Christianity in a Postmodern World :: essays research papers

Christian Belief in a Postmodern World: The Full Wealth of Conviction Others have tried to do what Diogenes Allen, Professor of Philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary, does in his book but none with his breadth or effectiveness. That is, others have attempted to exploit for theism's benefit the hard times now befalling the modern world's emphasis on scientific reasoning and pure rationality, which for quite a while had placed Christianity (and religious belief in general) on the intellectual and cultural defensive. Many of these earlier attempts made use of the Wittgensteinian concepts of "form of life" or "language game" to show that both science and religion depended on unproven assumptions and therefore rested equally on grounds without firm foundations. These kinds of attempts, however, could most always aim no higher than to make the world safe for fideism. And fideism is not to defend the faith. What makes Allen's contribution special and important is his effort to examine in a philosophically rigorous way what we mean w hen we say Christianity is true. He quotes Colossians 2:2 at the start of his book, but I Peter 3:15 is just as appropriate for what follows: "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence." Allen is very clear whom he is writing for and what his intentions are: "to give those who have no faith compelling rational grounds to become seekers and to those who have faith a greater degree of assurance and understanding than they can attain while constrained by the modern mentality." He divides his book into three parts. The first part begins with a mapping of our current intellectual terrain. In many ways, modernism committed the docetist heresy to human thought. It failed to see human thought as truly embodied and enculturated. Rather, human intellection consisted in pristine, pure rationality undisturbed by culture, bias, or the vagaries of historical situation. Modernism valued evidence and empirical confirmation and therefore strived to remain valueneutral to mirror a phenomenal world that was itself held value-neutral. The author challenges this way of human knowing and finds it insufficient and incapable of meeting the deepest needs of being human. In so doing , he sheds light on the relation between science and religion. Much of this material is rather provocative intellectual history, including a particularly interesting analysis of the Galileo affair and how it was used for polemical purposes by those hostile to theism.

Performance Orientation

The degree to which a collective encourages and rewards (and should encourage and reward) group members for performance improvement and excellence. Assertiveness. The degree to which individuals are (and should be) assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with others. Future Orientation. The extent to which individuals engage (and should engage) in future-oriented behaviors such as delaying gratification, planning, and investing in the future. Organizations in countries with high future oriented practices like Singapore and Switzerland tend to have longer term horizons and more systematic planning processes, but they tend to be averse to risk taking and opportunistic decision making. Humane Orientation. The degree to which a collective encourages and rewards ( and should encourage and reward) individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others. Countries like Egypt and Malaysia rank very high on this cultural practice Institutional Collectivism. The degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward (and should encourage and reward) collective distribution of resources and collective action Organizations in collectivistic countries like Singapore and Sweden tend to emphasize group performance and rewards In-Group Collectivism. The degree to which individuals express (and should express) pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families. Societies like Egypt and Russia take pride in their families and also take pride in the organizations that employ them. Gender Egalitarianism. The degree to which a collective minimizes (and should minimize) gender inequality. Egypt and South Korea were among the most male dominated societies in GLOBE. Organizations not operating in gender egalitarian societies tend to discourage tolerance for diversity of ideas and individual. Power Distance. The degree to which members of a collective expect (and should expect) power to be distributed equally. A high power distance score reflects unequal power distribution in a society. Countries that scored high on this cultural practice are more stratified economically, socially, and politically; those in positions of authority expect, and receive, obedience. Uncertainty Avoidance. The extent to which a society, organization, or group relies (and should rely) on social norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate unpredictability of future events. The greater the desire to avoid uncertainty, the more people seek orderliness, consistency, structure, formal procedures and laws to cover situations in their daily lives.

“Ah, Are You Digging My Grave” by Thomas Hardy Essay

â€Å"Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave?† by Thomas Hardy has six regular stanzas of six lines, which are written sequentially. The lines generally have eight syllables. In all but the second and last stanzas, the second and last lines of each stanza have six syllables. The rhyme scheme is regular, with the second and last lines rhyming and the three lines in between rhyming with each other. The meter is very irregular, with accents falling on different syllables. This quality was possibly inspired by the folk music of Hardy’s time. Another musical quality of this poem is that there is a refrain: â€Å"Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave?† In the second line, when the woman asks if the one digging is her â€Å"loved one? – planting rue?† the word ‘rue’ is a double entendre. Rue is a shrub that symbolizes sorrow, so the corpse is really asking her loved one both if he is planting flowers on her grave and if he is feeling sorrow about her death. When the woman’s kin say â€Å"No tendance of her mound can loose/ Her spirit from Death’s gin† they are referring to a gin as in a type of snare or trap used to catch animals. There is synecdoche in the phrases â€Å"the brightest wealth has bred† in the first stanza and â€Å"one true heart was left behind† in the fifth stanza. This poem also uses a lot of irony. The woman-corpse wants to believe that her former acquaintances remember her and are affected by her death, but she continually finds out that the opposite is true: they have little concern for her now that she is dead. Hardy uses personification with the corpse and the dog. He gives them human traits like the ability to speak and feel emotions. When the dog is burying a bone on his dead mistress’s grave, it symbolizes how the people she knew while she was alive now view her. To them, she is just a bunch of bones buried in the ground, and no longer of any importance. The central theme of this poem is that no love or hate outlasts death. There is a lot of disappointment in the poem, depicting death and the afterlife as tragic things. The black humor and irony reveals a sad message: the dead woman is forgotten and eternally lonely. The poem is also satiric, mocking the sentimentalism of continual devotion to the dead. Hardy takes a similar stance as the Feste in Twelfth Night.

Accounting Intern Paper

Company introduction KC ACCOUNTANCY CORP is a Southern California CPA firm, found in 2000. The company offers a full range of business and consumer CPA services including financial statements preparation, IRS. FTB. EDD representation, tax return preparation, office computerization, new business start-up, general bookkeeping and tax preparation & planning. Job description During the intern period, I did four main tasks as follow 1. Bookkeeping The company uses the accounting software called Write up and Quick Book to do the book keeping.In order to do the book keeping we need to create a ledger for all the financial accounts and use the check and invoice provided by the customer to record all payments made from these accounts. We should filled the all the column of cells, which include date, name of the payment, payee, category (for tax purposes), memorandum and a record of the check number or the invoice number. The reason for write the category is for tax purposes. After record the payment, we need to use the same software to record the cash inflow. We list all money (only revenue) received by the customer.As same as the cash outflow, we need to record the date, name of the income, payer-providers, category, memorandum and a record of the check number. If the company has the Loan or the investment, we should use the different ledgers to record it. Next step, we need to create accounts payable/accounts receivable. For the account payable we list utilities, rent, and other future payments. We list two date: one is the due day another one is the due day before penalty. For the account receivable, we list the income we will receive in the future.This ledger is most important, I need to aware that when the company actually receives the payment by the customers or the bounced check will happened. The final step is to reconcile the ledgers with the bank statements. The company will provide us their bank account records and allow us to check each payment. This is typi cally done on a quarterly schedule 2. Prepared, examined, and analyzed accounting records, financial statements, and other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.Financial statements include income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet and cash flow statement. From the supervisor’s experience, I learned that there is specific logical order for preparation due to some financial statements use numbers from the other statements The order is following: * Income statement * Statement of retained earnings * Balance sheet * Cash flow statement Before financial statements are prepared, we need to adjust entries based on revenue recognition and the matching principles. Each transaction may affect one income statement accounts and one balance sheet account.Adjustments fall into one of five categories: accrued revenues, accrued expenses, unearned revenues, prepaid expenses, and depreciation. Income Sta tement The income statement reports revenues, expenses, and the resulting net income. It transfers from revenue, expenses and capital gains or losses ledger account balances into the income statement. Statement of Retained Earnings The Statement of Retained Earnings is prepared after the income statement because we use the net profit or loss account balance from income statement.The retained earnings statement shows the retained earnings at the beginning and end of the accounting period. It is prepared using the following information: * Beginning retained earnings from previous statement of retained earnings. * Net income, obtained from the income statement Balance Sheet The balance sheet reports the assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity of the company. It is constructed using the following information: * Balances of all asset accounts * Balances of all liability accounts * owner's equity Cash Flow StatementTo do this cash-basis report, we subtract cash disbursements from cash receipts directly. It also takes information from all three previous financial statements. Two time periods of comparative balance sheets are examined in order to prepare a statement of cash flows. 3. Maintained Quarterly payroll records. At first I am very curious why the company would like to outsource the payroll process . The manager tell me small business owner usually spend around eight hours per month doing payroll because laws and the IRS have let the payroll function become a time consuming task.Outsourcing the payroll can let the company focus more on running company also avoid the risks of calculating mistake . Most important, federal, state and local payroll tax laws are frequently changing and becoming more complex The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code.I need to call each company on the list to make sure how much salary they pay for each employee. Company may pay their employee quarterly, monthly or hourly. Most of our customer is Chinese/Taiwanese owned company. I can use Chinese to call them . I need to clarify how many employees in their company and how much salary they need to pay. By using 1099-etc, we just need to type in the data in the system. The software will automatically calculate federal, state and local payroll taxes. The software supports Federal payroll forms such as the 941, 940, 943, 944 and 1040 SchH. Form 941 Form 941 is Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return. Federal law requires employers to withhold taxes from employees' paychecks. Each time wages are paid, employers must withhold — or take out of employees' paychecks — certain amounts for federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax. U nder the withholding system, taxes withheld from employees are credited to employees in payment of their tax liabilities. Federal law also requires employers to pay any liability for the employer's portion of social security and Medicare taxes.This portion of social security and Medicare taxes is not withheld from employees. Employers who withhold income taxes from wages or who must pay social security or Medicare tax, use Form 941 to report those taxes. The deadline for 941form is the last day for month that follows the end of the quarter. * Quarter One (January, February, March): due on April 30. * Quarter Two (April, May, June): due on July 31. * Quarter Three (July, August, and September): due October 31. * Quarter Four (October, November, December) : due on January 31 of the following year.Every time, I update the information on the system, I need to print out two copy. One is for our company, the other one is for our customer . 4. Miscellaneous As a intern, I also spend some t ime to doing miscellaneous thing such as put files in order alphabetically, print out the package label and paste on the envelope , double check the document and send to the customer. Analysis of the company The company starts the business from 2000, the boss try hard to build a very good relationship with the customers.They are successfully to build the relationaship because the employer in the company always put them self in the customer’s shoes, the existing customer will bring the new customer. So the company does not need to post the advertisement online or ask other to design a fancy website to attract new customer. Thus they can provide perfect and complete service with reasonable price. Due to the good relationship with customer, the accounting office is also become an information exchange place. We can always see the customer to ask the boss to refer a dental, a lawyer and the business to others.It is how a good networking start. However, during the intern period, I find there are things the company could do better. First, the boss plays an extremely important role in the company. She needs to check every document before mail to the customer or mail to the government institute and she assigns new task for everyone every morning. The company would be in a mass when the boss is not in the office. I still can remember, one time the boss has emergency and she cannot come to the office for two days.All document put on her table like a small mountain, and others has nothing to do. Second, a lot of things without a logical order, there is a simple example. When I start with filing away the documents, I cannot find some individual’s name within the file. After I check with the boss, the boss tells me, someone they will put all family numbers’ file together instead individual file. The problem is that only the boss knows who the family numbers are. It is hard for the account specialist to file the document; however the boss is too busy to do this kind of things.Third, the company still use some out of date process. Every quarter, the customer needs to turn in their check record and the invoice physically to the accounting office. Most of the records are hand write. In fact I think the accounting office can ask electric version from the customer, then it can complete the process more efficiently, because sometime I see accounting assistant struggle with the numbers or the word on the check or the invoice and with electric version, it can be send to accounting firm in time.I think the company know better what their business is, so it is not a big deal for them to change the physically version to electric version. Also I know most software will automatically download the bank records and allow the account assistant to quickly mark which payments and deposits are already recorded in the ledger, and which must be separately accounted. This is typically done on a monthly schedule, but with software and online banking, it i s can be finish on a weekly or even daily schedule. What I learn during this internshipI am a student who still thinking about my future career. This is a good opportunity for me to know accounting person and know more about how the accounting firm work. I learn some information from my coworker and the supervisor. 1. Future is Bright The future of accounting is bright according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics which projects a 16% increase in job openings by the year 2016. Much of this reflects the increasing complexity of corporate transactions, the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements after the Enron scandal and growth in government.Demand is especially high in the tax and health care areas. My supervisor share her own experience with me, Emily, who is a 27 year old woman, who finish her MBA in California state – Los Angeles, she tells me all the international student stay here after graduate are doing accounting related job. It seems it is the only way internation al student can survive in U. S if they study in business field. 2. Managerial Accounting Ideas is popular Many firms are focusing on activity-based management, process-view analysis, constraint checking and business process analysis as well.The world of management accounting is evolving rapidly and there is high demand for accountants who are knowledgeable about these trends 3. High degree necessary We can find the requirement for most accountant and auditor positions are at least a bachelor degree in accounting or a related field. As an MBA student especially a master degree in accounting, or with a master degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. We have advantage to apply accounting-related job. 4. Skill Requirements Becoming BroaderThere is high demand for individuals who have technical skills and good communication skill, and foreign language skills. Accountants are broadening as business globalizes. 5. CPA has highly valued A recent survey shows tha t over half of corporations which hire accountants feel that the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) important, however, in some case we can enter an accounting firm without completely the CPA. It means we still have chance and time to prepare for the test, never too late to prepare . My supervisor is a good example, she started to prepare her CPA after she start work in the KC Company. 6. High salaryThe median expected salary for a typical  Accountant I  in the  United States  is  $44,652; for a typical Accountant II is $53,588; for a typical Cost Accountant I is $46,874;for a typical Cost Accountant II is $58,020. ; for a typical Cost Accountant III is $70,574; for a typical Cost Accounting Supervisor is $65,861; for a typical Cost Accounting Supervisor II is $75,452. ; for a typical Accounting Manager is $84,437;for a typical Accounting Director is $127,660. 7. Start from a intern The supervisor suggests me start to apply the position in the company I want to begin my car eer and ask the intern position before I graduate.Thus, I will get more hired opportunity as a full time employee. Do be hesitant, start to apply! Conclusion My Internship is one of the most beneficial things I do during my MBA. I really enjoy the time in K. C. Company. During this internship I learned a lot about the profession and about how much hard work and dedication it takes to be a accountant. I know I am a person who sensitive with numbers but not detail-oriented. In order to become a successful accountant, I need to change the way I doing things. To be a more competitive person, I need to review all the account material I have learn during those year.Even though some people say it is not a good way to learn from the textbook, however I believe reading the textbook is the best way to review all the important concept in the limited time. The lecture and the text book can provide us solid background knowledge. I will try to apply the accountant position now, after I understand the future of accounting-related job and the personality to be a good accounting worker. I will start my career in accounting files after I graduate. Reference IRS website : http://www. irs. gov/uac 941 form http://www. irs. gov/pub/irs-pdf/i941. pdf

International Trade Theories Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Trade Theories - Assignment Example Therefore, in order to have a positive balance of trade the nations tried exporting to other countries and restricting imports as it negatively affected their balances and hence their wealth. According to the mercantilism theory, there was a fixed amount of money present in the world and in order for one country to have more money; it had to export to other. So, mercantilism refers to the concept of exporting more and importing less (â€Å"Classical Theories of International Trade†, n.d.). Absolute Advantage Toward the end of the century, economic growth was being hindered by mercantilist policies. Adam Smith in his book, The Wealth of Nations (1776) presented a response to mercantilism where he claimed that these policies granted the producers an advantage at the cost of a disadvantage to the consumers. Adam Smith’s theory did not regard imports as bad but rather mentioned imports as good because other countries may be making a particular good that is more appealing to the consumers therefore trade, imports as well as export, would be profitable and lead to better satisfaction for the consumers. This meant that countries that had an â€Å"absolute advantage† in producing a particular good would produce that good and export it while it would import a good that another nation has an â€Å"absolute advantage† in (Theory of International Trade, n.d.). ... The principle of comparative advantage has been described as that occurring as a result of specialization and the division of labor (Maneschi, 1998). According to the theory, due to technological or other factors some countries specialize in producing a particular good at a lower cost. This implies that such countries have a â€Å"comparative advantage† in producing a particular good and should therefore export these goods to other countries. The same country should only import those goods in which it does not specialize that is has a comparative disadvantage in due to the higher relative costs. However, the theory also assumes that countries try to maximize their production and consumption which is not true in the real world at times. Balance of Trade Balance of trade refers to a country’s payments and receipts which results from the transactions of its residents. In ideal conditions, the balance of the receipts and payments should be equal, which is the condition of a balanced trade. However, trade is not always balanced. The trade balance in some cases can even be a trade surplus and trade deficit. Trade surplus occurs when a country’s exports exceed their imports. Trade deficit occurs when a country’s imports are greater than its exports. Trade deficits are not necessarily bad as it depends upon the life cycle and the economy and therefore may assist the economy during expansion. However, during a recession, trade deficits may prove to be detrimental for the economy. Influence of Government Governments play a pivotal role in encouraging or restricting international trade. The policies set by the government impact trade unlike free trade where there is no government role in the economy. Governments provide barrier to trade by setting

Management - Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management - Change Management - Essay Example The restaurant’s menu is designed to meet all taste and the purchasing power of the customers. The company has been a global operator and its experience in the market and well-established services make the company market structure moral stable. From the large number of the customers who feed in the restaurant every day and well management of the funds the company financial situation is extremely stable. In order to meet the competition in the industry, Cafe de Coral Company has commenced planning, leading and implementing management changes needed to improve effectiveness and performance. Change Management Change management is never a choice between technologies, organizational or employee oriented solutions, but it involves combinations for best strategies designed to produce results. Hughes (2006, P. 180) indicates that the future scenarios are dynamic as they depend on the company’s abilities to manage them properly. According to Kam and Ming (2006, P. 217), the effe ctive and progressive management of change can assist in shaping a future that will better the enterprise’s survival prospects. The managers and companies operating in public or private will continue to be evaluated depending on their capability to manage change efficiently. Cafe de Coral Company has a larger global market place that has been made smaller due to the enhanced technologies and competition from abroad. Hughes (2006, P. 129) claim that Companies should note that planned change management is not impossible, but it is difficult. The significant point is that change management is an ongoing process, and it is incorrect to think that visionary Cafe de Coral Company can be reached in a highly programmed way. The growth of the company from the local operator to a global operator it shows the company is a different from what it was ten years ago. Kam and Ming (2006, P. 217) indicate that the company has developed strategies that have assisted in responding to competitiv e pressures so that it can transform the company. The Cafe de Coral Company has tried to manage and organize it human and technical resources in order to respond promptly to issues they encounter. The company has achieved the change of taste and preferences of client via harnessing the analytical skills and imagination of all company personnel to improve and introduce new products and services. Various factors have contributed to positive and negative changes in the Cafe de Coral Company. The significant change has transformed both internal and external situation of the company that was initiated due to the discomfort with the status quo. The change of Cafe de Coral led to changes in the internal organization and difficulty of operations in the company. The company noticed there was a gap between the set target and actual result in terms of market share and employee productivity. Therefore, there was a need for the company to reduce the gap and handle the forces of change. Adamson ( 2005, P.358) claim that the Cafe de Coral competitive strategy, and leadership shape has contributed a lot in the change of preference and the taste of the product and services. Meanwhile, the Cafe de Coral wanted to meet the employees’ needs and values that made them change their policies. For instance, it introduced attractive financial incentives that motivated employees and provided autonomy at work to attract and retain its effective employees.

Glaciation in Ohio and impacts of glaciation in Ohio Essay

Glaciation in Ohio and impacts of glaciation in Ohio - Essay Example The most important impact of glaciation is the materials that have been left behind by the sheets of ice. These materials includes particles of clay, sand, gravel and rock debris. Most of the materials that had been deposited both above and under the surface of water as a result of glaciation has resulted in formation of geographical features called eskers and kames (Peacefull, 1996). The numerous kames that are found in Portage and Summit counties are a result of deposition of glaciation materials in-between ice sheets that protruded southwards. Comparatively eskers are rare in Ohio although one may encounter eskers in Portage County. Another major impact of glaciation in Ohio is the formation of the glacial lakes. The deposits of these lakes were primarily constituted of fine clay and silt particles. Changes in the drainage pattern of Ohio is also a result of glaciation which disrupted the northwest flow of the River Teays and its tributaries which helped in the formation of Lake Tight in southern