Project Management Sydney Water Company

Introduction The essay is a case study analysis for project management of Sydney Water Company. The company decided to develop a project that would improve its customer services.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management: Sydney Water Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first section entails the pre-contract planning, business and functional requirements. The second part highlights the tracking of the project against the business case. The third part is on project planning and key milestones. The final part is a table on PMBOK knowledge areas. Pre-contract Planning, Business Requirements and Functional Requirements With regard to pre-contract planning. Sydney Water unveiled the importance of the Customer Information Billing System (CIBS) project to its operations. The project would make the customer services better, supplement the existing information systems and provide efficiency in business. This is how important the CIBS project would have been to the organization. The company did not carry out sufficient planning and specifications regarding the project. This later on resulted to numerous requests for changes and eventually led to colossus extra costs and delays. Prior to getting into the contract with Price Water Coopers, a competent project team should have been set up to do the work. This should have comprised of one member with intimate knowledge in the subject of the project. However, the selected team lacked competencies in handling the work meaning there were no proper mechanisms put in place to select a capable team to do the work. Although Sydney Water realized the significance of a business improvement process, it resorted to the utilization of a computer system during the project. The project was not implemented via a company information technology.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper w ith 15% OFF Learn More After coming up with the project, they realized that the computer architecture of the CIBS project was incompatible. Consequently, a functional requirement was not met. It was a business requirement for the company to continue with a project requirement that was integrated. However, this did not materialize. Although testing was a functional requirement, it really delayed and was not done adequately. Relevant documentation was not provided by Sydney Water which made it difficult to have a full access to the selection of a contractor. Nonetheless, apparently, Sydney Water was able to select and evaluate the contractor in a thorough manner. The administration of the contract was inadequate resulting to single variation to the contract leading to a transfer or roles and risks to Sydney Water from Price Water Coopers. Some business requirements were not available for the project. These include important contingencies, hard ware and soft ware that were not included in the initial budget. Besides, from the start of the project, there were unclear procedures on how the project was to be reported to the board of directors. The information given was not clear enough to make the board of directors make a decision or assess the position of the project. Such insufficiency made the board not to be fully informed regarding important aspects and risks pertaining to the project. Management of risks is a very important aspect in any business venture, and more so, in a business project. It is a critical business requirement prior to beginning any project. This is because every project or business is always susceptible to risks. It was therefore a requirement for the project team to identify main risks to the project and come up with sufficient mechanisms of managing the risks.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management: Sydney Water Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn M ore Nonetheless, it did not happen by both the company and the project team. The culture of this organization reveals that all project risks have to be transferred to the contractor when outsourcing of the organization’s key projects. The Tracking of the project against the Business Case A business case is a document whose purpose is to provide the project’s baseline by elaborating the benefits of the business as a result of the project (Gregory, 2009, p. 138). Apparently, there was no support of the CIBS project from a strong business case. The company did not provide a version of the business case that had been endorsed by the board of directors. Even though it was an obvious fact that costs were escalating and benefits were reducing in the course of the project duration, the board never asked for the preparation of a revised business case. The board had the mandate of overseeing the project including making some directions for the business case to be revised. Howe ver, the board did not direct the GM-Finance to do a review on the business case of the project and to be responsive on the project’s fiscal matters. The evidence of choosing CIBS project over other alternatives was not adequate. For instance, there was a discrepancy between the cost of upgrading the existing system in comparison to the budgeted cost of the CIBS project. There are changes that were made on the contingency cost by both the DMR and the board. The business case was not revised accordingly to reflect these changes. This was in spite of prompts from several parties alluding to the revision. For example, in 2001, after the DMR findings, the GM – customer services realized the necessity to make some revision on the business case.Advertising Looking for essay on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The director of Sydney Water project made inquiries with respect to the duration required to complete the project and a budget that the board could accept. Within the same year (2002), the internal audit suggested a formal revision of the business case. This was a reflection of the project management’s belief that what really mattered was the successful implementation of the remedy and that costs were flexible. For example, the recommendations to access the business case from the internal audit to the Sydney Water management were embraced and addressed after six months. This did not materialize and the management reported that it was more concerned with the positive results from the project. An increase in costs seems to have been accompanied by a reduction in benefits during the time the project has been in progress. At almost the close of the project, there were ninety people from the CSD performing several duties on CIBS. This required adoption of several strategies for ma intaining business services. These would include outsourcing functions, hiring staff temporarily and beginning business improvements. The extent at which staff reduced due to CIBS was less in comparison to the benefit outlined in the business case. After a multiple revisions on the R3 benefits realization, still the stakeholders failed to approve it. There were some areas of benefit that varied from the initial business case. These include for instance, e-commerce, closure of some offices and ownership changes. One of the views held by the Sydney Water people was that in the public sector, it was possible for projects of this nature and size to not only go over budget, but to also delay. This could be one of the reasons behind not updating the business case. Project planning This is a task that should be done by the steering committee. Their role should be to assess the feasibility of the project, develop the project’s business plan and take responsibility regarding the proje ct outcomes. The steering committee also ensures that there is an alignment between the scope of the project and what the stakeholders require. The scope of the project is supposed to be defined by the business plan of the project which should be owned by the steering committee. In the project undertaken by the Sydney Waters, this was not adequately captured. This is due to the absence of the steering committee to devise a business plan which should outline the project scope. Second, the CIBS project manager did not come up with a specific Project Execution Plan which should have outlined the responsibilities of the project team. The project manager should plan for the project effectively by forming sub-projects to help in the delivery of the project. This took place since the CIBS project was sub-divided into three: release 1 release 2 and release 3. Third, effective project planning requires the presence of a competent project team. The team should work according to what has been laid down in the Project Execution Plan. Representatives from different units affected by said the project should be part of the project team. The team should also comprise of members with requisite skills. The project team for the CIBS project did not have all the required skills to handle the job meaning that there was no plan in place regarding the selection of the members of the team and their specific qualifications. These skills should be part of the process of project planning. The Sydney Water project fell under the customer services division. However, this division did not have a clear channel of communication with the project team. Also, during the project planning in 2000, input was not sought from Sydney Water by PWC. Moreover, due to the dissatisfaction by PWC’s general project plan, Sydney Waters insisted on improvements. This negatively affected the project success. Thus, there was inadequate project planning in this respect. Key Milestones A milestone is a mar k of progress that indicates when important points in a project have been attained. Milestones are embedded within the project’s time frame and show the important path towards the ultimate output. It is the end of a certain stage that shows a work package or phase has been completed. It is often marked by a high profile review meeting, endorsing of some documents and a completion event. There are several aspects in the CIBS project that point to the way in which the management of the project milestones was conducted. The CIBS project was mainly subdivided into three phases: release 1 (R1), release 2 (R2) and release 3 (R3). R1 and R2 were fully implemented even though R2 was not fully functional. R1 had been scheduled to be completed in August 2000 but it took longer than this. The implementation date for R2 was also changed due to technical issues and phased roll out. Implementation of R3 was also delayed from March – September 2002. This was due to requests for chang e in closure of price negotiations. All these delays were due to inadequate project planning and specifications Another key milestone in the CIBS project was the testing of the solution. It ended up taking a longer time than was anticipated. This made the project to take longer than was planned. Testing also produced numerous errors. Correction of errors took longer than expected because changes were to be sent to the STS in the UK and the feedback was not immediate. The management ought to have known this in advance and use another system that would be in line with the project’s time frame. PMBOK Knowledge Areas Process Group Section Evident Not Evident Comments Initiating Develop Project Charter Develop Preliminary Project Scope Statement X Not comprehensive Planning Develop Project Plan/Execution Plan X Reported to be included in 101 page report Scope Planning X Evident though not comprehensive Scope Definition X Unclear Activity Definition X Project was consumer oriented Activity Sequencing X R1, R2, R3 and testing of solution Activity Duration Estimating X 2 years though aims not achieved Schedule Development X Not comprehensive leading to delays Cost Estimating X Changed (increased) Cost Budgeting X Was increased Quality Planning X Incompetent project team Human Resource Planning X Inadequate due to selection of inadequate project team Communication planning X Poor communication between customer services project team Risk Management Planning X Many changes delays leading to project termination Risk Identification X Ineffective at all levels Qualitative/ Quantitative Analysis X Not adequate due to many changes that occurred Risk Response planning X Ineffective at corporate project levels Purchases and Acquisitions planning X Shown by differences in original and final budget Contracting planning X Evaluation selection without relevant documentation Executing Direct a nd Manage Project Plan/Execution Plan Execution X Sub-projects unveiled: R1, R2 R3 Quality Assurance X Presence of review reports Project Team development X Not skilled in the first place Information Distribution X Very poor Solicitation X Not evident Source Selection X Not clear Contract Administration X ineffective Controlling Integrated Change Control X lacking Scope Verification X Not evident Scope Change Control X lacking Cost Control X Lacking due to budgetary variations Quality Control X Not evident Performance Reporting X Evident Risk monitoring Control X Not done Closing Administrative Closure X inadequate Contract Closeout X At termination Reference Gregory, P.H., 2009. CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor All-in-One Exam Guide. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional. This essay on Project Management: Sydney Water Company was written and submitted by user Delaney U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Leonardo Fibonacci essays

Leonardo Fibonacci essays Leonardo Fibonacci was born in Pisa, Italy around 1175 to Guilielmo Bonacci. Leonardos father was the secretary of the Republic of Pisa and directed the Pisan trading colony. His father intended on Leonardo becoming a merchant. His father enlisted him in the Pisan Republic, sending him to various countries. As Leonardo continued to travel with his father, he acquired mathematical skills while in Bugia. Fibonacci continued to study throughout his travels, which ended around the year 1200. Leonardo began writing books on number theory, practical problems of business mathematics, surveying, advanced problems in algebra and recreational mathematics. Leonardos recreational problems became known as story problems and became mental challenges in the 13th century. Of all the books he wrote we still have copies of Liber abbaci (1202), Practica geometriae (1220), Flos (1225), and Liber Quadratorum. Sadly his books on commercial arithmetic Di minor guisa is lost as well as his commentary on Book X Euclids Elements. One of Leonardos contributions to mathematics was his introducing the Decimal Number system into Europe. He was one of the first people to introduce the Hindus of those problems are, A spider climbs so many feet up a wall each day and slips back a fixed number each night, how many days does it take him to climb the wall. These problems became quite popular. Another accomplishment was his forming the Fibonacci Series. It is a series of number in which each member is the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, a series beginning 0, 1 ... continues as 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and so forth. The exact period of this discovery is not known. Leonardo was a bright man, but left mu ...

King Surname Meaning and Origin

King Surname Meaning and Origin King generally comes from the Old English cyning, originally meaning tribal leader. This nickname was commonly bestowed on a man who carried himself like royalty, or who played the part of the king in a medieval pageant. Occasionally, the King surname was used by a man who served in a royal household. King is the 35th most popular surname in the United States and the 36th most common surname in England. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: KINGE Famous People with the KING Surname: Dr. Martin Luther King - American civil rights leaderStephen King - popular American author, best known for his horror booksB.B. King - American blues guitar legend Genealogy Resources for the Surname KING: 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? King Genealogy of Colonial VirginiaA Web site dedicated to using DNA to prove/disprove that the parents of Thomas King (1714-1798) of Louisa County, Va. were William Alfred King (1685-1779) and Sophia Burgess of Stafford County, Va. King Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the King surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own King query. FamilySearch - KING GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the King surname and its variations. KING Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the King surname. Cousin Connect - KING Genealogy QueriesRead or post genealogy queries for the surname King, and sign up for free notification when new King queries are added. DistantCousin.com - KING Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name King. - References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Darwinism vs creationism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Darwinism vs creationism - Research Paper Example Darwinism focuses primarily on science and is explained through scientific methodology (Witham, 2002). Additionally, biological evolution focuses intently on changes existent in living organisms during their life span. The biological theory explains comprehensively that living organisms share common ancestry and in the fullness of time, evolutionary alterations result in the development of new species. On the other hand, the creationism theory focuses primarily on the notions of creation science. The theory derives from the conviction of a vast majority of Abrahemic religions, which poise that God created the universe, which includes humans and all living organisms all at the same time in the fairly the recent past. This paper will contrast Darwinism and creationism, appreciating both theories’ most prominent assumptions as they relate to the origin of life. Creationists argue that all living beings started out as diverse and individual organisms when God created them. Creatio nism also does not hold the opinion that organisms alter into complete distinct and different animals via evolution. For instance, creationists do not accept as true the idea that single-celled organisms evolved into extremely complex plants and animals, with man eventually evolving into Homo sapiens. Notably, while creationism is not necessarily a scientific theory, creationists continually make use of scientific evidence in order to support their basic argument that it is impossible to prove Darwinism scientifically since Darwinism goes contrary to creationism (Witham, 2002). In addition to condemning evolution, creationists also seek scientific evidence of their own in order to buttress the creation description in Genesis. However, this is highly problematic since it means that creationists cross the bounds between science and religion by attempting to entangle the two origins. This is an extremely ineffective pairing since religion has no proof-giving capacity but science does. Scientists are presently doing the same. Initially, scientists remained in their own realm regarding the origin of life. However, even after arguing that the evolution theory can be proven, scientists are still going contrary to the Bible in order to affirm that the Bible provides a false account. This means that scientists who abide by the Darwinism theory are also crossing the bounds to argue against creationism. Creation science, which affirms the belief that God created the universe, as well as creatures found in it, is essentially not a science since creation by God or other divine beings do not provide concrete scientific rationalizations regarding the origin of life (Witham, 2002). Instead, the creationism theory is an explanation consistent with religious beliefs that an intelligent creator (God) exists and created the entire universe. Creationists attempt to assert this concept, as well as other Biblical stories, by appraising them on scientific grounds. For example, geolog ists attempted to explain all the universe’s geological features with regard to Noah’s flood. To date, no other book apart from the Bible has had more momentous effects on the Western world than the Origins of Species by Charles Darwin. Darwin is renowned for his theories of natural selection and evolution that are presently known as Darwinism. At the moment, evolution is referred to as the alteration of simple forms of life to higher ones as theorized by Darwin (Morris, 1974). Darwin utilized the term evolution for the first time

Human Resources Management Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Human Resources Management Master - Essay Example HRM itself is the new avatar of 'Personnel Management'. Personnel management was largely concerned with the technical aspects of hiring, evaluating, training, and compensating employees. HRM on the other hand leaves scope for career building of the employee, development of a professional relationship and the satisfaction aspect. as per the latest trend, the 'individual' acquires a central place in the HR policies being devised by the management. HRM mainly intends to bring optimum out of the individual so that the company gets maximum output and in turn the individual too gets his due share of profit. This further inspires the individual as well as the team to perform par excellence. Human Resource Management is a very crucial and an integral part of any organization. The very fact that now people are being considered as resource instead of liability marks the importance of human beings constituting this resource. Human Resource environment as such is affected mainly by the following five factors; ii. i. Economic: The economic environment of host country, inflation rates, growth factors and the levels of unemployment affect the HR policies. ii. Demographic: The demographic composition of the workforce like the communities involved, the caste consideration (this becomes a reasonable factor in case of some of the developing economies), the male-female composition, the population density of the country/ region also helps in devising effective HR strategies. iii. Socio-cultural: Religion and culture never tell a person to 'not to work', yet people of some socio-cultural background are found to be less workaholic than others. The effect of family systems like 'Joint family system' or 'Nuclear family system' become crucial factors in forming the habits of individuals and thus formulating of HR policies. Employees sometimes prefer flexibility in their work schedule depending upon the local festive season, local climatic conditions etc. iv. Technological: Rapid technological advancements have reduced the dependence on muscle power to a certain extent. Modernization and automation lead to increased accuracy and less redundancy in the output while increasing the comfort level of the workforce. v. Politico Legal: Prevailing political situation in the country, the party in power, the ideology of government functionaries affect the business environment. Whether it's a democracy, autocracy, monarchy, one party system, or a multi-party system gives enough room for strategy planners to devise HR policies accordingly. The law of the land has always to be kept in mind while doing the recruitments or managing the human resources. For example in some countries, formation of 'workers union' is not allowed while in some others it's mandatory. All these efforts are to be kept in mind while devising strategies/ policies for HRM, with the prime objective of HRM being 'developing congruence between individual goals and organizational objectives while striving for realizing higher standards of performance, satisfaction and quality of working life'. The HR manager is therefore directly responsible towards the retention and upkeep of 'human assets' in an

Historical Development of Continental Philosophy’s Existentialism Essay Example for Free

Historical Development of Continental Philosophy’s Existentialism Essay Absolute Idealism left distinct marks on many facets of Western culture. True, science was indifferent to it, and common sense was perhaps stupefied by it, but the greatest political movement of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries— Marxism—was to a significant degree an outgrowth of Absolute Idealism. (Bertrand Russell remarked someplace that Marx was nothing more than Hegel mixed with British economic theory. ) Nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, theology, and even art felt an influence. The Romantic composers of the nineteenth century, for example, with their fondness for expanded form, vast orchestras, complex scores and soaring melodies, searched for the all-encompassing musical statement. In doing so, they mirrored the efforts of the metaphysicians; whose vast and imposing systems were sources of inspiration to many artists and composers. As we have said, much of what happened in philosophy after Hegel was in response to Hegel. This response took different forms in English-speaking countries and on the European continent—so different that philosophy in the twentieth century was split into two traditions or, as we might say nowadays, two â€Å"conversations. † So-called analytic philosophy and its offshoots became the predominant tradition of philosophy in England and eventually in the United States. The response to Hegelian idealism on the European continent was quite different however; and is known (at least in English-speaking countries) as Continental philosophy. Mean while, the United States developed its own brand of philosophy—called pragmatism—but ultimately analytic philosophy became firmly entrenched in the United States as well. Within Continental philosophy may be found various identifiable schools of philosophical thought: existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, and critical theory. Two influential schools were existentialism and phenomenology, and we will begin this chapter with them. Both existentialism and phenomenology have their roots in the nineteenth century, and many of their themes can be traced back to Socrates and even to the pre- Socratics. Each school of thought has influenced the other to such an extent that two of the most famous and influential Continental philosophers of this century, Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 –1980), are important figures in both movements, although Heidegger is primarily a phenomenologist and Sartre primarily an existentialist. Some of the main themes of existentialism are traditional and academic philosophy is sterile and remote from the concerns of real life. Philosophy must focus on the individual in her or his confrontation with the world. The world is irrational (or, in any event, beyond total comprehending or accurate conceptualizing through philosophy). The world is absurd, in the sense that no ultimate explanation can be given for why it is the way it is. Senselessness, emptiness, triviality, separation, and inability to communicate pervade human existence. Giving birth to anxiety, dread, self-doubt, and despair as well as the individual confronts as the most important fact of human existence, the necessity to choose how he or she is to live within this absurd and irrational world. Now, many of these themes had already been introduced by those brooding thinkers of the nineteenth century, Arthur Schopenhauer (see previous chapter), Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche. All three had a strong distaste for the optimistic idealism of Hegel—and for metaphysical systems in general. Such philosophy, they thought, ignored the human predicament. For all three the universe, including its human inhabitants, is seldom rational, and philosophical systems that seek to make everything seem rational are just futile attempts to overcome pessimism and despair. This impressive-sounding word denotes the philosophy that grew out of the work of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). In brief, phenomenology interests itself in the essential structures found within the stream of conscious experience—the stream of phenomena—as these structures manifest themselves independently of the assumptions and presuppositions of science. Phenomenology, much more than existentialism, has been a product of philosophers rather than of artists and writers. But like existentialism, phenomenology has had enormous impact outside philosophical circles. It has been especially influential in theology, the social and political sciences, and psychology and psychoanalysis. Phenomenology is a movement of thinkers who have a variety of interests and points of view; phenomenology itself finds its antecedents in Kant and Hegel (though the movement regarded itself as anything but Hegelian). Kant, in the Critique of Pure Reason, argued that all objective knowledge is based on phenomena, the data received in sensory experience. In Hegel’s Phenomenology of Mind, beings are treated as phenomena or objects for a consciousness. The world beyond experience, the â€Å"real† world assumed by natural science, is a world concerning which much is unknown and doubtful. But the world-in-experience, the world of pure phenomena, can be explored without the same limitations or uncertainties.

Ethnography Essay -- Reflexivity Anthropology Essays

Ethnography Works Cited Missing Reflexivity is a qualitative method of research that takes an ethnography one step further, displaying the personal thoughts and reflections of the anthropologist on his informants. Ethnographies generally take an outside or foreign perspective of a culture, like reading a text, and reflexivity introduces a new component of inside description. Here, the anthropologist may describe personal interactions and experiences with natives and use this inside information to make additional conclusions about the people being studied. The ethnographer may also reflect on his ethnic connections with his informants, or his acceptance into the society, explaining that it provides valuable, inside knowledge of the culture and ultimately leads to a greater understanding of the native people as a whole. The importance of reflexivity is illustrated in Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self: Implications for Anthropological Epistemology, by anthropologist Dorinne Kondo. Her reflections lead her to realize that she has lost, or has almost lost, her identity as an American anthropologist and now sees herself as a young woman of Japanese culture. "What occurred in the field was a kind of fragmenting of identity into Japanese and American elements, so that the different strands, instead of interweaving to form a coherent whole, strained and tugged against one another" (78). As she became so immersed in the culture, Kondo began to understand and adopt cultural aspects that are unique to the Japanese, a thus adopted a new identity. At first, she practiced Japanese behavior to be socially accepted and gain the respect of her host family, but she was so successful that community members began to regard her as a fello... ...and to view cultures differently in general. Some Anthropologists with postmodernist ideologies view cultures as "messy text", which is "the most complex and interesting form of experimentation with ethnographic writing now being produced" (Marcus, 187). The influence of Postmodernism also lead to the emergence of reflexivity. Various styles of reflexivity now exist, such as feminist, sociological, and anthropological. Reflexivity contributes to "messy text," because it identifies many cultural aspects ethnographers cannot explain nor understand and thus cannot be fitted, neatly into structure. Reflexivity is also influencing ethnographers to develop new approaches in studying culture. As we have reviewed in several ethnographies this semester, we see that personal reflections of the anthropologists is just as significant to fieldwork as the 'outsider' descriptions.

Assess Whether Religious Experience Demonstrates the Existence of God Essay

Religious experience can be dissected into different varieties. Alvin Plantinga argued that everyday experiences such as the sun rising should constitute as a religious experience as the sun rising is so inspirational and conjures up religious belief out of awe. Some would argue that miracles or extraordinary occurrences are proof of God’s existence. If one was to view a man turning water into wine one would see it as spectacular and possible cause religious belief. Both miracles and everyday occurrences are public experiences as they can be witnessed by anyone; however there are more private/personal religious experiences. Dreams and visions, such as St. Paul on the road to Damascus (where he heard the voice of Jesus), only apply to the person visualising them. These are also used as religious experiences if you heard the voice of Jesus it would obviously be considered a religious event. There is also the ongoing feeling that God is around you, he is guiding you through life, and this again is indescribable but rational justification for the theist as it connects to the idea of God’s omnipresence. Finally there are also mystical experience as William James explained them these are ineffable (cannot be put into words) transient (very intense experience but not necessarily a long experience, the effects however can last a lifetime) passive (cannot be controlled by the recipient) experiences that are simply indescribable. Rudolf Otto described mystical experiences as â€Å"numinous† this is the feeling of awe and wonder when confronted with the divinity that is God numinous experiences are one of terrifying and compelling mystery. Should religious experiences be the basis of God’s existence or are they simply anomalous events that are meaningless. David Hume and A.J. Ayer are well known empiricists. They would argue that unless something empirically verified it should not be deemed meaningful so if I was to see God that should be seen as meaningful as it is empirically verified. If I were to see a cat walking across a street I would think to myself that is a cat, no doubt would enter my mind I would simply establish that a cat was walking across a street. When one see’s/experiences God why the same sort of logic should not be applied is ridiculous. If I were to see God I would think that is God no questions asked. Visions of God and miracles are empirically verifiable religious experiences, Hume and Ayer cannot dismiss these as that would be contradictory to their well established beliefs, thus empirically verified religious experiences can be used a sufficient justification for God’s existence. The sceptics retort to this argument is how can we trust our empirical methods of justification. One could be hallucinating, the only reason St. Paul saw God was because he was deprived of water and had social pressures from the rising Christian religion. A.J. Ayer noted that a straight stick appears bent in water, if our senses can deceive us once they will deceive us again, we cannot trust empirical evidence therefore it cannot be used as justification for a religious experience and definitely cannot be used to justify God’s existence. Also what if the subject of supposed religious experience has taken some sort of mind altering drug surely then empirical evidence cannot be used to justify any sort of vision. Finally the sceptic would note that a religious experience is not an ordinary experience, one see’s trees everyday but experiencing God is quite different. As philosophers we must view these extraordinary experiences differently and be more analytical into the causes (such as looking at the recipient of the experience). In Brian Davies book â€Å"An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion† he highlights that to reject empirical evidence without any major reason to doubt is simply absurd. He says that if one is of sound mind, has good eyesight and is of reasonable intelligence unless then there isn’t really any reason to doubt yourself, we use empirical evidence to make everyday assertions therefore it should be no different when seeing â€Å"God†, He also highlights that if it is possible to hallucinate it is also possible to see correctly, although this sounds very basic it does reject the argument from illusion (used by most sceptics to doubt sense data). Sure we can see things that aren’t really there but most of the time we are not hallucinating. Brian Davies also uses the example of a man called Fred. He states that Fred is â€Å"as mad as a hatter and as drunk as a Lord† Fred also regularly hallucinates and because of this not many people listen to what he has to say. Despite Fred perpetual hallucinations it is not right to say that everything he says is wrong, sometimes he could be telling the truth. Davies concludes that â€Å"the fact that some people are prone to get things wrong is not a sufficient reason for others to suppose that they always get things wrong† â€Å"Behold the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have his voice†¦ we have this day seen God speak with man and man still live† This was taken from the Old Testament’s book of Deuteronomy. Religious experience is not a contemporary miracle but one of great age, we all believe in gravity yet this has only been apparent for 300 years, yet something that has been around for millenniums is still questioned. These sightings of God have been continuous since early Christianity and Judaism before that. This is not an argument about the verifiability of religious experience but simply highlights the possibility of experiencing God and also its importance in justifying the existence of God. This is the argument of John Baillie; he argued that religious experience is not just justification for God’s existence but the ultimate justification. Sceptics would reply how do you know it is God? How do you know you did not simply see and old man with a beard? Unless you have seen God before you do not know what he/she looks like. Some would argue that you need an agreed method of identifying God, if no such method has been agreed then you cannot truly say you have seen God. Also if God is transcendent of humans and surpasses them in every way then surely we cannot relate to him/her. We don’t even know if God is a physical entity to be seen. Brian Davies response to the sceptic’s argument is despite not having an identification method that is inconsequential, something may be the case even though it does not conform to the testing method, someone can still be intelligent despite getting a U in all their exams. A religious experience can still be justification for God’s existence despite not being satisfying any a priori testing method. John Hick presented the argument that our interpretations of events all differ. This dismisses the sceptics claim that there should be some sort of testing method about justifying religious experience. A person may claim to have seen God where as another might argue they have seen the devil, as both are basing this experience on a personal a priori perception of God/Devil it means that if these predetermined perceptions are different they are obviously going to disagree. William James argued that religious experience is extremely personal therefore it means different things to different people. Richard Swinburne and William Alston put forward the argument from credulity. Swinburne argued that if one has seen God one has sufficient justification to believe in God. Unless there is something manipulating this experience there is no reason to doubt a religious experience. Until your religious experience is disproven (through suspicion of evidence such as one was on drugs) then it can and should be used as justification for God’s existence. William Alston proclaimed a similar argument to Swinburne’s arguments from credulity. He said â€Å"people sometimes do perceive God and thereby acquire justified beliefs about God†. He too believed that religious experience can be used a justification for God’s existence. He said justification about God is â€Å"prima facie† this means one is justified in supposing unless there are strong enough reasons to the contrary. Both argued the religious experience should be innocent until proven guilty. A sceptic’s retort to Alston and Swinburne would be one should always doubt. Like mentioned earlier one could be subject to hallucination, we could be seeing God when he/she is not really there, you could be of total sound mind however you have a random hallucination due to water deprivation meaning you â€Å"see† God. How can we truly know that our subconscious is not malicious concocting mad religious visions? This is why the sceptic would always argue that we should always be doubtful they argue that religious experiences are not indubitable. Richard Swinburne not only proposed arguments from credulity but also arguments from testimony. Swinburne stated that unless you have sufficient reasons to doubt someone claim of religious experience you should consider it true, if a person states they have seen God you have and you have no reason not to believe them you should consider their experience as true. Brian Davies gives the example of a group of explorers who see a cat in the Amazon rainforest; they go home and tell their explorer buddies they saw a cat in the Amazon rainforest. If a second group of explorers go to the Amazon rainforest and do not see a cat, does that mean the first group were wrong? Of course not! Swinburne would argue you should believe the first group of explorers are there is no reason to doubt their word. The sceptic’s reply would be why trust the explorers? There could be social/professional pressures meaning they lied about seeing a cat because they thought it would be beneficial or because they felt pressurised by the group around them, also there could be irregularities with their testimony, maybe all cats in the world are extinct so seeing a cat is very unlikely, or what if one of the explorers said they saw a black cat and another thought they saw a ginger cat. Brain Davies responds to this by noting that people interpret things in different ways (an argument used by the sceptics), two people may see a red Ferrari one may argue that it is an ugly car where as the other could argue it is a beautiful piece of machinery, they have both seen a car yet have different views/interpretations of what they have seen. So two people may both have seen God however one may think it was God the other might think it was the Devil. Therefore to say there are problems with a testimony because of different interpretations is absurd because the fact is God was there. One can perceive God in as many ways as they want it does not matter the only thing that matters is God was there. Religious experience can be used for religious conversion and religious belief but not necessarily for the existence of God. If one believes they have seen God and as a result of this vision they believe in the existence of God that is fine, but that doesn’t necessarily mean God exists from a philosophical perspective. As the sceptic would regularly point out there are many other factors that may have influenced the subject who viewed God (such a water deprivation or drug consumption) however on an ordinary basis I feel that a vision of God or some kind of numinous experience is sufficient justification for the existence of God and religious belief. On an ordinary level religious experience can justify the existence of God but on a philosophical level it cannot, one cannot claim religious experience to be an objective truth in philosophy, but in ordinary life it is a personal matter and provides justification for God’s existence on a personal level. This is similar to what William James said in his work â€Å"Varieties of Religious Experience† he believed that religious experience was a very personal matter and is impossible to verbalise but can be used as self justification for God’s existence. He also stated that philosophy is useless in trying to prove a religion true but can show up obvious errors. One must also note that Swinburne, Alston and Davies arguments are not really proving the credibility of religious experience but simply defending it against sceptic’s attack. Personally I feel this is fine, why should the recipient of a religious experiences have to prove themselves, however I do feel some of Swinburne’s and Davies arguments to defend religious experience are not sufficient. To conclude I feel the sceptics are right in dismissing religious experience on a philosophical level, but as many previous philosophers have highlighted (such as G.E.Moore) scepticism cannot be applied to ordinary life.

Human and New Surgical Tools

Countless inventions have improved the quality of human life and made previously inconceivable notions possible. In some cases (such as the washing machine), they reduce the drudgery of day-to-day tasks. In others (such as the motion picture), they allow people to engage in new forms of artistic expression. Many inventions actually save human lives, such as new surgical tools and medical vaccines.With the science scientist invented the computer now everywhere we need and we are using computers, computers become a friendly in our nature that we can do anything from echnologies so I want to conclude that science is a boon not a bane if we use in a proper way. Science has invented marvellous machines and discovered energies that run these machines to take the drudgery out of man's work. By doing much of his work and doing it fast, machines have provided man with a lot of leisure. The rosy dream of an easy and luxurious life has come true for him. Distance has been conquered.Modern means of transport and communication have made the Modern means of transport and communication has made the world a global village. Men nd things and news and views can go around the globe today with lightening speed. Internet has brought people of the world together and brought about a revolution in the fields of information and communication. Man has already landed on the moon and man- made satellites have made voyages through the solar system. Our life has become healthier and longer. Modern hygiene, sanitation, medicine and surgery are conquering more and more physical and mental illness with each passing day.We now know and experience the Joys of good health and longevity. Through the inema, the radio, the tape recorder, the TV and the video, science has worked wonders in the fields of education and entertainment. Though we welcome these blessings of science, we have to consider the other side of the picture also. Man has not been able to face the problems created by the inventions of science and to stop the misuse or harmful consequences of scientific inventions. Factories have polluted the water and the atmosphere. They have caused noise pollution.Industrialization has led to slums in which human beings live a degraded life in the midst of filth and qualor. We have allowed science to master us instead of keeping it our servant. Medical inventions have, led to the pollution explosion and the consequent miseries. Again, science has put in our hands terrible weapons such as the nuclear bombs, the guided missiles and the means of chemicals and biological warfare. We are in danger of destroying ourselves with these monstrous means that ironically are our own creations. Rightly used science can bring heaven on earth. Wrongly used, it can turn this earth into hell.

ICYMI, in Case You Missed It

ICYMI, in Case You Missed It ICYMI, in Case You Missed It ICYMI, in Case You Missed It By Mark Nichol Apparently, I missed it: Ten years ago, the initialism ICYMI entered the social media lexicon by way of Twitter. Like BTW, IMO, IIRC, and others, it’s employed as an entrà ©e to a discussion; ICYMI signals to you that the writer is going to provide context by referring to something you may not have read or heard about before. But I wasn’t aware of the initialism itself until I recently stumbled across it in an online article. I’ve somehow managed to get by without using it and most other examples of online shorthand, including two of the earliest specimens of the form: LOL and ROTFL (and the latter’s more effusive variation, ROTFLMAO). That’s because I’m not a twit- er, not a Twitter user- and I don’t use LOL-speak in text or email messages. But many people do lean heavily on such usage, though some of these condensed expressions, like ICYMI, are less prevalent than others. That means IAS: It’s a shibboleth. ICYDK, a shibboleth (in its original sense) is a word whose pronunciation by someone marks that person as an insider or an outsider; by extension, one’s very use of the word identifies one’s place within or outside of a social group. BTW, the meaning has also loosened up to refer to any behavior or custom that may, intentionally or otherwise, serve this function. (IIRC, the use of this odd-looking, odd-sounding word, which refers to the part of a plant from which grain grows, stems from a biblical tale of how one Hebrew tribe distinguished members of another tribe by how members of the latter group pronounced it differently than the members of the first tribe.) Our culture is replete with shibboleths, from slang and jargon to modes of dress and other visual cues about one’s self-identification (and one’s desire to belong). Initialisms that serve as abbreviations for standard phrases are part of the game: If you use them, you assume that the recipients of your written communication know what they mean. Anyone who doesn’t is L7 and either doesn’t belong on your blog or had better step up their game if they want to hang with the cool kids. That’s the danger of using language that is obtusely insular: Do you really want to exclude readers who may need a little hand-holding? If you’re a publisher, whether of a quirky little blog or of a book publishing company of international scope, that’s a choice you make- a choice that will affect the future of your enterprise. So, when you write, or commission others to write for you, consciously make a choice about how inclusive or exclusive the writing style is. I readily admit that I had to look up ICYMI (â€Å"in case you missed it,† in case you missed it). And though I was already familiar with many such initialisms, it’s not the only one I was unacquainted with before I checked out an online glossary of terms of this type. So, in a hand-holding spirit, here are translations of the other initialisms I have used in this post: BTW: by the way ICYDK: in case you didn’t know IIRC: if I recall/remember correctly IMO: in my opinion (IMHO- â€Å"in my humble opinion†- is a variation) LOL: laugh out loud ROTFL(MAO): roll on the floor laughing (my ass off) L7, BTW, predates the Internet: It represents the thumb and forefinger of each hand extended at a 90-degree angle (as if to simulate a gun) and held fingertip to fingertip with one hand reversed to form a rough square. An L7 is, therefore, a square, or a conventional or uncool person. This post by a fellow DailyWritingTips.com contributor lists some of the many other Internet initialisms. (An initialism, FWIW, is an abbreviation that, unlike an acronym, is pronounced as a series of letters, not as a word.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"50 Latin Phrases You Should Know10 Functions of the Comma

An analysis of Mark Rothko's Essay Example For Students

An analysis of Mark Rothkos Essay There seems to be no shadowing and modeling is poor which makes it difficult to locate one individual light source. It also gives the figures a two dimensional appearance and makes them seem vacant and somber. The tonal range is wide but the use of cool colors (in particular grey and blues) has the effect of distancing the spectator from the scene. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on color rather than detail because the brushwork is crude. These factors lend the scene a cold and somewhat eerie feeling. Rotators repeated use of vertical lines (specifically the railings and pillars) segregates the figures from one another and more significantly, from the spectator. The overlapping of these objects gives the scene perspective, but long with the idea of segregation and a high picture plane, this only serves to further distance the spectator. The two left most pillars are arranged in such a way that they run parallel with the two right most pillars and with the wall at the back left of the scene. Furthermore the figures on the descending staircase and the figures around the ticket booth are along the same parallel plane, and are framed within the pillars. The effect is that the eye is drawn towards the booth along this line, Perhaps then it is no coincidence that the ticket booth also mess to be the location for the vanishing point. These factors would suggest that the implied spectator position is further back along the same line as the ticket booth and the figures on the descending stairs. Roth uses the methods have discussed to distance and segregate the spectator from the scene. Along With his brushwork, lighting and choice Of colors, this lends the painting an eerie atmosphere. As such, Subway Scene is a bleak and cold image that stresses a feeling Of alienation to the spectator.

The benefit of drag race Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The benefit of drag race - Research Paper Example Since the development of motorcycles and automobiles, the drag racing has existed as a form of motorsport. It has also being existed as street racing. The form of street racing is regarded as illegal. This is mainly due to the fact that Street racing can violate the rules and regulation of society. Bracket racing and heads-yup are the two forms of drag racing. This research paper will analyze and discuss about the benefits of drag racing. The exciting new sport named drag race has grown more popular among the new breed of racers. People who are fond of racing are most interested to travel fast rather than slow. There are certain basics of drag racing. Before the start of every drag racing, racers using advanced motorcycles and automobiles are permitted to execute burnout. The process of burnout improves the traction and heats the tires. It is vital before every race that tires are heated so that it can help to grip the surface for better control. It can also benefit to sets the rubber down. Christmas tree is a system that can help to start drag race automatically. This system consists of six light, one green, one blue, one red and three ambers. There are several racing organizations around the world that oversees the drag racing. Several organizations are located at South Africa, Australia, North America, Europe, Caribbean and New Zealand (Scott, 2010). The Australian National Drag racing Association, the National Ho t Rod Association, the New Zealand Hot Rod Association, etc. These are some organizations and there are many more around the world that helped to start drag racing events. Mickey Thompson was inventor of first slingshot. This is not a normal race. Each details of the race are effectively measured to be advanced from other competitors. Speed, reaction time and elapsed time of the car are measured by the experts to notify the period of time taken by cars to cross the finish line. Drag racing can benefit economically and technologically.