Traditional Roman Republic Virtues versus Christian Virtues Essay

Traditional Roman Republic Virtues versus Christian Virtues - Essay Example Perpetua and Lucretia depict different virtues as women, wherein Perpetua is shown as virtuous because she willingly accepted suffering for her faith, while Lucretia took suffering in her own hands and asked others to avenge her marred integrity because she and her society assigned ultimate virtue on her sexual purity. Perpetua is different from Lucretia because she lived by the Christian virtue of suffering for her faith rather than renouncing it. She shows courage in accepting her suffering. Her punishment was to face gladiators, and, before they killed her, she told her brother and others: â€Å"You must all stand fast in the faith and love one another, and do not be weakened by what we have gone through.† She embraced her suffering with pride and love. Lucretia did not die for her religious beliefs, but because of her soiled sexuality. She did not even wait for others to punish her for being impure. She said this before committing suicide: â€Å"I will absolve myself of b lame, and I will not free myself from punishment. No woman shall use Lucretia as her example in dishonor.† She could not accept living anymore after being raped because she and her society believed that women must be sexually pure (i.e. have sexual relations only with their husbands). Lucretia killed herself because of her shame, while Perpetua sacrificed her life for her Christian faith.The male interlocutors in these women’s lives lived according to their cultural virtues, wherein Christian males in Perpetua’s life suffered with her.

The Difference in Cost and Quality of Care between Profit and not for Research Paper

The Difference in Cost and Quality of Care between Profit and not for Profit Hospitals - Research Paper Example In the last two decades, the healthcare in the United States of American has undergone immense structural changes leading to a visible proliferation of both for profit and not for profit healthcare institutions. At the same time, the other big development has been a rise of the concern for the achievement of ethical competency in the functioning and working of profit and not for profit healthcare institutions and organizations (Walshe & Smith, 2006, p. 85). This overall alteration in the business environment in the country has lead to an impetus for minimal reliance on the charity and philanthropic sources of capital and a preference for competency and competition in the long term financial working of the healthcare institutions and organizations. It goes without saying that it will be immensely revealing to study the impact of these developments in the cost and quality of care of for profit and not for profit hospitals. However, this endeavor, by its very nature necessities a pragma tic insight into the American healthcare system and the salient features and priorities of for profit and not for profit hospitals. Background American Healthcare System In the current times, the healthcare system in America is facing many problems and issues. America spends more money per person in healthcare than perhaps any other nation in the world. (Sultz & Young, 2010, p. 29). A large percentage of the national GDP in the United States of America is spent on healthcare because of the high costs involved (Sultz & Young, 2010, p. 29). The public healthcare expenditure of the United States of America stands to be the third highest in the world owing to the glaringly high cost of medical care in the country (Sultz & Young, 2010). The present and intended reforms in the healthcare system revolve around varied grave issues like the right to healthcare, quality of medical care, access to healthcare, and the efficiency and costs incurred by profit and not for profit hospitals. Though the Americans spend so much on healthcare, yet it is sad to acknowledge that America tends to lag behind many nations in the area of life expectancy and infant mortality (Sultz & Young, 2010, p. 4, 5). So the common citizens, institutions, organizations and the interested groups are getting wary about the fact that as to whether the system is delivering the value for money or not. It is utterly difficult to delve on the difference in cost and quality of care between profit and not for profit hospitals without taking into consideration the framework within which they operate and the targets they are primarily affiliated to. For Profit Hospitals-Salient Features In the United States, for profit hospitals are also known as the investor owned hospitals. They usually comprise of chains of investor owned hospitals that have infiltrated the healthcare system in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century. Realistically speaking, in contrast to the more traditional not for profit hospitals, for profit hospitals intend to accrue profits from the services provided by them (Cutler, 2000, p. 23). Those people, groups and corporate bodies who suppor t for profit hospi

Norwegian Cruise Lines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Norwegian Cruise Lines - Case Study Example In case of NCL, multifactor productivity measure is used. Yes, productivity measurement is extremely essential for NCL in order to judge the efficiency and effectiveness of the renowned brand in the market. Along with this, it also helps to determine the cost effectiveness and return on investment of the organization of a specific financial year that might be used for the planning the level of investments for the next financial year. Other than this, with the help of multifactor productivity measure, we might also judge the requirements of innovative technology and equipments to cope up with the changing trends of the market. By doing so, it might prove effective for NCL to enhance its financial position and brand image in the market among other rivals of the market. In order to make the customers fully satisfied, NCL tries to offer varied types of service packages. It helps in improving the reliability and trust of the customers over the brand resulting in amplification of the entire portfolio and revenue as well. Keeping these dreams in mind, NCL tries to offer fleet-wide services, cabin service, room service, dining service and bar services to its customers. It is done to enhance its image and position within the minds of its customers so that they might return again and again in long run. Other than this, the charge of fleet-wide tipping is very low and affordable for all and so it is highly preferred. Apart from this, varied other services are also offered by NCL like, guest services, hotel services, technical support services along with shopping services for the customers as well. Moreover, extremely beautiful casino services are also offered by NCL to its customers to retain its image within the minds of the customers. Hence, due to the presence of such wonderful service package facilities, NCL is highly preferred by maximum extent of the customers in the entire market. The competitive priority of NCL is to remain reputation

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Summary - Essay Example The article used the annual report that was allegedly published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was just recently made available. As disclosed, the OECD report contained as much as 565 pages and detailed an array of education-related topics relating from early childhood to the pursuit of higher education. The trends were noted to have been gathered, collected, and presented with information from members of OECD member countries such as Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea and the United States (Redden par. 1). Likewise, other relevant education trends were also gathered from specifically mentioned countries which allegedly belong to the Group of 20, but were non-OECD member countries, such as China, Brazil, and India. In discussing the topic on education and the recession, the author noted that the major developments in higher education pertained to the effect of gaining a college degree on the rate of unemployment. As stated, graduates of higher ed ucation were less affected by unemployment, as compared to high school graduates. The statistics that were noted included the following: â€Å"unemployment rates for college degree holders rose from 3.3 to 4.7 percent from 2008 to 2010, compared to an increase of 4.9 to 7.6 percent for those who had only completed secondary education† (Redden par. 2). It could therefore be deduced that for college degree holders, the unemployment rates grew only by as much as 1.4%, as compared to the 2.7% growth rate in unemployment for students who were noted to have only completed secondary education. Likewise, Redden also emphasized that those who pursued higher education and graduated with degrees were lesser prone to be affected by widening wage gaps. It was specifically cited that â€Å"while in 2008 a man with higher education could expect to earn 58 percent more than his counterpart with a secondary degree -- and a woman 54 percent more than her counterpart -- by 2010 these figures h ad increased to 67 and 59 percent, respectively† (Redden par. 3). The wage gap was more prominent for males at 9% gap from 2008 to 2010, as contrasted to the wage gap disclosed for women at only 5% from the same period. The statistics on student mobility was also expounded. Trends on students opting to study in foreign countries were most prominent during the decade where percentage increase of 99% was revealed from the 41,000 in 2000 to 4.1 million in 2010. Likewise, Redden disclosed that more than 52% of these students who travel to other countries were of Asian descent. From among the countries mentioned to be preferred as destinations for educational pursuits, the following were revealed in descending order: †United States (which attracts 17 percent of all international students), the United Kingdom (13 percent), Australia (7 percent), France (6 percent), and Germany (6 percent)† (Redden par. 6). Another interesting fact was that although the United States was the top preferred destination for pursuing higher education by foreign students, the 17% rate was actually a significant decline from a high of 23% in 2000. In discussing the degree attainment and access, Redden focused on presenting findings in terms of percentage of an identified population or age-range (25- to 64-year-olds) attaining higher education; the role and performance of gender, specifically women who pursue

Landing on the moon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Landing on the moon - Research Paper Example The attempt to reach the moon dates back to the mid-20th century. On 13th of September 1959, the Soviet Union made the first object that landed on the surface of the moon. Luna 2 was the name of the spacecraft and was sent without a human accompaniment because of the potential risk that was involved. Despite being the first spacecraft to reach the moon, it was the second to be launched in the direction of the moon after the unsuccessful Luna 1. Through Luna 2’s movement to the moon, various discoveries were made about the moon. It was established that there was no significant magnetic field on the surface of the moon. In addition, there was never found any evidence of the presence of radiation belts in the moon (NASA 1). The United States also made an effort to have a spacecraft to the moon. This led to the landing of Ranger 4 to the moon in 1962 opening up more opportunities for the expansion of the aviation industry. The reaching of man to the moon was another milestone in the exploration of the moon. On July 20th, 1969 Apollo 11, a spacecraft owned by the United States landed on the surface of the moon with its astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. This was the first manned spacecraft in the history of moon landings (NASA 1). However, afterwards, there have been other manned as well as unmanned spacecraft that have found their way into the surface of the moon. Between the first manned landings in 1969 to 1972, up to twelve astronauts reached the surface of the moon. Landing to the moon is not a simple affair; it is characterized by a sophisticated technology. A rocket is the equipment that was developed to break the gravity of the earth hence getting to the surface of the moon where there is no gravity. A rocket is propelled to the space where it continues to increase in speed even in vacuum. This

Governor General Essay Example for Free

Governor General Essay The United States during the 1890’s wanted to acquire as much control as it could at the expense of other countries. This desire was felt greatly in countries found in Latin America and Asia. The location and size of Latin American and Asian countries caught the attention of the United States where they began to have an interest and desire to conquer the former countries. The influence of Alfred Mahan extended to the manner of conquest that the United States was to undertake. The sea power influence was used by the great country in order to further their objectives of obtaining control over Latin America and Asian countries. (Alfred T. Mahan on Sea Power, 1890) The USS Maine was the first ship constructed to answer the call for battle. The US was able to control the Canal Zone and this was vital to their pursuit for power. The Philippines was one of those Asian countries greatly affected by the US quest for power. The Philippine Insurrection resulted to fierce military battle between these two countries where a lot of lives were lost with many untold sufferings. (Insurrection in the Philippines) The US succeeded in conquering the Philippines where Theodore Roosevelt became the First Governor General. Look more:Â  satire mark twain essay (Theodore Roosevelt: First Governor General of the Philippines) The interest of the US over the Philippines arose as a result of the strategic location of the latter that would be good for business such as trading. The US had an extreme view to conquer the Latin America’s and Asian countries through force. Jingoism was prevalent during the years of 1890 onwards. The United States was able to exert influence, power and control over these countries. The control of this powerful nature ended when the spirit of democracy and independence was awakened in these countries subject to their control. Reference: 1. Alfred T. Mahan on Sea Power, 1890. Retrieved on May 19, 2009 from website http://www. mtholyoke. edu/acad/intrel/protected/alfred. htm. 2. Insurrection in the Philippines. Oregon Coast Magazine Online. Retrieved on May 19, 2009 from website http://www. u-s-history. com/pages/h830. html. 3. Fulton, Robert. Theodore Roosevelt: First Governor General of the Philippines. Retrieved on May 19, 2009 from website http://www. morolandhistory. com/Articles/3. %20theodore_roosevelt. htm. 4. Jingoism. Retrieved on May 19, 2009 from website http://www. worldwidewords. org/weirdwords/ww-jin1. htm.

Small Basic and Programming Essay Example for Free

Small Basic and Programming Essay Computer Programming is defined as the process of creating computer software using programming languages. Just like we speak and understand English or Spanish or French, computers can understand programs written in certain languages. These are called programming languages. In the beginning there were just a few programming languages and they were really easy to learn and comprehend. But as computers and software became more and more sophisticated, programming languages evolved fast, gathering more complex concepts along the way. As a result most modern programming languages and their concepts are pretty challenging to grasp by a beginner. This fact has started discouraging people from learning or attempting computer programming. Small Basic is a programming language that is designed to make programming extremely easy, approachable and fun for beginners. Small Basic’s intention is to bring down the barrier and serve as a stepping stone to the amazing world of computer programming. The Small Basic Environment Let us start with a quick introduction to the Small Basic Environment. When you first launch SmallBasic, you will see a window that looks like the following figure. Figure 1 The Small Basic Environment This is the Small Basic Environment, where we’ll write and run our Small Basic programs. This environment has several distinct elements which are identified by numbers. The Editor, identified by [1] is where we will write our Small Basic programs. When you open a sample program or a previously saved program, it will show up on this editor. You can then modify it and save if for later use. You can also open and work with more than one program at one time. Each program you are working with will be displayed in a separate editor. The editor that contains the program you are currently working with is called the active editor. The Toolbar, identified by [2] is used to issue commands either to the active editor or the environment. We’ll learn about the various commands in the toolbar as we go. The Surface, identified by [3] is the place where all the editor windows go. Our First Program Now that you are familiar with the Small Basic Environment, we will go ahead and start programming in it. Like we just noted above, the editor is the place where we write our programs. So let’s go ahead and type the following line in the editor. TextWindow.WriteLine(Hello World) This is our first Small Basic program. And if you have typed it correctly, you should see something similar to the figure below. Figure 2 First Program Now that we have typed our new program, let’s go ahead and run it to see what happens. We can run our program either by clicking on the Run button on the toolbar or by using the shortcut key, F5 on the keyboard. If everything goes well, our program should run with the result as shown below. Figure 3 First Program Output Congratulations! You have just written and run the first Small Basic program. A very small and simple program, but nevertheless a big step towards becoming a real computer programmer! Now, there’s just one more detail to cover before we go on to create bigger programs. We have to understand what just happened – what exactly did we tell the computer and how did the computer know what to do? In the next chapter, we’ll analyze the program we just wrote, so we can gain that understanding. As you typed your first program, you might have noticed that a popup appeared with a list of items (Figure 4). This is called â€Å"intellisense† and it helps you type your program faster. You can traverse that list by pressing the Up/Down arrow keys, and when you find something you want, you can hit the Enter key to insert the selected item in your program. Figure 4 Intellisense Saving our program If you want to close Small Basic and come back later to work on the program you just typed, you can save the program. It is in fact a good practice to save programs from time to time, so that you don’t lose information in the event of an accidental shutdown or a power failure. You can save the current program by either clicking on the â€Å"save† icon on the toolbar or by using the shortcut â€Å"Ctrl+S† (press the S key while holding down the Ctrl key). Chapter 2 Understanding Our First Program What really is a computer program? A program is a set of instructions for the computer. These instructions tell the computer precisely what to do, and the computer always follows these instructions. Just like people, computers can only follow instructions if specified in a language they can understand. These are called programming languages. There are very many languages that the computer can understand and Small Basic is one. Imagine a conversation happening between you and your friend. You and your friends would use words, organized as sentences to convey information back and forth. Similarly, programming languages contain collections of words that can be organized into sentences that convey information to the computer. And programs are basically sets of sentences (sometimes just a few and sometimes many thousands) that together make sense to both the There are many languages that the computer programmer and the computer alike. can understand. Java, C++, Python, VB, etc. are all powerful modern computer languages that Small Basic Programs are used to develop simple to complex software A typical Small Basic program consists of a bunch programs. of statements. Every line of the program represents a statement and every statement is an instruction for the computer. When we ask the computer to execute a Small Basic program, it takes the program and reads the first statement. It understands what we’re trying to say and then executes our instruction. Once it’s done executing our first statement, it comes back to the program and reads and executes the second line. It continues to do so until it reaches the end of the program. That is when our program finishes. Back to Our First Program Here is the first program we wrote: TextWindow.WriteLine(Hello World) This is a very simple program that consists of one statement. That statement tells the computer to write a line of text which is Hello World, into the Text Window. It literally translates in the computer’s mind to: Write Hello World You might have already noticed that the statement can in turn be split into smaller segments much like sentences can be split into words. In the first statement we have 3 distinct segments: a) TextWindow b) WriteLine c) â€Å"Hello World† The dot, parentheses and the quotes are all punctuations that have to be placed at appropriate positions in the statement, for the computer to understand our intent. You might remember the black window that appeared when we ran our first program. That black window is called the TextWindow or sometimes referred to as the Console. That is where the result of this program goes. TextWindow, in our program, is called an object. There are a number of such objects available for us to use in our programs. We can perform several different operations on these objects. We’ve already used theWriteLine operation in our program. You might also have noticed that the WriteLine operation is followed by Hello World inside quotes. This text is passed as input Punctuations such as quotes, spaces and to the WriteLine operation, which it then prints parenthesis are very important in a computer out to the user. This is called an input to the program. Based on their position and count, operation. Some operations take one or more they can change the meaning of what is being inputs while others don’t take any expressed. Our Second Program Now that you have understood our first program, let’s go ahead and make it fancier by adding some colors. TextWindow.ForegroundColor = Yellow TextWindow.WriteLine(Hello World) Figure 5 Adding Colors When you run the above program, you’ll notice that it prints out the same â€Å"Hello World† phrase inside TextWindow, but this time it prints it out in yellow instead of the gray that it did earlier. Figure 6 Hello World in Yellow Notice the new statement we added to our original program. It uses a new word, ForegroundColor which we equated to a value of â€Å"Yellow.† This means we’ve assigned â€Å"Yellow† to ForegroundColor. Now, the difference between ForegroundColor and the operation WriteLine is that ForegroundColor did not take any inputs nor did it need any parenthesis. Instead it was followed by an equals to symbol and a word. We define ForegroundColor as a Property of TextWindow. Here is a list of values that are valid for the ForegroundColor property. Try replacing â€Å"Yellow† with one of these and see the results – don’t forget the quotes, they are required punctuations.