Judaism religion and practices Essay

Judaism is a religion that is practiced mostly by the residents of the Jewish country, all followers of Judaism whether they are born in the Jewish country or not are called Jews. Judaism is the Jews monotheistic religion which traces its genesis to Abraham, its ethical and spiritual principles are engulfed mainly in the Talmud and the scriptures of the Hebrews. This religion is mostly characterized with the traditional rites and ceremonies of the Jewish people and religion. Its practices are also deeply rooted in the religious, social, and cultural practices of the Jewish people who consider themselves as one community or people (Steinberg, 1965). Judaism religion and practices Judaism is based on the premises of monotheism, the belief of a special covenant with the almighty God that makes the Jews to claim that they are the God’s chosen people. It is also based on the territorial and ethnic identity, whereby the territory of the Jews is known as the Promised Land. This religion has specific laws and practices. The origin of Judaism finds its roots either from the formulation of monotheism by Moses or God’s covenant with Abraham, the religion recognizes that the laws attributed to Moses incorporated the Pentateuch. However, the political part of Judaism is much related to King David, the king who had Judah as his capital and who planned the Jerusalem temple, which was later built by Solomon who was his son. During the period of the Jewish captivity in Babylon the Judaism religion was much consolidated, the Mosaic was also written during this period (Grabbe, 2000). The Jews believe that the difference between civil and divine law is not clear at all. They believe that the supreme power comes from God and thus the command of God is law, whether it is civil or religious. The Mosaic Law dates back to the 5th BC. This law was then interpreted by Midrash and the Talmud. The Talmud incorporates civil and religious laws that are not in the Torah as proper and thus goes ahead to explain them (Steinberg, 1965). The Jews firmly believe that they are the God’s chosen people who have the duty of shedding light to all other nations around the world. God made a covenant with the Jews through Abraham and later renewed the same covenant with Moses, Isaac and Jacob. The worship of Yahweh was mainly centralized in Jerusalem ever since the time of King David. The demolition of the 1st Jerusalem temple by the people of Babylon which was later followed by the Jews exile ushered in a new hope of national reinstallation under messiah leadership. The Persians later freed them from exile, but the rebellion failed against the Romans made the second temple to be destroyed and the subsequent dispersal of the Jews around the world (Grabbe, 2000). Judaism religion emerged to substitute the practices and beliefs linked with the Jerusalem temple, this was mainly because the Jews carried with them their religion and culture through their strict observance and via a scholarship of tradition. The greatest part of the commentaries and oral law were written down by the Mishna and Talmud. Judaism religion continued despite that it experienced very harsh persecutions by several nations around the world (Steinberg, 1965). The Judaism religion regards itself as a widespread religion; this is due to the fact that it views is laws to be appropriate for all mankind. It has a distinction between the non Jews and the Jews. The traditional Judaism requires all the Jews to follow all the commandments found in the Bible. On the other hand the non Jews should only follow seven laws out of the six hundred and thirteen laws. These seven laws demand that everyone whether a Jew or a non Jew to believe in only one God, they forbid murder, blasphemy, sexual immorality and theft. They also prevent anyone from feeding on a living creature’s limb. The seven laws also mandate the setting up of law courts. The Jews believe that, a non Jew who follows all the seven laws to be righteous, and is therefore, just like a Jew who follows all the six hundred and thirteen laws that are upon him (Fine, 2001). The fundamental orientation of Judaism is practical. It has no body of doctrine that is officially recognized, but it has various beliefs that are quite essential to all the Jews. The Jewish belief is rooted in the Jewish law and not in any systematic Theology. The issue about punishment and reward in life after death is a new development in this religion. Pre occupation and asceticism with life after death are discouraged. Redemption is obtained via good conduct and not through faith. Judaism believes that everyone has a duty to contribute towards perfecting this world (Steinberg, 1965). The practice of this religion of Judaism has never been restricted to only the people who were born of the Jewish community. However, the attitudes towards one being converted to Judaism have varied significantly in various localities and periods. It has always been doable for the non Jews to join Judaism. In fact, some of the greatest individuals of Judaism were either people who had been converted into Judaism or their descendants. A good example is King David; he was one of Ruth’s descendants. Since people hood and religion are quite inseparable in the religion of Judaism, acceptance of the beliefs of Judaism makes one to eventually become one of the Jewish people (Grabbe, 2000). Judaism emphasizes that each and every Jew should be responsible for the other and they should therefore live like one big community, this has made the Jews to develop a great sense of unity. No Jew should look at another Jew nonchalantly when he or she is suffering. They are required to do all that is possible to make sure that they alleviate such Jews from the suffering they are going through. Hebrew does not have charity, but it uses tsedakah which means justice. It means that it is only proper and just for those Jews who are blessed with more to share them with the less fortunate Jews in the society. The Jews mutual responsibility for each other stretches to include even violation of law cases: if a Jew finds another Jew violating the law, he or she is supposed to rebuke the Jew who is violating the law (Fine, 2001). Judaism religion also emphasizes on the need to elevate profane to the holiness state. Thus, most of what would have been considered ordinary includes ritual components which are intended to sanctify. For example, while eating there has to be benedictions before starting to eat the food and after eating it. This makes the table to be similar to the altar. Judaism has a lot of laws which are meant to regulate the daily life of the Jews; the aim of this regulation is to modify the actions of man into God’s service. Judaism also regards the restrictions of Torah myriad upon the conduct of a Jew as ones that elevates him. It views the uncontrolled expression of mankind’s appetite similar to that of the animals and the control measures placed upon mankind serves him by raising him higher. Thus, before a Jew eats any food, he has to first consider whether the food in question meets all the dietary law requirements. If it fails in any then he cannot proceed to eat it as he will consider doing so as violating the law (Fine, 2001). Asceticism is not considered as a virtue in Judaism. The Midrash provides that when everyone accounts for herself or him self following his or her death, such a person has to account for all the allowed pleasures of the world which he restricted himself from doing while on earth (Grabbe, 2000). Conclusion Judaism religion is mainly found in among the people of the Jewish nation but has never been restricted among these people only as it also accepts people from other origins to join them and thus practice the doctrines of the religion. The Jews, who are the members of Judaism, consider themselves to be the people who have been chosen by God and thus all other tribes in the world should follow them. The laws of the Jews, according to Judaism are applicable in all circumstances to all nations around the world which makes the Jews to claim that their religion is universal. Reference: Fine, L. (2001): Judaism in practice: from the middle Ages through the early modern period; ISBN 0691057877, Princeton University Press. Grabbe, L. L. (2000): Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period: Belief and Practice from the Exile to Yavneh; ISBN 0415212502, Routledge. Steinberg, M. (1965): Basic Judaism; ISBN 0156106981, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.

Use of Real Options Theory in Financial Management/Modeling

At a previous employment environment, the president of the corporation acted on a whim, rather than, conducting a series of testing for his expansion to go into other businesses ventures. Within a few short months, the plan was abandoned for lack of profitability. As an employee, I thought of this as a failure on the owner’s part. However, the Real Options Theory is basically, weighing the outcome for expansion or acquisition utilizing capital investments for future ventures. Consider Real Option theory as a method to remove some of the risk in capital investments. Helpful assistance and decision making can be derived using such charts as the Decision Tree. The decision can be extremely tiresome. Use of Real Options Theory in Financial Management/Modeling Long past are the days, where a company can sit idling waiting for an idea, because while waiting someone else is making the move. The benefits that an older company may experience through experience may not fit into today’s society of technological changes. However, the risk of a company that has existed over 50 years, can they lose to new companies that evolve because of revolutionary changes in the ability to change the course of history. Creating valuable service for consumers and bringing a product or service to market, must be planned to meet the expectations of stockholder profits. Consider the comparison of social networking sites, Myspace and Facebook. Both are considered to be rapidly growing and competitive to increasing in membership. However, rapidly increase the popularity of Facebook and exceeded the expectations within the social network environment. The billion dollar corporation enters the market with more appeal to younger consumer, as well as a variety of other industries. Facebook provided more appeal by allowing the markets to meet the consumer where they were located, rather than wait on the consumer to come to them. As financial managers in the corporate environment decide which project is beneficial to stock holders’, returns on investment, and which should be abandoned or expanded, risk can become a certainty in the outcome. The risk of capital investment in the attempt to take on future debts just because they have a hunch that the business will be a success. The amount of time to construct a business model would save enormous amounts of money before taking on the future project. Gathering data of the competitive market and using past financial accounting statements will be useful, however, with new projects, there will be limitations, but estimation of the percentage values can be constructed. Strategic budgeting and capital investment planning decisions to expand into the future profitability of a company can be agonizing if not properly planned by financial managers. The assets, in addition to capital and distribution, change over long periods of time according to the supply and demand of the consumer markets. The net present value (NPV) of what is available, as far as Return on Assets and the Return on Investment (ROI). Cost projection into buying new equipment, inventory over the long run rather than a short period. Capital resources and budgets are the topics as it relates to using the Real Options Theory in Financial Management Modeling. Financial managers can utilize the Real Options Theory as a series of practical solutions to foresee into the future over several years. New products and the amount of capital to invest as well as the funding needed to make an expansion or either to realize that the project would not work. Theoretically, it is very simple and that many companies would utilize this theory. However, the recap or history of business failures is not seen in the futility of business success. The numbers may not lie. All systems may say go full steam ahead with the plans for expansion; however, there is a business cycle which will prove the business model incorrect. According to Rothbard, (2005), expectation in business fluctuations all the time. There is no need for any special â€Å"cycle theory† to account for them. It is simply the results of changes in economic data and is fully explained by economic theory. Many economists, however, attribute general business depression to â€Å"weaknesses† caused by a â€Å"depression in building† or a â€Å"farm depression. † But declines in specific industries can never ignite a general depression. Shifts in data will cause increases in activity in one field, declines in another. There is nothing here to account for a general business depression — a phenomenon of the true â€Å"business cycle. † It is pointless to say, as many people do, that a farm depression will ignite a general depression, because farmers will buy less goods, the people in industries selling to farmers will buy less, etc. This ignores the fact that people producing the other goods now favored by consumers will prosper; their demands will increase. (2005, pp. 6) Both the entrepreneur and large corporations have ideas to expand into new market. The main goal is company profits, either with or without expansion. Business expansion into other industries or international territories with current business. However great the idea may seem at the Real Options application of theory will conclude how fallible an idea with be in implementation. Payback period, cash flows and internal rate of return, as well as long term debt financing are the foundation of provision for utilizing the real options theory. Major growth will not derive from duplication of products that are already in the market place, but to begin with creating superior quality and improvements. Such as Facebook found a better way for people to communicate over the internet. Before Myspace, there were such things as electronic mail. Facebook, the ability to socialize as well as form groups, and fan pages begin with meager begins on a college campus. However, did the owner plan for this growth or was it happenstance. How does the work into the corporate structure for a welding company or maybe a warehouse which manufactures auto parts? Examining the stream of information within the forums, research and development addressed. According to Ketchen et al, (2007), â€Å"entrepreneurship refers to firms' pursuit of superior performance via simultaneous opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking activities. Both small and large firms face impediments while pursuing strategic entrepreneurship† (2007, p. 71)In other words, rather an entrepreneur or fortune 500 company, Real Options Theory, should be the focus to starting a new business, taking on expansion or abandoning projects. The only difference will be in the amount of capital investments. Kretchen et al, continues to state, Ketchen, et al, (2007), While small firms' opportunity-seeking skills may be strong, their limited knowledge stocks and lack of market power inhibit their ability to enact the competitive advantages necessary to an appropriate value from opportunities the firms choose to pursue. In contrast, large firms are skilled at establishing ompetitive advantages, but their heavy emphasis on the efficiency of their existing businesses often undermines their ability to continuously explore for additional opportunities. (2007, p. 371) There are many three components in which company financial manager should be interested in the expected return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and debt ratio. Finally, another method of expansion can be with the acquisition of new business that is in operation. As stated by Stefano, Reality is that buyers must have capital available to be competitive in acqu isition negotiations. Accumulating capital may be as simple as retaining earnings in the agency instead of distributing those earnings, which is the equivalent of creating a war chest. The other option is to have a line of credit available from a financial institution. Banks are much more willing to offer financing for acquisitions than in years past. Today many banks are in the insurance business and got there through acquisitions. Insurers are also very supportive of the acquisition process and will uncover acquisition prospects because they like to see their successful agencies growing. Stefano, 2005) As explained by Childs et al, (Sep. , 1998), summarizes several calculation in deductive and calculated reasoning for financial managerial modeling and utilizing the Real Options Theory. They state, â€Å"consider a firm that has the opportunity to invest in two projects (a and b). Investment in each project takes place in two stages: The firm can invest in C1 R (I = a, b) to develop a project, which res olves uncertainty regarding the project’s future profitability; it can then make a further investment of K1, (i= a, b) to implement a project. 1998, p. 308). It is clearly mentions by Childs et al, the â€Å"NPV framework for making capital investment decisions has been extended to recognize the dynamic nature of investment decisions† (Childs, p. 305) According to Miller who goes into greater details of the formulation of providing computations to make a decision, it basically states if one project NPV is greater than 0, then it would be wise to invest in the project or product. Screenshot, (2005, p. 7) Summary Companies can no longer hesitate to make a business decision. However, ecisions that are not planned out utilizing capital assets can also cause undue hardship. It is no longer the large Fortune 500 companies designing the most innovative products and services, but also it can be the small entrepreneur with a grand idea. The markets no longer persuaded by familiar names, but can be mesmerized by new names such as Facebook. Methodology and theoretical planning and measurements can be experimenting with resourceful application s as Real Options Theory. By carefully measuring the logistics of one or more projects and committing or abandoning them all.

American Psycho Review

Psycho is a cult movie based on the much controversial novel by Brett Gaston Ellis. Directed by Mary Harrow, it is a dark comedy and a clever satire of America in the 1 us that artfully connects conformity, materialism, misogyny, narcissism, classicism and superficiality. If you are a movie connoisseur and enjoy well directed stories, you should definitely not miss American Psycho. But this movie Is a bit difficult to assimilate as it is hard on your guts and your mind due to the obvious violence and gore, it is not for everyone, but definitely Is a work of art!The opening reedits are very artsy and one of the finest examples of cinematography Eve ever seen. The cranberry Juice Is very easily mistaken as drops of blood falling which Is a very subtle Imagery evoking sinister abstractions. The attention to detail Is almost Impeccable, from the dressing styles, the music culture, architecture, gadgets, the landscape, Interior decorations & design, to the movie texture. There Is a deep c haracter study of Patrick Bateman, who Is a suave yuppie working at Wall Street. This wealthy 27 year old working as Vice President in Pierce & Pierce becomes a psycho killer by evening.The character is portrayed by the flamboyant welsh actor Christian Bale whose performance was nothing less than chilling and sensational. Bale did a great job to bring out the split personality of Bateman. Bateman has many unusual traits. He is an attention-to-detail freak. During his elaborate morning routine, he even mentions why he doesn't use aftershave with little or no alcohol. Why? â€Å"Because alcohol makes your skin dry and makes you look older†. He is the epitome of narcissism which is why he HAS to look good and have the perfect body. He even video tapes his sexual escapades.His laconic manner of dialogues goes to suggest typical psychopathic behavior. There is a sever diversification and identity crisis depicted in the movie where Bateman desperately tries to stand out. Bateman wa s easily mistaken to be Halberds because they wore the same suits and went to the same salons. Another hilarious moment was when they were comparing their business cards and all of them were Vice presidents of the same firm! You know you are a Patrick Bateman when you are on the verge of murdering the other person if their business card is better than yours.Bateman dines at the nines of restaurants, wears only designer clothes, lives in an uptown Manhattan apartment overlooking the American gardens, goes to the best spas and tanning booths, gets off on cocaine and if these aren't enough to fill his hollowness, he resorts eating cooked brains of random strangers. He Is absolutely devoid of human emotions, those other than lust, greed and disgust. He kills his associate Paul Allen because Paul could get a reservation at some fancy restaurant and he couldn't! There are some disturbing scenes where he commits grisly murders of his friend Elizabeth, homeless person and his dog out of she er boredom.As the story unfolds, his blood thirst becomes more acute and he rampantly kills people In order to get noticed. This is when he starts to lose grip on reality and things become more surreal which suggests that the killings were in his head. There are many junctures in the movie where this is almost evident, for example the ATM machine read â€Å"Feed me a stray cat† and Bateman tried to insert the cat forcefully through the slot. By the end of the to convey? † Also did or did not Bateman kill all those people. But it is not a real story, he killings are clearly metaphorical.It mocks an era where women treated like garbage; people resorted to conformity & materialism and where the well-off folks were ‘busy listening to annoying music, getting high, eating gourmet meals and talking big. It has a subtle philosophical tangent too, it is not that life is pointless and therefore Bateman does evil, but instead that he does evil to prove (to himself) that life is pointless and his actions have no ramifications. Hence a society without a moral compass makes the environment congenial for psychopaths like Bateman to be born.

Four Types of Informative Speeches Essay

The last part of chapter 14 is a bit confusing as it attempts to categorize the different approaches to Informative Speaking. For our purposes, we will assign Informative Speeches to the following four (4) types, and this is to REPLACE pages 337-344. Use these, and NOT the ones in the text, to guide you in the development of the Informative Speech. 4 Types of Informative Speeches 1) Descriptive – in the most general sense, you are trying to get the audience to experience something through you. There are 2 approaches to do this: a) the â€Å"real† speech- this is the description of a real, tangible, and physical that is so vivid and precise that the audience can picture it in their mind. The subject could be a place, an object, a person, etc and is described so clearly that the audience can accurately visualize it. b) The â€Å"mood† speech- this is where you attempt to convey just how a particular emotion or feeling feels; and the successful mood speech has the audience actually experiencing that emotional state. For instance, when answering the question â€Å"How does it feel when you are depressed?† the speaker does not simply list other synonymous labels for depression such as ‘down’, ‘bummed’, ‘low’, but focuses instead upon the physiological ( weak, listless), mental (slower thinking, confusion), psychological( joyless, hating self), social( rejected, friendless) aspects. A good contemporary example is the TV ad about ADHD that likens this condition to trying to watch TV with the channels changing every second while showing a rapidly changing TV in the background. Mood speeches are difficult to maintain and develop as the entire speech, and are used many times as a segment of a â€Å"report† speech on that topic. 2) Report – the Report speech is a vastly different speech from the mood speech in that it deals with hard facts and precise data in a very analytical way. It also can be used in a myriad of ways: the life cycle of a flea, a biography of a person, a report giving information about a culture, country, religion, event, medical condition, etc. Even topics of some controversy can be informative in this category: compare/contrast prescription & generic drugs, the legal history of Roe v. Wade, pros/cons of legalizing prostitution/pot/gambling; school uniforms. The over-riding goal here is to remain fair and objective, the audience should not be able to tell what the speaker’s personal position on the topic happens to be. It is unethical to hide a persuasive agenda under the auspices of an Informative speech, so avoid â€Å"I want to inform you why prostitution should be legal† and/or â€Å"†¦so you can see that since the ‘pros’ greatly outweigh the ‘cons’ we should do this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or to limit the discussion to only the ‘pros’ (or ‘cons’) without fairly and honestly including the ‘cons’ (or ‘pros’). 3) Explanation- the speech of Explanation defines a process. This is NOT a â€Å"how to† speech; it explains how and/or why some process occurs. This is very much like a tour guide at the mint telling their group how coins are made. This is a more intellectual approach to a process- how diamonds are formed, how the AIDS virus invades T-helper cells, how wood becomes petrified, the water cycle, photosynthesis, how microwaves cook food, any surgical procedure, how the brain stores memories, how viruses infect computers, what makes a curveball curve- the list is endless. Think of all the processes you understand, any of them have the potential to be a good explanation speech. 4) Instruction – this IS the traditional â€Å"How to† speech, and this is where the process is actually performed, or we are taught how to do it. This has a ‘hands-on’ feel to it: how to write a good resume, how to save money/gas/time, how to pack for a vacation, how to debug your computer, how to throw a curveball. Sometimes the process can easily be demonstrated within the time limits of a speech; other processes my take longer than the allotted time. If that is the case, then have the successive steps/stages pre-done so you can move easily form one to the next. The audience really doesn’t need to watch you slice six carrots for a salad instead have all of them pre-sliced and just demonstrate a few cuts and then move on, nor do we need to wait until the paint dries. Take a hint from the professionals that do the hobby/craft/cooking shows on TV, a bit of careful planning beforehand can result in a polished presentation of even a very complex process. These are the categories of Informative Speaking. You do not have to stay within just one type, they can be combined as you see fit. For example, in speech that is primarily Explanation, there may be a section where you need to Describe what something looks like and there may be some elements of Report if you discuss the history of it. There is an easy way to consolidate the points of the text with these 4 types of informative speeches. Think of the categories listed in the text as general topic areas from which an Informative Speech topic could be found. Once a topic has been selected, then its development can be guided and focused by the 4 types of informative speeches. For example, one might choose to do a speech about a person (Salvador Dali); it could be Descriptive (describing his physical attributes) or a Report (a biographical speech about his life) or an Explanation (how he created his works) or even some combination of these. The topic is, in all of these cases, ‘a person’ but it has the potential for different types of development; all leading to very different types of speeches. INFORMATIVE SPEAKING TOPICTYPES of AREASSPEECHES PeopleDescriptive Objects real Places mood EventsReport ProcessesExplanation ConceptsInstruction Conditions Issues

Country and Rap Music Essay

The types of music that people listen to are very diverse. Country and rap music are just two of these types of music and the composition of audience that listen to these types greatly vary. The primary reason is that country music is commonly identified with white people who live in the countryside while rap music is commonly associated with black people living in urban cities. For the most part, rap music is relatively a new type of music as compared to country music which, as a result, makes it more appealing to the younger generation. The older generation, on the other hand, are more inclined to listen to the type of music that grew up with, especially country music. One of the unique features of rap music is the way in which the lyrics are vocalized. The sound of rap music usually involves the rhythmic speaking of rhyming lyrics dubbed with the so-called â€Å"beats†. The beats are usually created separately through the use of percussions and other synthesizers. On the other hand, country music usually involves distinct guitar picking patterns with a slightly â€Å"blues† feel. More often than not, country songs involve the use of acoustic guitars although there are instances when the electric guitars are also used in certain parts of the song. The way in which the lyrics are sung is melodic, aptly cohering with the chord pattern of the song. Most country songs are easy to listen to since country music is less of the aggressive type, so to speak. These songs usually tell the story of the country life where the days are reminiscent of the outdoor life close to nature. There are also times when country songs express the love affairs of individuals. But unlike other forms of music, country music is â€Å"a more gentle approach to putting emotions† into music, in a manner of speaking (Lewis, p. 44). Rap music, on the other hand, usually expresses the experiences of an individual in the suburban or urban areas. Most of rap songs commonly involve the narration of how a young black American has to survive and rise to meet the challenges of surviving in a cruel society. These songs also have become stereotyped as the music of young people with a rebellious attitude who are part of violent gangsters in local neighborhoods. Thus, it is not hard to identify rap music as an aggressive type of music. Because of the wide generation gap between the time when either one of the two gain much prominence, there is likewise a great deal of difference between rap and country music in terms of its audience or followers. Rap music, being a relatively new type of music emerging and gaining prominence only in the later part of the 80s—with the exception of the theory that the origins of rap being traced as far back as the time when African-American slaves were chanting rhymes while doing work—the composition of its audience can also be said as younger (Sullivan, p. 613). On the other hand, country music has been around long before the birth of rap music. That being said, a large part of the those who listen to country music belong to the older generation although, of course, it can also be said that there are also young people who listen to country music. Not surprisingly, a portion of those who listen to country music may likewise be composed of those who live in the countryside since they can easily relate to the messages behind each country song. The same can also be said about rap music; those who live in more urban areas have the tendency to lend their ears to rap songs as they can easily relate to the message of most rap songs. For example, the rap songs of the artist â€Å"50 cent† may appeal more to younger people who reside in cities and other urban areas whereas the country songs of Johnny Cash may appeal more to older people who live in the countryside. However, these comparisons do not necessarily mean that there are no countryside people who listen to the rap songs of 50 cent or that there are no urban people who listen to the country songs of Johnny Cash. The point is that it is more likely for urban people to easily associate themselves with the songs of rap artists whereas it is more likely for countryside people to easily relate themselves to the songs of country artists. Rapping can also be done without the accompaniment of any musical instrument. It can even be done in simple impromptu gatherings in common places such as in local streets in the neighborhood. As for country music singing, it is difficult to say if a song is sung in a country music style without the accompaniment of musical instruments such as guitars. At the least, a singer would have to need a guitar in order to sing a country song or to make the song sound â€Å"country† in a recognizable way. In more recent times, rap music has been gaining a steady stream of following from the public with the increasing prominence of several rap artists. Country music, on the other hand, has been kept alive by several younger artists although the likes of Johnny Cash and his generation of country musicians have kept a steady support from the public listeners through the years. If there is one similarity between the two distinct musical genres, it has to be the fact that both country and rap have become cultures on their own. Rap music has become a culture tat has been embraced by individuals which, as a matter of fact, has even resulted to certain divisions among its musicians—the so-called East and West sides. Likewise, country music has created its own sense of culture manifested in the rural areas. Works Cited Lewis, George H. â€Å"The Creation of Popular Music: A Comparison of the ‘Art Worlds’ Of American Country Music and British Punk. † International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 19. 1 (1988): 35-51. Sullivan, Rachel E. â€Å"Rap and Race: It’s Got a Nice Beat, but What about the Message? † Journal of Black Studies 33. 5 (2003): 605-22.

Case Study - Employment Law - Employment Discrimination Case Essay - 1

Case Study - Employment Law - Employment Discrimination Case - Essay Example They had both commented negatively towards him and it was evident that they were out to terminate his job and contract. Staub had earlier been made to check with his employer any time he left the job premises after false allegation that he had left the place of work. After some months, one of the supervisors maliciously reported Staub to the vice president for leaving the work area. This was followed by a discontinuation from his work by the vice president. The evidence given made the jury to rule in the favor of the complainant but some time later the federal court reversed the ruling. In the ruling, the judges claimed that the decision made by the vice president was not solely dependent on the information given by the supervisors. This therefore ruled him out of the discrimination case. Therefore, the Court of Appeal concluded that the company was not liable. This ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court on the basis that the employer remains liable if the decision made is motivated by a discrimination bias. According to Guerin (2011), this ruling was therefore in favor of Staub and that served as a great motivation to employees going through the same. This Act is therefore important in safeguarding the rights of employees against discriminatory supervisors. Guerin, L. (2011). Supreme Court victory for employees in discrimination case. Nolo’s Employment Law Blog. Retrieved from

Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 25

Letter - Essay Example It is my strong belief that many customers are constrained by the credit limit you set for new customers in your bank. As a result many opt to switch to banks whose limitations are well within their acceptable standards. To the contrary, I have a strong belief in the flexibility of the management and capability to adjust policies to suit the needs of customers. My main reason for asking for the policy revision lies on the fact that my job entails a lot of travelling. Because of this it is difficult to do the billings of vital liabilities physically. Thus I have to maximize the use of my credit card so as to clear those bills. Next week I will be attending a seminar out of the country and in such situations, I will be reliant on the credit payments. Just for assurance, I have been a loyal customer, though for a short time, whose been clearing all due credit on time. I would appreciate it if you took my request into consideration and contacted me for any considerations of adjusting the credit