Critical Thinking and Ethics Essay

What is the relationship between ethics and critical thinking? Critical thinking and ethics are used in everyday life. I think it best that we define the two terms before we get deep into the discussion. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says ethics is â€Å"the discipline dealing with what are good and bad with moral duty and obligation† and Dictionary Reference say critical thinking is â€Å"disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence†. These could both be further defined by saying they are the ability to make good or bad choices and the act of thoroughly thinking through a decision. Critical thinking and ethics decisions are life skills. Critical Thinking There are six levels in the critical thinking process. They are remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The majority of people use the first four levels in day to day life. The final two levels are probably used in more complex problems and more time will be required in devotion to applying these steps. Critical thinking is used in our day to day lives. We make multiple decisions in a day’s time. Some of these decisions are routine and some require more effort and time. We learn to evaluate things at a young age and most likely pick up most of our problem solving skills from our parents. When you hear the term â€Å"critical thinking† your first thought may be negative but critical thinking should not be thought of as â€Å"being critical† but rather â€Å"think critically†. During our life there will be times when we need to make decisions that can be life altering. A few examples might be buying a new car, choosing courses at your university, or deciding between a two jobs. Everyone can relate to the stress of buying a new car. This is a decision that could  affect you for the next five years and it’s a decision that should not be taken lightly. My decision to buy the car may have a different outcome if I start the process with questions as opposed to making a emotional purchase. Those questions might look something like this, â€Å"What type of car do I want?†, â€Å"What amount of payment can I afford?†, and â€Å"What is the best car make?†. All of these questions will determine the outcome. Answering all these questions will allow me to make an informed decision. Ethics We stated earlier that ethics deals with knowing what is right or wrong. We do the right thing because it is the law, because it is what we were taught, or because we listen to our inner voice. I used a personal evaluation tool earlier this week called the ethical inventory list. This was an activity to help me better understand the values that influence my decisions. This tool produced some shocking results which I was surprised to see. My preferred ethical lens was Reputation. I do care what people think and this has motivated me to excel in all things I do. My blind spot was revealed during this exercise and was identified as â€Å"unrealistic role expectation†. I had to read the definition twice to fully understand it and I still need to do more research. In short, I put too much value in the role (position) a person holds and that can cause you to forget that people make mistakes. My father was a law enforcement officer. I was taught what was right and wrong at a young ag e. My father took this to the extreme at times because he saw more bad than good while assuming his daily duties. I have always been known as the guy that will make the right choice even if that choice is the hard choice. Ethics apply to the professional world and well as the social sector. I work for a large heavy equipment manufacture. Ethics is one of our core values. The company makes ethical choices that affect the entire world. A few examples are promoting safety, recycling, emissions, and renewable resources. Do these topics cross your mind when you think of the largest heavy equipment manufacturers in the world? They may not but it is the professional right, the ethically right thing to do. When I first started working for the company I was surprised at how much emphasis was placed on safety. They require wearing PPE (personal protection equipment) and have mandatory monthly safety training. The company recycles everything. They recycle all metal products, cardboard, plastics, wood, and  even personal trash has to be sorted. Professional companies maintain high ethical standards because it is the right thing to do for their employees and customers. Social ethics is doing what is right for the people around you. When I think of social ethics a couple things come to mind. First is the â€Å"adopt a highway† sign that you see along the roadway when you drive home. Groups of people come together for no apparent reason besides keep the world a cleaner place. Is this the right thing to do? Sure it is. Another example is the groups of people that come together at public parks to do maintenance and clean-up work. Chances are they do not live in the neighborhood, nor do they have children that play there. Why do people strangers come together sacrificing their free time to volunteer for activities like these? There is one answer. They are the ethically right thing to do. Conclusion Ethics are a vital part of survival but we need to be reminded ourselves that ethics change as the world changes. Things that used to be considered in a negative manner is now accepted by society. However, we still need ethical decisions in order for us to thrive as a community, a society, and a civilization. References Ethics [Def. 1]. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online. In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethics Critical Thinking [Def. 2]. (n.d.). Dictionary Reference Online. In Dictionary Reference Online. Retrieved October 16, 2014, from dictionary.reference.com/browse/critical+thinking

Hmong Culture

Prior to writing this research paper on the Hmong culture, I did not know anything about their history or beliefs. The only time I had heard of Hmong people was in the movie â€Å"Gran Torino. † The movie revolves around a Hmong family living in Michigan and the cultural stereotypes and discrimination they face each day. After reading a few chapters in Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, I felt it was necessary to take a further look into the Hmong culture for a better understanding of their way of life. I.Hmong migration from China to various Southeast Asian countries The Hmong have not had the easiest or most simple life. After reading many different sources reporting their history, I couldn’t believe how many times they were forced to relocate. The Hmong originated as a culturally unique group from Asia. Their original homeland was Central Siberia which was where most of them lived. The first time the Hmong were forced out of their homelan d was in 2500 B. C. The Chinese and other Asian groups conquered Central Siberia and forced its people to flee south into northern China (Moua).Because of this, they resettled and started a new civilization on the banks of the Yellow River. Fortunately, their civilization was prosperous and successful until history repeated itself and the Han Chinese attacked them again for their fertile land along the Yellow River. The Hmong were faced with a decision to either fight or flee. They decided to fight for their land through a series of warfare but were outnumbered and therefore lost their land as well as many men. Consequently, the Hmong were forced to flee yet again.This time, they settled in the southern parts of China in today’s provinces known as Hepeh, Hunan, and Hubei (Xiong). â€Å"There are approximately 8 to 12 million Hmong still living in this region of China† (Quincy, 1988). Throughout history, the Hmong people continued to face hardship. During the Qing Dynas ty, three major wars pushed hundreds of thousands of Hmong even further into the Southeast Asian countries of Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. The first war erupted in 1735, the second in 1795, and the third, the largest and longest in 1854-1873 (Xiong).II. Hmong migration to the USA In the early 1960’s during the Vietnam War, the Hmong in Laos were recruited and trained by the United States Central Intelligence Agency to assist the United States as a secret guerrilla force army. The Hmong fought directly against the North Vietnamese and Lao Communists. That same year, the American forces pulled out of Vietnam and in result, the Lao Communists came to power in Laos. The Hmong were forced to flee yet again. â€Å"As a result, hundreds of thousands of Hmong escaped the genocide of the Lao Communist Government.This time they settled in France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, West Germany, the United States, and even Argentina as political refugees in order to continue their peaceful way of life. Statistically, the majority of the Hmong refugees (about 200,000) settled and restarted their new lives in the United States† (Teng Moua’s personal record, 1999). The states with the largest number of Hmong immigrants are California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (Yau). III. Hmong religion The Hmong are a very spiritual group of people.They are animist/pantheist which means that they believe in a variety of natural and supernatural forces. Their world is inhabited by spirits and gods and they believe that their spiritual world has the capability to coexist with their physical world. Some of these spirits that influence their human life are ancestral, household, natural, and evil. If there is contact with a supernatural spirit, the Hmong believe that their life will be affected, either positively or negatively. Ritual ceremonies are performed to please ancestral spirits.If the spirits are pleased, they will protect the believer’s descendents from illness and natural disasters. To maintain communication with the spiritual world, the Hmong refer to the shaman, who is a healing practitioner who acts as an intermediary between the spirit and physical world. The shaman is the main communicator chosen by the spirits and performs the rituals (Tapp). â€Å"While there is no standardization in Hmong religious rituals and practices, Hmong rituals usually revolve around the practices that their ancestors passed onto them.Clan and lineage variations also are prevalent between and within individual clans as practices are traditional passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition† (Hmong Cultural and Resource Center of Minnesota). Hmong also believe in afterlife. With the guidance from Hmong musical performers during the rituals, the souls of the deceased will come back to their ancestors for reincarnation. IV. Hmong education and language Many Hmong have had no formal education. In Laos, public schooling was limi ted and in some areas, completely unavailable.Even after Laos achieved independence, ethnic minorities such as Hmong were still denied schooling. It was not until 1939 that the first village school was built. Even then, only students from the wealthiest class were admitted. Once the Hmong arrived in the United States where they were free people, education has become a main priority. The Hmong have their own language, called Hmoob (Hmong in English). It braches into two main dialects: White Hmong and Blue (or Green) Hmong. The colors represent the colors used in traditional clothing of the different groups in the different regions of China. The Hmong language is one of a group of closely related languages of Southeast Asia and Southern China often referred to as the Miao-Yao languages. Besides being spoken by Hmong people in Laos, Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam, the Hmong language is widely spoken by the Miao minority in Southern China. The Hmong language is also related to the Yao lan guages which include Iu Mien, spoken in Laos and Thailand as well as China, and five other languages spoken by minority groups in the larger region† (Vang).Because of the lack of education, for many centuries, the Hmong language was only an oral type of communication. There was no alphabet system, no written texts, and no literacy system. Culture and learning was passed down from one generation to the next from memory. Elders had the most knowledge, memories, skills, and abilities. Older Hmong residing in the United States often do not speak English and, because of the recent development of the written Hmong language in the 1950s, may be illiterate in the Hmong language (Helsel, 1993; Queensland Health, 2004; U. S.Census Bureau, 2000). Young Hmong may be literate in English, but may not be able to read Hmong or Lao, though there is an effort in the Hmong community to teach young people to speak and read their traditional language (Lipson et al. , 1996). V. Hmong beliefs about illness and curing individuals Hmong believe that an illness is caused when one’s soul is lost, captured by evil spirits, or by having offended an ancestral spirit. The shaman will discuss with ancestral spirits who may have been offended by the ill person and see what the spirits want to ask from the living.Shamans may bargain and struggle with wild spirits who have capture the patient’s soul or locate the lost soul and force it back into its body. When a shaman cures a sick person, he goes into a trance and veils his eyes with a black cloth to see the spirits. He sits on a bench and faces the altar. Then, he calls his teacher spirits to help cure the ill person (Lewis). Shamans differ in ability so when a shaman is unable to help the family, they will look for a more powerful one. VI. Hmong attitudes toward Western medicineAs previously mentioned, Hmong believe in natural and spiritual healing. Most older, traditional Hmong are opposed to Western medicine and practic es. Not only does it go against their beliefs, but they also fear that Western medicine may be too potent for Hmong bodies to handle. People of more recent generations, however, are becoming more and more accepting of Western medicine and surgery. Hmong are also using a combination of Western medicine and traditional techniques such as massage, acupuncture, and dermabrasion (Yau). Reading about Hmong culture has been extremely interesting.I was so surprised to find how spiritual they were. It saddened me to learn about the numerous times they were forced out of their homeland. It’s unfortunate that their people are so dispersed throughout the world, however, in a way it is neat that the Hmong culture is so prevalent in various cultures outside of China. Researching Hmong culture has been a big help in reading Anne Fadiman’s, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Now, I have a much better sense of the Hmong way of life and can see a different perspective on their at titudes and beliefs.

ARE THERE ENOUGH RESSOURCES FOR YOUNG MUMS AFTER PREGNANCY Dissertation

ARE THERE ENOUGH RESSOURCES FOR YOUNG MUMS AFTER PREGNANCY - Dissertation Example Conversely, collecting primary data is often prohibitively expensive. (Brown & Semradek, 1992). Primary data can take years to compile; secondary data, a matter of months. (Hopperth, 2005). Also, there is the issue of sample size – secondary research is often compiled by a government agency, with well-documented collection procedures and well-maintained data files. The information that is compiled is often comprehensive – everything from information on births, deaths, employment, income, etc. to specialized information, such as information about participant's attitudes, beliefs, and related family issues. (Hopperth, 2005). That said, there are issues with using secondary research. One of the issues is that of validity and reliability. Validity is if the study measures what it purports to measure, while reliability refers to the ability to give the same result consistently, even with different researchers, instruments and events. (Harris, 2001). Reliability can be reprod ucible, which means that different researchers will get the same result; stable, which means that the results do not change over time; and accurate, which means that process conforms to a known standard and yields what it is supposed to. (Harris, 2001). In order for the study to be valid, the outcome data needs to be complete. This is especially crucial when looking at statistical evidence over a period of time between different populations. (Sorensen et al., p. 436). Validity, as well as reliability and accuracy are all sensitive issues when dealing with secondary data, because of the problems with conceptualizing of the data, as well as dealing with errors that can occur when selecting, collecting, recording, filing, analyzing and publicizing the data. (Brown & Semradek, 1992). Therefore, the information that is compiled in desk based research, or secondary research, is often found on the Internet by using cites that cater to the topic at hand. Since the topic at hand is not one t hat is overly reliant upon statistics and other types of information that is kept by such organisations as the World Health Organisation, the information may be obtained through other means. One of these means is the database JStor, which provides a wide range of academic articles, as well as Google Scholar. SSRN is another database that has a wide range of articles. These sites were chosen because they provide a comprehensive database of academic articles that are written for topics such as this and other topics. These articles are often studies which are noted by the researchers who wrote the individual article, which provides valuable insight into the topic. The topic may be researched by inputting certain key words, such as lone parent, young mother, and services, and then the topics can be expanded from there. For instance, in this topic, there are a wide range of issues that need to be addressed. Social exclusion is one issue, and the way that this is researched is by inputtin g the key words of social exclusion and getting articles about this topic. Another topic is that of housing, and the same procedure can be used for this topic. In other words, there are issues that young mothers face that are not exclusive to young mothers – these issues are more universal. However, since desk based research is meant to be comprehensive, these secondary topics are included. Another way of approaching the desk based resea

The hells nature debate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The hells nature debate - Research Paper Example The debate about the nature of hell is covered in consideration of three main aspects about hell: the duration of hell; the main reason for hell and finally the felling in hell (is the feeling experienced in a state of consciousness or unconsciousness) From this point of view; it is definitely clear that hell’s nature is far much more complicated to understand that one could easily think. As a matter of fact, with the rising of new knowledge each and everyday, it becomes very confusing as to what exactly is hell made up of. This paper approaches the topic of the nature of hell with much criticism so as to clearly analyze two main approaches that are used in an attempt to explain the nature of what is believed to be hellii. In doing effectively doing this, the classical view and the annihilationist view about hell have been critically analyzed with their strengths and weaknesses being closely assessed against the benchmark offered by the Biblical explanations about the nature o f hell. Classical View Despite the fact that the classical view regarding the nature of hell is mostly pegged on the Biblical teachings, it is very important to take note of the fact that the classical view explaining the nature of hell has different versions which are mainly differentiated as per the interpretations that arise from the Biblical teachings regarding hell. The first version is the literal view of hell’s nature. ... Hells nature will be so rough according to this version that the people who will be damned to be in hell will be forever having regrets of their lives. They will be wishing that they move out but on realizing that hell has no way out, and then it will forever be an eternal psychological suffering to them. From this interpretation, it can be clarified that hell is actually a place with only the way in but it totally has no way out. This is due to the fact that the people who will be damned to be suffering in this place will be wishing that they repent their sins and move out but all this will be in vain as they would be damned to stay in the place eternally. The second version is the psychological interpretation of the Biblical teachings. This version sharply contradicts with the initial interpretation as it argues that the nature of hell ought not to be literally taken from the Biblical teachings. On the contrary, this version sees the darkness and fires that are used to describe the nature of hell as merely symbols and metaphors that are strategically used to depict the suffering that is in helliv. The fundamental argument that is used by the proponents of this line of thought is the fact that human beings were made by God. It is therefore in their nature that whatever they desire most is to be with God eternally. Once this aspect is withdrawn then humans are bound to suffer (endure hell’s nature-withdrawal form God’s presence). According to this version, the nature of hell is therefore basically total withdrawal from the presence of God eternally. The darkness and fires that are used o describe the tough nature of hell simply

International payments and settlements currency transactions Essay

International payments and settlements currency transactions - Essay Example Prestigious companies of the stature of Halliburton, Lucent Technologies and Monsanto face allegations of bribery to gain unnatural advantage in business and billions of dollars involved. A discussion on this issue including an assessment of the impact of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development Convention forms 'Section-2' of this paper. The objective of this section is to understand the law and to suggest a way forward for businesses and governments to control this menace. Utilitarian analysis of bribery serves no purpose at all since there is no ground for choosing an option that allows for bribery. International trade involves the exchange of goods and services ('goods') and international payments. There are several ways to make payment for goods received, each involving certain methods and procedures and the inherent advantages and disadvantages. The choice of mode of payment depends upon the contract negotiated between the exporter and the importer. Within this parameter, each partner to the agreement will tend to look for the most cost-effective and secure way of making the transaction. Open account trading is the simplest where the supplier makes an invoice and the buyer pays. Rarely followed in trade, only between the US, UK, and some European countries, and there is no further reference to this mode in this paper. Documentary Collection Exporters, to obtain payment from customers in another country, use the collection services provided by banks. The International Chamber of Commerce has established a set of, standard and internationally accepted, rules known as the 'Uniform Rules for Collection', (1995 Revision, ICC publication No. 522). The bank may be required to handle financial documents such as the bill of exchange or promissory note and other secondary documents like the Bill of Lading, Invoice, Certificates of Inspection and so on. When both types of documents are to be collected, it is called documentary collection. Clean collection is of only financial documents. The crucial financial document is the 'Bill of Exchange'. It is an agreement to pay a fixed sum by the buyer to the seller on a fixed date. It is an instrument made out in writing and signed by the maker (drawer, the importer) directing another person (drawee, usually a bank) to make payment to a third party (payee, the exporter). Called 'Bill of Exchange' in International law, it is called a 'Draft' in the Uniform Commercial Code. A bill of exchange differs from a promissory note, in that, it is a firm commitment to pay rather than a promise to pay and a third party - the drawee is involved. A bill of exchange may also be subject to meeting certain conditions by the payee. A draft has no value unless the Importer accepts it. However, the payment made immediately (Sight Draft, or Documents against Payment D/P) or at a mutually agreed future date, endorsed on the draft (Time Draft, or Documents against Acceptance D/A, or Usance). The advantages of this mode of payment are: It is relatively safe for exporter offering a measure of protection. The

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 24

Leadership - Essay Example Basically, for any institution to thrive there must be a leader; consequently, it is vital find out how leadership can be applied in the military. What is the difference between a normal leaders and an army leader? It is a fact that any army leader has to have the highest form of discipline above all other leadership virtues to be capable to command missions and the taskforce he/ she is responsible for. Hence, the key difference between an army leader and the normal leader is discipline. Army leadership entails having the right skills; experience; competency; ability to manage emotions; a sound mind and physical fitness. In addition, an individual should: have a brave face and hold his/her head up high even when facing the worst forms of combat; have the ability to delegate and be driven by the seven army principles at heart. This will instill the desire to lead, improve and strive for the highest ranks within their subordinates. We presumed that the leader of a troop, mission, and camp is always yelling, shouting and ordering people around, expecting everyone in the troop to act in a certain manner, in order to achieve victory in combats and missions. This is falsified notion, since it is common knowledge that any supervisor and/ or leader who is always giving orders, pushing people around, who does not give correct and clear instructions faces resistance, demoralizes the subordinates in this case the soldiers knowingly or unknowingly which has dire effects in the long run. According to the Army Leadership Institute (2002), it is vital for an army leader to give the subordinates room to grow; make the subordinates feel that they are valuable assets; enable them to take chances to gain the necessary experience and nurture their skills. As a result, the subordinates will impart the knowledge they gain from these experiences onto other subordinates. Nonetheless, the leader will still supervise

LAB report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lab Report Example On the other hand, a dry density obtained through impacting of energy on the soil relies on the first initial content of water which is referred to as the moulding content of water. Getting to know the relationship between the moulding content of water and the achievable density is a topic that has been of concern for many years. The dry condition, and a moulding content water increase could lead into a high dry density compaction. The trend will continuous until when the maximum dry density is achieved at an optimum water content moulding. As the water increases, there would be a continuous dry density reduction. Such a reaction would be referred to as the curve of compaction. In order to gain a deeper insight concerning compaction, this experiment was set to investigate the compaction test. The sample mould base and mould mass would be determined to the nearest gram. The mould diameter and depth were measured. The mould depth was about 3 places where as the moulding diameter was about 6 places + or- 0.02 mm. The hammer, mass, proper drop, and square edges was checked for damages. A well-graded sand with fine that are less than five percent was used to ease the laboratory instruction. A material with particles that are oversize was selected to show the test aspects. Enough moist material was selected to give out approximately 12 kg of soil that is dry. The natural content of water was obtained. The amount of materials needed for the point of compaction was estimated. Five samples having contents of water separated by 1.5 percent were prepared. The water contents were adjusted such that they bracket the value that was optimum. The soil was tempered overnight to reduce the scatter in the data thus making it easy to define the curve of compaction. The compaction test was d one in respect to the standards of the ASTM test

Flexability creativity and communication in nursing Essay

Flexability creativity and communication in nursing - Essay Example Additionally there are several responsibilities that they have to specialize. In general, nurses work in hospitals, clinics, schools, wellness centers, long-term care facilities, hospices, physician offices, home settings, and temporary help agencies. They can specialize in a number of roles including: Neonatal Nursing, Labor and Delivery Nursing, Intensive Care Nursing, Operating Room Nursing, Cardiac Care Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Oncology Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, Occupational Health Nursing, Pulmonary Nursing, Diabetes Nursing, and others. With the increasing demand for nursing staff all over the world, it is important that more and more people get trained and get into this noble profession. Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families and communities in attaining, re-attaining and maintaining optimal health and functioning. Modern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences from birth to care at the end of life (Wikipedia, 2008). Nursing is based on the ideal of service to humanity. Ever since its origin it has been about wholeness, holistic in practice and theory. Today, with the sophisticated technology, nurses need to be trained and experienced in various aspects such as Evidence – Based Nursing and Nursing Informatics. While there are various fields that have been developing, the basic qualities of flexibility, creativity and communication has remained a constant need for success in this profession. This paper discusses the importance of flexibility, creativity and communication in nursing profession. While a fall in the number of nursing leaders may be attributed to the current nursing shortage, studies have noted that there is also a significant deficiency in the number of nursing leaders who are able to bring in flexibility in the profession. Even at major

Media hollywood Essay Example for Free

Media hollywood Essay The media, and Hollywood in particular, represent one avenue in which the general public becomes familiar with the role of nurses. How does the media positively or negatively influence the public’s image of nursing? What other avenues may better educate the general public on the role and scope of nursing as well as the changing health care system? In Media, the portraying of nurses vary inaccurately in front of the viewing audience. The dominant image of nurse has always remained stereotype to majority of the viewers. In television nurses are tend to be just helpers of the physician in hospital but in actual life and situation its totally different. In TV serial named Grey anatomy and house it is represented that nurse are helpless , incompetent and physician are given a heroic image as representing triage medicine administration , providing psychosocial support , but in real world , it’s the nurse who do the above stated factor. However the grey anatomy doesn’t mention anything about it , its nurse a who has a prime role in giving a total patient care and to be with patient 24 * 7 The medical media drama has always shown physician as a dominant , at top notch equivalent to god and saving life of patient and nurses are relatively low skilled and differential to physician. As nurse are set to be feminine extremes as categortrized into naughty nurse and in thoughtful words of X description. But in contrary its reverse and nurse are seen autonomous in decision making for nurses expertise in medicine, public health and advance research. Experts have an understanding that media just undermine nursing profession and do not focus in health development issues and action in relation to it. As only government and university conceptualize it in last. In today highly equipped media world, nursing focus many issue like staff shortage, poor working condition, low pay in high responsibility environment and many more which is not visualized. The factors has totally undervalued nurses looking at them as uneducated.

Efficiency Of Municipal Solid Waste Collection Essay Example for Free

Efficiency Of Municipal Solid Waste Collection Essay Solid waste has become an urban issue that gives evidence to the greatly increasing economic activities in the municipalities and poses a challenge thereto. As both an issue and a challenge, it requires a collaboration of efforts from the government and the private citizens of the municipalities. Related issues that would have to be checked and considered as well include the need for a change in the people’s overall lifestyle, their manner of resource consumption and allocation of their increasing income. The socio-economic, legal, health, environmental and cultural aspects of the municipalities would have to be revisited and made to contribute to the solid waste management programs of the government. (Jhaet. al. , 2007). Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a type of waste that, in particular, is not carried by water or air. The Federal Government of United States of America defines solid waste as any discarded material that is not excluded (40 CFR 261. 2; Mihelcic and Hutzler, 1999). Therefore, MSW is composed of the degradable, the partially degradable, and the non-degradable wastes. Degradable MSW includes paper, textiles, food wastes, straw and yard wastes; partially degradable waste includes wood and sludge, and non-degradable wastes include leather, plastics, rubber, metal, glass, dust and electronic waste. (Jha et. al. , 2007). The collection and disposal of the domestic wastes – whether degradable or non-degradable – over a period of years over-burdens the landfill. The continuous loading, dumping and subsequent accumulation of garbage all have a long-term effect on the environment (Sharholy et. al. , 2007). Hence, there is a growing awareness of the need to study the negative impact of solid wastes on the environment and human health, particularly in the areas adjoining the landfill sites (Srinivas, 1998). One city in India that is burdened by the dilemma caused by the rising volume of its MSW generation is Chennai. Chennai is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is located at 13. 04 degrees latitude and 80 degrees longitude in Southern India. It is one of the four major metropolitan cities in India – the other three being New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata – with a total area coverage of 174 sq km, 19 km in length and 9 km in width (Figure 1) (Chennai Map, 2000). The population in Chennai has reached five million. One of the oldest corporations in India is the Corporation of Chennai, which was established on the 29th of 1688 by the East India Company (COC, 2004). Corporation of Chennai is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai. With the mayor as its head, the Corporation of Chennai has 155 councilors representing the 155 wards of the city. (Wikipedia) To do its mandate, the Corporation of Chennai has various departments attending to their respective duties and tasks. The departments are as follows: the Council Department, the General Administration, the Financial Management Unit, the Land Estate Department, the Revenue Department, the Health Department, the Family Welfare Department, the Education Department, the Parks Play Fields, and the Engineering Departments. The latter, in turn, are namely as follows: the Works Department, the Mechanical Engineering Department, the Electrical Department, the Buildings Department, the Storm Water Drain Department, the Bridges Department, and the Solid Waste Management Department. (COC website) Thus, the Corporation of Chennai is involved in the general upkeep and administration of the city, and the SWM in Chennai is but one of its concerns. The past 20 years has brought in industrial development to Chennai, and with it came both population growth and increased MSW generation (Esaku, 2007). The Corporation of Chennai has divided the area into ten zones for MSW collection and clearing (COC, 2004). The wastes generated by these ten zones are collected by either the Corporation of Chennai or the Neel Metal Fanlca, a private municipal solid waste collection body. The collection system involves getting the garbage through door-to-door visits and the setting up of garbage bins by the roadside in the streets. The collected wastes are transported via heavy mechanical vehicles (HMVs) or light mechanical vehicles (LMVs) to the transfer stations or directly to the city’s two dump sites, namely, the Perungudi and the Kodungaiyur dump sites. These wastes are mostly yet to be segregated; they are predominantly made up of organic and debris wastes (Sharholy, 2008). The segregation of wastes, though, is not effectively achieved in Chennai as a whole. Source or domestic segregation is practiced in a few areas in Chennai. Such practice contributes to the recycling of wastes like paper, plastic and metals. Still, it remains that the major contributors of recycled wastes are the rag pickers who collect wastes from the dumpsites and the municipal bins. Chennai, the fourth largest metropolitan city in India, currently faces the problem of having to efficiently handle and dispose of its growing volume of MSW (Esaku, 2007). The average volume of its generated MSW has increased from 600 tons/day to 3500 tons/day (Esaku, 2007). There has hitherto been no concrete and effective management measure taken to counteract this problem. Chennai is also accounted for having the highest per capita waste generation in India (Sharholy, 2008). The inefficiency of the garbage collection system in Chennai is due to the improper distribution of manpower, the ineffective work force, the incompetent collection methodology, the lack of public awareness and the scarce civic sense among the people. My study focuses on determining whether the allotment of additional manpower and vehicles for MSW collection would improve the efficiency of the garbage collection and disposal system of Chennai. My hypothesis is that proper allocation of manpower and vehicles to each zone, if implemented right by the Corporation of Chennai and the Neel Metal Fanalca, will significantly increase the efficiency of MSW collection and disposal in the city. My study would help the Corporation of Chennai and the Neel Metal Fanalca to improve the MSW collection and disposal in the city of Chennai. The city has been dubbed as â€Å"The City Beautiful† (COC website). To preserve its status as a place of beauty, the city government and its people should then act fast to solve the problems caused by the mounting volume of MSW continuously generated therein.

Optically Active Polymers

Optically Active Polymers Optically active polymers play very important role in our modern society. The speciality of optically active polymers are known with its various characteristics as occurred naturally in mimicry. The present review describes the monomers and synthesis of optically active polymers from its helicity, internal compounds nature, dendronization, copolymerization, side chromophoric groups, chiral, metal complex and stereo-specific behaviour. The various properties like nonlinear optical properties of azo-polymers, thermal analysis, chiroptical properties, vapochromic behaviour, absorption and emission properties, thermosensitivity, chiral separation, fabrication and photochromic property are explained with details. This review is expected to be of interesting and useful to the researchers and industry personnel who are actively engaged in research on optically active polymers for versatile applications. Optically active materials are those which can able to rotate the plane of polarization of a beam of transmitted plane-polarized light containing unequal amounts of corresponding enantiomers. The optical activity originates from the presence of chiral elements in a polymer such as chiral centres or chiral axes due to long-range conformational order in a macromolecule. In fact, most naturally occurring macromolecules possess the ability to organize to more complex high structure rather than single one and manifest their functions. Optically active polymers are related to problems of the charged and reactive polymers, since optical activity is an inherent property of both natural macromolecules as well as a great variety of polymers synthesized. Chiral compounds are optically active and essential for life such as proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, etc. and chirality is most important for existence. About 97% drugs are formed from natural sources, 2% are recemates and only 1% is achiral, in looking of chirality of nearly 800 drugs. Optically active polymers today have also become of great interest and thus play an important role in molecular arrangement and assembly, which is critical for optoelectronics super molecular structure [1-4]. The synthetic optically active polymers may also play important role like mimicry of naturally occurring polymers and that’s why the extensive studies are required on their synthesis, conformations and properties. Various kinds of optically active polymers e.g., fro m its helicity, internal compounds nature, dendronization, copolymerization, side chromophoric groups, chiral, metal complex and stereo-specific behaviour are reported, however, those are not placed in a systematic manner. In the present review an effort has been made to collect most of those works in one place for better understanding in the subject with detailed explanation of properties like nonlinear optical properties of azo-polymers, thermal analysis, chiroptical properties, vapochromic behaviour, absorption and emission properties, thermosensitivity, chiral separation, fabrication and photochromism. -Classification of optically active polymers Optically active polymers are divided into three types: Biopolymers as obtained from nature. Polymers prepared by almost completely isotactic polymerization by modification of naturally occurring polymer backbones such as polysaccharides. Synthetic polymers as per the requirement with proper tailoring of functional groups. -Speciality of optically active polymer Optical properties of polymers are not so different of other substances, excepting those characteristics related to the chain dimension and structure or conformational changes. Optically active polymers have found interesting applications because of their specific properties. The optical properties of these materials lie at the basis of many applications, for example in chromatographic methods for enantiomeric separations or creating complex optical devices. The dispersion of the specific rotation offers information regarding the conformational changes or Cotton effect. Optically active polymers characteristics as follows: Optically active polymers with configurational chirality: the optical activity is given by the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom in the backbone or in the side chain of the monomer; Optically active polymers with conformational chirality: the optical activity is related to the conformational changes; Optically active polymers with both configurational and conformational chirality: the optical activity is given by macromolecular asymmetry and by the presence of the asymmetrical centers. -Monomers of optically active polymers Some biological polymers are composed of a variety of different but structurally related monomer residues; for example, polynucleotides such as DNA are composed of a variety of nucleotide subunits. The solid-state structures of polystyrene – poly(Z-L-lysine) block copolymers were examined with respect to the polymer architecture and the secondary structure of the polypeptide using circular dichroism, quantitative small and wide-angle X-ray scattering, and electron microscopy [5]. Synthesis of optically active polymers The optically active compounds are synthesized by highly efficient methodologies and catalysts. The various synthetic approaches for optically active polymers are described below: Helical polymer: Helicity is one of the subtlest aspects of polymer chain where the polymer chain spiral structure along the chain axis acts like a spring. Helical polymers are frequently occurring in nature in single, double or triple helices form in genes, proteins, DNA, collagen, enzymes, and polypeptides. The helical conformations increase the stability of the natural polypeptides. Preparation of artificial helical polymers is a great challenge to the researchers. So far, only limited success has been achieved in constructing microscale particles using helical polymers, despite the great number of analogous microparticles created from vinyl polymers and even from other conjugated polymers like poly(thiophene), poly(phenylene ethynylene), and poly(fluorene) and polyacetylenes. Meckings et al has performed extensive investigations on preparing nanoparticles from polyacetylenes, which have shown interesting potential in inkjet printing. Later on, various group of researchers have successfully prepared both nano and microparticles consisting of optically active helical substituted polyacetylenes [6]. Such nano- and microarchitectures demonstrated remarkable optical activity and significant potential applications ranging from asymmetric catalysis, chiral recognition/resolution, and enantiomer-selective crystallization to enantio-selective release [7-9]. Synthetic helical polymers may be classified as either static or dynamic helical polymers, depending on the inversion barrier of the helical conformation [10-11]. Static helical polymers have a relatively high energy barrier for helix inversion and are stable in solution, while dynamic helical polymers have a relatively low energy barrier for helix inversion and exist as a mixture of right- and left handed helical domains that are separated by rarely occurring helix reversals. Even a slight incorporation of optically active repeat units can shift the equilibrium to excess one-handed helicity. The chiral recognition properties of biopolymers with skilled emulating of synthetic helical polymers are currently a focus of much interest. Enantioseparation, catalysis, and sensing are among the more promising applications of molecular recognition based on responsive three-dimensional intramolecular or intermolecular superchiral structures. Optically active conjugated polymers represent an attractive class of chiral macromolecules adaptable to this purpose because their chiral behaviour can be augmented by nonlinear electrically conductive or optical properties arising from conjugation along the backbone. The first example of optically active polycarbazoles, poly[N-(R)- or (S)-3,7-dimethyloctyl-3,6-carbazole]s (R- or S-PDOC) were synthesized in 60-70% yield using modified nickel coupling method [12]. Helical polymers are easily denaturalized by certain physical factors e.g. heat, ultraviolet irradiation, and high pressure and by other chemical factors such as organic solvents. Various helical polymers have been synthesized, which include polyisocyanates, polyisocyanides, polychloral, polymethacrylates, polysilanes, polythiophenes, poly(p-phenylene)s, poly(1-methylpropargyl-ester)s, poly(phenylacetylene)s and poly(-unsaturated ketone) [13-19] (Fig. 1). Other polymers are whose optical activity is main chain or side chain chirality dependent e.g. amino-acid-based polymers are nontoxic, biocompatible and biodegradable. Optically Active Polymers Optically Active Polymers Introduction Optically active polymers are related to problems of the charged and reactive polymers, since optical activity is an inherent property of both natural macromolecules as well as a great variety of polymers synthesized. Most of the naturally occurring molecules/macromolecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and polysaccharides are chiral and optically active. Chirality is essential for life. This situation can be very obviously seen if  we look at the chirality of nearly 800 drugs (about 97%) derived from natural sources. Only 2% are racemates and only 1% is achiral. Synthetic optically active polymers are of great interests, since they might mimic the fascinating functions of naturally occurring polymers, leading extensive studies being conducted on their synthesis, conformations and functions. In fact, most naturally occurring macromolecules possess the ability to organize to more complex high structure rather than single one and manifest their functions. Optical activity is a ph ysical spectral property of chiral matter caused by asymmetric configuration, confirmations and structures which have no plane and no centre of symmetry and consequently have two mirror image enantiomeric forms of inverse optical rotation. The recemic mixture of chiral enantiomers is optically inactive. The great majority of natural molecules contain chiral centres and are optically active. This is the case because living systems and their extracts as enzymes are able to produce completely stereoselective asymmetrical synthesis or transformations. This led Pasteur to say that ‘life is asymmetrical’ at the molecular level. The majority of food and drug molecules of physiological activity are chiral [1]. Xi et al. [2-8] investigated about chirality of optically active compounds. Optically active polymers today have also become of great interest owing to their chiral structure which may play an important role in molecular arrangement and assembly, which is critical for optoelectronics super molecular structure [9-12]. Chiral polymers with helical chain backbone have received increasing attention due to their helicity generating from secondary interactions such as hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces. These chiral helical polymers undergo conformational change as well as helical reversal easily. The concept of the optically active aromatic chromophore as ‘conformational probe’ in isotactic polymers can be further extended by the use of optically active monomers [13]. Optically active polymers have exhibited a number of interesting properties in several highly specialized areas such as chromatographic resolution of steroregular [14], chiral [15-16], asymmetric catalysis and phase of the separation of racemic mixtures [17], thermosensitivity [18], synthesis molecular receptors and chiral liquid crystals for ferroelectric and nonlinear optical applications [20]. In the last year [52], Angiolini and co-workers have synthesized and investigated methacrylic polymers bearing in the side chain the chiral cyclic (S)-3- hydroxypyrrolidine moiety interposed between the main chain and the trans azoaromatic chromophore, substituted or not in the 4’ position by an electron withdrawing group. In these materials, the presence of a rigid chiral moiety of oneprevailing absolute configuration favours the establishment of a chiral conformation of one prevailing helical handedness, at least within chain segments of the macromolecules, which can be observed by circular dichroism (CD). The simultaneous presence of the azoaromatic and chiral functionalities allows the polymers to display both the properties typical of dissymmetric systems (optical activity, exciton splitting of dichroic absorptions), as well as the features typical of photochromic materials (photorefractivity, photoresponsiveness, NLO properties). Recently, highly efficient methodologies and catalysts have been developed to synthesize various kinds of optically active compounds. Some of them can be applied to chiral polymer synthesis and in a few syntheses for optically active polymers; chiral monomer polymerization has essential advantages in applicability of monomer, apart from both asymmetric polymerization of achiral or prochiral monomers and enantioselective polymerization of a recemic monomer mixture. Optically active chiral polymers are not only fundamentally interesting, due to the rich and complex architecture of macromolecular chirality as compared to that of small molecules, but also technologically important because their unique chiral arrays give rise to a number of potential, and in some cases commercially implemented. Classification of Optically active polymers: Optically active polymers are divided into three types: Biopolymers: Biopolymers are the main type of biomaterials. According to their degradation properties, biopolymers can be further classified into biodegradable and non-biodegradable biopolymers. Many implants, such as bone substitution materials, some bone fixing materials, and dental materials, should possess long term stable performance in the body. Recently biopolymers acts as developments in bone tissue engineering, vascular tissue engineering, nerve tissue engineering, genitourinary tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, and controlled drug delivery have promoted the need of new properties of biomaterials with biodegradability. Biologically derived and synthetic biodegradable biopolymers have attracted considerable attention [21]. Polymers prepared by almost completely isotactic polymerization by modification of naturally occurring polymer backbones such as polysaccharides. Synthetic polymers: Polymers synthesized from low molecular weight compounds are called synthetic polymers, e.g., polyethylene, PVC, nylon and terylene [7]. This polymer is also divided into three types: (a) Addition polymers: Addition polymers are including vinyl, aldehyde, isocyanide and acetylene polymers that were prepared via addition polymerization reaction such as poly(acryl amide)s, polyolephynes, polystyrene derivatives, polyazulenes, poly(vinyl ether)s, polymethacrylate, polymethacryloylamine, polychloral, polyisocyanides, polyisocyanates, polyacethylene and polyethers [22–32]. (b) Condensation polymers: Condensation polymerization continues to receive intense academic and industrial attention for the preparation of polymeric materials used in a vast array of applications [28]. One of application is synthesis of chiral polymers. For this purpose, monomer must be optically active. (c) Cross-linked gels: One of application is synthesis of chiral polymers. For this purpose, monomer must be optically active. One of application is synthesis of chiral polymers. For this purpose, monomer must be optically active. Why optically active polymers are important? or Speciality of optically active polymer Optical properties of polymers are not so different of other substances, excepting those characteristics related to the chain dimension and structure or conformational changes. Optically active polymers have found interesting applications because of their specific properties. The optical properties of these materials lie at the basis of many applications, for example in chromatographic methods for enantiomeric separations or creating complex optical devices. The dispersion of the specific rotation offers information regarding the conformational changes or Cotton effect. Optically active polymers characteristics as follows: -Optically active polymers with configurational chirality: the optical activity is given by the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom in the backbone or in the side chain of the monomer; Optically active polymers with conformational chirality: the optical activity is related to the conformational changes; Optically active polymers with both configurational and conformational chirality: the optical activity is given by macromolecular asymmetry and by the presence of the asymmetrical centers. Monomers of Optically active polymers Polymerization is the process of combining many small molecules known as monomers into a covalently bonded chain or network. During the polymerization process, some chemical groups may be lost from each monomer. This is the case, for example, in the polymerization of PET polyester. The monomers are terephthalic acid (HOOC-C6H4-COOH) and ethylene glycol (HO-CH2-CH2-OH) but the repeating unit is -OC-C6H4-COO-CH2-CH2-O-, which corresponds to the combination of the two monomers with the loss of two water molecules. The distinct piece of each monomer that is incorporated into the polymer is known as a repeat unit or monomer residue. The identity of the monomer residues (repeat units) comprising a polymer is its first and most important attribute. Polymer nomenclature is generally based upon the type of monomer residues comprising the polymer. Polymers that contain only a single type of repeat unit are known as homopolymers, while polymers containing a mixture of repeat units are known as copolymers. Poly(styrene) is composed only of styrene monomer residues, and is therefore classified as a homopolymer. Ethylene-vinyl acetate, on the other hand, contains more than one variety of repeat units and is thus a copolymer. Some biological polymers are composed of a variety of different but structurally related monomer residues; for example, polynucleotides such as DNA are composed of a variety of nucleotide subunits. The solid-state structures of polystyrene – poly(Z-L-lysine) block copolymers were examined with respect to the polymer architecture and the secondary structure of the polypeptide using circular dic hroism, quantitative small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, and electron microscopy [33]. Synthesis of optically active polymers Much of the attention in chiral polymers results from the potential of these materials for several specialized utilizations that are chiral matrices for asymmetric synthesis, chiral stationary phases for the separation of racemic mixtures, synthetic molecular receptors and chiral liquid crystals for ferroelectric and nonlinear optical applications. Presently optically active compounds are synthesized by highly efficient methodologies and catalysts. In a few synthetic approaches for optically active polymers, chiral monomer polymerization has essential advantages in applicability of monomer, apart from both asymmetric polymerization of achiral or prochiral monomers and enantioselective polymerization of a racemic monomer mixture [17].

Images, Imagery, Symbols, and Symbolism in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth es

Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   With its eye-opening plot and interesting cast of characters, William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth is one of the greatest works one could ever read. But, above all, the aspect of the play is most impressive and overwhelming with imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare so brilliantly uses. Throughout the play, the author depicts various types of imagery and symbolism instances that, eventually, lead to the downfall of the main character, Macbeth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Instances of imagery and symbolism are seen throughout the play. Imagery and symbolism are unavoidable features in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. One of the most prominent symbolic factors in the play is the presence of blood. It has been noted that the presence of blood â€Å"increases the feelings or fear , horror , and pain† (Spurgeon , Pg. 20). From the appearance of the bloody sergeant in the second scene of the to the very last scene , there is a continued vision of blood all throughout the play. The imagery of blood seems to affect almost all the characters in the play. It affects Lady Macbeth in the scene in which she is found sleepwalking talking to herself after the murders of Duncan and Banquo : â€Å"Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.† Also , the blood imagery is present in the â€Å"weird sisters† , or witches. Most evidently , i t is present in act four, scene one, when Macbeth visits the witches to seek their insight and his fortune for the future. He is shown three apparitions , one of which is a bloody child that commands him to â€Å"Be bloody , bold and resolute : laugh to scorn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Although blood imagery deals with almost all the characters of the play , no where i... ..., New York, Viking Publishing, 1993. Gove, Philip Babcock. Webster’s Third International Dictionary.   Springfield, Mass: G. & C. Merriam, 1967 Jorgensen, Paul A.   Our Naked Frailties.   Los Angeles: U of CA, 1971. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul  Ã‚   Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Staunten, Howard, The Complet Illustrated Shakespeare, New York, Park Lane Publishing, 1979. Steevens, George. Shakespeare, The Critical Heritage. Vol. 6. London:  Ã‚   Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981.  Ã‚   Watson, Robert.   Thriftless Ambition, Foolish Wishes, and the Tragedy of Macbeth . Shakespeare and the Hazards of Ambition. Cambridge: Harvard UniversityPress, 1984.  Ã‚   Wills, Gary. Witches & Jesuits. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.        

The Good Earth Style :: Pearl Buck Good Earth Essays

The Good Earth Style Pearl Buck's style in The Good Earth has been compared to old Chinese novels. Actually, it is a simple, direct narrative style. There are no complicated techniques such as cut-back or stream of consciousness. The narrative moves along smoothly towards its conclusion. By the same token there are no complicated subplots or subthemes. Wang Lung is the central character; the actions of all the other characters relate directly to him. No one in the story performs any action which is independent of the main action. Perhaps the greatest strength of the style of Pearl Buck in The Good Earth is the manner in which her characters perform. No matter what any one of them does, it is always in keeping with his personality. Nevertheless, none of them can be described as stereotypes; their motivations are too complex. In O-lan, the reader sees a person who is fundamentally good. Yet she does some seemingly wicked things. She steals the jewels from the rich man's house. Worse than this, she kills her own child. But both of these actions are consistent with her character and the context of the situations she is involved in. Much has been written about Pearl Buck's style of writing in The Good Earth. One critic calls it "almost Biblical," while others compare it to ancient folk epics. Another critic describes it as a mixture of the King James Version of the Bible and a traditional Chinese epic. A writer's style can't always be traced to the influences of his or her childhood reading, but in Pearl Buck's case the two influences mentioned above did exist. As the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries, Buck was brought up on the Bible. And although she read widely in English literature, she also read Chinese novels. As Buck herself explained, Chinese novels were written for a wide popular audience. They developed from the tales that professional storytellers once told to a crowd of people sitting on the ground around them, at a time when most Chinese--like most people everywhere--could neither read nor write. Buck translated one of these Chinese novels into English, and she lectured and wrote on the popular art of the Chinese novel. Buck wrote The Good Earth at great speed, finishing it in three months.

The Collapse of Ronan Point

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to consider the perceived failures associated with the famous collapse of Ronan Point on 16 May, 1968. Following a gas explosion, an entire corner of the 22 storey tower block in East London collapsed, killing 4 people and injuring 17. In order to analyse the failures that occurred, the paper will firstly look at the history of the building, its design and construction, before looking at the collapse itself and the perceived failures that were identified after the event. The building was named after the chairman of the housing committee of the relevant London Borough, Newham, and was one of many tower blocks built during the 1960s in a budget-driven and affordable way to deal with the growing demand for affordable housing in the region (Levy and Salvadori 1992). The very ethos of this affordable housing and the use of cheaper materials and cheaper construction approaches is arguably one of the first and fundamental contributory factors to the disaster (Griffiths et al 1968). Design and Construction The actual design and construction of the building was mooted as far back as the end of World War II, when much of the housing available in the London region was destroyed as a result of the war and there was a rapid demand for a large amount of housing. Other factors such as a lack of skilled labourers, as well as the changing housing policy which enabled multi-stories to be established, created a demand for the design and construction of buildings such as the one in question here. A prefabricated construction technique was used which involved the creation of much of the high-rise building which was then transported to the area for final construction (Cagley, 2003). The actual construction approach that was used here was that of the Larsen-Nielsen system which was composed of factory-built, precast concrete components designed to minimise on-site construction work. Walls, floors and stairways are all precast. â€Å"All units, installed one-story high are load bearing† (ENR, 1968 at p.54). Although this system was tried and tested, the approach was not designed to be used in a building of more than 6 storeys high. However, the building of this tower block was 22 storeys high and there was no recognition, at the construction phase, that this could potentially jeopardise the validity of the construction technique. The basic construction approach involved a precast concrete structure frame, with each floor of the multi-storey building being supported by the load-bearing walls directly beneath each other, floor upon floor (Bignell et al 1977). Collapse The collapse itself happened at 5:45 am in the morning when the tenant of one of the apartments on the 18th floor lit a match, unbeknownst that there had been a gas leak overnight. By lighting the match, an explosion took place and this ended up damaging the load-bearing wall which was present on the 18th floor and was acting as the only support for the corner of the 19th floor. When the corner of the 19th floor collapsed, this had the effect of the 20th floor collapsing. Once the floors above had already collapsed the pressure on the floors became unbearable and the domino effect continued downward, destroying the entire corner of the building (Delatte, 2009). The way in which the collapse took place meant that, essentially, it destroyed a portion of the living room all the way down the building, but left the bedrooms intact in most cases, with the exception of floors 17 to 22 the room which were in the immediate vicinity of the explosion. It was on these floors that all of the fata lities happened and due to the fact that the explosion had taken place early in the morning, the majority of the individuals who were in their bedrooms were unaffected (Delatte, 2009). Perceived Failures When looking at the perceived failures and causes of failure, it can be seen that the analysis is largely split into two distinct areas: first, considering the immediate cause of failure; the second looking at the fundamental flaws in the design and construction of the building that allowed such a dramatic reaction to the immediate event (Griffiths et al 1968). The actual investigation into the event which took place involved a government panel which was formed in order to look at the causes of failure and to consider whether or not there were other buildings which potentially could suffer from a similar eventuality, in the future. As stated previously, the construction approach taken for Ronan Point was replicated in many other buildings, with eight other exact replicas in occupation. Therefore, establishing the reason for the collapse is crucially important (Pearson and Delatte, 2003) One of the key factors that took contributed in the immediate event itself was found to be a substandard connection used in order to connect the gas stove in the relevant apartment. Whilst this meant that the gas leak had presented itself in a way that would not have been likely, had they used a different connection, as well as having the incorrect connection, it was found that over tightening had occurred during installation. This probably weakened the connection and allowed gas to leak out. Despite this, the evidence gathered suggested that the explosion itself was not substantial, as there was no permanent damage to the hearing of the individual in the apartment. This suggests that relatively little pressure was involved, although there was sufficient pressure to move the external walls of the building and to create a progressive collapse within the building (Levy and Salvadori, 1992). Broadly speaking, the progressive collapse is thought to have occurred due to the fact that there was a lack of alternate load paths available and there was no support for the structural frame available on the higher floors (Wearne, 2000). This meant that when there was an explosion on level 18, this took out the only support so that the floors above level 18 failed and this placed excessive pressure on the lower floors, until it ultimately collapse to ground level. Perceived failures, can be split into two distinct categories, the first being the cause of the explosion itself; the second looking at the repercussions of the explosion, which were extensive, given the magnitude of the explosion, which was relatively low. Procedure and Project Management Unsurprisingly, as a result of the collapse here, building codes, guidelines and regulations were advised not only in the United Kingdom, but across the globe. The building regulations, changed in 1970, state that any building with more than four storeys needs to have a design structure in place that would resist a progressive collapse of this nature (Pearson and Delatte, 2005, pp. 175). Apart from the construction mechanisms themselves, there were also concerns that failures had occurred in the project management, as well as failures to check procedures. The gaps between the floors and in the walls meant that the building had not been established in a way that was part of the original design and planning. In addition to the actual failure in the design of the property, concerns were also raised in the report in relation to the need for quality control of the construction processes taking place. For example, it was proven that during the construction, certain design factors had been ignored, with unfilled gaps between the floors and walls, throughout the premises, which meant that the building had little in the way of separation between the flats. Furthermore, in high rise buildings of this type, a relatively narrow staircase is acceptable, as there is thought to be enough fire protection between the floors. In the absence of this fire protection, narrow staircases w ould be unacceptable, in the event of a fire or explosion of this nature. Key Failures The analysis above indicates that there are several failures which together created the dramatic collapse at Ronan Point. These are: social pressures on the construction company to establish a large amount of housing accommodation, rapidly and cheaply; the use of constructions not aimed at high storey buildings of this nature; failures to put in place methods whereby there was no secondary support structure in place, in the event of a failure with any of the load-bearing walls; failures with the processes being followed, which resulted in the wrong processes being followed in the connection of the gas pipes, as well as other omissions during the construction process, with the failure to follow the design provided. It can be seen, that the project management would have, at least in part, dealt with many of these failures and would have either prevented the explosion, in the first place, or would have seriously reduced the impact of the explosion, once it did take place. The crucial factor in this analysis is that the explosion itself was relatively minor, yet the repercussions were large and it is this chain of events that requires attention when it comes to better project management, in the future. Recommendations for Better Project Management Certain failures took place at the design phase, when the design construction of the premises was selected, yet was not entirely suitable for a 22 storey building. This was arguably the first and crucial failure which could have been avoided with further research into the limitations of this design. However, the main focus of the recommendations presented here is in relation to the project management process, from the point at which the design was presented for the construction, to the point at which the building was completed (Pearson and Delatte, 2005). At the outset, when the project team came together, there was an opportunity to run scenarios and to check the validity of the chosen construction, given the design that were being presented and the need to establish a 22 storey building. By running these types of scenarios, it is likely that it would become apparent that the chosen construction design was simply inappropriate. Even without this element of the project management being undertaken and risk assessments being carried out, the next stage of the project management should have involved a strong quality control check for every aspect of the work. The fundamental design of the building was proven to be flawed; however, there were also errors during the actual construction phase, for example the use of the wrong connections when it came to the gas pipes installed. Although this, in itself, did not lead to the catastrophic collapse of part of the building, it did create a minor gas explosion which started the chain of events. Quality control processes at every phase of construction and fitting would have potentially prevented the chain of events from emerging, in the first place (Shepherd and Frost, 1995). Next Steps and Conclusions Bearing this in mind, there are several proposed changes and next steps which could be taken to prevent a similar failure happening in the future. Firstly, although the design used was accepted during this era, it was known that it would simply not be appropriate for the type of building which was being planned. This should have been noted, at the outset, with additional safety structures then planed so as to prevent this type of progressive collapse from taking place. Secondly, worst-case scenarios should be run, at the outset, to enable the project managers to ascertain whether any weaknesses existed. Moreover, although the rest of collapse in this case resulted in the building being destroyed, it was also not able to withstand strong winds and this also, ultimately, could have resulted in the building becoming uninhabitable. By running scenarios, such as high winds or explosion, these issues would have been highlighted and changes in the design could have been incorporated, from the outset (Pearson and Delatte 2003). Finally, quality control during the construction process was also not suitable. This should have been done with much greater consistency, to ensure that the smaller processes, such as the fitting of connections, was carried out to an appropriate standard, thus preventing the minor incident that ultimately led to the overall disaster. By following these clear project management approaches and ensuring that an individual was put in place, in order to manage quality and control, as well as any variables in this area, the collapse of the building could have been avoided, or at least the cause of the collapse mitigated against, so as not to cause loss of life and injury. References Bignell, V., Peters, J., and Pym, C. (1977). Catastrophic failures. Open University Press, Milton Keynes, New York. Cagley, J. R. (2003, April). The design professional’s concerns regarding progressive collapse design. Building Sciences, 27, 4-6. Delatte, N. J. (2009). Beyond failure: Forensic case studies for civil engineers. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, Virginia, 97-106. Engineering News Record (ENR). (1968). â€Å"Systems built apartment collapse.† ENR, May 23, 1968, 54. Griffiths, H., Pugsley, A. G., and Saunders, O. (1968). Report of the inquiry into the collapse of flats at Ronan Point, Canning Town. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London. Levy, M., and Salvadori, M. (1992). Why buildings fall down: How structures fail. W.W. Norton, New York, 76-83. Pearson, C., and Delatte, N. (2003). Lessons from the Progressive Collapse of the Ronan Point Apartment Tower. In Forensic Engineering, Proceedings of the Third Congress, edited by Paul A. Bosela, Norbert J. Dellate, and Kevin L. Rens, ASCE, Reston, VA., pp. 190-200. Pearson, C.,and Delatte, N. J. (2005) Ronan Point Apartment Tower Collapse and Its Effect on Building Codes. J. Perf. of Constr. Fac., 19(2), 172-177. Shepherd, R., and Frost, J. D. (1995). Failures in Civil Engineering: Structural, Foundation, and Geoenvironmental Case Studies, ASCE, New York. Wearne, P. (2000). Collapse: When Buildings Fall Down, TV Books, L.L.C., New York, 137-156.

Role of Relationship Norms in Processing Brand Information Journal Article Review

The journal article, Role of Relationship Norms in Processing Brand Information by Pankaj Aggarwal and Sharmistha Law, two types of relationships are examined. The first is the communal relationship, â€Å"in which concern for a partner’s need is paramount† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005) and the exchange relationship in which â€Å"a matched benefit is expected back from the partner. This study explored the relationship between business partners as being an exchange relationship and family members and friends as communal. In the first study out of three, is about near versus far product extensions. To easily describe what is meant by this, the researchers compared a chair and furniture. A chair is easily accessed and has the greatest amount of feature-related information. Furniture is going from a specific item to a general level. The study was trying to show that depending on the context, consumers have been found to use product features at different levels of abstraction. The first hypothesis in the first study was, â€Å"Compared to a communal relationship, when the norms of an exchange relationship are salient people evaluate far extensions of a product poorly relative to near extensions† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). The method for this study was using 64 undergraduate students for the 15 minute study. In the study they tested communal and exchange relationship norms purely as contextual constructs an examine their influence on a subsequent, unrelated decision test. Participants read a brief description of the interaction with another person intended to manipulate one of the two relationships. The exchange relationship scenario used phrases such as â€Å"keep things even,† â€Å"return favors as early as possible,† and â€Å"expect to reciprocate. † In the C. Cox Page 2 communal relationship, the phrases were â€Å"is there whenever they need her,† â€Å"does things to show she cares,† and â€Å"expects friends to be there for her†. Participants then had to answer an open-ended question that made them assume the role of the person described in the scenario and decide how to split a lunch bill with a friend. The result of this first study showed that the â€Å"norms of relationship moderate to the degree to which far product extensions are seen as similar to the original product, as revealed by the differences in the evaluations of the product extensions across communal and exchange relationships† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). The findings suggest â€Å"the salience of communal relationship norms are more likely than exchange relationship norms to lead to brand information being processed at a higher level of abstraction† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). The second study was about measuring memory for brand information at different levels of abstraction. The purpose of this study was to prove if people in both relationships were presented with abstract as well as more specific (or concrete) information about a brand, individuals in a communal relationship condition would encode the abstract information, whereas those in an exchange relationship would attend relatively more to the concrete brand information. The hypothesis for the second study is separated into three parts. The first is â€Å"relative to participants in the communal condition, those in the exchange condition will show higher recognition rates for correct concrete brand information and lower rates of acceptance of incorrect concrete brand information†, the second, â€Å"Relative to participants in the communal condition, those in the exchange condition would respond more slowly when correctly identifying abstract brand information†, and â€Å"Relative to participants in the communal condition, C. Cox Page 3 hose in the exchange condition would respond more slowly when identifying plausible inferences† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). The study had 56 undergraduate students. Participants were presented with one of the two relationships, the same statements as the previous study and a 12-item questionnaire. Participants were asked to read a 450-word description about a hypothetical clothing store. The reading contained concrete and abstract brand information. After the reading and a filler exercise, the participants completed a multiple choice recognition test. The questions tested for memory for the concrete brand and abstract brand. The results of the second study showed that â€Å"participants in a communal condition, relative to those in an exchange condition, have faster access to both correct abstract brand information and plausible inferences, suggesting that they particularly attend to and elaborate on brand information presented at a higher level of abstraction. Participants in the exchange condition apparently needed to construct the abstract brand information be relying on their knowledge of concrete information. Together, these finding support the overall premise that brand-related information is processed at a broad overall level in a communal relation, compared to an exchange relationship in which it is processed at a more detailed and nitty-gritty level† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). The third and final study was about generating brand features at different levels of abstraction. Study three’s hypothesis was, â€Å"Compared to consumers with an exchange relationship, those with a communal brand relationship will generate brand features at a higher level of abstraction† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). C. Cox Page 4 One hundred and fourteen undergraduate students were used for the study. Students were asked to fill out a 15 minute paper and pencil study to act as a filler for an unrelated computer based study. Just like the first and second study, students were given a scenario to read. The difference between this study was that the scenarios described a relationship between a person and a product. After the students studied the person and product they filled out a questionnaire about the product and how the person related to it. Students were then asked to rate to the extent to which the brand was like a close friend, a family member, a business person or a merchant. The study showed that the number of words that it took to describe the product in the reading did not make a difference in the communal or exchange relationship. The study did, however, show, â€Å"the type of relationship with a brand in fact leads consumers to focus on different gestures that vary on their level of abstraction† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). The perceived brand quality did not drive the results since the students were asked to compare it to people. The findings in study number three were the same as in the first two, but were different in context. The results of the whole study found â€Å"that when interacting with a brand, the type of consumer-brand relationship influence what information becomes salient. Hence, in an exchange relation, since the focus is on balancing the input and outcomes, people tend to focus on every detail which results in processing information at a lower level of abstraction. In a communal relationship, the focus is on satisfying the partner’s needs rather than the individual† (Aggarwal & Law, 2005). C. Cox Page 5 CRITIQUE Studying relationship norms in processing information about brands in the field of psychology enriches our understanding of consumer behavior by letting us know how people process brand information when they are in certain relationships. The relationship does not mean a marriage relationship, but rather if they are with a friend, family member, business person or just someone they barely know. This study was interesting because it let me know who are the people who factor the most into their brand relationships and who does not. The problems with this study are that the studies still need further investigation before everything can be fully understood. Boundaries are needed such as differences in brands to really understand how the process is being thought through. Also, the study did use a control group, it was not usually helpful within the study. The results found not difference in what was found previously. Time was also a factor that they did not seem to fit into the study. The study needed to find out if people in a communal relationship take a longer time to focus relative to those in the exchange relationship since the communal people are more concerned of others. The research in this study implies that people will think differently of brands depending in the relationship they are in. The processing time might be longer, shorter, faster or slower. The way of someone thinking about someone else is also a factor due to not thinking of themselves. Managers could use the information given in the study to show different brand features, or use a brand name for other products depending on the relationship. Pricing could also become an issue with relationships. Consumers in an exchange relationship might prefer itemized pay as you go methods while communal relationship people like it in a lump sum price. People could also figure out what type of relationship they have and how people look at them. Those people might C. Cox Page 6 be able to, in the long run, ensure continuous, smooth and more efficient interactions along with longer and more meaningful relationships. This study could be improved if they would have used a wider range of participants. Most undergraduate students would have a different view of a business relationship than someone who is actually in one. Also, everyone is everyones best friend at that age group so they may not appreciate the scenarios for the communal relationship. Although the study could have been called biased for those same reasons, it really was very fair and went smoothly. REFERENCE: Aggarwal, P, & Law, S. (2005). Role of relationship norms in processing brand information. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(3), Retrieved from http://search. ebscohost. com. www. libproxy. wvu. edu/login. aspx? direct=true&db=ufh&AN=19141303&site=ehost-live.

Branch of government Essay

The executive branch is the most important government branch. The executive branch is the 3rd branch of government and with out it, the entire system would be backwards and out of order. The executive is the branch of a government charged with implementing, or executing, the law and running the day-to-day affairs of the government or state. The de facto most senior figure in an executive is referred to as the head of government. The executive may be referred to as the administration, in presidential systems, or simply as the government, in parliamentary systems. The Executive branch provides national security and without national security there would definetley be no order and protection in the nation. The executive branch makes the President the commander in chief, the executive branch also makes the president the economic leader. The president appoints cabinet members, the cabinet contains the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General (Justice Department), the Secretary of the Interior, The Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, The, Secretary of Labor, The Secretary of Health and Human Services ,the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Energy and, the Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs. The executive branch is the most important branch of government because without the cabinet and all the departments, the country would be in turmoil. If there were no laws to execute then the whole country would be out of order. If there was no executive branch there would be no running the functions of the state, managing the bureaucracy, and deciding how to enforce the law. The organizational structure of the executive branch will determine the relationship between the heads of state and government respectively. The Executive Branch also carries out the laws. In a presidential system the leader of the executive branch is at once the head of state and head of government. In a parliamentary system, a cabinet minister with the title of prime minister is head of government, while the head of state is a largely ceremonial monarch or president.

Philosophy Questions Essay

1) Explain (the main ideas and views) and evaluate (by giving arguments) the view of Heraclitus regarding the nature of reality? Heraclitus was one of many pre-Socratic philosophers, and he’s considered to be the most important and influential. I don’t know why, I find him a bit contradictory. His way of thinking was the result of perception and intuition. He despised rational, logical, conceptual thought. His pronouncements were purposely self-contradictory. â€Å"We are and at the same time are not.† â€Å"Being and nonbeing is at the same time the same and not the same.† (I’m totally confused) He posed two main ideas – 1- The Heraclitean doctrine of â€Å"flux† or â€Å"Everything is Flux† This doctrine of flux (or as I understood it â€Å"Everything flows†) says that the whole cosmos is in a constant state of change. He expressed this view with his famous remark â€Å"You cannot step in the same river twice†. This remark raises an important philosophical problem of identity or sameness over change. This question doesn’t apply just to rivers, but to anything that change over time: plants, animals, it applies to people too, the problem of personal identity – you are not the same person today as you were yesterday. 2- Things change. (Even though I find him contradictory, I do have to agree that everything is in a state of constant change). Heraclitus wasn’t just looking for the primary substance, he believed that everything was constantly changing and he was looking to explain these constant changes or transformations. He didn’t believe change was random, instead, he saw all change as determined by a cosmic order he called the Logos (Greek for â€Å"word†) According to Heraclitus, all is fire. Fire, whose nature is to ceaselessly change, is the fundamental substance of the universe, even more than water because fire transforms solids into liquids and because it was always in motion. He was also a materialist (all objects are physical or material). I didn’t understand him well, in my opinion I think he just wanted to contradict Parmenides, for the heck of it. 2) Explain and evaluate the view of Empedocles? Empedocles was another major Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, also a materialist. His Pluralistic views declared that everything is made of four elements (or roots, to put it in his own terms) air, water, fire, and earth.  His philosophy is best known for being the originator of the four-element theory of matter. He diplomatically sided partly with Parmenides (being is unchanging) and partly with Heraclitus (being is ceaselessly changing). He thought that true reality is permanent and unchangeable, yet he also thought it absurd to dismiss the change we experience as mere illusion. Because of this he was possibly the first philosopher to attempt to reconcile and combine the apparently conflicting metaphysics of those before him. Although he stated that true reality is changeless, objects do appear to change and this apparent change is brought about by the variation of the relative proportions of the four elements. Empedocles also recognized that an account of reality must explain not merely how changes in the objects of experience occur but why they occur. In other words, he attempted to provide an explanation of the forces that cause change. He taught that the basic elements enter new combinations under two forces or agents — love and strife– which are essentially forces of attraction and decomposition. He was a competent scientist; regarded variously as a materialist physicist, a shamanic magician, a mystical theologian, a healer, a democratic politician, a living god (proclaimed himself a god), and a fraud. 3) Explain and evaluate the view of Anaximander? The second of the Milesians, a pupil of Thales, sought the primary substance. In my opinion, Anaximander was way ahead of his time, he thought that all dying things return to the element they came from. He believed that it wasn’t an element like water, fire, earth, and air, but that the beginning is endless and unlimited and does not age or decay and that it is what all things come from. A primordial mass, containing everything in the cosmos, does it sound familiar? Big-Bang Theory, maybe? Anaximander maintained that the basic substance out of which everything comes must be even more elementary than water and every other substance of which we have knowledge. He thought the basic substance must be ageless, boundless (Greek: â€Å"apeiron†, that is, â€Å"that which has no boundaries†) or infinite, changing, undefined, and indeterminate. He doubted whether any fundamental or primary substance would exist in an observable pure form. In a sense he was correct, as we today know that we don’t observe the primary substance anywhere in the world; even atoms are composed of smaller particles that normally don’t  exist anywhere by themselves. 4) Explain, evaluate and compare (by stating how they are similar or different) the views of Parmenides and Heraclitus. They both agreed that the world could be reduced to one thing, but never agreed on what that one thing was. Even though their philosophies were in direct opposition, they were both named by Plato to be among the wisest of the early Greek philosophers. Heraclitus (H) thought everything was made out of fire, because fire was ever changing. Parmenides (P) disagreed; he thought the entire idea of change was impossible. H– Maintained everything is constantly changing and becoming something else. P– States, everything is constantly staying the same. H– Thought reality is ceaselessly changing, permanence is an illusion. P– Being is unitary, an undifferentiated whole, eternal. All of us, although we seem individual, are part of one great unity or whole. This view is known as monism. Parmenides arrived at his truths through pure logic. He calculated and deduced his doctrine of Being, he did not care about finding the primary substance, or in looking for the features of reality. His methods were completely different that of those before him. While Milesians, Heraclitus, and the Pythagoreans looked around at the world to find answers and tried to figure out its primary substance, Parmenides, simply assumed some very basic principles and attempted to deduce from these what he thought must be the true nature of being. (This guy was simple and logic) He based his philosophy on â€Å"principles of reason†, which just means that they are known prior to experience. For example: if something changes, it becomes something different. Thus, he reasoned, if being itself were to change, then it would become something different. But what is different from being is nonbeing, and nonbeing just plain isn’t. Thus, he concluded, being does not change. Question #1 explains Heraclitus in detail. I would’ve love to see these 2 up close and personal debating, what a pair!!! 5) Explain and evaluate the views of Protagoras.  A sophist, and an expert in rhetoric, was best known for 3 claims. a) That man is the measure of all things (which is often interpreted as a sort of radical relativism) â€Å"Man is the measure of all things. Of the things that are, that they are of the things that are not, that they are not† b) That he  could make the â€Å"worse (or weaker) argument appear the better (or stronger)† Protagoras was a relativist about knowledge; the question is what type of relativist? Is knowledge relative to the species, or culture, or the individual? The species relativism view claims that truth is relative to our species, or relative to humanity as a whole. Cultural relativism view claims that ethics is determined by each culture. What is right and wrong ought to be determined by culture. Individual relativism (Subjectivism) claims that each person ought to determine what is true for themselves. As long as you do what you think is right, then you have acted correctly. Whatever you believe to be true, is true. Descriptive relativism says that as a matter of empirical fact, different cultures have different beliefs about what is true, this seems to be true. c) That one could not tell if the gods existed or not. Protagoras was agnostic (undecided about God’s existence) He said –About the gods, I am not able to know whether they exist or do not exist, nor what they are like in form; for the factors preventing knowledge are many; the obscurity of the subject, and the shortness of human life– 6) Explain and evaluate the views of Pythagoras. Not much is known about Pythagoras because he wrote nothing, and it is hard to say how much of â€Å"his† doctrine is â€Å"his†. He was the founder of The Pythagoreans Cult or Club, (Pythagoras followers), they kept their written doctrines pretty secret, and controversy remains over the exact content of these doctrines. Pythagoras is said to have maintained that all things are numbers, numbers are ideas, ideas are immaterial, therefore; all things are immaterial (Idealist) â€Å"Everything is composed of numbers†, could mean, all things take up space and have measure. He was also a Dualist, dualism states that some objects are physical and some objects are not physical. The Pythagorean combination of mathematics and philosophy helped promote an important concept in metaphysics, one we will encounter frequently. This is the idea that the fundamental reality is eternal, unchanging, and accessible only to reason. 7) Explain and evaluate the views of Anaxagoras. Anaxagoras introduced philosophy to Athens, where it flourished; he also  introduced into metaphysics an important distinction between matter and mind. Unlike Empedocles, he believed that everything is infinitely divisible. He is known best for two theories. First, he held that in the physical world everything contains a portion of everything else. The second is the theory of Mind (Nous) as the initiating and governing principle of the cosmos. He postulated that the source of all motion is something called nous. This Greek word is sometimes translated as â€Å"reason,† sometimes as â€Å"mind,† and what Anaxagoras meant by nous is apparently an equation between mind and reason. Mind, according to him, is separate and distinct from matter in that it alone is unmixed. He believed, the universe was an infinite, undifferentiated mass. Mind did not create matter but only acted on it. 8) Explain, in your opinion, which, if any, of the early Greeks had a reasonable conceptio n of the nature of reality. I might be wrong, but Anaximander seems to have been a pretty down to earth guy, his explanations and theories of the universe, and his believes in the existence of new and older worlds make me think of the constant expansion of the universe (†¦some coming to be), the evolution of our entire universe since the Big-Bang, and how many planets, stars, galaxies, etc, have already â€Å"passed away†. Anaximander, another Milesian thinker, rejected Thales, and argued instead that an indefinite substance — the Boundless — was the source of all things. According to Anaximander, the cold and wet condensed to form the earth while the hot and dry formed the moon, sun and stars. The heat from the fire in the skies; which we see as the stars and other heavenly bodies, through holes in the mist; dried the earth and shrank the seas. The seasons change as powers of heat and cold and wetness and dryness alternate. It’s a rather fantastic scheme, but at least Anaximand er sought natural explanations for the origin of the natural world. He believed that the origin of all things was what he called the â€Å"apeiron† – an unlimited or indefinite indestructible substance, out of which individual things were created and destroyed. He appears, like many pantheists, to have believed that there were many worlds or universes, some coming to be, others passing away. As you can see, he proposed a theory of the universe that explained things in terms of natural powers and processes. 9) Explain and evaluate Plato’s criticism of the views of Protagoras and others that argue that knowledge is relative. Protagoras, an early agnostic, was one of the few  Greek thinkers who did not believe in the pantheon of Greek gods. While it would have been difficult politically for him to just come right out and say, â€Å"these gods aren’t real†, he expressed that feeling in his â€Å"homo-mensura† doctrine, â€Å"man is the measure of all things†; that the only thing that matters is the actions of a person, that the gods are irrelevant and have no influence on a person’s life. Or it can be interpreted the way Plato did, that there is no absolute knowledge: one person’s views about t he world are as valid as the next person’s. Plato thinks that because this world is constantly changing, that truth in this world is impossible, truth for him is something, eternal. Plato also believed objects in this world are not eternal, so are beliefs about them, cannot always be correct and we cannot have truth. Plato argued strenuously against this theory. In the Theaetetus dialogue, Plato pointed out that, if Protagoras is correct, and one person’s views really are as valid as the next person’s, then the person who views Protagoras’s theory as false has a valid view. Protagoras did get in some trouble for his philosophy, and he was also frequently criticized for â€Å"inciting social disorder† by encouraging people to ignore the gods and live rational lives. In the Theaetetus, Plato also tried to show that another popular idea about knowledge is mistaken. This is the idea that knowledge may be equated with sense perception. Plato had several reasons for thinking that this equation was false. One reason for thinking that knowledge is not just sense perception is the fact that knowledge clearly involves more than sense perception. Another reason is that you can retain knowledge even after you are no longer sensing a thing. Finally, and even more important, in Plato’s view true knowledge is knowledge of what it is. The objects of sense perception are always changing; sense perception and knowledge cannot be one and the same (Heraclitus). According to Plato, the highest form of knowledge is that obtained through the use of reason because perfect beauty or absolute goodness or the ideal triangle cannot be perceived. Plato was certain that true knowledge must be concern with what is truly real. So this means that the objects of true knowledge are the Forms because the objects of sense perception are real only to the extent that they â€Å"participate† in the Forms. 10) Explain and evaluate how Plato claims people can know the Forms. Perfect Intelligence- Knowledge of the Forms. Our thoughts become knowledge.  Plato claimed that all physical objects copy the original, unchanging Form or Forms. Physical objects are imperfect copies. Like Heraclitus, he held that this reality is constantly changing and shifting. What is true today may be false tomorrow in this world. In the realm of the Forms- truth is eternal. Let’s say I want to make a dress for my daughter, so I have to think of a kind of dress, her size, what color, all the materials I’ll need in general, and how to sew it together. So the dress idea is going to be born before I sew the actual dress. After I sew it, based on my original idea/pattern, it’s not going to be as perfect as I thought it originally. Because she’s going to wear it, it might get torn, it’ll get old, and at the end it will no longer look even similar to my original design, but my original idea of the dress will remain with me in my head, even if the dress isn’t physically there anymore, my perfect dress idea is immortal, unchangeable. Plato’s metaphysics is known as the Theory of Forms is also called the Theory of Ideas. In other words the nature of reality is a physical realm and a Platonic realm of the Forms. The truth is that the ideas or Forms are what â€Å"really† exist! The Republic, the most famous dialogue, gives Plato’s best-known account of the Theory of Forms. According to the theory, what is truly real are not the objects we encounter in sensory experience but, rather, Forms, and these can only be grasped intellectually. All physical objects are copies of these original entities. The Forms exist in another plain of reality- in an immaterial realm. In Plato’s similes of The Cave and The Divided Line, he argues that to gain knowledge of the Forms, a person must be â€Å"re-oriented†, away from being concerned and caught up in the world of the senses: â€Å"the mind as a whole must be turned away from the world of change until its eye can bear to look straight at reality, and at the brightest of all realities which is what we call the good†. Beauty is another example of a form, there is only one Form of Beauty, but many things can be beautiful. Characteristics of forms according to Plato: ageless, eternal, unchanging, unmoving, and indivisible. Note: For some reason I’m very confused with questions 9 & 10, I’m not able to separate properly between Plato’s theory on Knowledge and Forms, I tried my best and because I wasn’t able to express my views correctly I had to  copy some stuff from the book and the slides. 11) Explain and evaluate Aristotle’s notion of the 4 causes. Four Causes refers to an influential principle in Aristotelian thought whereby causes of change or movement are categorized into four fundamental types of answer to the question â€Å"why?† Aristotle held that there were four kinds of causes: 1- Formal cause: What is the thing? In other words, what is its form? This cause determines what a thing is. It is akin to the essential property or form. 2- Material cause: What is it made of? This cause determines what a thing is made of. 3- Efficient cause: What made it? This cause determines how an object is made or created. 4- Final cause: What purpose does it serve? This cause determines the purpose of function of an object, person or state of affairs. That is, for what end was it made. 12) Explain and evaluate Aristotle’s 10 categories. Aristotle thought that there were yet other ways that humans use to think about things; so he developed ten basic categories of being. These categories allow us to comprehend various aspects of any thing’s being. Not only do we want to know that a thing is; we want to know what it is and how it functions. These are the 10 categories or predicates to distinguish one object from another. 1. Substance 2. Quantity 3. Quality 4. Relationship 5. Activity 6. Passivity 7. Date/ Time 8. Place 9. Posture 10. Constitution/ Possession Note: I wasn’t able to come up with an explanation other than just naming the categories by reading the book and slides only. I searched the internet and found several articles which I saved, but I couldn’t get myself to write anything here based upon them. 13) Explain and evaluate Aristotle’s third  man argument and theory of forms. This was actually formulated by Plato as a way of criticizing his works on the Theory of Forms. The Third Man Argument (TMA) is one of the most compelling arguments against the Theory of Forms. Aristotle thought that Plato’s theory was metaphorical and meaningless. His own views are that the Forms are universals—something that more than one individual can be. Plato says what connect two coins together is circularity. Aristotle says, what connect the individual objects with the â€Å"form† of circularity? Some other form? What connects that form to the form of circularity†¦ this will result in an infinite p rogression of forms†¦ It was Aristotle who actually developed the ‘man’ example. It’s designed to highlight the problem of infinite regress in Plato’s work on Forms. For example, a man who is described as a man because he has the Form of a man, then a third man (or Form) would be needed in order to explain how the man and the Form of the man are both classed as man. This leads to an infinite regress, as to explain how the third man and the form of the third man are classed as man, you would need a fourth man and so on. The Third Man Argument isn’t simply infinite regress, but that each particular form would regress infinitely based on the definition of â€Å"participation.† 14) Compare and Contrast Plato’s view of Forms with Aristotle’s view of forms. Their views were different, but to some extent similar. Aristotle does not agree with Plato about the nature of ideas, forms for Aristotle exist only in the objects, not in some separate reality, it makes no sense to talk about participating in some immaterial essence in a separate realm. I’m going to take a long shot at this and say, Plato was an idealist, and loo ked to the skies and other worlds for his answers, while Aristotle was focused on the world around him. Aristotle was more of a realist, he liked more scientific studies and practical philosophy, and came up with some practical everyday logic which we use today without even realizing it. He disliked theories for which there was no proof or reason, and criticized Plato’s theory of forms. 15) Aristotle says â€Å"Everything which comes into being is brought about by something [else]† if that were the case, would existence not be a paradox as Gorgias points out? Explain. If this were true, then how or what caused the Big-Bang? Personally, I’m a big believer of the Big-Bang theory (as you can probably see from my answers in previous questions), even though I have to admit is mysterious, and confusing; it intrigues me, the fact that we are  here, how did we get here? I find it to be sort of mystical, and fantastic. I used to be atheist, but always had that little pinching feeling that there’s got to be another explanation to â€Å"ALL† these, so I have to agree with Aristotle â€Å"everything comes into being from/by something else†. Just look at the DNA molecule, such a meticulous process, and happening constantly in every living thing, ever since†¦when? The beginning of times, how did it began?, when did it began?, how does DNA knows what to do, in which order and when to do it? So, yes, Aristotle was on the right track, in my opinion, and the only paradox I see is, the who or what started it all, just like what came first, the chicken or the egg? â€Å"You can’t get something from nothing, as such, there must be a being that is pure actuality which sets into motion the world, the world of potential and perishable things.† On the other hand, Gorgias proposed: †¢That nothing exist †¢That if anything does exist, it is incomprehensible †¢That even if it is comprehensible, it cannot be communicated Gorgias’s propositions are said to be logical contradictions, how can they be logical if they contradict each other? How is it that â€Å"nothing exists†? I’m definitely puzzled, and if it does exist, it’s incomprehensible? Was he questioning his/our own existence? How can something be comprehensible but cannot be communicated? I have no explanation for Gorgias’s propositions; as a matter of fact I don’t really understand or know how to even try to make sense of them.