Misconceptions about Satanism :: Non-Christian Religions Satan

Misconceptions about Satanism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most religions like Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam have well defined meanings, one exception is Satanism. Most people have their own definition for Satanism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people feel that non-Christian religions and all Christian denominations other than their own are forms of Satanism. This would imply that all Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems, and Jews. In fact at least 75% of the world's population would be Satanists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Others feel that all religions other than Judaism or Christianity are inspired by Satan and thus are forms of Satanism. This would still leave the vast majority of people in the world being Satanists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Large numbers of people feel that a wide variety of unrelated, benign religions (such as Santeria and other Caribbean religions, Druidism, New Age, Wicca, ect.) are forms of Satanism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Such definitions create great confusion. The following are recommended terms and descriptions for four essentially unrelated religions that have been called Satanism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first is Religious Satanism, This faith includes the recognition of Satan either as a deity or as a principle. Three main denominations exist: the Church of Satan, the Temple of Set, and the Church of Satanic Liberation. Other short lived Satanic groups currently exist and have existed in the recent past. According to Statistic Canada, the 1991 census found 335 Canadians who identified themselves as Satanists. The actual Number is probably significantly larger. A United States Department of the Army pamphlet #165-13 "RELIGIOUS REQUIREMENTS AND PRACTICES OF CERTAIN SELECTED GROUPS - A HANDBOOK FOR CHAPLAINS" (1978 - April) estimated that there were 10 to 20 thousand members of the Church of Satan in the United States. Accurate data is impossible to estimate, since the largest group (The Church of Satan) does not release its membership totals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is important to realize that the Satan they recognize has few if any point s of similarity with the Christian concept of Satan. The Satanists' concept of Satan is pre-Christian, and derived from the Pagan image of power, virility, sexuality and sensuality. To most Satanists, Satan is a force of nature, not a living quasi-deity. Their Satan has nothing to do with Hell, demons, pitchforks or profound evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The image of Satanism spawned by Christianity is called Gothic Satanism. It is an imaginary and profoundly evil religion that was invented during the late Middle Ages. Concepts included ritual killing of children, selling their soul to the devil, breaking crucifixes, conducting black masses, ect. It has never existed in the past, and does not exist today, except in the imagination of the public.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another form of Satanism is Teen Satanism: A syncretistic religion which is a blend of Religious Satanism, Gothic Satanism, ceremonial magick, and any

A Different History Essay

The only thing worse than watching your own culture disappear is to see your own grandchildren not knowing a single thing about their native culture. The speaker of the poem A Different History, by an Indian Poet named Sujata Bhatt, expresses her feelings towards the change of her culture after the British Colonization. In this poem, the speaker explains in a disappointed tone how the culture and language changed as the generations passed on. Using strong diction and repetitions in each stanza, she describes how the culture is changing and how the people are affected too. See more: My Writing Process Essay 1 At the very first stanza, Bhatt used poetic devices such as allusions and imagery to capture the scene of the first generation of India where the British Colonization hasn’t occurred. The feeling of freedom and peace can be captured in this stanza: Here the gods roam freely, disguised as snakes or monkeys; every tree is sacred At the first three lines, Bhatt explains how India is beautiful by using an allusion of the Greek God named Pan, the God of nature. She uses the allusion of God of Pan because she’s telling us that the current culture and the past culture are still linked together. And by that she means even the Indians doesn’t belief in the western gods (Pan), but she uses the allusion of Pan to state that India is beautiful because Pan is the God of nature. And also, she stated that India is a very peaceful and holy environment and even the trees are holy too, by using imagery of gods wandering around in the jungle and trees being â€Å"sacred†. 2 Also, during the first generation, Bhatt uses the repetition of the sentence â€Å"a sin† as her choice of words to emphasize how important that particular word is and how it affects the culture. She said that it is a sin because as the generation grows, more and more people would not appreciate books because technologies are part of our daily lives now. Not only that, she advises the reader ‘you’ to be gentle to a book, without disturbing Sarasvati, a Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science (allusion), and not ‘offending’ the tree, for it is sacred, because you make papers for the books from it: You must learn how to turn the pages gently 3 And then now, on the second stanza, the changes of culture slowly happen during the second generation (the children of the first generation). Bhatt mentioned ‘oppressor’s tongue’ which clearly shows that India already has people in control of them (the British Colonization has happen). She also uses the word ‘murder’ which is a very strong diction to say that people had killed during that time: †¦has not been the oppressor’s tongue? †¦truly meant to murder someone? 4 While going into the third generation (grandchildren of the first generation), Bhatt expressed in a curious tone that why would the people in the third generation will like the language of the winners’, which she stated as a strange language. She uses the word â€Å"conquerors† to show that the British men had won over their country. And also, we can picture that many had died in cruel ways during the British Colonization including their ancestors by her using strong in this last stanza such as â€Å"torture† and â€Å"soul had been cropped out†. This stanza showed that the culture had been changed and soon the later generations will forget about their original culture: the unborn grandchildren grow to love that strange language.

Kauflauf GmbH Essay

Business model: Kauflauf GmbH was founded in 2002. First European organisation to offer _’ software as a service’_ The product portfolio included Customer Relationship Management and ERP software for – Auto Parts, Computer/ Office Supplies and Medical Devices companies Product owners worked with design team, sales force to prioritize new features and anticipate customer demands Their competitive advantage was derived from their successful field consultants who provided consulting and support to customers Kauflauf had three divisions: Development and Support services, Marketing Sales They had a strong competitive advantage due to _hands on consulting_ provided by field consultants backed up by the development group. As opposed to competitors who targeted larger firms, Kauflauf targeted middle market (revenues from â‚ ¬100 million to â‚ ¬1 billion) and top-tier smaller customers. _CLIENT EDUCATION, HAND HOLDING AND CUSTOMIZATION_ were the main areas of focus for the sales force, in order to obtain customer loyalty. The culture of the company was _YOUTH ORIENTED AND ANTI-HIERARCHICAL_ . It was characterized by small company friendliness and deep pride in superior software engineering. JESS WESTERLEY An American woman who had lived with her family in Germany as a child, Jess had developed a love for the country and was fluent in the language. She has been hired as Assistant Product Owner (CRM product) for computer and office supply wholesalers and retailers. CREDENTIALS: Jess came with a proven track record. She had earlier worked with a rapidly growing CRM software service provider in the United States, where she demonstrated great success in growing market share. Has high degree of analytical capabilities and keen grasp of market evolution. Is deeply interested in computers, management and international business. Able to speak German and form informal relationships with her colleagues. RESPONSIBILITIES: To understand the market and customers. To establish product development priorities to serve both existing and future customer needs. To increase sales volume and enable greater penetration in the global CRM subscription software market JESS WESTERLY’S PROPOSED CHANGE Even if the external environment was not changing, the competitive landscape was stable and Kauflauf was doing well in terms of business and revenues, the company still required to bring about a change. The internal environment  was changing and demanded for Kauflauf to shake itself up in regard to its strategy, processes and structure. With its single minded focus to operate in the middle size market segment, the firm was operating in silos. There was a persistent failure to spot new development and opportunities in the market. Thus, to trigger off innovation, increase sales revenue and build more agility in the company, Jess Westerly proposed a change in the sales call patterns at Kauflauf GmbH, with the field consultants redirecting atleast 30% of their time and focus towards larger, more established potential purchasers of CRM software services in the computer and office supply business. Based on Jess westerly’s own quantitative analysis and simulations, she had identified that: Only 35 % of the consultant’s time went to customers who produced 85% of the revenues, while the remaining time was spent with smaller, less profitable accounts By reducing the time spent with customers with annual sales volume less than â‚ ¬ 250,000 (Class 5 and 6 clients) by 20%, and instead focusing on bigger prospective clients , Kauflauf could increase revenues by 30% Field Consultants spending time on closing sales for companies with less than â‚ ¬100,000 in annual sales volume only yields suboptimal returns Kauflauf’s recent success in getting business from Dart, one of world’s largest suppliers of computer parts through persistent call efforts also supported her proposal Thus, the company was losing significant sales growth opportunities by strictly focusing on smaller accounts and neglecting large prospective companies. WHY IT FAILED – THE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE 1. An organization-level change requires the change agent to clearly communicate the vision ahead to those being most impacted by the change. Jess Westerley did not speak to RSDs and consultants before sending out the memo to implement the changes. 2. Change requires the agent to form a core group of people who buy into his/her idea and begin the change process. Jess did not explain why there was a need for change, even though there were no changes in the company’s external environment. Internally, it seemed that all was well too. Hence, the field consultants felt that she was intruding into their work schedule. To them, it appeared that she was interfering with their work-patterns though she had no idea of how things actually worked. 3. Jess did not understand the challenges faced by consultants at different levels of experience – She did not seek the consultants’ opinion which could have contributed to the change. The issues that came to light when Jess sent out the memo were : Consultants felt that this proposal was not for their market They did not wish to work for a firm that served larger accounts They doubted whether such a change would be good for the firms competitive advantage They doubted Jess’ understanding of different markets They had concerns about Kauflauf’s development capacity to support class 1 and 2 sales 4. She did not get approvals from the higher management and RSDs before approaching the Field consultants. An approval from them might have made  them think of the change more seriously. However, the entire change process that she suggested was completely based only on her analysis and simulations, and it did not have the backing of the higher-ups. 5. Large clients did not allow consultants to have access to top management and hence closing a sale was tougher and less probable. However, this was the one point which gave maximum motivation to the consultants. Since closing a successful sale required a lot more effort with larger clients, the consultants were left disappointed at times when all their efforts did not bear fruit. Hence they were up in arms against the idea of changing their call patterns towards larger clients.

Examine how Atwood presents Offred’s sense of self in “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Sense of self can be defined by the â€Å"roles, attributes, behaviours, and associations that we consider most important about our selves†. 1 Atwood wrote â€Å"The Handmaid's Tale† during the 80s; (1986 to be precise) an era of ‘power-dressing'. A key icon of the ‘power-dressing' was the wife of the American president, Nancy Reagan, who wore outfits with huge shoulder pads, making her look more masculine. Famous women like her encapsulated what the women of the time aspired to be: rich, beautiful, intelligent and powerful. In â€Å"The Handmaid's Tale†, Offred constantly refers back to her old life and the way she used to style herself in comparison to the way she looks now. She remembers, â€Å"Makeup†3 and â€Å"bathing suits and platform shoes†4, â€Å"sheer pantyhose against the skin†5, and â€Å"the smell of nail paint†6. All these things relate to the image that she once aspired to obtain, and this constant regressi on shows how she longs to return to her life before the regime, when she was secure in her identity. The air of desirability Atwood gives these things reflects how Offred desires them. However, this does not mean that Offred needs these things to regain her sense of self; Atwood simply uses them as symbols of Offred's true identity which she attributes to herself and her life before the regime. In contrast, Atwood uses negative language to describe the red dress Offred now wears. The phrases, â€Å"a nondescript woman in red†7 and, â€Å"the colour of blood, which defines us†8 hint at Offred's contempt towards her red dress. This shows how Offred recognises that her obligatory red dress is not a reflection of her personality (as clothing should be) but a barrier between her and the rest of the world; in this dress she is Offred, a Handmaid and nothing else. Even her name, â€Å"Offred† is evidence of the regime taking away her identity because it can be interpretated as, ‘Of-Fred' meaning that she is Fred's (the Commander's) possession. This concept supports Simone de Beauvoir's comments that, â€Å"she is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not with reference to her†9. In â€Å"The Handmaid's Tale† the name Offred does not tell the reader anything about Offred as a person, it only tells them that she is a Handmaid who belongs to the Commander, Fred, her actually identity is not referred to at all. Our names become a part of who we are and we are identified by them; after losing her name, Offred feels the need to remind herself of it, to ensure her true identity is not lost, â€Å"This name has an aura around it, like an amulet, some charm that's survived from an unimaginably distant past. 10 The words, â€Å"aura†, â€Å"amulet† and, â€Å"charm† create a semantic field of mystery and magic which reflects Offred's feelings towards her name; now that she is not allowed to use it, she views it as something to be in awe of, something she must â€Å"treasure† and, â€Å"dig up, one day†11. The word, â€Å"amulet† refers to something that protects you from danger; the danger for Offred would be to comple tely lose her sense of self so Offred refers to this name in order to connect with her ‘self' because she recognises that she is not actually part of this regime at all; she remembers her real name to separate herself from it. However, the importance of Offred's real name in the redevelopment of her sense of self is accurately demonstrated when she tells Nick, â€Å"I tell him my real name, and feel that therefore I am known. â€Å"12 Offred's real name is extremely personal to her, before she felt as if she was simply a Handmaid with no other identity but once she tells Nick her real name she feels as if she is telling him who she really is, apart from the regime. Atwood also uses the character of Nick as a literary tool to develop Offred's sense of self, through the development of her sexual identity. Nick becomes a recurring theme, representing masculinity; he is described as having forearms which are, â€Å"tanned but with a stipple of dark hairs†13, whereas Offred imagines that the Commander has a,†white, tufted raw body†14which makes him sound like the absolute opposite of Nick, undesirable and unattractive; and subconsciously Offred rejects him showing that she still has the power to chose who she falls in love with or feels emotion towards. Offred's emotions are unique to her and therefore define part of her identity; during the conception ceremony Offred's narrative includes very little emotion and her tone is detached,† One detaches oneself. One describes†. 15 By referring to ‘one' in general and not specifically to herself shows how Offred is using denial as a defence mechanism to avoid the shameful truth that she is actually having sex with the Commander; she even says, â€Å"what he is fucking is the lower part of my body†16. Atwood uses this detached tone to illustrate how Offred has become accustomed to how her body has been violated, but the expletive, â€Å"fucking† shows that she does not agree with it and is angry at this violation. She wants the reader to understand that throughout all this, Offred is trying to retain her sense of self and is still ‘herself' in her mind. In contrast, Offred's forbidden sexual relationship with Nick is a loving relationship which creates a parallel with the similar forbidden relationship she had with Luke, before the regime. Offred used to view herself as Luke's lover, then eventually his wife, these were roles that were important to her and roles that she attributed to her identity, â€Å"Can I be blamed for wanting a real body to put my arms around? Without it I too am disembodied. â€Å"17 The rhetorical question shows how confused and alone Offred feels and the word, â€Å"disembodied† highlights Offred's need to feel loved in a physical relationship because she defines herself through her interaction with others, but in the dystopian society in which she lives this social and emotional interaction has been removed. When Offred finally does sleep with Nick he becomes a substitute for Luke, â€Å"I went back to Nick. Time after time on my own, without Serena knowing†. 18 Atwood uses short sentences to give the reader a blunt and concise account of what happened; the fact that Offred slept with Nick is irrelevant in comparison to the implications it has. The small, insignificant rebellions Offred has executed throughout the novel come to a climax at this point in the story, where Offred shows that she is willing to sacrifice her life and social standing in an attempt to express her true self. The phrase, â€Å"on my own† draws attention to Offred's new found confidence and independence and the fact that Serena does not know about it symbolises her freedom from the regime. Atwood uses personal pronouns, â€Å"I tell, therefore, you are†, which enables Offred to personalise the listener/reader whom she is narrating to. Her references to the unidentified, â€Å"you† is ironic, because in a way she is talking to herself, about herself. She is becoming introspective and generates a sense of self pity through creating this other person. Atwood is trying to make the reader feel included in the novel; she is also giving Offred a way of coping with her loneliness and isolation. This notion supports Helene Cixous' belief that, â€Å"By writing her self, woman will return to the body which has been more than confiscated from her. â€Å"19 By telling her story Offred portraits a part of her personality and therefore, a part of her identity in her story, and because she cannot freely express her personality in the society in which she lives, she resorts to living in the memories of her nameless audience. Offred's storytelling also supports Mallik's opinion that Atwood includes, â€Å"basic victim positions†20 in her novel, because she tells her story to her ‘audience' in order to regain a part of her identity which she realises has been taken away from her; and as the novel progresses she becomes more willing to rebel to reclaim it. Atwood uses the narrative tone to reflect the emotional state of the narrator. At the beginning of the novel Offred is confused, â€Å"like a sleepwalker conceiving disjointed perceptions of its surroundings,†21 but by the end of the novel, â€Å"the narrative voice assumes a fully engaged emotional tone† which reflects Offred's emotional development, and mirrors how she is no longer a passive entity but an active woman who is willing to fight for what she wants.

Analyze and discuss the issues of music and authenticity in relation Essay - 1

Analyze and discuss the issues of music and authenticity in relation to two or three of the films - Essay Example In this movie, the audiovisual uses multiple communication channels including mainly: image, sound, verbal language (written or spoken). The sound acts directly on the senses of viewers, much more than the image and the verb. Its impact is much more subtle:   an image or a word provide immediate intellectual meaning and cause reactions largely conscious. Instead, this movie is largely beyond an intellectual analysis because its benchmarks are not palpable. The viewer receives it and reacts subjectively. The sound in this movie,   more than any other carrier, is handling affective and semantics means of an audiovisual message: images and words. There is a connection between a musical vocabulary, referring to aesthetic and sensory phenomena, and the vocabulary of everyday life, covering an ethical and intellectual reality of this time. Reconciling these two semantic universe can only afford to develop a specific speech and the music gives the tone to the speech in this movie, the m usic is in very tight collaboration with the sentences, with the environment, with the epoch. In the world of entertainment, the design of a musical message partially escapes its own creators: the intuition and experience offset the lack of a grammar of the language of music. The effectiveness of the message comes with a simple observation: "it works" or "it does not work†...

Al Ain Distribution Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Al Ain Distribution Company - Essay Example Al Ain Distribution Company Al Ain is a city found in European Arab Emirates and is the largest of three other cities. It lies in the East of Abu Dhabi bordering Oman. Al Ain city receives rainfall in specific months of the year. The inhabitants of Al Ain experience high temperatures during summer and most of the people prefer living in the desert area. ‘Garden City of the Gulf’ is the nickname given to Al Ain by particular individuals due to the green nature, cleanliness, and well-lined streets, and haven. Late Bars and night clubs in Al Ain offer drinks at a higher cost (Christopher, 2013). Content and Process theories of motivation Motivation is all that individuals are required in order obtain the morale to work hard. Both content and process theories of motivation are of great importance to leaders of specific organizations. Such theories play a role in the behavior of individuals working in different organizations and undertaking different tasks (Cooper et al, 2012 ). Content theories of motivation indicate that the behavior portrayed by individuals at work highly depends on their desires to meet specific needs. Content theories primarily have concerns on the goals and needs of individuals (Andrzej, 2010). There are four content theories namely Hierarchy of needs, ERG (Existence Needs, Relatedness Needs, and Growth Needs) Theory, Two Factor Theory, and Achievement Need Theory. The process theories deal with processes involved in issues of human beings (Seibt, 2003). It involves factors that measure effort of employees, how to improve efforts, and how to transform the behavior of employees. There are three process theories namely Expectancy Theory, Goal Theory, and Adam’s Equity Theory. Expectancy theory asserts that behavior of particular individuals depends on the alertness of the mind. Goal theory indicates that for motivation and performance to be high, managers should set particular objectives (challenging and accepted) and should a vail an outcome of the situation. Equity theory denotes that individuals feel satisfied after observing reasonable rewards in the environment. The management of Al Ain Company uses process theories of motivation in that it asserts on the necessity to set specific goals. This is evident as the management further illustrates the importance of feedback to both the employees and managers (Daft et al, 2010). The most useful theory Determination of the most useful theory is through the behaviors that individuals portray. In organizations, the most appropriate theories to apply are the Process Theories because they focus on how human beings think and behave to get what they want. It is of significance in motivating employees. This is because individuals with set goals put more efforts in their work unlike individuals working under no set objectives. Another reason is that rewards are vital elements in motivation since it is a factor increasing the morale of employees. Motivational techniqu es and rewards used by the company Motivational techniques are tactics used to instill motivation in employees at the workplace (Pride et al, 2012). Some of the techniques praise high performing employees. This is a way to increase employee morale. Motivational rewards are either positive or negative reinforcement. The type of reinforcement determines the ability of employees to perceive tasks that they undertake. The techniques used in the company involve the functional and divisional structures. The

IB Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IB - Assignment Example The other marketing strategy are franchising, licensing and other mode of entries. It is important for the retail business, opening stores abroad retail business cannot succeed. The price of the product, the promotion strategy, store design and customer service of an international retail business should be appropriate for business to prosper. A company needs to look into many factors like political, environmental, social and technological when entering a international market. In an international business the governmental policies, weather condition, the needs and demands of people from various culture and technological influence affect the success of the business. Other factors like pricing and promotion strategy and customer service also affect the business promotion on an international platform. The company has to analyze the marketing strategy by taking into account ins strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. In such a case this garment company will be able to enter the international business in a successful way. E-tailing is a business operation of retailing which occur with the help of internet. It has been introduced in the 20th century and is a business to consumer transaction. According to Rouse (2005)â€Å"E-tailing began to work for some major corporations and smaller entrepreneurs as early as 1997 when Dell Computer reported multimillion dollar orders taken at its Web site†. In e- tailing the online catalogues and business management is done with the help of software tools. This new technological retailing is the new trend in Western countries. In this type of retailing, the consumer interacts with virtual shops to purchase their services and products. In this system, the customer can pay online acquire products by courier and shipping service. Since a decade there had been a hike in E- tailing in western countries however it is still in an infancy stage. Across the world,