Research & Professional Skills - Reflective Journal Essay

Research & Professional Skills - Reflective Journal - Essay Example Further, there is a problem in final decision making because of various views and opinions. Enterprise Development subject is the discipline I have placed much keenness and interest because it is interesting and I enjoy listening to the lecturer speak about the subject. Further, what makes this enterprise development an interesting subject is that the lecturer always encourage student to present themseves which gives us the ability to learn and develop critical thinking and problem solving skill. In addition, this subject will enable me to develop business plan which in turn will improve myself relevant industry information and world business issues. In my research and development I encounter several challenges such as fear to public speaking. This is due to the fact that I have less self-confident, I m not comfortable speaking to a crowd of people since I feel embarrassed to look in the eyes of other people. In addition, I am always anxious in the sense that I have the tendency of struggling against speech anxiety since I usually focus on my feeling rather than what I present. For instance, at the beginning, I try to avoid public speaking. Fortunately, I realise that in order to develop good research and professional skills, avoidance is not a better solution. Therefore, I try to be brave and self motivate before doing presentation in front of classmates. In the end, I realise that self confidence can make me relax, do a full preparation , get usual with public speaking and make it as a part in my life. I should develop personal practice pragmatically over their career by reflecting on, and adoption of several sources. This in turn will assist me in developing courage when addressing the public thus enhancing my public speaking skill. Further, courage will have made me self confident and focused on my feelings rather than what people expect of me. It is important in a person’s life since it is the basis for the delivery of good practice and

Subprime Mortgage Crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Subprime Mortgage Crisis - Research Paper Example These numerous theories, which have come up to explain the root cause of the subprime crisis. Numerous experts and economists believe that a combination of factors resulted to the crisis (Lynnley 13). This study intends to examine the housing bubble as a major cause of the subprime crisis. Housing Bubble This study reveals that the present mortgage crisis started with the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which commenced in early 2001 and ascended to its peak in the year 2005. Essentially, a housing bubble can be defined as an economic bubble whose occurrence in both the local and international platforms in real markets id characterized by almost similar features. The housing bubble is defined by express rise in the valuations of real assets until untenable levels related to income and affiliated affordability indicators are reached (Lynnley 11). This situation leads to the decrease of home prices and debts related to mortgages, which are higher compared to the value of the assets . It is imperative to note that the housing bubble was discovered at the aftermath of the market correction that happened in the U.S in 2006. In 2007, Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board indicated that, United States has been having a bubble in the housing sector (Muolo and Padilla 3-7). This came upon the realization that the house prices appeared to be overwhelmingly overvalued. The sentiments were echoed by the Richard Syron, the CEO Freddie Mac and concurred with the Yale University economist Robert Shiller who warned that the necessary correction of the bubble would be done in many years to come wit trillions of dollars being lost. This situation would lead to a double-digit decline in the home values. The housing bubble in relation to the historically low interest rates This study reveals that the majority of the experts and economists believe that the housing bubble in the United States of American was partially caused by the historical low intere st rates. It is imperative to note that the Federal Reserve Board had reduced the short-term interest rates by 5.5% (from 6.5% to as low as 1 %). This was a response of the collapse of the dot-com bubble (Muolo and Padilla 3-7). This happened in early the year 2000 and was followed by the ensuing recession in 2001; however, this response significantly endangered the housing bubble through the decrease in real long-term interest rates. It is essential to note that, the US mortgages rates are set in relation to Treasury bond yields of 10 years. These rates are influenced by the Federal funds rates. This study establishes that the Federal Reserve Board acknowledged the relevance of the connection amid lower interests’ rates, increased liquidity and the higher home values in relation to the general status of the economy. On the other hand, Greenspan disputes the claim that he engineered the housing bubble. Greenspan asserts that the Fed’s decline in rates contributed to th e inflation of the bubble. In 2007, Greenspan argued that, the housing bubble was not in any way related or linked to the Fed’s policy on interest rates, however, Greenspan pointed out on the international surplus in savings, which pushed down the interest rates

Consumer Attitudes: Online Shoe Shopping

Consumer Attitudes: Online Shoe Shopping Segmentation is to identify homogeneous groups or customer segments in the market place that will respond in a consistent, predictable way to variations in the marketing mix (Reynolds, 2006). Previous market segmentation research studies indicate that market segmentation benefits firms in various ways. It directly influences the consumer decision-making process (Haley, 1968). Also, it generates new market segments and creates new business opportunities, which enables companies to overcome developing barriers and to achieve competitive differentiation. IKEA, Gillette and Microsoft are all successful examples. (Bowonder, 2010) The product that people choose to use or wear exactly reflects their life taste and social identity (Solomon and Barmossy, 2006). Belk (2003) think that the shoes consuming are crucial for both men and women which are not only a way of self presentation but also inseparable parts of our extended selves. Shoes are the mirror of our souls. Furthermore, people assume others from their footwear. They would rather bear the tortures from a pair of uncomfortable but stylish shoes than wear an average one, because they believe that shoes have the magic for their self achievement. 4.11 Consumer Attitudes towards Shoes Women are known to be much crazier on shoes than men. A research in America in 2000 showed that women aging from 16 to 74 owned more than twice pairs of shoes as men did on average. And lots of women owned over 50 pairs of footwear while none of the male respondents owned more than 30 pairs. However, men spent almost 25 dollars more on their most expensive shoes than women (Belk, 2003). Another survey of working women recently conducted by Mintel revealed why women are so keen on shoes. Forty-four percent of those who aged 18-34 said they needed two pairs of shoes for work, one for commute and the other one for wearing in the office. And almost two-thirds of participants said shoes helped them to achieve a fashionable working look (Dolliver, 2010). But the report in Minter about footwear retailing in 2008 demonstrated that Younger consumers are looking for better but affordable quality while the older care more about comfort and durability. The younger, especially men, are much more willing to buy shoes online. Once experiencing successful online shoes shopping, they are more likely to repeat purchase. In 2008, only 5 per cent adults aged over 15 buy shoes online, in which those who aged 15-24 and 35-44 more frequently buy shoes on the Internet (Mintel, 2008). 4.2 Competitor Benchmark Learning from the Icons in the same industry can help company quickly improve in an economically way. The most successful example online for shoes selling is Zappos.com from the USA. Although Chinese culture and economical environment are completely different from the USA, there is no border for business. Zappos business mode and managerial experience could be a good model for EA. Zappos online shoes selling business is in common with EAs e-commerce plan. It built up the brand online and reached $1 billion annual sales after 10 years effort (Zappos.com, 2009). There are more than 500 brands and 90,000 styles of shoes on Zappos.com with the price ranged from $20 to $2,000 to meet the needs of different consumer groups. Delivering high-quality online service and building up brand credibility by favourable WOM are the two key successful necessities to Zappos (BRAND WEEK, 2008). The store experience and the product try-on experience are the two highlights of physical shoes stores that online shoes shopping can hardly compare at present. However, the customer service, entertainment marketing as well as no sale area limitation are the benefits that most physical stores can never reach. Craig Adkins, Executive Vice President of Zappos, said that they dont compete with other online trade companies but compete with physical stores. The only reason that they have grown so quickly and won the game in the fierce competition is to offer the best customer service, product option and delivery speed possible (Zmzsk.com 2009). The interactive sections such as videos and blogs also provide more diversified customer experience and achieve the breakthrough of customer value. Namely, customer service, product variety, delivery and interactivity could be the four key points for EAs e-commerce. 4.3 Market Data Research There is barely any research about the shoes market or online market specifically focusing on the places EA plans to target (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province). However, we could have a general understanding about the Chinese online shoes market as a whole from the small amount of literature. With the popularity of online business, a lot export trade companies have been stepping into the home market through the internet. Certain famous shoes companies also start to change their companies from traditional bricks and mortar to bricks and clicks, even majority click level. Needless to say, EA will meet the competitors threats when it starts the approach into the new market. China is the largest footwear manufacturing base as well as the largest footwear consuming market around the world. The sales volume of Chinese shoes market is huge and steadily growing by years due to the large population and the annual improvement of disposable income. Those who live in the big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai as well as the coastal cities in Chinas southeast have the greatest purchasing power. According to The 2009 China Leather Shoes Market Situation Analysis and Forecast Report from Beijing Heading Century Consulting Co. Ltd, 85% of the total shoes consumption in China is low-to-middle-level products whereas most high-end shoes are imported from abroad (Sewworld.com 2009). There is a gap of the high-end domestic footwear market for EA to fill. Suffering from the economic recession, export trade shoes companies all consider stepping into the domestic market which contains numerous consumers and large consuming potential. But lots of them failed. The main barriers for those companies to open the home market are enormous variations of the outdated product style, lack of distribution channels, unfamiliarity with the market and huge costs of human and financial resources. Still, a great deal of export trade companies plan to have a finger in the pie despite of the difficulties (Cnxz.cn 2009). That means a chance for EA to survive in the dog-eat-dog world as long as the company finds the right way. On the other hand, department stores and speciality shops are the main distribution channels of leather shoes, according to The 2009 China Leather Shoes Consuming Market Research from Beijing Heading Century Consulting Co. Ltd, with 51.5% and 40.1%. Certain famous Chinese shoes brands, for instance, Belle, Aokang and Daphne, have occupied the majority of the domestic market and there is little market share left for those not that well-know SMEs (Sewworld.com 2009). The competition among physical stores is extremely fierce. Therefore, the SMEs start to explore a new distribution channel by opening the online market. In fact, several shoes brands which have physical stores have opened the online market. Not only the SMEs, but also large and famous companies either have built an online shopping website or have set up a virtual store with B2C websites. According to the China B2B Research Centre, there are more than 100 million internet consumers in China in 2009, and the number of the SMEs with e-commerce has dramatically increased to more than seven million in the past six years. Nevertheless, online sales in the footwear industry are basically at the initial stage except for a few industry leading companies which have entered the Internet shoes market early and systematically operated it in a large scale (Zmzsk.com 2009). EA could seize the right moment to open up a new world. 4.4 Online Consuming Analysis More and more people have joined the dramatically growing group shopping online, but still lots of people hold a conservative attitude towards online transaction. Risk perception about offering personal information, online payment and product quality etc. prevents consumers from further purchase behaviour. How can we encourage people to be willing to take risk (Schoormanà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2007)? How can we convert web visitors to buyers? Considerable previous studies proved that online trust building is the biggest issue facing e-marketing managers. Trust to a large extent determines the success of the relationship between buyer and seller and it is rather significant in the changeable e-business environment (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Pavlou, 2003; Wang and Emurian, 2005). Establishing trust between shopper and sellers can reduce consumers uncertainty and rick perception. Furthermore, it has a positive impact on e-shoppers purchasing behaviour (Lim et al., 2010). There are manifold studies contributed to the definitions about trust. Deutsch (1962) thought that trust is an actions that increase ones vulnerability to another; Moorman (1992, p315) defined that Trust is the willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence; Sitkin and Roth (1993, p373) referred that trust is a belief in a persons competence to perform a specific task under specific circumstance. Whereas, Koufari and Sosa (2003) developed the concept of initial trust. In their opinion, trust can be built at the first time when people interact with the company, which directly influence the following consumer behaviour. Well-designed website and the good name of company can help visitors to form a positive attitude and against the risk of switching to competitors websites. Pleasant experience can gain a lot of new customers even at the first time. We agree that the first impression is very important, it may determine whether the future communication will continue or not. However, we believe that the temporary positive feelings aroused from the website are not equal to trust. Customers real faith towards the website requires companies to take continuous effort and to develop a good relationship with online consumers over time, such as offering an ongoing enjoyable interactive communication with customers. Furthermore, establishing and maintaining the trustful relationship can eventually affect the customers purchase intention (Bhattacherjee, 2002; Lee et al., 2001; Lim, 2001; Hoffman and Novak, 1996). Purchasing online involves risk, especially when a person lack experience with the online firm (Schlosser et al., 2006). In the particular case of EA, which just starts its approach to the domestic market, few people are aware of the company (reputation and size) and its products (brand and quality). Therefore, the progress of convincing consumers is fairly necessary and critical for EA, which means ongoing trust building is essential for EA to gradually convince its customers and maintain a good customer relationship. Thus, the present research is focused on investigating the importance and determinants of ongoing trust building. Numerous researchers have studied the importance of online trust building as well as the factors that influence the construction of trust in the virtual environment. For instance, Bhattacherjee (2002) claimed three key dimensions about the e-commerce trust: trustees ability, benevolence, and integrity. In his journal, he defines trustees ability as the trustors (website visitors) perception of trustees (online company) competencies and knowledge salient to the expected behaviour. For an online business, its website should clearly and successfully present the companys capabilities and professional skills (e.g. EAs expertise technology in making leather shoes) to increase the e-customers confidence via, for example, offering the list of the powerful partners, presenting detailed product or service information, designing an both attractive and functional (easy to understand/use/response) website. (Bhattacherjee, 2002) Benevolence here is referred to the faith in an online business that the company is willing to do more/extra service for the customers without profit consideration. The service or behaviour the online companies take can increase peoples confidence and sense of security. Its not possible for every company to offer extra service considering the additional cost. However, directed by the benevolent rules, online business firms should at least be completely aware that they need to respect their online consumers, fully understand their specific requirements, and work effectively and continuously on reducing web visitors uncertainties and worries. (Bhattacherjee, 2002) Integrity, in the e-shopping context, means customers confidence to the firms that their online commercial activities are directed under a set of moral principles or professional standards (Schlosser et al., 2006). In the practical virtual environment, the firms which conduct the integrity rules should attach great importance to the process of online transaction and relative service, the usage of consumers private data. These rules are practically linked with the realisation of company fulfilment, such as timely delivering, accurate record, reliable payment system and so on. (Bhattacherjee, 2002) In sum, indicated as the measurement of online trust building in many researches, trustees ability, benevolence, and integrity are associated with website design such as product presentation, attractiveness and usability, service quality, say delivery and payment system, and credibility (Bhattacherjee, 2002; Doney and Cannon, 1997). In other words, website design, credibility and service quality could contribute to purchase intention through ongoing trust building, and in the next section, a conceptual framework is built to testify it. 4.5 Conceptual Framework According to the studies on consumers relationship with companies (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003), trust and online purchase intention (Schlosser et al., 2006), the key determinants of online satisfaction and the impact on the following behaviour (Zeng et al., 2009), the role of trust in online business (Lim et al., 2008) and online product presentations influence on peoples purchase intention (Park et al., 2005), we develop a conceptual framework about the key determinants that impact ongoing trust building, combining the practical situation of EA with previous studies on online shoes consuming characteristics. This study divides the contributors to ongoing trust building into three categories: (1) website design, (2) credibility and (3) service quality. The Research Model is presented below (Figure 1). It is predicted that website design, credibility and online service quality will affect consumers intention to purchase indirectly through ongoing trust building. Whats more, the study will discover whether the three contributors share equal weight of influence on purchase intention. In a word, we argue that if online consumers perceive high-level web design, high credibility and high-quality service, then they are more likely to trust in the online service provider, which in turn contributes to intention to purchase. The results will be able to offer the directions and guidelines for EA or future shoes business to improve their online marketing performance. Figure 1: Research Model 4.51 Ongoing Trust Building Crosby et al. (1990) defined trust as a conviction when the customer develops a tacit understanding with a seller, and a seller can be relied upon to behave in such a manner that the long-term interest of the customer will be served. Pavlou (2003) indicated that trust in e-commerce is the belief that allows consumers to willingly become vulnerable to web retailers after having taken the retailers characteristics into consideration. In the virtual world, customers cant access enough information about the company to build the trust, which makes it more difficult to achieve trust at the beginning of a relationship than in the physical world (Wirtz and Lihotzky, 2003). Therefore, on the basis of the previous literature review, we define ongoing trust building as the continuous efforts that create and maintain a consumers confidence in an online service providers ability, benevolence, and integrity in order to achieve a lasting buyer-seller relationship (Liang and Chen, 2009; Bhattacherje e, 2002). Several researches have studied trust in e-business. There are different points of view about the taxonomy of trust. For instance, Kim et al. (2005) thought trust impacts buyers purchase intention in four dimensions: trust in technology, trust in product, trust in institution and trust in information. Plank et al. (1999) categorized trust into three types: trust in product, trust in company and trust in salesperson and developed various sales strategies for each. Moreover, Lim et al. (2008) proposed three key trust variables specific to online automobile insurance business which are service trust, company trust and product trust. And this viewpoint was proved by Lim et al. (2010). In our opinion, services, products and company reputation are more paramount to EA as a high-end online shoes selling SME and require more trust from consumers. Thus, we argue that service trust, company trust and product trust could be the key variables to high-end online shoes selling business and EAs ong oing trust building should base on the three dimensions. For an online business, its website is the primary channel for contact and communication with its customers and it shapes the cognitive perception of the customer. That is why e-commerce companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their websites to make the interaction between the website and the customer more inviting, convenient, and ultimately conductive to purchasing their products and services. (Lim et al., 2010) As we mentioned in the previous literature review, consumer perception to the website has an indirect effect on purchase intention via ongoing trust building. Namely, consumers perceptions towards website design, credibility and service quality of an online service provider are positively associated with its ongoing trust building and ultimately influence consumers intention to purchase. 4.52 Website Design As the traditional shopping channel is gradually replaced by the internet, e-retailers have to rely to a great degree on the website interface, which is not only a critical medium to publicise itself and improve its reputation, but also a necessary channel to sell products and services as well as interact with web shoppers to win e-consumers trust (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001; Bellizzi, 2000; Hoque and Lohse, 1999; Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996/1997; cited in Song and Zahedi, 2005). Features, component, information are three key components of website design (Song and Zahedi, 2005). A well-designed website can skilfully apply the three elements and attractively present valuable content in a clear-structured format with certain creative feature (Ahn et al. 2004; Konradt et al 2003), by which can increase web visitors interest and prolong their browsing time. The longer visitors stick to one particular website, the easier they are likely to form a positive attitude towards it, which could con tribute to a trustful relationship (Mccloskey, 2003-2004). New information technology is welcomed only when its useful and easy to use (Davis et al., 1989). Taylor and Todd (1995) also clarified that compatibility impacts peoples acceptance of technology. When people are searching or shopping online, the websites learnability, efficiency, memorability, infrequency of errors, and other key features of web design (Nielsen, 2000), such as the ease of use of the website, the quality of information, or the effectiveness of online transaction, are very significant. They dominate consumers following behaviours: to stick to the website or switch to another one, to view more information or actively communicate with the company via internet (Zeng et al., 2009; Koh and Kim, 2004; cited in Lin, 2007). In addition, attractive outlook or atmospheric stimuli in the offline shopping environment may increase consumers purchasing possibilities (Weinberg and Gottward, 1982; Weinberg and Gottward, 1994; cited in Wang et al., 2009). Similarly, well-designed website and skilfully application of the information technology can appeal web-visitors to stick longer to the website and have interactive communication with its staff (Heijden, 2003). And it was valued as the reason for satisfaction and subsequent trust (Martà ­n and Camarero, 2007). As Anderson (1980) referred that it is very important to catch peoples eyeballs at the first time, the visual appeals would possible influence the subjective judgment about the websites performance (Jennigns, 2000; Tractinsky et al., 2000). Approving this theory, Lindgaard and Fernandes (2006) also emphasised that a reliable decision can be made in 50 minutes. When consumers visit one website at the first time and the impression formed in the first 50 mi nutes could influence the consequent decisions. On the other hand, for apparel shopping, consumers are quite concern about the material, the fit, the colour and the quality of the products, but its difficult to know when people shopping in the virtual environment. Risk perception might be one of the most important reason that restrain consumers to purchase online (McCorkle, 1990; Ernst and Young, 2001; Park et al., 2005). As a result, presenting product in an attractive and convincing way is necessary to the online apparel companies. Also, pleasant virtual shopping experience may reduce the perceived risk which associated with online purchasing behaviour (Bhatti et al., 2000; Park et al., 2005). Furthermore, as mentioned above, one of most key factors for Zappos success is the shoes presentation in 360 degree with plenty of pictures, which minimise the uncertainties of online shoes shopping (Zappos.com, 2009). According to the empirical research conducted by Song and Zahedi (2005), website design can strengthen customers beliefs and consequently increase the tendency of purchasing online. Therefore, we assume that the website design presents a unique competitive advantage among all the e-commerce strategies and the website usability combined with novel design as well as the product presentation in a detailed and clear way lead to e-consumers ongoing trust building. H1: Web Design has a positive influence on ongoing trust building. 4.53 Credibility Credibility was defined as the consumer belief that a seller is competent, reliable, predictable, and honest, and would perform a potential transaction effectively and reliably, acknowledge explicit contracts, and fulfill the requirements of an agreement (Pavlou, 2002). It is another important contributor to the online trust building. Credibility was also described as believability and a credible website means a believable website (Fogg et al., 2001). Drawing on previous studies, credibility has been identified with two most important dimensions: trustworthiness and expertise. (Fogg et al., 2001; Corritore et al., 2003; Fogg and Tseng, 1999). Trustworthiness is characterised by the well-intentioned, truthful, unbiased behaviour, which requires the web-marketers to convey a real-world features towards its customers, that is to say, providing physical address and employee photographs, linking to outside materials and sources or stating a policy on content, to create a honest and accountable company image. Expertise can be proved by the professional knowledge or skills, sufficient experience and capability (Fogg et al., 2001). In the context of e-commence, e-retailers expertise and profession can be delivered to e-consumers by the demonstration of credentials or the proofs from a third party. As we mentioned before, the Internet is still considered as a risk shopping channel for public. E-marketers face the challenge of reducing the risk perception of shopping online when stepping into the online market where traditional face-to-face communications are replaced by the way of face-to-screen. Particular virtual characteristics require online business to offer a convincing mechanism. Some researchers have proved that feedback mechanism can positively support online transaction, functioning as WOM in the off-line commerce context (Pavlou, 2002). Additionally, reputation is a critical element in the online world, which can help e-retailers to reduce consumers risk perception and lead to the improvement of online trust (Pavlou, 2002). Positive comments from the third parties (previous buyers) have been examined to increase e-retailers reputation and can be a major source of information for trust building, which in turn improve online sellers credibility (Doney and Cannon, 1997, cited in Pavlou, 2002; Kim et al., 2004). Considering online feedback mechanism is a continuous two-way communication progress, it can also contribute to the ongoing course of online trust building. Thus, we hypothesise that a credible website with truthful and expertise features, supported by good reviews, positively affects the ongoingtrust building. H2: Credibility has a positive influence on ongoing trust building. 4.54 Service Quality Parasuraman (1985) defined service quality as the relative perceptual distance between customer expectations and evaluations of service experiences and service quality in his SERVQUAL model (Sung et al., 2009). High-quality service including regularly update web information, response customers enquiry immediately, easy and safe online payment system, clear return/chance/refund policies has a positive impact on website performance (Park and Kim, 2003). Technology development has laid a sound foundation for the service evolution of e-commerce. The increasing popularity and quality of broadband Internet access as well as advanced Web technologies have allowed online retailers to provide flexible and competitive services to their existing and potential customers. These technologies allow retailers to build their online stores and services, and effectively deploy strategies in all aspects of their operations (Lusch et al., 2007 and McCarthy and Aronson, 2000; cited in Ayanso et al., 2010). More and more web retailers are applying advanced information technologies and creative website features to offer better service to the customers (Dabholkar et al., 2003; Moitra and Ganesh, 2005; Tarafdar and Zhang, 2005; Udo and Marquis, 2001; Viswanathan et al., 2007; Wakefield et al., 2004). These refined technology-based website functionalities such as personalisation, advanced search tools and product cataloguing are remarkably popular among onl ine retailers (Chu et al., 2007). They couldnt offer such high-quality online service without the technology support. Many past researches have positively linked online service quality to e-commerce performance. Liu et al. (2001) pointed out four determinants that are significantly related to e-commerce success, which are information and service quality, system use, playfulness, and system design quality. Based on DeLone and McLeans study (2003), Liang and Chen (2009) identified service quality as one of the three important factors of information system success. Marimon et al. (2010) examined that high levels of online service quality has a positive impact on purchasing behavior. While lots of researches testified that service quality is a key attribute of the e-commerce success, several studies argued that none of them have established an empirical link association between online service quality and the retailers actual sales performance (Ayanso et al., 2010; Marimon et al., 2010). However, considering this study is a consultancy project which is reality-based, practical experience of other firms cant be ignored. In the case of Zappos we have learned that the most critical reason for them to develop so rapidly from an unknown company is customer service, especially the 365 day return and free shipping both ways policy. The main concern when people buying shoes online is that the purchased shoes do not fit them (in size/colour) because they cant try them on before ordering. Particularly in the case of EA, which is not famous and sells quite expensive shoes, a customer-friendly advanced delivery system helps to remove or at least reduce the concern, which is matched with the study conducted by Tan and Wu in 2004. Also, Parasuraman et al. (2005) identified fulfilment, the extent to which the sites promises about order delivery and product availability are fulfilled, as the most critical dimensions of e-service quality and Boshoff split fulfilment into delivery and reliability and proved it to be the strongest predictor of value perception (Parasuraman et al., 2005, Boshoff, 2007; cited in Marimon et al., 2010). Therefore, we argue that service quality could be a stronger antecedent of online trust building due to fulfilment aspect. Furthermore, Tan and Wu (2004) referred that, especially for the wholesalers and retailers in China, the barriers to employ online promotions were poor credibility monitoring systems both for vendors and consumers, awkward delivery systems, and lagging behind payment. A reliable payment system is also important for EA due to the high price of its products. People start to think more when its a large amount of money paying to a not well-known company. Moreover, Stockdale and Standing (2006) compared the benefits and barriers which SMEs should take into account for e-business. Apart from limited resources, one of the most possible barriers for SMEs is the lack of specific e-commerce marketing experience or e-busines s professionals. Especially in China e-commerce is still at the initial stage and organisations are exploring e-business while doing it. That is, another important attribute is e-business professionals. Perceived service quality significantly contributes to customer trust (Liang and Chen, 2009). Namely, the service quality of an online firm is positively linked with its ongoing trust building in three dimensions: e-business professionals, fulfilment and payment system. Accordingly, we propose that: H3: Service Quality has a positive influence on ongoing trust building. 4.55 Intention to Purchase We can expect that the various antecedents of online trust building web design, credibility, service quality have different effects on purchase intention. This expectation is based on the previous study about the behavioural consequences of customer satisfaction (Zeng et al., 2009). In the findings, five elements (fulfilment/reliability, customer service, ease of use and product/service quality) are directly/indirectly impact the customer behavioural consequence through overall satisfaction, while those behavioural consequences are practically and theoretically proved to demonstrate as loyalty to the firm, intention to purchase and repurchase, willingness to pay premium price, willingness to post positive reviews about the firm and its service, and recommendation to others (Bearden and Teel, 1983; Zeithaml et al., 1996; cited in Zeng et al., 2009). Customer satisfaction was found to possibly contribute to trust and satisfied customers mostly have high confidence in the company and their future transaction activities (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999; Geyskens et al., 1998; Ganesan, 1994; cited in Liang and Chen, 2009). Approved by their own research, Liang and Chen (2009) suggested that trusted consumers have more commitment and more willingness to develop a solid relationship with service providers than satisfied ones. This finding logically supports the prediction that trust has a positive influence on the intention to purchase/re purchase. Public Opinion: Gender Differences in Sex Abuse of Children Public Opinion: Gender Differences in Sex Abuse of Children Table of Contents (Jump to) 1. Introduction 2. Gender Bias 3. Gender Inequality 3. Registering of Sex Offenders 4. Limitations of the Research Approach 5. References 1. Introduction This dataset is analysed using the principal of thematic analysis. The dataset was extracted from media reports related to the case of a woman who abused her partner’s three-year-old daughter. Thematic analysis is a qualitative analytic method used for analysing or identifying themes across a dataset (Craver, 2014). The process is illustrated in the appendices, adopting the approach used by King and Horrocks (2010). One of the overarching themes in the analysis of the data relates to public opinion about gender differences in the sexual abuse of children. There are two sub-categories, namely gender bias and gender inequality. 2. Gender Bias Gender bias can be seen in the few quotes below: â€Å"A group of feminist not too long ago told me women never sexually abuse anyone only men I guess this women and those teachers that have been in the news recently don’t exist† â€Å"This cannot be true! Because feminists are constantly telling us that it is only men who are violent and abusive!† â€Å"It has been kept quiet over the years just how many women abuse children. I’m glad that she is being held accountable. â€Å"Another female paedophile, the myth of all women being gentle is lifted† â€Å"We hear so many stories of â€Å"boyfriends† of women being guilty of abusing a child, so this is quite shocking, what is her excuse? â€Å"We live in a gynocentric feminist so society. Had he not done it this way, she would have accused him, he would have been arrested, separated from his child and would never been believed. Ask the thousands of fathers to whom similar things have happened through malicious false accusations. Men a perpetrator. Women are victims. De facto† Analytic research done by Landor and Eisenchlas (2012) shed some light on gender bias in Australian print-media reports regarding sexual acts. The authors gave two case studies. First, they described the teacher Mary Kay LeTourneau’s marriage to her former student, with whom she had been engaged in a sexual relationship since he was 12 years of age. The headline they use as an example reads: â€Å"School lovers tie knot†. The contrasting case advanced by the authors was related to the story of Brisbane teacher Allan Thomas Walters, who was charged with indecency in his dealings with a 13-year-old boy; the example headline reads: â€Å"More time for pervert†. The two case studies advanced by the authors are very similar in terms of the age of the victim and the offences committed. However, the media clearly portrayed LeTourneau’s case in a less negative way than Walters’ case. The article uses the comparison appropriately throughout, although the arg ument presented is unbalanced. Another example of gender bias was given by Tsopelas et al. (2012), in which a victim of a female perpetrator was not believed when they made allegations to the authorities. This suggests that a higher standard of evidence is required in cases of child sex abuse by female perpetrators. It can be seen on the data transcript that some people were angry that the father had to put the girl through more abuse before enough evidence could be gained. â€Å"My stepmother, a famous person, abused my little brother like this when he was a toddler. To this day, despite my witnessing it and my brother being terrified of her, my father refuses to believe us. If only we too could have planted a camera† â€Å"Another awful thing about this is that with the knowledge that his daughter was being abused in order for him to gather evident the child had to endure another vile attack† â€Å"Its so sad that the faher had to put his daughter through two more violent events in order to get proff but I guess he had no choice.† â€Å"Well done for showing self restraint altho I don’t agree with the way the child was put thu the abuse again in order to abtain more damning evidence† â€Å"Men a perpetrators. Women are victims. De facto† â€Å"†¦..after just having read bat those poor wretched girls in Rotherham. Authorities there should all be sacked, how can this happen, seriously? â€Å"Reading the comments made I can say that the Father did the right thing 1. He had a recording of what was happening the Child screaming, yelling, crying for Help. That is not enough proof for the Police, that can be classified as Child Abuse only. 2. He had to have actual evidence for the Police, Courts. Of the actual act been committed for his (Partner) to be prosecuted in court in accordance with the law. She could have turned all against him, had he not had that important piece of evidence, so she can be convicted and from now on be classified as a Paedophiler(visual/audio proof). 3. Gender Inequality Gender inequality is the second sub-category. Geddes, Tyson, and McGreal (2012) discovered that female teachers who have committed sexual acts with a student are punished more leniently compared to male counterparts. The study also found that participants showed significantly more anger towards male teachers who commit such acts. However, the sample size of the study was not equally distributed: although the author randomly sent out the questionnaire to 250 female students and 250 male students, out of 130 respondents, 86 were female and 44 were male. Geddes, Tyson and McGreal (2012) believed a sample size of more than 30 participants was large enough to obtain significant values, based on a test run on the violation assumption using analysis of variance. However, it is important to achieve a gender-balanced sample size to study gender bias. Gender inequality can be found in the following comments: â€Å"As usual not naming this monster, but a guy doing this would have his picture and name plastered all over the media† â€Å"Why isn’t she being named, if it was a bloke his name would be plastered everywhere for what he did† â€Å"This woman is a common filthy pedophile and must go to jail, as men go to jail. Anything other than jail would serve as proof there are not equal rights between the genders† â€Å"2Guaranteed this woman will not do jail I don’t care what that judge said, however if the roles were reserved this would be another matter† â€Å"Who recalls the push for laws where women would be allowed to have the police run back ground check on potential partners. Do man get this right? If not why not?† Angelides (2008) discusses another aspect of gender inequality in child sex-abuse cases. The author presented two examples involving a teacher-student relationship. One involved Karen Ellis, a 37-year-old teacher who committed sexual offences with a child under the age of 16. She was sentenced for six months. On the other hand, tennis coach Gavin Hopper pleaded guilty of having a sexual relationship with his 14-year-old student and was jailed for two years and three months. On the basis of this comparison of two similar situations Angelides (2008) presents a very good argument regarding the principal of gender equality in the sentencing of offenders. While judges have shown some leniency towards female perpetrators, comments from the data seem to express a wish to see harsh punishment for sex offenders. For example: â€Å"A nice long sentence I hope† â€Å"I’d lock her in solitary confinement and feed her food under the door and weld it up so she could not be released.† â€Å"Jail this pedophile for life† â€Å"This woman is a common filthy pedophile and must go to jail, as men go to jail. â€Å"Hope the horrible woman is jailed for a long time. â€Å"It’s the other prisoners who could be her real punishment† â€Å"VILE WOMAN THROW THE BOOK AT HER† Statistics have shown that sex-offender treatment programmes have a small but positive effect on sex offenders (Craissati, South, Bierer, 2009). However, in some patriarchal cultures such as in India, harsher punishments are meted to stop violence against women (Gill, Harrison, 2013). Gill and Harrison (2013) discussed both punitive options and the kinds of treatment that are available for sex offenders in relation to the sexual violence issue in India. The punitive options are demonstrably based on the human-rights principle regarding the death penalty. Gill and Harrison (2013) believed that harsh punishment might not be the best approach to sex offences in the justice system in India. Sex-offender treatment programmes might be a better strategy. Declining moral standards is another overarching theme. Males were dominantly viewed as perpetrators of child sex abuse in the 1980s, with females appearing almost exclusively as victims (Tsopelas, Tsetsou, Ntounas and Douzenis, 2012). Current literature is paying more attention to the role of female sexual abusers. This cultural shift was due to the increasing of the proportion of female sex offenders in all sexual-assault arrests from 1% in 1994 to 8% in 1997 (Vandiver and Walker, 2002). Below are the illustrative quotes from the data that show public disappointment about declining moral values in society: â€Å"Britain in the 21st century† â€Å"What the hell is wrong with people. Why would you harm an innocent child?† â€Å"What has gone so wrong in our world when so much of this is happening?† â€Å"Some people say it was always so, but I dont believe that at all. I think its an epidemic now† â€Å"I remember my childhood as being safe and secure. Parents were always there for me. I wish it could be the same for all children. What a horrible world we live in† â€Å"Something is clearly wrong in this godforsaken world we live in† 3. Registering of Sex Offenders One further overarching theme is related to legislation. Registering of child sex abusers is practised by many Western countries such as the USA and the United Kingdom. The general public tend to want sex offenders to be put on a register in order to protect the general public. But other find this labelling could create a barrier to sex offenders reintegrating with society (Bollinger, Seidler, Kemp, 2012). The study by Bollinger, Seidler and Kemp (2012) found an interesting result: people with children wanted more punitive approaches towards sexual offenders, even when not fully aware of the purpose of a register. A few relevant quotes are shown below: â€Å"I hope shes put on the domestic abuse register† The attacker has, IMO, no right to anonymity† â€Å"so she can be convicted and from now on be classified as a Paedophiler† â€Å"Around here we are starting to name and shame people that don’t pick up their dog mess YET they don’t name or shame these disgusting vile people? We have right to know who she is. However, some quotes suggest perpetrators should not be named, in order to protect their victims: â€Å"The anonymity of the perp is to protect the identity of the child, not the perp. As a victim of sexual abuse there is an automatic protection of identity† The problem with naming and shaming is that if the perpetrator of the abuse is known to people in the area, the little girl would also be identified by association which is often best avoided† 4. Limitations of the Research Approach Thematic analysis is a popular method widely used in qualitative research (Braun Clarke, 2013). However, this qualitative method can be subject to the personal bias of researchers (Vaismoradi, Turunen, Bondas, 2013) as well as the researcher’s grounding in epistemological philosophy. Hence, it is important to take the philosophical perspective into account when choosing the design for the study. 5. References Angelides, S. (2008). ‘Sexual offences against â€Å"children† and the question of judicial gender bias.’ Australian Feminist Studies, 23(57), 359-373. Doi: 10.1080/08164640802233302 Bollinger, J., Seidler, K., Kemp, R. (2012). ‘Who thinks what about child protection: Community perceptions and awareness of child protection strategies and their effectiveness for reducing sexual reoffending.’ Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand, 4(4), 33-40. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4sid=4f62b2c7-f642-47e6-b828-1f128e44c525%40sessionmgr4001hid=4213 Braun, V., Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Craissati, J., South, R., Bierer, K. (2009). ‘Exploring the effectiveness of community sex offender treatment in relation to risk and re-offending.’ Journal of Forensic Psychiatry Psychology, 20(6), 769*784. Doi: 10.1080/14789940903174105 Craver, G.A. (2014). ‘Not just for beginners – A review of successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners.’ The Qualitative Report, 19 (review 16), 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu.ssss/QR/QR19/craver16.pdf Geddes, R.A., Tyson, G.R., McGreal (2012). ‘Gender bias in the education system: Perceptions of teacher-student sexual relationships.’ Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com Gill, A.K., Harrison, K. (2013). ‘Sentencing sex offenders in India: Retributive justice versus sex offender treatment programmes and restorative justice approaches.’ International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 8(2), 166-181. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7sid=bf077283-9215-4735-9500-dad6353ad5fc%40sessionmgr4001hid=4213 King, N., Horrocks, C. (2010). Interviews in qualitative research. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Landor, R.V., Eisenchlas, S.A. (2012). ‘â€Å"Coming clean† on Duty of Care: Australian print media’s representation of male versus female sex offenders in institutional contexts.’ Sexuality Culture, 16, 486-502. Doi: 10.1007/s12119-012-9134-5. Tsopelas, C., Tsetsou, S., Ntounas, P., Douzenis, A. (2012). ‘Female perpetrators of sexual abuse of minors: what are the consequences for the victims?’ International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 35(4), 305-310. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.04.003 Vandiver, D.M., Walker, J.T. (2002). ‘Female sex offenders: An overview and analysis of 40 cases.’ Criminal Justice Review, 27(2), 284-300. Retrieved from http://cjr.sagepub.com/content/27/2/284 Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., Bondas, T. (2013). ‘Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study.’ Nursing and Health Sciences, 15, 398-405. Doi: 10.1111/nhs.12048

Hinduism Essay -- Religion, Dharma, Atman

Hinduism is a religion filled with many philosophical thoughts about the soul, following your duties, achieving liberation and understanding the consequences of karma. Many of the beliefs in Hinduism makes a person think of life and their own actions they do everyday since it can affect your next life. Hinduism sometimes also makes one wonder if all of these various beliefs and philosophical thoughts are true or not and if you don’t follow your duties (dharma), if consequences really do occur or not in the present life and the next life. Atman, which is the soul, is constantly craving for things and always wants something even after we obtain our desires; it is a non-stop process (Embree 33). The Self (atman) is taken over by pleasure and pain, which is true in life because there are always desires that give us pleasure and make us happy (Embree 36). But one also needs to remember that life has its ups and downs meaning, there always will be a time of pain in life. No one is ever satisfied in life, we are always wanting more and more each day. According to the Upanishadic thinker the material world is not very important, only you, your soul, and the actions you do are important (Embree 36). Nothing else is more important in the world than your personality, which is the self (atman). I don’t completely agree with the Upanishadic thinker that the material world does not matter. It does matter because our actions and the way our soul feels at certain situations, it all comes from the material world. Yes, our acti ons are just as important but the material world drives us to our actions that the soul does. Every act we make, every thought and every desire, shapes this and our future lives. Karma, action and the consequences of action... ...rma at a young age. A person has to be able to follow their dharma no matter, because it may not always be the right action but it has to be fulfilled because it is your dharma. Arjuna in Mahabharata did not want to kill his own people, because he knew it was a sin. Krishna convinced him that he would commit a sin if he failed to perform his own duty (dharma) as a warrior, because a warrior’s duty is to fight (Embree 281). Hinduism can relate everything to each other and that is why for many it is easier to understand the whole concept of Hinduism, the atman, following your duties, achieving liberation and understanding the consequences of karma. You must perform your dharma in your life and do good karma in order to either have a better soul in the next life or to escape the cycle of samsara. If one does not obtain or fulfilled, one may not achieve liberation.

Religion and Animal Rights Essay

Speciesism – Discrimination in favour of one species, usually the human species, over another, especially in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans. Sentient – Able to feel pain; conscious through the senses. Shallow ecology – preserving the environment to the extent that it benefits human beings. (This is an anthropocentric view of ecology – human centred). Deep ecology – Giving all life respect and value – caring for all of nature, not just the aspects of nature which benefit human beings. Dominionism – Judeo-Christian idea that human beings have a special place in the natural world; they are given the power to rule over it (as overseers) in behalf of its creator, God. Stewardship – Judeo-Christian idea that human beings have a special responsibility for the natural world (and indeed all other areas of responsibility such as other people, their money and possessions) acting as caretakers on God’s behalf. Autonomy – Free will, able to self-govern. Deontological – Duty led approach. Emphasis on the act itself in determining moral righteousness. Inaugurated eschatology – The kingdom of God was started/established in the agapeistic life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and continues in the life of the church, but will be fulfilled after bodily death in heaven. Realised eschatology – The kingdom of God is here and now on earth, through agape and the life of the church. Futuristic Eschatology: The Kingdom of God will come in the future – after bodily death, resurrection (bodily or spiritual) in heaven. Vivisection – Experimenting on animals. Instrumentalist approach – A pragmatic (practical) approach that says an action should be taken in order to achieve an active solution to a problem. Mutate – Change, transform (e.g. as part of the process of evolution). Immutability – Unable to change (e.g. from species to species). Commodification – To turn into and treat as a commodity – an article suitable for trading/buying and selling. Scholars Aristotle – Identified the hierarchy of being placing human beings above animals. Augustine – Human beings are superior to animals as human beings are rational, being made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26. Aquinas – Influenced by Aritotle – â€Å"animals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦by divine providence are intended for man’s use in the natural order.†. Charles Darwin – Theory of evolution – ‘Origin of Species’, 1859. The process of natural selection, challenged the Bible, and in particular the Genesis creation story which claims that human beings are created in the image of God, Genesis 1:26. Albert Schweitzer – A pioneer of animal rights with his ‘reverence for life’ ethic. For Schweitzer ‘all life is sacred’, sentient or non-sentient, animal or vegetable. A deep ecologist. St Francis of Assisi – Often referred to as, ‘The Patron Saint of animals’. God has created the world and so the created order reflects God’s goodness and purpose of design and order, animals are a particularly important aspect of that created order. Peter Singer – If a being has interests then they are morally important and should have rights; sentient, self-conscious beings have interests. What matters is not what species a being belongs to, but to what extent a being is a person – fulfils Personhood criteria. Jeremy Bentham – Believed that unnecessary suffering was morally wrong, irrespective of the species. KEY TEACHINGS FROM CHRISTIANITY AND AWARENESS OF HOW RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND OTHER FAITH MEMBERS HAVE INTERPRETED THESE TEACHINGS AND APPLIED THEM TO LIFE IN SOCIETY TODAY. Religious beliefs about the status of animals. SCHOLARS * Aristotle (4 BC – a foundation and influence for later Christian thought) – -everything had a telos, an end purpose. The end purpose of nature (and animals) according to Aristotle, is human fulfilment – Hierarchy of Being, Anthropocentric (human centred), Speciesist approach. * Augustine (4th to 5th century AD). Human beings are superior to animals as human beings are rational, being made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26. , â€Å"To refrain from the killing of animals and the destroying of plants is the height of superstition.† (Augustine). Hierarchy of Being. Speciesism. * Thomas Aquinas (13th century AD). Influenced by Aristotle’s ideas – there is no sin in using a thing for the purpose, telos, which it is intended. There is no possibility of sinning against non-human animals or against the natural world which exist for the use and good of humanity. Hierarchy of Being. Anthropocentric. Speciesist. * St Francis of Assisi (12th to 13th century). Francis of Assisi thought that the natural world, and in particular animal life, was an expression of the creative will of God and was worthy of respect. Patron Saint of animals, emphasised the importance of sentient beings as part of God’s creation. Humanity should behave as responsible stewards to care and look after all of God’s created creatures. Shallow ecology – preserving the natural world, including animals to the extent that human beings benefit. (This is an anthropocentric view of ecology – human centred) where human beings have a caretaker role over nature. * Albert Schwietzer (20th century). Albert Schweitzer was a Christian who pioneered animal rights with his ‘reverence for life’ ethic. He was astonished at the indifference that human beings show to fellow creatures on the planet. Schweitzer was a ‘deep ecologist’ who believed that all life was sacred – sentient o r non-sentient; human, animal, plant. BIBLICAL TEACHINGS * Human Beings created perfect, imago dei (St. Augustine). Genesis 1:27. * Genesis 1:28 – Dominionism (to rule over, use, control) – â€Å"Then God said†¦Have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.† This was the traditional position of the church towards animals as identified by Peter Singer. * Genesis 2:15 – Stewardship (to look after and care for on God’s behalf) – â€Å"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.† More recently this is the role taken by the church, replacing dominionism with responsible stewardship. * Genesis 2 – creation story has focus on creation of man and woman (Adam and Eve). Human beings have a soul (animals do not) â€Å"The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed (ruach) into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being† (Genesis 2:7) * Human beings, but not animals have free will, autonomous, with the opportunity of choosing a love relationship with God. â€Å"Love God, love your neighbour.† (Jesus, Mark 12:30/31). With autonomy comes responsibility, stewardship (see church teachings below). * â€Å"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.† Proverbs 12:10. * â€Å"The wolf will live with the lamb† Isaiah. An O.T. eschatological vision of harmony between all sentient life. * â€Å"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.† Luke 12:6. CHURCH TEACHINGS Roman Catholic Catechism (1994) †¢ God willed creation as a gift addressed to humankind. †¢ Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present and future humanity. Anthropocentric, arises out of the shallow ecology approach to the natural world that is the usual the way for Christianity to deal with this area of ethics/moral issues. †¢ Animals do not have rights but humans do have duties towards animals. Roman Catholic Papal Encyclicals – Centesimus Annus and Solicitudo Rei Socialis (Pope John Paul II) †¢ Human beings are stewards of God’s creation, not masters of it. †¢ Animals are part of God’s creation and must not be abused. †¢ The Church opposes cruelty / exploitation of animals. †¢The earth and all life on it is a gift from God given to us to share and develop, not to dominate and exploit. Church of England documents: Our Responsibility for the Living Environment (GS 718) and Animal Welfare (GS 341) †¢ Animals have been created by God and deserve respect. †¢ The value of animal life is secondary to human beings. †¢ Humans have a common heritage with, and have an obligation to animals. †¢ Humans are the most efficient predators and therefore must exercise responsible stewardship. †¢ Medical / scientific testing within reasonable limits is acceptable as it promotes the common good of humanity. Quaker Peace Testimony * show a loving consideration of all the creatures, maintain the beauty and variety of the world and show reverence for life. * Quakers have long supported vegetarianism. * Quakers oppose animal experimentation for weapons. * They also oppose the use of animals for the testing of cosmetics. * Most Quakers oppose the fur trade. * Quakers do support the use of animal testing for medical research. The extent to which animals are different from humans and their relative value. Humans are animals. * Charles Darwin 1859 â€Å"Origin of the Species† * Evolution, Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest. Humans have evolved to become the dominant/controlling species. * â€Å"With all these exalted powers humanity still bears in its bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.† (Charles Darwin) * Darwin challenged the idea of a designer God, and the anthropocentric view of the world. â€Å"Humanity in their arrogance think themselves a great work, worthy the (inter)position of a God. More humble, and I believe true, to consider them created from animals.† (Charles Darwin). * Many religious believers accept evolutionary theory as a way of explaining the origins of life on this planet, but still see that God’s power was behind the very start-theistic evolution (God the Uncaused Cause brought everything else into existence – based on Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument). How can an anthropocentric approach be upheld if humans ar e descended from animals – all are of equal worth and value – deep ecology. Hierarchy of species. * See above. God created animals for a purpose to be of value and support to human beings. Human intelligence versus animal instinct. * Rationality, intelligence and autonomy set humans apart from animals. * Capacity for sophisticated methods of communication is a human skill. * Creativity (music, literature, art) and complex/sophisticated (developing/utilising science and technology) societies for a good and worthwhile quality of life rather than for instinctive survival are hallmarks of human existence. * Most humans protect the weak and vulnerable arguably for altruistic motivations rather than for survival of the species. * Humans can choose to behave morally. * Humans are spiritual beings. However, just because the status of animals is lower than humans many argue for care and respect. * Stewardship. Deep ecology. Animal Rights.   * â€Å"The question is not can they reason, can they talk, but can they suffer.† Jeremy Bentham (19th century). * Peter Singer thinks that if a being has interests then these things should be satisfied, other things being equal. What matters is not what species a being belongs, but to what extent a being fulfils the criteria of personhood:- rational, sentient (experience pleasure / pain), self-conscious, can establish relationships and can communicate. Religious views on animal rights and the means of protecting those rights. See scholars, biblical and church teachings above. * Rev Humphrey Primatt (19th century) argued all life was made by God and any sentient creature has the right not to have pain inflicted upon it including animal suffering. â€Å"Pain is pain whether inflicted on man or beast† (Primatt). The work of Humphrey Primatt led to the foundation of the RSPCA in 1824. * Organisations such as WWF and RSPCA campaign for animal rights so that they may live according to their own nature and not be harmed, exploited or abused, maintaining a dignified existence. * Such pressure groups oppose factory farming (a method of raising animals intensively for maximum economic gain and to produce food at a lower cost for consumers, resulting in the commodification of animals), animal experimentation (vivisection) and using animals for entertainment;, although opinions vary on all these issues. * Controversy exists about vivisection and the extent of justifiable protest on animals’ behalf – SPEAK campaign sought to end the building of ne w animal labs for scientific experimentation on animals at Oxford University, often using intimidation and direct action which was judged by the law courts to be illegal. â€Å"If possessing a higher intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his own ends how can it entitle humans to exploit non-humans for the same purpose?† Professor Peter Singer VERSUS â€Å"You can’t go to a doctor without having treatment that has been tested on animals – you can’t pick and choose.† Professor Colin Blakemore, Oxford University. * International Animal Rights Day = December 10th annually. * British law protects animals form cruelty and neglect which are criminal offences. * Revd Professor Andrew Linzey – Department of Theology at Oxford university = world’s first academic post in Ethics, Theology and Animal Welfare. Rejects an instrumentalist view of animals as ‘speciesist’; privileging one species, human beings, giving them a unique moral status. For Linzey, animals are part of God’s creation, and have God-given rights, or ‘theos-rights’, and thus have moral status. Religious responses to the preservation of species from extinction. * Genesis 1:12 – Species were created immutable (fixed and unchanging). Dominionism means human beings have used species and their environment for the good of humanity which has inevitably led to extinction of some. However, stewardship imposes a duty of care implying preservation and conservation of God’s sacred, creation for future generations upholding biodiversity. * Evolution teaches that species naturally change, mutate, and die out as part of the process of survival of the fittest and natural selection. Some religious people accept evolutionary theory – theistic evolution (God the Uncaused Cause brought everything else into existence – based on Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument). * Breeding programmes in zoos have helped to save species from extinction. * Ohito Declaration 1995 – sustaining environmental life is a religious responsibility.

The Life of a Slave in the 1800’s

The Life of a Slave in the 1800’s Life as a slave was very difficult. As many as 4. 5 million slaves were working in Southern plantations in the early to mid-1800’s. There were two types of slaves; field slaves and house slaves. People think that being a house slave was easier but this proves that theory wrong. Slaves had terrible environments, were separated from family and friends, and were sometimes beaten to death. Whites knew that slavery was wrong and immoral. Though, it still continued.Being a field slave was not at all easy. A field slave worked from sunrise to sunset, but during harvest, they worked an eighteen-hour day. A field worker was out in the field when the first sign of light shone until it was too dark to see. Women field workers worked the same hours as men. Pregnant women were expected to work until the child was born, and after the child's birth the woman worked in the field with the child on her back. Field workers lived in tiny huts with dirt for a floor.These small huts gave absolutely no protection against the cold winter winds. Slaves slept on rough blankets inside the hut. After a day on a cotton plantation the slaves got in a line to have their cotton weighed and receive their daily food. The minimum amount of cotton to be picked in one day was 200 pounds. At about the age of twelve a child's work became almost the same as an adult's. The field slaves were watched all day long by a white person with a whip. If they did not work up to the expectations, they were beaten and sometimes killed.A benefit of a field slave, however, was that slaves got Sundays off and maybe parts of Saturday unless it was during harvest. Most house slaves were living under better conditions than field workers. However, house slaves did not get Sunday off and usually attended church with their owners. House slaves cleaned, cooked, served meals, and took care of the children. Some house slaves lived in attics, closets, or corners in the big hous e even if their families lived in the quarters. A cook's day was long and hard.A cook got up early in the morning to cook breakfast, and the day ended with cleaning up after dinner and gathering firewood for the next day. These slaves sometimes stole food from the owner. A house slave had a better opportunity to learn how to read and write. They often listened in on their owner's conversations so they were able to warn field slaves of the owner auctioning certain slaves and other important things. House slaves did many other things like waited on tables, washed, roned, took up and put down carpets, swept floors, dusted furniture, hoed and weeded gardens, and collected the chicken eggs. They also took care of the infants allowing the owner to do whatever they wanted. Although house slaves had more privileges, being a house slave was not much, if any easier than being a field worker. At the time, slaves were separated from their families and auctioned off to white families so that the y could work as servants whether it was in the fields picking cotton and tobacco or working inside doing all of the house chores and practically raising the children.Slaves were most likely to have been in a family where they were beaten horrendously if they did not meet the expectations that the white folks had for them. Back then, society looked at slaves like they weren’t fully human and shouldn’t be treated as one. Like anyone else would say, it is very safe to say that having a life of a slave in the 1800’s was not easy. WORKS CITED: http://library. thinkquest. org/CR0215086/dailylife. htm

What Patriotism Means to Me Essays

What Patriotism Means to Me Essays What Patriotism Means to Me Essay What Patriotism Means to Me Essay What Patriotism Means To MePatriotism, the very sound of the word compels in my heart feelings of loyalty and pride like winter brings snow. I feel loyalty for my country and my countrys ideals and I feel pride for those before me who fought and sacrificed for the freedom of my country.I love and honor my country I feel a sense of duty to this country that has been my home since my birth. As I look at the pages of our countrys history I am inspired by those who have spoken out and fought against those who have threatened our countrys security and ideals.Our forefathers had dreams of a nation with liberty and justice for all. They gave all they had, every single ounce of strength to make that dream come true. Therefore they waged war against one of the most powerful empires of the time so that they could remain true to their ideals.Patrick Henry is one of the examples of patriotism in that time. His words Give me liberty or give me death stir feelings of pride and courage in me. I am proud to live in a country with such heritage. As I hear those words I am filled with courage to stand up for my country and its ideals.General Dwight D. Eisenhower had courage to invade France and lead our Allied troops against those that threatened not just our but world security. Also he was willing to sacrifice his life for the freedom of the world. To me patriotism is not only fighting for the freedom of our country but also for the freedom of man.Martin Luther King Jr was willing to lead a movement against segregation in our nation. In fact he had the courage to tell our nation that it’s policy of segregation was wrong. To me, he is a true patriot not only being willing to fight for our country but willing to try to change it so that our ideals are preserved. He caused a surge of patriotism.I request you America to fight to keep the flame of patriotism alive. We are our countrys future. We must dig deep inside ourselves and find the courage

Does Animal Farm fit the definition of a fable Essays

Does Animal Farm fit the definition of a fable Essays Does Animal Farm fit the definition of a fable Paper Does Animal Farm fit the definition of a fable Paper Essay Topic: Animal Farm Literature A fable is a story with animal characters which teaches a lesson or has a moral. The animals speak like humans and normally have a specific quality, such as the slow tortoise and the speedy hare. A famous fable writer was Aesop. Characters do not develop much in the story and humour is often used. Fables are made-up stories but often make important points about real life. The fable (In Greek language Muzos which you can literally translate as myth) has its own evolution over time, according to the development of the people expressing it and their culture. Animal Farm is written by George Orwell. The animals of Manor Farm overthrow their human master and look forward to a new way of living, one with peace and freedom, but when the pigs of the farm take control of Animal Farm, they create havoc and all animals are soon back to their old ways and conditions of starvation, overwork and intimidation. The animals have not succeeded in their desire to be equal. This is shown when Benjamin reads out on a wall, All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. This story fulfils many of the characteristics of a fable. The characters do show many human strong points and also display human weaknesses and faults such as greed, pride and vanity. This case can be seen in two pigs who personify greediness physically and mentally; particularly physically when Squealer promotes that they keep all the milk and apples because it is necessary for pigs to have foods like this in their diet in order to give them the strength to lead effectively. Sycophancy is shown by Boxer when he says If Comrade Napoleon says it, it is right and Napoleon is always right. When all the animals were learning to read they couldnt remember all seven commandments and Snowball narrowed it down to one commandment which was Four legs good, two legs bad. The sheep, especially, really believed this commandment and chanted it through the farm repeatedly. This illustrates another of the human faults often shown in a fable; that of gullibility. The weakness of vanity is also exposed in the second chapter when Molly the pony takes a piece of ribbon from Mrs Jones dressing table and was holding it against herself and admiring herself in the glass in a very foolish manner Animal Farm also relates to a fable for it does express a moral message and the story is trying to communicate a lesson. It suggests that war is not the answer and that having power can change everything, and can affect people in negative ways. At dark times of the story they use humour, which is often used in fables, such as when the assassination of a traitor ram is described. He is chased round a bonfire when he has a cough! The story is suitable for children as it has a fun, fairy tale element and uses understandable vocabulary. Most of the characters in the story we know very little about as individuals. Many are just grouped by their species, such as the pigs and hens but others have names and are more developed in the chapters. Napoleons motives are explored and he shows his evil side when Snowball is chased off the farm, and Boxer evokes the readers sympathy when he gets hurt, as we have come to appreciate his straight-forward and honest character which the author has developed through the story. Unlike most fables, Animal Farm does not quote a moral at the end of the story, which makes it hard for the reader to realise it is a fable and that there is a message behind it. After reading the story, which is also quite different from a traditional fable because of its length, the reader is left to figure out what the lesson is and what good human points and bad human points are being expressed. In conclusion, Animal Farm is a fable but has its own subtle elements. I think that making the story longer than any other fable creates drama and makes the reader think hard about whether it is a fable, has a moral or is trying to send a message about what happens in everyday life.

How to Write a Research Paper Example

How to Write a Research Paper Example If you have ever come across the quote of Gene Fowler on writing, you would discover that writing is indeed serious business. However, there are some things about writing that make it actually fun. Some might say that starting to write is the hard part. However, there are some aspects of writing that can actually be painful if you do not go through the right routes. For example, writing a research paper can be extremely painful for someone who doesn’t know how to. However if you can, from the start, improve your technical writing skills, then it would be cake for you. Essentially, the writing of a research paper example lies in the ability for you to accurately report on the findings you have in your laboratory. However, a research paper example should not be mistaken for an ordinary run of the mill lab report, no. This is more concise, and the student has to do a lot for it to actually look like a research paper. For example, a normal lab report consists essentially of nothing more than a couple of rudimental answers to questions that were encountered in the lab. If you would agree, this is hardly helpful, since this is not how it would be in the real world – in your career path, and a research paper example is what you need to give you the beneficial guidelines. Without doubt, you would agree that no other quality of a student is more desired than an effective and admirable writing and communication skill, and it is every student’s duty to work towards these so that the student can excel in any career path in the professional hemisphere. Of course, no employer ever turned down an applicant because ‘he was a good communicator’ which is saying something. Therefore, to build your career and ensure that you are a success, here are a couple of things you should do. This article seeks toe get you acquainted with a couple of resources that would help you, and a research paper example is ideal for such a study. The reason you might want to have a research paper done would be to have people selectively read your work. What is meant by this is: in a given field, some people might be interested in a sole technique amidst others, and this is what they would be on the lookout for in your work. Therefore, if your research paper is based on these qualities alone, then you would be on the right track. This is why some journals require that your research paper be written in such a way that each section begins at the top of a new page on your research paper. Of course, this is not s strict rule, as some journals do not request for thins requirement to be met. For example, some journals have been known to simply call for a combination of your reviews and discussions and your methodology in one mixture. For example again, if you look at the research paper example of the journal called Science, you would discover that they simply eliminate the separate sections and leave only the abstract. However, if you want toe write a journal in the life science field, then you might want to make use of any research paper example in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, as this is usually the format followed by most journals from the field of life sciences. Now, for a brief rundown of the various styles available for the research paper example; if you want your paper to pass the readability test, then there are some requirements it must meet. One of these is the fact that your font size should be twelve in size. Also, you are not permitted to use fancy fonts, abut are allowed to employ the standard fonts, for example times new roman, Geneva, Bookman, Helvetica, and others. Your text would also be required to have a double spacing and the dimension of your paper would be suitable at 8  ½Ã¢â‚¬  with an inch worth of margins. Your pages should be numbered in the order in which they appear, and this means that they should follow, as one, two, three in that order. Like it was mentioned earlier, your sections should have their beginnings in a new page for better cross referencing. Make sure you know the page limits of the journal and stick within this limit. Avoid having the heading of a new topic at the bottom of a pager and then having the subject matter of the heading in the next page. Finally, whatever you do, do not submit your research paper example out of order. Make sure that everything is in an orderly fashion. Also when writing, ensure that your paper proceeds in a normally prosaic manner.

Global Language Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Global Language Technologies - Essay Example This is a method that has been used by Dell Computer Corp. also. The third customer value offering is the product mix. GLT plans to offer all mobile communication devices, from cellular telephones to hand held devices and have accessories available. "Customer's who prefer one-stop shopping or variety would find such product mixes valuable" (Afuah and Tucci p 57 2000). 11 Global Language Technologies (GLT) is a fictitious company dealing with E retailing of multiple product lines emulating the mobile telecommunications industry through direct to consumer sales of mobile communication devices. Since the company deals with many and diverse products the inventory is huge both in terms of quantity as well as in terms of dollar value. The efforts are directed towards improving the supply chain process of the company by undertaking two major activities as follows: GLT needs a system that could integrate all these resources in order to utilise each one of them most optimally. GLT is medium sized organisation. In the telecommunications industry, information systems have a strong impact on management of the organization. The exchange of information through email, telephone, and Internet means that management has a secondary requirement other than people management, it must adapt to new technology as well as create base rules for the transfer of information. Furthermore, management has a responsibility to train employees on technology usage and security as information systems become more complex. Haag et al (p 9 2005) describes information as being: internal to the operation aspects of the facility; external, as the environmental impact of outside forces; objective as being known information; subjective as descriptions of the unknowns. The information systems, being where the telecommunications industry stores customer, business and technological knowledge, needs to be managed to the different types of information available. The influence of the

The protection of historical and cultural heritage during the Essay

The protection of historical and cultural heritage during the urbanization process - Essay Example The consequences include not only losing irreplaceable treasures but also endangering the futre of the globe especially when it comes to natural resources. In this study, the Chinese City of Xi’an will be discussed with regards to the violation and destruction of cultural heritages as man pursues urbanization.With the rapid development of economy and technology, the pace of urbanization accelerates greatly, and Xi’an has been feeling the effects of human invasion. During urban construction and development, it is important that the relationship between modernization and cultural [historical ] conservation is handled correctly to avoid the detrimental implications that come with their violation or destruction. The Xi’an Muslim District is one of the key elements that make up the famous cultural city of Xi’an, and also one that has been facing great challenges as urban development approaches it. The Muslim District is composed of about 54 hectares of ancient (traditional) housing of the Hui people. It is one of the key areas protected by the Historic and Cultural city Preservation Plan of Xi’an Year 1995-2020. The district bears important heritage for the Chinese and particularly the Muslims in that the housing, including seven mosques, as well as land, date back to hundreds of years. However, recent â€Å"redevelopment† plans have been rumored, proposing that the ancient low housing be â€Å"revamped† to better urban housing (Vinsrygg 92). If Grunwald’s example is anything to go by, it is important that the Chinese government should not implement such proposals because once the redevelopment is done, the Muslim heritage that has existed in the Xià ¢â‚¬â„¢an District will be destroyed. Therefore, it would important for people to stand against such forms of urbanization because culture, once destroyed, can never be repaired. One of the worst violations

Week 2 ILAB Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 2 ILAB - Research Paper Example The sweetener is relatively safe in terms of both physical and chemical reactions. The sweetener reacts slowly with both cold and hot water. The sweetener is soluble in all liquids but its solubility depends on different temperature. However, it creates certain diseases such as diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus if consumed at high or low levels respectively. Different research studies show that sucrose is not associated with obesity, for example Bolton-Smith and Woodward found no relationship between bodyweight, and sugar intake in Australian adults aged between 25-64 years (Winsome Parnell, 2007). This data is in agreement with that of Gibson, who found no evidence that obese people in the United Kingdom were consuming a diet high in sucrose. A study carried out in New Zealand also showed that overweight adults did not have a high sugar intake than normal weight adults; obese children also gave the same results (Winsome Parnell,

Cybercrime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cybercrime - Research Paper Example This IP operated similar to a house address and represented a specific group or a company. Therefore there was an automatic controls system on the internet IP could be traced. This stopped people from trying to use internet as a means of stealing money or another fraud activity because they knew that it could be traced back to them. In the last decade however the growth of internet has been phenomenal. From a mere few million users of the nineties it has grown in to billions. This growth has made it impossible to maintain the old system. Moreover the wireless internet system has made it even more difficult to track internet criminals. This is because airports, bus terminals and even Starbucks coffee shops all have wireless internet facilities. These facilities operate on temporary IPs. This therefore means that each time you connect to the internet a new IP address is assigned to your computer. Thus it becomes almost impossible to track and convict criminals on internet fraud. The co nviction becomes even more difficult as it is not easy to prove anything in the court of law. One of the most popular cyber crimes is the Credit Card frauds. This type of fraud has increased over the years with the increase in usage of credit cards. The availability of all types of services through credit cards ensures that they become an attractive option for fraud, especially when it comes to online purchases. There are millions of business in US and Europe which only accept payments through credit cards. This is no longer restricted to online services as it did in the nineties. Businesses like Netflix have ensured that customers rely completely on credits cards for all types of consumer items. Credit card fraud is the term used for describing the fraud or theft of money committed by using the credit cards in illegal payments and money transactions to obtain illegal goods and services or to illegally transfer funds from others accounts. They are among

Abu Dhabi economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Abu Dhabi economy - Assignment Example All Islamic adherents imbue involving social and religious attachment on the work culture while guiding employees accordingly. The guidance starts at the beginning of employment when a prospective employee is given a contract that shows a modern Islamic culture in the workplace. In the holy month of Ramadan, companies advise their staff to follow internal cultural transformation. The opportunity offers a comfortable environment which encourages all employees not to miss the chance to fast without official Islamic grounds to perform appropriate obligatory prayers, and offer charity to their best. Halal food products The Muslim staff is not allowed to eat, smoke and drink in the month of Ramadan, however, non-Muslims are allowed to use hidden office spaces to take lunch, and tea breaks dressing conventionally is encouraged to adhere to religious observances of other people, and music is banned across all the premises. The month of Ramadan is celebrated by special foods in baskets to ea ch employee at an elaborate Iftar party festival. In addition, office working hours have been shortened to six hours from 8:00 AM to around 2:00 PM. Ramadan is not only a significant month in the marketing activities of the company but also the busiest one (Davidson, 2009, p.256). The company’s warehouse is often active all round the clock as regional distribution processes and production degrees rise significantly. In each month of Ramadan, the Al Islam’s sales have increased from twenty to approximately forty percent in comparison to other months. Laudable remains the fact that demand increase is not entitled to only individuals, but for family consumption with massive number of donations meals arranged for the under-privileged. Each year, Ramadan brings an aggressive feeling of competition among other food companies. On its part, Al Islamic has introduced a range of marketing as well as theme founded promotions to encourage its sales by increasing up its distributio n activities. The company focused on unique and Ramadan specific commodities offerings with exceptional discounts given to consumers, and iftar and suhur made available. As a leader in the halal segment, the firm has undertaken the social role of educating the general public on the halal meat process together with innate difference between halal and the genuine halal. The company launched a Ramadan’ promotional strategy on creating awareness on animal’s electric stunning, which is associated with the slaughtering process. On the other hand, stunning is a practice associated with the food industry as â€Å"real halal† slaughtering takes place without stunning (Davidson, 2009, p.456). Al Islami has undertaken an initiative to educate consumers on different slaughtering practices, as well as informing them that the firm does not make use of stunning, and deploys a hygienic method of slaughter using hands. Al Islami makes use of representatives at various slaughterh ouses and abattoirs in the world. Al Islami Foods believe that they have to be an example with successful management that blends religious obligations in the working culture. They provide a healthy corporate, as well as social environment, reflects the holiness of the Holy month. Advantages of Abu Dhabi business environment Abu Dhabi has become a competitive business location in attracting foreign investments by ensuring updating of business legislation to establish an optimum environment for investments to flourish. Present legislation in terms of tax, property rights, corporate governance, ownership and corporate governa

Religious Liberty in Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious Liberty in Public Schools - Essay Example It goes a long way in eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion in public places. This is what informed the decision in Van Orden v Perry (2005), where the Supreme Court held that the Ten Commandment on the government monument at the Texas State Capitol violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  The issue of religious expression in public places, especially in schools, is an area that has attracted a series of serious debates. Many of these matters always find their way in court. In the case of Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the state of Pennsylvania required that ten verses should be read from the Holy Bible each morning in public schools each school day. The majority of Supreme Court judges found this to contravene the First Amendment.  Just as in the above-mentioned case, it would be wrong to display the student’s depiction of Jesus Christ in class as this would be going against the First Amendment as that would amount to leaning t owards Christianity as opposed to the required neutrality in the public schools towards religion (Ackerman, 2001).  Putting all these factors into consideration, it would therefore go against some student’s rights, as this is a captive audience, and can be easily swayed into believing something that is against their religious creed. It is therefore important not to display that kind of work in class to protect the constitutional rights of the other students and avoid violating the First Amendment, which could have in itself dire consequences.

Abu Dhabi economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Abu Dhabi economy - Assignment Example All Islamic adherents imbue involving social and religious attachment on the work culture while guiding employees accordingly. The guidance starts at the beginning of employment when a prospective employee is given a contract that shows a modern Islamic culture in the workplace. In the holy month of Ramadan, companies advise their staff to follow internal cultural transformation. The opportunity offers a comfortable environment which encourages all employees not to miss the chance to fast without official Islamic grounds to perform appropriate obligatory prayers, and offer charity to their best. Halal food products The Muslim staff is not allowed to eat, smoke and drink in the month of Ramadan, however, non-Muslims are allowed to use hidden office spaces to take lunch, and tea breaks dressing conventionally is encouraged to adhere to religious observances of other people, and music is banned across all the premises. The month of Ramadan is celebrated by special foods in baskets to ea ch employee at an elaborate Iftar party festival. In addition, office working hours have been shortened to six hours from 8:00 AM to around 2:00 PM. Ramadan is not only a significant month in the marketing activities of the company but also the busiest one (Davidson, 2009, p.256). The company’s warehouse is often active all round the clock as regional distribution processes and production degrees rise significantly. In each month of Ramadan, the Al Islam’s sales have increased from twenty to approximately forty percent in comparison to other months. Laudable remains the fact that demand increase is not entitled to only individuals, but for family consumption with massive number of donations meals arranged for the under-privileged. Each year, Ramadan brings an aggressive feeling of competition among other food companies. On its part, Al Islamic has introduced a range of marketing as well as theme founded promotions to encourage its sales by increasing up its distributio n activities. The company focused on unique and Ramadan specific commodities offerings with exceptional discounts given to consumers, and iftar and suhur made available. As a leader in the halal segment, the firm has undertaken the social role of educating the general public on the halal meat process together with innate difference between halal and the genuine halal. The company launched a Ramadan’ promotional strategy on creating awareness on animal’s electric stunning, which is associated with the slaughtering process. On the other hand, stunning is a practice associated with the food industry as â€Å"real halal† slaughtering takes place without stunning (Davidson, 2009, p.456). Al Islami has undertaken an initiative to educate consumers on different slaughtering practices, as well as informing them that the firm does not make use of stunning, and deploys a hygienic method of slaughter using hands. Al Islami makes use of representatives at various slaughterh ouses and abattoirs in the world. Al Islami Foods believe that they have to be an example with successful management that blends religious obligations in the working culture. They provide a healthy corporate, as well as social environment, reflects the holiness of the Holy month. Advantages of Abu Dhabi business environment Abu Dhabi has become a competitive business location in attracting foreign investments by ensuring updating of business legislation to establish an optimum environment for investments to flourish. Present legislation in terms of tax, property rights, corporate governance, ownership and corporate governa