Religious Concepts in a Kantian Philosophy Essay

Religious Concepts in a Kantian Philosophy - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Immanuel Kant was an immensely popular and influential philosopher in 18th century Germany, who produced a wide array of works on metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and, most relevantly, religion. Probably the most amazing aspect of Kantian philosophy is the completeness of his theoretical and practical philosophies—a distinction he himself used wonderfully in creating his set of works. The difference between pure and practical reason forms the need for his two most seminal works, Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Practical Reason, the latter of which is more relevant to his consideration of religion. In that work and others, he fleshes out the difference between a constitutive picture of religious concepts and a regulative picture of religious concepts. Accepting the latter as a legitimate answer to one troubling antimony, Kant derives a critical philosophy which evaluates the notion of â€Å"religious knowledge†. Sc eptical of such a possibility, Kant endeavors to move religion into the realm of the non-cognitive such that claims to know what is beyond experience—the phenomenon—are immediately cast aside. The regulative approach to religious concepts Kant adopts the view that human beings should use the belief in God merely as a system of reward and punishment in morality. God, despite existing outside the realm of natural cause-and-effect, has the power to reward goodness and punish evil, thereby making human beings committed to being moral.

Measures by which the programme for the construction of the structure Essay

Measures by which the programme for the construction of the structure could be reduced - Essay Example It also emits Carbon Dioxide which is a major air pollutant and a determining factor to global warming. The main obstacles faced by the construction industry, thus, are to convey buildings that are economic in sustaining the life quality. This goes hand in hand with time reduction on the effect of the environmental, economic, social drains that affects us in one way or another. The main focus of this document is to elaborate on the obligations, benefits and background to sustainable building construction. Ways of meeting these obligations are provided at the end. The first crucial step is to seek permission from the local authority in form of an application for change of user. This will need the approval of the local authority’s plans for the area. (IEEE, 2005).That is, whether the area is official recognized as an industrial area only or a residential area. Depending on the prevailing by-laws, the approval may be issued or not. Afterwards, we can proceed to the preliminary design of the office. That is, the floor layout of the offices required among other things. These specifications will be tailored to the client in Hong Kong. A detailed assessment of the existing building will be done to check integrity of the current building, the kind of foundation, parts of the building that are intact or need re-designing to fit in the preliminary design. This will be done with assistance of the current building’s construction team, the building inspection unit from the local authority and the proprietors of the new building. We may need to consider all renovations done previously and any recommendations from the local authority inspection unit. After the detailed assessment is performed, a provisional design is done incorporating the findings in the earlier conducted detailed assessment. The design is presented to the client for his approval and finally forwarding to the local

Value at Risk framework and its utility in Risk Management Assignment

Value at Risk framework and its utility in Risk Management - Assignment Example filed bankruptcy due to failure on their part to manage risk during the financial disaster that occurred in 1990s. If there is not proper management or poor supervision, then billions of dollars may be lost when a financial disaster occurs. VaR is a technique of evaluating risk that employs standard statistical methodologies employed on regular levels in other technical fields. VaR reviews the worst financial loss over a target perspective that will not be surpassed with a given intensity of confidence. Footed on strong scientific groundwork, VaR offers its users with an outline evaluation of risk in market. â€Å"For example, a financial institution might inform that its VaR of its trading assortment on a daily basis is $10 million at the 98% buoyancy or â€Å"confidence level†. This mean, there is only 1 opportunity in a 100, under typical market scenario, for a financial loss higher than $50 million to happen. This single number recapitulates the bank’s vulnerabilit y not only to the prospect of an unfavourable move but also to market risk.† It evaluates the risk employing the analogues' units as the bank’s bottom-line dollars. ... As a result, it is truly a futuristic risk evaluation. VaR is applicable to all financial instruments though in the initial stage, it has been applied only to derivatives. (Jorion 2007: ix) 2- Background Every morning, in J.P Morgan Chase, the global head of Market risk receives a bulk report that summaries the value at risk (VaR) of the bank. JPMorgan Chase's bank’s global risk management system is generating this report during every night. Today, many brokerage firms, many banks, investment funds and even nonfinancial companies employ analogues methods to estimate their financial risk. Securities market regulators, private sector groups and banks have widely acknowledged statistical based risk management strategies like VaR. (Jorion2007:18). Till Guldimann can be said to be the father of the concept VaR while he functioned as the head of global research at J.P Morgan in the late 1980s. J P Morgan’s risk management group had to decide whether fully hedged meant making investment in long-maturity bonds, thus creating a fixed and stable revenues but oscillations in market value or investing in cash thus making the market value as fixed. The J P Morgan bank concluded that â€Å"value risks â€Å"were more significant than â€Å"earning risks† resulting from the invention of VaR. (Jorion2007:18). During that period, there were more concerns in the bank about managing the risk of derivatives. The Group of Thirty (G-30) which had a delegate from J P Morgan offered a way for deliberating best risk management techniques. Through the G-30 report which was published in July 1993, the term VaR term found its way. (Jorion2007:18). On June 26, 1974, the German authorities closed a troubled midsized bank namely

Willow Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Willow - Movie Review Example A few years after he dies too and this is where he discovers the afterlife. It is this bereavement that makes the viewer question their own lives and what would happen if this happened to them. It makes the viewer reflect on the uncertainty of life and how life can turn around within a split moment. When Chris Nielson dies his wife is left behind to grieve not only for the children, but also for her husband. It is not surprising that her sanity is taxed as she finds herself alone in this life. The afterlife displayed in this film is a place where everything happens because of the imagination. This leaves one to question their own beliefs. William Blake offers this unique glimpse at the afterlife where the imagination is the real human truth. The film challenges a persons values when Annie Collins-Nielsen commits suicide after grieving her two children and husband. Before watching this film a person may have had no understanding of suicide, but after watching the film and seeing the very real loss that Annie Collins-Nielsen suffers values, beliefs and ideas about suicide are challenged. Had Chris Nielson not been in such a respectable career where people looked up to him there might not have been such great loss to the whole of the society. Those in lesser known jobs would probably not leave such a huge gap. The fact that Chris Nielson was also working with children will also affect the children in a deeper way. Suddenly the whole society was faced by this loss and parents would have to explain to their children about death and bereavement. After reading chapter 7, what do you think of the quote, "when the collective is hostile to a womans natural life, rather than accept the derogatory or disrespectful labels that are placed upon her, she can and must, like the ugly duckling, hold on, hold out, and search for that which she belongs to.... and preferably outlive,

INFA questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INFA questions - Assignment Example It does not dictate how many or which tool to use in improving the security of system. Rather, the choice on what number of layers and technologies to use depends upon the risk analysis done by the organization (Cisco). Concerned with the way authority is assigned and organized (Northcutt). Entails formulating security policies, guidelines and planning in order to reduce loss (Stallings & Brown). Basically involves setting what employees may do, must always do, or cannot do. Examples include changing of policies, installing motion detectors, security awareness training among others. Involves enforcing the implementation of security policies, standards and also maintaining consistency in operations together with executing corrective measures in case of deficiencies (Stallings & Brown). The procedures are effected on both hardware and software. Examples include recovery actions like system reboot, data backup and access control to data (Slideshare). It involves utilizing the security capabilities of the hardware and software. The security once set up is managed entirely by the computer system. Examples include setting up firewalls and access tokens, password encryptions. 2. Most security models categorize controls into three types: management, operational, and technical. Describe each of these categories, and provide two examples of controls that would fall within each category. (1/2 page) A characteristic of a technology that someone can take advantage of to orchestrate a security incident (Stallings & Brown). Example is when a program unintentionally allows ordinary users to execute commands that can only be executed by privileged users. A potential for violation of a security policy that comes into play when there is an event or circumstance that could trigger breaching of security and therefore cause harm. It can be explained as a possible danger that could result in someone taking advantage of a

Risk - de Havillands Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk - de Havillands - Essay Example Its jets had many advantage vis-Ã  -vis high speed, quieter and more comfortable interior, distinctive design etc. But management’s decision to launch its first commercial jet ‘Comet’ was fraught with many mistakes and lacked proper and comprehensive risk management plan. de Havilland management’s hurry to be the first to launch jet aircraft commercially was important because it saw the launch of Comet as setting of the standards for the aircraft industry. It also wrongly assumed that because it was leading aircraft company and known for its high performing designs, it could repeat its success in the commercial market also. The lack of proper research and its apathy for the security of the customers was key managerial issue that was overlooked or not properly researched. The development of new products need to be well research and well tested before bringing it to the people. Though de Havilland had introduced innovative changes in its commercial jet, Comet, the changes were not tested extensively and the jet was launched in hurry. The faulty design of the jet had resulted in three massive crashes which ultimately discredited the company in the eyes of its various stakeholders. The various perspectives of de Havilland case are important ingredients because they help to execute projects successfully. In the Havilland case, priorities were set wrongly. Passenger safety was overlooked in order to become the first one to set standards for aircraft industry. Moreover, the new designs were not tested and risks were not identified from different perspectives and outcome. This was a major blunder especially as it put to risks the lives of the people or its passengers. As a project manager, the case study helps to identify the flaws in the project. In the highly competitive business environment, while gaining leverage in the market greatly facilitates business outcome but sustaining the

Rogers Chocolates Essay Example for Free

Rogers Chocolates Essay 1. The premium chocolate industry is changing dramatically with the growth rate in the chocolate industry falling as a whole, other traditional big name chocolate companies like Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving more towards the premium chocolate industry. The premium chocolate industry growing 20 percent annually and with the baby boomers purchasing more chocolate, they put are putting great emphasize on quality and brand when they purchase their chocolates. The underlying drivers of change are changes that companies go through in the industry and competition conditions. There are 14 total driving forces that drive industry change but Roger’s chocolates has 6 driving forces in particular that affect them the most. First are the changes in the long-term industry growth rate because of the decreasing growth rate in the chocolate industry. Second are the changes in who buys the product and how they are used because as mentioned in the text, 20 percent of the â€Å"heavy users’ account for 54 percent of the pre-Christmas sales. Third is marketing innovation because their customers and clients had environmental concerns in bettering their packaging, procurement, and operational decisions. Fourth driving force are the entry or exit of major firms and this can been seen with companies like Hershey’s and Cadburys moving more toward the premium chocolate industry. Fifth driving force is the regulatory influences and government policy changes because larger chocolate manufactures are seeking a redefinition in the word chocolate under USFDA guidelines so that they could purchase cheaper versions of the product and still call it chocolate. Six and final driving force is changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyle. People nowadays are more focused in the way they eat and are more concerned with their diet. Organic chocolate is a major topic and now dark chocolate is becoming more popular because it had been proven to be healthier than milk chocolate cause of their heart-healthy anti-oxidant. 2. Roger’s Chocolates competitive strategy is basically focused on their rich and long lasting history of their company. Roger’s Chocolates was founded in 1885 and they were Canada’s oldest chocolate company. Some of their products include Empress Squares, Dark Chocolate Almond Brittle, Marquis Assortment, Collectible Gift Tins, Fruit Nut Collection, and Ice Cream products. Their industry position is not where they hope to be, because of stiff completion from Godiva, Bernard Callebaut, and Lindt. One thing that management has done is focus their high quality hand wrapped chocolates which include Victoria Creams and they have also introduced their specialty items such as chocolate coved truffles, caramels, and orange peels. Roger’s Chocolate has introduced their line of sugar-free chocolate which opens up their market to people who cannot eat that much sugar like diabetics. Roger’s Chocolates functional strategy and tactics need to improve to be aligned with their competitive strategy, they should not only pride themselves in the uniqueness of how they specially wrap their chocolate they need to be more competitive within their industry by offering more selections of their products like fat-free products or market themselves better like Godiva does when you join their membership for free, every visit when you buy something Godiva gives you a free truffle. Something like that is what Roger’s Chocolates need to focus more on. 3. The action that Steve Parkhill should undertake to improve Rogers’ competitiveness in the Canadian Premium Chocolate Industry is focus more on what their customers want from the product. It is nice and everything that Roger’s Chocolates comes nicely packaged but the majority of the people are not interested in that part, though it does bring attention to the product. The taste of the chocolate is what is important and the ingredients it comes from as well. He needs to see what is it about their product that could give them the competitive advantage of their competitors. Also in terms of culture, although Canada is full of tourism, they need to establish themselves in other places where there are high volume of people that like premium chocolate. Expand their products towards the United States where people go visit like big cities. 4. SWOT analysis †¢Strengths = Premium chocolate markets grows 20 percent annually, high quality hand wrapped packages, stores are located in tourist areas (cruise ship traffic), well established in history, high quality ingredients. †¢Weakness = Name is not recognized internationally, expansion of the company is not considered, the sales agents do not provide links of their resellers to the website so customers do now know all the places that sell Rogers’ chocolates, do not sell my the majority to their customers †¢Opportunity = Expand their products to the U. S. or internationally, become a public company to get more exposure, produce organic items †¢Threats = Hershey’s and Cadbury moving towards the premium chocolate market, many competitors (like Godiva) , Board members do not want to grow, potential selling of the company to investors, post 9/11 tourism is slowing down. The future for Roger’s Chocolates looks like it is going to stay steady with no real big changes coming in the future. They will keep their rich history going but it does not seem like anytime in the future Roger’s Chocolates will be expanding their business. 5. At first Roger’s Chocolates was in a strong financial position due to the fact that the company was privately held and did not have to deal with public shareholders. But just after the current shareholder acquired the company, growth had substantially slowed down in the past years. Tourism has fallen down a lot as well since September 11. 2001 and the decline of the dollar has not helped much the financial either. Roger’s Chocolates level of profitability is doing well with Canada’s market for chocolate being $167 million dollars annually that is a big chunk of the market share for Roger’s chocolate to work with. Their liquidity seems to be doing well, Roger’s chocolates has strong resources in keeping their facilities and raw materials working well. Though there is a lot of room for Roger’s Chocolate to expand they seem to be operating at an average level.