Online Resort Reservation and Billing System Essay

1. Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius (AD 354 – AD 420/440), although he denied, at least at some point in his life, many of the doctrines associated with his name. It is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special Divine aid. This is still sometimes called Limited Depravity. Thus, Adam’s sin was â€Å"to set a bad example† for his progeny, but his actions did not have the other consequences imputed to original sin. Pelagianism views the role of Jesus as â€Å"setting a good example† for the rest of humanity (thus counteracting Adam’s bad example) as well as providing an atonement for our sins. In short, humanity has full control, and thus full responsibility, for obeying the Gospel in addition to full responsibility for every sin (the latter insisted upon by both proponents and opponents of Pelagianism). According to Pelagian doctrine, because humans are sinners by choice, they are therefore criminals who need the atonement of Jesus Christ. Sinners are not victims; they are criminals who need pardon. 2. Arianism was a Christian heresy first proposed early in the 4th century by the Alexandrian presbyter Arius. It affirmed that Christ is not truly divine but a created being. The fundamental premise of Arius was the uniqueness of God, who is alone self-existent and immutable. The Son, who is not self-existent, cannot be God. 3. Donatism was a Christian sect within the Roman province of Africa that flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries. It had its roots in the social pressures among the long-established Christian community of Roman North Africa (present-day) Algeria and Tunisia, during the persecutions of Christians under Diocletian. The Donatists (named for the Berber Christian bishop Donatus Magnus) were members of a schismatic church not in communion with the churches of the Catholic tradition in Late Antiquity.

Alexander III

â€Å"In terms of both personality and policies, Alexander Ill did not posses the qualities necessary for a successful ruler of late 19th-century Russia† – to what extent to you agree with this Judgment? Whilst the Judgment could be considered well-founded, its validity is a matter of opinion, depending on how one defines the qualities of a ‘successful ruler' of Russia in the late sass, which policies contribute to this success and what, overall, makes a Tsar a success or a failure (if the matter can be categorized so dictatorially).Disregarding the technicalities of the Judgment, although Alexander Ill may not have assessed all the qualities that would have classed him as a successful Tsar, he was not entirely lacking in them – nor in his policies – therefore meaning that the statement is not entirely correct. Before discussing what made a successful 19th century Russian autocrat, it must be ascertained what ‘successful' entails: in this case, it would be achieving the aims of the autocrat/autocracy.The primary aim of an autocrat in the sass would be to preserve or extend the autocracy and its power both internally and internationally, meaning that there would be few or no concessions of power and that the Tsar would appear as a forceful, formidable figure to both its allies and enemies and in the eyes of citizens of the Russian Empire in both the motherland and its annexes. This was obviously extremely important to Alexander Ill, given his ‘Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy in April 1881.Secondary aims may have varied from Tsar to Tsar but for Alexander these were: the rejection of democracy and the reversal of Alexander SIS liberalism, which fitted neatly with the preservation of autocracy; the removal of opposition that had arisen during Alexander SIS reign, including crushing the threat of revolution; and the economic and industrial modernization of Russia, moving it towards becoming a ‘Great Power'.And of course, he would have to possess the support of the majority Russian people, though this was generally a given, as even – if not especially – those who had never seen the Tsar were convinced of his positions as ‘gods anointed' and their ‘Little Father'. Depending on how high a regard the Tsar is held in, it could be suggested that humanitarian aims were present however, for the purposes of this essay, this will not be included, as an overview of Alexander Ills reign suggest that whilst he made some inclusion for his workers and subjects, many freedoms and rights were compromised to further the ‘greater good'.Autocracy generally protects the autocrat from criticism of personal traits, though, if in possession of some or lacking in others, it may make the autocrat's rule easier or harder. To be both a highly autocratic ruler and to be successful, one would have had to appear as both ruthless and honest, likeable yet formidable, as the ‘little f ather' to the peasants whilst also appearing as working to protect the upper class and as incredibly patriotic, though not to the extent that it would disadvantage the country.An well rounded education in militarily, state and economic matters, though not technically a personality trait, would also be beneficial for a Tsar to possess, allowing him to be thoughtful and therefore to curb any headstrong impulsiveness he may have had. In terms of policy, depending on the Tsar's aims, how well they supported of achieved those aims and how well they were received helped his achievement of prosperity in his role as successful and popular policies make for a successful and popular rule.Despite this, it must be noted that although a Tsar had the potential to cake or break the country, advisors often tempered him, especially if those advisors had previously been influential in his life, meaning a Tsar's successfulness could be down to more than Just his personality or the policies he made. In terms of preserving the autocracy, and reversing the steps towards democracy his father had taken, Alexander Ill was arguably very successful, especially in his dealings with revolutionary groups and opposition in the sass and sass.After his fathers assassination by members of the terrorist group the ‘People's Will' – ‘Normandy Volta' – the Tsar ruthlessly cracked down on groups and organizations hat opposed him through the return of rigid censorship, exiles to Siberia and executions, such as the hanging of Alexandra Llanos and four others in 1887.The policy that allowed his authorities more power in pursuing opposition groups was the 1881 Statute of State Security, which gave the state the power to declare an area of the country under ‘extraordinary protection' and to therefore impose what essentially amounted to martial law: the banning of public meetings could be banned, the closing and restriction of schools, the extension of powers of the police especially the Koruna) and the arrest of anybody who was deemed ‘liberal' or in opposition to the regime.Furthermore, whilst the restrictions of censorship were resented by many (especially the revolutionaries, liberals and those calling for social change) it certainly did slow the spread of anti-tsarist ideas that had contributed to the dislike of autocracy and later the assassination of Alexander II. The combination of the restrictions on physically forming opposition groups and the restrictions on the spread of ideologies made it difficult for revolutionaries to even arm groups, let alone for them to actually perform any revolutionary actions.Whilst the methods through which Alexander Ill kept control of Russia were radical, conservative and incredibly harsh, they were no less effective for that and ensured a fairly stable, though oppressive, reign for him making him successful in his preservation of autocracy and the removal of the threat of revolution in his time. Econom ically and industrially, Russia was lagging behind Europe in the late sass.Alexander Ill intended to change that through a protectionist economic policy, imposing customs duties on imported goods to recover Russian's economy and allowing rapid industrial and infrastructural growth – the latter intending to an increase in the number of workers in industrial areas – and was fairly successful in the matter. He was also successfully frugal in accounting in state finances, though Russian's expenditure on debt was still fairly high.With his ministers Bungee, Witted & Yesterdays he achieved his aim of a major boost of progress both economically and industrially, whilst also attempting to improve agricultural production – evidence of this success being the 8% per annum Roth in Russian's economy. Antithetical to the progress made was the social conditions that went along with it. Living conditions in towns and cities were mostly poor and often factory work paid poorly, l eaving poverty, overcrowding and discontent to fester with the workers.In addition to this, though its efficiency improved, agriculture was exploited to the extent that major famines were caused, the largest in 1891 , as emphasis was placed on exporting the agricultural products, rather than letting peasants provide from themselves with them. High taxes were also placed on peasants to fund the instruction of railway lines, such as the Trans-Siberian Railway, and this furthered the poverty experienced by many in both developed and rural areas, though it did allow for improvement in the internal transportation of goods and of people (another successfully achieved aim).There was a definite lack of basic societal care in Alexander Ill, yet he was not entirely negligent in his role of the ‘Little Father' to his subjects: The Peasant Land Bank was set up in 1883, giving cheap loans to allow peasants to buy their own land; redemption payments were lowered, allowing extremely poor pea sants to move emend subsidence farming; and, in towns and cities, factories were legislated with working hours established and an inspectorate employed.In some ways, his work for the ‘greater good' could be considered more characteristic of a successful Tsar than humanitarianism would be as a Tsar's first duty was to God and his country, meaning that improvement of the country should be attempted no matter what the cost to its people (who were supposed to shared his loyalties, given his adopted slogan of ‘Nationality, Orthodoxy, Autocracy.As far as foreign policy goes, Alexander Ills title as the ‘Peacekeeper' Tsar is perhaps s deserved as his fathers title the Tsar ‘Liberator' was; though his policies successfully kept the peace, it was most likely not for pacifistic, humanitarian reasons (as far as we know, or can deduct) but rather to allow for Russia to improve practically. Evidence of this is that, although diplomatically peaceful, the Tsar opposed doctr ines of peace fairly strongly, preferring the view that a nation must be prepared for war in order to avoid it.No major wars occurred during his reign, and given the problems that the Crimean War had left in its wake, this was a definite success on his part. Ensuring a tentative peace with Germany and Austria-Hungary with the Three Emperors' Alliance with the renewal of it in 1881, Alexander Ill successfully gained security for the first few years of his reign.The circumnavigation of collapse of this from 1885-1887 due to conflict in the Balkans potentially avoided any major problems for Russia and instead left them option to pursue Franco-Russian policy to fill the vacuum left by Russian's estrangement from Germany & Austria-Hungary, earning another success for the Tsar in his foreign policy.Of course, the fact collapse of the Three Emperors' Alliance, along with the tensions n the Balkans (though a continuance from previous Tsar's agendas) could be counted as a failing on Alexande r part, but this is largely negated by his other successes, such his cautious avoidance of conflict with any European or Asian powers whilst gradually expanding Russian influence and power.Contrary to the success Alexander had with his foreign policy, a domestic policy that mostly failed and caused much resentment with in the Russian Empire was Rustication – the attempted unification of the Russian Empire under one ruler, one religion, one language and one culture. In abstract, Rustication would supposedly eave united the peoples of the Russian Empire and wiped out the threat of revolution and made Russia a dominant power in Europe, however all it did in reality was anger those whose cultures, religions or languages were being repressed, and spawn resentment towards the Tsar in all corners of his Empire.Obviously it was a policy that failed, given that it had been intended to quell revolutionary action and unify the state when, instead, it caused further divisions between the myriad of ethnicities present in Russia and actually grew revolutionary movements in areas like Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. For Alexander Ill to be classed as successful the personal qualities needed for a ruler and the policies that may have been needed to achieve his aims would have been a balancing act of epic proportions – something that only somebody who had been raised to be a ruler could manage to do with any degree of success.As the second son of Alexander II, Alexander Ill was not expected to become Tsar and was educated only to the standard of a Grand Duke of the period, the finer points of ruling a country were not taught to him until his brother Nicolas died in 1865. Despite him being described as a gruff, narrow minded and fairly crude (Queen Victoria described him as â€Å"a sovereign she does not look upon as a gentleman†) Alexander Ill was of true Russian character: a deeply religious, moral & honest man with an imposing figure and fiery temperament .These traits would have fitted the profile of a Tsar fairly well in abstract but, in reality, the coarseness of Alexander character prevented them from being viewed as such. Alexander natural conservatism was likely furthered by the assassination of his father by radicals, and by the influence of Photostatted – his reactionary tutor – ND that the dangers that liberalism connoted, given the numerous attempts on his fathers life, and later on his own.However, conservatism obviously was not a bad trait to possess in the late 19th century, as the previous Tsar's liberalism had granted freedoms to those who would wish to end autocracy and in return had been granted a caved in skull. Gruffness of nature was characteristic of Alexander and, whilst it may have looked upon degradingly by the other nobles of Europe, it gained him a certain kind of respect from his people as he gave not only an impression of solidity and strength, UT also one of rough-cut solidarity with his peo ple.For an long period of time, the Romano Tsars had been untouchable, not only as divine, but also in the distinctions of class between them and their subjects, therefore having a Tsar who was relatable, but not ‘soft', as Alexander II may have been thought of as, was highly desirable. As far as being liked or admired as a person, Alexander was well liked by sloppiness and many of the Russian peasants who felt a ruler who was suspicious of the west, highly patriotic and characteristic of the ideal Russian man was one they could purport, and consequently, one who would be successful.On a slightly humorous note, an example of a quality that may have proved endearing to the typical Russian worker was his love of drinking. Even after he was diagnosed with kidney problems and forbidden alcohol by his wife, Alexander continued to drink, using hidden compartments in his boots to store flasks of alcohol that, when his wife left the room, he Jokingly pulled out and swigged from. Alter nately, the lack of education and culture Alexander Ill displayed made him seem rather brutish; two traits that did not sit well with the ‘cultured' gentry who had ivied through the reign of his more cultivated father.Furthermore it seemed to go against autocratic, ruling-class propriety to have a crude, UN-gentlemanly, bear of a man ruling a country that – though tumultuous and uneven in its wealth – produced some of the finest architecture, art, music and literature in the 19th century. The late 19th century was a time when Russia was teetering on the brink of revolution, modernization and industrialization, and in keeping the revolution down whilst advancing the country fiscally was something that Alexander Ill did admirably ell, despite his flaws and failed policies.Though he may not have been a Tsar for the people, nor the ‘Liberator' his father was he, ensured the security of Russian autocracy for his reign (mostly through repression, at the expense o f liberties) therefore making him a successful Tsar overall, contrary to what the statement suggests. Additionally, though conservatism is often painted as a backwards, oppressive political view to hold, it can be argued that for Alexander Ill preserve his rule and economically/industrially bring Russia up to speed – ruling with an iron fist

Dress and Ideology within the Kiss Army Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dress and Ideology within the Kiss Army - Essay Example The band is one of a few different bands, notably of the 1970's and 1980's, to dress up and paint their faces for shows and they did so out of a desire to be different from the norm. Working together with the odd dress were the outrageous antics of the band members, all designed to scare away those people not suited to the lifestyle; subsequently it was these aspects of Kiss that pulled in many loyal followers because of their own innate desire to be different from the masses. Because of this, it is ironic that the struggle to be different culminated in the conception of a club; the Kiss Army boasts thousands of members and each of these is dedicated to the principles on which the band was founded: namely, the daring to be different and to willingly repulse normal members of society, and of course a real appreciation for the music. It was this undying fan loyalty and image that helped Kiss become of the most successful bands of all time in terms of merchandising2. Kiss Army member Chris Jenson has said that being a part of this particular fan club is unlike any other fan club experience: "Kiss Army members are more adventurous and connected to each other than people in other fan clubs. They joined because they like what the music and the look of Kiss did to society and they'll always remember that"3. The dress code is not what fundamentally binds these members together, but it is what lets them identify each other and feel at home within the group. The giant black boots, the fake spiked costumes and the black and white painted faces are all a part of dressing to belong and to simultaneously express oneself. Although the seeming conformity of dressing alike and in reverence to one band might negate the efforts of the individual to set him or herself apart, if you think of it more in terms of each individual coincidentally expressing themselves in the same way, you can get a feel for what the Kiss Army members experience in dressing up. The Kiss fashion style donned by thousands of fans has not in itself evolved over the years although the band members have experimented with different looks since the inception of the Kiss Army4; men, women and children all dress alike5 and no major modifications have been made to the costumes as they still mimic the band members at the height of their popularity several decades ago. All in all, it is the unchanging facets of the Kiss fan subculture that keeps members sure about what they are identifying with and what they are expressing by dressing up accordingly. Bibliography Jason Jarmo. A KISS Army of One. IQ, 2005; http://www.indstate.edu/iq/Geek_Issue/Kiss_Army.htm. This source was helpful for understanding the background of the Kiss Army and gaining insight to the reasons why such a group would form and be one of the more substantial fan clubs. C.K. Lendt. Kiss and Sell: The making of a supergroup. Billboard Books, 1997. This book makes it clear that Kiss is not only a phenomenon because of its music, fashion and followers, but because of the shrewd marketing abilities of the members. Kiss is a huge success in merchandising and without this the continuation of the band might not have been

Managerial Accounting Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managerial Accounting Practices - Essay Example Claire’s Antiques may have to sell its products at a discount or even at a loss to liquidate its inventory. To reduce inventory costs, management is considering implementing a "Just In Time" inventory management system. If this JIT inventory strategy gets implemented then Claire’s Antiques would see a good improvement on the return on investment as there would be a reduction in the in-process inventory and its associated costs. It is essential to implement it correctly and utilize it optimally because if there is any disruption at any given point in the supply chain, then all production grinds to a halt. The internal specifications presented in this report are sufficiently logical and enable good economic decision making. For example, specific reporting periods may be replaced with access to real-time data that enable quick response to changing conditions. And, forecasted outcomes become much more critical for planning purposes. Likewise, cost information should be disseminated in such a way that we can focus on different manufacturing processes such as design, material acquisition, assembly, testing and so on. -> Cost/Volume/Profit Analysis: Claire’s Antiques deals with multiple products, and thus offers a diverse product line, and the individual products have different selling prices, contribution margins and contribution margin ratios. As such in Claire’s Antiques case, the bedroom suites have a higher profit margin when compared to other products, but at the same time it also has a lower sales volume. ... contribution margins and contribution margin ratios. As such in Claire's Antiques case, the bedroom suites have a higher profit margin when compared to other products, but at the same time it also has a lower sales volume. Yet the firm's total fixed cost picture would be the same, no matter the mix of products sold. There are few assumptions which could be considered here : Costs can be segregated into fixed and variable portions The linearity of costs is preserved over a relevant range (i.e., variable cost is constant per unit, and fixed cost is constant in total) Revenues are constant per unit and multiple-product firms meet the expected product mix ratios One additional assumption is that inventory levels are fairly constant, with the number of units produced equaling the number of units sold. If inventory levels fluctuate, some of the variable and fixed product costs may flow into or out of inventory, with a variety of potential impacts on profitability -> Job Costing: Determining the cost data for products and services are the end results of productive processes. Multiple processes are required to bring about a deliverable output. A logical starting point for job costing is to track the direct labor to specific jobs. It is required to capture the time spent on each job by each employee on a tracker .This would allow cost assignment to specific jobs. The next important thing would be to keep a detailed record of the materials released to each job. As such, in the case of manufacturing a clock, the materials used is solid oak wood, glass door, clock mechanism and pendulum. The information gathered provides essential documentation to safeguard and track

Effect of Sustainability on Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Effect of Sustainability on Development - Essay Example Sustainability is important and especially with a focus on global warming and environmental degradation, property developers and contractors have emphasized on construction and building projects that would be beneficial to the environment. Sustainability highlights these benefits and purchasers, developers and occupiers or builders and even buyers want a sustainable environment so that they could be part of a healthy and beneficial environment. Saving energy and utilizing renewable energy are some of the elements of sustainability as sustainability is about renewal rather than depletion and using natural energy resources in a manner that would environmentally advantageous for the future. A study on environmental energy resources and sustainable developments examined the extent to which energy efficiency is incorporated in refurbishment and capital expenditure of office buildings and also suggested a cost benefit analysis. The three aspects of construction technology, building refurbishment and property management are integrated along with sustainability goals. The levels of capital expenditure vary to ensure that buildings are more energy efficient. The emphasis has been on cost of implementation and with increased energy efficiency there may even be a demand for high rents. Studies have suggested that office building construction phases contribute significantly to global warming although during the entire lifecycle of a building, CO2 omissions are a major problem. Innovative approaches and energy related changes and efficiency considerations are more applicable in case of new buildings as with various building designs and constructions techniques, new environmental considerations for construction have also evolved. All this caters to the idea of sustainability although the number of new buildings constructed each year is small in proportion to the buildings which already exist. However capital expenditure on a building enhances the sustainability factor proving that sustainability and energy considerations comes with a price although have long term environmental benefits. The increased importance given to sustainability and energy efficiency have affected decision making by developers and also have started determining market price and it is essential that we understand the link between the environment and built structure and environments and try to harmonize the two. The moot point remains that purchasers and developers are affected and influenced by sustainability factors and energy efficiency considerations is not just a buzz phrase in the construction business but also suggests acceptability of projects and developers by buyers who tend to appreciate building and construction projects that have sustainability as a basis of property development. The foundations of sustainability

Japanese views on Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Education of Young Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Education of Young Children - Essay Example However, "the preparation" context of DAP does not neglect the fact that more and more knowledge are being discovered regarding the significance or uniqueness of childhood that should merit the attention and commitment of educators, parents, government and communities alike - thus, DAP is consequently becoming more attuned to the ever-current needs of the child. DAP also recognizes the individual child as much as the diversity of the socio-economic and cultural environments that contribute to the differences in children's perceptions that they carry with them while attending early education. There are certain elements that make developmentally appropriate programs well suited to the aim of supporting the development of children in their education. These are knowledge or information used to come up with learning programs, the learning environment which is the dynamic interface between children and the educators, whether inside or outside the school system, and the policies which serve to institutionalize the mechanisms that make DAP continuously responsive to its aims. Knowledge as a key element of DAP allows educators to come up with learning programs and applications that are guideposts on what will work or not for the development of children. ... Furthermore, knowledge of varying socio-economic and cultural contexts as applied in DAP allows for relevance among children and families coming from different backgrounds. The learning environment as an element of DAP encompasses the interface between young children and the all the actors such as teachers, families and other children. It also includes the inter-related practices of teaching, developing curricula and the feedback processes that go with DAP. The learning environment is where social interactions and relationship skills are developed, that is why DAP is committed to fostering a safe and caring environment for young children. Continuous assessment of how children fare in learning programs also constitutes an important facet of the learning environment. Policies also constitute an important element of DAP in as much as they make learning programs committed to the development of young children viable. These include formal mechanisms that would set up personnel with the needed expertise, funding and other guidelines that serve as rules when certain expectations under DAP are not met. 2. What are the underlying values of DEC Recommended Practices According to the Division for Early Childhood of the Council (no date) for Exceptional Children or DEC, Recommended Practices are important because RP "represents collective wisdom, identifies what practices work, provides a framework to define quality, supports positive outcomes and applies to all settings". Instead on focusing on the larger framework of locating the child in the greater milieu of the education system or the society and to a certain extent and taking off from there, the approach is more evidence-based and is more geared towards what is practical and works. The