Child Abuse Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Child Abuse - Term Paper Example In addition, the warning signs of child abuse and neglect would be assessed. A transcript of a child previously abused was examined and briefly presented. Finally, ways of preventing child abuse would be identified to address this dangerous dilemma. Child abuse is defined by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC 2009) as â€Å"the term used when an adult harms a child or a young person under the age of 18† (par. 1). Medline Plus (2010) includes the phrase â€Å"failing to do something that results in harm to a child or puts a child at risk of harm† (par. 1) in the definition. Child abuse endangers the welfare of children as adults who are expected to give them their much needed protection either deliberately inflicts harm or neglects taking them under their holistic care. Conflicts arise when the interests and rights of people, particularly of children, do not coincide. More importantly, the study of issues on child abuse aims to ensure that their welfare is properly safeguarded against adults who apply power as a way to impose their actions and selfish interest on them. There are several forms of child abuse, to wit: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Physical abuse entails injuring the child or inflicting physical harm through punishment. Adults may or may not deliberately harm the child but the force of their actions hurt them physically. Most common of the physical abuse uses the belt to punish a child’s wrong doing. Emotional abuse, on the other hand, is not immediately discerned by leaves psychological damage affecting both the child’s mental development and health status. Emotional abuses could take any of the following forms: (1) â€Å"constant belittling, shaming, and humiliating a child; (2) calling names and making negative comparisons to others; (3) telling a child he or she is â€Å"no good," "worthless,"

Environmental acoustics Essay Example for Free

Environmental acoustics Essay The research from various part of the world has been able to reveal that approximately 80 million people are exposed to unacceptable high noise levels particularly, the noise emitted from road/tyre. Thus, noise sources that affect people is mostly from road traffic noise, which is by far the most pervasive. In UK for example, over 90% of the population hear traffic noise directly from home while 10% consider noise highly annoying. Thus to reduce the annoying traffic noise, it is mandatory to consider the method of reducing the sources of noise by improving the tyres and road surfaces. While various measures have been adopted in reducing the propagation of noise in the sensitive areas, all of these measures have been note to play a vital part in achieving an acceptable acoustical environment for people living near to roads. Although, in the attempt to control noise on the road surface, there is need to study the noise generated by the tyre/road interaction. Most researches conducted have been revealed that Tyre/road surface interaction noise tends to dominate at moderate and high road speeds. Thus, to control the vehicles noise, there have been various encouragements to encourage innovation and to reflect the improvements made in vehicle design. However, the progress has been quite slower concerning the tyre noise, thus it was only in recent time that there that control for tyre noise has been introduced in the EU Directive of 2001/43/EC. The directive has established a test method for the type approval of tyres with respect to noise emissions and limit values for different types of tyre. Thus, to measure the road/tyre noise emission, this paper will focus on the noise emitted from different types on different road surface. The first part of the paper will focus on the introduction. Moreover, the methodology used in carrying out the test of tyre/road noise emission will be extensively analysed in this paper. Furthermore, the result of the test will also be made available in the research paper. Finally, conclusion and recommendation for the effective methods of reducing the noise pollution from the tyre/road surface will be focused. ( Environmental Research 2004)

Key Prepartions For College Life Essay -- essays research papers

In today’s society it is important to receive a college education to join the workforce. However, the transition from high school to college can be a very intimidating experience for many students. To make the college transition less frightening, students can take several precautions while still in high school. These precautions include participating in extracurricular activities, taking challenging courses, as well as developing good time management skills. Participation in extracurricular activities is important in succeeding in a college environment because it helps students to explore their interests and talents. Challenging courses also benefit students because they help to prepare students academically for the demanding workload found in college. Time management is yet another important skill to have because it will help students to manage their time between academics and socialization Participation in extracurricular activities is a great resource for students to grow as individuals. Students have many opportunities to choose from when participating in extracurricular activities. The most common opportunities for participation in extracurricular activities are found in schools, communities, and religious organizations. The most accessible extracurricular activities to students are those that are school related. School sponsored extracurricular activities include sports, student clubs, and musical organizations. Community organizations are also popular among students, and serve as great extracurricular opportunities. Communal extracurricular activities include awareness groups, focus groups, and reform groups. Although not as popular as school or community organizations, religious organizations also serve as a strong ingredient for extracurricular opportunities. Religious related organizations consist of faith groups, retreat groups, and study groups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Besides participating in extracurricular activities to belong to a specific group, students can also volunteer for community service. Community service teaches students responsibility, helps to build strong friendship bonds, and helps to make important business contacts. Students are taught responsibility when performing community service because they are no longer thinking about themselves. The students’ priorities are however, now to help those whom they are doing this se... ...llege. Being involved in extracurricular activities in high school will help students find their niche in college extracurricular activities. By taking challenging courses in high school, the students’ academic transition to college will be easier. However, the most important skill to possess is in good time management because it will help students to distribute their time between recreation, and academics. Even though it is important to take several precautions before attending college, the student also has to be prepared mentally for this new venture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This assignment was worthwhile for me because after completing this assignment I now realize how I can be successful in college. However, the only problem for me now is to apply these â€Å"precautions† into my daily routine. One problem I had with this assignment was starting it. Whenever I write, I always have problems brainstorming my ideas even though I often use an outline. Another problem that I had in this first assignment was expanding my thoughts about main point into two paragraphs. When I normally write, I am used to summarizing each idea or main point in one paragraph rather than two or three.

Philosophy of Nursing Essay

One cannot achieve overall health unless they are physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially well. All of these aspects must be at optimal best allowing one to function well in life. Physical health is obtained by following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and limiting exposure to toxins (drugs, alcohol, pollution). It is also important to have oral and physical examinations at regular intervals and to practice preventative measures to combat possible illnesses. Mental and emotional health can be referenced interchangeably. They are different in theory but encompass some of the same factors. Managing daily stressors such as work, relationships, and finances can prevent the occurrence of stress induced mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. A socially healthy individual is able to coexist among different types of people without experiencing harmful conflict. It involves the ability to compromise and contribute to meaningful relationships. Social well being is also exemplified through good communications skills, maintaining meaningful relationships, respecting oneself and others, and creating a support system that includes family members and friends. Illness has a physical or mental effect. If a person is diagnosed with a physiological ailment or disease, that person is physically ill. If a person suffers from a mental disorder or disease such as depression, anxiety, or substance abuse, that person is mentally ill. When a person is ill it can simply be described as the opposite of the above mentioned states of well being, however, illness can occur (even if an individual takes all the necessary preventative measures) simply as a result of genetic predisposition. Person There is a broad range of nursing patients. The commonality of most nursing care recipients is they are ill or have been altered from their mental or physical normalcy. The most common nursing client is a patient in a doctor’s office. Individuals with previous hospitalizations and those who have never been hospitalized most likely have had visits to their doctors office which involves contact with a nurse. Characteristics or traits that most patients have in common are fear, anger, powerlessness, humility, and appreciation. Often patients are uneducated of the nursing process, thus not able to identify the purpose of the nurse and how influential nurses are to the healing process. If and when the patient has the capacity and willingness to learn, care plans are the most effective method to inform the patient of what is going to happen and the contributions expected of them during their hospitalization. Environment There is a wide variety of environments where nursing is practiced. Hospitals are most populated by patients receiving skilled nursing care. The environment is usually conducive to providing care while focusing primarily on patient satisfaction. While some hospitals strive to implement magnet programs, few have achieved magnet status. Magnet status is the staple of excellent nursing care. An increasing number of patients are familiarizing themselves with the term â€Å"Magnet† and broadening their expectations. Hospitals are usually fast paced as nurses collaborate with other nurses, physicians and case managers to implement an individualized care plan upon admission. Home care is of growing interest for many nurses mainly in response to the autonomy this field offers. Nurses are able to generally schedule their visits around demands of their private lives. Patients’ homes differ greatly.  Cleanliness or lack there of, many family members present or the patient lives alone with no support system, safe neighborhoods or high crime areas are some factors that contribute to the environment, influencing nursing care in the home. Some home health agencies provide the nurse an abundance of supplies to deliver patient care, however some agencies do not have the same budget capabilities. In this case the patients’ care can be compromised or postponed until the nurse is provided necessary items. A negative connotation is primarily given to skilled nursing facilities (or SNF’s) by patients and their families. This is mainly due to expectations of receiving an abundance or RN level care. Patients are not aware that SNF’s are usually staffed with mostly LVN’s and CNA’s with one or two RN’s to manage the facility through communication with physicians, delegating tasks to nursing staff, and utilizing critical thinking skills in emergent situations. Nursing During nursing school interviews, nurses are posed the most commonly asked question, â€Å"Why do you want to become a nurse? † The usual response, â€Å"Because i like helping people†, is often given without hesitance. This is the easy, less thought provoking answer to this question and usually from an inexperienced nurse. Helping people is what nurses do, however it is a result of carrying out the many tasks required throughout a day of nurse duties. Nursing is not just about helping people, it is not just about being a caring and nice person. Nurses are highly intelligent individuals who encompass and apply an abundance of knowledge throughout their day of work while perfecting the art of prioritizing. Engaging in â€Å"dirty work† while understanding multi system failure is among the many gifts of nurses. The stereotype of nurses is a woman who almost fearfully respects and answers to doctors; carrying out doctors orders with the mannerisms of servants. Actually, nursing is the contrary of that belief. Nurses are trained to question physicians when in doubt of the accuracy of their orders. Nurses are trained to be concerned with the patient as a whole and to address all of their needs, promoting wellness throughout all realms of life and not just the physical illness. An excellent nurse understands that a patient needs to be well physically, mentally, and socially in order to be considered healthy. The nurse will attempt to address and settle theses issues before nursing care ceases. Communication plays a big role in nursing and is one major difference between nursing and medicine. Nurses generally spend more time with patients than doctors, either during a shift or frequent visits, thus increasing communication and familiarity with patients. While there are many different theories of nursing, all nurses must have one thing in common. Nurses must greatly enjoy helping others to deliver excellent nursing care.

Diversity Reflection Journal Essay

Powell addresses a number of stereotypes and one of them is that women lack male characteristics, which are much appreciated in management. They are less aggressive and more compassionate, which make them not as valuable as men in managerial positions. Even though female leadership becomes more and more common in the world, women still have to prove that their really deserve to have those positions. Moreover, they have to cope with various attitudes concerning their behavior and decisions. Most of them are quite different from traditionally male, ambitious, self-confident, straightforward managers cultivated in the world. They are perceived as to be milder more compassionate, less solid in their opinions, weaker as personalities. Even though I do approve the increase of women in business and management, reading this book it has become clear to me that in some way my opinions and attitudes are affected by this old and very widespread stereotype about female and male roles at work. This stereotype strongly influences my perception of diversity at work because it some way it shows that men are better at decision-making, planning, negotiations and management at all. Women receive the role of reformers, support and other roles, which are to follow someone at work. This stereotype also sends me back to the way of perceiving women as being weaker than men. Influenced by this stereotype, they are perceived as having less power to influence other people, control them. Also, there are seen as less respected that their male colleagues. Of course, in some cases when I know the background of a person I can assess him or her without reference to this stereotype, but when it comes to generalization, especially when I hear about misfortunes of the company, for me it is much better to blame management and refer to gender than to estimate the failure as coincidence. I am not poisoned by this stereotype and in most of the cases I catch myself thinking in this wrong way, but sometimes such thoughts still appear and I cannot remove them from my mind completely. This perception of females was formed under the classical thought that women are weaker than men. This thought is still common because most of world societies are patriarchal. I have formed my perception of gender based on my family. There is a clear gender stratification of mother’s work and father’s work. Mother was more likely to look after kids, cook and do all other things women usually did. Father did different male things like repairing the car, maintaining something in the house etc. In fact, I perceived mother’s work to be easier that father’s work and it made an impression and constant thoughts that mother could not do the same things my father did. This way of thinking is extremely difficult to overcome because it appeared when I was a child. When I was born, people used to think and behave in a bit different way they do now. Today parents tend to share their work around the house, pay equal attention to their children and participate in their upbringing equally. When I was a child, it was a common thing to look at everything through gendered prism. In this way, it is not surprising that I think in this way. Though, I think that this stereotype is dying in our society today. In order to reinforce my thoughts and perceptions, I can encounter several examples. First of all, it is the success of Apple. I cannot imagine any women who can organize the same company and become the same popular. I attribute most of the success of the company to Steve Jobs and his managerial skills. Other successful corporations like Google or Microsoft are founded and managed by men, which is not a surprise for me. However, recently I have found out that HTC founder and CEO is female, and that was a really great surprise for me. It is not a secret that the number of women obtaining top managerial positions is increasing day by day; roles of the best of the best managers are associated with male managing styles. In the world of technology most companies belong to men and the achievement of CEO if HTC achievement challenges my perception of women in business. The second thing is that there have been no female presidents in the history of the United States. People tend to rely on men more than on women. Mrs. Clinton wanted to change the situation but failed. It shows that most people still count on their stereotypical perception of females more than on objective reality, which clearly states that women already can do something to prove their ability to manage something starting from their own company to a huge business or the whole country. People do advocate that men and women have the same opportunities today, but, overall, there are many stereotypes, which work against women and cannot be removed at once. There are some world countries, where presidents are female, but they create a minority out of all world countries. These facts show that women still need to prove that they can achieve the same success because of societal pre-attitude to their abilities, performance and ideas. Biased attitude to gender at work is experienced by every person in the United States. In my life, I had many examples of biased attitude to women as well as men. For instance, once we were asked to move to the conference hall for meeting and there were not enough chairs for all of us to sit. It was clear that male employees were asked to bring more chairs because they were male. To add to the point, the stereotype â€Å"male equals strong† was not common at that case because most of female employees were into sports as outrageous followers of healthy lifestyle. The opposite things happened when all employees, as a part of team-building, decided to watch the movie after work. Everything was fine, but female employees were asked to prepare some snacks (order a delivery) because they knew better what was good for their company. These are minor things but they take place almost everywhere. People still follow old gender stratification model typical for patriarchal societies, where men get everything and women hide in the shadow of their success. America is moving to the acceptance of a new neutral model of gender stratification where both genders deserve equal treatment. Yet, people cannot forget their long history and change their attitudes practices by millenniums in 10 years. Even I, as a representative of a younger generation, cannot get rid of all the old stereotypes about gender at work. References: Powell, G. (2010). Women and Men in Management, 4th Edition By N. W.

How equal opportunities and managing diversity impact on organisations and their HRM practices The WritePass Journal

How equal opportunities and managing diversity impact on organisations and their HRM practices Introduction How equal opportunities and managing diversity impact on organisations and their HRM practices ). In regard to this, this report presents findings from primary and secondary research that was carried out to establish the importance of embracing and managing workplace diversity. Research Approach As aforementioned, this research was carried out using both secondary and primary approaches. The secondary approach involved reviewing literature that has been published on various databases about the subject of workplace diversity. A preference was given to peer-reviewed journal articles because of their renowned credibility in terms of the researched information they offer (Yin, 2010). Since the time and resources to carry out an exhaustive primary research was limited, semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data from a seven colleagues in college. The data was collected through an audio recording for further analysis. This approach was selected because it is relatively informal and does not require a lot of time to get the required information (Yin, 2010). Findings Findings from Secondary Research Many researchers have carried out studies the subject of workplace diversity. However, as pointed out by Herring (2009), this concept is relatively new, dating to the 1980s. Some of the factors that have contributed to an increase in workplace diversity include the increased immigration – especially to developed countries – which has led to an increasingly international workforce. The equality campaigns that have been on the increase have also led to an increase the number of ethnic minorities and women in the present-day labour pool. It is evident that if poorly managed, diversity will adversely affect productivity of human resources. Thus, human resource managers in organizations ought to implement effective diversity management practices so as to turn diversity into an advantage (The Times 100, 2013). Importance of Managing Workplace Diversity With the ever increasing diversity in global population and workplaces, it is vital to establish the benefits of managing diversity. Michalle and Barak (2010) argue that diversity increases the productivity of employees. This is because of the fact that a diverse workplace comprises of different talents, skills and experiences, and if these differences are combined and directed towards the achievement of a common goal, it is certain that it will be advantageous to the organization. In another research on workplace diversity, Herring (2009) established that effective management of a diverse workforce increases creativity and problem solving. By treating contributions of every employee at the workplace as important, regardless of their experience, race or gender, useful insights about how to approach a certain task in the organization can be found. Organizations that fail to take advantage of the diversity in their workforces may lock out ideas from employees that may be of phenomenal importance to the progress of the company. Companies that have created a reputation for effective management of diversity have the advantage of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce, which comes with diverse talents and capabilities. Inclusion in the workplace motivates employees by creating in them a sense of belonging. Acknowledging diversity in the workplace motivates the employees and also increases their levels of commitment towards the organization.   In a study carried out by Groeneveld (2011) on management of workplace diversity and its impacts on employee turnover, he established that companies adhering to diversity policies in recruitment and other human resource management practices in their organization had much less cases of employee turnover than those whose diversity management approaches were not as ideal. Given that diversity will be almost inevitable in future, organizations have to ensure that they put the most effective diversity management practices in place. There is also a legal advantage of ma naging diversity in organizations and encouraging inclusion. Application of appropriate approaches in diversity management limits the chances of lawsuits by employees that feel excluded (Michalle Barak, 2010). Not only does this save money that could have been spent on litigation expenses, it also creates a positive reputation of the organization to a wide range of stakeholders. Tadmor et al. (2012) argue that companies that target a market with diverse customers greatly benefits from employing a diverse workforce. For instance, if a company has a marketing team that comprises of people from different races, religions and genders, the possibility of such a team attracting a wide range of customers is higher as compared to a team that consists of people from the same gender, race or religion. Thus, effective diversity management may increase the returns of a company by attracting more customers. Challenges of Workplace Diversity Management Even though management of diversity has many advantages for employers and employees in organizations, Caà ±as and Sondak (2010) argue that there are several associated challenges. Management of diversity involves the recognition of the value associated with the differences in the workforce, promotion of inclusiveness and elimination of any kind of discrimination that exists in the workforce. Ensuring that all these aspects of management are exhaustively addressed may be challenging for human resource managers, especially when diversity among employees is quite extensive. Some of the disadvantages that are associated with poor workplace diversity management include increased employee turnover, lack of synergy and ineffective communication among employees, and an increase in the chances of companies facing lawsuits and negative publicity (Tarmac, 2012). A recent example of a diversity issue that tainted the image of an organization took place in 2011, when a Liverpool hospital placed an advertisement for job vacancies. In their conditions for application, the included as statement that referred to equal opportunities as â€Å"usual rubbish† (Hough, 2011). Even though the statement was replaced after negative feedback from the public, it has drawn negative attention from different parts of the world, which has also affected reputation of the hospital. For effective diversity management, Herring (2009) suggests that managers have to first understand the diverse needs of their employees and identify areas from which discrimination may arise. They should then create the ideal policies that will ensure inclusiveness in the organization. Findings from Primary Research To establish the impacts of equal opportunities and diversity management in the workplace, mixed reactions were obtained from some of the peers that were interviewed. Whereas two of them were of the view that ensuring workplace inclusion may be unnecessary for organizations, five of the respondents were for the idea that managing diversity is among the most important human resource management practices of the 21st century. Responses in support of Workplace Diversity One of the questions that the subjects were asked was how diversity may affect the productivity of an organization. In response to this question, one of the respondents, who is a proponent of diversity argued, â€Å"There is no way that a company in the 21st century can survive without having a diverse workforce. Diversity does not only exist in the colour of the skin or the language we speak. Everywhere in the UK, there is diversity in religion, gender, and generations. What companies ought to do is agree that diversity is inevitable, and find ways to deal with it for their own advantage.† This response indicates that there is widespread knowledge about diversity and organizations ought to device the necessary approaches to increase productivity of their diverse employees. Another respondent added â€Å"Diversity in the workplace is good. Though it may be difficult at the start, continued co-operation with team members from different backgrounds makes it possible to understa nd and appreciate one another. If I am offered a job in two companies, one with a good reputation of inclusion and another known for discriminating against some workers, I will definitely choose the one that has created a reputation of inclusiveness† Responses against Workplace Diversity In response to the same question on how diversity may affect productivity of an organization, another respondent who thought diversity is overemphasized argued, â€Å"I think diversity in organizations is a good thing, but organizations ought to focus more on merit. If I have vacancies in my company and I am looking for the best employees to fill those positions, I should not be forced to select a ‘diverse workforce’ because the policies say so, instead, I need to select the most qualified candidates. If the most qualified candidates are from the same gender, ethnic or religious backgrounds, I should be free to hire them. This whole diversity debate may not be as constructive as we think it is.† The response given by this respondent is also quite sensible, which indicates that there are some disadvantages that are associated with workplace diversity policies. Findings from primary research, as indicated, were mixed. Whether the response provided by the respondents supports or is against the importance of diversity in the workplace, they both acknowledge the existence of diversity issues in the 21st century. However, most of the respondents were in support of the implementation of appropriate diversity management strategies. This indicates that equal opportunities and management of diversity in organizations is among the most important practices in present-day human resource management. With a projected increase in levels of diversity in the UK population, as well as other parts of the world, it will be inevitable for organizations to have a diverse workforce (Caà ±as Sondak, 2010). Conclusion The 21st century has been characterized with a phenomenal increase in diversity among population across the globe, which has also affected the composition of employees in many organizations. This research had the aim of establishing the importance of inclusion and the management of diversity in organizations. Even though some disadvantages of employee diversity were established from the primary and secondary research that was carried out, most of the respondents and all the secondary sources accessed indicated that inclusion and diversity management is a very vital human resource practice. From the findings of the research, one of the recommendations that can be made for human resource managers is that all employees have to be informed on the importance of workplace diversity and how to effectively collaborate with their workmates from different backgrounds and gender. References Caà ±as, K.A. Sondak, H., 2010. Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity. New York: Prentice Hall. Groeneveld, S., 2011. Diversity and employee turnover in the Dutch public sector: Does diversity management make a difference? International Journal of Public Sector Management, 24(6), pp.594-612. Herring, C., 2009. Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity. American Sociological Review, 74, pp.208-24. Hough, A., 2011. NHS hospital usual equal opportunities rubbish job advert sparks investigation. The Telegraph, 5 September. Michalle, E. Barak, M., 2010. Managing Diversity: Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Poster, W.R., 2008. Filtering Diversity : A Global Corporation Struggles With Race, Class, and Gender in Employment Policy. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(3), pp.307-41. Tadmor, C.T., Satterstrom, P., Jang, S. Polzer, J.T., 2012. Beyond Individual Creativity The Superadditive Benefits of Multicultural Experience for Collective Creativity in Culturally Diverse Teams. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 43(3), pp.384-92. Tarmac, 2012. Diversity and inclusion policy. [Online] Available at: tarmac.co.uk/about_us/about_tarmac/idoc.ashx?docid=ffe70bb0-4510-476a-8dd4-b352a63c1b48version=-1 [Accessed 26 February 2014]. The Times 100, 2013. Competetive advantage through diversity. [Online] Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tarmac/competitive-advantage-through-diversity/conclusion.html#axzz2MxtlEGBP [Accessed 26 February 2014]. Yin, R.K., 2010. Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. New York: Guilford Press.

Why America Dropped Atomic Bombs essays

Why America Dropped Atomic Bombs essays Political and economic reasons: During the period of the development of the atomic bomb, the Allied troops were planning to launch a combined offensive against the Empire of Japan. The Soviet Union sought control in the governance of Korea and Manchuria in exchange for entering the war against Japan after the defeat of Germany. When President Truman heard about the successful testing of the atomic bomb, he was involved in a discussion with the Soviets in Potsdam. The American politicians realized that this new weapon significantly changed the equation when going to war against Japan. They realized that they can put an end to this war by using the weapon even before the Soviets could launch an offensive on Japan from Korea and Manchuria. Truman showed his distrust in the Soviets by keeping this test a secret at the meeting. Also, the devastation that the bomb would cause would show the Soviets that they could not safely challenge the American leadership after the war had ended. On the economic front, the war had revived the American economy from a depression. But prolonging the war would again have a negative effect on the economy. The American leadership wanted to put an end to the war swiftly and regain its economic interests in the Pacific islands and boost their own economy. Another reason was the actual use of the bomb itself. American scientists, led by Oppenheimer, had done a great job in building the bomb but all the calculations about its use and destructive power were done on a test site. A successful deployment of the bomb would prove to the world that it was for real and give the American military supreme confidence in further advancement of this technology. ...

Mindfulness and the SAT

Mindfulness and the SAT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In this article, we'll discuss how to use mindfulness to crush the SAT (and everything else that stresses you out!). On Test Day â€Å"Our mind is constantly evaluating our experiences, comparing them with other experiences or holding them up against expectations and standards that we create, often out of fear.† -Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are When you walk into the gym/classroom/cafeteria on test day, it’s likely that you’ll be feeling anxious and scared. Even though you might have prepped for the SAT with all kinds of courses, you may be nervous. All kinds of important, but unpredictable, life situations produce these feelings. But here’s the thing: anxiety and fear actually impede (get in the way of) your ability to perform your best on the SAT. In fact, they impede almost everything we try to get done in a day. To boost our performance, the best thing we can do (besides personalized SAT prep) is try to minimize our anxiety, but most people have no idea how to do this. There is a simple solution: mindfulness. What’s mindfulness? â€Å"You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.† -Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are Mindfulness, according to the Oxford New American Dictionary, is: 1: the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something; 2: a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. So, it’s possible to be mindful in any given moment, not thinking about anything but the present time and place. But the practice of mindfulness is cultivating the ability to be mindful more frequently and more easily, and is the secret to the inner peace of Buddhist monks, among others. However, while monks meditate for hours every day to cultivate their mindfulness, it is possible for high school students (and, in fact, anyone) to use the power of mindfulness. Given any amount of time, but especially if you start well ahead of test day, you can harness the power of your own inner strength using mindfulness to get your best possible score. // What can mindfulness do for me? Life is stressful, especially for teenagers. There’s school, sports, extracurriculars, social life, family time, andon top of it alltest prep. Mindfulness is a scientifically proven, thoroughly researched way to reduce stress and provide a calm state of mind that can help you get through any situation, especially one as potentially anxiety-producing as the SAT. Read on for details of what exactly this means. Practice: how and when? Meditation, or mindfulness practice, is nothing but sitting, standing, laying or even walking while focusing only on the present momentwhat you see, hear, and feel right now. There are a million websites and books that discuss when, where and how to do it. But the great thing about mindfulness practice is that, while 30 minutes or an hour of daily practice can do wonders, even 5 minutes of intentional mindfulness every day (or even every few days, or every week) can seriously improve your ability to stay calm, focus, and perform better. If you follow our recommendation to do 100 hours of focused online SAT prep (it’s not as bad as it sounds!), you’ll end up with 250-500 minutes, or 4-8 hours, of mindfulness practice. That’s more than enough to boost your emotional and psychological readiness for the SAT, as well as the crazy stuff college is going to throw at you. We recommend that, before you start your SAT prep session, sit (on the floor, ideally) or lay down and focus on nothing but the present moment. Many people find that it helps to focus on the breath moving in and out of their body. Try to do it for 5 minutes, even if it is difficult or frustrating. By associating your mindfulness practice with your SAT practice, you’re training yourself to be mindful on test day. Discipline concentration â€Å"Discipline provides a constancy which is independent of what kind of a day you had yesterday and what kind of a day you anticipate today.† -Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are In addition to its other benefits, regular meditation improves discipline and concentration, which are key for any academic pursuit. You don’t have to do anything to gain this benefit: just do nothing for 5 minutes before every session of SAT prep you do, the more often the better. Try it out Right now, just sit cross-legged on the floor, close your eyes, and focus your attention on your breathing. Count the breaths, if that helps. When other thoughts pop up, acknowledge them and let them go, bringing your attention back to your breath. Try it for 5 minutes, and see if you don’t feel calmer and more centered afterward. If you found this helpful or interesting, please take a moment to sign up for our email list at right: we’ll never sell your email address, and we crank out great posts on SAT-related topics every week. Also, check out our Free SAT Guide:

New Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

New Media - Essay Example Its examples are the Internet, websites, DVDs, CD-ROMs, vide-games, and computer multimedia. These new media technologies have not only become a necessary part of our daily lives but also have dramatically changed our way of living, affecting almost all aspects of our lives in various ways. As new media technologies have become increasingly the ordinary way by which we transact our daily businesses, its positive impact cannot be denied. In the first place, if the new media has not been beneficial to the lives of individuals and the society as a whole, it would have not been widely used and would have not become as pervasive as it is today. However, against its beneficial effects is its negative impact of what many critics termed as the digital divide, which various definitions (OECD, 2001; Boyd, 2002; Wolff & MacKinnon, 2002; Hilbert, 2011) can be summarized as the disproportionate distribution of new media technologies in terms of access, capability, and usage. Just like the undeniable beneficial impacts of new media technologies, so is the digital divide as statistics show. According to the Digital Divide Network (2002), more or less 429 million online users worldwide actually correspond to only 6% of the entire world population. The small proportion of online users is true even in highly developed countries (Sweden at 61% and Spain at 20%), meaning there exists a digital divide even in highly industrialized countries. But this becomes far greater when access and usage are compared between the â€Å"have† and the â€Å"have not† countries – the International Labor Organization (2001) reports that industrialized countries account for 90% of online users worldwide, with the United States and Canada leading both at 57%. On the contrary, the combined online users of Africa and the Middle East account for only 1% of global online users (as cited in Boyd, 2002, p. 113) The emergence of the digital divide, as can be gleaned from

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

HCAD PowerPoint Discussion 1 - Essay Example Commonly used telemedicine applications and services include bi-directional video, smart phones, email, and wireless tools among others. Within the medical field, telemedicine is not a different specialty. Instead, telemedicine is an instrument responsible for expanding traditional medical practice beyond the obvious medical practice walls to offering actual medical services remotely through technology (American Telemedicine Association, 2006, p. 3). Consequently, telemedicine promotes increased consumer participation in medical decision making, and offers novel means of sustaining healthy living. Quality patient care attainment is promoted through qualified doctors with experience in diagnostic examination using remote technologies and who work with geographically located health care delivery teams comprising of providers with varying backgrounds for coordinated health services delivery (Masys, 2002). Telemedicine health services include specialist referrals, remote patient monitoring, provision of consumer health and medical information, direct patient care, and medical mentoring and education. Increased access and cost reduction results from patient direction to monitoring centers that allow patient to retain autonomous lifestyles; use of private networks to facilitate point to point connections between hospitals and independent medical providers; interlinked programs connecting community health centers to tertiary care hospitals; and connections between health providers and homes through phone-video services (American Telemedicine Association, 2006, p. 4). Web-based e-health patient service sites offer direct services over the internet. Although health Information Technology focuses more on electronic medical records and associated information systems, it greatly enhances the use of Telemedicine. Consequently, the activities and goals of telemedicine complement synergize those of health information technology resulting

Socioeconomic classes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Socioeconomic classes - Essay Example On the other hand health issues due to poor nutrition, scarcity of resources, no revelation to the latest technologies, lack of education and awareness hampers the self-esteem of a child belonging to a family with low socioeconomic status. Parents of low socioeconomic group do not possess high degrees and lack exposure as well as confidence to face the competent world. Research reveals that SES is linked with an extensive assortment of physical condition, cognitive, and socio-poignant upshots in kids. These implications are experienced by the child right from the fetal stage and continue throughout the life (Bradley, 2002). Child belonging to high SES gets right to use various information, substances and communal sources or responses to deal with stress generating situations. SES influences welfare at numerous intensities, both within the family and those associated with the family and surroundings. Its implications are restrained by kids 's individual personality, relations and outs ide collaborative procedures (Bradley, 2002). References Bradley, R. H., Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development.

Good Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Good Leader - Essay Example However, all leaders possess certain common qualities that help them to perform their role. If an organization has proper leaders with a vision that they can articulate and implement in various situations, their management is considered to be well-organized (Hesburgh, N.D). These are the essentials for an organization to succeed and reach new heights. The position of the managers, supervisor, lead etc. does not make a leader; it simply makes you the boss. A boss is the one who just assigns tasks for everyone; while a leader motivates each and everyone to achieve those goals and make them want to do a certain task given (Hakala, 2008). Leaders also do not restrict the employees or people working under them to follow the certain method prescribed by them; they give them a chance to brainstorm and use a method that is mutually beneficial for them and the organization. This augments the intellectual capabilities of the employees and the thrill of choosing to do whatever method they want, as far as it is appropriate, motivates them and increases not only their efficiency and productivity, but also their devotion and commitment to the organization. No doubt, a company is run by the company heads, CEOs, Managing Directors followed by general managers or department heads, but the work that is to be performed is to be carried out by the e mployees to a very large extent. Therefore, once their confidence and loyalty for the company is gained with enough stimulation within them, a company can run very smoothly and flourish in the future. The core functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning is to develop and design the goals of the company depending upon the objectives; organizing is to divide and assign tasks to every worker depending upon his rank; leading is to monitor employees and motivate them in different capacities required; and controlling is to bring about the change required within the management for the improvement of the company's performance. Thus, we can judge that leadership is a very crucial part of management. A company can be well-structured and reap profits if proficient leadership is available. It is a concept that good management is to resolve problems; however, good management is to be able to resolve problems in such a way that they are prevented in the future (Reh, 2006). If each problem is tackled following this pattern, an unsuccessful business can surely transform into a successful one. A good leader is expected to have certain qualities that benefit the organization directly or indirectly. Integrity is an important quality of a leader - the inner values and the outward actions are the same, that is, there is no hypocrisy involved. This will result in honest dealings that will augment the goodwill of a company, making it popular. A leader needs to be dedicated to his company; his passion and commitment to the company will motivate him to make arduous efforts for the enhancement of the company. Magnanimity is critical because the leader tends to give the credit for a good performance to the deserving person. Such rewards and acknowledgements becomes and incentive for the employees to struggle and work harder, indirectly benefiting the company. A leader should be down to earth and should have humility - this will prevent him to self-centered and

Personal Statement (Martin Luther King) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Statement (Martin Luther King) - Essay Example Martin Luther emphasizes the fact that a good reasoning ability is not enough for an individual to make a success of himself, but instead it is very important for one to have proper character and moral development. In Luther’s opinion, building an individual’s character helps them to have critical intellect, which would in turn helps them solve humane purposes. Exploring the dual purpose of education, Luther feels that education should be given utmost importance because it serves to ‘discipline the mind’ and channelize human life with a set of morals. According to Martin Luther, the primary goal of a good education comprises of two chief characteristics, which are 1) Intelligence and 2) Character. If either of these two is missing then education cannot be said to be complete or wholesome. Speaking on the function of education Martin Luther states that, â€Å"The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society." (Martin Luther, ‘The Maroon Tiger, 1947) Luther strongly felt that many people among his own circle had a misconception on the true purpose or function of education. ... This dual function of education includes utility as well as culture. He strongly felt that education is a vehicle that enables man to achieve the goals he set for himself in life through efficiency and determination. In order to achieve these goals and make a success of oneself, education has to be a sort of training ground to help man think and act quickly and effectively. Shedding light on the so called educated people, Luther states that though they are educated, they allow themselves to be carried away mentally by believing in propaganda, half truths and other prejudices and, therefore, wonders about the true purpose of education and the extent it fulfills it. In his opinion, most educated people do not think and act either logically or scientifically. The chief aim of education according to Martin Luther is that it should serve to help people sift through the morass of half-truths and arrive at only the truth and nothing else. They should be able to segregate the facts from fict ion and arrive at what is real, leaving aside things that are unreal in life. To achieve such a state in life, intelligence alone is not enough because the true goal of education is to have an education that includes both intelligence and character. QUESTION 2: Critical thinking is one of the primary goals of a good Jesuit education and there is no doubt about the values it is based on. Dr. Martin Luther King encouraged and emphasized critical thinking because he clearly understood its importance in our everyday lives. There are many definitions of what good critical thinking is. According to the NSCC (Nashville State Community College) Critical thinking is defined as ‘the careful and deliberate determination of whether

Good Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Good Leader - Essay Example However, all leaders possess certain common qualities that help them to perform their role. If an organization has proper leaders with a vision that they can articulate and implement in various situations, their management is considered to be well-organized (Hesburgh, N.D). These are the essentials for an organization to succeed and reach new heights. The position of the managers, supervisor, lead etc. does not make a leader; it simply makes you the boss. A boss is the one who just assigns tasks for everyone; while a leader motivates each and everyone to achieve those goals and make them want to do a certain task given (Hakala, 2008). Leaders also do not restrict the employees or people working under them to follow the certain method prescribed by them; they give them a chance to brainstorm and use a method that is mutually beneficial for them and the organization. This augments the intellectual capabilities of the employees and the thrill of choosing to do whatever method they want, as far as it is appropriate, motivates them and increases not only their efficiency and productivity, but also their devotion and commitment to the organization. No doubt, a company is run by the company heads, CEOs, Managing Directors followed by general managers or department heads, but the work that is to be performed is to be carried out by the e mployees to a very large extent. Therefore, once their confidence and loyalty for the company is gained with enough stimulation within them, a company can run very smoothly and flourish in the future. The core functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning is to develop and design the goals of the company depending upon the objectives; organizing is to divide and assign tasks to every worker depending upon his rank; leading is to monitor employees and motivate them in different capacities required; and controlling is to bring about the change required within the management for the improvement of the company's performance. Thus, we can judge that leadership is a very crucial part of management. A company can be well-structured and reap profits if proficient leadership is available. It is a concept that good management is to resolve problems; however, good management is to be able to resolve problems in such a way that they are prevented in the future (Reh, 2006). If each problem is tackled following this pattern, an unsuccessful business can surely transform into a successful one. A good leader is expected to have certain qualities that benefit the organization directly or indirectly. Integrity is an important quality of a leader - the inner values and the outward actions are the same, that is, there is no hypocrisy involved. This will result in honest dealings that will augment the goodwill of a company, making it popular. A leader needs to be dedicated to his company; his passion and commitment to the company will motivate him to make arduous efforts for the enhancement of the company. Magnanimity is critical because the leader tends to give the credit for a good performance to the deserving person. Such rewards and acknowledgements becomes and incentive for the employees to struggle and work harder, indirectly benefiting the company. A leader should be down to earth and should have humility - this will prevent him to self-centered and

Testing jumps for individual stock Dissertation

Testing jumps for individual stock - Dissertation Example In this test, emphasis is placed in the comparison of two measures of variance: the Bipower Variation which is robust to jump contribution and the Realized Variance which includes the contribution of jumps to the total variance. And based on a high frequency data set of exchange rates, a statistically significant test of the difference between these two measures of variance provides evidence on the presence of jumps. ... e the joint asymptotic distribution of BVt and RVt as M Where And using It can be seen that there is no coincidence of the fact that asymptotically similar to a situation encountered in Hausman’s test in 1978. Asymptotically, RVt is the most efficient estimate of the integrated variance and under the no jumps assumption, BVt is less efficient estimator, therefore the difference of RVt – BVt is independent of RVt on the volatility path following of the Hausman (1978) test. According on Huang and Tauchen (2005), the power of each absolute return should be less than 2 to be robust to jumps for the statistics. With the results from Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard (2006), Andersen, Bollerslev and Diebold in 2004 used time series to test for daily jumps: Where on the assumption of no jumps: Another test for daily jumps is: The results of research conducted by Andersen, Bollerslev, Diebold and Labys (2001, 2003) and Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard (2004a) show that the sample pe rformance is improved by basing the test on the logarithm of the variation measures. Therefore the test is: And the maximum adjustment: The logarithmic adjustment to is: And the maximum adjustment is: The OP-versions of these tests are equivalent to the ratio jump of Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard’s results in 2006. A simple t-test on the Relative Jump measure is: Where the classical estimate of the variance of the mean Another form is: Where : a HAC estimator of the variance of the mean. A bootstrap version is: Where : a bootstrap estimate of the variance of the mean. The Relative Jump can get a bootstrap confidence interval (tlow, tup) for the t test. b) Empirical results: The Monte Carlo findings developed z-tests for performing the jumps in a fairly realistic scenario and analyzed on daily

Existentialism 7a.4 Themes Essay Example for Free

Existentialism 7a.4 Themes Essay After reading this unit you will be able to : Understand the concept of existentialism. Explain features of existentialism. Identify the exponents of existentialism their views. Deliberate on some themes in existentialism. Describe the educational philosophy of existentialism. 7A. 1INTRODUCTION Existentialism is a way of philosophizing that may lead those who adopt it to a different conviction about the world and man’s life in it. Existentialism is mainly a European philosophy that originated before the turn of the twentieth century, but became popular after World War II (1939 – 45). The seeds of existentialism may be traced back to an earlier period of the history of philosophy. During the 18th century reason and nature were given more importance, objectivity was very much emphasized, leading to industrial and technological developments and science was given utmost importance. From the scientific viewpoint, man was also regarded as an object. Man became a slave to machines in developing industrial society. Against this situation existentialism emerged as a protest against the society and asserted the supremacy of individuality of man. The existentialist philosophy is not a creation of any single philosopher. The existentialist writings scattered in the works of many philosophers, the important ones of which are : Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, Martin Heidegger, Jean Paul Sartre, Karl Jaspers, Abbagnamo, Bardyaev and Albert Camus etc. In American education, such people as Maxine Greene, George Kneeler, and Van Cleve Morris, are well-known existentialists who stress individualism and personal self-fulfillment. 7A. 2FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH 1. Existence precedes Essence: This philosophy begins from man, but from man as existent (CURRENT, Present, existing) rather than man as a thinking subject, having a definite nature or essence. A man first exists, encounters himself, and defines himself afterwards. Existence comes before man is set with value or essence. It is because to begin with man is nothing, has no essence, he will be what he makes of himself. Man defines himself in his own subjectivity (Bias, Partiality), and wanders (Walks) between choice, freedom, and existential angst (Sorrow, Trouble). Existentialism often is associated with anxiety, dread, awareness of death, and freedom. 2. Importance of Subjectivity: The Danish philosopher S Kierkegaard has said that truth is subjective (Personal, Individual), truth is subjectivity: objectivity and abstraction (Concept, generalization, idea) are hallucinations. (Vision). Existentialism is the philosophy of subject rather than of the object. Each individual by probing into the depths of one’s subjectivity can discover the truth of one’s being and discover his authentic role in life. This is a creative process which gives rise to fresh insights. 3. Man’s Freedom: The basic feature of human person is his freedom – unfettered and unrestrained. Society and social institutions are for the sake of man and not vice versa, as believed by idealists and others. There is no â€Å"general will† to which the â€Å"individual will† is subject. 4. Criticism of Idealism : Existentialism has emerged and developed as a reaction against idealism. Existentialist philosophers are highly critical of idealism and conceptualism. They criticize idealist’s contention about universal element and man’s good being subject to general good. They regard the search for essence a mistaken pursuit and according to them it is not the essence but existence which is real. 5. Criticism of Naturalism : The existentialist philosophers are also critical of the philosophy of Naturalism. According to naturalists, life is subject to physico – bio – chemical laws, which in turn, are subject to the universal law of causation. Human acts are mechanical as the actions of an animal. This, however, is anathema to the existentialists and they stoutly defend the freedom of man. As a matter of fact, man is so free, according to J.P. Sartre, that he is fearful of his freedom. 6. Criticism of Scientific Culture : With tremendous progress in science and technology, rapid industrialization and urbanization have taken place. This has given rise to crowded towns in which individual is lost. Everything is done or happens on a large – scale and all personal values, individual likes and dislikes are altogether lost sight of. Today, it is not the individual who chooses his end; rather all decisions are made by computer or statistical laws and data. Thus, science has made the value of man negligible. This is why the existentialists are opposed to scientific philosophy and culture. 7. Attention on Human Weakness and Security : In this scientific life of today, the individual is leading a life of tension, worries, frustrations, fear and sense of guilt. His individuality is getting continually blundered, therefore for security of individuality the individual should be given an environment free of worries, anxieties and tension. Thus, existentialism is a philosophical movement that is generally considered a study that pursues meaning in existence and seeks value for the existing individual. It, unlike other fields of philosophy, does not treat the individual as a concept, and values individual subjectivity over objectivity. As a result, questions regarding the meaning of life and subjective experience are seen as being of paramount importance, above all other scientific and philosophical pursuits. Check your progress – 1 : 1. What is meant by existentialism? 2. What were the consequences of industrial developments? 3. Bring out existentialist’s criticism against idealism and naturalism. 4. Discuss importance of subjectivity and human freedom in terms of existentialism. 5. Existence precedes essence. Do you agree? Justify your answer. 7A. 3CHIEF EXPONENTS OF EXISTENTIALISM Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) is regarded as the father of modern existentialism and is the first European Philosopher who bears the existentialist label. In his view, subjectivity and intensity should be priced as the criteria of truth and genuineness. We touch reality in intense moments of existence especially moments of painful decision. These moments are characterized by deep anxiety, and life is known in such moments and cannot be reduced to just system of ideas. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) is regarded as a key figure in the rise of existentialism. According to him Christianity is to be overcome by putting in its place the doctrine of Superman, that is, man surpassing himself. Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976) in his book Being and Time, gave a very impressive analysis of human existence, the prominence of the important themes of existentialism like care, anxiety, guilt and above all death is brought out here. Jean – Paul Sarte stressed that man’s existence precedes his essence. â€Å"Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is. † 7A. 4SOME RECURRING THEMES IN EXISTENTIALISM : Themes such as freedom, decision, and responsibility are prominent in all existentialist philosophers. These matters constitute the core of personal being. It is the exercise of freedom and the ability to shape the future that distinguishes man from all other beings that we know on earth. It is through free and responsible decisions that man becomes authentically himself. Another group of recurring existentialist themes includes such topics as finitude, guilt, alienation, despair, moods, changing feelings, emotional life of man and death. Discussions of these have not been prominent in traditional philosophy, yet they are discussed at length in existentialism. For the existentialist man is never just part of the cosmos but always stands to it in a relationship of tension with possibilities for tragic conflict. Check your progress – 2 : 1. Name some of the existentialists. 2. Bring out the views of Sartre and Nietzsche. 3. Which are the most frequently repeated themes in existentialism. 4. Write 10 sentences about the philosophy of existentialism in your words. 7A. 5EDUCATIIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EXISTENTIALISM : The object of education is to give man the unity of truth†¦ In the field of education the contribution of existentialism is as follows : The aim of Education : Existentialists believe that the most important kind of knowledge is about the human condition and the choices that each person has to make, and that education is a process of developing consciousness about the freedom to choose and the meaning of responsibility for one’s choices. Hence, the notion of group norms, authority, and established order – social, political, philosophical, religious, and so on – are rejected. The existentialists recognize few standards, customs to traditions, or eternal truths; in this respect, existentialism is at odds with the ideas of idealism and realism. Total Development : The existentialists have aimed at total development of personality through education. Education should aim at the whole man. It should aim at character formation and self – realization. In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second place to helping the students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in decision making, the existentialist demands the education of the whole person, not just the mind. Subjective Knowledge : The present age of science has made too much of objective knowledge, so much so, that the term has come to mean unreal, non-sense, ignorant and irrelevant. The existentialists rightly, point out that subjective knowledge is even more important than objective knowledge. They rightly hold that truth is subjectivity. It is a human value and values are not facts. Reduction of values to facts has led to widespread loss of faith in values. Therefore, along with the teaching of science and mathematics, the humanities, art, literature should be also be given suitable place in curriculum at every stage of education. Most of the ills of the modern man are due to over – objective attitude. This requires a subjectivist correction in the light of existentialist ideas. Importance of Environment : The present industrial, economic, political and social environment is valueless. Therefore, it helps confusion and corruption, tensions and conflicts. The existentialists seek to provide an environment proper to self – development and self – consciousness. This environment in the school requires contribution from humanities, arts and literature. These will help in the development of individuality in the educand so that he may cease to become a cog in the social wheel. Rather he should develop to a self – conscious and sensitive individual. Child – Centred Education : Existentialist education is child – centred. It gives full freedom to the child. The teacher should help the child to know himself and recognize his being. Freedom is required for natural development. Education should convert imperfection into perfection. Education should be according to the individual’s needs and abilities of the child. The relation of the child to himself should be strengthened by education. Curriculum : Existentialists prefer to free learners to choose what to study and also determine what is true and by what criteria to determine these truths. The curriculum would avoid systematic knowledge or structured disciplines, and the students would be free to select from many available learning situations. The learners would choose the knowledge they wish to possess. The humanities are commonly given tremendous emphasis. They are explored as a means of providing students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own creativity and self – expression. For example, rather than emphasizing historical events, existentialists focus upon the actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides possible models for the students’ own behaviour. Existentialist’s approach to education is almost an inversion of the realist approach. In the field of curriculum while the realists exclusively emphasize science, the existentialists find out that science and objective education severs our relation with ourselves. Science cannot help in inner realization and achievement of peace. This, however, does not mean that science education should be ignored. It only means besides science the curriculum must include humanities, ethics and religion. In keeping with this viewpoint contemporary engineering colleges have included some philosophy, ethics and social studies, in their curriculum. Without this synthetic approach to curriculum the aim of character formation and personality development will be defeated. Learning Experiences : An existentialist curriculum would consist of experiences and subjects that lend themselves to philosophical dialogue and acts of choice making. Because the choice is personal and subjective, subjects that are emotional, aesthetic and philosophical are appropriate. Literature, drama, film – making, art, and so on, are important, because, they portray the human condition and choice – making conditions. The curriculum would stress self – expressive activities, experimentation, and media that illustrate emotions, feelings and insights. The classroom would be rich in materials that lend themselves to self – expression, and the school would be a place in which the teacher and students could pursue dialogue and discussion about their lives and choices. The Teacher : According to the existentialists the teacher creates an educational situation in which the student may establish contact with himself, become conscious of it and achieve self – realization. This requires existential approach in the teacher himself. He should also have an experience of self – realization so that he may be capable of guiding the students in this process. The teacher’s role is to help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may take in life and creating an environment in which they may freely choose their own preferred way. Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self directed, and includes a great deal of individual contact with the teacher, who relates to each student openly and honestly. The student : The student should feel completely free for realizing his ‘self’. Under the guidance of the teacher, the student should try to realize his ‘self’ through introversion. The student accepts the discipline prescribed by the teacher and does not become irresponsible. The purpose of freedom given to him should be to enable him to effect the full development of his individuality. Religious and Moral Education : The existentialists particularly lay emphasis upon religion and moral education. Religion allows a person to develop himself. Religious education gives him an understanding of his existence in the cosmos. It shows the religious path of self – realization. It also makes him capable of utilizing faith in self – development. Moral education is closely related to religious education. Both develop the inner self and help in the realization of the infinite within the finite. 7A. 6CRITICAL EVLAUATION Some critics (mainly traditionalists or Conservatives) claim that existentialism as philosophy for the schools has limited application because education in our society, and in most other modern societies, involves institutionalized learning and socialization, which require group instruction, restriction on individual behaviour and bureaucratic organization. Schooling is a process that limits students’ freedom and that is based on adult authority and on the norms and beliefs of the mass or common culture. The individual existentialist, exerting his or her will and choice will encounter difficulty in school – and in other large, formal organizations. Check your progress – 3 : 1. What is the role of teacher and the student according to the existentialist? 2. Bring out the importance of learning experiences in teaching – learning process. 3. What is the aim of education according to the existentialist? 4. What kind of curriculum do the existentialist recommend? 5. Bring out the importance of existentialism in today’s education system. Illustrate your answer. 6. Critically evaluate existentialist general and educational philosophy. 7A. 7SUMMARY : Philosophy and education are two sides of the same coin, and thus different philosophies bring out a different facet of education and as education can change the philosophy of man and his life. Existentialism as a philosophical idea was revolutionary, dynamic and passionate, it changed the way of thinking and brought to forefront the cause of individualism. Moreover its views on education may seem dramatic but taken in right sense and moderation is necessary in today’s materialistic society. In this unit, we have seen the philosophy of existentialism, the criticism of them prevailing traditional rigid systems. The philosophy of existentialism brought man, his existence, his emotions and his subjectivity into forefront, they were forerunners of individualism and uniqueness of each man. The views of various exponents of existentialism and the themes they brought out makes their philosophy better understood. The philosophy of education of existentialism speaks about aims, curriculum, the role of teacher, method of teaching, learning experiences and religious and moral education. References : Macquarrie, J. (1968) : Existenatialism, Pelican Book. Chaube S. P. Chaube A. (1996) : Foundations of Education, Publishing House, New Delhi. Chandra S. S. Sharma R. K. (2004) : Philosophy of Education, Atlantic Publishers.

Should Guns Be Allowed On Campuses Criminology Essay

Should Guns Be Allowed On Campuses Criminology Essay Based on National Rifle Association, an estimated 39 percent of households have a gun and 24 percent have a handgun; there are also 65 million privately-owned handguns in the US and 127 million other firearms. Have you ever think one day handgun can be carried onto college campuses where we come to study every day? Our colleges and universities are safer sanctuaries for learning, and we believe they would be endangered by the presence of concealed handguns. claimed by Students for Gun Free Schools (SGFS) (Louise Gerdes). In contrast, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) have supposed: Current school policies and state laws against concealed carry on campus serve only to stack the odds in favor of dangerous criminals. (Louise Gerdes). SGFS and SCCC were formed after terrible shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University happened. These are two of the deadliest massacres on campus in the United States of America. For your information, on April 16, 2007, at Virgin ia Tech University, Seung-Hui Cho a formal student killed thirty-two people and then committed suicide. One year later, on February 14, graduate student Steven Kazmierczak killed five people and injured many others and then killed himself at Northern Illinois University. From that time, concealed guns are becoming a controversy in America, especially, concealed carry on campuses. Many colleges have accepted for their students and faculty to carry handguns to protect themselves such as public colleges and universities in Utah; Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ On the other hand, almost 4314 colleges and universities prohibit their students and faculty from carrying concealed on their campuses. Each group has their own reasons for their action and belief. In my opinion, I think there are no needs to carry concealed weapons like handguns on campus. SGFS believes that Americas colleges and universities are some of the safest places and almost their campuses are gun-free zone. They claimed that homicides at American colleges and universities are unusual events. They also showed some evidences to prove their opinion, according to a study from the Department of Justice, 93% of violent crimes that victimize college students happen off campus and students on the campuses of post secondary institutions are significantly safer than both their off-campus counterparts and the nation as a whole (Louise Gerdes). They are really undeniable facts that our college campuses really have lower crime rates than the cities in which they reside (Louise Gerdes). In fact, even though, our public safety is not enough to control a whole campus but anyway they still give our students secure and safety. Also, SGFS have listed five important-results that can be recognized when concealed weapons are allowed on campuses: (1) Concealed handguns would detract from a healthy learning environment; (2) More guns on campus would create additional risk for students; (3) Shooters would not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders; (4) Concealed carry permit holders are not always law-abiding citizens, and finally (5) Concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training. In the counterpart movement, SCCC also has given their list to cast doubt on SGFSs list: (1) Concealed handguns would not detract from a healthy learning environment; (2) More guns on campus would create little if any additional risk for students; (3) Shooters may or may not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders, but deterring shooting sprees is only one of several potential benefits; (4) Concealed carry permit holders are not always law-abiding citizens, but They are statistically more law-abiding than most SGFS unnecessarily points out and (5) Concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training because they are not law enforcement officers. First, SGFS believe that if concealed carry were allowed on Americas campuses, there is no doubt that many students would feel uncomfortable about not knowing whether their professors and/or fellow students were carrying handguns and because campus is the place that has many discussion or debate so they afraid that the presence of handguns would inhibit this kind of dialogue by creating fear of possible retaliation (Louise Gerdes). But, SCCC claims that SGFS has ignored the fact that in the absence of metal detectors and X-ray machines at every campus entrance, students already have no way of knowing who is carrying a gun. Furthermore, in most states in the US, approximately 1% of the population is licensed to carry a concealed handgun (Louise Gerdes) so it is not true when SGFS said that the presence of handgun would affects our learning environment. I think SGFS is right at this point, the SCCCs point is also not wrong but it is not real. For example, if college allows their studen ts to carry handgun, and if some of their students have a license to carry it, how can you know that the guy that sit next to you has a gun or not and whether he is a hot-tempered guy or not. You cannot know kind of this information but it can affects your life really. So, do you want to risk your life with something you are not sure about? In addition, in one anonymous national survey, 94% of Americans answered No when asked, Do you think regular citizens should be allowed to bring their guns [onto] college campuses? (Louise Gerdes) Second, SGFS has noted that in a 2007 report by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, there are four reasons why crime gun-related would be increase if guns were allowed on campuses: (1) the prevalence of drugs and alcohol; (2) the risk of suicide and mental health issues; (3) the likelihood of gun thefts and (4) an increased risk of accidental shootings (Louise Gerdes). In order to prove this, SGFS has showed us another report that comes from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University: [N]early half of Americas 5.4 million full-time college students abuse drugs or drink alcohol on binges at least once a month. In addition, they claimed that alcohol is involved in 95% of the violent crime on campus. For the risk-of-suicide-and-mental-health-issues reason, SGFS showed us one anonymous study about this, 24% of college students had thought about attempting suicide and about 5% had actually attempted to kill themselves. And if there is presence of g uns, suicide attempts are successful more than 90% of the time, in the comparison, when the method used is drug overdose, such attempts are fatal only 3% of the time. About gun-theft reason, SGFS believe that college dorm rooms are typically small, with few places available to lock up or secure a handgun (Louise Gerdes). However, SCCC noted that SGFS forgot to mention the fact that after allowing concealed carry on campus for a combined total of one hundred semesters, none of the aforementioned US college that allow handguns have seen a single resulting incident of a student under the influence of drugs or alcohol using or brandishing a weapon on campus, a single resulting suicide, a single resulting gun theft, or a single resulting gun accidentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and allowing concealed carry on college campuses would not change the rules about who can purchase a firearms or who can obtain a con concealed handgun license. It also would not change the rules at off-campus parties and bars , the places where individuals over the age of 21 are most likely to consume alcohol. Furthermore, to cast doubt on gun-theft reason, SCCC showed that at most colleges, on-campus housing is occupied primarily by freshman and sophomores, students typically too young to obtain a concealed handgun license (Louis Gerdes). In my opinion, I think SCCC has forgot that when someone really get drunk, they can control their behavior so it is very dangerous if they have gun along with them, because you will not know what they can and will do with this kind of dangerous and fatal thing. If there are some accidents that alcohol-related, who can SCCC blame it on? The next result that SGFS showed us is shooters would not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders. SGFS said that homicides and shootings at American colleges and universities are rare events because of many reasons. They showed that there were 11920 total gun homicides but only 10 total murders on the nations college campuses in 2003. They also believe that there is no way shooters would have been deterred by the knowledge that their fellow students (or campus faculty) might be armed. They also gave some example to strengthen their opinion: on May 8, 2006, at Fairfax County Police Sully District Station in Virginia, Michael Kennedy, 18, fired more than 70 rounds and killed two officers before police were able to take him down. There is no proof that suicidal shooters would be deterred from attacks on college campuses by concealed carry permit holders. Handguns just make the situation become more and more serious because campuses are crowded always so handguns just try to creat e additional mayhem only. Thats really a good point, because students or faculty is not like trained soldiers who know clearly how to use weapons or handguns in the chaos in which everyone just run for their life, they just run and maybe cause difficulties for anyone who is aiming at the shooter. In this situation, students who has handguns maybe cannot target accurately and absolutely they can injure their fellow students. Thats really not a good thing because when our lawmakers allow our students carry handguns on campuses, they just want our students feel safe and secure (Louis Gerdes). The next opinion that SGFS think it is very persuasive to prevent our lawmakers from pass the law to allow our students carry handguns on campuses: Concealed carry permit holders are not always Law-Abiding citizens. They give an example that Alaska and Vermont are two states in the US do not require their residents to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon, thats also means individuals in these states can buy a handgun through an unregulated private sale without background check required then use it in public (Louise Gerdes). Besides that, SGFSs essay also mentioned the main requirement to get a permit in 38 states that have a shall-issue policy for concealed carry permit is to pass a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) which just want to make sure whether the applicant is prohibited under federal law from owning and purchasing firearms (Louise Gerdes). But, NICS is also not foolproof. An anonymous study showed that the database of NICS is deeply flawed and missing millions of disqualifying records. For example, nine out of ten metal health records that would disqualify individuals from purchasing firearms are still not currently in the database and one-fourth of felony conviction records have also not been submitted to NICS by the states. SGFSs essay also claimed that Seung-Hui Cho, who takes responsibility for massacre in Virginia Tech, also passed background checks in acquiring the firearms used in his attack even though before, he had been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorders (Wikipedia.org). You can notice that NICS is not a trusty system that our states can depend on it to judge someone in order to give them a permit or not. If we give permissions to wrong guys like Seung-Hui Cho, I believe there will be more and more Virginia Tech in the future. Finally, SGFS pointed out that concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training. The fact is that 48 states in the US which allow their residents to carry handguns do not require them to have any formal law enforcement training. For example, in Virginia, which is famous for Virginia Tech massacre, a four-hour sit-down session in a classroom is sufficient to meet the states training requirement (Louise Gerdes). Thats not a training, thats also not that someone who will carry handgun have to have and have to do before they get a permit. Just sit down and listen is not a good idea or good method that can help our residents in the real life. Even trained law enforcement officers rarely hit their targets when firing at other human beings, so how can a formal resident, who just sit down and hear some lectures about gun can do that? When you factor in all of the other elements that are involved in shooting at an adversary, thats a high hit rate. The adrenalin e flow, the movement of the target, the movement of the shooter, the officer, the lighting conditions, the weatherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I think it is a high rate when you consider all of the variables, Ray Kelly, New York Police Commissioner said (Louise Gerdes). In 2005, there were a total of 12352 gun-related homicides in the US. In the same year, the FBI reported only 143 justifiable homicides or self-defense involving firearm. Guns are used to threaten and intimidate far more often than they are used in self-defense. Most self-reported self-defense gun uses may well be illegal and against the interests of society, a 2000 study by Harvard School of Public Health (Louise Gerdes). Nowadays, some Arizona Republican lawmakers have voiced to support SB 1467 that allow students who have concealed weapons permit to carry handguns on campuses throughout Arizona. If this bill is passed, Arizona will be a third state in the US after Utah and Texas to allow all students and professors on college campus to carry handguns. Harold Cranswick, an MCC economics teacher said: If the state of Arizona proceeds with any of the currently proposed gun legislation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is unrealistic to expect students to feel safe (Mesa Legend 10). It is time that the public stands up and says no more,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦That we want to be able to make sure our facilities are safe and allowing weapons in many of these facilities is not what the people of Arizona want, said State Senator Steve Gallardo at a protest against the bill on March 29 at state Capitol. At the same protest, Zachary Smith, the regents professor of politics and international affairs from Northern Arizona University c laimed: It is just that in an environment like a college where thins can be hot and where there can be disagreements and there can be debates, it is just not the place where people might know there would be concealed fire-arms. And Emily Connally, a graduate student from University of Arizona and a Students Against Guns in Education (SAGE) representative mentioned: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Guns are four times more likely to be used in an unintentional shooting than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense and only 1 percent of the time will a victim use a gun to protect themselves (Mesa Legend 13). Mesa Legend also conducted an online survey with the question: Would you feel safe if it were legal to carry a gun onto college campuses? And there is the feedback; 65% clicked No, it would lead to complete chaos or death, only 20% chose Yes, and I would carry, 8% for Yes, I would not carry but feel safe knowing others are, 4% for I have mixed feelings about it and 3% for I do not really care ( Mesa Legend 13). You can see that, there is really no need to carry handgun on college campuses because college is the place that all people come to expect to expand their knowledge and learn something new, it is not a place like battlefield like we come and worry whether our fellow students have a gun or not. It is not students job. However, thats not mean you do not care about your students secure, hire more public safety in order to get enough man to control the whole campus is just one wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Try to find another solution like teach our students how to be safe in dangerous situation or build the friendly learning environment to avoid some hard-to-solve disagreements on campus maybe can helps us not to use handgun in dailys conversation and relationship. The safest policy to limit potential violence is to prohibit students and faculty from keeping handguns on campus and allow trained law enforcement officers to provide for campus security (Louise Gerdes). College is where we make grades not graves. Work Cited Concealed Weapons. Gale Louis Gerdes in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Louis Gerdes In Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. College Campuses Are Safer Without Concealed Weapons. Gun Violence. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Louis Gerdes. Gale Louis Gerdes In Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. College Campuses Are Less Safe Without Concealed Weapons. Gun Violence. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Louis Gerdes. Gale Louis Gerdes In Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. Virginia Tech massacre Wikipedia encyclopedia web. 5 May 2011. Legends One Poll. Mesa Legend 13 (2011): 3. Print. Ben Garcia. Ariz. lawmakers support concealed guns on campus. Mesa Legend 10 (2011): 5. Print. Ryan McCullough. Second amendment makes its way to college campuses. Mesa Legend 13 (2011): 16. Print.

There are NO Just and Holy Wars Essay -- Christian Crusades, Terrorist

War can often be considered an evil act, an act of aggression against another country for economic or social gain, or can be considered a noble event of justice, a defense mechanism of a protectorate country helping a country in need. However, sometimes the issue of war is mingled with religion, which brings the value of war into question. In some religions, war is considered noble and a gateway to heaven. A jihad in Islam is an example of this type, where some Muslims believe that attacking the â€Å"infidel† is considered strong promotion of their religion. However, in many religions the ethics of a Holy War, loosely defined as â€Å"any war that is regarded as a religious act or is in some way set in a direct relation to religion,† (Erdmann 3)) is in a very grey area. Christianity is one of those religions. Starting in the late 11th century, the Christian church started a series of Holy Wars called the Crusades. After looking at the motives for the war and the teachings of Jesus, the supposed basis of Christianity, it seems as if these wars were not actually representative of how Christians should act toward conflict even though they were considered for the good of the church. Onward Christian Soldiers The view of the Church towards war from its inception in the first century until 1095, when Pope Urban II officially called Christians together to fight in the first Crusade, changed drastically according to Thomas Madden (1). In the first hundred years after the death of Christ war was seen for only stately gain by the Roman state, which was persecuting Christians. However, the conversion of Emperor Constantine brought a union between the state and Christianity. War became a necessary tool, but due t... ... I mentioned before, Osama bin Laden proclaimed his attack on the World Trade Center a holy war. While the world looked back and could not understand how this could be considered holy, if one were to look back they could see similarities between the Christian Crusades and the terrorist attacks. When I was looking for websites on just war theory of St. Augustine, nearly every single site I found had a discussion on whether the possible action by the United States in Iraq would be justified according to St. Augustine. Most declared that it would be justified based on the actions of Iraq over the past decade and our status as a world leader with an international council such as the United Nations. It is nice to know that the information from the Crusades can help us now, but I prefer knowing that the Christian church has not repeated its action in the past 500 years.

Catholic belief

The story is about the journey of a little boy, Antonio Marez, to manhood as he tries building his person while trying to make sense of the world that he lives in and the people around him. While he was growing up, Antonio, as well as his family, has been learning a lot of life lessons from Ultima. Ultima was known for her supernatural healing powers, magic and wisdom. She has been staying with the Marez family since Antonio was still a little boy. Throughout the story, Ultima has tried to inculcate the lesson of self-sufficiency and independence with regards choices in what to beliefs and morals.Growing up, for Antonio, with his mother and father had been difficult in terms of making decisions and foretelling what the future offers for him. Torn between the choice of being a cowboy or a priest, Antonio often wondered what was in store for him in the future. Antonio’s mother, Maria, who was a devout catholic, wanted Antonio to become a priest. While his father, Gabriel, wanted him to be a cowboy who wanders through the desserts, just as he was when he was still younger. This often led him to wonder what he would grow up to become.As Antonio was growing up, his thoughts were bombarded with several questions about morality, wickedness, and sins that trouble the world. He had several experiences regarding the Catholic ways, his friend’s debunking of the Catholic belief, and the supernatural as he saw in Ultima’s healing powers and other events as such. At one point, Antonio spoke, â€Å"God! Why did Lupito die? Why do you allow the evil of the Trementinas? Why did you allow Narciso to be murdered when he was doing good? . . . A thousand questions pushed through my mind, but the Voice within me did not answer.† These questions he asked during his first communion, and these were the same questions that have been bothering him all along. Through all these confusion, Ultima could only teach him one lesson, and that is his control over his d estiny. Regardless of culture, beliefs and morals of the family, religion, etc. who he is, should be what he wants to become. Ultima shows Antonio and his family that there are no limits or boundaries to a person. What’s more important is how good a person one becomes despite all conflicting encounters or experiences.Ultima always told him to take everything that he has learned, whether it be from the Virgin Mary, the Golden Carp, or the magic of supernatural healing, and make a new and better person out of it. He thought, ‘Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp-and make something new,' I said to myself† (Anaya, 247) Antonio has really learned his lesson, as he said, â€Å"I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things† (Anaya, 15)Antonio remembers everything that Ultima has said to him, and eventual ly these things have shaped him into a morally independent person, capable of making decisions and believing in things on his own. He remembers what Ultima has said to him, â€Å"There are so many dreams to be fulfilled, but Ultima says a man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it-† (Anaya, 223)