Sunday, December 29, 2019

Meditation Is It Around For Thousands Of Years - 1490 Words

Research Paper 2 Meditation has been around for thousands of years. In psychology, meditation is referred to as Mindfulness. Mindfulness hasn’t been around for long in the scientific community. Only in the 1970s was explicit clinical interest in it. Mindfulness in therapy is putting your attention toward what you are experiencing currently in the present moment i.e. Feelings or emotions, without judging it. As well seeing and accepting things as they are without modifying them. This is something Buddhist monks have been doing for a very long time. The ancient Buddhist Monk used this tool to acquire what they consider â€Å"enlightenment†. Enlightenment in simple terms means extreme clarity and peace of mind. Speaking of Mindfulness there is a doctor that tested an fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and an EEG (Electroencephalography) on the Dalia Lama. This doctor’s name is Dr. Richard Davidson. Now Dr. Davidson has come up with a way to test what side of the prefrontal cortex actually lights (more active) up when you have negative and positive emotions. Dr. Davidson figured that when the brain lit up left it meant that the person was in a positive mood, i.e. Upbeat enthusiastic, and energized. The more a ctive to the right meant that a person was more emotionally distressed. He tested this on the Dalia Lama. The Dalia Lama is the spiritual ruler and chief of Tibet and Buddhism. Buddhist monks have been using mindfulness for more than twoShow MoreRelatedMeditation : A Long History1237 Words   |  5 PagesMeditation has a long history that stretches back thousands of years. Nobody knows exactly where and when meditation began but scientists have evidence to believe that it began somwehere around 5,000 years ago. This was a time far before religious figures such as Jesus and Buddha are said to have existed. 5,000 years ago, much of the civilized world was nothing like it is today. It was mostly hunter gatherers with few villages in the open landscapes. Meditation is said by scientists to have mostRead MoreIsabella Vigil . Mr.Short . College Composition . 19 March848 Words   |  4 PagesComposition 19 March 2017 A Spiritual Gain but a Financial Lose Meditation has always been seen as a way to keep the mind and soul healthy. Mediation dates back to 1500 BCE originating in Ancient India. The practice soon started to expand and adapt to other cultures around the world. Some of the earliest references to meditation are found in the Hindu scriptures and it was around the 6th to 5th centuries that other forms of meditation developed into Confucian, Taoist China, and Buddhist India (Taham)Read MoreBuddhism, The Practical, Theatrical, And Its Social Aspects Of Buddhism1224 Words   |  5 Pagesaspects. Practitioners of Buddhism practice in many varying ways based off their geographical and social conditions.The real practice of any Buddhist is to concern themselves with their spiritual attitude that affects themselves and their community. Meditation is used to refocus the mind to develop a greater mental state. Buddhism can be defined as:the path, and livelihood to practice the spiritual development that leads to the true nature of o neself and reality. The basics of Buddhism: there are noRead More Meditation: The Balance of Life Essay997 Words   |  4 Pagesperforming meditation, but recently anyone has been trying it. Meditation is a practice that someone may train their mind to be in a state of consciousness that benefits their mind and body. Meditation is about paying attention, focusing and being very calm. It sharpens creativity and performance while enhancing relationships. Meditators find when they stop taking things in life so seriously, the self drops away. They are more direct and absorb life easier. (Ellison 36) Meditation has been aroundRead MoreMeditation : Meditation And Meditation939 Words   |  4 Pagesdrug or anything like that. What I’m talking about and will be the topic of the article is MEDITATION! If you’re interested in learning more about meditation then this is the article for you. We’ll cover what is meditation, the meditation benefits, and how to begin meditating. What is Meditation? Meditation is control over your state of mind, not something you just do. This state achieved though meditation involves awareness and consciousness. You narrow your mind down to one thing and reduce sporadicRead MoreBuddhist Meditation Practice And Buddhism1072 Words   |  5 Pages Over this past year I have been involved in a buddhist meditation practice, I have been through stages of resisting, doubting, and now more accepting this practice. The buddhist meditation practice I participated in is a controversial religion in Taiwan. Even though the religion has almost a hundred thousand followers including celebrities and business leaders, the religion itself is still being judged by others due to its beliefs. The leader himself, Miao Chan, used to be a stuntman and establishedRead MoreThe Wat Buddharangsi Of Miami Essay1377 Words   |  6 PagesReligion is an important and prominent aspect of life. There are hundreds of religions established that influence thousands of followers. Personally, I am a follower of the Christian faith. My worship experience is in a church of like-followers praising an omnipotent God. In preparation for this research paper, I visited a worshiping venue for a religion outside the comfort zone of my own. In anticipation for the day of my visit, I did some prior research to a get a bit of background knowledge onRead MoreExploring the Practices and Types of Meditation1479 Words   |  6 PagesStated most simply, Meditation is the practice of deep concentration of the mind. The practice involves either altered state of mind or relaxed state of body. Meditation has been around for thousands of years. Evidence of the practice can be found throughout history in many different religions and many different places in the world. In the past decades, the practice has gained new popularity in the world for its physical, psychological and spiritual benefits. Many people have tried and felt the benefitRead MoreBuddhism: A Pathway to Enlightenment, from Shady Beginnings1092 Words   |  4 PagesChina, and Thailand. In fact, Buddhism is the â€Å"oldest and most widespread of all the world faiths† (Wilkinson 8). Unlike most religions, Buddhism is non-theistic, meaning that it is not based on the belief of a god or gods; instead, it is worked around the principles of a man who found enlightenment. This man was born in the 5th century BCE, or before common era, as Siddhartha Gautama but is more commonly known as Buddha, or â€Å"the enlightened one.† (Wilkinson 6) His father was the ruler of the ShakyaRead MoreAlternative Medicine : Medicine And Medicine1442 Words   |  6 Pagesalternative medicine in interesting ways. Ultimately spiritualism is used in meditation and the relaxation of the body and the mind. Many civilizations had a form of spiritualism such as India with Buddhism, this religion has been around for an estimated 2,500 years. The main belief in Buddhism is about suffering and the need to get rid of it. Buddhism is a great example of spiritualism since it shows the points of meditation and clear thinking. Doctors and professors of the sciences are the main cause

Saturday, December 21, 2019

An Ethnography Of The Germanic Tribes - 1146 Words

Tacitus’ Germania, written roughly at the end of the first century AD, serves as an ethnography of the Germanic tribes and aims to provide concrete analysis of the fundamental aspects of barbaric society. However, historians often note the significant difficulties with the work particularly when observing the source of Tacitus’ information on the Germanic tribes. Additionally, stemming from the uncertain origin of Tacitus’ knowledge of barbaric society surfaces various tensions naturally produced by the structure of the work. Of specific interest lies the notion of Roman stereotypes of the Germanic tribes. The Germania presents the reader with a type of rhetorical puzzle whereby a fine line exists between Tacitus’ beliefs regarding the Germanic tribes, and his intent for writing the work. Although Tacitus seems to ultimately sympathize with the morality and courage of the barbarians, the Germania, in an effort to appeal to his Roman audience, subtly r eferences Roman stereotypes regarding the need for Roman expansion into the barbaric territory. Edward James, a medieval era historian, describes the Roman perspective on barbarian culture. Early in his work, entitled Europe’s Barbarians, AD 200-600, he states the origin of the word â€Å"barbarian† in Roman culture: â€Å"Primarily it meant non-Roman, someone who came from outside the Roman Empire; but secondarily it meant ‘barbarous’, that is, someone who was not civilized.† Thus, the word barbarian is associated with two

Friday, December 13, 2019

Barilla Case Study Operational Ineffeciencies Free Essays

Case Presentation Barilla SpA Introduction Company Industry background †¢ World’s largest pasta producer in 1990 †¢ Pasta Share – 35% in Italy and 22% in Europe Channels of Distribution †¢ Products divided in 2 categories – â€Å"Fresh† and â€Å"Dry† †¢ Fresh Products had 21 day Shelf Lives †¢ Dry Products had Long ( 18 to 24 Months) or Medium(10 to 12 weeks) Shelf Lives †¢ Retail Outlets – Small independent The Issue During the late 1980s, Barilla suffered increasing operational inefficiencies and cost penalties that resulted from large week-to-week variations in its distributors’ order patterns Distribution Procedure †¢ Original flow of goods and information PLANT CDC’s Barilla run depots GD’s Chain supermarkets DO’s Independent supermarkets â€Å"Signora Maria† Shops Customers Customers Customers *CDC = Central Distribution Centre GD = Grand Distributors DO = Organized Distributors Sales and Marketing Advertising – Heavy, Brand Positioned as the Highest Quality †¢ Trade promotions – Frequent †¢ Canvass period, 10 to 12 in a year, typical duration of 4 to 5 weeks †¢ Distributor could buy as much product as desired to meet present and future needs at the offered discount †¢ Volume Discounts also given †¢ Sales representatives used more at DO’s than GD’s – Merchandise Barilla Products – Set up In-Store Promotion – Take note of competitor’s prices, stockouts, new product launches – Work out ordering strategies for the retailer etc Demand Fluctuations †¢ Just in Time Distribution Variability in Demand †¢ Reasons – – – – Transportation discounts Volume discount Promotional activity No minimum or maximum order quantities – Product proliferation – Long order lead times – Lack of forecasting systems or sophisti cated analytical tools at Distributer’s end Exhibit 12: Demand Fluctuations Variability in Demand †¢ Methods employed to counter variability – Holding buffer FGs to meet Distributor requirements – Asking Distributors/Retailers to carry additional inventory Impact – Strained Manufacturing and Logistics operations* – Poor Product delivery management – Thinning retailer/distributor margins – Increased Inventory Holding costs – Impossible to anticipate Demand swings – Changing customers due to lack of storage space Bullwhip effect †¢ Amplified Variation in demand as one moves up the Supply Chain (away from the order order customer) order Factory Distributor Wholesaler Retailer Order Variation The Causes of Bullwhip Effect Demand Forecast †¢ Long lead times †¢ Order Batching †¢ Price fluctuation (Promotional sales) †¢ Inflated orders in high estimated demand scenarios Counteracting the Bullwhip E ffect †¢ Reduce Uncertainty – POS – Sharing Information – Centralizing demand information †¢ Reduce Variability – Year round or Everyday low pricing †¢ Reduce Lead Times – Information lead times: EDI – Order lead times: Cross Docking †¢ Strategic Partnerships – – – – Quick Response Continuous Replenishment Advanced Continuous Replenishment Vendor managed Inventory (VMI) Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) †¢ Vendor-Managed Inventory Concept †¢ Treats end-customer as the Input †¢ Aims at managing the Input filter that Produces the Orders †¢ Decision-making authority for determining shipments in hands of Barilla SpA †¢ Barilla would monitor the flow of its products through the distributor’s warehouse, and then decide what to ship to the distributor and when to ship it †¢ Distributor provides Data on the shipment and current stock levels for Expected Benefits of JITD †¢ Manufacturer – Reduced manufacturing costs – Better Relationship with Distributors †¢ Increased supply chain visibility †¢ Increase Distributor’s dependence on Barilla – Improvement in manufacturing planning using objective data – Reduced inventory levels †¢ Distributors – Improved fill rates to Retail stores – Additional service without any extra cost – Reduced Inventory Holding costs JITD – Internal Resistance Sales Representatives feared reduction in responsibilities †¢ Flattened sales levels †¢ Risk of Inability to adjust shipments quickly to stock-outs †¢ Lack of infrastructure to handle JITD †¢ Increased competitor shelf space at distributor †¢ Inability to run Trade promotions †¢ Unsure about the cost benefits JITD – External Resistance †¢ Unconvinced Distributors †¢ Not willing to share warehouse data †¢ Perceived power transfer to Barilla †¢ Lack of faith in Barilla’s inventory management Possible methods to counter Resistance †¢ Demonstrate that JITD benefits the distributors – Run experiment at one or more of the distributor sites †¢ Maggiali needs to look at JITD not as a logistics program, but as a company-wide effort – Get Top management closely involved Experiments at Dryproduct depots †¢ Barilla spa ran first JITD experiment at its Florence depot †¢ During the very first month of the program – Inventory dropped from 10. 1 days to 3. 6 days – Service level to retail stores increased from 98. We will write a custom essay sample on Barilla Case Study: Operational Ineffeciencies or any similar topic only for you Order Now 9% to 99. % †¢ Depot’s staff was not comfortable working with such low inventory levels – Inventory levels finally allowed to increase to 5 days †¢ One of the arguments against JITD was that it will lead to waste empty spaces in the ware houses Experiments at Dryproduct depots †¢ In Florence case – Barilla growing at rapid rate in the region – Plans to expand warehouse – Existing warehouse able to accommodate the increased requirement – Substantial investment on expansion was avoided †¢ JITD next tried at Milan Depot – Similar performance improvement as Florence †¢ These experiments established the credibility of JITD system Implementation at D. O. Cortese †¢ The decision to implement JITD in Marchese DC of Cortese involved – Barilla: Director of Logistics, Executive vice president of sales and Manager in charge of JITD implementation – Cortese: Nine managers including Managing director, new services manager, logistics manager and logistics, purchasing, marketing and sales personnel from Cortese’s Marchese DC †¢ Consultant Claudio Ferrozzi was roped in – Neutral party trusted by both the groups Implementation at D. O. Cortese †¢ For six months, Barilla team analyzed daily shipment data of the DC – Created the data base of DC’s historical demand pattern – Simulated shipments with JITD in place †¢ The implementation yielded phenomenal results – Prior to JITD †¢ Stock out rate : 2 to 5% ( Occasionally as high as 10 to 13%) – After JITD †¢ Negligible stock out rate of less than. 25%(Never exceeded 1%) †¢ Average inventory level also dropped Adaptation to different distributors With new confidence they approached other customers †¢ Customers apprehensive about JITD repeating the same success as Cortese for them as they had varied systems †¢ Barilla’s team developed capacity to translate customer’s standard’s into internal standards Adaptation to different distributors †¢ Developed a protocol which could be used to communicate with all customers †¢ Each SKU identified with three d ifferent product codes – Barilla’s code – Customer’s code – EAN (European article numbering system) barcode – Most common barcode standard in Europe †¢ Advantages of the coding system Information can be received through any code – Reduce impact of internal changes in product or code on client’s system Communication with consumers Customer each day sent following information to Barilla via EDI:1. Customer code number to identify itself 2. Inventory for each SKU carried by DC 3. Previous day’s â€Å"sell through†-All shipments of Barilla products out of DC to consumers on the previous day 4. Stock outs on previous day for every Barilla SKU carried by DC 5. An advance order for any promotions that the customer planned to run in the future 6. Preferred delivery carton size Lessons learnt One needs to prove credibility of any new performance initiative for others to buy his/her idea †¢ Best place to experimen t with an idea is within the organization †¢ To succeed in a new initiative, involvement of top management is imperative †¢ Market is ever growing. If performance measures seem to create spare time/capacity instead of chucking them, look out for ways to increase the – Barrilla could finally succeed in implementing JITD with Cortese. Whole of top management from both sides was involved in the decision making. Which never happened earlier – Sometimes roping a consultant helps THANK YOU How to cite Barilla Case Study: Operational Ineffeciencies, Free Case study samples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Tourism and Basic Needs free essay sample

Poorer countries should consider developing their tourist industry as they are predominantly agricultural, have sharply limited development prospects in the near future and tend to be heavily dependent on official development assistance as almost everything requires money. Tourism is an attractive tool that could solvooe these problems as the developing countries could invest in this industry to reap massive amount of profits which could speed up the development of the country’s economy and allow the basic needs of people to be met. Tourism is considered to be the most tactical approach for economic development, specifically in the poorer countries. When viewed as an export industry of the 3Gs, ‘ Get them in, Get their money and Get them out’, tourism has the greatest tendency to assist developing countries to move away from a dependency on agriculture and also, diversifying its sources of revenue. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s study on tourism and travel, tourism industry creates most jobs in developing countries and their foreign earnings leapt from less than US$50 billion in 1990 to more than US$260 billion in 2007. We will write a custom essay sample on Tourism and Basic Needs or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With such vast amount of revenue, this could jumpstart the local economy and provides quick capital injection. Furthermore, in the case of having inefficient or corrupted government, the tourism industry can also provide one source of direct earning to the poor people. Therefore, poorer countries should place the development of their tourist industry as their main priority because it would address the problem of insufficient funds and to better caters the basic needs of their own people. Basic needs of people often include food, clothing and medicine. Others are clean water and sanitation, adequate levels of nutrition, access to primary health care and basic education. To achieve all these, the government has to invest in the tourist industry such that it would play as a substantial role in job creation. In addition, good planning is also required of the local government. Good planning will allow poorer countries to benefit from high-value added tourism such as eco-tourism, medical tourism, educational tourism, adventure tourism and creative tourism which is a form of cultural tourism. Private tour guides are also an excellent way to get insight of the country and help the locals to earn an income. A recent trend is dark tourism which is a small niche market driven by varied motivations such as mourning, remembrance or macabre curiosity. The main draw of this is mostly due to their historical value rather than their associations with death and suffering. An example will be Cambodia which combines cultural and dark tourism in places like Angkor Wat and Tuol Sleng War musemum. Thus, with such planning and vast diversity of tourism, the locals will definitely benefit from them and would be self-sufficient in meeting their own basic needs. However, the environmental impact of the tourism industry on the locals must be considered. Where there is no benefit to offset the negative impact, developing the tourism industry may be just a raw deal. Hotels, discos, greater air, land, noise pollution and urban congestion would upset the tranquility of the area. Tourism can also lead to the creation of unsightly human structures that do not fit in the local architecture and would lead to the disturbance of the wildlife habitat which accompanies with the loss of biodiversity of plants and animals. Some tourism destinations may become victims of shifting taste. In this context, the excessive building and environment destruction are often associated to the traditional â€Å"sun and beach† tourism which may contribute to a destination’s saturation and its subsequent decline. Such example would be Spain’s Costa Brava. To counter to this problem, the local government of the poorer country needs to practice careful urban planning and introduce new laws and enforcement. Instead of the creation of infrastructure that do not fit into the local community, the government could consider building something that has the local colours as it may have a greater effect in attracting tourists to visit them. By doing so, it would reduce the chances of the traditional â€Å"sun and beach† tourism. In addition, the implementation of laws and enforcement would tackle the local greenery issues as this could reduce the impact on wildlife and plants. Therefore, only with these accompanying solutions, the problem can be reduced to the minimum and would prevent huge financial loss. In all, poorer countries should develop their tourist industry as it would provide them with an alternative source of financial income. This would also assist in the economic development as it brings in the much needed foreign currency which would benefit the locals as their basic needs could then be met.