Meaning of Education Essay

â€Å"Yep, that’s the last of it† my dad yelled as he slammed the trunk shut. Totes were piled up high and filled with clothes, shoes, and lots of old memories. After getting all settled in my new apartment my family and I said our goodbyes. This next chapter in my life was finally here. I was now a college student entering the real world. We all have our purposes for taking the next step in life and going to college. My purpose for attending college is to take a leap towards creating success and meaning in my life. My family has been a giant influence on attending college. The day my older brother went off to college it was no surprise. It seems that moving on to college was the natural thing to do. For instance, graduating kindergarten and moving to the 1st grade is similar to graduating from high school and moving on to college. It’s just a chapter in life that our parents brought us up expecting to reach and we’ve been taught that it would be the right choice since elementary school. It’s what we grew up knowing we were supposed to do when we got to that point in life. Ultimately, we were taught that this step would lead us to the success to building a more meaningful life. All in all, education is the key to success. Having an education opens many doors to amazing opportunities. Why waste time stuck in a slump when one can go out into the world and be someone, make a difference in this world, and have the pride to say that â€Å"I am successful†. With a college education, the amount of freedom is endless. There are many more careers to choose from and the ability to stand out from others increases your career success. An education helps one develop a more meaningful life, that’s what I want to achieve. I want to make a difference in this world by not only my art but my everyday life. My goals are to one day be very well off financially, enabling me to support my future family and enjoy all the accomplishments and great opportunities life has to offer. Just on a walk to school, I get a glance of the harsh reality by seeing all the unfortunate civilians struggling to survive each day. For instance, an old man and his dog, hungry as can be, asking for money on the corner of the street. This makes me realize that I am very grateful for what I have and that an education is what I must pursue to accomplish my goals and dreams. With all the love and support of my family and friends I have a great positive outlook on a college education. Having moved on to this next step in my life, I already feel as if I’m that much closer to reaching my goals. I can see how proud my family is as they watch me better my life and future. With all my past experiences, I now have a strong mentality to finish with pride and follow all my dreams. Overall, an education is the way to success and the key to many great opportunities.

Earth Science

1. Summarize advances over time in determining the age of the Earth, including the importance of the discovery or radioactivity. Herodotus counted layers of earth near the Nile River in 450 B. C. E. The Bible was used in the Middle Ages to compute the age of the Earth. The 18th and 19th centuries brought a more scientific look into determining the age of the Earth by studying the salinities of the oceans, the rates of sedimentation, and models of cooling of different materials in order to calculate the Earth’s age.In 1862, William Thompson calculated the Earth’s age to be 98 million years and recounted that age to determine that it was actually between 20 and 40 million years old. He used a very thorough method and ended up being wrong on both counts because he was unaware of the existence and effects of radiation. There was another method of aging the Earth utilizing the relative positions of rock layers. Ensuring that unconformities were accounted for, that fossils we re used as benchmarks, and understanding what rocks are older than others, this relative aging helped to develop a geologic time scale.The discovery of radioactivity allowed scientists to understand heat better. The radioactive decay of elements helps scientists calculate the age of an object by using the statistics of large numbers. 2. What makes Earth a habitable, relatively stable environment within which we exist and survive? Review the early development of the solar system, including the Big Bang theory, to support your answer. At the time of the Big Bang, an unimaginable cataclysm released helium and hydrogen. Soon after the Big Bang, energy began converting into matter.Large clouds of this matter began attracting to other particles which formed everything, including our Solar Systems. The beginning of the Solar System started with a cloud of gas, dust, and ice particles. Gravity acted on the cloud, drawing it into itself and reducing its volume. This occurrence would have cau sed the Solar System to shrink and rotate as it was drawn into itself. Due to angular momentum, the spin would have gotten faster and faster over time. Gravity and centripetal force are fighting against each other to maintain celestial bodies in an orbit around the Sun.The 1% of the mass in our Solar System that didn’t get sucked into the Sun is what makes up our planets, asteroids, and moons. The centripetal force acting on the planets aligns them with the Sun’s equator and creates the mostly flat orbit of the Solar System. 3. Alfred Wegener was a polar explorer and visionary. Describe how his early work was viewed with skepticism and how ultimately his theory on continental drift was proven. What kinds of evidence did Wegener rely on to substantiate his continental drift hypotheses (Pangaea)? He was viewed as a meteorologist and not a geologist.With no real geological knowledge, he formulated the continental drift theory was due to tidal pull from the Sun or centrifu gal force. Because scientists of the time couldn’t believe that continents could float through rock as if it were liquid. We now know that due to convection that we see through seismic tomography that the Earth is a kind of liquid on which the lithosphere is floating. His basis was partly due to the edges of the continents fit together as a puzzle. Also, rocks, plants, and animals that were spread across the globe must have started together because a rock didn’t swim to its new location. . Explain how seismic tomography has been used to show what is actually happening on Earth. Include in your answer a discussion of plate tectonics and sea-floor spreading. Like having an MRI of your brain, seismic tomography allows scientists to see the results that sound waves report when they bounce back from colder rock and warmer rock. This report shoes the convection of heat and rock that is occurring inside the Earth. This convection makes its way to the surface of the Earth whic h shifts the plates at the weak points.This moves those plates with sometime violent and dangerous results. The plates â€Å"ride† on more unstable parts of the Earth’s asthenosphere. The subduction zones allow rock to be moved downward as warmer rock moves up. 5. Explain how the laws of thermodynamics determine the motions that result in the formation of mountains and oceans. 1st law: Energy can be moved from one form to another but cannot be created or destroyed. This allowed for matter to be created from energy which was a preamble to the creation of the Solar System and most of the Universe; including mountains and oceans. nd Law: Energy of an object at the initial state is greater than then energy of that object at any other time; provided no new energy is introduced to the object. This law is the reason the conveyer belt theory works. Rocks on the mountains are washed to sea by water that was evaporated from the oceans to create rain which runs back out to the se a (carrying rock) to the subduction zones that will sink to the core which will heat the rock which will move to the colder area (the surface of the planet) causing a violent movement which pushes plates into each other creating more mountains. Lecture, Michael Wysession, 2008. Earth Science In reading article â€Å"The Origin of Old-Earth Geology and its Ramifications for Life in the 21st Century† by Dr. Terry Mortenson, it had some very interesting point of views about the Earth's geology. Dr. Mortenson touched basis on how the geology was debated by different groups, Christian and non Christian scientists and what their beliefs are concerning how the universe was created. Summary This article basically informs the readers of the contents of the old earth geology theory. The debate that Dr.  Mortenson discusses in this article has been around for some time, but many people do not know that it exist. The repercussions of this article is shown throughout this whole debate, basically because the theories does not consider God as the creator of the universe. From the â€Å"new Theories about the History of Creation†, during the 18th century, the French scientists concluded that the earth evolution was the result of a collision between the sun and a comet. D uring the 19 century, the Scriptural Geologist believed in the biblical account of the â€Å"six day creation†.These four Scottish men were of strong Christian faith and Journal Article Review 3 respected character. Because Christianity played a strong role in how and why people believed. This is probably why the old earth theory was in such a great debate. Strengths of the Article Dr. Terry Mortenson explained each of the theories to give a basic understanding of each and how it was created. When describing each one, he gave important characteristics and names of people that was generated through refined research.Each of these theories were explained with definition. Weaknesses of the Article The article's weaknesses are shows that even though there are different earth evolution theories, each one seem to not have a conclusion to fully explain earth's evolution. Conclusion The Bible is the true and only source that can explain the beginning of time in God's theory. Since man was not created â€Å"In the beginning†, he may never be able to have a theory of how time begun. God's evolution of time, space, and living beings will remain mysterious. It may never be reveal. Earth Science 1. Summarize advances over time in determining the age of the Earth, including the importance of the discovery or radioactivity. Herodotus counted layers of earth near the Nile River in 450 B. C. E. The Bible was used in the Middle Ages to compute the age of the Earth. The 18th and 19th centuries brought a more scientific look into determining the age of the Earth by studying the salinities of the oceans, the rates of sedimentation, and models of cooling of different materials in order to calculate the Earth’s age.In 1862, William Thompson calculated the Earth’s age to be 98 million years and recounted that age to determine that it was actually between 20 and 40 million years old. He used a very thorough method and ended up being wrong on both counts because he was unaware of the existence and effects of radiation. There was another method of aging the Earth utilizing the relative positions of rock layers. Ensuring that unconformities were accounted for, that fossils we re used as benchmarks, and understanding what rocks are older than others, this relative aging helped to develop a geologic time scale.The discovery of radioactivity allowed scientists to understand heat better. The radioactive decay of elements helps scientists calculate the age of an object by using the statistics of large numbers. 2. What makes Earth a habitable, relatively stable environment within which we exist and survive? Review the early development of the solar system, including the Big Bang theory, to support your answer. At the time of the Big Bang, an unimaginable cataclysm released helium and hydrogen. Soon after the Big Bang, energy began converting into matter.Large clouds of this matter began attracting to other particles which formed everything, including our Solar Systems. The beginning of the Solar System started with a cloud of gas, dust, and ice particles. Gravity acted on the cloud, drawing it into itself and reducing its volume. This occurrence would have cau sed the Solar System to shrink and rotate as it was drawn into itself. Due to angular momentum, the spin would have gotten faster and faster over time. Gravity and centripetal force are fighting against each other to maintain celestial bodies in an orbit around the Sun.The 1% of the mass in our Solar System that didn’t get sucked into the Sun is what makes up our planets, asteroids, and moons. The centripetal force acting on the planets aligns them with the Sun’s equator and creates the mostly flat orbit of the Solar System. 3. Alfred Wegener was a polar explorer and visionary. Describe how his early work was viewed with skepticism and how ultimately his theory on continental drift was proven. What kinds of evidence did Wegener rely on to substantiate his continental drift hypotheses (Pangaea)? He was viewed as a meteorologist and not a geologist.With no real geological knowledge, he formulated the continental drift theory was due to tidal pull from the Sun or centrifu gal force. Because scientists of the time couldn’t believe that continents could float through rock as if it were liquid. We now know that due to convection that we see through seismic tomography that the Earth is a kind of liquid on which the lithosphere is floating. His basis was partly due to the edges of the continents fit together as a puzzle. Also, rocks, plants, and animals that were spread across the globe must have started together because a rock didn’t swim to its new location. . Explain how seismic tomography has been used to show what is actually happening on Earth. Include in your answer a discussion of plate tectonics and sea-floor spreading. Like having an MRI of your brain, seismic tomography allows scientists to see the results that sound waves report when they bounce back from colder rock and warmer rock. This report shoes the convection of heat and rock that is occurring inside the Earth. This convection makes its way to the surface of the Earth whic h shifts the plates at the weak points.This moves those plates with sometime violent and dangerous results. The plates â€Å"ride† on more unstable parts of the Earth’s asthenosphere. The subduction zones allow rock to be moved downward as warmer rock moves up. 5. Explain how the laws of thermodynamics determine the motions that result in the formation of mountains and oceans. 1st law: Energy can be moved from one form to another but cannot be created or destroyed. This allowed for matter to be created from energy which was a preamble to the creation of the Solar System and most of the Universe; including mountains and oceans. nd Law: Energy of an object at the initial state is greater than then energy of that object at any other time; provided no new energy is introduced to the object. This law is the reason the conveyer belt theory works. Rocks on the mountains are washed to sea by water that was evaporated from the oceans to create rain which runs back out to the se a (carrying rock) to the subduction zones that will sink to the core which will heat the rock which will move to the colder area (the surface of the planet) causing a violent movement which pushes plates into each other creating more mountains. Lecture, Michael Wysession, 2008.

Nevada State Senatorial Race Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nevada State Senatorial Race - Research Paper Example The contest for the Nevada State Senate relied on a single seat. The contested seat was District 9, in a contest that made Becky Harris (R) beat current Justin Jones (D). GOP anticipated that Jones election in favor of needing background scrutiny for personal gun sales would swing voters to select Harris (Ballotpedia, 2014). The Nevada State Senate hinged on a 20 state lawmaking chambers renowned by Ballotpedia personnel as being a battlefield chamber. The Nevada Senate had a disparity in partisan equilibrium between Republicans and Democrats of one seat, which led to 9% of the vacancies for voting in 2014 (Ballotpedia, 2014). In a review of the behaviors of Nevada’s Senators, I would say the behaviors do not match more to the parties’ rhetoric. This is because the powers bestowed on them surpass partisan conducts. The Constitution empowers the Senate the authority to endorse, by a two-thirds majority, agreements made by the administrative branch. The Senate has discarded comparatively few of the hundreds of agreements it has assessed, although several have failed in committee or been inhibited by the president. They may also alter an agreement or adopt amendments to an agreement (Unite States Senate, n.d). The head of state may also enter into administrative agreements with overseas nations not affected by Senate approval. The Senate has the solitary authority to conduct summons trials, essentially issuing as judge and jury (Unite States Senate, n.d). Since 1789, the Senate has convicted seventeen government officials, comprising two presidents. The Senate has constantly enviously guarded i ts authority to review and commend or reject presidential choices to implement and judicial branch seats. The Constitution empowers that the head of state shall nominate, and by and with the counsel and approval of the Senate, shall hire Ambassadors (Unite States Senate, n.d). In considering the above constitution responsibilities that senators

Automotive Fair Price by Todd Low Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Automotive Fair Price by Todd Low - Essay Example The time in diagnosing the car is separate from the time used in fixing the car. Spending an hour on the car is more than enough to diagnose the problem. If I need extra time to find a fault, I will need to explain the customer in detail about the additional costs. My technician is appointed to diagnose the car; we are spending business hours in finding the fault with his car. That is an opportunity cost for us because we could be spending those hours fixing someone else’s car and earning money. If an arrangement is made with the customer where the technician drives the car to and from work, and driving during lunch breaks then this will be ethically more acceptable. The equipment, installed in the car, will record and diagnose the problem. The time my technician spends this way is not a burden on business hours. In this case, the total cost would come up for only two hours. The technician spent the first hour diagnosing the problem and did not find the fault. After that, the arrangement is made with the customer that my specialist will keep the car to find the problem. He will be driving the car to and from business and during lunch breaks. When he finds a fault, it will take probably less than an hour to fix it. So one hour for diagnosing and the other hour for fixing the problem would be charged from the customer. This method seems more professional than any of the other scenarios. What if you change every conceivable part that could cause this; would that be professional and ethical? If you cannot fix it, would it be more ethical to charge a nominal fee rather than what is due to you for services rendered? Changing every conceivable part is neither ethical nor professional. This way the customer will have to pay for the time consumed and the cost of new parts. Charging a nominal fee or for the services rendered will be an enormous burden on the client. The technician can use a 'trial and error' method, making educated guesses what the problem could be and then change that particular part.

Criminal Law Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Law Cases - Essay Example In the case of Johnson v. Texas, the appellant shot dead his accomplice Lean Freeman after an argument in which the offender was demanding his illegitimate money. The trial court had sentenced the offender to seventy-seven years for a crime of murder, but in his appeal, the defendant pointed out three mistakes committed by the trial court. He requested the appellate court to reverse the ruling of the trial court against overruling defendants request for lesser included offense charges, ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial misconducts. The appellant requested the lesser included charge of involuntary manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide by adding that his acts were in self-defense. The appellate court examined the issues under Royster test and decided that the appellant acted voluntarily and consciously with intent to cause harm to the victim. The appellate claim of self-defense was irresponsible because he took time to load the gun and shoot the victim. The c laim that defendant acted in self-defense cannot be substantiated because there was no evidence of any assault caused by the victim or any confirmation that he carried a gun with him (Pearson Education Inc., 2012). Furthermore, involuntary manslaughter would require a person to act involuntarily and recklessly. However, the appellant was not reckless considering the time he took to load the gun and point it at the victim after they had an argument. His actions were planned carefully after the argument.

Strategic analysis of IBM from 2000 to 2005 Essay

Strategic analysis of IBM from 2000 to 2005 - Essay Example 133). The company has recently adopted an integrated supply, manufacturing and distribution operation into one operating unit. In addition to its own manufacturing operations, the company uses a number of contract manufacturing (CM) companies to manufacture IBM-designed products. In their website, IBM stated that it spends nearly $2 billion a year with diverse suppliers, for example, greater than any other technology company. Yet more than managing their expenditures, IBM had emphasized a responsibility to hold themselves and their suppliers to high standards of behavior. This means complying with all applicable laws and regulations. They seem to support a strong commitment to work with suppliers to encourage sound practices and develop sound global markets. Despite their company's strong performance in the recent years, IBM is aware that it competes with several large players in the various industries it operates in. In the consulting and outsourcing industry, it faces stiff competition from Accenture and Capgemini. In the application infrastructure software business, IBM faces competition from BEA Systems, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft. In software, IBM is second to Microsoft, the world's largest software company. ... This is useful, because it could assist people in understanding both the strength of an industry's current competitive position and the strength of a position the industry is looking to move into. In analyzing the IBM's competitive environment, Porter's Five Forces will delineate that there are five important forces that determine competitive power in a situation: Supplier Power, Buyer Power, Competitive Rivalry, Threat of Substitution and Threat of New Entry. Supplier Power In their website, IBM mentioned that it developed an IBM Global Procurement, which is part of the Integrated Supply Chain organization. This arm of the IBM acquires goods and services for IBM and its clients. This is done with flexibility to sense and react to changing market dynamics. With few exceptions, this organization is the only group authorized to commit IBM funds to external suppliers. Furthermore, IBM explained that their Procurement fulfills its mission by using Global Commodity Councils to strategically source goods and services through a network of international, regional and emerging suppliers for IBM's varied businesses. Procurement is conducted in an environment of pervasive e-procurement across all steps of the acquisition process - from initial market segment intelligence and strategic sourcing, to tactical order placement, invoicing and electronic payment. With enhanced supplier interaction, Procurement takes responsibility to maintain IBM's competitiveness by enga ging suppliers to provide competitive advantage in cost, technology, innovation, speed to market, quality, and supply assurance. This responsibility includes activities such as supplier selection, negotiation

HR Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HR Proposal - Essay Example According to Yousef (2004), the Middle Eastern countries have the lowest levels of social and economic development in the world. The population in this region is approximately 313 million with a GDP of $732 billion (Yousef, 2004). Unemployment rate in Middle East is 15% which is among the highest rates globally (Yousef, 2004). This includes women rate of unemployment which is higher than the males. The role played by the women in the Middle East workforce is very little but very crucial. As more and more women enter the workforce, it is encouraging for the new generation women to take education which was once thought as an unnecessary thing (Ross, 2008). As women participate in the workplace, it open ups the view that they can earn their own income and thus contribute to the household besides the traditional household duties. For this reason, many Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE are increasing the women percentage in the workplace by expanding the jobs available to them. Most of the employment sectors heavily populated by women are education and health care (Rubin, 2007). According to a census in 2000, the women workforce occupied 74% of primary school, 54% of secondary school and a certain percentage of them were involved as police officers, military officers and taxi drivers (Rubin, 2007). The role of women in the workplace in Middle East is increasing especially in countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco and Kuwait as the governments are trying to provide better facilities to increase female participation. Female entrepreneurs are increasing rapidly. Many firms are operated by females in the aforementioned regions which are well-established, technologically advanced, productive and comparable to the male-owned firms not just regionally but globally (Ghimire, 2006). Most of these firms, according to Ghimire (2006), are 1.7 times more productive as compared to those owned and run by men. For example, a B2B trading

Summry of any book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summry of any book - Essay Example The reaping is a disillusioned period as it determines which boy and girl aged between 12 and 18 gets to serve the district’s tribute during the Hunger Games. The tributes are individuals who come from all of the 12 districts and they face each other in an arena where they must fight until there is only one remaining tribute. The victor ultimately receives a valued gift and in this context, it is food. A shocking turn of events turns up when Prim is the choice at the reaping. However, Katniss volunteers to take up her place as she is too young and she made a vow to protect her family at all costs. Another baffle comes in when a young boy, Peeta Mellark comes into the view of the reader as the other tribute. Katniss recalls that he had saved her by giving her bread and she felt obliged as she now owed him her life and in contrast she was contemplating killing him in the games. Katniss bids her family and friends goodbye and sets out on the train where they experience luxuries b eyond their wildest imagination. The novel ends with the two characters from District 12 going home as celebrated heroes. She knows that she pretended to love Peeta and this saved her from dying although her mind was instantly fixated on Gale. She is at a junction with her feelings as she is not certain who she truly loves, but must abide to the rules least Capitol take a large punishment on her for lying (Suzanne

Fashion Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Fashion Media - Essay Example The paper "Fashion Media" concerns the fashion and media. In both active and passive audience, theorists have come up to try and bring up their ideas related to these ends in relation to the social reality. Therefore, the key issues are how individual audiences cognitive of self and reality, and more so the cognitive process by which an individual receives and interprets media content and form. To achieve the answer to this question, the active audience are very vital members used in different theories, beliefs and conceits. According to different scholars, audience activity is a very important component in the study of the impact of mass media to the universe, and essential to the utilization and gratification approach. This gives a wide range of meanings termed as both merits and demerits of the construct. In this regard, these different definitions are such that it can be said to be both cognitive and socio-structural, normative and objective, socially variable and innate. An acti vity has been further defined by different scholars to exist preceding to media utilization, through media use and following media use. These different studies have given birth to complex and multi-dimensional constructs. The term audience activity is defined differently in relation to different terms. First is in relation to selectivity. In this, audience activity is depicted as the directing process of the media, program and content selection. In literature gratification, this term is used to represent selective disclosure.

Vietnam War Research Essay Example for Free

Vietnam War Research Essay The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. The North Vietnamese government and Viet Cong viewed the conflict as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S., and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a U. S. puppet state. American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962. U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned international borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. American involvement in the war peaked in 1968, at the time of the Tet Offensive. After this, U.S. ground forces were gradually withdrawn as part of a policy known as Vietnamization. Despite the Paris Peace Accords, signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued. U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973 as a result of the Case–Church Amendment passed by the U.S. Congress. The capture of Saigon by the Vietnam Peoples Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from fewer than one million to more than three million. Some 200,000–300,000 Cambodians, 20,000–200,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict. (WIKI PEDIA) Key Quotes: (NOTABLE QUOTES) The Vietnam War was arguably the most traumatic experience for the United States in the twentieth century. That is indeed a grim distinction in a span that included two world wars, the assassinations of two presidents and the resignation of another, the Great Depression, the Cold War, racial unrest, and the drug and crime waves. DONALD M. GOLDSTEIN This war in Vietnam is, I believe, a war for civilization. Certainly it is not a war of our seeking. It is a war thrust upon us and we cannot yield to tyranny. FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America not on the battlefields of Vietnam. MARSHALL MCLUHAN Our resistance will be long and painful, but whatever the sacrifices, however long the struggle, we shall fight to the end, until Vietnam is fully independent and reunified.

Why Religion Is Important To A Society Philosophy Essay

Why Religion Is Important To A Society Philosophy Essay Our moral convictions precede us as we find ourselves lamenting a loss or potential loss of something important. How we define what is and is not important is solely dependent upon how choose to grant entities significances and phase out related societal detriments said entities may pose. We have widespread traditions to uphold, which is the consensus throughout all of civilization. Though, the reach and continuity of the upholding remains considerably controversial. The religious-those who have willfully been indoctrinated, mostly-stand as major proponents of the aforementioned conundrum. They bring an matched sense of ambiguity to the table in regards to what we reserve strictly for a sentimental purpose over scientific purpose. A massive case in which this is highly evident is of the Kennewick Man. The Kennewick man dispute raised a bunch of issues regarding how religions have politics and science hogtied to a remarkably unavoidable pillar of contempt. It is a case in which the validity of scientific endeavor is challenged by the sacredness of religious conviction, and as a result of that turmoil, politics were compromised. -The Back Story What is important about the Kennewick Man situation is that among the most obvious problems regarding science and politics is the problem of ranking religious importance in a society. Surely, we can see that religion plays a big role in terms of freedom, but the reason for that is unclear. However, we can draw a number of conclusions in this regard which may rid some of the confusion involved. The Kennewick Man issue stems from the findings of the skeleton of a buried body dubbed the Ancient One on July 1996 below the surface of Lake Washington by two men. The remains instantly sparked controversy. It so happened that the skeleton was regarded as religiously bound in some way, which made it largely a religious issue. There were claims made by Indian tribes, local officials, and some members of the scientific community regarding ownership of the skeleton because of the controversy. As a result of the attention, in March of 1998, the department of Interior and National Park Service agreed to assist the COE in resolving some of the issues related to the Federal case (NPS, 2004) that was filed in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGRA). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were the owners of the land in which the remains of the Kennewick Man were found, so they were responsible for the findings. Therefore, they were targeted by those pushing for the bodys protection using the NAGRA. Naturally, there was a need for investigation, so scientists got involved and conducted research on the remains. For this operation, the Department of the Interior and National Park Service and the Corps of Engineers collaborated. Roughly eighteen highly referenced scholars and scientists conducted a variety of historical and scientific examinations, analyses, and studies. (NPS, 2004) This took place between 1998 and 2004 as the legal proceedings picked up in depth. According to the National Park Service (NPS), the Kennewick skeleton was physically examined, measured, and recorded using current and standard scientific methods and techniques. Sediments adhering to the bones and trapped within the bone cavities were described and analyzed for similarity with the soil sediments in the vicinity of the discovery of the skeletal remains. The stone projectile point embedded in the skeletons pelvis was described and analyzed. These findings were relevant to understanding the origins of the skeleton because they shed a near-full-on light of the reason the skeleton was there. Accordingly, the bones were sampled in order to confirm the ancient date for the remains, according to the report from the NPS. The report claimed that research had yielded five major scientific reports as a result of the separate experiments and tests performed by the researchers. These operations had been drastically exaggerated by the media during the time of the legal issues amid the controversy, with ignorance towards the actual reason for the scientific investigation. Essentially, the media missed the fact that the research had to be conducted because the origin of the man was up for dispute, which was a large piece of the legal issues following its discovery. It turned out that the remains were 9,300 years old, according to the research, which still rolls on into the late 2012. According to anthropologist Douglas Owsley, the conclusion of the age of the remains is important in the quest to understand where the now-famous Paleoamerican came from and who his descendants might be. In October of 2011, Owsley felt that it was extremely important to have a meeting with the Native American tribes of the area regarding the remains and the research regarding the remains because, according to him, [the Columbia Basin, where the remains were found], its their homeland territory, and they feel deep connections and roots. [He] felt it of vital important that [he] have a [face-to-face meeting and give them an overview as to what the scientific evidence was telling us. (Murphy, 2012) -Possible Reasoning for Religious Conviction Using Evo-bio Evidence Religious importance is no shallow issue in the case of the Kennewick man. A fact of relevance to that point is that humans have a considerable obligation to religion due to their biological makeup. The conviction towards the Kennewick man is, therefore, unsurprising since the discovery of the remains were inevitably controversial with the revelation of its Native American roots. We find that this obligation-the religious valuation-is innate to our neurological profiles. Particularly, we find that our brains have developed to process environments and problems within those environments with such an imagination that religion can come about at any moment. In order to understand how religion plays a role in society, we first need to understand why humans find certain objects sacred. For this, we can look at the development of the neo cortex in the brain. The neo cortex is responsible for almost all of which we process logically. As we rationalize, the neo cortex is providing the instructions much of the rest of the brain uses to compute one or more generalities. In the case of the Kennewick man, Native Americans extend their hand of conviction towards the remains and they and the remains combined stand as a good reason to look first how religion came about in the biological evolution of human beings. According to Robin Dunbar of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford, religion is adaptive. According to her, nothing as costly as religion could possibly be maladaptation or a mere by-product. She explored the significance of religion by evolutionary anthropologic findings in scientific research. She found that from we have discovered about the biological significance and origin of religion, there are four functions of religion: it 1) provides an explanation (provisional, however) for the complexities of the world; 2) causes psychological well-being, more or less; 3) triggers socialization; and finally, 4) it enforces conformity, which is actually a key characteristic of religion that we see vividly throughout the case of the Kennewick man. Since we have evolved to solve biological problems, part of our sophistication as organisms is structural, social belief systems. According to Dunbar, those who are actively religious usually live longer, are more content/happier, are less stressed, suffer fewer psychological problems, and recover faster from surgery. Dunbar claimed (with evidence) that multi-level social systems are common in mammals and that when sociality involves an implicit social contract, fitness accrues at the level of the individual, but through benefits generated by the ground. In other words, the combined conformity of each socialite equates to more efficient human beings and heightened, beneficial human instinctiveness. Dunbar, as other scientists have proposed, harped on the social brain hypothesis. According to the hypothesis, religious thought is attributed to brain sizes in primates. It has been reasoned that the size of the neo cortex is inversely relational to the magnitude or involvement in and of religious thought. It is also logical to conclude that the size of social groups are greatly based on the size of the neocortex. According to Dunbar, group size [and many aspects of smart behavior] are a function of neocortex volume. This is conspicuously evident in primate societies. This finding contributes to the fact that all primate societies are based on an implicit social contract, which is essentially cooperation. -Arguments Against Scientific Proceedings -Arguments For Scientific Proceedings Arguments against the ownership of the Kennewick mans remains by those other than the Native American tribes are significantly touch to come by. This is mainly because the Native Americans have almost no objective base for an argument against it. Accordingly, the Native Americans had absolutely no case against those who wanted to do research on the Kennewick man because the findings regarding the specific details of the remains are ambiguous. Therefore, the Native Americans cannot argue that the remains have tribal relevance. The courts concluded this and denied the Native Americans ownership rights over the remains. From there, the scientists were free to do as much research as they felt they needed to do without the consent of the litigating group of tribesmen (Doughton, 2006). The core reason for the scientific proceedings is quite common. In essence, the research would yield a clearer look into our existence as organisms, even sufficing as clearing up confusions regarding terrain and even territories. According to researchers, the North American and South American continents were once empty of people. Contrary to Indian religious beliefs that they have been here since the beginning of time, it is a fact that all humans, including the ancestors to modern Indians, came from Eurasia. (Jantz, 2005) The remains of the Kennewick man actually extends this fact tremendously by giving scientists and the public glimpses of the variety of people who were [in North America] prior to modern Indians. (Jantz, 2005) The study of the Kennewick man helps us figure out how humans spread throughout this region. The studies also show how we have adapted to changing weather conditions (in the most drastic of the sense) and regional obscenities having to do with other animals, food shortages and excess, and other elements. These discoveries have clear applications to our modern world. -How The Scientific Proceedings Are Important -How the Social Proceedings Are Important The question of what makes something important to a society is raised with the scientific proceedings and religion-related controversy. It is probably most wise to consider economic impact religion has in a society since religion has had a history of swaying governmental politics, particularly in judicial issues. However, by merely examining that our past scientific proceedings have constructed what we now know as survival mechanisms, we can rationally conclude that anything resulting from experimentation and deep analysis plays a role in the sustenance of human life. On the other hand, the metaphysical speculation involved in religion gives way to scientific dealings, which is why issues like the Kennewick man are considerably important. If the Native Americans had not disputed the issue, such research performed on the Kennewick man may not have been done, especially within the 2-year span (1998) that it took to file the suit and make a federal case out of it. -Conclusion Sum up the importance of Religion in Society Relate the Kennewick man to the sum What is apparent about the Kennewick man is that the remains held significant anthropological research data. Moreover, it sparked enough controversy to cause rapid development in the science world. It is that sort of ingenuity that religion causes, which makes religion one of the most important aspects of society-at least, this is the case for now, until we figure out how to spark research interest without subjective takes on reality. That said, we can rightfully blame doctrines such as religions as relevant to the solutions we need in order to survive as an adapting species. Without imaginative ideas and emotional charges, we are left with brute logic, which has its constraints and is never consistently sound, as far as we have come to know as experimenters. Therefore, we owe religion the respect it deserves as a sparker of new ideas and new efforts. Without it, our ideas remain unchallenged, and without challenge, we fact a stifled perspective.

Brave New World - A Wake-Up Call for Humanity Essay -- Brave New World

Brave New World - A Wake-Up Call for Humanity (this essay has problems with the format) Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England, human society has had to struggle to adapt to new technology. There is a shift from traditional society to a modern one. Within the last ten years we have seen tremendous advances in science and technology, and we are becoming more and more socially dependent on it. In the Brave New World, Huxley states that we are moving in the direction of Utopia much more rapidly than anyone had ever anticipated. Its goal is achieving happiness by giving up science, art, religion and other things we cherish in our world. It is an inhumane society controlled by technology where human beings are produced on assembly line. His prophetic elements of human beings being conditioned, the concerns for the environment, importance of genetic engineering and reproduction, and our physical and mental development has now been one of the major factors that the governments, businesses and educational institutions are exploiting today. We are subconscio usly moving to this bureaucracy of conformity, and Brave New World is a wake up call from our obsessions of standardization socially, economically and politically. The story took place in A.F (After Ford) 632, this is 632years after Ford has released the first T-ford. Huxley used ?After Ford?to show its great advancement in making automobiles as a company over the years. In 1932, Huxley introduced Brave New World to show his great concern of the Western civilization. He saw that in the 1900s there was a dramatic economic change in different countries, where the wholesalers are being eliminated, and manufacturers selling directly to the consumers. For example, at that time Ford makes cars and even sells them. They control who and where they sell. Technology and transportation was increasing tremendously, which caused more and bigger factories, mass-productions (eg. automobiles), and more manufactured goods. There were more volumes of trade and production due to more machinery. As markets are growing, activities, structures, as well as attitudes towards companies are changing. Robert Heibroner suggests that ?the rise of such giant enterprises has changed the face of capitalism as they attempt to alter the market setting through a system of public and private planning (p.43).? Like the vi... ...re before (in terms of wealth, happiness, etc)? Are we too reliant on technology and science? Where is our individuality? Where is the tradeoff? How can we change to stop ourselves from moving toward the so-called ?Utopia?society? It seems that we too, are living in an incubator, trapped and conditioned, and we must do something to stop this from happening. Bibliography Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperPerennial, 1946. http://www.primenet.com/~matthew/huxley/sub/Barron_BNW.html http://www.demigod.org/~zak/documents/high-school/brave-new-world/html http://www.ddc.net/ygg/etext/brave.htm Sexty,Robert. "Overview of the Business System" ,in Canadian Business and Society, Prentice-Hall, Scarborough, Ontario, 2005, pp5-22 Chandler, Alfred D.Jr. "The Roe of Business in the United States: A Historical Survey," in Business and Society, Barry Castro ed., Oxford University Press, pp.61-88 Steiner, G.A. and Steiner,J.F., "Critics of Business", in Business,Government and Society: A Managerial Perspective, 8th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2005.pp,69-90 Shaw, William H.., "The Nature of Capitalism",in Business Ethics, 3rd ed., Wadworth, 2006, pp.124-152

AC Bridge Circuits :: Papers

AC Bridge Circuits As we saw with DC measurement circuits, the circuit configuration known as a bridge can be a very useful way to measure unknown values of resistance. This is true with AC as well, and we can apply the very same principle to the accurate measurement of unknown impedances. To review, the bridge circuit works as a pair of two-component voltage dividers connected across the same source voltage, with a null-detector meter movement connected between them to indicate a condition of "balance" at zero volts: [IMAGE] Any one of the four resistors in the above bridge can be the resistor of unknown value, and its value can be determined by a ratio of the other three, which are "calibrated," or whose resistances are known to a precise degree. When the bridge is in a balanced condition (zero voltage as indicated by the null detector), the ratio works out to be this: [IMAGE] One of the advantages of using a bridge circuit to measure resistance is that the voltage of the power source is irrelevant. Practically speaking, the higher the supply voltage, the easier it is to detect a condition of imbalance between the four resistors with the null detector, and thus the more sensitive it will be. A greater supply voltage leads to the possibility of increased measurement precision. However, there will be no fundamental error introduced as a result of a lesser or greater power supply voltage unlike other types of resistance measurement schemes. Impedance bridges work the same, only the balance equation is with complex quantities, as both magnitude and phase across the components of the two dividers must be equal in order for the null detector to indicate "zero." The null detector, of course, must be a device capable of detecting very small AC voltages. An oscilloscope is often used for this, although very sensitive electromechanical meter movements and even headphones (small speakers) may be used if the source frequency is within audio range. One way to maximize the effectiveness of audio headphones as a null

Themes of Class and Society in Blood Brothers Essay -- essays research

Blood Brothers How does Willy Russell explore the themes of class and society through Mickey and Eddie on stage? Introduction Through out the play `Blood Brothers’ Willy Russell explore the themes of class and society through Mickey and Eddie. He uses to look at the ideas of different classes in society within the play. Willy Russell `Blood Brother’ concerned with issue of class in society and Eddie and Mickey represent working class and middle class respectively. The lifestyle of Eddie symbolyses a more comfortable, which he has many good things such as foods, sweet, money and the environment of Eddie. He also has comfortable with his parents. â€Å" It’s only because I love you, Eddie† it states that Eddie’s parents love him, huge him and even though he do not get punished like Mickey. Mickey receives little support where he lives in a rented council estate flat. â€Å" We come all this way just look at the bleeding estate†. This tells that Mickey live up by the park. Russell uses dramatic devices to reveal these differences to the audience. For example the dictionary, he uses dictionary in the middle class family because in the middle class family they have all kind of resources such as books. But the working class family does not have any of these resources. Fo r example Mickey don’t know what a dictionary is. â€Å" Its thing in it†, it comments on that there is much differences about the society through Mickey and Eddie to the audience. Russell clearly intends to show how society was divided by showing the effect upon two characters. â€Å" Give one to me†. On the past Mrs. Lyon took one of the twins from Mrs. Johnstone by persuading her before the twins were born. This is how Russell uses to show how society was split. .. ...h used to show the difference in class between Mickey and Eddie to the audience. The characters react each other about the way they speak and does. For example Willy Russell uses language of the two main characters to reveal the difference in their upbringings and education. Mickey regularly uses slang and shorten words â€Å" Gis a ciggie?† it shows that Mickey is unsatisfied with speaking standard English whilst Eddie shown to be posh by speaking eloquently, â€Å" you, sound dead funny swearing in that posh voice,† Willy Russell state here to show the diversity in class and society through out the play. It uses dramatic irony that the two characters are unknown to each other that they are twins, but the audience realise and know the relationship of Mickey and Eddie. This emphasises the effects of differences in class and that the audience will be more affected be event. Themes of Class and Society in Blood Brothers Essay -- essays research Blood Brothers How does Willy Russell explore the themes of class and society through Mickey and Eddie on stage? Introduction Through out the play `Blood Brothers’ Willy Russell explore the themes of class and society through Mickey and Eddie. He uses to look at the ideas of different classes in society within the play. Willy Russell `Blood Brother’ concerned with issue of class in society and Eddie and Mickey represent working class and middle class respectively. The lifestyle of Eddie symbolyses a more comfortable, which he has many good things such as foods, sweet, money and the environment of Eddie. He also has comfortable with his parents. â€Å" It’s only because I love you, Eddie† it states that Eddie’s parents love him, huge him and even though he do not get punished like Mickey. Mickey receives little support where he lives in a rented council estate flat. â€Å" We come all this way just look at the bleeding estate†. This tells that Mickey live up by the park. Russell uses dramatic devices to reveal these differences to the audience. For example the dictionary, he uses dictionary in the middle class family because in the middle class family they have all kind of resources such as books. But the working class family does not have any of these resources. Fo r example Mickey don’t know what a dictionary is. â€Å" Its thing in it†, it comments on that there is much differences about the society through Mickey and Eddie to the audience. Russell clearly intends to show how society was divided by showing the effect upon two characters. â€Å" Give one to me†. On the past Mrs. Lyon took one of the twins from Mrs. Johnstone by persuading her before the twins were born. This is how Russell uses to show how society was split. .. ...h used to show the difference in class between Mickey and Eddie to the audience. The characters react each other about the way they speak and does. For example Willy Russell uses language of the two main characters to reveal the difference in their upbringings and education. Mickey regularly uses slang and shorten words â€Å" Gis a ciggie?† it shows that Mickey is unsatisfied with speaking standard English whilst Eddie shown to be posh by speaking eloquently, â€Å" you, sound dead funny swearing in that posh voice,† Willy Russell state here to show the diversity in class and society through out the play. It uses dramatic irony that the two characters are unknown to each other that they are twins, but the audience realise and know the relationship of Mickey and Eddie. This emphasises the effects of differences in class and that the audience will be more affected be event.

Red Bull’s current marketing strategies Essay

How should Red Bull market its brand in the future? I think, although Red Bull has been extremely successful in the past, times have changed and the company and products should change with it, otherwise we probably lose market share to the tremendous increased number of competitors in no time.At the height of early mornings and late nights, Red Bull energy drink became the fuel of choice for people from all walks of life. So how is Red Bull marketing its brand to meet the changing needs and budgets of its customers? How will the privately owned Austrian company expand its product line beyond the silver-bullet beverage that â€Å"gives you wings†? My conclusion is that we should focus on what the consumers want, need, and can afford and different marketing techniques. Red Bull founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, introduced his â€Å"tonic drinks† to the Austrian market in 1987. â€Å"Red Bull got off the ground in no time flat, giving people wings right from the start.† It wasn’t until ten years later, Red Bull charged into the United States, launching a new category of non-soda energy drinks aimed at burned out high school kids, college students, and overworked individuals. In my opinion Red Bull should focus not only on low cost marketing, but also areas of mass marketing. Red Bull is an energy drink with an amazingly clever marketing strategy, but could use an extra shove in areas. Since its inception, Red Bull has shunned print advertising in its marketing strategy. Red Bull has also chosen to eliminate billboards, banner ads, taxicab holograms, blimps, and Super Bowl spots as a form of advertising. It has not created one web-marketing campaign, and it hasn’t nipped or expanded its product line. This could be a good area to begin. Promoting the drink with prints or web-marketing campaigns could add to the many satisfied consumers. Red Bull’s website could also use renovations. The website, http://www.redbullusa.com/start.html, does not include an in-depth analysis on ingredients contained in the drink, whereas Dark Dog and Red Devil do. If consumers wanted to learn what was contained in the drink and how they benefit from the product, the information should not only be available, but in abundance. Also, Super Bowl advertising has proved to be very beneficial,  with more viewers than any TV program. Advanced communications technology is creating a generation where many individual can be touched by one visual. However, Red Bull chooses to use advertising that cost little or nothing. Red Bull has also adopted another form of low cost advertising. Red Bull sets its grassroots ethic into motion with a simple, yet masterful marketing force, student brand managers. In Europe, collegiate buzz junkies have been successfully addicting friends and classmates for years thanks to a foolproof branding plan; Red Bull provides the student representatives with free cases of its energy drink and then encourages the kids to throw a party. Red Bull could also use this technique with older individuals in high stress occupations. This will not only spread the word quickly and cheaply, but to more individuals of different ages. This would allow Red Bull to expand its target. â€Å"In terms of attracting new customers and enhancing consumer loyalty, Red Bull has a more effective branding campaign than Coke or Pepsi,† says Nancy F. Koehn, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers’ Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Harvard Business School Press, 2001). â€Å"Red Bull is building a beverage brand without relying on the essential equipment of a mass-marketing campaign. Perhaps the indispensable tools of marketing aren’t so indispensable after all.† With the little advertising Red Bull uses, an extra push in one of these areas could prove very beneficial for the company. Resources: Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers’ Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Harvard Business School Press, 2001) http://www.redbullusa.com/start.html http://www.plan-b.biz/pdf/Speed_In_a_Can.pdf http://www.darkdog.com/ http://www.reddevilusa.com/ http://www.safefoodonline.com/safefood/Uploads/appendix_I_stimulant_drinks_in_ireland%2520_trans_mgmt.pdf

Miss Havisham Essay

Miss Havisham is first introduced to the reader when Mr Pumblechook (Pips Uncle) announces that Miss Havisham Requests Pips presence to play at her house. Miss Havisham fits into the main plot because she trains Estella to â€Å" break their hearts.† When Pip sees Estella for the fist time, he instantly falls in love with her. Miss Havisham sees this and she encourages Pip to do so. Miss Havisham was also, in Pips eyes, the cause of his ‘Great expectations’ Miss Havisham may also have been placed in the novel by Dickens, To explore how the effects of bad experiences on people. In this case it would be Miss Havisham being jilted on her wedding day In the first description of Satis house you get the image of a dilapidated house that has been abandoned even though there is someone there still living there. When pip goes to miss Havishams house she asks him to touch her heart. This according to her is ‘Broken.’ When Miss Havisham says ‘I sometimes have sick fancies’ this shows that Miss Havisham is mentally disturbed in the head. Satis house is an old decaying house, which was turned this way by Miss Havishams neglect. When Pip returns to miss Havishams she takes him into her wedding breakfast room. There is a rotting cake in the middle of the table. This sums up Miss Havishams life perfectly. Forgotten and Mouldy. Another thing that is made out to be strange is that all the clocks have been stopped at twenty to nine. This makes it sound like her life has been frozen in time, as she also wore one shoe, half her veil was arranged and she still wore a decaying wedding dress. This makes the readers believe that she has frozen time at that exact point. Miss Havisham plays an important part in the Novel as she leads pip into believing that she was his benefactor because he believed that she was rearing him for Estella when in fact it was the convict (Magwitch). Miss Havishams character at the beginning of the novel is made out to be cruel and heartless, however later on in the novel she turns over a new leaf and begs for Pip’s forgiveness just before she is burnt to death. Charles Dickens explores the theme of sin and forgiveness in the novel. Throughout the novel some of the people who have sinned tried to redeem themselves the other people who have sinned haven’t. In addition, Dickens explores the theme of what is a gentle man. Compyson Who jilted Miss Havisham and manipulated Magwitch into doing his dirty work was considered a gentle man whereas Joe Gargery took in pip even though he was not related to him in any way took Pip in and gave him an apprenticeship at the forge was not considered a gentle man because he had to work for a living. Dickens explores many themes in the Novel. The main one being the effects on people after a bad experience. In this case this is through Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham dearly loved Compeyson and she cast away most of her family who forewarned her that he was trouble, But she ignored them all and when she got jilted by him on her wedding day she realised that her family were right. After this Miss Havisham adopted Estella so she could raise her up to be invulnerable to the effects of society were in actual fact she was more vulnerable when she grew up. Miss Havisham also raised her up to ‘break the hearts’ of men. This in a way is revenge for what Compeyson put Miss Havisham Through. Another theme in the novel is sin and forgiveness. In Victorian society many people went to church so many people believed in Heaven and Hell. Throughout the novel many people sin. Magwitch, Compeyson, Miss Havisham Orlick and many more. Some of these people try to redeem themselves like Magwitch who became a secret benefactor to Pip. ‘I sleep rough so you can sleep smooth’ also Miss Havisham realises that that she has destroyed two people’s lives. She tries to redeem herself by grovelling to Pip. ‘Oh what have I done’ she also explains what she did to Estella ‘I stole her heart and put ice in its place.’ This shows that Miss Havisham realised how she has raised her to be cruel, emotionless, and how she destroyed Estella’s life. Other people, who sinned, like Compeyson, were killed in a most horrific way. Drowning in a river while having a fight with Magwitch killed Compeyson. Over all Miss Havisham started in the novel to be a cruel, perverted character however towards the end of the novel she redeems herself by begging for Pips forgiveness.

Automobile Brake-by-Wire Essay

This paper was prepared for Braking Systems, taught by Professor Kelley Automobiles have changed considerably since Henry Ford first produced economical vehicles rapidly. He was the one to start the Ford Motor Company. Ford vehicles, as many other vehicle companies have allowed people to think in a different way as to how we travel from point A to point B in a resourceful manner. Today’s vehicle owners feel having new features and advanced technology in our vehicles are considered a luxury. When a driver is behind the wheel, they feel in control of where they are going and when they want to stop. But when it comes to having new equipment in our vehicles, we want to know how it all works. We know when we want to stop either for stop signs or preventing an accident with a person or an object. The driver is always thinking of when they may need to brake and how to react when the braking happens. America’s popular cars are continuously evolving. Many engineers who are currently working on producing and designing vehicle models are bringing new features that will appear sooner than later. Since the person at the wheel will not have the authority to brake when they feel necessary, placement of these new digital technologies is a dramatic change for drivers. Drivers will need to understand functions of the new digital technologies that are being installed in their vehicles. They also must be aware of the changes that will affect them. Engineers who are working in the auto industry have liked the new brake-by-wire technology idea and some vehicles such as Ford, GMAC, and BMW have introduced this digital feature in their most recent models. A vehicle defined by wire is referred to when one or more of the primary vehicle systems operate with electronic controls instead of a traditional mechanical linkage. Companies are experimenting with this feature and studying the benefits from changing our current brake system to digital brakes for our future vehicles. As this is being done I really hope these engineers and companies are researching this new technology so that accidents can be prevented and eliminated. I personally am excited about the digital technology that vehicles are equipped with. The pressure of driving will be taken off the driver tremendously. This new system will allow the driver to be more engaged in the entertainment process with the passengers. Looking at the scenery or messing with the radio are luxuries that the driver really doesn’t have. With this new technology the driver will not have to worry about when to brake or how to stop the vehicle. I assume that the tiny digital chip that is installed to operate this system will do its job accurate and correctly. I assume that the driver will only have the responsibility to maneuver and adjust the speed of the vehicle. On the other hand, this theory is very concerning to me, we as drivers feel comfortable when we have control over when and how we stop. Too many questions rise in my mind, when technology is responsible for doing the work. Again, when I press on the brakes I do not like the idea of a chip having all the control of stopping my vehicle. Although we are not fully aware of this new system yet, I feel that in the long run this new system will only create problems. I imagine that there will be more accidents occurring due to the idea of a chip stopping the vehicle will wear out or possibly just simply fail. I also feel that with this new technology, society will have a different outlook on driving. My question is, will more accidents occur due to the possible wear and failure of the chip responsible for stopping. Not only will this system create problems for our future but I’m sure it will only get more expensive. I as well as many other drivers can barely afford to buy a simple vehicle, let alone an expensive high tech vehicle. Any technological advancement that appears in our lives will change our way of living and thinking. This will have a big impact on consumers. The by wire systems will benefit drivers to have the brake by wire installed in our vehicles in the next 10 years. It may not be far off from now when vehicles will have the brake by wire, but in the meantime we will depend on the development and accuracy for the brake by wire to work effectively. Of course we must save money for these high tech vehicles because I’m sure future vehicles involving these elaborate systems will only continue to be more costly. References Fantanelle, Anthony. â€Å"Brake-By-Wire Promises to be the Brake System of the Future. † ArticleBase. http://www. articlesbase. com/automotive-articles/brakebywire-promises-to-be-the-brake-system-of-the-future-113122. html. , March 06, 2007. August 29, 2013.

Hydraulic Fracturing Essay

Thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface, flows vast reservoirs of one of our planets most sought after commodities. In ancient Babylon there are writings of a dark elixir oozing from the lands surface, even then the people understood how precious this material was. Oil, along with Natural gas, are exceptionally rich sources of energy. A gallon of oil surpasses the output of five kg of coal, ten kg of wood, and over fifty times the amount of energy that fifty humans can produce. The richest oil can actually provide one hundred more times the energy, than the resources used to extract it from the ground. Currently the US is entering one of the largest modern oil booms the world has ever seen. Unfortunately unlike in ancient Babylon, oil today does not simply ooze out of the ground and into our cars. New advances in science and visualization technology have given us a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Also known as horizontal drilling, or fracking, these new techniques h ave caused a great controversy and sparked a public debate over the potential risks â€Å"fracking† could ensue on our environment. Despite the negative pictures environmental lobbyists have painted, hydraulic fracturing is essential for the future of America’s economy. Its main purpose is to create jobs, a stable market, and advance the future of clean energy in the United States. Currently, there has been a focused attention on the negative environmental impacts fracking could potentially carry with it especially in the water supply. There are hundreds of on-going investigations taking place to ensure the protection of the environment as well the health of citizens who currently populate near sites that are using a horizontal drilling method. Most of the negative impacts on the environment, associated with fracking, are poorly understood by the general public. The water supply has been one of the main concerns voiced by lobbyists and various media outlets. Currently the United States government has issued extensive research on the matter through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has focused much of its attention on the sustainability of the water supply and soil surrounding current and former drilling sites. The EPA recently released on their main website a statement  confirming the following: The EPA currently is working closely with indus try partners to identify locations and develop research activities for prospective case studies. In prospective case studies, research at the site begins before hydraulic fracturing occurs, and then continues during and after hydraulic fracturing activities. The studies to date have shown no correlation to contaminated water supplies before or after the process of hydraulic fracturing. According to the New York Times, â€Å"Shale gas is accessed at depths of thousands of feet while drinking water is extracted from depths of only hundreds of feet. Nowhere in the state have fracking compounds injected at depth been shown to contaminate drinking water.† It is important to understand the process at which the gas is extracted to understand where the areas of risk occur. â€Å"Each well contains multiple layers of steel casing and cementing to effectively protect groundwater.† (API 1) This is essential to the protection of our water supply. It is important to understand the access large oil companies have to advanced equipment and the most brilliant minds. Each year bill ions of dollars are spent on research towards the extraction and containment of natural gas as well how to dampen the carbon footprint left after drilling. Many natural gas operators have chosen to disclose the ingredients of their cocktails to the website FracFocus.org, it is operated by the Groundwater Protection Council. This website includes a public record that can be examined by drill site or well location, individuals can effortlessly view the components used to fracture detailed wells. â€Å"As of early 2012, nearly one hundred companies have already provided information about approximately ten thousand wells and that number increases every day.† (API) Companies in our modern society understand the importance of transparency. Access to websites and detailed logs have given the public the ability to make their own judgments on the safety of individual operators. This makes large and independent companies held to higher standards than ever before. While there are greenhouse gases released during the extraction process they are significantly less than our current coal-fired plants. â€Å"Shale gas emits half the carbon diox ide per unit of energy as does coal, and coal burning also emits metals such as mercury into the atmosphere that eventually settle back into our soils and waters.† (New York Times) This is of great importance to understand especially as one of the oldest and largest coal-fired plant operates in  west Texas. Advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club are fighting to shut down these highly destructive plants. â€Å"Coal and gas-fired power plants emit more than 2.3 billion metric tons per year of carbon pollution, approximately 40% of total U.S. energy-related carbon pollution.†(SierraClub.Org) Because of intense restrictions any emissions from oil and gas wells must stay within agreed state and federal restrictions to guarantee the health and well-being of residents. â€Å"Natural gas is considered a clean burning fuel because of its comparatively low emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.†(API 1) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, natural gas-fired electricity generates half the carbon dioxide of coal-fired production. As a country we have gained a dependency on energy and as we grow new techniques will have to be discovered to maintain our consumption rate. Hydraulic Fracturing brings us closer to clean energy while having an instanta neous benefit to our atmosphere and environment by making dangerous coal-fired plants obsolete. The oil and natural gas industry resources are considerably valuable to the United States ‘economy as one of the country’s major employers and buyers of imports. Maintaining its growth through a struggling economy, America’s oil and natural gas operators carry on to deliver well-paying employment, returns to administrations and share growth for millions of Americans. â€Å"With increased access to U.S. oil and gas resources we can create 1 million new jobs in the next ten years alone.†(Green 1) That means if the nation could regulate the practice of fracking, while protecting the environment, it in return would create one million American jobs. That would not only raise our unemployment rate exponentially, but would insert millions of tax dollars back into the economy for improved infrastructure or education. â€Å"Expansion of oil and natural gas shale assets sustained more than 2.1 million jobs in 2012.†(API 1) Affordable, native natural gas is vital to refreshing the chemical, manufacturing, and steel industries. These great industries have supported our nation in the past and will continue into the future. The America n Chemistry Council determined: A 25 percent increase in the supply of ethane (the liquid derived from shale gas) could add over 400,000 jobs across the economy, provide over $4.4 billion annually in federal, state, and local tax revenue, and spur $16.2 billion in capital investment by the chemical industry That added boost to  the job market is a gift long overdue to our struggling economy. Similarly, the National Association of Manufacturers estimated that high recovery of shale gas and lower natural gas prices will help U.S. manufacturers employ 1,000,000 workers by 2025. This will directly stimulate small town communities by offering technical job positions with life-long benefits. As well the added income will help to slowly relieve the burden of debt many families are suffering from. An IHS report, America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy, estimates that: â€Å"Mainly due to lower energy prices, average disposable income per household increased by more than $1,200 in 2012.†(IHS 4) This has continuously been omitted from the main stream media. Numerous industry sponsored reports are connecting gushing oil and natural gas production brought on by fracking is lifting the United States economy by dropping energy costs for clients and producers. It has a direct correlation as we produce more on shore energy our costs and high import taxes decrease. This in affect has a trickle-down policy when oil costs less to extract, ship, and use then household energy bills go down. President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address the President claimed recognition for governing the leading decline in oil imports in current times and for accomplishing the lowest use of need on oil imports in sixteen years. He accredited that notable outcome somewhat to improved oil production in North and South Dakota but mainly to the substantial surge in gas production that has directly stemmed from hydraulic fracturing. There is a clear indication that the risks of fracking are reducing day by day as the benefits continue to increase. The crash of 2008 brought our economy to a grinding halt. There is currently no other market that could stimulate the economy as much as the energy sector. The United States Economy will progress substantially over the next ten years due to the shale boom. Hydraulic fracturing will reduce the cost of energy while raising manufacturing. Most importantly it will reassure chemical and technology companies will receive higher endowments givin g us an edge over our competitors. Fracking will also reduce the cost of transportation by fueling our vehicles with clean natural gas. By performing quality due diligence we can omit the fears associated with hydraulic fracturing once and for all. Joint cooperation from the US Department of Energy and the International Energy Agency will contribute access to up to date reports on the environment and public safety. Hydraulic fracturing offers us hundreds of years producing clean, dependable, sustainable energy. It will directly affect the following generations while having a positive effect on our current economy. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing is the future without it, we would lose 45 percent of domestic natural gas production and 17 percent of our oil production within 5 years.†(API 1) Some view hydraulic fracturing in an undesirable context. I am confident in hydraulic fracturing and see it as a window of opportunity for America that will help boost the economy while giving an immediate reduction in greenhouse gases. The benefits and rewards of hydraulic fracturing simply outweighs the risks. Works Cited Brantley, Susan L., and Anna Meyendorff. â€Å"The Facts on Fracking.† Nytimes.com. New York Times, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Efstathiou, Jim, Jr. â€Å"Bloomberg.† Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. . Green, Mark. â€Å"Energy Tomorrow Home.† Energy Tomorrow Home. API.ORG, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Hassett, Kevin A., and Aparna Mathur. â€Å"American Enterprise Institute.† AEI. Aei.org, 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Larson, John W., and Richard Fullenbaum. Americas New Energy Future. Rep. no. Vol. 3. IHS.com, Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Pierce, Richard J., Jr. â€Å"Scholarly Commons.† Site. Gwu.edu, 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. . â€Å"Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet.† Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet. Sierraclub.org, 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Department of the Enviroment. Progress Report Webinar. Epa.gov, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. . Zobak, Mark. â€Å"American Petroleum Institute.† American Petroleum Institute. API.ORG, Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Discussion post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion post - Essay Example Acute pain serves the purpose of a warning of existing tissue damage, and this is supposed to alert the patient to seek medical advice (Porth & Hannon, 2009). Chronic pain takes a long time that it is anticipated after the patient suffers from an injury. It is characterized by psychological behavior that is exhibited by signs such as depression, irritability, and depression. On the other hand, visceral pain originates from visceral parts and is caused by an illness. It is in regard to typical parts of the body of the similar dermatome. The general visceral pain syndromes are pains related to ovarian disease, liver disease, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and uterine diseases. I agree with Kim Pappas that pains are different and therefore the treatment given is different. The acute pain duration is between seconds, days and six months, while chronic pain takes a long time from six months to years. In chronic pain can be treated using cannabis, nerve blocks, biofeedback, acupuncture, painkillers, and narcotics magnets. Acute pain is treated to prevent the pain from developing to chronic pain. Moreover, somatic pain is as a result of activation of pain receivers in musculoskeletal or body surface organs. Patients suffering from the pain describe it as aching or dull (Porth & Hannon, 2009). I agree with Josyln Pridgen on presentation of bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in patients. The diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder must meet the diagnosis as required by DSm to determine if the client suffers from social impairment or clinically. The illness is characterized by low standard of life and increasing disability. The disability is in terms of impairment of work and distress and takes duration of two weeks to six months (Montgomery, 2009). Bipolar disorder is also called manic depression disease, and it causes mood swings in a patient. There are two mood swings that are mania and depression. During depression condition, the

External Recruiting Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

External Recruiting - Article Example The ideal UPS of these people is that they must love talking and must be good talkers whether in one-on-one situation or giving a public talk. It is the recruiter who provides first impression of the firm to potential employees and therefore, he should be able to communicate the job in a desirable manner. He should be seen as someone who is not exaggerating and is telling the features of the job based on his experiences in the situation. Therefore, firms should guide their recruiters through in-house training regiment where they should acquaint their recruiters with the firm's goals, core values and recruiting strategies. Recruiters should also be taught follow-up skills which will be helpful in answering the questions asked by prospective employees. Once all of this is done, recruiters should be confident enough to increase the quantity of quality people in the firm. In the end, the author says that it is imperative that recruiters should go through these processes to meet the organ ization's future staffing needs. This article gives us insight on how the modern firms look at the process of recruiting and the selecting the right recruiter. A recruiter is not someone who has to just fill forms and interview possible candidates.

Career Action Plan and Self Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Career Action Plan and Self Reflection - Essay Example This essay analyzes and discusses the areas of strength or core competencies of the researcher. Based on that study, the researcher will be developing his CV and a carer action plan. In addition, the researcher also carries out a personal analysis and a gap analysis. Apart from that the researcher also emphasizes on his team working abilities. Finally, the researcher draws a conclusion that is based on the personal analysis. The essay mostly focuses on analysing of the opportunities of self employment in the Informational Technology field of industry. From the essay the researcher have found that Informational Technology industry is one of the booming industries of the world today. The essay also revealed that the IT industry is presently valued at $1,183.3 billion and is expected to reach $1,549.7 billion by 2016. Moreover in USA, the self employment opportunities in this sector have increased substantially recent years. In the previous essay the researcher have found that opportuni ties for graduates in IT sector are very high and can offer a good career. Due to stringent competition, more and more graduates are therefore taking up self employment in Information Technology sector. Now in this context, the researcher states that he needs to enhance his technical skills and needs to a get a technical certification for getting self employed. Therefore on a whole, the researcher believes that self employment in the IT industry can provide good opportunities and can help the researcher to witness growth in his career.

Adolescent Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adolescent Suicide - Essay Example First three things explain the 100% increase in suicides since 1960. However since 1997, despite the proliferation of guns, less parental attachment and more access to alcohol and drugs, the suicide rates are coming down. The anti-depressant medicine is considered responsible for this improvement (Berger). Similarly, a combination of medicine and cognitive-behavioral therapy has been found to be most effective for combating suicidal tendency (Berger). The availability of guns increases chances of fatal injuries/ completed suicides. This fact has been corroborated by the fact that about 52% of all suicides were with firearms (Jason, 2011). It should however be noted that guns may not be considered responsible for creating suicidal tendencies. Firearms are just instruments which are used for suicide. As long as there is the desire to commit suicide, more and more ways will become available. Despite the proliferation of guns over time, the suicide rates have been coming down since 1997 (McIntosh, 2011). The mix of suicidal ideation and availability of drugs is the most fatal combination as the suicidal ideation might lead to the use of drugs and the use of drugs might precipitate the suicidal tendencies. Malcolm Lowry (1909-1957), the British novelist and short-story writer was left by his parents at the mercy of â€Å"sadistic nannies or indifferent foster-parents† during his early childhood and later he developed emotional problems as a result of which he became alcoholic by age 13 (Day, 1973). A combination of factors precipitated his suicidal tendency resulting in his finally shooting himself (Shulman, 2011). The inappropriate or absence of parental supervision precipitates the desire to commit suicide. The fractured married life of the parents of John Berryman, the American poet, led to Berryman’s father shoot himself. While still a child, Berryman used to ask his mother as to why his father

Government Spending and Taxation, Lessons from the Great Depression Essay

Government Spending and Taxation, Lessons from the Great Depression and The Economics of Social Security - Essay Example 1447- 1448)1. Keynes’s theory advocates that higher government spending and curtailment in taxes could be helpful in counteracting the depression (Kindleberger 1986, p. 24)3. There is no mutual agreement on the idea of what were the main causes of the Great Depression of the USA. Reviewing its core nature, many believe that the severe contraction in early 1930s and later its slow recovery represent that fiscal policy had a minor role in this phenomena. Thinkers have come to this conclusion through theoretical and empirical studies of that period. Theorists say that even though federal government spending had risen considerably, it was not high enough to have a greater impact on the overall economy (Brown 1956, pp. 860 - 861). On the contrary, few economists believe that fiscal policy played a vital role in the emergence of the Great Depression (McGrattan 2011, p 1)4. One of the most prominent changes in fiscal policy at that time was a sharp surge in taxes rates on the incomes of individuals which encompass corporate dividends. Hovering taxes is one of the worst measures that government take to overcome crisis which makes the situation even worse. Increasing tax rates leave less money for consumers to spend and hence under this situation Federal Reserve suggests the government to refrain from this approach (Taylor 2002, p. 3). The Great Depression which left many people out of pocket and discontented, ended up with the idea of social security that called for the government to take up the responsibility of economic security of its citizens. The New Deal provided people with the Social Security system in which employees give their contribution through taxes while they are on job to secure their future in economic term. The statistics displayed in this particular representative form specifically imply that during the great depression i.e. around 1932 Private sector investments were the lowest hence taxation

Criminal justice Mini study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal justice Mini study - Research Paper Example The research problem in this context can be recognized as the conduct of graffiti by gangs in community such as in schools. Conceptually, graffiti refers to certain writings or drawings made on the walls of the communities asserting messages of threat. In various cities of the nations like in the case of New York, the police officers have been assigned to look after this issue. Thus, in this regard, graffiti in the community is the research problem to be identified (Maxfiled and Babbie 237-238). Reviewing the prior research. Prior research refers to the study of the current situation of the problem of graffiti with reference to the available data. This step of planning gives more attention on the selection of data collection method and also gives a clear view of the measures to be taken for solving the problem. Relating to this aspect, the notion of units of analysis specifies on the identification of the problem through the conduct of researches based upon primary along with secondary data (Maxfiled and Babbie 237-238). Research findings of content analysis of graffiti in community. Research findings will contain the implications of the problem i.e. conduct of graffiti in the community. This provides much attention on the goals and the rationales of the study conducted on graffiti in the community. The other aspect concerning the formation of content analysis require to be taken into concern is that the study must not be too limited towards manifest content and also not much extended towards latent analysis. Manifest analysis gives more importance to the goal of the study, whereas latent analysis focuses upon seeking independent evidences. With regards to the problem of graffiti, it can be affirmed that this problem must not only be identified, rather proper solutions to eradicate this must be found out and implemented (Maxfiled and Babbie 237-238). Planning of coding system for the study. This planning step focuses upon the establishment of

Family in Europe Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 6

Family in Europe - Coursework Example This was generally expressed in terms of the father as king over the family. He was the ultimate authority who decided all things and in whose hands the welfare of all rested. However, problems at the state level began to change this dynamic. It was proven again and again that the kings did not necessarily take their paternal duties seriously, allowing many of their ‘children’ to die of disease and starvation. In order to break with these monarchs, it was necessary to break the linkage in people’s minds between the king and the father. This break, once instituted, remained and the political role of the family in terms of defining the operations of the state waned. The idea that the father was the king of the family led to a natural relationship between the king and the father. Viewed as a king, the King of a nation was often too abstract and distant for common people to fully understand or heed allegiance to. However, thinking of the king as the father made him instantly more accessible as his duties became clear in the minds of the populace. While peasants had a very little conception of what a king was required to do in order to make the state operate efficiently, they were able to envision him as the man taking care of all the top-level orders that would be necessary for the running of an efficient estate as the father normally did. This was true whether the estate was a leased cottage on farmland or a grand collection of homes and properties that each had to be maintained. This connection was reinforced by Biblical connection to the tasks laid upon Adam and the analogy between king and God in that each determined the fates of the flock of ‘children’ under him. Adam was given the rulership over all life on earth, highlighting the need for a supreme ‘decider’ while God was the ultimate father in heaven.  

Critique of Pure Reason Essay Example for Free

Critique of Pure Reason Essay Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is the central figure in modern philosophy. He synthesized early modern rationalism and empiricism, set the terms for much of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy, and continues to exercise a significant influence today in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and other fields. The fundamental idea of Kants â€Å"critical philosophy† — especially in his three Critiques: the Critique of Pure Reason (1781, 1787), the Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790) — is human autonomy. He argues that the human understanding is the source of the general laws of nature that structure all our experience; and that human reason gives itself the moral law, which is our basis for belief in God, freedom, and immortality. Therefore, scientific knowledge, morality, and religious belief are mutually consistent and secure because they all rest on the same foundation of human autonomy, which is also the final end of nature according to the teleological worldview of reflecting judgment that Kant introduces to unify the theoretical and practical parts of his philosophical system. 1. Life and works Immanuel Kant was born April 22, 1724 in Konigsberg, near the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Today Konigsberg has been renamed Kaliningrad and is part of Russia. But during Kants lifetime Konigsberg was the capitol of East Prussia, and its dominant language was German. Though geographically remote from the rest of Prussia and other German cities, Konigsberg was then a major commercial center, an important military port, and a relatively cosmopolitan university town. [1] Kant was born into an artisan family of modest means. His father was a master harness maker, and his mother was the daughter of a harness maker, though she was better educated than most women of her social class. Kants family was never destitute, but his fathers trade was in decline during Kants youth and his parents at times had to rely on extended family for financial support. Kants parents were Pietist and he attended a Pietist school, the Collegium Fridericianum, from ages eight through fifteen. Pietism was an evangelical Lutheran movement that emphasized conversion, reliance on divine grace, the experience of religious emotions, and personal devotion involving regular Bible study, prayer, and introspection. Kant reacted strongly against the forced soul-searching to which he was subjected at the Collegium Fridericianum, in response to which he sought refuge in the Latin classics, which were central to the schools curriculum. Later the mature Kants emphasis on reason and autonomy, rather than emotion and dependence on either authority or grace, may in part reflect his youthful reaction against Pietism. But although the young Kant loathed his Pietist schooling, he had deep respect and admiration for his parents, especially his mother, whose â€Å"genuine religiosity† he described as â€Å"not at all enthusiastic. † According to his biographer, Manfred Kuehn, Kants parents probably influenced him much less through their Pietism than through their artisan values of â€Å"hard work, honesty, cleanliness, and independence,† which they taught him by example. [2] Kant attended college at the University of Konigsberg, known as the Albertina, where his early interest in classics was quickly superseded by philosophy, which all first year students studied and which encompassed mathematics and physics as well as logic, metaphysics, ethics, and natural law. Kants philosophy professors exposed him to the approach of Christian Wolff (1679–1750), whose critical synthesis of the philosophy of G. W. Leibniz (1646–1716) was then very influential in German universities. But Kant was also exposed to a range of German and British critics of Wolff, and there were strong doses of Aristotelianism and Pietism represented in the philosophy faculty as well. Kants favorite teacher was Martin Knutzen (1713–1751), a Pietist who was heavily influenced by both Wolff and the English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). Knutzen introduced Kant to the work of Isaac Newton (1642–1727), and his influence is visible in Kants first published work, Thoughts on the True Estimation of Living Forces (1747), which was a critical attempt to mediate a dispute in natural philosophy between Leibnizians and Newtonians over the proper measurement of force. After college Kant spent six years as a private tutor to young children outside Konigsberg. By this time both of his parents had died and Kants finances were not yet secure enough for him to pursue an academic career. He finally returned to Konigsberg in 1754 and began teaching at the Albertina the following year. For the next four decades Kant taught philosophy there, until his retirement from teaching in 1796 at the age of seventy-two. Kant had a burst of publishing activity in the years after he returned from working as a private tutor. In 1754 and 1755 he published three scientific works — one of which, Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens (1755), was a major book in which, among other things, he developed what later became known as the nebular hypothesis about the formation of the solar system. Unfortunately, the printer went bankrupt and the book had little immediate impact. To secure qualifications for teaching at the university, Kant also wrote two Latin dissertations: the first, entitled Concise Outline of Some Reflections on Fire (1755), earned him the Magister degree; and the second, New Elucidation of the First Principles of Metaphysical Cognition (1755), entitled him to teach as an unsalaried lecturer. The following year he published another Latin work, The Employment in Natural Philosophy of Metaphysics Combined with Geometry, of Which Sample I Contains the Physical Monadology (1756), in hopes of succeeding Knutzen as associate professor of logic and metaphysics, though Kant failed to secure this position. Both the New Elucidation, which was Kants first work concerned mainly with metaphysics, and the Physical Monadology further develop the position on the interaction of finite substances that he first outlined in Living Forces. Both works depart from Leibniz-Wolffian views, though not radically. The New Elucidation in particular shows the influence of Christian August Crusius (1715–1775), a German critic of Wolff. [3] As an unsalaried lecturer at the Albertina Kant was paid directly by the students who attended his lectures, so he needed to teach an enormous amount and to attract many students in order to earn a living. Kant held this position from 1755 to 1770, during which period he would lecture an average of twenty hours per week on logic, metaphysics, and ethics, as well as mathematics, physics, and physical geography. In his lectures Kant used textbooks by Wolffian authors such as Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–1762) and Georg Friedrich Meier (1718–1777), but he followed them loosely and used them to structure his own reflections, which drew on a wide range of ideas of contemporary interest. These ideas often stemmed from British sentimentalist philosophers such as David Hume (1711–1776) and Francis Hutcheson (1694–1747), some of whose texts were translated into German in the mid-1750s; and from the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), who published a flurry of works in the early 1760s. From early in his career Kant was a popular and successful lecturer. He also quickly developed a local reputation as a promising young intellectual and cut a dashing figure in Konigsberg society. After several years of relative quiet, Kant unleashed another burst of publications in 1762–1764, including five philosophical works. The False Subtlety of the Four Syllogistic Figures (1762) rehearses criticisms of Aristotelian logic that were developed by other German philosophers. The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God (1762–3) is a major book in which Kant drew on his earlier work in Universal History and New Elucidation to develop an original argument for Gods existence as a condition of the internal possibility of all things, while criticizing other arguments for Gods existence. The book attracted several positive and some negative reviews. In 1762 Kant also submitted an essay entitled Inquiry Concerning the Distinctness of the Principles of Natural Theology and Morality to a prize competition by the Prussian Royal Academy, though Kants submission took second prize to Moses Mendelssohns winning essay (and was published with it in 1764). Kants Prize Essay, as it is known, departs more significantly from Leibniz-Wolffian views than his earlier work and also contains his first extended discussion of moral philosophy in print. The Prize Essay draws on British sources to criticize German rationalism in two respects: first, drawing on Newton, Kant distinguishes between the methods of mathematics and philosophy; and second, drawing on Hutcheson, he claims that â€Å"an unanalysable feeling of the good† supplies the material content of our moral obligations, which cannot be demonstrated in a purely intellectual way from the formal principle of perfection alone (2:299). [4] These themes reappear in the Attempt to Introduce the Concept of Negative Magnitudes into Philosophy (1763), whose main thesis, however, is that the real opposition of conflicting forces, as in causal relations, is not reducible to the logical relation of contradiction, as Leibnizians held. In Negative Magnitudes Kant also argues that the morality of an action is a function of the internal forces that motivate one to act, rather than of the external (physical) actions or their consequences. Finally, Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime (1764) deals mainly with alleged differences in the tastes of men and women and of people from different cultures. After it was published, Kant filled his own interleaved copy of this book with (often unrelated) handwritten remarks, many of which reflect the deep influence of Rousseau on his thinking about moral philosophy in the mid-1760s. These works helped to secure Kant a broader reputation in Germany, but for the most part they were not strikingly original. Like other German philosophers at the time, Kants early works are generally concerned with using insights from British empiricist authors to reform or broaden the German rationalist tradition without radically undermining its foundations. While some of his early works tend to emphasize rationalist ideas, others have a more empiricist emphasis. During this time Kant was striving to work out an independent position, but before the 1770s his views remained fluid. In 1766 Kant published his first work concerned with the possibility of metaphysics, which later became a central topic of his mature philosophy. Dreams of a Spirit-Seer Elucidated by Dreams of Metaphysics, which he wrote soon after publishing a short Essay on Maladies of the Mind (1764), was occasioned by Kants fascination with the Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), who claimed to have insight into a spirit world that enabled him to make a series of apparently miraculous predictions. In this curious work Kant satirically compares Swedenborgs spirit-visions to the belief of rationalist metaphysicians in an immaterial soul that survives death, and he concludes that philosophical knowledge of either is impossible because human reason is limited to experience. The skeptical tone of Dreams is tempered, however, by Kants suggestion that â€Å"moral faith† nevertheless supports belief in an immaterial and immortal soul, even if it is not possible to attain metaphysical knowledge in this domain (2:373). In 1770, at the age of forty-six, Kant was appointed to the chair in logic and metaphysics at the Albertina, after teaching for fifteen years as an unsalaried lecturer and working since 1766 as a sublibrarian to supplement his income. Kant was turned down for the same position in 1758. But later, as his reputation grew, he declined chairs in philosophy at Erlangen (1769) and Jena (1770) in hopes of obtaining one in Konigsberg. After Kant was finally promoted, he gradually extended his repertoire of lectures to include anthropology (Kants was the first such course in Germany and became very popular), rational theology, pedagogy, natural right, and even mineralogy and military fortifications. In order to inaugurate his new position, Kant also wrote one more Latin dissertation: Concerning the Form and Principles of the Sensible and Intelligible World (1770), which is known as the Inaugural Dissertation. The Inaugural Dissertation departs more radically from both Wolffian rationalism and British sentimentalism than Kants earlier work. Inspired by Crusius and the Swiss natural philosopher Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777), Kant distinguishes between two fundamental powers of cognition, sensibility and understanding (intelligence), where the Leibniz-Wolffians regarded understanding (intellect) as the only fundamental power. Kant therefore rejects the rationalist view that sensibility is only a confused species of intellectual cognition, and he replaces this with his own view that sensibility is distinct from understanding and brings to perception its own subjective forms of space and time — a view that developed out of Kants earlier criticism of Leibnizs relational view of space in Concerning the Ultimate Ground of the Differentiation of Directions in Space (1768). Moreover, as the title of the Inaugural Dissertation indicates, Kant argues that sensibility and understanding are directed at two different worlds: sensibility gives us access to the sensible world, while understanding enables us to grasp a distinct intelligible world. These two worlds are related in that what the understanding grasps in the intelligible world is the â€Å"paradigm† of â€Å"NOUMENAL PERFECTION,† which is â€Å"a common measure for all other things in so far as they are realities. † Considered theoretically, this intelligible paradigm of perfection is God; considered practically, it is â€Å"MORAL PERFECTION† (2:396). The Inaugural Dissertation thus develops a form of Platonism; and it rejects the view of British sentimentalists that moral judgments are based on feelings of pleasure or pain, since Kant now holds that moral judgments are based on pure understanding alone. After 1770 Kant never surrendered the views that sensibility and understanding are distinct powers of cognition, that space and time are subjective forms of human sensibility, and that moral judgments are based on pure understanding (or reason) alone. But his embrace of Platonism in the Inaugural Dissertation was short-lived. He soon denied that our understanding is capable of insight into an intelligible world, which cleared the path toward his mature position in the Critique of Pure Reason (1781), according to which the understanding (like sensibility) supplies forms that structure our experience of the sensible world, to which human knowledge is limited, while the intelligible (or noumenal) world is strictly unknowable to us. Kant spent a decade working on the Critique of Pure Reason and published nothing else of significance between 1770 and 1781. But its publication marked the beginning of another burst of activity that produced Kants most important and enduring works. Because early reviews of the Critique of Pure Reason were few and (in Kants judgment) uncomprehending, he tried to clarify its main points in the much shorter Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics That Will Be Able to Come Forward as a Science (1783). Among the major books that rapidly followed are the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), Kants main work on the fundamental principle of morality; the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science (1786), his main work on natural philosophy in what scholars call his critical period (1781–1798); the second and substantially revised edition of the Critique of Pure Reason (1787); the Critique of Practical Reason (1788), a fuller discussion of topics in moral philosophy that builds on (and in some ways revises) the Groundwork; and the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790), which deals with aesthetics and teleology. Kant also published a number of important essays in this period, including Idea for a Universal History With a Cosmopolitan Aim (1784) and Conjectural Beginning of Human History (1786), his main contributions to the philosophy of history; An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? (1784), which broaches some of the key ideas of his later political essays; and What Does it Mean to Orient Oneself in Thinking? (1786), Kants intervention in the pantheism controversy that raged in German intellectual circles after F. H. Jacobi (1743–1819) accused the recently deceased G. E. Lessing (1729–1781) of Spinozism. With these works Kant secured international fame and came to dominate German philosophy in the late 1780s. But in 1790 he announced that the Critique of the Power of Judgment brought his critical enterprise to an end (5:170). By then K. L. Reinhold (1758–1823), whose Letters on the Kantian Philosophy (1786) popularized Kants moral and religious ideas, had been installed (in 1787) in a chair devoted to Kantian philosophy at Jena, which was more centrally located than Konigsberg and rapidly developing into the focal point of the next phase in German intellectual history. Reinhold soon began to criticize and move away from Kants views. In 1794 his chair at Jena passed to J. G. Fichte, who had visited the master in Konigsberg and whose first book, Attempt at a Critique of All Revelation (1792), was published anonymously and initially mistaken for a work by Kant himself. This catapulted Fichte to fame, but he too soon moved away from Kant and developed an original position quite at odds with Kants, which Kant finally repudiated publicly in 1799 (12:370–371). Yet while German philosophy moved on to assess and respond to Kants legacy, Kant himself continued publishing important works in the 1790s. Among these are Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason (1793), which drew a censure from the Prussian King when Kant published the book after its second essay was rejected by the censor; The Conflict of the Faculties (1798), a collection of essays inspired by Kants troubles with the censor and dealing with the relationship between the philosophical and theological faculties of the university; On the Common Saying: That May be Correct in Theory, But it is of No Use in Practice (1793), Toward Perpetual Peace (1795), and the Doctrine of Right, the first part of the Metaphysics of Morals (1797), Kants main works in political philosophy; the Doctrine of Virtue, the second part of the Metaphysics of Morals (1797), a catalogue of duties that Kant had been planning for more than thirty years; and Anthropology From a Pragmatic Point of View (1798), based on Kants anthropology lectures. Several other compilations of Kants lecture notes from other courses were published later, but these were not prepared by Kant himself. Kant retired from teaching in 1796. For nearly two decades he had lived a highly disciplined life focused primarily on completing his philosophical system, which began to take definite shape in his mind only in middle age. After retiring he came to believe that there was a gap in this system separating the metaphysical foundations of natural science from physics itself, and he set out to close this gap in a series of notes that postulate the existence of an ether or caloric matter. These notes, known as the Opus Postumum, remained unfinished and unpublished in Kants lifetime, and scholars disagree on their significance and relation to his earlier work. It is clear, however, that these late notes show unmistakable signs of Kants mental decline, which became tragically precipitous around 1800. Kant died February 12, 1804, just short of his eightieth birthday. 2. Kants project in the Critique of Pure Reason. The main topic of the Critique of Pure Reason is the possibility of metaphysics, understood in a specific way. Kant defines metaphysics in terms of â€Å"the cognitions after which reason might strive independently of all experience,† and his goal in the book is to reach a â€Å"decision about the possibility or impossibility of a metaphysics in general, and the determination of its sources, as well as its extent and boundaries, all, however, from principles† (Axii. See also Bxiv; and 4:255–257). Thus metaphysics for Kant concerns a priori knowledge, or knowledge whose justification does not depend on experience; and he associates a priori knowledge with reason. The project of the Critique is to examine whether, how, and to what extent human reason is capable of a priori knowledge. 2. 1 The crisis of the Enlightenment To understand the project of the Critique better, let us consider the historical and intellectual context in which it was written. [5] Kant wrote the Critique toward the end of the Enlightenment, which was then in a state of crisis. Hindsight enables us to see that the 1780’s was a transitional decade in which the cultural balance shifted decisively away from the Enlightenment toward Romanticism, but of course Kant did not have the benefit of such hindsight. The Enlightenment was a reaction to the rise and successes of modern science in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The spectacular achievement of Newton in particular engendered widespread confidence and optimism about the power of human reason to control nature and to improve human life. One effect of this new confidence in reason was that traditional authorities were increasingly questioned. For why should we need political or religious authorities to tell us how to live or what to believe, if each of us has the capacity to figure these things out for ourselves? Kant expresses this Enlightenment commitment to the sovereignty of reason in the Critique: Our age is the age of criticism, to which everything must submit. Religion through its holiness and legislation through its majesty commonly seek to exempt themselves from it. But in this way they excite a just suspicion against themselves, and cannot lay claim to that unfeigned respect that reason grants only to that which has been able to withstand its free and public examination (Axi). Enlightenment is about thinking for oneself rather than letting others think for you, according to What is Enlightenment? (8:35). In this essay, Kant also expresses the Enlightenment faith in the inevitability of progress. A few independent thinkers will gradually inspire a broader cultural movement, which ultimately will lead to greater freedom of action and governmental reform. A culture of enlightenment is â€Å"almost inevitable† if only there is â€Å"freedom to make public use of ones reason in all matters† (8:36). The problem is that to some it seemed unclear whether progress would in fact ensue if reason enjoyed full sovereignty over traditional authorities; or whether unaided reasoning would instead lead straight to materialism, fatalism, atheism, skepticism (Bxxxiv), or even libertinism and authoritarianism (8:146). The Enlightenment commitment to the sovereignty of reason was tied to the expectation that it would not lead to any of these consequences but instead would support certain key beliefs that tradition had always sanctioned. Crucially, these included belief in God, the soul, freedom, and the compatibility of science with morality and religion. Although a few intellectuals rejected some or all of these beliefs, the general spirit of the Enlightenment was not so radical. The Enlightenment was about replacing traditional authorities with the authority of individual human reason, but it was not about overturning traditional moral and religious beliefs. Yet the original inspiration for the Enlightenment was the new physics, which was mechanistic. If nature is entirely governed by mechanistic, causal laws, then it may seem that there is no room for freedom, a soul, or anything but matter in motion. This threatened the traditional view that morality requires freedom. We must be free in order to choose what is right over what is wrong, because otherwise we cannot be held responsible. It also threatened the traditional religious belief in a soul that can survive death or be resurrected in an afterlife. So modern science, the pride of the Enlightenment, the source of its optimism about the powers of human reason, threatened to undermine traditional moral and religious beliefs that free rational thought was expected to support. This was the main intellectual crisis of the Enlightenment. The Critique of Pure Reason is Kants response to this crisis. Its main topic is metaphysics because, for Kant, metaphysics is the domain of reason – it is â€Å"the inventory of all we possess through pure reason, ordered systematically† (Axx) — and the authority of reason was in question. Kants main goal is to show that a critique of reason by reason itself, unaided and unrestrained by traditional authorities, establishes a secure and consistent basis for both Newtonian science and traditional morality and religion. In other words, free rational inquiry adequately supports all of these essential human interests and shows them to be mutually consistent. So reason deserves the sovereignty attributed to it by the Enlightenment. 2. 2 Kants Copernican revolution in philosophy To see how Kant attempts to achieve this goal in the Critique, it helps to reflect on his grounds for rejecting the Platonism of the Inaugural Dissertation. In a way the Inaugural Dissertation also tries to reconcile Newtonian science with traditional morality and religion, but its strategy is different from that of the Critique. According to the Inaugural Dissertation, Newtonian science is true of the sensible world, to which sensibility gives us access; and the understanding grasps principles of divine and moral perfection in a distinct intelligible world, which are paradigms for measuring everything in the sensible world. So on this view our knowledge of the intelligible world is a priori because it does not depend on sensibility, and this a priori knowledge furnishes principles for judging the sensible world because in some way the sensible world itself conforms to or imitates the intelligible world. Soon after writing the Inaugural Dissertation, however, Kant expressed doubts about this view. As he explained in a February 21, 1772 letter to his friend and former student, Marcus Herz: In my dissertation I was content to explain the nature of intellectual representations in a merely negative way, namely, to state that they were not modifications of the soul brought about by the object. However, I silently passed over the further question of how a representation that refers to an object without being in any way affected by it can be possible†¦. [B]y what means are these [intellectual representations] given to us, if not by the way in which they affect us? And if such intellectual representations depend on our inner activity, whence comes the agreement that they are supposed to have with objects — objects that are nevertheless not possibly produced thereby? †¦[A]s to how my understanding may form for itself concepts of things completely a priori, with which concepts the things must necessarily agree, and as to how my understanding may formulate real principles concerning the possibility of such concepts, with which principles experience must be in exact agreement and which nevertheless are independent of experience — this question, of how the faculty of understanding achieves this conformity with the things themselves, is still left in a state of obscurity. (10:130–131) Here Kant entertains doubts about how a priori knowledge of an intelligible world would be possible. The position of the Inaugural Dissertation is that the intelligible world is independent of the human understanding and of the sensible world, both of which (in different ways) conform to the intelligible world. But, leaving aside questions about what it means for the sensible world to conform to an intelligible world, how is it possible for the human understanding to conform to or grasp an intelligible world? If the intelligible world is independent of our understanding, then it seems that we could grasp it only if we are passively affected by it in some way. But for Kant sensibility is our passive or receptive capacity to be affected by objects that are independent of us (2:392, A51/B75). So the only way we could grasp an intelligible world that is independent of us is through sensibility, which means that our knowledge of it could not be a priori. The pure understanding alone could at best enable us to form representations of an intelligible world. But since these intellectual representations would entirely â€Å"depend on our inner activity,† as Kant says to Herz, we have no good reason to believe that they conform to an independent intelligible world. Such a priori intellectual representations could well be figments of the brain that do not correspond to anything independent of the human mind. In any case, it is completely mysterious how there might come to be a correspondence between purely intellectual representations and an independent intelligible world. Kants strategy in the Critique is similar to that of the Inaugural Dissertation in that both works attempt to reconcile modern science with traditional morality and religion by relegating them to distinct sensible and intelligible worlds, respectively. But the Critique gives a far more modest and yet revolutionary account of a priori knowledge. As Kants letter to Herz suggests, the main problem with his view in the Inaugural Dissertation is that it tries to explain the possibility of a priori knowledge about a world that is entirely independent of the human mind. This turned out to be a dead end, and Kant never again maintained that we can have a priori knowledge about an intelligible world precisely because such a world would be entirely independent of us. However, Kants revolutionary position in the Critique is that we can have a priori knowledge about the general structure of the sensible world because it is not entirely independent of the human mind. The sensible world, or the world of appearances, is constructed by the human mind from a combination of sensory matter that we receive passively and a priori forms that are supplied by our cognitive faculties. We can have a priori knowledge only about aspects of the sensible world that reflect the a priori forms supplied by our cognitive faculties. In Kants words, â€Å"we can cognize of things a priori only what we ourselves have put into them† (Bxviii). So according to the Critique, a priori knowledge is possible only if and to the extent that the sensible world itself depends on the way the human mind structures its experience. Kant characterizes this new constructivist view of experience in the Critique through an analogy with the revolution wrought by Copernicus in astronomy: Up to now it has been assumed that all our cognition must conform to the objects; but all attempts to find out something about them a priori through concepts that would extend our cognition have, on this presupposition, come to nothing. Hence let us once try whether we do not get farther with the problems of metaphysics by assuming that the objects must conform to our cognition, which would agree better with the requested possibility of an a priori cognition of them, which is to establish something about objects before they are given to us. This would be just like the first thoughts of Copernicus, who, when he did not make good progress in the explanation of the celestial motions if he assumed that the entire celestial host revolves around the observer, tried to see if he might not have greater success if he made the observer revolve and left the stars at rest. Now in metaphysics we can try in a similar way regarding the intuition of objects. If intuition has to conform to the constitution of the objects, then I do not see how we can know anything of them a priori; but if the object (as an object of the senses) conforms to the constitution of our faculty of intuition, then I can very well represent this possibility to myself. Yet because I cannot stop with these intuitions, if they are to become cognitions, but must refer them as representations to something as their object and determine this object through them, I can assume either that the concepts through which I bring about this determination also con.