theory of Shamanism as a way of coping out in research. To completely convince readers of a theory, there should be a firm base to their argument and there is not one when it comes to shamanism in Ancient Mesoamerican cultures such as the Olmec and West Mexican cultures. (Hamayon, 1-5) The word ‘shamanism’ has been thrown around a great deal these days, and attached to a variety of behaviors, sometimes with only a vague understanding of its meaning. Most people who study the existence of shamans have very little knowledge of what actual tribal shamans practiced in any given culture. A researcher or interested seeker, looking through all the widely varied literature, will notice both similarities and differences between anthropological descriptions of long-ago tribal shamans and similar iconography of Mesoamerica. Similarities could mean that there were rituals of a similar magnitude but it does not prove that they are all a part of a giant web that stretches across the world. Confusion on the topic and its many interpretations cloud its origin and force a compromising stance on the very word ‘shamanism’.

Othello †Trust Between Lovers Essay

Our topic is trust between lovers. What is trust? When your friend is spreading some rumor about your lover and your other friend, who would you trust, your lover or your friend? Trust is to believe in someone and give trust to him or her. You put your whole soul and belief to trust them. Trust is like a paper, once it is crumble it will not be perfect again. Trust plays an important role in Othello, because it started as trust and ends with trust. In Othello, the author used handkerchief as a symbol of trust. Every time the owner loses the handkerchief and another lover has the handkerchief, the other couple bonds a strong trust within the circle. Their relationship becomes better and firmer. The trust between Othello and Desdemona collapses when the handkerchief is missing. Meanwhile Emilia and Iago become closer and have a strong trust because of the handkerchief. Othello and Desdemona are the first main couples in the play. They got married at the beginning of the play, which gave rise to the hatred and envy towards Othello. Therefore, their relationship is doomed to be transient. The couple slowly breaks up when their trust slowly collapses. Before their trust slowly collapses, Othello promised Brabantio that he would not harm his daughter. If he does then he will kill himself. â€Å"Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceiv’d her father and may thee. † â€Å"My life upon her faith! † (Act 1, Scene 3, line 289-291). This has proven that Othello trust Desdemona with heart and soul that she would not cheat on him. This scene shows that the couple’s love is starting to collapse because of the handkerchief, and Othello feels suspicious about Desdemona cheating on him. Fetch me the handkerchief. † â€Å"My mind misgives. Come, come; You’ll never meet a more sufficient man† (Act 3, Scene 4, line 85-87). This line also shows that Othello feels anxious because of the lost of the handkerchief that has a magic history involving his parents. The handkerchief proves of lover’s loyalty within each other. Iago and Emilia are the second main couples in the play. Their relationship is not as strong as Othello and Desdemona’s relationship at the beginning. Another big difference is that Iago and Emilia bond a stronger trust when Emilia found the handkerchief. â€Å"To have a foolish wife. † â€Å"O, is that all? What will you give me now for that same handkerchief? † â€Å"What handkerchief? † â€Å"A good wench! † Give it me. † (Act 3, Scene 3, line 306-308) (Act 3, Scene 3, line 316) The trust between Emilia and Iago contribute to this tragedy, because Emilia chose to trust Iago and pretended to know nothing about the handkerchief, which leads to betrayal towards Desdemona. However, if Emilia chose the right way and told the truth to help Desdemona when Othello was questioning her, the tragedy might not happen. Near the end of the play Emilia and Iago’s trust broke when she revealed the truth, everything in the play started with trust and ended with trust. She give it Cassio! No, alas, I found it and i did give’t my husband. † â€Å"Filth, thou liest! † (Act 5, Scene 2, line 227-229) It makes us wonder how can the trust between lovers be broken so easily and rebuilding the trust can be so hard. Sometimes to suspect someone can lead to death, and sometimes to trust someone can also lead to death. It becomes too difficult to decide whether to believe in him or her or not. In conclusion, you cannot just trust your friend or your lover because both your friend and your lover are important to you, and losing either one would be painful.