Saturday, October 5, 2019
CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
CSR - Essay Example or a number of years, IMB has worked in line with other organizations that are of likeminded opinions in ensuring effective delivery of sustainable services to the members of the society. Amongst the benefits that have been successfully delivered to the local society includes sustainable management by offering modern types of machines that, emits less carbon footprints to the environment. Moreover, the company has developed an environmental sustainability and leadership strategy that helps to the implementation of the environmental policy affair to ensure that the organization is at the forefront in advocating for environmental protection worldwide1. The organization also ensures the maximum consideration of the well being of all the staff members throughout all the branches. IBM incorporates the employees in all the aspects of strategic business plan globally as a way of ensuring that health, safety as well as the environment where the workforce takes place meets the required standards. since organizations are often associated by challenges of health from the workforce, some other extra programs have been implemented which, aims at promoting the physical well being while improving the psychological status of each and every employee who works within the IBM organization. Consequently, IBM is committed to supportive workplace environment by giving their workers freedom and liberty. For such reasons, the employees are given chances and opportunities to seek for other additional benefits with flexible working environments. This practice has been evidenced through launching of childcare in iterative and the creating of global work l ife fund which concerns the quality independent care of communities while helping the employees to manage their personal issues2. IBM has also partnered with most of the leading educational institutions and universities to help foster and strengthen information system studies. This has been done to ensure that the students become
Friday, October 4, 2019
Neighborhood Environment is Directly Correlated with Crime Assignment
Neighborhood Environment is Directly Correlated with Crime - Assignment Example It was found out that inequality among the black community has a high correlation with violence. Racism is also found out to be among the contributory factors in the commission of crime in this country. Another is inequality of criminal law reflecting a competition of values and interests instead of representing a consistent application of societal values. For instance, cigarette and alcohol are allowed to be sold anywhere in the world however marijuana is not because it is dangerous to one’s health. Such reason obviously represents inequality in criminal law since all three poses danger to the health. With this inconsistent societal value and application of law, the marijuana is outlawed. One reason individuals in low crime neighborhood commit crime is the rational incentives that the individual gains from doing criminal acts. People who are occupying the lower strata in the society are generally the people with lower income and wealth. The temptation of gains from committing crime is greater. In addition, when they are caught, they have nothing to lose but gained material incentives. It should also be noted that this type of individuals do not fear being arrested nor fear the law, more so that they do not give importance to their family, friends, and their informal relations. Another reason lies on the loopholes in the duties of law enforcers. Police officers have the tendency not to maintain consistent surveillance in neighborhoods with low crime rates. On the other hand, people who have the social skills are the people who are successful in their life thus even if they live within high crime areas; they have the prudency to exercise sound judgment in their decisio n not to commit crime. Individuals who have the proper education are equipped with the social qualities needed to adjust to the challenges of life. Since crime rates depend on several factors,
Thursday, October 3, 2019
The tastiest carrot cake Essay Example for Free
The tastiest carrot cake Essay Birthdays have been special over the years, what makes it special is not balloons or parties, but the desert! Every birthday that I can remember I have had a carrot flourless cake, double layer with rich chocolate icing on the top. Its home made by my mom, she is the the only person that can cook a cake like that, I’ve never tried something so good and tasty like this one. Since I was young, chocolate has been my favorite thing to eat, no matter what time of the day, I’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and cannot resist it when I see it. Just the sight of a dark, scrumptious, chocolate makes my mouth water like a little kid at the zoo eyeing some cotton candy. I inherited my sweet tooth from my mom’s dad, grandpa Valdemar; he would cover loads of healthy food such as fruit and cereal with loads of sugar. The warm inside of the carrot cake when it first comes out of the oven makes my taste buds jump with joy. It looks soft as the sky clouds on sunny days and the frosting is as smooth as malaises, rich with 2 pound of chocolate on the top of it. During the singing of the birthday song, I can see the wax from the candles dripping off and just can’t wait to blow them out so I can jump into the cake and relish the taste. This kind of cake is famous as carnival in Brazil and I can’t even find this amazing food in a city like New York, so mixed and with a lot of cultures. I hope that one day Americans will try at least one time. I’m sure that who tried once will never stay without a piece two times a month in a normal afternoon.
Facing Challenges with Strategic Management
Facing Challenges with Strategic Management 1.0 Introduction Poh Kong, is a jewelry company founded by Cheong Teck Chong and Choon Yee Seiong which established first outlet in year 1976 located in Petaling Jaya. Besides, since 2004, Poh Kong has been listed in Bursa Malaysia, yet they owned a manufacturing plant in Shah Alam KL (PohKong, n.d.). Nowadays, Poh Kong was the leader of jewelry industry because of its tremendous growth and their core business philosophies, which are Quality, Value, Trust, and Choice. Furthermore, in targeting different customers range, they had several in house brands such as Anggun, Tranz, Happy Love, and The Art of Auspicious. Besides, Poh Kong was the licensee for Disney Collection and sole distributor for famous brand such as Luca Carati, Schoeffel, Hemera Diamond and Angel Diamond (Gal, 2016). In 2011, Poh Kong reached its 100th outlet in Peninsula Malaysia. Poh Kong reaffirmed by RAM Ratings Services Berhad as largest jewellery retail chain store in Malaysia in 2014. Other than that, it also awarded the Malaysias Top 10 Retailers in the Asia, Putra Brand Award and Creative ASEAN Jewellery Design Award (Cleffairy, 2015). Besides, Poh Kong truly understands their business is strongly reliance on brand name and brand reputation, therefore, Corporate Social Responsibility also a main concern of Poh Kong. For instance, national cancer survivals day, charity golf, water vending machine, Malaysia AEON Foundation (MAF) fund raising and etc. are parts of the CSR from Poh Kong (TheStar, 2013). According to annual report of year 2015, we observed that Poh Kong has a big drop in earnings before tax since year 2012, but it has successfully recover after year 2014. Besides, the executive chairman and group managing director, Datuk Choon Yee Seiong has claimed that year 2016 is challenging for gold jewelry industry due to the fluctuation of dropping of global gold price (Toh, 2016) and reduced demand for jewellery and gold related investment products (Poh Kong, 2016). In this study, we are aiming to have more understanding on how a company could deal with the challenge faced by using strategic management, how strategic management could actually help to analyze issues more comprehensively and conducting various analyses and formulation of strategic plans. 2.0 SWOT Analysis 2.1 (S)trengths Poh Kong Holdings Berhad was the largest of gold jewelleries retailer in Malaysia. As market leader, Poh Kong has a strong reputation, market position and advantage in expanding their business as stated in annual report, Poh Kong has total of 106 outlets across 9 states in year 2014 (PohKong, n.d.). Poh Kongs outlet showroom are much higher than its competitor, for instance, Tomei (52 retail outlets), Wah Chan (42 outlets), and Habib (more than 30 outlets). Partnership with Moraglione, a well-known jewellery brand from Italy has increased Poh Kongs product variety and jewellery types. Besides, they able to compete with other international brands and has the opportunity to expand its business to abroad (Najumudeen, 2012). Furthermore, Poh Kong has a strong financial position. Poh Kong group revenue and pre-tax profit in year 2015 are higher than 2014 while margins have been improved by cost control initiatives (Poh Kong, 2015). They have the flexibility in financial and lower interest rate and liquidity risk as result from fail to loan repayment. Large cash reserves make them have advantage in long term investments. 2.2 (W)eaknesses Poh Kong only covers Malaysia regions, they didnt export their products as a way to expand their business (Bernama, 2013). Besides, all of the 106 outlets are located at 10 states from peninsular Malaysia. Consumers from East Malaysia unable to purchase any jewellery from Poh Kong due to theres yet to be any outlets in Sabah and Sarawak, expansion of Poh Kong outlets in East Malaysia was planned and estimated to be happen in 2017. Poh Kong are selling their products through online platform like Lazada and 11Street however they will be a limited selection for consumer from East Malaysia (Poh Kong, 2017). Low customer satisfaction is one of the weaknesses. Poh Kong has differentiated their outlet into Diamond Gold outlets and retail concept stores, for instance, Diamond Boutique, Gold Boutique, Jade Gallery and Oro Bianco. These stores are used to meet the needs of different targets markets (PressReader, 2016). However, it was a challenge and tough for Poh Kong to maintain each branch in similar environment and caused low customer satisfaction. Besides, internal competition was caused by the reason of selling similar products in the market. 2.3 (O)pportunity Malaysia enjoying a zero duty for exporting jewellery product under China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), in addition, China currently glittering demand of jewellery market and import permit has been carried out for foreign importers who wish to import jewellery products into China (Miti, n.d.). Hence, it becomes the opportunity for Poh Kong to expand its business to China market. Poh Kong can grow demand of gold bar in market. Due to poor economy and fluctuation on Malaysia Ringgit, investment in gold is better than invest in stocks. According to Nwazor (2016), gold is a safe investment. Besides, investment in gold can remain constant for few years as judged from history. Due to its recognized value by worldwide, gold was used as the world reserve currency until recently (Smith, n.d). Fluctuation of gold price not guaranteed increase sales of jewellers, however it could benefits company in terms of cost of production. Gold price in 2013 was at a historical high of US$1900 an ounce, dropped to US$1150 per ounce in 2014, increased to US$1364 per ounce in July 2016 and slightly dropped to US$1234 per ounce in early March 2017. It has utilized the cost saving and used it for marketing purposes to boost sales (VnBusinessreg, n.d.). 2.4 (T)hreat Competition is one of the threats for Poh Kong. As results, consumer can choose for other alternatives from different jewellers since Poh Kong is not the only player (Euromonitor, 2015). Mainly jewellery products are differentiated based on their design. If Poh Kong offers less variety of design, consumer will choose their preferred design from their competitor. Besides, mostly jewellery outlets operates near to competitors, under those circumstances, consumer will compare price and design easily. Slowdown of economy will cause a reduction on consumers spending (Fmt, 2015). Obviously, the poor economic condition had caused increase of price of electricity and other costs which could affect Poh Kong to increase their price of goods. The growing in price of jewellery and gold from time to time has caused a drop in demand for jewellery. Moreover, jewellery is luxury goods, people will only consider to purchase jewellery when there is surplus after consume on daily necessities. Goods and Service Tax (GST) in Malaysia. A study by Nielsen, a global information and measurement company had proved that four in five Malaysian consumers are cutting back on shopping expenditure to increase household savings after the adoption of GST. It has affected Malaysian spending behaviour (Ida, 2015). 3.0 Industry Analysis Porter five forces 3.1 Threat of New Entrants Threat of new entrants for jewelry industry is low. There is low in threat of new entrants for jewelry industry due to it requires high capital start up (Din, 2015). A company must spend high figure in money in order to compete in the market and high capital requirements positively affect the Jewelry industry because it will lead to an increase in profits for the entity. According to Bhobe (2014) several of the existing firms have contracts with well-known jewelry distributing companies. New entrants may face difficulty to contract with these companies due to lack of financial status. Brand recognition also is an important competitive advantage and requires high investment costs and time in order to build strong brand name (WikiWealth, 2014). Therefore, new entrants that without a reputable name which may cause doubt from a diamond distributing company therefore no contract will be created. In addition, existing firms has experience economies of scale from large investments in research and development or brand advertising. As result, the entry into the market is getting increasingly difficult due to the growth of companies already established in the industry. 3.2 Threat of Substitute Products The threat of substitution is high in jewelry industry. It based on the relative price and performance of the competitors products and on customers willingness to consider the substitutes. They could potentially attract a significant proportion of market volume and reduce the potential sales volume for existing players. This category also relates to complementary products. For example, Poh Kong facing competition from substitutes jewelry which made of silver, platinum, diamonds and pearls. Costume or imitation jewelry also provided consumers with an alternative to look good but at a cheaper cost. Safiyuddin (2015) indicates that the price elasticity is affected by substitute products. When high substitutes available it causes the demand become more elastic since consumers have more alternative selection. Thus, a close substitute product constrains the ability of firms in the industry to increase prices. 3.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers for jewelry industry is moderate. According to Durant (2014) indicates that there is low bargaining power of suppliers when they are reliant on high volumes because of producer can threaten to cut volumes and affect the profits of the supplier. Besides, there are many gold jewelry suppliers in Malaysia such as Tomei Group, Niche Capital Emas Holding, DeGem or Habib Jewels (Mehta, 2016). Therefore, the switching cost to other supplier will be lower. On the other hand, for certain high quality diamonds and some precious gems are rare sources thus is little surplus of the capacity which allows for prices relatively high. Since these precious gems and diamond can bring great value to the firms, therefore the power of supplier will be slightly increased (Thompson, 2008). 3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers in this industry is high. In this industry, buyers have high bargaining power because there are many competing and viable sources to purchase jewelry from. According to Safiyuddin (2014), there are 3000 local gold jewelry retail outlets in Malaysia. Thus, customers bargaining power increased since there is a lot of selection of the jewelry stores. In Malaysia, the number of internet user is increasing from year to year and customer can easily get the product information from the internet. Due to the high information availability, customer can make comparison on the design and services between the jewelry stores. In addition, customers are free to shift to any other jeweler and the switching costs for customer are low. 3.5 Rivalry among Present Competitors The rivalry among competing sellers in this industry is high. There are large numbers of jewelry stores that are currently operating in Malaysia including local and foreign jewelry store (Din, 2015). They are competing to attract the same number of resources and customer. They also compete to boost their brand recognition and improve their quality of services in order to gain market shares. Poh Kong and other jewelry store like Habib Jewel struggle for market leadership. Moreover, jewelry industry companies are considered mass merchandisers or limited line jewelers generally compete on the basis of price. The companies have created a stagnant industry that now competes by taking market share away from the other players yet creates price wars among most of the firms in the industry. Besides, the major players such as Habib, Degem and other competitors are trying to lobby for competitive advantage in these areas. 3.6 Conclusion based on the Porters Five Forces Based on the industry analysis, this jewelry industry is quite attractive because the large economies of scale make it very hard for new entrants to compete in this industry. The more assets the firm has, the greater the firm ability to take advantage of economies of scale. Besides, the threat of substitutes is reducing because gold has inherent investment value which is further reinforced by industry buy-back policy (Bharl, 2016). In other words, gold jewelry retail outlets would purchase old jewelry at prevailing gold prices and provides an avenue for consumers to upgrade or change their existing jewelry sets. This is one of the ways to increase sales volume and also build up customer loyalty. 4.0 Competitive Analysis The size of circle for each competitor is based on the annual revenue in 2015 as Tomeis annual report will only announce on April every year. The revenue for Pandora is RM 16.7 billion (Annual Report, n.d.); Poh Kong is RM 0.8 billion (Poh Kong, 2015 ); Tomei and Wah Chan and almost the same revenue which is RM 0.5 billion (Annual Report, n.d.); and Sk Jewelry is RM 0.1 billion (Sookee, n.d.). There are a lot of competitors have been entered and also established in the jewelry industry. Although there are a lot competitors in the jewelry marketplace but they are offering different design of the product with different brand and price. Besides, they also were using different promotion strategies to promote their product in order to boost their sales. From the group mapping, we can know that Poh Kong is the one who offered the wide product line breath as compare to other competitors such as Pandora, Tomei, Wah Chan, and Sk Jewelry. Besides from offering yellow gold and silver jewelry, Poh Kong also has offered pearl, jade and diamond jewelry to customer. In order to meet the customer needs and requirements, Poh Kong has their own manufacturer in Shah Alam, so they able to manufacture and design the jewelries that customer preferred and requested (Poh Kong, n.d.). Therefore, by satisfying the customers need and want, Poh Kong able to compete with other competitors and survive in the marketplace. Moreover, as we know that gold bar and gold coin is an investment product in long term. Poh Kong not only offered and provided a gold bar and gold coin but they also offered wide range of gold jewelry with different design such as Tranz, Anggun, Auspicious, Bombay Collection, Disney, and Happy Love (Poh Kong, n.d.). Other competitors just offered few design of gold jewelries as compare to Poh Kong. Thus, the variety products that offered by Poh Kong is able to serve for more customer types and able to attract more customer to buy. It will increase the sale and profit of the company in short term. 4.1 Price Based on the strategy group mapping, it shown that the price of diamond ring that offered by Poh Kong is slightly higher than Wah Chan but lower than Sk Jewelry. The reason that we compare to the price of the diamond ring is because different jewelry retailers may offer different price for the carat of the diamond ring. The strategy group mapping has shown that the price of the diamond ring from Sk Jewelry is slightly higher than Poh Kong and it cost RM 4888 for 0.15 carat of the diamond ring (Sk Jewelry, n.d.). Wah Chan has offered 0.25 carat of diamond ring and it cost RM 3888, it is slightly cheaper than Poh Kong (Wah Chan, n.d.). For competitor Tomei, the overall product price that offered by Tomei is lower than Poh Kong, Sk Jewelry and Wah Chan. While for another competitor Pandora, the price of the product that they offered is the lowest among the four jewelry retailers (Pandora, n.d.). From the group mapping, the product price of the Poh Kong is consider high as compare to other jewelry industry. However, Poh Kong has provided the good quality and variety of design and option in order to meet more customer types. Besides, for quality assurance, Poh Kongensures that stringent measures are constantly undertaken without compromising design excellence. Poh Kong jewelry has been created with superior quality and meticulous craftsmanship. Thus, the customer market share will increase and result in sale and profit of the company increase as well. 4.2 Competitive position and performance Today, Poh Kong has own manufacturing facility which located in Shah Alam and has reached 100th outlet thus Poh Kong has earned it position as Malaysias fastest growing and largest jewelry retail chain store (Poh Kong, 2016.). This indicates that Poh Kong has the capacity to increase their profit and open more outlets to attract more customers to purchase their product. It is very convenience for customer to visit and purchase the jewelry in their retail outlets. Therefore, Poh Kong able to gain competitive advantage and position in Malaysia as compare to other competitors. Moreover, Poh Kong was listed in The Malaysia Book of Records as the Largest Jewellery Retail Chain in 1998.The Ministry of Domestic Trade Consumer Affairs has awarded several Poh Kong subsidiaries the Fair Prize Shop Awards from 2007 till 2010 in the Jewellery Category in recognition of the Companys good business ethics, quality goods and excellent after sales service (Poh Kong, n.d.). In addition, Poh Kong has been ranked 9th position and 10th position in Malaysia, and it listed in 2004 and 2006 Retail Asia-Pacific Top 50 respectively. Poh Kong has continued to be listed in 2009 and 2010 Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500. Besides, Poh Kong has been listed as Malaysia Top 1000 in 2011 and it also awarded as Malaysia top 10 in 2014. For 2016 Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500, Poh Kong was listed and has been ranked 8th position among Malaysias Top 10 retailers. The award is given out annually to the top performing companies and leaders in various industries as the recognition of their contribution to the country (Poh Kong, n.d.). Based on these awards, we can know that Poh Kong has a good performance in managing the company operation as compare to other competitors. Therefore, Poh Kong has the capacity to become top 10 in Malaysia. It indicates that Poh Kong is a well-known brand of jewelry in Malaysia. Furthermore, Poh Kong endeavors to carry out an action in a sustainable manner and promote responsible practices among its shareholders, suppliers and customers in the marketplace. Poh Kong has owned over 100 outlets provides convenience and accessibility to customers, offering wide range of quality products for customers choices. Poh Kong has provided recycled bag as a gift to the customer to carry their product after made purchase (Poh Kong, n.d.). The group supports nickel safe jewelry products for the protection of consumers health and safety. Therefore, Poh Kong able to reduce the cost in producing packaging items for their products. 5.0 Strategy Formulation Strength-opportunities (SO) strategies use a companys internal strengths to take advantage of external opportunities. The first SO strategy is the largest number of retail shops take advantage on the increasing of demand in the market. Poh Kong has the opportunity to capture most of the market shares since it acts as the largest gold jewelry retailer in Malaysia. It can be explained by Poh Kong uses its advantage of large number of retail outlets and well established brand to target wisely in Malaysia. The next SO strategy is the partnership with Moraglione enables Poh Kong to compete with the global brands, by enjoying the zero tax and taking advantage on the brand name of Moraglione. It also provides an opportunity for Poh Kong to expand its business to abroad. Besides, due to the world-renowned international brand of Moraglione, the cost saving from zero tax and advertisement spending can be utilized for future RD. Weaknesses-opportunities (WO) strategies improve internal weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities. First of the WO strategy is the zero duty for exporting jewelry product can enlarge the target market of Poh Kong, which only target in Malaysia currently. It can exports the jewelries to other countries and enjoys the tax advantage directly. Besides, it also can expand their business opportunities to abroad, test the market before it conducts a direct investment at there, and yet increase its profitability. The second WO strategy is the increase demand in the market able to resolve the problem of internal competition. According to research, customers demands are increased and their wants are difficult to be fulfilled. Customers always expect special and differentiate gold jewelries, hence the various brands of Poh Kong able to satisfy their needs and wants. Strength-threats (ST) strategies use a companys strengths to avoid or reduce the impact of external threats. First ST strategy is Poh Kong should uses remain strategy to deal with the high competition in local market. Since it has become the largest jewelry retailers in Malaysia, it will not affect its market leader position in the industry even it remains its business strategy, indeed, it also can avoid from the wasting of capitals in expanding the business. The next ST strategy is company bears the GST by itself. Due to the strong financial position and cash flows, it able to bear the extra charges by maintaining the selling price of gold jewelries. Thus, it can delight and satisfy the customers directly. Weaknesses-threat (WT) strategies defensive tactics aimed at reducing internal weakness and avoiding external threats. The first WT strategy is Poh Kong can launch into abroad and new market in order to avoid from the internal competition and high competitive local market situation. There is less opportunities in local market for Poh Kong to expand its business, thus it should expand its business to abroad, identify new opportunities, and target new markets. The next WT strategy is the company should enhance promotion strategies to tackle the problems of low customer satisfaction, high competition in local market, and slowdown of economy. It can provide price discount, conducts advertisements, and improves customer services to customers, so the customers can be delighted and their needs and wants could be satisfied. 6.0 Conclusion The competitiveness of the Poh Kong Holdings Berhad is the company acts as a leader in terms of innovation in Malaysias jewelry industry. It was one of the first chained jewelry retailers which operating in Malaysia. Its strongly established brand provides it a great competitive advantage over the less well-established competitors, such as Tomei Consolidated Bhd. Furthermore, Poh Kong also has strong reputation and strong market position in global market. It is because the company always involve in Corporate Social Responsibility and creates value for their company, shareholders, employees, customers, community and environment. To the employees, they will receive training and development programs to enhance their skills. Besides, the employees are encouraged to volunteer their time for the needed group while Poh Kong will donates daily essentials, foods and cash to charity home in Klang Valley. Moreover, there are some expectations about the future of the Poh Kong. Nowadays, e-commerce play most important role in the business operation. In order to compete with competitors, it should also focus online trading to its potential customers by providing variety selection of products and accept customized design order from consumer. Next, due to the global economic slowdown, Poh Kong should establish in those countries which do not adversely affect by economic slowdown, such as Indonesia. It is because Indonesia has a good fundamental economic condition amid the global economic uncertainty. In addition, Poh Kong should adopts appropriate financial controlling tools which can assist the company in well controlling on cost and operation management, in order to minimize the financial risk. To avoid the company from carrying many liabilities, it should wisely control budget as well. Besides, it also can make a future contract with the materials suppliers. It can fix the price of the materials with suppliers for future purpose due to the unexpected economic fluctuation. Thus, even if the economic crisis happens again, the sales and profitability of the company will not be affected much, and the expected cost of financial distress can be reduced. (3919 words) REFERENCES Ain, F. (2016). Marketing Plan of Jewellery. Retrieved March 01, 2017, fromhttps://prezi.com/seznxzph61ee/marketing-plan-of-jewellery/ Annual report. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2017, fromhttp://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA             4ZFRFB/2475656551x0x873895/70F896F6-8BEE-47AE-82DD             7EC400A29940/PANDORA_ANNUAL_REPORT_2015.pdf Annual report. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2017, from http://www.tomei.com.my/data/TomeiAnnual-Report-2015.pdf Bernama. (2013). Poh Kong. Retrieved March 01, 2017, from http://english.astroawani.com/business-news/poh-kong-has-no-plans-expand-abroad4394 has no              plans to expand abroad. Bharl (2016). Habib Jewel Malaysia Marketing Plan. 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Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Buddhism Essay -- essays research papers fc
Buddhism Buddhism is one of the biggest religions founded in India in the 6th and 5th cent. BC by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. One of the great Asian religions teaches the practice of the observance of moral precepts. The basic doctrines include the four noble truths taught by the Buddha. Since it was first introduced into China from India, Buddhism has had a history that has been characterized by periods of sometimes awkward and irregular development. This has mainly been the result of the clash of two cultures, each with a long history of tradition. Most of the difficulties have arisen due to the transplanting of an Indian religious/philosophical system onto a culture strongly dominated by indigenous secular, philosophical and religious systems. In spite of these difficulties, Chinese Buddhism has come to have an important influence on the growth and development of Buddhism in general and this has occurred largely because of its own innovatory contributions.(Eliade, M. p.16-29) Th e spread of Buddhism into China began in Central Asia and was facilitated by the efforts of the Indo-Scythian king Kanishka (Encyclopedia Britt. 273-274) of the Kushan dynasty which ruled in northern India, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia in the 1st and 2nd centuries (Encyclopedia Britt. 274). He is said to have undergone an Ashoka-like conversion upon seeing the slaughter caused by his campaigns. Around the beginning of the common era, Buddhism started to filter into China from Central Asia via the Silk Road, brought by monks, merchants and other travelers. It also entered later via trade routes around and through Southeast Asia. It was nurtured in the expatriate community of Loyang and other northern cities. (The Encyclopedia of Religion p58-62) Siddhartha (Buddha) was born around 563 B.C.E. in the town of Kapilavastu (located in today's Nepal). Siddhartha's parents were King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya, who ruled the Sakyas. His history is a miraculous one... One night, Quee n Maya dreamed that an elephant with six tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched her right side. At that moment her son was conceived. Brahmins (learned men) came and interpreted the dream. The child would be either the greatest king in the world or the greatest ascetic (a holy man who practices self-denial). The future child would be named Siddhartha, which means "he who... ...eligions and philosophies have their doctrines, values and functions. Within a specific time frame and space, different religions will serve and benefit a particular group of human beings towards kindness and wholesomeness. Amongst the right religions, there is no such religion that is "better" than the others. However, since the wisdom and vision of the founders of the religions are different, there are different levels in their doctrines, different methods of teaching and different goals and objectives. Therefore, the extent of the benefits of the religions is different.(Hinnells, J, 45-68) Bibliography Bibliography Siddhartha Hesse, herman New York; bantam 1951 Buddhism: Central Asia and China. 1994. The New Encyclopedia Brittanica. (15th ed). Vol 23. Chicago: Encyclopedia Brittanica Inc. pp.273-274. Buswell, R. (Ed). 1990. Chinese Buddhist apocrypha. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Eliade, M. (Ed). 1987. The Encyclopedia of Religion. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Hinnells, J. (Ed). 1985. A handbook of living religions. London: Penguin Books. Snelling, J. 1992. The Buddhist handbook: A complete guide to Buddhist teaching and practice. London: Rider. Buddhism Essay -- essays research papers fc Buddhism Buddhism is one of the biggest religions founded in India in the 6th and 5th cent. BC by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. One of the great Asian religions teaches the practice of the observance of moral precepts. The basic doctrines include the four noble truths taught by the Buddha. Since it was first introduced into China from India, Buddhism has had a history that has been characterized by periods of sometimes awkward and irregular development. This has mainly been the result of the clash of two cultures, each with a long history of tradition. Most of the difficulties have arisen due to the transplanting of an Indian religious/philosophical system onto a culture strongly dominated by indigenous secular, philosophical and religious systems. In spite of these difficulties, Chinese Buddhism has come to have an important influence on the growth and development of Buddhism in general and this has occurred largely because of its own innovatory contributions.(Eliade, M. p.16-29) Th e spread of Buddhism into China began in Central Asia and was facilitated by the efforts of the Indo-Scythian king Kanishka (Encyclopedia Britt. 273-274) of the Kushan dynasty which ruled in northern India, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia in the 1st and 2nd centuries (Encyclopedia Britt. 274). He is said to have undergone an Ashoka-like conversion upon seeing the slaughter caused by his campaigns. Around the beginning of the common era, Buddhism started to filter into China from Central Asia via the Silk Road, brought by monks, merchants and other travelers. It also entered later via trade routes around and through Southeast Asia. It was nurtured in the expatriate community of Loyang and other northern cities. (The Encyclopedia of Religion p58-62) Siddhartha (Buddha) was born around 563 B.C.E. in the town of Kapilavastu (located in today's Nepal). Siddhartha's parents were King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya, who ruled the Sakyas. His history is a miraculous one... One night, Quee n Maya dreamed that an elephant with six tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched her right side. At that moment her son was conceived. Brahmins (learned men) came and interpreted the dream. The child would be either the greatest king in the world or the greatest ascetic (a holy man who practices self-denial). The future child would be named Siddhartha, which means "he who... ...eligions and philosophies have their doctrines, values and functions. Within a specific time frame and space, different religions will serve and benefit a particular group of human beings towards kindness and wholesomeness. Amongst the right religions, there is no such religion that is "better" than the others. However, since the wisdom and vision of the founders of the religions are different, there are different levels in their doctrines, different methods of teaching and different goals and objectives. Therefore, the extent of the benefits of the religions is different.(Hinnells, J, 45-68) Bibliography Bibliography Siddhartha Hesse, herman New York; bantam 1951 Buddhism: Central Asia and China. 1994. The New Encyclopedia Brittanica. (15th ed). Vol 23. Chicago: Encyclopedia Brittanica Inc. pp.273-274. Buswell, R. (Ed). 1990. Chinese Buddhist apocrypha. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Eliade, M. (Ed). 1987. The Encyclopedia of Religion. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Hinnells, J. (Ed). 1985. A handbook of living religions. London: Penguin Books. Snelling, J. 1992. The Buddhist handbook: A complete guide to Buddhist teaching and practice. London: Rider.
Yersinia pestis †Infection, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment Essay
Yersinia pestis – Gerneal Infection, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment Yersinia pestis, the culprit behind the infamous Black Death, spread by rat fleas, has cast a shadow over human civilization, taken the lives of countless peasants and nobles alike like a violent brute who murders invariably. There are three major forms of infection stages, the bubonic plague, the septicemic plague, and the pneumonic plague (primary and secondary), all are lethal if not treated with proper antibiotics. Due to similar symptoms, clinical diagnosis, the distinction between a common cold and a lethal infection is made difficult. However, though a potent murderer, Yersinia pestis can be easily eliminated by antibiotic treatment; survivors of the disease may be scarred. The plague has always been a shadow overcastting the dawn of mankind; it had hid in the darkness, where the rodents roam and the poor dwell; it had unleashed its terror upon, claiming the souls of nobles and peasants alike. There are a total of five major plague outbreaks, including the infamous Black Death of medieval Europe, which wiped away half of its population. Yersinia pestis, the culprit behind the Black Death, are Gram-negative bacteria that are septicemic and extremely infectious. Though humans are highly susceptible to the microorganism, its main hosts are rodent species such as rats and squirrels, and are only transmitted onto humans when infectious fleas regurgitates animal blood while feeding on us. Yersinia pestis infection comes in three forms: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic; the pneumonic plague is the deadliest. The rodent epidemic is transmitted unto humans when Y. pestis â€Å"are transmitted by fleabite, enters the lymphatic [system] 2 and migrate to the re... ...6. Microorganisms and Bioterrorism. Ed. Anderson, Burt, Friedman, Herman, and Maaro Bendinelli. Springer: 2006. Kopp, Elizabeth, and Medzhitov, Ruslan. â€Å"A Plague on Host Defense.†The Journal of Experimental Medicine. . â€Å"Plague Fact Sheet.†Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Health and Human Services. 30 March, 2005. 26 July, 2006. . â€Å"Plague Prevention and Control.†Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Health and Human Services. 30 March, 2005. 26 July, 2006. . VeriMed Healthcare Network. â€Å"Plague.†Medline Plus. 17 June, 2005. 26 July, 2006. .
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Oedipus The King Essay
Oedipus is written as a play, there is no narrator, Sophocles explains the story line and then runs the story into playwright. I like this point of view because it can sometimes be more clear to the reader. There are many points of view in this play. That is there are many different individuals addressed this playwright. Thus there are many different points of view. I think that Oedipus generally speaks in place of a narrator, because he is the main character. I believe he expresses some of the things that Sophocles is trying to say to the audience. An example of this is when he says: â€Å"Speak out, speak to us all. I grieve for these, my people, far more that I fear for my own life.†(Sophocles, 395) I think that Sophocles is trying to get people to speak their own mind, come together, and establish a community. He is saying this through Oedipus. Oedipus goes through many changes. He goes through a state of innocence or ignorance, then through a state of denial and finally a state of acceptance and guilt. Throughout these different stages in his life, he reveals to his audience who he really is. Oedipus believing he is innocent is part of the form in this play. Oedipus has come to the throne of Thebes by solving the Riddle of the Sphinx. There is a plague upon Thebes which Oedipus desires to heal. Creon returns to the palace after his visit to the Pythian House of Phoebus, an oracle. The oracle has said that the only way to cure the illness in Thebes is to find the man whom killed Laius, the previous king of Thebes. Odeipus tries to discover the murderer and requests that the murderer come forward and promises that instead of being killed, he will be banished from Thebes. If any man comes forward with the murderer he will be rewarded and if any guilty man is found and has not confessed, the murderer will be banished from all aspects of society. Tiresias, an aged, blind prophet is brought to Oedipus to reveal the murderer. Tiresias says that Oedipus unknowingly killed Laius. Disbelieving this, Oedipus blames Creon for plotting this against him to gain the throne of Thebes. Tiresias states his innocence and before he leaves the palace, he gives Oedipus a riddle: The murderer seemed an alien is really a native to Theban, was once poor and now is rich, is the brother of his children and the child of his wife, the heir to his father’s bed and the cause of his father’s death. The form in this part of the play, plays into the certain buildup of the plot. Now Creon comes to the palace after hearing of Oedipus’ charges against him. Oedipus questions Creon as to why Tiresias didn’t come forward when the initial investigation of Laius’ death occured. Creon says he is happy with his position in court and has no desire to take the throne from Oedipus. He tells Oedipus that for proof he can go to the oracle at Pytho and ask if Creon is telling the truth. Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, tells him that an oracle came to Laius saying that he would die by the hand of his child. Learning this Laius has his newborn son tied at the ankles and taken away to be killed. She says that Laius was killed by robbers on his way to the oracle at Delphi at the place where three roads meet. The content of this play is that of Greek tragedy, son of Laius, king of Thebes, and his wife, Jocasta. Laius had been warned by an oracle that he was fated to be killed by his own son; he therefore abandoned Oedipus on a mountainside. The baby was rescued, however, by a shepherd and brought to the king of Corinth, who adopted him. When Oedipus is grown, he learns from the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He fled Corinth to escape this fate, believing his foster parents to be his real parents. At a crossroad Oedipus encountered Laius(his father), and killed him. He continued on to Thebes, where the Sphinx was talking and all who could not solve her riddle. Oedipus answered it correctly and so he won the widowed queen’s hand(his mother). The prophecy was fulfilled. Two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, were born to the unwittingly incestuous pair. When a plague descended on Thebes, an oracle declared that the only way to rid the land of its illness was to expel the murderer of Laius. Through a series of painful revelations, the king learned the truth and in an agony of horror blinded himself. His daughters, Antigone and Ismene, are left in the hands of Kreon, who proves to be a true friend of Oedipus. The content of this play regarding time is that the time wasn’t very specific, but it does say that Sophocles lived from 496-406 BC. The place on the other hand is very specific, it introduces you saying: â€Å"The royal house of Thebes. Double doors dominate the facade, a stone altar stands at the center of the stage. Many years have passed since Oedipus has solved the riddle of the Sphinx and ascended the throne of Thebes, and now a plague has struck the city. A procession of priests enters† ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Sophocles, 392) I think that this introduction leads the reader into a world of curiosity. We really don’t know what is going to happen to Oedipus, all we know is there is a plague across the town that Oedipus must do something about. This leads the reader into Oedipus’ stages of innocence or ignorance, denial and finally guilt. The content in the choice of setting affects the theme because it makes this story more believable, in a time unfamiliar to us, long ago.
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