John Smith Essays (317 words) - Culture, Anthropology,

John Smith History Why Does History Matter? History is one of the most underappreciated subjects included in a modern education. Many students regard history as a useless subject that their school requires for some reason. What's the point of learning about dead people and what they did, when you can learn about something that will be relevant to the present and the future? New information is always expanding the field of science, and english is constantly being perfected like a diamond being polished. These subjects, vital for future education and careers, are all equally important to learn, and are what continue to push humanity upward and onward. But history History tells us who we were, where this world that exists today came from. Although many cynics protest that to dwell on the past rather than looking to the future is a waste of time and effort, any historian can tell just the opposite - that history gives humanity identity, wisdom, tradition, technology, and culture. Before it can be established that history is what gives humanity its identity, the definition of identity must be clear. According to the Cambridge dictionary, identity is who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others.' Therefore, when regarding to the identity of the human race as a whole, the identity is what makes humans different from those of a similar nature - other animals. About 6 million years ago is when the ancestors of humans first began to walk, leaving their hominid peers behind. At that moment, humans began to form their own identity, and have never stopped. Around 100,000 years ago (estimated), humans had a sophisticated enough brain to begin to communicate with sounds, and languages started to form. Fast forward to the Neolithic Revolution, from 10,000 - 3,000 B.C., and humans began to form civilizations, grow crops, and raise livestock.

Free Essays on Dating In 2003

My girlfriends dating men who we worked with ended up having the worst consequences. A couple of years ago, I worked at an engineering firm. I was on the shy side, so I didn’t engage in many conversations with my male co-workers. Dave, a handsome engineer who I worked closely with, approached me one morning and asked me out to dinner. Very excited, I accepted the offer. Unfortunately, after the dinner date, I had decided that I would rather not continue to date him. The next morning at work I felt extremely uncomfortable. I found myself avoiding Dave as much as possible. I started feeling nervous with the thoughts of him asking me out on another date. By that afternoon, he did approach me and he asked me out to see a movie. Nervously, I began to make up excuses of how I was just too busy to find the time to go out. That went on for a few days until I finally had the courage to tell Dave the truth. Working with him was never the same. Going out with Dave on a date had created an unbreakable tension between us. The tension made it nearly impossible for me to be productive or to concentrate at work. It took several weeks before I felt comfortable again. Looking back, I wished I never accepted the date. My girlfriend Linda is an attractive, intelligent woman who has had plenty of dates, but just hasn’t found the right man. She had met Tom at her work and they dated for several months. She fell madly in love with him and was convinced that he would someday become her husband. To her disappointment, he abrupt... Free Essays on Dating In 2003 Free Essays on Dating In 2003 My girlfriends dating men who we worked with ended up having the worst consequences. A couple of years ago, I worked at an engineering firm. I was on the shy side, so I didn’t engage in many conversations with my male co-workers. Dave, a handsome engineer who I worked closely with, approached me one morning and asked me out to dinner. Very excited, I accepted the offer. Unfortunately, after the dinner date, I had decided that I would rather not continue to date him. The next morning at work I felt extremely uncomfortable. I found myself avoiding Dave as much as possible. I started feeling nervous with the thoughts of him asking me out on another date. By that afternoon, he did approach me and he asked me out to see a movie. Nervously, I began to make up excuses of how I was just too busy to find the time to go out. That went on for a few days until I finally had the courage to tell Dave the truth. Working with him was never the same. Going out with Dave on a date had created an unbreakable tension between us. The tension made it nearly impossible for me to be productive or to concentrate at work. It took several weeks before I felt comfortable again. Looking back, I wished I never accepted the date. My girlfriend Linda is an attractive, intelligent woman who has had plenty of dates, but just hasn’t found the right man. She had met Tom at her work and they dated for several months. She fell madly in love with him and was convinced that he would someday become her husband. To her disappointment, he abrupt...

Managing Behavior in the Workplace Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing Behavior in the Workplace - Term Paper Example It is a reality that today workplace issues happen to be more diverse, complex, and inexplicable than ever before. A large percentage of such issues are commonly found to be originating from negative workplace environment fraught with confusions, biases, discrimination, fear, and unhealthy criticism. Negative environment in turn originates from mismanaged workforce behavior. An army leader should be well aware of the direction in which the behavior of his men proceeds as it can influence the whole country either for the good or the worse. Major annoying issues developing due to bad or wayward behavior include excessive gossip about each other’s personal affairs, sexual or mental harassment, communication gap between leaders and employees, and mistreatment of myriad changes by workforce. It is true that changes are always for the betterment of the organization and if those changes are not welcomed by the employees due to behavior which lacks obedience and understanding, results can be disastrous and much chaos could be created. This paper basically aims to postulate that the army leaders should be highly acknowledged to the behavior of those working under them as appropriately managed behavior is especially important in the military context since it raises concern not only for the army but for the entire nation as well. Stress also results when behavior is not managed efficiently. For this purpose, it remains mandatory for an army leader to communicate more often with the people of his army so that confusion about certain instructions could be removed and general appreciation for one another could be developed. Moreover, each worker should be motivated by the army leader to do a lot of things which do not necessarily fall into the role assigned to that worker like filling communication gap, condemning negative gossip, offering creative ideas, and professional handling of the bosses who sabotage employee’s careers. Professional handling of the bosse s who negatively affect employees’ careers relates to zero tolerance for harassment directed at employees. A leader should always try to set an example himself in order to see the workforce behaving appropriately. There is no chance for an employee to behave good if the leaders themselves engage in unprofessional activities like feeling tired all the time, arriving late for important tasks, and remaining absent. It becomes increasingly important for an army leader to set a good character example so that his workers could take an advice just by looking at his personality. It is repeatedly suggested by the researchers that creating a kind of culture where people feel part of the organization itself rather than merely remaining involved in their individual jobs makes a company preferable over another to work for. Many people leave army only because they do not feel themselves to be a part of the whole scene, rather they start considering their lives monotonous and boring. That i s just one way by which most of the talent gets wasted. In order to keep workers from feeling monotonous, changes should be implemented by efficient leaders. Though changes are despised but â€Å"

Religious Traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religious Traditions - Essay Example The concept of ‘Divine’ is found in all religions irrespective of whether it represents the sacred or self. They differ in how they conceive their relationship with Divine. Some recommend medication while others believe in individual communication with God. The early Quakers, for example, believed that they can commune with God without any intermediary like a priest as they say that Christ came to the world Himself and therefore each person can experience and respond to the divine and allow the action of the spirit. They consider ‘prayer’ as a means to enter a relationship with beyond. Though they do not have a strict embodiment of the divine and some of them may not even accept a personified divine, they might be in awe of the universe or identify themselves with someone in great hardship or relish the laughter of a baby and these actions are interpreted as their efforts to connect with the beyond. What they look for is the wisdom, guidance, and inspiration of the spirit or divine within and without (McBee, 2010).Hinduism has many Gods and Goddesses who are timeless and are unrestricted by space. â€Å"The divine is not only beyond gender and name, but also beyond number, has resulted in its manifestation in many shapes and forms† (Cline, 2010). Despite the numerous gods personified in the religion, the divine is the omnipresent universal soul. This can be found in all the natural elements. The followers are considered devotees and worship their favorite deity in a holy shrine or in a temple with or without the help of a priest.

Multiculturalism in contemporary english literature(how to do a Essay

Multiculturalism in contemporary english literature(how to do a research for this topic) - Essay Example multicultural education, or multicultural menu.† As pertains to contemporary English literature, contemporary multicultural English literature would be that body of written work by authors whose work comes to fruition during the twentieth century, incorporating themes and characters of a cultural diversity; such as the works of Salman Rushdie, wherein Rushdie’s work, as Deepika Bahri (2004) suggests, is reflects a body of work that represents â€Å"’hybrid temporalities of ‘of colonialism.† Rushdie’s work, as Bahri suggests, falls within the â€Å"paleocolonial† era; or those post-colonial writers who by time and space in a post-colonial empire, whose work has not been the subject of post-colonial resentment and suppression.1 While there indeed exists a variety of contemporary English literary works from which to select that include a multicultural diversity by way of author and theme, with the exception of a limited, albeit growing, bod y of works, they tend to be works portraying the English protagonist in a foreign setting. The goal of this paper became one of searching the existing body of contemporary literature for a work of literature reflecting a multicultural setting, written by author of other than a British born English heritage, and whose story presents a protagonist as hero, or heroine of that story in a multicultural setting and of a multicultural heritage. To that end, the focus rested on the works of author Salman Rushdie, whose body of work emanated from lands other than England, and brought to the reader the opportunity to both discover the essence of a rich multicultural environment and tradition through interesting multicultural characters. Narrowing down the selection within Rushdie’s body of work to the multicultural work encompassing the goals previously discussed, the focus of this paper is Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh (1997).2 The selection of support materials for inclusion in this paper were made on the basis of

Geological Significance of Dolyhir and Nash Scar Limestone

Geological Significance of Dolyhir and Nash Scar Limestone The geological significance of the Dolyhir and Nash Scar limestone (Silurian) of the Welsh Borderland Introduction and History Ther regions of Old Radnor and Presteigne (Fig. 1), found on the outskirts of Hertfordshire and Powys, are home to two small inliers containing a mammoth unit of limestones of the early Silurian age, thick and distinctive in their form. In the Nash Inlier in the north-east, an eminent ridged is formed by the limestones which was once host to the quarry of Nash Scar, but is now abandoned. The Old Radnor Inlier in the south-west however, is still a part of a large network of working quarries at Dolyhir. It was in the first half of the nineteenth century that these limestones were first geologically described by Sir Roderick Murchison, who visited the area of Nash Scar as part of his investigations that led to his magnum opus, the Silurian System (Murchison 1893). Sir Murchison stratified these deposits to be Wenlockian and concluded them to be equivalent to Woolhope limestone (Murchison 1854), although he first labelled them as ‘identical in position and organic remains’ t o the newer limestones of Wenlock Edge ((Murchison 1839, p. 313). Davis (1850) in a short paper established the link between the limestone and the underlying deposits at Nash Scar and added a faunal investigation to the study of the area. These studies laid the groundwork, but unfortunately, the Silurian of the area received little attention for almost a century except for Calloway’s brief commentary on the ‘Woolhope Limestone’ of Old Randor during his investigative study on the underlying Precambrian. The credit of the most detailed description on the limestones and the Silurian geology in both areas still goes to Garwood and Goodyear (1919) with their geological map of the Old Radnor Inlier. Also, they presented a view of limestone opposite Murchison’s and claimed it to be equivalent to the limestone at Woolhope, though thermally metamorphosed. They authors were of the view that the limestone deposits were instead a representation of an algae reef. The region continues to be of interest and many works have been published based on the Silurian faunas in Nash and Dolyhir, the consequential biostratigraphic study of limestones themselves, and the overlying and underlying deposits to decipher the exact age age (Kirk 1951, Ziegler et al. 1968, Bassett 1974a, 1974b, Hurst 1975, Hurst et al. 1978, Aldridge et al. 1981), although no major study has been carried out following Garwood and Goodyear (1919). Woodcock (1988) addressed the impact of tectonic activity on the limestone in the Old Radnor Inlier and provided a map of the region. Moreover, other works on the topic include a brief revision of the description on the individual localities (Woodcock 1993, Siveter et al. 1989, Siveter 2000), and a detailed review of the local stratigraphy (Cocks et al. 1971, 1992). It was Bassett (1977) who coined a formal stratigraphic term for the Nash Scar Limestone Formation, Dolyhir and limestones. Global and Regional Palaeogeography Earlier during the Wenlock times, the region of Old Radnor Presteigne was buried in a mid-outer position below the warm and shallow continental sea on the eastern border of the Welsh Basin (Fig 2a). The Midland Platform, a topographic high, lies to the east. Although mostly submerged at this time, the platform probably covers much of present day Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire with a large low-lying island. On the south-west lay an even larger landmass, Pretannia, whose northern coastline falls in the present day region of South Wales. The north-eastern border falls in the region of the Mendip Hills, and was home to active volcanoes. The north-western part of the Welsh Basin connected with the Iapetus Ocean, the western side of the Welsh Basin was met by the Irsish Sea Landmass, another topographical high, while towards the north, it was open. This composition has remained unchanged for more than 100 million years. The present day England and Wales formed a part of the microcontinent of Eatsern Avalonia, had drifted away towards the north since Ordovician times as the Iapetus Ocean narrowed and closed REASON (see Pickering et al. 1988, Pickering Smith 1995). Towards the Wenlock times, a series of drastic changes began that over the course of a few million years altered the geography of the region beyond any resemblance to the initial structure. Firstly, the ocean was almost entirely replaced, Eastern Avalonia which had already collided with Baltica during the late Ordovician period (Cocks Fortey 1998), began colliding with Laurentia, the continent which had on the north-western side of the Ipateus, had divided the equator. Recorded as the Caledonian Orogeny in the British geological record, these movements welded together the Eastern Avalonia and Baltica to the border of Laurentia. In the following Wenlock period however, the Welsh Basin maintained its marine form as well as its connections w ith presumably the remnants of the Iapetus Ocean in the north and Rheic Ocean that had emerged in the south. It is agreed that the Welsh Basin possessed a tropical or subtropical position in the Southern Hemisphere during this time, however, there is contradiction over its exact latitude when the Nash Scar and Dolyhir reefs began forming (estimates vary from around 20 to 40 degrees south, see e.g. Scotese McKerrow 1990, Torsvik et al. 1990). Sedimentology and Fauna Currently, the outcrop of the Nash Scar Limestone formation can only be witnessed at the Nash Scar quarry and around Dolyhir where the workings are extensively active. Dolyhir consists of the ‘Dolyhir Quarry’ (Garwood Goodyear 1919) and ‘Strinds Quarry’ as well as their subsidiary quarries C and D and the huge area of Yat Wood and its subsidiary quarries E, F and G (Garwood Goodyear, 1919) in the north. The older southern region and Yat Wood area are now popular as the ‘Strinds Quarry’ and ‘Dolyhir Quarry’ respectively (Fig. 3b). The limestone formation of the Nash Scar and Dolyhir can be described as a pure carbonate formation with over 99% of CaCO3 according to Garwood Goodyear (1919), highly crystalline, with its colour ranging between bluish-grey and white. The limestone is poorly to massively bedded. The thickness is difficult to assess accurately as a result of extensive faulting but it is agreed that it has a minimum thickness of 24m and a thickness of up to 60m at Nash Scar (Bassett 1974a). In some places at the Dolyhir and Strind quarries, the basal part of the limestone consists of a basal rudite which is up to 2m thick The rudite contains apart from the rounded quartz pebbles, angular mudstone and standstone clasts. These casts are as big as 10 cm in diameter are derived from the local Precambrian basement, mixed with in-situ colonies of the tabulate coral Favosites. In spite of the difficulties that arise in collecting the fossils as a result of the crystalline formation and massiveness of the li mestone, an abundant and diverse fauna has been observed. Calcareous algae in the form of oncolites dominate the fauna (Johnson 1966). These have a diameter of up to 20cm and include Girvanella problematica, Girvanella pusilla, Rothpletzella gotlandica, and Solenopora gracilis. These porcellaneous algal structures appear in a striking contrast with the coarse and crystalline limestone. The faunal list of seventy species by Garwood and Goodyear (1919), also names bivalves, brachiopods, bryozoans, cephalopods, corals, crinoids, trilobites and gastropods as being present in the limestone formation. The brachiopods present (Bassett 1974a, 1974b, 1977) include Antirhynchonella linguifera, Megastrophia (Protomegastrophia) quetra, Leptaena oligistis, Streptis grayii, and species of Whitfieldella and Plectatrypa. The trilobites (Thomas 1981) include Cornuproetus peraticus, Dudleyaspis portlockii, Planiscutellum kitharos and Radnoria syrphetodes. The conodonts which are observed to be in abu ndance include Dapsilodus obliquicostatus, Ozarkodina sagitta rhenana, Decoriconus fragilis and Ozarkodina excavate. An acritarch assemblage also thrives in the limestone formation although in low diversity with Micrhystridium Veryhachium, and Diexallophasis(thin-walled forms) dominating the species. The formation’s lower part has within itself, a tectonized and hence discontinuous shale horizon. The shale is abundant in crinoid debris and consists of greenish carbonate concretions nucleated around crinoid stems and brachiopods (Garwood Goodyear 1919) which gives it its nodular form. The fauna here differs from the limestone somewhat in its detail. The species of Trilobites present in the lower part consist of Cyphoproetus depressus and species of Kosovopeltis and Scotoharpes, together with Tapinocalymene volsoriforma (Thomas 1978, Siveter 1980). In the north-east side of the Nash Scar Quarry, the hardground encrusted surface of the top of the limestone, with crinoids holdfasts is exposed. Geological Setting and Stratigraphy Fig. 4. summarizes the stratigraphy of the Nash Scar and Dolyhir Limestone Formation, and the deposits vertically adjacent to them. A combination of the fine clastic Yat Wood and the dominantly sandy Strinds Formation shapes the Precambrian basement in the Old Radnor Inlier, where the formation lies uncomformably. In the Precambrian Longmyndian rocks of the Church Stretton area (Calloway 1900, Woodcock 1988, Woodcock Pauley 1989), analogues of these lithologies can be found. However, at Nash Scar, the Folly Sandstone Formation (dated from late Aeronian to early Telychian), is overlaid by the limestone disconformably (Ziegler et al. 1968). Although the base of this sandstone cannot be seen, a 30m thickness is suggested by Cocks et al. (1992). Shales of the Coalbrookdale Formation overlay the reefal limestones of both localities (Siveter et al. 1989). Normally the contact is faulted or concealed but at Nash Scar it can be seen above the hardground. The graptolite faunas present at the site suggest basal shales lie within the C. lundgreni Biozone, of earliest Homerian age (Hurst et al. 1978). The outcrops of the Coalbrookdale Formation with a faulted contact with limestone also gives rise to the view that some of the shales may be of the Sheinwoodian age (Bassett 1974a, Kirk 1951, see also Siveter et al. 1989, fig. 5). Above the stratigraphic contact, the shales present are marked by an encrusted hardground at the top of the limestone which is perhaps derived from the crinoid debris present in the shales in abundance (Hurst et al. 1978). This also suggests that it is the original post-hardground sediment that has developed into lundgreni Biozone shales. It can therefore be concluded to some degree of effectiveness, that the Coalbrookdale Formation in the inliers has a diachronous base, and dating from the upper Sheinwoodian age. Contemporaneous The study of trilobites, brachiopods (Bassett 1974a) and conodonts (Aldridge Schà ¶nlaub 1989, Jeppsson et al. 1995) and the palaeontological dating of the limestones based on their study suggests that the limestones belong to the early Sheinwoodian age, occurring at the same time as Woolhope Limestone Formation, and spanning the centrifugus, murchisoni and riccartonensis graptolite biozones (Fig. 4). It has also been suggested by Hurst et al. (1978) that at Nash Scar, the hardground found at the top of the limestone might be representative of the rigidus to ellesae biozones of the upper Sheinwoodian. According to Kirk (1951), at either or both localities the base of the limestone might extend below the Wenlock however, this supposition is not based on any palaeontological evidence (although see Bassett 1974a, p. 759). In the uppermost Llandovery, any evidence for a depositional gap is supplied by the weak angular unconformity with the underlying Folly Sandstone Formation found at the Nash Inleir (Ziegler et al. 1968). It can thus be concluded that the limestone may have been deposited 428 to 426 million years earlier (Fig. 4). Described by both Davis (1850) and Garwood and Goodyear (1919), the limestone facies and their lateral extent is uncertain and is hampered greatly by outcrops at ‘the Sandbanks’, the region between Presteigne and Nash Scar. Within the shales, a band of non-reefal and stratified limestone, as thin as 2-3m, was exposed only ‘a mile †¦ from the typical reef-development at Nash Scar’ (Garwood Goodyear 1919, p. 21). The Welsh Borderland Fault System is straddled at its easternmost element, the Church Stretton Fault Zone, by the Nash inlier and the Old Radnor inlier. The early Palaeozoic is marked by a transition between the high midland Platform and low Welsh Basin regions by this system which has a long geographical history (see Woodcock Gibbons 1988, Woodcock 1988). The process of folding and faulting has tectonically disturbed the limestone formations at Nash Scar and Dolyhir as a result of the closeness of this major line of structural weakness. Towards the north and north-east, major faults dissect the Old Radnor Inlier, while towards the west-north-west, it dips steeply and is marked by many minor faults. A sinistral strike-slip movement marked the structures in post-Wenlock times. The action is most seemingly related to the late Early to early Mid-Devonian Acadian event (Woodcock 1988), the most indispensable phase in the buildup of the Avalonia with the Laurentian continent during the C aledonian Orogeny.

Emma and Clueless Speech

Through close analysis of the novel Emma, by Jane Austen and the film Clueless by Amy Heckerling, we discover that both texts are influenced by, and reflect the values of their respective contexts. Emma is set in the isolated, rural town of Highbury, England in the early 1800’s, at a time where society had placed value on social hierarchy. This distinction between classes was largely determined by family lines and inheritance. It is in the upper class of society that Jane Austen places her protagonist, Emma, â€Å"handsome, clever and rich†¦with very little to distress or vex her†. Emma’s desirable situation had led her to possess a self indulgent attitude towards life, as Austen intends her audience to identify with the cynical remark that she has â€Å"the power of having rather too much her own way†. However, Austen contradicts this third voice by the dialogue which establishes Emma to be a character of good intentions â€Å"No papa, nobody thought of you walking†. This contrast between third person and dialogue creates a discrepancy between Emma’s thoughts and Austen’s intrusive moralistic views. From the irony present here, satire is created, encouraging the reader to reflect on Emma’s behaviour as a reflection of the context of her society and the value put on social hierarchy and status. The opening scene of Amy Heckerling's film, Clueless, made in the 1990’s, immediately adopts Austen's ironic tone. The energetic montage and quick succession of camera angles of Cher and her fellow teenagers indulging in luxurious activities in Beverly Hills USA, establishes the materialistic world in which the movie is set. Heckerling appeals to her audience by creating such strong imagery, however she contradicts these perceptions by juxtaposing everything her audience views. The blaring song â€Å"We’re the kids in America† provides ironic commentary in that it is strikingly evident that these wealthy teenagers are the complete opposite from the average ‘kids in America’ as they have the ability to embrace all aspects of consumer ideals. Through this Heckerling establishes Cher as being an imitation of Emma â€Å"having too much her own way†. The contrast between Cher’s first voiceover â€Å"I actually have a way normal life for a teenage girl† whilst she picks out her designer outfit on a computer allows Heckerling to provide an authorial voice, much like Austen, where she critiques teenage self absorption and the society that cultivates this trait. Both texts primarily focus on the social values of marriage, romance and sex. During Austen’s time, marriage was concerned as a way of preserving your social rank and financial status and often these values took primacy over romance. This is evident when Emma speaks that Mr Elton would give Harriet â€Å"everything she wanted- consideration, independence, a proper home†. Austen challenges societies values by making Emma oppose these views and have â€Å"very little intention of marrying at all†. However, Austen allows Emma to succumb to society’s expectations with her marriage to Mr. Knightely. This reaffirms the reality of Austen’s society, she allows her audience to see her view but highlights that she cannot change this value. Heckerling chooses to replace the importance of marriage, with the importance of sex to suite the context of contemporary society. Sex before marriage is a prevalent issue in the film and is highlighted as common amongst most social classes. Tai’s comment to Cher â€Å"Why am I even listening to you- you’re a virgin who can’t drive† reflects societies consideration as to what is important. Like Emma, Cher rejects her social expectations and admits to remaining a virgin. However, Heckerling sets up a paradox around Cher, exaggerating a materialistic and sexual blonde who ironically remains a virgin despite this image. Although the importance of sex takes focus in the film, Heckerling chooses to end Clueless with a marriage, highlighting that it is still a value in modern society. Both Austen and Heckerling challenge their audience to confront their own presumptions concerning their society’s values. Moral education is a value personified through significant figures in both protagonist’s lives. In Emma, Mr Knightely is the catalyst for Emma’s moral education and growth. One of the significant turning points for Emma’s transformation is the Box Hill incident where Emma cruelly insults Miss Bates. Jane Austen use’s Mr Knightely to enter her novel to criticise Emma’s behaviour â€Å"Better be without sense, than misapply it as you do. † In Clueless, it is Josh who sparks Cher to â€Å"make-over her soul†. It is the incident when Cher insults Lucy saying she is a Mexican and Josh insults her saying â€Å"your such a brat† that is the vehicle for Cher’s moral education and ultimately making her a better person. Through these men, both Austen and Heckerling are able to criticise not only Emma and Cher, but the moral values society shape as acceptable. Through exploring both texts, it becomes increasingly evident that both authors have attempted to reflect their societies. Through their protagonists, they challenge societies standards and expectations and appeal to their audience to overcome these barriers. Therefore we come to the point that while human nature does not change, the context and values do.

Explain Kants Theory of Ethics Essay

Kant was born in 1724-1804, he was a German thinker from East Prussia (now Russia), and he spent his whole life in his hometown. Kant wanted to create a logical, stand-alone theory that wasn’t just based on assumptions, he believed in an objective right or wrong that is decided on reason and that we shouldn’t do the right thing just because it’s right and not to fulfil our desires. Can we lead a life following his ideals are there not some situations where a perfect moral decision cannot be made, are all our choices fuelled by personal gain and desire? He has a deontological and absolute approach to ethics, to Kant what makes an action good is when you do your ‘duty’ and that one’s duty is to always flow the moral law. We should not act out of love or compassion. The motive is what makes an action good –nothing else! The consequences to Kant are meaningless it’s the act itself that needs to be right an example of his thinking would be its immoral to kill 1 man in order to save 10. For Kant the fact that we ‘ought’ to do something implies that it is possible to do it. Thus moral statements are prescriptive: they prescribe an action. Ought implies can, ‘if I ought to do X’, it means ‘I can do X’. Kant also believed that moral statements are a priori (knowable prior to experience) and synthetic, that they can be verified by our empirical evidence so are either true or false. Kant put forward the idea of two imperatives the hypothetical imperative, these are not moral commands and they don’t apply to everyone. In Kant’s eyes you only need to obey them if you want to achieve a certain goal. An example of this would be that Kant observed that the word ‘ought’ is often used none morally, for example ‘if you want to become a better artist or guitarist, you ought to practice’. On the other hand Kant also proposed the Categorical Imperative, these are moral commands that can be universalised and do not depend on anything else. Whereas the hypothetical imperative requires you to go from ‘a’ to ‘b’ then categorical imperative only requires you to just do ‘a’. â€Å"Duties for duties sake† this related to the categorical imperative. Kant then goes on to the 3 maxims, first off to test a moral maxim as it’s a universal law either everyone should follow it or everyone should reject it. The first maxim is ‘Your action should be able to be universalised’ before you act in a certain way, would you like everyone in the same situation to act in the same way. If not, then you are involved in a contradiction it goes against reason, â€Å" so at that principle of action might safely be made of law for the whole world† if you were to take lying through the first maxim its clear it would fail as that would mean everyone would be lying to one another and trust is completely destroyed. The second maxim is ‘Don’t treat people as a means to an end’ Kant strongly believed that you can never use human beings as a means to an end, to exploit or enslave them. Humans to Kant are all the highest point of creation and so demand a unique treatment. This guarantees that all individuals are afforded the moral principles; therefore no humans can be used for the sake of others, he also explained that we have a duty to develop our own perfection, developing our moral, intellectual and physical capabilities. We also have a duty to seek the happiness of others as long as that is within the law and allows the freedom of others. â€Å"Always recognise that human individually are ends and do not use them as a means to your end† therefore you can’t lie for example to further your own needs at the cost of using someone. Kant’s final and third maxim ‘ work towards a kingdom of ends’ this is an overall culmination of the first two, everyone should act as if every person was a ‘end’ and that moral choices be based on any empirical consideration about human nature, human flourishing or human destiny. However it needs to be clear that despite this autonomy this does not mean that everyone can just decide their own morality but rather that each individual has the ability to understand the principles of pure practical reason and follow them. It is impartial and must apply to everyone. If one maxim is disproved then the law becomes immoral and can’t be universalised. Kant also talked about good will and duty, to Kant the ‘greatest good or summon bonum’ is what Kant terms as good will. Someone of good will is not good because of what they achieve (the consequence) but because he/she acts out of duty. Good will to Kant is the only thing that is truly pure, as we can get our reasoning wrong or it can be manipulated, but to have the good will to perform your duty cannot be manipulated or got wrong. Kant contrasted ‘doing your duty’ with ‘giving into your emotions’ or doing what you feel like. The main two meanings of duty come into conflict as the first thought meaning of duty is to obey your superior, this is what the Nazi soldiers claimed innocence about when they were trialled for war crimes they were just following orders but is that moral? To obey the moral law do the right thing and think a situation through is Kant’s meaning of duty â€Å"Good will shines forth like a precious jewel† –Kant. Kant’s theory of ethics seems to grant freedom to do anything that can be universalised. This sets the limits but does not give guidance; therefore in order for it to make sense Kant proposed the three postulates, the existence of god, freedom and immorality. We know that morality can exist because we can observe it. However we must be free to perform it as otherwise the act wouldn’t be truly moral. Morality and freedom must come from somewhere to Kant this is God. Kant argues that there must be a God and an afterlife as there has to be some sort of reward. As we cannot be perfect in this life. This is known as reaching the summon bonum that I mentioned earlier, as this cannot be achieved in this life, there must be an afterlife where this can be achieved. For Kant, morality leads to God. Part B: Assess the view that it is always right to keep one’s promises. In Kant’s view immorality occurs when the categorical imperative is not followed: when a person attempts to set a different standard for themselves then for the rest of humanity. In the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, once Kant has derived his categorical imperative he applies it to a number of examples. The second example and probably the most analysed is that of an unfaithful promise. Kant applies his imperative to a person who is short of money who intends to ask for a loan, promising to repay it, but with no intention of doing so. When Kant applies the categorical imperative to this situation he discovers that it leads to a contradiction, for if breaking promises were to become universal then no person would ever agree to a promise and promises would disappear. Kant connects rationality with morality, and sees contradictory behaviour as immoral. Some critics have argued that Kant never asserts the connection between rationality and morality, but most dismiss this and point out that Kant clearly explains how morality must be based upon reason and not upon desires. Another weakness is that what if your friend told you a secret that he was planning to murder someone, it would be your obligation to keep it but is that morally right? Could that surpass the 3 maxims, in the second maxim there can be no use of one individual for the sake of another, are you forsaking the person that is planned to be murdered just to keep a promise. However on the other hand there are strengths to Kant’s way of thinking as it means everyone single human has intrinsic value, actions are based on reason and logic and there are 3 straightforward maxims that need to be followed so it cuts out many grey areas as if it simply doesn’t follow the maxims it can’t be universalised. Other theories, utilitarianism for example would say it would be wrong to keep a promise of a secret of planned bomb attack that would kill hundreds as you would be saving hundreds of lives by informing the police. Utilitarian’s believe that the outcome outweighs the action. In my opinion I agree with Kant theory as I believe there needs to be trust between people, as relationships with people would mean nothing also it’s a matter of honour if you gave your word to someone I will promise you this etc. then it has to be in the best of your ability to fulfil it if it’s a good cause and not unjust. However in extreme cases such as say the promise of keeping a secret of a planned terrorist attack I would have to side with the utilitarian approach.

Essay on Frederick Douglass

Essay on Frederick Douglass Essay on Frederick Douglass Semester Project Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was one of the most prominent figures of the abolitionist movement, a movement that fought to end slavery. A brilliant speaker, Douglass engaged in a tour of lectures, and became recognized as one of America’s first great black speakers. Douglass also wrote a personal narrative in 1845 titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Taylor 34). Through his book , Frederick Douglass aimed to educate the uninformed Northern audience of the time. Douglass writes that before his book, the only side being shown to the North was the Southern Slave Master's side. This biased point of view did not paint an accurate picture of life in the South. In the book's preface, William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips express that this book is unlike any other slave narrative that has been published to this point because this book has been written by an actual slave who escaped from the horrors of slavery and lived to tell his story. Amani 2 Frederick Douglass was born to an African American slave mother, Harriet Baily, and a white slaveholder (Douglass 12). Since childhood Douglass was enslaved by many different families including the Lloyds and the Aulds. While working for the Aulds the slavemasters wife Sophia taught young Douglass how to read. When the Slavemaster, Hugh Auld, found out that Douglass was learning to read he became furious because it was unlawful to teach a slave to read. Hugh Auld believed that if a slave knew how to read and write that this would make him unfit to be a slave(Douglass 52). Douglass learned from his master’s outburst that if learning how to read and write was his pathway to freedom, then gaining this knowledge was to become his goal. Douglass later had a ruthless master by the name of Covey who was also known as the â€Å"nigger-breaker†(Douglass 80). One day Covey began tying Douglass to a post in preparation for a whipping, Douglass said, â€Å"At that moment from whence came the spirit I don’t know, I resolved to fight (Douglass 81).† Covey and Frederick fought for almost two hours until Covey finally gave up. After this, Douglass was passed on to other slaveholders until eventually he was then sent again to Hugh Auld in Baltimore and was hired out to a local shipbuilder so that he could learn the trade. Within a year, he was an experienced caulker and was being paid wages, which he in turn gave to Hugh Auld (Douglass 15). Through this job Douglass managed to pull of a successful escape disguised as a sailor. Frederick Douglass was one of the most influential men of the anti-slavery movement, as well as being a supporter of woman’s rights. As great orator he often used his first hand experience as a slave to help build support for the abolitionist movement. After r eading the book I felt that Douglass’s purpose for this narrative was primarily to educate northerners about the reality of slave life. â€Å"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man† was my favorite quote from the book (Douglass 53). This quote made the message of the book clear to me because the narrative is about all the hardships Douglass faces as a slave yet he still becomes a free man in the end. In 1845 when the book was published slavery was commonly practiced throughout the United States (Taylor 22). The publication of this narrative not only gave northerners a closer look at slavery, but also evidence to refute arguments made supporting slavery and it exposed the scenic picture of slavery painted by slaveholders. The narrative was mainly for the northerners to see the south for what it truly was, but the narrative had a world wide impact as it was translated into many languages such as French, German, Dutch, and Russian. In relation to the 19th century discourse on slavery, Douglass challenges many ideas throughout his narrative. For example, Douglass learned to

How to Research Loyalist Ancestors

How to Research Loyalist Ancestors Loyalists, sometimes referred to as Tories, Royalists, or Kings Men, were American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the years leading up to and including the American Revolution (1775–1783). Historians estimate that as many as 500,000 people - fifteen to twenty percent of the population of the Colonies- opposed the revolution. Some of them were active in their opposition, actively speaking out against the rebels, serving with British units during the war, or supporting the King and his forces as couriers, spies, guides, suppliers, and guards. Others were more passive in their choice of position. Loyalists were present in large numbers in New York, a refuge for persecuted Loyalists from September 1776 until its evacuation in 1783. There were also large groups in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and in the southern colonies of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.1 Elsewhere they were a large minority of the population but least numerous in Massachusetts Virginia. Life as a Loyalist Because of their beliefs, Loyalists in the Thirteen Colonies were often treated as traitors. Active Loyalists may have been coerced into silence, stripped of their property, or even banished from the Colonies. In areas under Patriot control, Loyalists could not sell land, vote, or work in occupations such as doctor, lawyer, or schoolteacher. The outright hostility against the Loyalists both during and following the war ultimately resulted in the flight of about 70,000 Loyalists to British territories outside the colonies. Of these, approximately 46,000 went to Canada and Nova Scotia; 17,000 (primarily Southern Loyalists and their slaves) to the Bahamas and West Indies; and 7,000 to Britain. Among the Loyalists numbered not only colonists of British heritage, but also Scots, Germans, and Dutch, plus individuals of Iroquois ancestry and former African-American slaves. Begin with a Literature Survey If you have successfully traced your ancestry back to an individual living in America during the American Revolution, and clues seem to point to him being a possible Loyalist, then a survey of existing published source materials on Loyalists is a good place to begin. Many of these can actually be researched online through free sources that publish digitized version of historical books and journals. Use search terms such as loyalists or royalists and your area (state or country of interest) to explore available resources online in Google and in each of the historical books collections listed in 5 Free Sources for Historical Books Online. Examples of what you can find online include: Siebert, Wilbur H. The Loyalists of Pennsylvania. The Ohio State University Bulletin, 24 (April 1920). Digitized copy. Archive.org. http://archive.org/stream/pennsyloyalist00siebrich#page/n3/mode/2up : 2013.Lambert, Robert Stansbury. South Carolina Loyalists in the American Revolution, second edition. Digital book. Clemson: Clemson University Digital Press, 2010. clemson.edu/cedp/cudp/pubs/lambert/lambert.pdf : 2013. When searching specifically for historical publications, try various combinations of search terms such as United Empire Loyalists or loyalists pennsylvania or south carolina royalists. Terms such as Revolutionary War or American Revolution can turn up useful books as well. Periodicals are another excellent source of information on Loyalists. To find articles on this topic in historical or genealogical journals, conduct a search in PERSI, an index to over 2.25 million genealogy and local history articles appearing in publications of thousands of local, state, national and international societies and organizations. If you have access to a university or other large library, the JSTOR database is another good source for historical journal articles. Search for Your Ancestor in Loyalist Lists During and after the Revolution, various lists of known Loyalists were created which may name your ancestor. The United Empire Association of Canada has probably the largest list of known or suspected Loyalists. Called the Directory of Loyalists, the list includes about 7,000 names compiled from a variety of sources. Those marked as proven, are proven United Empire Loyalists; the rest are either unproven names found identified in at least one resource or those who have been proven NOT to be Loyalists. Most of the lists published during the war as proclamations, in newspapers, etc. have been located and published. Look for these online, in U.S. state archives, in Canadian provincial archives, and in archives and other repositories in other areas where Loyalists settled, such as Jamaica. Sources: 1. Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp 549–50.

Ch2 Literature Review of faculty attitudes towered e-learning Dissertation

Ch2 Literature Review of faculty attitudes towered e-learning - Dissertation Example Faculty attitudes are often perceived to be amongst the main sources that lead towards change efforts in academic programs. There are some studies that reveal that faculty development programs make faculty members to become prone to adopt only such changes that they feel are crucial or desired (Costa, McPhail, Smith, and Brisk, 2005, p. 105). Given that e-learning has been made possible because of new technology, its efficient use is dependent upon positive attitude being adopted by faculty members. There will be more meaningful incentive for using e-learning if faculty attitudes become positive (Liaw Huang, & Chen, 2007). There may be initial reluctance on the part of faculty members to adopt new teaching styles in view of the massive effort that has to be made in adapting to them. It is in this context that there is increasing demand to alter the negative attitudes towards using e-learning amongst faculty members. Only in this way can e-learning teaching requirements be fulfilled. The threats associated with this new style of teaching and technology does not mean that the dangers and risks associated with this system should be ignored. ... According to Magnussen (2008), it has become very important to adopt e-learning as a meaningful option for teaching because of the change towards philosophical concepts through which educators are viewed. They are not considered as distributors of educational content but as facilitators of learning. Bai and Ertmer (2004) have held that faculty attitude towards technology can be made better by integrating the available technology with course work provided to faculty members. A significant aspect in this regard is that faculty members can teach in the same way as they have been educated. It is very true that computer proficiency cannot be transferred to learners until faculty members adopt positive attitude towards e-learning (Yildirim, 2000, p. 481). Liaw (2006) has raised questions if learning institutions will be able to meet the requirements of a diverse student population and transforming societies. Mahdizadeh, Biemans, and Mulder (2007) researched on Perceived self-efficacy of fa culty attitudes toward e-learning and found that the use of e-learning by instructors is explained largely in terms of their perceptions about the value they get from e-learning systems. The concept of computer self efficacy is derived from Bandura’s (1986) self-efficacy construct that relates to a person’s ability to use computers. Perceived enjoyment is defined as ‘‘the extent to which the activity of using a specific system is perceived to be enjoyable in it’s own right, aside from any performance consequences resulting from system use† (Venkatesh, 2000, p.343) Perceived enjoyment is the inherent motivation that has a strong

International Work Environments Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Work Environments - Research Paper Example It will be pertinent to explore the cost of living in 5 different countries through purchasing power parity point of view to understand how it may affect the wage payments to the managers. This has a base in U.S $1 with the local currency. Purchasing power parity is a good way of calculating how much on aggregate basis he/she will need to spend in that country for the matching living. It is quite possible that some of the components of spending will be expensive and some may be quite low. However, advantage with the purchasing power parity of currency calculations take into account all major spending in that country essential for the living. The factor which is expensive in a particular country can be taken a special consideration while relocating oneself in that country. INDIA: Currently, India is the second fastest developing economy of the world growing at the rate between 7-8 percent. Due to high GDP growth rate job market is thriving with the opportunity. India offers one of the lowest costs of living compared to many other developing economies. Housing costs including rentals, mortgage, and household fuels costs do not offer low cost promise and it is expensive compared to other countries under study that is mainly due to large scale urbanization and burgeoning population. Restaurants and meals outside are relatively less expensive. Groceries, communication, education goes much favorably compared to other countries in study. Russia: Apartments and transportation costs are quite affordable except Moscow and St. Petersburg, where costs may rise 2-3 times more than country side or small cities. Utilities are not expensive and local phone calls are not chargeable. Local Russian style restaurants, bars or cafes are not expensive and does not cost exorbitant prices. Japan: Japan is considered as one of the most expensive country to live in.