Supply Chain Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Supply Chain Management - Research Paper Example In this regard, this involves the processes of demand management and production management. Based on the foregoing, this expose elucidates on the link between both demand management and product planning with logistics planning. Bowersox, Closs, and Cooper (200_) noted, â€Å"The increasing complexity of product offerings and marketing tactics in conjunction with shorter product life cycles requires increased accuracy, flexibility, and consistency in determining inventory requirements† (p. 134). In effect, a firm should seek to ensure that their management of the supply chain was accurate, consistent, and allowed flexibility along the supply chain. This effectively inks demand management and logistics management since â€Å"demand management systems seek to provide such capabilities† in two different ways (Bowersox, Closs, & Cooper, 200_, p. 134). First, Bowersox, Closs, and Cooper (200_) noted, â€Å"Demand management develops the forecast that drives anticipatory supp ly chain processes† (p. 134). In effect, a firm will determine the amount of goods to produce and its requirements in terms of stock based on a firm’s projections. Secondly, Bowersox, Closs, and Cooper (200_) noted, â€Å"Demand management process focuses on creating forecast consistency across multiple products and warehouse facilities† (p. 135). ... m should balance between the capability of its resources, including human resources, and the manufacturing stock while identifying the optimum point, which is the ideal point of production. In order to achieve the optimum point of production and supply goods to customers, firms must practice effective approaches to production planning. Consequently, the need to forecast and identify the optimum point in production links product management to logistics planning. Bowersox, Closs, and Cooper (200_) support this argument and noted, â€Å"Production planning uses the statement of requirements obtained from demand management in conjunction with manufacturing resources and constraints to develop a workable manufacturing plan† (p. 135). In this case, a firm forecasts using this statement to identify the items required and the time when required by consumers, which enables the firm to manage its resources effectively to produce the desired goods. One of the elements in logistics planni ng involves a firm’s responsiveness to their customer’s needs. In this case, a firm should always make a product available to their customers when required. In effect, a firm’s production planning should be effective to ensure that its products were always available to their customers. Bowersox, Closs, and Cooper (200_) noted, â€Å"Production planning identifies the items that should be produced in anticipation of the need to remain within production constraints and yet minimize inventor† (p. 135). For this reason, production planning plays an integral role in logistics planning. In conclusion, effective logistics planning should involve accuracy and consistency in the forecasting of the required products by consumers, which is demand planning. In addition, demand planning will enable a firm

The Real Expense of Illegal Immigration Research Proposal

The Real Expense of Illegal Immigration - Research Proposal Example It has been estimated that the added cost to the federal government will be more than $15 billion per year when the present illegal aliens become citizens and begin collecting welfare benefits. The proposed bill will add greatly to this number because it will encourage a new surge of low skilled workers through its guest worker program. Traditionally, immigrants to the U.S. were less likely than those born in America to collect welfare. This historic arrangement has radically changed over the past three decades. Today, immigrant families are at least 50 percent more likely to receive federal benefits than those born in this country. Additionally, immigrants are more likely to adapt their lives to rely on the welfare system and studies have shown the longer immi ¬grants stay in the U.S., the more likely they are to be on welfare. To further aggravate the situation, when an illegal immigrant becomes a citizen, he can legally bring his parents who also have the right to become citi ¬zens. The estimated long-term cost of overall federal benefits could exceed $50 billion per year for the parents of the 10 million beneficiaries of amnesty. â€Å"In the long run, the bill, if enacted, would be the largest expansion of the welfare state in 35 years† (Rector, 2006). Approximately half of current illegal immigrants do not possess a high-school level education. Welfare use among this group and for low-skill immigrants granted amnesty is three times the rate for the U.S. born citizens.

Marine Finance and Insurance - Coursework 2 Essay

Marine Finance and Insurance - Coursework 2 - Essay Example Similarly, they also have come to cater to companies from other countries in the course of their business. Through it all, marine industry players have become subject to foreign exchange risks. They have engaged in deals that would involve gains or losses resulting from the fluctuations in the exchange rates of foreign currencies used. Thus, foreign exchange risk should be acknowledged in the marine industry as a reality that all companies should be prepared for. If managed well, foreign exchange fluctuations can even present opportunities for companies to earn more. Huge capital investments for boats or similar fixed assets purchased from a foreign supplier can turn out to be big mistakes for marine companies that transacted them in a currency whose equivalent conversion to the native currency takes a nosedive right the next day or even weeks after the purchase date. The same is true with having collected revenues in currencies whose values abruptly plummets. Indeed, such cases are not to be underestimated or overlooked. They can lead to material, negative impact on the profitability and financial soundness of any marine company. As a matter of fact, the dread of ending up as casualties of abrupt foreign exchange fluctuation has led businessmen and investors across all industries to adopt different mechanisms to mitigate such risk. Fear and risk-aversion naturally come with things that are unpredictable, uncontrollable or unfamiliar. Risk, then, is a subject that ought to be explored and studied. If risks will be capably viewed in the right perspective by decision-makers, then strategic opportunities for growth and development will not go wasted or deliberately missed out due to attempts to avoid them. Winning companies do not avoid having to face risks; they embrace risk-taking and then learn from it. It is important to create in the company a culture that welcomes risk-taking as part and parcel of excelling in the

Public Relation Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Public Relation Research - Essay Example Consequently, the basis of defining media issues should and will always revolve around conveyance of vital, lifesaving information to the general populace in a responsible, fact-based manner which is not just strong enough but also convincing enough to motivate them to take appropriate action without subjecting them to risks. Way back in in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew paid a visit to south Florida, the residents in awe as miles and miles of traffic evacuated the people. Nonetheless, persons who missed the media report, had no information as to who was evacuating who and where. Such underlies the importance of the media and highlights what constitutes a media issue. The article â€Å"Boral demolishes another 700 jobs† highlights a major societal issues and as qualifies as a media issue. It looks at two major public interest areas hit by crisis, thanks to economic recession. These include the employment and the housing development sector. More often than not, every member of the public has interest in knowing the changing employment trends as well as the changes affecting the housing sector. These are both areas which directly touch on the day to day life of the citizens. What makes these issues of interests to the media is the public interest they elicit. The report for the case witnessed in Boral and the possibility of job losses, it is indicative of the hard economic times and spells a possibility of other related or even unrelated industries follow trend to salvage themselves. It reveals information which could have a rippling effect across the local divide. In a related piece, Wheeldon (2012) highlights not just Boral but also brings in Fletcher, both of which are construction related industry. This is a warning to the public of negative effects within the industry and the need to take contingency measures. Public relations have a lot to do with communication of occurrence to the general public. It helps the public get a clear picture of some special o ccurrence within an organization and in most cases attempt to justify the actions. This is summarized in the statement, â€Å"When a company spends hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to sponsor an event, it seems rather foolish to me not to spend the additional relatively small amount required to tell people you're doing so. Public relations are the final ingredient required to ensure the success of the buy; to fail to use PR seems kind of like buying a car without the engine; it still looks pretty but it won't go very far (Cox & Avila, 2008).† In general, it focuses on justifying an action taken by an organization more especially if the action taken touches on the lives of the public. In this case, the reported incident reports loss of employment to hundreds of employs and probably other many who directly relay on the ones who lose their employment. Other than the loss of employment, it justifies its position and explains that the cut will not affect its produ ction as it will focus on areas where redundancy has been recorded in the past (Kylie, 2013). This is what makes it public relations. It explains a situation, justifies the situation and explains the possible impact of the situation. A number of public concern issues are raised in the article. Primary ‘publics’ concerned with the issue A number of stakeholders are will find interest in the communications made in the article. The first groups of interested parties are the employees. The employees are

Australian Income Tax Guidance Notes Essay Example for Free

Australian Income Tax Guidance Notes Essay However, there is a catch; you can only treat it as your main residence for 6 years. Hence nearing the end of the 6 year period you would need to move back into the house and re-establish it as your main residence. Put simply, you can only have one tax free house at any one time that has to be established as your main residence and if you move out you only have 6 years for it to continue to be your main residence. Topic 5 Annuities and Foreign Pensions Topic 6 Termination payments Topic 7 Small Business Entities Valuation of trading stock (S9-180) The three bases to value the trading stock are as following: * Cost (S9-190) * Market selling value (S9-220) * Replacement value (S9-225) 08. 1. 1 Methods used to work out the cost of trading stock (S9-200) The commissioner accepts the following valuation methods: * FIFO: The first items purchased are assumed to be disposed of first and the cost of trading stock on hand at the end of the year is the cost of the items most recently acquired. Where shares cannot be specifically identified, taxpayers must normally use the FIFO method to value trading stock. * Average cost: the cost of each item of a particular type on hand at the end of the year is the weighted average of the cost of all such items that were on hand at the beginning of the year and all those acquired during the year. * Standard cost: a predetermined standard cost per unit is used. The following valuation methods are not acceptable: * LIFO: Late in first out * Base stock: 08. 1. 1. 1 Trading stock on hand taken into account Where a taxpayer carries on business, all trading stock on hand at the start of the income year and all trading stock on hand at the end of the year are taken into account in working out the taxpayer’s taxable income. Where trading stock is acquired ‘not at arm’s length’, the market value is used. The taxpayer is required to include the market value as assessable income. 08. 1. 1. 2 Disposal not in the ordinary course of business (S9-290) * When trading stock is sold in the ordinary course of trading, gross sales less the cost of production are brought to account by the ordinary trading stock accounting method. Where an item of trading stock (with or without other business assets) is disposed of outside the ordinary course of a taxpayer’s business, the taxpayer is required to bring to account as assessable income the market value of the stock on the date of disposal. * The taxpayer takes out stock from his/her business and used it privately is required to bring to account as assessable income the market value of the stock on the date of drawing. Topic 9 General Deductions 09. 1 Deductions for business-related expenditure

impacts of the War on Terror on the Policing of US Borders

impacts of the War on Terror on the Policing of US Borders â€Å"Some nations need to be more vigilant against terrorism at their borders if they want their relationship with the U.S. to remain the same† (Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, September 20th 2001). With reference to this statement, critically examine the impacts of the war on terror on the policing of the borders of the United States of America Introduction The 9/11 attacks and subsequent feelings they produced bear many similarities to the Pearl Harbour attacks of 1941 with respect to national identity and patriotism. With both events, the matter of immigration became a prominent issue, especially when considering the concern in America relating to the ‘enemy within’ (Schildkraut, 2002). These concerns manifested themselves in post 9/11 discussions on how best to police the borders of the US. Statements such as, ‘our enemies are hiding in open and available information,’ (Accenture, cited in Kestelyn, 2002: 8) led to calls for greater levels of surveillance, profiling and security, all of which have substantially increased post 9/11. The result has been the rapid expansion of the homeland security market both on American soil and overseas (Amoore, 2006). Rana and Rosas (2006:2) highlight, ‘the mobilisation of the amorphous category of terror, construction of enemy combatants and the collapsing of terrorists with immigrants,’ in creating a renewed fear around borders and illegal immigrants. The scope of the war on terror was expanded in America, where once the threat was considered to be those of Arab, Middle Eastern and Muslim descent, it now spread to include migrants crossing the borders of Canada and Mexico into the US. While Canada has received criticisms from US government officials relating to their border control policies, the focus of this paper will be on the US-Mexico border and in particular the border wall. The post 9/11 expansion of security manifested itself in large parts around the US-Mexico border, culminating in the signing of the Secure Fence Act in 2006 by then President George W. Bush thus allowing for 700 miles of physical barriers to be built along the border. This essay will take the title statement from Colin Powell and discuss how America has become more vigilant post 9/11 and observe the impacts. In addition, while reviewing the range of new measures enacted at the US-Mexico border, this paper will centre on displaying how these measures have been justified by those putting them in place. During these discussions the terms post 9/11 and war on terror shall be used interchangeably as both signify the period of time after the terrorist attacks. History of the Border It is important to note that while border control has long been a primary function of the state, it has been substantially heightened in the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing war on terror (Andreas, 2003). This has been exemplified by The US VISIT programme, run by consulting company Accenture who have created a ‘virtual border.’ This system allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to view, regulate and manage the lives of potential visitors (Amoore, 2006), thus preventing any potential threats from coming into contact with US soil (Accenture, 2004). This practice of surveillance and governing multiple aspects of people’s daily lives is a vital component of biometric borders that when all brought together provide ‘a set of unique physical characteristics that can be used to identify you’ (UK Border Agency, 2013). Given the proposed advantages of surveillance, it comes as no surprise that the US, like most modern countries, moved into an age of biopower in which the state regulates its subjects through, ‘an explosion of numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations’ (Foucault, 1976:140). Biopower has somewhat signalled the delocalisation of the border in that border functions have been separated from the physical border itself (Bico, 2002; Salter, 2004). However, the US-Mexico border post 9/11 illustrates a clear display of sovereign power with increased networks of disciplinary and military institutions at the actual border acting outside and above the normal law (Nail, 2013). The idea of being above the law and exhibiting high profile displays of force at the border is addressed in the subsequent section discussing the state of exception with consideration to the unique nature of the US-Mexico border. The State of Exception The events of 9/11 led to the US government declaring a state of emergency, a period in which policing powers are expanded. Philosopher Giorgio Agamben sees this as enabling the US government to create a state of exception, a legal measure that precludes normative laws (Agamben, 2004). This approach allows for constituents to be declared as homo sacer, the act of taking away basic civil and human rights from the individual. Accenture’s virtual border and the enhanced powers of the DHS illustrate Agamben’s view in that by providing biometric information required for the US-VISIT you are being stripped to a state of bare life. Agamben’s work around homo sacer, the idea he refers to as bare life (1998, 2000, 2005), has led to a number of scholars applying his work to post 9/11 events such as the new security methods applied at the US borders and the shameful actions documented Guantanamo Bay (Butler, 2004, Zizek, 2002, 2004). Undoubtedly, the creation of a state of exception increased calls for tougher border security and led to the implementation of a new 700 mile US-Mexico border wall and a rise in the number Border Patrol agents from 11,156 in 2005 to 20,119 in 2011 (Correa, 2013). While it has been resisted by many of those living along its path (Haddal et al, 2009), the DHS was able to use their considerable power to move, with force if necessary, those who opposed it. Correa (2013) collected data from residents in Cameron County, Texas, who had lost parts of their land or been forced to move with the implementation of the barrier. Resident Debra Langley described her mixed feelings in being forced to lose a substantial part of her farm due to the new border wall. While not wanting to move, Debra classified herself as a patriot and referred back to the days after 9/11 where George W. Bush said: ‘Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists’ (Bush, 2001). This sentiment has allow ed for the DHS to implement many of their expansive border measures such as drones, watchtowers and sensors with limited opposition as people are unwilling to question immigration and border policies for fear of coming across as unpatriotic. Considering the creation of a state of exception and limited opposition to tougher border policing it comes as little surprise that the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environment Policy among other environmental laws were waived in favour of constructing the 700 mile fence (Bartholemew, 2008; Correa, 2013). DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff came under a number of criticisms for his role in the implementation of the border wall with The New York Times (2008) saying: ‘To the long list of things the Bush administration is willing to trash in its rush to appease immigration hard-liners, you can now add dozens of important environmental laws and hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile habitat on the southern border.’ The environment has been so adversely affected by the physical barrier of the border wall yet it took until 2009 for the US government to act in trying to asses and restore the damage that has been caused. In criminalising the entire border area, nature was seen simply as part of the border and thus included in the criminalisation process (Nial, 2013). Even with laws being in place and the expected criticisms arriving from pro environmental sections of society, the government still had enough support to move forward with their projects. Collier (Collier, in Correa, 2013) sees the depiction of Mexican immigrants as a threat to the nation by the state and DHS as providing one of the main justifications for the barrier. Equally important is the role of politicians jumping on the immigration bandwagon in their attempts to garner votes during election periods post 9/11 (Correa, 2013); both notions shall be discussed in the remainder of this essay. Politicians US politicians quickly recognised the importance of supporting enhanced security in combatting the war on terror. The focus of attention swiftly turned to the border wall post 9/11 with its effectiveness coming under increased scrutiny. With George W Bush signing the 2006 Secure Fence Act, the impetus was placed on President Obama to follow suit; in 2012 Obama spent $11.7 billion on the wall to secure a number of areas considered at risk (Dwoskin, 2013). The official reason provided by the DHS for building the US Mexico border wall at a cost of $49 billion (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2009) was to stop unwanted migration. However, records since its construction display no conclusive reduction in illegal migration, while in contrast, migrant deaths, incarceration and excessive costs have rapidly increased. Nail (2013:113) describes the barrier as ‘a wall that was built to stop illegal migration, and has objectively failed to do so, yet continues to receive funding and political support regardless.’ While the potential backlash of scaling back the wall discourages many politicians from criticising it, providing support for greater security measures rarely sees a backlash from politicians or the general public. A method of justification discussed previously was depicting Mexican immigrants the greatest threat to America, we shall now discuss how this has developed post 9/11. Migrants The rhetoric of some politicians has undeniably resulted in some US citizens’ xenophobic fears of Muslims shifting towards the US-Mexico border, as it is presented as the new biggest terrorist threat to America (Correa, 2013). The Californian Congress representative Duncan Hunter and Senator John Cornyn provide two examples of high profile politicians calling for greater surveillance and military presence at the border citing terrorism as their rationale (Benett, 2005; Eaton, 2010). This portrayal of the US-Mexico border as a hub of international terrorism allows for the continued justification of militarising border regions in order to ‘protect’ America (Inda, 2006). Although illegal immigrants have been classified as ‘new’ security threats (Andreas, 2003), it is incorrect to believe that viewing them as national security concerns is a new phenomenon (Adamson, 2006). Long before 9/11, migration had been a focus of concern for America going back to th e Cold War when borders began to be far more closely scrutinised. This scrutiny rose significantly post 9/11 with a prominent reason being that securing and maintaining your border are, ‘arguably necessary preconditions for the maintenance of state security in other areas’ (Adamson, 2006:176). While it was thought that the end of the Cold War would signal a reduction in militarised borders (Mearsheimer, 1990), this has not been the case with the US Mexico border post 9/11 where in order to secure and maintain the border, we have seen a spike in amount of military apparatus used as a method of policing. Alongside this, there has been the merging of predominantly geopolitical intelligence work and domestic law enforcement work with the Pentagon taking a far more active role in matters of border enforcement (Andreas, 2003). This has resulted in surveillance of immigrants within the US increasing, especially since discourse on the ‘enemy within’ has risen. Interior policing has also expanded rapidly with 359,000 internal removals made in 2008, up from 180,000 in 2001 (Coleman, 2007). While this would appear to signal more is being done, we can look the role of private companies in operating the US Mexico border and see this simply as the circulation of illegal imm igrants. Politicians classify the border and especially the border wall as being in place to stop illegal migration yet the US government has hired private companies to secure the border. Boeing Corporation, G4S and Wackenhut are three such companies, all of whom, as private companies aim to generate the greatest amount of profit and thus not necessarily stop all illegal migration which would destroy their market (Nial, 2013). This circulation of illegal migrants enables the companies to maximise their profits and allows politicians to utilise the figures from arrests and illegal migrants entering the country to justify the increased levels of policing on the border (Norrell, 2007). Conclusion Looking at the history of policing on the US-Mexico border there have been notable changes since the war on terror began. Correa (2013) notes there has been a level of racial anxiety around the border since the 1920’s (resulting from the simple use/ definition of a border as keeping the enemy out), which has now culminated in the border existing in a ‘permanent state of racial emergency’ (Michaelsen, 2005: 89). The war on terrors’ main impact was the subsequent creation of the quasi- military DHS who facilitated the rapid militarisation of regions around the border, much to the detriment of the region’s nature and human population. Alongside this, it has legitimised groups such as The Minutemen who patrol the border stopping illegal immigrants attempting to cross (Marinucci and Martin, 2005). Considering there are high profile politicians such as John McCain boasting of making the US-Mexico border into ‘the most militarized border since the fal l of the Berlin Wall,’ (McCain, 2013), it appears there will be no subside in the levels of border policing. For any change to occur, the socio-historical construction of the US Mexico border as a violent and threatening area must subside (Correa, 2013). Bibliography Accenture. (2004). US DHS to develop and implement US VISIT program at air, land and sea ports of. Retrieved March 4, 2014, from Accenture. Adamson, F. B. (2006). Crossing Borders: International Migration and National Security. International Security, 31(1), 165-199. Agamben, G. (1998). Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. (D. Heller-Roazen, Trans.) Meridian. Agamben, G. (2000). Means Without End: Notes of Politics. (V. Binetti, C. Casarino, Trans.) University of Minnesota Press. Agamben, G. (2004). No To Bio-Political Tattooing. Paris: Le Monde Diplomatique. Agamben, G. (2005). State of Exception. (K. Attell, Trans.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Amoore, L. (2006). Biometric borders: Governing mobilities in the war on terror. Political Geography, 336-351. Andreas, P. (2003). Re-Drawing the Line, Borders and Security in the 21st Century. International Security, 28(2), 78-111. Bartholemew, W. (2008). South Texas groups sue DHS to restore environmental laws along the border. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from Sierra Club Lone Star: http://www.texas.sierraclub.org/ press/newsreleases/20080530.asp Benett, W. (2005, December 30). Hunter touts 700-mile border fence. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from North County Times: http://www.nctimes.com/news/article_aaec1e24-c6bd-549e-bcc1-a8ffe647148f.html Bigo, D. (2002). Security and Immigration: Toward a Critique of the Governmentality of Unease. 27, 63-92. Bush, G. W. (2001, September 20). Address to a joint session of Congress and the American people. Office of the Press Secretary. Washington DC. Butler, J. (2004). Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London: New York Press. Coleman, M. (2007). Immigration geopolitics beyond the US–. Antipode, 39(1), 54-76. Correa, J. G. (2013). After 9/11 everything changed: Re-formations of state violence in everyday life on the US-Mexico border. Cultural Dynamics, 25(1), 99-119. Dwoskin, E. (2013, March 13). Sealing the U.S. Border Would Cost an Additional $28 Billion a Year. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from Bloomberg Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-13/the-price-tag-for-sealing-the-u-dot-s-dot-border-isnt-pretty Eaton, T. (2010, March 18). Texas senators ask Obama to help prevent border violence Cornyn, Hutchisonwant Obama to meet them at U.S.-Mexico border. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from Austin American-Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/texas-senators-ask-obama-to-help-pre-vent-border-383990.html Editorial. (2008, April 3). Michael Chertoff’s Insult. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from New York Times. Foucault, M. (1976). The History of Sexuality (Vol. 1). Gaskill, M. (2011, August 2). United States border fence threatens wildlife. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from Nature: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110802/full/news.2011.452.html Haddal, C., Kim, Y., Garcia, M. (2009, March). Border security: barriers along the U.S. international border. Congressional Research Service report for Congress. RL 33659. Home Office, U. B. (2013). Enrolling Your Biometric Information. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from Home Office, UK Border Agency: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students/applying-inside-uk/biometric/ Inda, J. (2006). Border prophylaxis: technology, illegality and the government of immigration. Cultural Dynamics, 18(2), 115-138. Kestelyn, J. (2002). For want of a nail. Intelligent Enterprise, 5(7), 8. Marinucci, C., Martin, M. (2005, April 29). Governor endorses Minutemen on border / He parts with Bush on armed volunteers stopping illegal immigrants in Arizona. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Governor-endorses-Minutemen-on-border-He-parts-2685866.php Mearsheimer, J. J. (1990). Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War. International Security, 15(1), 5-56. Michaelsen, S. (2005). Between Japanese American internment and the USA Patriot Act: the bor-derlands and the permanent state of racial exception. A Journal of Chicano Studies, 30(2), 87-111. Nail, T. (2013). The Crossroads of Power: Michel Foucault and the US/Mexico Border Wall. Foucault Studies, 15, 110-128. Norrell, B. (2007, August 25). Privatizing Misery, Deporting and Imprisoning Migrants for Profit: The Hidden Agenda . Retrieved March 2, 2014, from The Narco News : www.narconews.com/Issue46/article2769.html Office, U. G. (2009). Technology Deployment Delays Persist and the Impact of Border . US Government Accountability Office. Pellegrini, F. (2001, September 28). TIME/CNN Poll: Americans Give Bush a Big Thumbs-Up. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from Time U.S.: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,176815,00.html Rana, J., Rosas, G. (2006). Managing Crisis Post 9/11 Policing and Empire. Cultural Dynamics, 18(219), 218-234. Salter, M. (2004). Passports, Mobility, and Security: How Smart Can the Border Be? Policy in International Studies, 5(1), 71-91. Schildkraut, D. (2002, September). The More Things Change American Identity and Mass and Elite Responses to 9/11. Political Psychology, 23(3), 511-535. UK Border Agency. (2013). Retrieved March 4, 2014, from Enrolling your Biometric Information: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/working/tier2/ministerofreligion/applying/biometric/ Zizek, S. (2002). Welcome to the Desert of the Real! Five Essays on 11 September and Related Dates. London and New York: Verso. Zizek, S. (2004). Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle. London and New York: Verso. 1

The Nature of Faith Essay -- Psychology Religion Papers

The Nature of Faith Faith is an essential aspect of religious experience. Events can often be understood by some people as aesthetic or pleasant [1] rather than religious because their frame of reference rejects the spiritual connection for a more temporal one. However, of course, there are experiences that people have that by-pass any effort on their part to explain them naturally and clearly demonstrate a spiritual situation. One British scholar described his experience, like those of many others, that convinced him of the reality of God. He had "no religion," no "real sense of personal relationship to God." He went for a walk alone one day, without particular thoughts or intentions, when he "became conscious of the presence of someone else" and realized a feeling that the "being of God" surrounded him. "It was no longer a matter of inference, it was an immediate act of spiritual... apprehension." The experience changed his whole perspective of the world and himself. "I had not found God because I had never looked for him. But he had found me; he had, I could not but believe, made himself personal to me" [2]. The man could interpret this experience because faith had been "awakened" or become functionally directed in him. Some people, and many psychologists, deem faith to be something akin to wishful thinking. The great philosopher-psychologist William James defined faith as a "belief in something concerning which doubt is still theoretically possible," that the believer acts in faith by taking steps which are not guaranteed to turn out as he thinks they should [3]. If faith is not wishful thinking, or acting in hope that the right thing will happen, then it is non-rational self-affirmation. "Religious assertions... r... ..., Publ., 1968. Bregman, Lucy. The Rediscovery of the Inner Experience. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1982. Brown, L.B. The Psychology of Religion. London: SPCK, 1988. Miller, Ed. L. Believing in God: Readings on Faith and Reason. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996. Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry into the Non- Rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and its Relation to the Rational. John W. Harvey (transl). London: Oxford University Press, 1970. Schleiermacher, Friedrich. On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers. John Oman (transl). New York: Harper and Brothers, Publ., 1958. Strunk, Orlo (ed). Readings in the Psychology of Religion. New York: Abingdon Press, 1959. Whittaker, John H. Matters of Faith and Matters of Principle: Religious Truth Claims and Their Logic. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 1981.