...Halloween: Harmless or Haram? An Islamic Perspective Every year, on the evening of October 31st, millions of children across North America paint their faces, dress up in costumes, and go door to door collecting treats. The adults often decorate their houses with ghostly figures, carve scary faces on pumpkins, and put candles in them to create “Jack-O-Lanterns.” Unfortunately, among the millions of North Americans indulging in this custom, many are also Muslims. This article will shed some light on the significance and origins of Hallow’een, and why Muslims should not participate in it. Origins of the Hallow’een Festival The ancient Celtic (Irish/Scottish/Welsh) festival called Samhain is considered by most historians and scholars to be the predecessor of what is now Hallow’een. Samhain was the New Year’s day of the pagan Celts. It was also the Day of the Dead, a time when it was believed that the souls of those who had died during the year were allowed access into the “land of the dead”. Many traditional beliefs and customs associated with Samhain continue to be practiced today on the 31st of October. Most notable of these customs are the practice of leaving offerings of food and drink (now candy) to masked and costumed revelers, and the lighting of bonfires. Elements of this festival were incorporated into the Christian festival of All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallow-Even, the night preceding All Saint’s (Hallows’) Day. It is the glossing of the name Hallow- Even...
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...October, 11th. 2015 The extinction of childhood Halloween is around the corner. First thing that comes to mind is candy; for adults and of course children. Usually the common solution for child safety during Halloween is to check your child’s good bag when they get back home. But what if, the homes own medicine cabinet is the real danger? Vyvanse, Concerta, Methylin, Ritalin, and Adderall being the most commonly used drugs prescribed for ADHD. Over 160 annual cases were pharmaceutical drugs that were maliciously used on children. Parents don’t realize the dangers they’ve put their own children at risk with when giving them these addictive, harsh drugs affecting children severely short and long term. Pharmaceutical drugs are the 4th leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, America suffers from an estimated 45-50 million adverse effects, from prescription drugs, which by the way are serious, disabling or fatal. In 2011, physicians and patients submitted 21,002 adverse event reports to the FDA. These reports represent at least 2.5 million actual serious prescription drug injuries, including 128,000 deaths. Its modern day now and evolving more and more each year, with a generation that will wait in line, outside, rain or snow, for 3-7 days straight, for the latest technology release dates. Rather than attend a line to wait for 2 hours at max sometimes for a county or presidential election. People want the...
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...The book I chose is titled, Good Neighbors: Communicating With The Mexicans by author John. C. Condon. This book was purposely made to eradicate those differences and provide guidelines for effective communication. This book shows the differences between the United States and Mexico and is extremely insightful for those thinking of traveling. This book opens with a foreward, which is an introduction written by another person and two prefaces (one to the second edition, and then to the first edition). In the foreward, writer Felipe Korzenny states that communication is an activity “we have engaged in since we were born” and that we take it for granted. He goes on to say that people tend to believe if they know the language of the country, there will be no complications, but that is incorrect. Communication is not just composed of language. It includes norms, values, perception, paralinguistics and other nonverbal communication. As a reader, once your grasp those concepts, you learn and adjust accordingly to a culture that is not your own. I chose this book particularly...
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...According to Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova from the Migration Policy Institute, Indian immigrants began to arrive to the United States as early as 1820. As of 2013, more than 2 million Indian immigrants lived in the U.S. , accounting for almost 5 percent of the foreign population.” I. For the “alien” characters immigrating to America in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, it was imperative that they made new friends in order to adapt to the foreign environment. Although some may see friendship as not being the most crucial factor in character development, Jhumpa Lahiri demonstrates how the intelligence of characters can risebegins to grow as their relationships with other characters become stronger. Prime examples of characters gaining...
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...A famous scene from one of the first notable horror films, Nosferatu (1922) Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Horror films often feature scenes that startle the viewer; the macabre and the supernatural are frequent themes. Thus they may overlap with the fantasy, supernatural, and thriller genres.[1] Horror films often deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernatural origin, into the everyday world. Prevalent elements include ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, curses, satanism, demons, gore, torture, vicious animals, monsters, zombies, cannibals, and serial killers. Conversely, movies about the supernatural are not necessarily always horrific.[2] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 1890s–1920s 1.2 1930s–1940s 1.3 1950s–1960s 1.4 1970s–1980s 1.5 1990s 1.6 2000s 2 Sub-genres 3 Influences 3.1 Influences on society 3.2 Influences internationally 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links [edit]History [edit]1890s–1920s See also: List of horror films of the 1890s, List of horror films of the 1900s, List of horror films of the 1910s, and List of horror films of the 1920s Lon Chaney, Sr. in The Phantom of the Opera The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts...
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...Mormons What is Mormonism? Who is a Mormon? And what place does Mormonism have in the religious tradition of the United States today? This paper will attempt to give readers a better understanding of the Mormon religion by detailing the history of the religion from its beginnings to today. It will also describe what a typical church or “temple” (as Mormons call their place of worship) service is like. It will also describe any holidays the Mormon people celebrate that correspond with the Christian holidays of other Christian sects. It will not attempt to judge the Mormon religion, as either good or bad, as has been so frequently done in the popular media. Rather than judging it, this paper will attempt to achieve a greater understanding of the religion in its context in the Christian religious tradition and the American religious tradition. In 1820, according to the Mormon faith, Joseph Smith (1806-1844) prayed to God to ask him for a sign that would tell him what church he ought to join. Instead, Jesus Christ and God appeared to the young man and told him he ought to found what the Mormon Church is today. Smith was fourteen at the time, a farmer from the region of western New York known as the "burned-over district" because of its unrelenting religious enthusiasm. (All About Mormons Website) Mormons believe that this revelation to Smith was similar to that of God to Saul. They refer to Smith as “The Prophet” because his revelation was transmitted to...
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...BANKING STRATEGIES Case Study: Product Innovation at Bank of America By Cindy Murray What financial institutions can learn from inventions and innovations in other industries. owhere is innovation more essential to survival than in the banking industry. In the payments domain, for example, nonbank competitors less constrained by bank regulations and therefore more agile are changing the banking industry’s grip on the public perception of banks as the only trusted brand for holding and moving money. However, innovation is challenging for banks. Many products, like payments, are a commodity. A vast number of products and a complex infrastructure require continual upgrades to keep apace with technology advancements and comply with evolving regulations and security requirements. This article describes how Bank of America fosters a culture of innovation. Pivotal to an innovative culture is the direct engagement of clients in the innovation process. We highlight some of the ways that Bank of America achieves this. But first we’ll look at the role of innovation process in building brand loyalty. N Build Brand Equity Through Progressive Transformation Change can occur by redefining a problem or redefining a solution. According to Robert Sternberg, a leading creativity expert,1 creativity is the ability to redefine a problem. Innovation can be viewed as the ability to redefine a solution. Successful innovation is a process over time—one that typically happens in increments rather...
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...he later incorporated into several semi-autobiographical novels and short stories. Bradbury's life revolved around magic, magicians, circuses, and other such fantasies. He decided to become a writer at about age 12 or 13. He later said that he made this decision to "live forever" through his fiction. His first official pay as a writer came for contributing a joke to George Burns's Burns & Allen Show. In 1937, he became a member of the Los Angeles Science Fiction League, whose help enabled him to publish four issues of his own science-fiction fan magazine, or "fanzine," Futuria Fantasia. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. His formal education ended there because they had no money to send him to college due to the Depression. However, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942. He published his first short story in a fan magazine in 1938. Bradbury says that he learned to write by recalling his own experiences. Many of his early stories are based, unsurprisingly, on his childhood experiences in Illinois. For example, "Homecoming" (Mademoiselle, 1946) was inspired by his relatives' marvelous Halloween parties, and "Uncle Einar" (Dark Carnival, 1947), a story about a man with green wings, is based loosely on one of Bradbury's uncles. Ray was married to Marguerite McClure from 1947 until her death. They...
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...CONSUMER MARKETS – JUNE 2014 A taste of the future The trends that could transform the chocolate industry kpmg.com T he outlook for the world’s chocolate industry is brighter than it has been for eight years. Euromonitor predicts the industry will enjoy a 6% rise in revenues in 2014, delivering record global revenues of US$117bn. This robust performance is driven by a 2.1% increase in volume, reflecting growing appetite for chocolate in emerging markets. The challenge for the industry’s major players is how to make best use of this boom to profitably grow their volumes faster than the markets, achieve sustainable improvements in core operating margins and make the right investments – be they in capacity, acquisitions, the supply chain, marketing or R&D – to seize the significant opportunities ahead. The single biggest factor improving the industry’s performance is the fact that, at long last, the global economy is showing signs of sustained recovery. Growth in many major markets is accelerating. The stellar performers are India (expected to grow by 22% this year), Brazil (13%) and China (11%). The potential long-term growth in emerging economies – many of which have growing middle classes – is vast. To give just one example: the per capita consumption of chocolate in China is only a tenth of that in Switzerland. Yet, as this global tour of the chocolate industry suggests, the future is not without challenges. The immediate concern is the balance between supply of cocoa...
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...to exploit, but to develop, civilize, educate, and to train in the science of self-government.” In his instructions to the First and Second Philippine Commissions, McKinley explained in effect that the U.S. came to the Philippines not to conquer the Filipinos, but to work for their benefit and welfare. The Military Government Following the surrender of Manila in August, 1898, President McKinley ordered the establishment of a military government here. Major General Wesley Merritt, the commander of U.S. forces in Manila, served as its first military governor. When Merritt left for Paris, France to brief the U.S. and Spanish peace commissioners on the conditions in the Philippines, he was succeeded by Major General Elwell Otis who served until May, 1900. The last American military governor was Major General Arthur MacArthur. He served until 1901. During its brief existence from 1898 to 1901, the military government accomplished the following among other things: 1. It reorganized the courts in the country. It established a Supreme Court composed of six Filipinos and three Americans. A Filipino, Cayetano Arellano, was named as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 2. It organized town and provincial governments in areas that had already been pacified by American troops. Elections were held to choose the local officials. The first town to hold elections under U.S. rule was Baliwag, Bulacan. The elections under were held on May 6, 1899. 3. The military...
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...Alejandro Portugal Martin Pretorius Iona Ramió Mateu OCEAN PARK CASE STUDY INTRODUCTION Ocean Park Hong Kong is a marine animal theme park located in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It was inaugurated in 1977 by the Government with the intention to bring somewhere where Hong Kong citizens could feel some sense of space as a large part of the population lived in a crowded locality. So it was inaugurated as a nonprofit organization that aimed to provide visitors a unique experience in entertainment, education, and conservation. Firstly, in the absence of competition, Ocean Park became really popular but existed without direction and focus. When Hong Kong's officials signed an agreement to bring Disneyland to Hong Kong in 1999, the Ocean Park's viability started to be questioned. By 2005, when Disneyland Hong Kong was inaugurated, Ocean Park was unprofitable and widely expected to lose out. Nevertheless, the Park responded with a development plan and showed their abilities for adaptation and turn threats into opportunities. It expanded the number of attractions and rides, raising the number of visitors, becoming the world's 13th most visited theme park and the ...
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...Importance of alignment [300 words]: The role of incentives in securing execution Employees are the agents of the firm’s owners since they take actions or make decisions that impact the payoff to the owners. The difficulties in the agent-principal relationships arise when the objectives of principal and agent are different and the actions taken by the agent or the information possessed by the agent are hard to observe. Employees care about the job in terms of the value the job generates for themselves. Thus providing the right incentives to employees would secure execution of the firm’s plans to meet the firm’s objectives. There are financial and non-financial incentives. Non- financial incentives are social and moral incentives. Which incentives are appropriate depends on the objective of the company. Since motivation comes from within the employees, the personality, needs and interest of each employee determine the right incentives that will influence employees to self motivate and produce the best work possible that will contribute to the firm meeting its objectives. Reward and recognition is concerned with the range of practices an organisation undertakes (financial and non-financial) to compensate employees, maximise employee engagement and encourage behaviours that lead to organisational success. A good reward and recognition system should motivate employees while aligning their goals with those of the organisation. Such a system involves balancing employee remuneration...
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...| | [uber] – HOW A TECHNOLOGY FIRM IS changing the traditional transportation model | | By Mark Boeckel, Brent Sprunger, Kevin Smith, and Emily WorkMarch 6th, 2012 | Executive Summary Uber is an App-Powered on-demand car service provider for smart phones. Notwithstanding its very unique name, investors have begun to take note of Uber during the past year as it has stolen market share from traditional transportation companies. We will analyze the value proposition of its technology and examine the differentiation Uber creates to stay ahead of both potential competition and the various cab laws and regulations across the United States and Europe. Based upon this analysis, we will provide detail to investors about various strategic choices the company should pursue in both the short and long-term. We will address the short-term roadblocks of government regulation as well as what future benchmarks the company should pursue to maintain its position as the leading car service app. The goal of this analysis is to provide current and potential investors with the necessary tools to assess an investment strategy in this startup. What is Uber? über [ü-bər]- being a superlative example of its kind or class Imagine you are a MBA student at work in downtown Chicago who just got off an endless two hour conference call at 5:30pm and realize that you are most likely going to be late for a midterm which starts at 6:00pm unless you can get a cab. However, you know...
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...initially incorporated in the year 1971 by 3 entrepreneurs in Seattle where the business of the company is mainly selling whole bean coffee. Throughout the years of 1990s, Starbucks Coffee under the leadership of Howard Schultz, the company had expanded and growth rapidly with several efforts done. Starbucks coffee started its global expansion from year 1996 opening its first store outside of North America in Japan. Opening globally made Starbucks Coffee Company to record total net revenues of USD 9.8 billion for its business sales and operation. One of the Starbucks Coffee Company globally expansion market is Malaysia Food and Beverages Industry. Starbucks Coffee Company expanded to Malaysia in year 1998. The mode of entry of Starbucks Coffee Company to Malaysia expanding and operating its business through the mode of licensing. Berjaya Corporation Berhad is the company that obtained the license to operate Starbucks Coffee Company locally. Berjaya Starbucks Company Sdn. Bhd. Is formed and jointly owned by Starbucks Coffee International and Berjaya Corporation Berhad. Starbucks Coffee Malaysia opened its first store on 17th December, 1998 at KL Plaza Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. The business of Starbucks Coffee Malaysia basically are selling of espresso and coffee beverages, non-espresso and coffee beverages, coffee-related accessories and equipment, gift and merchandise, souvenirs, pastries and confessions. To date, in Malaysia itself, Starbucks had more than 141 stores operating...
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...| | [uber] – HOW A TECHNOLOGY FIRM IS changing the traditional transportation model | | By Mark Boeckel, Brent Sprunger, Kevin Smith, and Emily WorkMarch 6th, 2012 | Executive Summary Uber is an App-Powered on-demand car service provider for smart phones. Notwithstanding its very unique name, investors have begun to take note of Uber during the past year as it has stolen market share from traditional transportation companies. We will analyze the value proposition of its technology and examine the differentiation Uber creates to stay ahead of both potential competition and the various cab laws and regulations across the United States and Europe. Based upon this analysis, we will provide detail to investors about various strategic choices the company should pursue in both the short and long-term. We will address the short-term roadblocks of government regulation as well as what future benchmarks the company should pursue to maintain its position as the leading car service app. The goal of this analysis is to provide current and potential investors with the necessary tools to assess an investment strategy in this startup. What is Uber? über [ü-bər]- being a superlative example of its kind or class Imagine you are a MBA student at work in downtown Chicago who just got off an endless two hour conference call at 5:30pm and realize that you are most likely going to be late for a midterm which starts at 6:00pm unless you can get a cab. However, you know...
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