Negative impact Essay Example for Free

Negative impact Essay There is a proven link between the growing human population and the sustainability of the environment. In Florida’s case, the state has one of the highest rates of population growth in the U. S. with a rate of more than 25% over a period of 10 years (1990-2000), and the consumption (and over-consumption) of resources by this ever-increasing multitude has resulted in the degradation of the ecosystem’s health. Aside from this, the products of human consumption (such as wastes) and human activities, have contributed to the upset in the biogeochemical cycle, and consequently, the ecosystem’s demise. For example, the collapse of Florida’s coastal ecosystems has been tied by scientists to overfishing. Wetlands too, are disappearing at an alarming rate. People are also encroaching upon the natural habitat of animals, displacing the native animal population. For instance, this has lead to an increasing number of snakes and alligators in residential areas. What do you consider the greatest positive impact that humans have made in the same area? In Florida, water is a scarce and depleting resource. Because of the state’s high rate of population growth, scientists are estimating that water drawn from the largest potable water reservoir, the Florida aquifer, will run out by the year 2025. The problem has escalated to a critical point that in Central Florida, potable water is not allowed to be used in irrigation. In 2002, Department of Environmental Protection has launched a statewide comprehensive Water Conservation Program for the public’s water supply. This program has garnered a lot of support and publicity from various sectors of society including the media, schools, even business establishments, and has resulted in further research in the area of water conservation and resource preservation.

Surface State in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 Nanoflakes

Surface State in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 Nanoflakes Result of a study on the surface state in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 nanoflakes 4.1 Introduction The recent discovery of topological insulators (TIs) has provided new route for producing low-dimensional relativistic electronic states. The exotic surface states of TIs have attracted the attention of scientists because of their fascinating physical properties and applicability in spintronics and quantum computations [24-28]. The unique surface states were confirmed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on Sb2Te3, Bi2Te3, and Bi2Se3 [29-34]. Magnetotransport studies have also provided a clear picture of the topological surface state and the  ° Berry phase shift [35, 36],which gives rise to the immunity of Dirac fermions to localization. Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 are suitable candidates for TI studies because of their large energy gaps. Eg is approximately equal to 0.3 eV and 0.17 eV. However, the metallic bulk conduction of natural imperfections, such as vacancies or antisite defects in these materials, makes it difficult to probe surface Dirac fermions. Therefore, a high-insulating bulk state is a prerequisite for transport property studies of TIs. Substantial effort has made it possible to examine both the surface and the bulk channels either through electrical gating [36-42] or substitution doping [12-14, 42]. Recently, it was discovered that Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey (BSTS) is a high-insulating bulk TI. BSTS exhibits a tetradymite structure, a low carrier concentration (2.3 Ãâ€" 1016 cm3), and a large bulk resistivity (8 ÃŽ © cm) because of the ordered occupation of Te/Se in the quintuple-layer unit [12, 13]. However, a reliable detection of surface quantum oscillations is difficult in BSTS flakes because of the inhomogeneous defect [12] and low surface mobility [40]. Thus, the low mobility in a bulk channel plays a crucial role in probing surface quantum oscillations. In this chapter, we report the observation of surface-dominated transport in the topological insulator BSTS nanoflakes. Shubnikov-de Hass (SdH) oscillations study on the 200-nm BSTS nanoflake indicates that the achievement of surface-dominated transport can be attributed its high surface mobility of 2602 cm2/Vs (top surface), 3657 cm2/Vs (bottom surface), and low bulk mobility of 12 cm2/V s, which is a much lower value than those reported [12-13, 40-41]. Besides, the nontrivial Dirac surface state was further confirmed by the weak anti-localization (WAL) effect and the semiconducting to metallic transport transformation as the thickness of the specimen was reduced to the thin film limit, in which a up to 90% contribution from the surface channel was estimated based on the thickness dependence of the electrical conductance and the result of the SdH oscillations. 4.2 Method BSTS single crystals nominally composed of Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 were grown by melting the mixture of Bi (99.999%), Sb (99.999%), Te (99.999%), and Se (99.999%) in sealed evacuated quartz tubes. First the mixture was slowly ramped up to 750  °C at a rate of 100  °C/h and kept at 750  °C for 12 h. It was then furnace cooled to room temperature at a rate of 100  °C/h. The sample was reground and sintered again. The same procedure was repeated three times to ensure sample homogeneity. Finally, the sample was heated to 800  °C for 48 h, then cooled to 500  °C and annealed for 96 h. The crystal structures of the samples were identified using powder X-ray diffraction and refined using the General Structure Analysis System (GSAS) software package equipped with the EXPGUI interface, as shown in Figure 4.1(a). Transport measurements were conducted using a Quantum Design Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) and six-terminal Hall bar geometric specimens. The nanoflake specimens [Figure 4.1(b)] were mechanically exfoliated and transferred to the Si3N4 (200 nm)/Si substrate. The electrodes of the nanoflake were patterned using standard e-beam lithography and thermal evaporation of Ti/Au. Figure 4.1. (a) GSAS refinement of powder X-ray data of a BSTS crystal. Red circles represent experimental results, the green line represents calculated results, the blue line indicates the difference, and the Bragg peaks of the BSTS are shown by the vertical lines, where Rp, Rwp, and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ £2 represent the goodness factors. (b) The SEM image of a BSTS 160-nm nanoflake. 4.3 Results and discussion 4.3.1 Thickness and temperature dependence of resistance The considerable thickness dependence of electrical transport showed a transition from semiconducting to metallic behavior as the bulk content is reduced, as shown in Figure 4.2 (a). For the thick specimens, the thermal activation energies given by the Arrhenius law were 4.3 meV (140 ÃŽ ¼m), 3.5 meV (49 ÃŽ ¼m), and 2.37 meV (7 ÃŽ ¼m). The smaller activation energy of thinner specimens can be explained by the increasing contribution of surface states [12-13, 40-41]. In 140-ÃŽ ¼m BSTS, a significant deviation occurred below 20 K from the fitting to a three-dimensional variable-range hopping model (3D VRH) with Rxx is approximately exp[(T/T0)-1/4] [13], indicating the existence of a parallel metallic conduction of surface states [the inset in Figure 4.2 (a)]. According to Eq. 4.1, the total conductance G ° of a specimen with a thickness t can be formulated as G ° = Gs + à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ³bt, (4.1) where Gs is the surface sheet conductance, and ÏÆ'b is the bulk conductivity [38,42]. Gs =36.2 (e2/h) and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ³b = 4.14 (e2/h) ÃŽ ¼m−1, which resulted from the fit of thickness dependence of conductance to Eq. 4.1. For a 200-nm nanoflake at 2 K, up to 90% of the contribution from the surface state was obtained, as shown in Figure 4.2 (b). Figure 4.2. (a) Temperature dependence of resistivity for BSTS specimens with thicknesses of 140 ÃŽ ¼m, 200 nm, 160 nm, and 80 nm. The inset shows the fit of 3D variable-range hopping to the 140-lm specimens. (b) Thickness dependence of sheet conductance; the red line is the fit with G ° = Gs + à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ³bt. The inset shows the fitting of the Arrhenius law to the 140-ÃŽ ¼m specimen. 4.3.2 Hall measurements of BSTS To understand the semiconductor-metallic transitions, we focus on the charge transport behavior (Figure 4.3) and temperature dependence Hall measurement results of 160 nm specimen (Figure 4.4). Because of that the thickness seems like to the critical in between semiconductor and metallic transition. In Figure 4.3 (a), we gives three regimes in the temperature profile, one can obtain the nanoflake specimen with 160 nm thick showing metallic behavior which contrasts to its bulk. In the regime I, the bulk conduction dominates, as the temperature decreases the resistance increased which shows a general narrow-gap semiconductor behavior this can be attributed to freezing of the impurity band carrier in the bulk [27]. The regime II reveals a typical metallic behavior signature, the resistance decreases as temperature reduced, this can be explained as reduce phonon scattering and nearly constant carrier density (shown in Figure 4.4 (a)) with a decreasing temperature. In regime III, when the temperature is lower than 10 K, a slightly increases in resistance due to the bulk carriers freeze out [28]. Hall mobility measurements provide more clearly picture to realize the thickness dependence charge transport as shown in Figure 4.4 (b). The reduction in the degree of disorder or impurity of specimens can be obtained in Figure 4.4 (b) that the mobility enhanced as thickness decreased and their different temperature dependence trends. In thinner specimens (160 and 80 nm) the mobility shows monotonically increasing as decreasing temperature, surface dominate transport should play a more important role in this manner. Figure 4.3. Temperature dependence of the normalized resistance of specimens. Figure 4.4 (a) Temperature dependence of the Hall measurement results of 160 nm thick specimen. (b) Thickness dependence of Hall mobility versus temperature curve. 4.3.3 Surface quantum oscillations (Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations) Because successive empting of Landau levels (LLs) provides the nth minima in à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx, the relation of the LL index n to the Fermi surface cross-section area AF can be described using the semiclassical Onsager equation: 2 ° (n + à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ §) = AF Ä § / eB. For the Schrodinger electron case, à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0, which results in a zero Berry phase. à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 1/2 indicates the case of the Dirac fermion of TIs, which results in a  ° Berry phase where the charge carrier is immune to localization. The temperature dependence of resistance for a 200-nm nanoflake shows à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx as a function of 1/B after a smoothing background subtraction, as shown in Figure 4.5 (a). Two sets of oscillation periods are marked; one with a black dashed line ([(à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³(1/B) = 0.041 T-1]) and the other with a blue dashed line (0.022 T-1) for the surfaces of the nanoflake specimen. The multicomponent nature of SdH oscillations originates from the Fermi-level positions of the two surfaces. If SdH oscillations are as a result of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed with band bending near the surface, the corresponded carrier density differs in an order of magnitude [35] compared to the Hall measurement result [n3D = 3.5 à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ´ 101 8cm-3], which is obtained from the fit to low field B ( ±1T) data (Figure 4.5 (b)). Figure 4.5 (c) shows the LL fan diagram plotted in 1/B versus nth oscillation minima in à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx. The linear fit of the two-set SdH spectrum yields the intercepts of à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0.48  ± 0.3 for Surface 1 and 0.49  ± 0.02 for Surface 2, where à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § values are closer to the theoretical value of 0.5 for ideal Dirac fermions. It is assumed that Surface 2 is the top surface because environmental contamination provides effective n-type doping [17] to the sample, which strongly influences the top surface. The specimens were closely stacked on the substrate to prevent the bottom surface from air contamination and electron-beam irradiation. Thus, the second set of SdH oscillations appears in the lower inversed field, shown in Figure 4.5 (a), which was probably from the top surface. In Figure 4.5 (c), the slope of one set of SdH oscillations provides the cross-section area of the Fermi surface [AF = 4.15 Ãâ€" 1017 m-2], and the Fermi wave number was = 0.0363 and the 2D surface carrier density was = 1.05 Ãâ€" 1012 cm-2 for the top surface (Surface 2). The second set of SdH oscillations resulted in AF = 2.32 Ãâ€" 1017 m-2 and = 0.02718 , and 0.58 Ãâ€" 1012 cm-2 for the bottom surface (Surface 1). Figure 4.5 (d) shows the fit of temperature dependence of SdH amplitudes to the Lifshitz-Kosevich (LK) theory [11, 43].The cyclotron mass mc = 0.075 me is the same as that reported [13]. Once mc is known, we can calculate the Fermi velocity and the Fermi level position to be vF = 5.6 Ãâ€" 105 m/s and EF = 134 meV above the Dirac point for the top surface and vF = 4.19 Ãâ€" 105 m/s and EF = 75 meV for the bottom surface. The high Fermi level position of the top surface is consistent with the results of environmental doping mentioned previously. Due to the multiple component nature, the Dingle temperature is difficult to extrapolate from the SdH amplitude; therefore, Eq. 4.2 is used to fit the resistance data to the LK theory , (4.2) where F is the frequency of SdH oscillations extracted from the slopes of Figure 4.5 (c), the thermal factor is , and the Dingle temperature is [11, 43]. The solid red line in Figure 4.5 (e) shows the optimal fitted results of à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0.5 and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ´ = 1.11 Ãâ€" 10-13 s for the top surface, and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0.35 and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ´ = 1.56 Ãâ€" 10-13 s for the bottom surface. The fitted à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § values are close to theoretical value of 0.5 for ideal Dirac fermions. According to the Dingle analysis, the scattering time is approximately two to three times larger than that of the bulk BSTS [13]. Mobility is a measure of scattering time; therefore, it is possible to calculate the surface mobility ÃŽ ¼s = 2602 cm2V-1s-1 and the mean free path = 62 nm for the top surface, and ÃŽ ¼s = 3657 cm2V-1s-1 and = 65 nm for the bottom surface. The surface mobility enhancement is consistent with the longer mean free path of the nontrivial topological Dirac state. The surface contribution to the total conductance (Gs/Gtot = 84.8%) was consistent with the results obtained from the thickness dependence of conductance. Take the sheet carrier density into account, n = ns + nb t [44]. The mobility of the bulk channel was 12 cm2/Vs, which is close to the total Hall mobility of the 140-ÃŽ ¼m thick BSTS specimen, 13 cm2/Vs. The low Hall mobility of bulk carriers causes less interference with the surface Dirac fermions; thus, the enhancement of the surface contribution and quantum oscillations was detected in the specimens used in this study. Figure 4.5. (a) Temperature dependence of resistance. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx is function of 1/B. n = 4, 5, and 6 are the LLs of the bottom surface; n = 6, 7, 8, and 9 are the LLs of the top surface of the 200-nm nanoflake. (b) Hall resistance versus magnetic field. The red dashed line is extended from the low B ( ±1T) fit. The inset shows the Fermi level positions of the top and bottom surfaces, respectively. BV is the bulk valance band, and BC is the conduction band. (c) The LL fan diagram plotted in 1/B versus the nth oscillation minima in the à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx. (d) The fit of temperature dependence of the SdH oscillation amplitude to the LK theory. (e) à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³R versus 1/B. The black curve is the experimental data, and the red curve is the fit to LK theory. 4.3.4 Weak anti-localization effect In addition to SdH oscillations, the helical surface state was further probed using the WAL effect on the 200-nm BSTS. The WAL effect in TIs originated from the  ° Berry phase, in which the probability of backscattering was suppressed as a result of the destructive interference of time-reversed paths. The angle field dependence magnetoconductance analysis is shown in Figure 4.6 (a). The sharp cusps of the magnetoconductance in the lower field region are features of WAL. The 2D nature of Dirac fermions associated with the  ° Berry phase, which is dependent only on the perpendicular component of the applying field, was obtained by subtracting the background from the 3D bulk WAL contribution, ΔGxx(ÃŽ ¸,B) = Gxx(ÃŽ ¸,B) Gxx(90 °,B) (5), as shown in Figure 4.6 (b). Figure 4.6 (b) shows that low-angle data merge into a single universal curve [15]. The Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) [15] model is used to calculate sheet conductance [27], as given in Eq. (3): , (4.3) where Gxx is sheet conductance, is the phase coherent length, and is the digamma function. The value for à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ (-0.96) and (121 nm) were obtained for the 200-nm nanoflake. For the WAL effect in TIs, the prefactor à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ was equal to -0.5 for a single surface state [40]. The complicacies of topological surface states resulted in an experimental value à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ between -0.4 to -1.5 [38, 40]. In this study, the value à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ = -0.96 indicated the existence of two surface states. Figure 4.6. (a) The angle field dependence magnetoconductance of the 200-nm nanoflake. The inset is a schematic diagram of the measurement. (b) ΔGxx versus the perpendicular field component (B cos ÃŽ ¸) for various angles. Low-angle data merge into a single curve (the green dashed line) fitted using the HLN model. 4.4 Conclusion In this study, dominated surface transport was observed in BSTS nanoflakes. The thickness dependence electrical transport and the SdH oscillations illustrated that the surface states in the 200-nm BSTS nanoflake contribute to nearly 90 % of the conductance. The achievement of the surface-dominated transport is mainly attributed to the high surface mobility relative to the bulk channel. The observation of SdH oscillations provides clear evidence of surface Dirac fermions. Surface-dominated transport was further confirmed by the WAL effect showing 2D nature of helical Dirac surface states. Moreover, electrical transport transforms from semiconducting to metallic behavior, and mobility was enhanced when the thickness decreased, indicating that surface states plays a crucial role in the thin film limit. The high-insulating bulk state in BSTS nanoflakes provides opportunities for future quantum computation and spintronics applications.

Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience

Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience Advertising is the non-personal way of communication of information more frequently than not paid proposed for and usually influential in nature about products, services or ideas by renowned sponsors through the a variety of media. It is a presentation of idea, manufactured goods, or organization, in order to induce persons to approve, buy, or support of it. Advertising is also defined as paid form of any promotion conveyed from side to side an accumulation medium that viewers are more likely in the course of paying attention and consideration in the subject matter of the advertising conceded through their selected medium and it is explained to be part of the marketing mix in the promotional tools. The globalization of competition, saturation of markets, and development of information technology have enhanced customer awareness and created a situation where long-term success is no longer achieved through optimized product price and qualities. Instead, companies build their success on a long-term customer relationship. According to former studies, it can cost as much as six times more to win a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Hence, the increase and retention of loyal customers has become a key factor for long-term success of the companies. The main emphasis in marketing has shifted from winning new customers to the retention of existing ones The Von Restorff effect was identified by Hedwig von Restorff in 1933. She conducted a set of memory experiments around isolated and distinctive items, concluding that an isolated item, in a list of otherwise similar items, would be better remembered than an item in the same relative position in a list where all items were similar. There can also be a reverse effect here. You remember the unique item, but the attention that it grabs from you is removed from other items thus you may in fact remember less overall. Hedwigs work relates to Gestalt, where she related it to the Figure and Ground principles. Attention is usually captured by salient, novel, surprising, or distinctive stimuli. These may be used to enhance the von Restorff effect. In the attention age, when the plethora of media around us is constantly battling for a moment of our time, advertisers make much use of this principle, each vying with the other to stand out from the crowd and hence be remembered by the target audie nce. The Von Restorff effect is also called the Isolation Effect or the Distinctiveness Principle. The same principle has also been described as prominence effects. Traditionally there are two approaches to treating customer loyalty trough advertising. Some researchers have investigated the nature of different levels of loyalty through retention; others have explored the influence of individual factors on loyalty. In this paper, both treatments are combined to investigate which specific factors in the telecommunication sector influence the loyalty rate of the various customers segmented by loyalty. The potential for establishing loyalty depends on the object (i.e. product or vendor), on the subject (customer) or on the environment (market, other suppliers, etc.). In broader term, for both, customer and manufacturing products firms, a firms ability to distinguish its products as of competitors and to build success brands is critical for achievement. As a consequence, firms may use more on their marketing infrastructure to raise the sales by attracting more consumers to the product group as a whole as healthy as by convincing current consumers to switch their purchases as of competitors products to the firms brand. Moreover, firms by means of strong brand names may be clever to charge best prices based on the additional worth of the brand which would too improve the firms profitability. Therefore, firms that connect in heavy marketing communication activities in advertising may show performance that is improved than those investing less powerfully in marketing infrastructure. In a bigger scenario the advertisement is treated from two viewpoints: as advertisement specialists and customers. Advertisement specialists create decisions incident to preparation, creation and transmission of the advertisement. Customers on the other hand act in response to the advert which advertisement specialists have produced and the presented them. Following incorporating these two perspectives we be able to state that constant communication of advert and customer is experiential in the advertisement procedure. As marketing specialists move particular message to the customers while advertise incredible, the advertisement might be called communication procedure There are several other reasons for a customer to respond absolutely to advertising. Advertising has the apparently magical property that persons whose tastes are most excellent served by a known brand are those most probable to observe an ad intended for that brand. Advertisers decide the media in which they advertise in fraction to maximize the purchase likelihood intended for their brand. In result the producer distributes his advertisements among media so that the communication is seen by persons who are most probable to repeat buy the particular brand. Advertising efficiency depends on users receptivity towards an ad and on their approach towards advertising. For turn out advertisement found out, persons respondents with more positive attitudes towards advertising recalled a higher numeral of advertisements the day exposure. In the internet, it is recurrent that advertising is used with levels of forced contact than only static banners whose level would contrast to print adverti sing of some type. Since higher intrusiveness leads to ad evasion and irritation, a fewer favorable attitude among customers advertising can be supposed. Presumptuous that the overall approach towards internet advertising is fewer favorable than towards print advertising, lower ad reminiscence can be expected. Customer Preference and acceptance in optimistic conditions mean the identical obsession but it is positive to keep the fad in mind with penchant notice to indicate choices between unbiased or valued options with receipt representing a readiness to stand the condition or less desirable options Advertising is an imperative social phenomenon. It stimulates economic activity models, consumption, life-styles and an assured value orientation. Customers are confronted with daily amount of advertising in numerous media. With the constant hit of different marketing media, it is presumable that it will have an effect on society and individualism as a whole. Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. Different types of media can be used to deliver these messages, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages. Advertising may be placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization. Companies understand that marketing has an important role in their overall accomplishment. They recognize that if there are any functions near to customers its either Marketing or Sales. Sales develop into a direct interface among products of companies and customers, and on the other hand marketing is an indirect function between company and customers. Most researchers have implicitly assumed that a consumer uses the same criteria to evaluate all brands in a product class in Von Restorff effect. This study views the consumer as a more flexible information processor. The attributes an individual recalls or uses to evaluate a brand in a product class may vary. To some extent, attributes may be influenced by the advertisement the consumer sees for the brand. There has been a strong support for the espousal of consumer retention in as one of the key performance indicators in Von Restorff effect. It has found that there is a high association between customer retention and the profit earn by the industries. The fragmentation of media choices and the active nature of the marketplace, tied with an enlarged number of additional demanding and prosperous consumers, brought bigger challenges to marketing practitioners in keeping hold of their regular customers. An advertisement may provide information about a brand on several attributes. Attention getting services such as bold type and arrows can draw attention to a particular attribute and away from others. Advertisement induced recalls may or may not translate into product use during a subsequent brand evaluation. Marketers have implicitly assumed that people who see advertisements encouraging recall of specific brand attributes will increase their use of that information for brand evaluation. One example of this is using recall of a claim to test advertisement effectiveness. Yet research in social cognition indicates that enhanced recall of an attribute does not necessarily imply increased emphasis on that attribute during a subsequent brand evaluation in Von Restorff effect. In advertising, to get the attention of the packaging is the most important medium of communication because it reaches almost all buyers in the category and is present at the crucial moment when procurement decision is made; and buyers are actively involved with packaging as they examine it to obtain the information they need. A well suited packaging material works as an instrument to differentiate a product from a wide range of other products having similar qualities and helps customers to finalize his buying behavior. It can be claimed that package performs a vital role in marketing connections and can be treated as one of the most major feature to pursue consumers purchase judgment. In this context, seeking to optimize the effectiveness of package in a buying place, the researches of package, its elements and their impact on consumers buying behaviour became a relevant issue. Due to emergent self-service and altering customers standard of living, their life style the awareness in package that includes size, quantity, color, shape as a mechanism of sales advertising and stimulator of spontaneous purchasing behavior is rising more and more. So package carries out an imperative role in advertising communications, in particular in the spot of sale and it is treated as the most significant features influence purchase decision of consumers. Earlier study has shown that there is no agreement on categorization of package basics as well as package impact on purchase decision of consumers. The effects of prominent information in an advertisement may be mediated by several individual and situational factors that may mediate the relationship between prominence in an ad and the evaluative criteria used. Advertisements are read both by consumers who are interested in evaluating the advertised brands (brand processing) and by those who are not (non brand processing). Attribute information in an advertisement may be processed differently under brand processing and under non brand processing conditions. Color is one of the most important non verbal signs. The impact of colors for the marketers through advertisement is very well recognized. When it is about products, it is become aware as one of the foreseeable signs of the whole look of products that also have an impact on the sales success of a product. Nowadays, it is fairly clear that products must not be designed just in order to meet up the functional needs of the customers but at the same time it must be attractive and eye catching as well. That is the main reason design is accentuate as a key marketing element. Conversely, colors do not merely lie in the aesthetics as it is strained that colors have two additional essential functions from a marketing viewpoint. The first use, it is suggested that colors draw attention to themselves by implying that color is the most necessary visual element in advertising. The subsequent purpose of colors that is highlighted is the position of colors as a way of communication. Hence, it is de clared that colors have the skill to express meanings predominantly while it comes to such marketing phenomenon as advertising and packaging. The graphics are any lines, metaphors, symbols, snaps, and text that narrate to the brand name. The most ordinary graphics in advertising are applications of figurative representation and abstract symbolization with the exclusion that make use of design drawings the most. Characteristics of design fundamentals may be grouped as functional and visual elements. Visual include form, text, pictures, colors and decorations and functional elements comprise structural designs (store, protect, reclose and open), material designs (display value and emotional appeal), volume designs (economy). Advertisement must also draw customer attention with visual elements that please consumer psychosomatic desires other than their main functionalities Consumer attitude is a blend of perceptions, values and attitude. The customer must initial distinguish the product and then focus beliefs and values on top of the product and make a choice and then decide to purchase or not. Beliefs are more susceptible to marketing than values for the reason that beliefs are subject matter to emotion and knowledge. Self perceptions of familiarity may affect the individuals use of stored product class knowledge to interpret and integrate new brand information. This approach to familiarity is phenomenological; it focuses on the individuals subjective perceptions rather than on an objectively verifiable reality. There is evidence that self perceptions of familiarity are not equivalent to objective measures of expertise or knowledge and that these self perceptions affect processing. If prominence directs subjects attention to a key attribute, it may direct attention away from other, non prominent attributes in the ad and this may, in turn, decrease recall of non prominent attributes. An individuals evaluation task while viewing an advertisement may affect the processing that occurs during exposure. Brand and non brand tasks may involve different processes, but both may facilitate the use of prominent information. Prominent information may greatly affect processing for those using a brand processing strategy. If prominent aspects of a stimulus are weighted more heavily in evaluations because they receive more attention during exposure, they might be used more by consumers who are focusing on the brand and its attributes-in other words, those processing for brand evaluation. Work in political science has found that people who are interested in politics and must decide for whom to vote are more likely than other people to be affected by the agenda-setting ability of mass media Prominence may direct attention to particular stimuli or to particular aspects of stimuli. Under some circumstances, prominent stimuli may affect evaluations by directing processing. Researchers in political science provide some evidence by examining the agenda-setting role of the media during elections. The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. Numerous empirical studies demonstrate that readers perceptions of issue importance-as measured by self-report rating scales and open-ended elicitations reflect the emphasis these issues have received in the media to which they have been exposed. This does not mean that the media have affected voters priorities; perhaps people seek out media that concentrate on issues they feel are important. In addition to uncertainty about the direction of causal influence, we must also as-certain the strength of the link between issues people say are important and those they actually use to evaluate and elect candidates. Evidence shows that this link may be rather strong. If this is so, the agenda setting function of the media may provide an example of prominence affecting the degree to which some issues affect attitudes although, of course, media effects may also be due to direct arguments asserting that particular issues in news stories are the important ones. Customer satisfaction and retention are the key elements for the planning of the marketing in view of the fact that satisfaction does sway customers intention to re-patronage the restaurant. Therefore, marketers are supposed to look into the issues that would have an effect on customer satisfaction intensity. Besides, as customer prospect are altering over time and it is advised to determine the customer satisfaction and expectation on regular basis and grip complaints timely and effectively. An individuals evaluation task while viewing an advertisement may affect the pro-cessing that occurs during exposure. Brand and non brand tasks may involve different processes, but both may facilitate the use of prominent information. Prominent information may greatly affect processing for those using a brand processing strategy. If prominent aspects of a stimulus are weighted more heavily in evaluations because they receive more attention during exposure, they might be used more by consumers who are focusing on the brand and its attributes-in other words, those processing for brand evaluation. Work in political science has found that people who are interested in politics and must decide for whom to vote are more likely than other people to be affected by the agenda-setting ability of mass media. Prominent information may also greatly affect processing for those using a non brand processing strategy. Someone called upon to evaluate a brand after processing the ad with such a strategy may simply use whatever information about the advertised brand pops into his head first-that is, whatever is most easily recalled. In such a case, if prominence affects the attributes recalled, it may affect the criteria used to form attitudes as under low involvement, advertising influences brand choice by changing the salient attributes of the advertised brand. Self perceptions of familiarity may affect the individuals use of stored product class knowledge to interpret and integrate new brand information. This approach to familiarity is phenomenological; it focuses on the individuals subjective perceptions rather than on an objectively verifiable reality. There is evidence that self-perceptions of familiarity are not equivalent to objective measures of expertise or knowledge and that these self perceptions affect processing. Those who consider themselves familiar with a product (high subjective familiarity) may feel they have stored criteria for brand evaluation. They are aware of their stored product knowledge and may use it to interpret and integrate attribute information presented in an advertisement. In contrast, consumers who consider themselves unfamiliar with a product (low subjective familiarity) may feel they lack stored evaluative criteria. Such consumer may not attempt to use whatever knowledge they do have when presented with da ta about a new brand, feeling that it is useless to try to evaluate such information. Product specific attributes may seem confusing and meaningless; instead, they may use information in the advertisement that is not product-specific. In some cases, they may use information about attributes that are normally used to evaluate objects in a more general class of products to which the unfamiliar product belongs or is related. For example, a consumer who feels s/he doesnt know anything about shaving cream might use attributes appropriate for evaluating toiletries in general-such as scent-or those frequently found useful in evaluating products in general, such as price. In other cases s/he may, consciously or unconsciously, base brand attitude on evaluation of the advertisement itself. Thus self-perceptions of familiarity may affect the use of attribute information in an advertisement, and consumers who consider themselves unfamiliar with a product may be relatively unaffected by prominence. They may find all product-specific attributes too confusing and meaningless to use, regardless of accessibility. In contrast, consumers who consider themselves familiar with a product may be affected by prominence; they may find it easy to integrate a new piece of information with stored data and may have the confidence to do so. If prominence affects the accessibility of this information, it may affect its use by this group. A brands advertising can affect both the brand attributes recalled and those used for subsequent evaluations. In addition, advertisement induced recall due to an attention focusing tactic does not necessarily imply increased emphasis on that attribute during a subsequent brand evaluation. This suggests that it is useful for marketers to distinguish between processing which leads to recall and that which leads to attitude formation. The results imply that availability and use in attitude formation are not equivalent; elicitation procedures may not be appropriate techniques for obtaining the attributes used to evaluate brands. Advertisers must always be on the lookout for new techniques or approaches to adequately disseminate their messages, and brand placement is becoming a more widely used form of communication. This practice has been a standard in the film and television industry and is now making its mark in the video game industry. Traditional media are losing speed, and thus the use of non-traditional media as a form of communication is becoming much more interesting for advertisers. To compete, it is almost becoming a must for advertisers to be present in these new forms of media and entertainment. Young adults are watching television less and less. This phenomenon is due to the emergence of new technologies such as personal video recorders (PVR), leading people to watch their favourite TV channels off line. Once viewers have recorded these programs, they can watch them without any advertising breaks. The audience fragmentation resulting from the emergence of specialized channels has also complicate d the task of any advertisers attempting to reach mass numbers of people. Brand placement is defined as the inclusion, for promotion purposes, of a product, brand or company name within a film or television program content. The objective of this strategy is to increase brand recognition, and ultimately lead to a positive impact on purchase preference or intent. Most research on brand placement has focused on two major themes, namely placement effectiveness with four identified criteria that prominence, clarity, integration within scenario, location on screen. For years advertisers and consumer behaviour researchers have studied the effects of advertisement on recall, attitude, and other evaluations related to the ad and the brand. This includes cognitive responses, such as attention, recall, brand preference, and brand evaluation. These areas of research reflect the growing convictions of many advertisers that consumers liking and disliking of an ad can influence its effectiveness regarding attention, recall, brand evaluations, other cognitive related responses, and reactions. For decision alternatives, consumers consistently acquire product information on product brand attributes available to them. Such information in marketing communications is often conveyed either in numerical and verbal modes or both. Results from past studies on information mode showed that judgments of numerical estimates and verbal expressions vary considerably across subjects. Despite the increasing importance of numerical information in marketing, the marketing and advertising literature is scant on the effects of numerical attribute information on consumer evaluation of products. In addition, research on the relationship between presentation forms and information mode has not been reviewed in the past, despite the growing importance of numerical attribute information and the persuasive nature of vividness in advertising. Hence, the importance of vividness in terms of ad evaluation is of interest. Although the effects of presentation form, vividness, in terms of its persuasive communication has yielded mixed results, this research attempts to examine and discuss the role of vividness and the mode of information used with the inclusion of a moderator, consumer knowledge, as a determinant of how consumers respond to product advertisement. Consumers product knowledge is likely to affect product attribute information evaluations and recall in ways that are not entirely predictable. For example, consumers make judgments and decisions about products and services under conditions of uncertainty and only rarely complete information is available for all important features and benefits of a given product for them to make a decision. Studies have shown that the general interpretation of knowledge depends on individuals currently active knowledge structures. In the knowledge literature, accessibility of attribute information guides the interpretation of that information about the possible relationships among elements of product class. Furthermore, highly accessible attributes related to product information in the ad are likely to guide the encoding of the information. Different consumers use different skills and strategies to evaluate information implying that variables such as individual difference in knowledge may be important moderators in information processing. Individuals might differ in their responses to arguments the message contains, with some people analyzing and reacting to each argument and others reacting mainly to the communications overall point rather than to the argumentation. It is hardly surprising that reactions to communications are highly variable, because individuals differ in disposition and in prior experiences they have had in relationships to the attributes in the ads, product category, and overall presentation contexts in which influence is exerted. This can affect their attitude and responsiveness to advertising. Possibly, a reason attributed to this responsiveness is that a consumers decision-making approach is made via different patterns as they gain knowledge through experience with a product. The moderating effect s of consumer knowledge on processing and evaluation of numerical and verbal product attributes, and their interaction with vivid and non-vivid attribute information in advertising have also, until now, received little attention in the consumer behaviour literature. The effects of vividly presented information, for instance, vivid verbal or vivid numerical in an advertisement in general may be moderated by several individual and situational factors. Effects of advertising have been examined in the past, although, the influence of numerical versus verbal information content in advertising has not been examined. Studies in the area of information mode have primarily compared numerical information to verbal information with respect to information processing, memory, preference, and comparative judgments. Although studies have examined various aspects of advertising message content and format, none of the studies in the literature cited has made an attempt to measure subjects attitude toward to ad, and recall tested for all verbal and all numerical modes. On the other hand, some studies have compared the differences between visual and verbal information and their effects on brand attitude prior to the studies focusing on the comparison of verbal and numerical information. Other researchers have examined the differences between verbal message format and visual formats in terms of their effects on information processing, memory and ev aluations concerning the product. Advertisers are aware that consumers are exposed to numerous amounts of uncertain information and that they must also use this information for making decisions irrespective of just choosing a specific mode of communication. It is therefore reasonable to expect that preferences for a particular mode of information will influence how the information is encoded, retrieved, and then processed during decision-making situations. Online marketing is altering the way advertising is conducted and provides firms with a new lay of capabilities. This is able to be attributed to online advertising no longer seen as an optional component for business, other than a strategic platform. Therefore, businesses should aspire for online marketing to be an integral fraction of the business disadvantaged. The presence and accessibility to a web site is middle to online marketing. Though, as the number of companies exploiting online advertising and the use of explore engine marketing grows, it is flattering more hard for businesses to attract web site traffic The availability heuristic estimates frequency or probability by the ease with which instances or associations could be brought to mind. Some of this may be relatively easy to access, although other information is less accessible. This accessibility or ease of recall is termed as availability. If one can easily retrieve examples from memory, one infers that the event must be fairly frequent or common and/or well rehearsed. In order to make evaluations one needs to recall relevant information from memory. Information that is more available in memory will be utilized more in making the evaluation than information that is not readily available. In the areas of social cognition and evaluative processes the availability of information in memory has been seen to influence estimates and judgments. Accordingly the techniques devised for assessing efficiency tend to be leaning to the way TV advertising is thought to effort. But there is evidence of effective advertising in turn out media like newspaper, magazines, pamphlets , bills also, and this account summarises a small of it . There is to apply more extensively to bills or any print advertising campaigns the disciplines of monitoring next to pre-strong-minded objectives. This applies both to periodical campaigns and too mixed-media campaigns which characteristic magazines as a substantial fraction of the mix. Furthermore in certain compliments the techniques of monitoring and of pre-difficult need to be modified to the distinctive method magazines work, than simply adopting the assumptions applied to TV. The variation in the efficiency of encoding and retention of information will certainly depend on the combined efficiency of a large amount of different complex processes. However, when opportunities arise for recall of the processed information, the availability of the information is emphasized. How then, might such properties and memory efficiency be related to other cognitive abilities? Is comprehension or interpretational ability just one aspect of general learning and memory? The issue of what, if any, relation exists between expertise and the ability to comprehend information for recall and evaluation is a complex one, to which relatively little research attention has been given. The objective is to detect the ability to manipulate information, perceived relations, and extract it from the memory for judgment. Consumers are aware of their stored product knowledge and may use it to integrate a new piece of information and properly retrieve them to interpret attribute information presented in the ad. On the contrary, consumers who are novices may lack the stored evaluative standard, and they may not use whatever knowledge they have when presented with a new piece of information about the product. Th ey may feel it is useless to exert any kind of effort to process and evaluate the new information. Therefore novices use ad specific cues that are not product attribute oriented information because product attribute information may seem confusing and meaningless to them Customer satisfaction is defined as the consumers fulfillment response. Customer satisfaction leads to the customer loyalty so it is necessary to s

The Transformation of a King Essay -- Literary Analysis

Debatable is the story of Prince Hal and how he undergoes a transformation so infinite we may have difficulty comprehending the struggles he endured. Throughout the course of events in Henry IV, Part I, By William Shakespeare, first impressions of the characters are depicted and remain strong during most of the play. From the beginning of the play it is understood that Hal is an immature extrovert who sees no need for careful behaviors. Unlike his father, King Henry IV, Hal puts forth insufficient effort to prove he can hold the power that will eventually be his when he succeeds his father in the throne. Throughout the play there is controversy between the King and Hal as a direct result of Hal’s performance as a Prince. From gallivanting in the tavern, to fighting in the battle of Shrewsbury, Hal becomes the son that King Henry has been pressuring him to be all along. The father/son relationship is a significant theme in this play, alongside Prince Hal’s other relationships with important male figures such as Hotspur and Falstaff. Falstaff is one of the favorites of this play, rather obvious that he is the brunt of a multitude of jokes; somehow maintains certain poise. On the other hand, we have Hotspur, a talented and brave young man the King wishes were his son: â€Å"That some night-tripping fairy had exchanged/ In cradle-clothes our children where they lay/ And called mine â€Å"Percy,† his â€Å"Plantagenet†!/ Then would I have his Harry, and he mine† (1.1.86-89). Both Hotspur and Hal are the intended future leaders of their country, but Hal doesn’t seem to understand his role in its entirety (at least his actions haven’t proven his maturity to the likes of King Henry IV). The King would prefer Hal act in a more appropriate manner when... ...ove to his father that he has what it takes to be the next king, but in the end his father couldn’t be more pleased with Hal’s performance. Works Cited Kastan, David Scott. Introduction. King Henry IV, Part I. London: Arden, 2002. 44-51. Print. Kastan, David Scott. "The King Hath Many Marching in His Coat." 1 Henry IV. By William Shakespeare. Ed. Gordon McMullan. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2003. 330-346. Print. Khan, Coppelia. â€Å"Masculine Identifies.† 1 Henry IV. By William Shakespeare. Ed. Gordon McMullan. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2003. 330-346. Print. Reno, Raymond H. â€Å"Hotspur: The Integration of Character and Theme.† Henry the Fourth, Part I, by William Shakespeare. Ed. James L. Sanderson. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1969. 235-244. Print. Shakespeare, William. 1 Henry IV. Ed. Gordon McMullan. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2003. Print.

Julius Caesar Tragic Hero (Brutus) :: Julius Caesar Essays

Tragic Hero Essay In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim). Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar. This flaw eventually leads to his downfall because of all the bad decisions it causes him to make. The first mistake pride causes him to make is to kill Caesar and the next mistake follows right after. â€Å" Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar’s body. You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, but speak all good you can devise of Caesar, and say you do’t by our permission; Else shall you not have any hang at all about his funeral; and you shall speak in the same pulpit wherto I am going, after my speech is done.† (24) This was said by Brutus to Antony right after Caesar’s death. Brutus not only allows Antony to live but then allows him to speak at Caesar’s funeral after Brutus speaks, completely unsupervised. This choice of Brutus’ is brought about by his pride (and maybe a little bit of shortsighted stupidity).

What is religion

What is religion? There are many definitions for the term â€Å"religion† in common usage. On this web site, we define it very broadly, in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life. † Thus we include here all of the great monotheistic religions, Eastern religions; Neopagan religions; a wide range of other faith groups, spiritual paths, and ethical systems; and beliefs about the existence of God(s) and Goddess(es). We recognize that most people define â€Å"religion† in a much more exclusive manner. Christianity: There are many definitions for this term as well. Again, we use an inclusive definition: â€Å"An individual or group is Christian if they sincerely, thoughtfully and devoutly believe that they are Christian. † This generates a lot of angry Emails from some visitors to this site who are insistent on excluding the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholic Church, the Mormons and some other denominations as sub-Christian, quasi-Christian non-Christian, or anti-Christian. We treat Christianity in greater detail than other religions, simply because about 75% of North Americans identify themselves with that religion. Christians outnumber the next largest organized religions, Judaism and Islam, by about 40 to 1 in the U. S. and Canada. We are not in any way implying that Christianity is superior or inferior to other religions. It is simply much more popular. Destructive, doomsday cults: These are fortunately few in number, and are listed elsewhere. Information for these essays was extracted from reliable sources, and believed to be accurate and reasonably unbiased. Where possible, they have been reviewed by a group (typically 3 or more) of persons who follow the belief before the material is placed online. â€Å"World† Religions: There are many, long established, major world religions, each with over three million followers. We have shown the five largest North American religions in bold: Baha'i Faith Buddhism Christianity; Christian groups, denominations and families (Amish to The Way) Confucianism Hinduism Islam Jainism Judaism Shinto Sikhism Taoism Vodun (Voodoo) 1 Neopagan Religious Faiths Neopagan faiths are modern-day reconstructions of ancient Pagan religions from various countries and eras. They experience a high but diminishing level of discrimination and persecution in North America. They were once rarely practiced in public for reasons of safety. This is rapidly changing for the better. Asatru (Norse Paganism) * Druidism Goddess Worship Wicca Witchcraft Notes: Many followers of Asatru regard themselves as â€Å"Heathens† rather than â€Å"Neopagans. † Many followers of these religions refer to themselves as â€Å"Pagans. † We use the term â€Å"Neopagan† because it is less ambiguous. Pagan† has a variety of unrelated meanings. Other organized Religions These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Of the many hundreds of faith groups in the world, we have chosen these because of their historical significance, or because of the massive amount of misinformation that has be en spread about them in North America: Caodaism Damanhur Community Druze Eckankar Elian Gonzalez religious movement Gnosticism Gypsies Hare Krishna – ISKCON Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa Lukumi Macumba Mowahhidoon Native American Spirituality Rom, Roma, Romani, Rroma, (a. k. a. Gypsies) Santeria Elian Gonzalez religious movement Satanism; The Church of Satan Scientology Unitarian-Universalism The Creativity Movement (formerly called World Church of the Creator) The Yazidi branch of Yazd? ism Zoroastrianism what is RELIGION? The English word â€Å"religion† is derived from the Middle English â€Å"religioun† which came from the Old French â€Å"religion. † It may have been originally derived from the Latin word â€Å"religo† which means â€Å"good faith,† â€Å"ritual,† and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin â€Å"relig? e† which means â€Å"to tie fast. † Defining the word â€Å"religion† is fraught with difficulty. Many attempts have been made. Most seem to focus on too narrowly only a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. It is apparent that religion can be seen as a theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition. † All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief. Some definitions equate â€Å"religion† with â€Å"Christianity,† and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. Some define â€Å"religion† in terms of â€Å"the sacred† and/or â€Å"the spiritual,† and thus require the creation of two more definitions. Sometimes, definitions of â€Å"religion† contain more than one deficiency. However, this definition contains an element of controversy, because it implies that religions, and thus perhaps deity/deities, are created by humanity and not the reverse. A less contentious meaning might be the sum total of answers to the problem of our relationship with the universe, we call religion. â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. † A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Na tive American Spirituality, Wicca, and other Neopagan traditions to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a â€Å"belief about deity. Their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist. Some people do not consider their personal spiritual path to be a religion. Many conservative Christians refer to Christianity not as a religion but as an intensely personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many Native Americans believe that their spiritual beliefs and practices are not a religion in the normal sense of the term. They form a integral and seamless part of their very being, totally integrated into their life experience. Agnostics and Atheists often do not regard their beliefs to be a religion. To most, Atheism and Agnosticism simply represent a single belief about the existence or non-existence of a supreme being. They do not necessarily include ethical matters. The New Age is sometimes referred to as a religion. However, it is in reality a collection of diverse beliefs and practices from which a practitioner may select those that appeal to her/him. The individual often grafts these beliefs and practices onto an established religion. â€Å"True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. Idolatry is religion pretending that it has all the answers. † â€Å"†¦ just because you don't bow on your knees and worship an idol or an invisible being, does not mean you are not a Satan worshiper. The worship of any other god (s) is the same thing. There are no other gods. They are demons and Satan is in control of them. â€Å"Yes, Christianity is the one true religion. That may sound awfully dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is the only true religion. Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father (John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and judgmental. They do so because they believe what Jesus said. How many religions are there in the world from which to locate the â€Å"true† one? According to David Barrett and team, there are 19 major world religious groupings in the world which are subdivided into a total of about 10,000 distinct religions. Of the latter, there were 270 religions and para-religions which had over a half million adherents in the year 2000 CE. Within Christianity, they have identified 34,000 separate groups (denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc) in the world. â€Å"Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations. † 1 Even considering a single religion, Christianity, within a single country, there are often thousands of individual â€Å"Christian confessions and denominations. 4,684 groups in the U. S. ,364 in South Africa. 2,079 in Nigeria. 1,581 in Brazil. 1,327 in South-central Asia. Among other English-speaking countries, there are: 828 groups in the UK. 469 in Canada. 267 in Australia 175 in New Zealand. 2 Differences in the beliefs and practices of various faith groups: Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed. Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed. There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. ppearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc. More details To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a â€Å"true religion† exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error. What do faith groups teach about their own status? Most religious groups teach that their own beliefs and practices are the only true set, and that all other faith groups contain some degree of error. For example, the largest single faith group in the U. S. in Canada, and in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Times News Service, a year 2000 statement by the Church titled â€Å"Dominus Iesus† implies that â€Å"Churches such as the Church of England, where the apostolic succession of bishops from the time of St. Peter is disputed by Rome, and churches without bishops, are not considered ‘proper' churches. † Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are â€Å"churches in the proper sense. † They suffer from â€Å"defects. † Dominus Iesus further states that religions other than Christianity are considered to be â€Å"gravely deficient. Their rituals can constitute â€Å"an obstacle to salvation† for their followers. 3,4 Other faith groups are either more inclusive or more exclusive than the Roman Catholic Church regarding the â€Å"truth† status of other faith groups. Which, then, is the true religion? Because religions are so different, only one could be the â€Å"true religion. † Perhaps none are. Within the â€Å"true religion† there may be more than one faith group that are sufficiently accurate in their beliefs and practices that all could qualify as â€Å"true. † The problem is how to find out which religion and which faith groups have this status. Some methods of determining the â€Å"true† religion are conduct an opinion poll. Unfortunately, beliefs differ around the world: In Saudi Arabia, the government claims that 100% of the population is Muslim. So there is probably a very high probability that a given citizen picked at random would firmly believe Islam is the true religion and that theirs is the true faith group. India is about 80% Hindu. There is a very high probability that any given citizen believes that their tradition with Hinduism is the true religion. The U. S. is about 75% Christian. The population in the American â€Å"Bible belt† is significantly higher than that. There is a very high probability that any given citizen in South Carolina, for example, believes that their denomination within Christianity is the true religion. It is obvious that one's personal beliefs about the true religion is largely a function of the country in which one happens to have been born, the area of that country, and the beliefs of one's parent(s): Pray to God 5 and ask to be enlightened. The founder of the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith, did precisely this. Mormons believe that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him side by side, and told him that none of the then existing Christian denominations were the true religion. He was instructed to create a new denomination to restore Christianity to its first century CE purity before it fell into heresy. This method appears to be unreliable. When people pray to God for enlightenment, most seem to conclude that their own religion and faith group is the true one. If people could access the will of God on this matter, then a vast majority of the world's population — the folks who pray — would realize that their faith group was not the true one. They would gradually migrate to the true religion. There would eventually be only one religion and one tradition within that religion left standing. Otherwise, people would be rejecting the will of God. All the other 11,000 religions and their tens of thousands of denominations or traditions would be phased out. The OCRT, the group that sponsors this web site, conducted a pilot study to determine whether a person can assess the will of God through prayer. We used a controversial topic: whether God favors same-sex marriage for homosexuals and some bisexuals. The answer that we found was that people appear to be unable to assess the will of God through prayer. Communication from God: God could initiate a direct communication to humanity. In order to be convincing, it would have to be totally unambiguous, clear and convincing. One example might be for God to rearrange a few thousand stars to spell out in the evening sky the name of the true religion. Unfortunately, at least within the Judeo-Christian traditions, God seems to be progressively withdrawing from humanity. He walked in person with Adam and Eve. Later, he only appeared in rare occasions as at Mount Sinai. Still later, he communicated with humans only through prophets. Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God and walked among humans in first century CE Palestine. However, he was seen by only a miniscule percentage of the human race. Now, access to God is through prayer. Unless God were to take the initiative, it appears that there is no way for humans to determine which religion is â€Å"true. â€Å"

Nathan “Songs of Silence” Essay

The chapters of Songs of Silence hold together as a chorus of songs from one community, but shaped by the recollections of a narrator whose perspective ranges from the innocence of childhood to the maturity of a young adult who emerges unbroken from a failed relationship. One such chapters is ‘Nathan’ and here the narrator is the reflective adult with a sophisticated notion of the wide range if meanings ‘silence’ holds. Through the character of Nation she is able to present some aspects of this theme, which runs throughout the text in many different ways. Nathan acts strategically without words, but with potent meaning – revenge (poking Tony’s eye). Silence is a characteristic feature of Nathan’s personality, which is deep and profound even though he uses few words. The absence of words can mask/hide a great deal (still waters run deep). Nathan’s deep and profound silence was evident even from his birth and the close connection he had with his sister, the narrator – ‘†¦soulmates, welded together by our common need for silence.’ They both started speaking late. However, her silence was different from his – ‘he was a man of dark blue silences,’ while hers ‘hers was a silence of moons.’ Here the narrator suggests that contrary to the saying ‘silence means consent’, silence does not always mean ‘consent’ or agreement nor are all silent people to be treated the same. The ‘manna manna manna mahkita’ game establishes the communication between the narrator and Nathan. It has unspoken personal meaning for them and suggests that its ritual is saturated with almost religious or spiritual significance. It shows that codes of communication which may appear insignificant or meaningless to others looking on, may be a way of expressing connections that (known) words cannot express. The different silences of the siblings allow them to explore, define and find their own authentic selves in their own ways. (E.g. The narrator and the ants, Nathan and his tightfistedness with money). Silence, like money, can express identity.