Relationship of the government and the religion Essay

Relationship of the government and the religion - Essay Example Relationship of the government and the religion. In his writing in the Virginia statute for religious freedom, Jefferson made statement about the freedom of conscience and the Principe of separation between the state and the church. The Virginia religious freedom statue was rooted in Jefferson philosophy. The statute was passed by Virginia general assembly in January 1786. It is among the first amendment that sort to protect the freedom of religion. The first paragraph of the statute proclaimed freedom of thought. According to Jefferson, the nature God gives a man the freedom to choose his religious belief. Jefferson argues that since the God has given the man freedom of thought – to believe or not to believe- there should be no law that compels a man to follow any religion. Individuals are free to worship as they please with no discrimination. Jefferson wanted the assembly to enact that individuals should not be forced be to support any religious worship, or enforced, restrained in their bodies and/or goods or suffers due to their religious opinion or belief. Moreover, all individual are free to profess and by argument maintain their opinion on religious matter. Their opinion on matters of religion should not affect in any way their civil capacities. The two clauses seem to uphold the view of the Jefferson. The establishment clause prevents the state from influencing any religious opinion on its citizen. The free exercise clause, protects the citizens right to practice their religion as they please.

Human Factors in Aircraft Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Human Factors in Aircraft Engineering - Essay Example All the 225 people (19 crew and 106 passengers) were feared dead in this accident, which further dented China Airlines’ dismal air safety record. Before we consider the detailed case study, it is necessary to dwell on the maintenance aspects of aircraft engineering especially with regard to its safety and security aspects, since this forms the bulwark of international air travel. The responsibilities of the maintenance crew is very significant since it could be mean the difference between life and death at say, 40,000 feet above the ground, if the proper maintenance is not carried out according to the strictest rigour and discipline, it would cause enormous losses of lives and properties. Another aspect to air accidents is that these are capable of causing significant damages even to people and property on the ground where the debris of the ill-fated plane are scattered. The responsibilities for incidents or accidents are most often than not assigned to the operating staff, i.e., flying crew and pilots. This may not always be true. In some cases, there may be inherent deficiencies or construction defects in the basic structure of the aircraft itself. Because of which the accident may occur before, or shortly after take-off. In which cases, the responsibility for incident or accident cannot shift to the flying crew but needs to be assigned to the ground staff, i.e. maintenance and operative personnel. Variable error model refers to condition when the type of error may be of discrete and unpredictable nature and would therefore, be difficult to judge and control. Under such circumstances, it is seen that constant error models, being of consistent and predictable nature, could be tackled more efficiently and effectively. The possibilities of controlling constant error are higher than that of variable error. Error models may further be categorized into two models. Those, which could be solved, or made operationable, and the other

Analysing the Payback Period when making an investment

Analysing the Payback Period when making an investment Payback Period is the length of time required before the total of the cash inflows received from the project is equal to the original cash outlay i.e. the length of time the investment takes to return its initial capital. In yet another definition, it is the ratio of initial fixed investment over annual net cash flows. The decision criterion is that if the payback period is less than some minimal accepted payback period that is set as a threshold, the proposal is accepted. If the period is more than the cut-off period, the project is rejected. For ranking decisions, projects with shorter payback periods get preference over those that take longer. The following is the formula for calculating the payback period; Payback period = Year before full recovery + Unrecovered cost at start of the year Of the original investment Total cash flow in year The payback criterion is a rough measure of risk. It reflects the liquidity of a project and therefore the more liquid the project the higher the chance of recovering the initial investment. A project with short payback period but with a low rate of return is preferred over projects with long payback period and high rate of return reason being that the firm may be in need of quick returns of its invested cash. This is the reason behind its preference by firms with liquidity problems. Payback period is the investment appraisal method of choice for firms that produce products that are prone to obsolescence. Since these products last for only a year or two years, their payback period must be short for the firm to have recouped its initial capital. It is therefore preferred in situations when time is of relatively high importance. The method is easy to understand and the calculation involves simplified steps. It only considers the net cash flows and cumulating them to determine when they equal the cost of the project. It automatically adjusts for the uncertainty of later cash flows by ignoring them. the main interest is only the initial capital and the time taken to that point hence cash flows generated after the payback period arent considered. In spite of the above advantages, payback period has some drawbacks. The method fails to consider the cash flows after the payback period and consequently not ideal viable for measuring the actual profitability of a project. It also does not take into account the magnitude or timing of recoveries during the payback period and considers the recovery period as a whole. This is particularly bad since most investments tend to have lower cash flows in earlier years and higher cash flows as the project matures. The payback period ignores the time value of money. This implies that it ignores financing costs of investments. Time value of money is essential in considering the productivity of a project because it considers present cash flows as equal to future ones. The method ignores the scale of investment and recommends an arbitrary cut-off point. There is no objectivity in establishing cut-off points across different firms thus bringing inconsistency. This is not to add that quick payback does not necessarily mean good investment. The method discriminates against long-term projects such as research and development and new product development. These types of projects normally require huge initial outlays and take long to give returns and yet they are so critical to any firm interested in enhancing its competitiveness in the industry. In addition, it does not have an inherent mechanism to highlight differences in investments useful life. Such differences are very essential and relying on payback can lead to incorrect decisions. Despite the disadvantages of the payback method, it is widely used in practice though often only as a supplement to more sophisticated methods. It is favored because of its simplicity and most investors take it as the conventional one. Net Present Value Net Present Value (NPV) is the difference between the value of an investment and its cost. It represents the economic worth of the project in terms of todays dollar. A zero NPV means that the project cash flows are enough to repay the invested funds and provide the required rate of return on such capital. For positive NPV projects, excess cash accrues to shareholders and therefore their position is improved. Positive NPV projects result in an increase in the market price of ordinary shares while negative NPV projects cause erosion of shareholders wealth. It is calculated as; Present value of future net cash flows (PV) Initial investment (Io). The decision a criterion is that if the sum of these discounted cash flows is equal or greater than zero the project is accepted. Otherwise, the project is not accepted. In the case of mutually exclusive projects, the project with the highest NPV if it is positive gets acceptance. That way, the shareholders wealth is boosted to a maximum. Advantages The method uses the relevant cost approach by concentrating only on incremental cash flows. It measures the shortfalls or excess of cash flows and assumes that the cash flows obtained are reinvested is at the present rate of return. This is more appropriate in conditions of capital rationing. The result represents increase to a shareholders wealth expressed in present-day terms. The method considers the time value of money. This is important because cash flows obtained today are not the same as those obtained five years from now. This is because the method considers the time value of money and the relevant cash flows uses the cost of capital of the company as a discounting factor. Additionally, it considers cash flows for the entire project life. It is thus more comprehensive and reliable in appraising long-term projects. However, the results and procedures involved in calculating NPV arent easily understood by nonprofessionals. The cost of capital is difficult to calculate especially due to the effect of inflation and the fact that some industries lack sufficient data to base their calculations. The method requires a detailed long-term forecast of a projects cash flows, which is a very subjective exercise. Twice limited should consider using NPV in their appraisal because as compared to other capital appraisals, it expresses in absolute terms the expected economic contribution of the project. Its results shows the present worth in future cash flows after discounting them with the firms cost of capital. Assessing the five projects Under the payback period, the five proposals for the new holiday are as follows. Climb project The initial investment is 1,760,000 Year Net cash flows Cumulative cash flows 2011  £1,040,000.00 1,040,000.00 2012  £ 780,000.00 1,820,000.00 2013  £ 520,000.00 2,340,000.00 Payback period = 1+ (1,760,000-1,040,000)/780,000 = 1.92 years Paddle project Initial investment is 1,640,000 Year Net cash flows Cumulative cash flows 2011  £ 770,000.00 770,000.00 2012  £ 770,000.00 1,540,000.00 2013  £ 770,000.00 2,310,000.00 Payback period = 2+ (1,640,000-1,540,000)/770,000 = 2.13 years Rappel project Initial investment is 1,130,000 Year Net cash flows Cumulative cash flows 2011  £ 740,000.00 740,000.00 2012  £ 240,000.00 980,000.00 2013  £ 590,000.00 1,570,000.00 Payback period = 2+ (1,130,000-980,000)/590,000 = 2.25 years Swim project Initial investment is 1,030,000 Year Net cash flows Cumulative cash flows 2011  £ 480,000.00 480,000.00 2012  £ 480,000.00 960,000.00 2013  £ 480,000.00 1,440,000.00 Payback period = 2+ (1,030,000-960,000)/480,000 = 2.15 years Float project Initial investment is 280,000 Year Net cash flows Cumulative cash flows 2011  £ 100,000.00 100,000.00 2012  £ 130,000.00 230,000.00 2013  £ 100,000.00 330,000.00 Payback period = 2+ (280,000-230,000)/100,000 = 2.5 years The summary of projects payback periods is as follows. Project Number of years Climb 1.92 Paddle 2.13 Rappel 2.25 Swim 2.15 Float 2.50 Based on the ranking decisions, Twice limited should accept and implement paddle holiday project. It has the shortest payback period and this means that the project will recover its initial cost within 1 year and 11 months. Under NPV, the projects net cash flows use the cost of capital as a discounting factor within the period of three years. The general calculation of NPV is Present value of future net cash flows (PV) Initial investment (Io). The following are NPV of the proposals: Climb project Year 2011 2012 2013 Net cash flows  £1,040,000.00  £ 780,000.00  £ 520,000.00 PVIF8%, 3 0.9259 0.8573 0.7938 PV 962,962.96 668,724.28 412,792.77 NPV = [962,962.96 + 668,724.28 + 412,792.77] 1,760,000 = 284,480.01 Paddle project Year 2011 2012 2013 Net cash flows  £ 770,000.00  £ 770,000.00  £ 770,000.00 PVIF8%, 3 0.9259 0.8573 0.7938 PV 712,962.96 660,150.89 611,250.82 NPV = [712,962.96 + 660,150.89 + 611,250.83] 1,640,000 = 344,364.68 Rappel project Year 2011 2012 2013 Net cash flows  £ 740,000.00  £ 240,000.00  £ 590,000.00 PVIF8%, 3 0.9259 0.8573 0.7938 PV 685,185.18 205,761.31 468,361.02 NPV = [685,185.19 + 205,761.32 + 468,361.02] 1,130,000 = 229,307.52 Swim project Year 2011 2012 2013 Net cash flows  £ 480,000.00  £ 480,000.00  £ 480,000.00 PVIF8%,3 0.9259 0.8573 0.7938 PV 444444.44 411522.63 381039.47 NPV = [444,444.44 + 411,522.63 + 381,039.47]- 1,030,000 = 207,006.55 Float project Year 2011 2012 2013 Net cash flows  £ 100,000.00  £ 130,000.00  £ 100,000.00 PVIF8%, 3 0.9259 0.8573 0.7938 PV 92592.59 111454.04 79383.22 NPV = [92,592.59 +11,454.04 + 79,383.22] = 3,429.86 Twice limited should accept Paddle holiday project because it ranks the highest NPV of  £ 344,364.68. This indicates that after proper analysis of the net cash inflow, paddle project would generate over the three the above value and shareholder wealth will be improved. According to the payback period, climb project has the shortest recovery period and if the company was only using it for capital appraisal, the Twice limited could accept. NPV is more realistic because it considers time value of money as it discounts the net cash flows. The result shows the present value of a particular project in present-day using future cash flows. NPV method is regarded as superior in terms of project appraisal and Twice limited have to accept paddle project and discard climb project as proposed by payback period.

No Christmas :: essays research papers

When Christmas Couldn’t Come   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We lived in the farmhouse until my dad lost his job in 1994. No longer able to afford a mortgage, let alone utilities in the old, drafty house we moved into a smaller house two doors down. My mom called the new house â€Å"cozy† – making the best of a situation I couldn’t begin to understand; words like â€Å"WIC†, â€Å"welfare† and â€Å"debt† meant nothing to me at the time. I missed the barn that longed to be explored, the hill where at eight, I saw my first snowfall and of course, my room. The new house wasn’t mine, it was Miranda’s, a friend who moved away, my room wasn’t mine, it was hers. My mind raced with thousands of questions, all of them pitying myself, feeling bad for Andrea, forgetting about my family, all of them until my mom told the four of us that Christmas couldn’t come that year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The words fell out of my mom’s mouth like hail from a winter sky, pelting me in the face, stinging my entire body. What did she mean Christmas couldn’t come, that we could no longer afford any â€Å"extras†, that things were going to be â€Å"different†? Instantly my eyes swelled with things unfamiliar to a tomboy, my heart raced my shortening breath as I struggled to empathize with my parents, searching for a question, an answer, something to make it better. Before that November day I never thought about money or affording things; I grew up in a upper-middle class family where eating out was a commonality, vacations were assumed and for all I knew money could have grown on tress. I was eleven, self-absorbed in wants and wishes where the new house was a drag not more affordable and sharing a room was suffocating, not compromising. Life, for me, had never consisted in cutting corners or working to make ends meet, I simply lived getting what I wanted, not what I needed. Only after that conversation with my

Counter-Terrorism Project

Terrorists, one of the prominent words that have been recently involved to a lot of social disturbance that often associated to killings of civilians. Such organization is usually recognized as a group of people that is known to create scare to the public and threatened the government by utilizing violence. This is in pursuance of their goal that is either political or religious. Reading articles in the net, I thought that terrorism was already an evident social dilemma in both ancient and contemporary civilization (Jewett, n. d. ).Dating back to the ancient days, acts of terrors are already in existence (Jewett, n. d. ). Barbary and piracy are the most common terrorists that had threatened the lives of early civilization (Jewett, n. d. ). From a personal point of view, I consider terrorists as the most notorious criminals and law offenders in present time. With the various incidents of terror attacks whereas hundreds and thousands of lives had been claimed from series by series bomb ings, such terror activities had create negative impact in the society that caused panic and disseminates anxiety amongst the people.Citing these major events that have something to do with terrorism always make me wonder how these people could do such violent activities despite of thorough campaign against terrorism. Hence, the only thing that runs through my mind when the topic is terrorism is to think and formulate of counter-terrorism actions, which is inspired by thought of protecting the humankind and society against such detrimental activities. Upon reading just the introduction part of the terror training manual, the depiction of Al Qaeda’s commitment to their terror desire is clearly visible. It showcases that organization’s oath for what they believe in.Structured and composed in the most stimulating manner, the Islamic notion of the entire Al Qaeda Terror Group is highlighted well in aid to inculcate the attitude of a true blood terrorist for their new recru its. In addition to this, the organization's disappointment and doubtfulness against the governance of the westerners. Moreover, the introduction of Al Qaeda's terror training manual clearly stated their words of advice to their opposition (Western Government), saying that such unfaithful regimes must know the dialog of bullets, the ideals of assassination and the diplomacy of the cannon and machine-gun.In here, I can clearly say that the Al Qaeda is sending their message seriously towards the opposition and warns that such consequences must be honored than to just disregard. Hence, I could say that the first part of the training manual is the depiction of Al Qaeda's righteousness, which they claim the thought and justify the notion that they are bound in goodness to do such terroristic activities. Browsing more of the manual's pages I have discovered that Islam is not just performing rituals, however, it is a complete system with Religion and government, Koran and sword, worship an d Jihad, ethics and dealing with people.Thus, this characterizes the organization's mission in merely holistic manner, without being pessimistic or distinction between the political and spiritual. One of the major components of the manual that really attract my attention is the instructions that has something to do with falsification of significant document and comprehensive manual to handle individual mission. Certainly, Al Qaeda's terror training manual provides detailed guidelines for their aspiring members on how to forge documents, handling proper finances, and setting up urban and rural bases.This is their profound training practice for the new members in able to avoid any compromise and detection in the secrecy of their terroristic mission. Hence, I see this as an aid to upset their target nations’ sense of security, by hiding their real identity to pursue their terroristic goal. In line with this, it would be helpful if security authorities are cautious to every indiv idual's true identity to determine who are the terrorist and not.By effecting counter terrorism action that could interrupt and detect this strategy of Al Qaeda, it is safe enough to say that such detrimental plan by the organization would be prevented and well managed. In the end, the composition Al Qaeda's terror training manual utterly suggests that the government authorities mostly the western civilization to be care with the consequences might happen such as act of terrorism. Moreover, the training manuals clearly depicts the extent of capabilities of such organization.In addition to this, the manual is a written proof of the things that the Al Qaeda terrorists group could do in the society to harm the people. Personally speaking, I could say the manual was completed accordingly to achieve specific terroristic goal of the organization as every words and instructions are structured in the most stimulating manner to fire up the Islamic passion for their new members. Thus, such tr aining manual must be reviewed thoroughly to intercept any acts of terrorism.Nonetheless, the training manual of Al Qaeda terrorists group would serve as the perfect reference in the formulation of governments counter-terrorism strategy. Furthermore, my read with the training manual of Al Qaeda have took me into some recommendations for counter – terrorism strategy. A counter – terrorism strategy must focus on detection and surveillance in order to prevent any occurrence of terrorism acts that could lead to harm the people.Hence, the starting point of such strategy is to design a more efficient ways to determine and point out trumped-up passports and other significant documents that members of Al Qaeda utilizes for their international travel. Summary of the Statement The above writings are my personal reactions in the Al Qaeda's Training Manual. Those are the incorporations of all the assumptions and knowledge that I acquired upon my readings to the terror training man ual. In a sense, most of the reaction statement that I have written above is the depiction of my own findings after I have read the Al Qaeda's training manual.Starting in the introduction of the training manual, above words stated that Al Qaeda terrorists group is committed and in full service to spread their acts of terrorism in aid to their Muslim oath to Allah. Thus, the introduction appeals to the young Muslims to join them hand in hand to pursue their goal to spread the notions of Islam. In addition to this, the philosophy of the entire Al Qaeda terrorists group is also highlighted in the part of of my response statement to the training manual of the organization.Moreover, the above content tackles the capabilities of the organization to create social disturbance that aims to spread anxiety and harm people by utilizing violence. Also, this paper tells how the Muslim act and reciprocate to their opposition (West Government), and put into account the messages of the organization towards other side. In addition to this, the disappointment of the organization to the western government is as well discussed as it is one of the primary reasons as to why the Al Qaeda terrorist group are against the westerners.Nonetheless, the reactions above are representation of my own thought with regards to designing a counter – terrorism strategy to prevent any occurrence of such detrimental activities. Hence, it is determined the capabilities and significant strategies of the organization to disseminate anxiety in the society and harm the people that are against them. f References Jewett T. (n. d. ). Terrorism in Early America. Retrieved July 25, 2008, from http://www. earlyamerica. com/review/2002_winter_spring/terrorism. htmL Terrorist Training Manual. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 25, 2008, from www. fas. org/irp/world/para/aqmanual. pdf

Learning Team Reflection Essay

There are several factors to consider when contemplating a potential lawsuit or settlement. As a person who is not trained in the law, it is important to seek counsel before making any decisions. Counsel can provide professional guidance in a field that a victim may be unfamiliar with. To attempt to navigate though the legal system without professional help would be confusing and frustrating. There are alternatives to litigation that some people may not be aware of. A professional in the law can give guidance and perspective as to which is the best route to take. One must consider the time involved in litigation. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"A trial can last less than one day to many months, depending on the type and complexity of the case† (p. 41). Also, a consideration must be the costs involved. It can be extremely costly to obtain counsel, although it may be wise to invest in legal representation. Counsel will be able to provide you the statue of limitations so that you know how long you are eligible to seek damages. Additionally, counsel will provide you realistic picture of the benefits and/or risks of going to trial or settling. Counsel would be able to explain the intricacies regarding a trial and provide a relative timeframe. Most people are unaware of the details and involvement of going to trial. In many cases it is in the best interest of both the injured party and the accused to seek a resolution outside of court. According to Cheeseman (2010), â€Å"More than 95 percent of all cases are settled before they go to trial† (p. 40). A victim may feel compelled to go to court, when counsel may know that a trial may not provide a favorable outcome. Counsel would need to be available as already discussed to decide whether litigation is the way to go. Once the decision had been made to pursue the issue legally, the appropriate legal representation would have to be found. The type of counsel would depend on the type of case. There are several specialties in law and finding the best person to represent you is crucial. You would not ask a lawyer that specializes in real estate to represent you in a wrongful death suit. If possible, legal representation should be made available before the decision to seek legal action is decided on. A lawyer is there to provide professional advice, but they cannot force you to make a decision one way or the other. Two main intentional torts that should seek council especially if there were bodily injury to the person or persons are assault and battery. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"Assault is (1) the threat of immediate harm or offensive contact or (2) any action that arouses reasonable apprehensio n of imminent harm† (p. 75). The threat to the life of an individual or offensive contact are two very good reasons to seek counsel for either monetary charges such as paying medical bills from the harmful contact or seeking restraining orders to prevent such contact form occurring. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"Battery is unauthorized and harmful or offensive physical contact with another person that causes injury. Basically, the interest protected here is each person’s reasonable sense of dignity and safety† (p 75). The other tort situation that should seek legal counsel are strict or product liability cases. Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"That is, a participant in a covered activity will be held liable for any injuries caused by the activity, even if he or she was not negligent† (p. 89). To clarify further Cheeseman (2010) stated, â€Å"This doctrine holds that (1) there are certain activities that can place the public at risk of injury even if reasonable care is taken and (2) the public should have some means of compensation if such injury occurs† (p. 89). These cases either involve wrongdoing to the individual that usually ends in harm or death. If a product malfunctions which hurts the consumer or shorts out and the consumer dies are both reasons legal counsel should be involved. Again, legal counsel should specialize in the area that you need representing and the monetary costs of acquiring counsel should be researched before hiring them to represent your case. Seeking legal council is prudent in helping a victim understand their choices. There are situations when there is not enough evidence or legal grounds for any form of legal action, and legal council can provide that information. The proper and professional legal guidance can help a victim recover losses and damages. References: Cheeseman, H. R. (2010). Business law: Legal environment, online commerce, business ethics, and international issues (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.