Peter’s Escape from Prison Essay

12 Acts: 1-18 narrates the story of the unsuccessful conviction of Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The verse begins when King Herod arrested several people who belonged to the church, including James, the brother of John, to be executed. When Herod heard that this apprehension of church members appealed to the Jews, he then ordered for Peter to be arrested. Peter’s arrest coincided with the feast of the Unleavened Bread. Before the dawn of his execution, Peter was visited by an angel of the Lord and the angel instructed Peter to follow. As Peter did so, the angel suddenly disappeared as they reached the city gates. Peter contemplated for a moment and finally decided to visit Mary, mother of John. Rhoda, Mary’s servant, ran to the door and was so overjoyed that she did not let Peter in. Rhoda exclaimed that Peter is back while the crowd inside the house exclaimed that Rhoda must be out of her mind. Peter kept knocking until they finally opened the gate. When they did, they were astonished with Peter’s presence and Peter told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He also instructed to tell James and his brothers of his arrival. He left after doing so. Meanwhile, Herod searched for Peter and had the guards guarding Peter executed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are several themes that are present in the verse. One of which is the historicity of the passage, as it refers to several characters that did exist during that time. Herod Agrippa I is the Herod mentioned in Acts 12; completely unrelated to the other popular Herod who ruled Judea during the time of Jesus’ birth. However, their essence as biblical characters remains similar, as they both persecute followers of Christ, with the latter persecuting Jesus himself. The philosophical theme of this passage is with the experience of reality, theistically and empirically. The passage can be interpreted in many ways, with different explanations succeeding it. If viewed theistically, the questions lies with the moral dilemma of the household of Mary. As the servant Rhoda answers the door, she is overjoyed to see Peter, but fails to open the door. The supposed crowd inside the house reply dubiously and does not believe Rhoda entirely until they have seen Peter himself. When they did see Peter, they were astonished; an expression of shock similar to another passage in the bible where Jesus appears in front of his apostles. Their expression was of disbelief and the men needed proof in order to accept his existence. Peter’s experience being held captive furthered his faith with God as he somehow knew that he was going to escape the conviction of Herod. This faith does not require prior knowledge or experience to affirm God’s help. It was immediately represented by the angel who quietly escorted Peter out of prison.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Empirically speaking, the question on the notion of the angel who helped Peter escaped remains dubious, since Peter himself did not know if the angel was real. He merely assumed that he was having a hallucination. It explains the problem between faith and experience. Peter, already experiencing the phenomenon, still refuses to accept reality. The theme also centers on the distinction between faith and experience. The crowd inside Mary’s house remain dubious of Peter, just as the apostles were dubious in Jesus’ presence. Faith entails a belief without any evidence or confirmation of the subject’s experience. There is no such thing as experiential faith, as espoused by the crowd and somehow, Peter. Peter reflected for a moment after escaping prison that he knows without a doubt that God has helped him. Meaning that some small portion of his faith was garbled by doubt but nevertheless chose to remain faithful.

Diversity (cultures) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diversity (cultures) - Essay Example Usually, the need to form a team arises from the need either to get things done more efficiently, using lesser time and effort (Mattson, 1998). And with this, the idea of a cross-cultural team sprouted up. Studies and researches were done to understand whether it would be of competitive advantage for a certain company if there are team members from different cultural backgrounds and how such differences can be understood and will not pose any problem for the company. With the continuing movement of the economy - may it be a decline or growth - every businesses and companies are using every possible means to keep the company at a stable end. Every organization must have the capability to adapt to the movement of the market and the ever-changing needs of the customers. However, an organization can only do this if the people - the very members of the workforce - are working smoothly as a team. Moreover, now that diversity in the workforce is seen as advantage rather than a problem, management have been seeking every possible means to maintain the competitiveness of each and every member of the workforce, thereby benefiting the company in the end (Becker, 1964). Diversity in the workplace has taken on a new face today. ... Moreover, now that diversity in the workforce is seen as advantage rather than a problem, management have been seeking every possible means to maintain the competitiveness of each and every member of the workforce, thereby benefiting the company in the end (Becker, 1964). Diversity in the workplace has taken on a new face today. Nowadays, workplace diversity is no longer just about the issue of anti-discrimination compliance. Leveraging workplace diversity is increasingly seen as a vital strategic resource for competitive advantage of the people and of the business. More companies are linking workplace diversity to their strategic goals and objectives. Because of this, the human resource department (HRD) plays a key role in diversity management and leadership to create and empower an organizational culture that fosters a respectful, inclusive, knowledge-based environment where each employee has the opportunity to learn, grow and meaningfully contribute to the organization's success (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004). Organizations intending to introduce multiculturalism in their workforce have two avenues of guidance. Organizations can base their structures on multicultural pedagogy and team management theory to help them prepare for an increasingly diverse workforce. Companies can benefit from academic studies, which have already provided an outline of difficulty. Pedagogical methodologies facilitate the re-conception of the relationship between the self and the 'other', and the active participation in the learning process. On the other hand, industry's team management theory, which recommends participatory structures over hierarchical structures, offers methods for

Urban Wildlife Contraversy in Canada Particularly in Calgary, Alberta Research Paper

Urban Wildlife Contraversy in Canada Particularly in Calgary, Alberta - Research Paper Example natural habitats, worldwide2, while we find that nearly two-thirds of the land available, has been used for human purposes alone, like building villages, townships or cities; for agricultural purposes; and also for other infrastructural developments, aimed, no doubt, to benefit human endeavour in leading a better life. All these actions, beneficial as they are to mankind, have resulted in an eradication and systematic degradation of the environment, and have caused massive damages on the surrounding biodiversity. So from the perspective of environmental ethics, human civilisation has been mainly â€Å"limited to the relations of man to man†3. However, in the recent times it has been noticed that there is an increasing awareness amongst various sections of the human population, that are willing to work towards protection of wild animals, and the preservation of environment, at large. Carnivore conservation, a controversial topic by itself, since most of the carnivores tend to kill livestock while occasionally preying on humans too, however has received a great deal of impetus in the last 15-20 years4. Since human economic interests and carnivores come into constant conflict, there have been increasing attempts by the conservationists to find a workable solution, which would serve to help both these warring factions co-exist, without causing harm to each other5. In the entire North American region that includes Canada, wolves were ruthlessly killed during the colonial rule. It is only recently that, owing to various wolf management programs, an increase in the number of these carnivores has been observed in various parts of Canada. This sudden surge in numbers over the past few years have however also led to rising number of conflicts with the humans (especially in the Alberta region of Canada), as these carnivores are now moving into the rural areas to kill livestock which form an easy prey. In order to protect the livestock, the farmers are now forced to opt for

Human Recources Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Recources Management - Assignment Example In their efforts to meets the needs of the employees, companies adopt Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This theory depicts five steps hierarchy of needs that employers should provide to their employees. These include physiological needs, safety, love, esteem and self-actualisation (Murphy, 2009, p. 24). On the other hand, reward is a tangible or intangible appreciation that is given to an employee after a good performance. The objective of a reward is to make an employee repeat the rewarded behaviour. For instance, in order to meet the physiological needs of the employees, organisations should reward them with food and water. Similarly, social needs of workers are met through rewarding them with affection, belongingness and love. Self-respect, improvement of status, prestige and self-esteem are key rewards that meet the esteem requirements of workers according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. 3.2 Job evaluation process and other factors emulated to determine pay Job evaluati on entails the strategies undertaken to analyse and assess the worth of jobs within a firm. One of the vital objectives of job evaluation is to ensure that employees are remunerated in an equitable way. Additionally, organisations undertake job evaluation to maintain an appropriate job grading techniques and to comply with legal requirements. Other factors that are used to determine employees pay include, minimum wage as stipulated by law, market rates of pay, equal pay and individual performance. British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), a UK based motor vehicle manufacturing company adopts piecework to remunerate its employees. The amount of pay is usually re-rated whenever a change occurs in the technique of production. According to the BLMC policies, a change in the job does not result to a reduction of the salary. To motivate its employees especially in the production facility, the company increases its payment rates during an introduction of a new model. In addition to the piecework, employees who are responsible for servicing the production lines are remunerated by time rate and bonuses. This is in addition to the minimum rate as depicted by the UK labour laws. 3.3 Effectiveness of reward systems To ensure that workers are focused at attaining their goals as well as the objectives of the entire organisation, it is imperative for employers to offer rewards that are intrinsic or extrinsic in nature. Through adoption of an effective rewards system, human resources managers play vital roles of retaining the loyalty of the employees and improving their performance. Some of the primary objectives of a reward system include motivating the workers, retaining productive labour force, responding to organisational skills as well as informing the potential and existing employees about the organisational values that attract high rewards. One of the notable UK Company that has put in place an effective reward system is Tesco supermarket. Being the second largest supermarket in the world after Wal-Mart, Tesco controls 36% of the UK grocery market. One form of a reward adopted by Tesco is training and development of its employees. In this way, all members of staff are given an opportunity to advance their career while working in the company. To make the training flexible, Tesco offers Apprenticeship and Options Development Programmes (Carolyn, 2011, p 3). Protecting employee’

Leadership of Nursing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership of Nursing - Term Paper Example eir experience, promoting evidence based practice within nursing and challenging the status quo for higher learning outcome become the hallmark of nurse leaders. Nurse leadership is considerably supported by organizations that empower the workforce and encourage collective decisions and shared learning. Thus, magnet status activities within nursing indicate higher leadership capabilities of nurses in specialized cases and complex clinical situations. Magnet hospitals provide better work environment to nurses through enquiry based learning and sharing accumulated knowledge for higher patients’ outcome (Kramer, 1999). Consequently, such hospitals attract good nurses and retain them to provide high quality of care. Magnet activities provide constant learning environment and help empower the nurses to make effective decisions based on informed choices. Thus, nurses’ initiative in critical situations evolves as key leadership trait that relies on best practices and evidence based knowledge to provide quality care. They also serve as mentors for RNs and guide them to identify their core competencies for higher healthcare delivery. Their competencies in clinical setting and their ability to share specialized knowledge with others are essential ingredients that endow them with leadership qualities. Nurse leaders exploit opportunities and progress from critical nurse specialist to teacher and advisor, later becoming part of hospital administration. It indicates their constant desire to test new approaches and establish new benchmark in the patients’ care through shared knowledge and evidence based practice. As a nurse in magnet hospitals, therefore, significantly enhances their personal and professional image which is acknowledged by the peer group and other health workers. They become better equipped to respond to crisis situation and become proactive participants in creating awareness on public health. Moreover, magnet activities encourage them to empower not

Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 9

Interview - Essay Example Jan Fitters is one of the managers of Philips Lighting. In this interview he has discussed his managerial styles, motivational ways, ethical problems etc. All of these things will be highlighted in this essay. The manager, Jan Fitter uses participative management style for managing his subordinates effectively. This is also known as democratic style which helps the manager in establishing consensuses and commitment among the employees. A large number of employees work under Jan Fitters. He is responsible for managing, encouraging and motivating the employees. For this reason the manager has created a good relationship with the employees for understanding them properly. He takes input from his subordinates for developing any business plans and decisions. He always encourages employees for participating in decision making processes. All of the subordinates of Jan Fitters work in teams. Therefore the participative management style used by this manager help the employees in doing their teamwork efficiently. This management style also increases employee involvement and participation in different functions and processes of the company. Jan Fitters improves the communication and co-ordination am ong the employees by using participative management style. These processes facilitate him in developing innovating and creative ideas which help the company in increasing its revenues and sales. While developing strategies the manager takes consent from the employees. By this way he makes the employees feel that they hold important positions in the company and the growth and development of the company cannot take place without their participation. The manager, Jan Fitters of Philips is very efficient in managing and using team projects. He first determines the objectives and the purposes of the team project for making the teamwork effective. He

Do older tourists to Bulgarian coastal resorts (Sunny Beach) Coursework

Do older tourists to Bulgarian coastal resorts (Sunny Beach) participate in more varied activities than their younger counterparts do - Coursework Example Sunny beach has is full of varied facilities like shopping malls, aqua parks, swimming pools, parks, hotels, and pedestrian roads. These facilities provide social amenities to the visiting tourists. While working on our primary research in Sunny Beach, the research identified many activities that people do there e.g. water skiing, swimming, wakeboarding, spa in recreational facilities like hotels, shopping, cycling, working out in fitness center, among others. A team of five student researchers conducted the research on 12 and 13 January 2012. The researching student team did a survey using questionnaires, tabulated the collected data, and made their observation for the research.Climatic factors usually influence tourism activities. Usually, tourist like going for summer holidays, taking a break from adverse weather conditions back in their homeland. The location of Sunny Beach on the Bulgarian map (Figure 2) indicates that it is on the eastern part of Bulgaria, which is a coast of w estern side of the Black sea. The map shows a strategic location for Sunny Beach because it boarders countries like Greece, Turkey, and Russia etc. Moreover, it is very important to look at price range in Sunny beach in Bulgaria. Many tourists find the prices competitive and would wish to leverage on the low prices compared to other black sea resorts like Varna, Bodrumq, Batumi and, Sochi among others. Hypothesis: a) Elderly people (tourists) participate in many activities than younger people do. The primary focus is the amount of activities not how intensively they do it. b) Male tourists participate in more activities than female tourists do. c) Most tourists visiting Sunny Beach are below sixty five years Aim: The aim was to evaluate the hypothesis with a focus on the topic of the field study. Further, to relate the research report with geographical aspects such as demographic distribution, climatic conditions, and tourism. Methods of investigation: A team of five students interv iewed various tourists in various hotels along the Sunny Beach. The intention of the field study was to evaluate the participation of tourists in various activities. This method of investigation gave us primary information, which reflects the real picture of events taking place in the Sunny Beach. The information collected would help in evaluating the hypothesis of the study. Questionnaire development: Factors such as objective of research, uniformity of the data, population of the research area, area of study (study topics), and time influenced the choice of study method (Jackson 59). In order to come up with uniform study, the five students researching decided to use a questionnaire. Questionnaires provides object questions of the study, saves time and provides a