Gregory of Nyssa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gregory of Nyssa - Research Paper Example Gregory was born in a saintly family, during A.D. 335, being the third son, with two brothers and three sisters. He was the younger brother of the great St. Basil. As he got his education at home, he did not have much interaction with the outside world, during his early years. While he visited the Chapel for the Mother’s Convent, to attend to the services conducted in honor of ‘Forty Martyrs of Sebaste’, he got a dream where the martyrs ridiculed him for not getting baptized. Accordingly, he agreed for the baptization, at his adult age, and determined to become a reader also. Gregory followed the profession of teaching, before finally joining the monastery in Pontus, as his brother and friend Gregory of Nazianzus pursued him to do so. While reading the Holy Scriptures, he also wrote many descriptions about the natural beauty. Bishop of Nyssa Gregory was appointed Bishop of Nyssa in A.D. 370. However, he faced difficulties, as he believed in Orthodox faith. In addi tion, due to his defense of ‘The Holy Trinity and the Incarnation’, Arian and Sabellian authorities targeted him. The prosecution sent him summons to appear before the Synod of Ancyra, for misuse of church funds and being improperly ordained. He got very upset with such allegations and fell ill. His brother Basil made efforts to clean his tarnished image and was successful in getting the Synod of Bishops declare him innocent, as he was not fit to travel to Ancyra for attending the trial. However, his opponent arranged for trial at Nyssa, while Gregory refused to attend it. Finally, he was banished and deposed in the year 376. He had to change his residency many times, as he was subjected to harassment and cruelty at many places, which resulted in his despondency. However, the death of Emperor Valens in 378 changed his fortunes as the succeeding Emperor declared that all orthodox bishops must be allowed to return to their positions. Gregory went back to Nyssa and was wel comed there. Gregory succeeds Basil After the death of his brother Basil, whose funeral was preached by Gregory, he succeeding Basil and followed the Nicene Faith vigorously. Later he went on pilgrimage to Arabia, Babylon and Jerusalem, as the Emperor provided him the required carriages. Gregory’s death He died in the year A.D. 395. However, his legacy as the aggressive defender of Orthodox Faith and great teacher earned him acclaim as ‘Father of Fathers’ and ‘Star of Nyssa’. His faith in all religions and unknown destiny is expressed in his words,†all religious truth consists in mystery†.(Heroes of Fourth Century) Life of Moses The book is a treasure for Christians, as it deals with the virtue and perfection detailed in Christianity. This fourth century scripture by Gregory of Nyssa was originally written in Greek. English and French translations of this book are available today. As the book has two parts, first part details the ‘h istory of Moses’ in 77 paragraphs and the second part deals with the ‘contemplation on life of Moses’, in 321 paragraphs. Explaining a few excerpts The book has referred to verbal roots, as showing affection or having a friend. This has been mentioned in the book as a meditating tool to overcome physical and mental struggle. Another excerpt is regarding ‘Horses are eager to run’. This refers to the human nature of being over-zealous and always busy like winning in a racecourse. (The life of Moses) Referring to a child being given an ark, it details that the ‘ark’ is for crossing the stream safely. The ‘ark’ is the education that the child must have to fight the challenges of life, as it holds the child above the waves of the stream. Virtue is the ‘ark’ shaped carriage for human beings to fight the struggles and it can be acquired through education and patience. (The life of Moses) Contributions in spirituality G regory of Nyssa has contributed to the Christianity in giving us the holy script called, ‘

Iron Lab Report Essay Example for Free

Iron Lab Report Essay From my background knowledge, the iron present which is elemental iron in the cornflakes is harder to absorb than either two . This is also supported by the Absorption rate gotten from the results section (table 2,: percentage mass of Fe2+ ) it is seen that the absorption rate of the Fortified cereal is 7. 33% while that of the iron tablet and the beef liver are 15. 23% and 21. 80% respectively. According to Ironrichfood. org, absorption of haeme iron from meat proteins is efficient, and it ranges from 15% to 35%, and is not significantly affected by diet. In contrast, 2% to 20% of nonhaeme iron in plant foods such as rice, maize, black beans, soybeans and wheat is absorbed. Nonhaeme iron absorption is significantly influenced by various food components. The Absorption rate of the Iron in the Iron tablet is lesser than that of the beef liver (as seen in Table. 2) because the iron content in the tablet is less absorbable by the body. This is to say that Natural source of iron are quickly absorbed than artificial source of iron by the body However taking iron supplements sometimes cause side-effects such as constipation, diarrhea or heartburn. Sometimes these supplements are over taken thereby leading to Iron toxicity which occurs on the absorption of excessive quantities of ingested iron. This severe overdose causes impaired oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial dysfunction, which can result in cellular death. The liver is one of the organs most affected by iron toxicity, but other organs such as the heart, kidneys, lungs, and the hematologic systems also may be impaired. Iron supplements should not be taken along side calcium supplements however taking foliate with iron supplement will provide maximum benefits. Taking supplements although they seem to have side effects are used widely in medicine to iron–deficiency anemia, and it’s also given to pregnant women in their second or third trimester (because the body uses up more than normal to sustain both mother and baby), its usually given with folic acid so to avoid Iron corrosion that occurs due to the damage cells of the duodenum not being able to absorb the iron thereby causing iron overload leading to gastro intestinal corrosion. No justifiable conclusion could be made from these experiment because the results gotten from this experiment were not totally credible as the experiment was prone to a few errors, these errors that could have occurred to bias the results include errors from reading the volume of MnO4 in the burette as the meniscus could not be seen clearly thus we had to look at the top of the liquid which introduced errors, also the air oxygen error, Misjudging the equivalence point, and failure to transfer all the prepared solution for titration. Owing to these errors, are the reasons for any deviation in the result of this experiment, however in the future modifications will be made to reduce or annul these errors, modifications such as: accurately measuring the weights, rightly judging the equivalence point, in general, care should be taken throughout the experiment to reduce possibility of errors.

Virtual University System Limitations

Virtual University System Limitations Virtual University:  Literature Review Technology today allows us to record, analyze, and evaluate the physical world to an unprecedented degree. Enterprises in the new millennium are increasingly relying on technology to ensure that they meet their mission requirements. It is important to note here that, â€Å"Educational organizations have been referred to as complex and arcane enterprises† (Massy, 1999). For educational institutions, this reliance on technology will require new mission statements, revised catalogs and other materials, different learning environments and methods of instruction, and, perhaps most significantly, new standards for measuring success. To achieve these objectives, several initiatives in the form of web based systems, simulations, games etcetera are being developed and tested. Among these approaches, simulations and games are found to be the most effective ones (Massy, 1999). The author will review one such initiative, namely ‘Virtual U’ also known as Virtual University (Vi rtual U Project, 2003). The author will begin with a brief review of the use of simulation and gaming approaches in educational institutions. In the last decade, behaviorist approach has given way to constructivist approach in the field of instructional design. Behaviorist approach is an instructor led approach in which formal concepts and systems can be transmitted to students by giving them formal descriptions in combination with the presentation of examples (Leemkuil et al., 2000). On the other hand, Constructivist approach is a student led approach in which the students learn through activity or social interaction such as games, simulations, and case studies (Jacques, 1995). Gaming is considered to produce a wide range of learning benefits like, improvement of practical reasoning skills, higher levels of continuing motivation, and reduction of training time and instructor load (Jacobs Dempsey, 1993). Games are effective communication tools because they are fun and engaging (Conte, 2003). Simulations are also very close to games. Simulations resemble games in that both contain a model of some kind of system and learners can provide both with input and observe the consequences of their actions (Leemkuil et al., 2000). Virtual U was conceived and designed by William F. Massy, a professor and university administrator and the president of the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group (PR Newswire, 2000). The project was funded by $1 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York. Data were provided by the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania (Waters and Toft, 2001). In designing the game, Massy and Ausubel (Program Director, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) included detailed data from 1,200 U.S. academic institutions, as well as information culled from government sources (Schevitz, 2000). The first version of Virtual U which was released in the year 2000 was produced by Enlight Software of Hong Kong and was sold commercially for about $129 (Goldie, 2000). The Virtual University system was developed along the lines of the popular game known as, ‘SimCity’. The primary objective of the Virtual U game was to develop the skills of the players for managing an educational institution. According to Moore and Williams (2002) ‘Virtual U will let you test your skill, judgment, and decisions’, while managing an educational institution. This game based environment has been designed specifically to enable any person to tackle various scenarios and problems that are usually encountered in an educational institution. â€Å"The game is driven by a powerful simulation engine that uses a combination of micro-analytic and system dynamics methods and draws on an extensive compilation of data on the U.S. higher education system† (Massey, 1999). Technically the system was developed using C++ in a windows based environment. Virtual U in its current state does not run on the ‘Macintosh’ based systems due to the us age of proprietary windows based graphics. However, it is envisaged by the authors that a version for Macintosh users will be developed in the near future. The Virtual U game employs several strategies and allows the user or the player as per his/her requirements (Rainwater et al., 2003). In general the player is appointed as the University president and allowed to manage the University as a whole. In this role the player is concerned about institution level policies, budget etcetera. Then there are scenario based strategies like improving teaching or research performance in a particular faculty, where the player assumes the role of a faculty head (Rainwater et al., 2003). Lastly there are a possible 18 chance cards. Chance cards are emergency situations that arise during the game play and require immediate attention. Overall, Virtual University not only allows players to explore secondary and tertiary effects of a couple of years worth of actions they might take as academic administrators but they can also customize it by adjusting everything from the size of the faculty and student body to the cost of maintaining campus roads and buil dings (Conte, 2003). Moore and Williams (2002) identify a few limitations in the Virtual university system. 1. One needs to have extensive administrative knowledge or experience to play Virtual U effectively. The amount of prior knowledge required may prohibit some of the audiences to use the system. 2. Second limitation is pertaining to performance indicators. There is lack of assessment-informed decision making in the game. The â€Å"teach better† goal is one of the game scenarios, yet there is nowhere a link between the teacher quality and the student learning. 3. Educational quality and prestige indicators are the two performance indicators the developer advises the player to pay close attention to. Within the educational quality framework, one has access to quantitative inputs and outputs (for example, number of degrees granted) rather than measures of quality. Also there are a limited number of variables which a player can chose or adjust (course mix, number of students shut out of courses, level of faculty teaching talent, class size, faculty morale, and faculty time devoted to teaching activities). The prestige indicator is even more limited. 4. A final Virtual U limitation identified by Moore and Williams (2002) is its lack of flexibility in the area of faculty management. While a player may reallocate departmental resources, teaching loads, and priorities in hiring new faculty, he cannot actually fire or remove faculty. The developers acknowledge on several occasions that the game is fairly complex and is not easy for beginners to start with (Massey, 1999). The author of this review believes that learning a complex game will be fairly difficult and time consuming for the users (administrative) who are already on a tight time schedule. Even postgraduate research students seldom get time or would like to play games if not related to their own research. Younger students would be easily attracted to such complex games and learn them quickly even though it might not be of much use for them in the short term. In addition to these factors the availability of a windows only version of the system will restrict an ever growing community of ‘Macintosh’ users in the United States educational institutions. Despite the above mentioned limitations, Virtual U is a useful and laudable effort (Moore and Williams, 2002). On the whole the Virtual U is a good introduction to those that wish to get a feel fo r the day to day operation of a university (Waters and Toft, 2001). References Conte, C. (2003). Honey, I shrunk the deficit! Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=77042147Fmt=7clientId=8189RQT=309VName=PQD Ellington, H.I. Earl, S. (1998). Using games, simulations and interactive case studies: a practical guide for tertiary-level teachers. Birmingham: SEDA Publications. Leemkuil, H., Jong, T. d., Ootes, S. (2000). Review Of Educational Use Of Games And Simulations. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://kits.edte.utwente.nl/documents/D1.pdf Goldie, B. (2000). A computer game lets you manage the university. The Chronicle of Higher Education Retrieved February 17, 2006, fromhttp://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=47712857Fmt=7clientId=8189RQT=309VName=PQD Jacobs, J.W. Dempsey, J.V. (1993). Simulation and gaming: Fidelity, feedback and motivation. In: Leemkuil, H., Jong, T. d., Ootes, S. (2000). Review Of Educational Use Of Games And Simulations. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://kits.edte.utwente.nl/documents/D1.pdf Jacques, D. (1995). Games, simulations and case studies a review. In: Leemkuil, H., Jong, T. d., Ootes, S. (2000). Review of Educational Use Of Games And Simulations. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://kits.edte.utwente.nl/documents/D1.pdf Leemkuil, H., Jong, T. d., Ootes, S. (2000). Review Of Educational Use Of Games And Simulations. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://kits.edte.utwente.nl/documents/D1.pdf Massy, W. F. (1999). Virtual U: The University Simulation Game. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.virtual-u.org/documentation/educause.asp Moore, D. L., Williams, K. (2002). Virtual U. Assessment Update Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=aphan=10350107loginpage=Login.aspsite=ehost PR Newswire, (2000). Virtual U Released; University Management Goes High Tech Computer Simulation Tackles the Management Challenges of Higher Education. February 17, 2006, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=55540413Fmt=7clientId=8189RQT=309VName=PQD Rainwater, T., Salkind, N., Sawyer, B., Massy, W. (2003). Virtual U 1.0 Strategy Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.virtual-u.org/downloads/vu-strategy-guide.pdf Schevitz, T. (2000). University Game Plan / Professor emeritus computer simulation lets players test skills as college administrators. San Francisco Chronicle, February 17, 2006, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=47957859Fmt=7clientId=8189RQT=309VName=PQD Virtual U Project. (2003). Virtual U. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.virtual-u.org Waters, B., Toft, I. (2001, October) Virtual U: A University Systems Simulation. Conflict Management in Higher Education Report Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.campus-adr.org/CMHER/ReportResources/Edition2_1/VirtualU2_1.html

How ATVs Work Essay -- essays research papers

Thesis statement: All terrain vehicles are helpful and useful and I will explain how they work and how to fix them in this paper. Outline: Inn this paper I will discuss ATV’s and general knowledge and getting them wet. I also will discuss their origin and how they need care and how to keep them doing good for a long time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is an ATV? It is an All Terrain Vehicle, also called three or four wheelers. It is also called a quad or ATV. An ATV is built to go where other vehicles cannot go. ATV’s are also built to handle a lot of stress and abuse. ATV’s are virtually indestructible; however, they have a few weaknesses and it is important to know and understand those few weaknesses. You should always do a complete check of your ATV before riding . Second, ATV’s also provide power and speed. There are also amphibian ATV’s that float and go like a boat. ATV’s were first â€Å"work† vehicles for telephone and electrical linemen and other types of people. They used the ATV’s to get from one pole to another that went over difficult terrain where 4x4 trucks could not go. (Estrem ATV’s 10)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, you do not need a special permit or driver’s license to drive a ATV although special training is recommend by several manufacturers and some even give seminars and free classes. I believe that some company’s give cash back to people who take classes. I ,myself, have not taken any of these classes. There are no age limits or restrictions because these are not operated on public streets, roads or highways. ATV’s are â€Å"Off-road† machines. There is also safety gear to protect you from harm. These accessories include helmets, gloves, boots, chest protectors and so on. (Estrem ATV’s 10-11) Third, ATV’s need some type of power plant to propel them. The types of power plants that are most common are the two stroke engine and the four stroke engine (A stroke is one movement of the piston Microsoft Encarta 96 Internal Combustion Engine). The general principle of the two-stroke engine is to shorten the periods in which fuel is put into the combustion chamber and in which the spent gases are exhausted to a small fraction of the duration of a stroke instead of allowing each of these operations to occupy a full stroke. In the simplest type of two-stroke engine, the poppet valves are replaced by sleeve valves or ports (openings in t... ...fied Buggy class. At home on sand, dirt, or the surface of Mars, these competition-designed vehicles spend as much time on their roll bars as they do on their tires. The series will feature another buggy class called the Stadium Lites. The Lites are an ultra-quick, lightweight version of the Supers and are based on Honda's Odessey/Pilot line of full roll cage ATVs. Finally, the Stadium Thunder Bikes will wow the crowd with high-flying action. These big, bad, four-stroke bikes are the same machines used from Baja to Supercross. (Internet VIA America Online Internet Provider)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Conclusion ATV’s are fun yet dangerous. ATV’s require a lot of care and maintenance but they will give you a good feeling in life that cannot be matched. I have discussed Water damage and how to prevent it, good riding spots and how to care for the major parts of your ATV. I have also told about the the renewed interest of ATV stadium riding and racing. I have not tried this but it may be fun. Please though observe all rules and safety protocols to prevent injury or death. If you respect the laws and use common sense and care ATV riding and racing can be an enjoyable experience.

Ball and Brown Essay

In 1968 Raymond Ball and Phillip Brown published ‘An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers’ in the Journal of Accounting research. After an initial lukewarm response from the academic community it rapidly became what the American Accounting Association now calls ‘the seed that made a difference’. The purpose of this essay is to introduce the study of Ball and Brown(motivations, research questions and findings) and identify its significant contributions in capital markets research. Introduction According to the resources provided, Ball and Brown described the motivation for their study as a test of existing scholarly research that painted a dim picture of reported earnings. The early articles concluded that earnings could not be informative, and therefore major changes to accounting practice where necessary to correct the problem. In their research, Ball and Brown sought to answer the simple fundamental research question: are accounting income numbers useful? Their position was summarised: â€Å"An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers requires agreement as to what real-world outcome constitutes an appropriate test of usefulness. Because net income is a number of particular interest to investors, the outcome we use as a predictive criterion is the investment decision as it is reflected in security prices†(Ball and Brown 1968). Ball and Brown found that when stocks had a positive income surprise, the abnormal stock price returns for the event window were also likely to be positive, and vice versa. They also found that a majority of the increase in the abnormal returns was before the announcement date, which implied that analysts have fairly accurate forecasts of whether firms will outperform or underperform. Significance of their contributions Although there does have some limitations in Ball and Brown’s study, it had a significant impact on later research. Ball and Brown (1968) provide compelling evidence that there is information content in accounting earnings announcements. In the meantime, they correlate the sign of the abnormal  stock return in the month of an earnings announcement with the sign of the earnings change of a certain firm’s earnings in a previous year earnings. Starting with Ball and Brown (1968), many studies used such association with stock returns to compare alternative accounting performance measures, such as historical cost earnings, current cost earnings, residual earnings, operating cash flows, and so on. As Watts and Zimmerman point out, most accounting research since Ball and Brown (1968) has been positive, and the role of accounting theory is no longer normative. Ball and Brown (1968) heralded the positive-economics-based empirical capital markets research in the late 1960s.Concurrent developments in economics and finance constituted the theoretical and methodological impetus to the early capital markets research in accounting. In addition, their study initially provides reliable evidence that stock markets can influence annual reports. Then researchers began to do a lot in reflect of stock market. Furthermore, the method used is also applicable to a large number of accounting and financial issues, including dividend announcements, earnings announcements, mergers and acquisitions, and investment spending. 3. Conclusion Ball and Brown (1969) expressed a view of information in markets that was revolutionary and contributed to a significant change in attitudes towards investing and financial markets. By testing the connection between earnings expectations and share price changes they were the genesis of a body of research that now underpins modern day investment processes. References Jackson, S. (1999), â€Å"Australia: Towns get by without their banks†, The Australian. pp. 3. Phillips, N. and Malhotra, N. (2008). ‘Taking social construction seriously: extending the discursiveapproach in institutional theory’. In Greenwood, R., Oliver, C., Sahlin, K. and Suddaby, R. (Eds),Handbook of Organizational Institutionalism. London: Sage, 602–720. How can responsible international mining and oil companies use their social investment funds? Nikolai, Bazley, and Jefferson Jones. Intermediate Accounting. South-Western College Pub, 209 Massoud, M. and C. Raiborn(2003), â€Å"Accounting for Goodwill: Are We Better Off?,† Review of Business, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 26-32. Ball and Brown (1968): The seed that made a difference, Ball, R., and Brown, P. (1968), â€Å"An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers†, Journal of Accounting Research 6 (2), pp.159-178 Watts and Zimmerman (1979), â€Å"The Demand for and Supply of Accounting Theories: The Market for Excuses†, The Accounting Review, Vol. 54, No. 2, American Accounting Association. ———————–

Written Performance Concept

Written Performance Concept Play: Translations As a director, I want to emphasise the concept of a forbidden romance which is the essential theme of the play. So in my duologue, it was important to remember my directorial intentions throughout in order for the audience to understand the complexity of the situation. ‘Translations’ was written by the Irish playwright Brian Friel in 1980, however, it is set in the 19th century in it fictional town on Baile Beag.Brian Friel stated that ‘Translations’ is â€Å"a play about language and only about language† but it deals with a wide range of issues, stretching from language and communication to cultural imperialism. He based it in Ireland due to the fluidity of the Irish language and to make it harder for literal translation, as David Grant explains â€Å"The very nature of translation is so delicate, so unpredictable, that the only practical solution was to explore ideas in practice on the rehearsal room f loor. Historical elements relevant to inform my embodiment of role would be the English’s role in taking over Ireland in the 1930’s, as most Irish were reduced to near poverty whereas the English had masses of wealth. Also, they planned to take everything of Irish importance away, such as lessons in school only being taught in English when over half of the population spoke Gaelic. To demonstrate the fact we are in a field, not many props are used except a bale of hay we use for me to sit on and state â€Å"the grass must be wet, my feet are soaking. We decided to set it in a field as it has to be somewhere away from civilisation where no one will catch them. We are also using and Irish folk music track at the start to set the scene for the audience and give them a sense that they are in agricultural Ireland. In order to further shape and influence my character, I undertook some drama exercises to develop a deeper understanding of my character. An example would be non- verbal communication exercises where we would run through the scene once; they go through it only with the use of facial expression, proxemics and gestures.This helped me develop a joyful, but at times confused and frustrated facial expressions, for example on the line â€Å"What-What? † after Yolland states â€Å"Yes, I know your Marie, of course I know your Marie, I mean I have been watching you night and day for the past†¦Ã¢â‚¬  even though I don’t understand what he is saying, I should be able to recognize he is complimenting or saying something beautiful though facial expressions and gestures.Also to be more aware of my proxemics and levels so I don’t look superior or upright in any way and my gestures to be soft and calming, not rigid and stiff. Hot seating also helped me as we got an in depth analysis of my character and a deeper understanding of what their objectives may be is several different parts of the play. An example of this would be to ask Marie the question â€Å"How did you feel when you met George for the first time? † This helped me with my tone and voice to my subtle, sweet and lyrical.We also have to portray the hesitance between Yolland and Marie as there love isn’t only frowned upon in society because there statuses in society are at two totally different ends of the spectrum, but the love triangle between Manus, Yolland and Marie is a very problematic one. This further adds pressure to the situation and I need to be able to portray this awkwardness and lack of understanding for the audience to be able to fully connect with us as people. I also want the audience to feel empathy for our circumstances.

Herodotus and Thucydides essays

Herodotus and Thucydides essays According to Roy T. Matthews and F. Dewitt Platt the study of history started in the fifth century B.C., when they began questioning and articulating Greeks. They started to analyze the meaning of their immediate past and to write down the results of their research. Before the classical period, the Greeks only had a slight idea of their past. Therefore, I will compare and contrast Herodotus and Thucydides, who were the first two ancient Greek historians known to us. They have not just given us a different prospective of certain events but, they have also shaped the future in their own way. Not much is known about Herodotus' life. Herodotus was born in 484 B.C. in a town called Halicarnassus modern Bodrum in southwestern Turkey. This is not far from Herodotus' native city, which is on the Island of Samos. As much as we know about Herodotus's life, is that he was exiled from Halicarnassus after his involvement in an unsuccessful takeover against the ruling dynasty, and he withdrew to the Island of Samos. He seems never to have returned to Halicarnassus, but he appears to be proud of his native city and its queen, Artemisia. It must have been during his exile that he embarked on the journeys. These journeys took him to Egypt, as far south as the first cataract of the Nile, to Babylon, Ukraine, and to Italy and Sicily. Herodotus mentions an interview with an informant in Sparta, and it is almost certain he lived for a period in Athens. In Athens, he taped the oral traditions of the prominent families, in particular the Alkmaeonidai, to which Pericles belonged on his m aternal side. But the Athenians did not accept foreigners as citizens. When Athens sponsored the colony of Thurii in 444 BC, Herodotus became a colonist. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia) He made visits of the Greek cities, the major religious and athletic festivals, where he offered performances for which he expected payment. In 431 BC, the Peloponnesian War broke ...

Class Stratification in Animal Farm Essay Example

Class Stratification in Animal Farm Essay Example Class Stratification in Animal Farm Essay Class Stratification in Animal Farm Essay Essay Topic: Animal Farm In the text â€Å"Animal Farm† by George Orwell, an idea I think is worth learning about is class stratification.Class stratification describes when a society splits into separate classes; who have different access to resources and power.I think this idea is worth learning about because the expulsion of Mr Jones was meant to stop it, the seven commandments were explicitly against it and because Snowball would have stopped it from happening.Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian revolution and the plots and ideas present in this novel, are based on actual events.The authors purpose for making the divide between classes so conspicuous was to show unjust, and oppressive; Joseph Stalins leadership was. Firstly, class stratification is an idea worth learning about because the expulsion of Jones was meant to stop it.â€Å"Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free†.This is a quote from Old Major’s speech, the speech that inspired the animals to revolt against Mr Jones. On the pre expulsion farm, Man was a class with overruling power (With Mr Jones representing the Tsar royal family who ruled at the time) and abundant resources, while the animals were another class; with zero power that had the resources they produced, taken away.The author, put an emphasis on how the animals thought the revolution would turn their society into one free of divided classes, he did this because it put even more emphasis on how wrong the animals were. I think this shows that in life, considering multiple outcome of a situation before deciding whether to dive in or not, is the best way to avoid disappointment when said situation turns sour. Secondly, class stratification is an idea worth learning about because the original seven commandments were explicitly against it.The seventh commandment was â€Å"All animals are equal†, this was later changed to â€Å"All anima

Benchmarking for Performance Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Benchmarking for Performance Evaluation Essay In September 2004, Wendy Wiley, the Northlake Bookstore manager, was considering the implications of a shocking development. For the first time in her seven years as the Bookstore manager, textbook sales for this fall had decreased from the prior fall sales. The sales decrease was approximately $180,000, or 3% of annual textbook sales. Wendy wanted to address this problem before it got worse. She found that this sales decrease was due to two emerging technology problems, possibly of equal magnitude: 1) the students’ increasing use of online textbook vendors, and 2) the professors’ increasing use of online textbook publishers. Wendy reported the bad sales news to her boss, Chuck Irwin, the Vice Chancellor of Finance at Northlake University. After commiserating with her, Chuck told her that he was not surprised by this sales problem and that she should consider how to deal with these emerging technologies in her next performance evaluation report by comparing the performance of the Northlake Bookstore against competitors using benchmarking analysis. This analysis would help Wendy find the strengths and weaknesses of the Bookstore. Additionally, Chuck wanted Wendy to develop a few key related short-term performance goals and related measures that could be used in future performance evaluations. He wanted to discuss the situation at their meeting next week, which was the annual review of the Bookstore’s performance for the prior fiscal year 2004 (July 2003 through June 2004). A benchmarking analysis was required by Chuck for the annual review of all the nonacademic departments under his management. Northlake is a private university, located in a major metropolitan area in the Midwest, with an annual enrollment of 12 ,700 students, mostly undergraduates. Northlake is quite dependent upon student tuition, which typically accounts for 60% of its total revenues. However, the Chancellor was concerned because donations and gifts to the University were down, possibly due to uncertain economic conditions and erratic stock market performance. Prior to becoming the Northlake Bookstore manager, Wendy had spent 15 years in retail sales, most recently as a Wal-Mart sales manager. She was an outgoing, supportive individual who really liked being a retail sales manager and enjoyed working with her employees. She strongly believed in continuous improvement of any sales department that she managed. Despite her extensive retail experience in the for-profit sector, this was her first experience working in an academic environment. Wendy occasionally became frustrated working with faculty due to their late or inaccurate book orders. However, she liked helping students and enjoyed working in an academic environment without all the pressures of a for-prof it business with aggressive sales and earnings targets like Wal-Mart. To prepare her benchmarking analysis report required for the upcoming annual performance evaluation of the Bookstore, Wendy had collected income statement, product line, and other performance measures for the last three fiscal years. To aid evaluation, she summarized the various Bookstore operations into five product lines: textbooks, supplies and sundries, clothing, software and accessories, and computers. The textbook product line included new texts, used texts, class notes (course packs), and general reference books. The supply and sundry line included school and office supplies, electronics, food, sundries, greeting cards, and miscellaneous campus department sales. The clothing line included all insignia clothing, gifts, and memorabilia. Wendy knew she needed to act fast to thoroughly analyze all the information needed for the Bookstore’s annual benchmarking analysis that Chuck and the Chancellor required. She had a lot of historical information and was wondering how to analyze this financial information for her benchmarking analysis report. Benchmarking is the process of identifying superior performance of other organizations for products, services, and processes, and then attempting to improve necessary areas with the goal of achieving similar excellence. The benchmarking process first became popular in 1989 after Xerox advertised its success with the tool; however, the tool was initially employed by Xerox in 1972. In fact, more than 70% of the Fortune 500 companies—which includes AT&T, Ford Motor Company, IBM, and Eastman Kodak—reported using benchmarking regularly. Benchmarking is useful in countless decision-making settings including performance evaluation, health and safety management, and supply chain management. To reach for greater standards of excellence, Ford would likely consider foreign automobile manufacturers that have been well known for high efficiency and quality, such as Toyota, the current world-wide leader in automobile sales. Wendy currently benchmarked the performance of the bookstore against other college bookstores and major booksellers. In performing a benchmarking analysis, it was imperative for Wendy to benchmark processes that were aligned with organizational strategic objectives. Since the Bookstore was a profit center, it was imperative that she compare the profitability of the various product lines with other universities. The Bookstore also had an objective to provide service excellence. Thus, if available, it would be beneficial for Wendy to benchmark customer satisfaction data with other universities. Once processes that were consistent with strategic objectives were identified, it was necessary to collect and analyze internal information vis-Ã ¡-vis external information from competitors. The benchmarking process did not stop once areas of excellence and inferior performance were identified. Rather, it was imperative for Wendy to identify how to sustain the areas of excellence and improve the areas of inferior performance. In determining how to improve poor performance, she needed to understand the reason behind the poor performance. Once that was attained, it would be possible to determine a long-term plan for improvement. A key role of the Bookstore was to supply the Northlake University community–which included but was not limited to faculty, students, alumni and parents–with textbooks, supplies, clothing and gifts, computers and software, and much more. The Bookstore’s formal mission statement was as follows: The Northlake Bookstore is an academic resource for the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests of the University. The Bookstore serves the University with a business presence dedicated to providing service excellence that meets or exceeds the needs of each customer and University department. The Bookstore played a significant role in enabling parents of freshmen to participate in getting their children ready for the first day of class. Additional temporary staff was hired to ensure there was adequate assistance available for new students and returning students who were purchasing their textbooks. These staff members were readily available and happy to answer any question that new parents or students might have regarding textbooks or the University in general. Also, congruent with the University laptop requirement for all students, the Bookstore sold computers and software. This was a great way for parents to enjoy onestop back-to-school shopping. Additionally, the Bookstore tried to promote the University as a brand name by selling clothing and accessories with the University logo and/or name. Availability of clothing and accessories was also a service provided to students, parents, and alumni who wanted to show their support for the school. Sales of merchandise with the University logo indirectly promoted the University, but the Bookstore did not try to formally create alumni support nor was that a formal goal. This was the function of the University Alumni Advancement (funding) office. As indicated by the mission statement, by the role taken to familiarize new parents and students, and by the sale of merchandise with the University logo, the Bookstore operated in a manner aimed at achieving high customer satisfaction. To measure customer satisfaction the Bookstore conducted an annual customer satisfaction survey and a separate faculty satisfaction survey. Customer suggestion forms were also readily available on the Bookstore website. In her years as the Bookstore manager, Wendy had developed various financial performance measures to help assess the performance of the Bookstore. Over the last few years, she had used these measures as part of her benchmarking analysis. She felt fortunate to have a fairly comprehensive benchmarking database available to her. It was provided annually to all bookstore members free of charge by the National Association of College Stores (NACS). The only requirement was that each bookstore had to contribute its own data to the benchmarking database in order to use it. The NACS database included income statement, product line, and other types of benchmarks. With the looming threat from online textbook vendors, Wendy had started to benchmark Northlake’s textbook prices against the major online textbook vendors. She also tracked mail orders and Web orders from Northlake’s own website (started in 2000). Her task now was how best to use this benchmark information. She believed that her first step was to compare her current financial and operating results with the benchmark data to pinpoint areas in need of improvement. This analysis would likely uncover some areas that needed her attention, which would be useful in identifying areas in need of improvement. Benchmarking for Performance Evaluation. (2016, Dec 24).

Evaluate Project Risk Management in the construction of London Essay

Evaluate Project Risk Management in the construction of London Heathrow Airports Terminal 5 - Essay Example My thanks will be extended also to my family including Dad, Mom and -----, my youngest brother for their kind and invaluable support during the whole project. The London Heathrow Terminal 5 has emerged to be the largest airport and the most complex construction projects undertaken in the airline industry. The aim of the project was to augment the capacity by 50% along with offering the visitors an impressive gateway into the city and the United Kingdom. With a budget of over  £4.3bn, the airport facility includes a an airport terminus, a building housing a satellite, underground tunnels, diversions on the river and a road connecting the airport to M25 (Sharon, 2008).This paper attempts to study and evaluate the Risk Management strategy and theories involved in the construction of London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5, (Sharon, 2008) and critic these theories. The approach used to mitigate risks for the t5 of the Heathrow Airport was based on the principles of team construction and had to incorporate many changes until project completion, (Sharon, 2008). BAA had anticipated a high level of design progress and development at all stages of the ambitious project which could easily squeeze modern technical solutions and modifications in safety, space requirements or amenities. It would have been unrealistic to freeze the complete design solution of the project during the design phase (Latham, 1994). BAA decided absorb all risks. This helped BAA manage the activities with the help of partners who worked as integrated teams along with the contractors. This was implemented under the T5 Agreement, (Ferroussat, 2005). The procedure to try and identify risks that are present within a project is known as management of risks. The risks that are posing challenges during the implementation of a project are effectively managed, (Mind Tools, 2009). Risk Management activity is mainly concerned with a proper analysis of the different operations, identification

The Financial Crises and The Collapse of the Lehman Brothers - ABD Essay

The Financial Crises and The Collapse of the Lehman Brothers - ABD - Essay Example The role of governments and that of economic theories had an equal amount of role to play in the control and monitoring function and the predictive ability and risk measurement respectively. The study of such indicators helps to understand and appreciate the importance of non financial factors as a cause of the recent financial crisis that shook the entire world (Kotz, 2009). The aftermath of the great financial crisis helps us to reflect upon the shocks experienced by the policy landscape and government policies and greed of bankers and the plight of the taxpayers. This has brought to focus, the need for enhancement of the role of the government in regulating and controlling the systems of the market from the inadequacies and the excesses. Also linked with these issues is the problem with moral hazards. The role of moral hazard has been identified to be central to the causes of the recent crisis and the learning from the controversy that can be drawn (Engelen et al., 2008). A moral hazard can be clearly defined as the responsibility of one party towards the interest of the other but where the interests of the former attain priority. For example, a person sells a financial product to the other but chooses only those funds for sale which provide him with the highest bonuses but might not hold any interest of the buyer. The risks associated with it are mutually borne by the seller and the buyer. The subprime was a typical example for the moral hazard theory where gains and social losses were privatized (Godechot, 2008). Financial risk management failures were caused primarily due to the ignorance of the systematic interaction between the different risk elements of the process. There were modeling errors that were based on the assumption of normal markets and ignored abnormal market situations. Such practice made the financial risk management system more prone to crisis rather than being less exposed. Credit default swaps and collateralized debt

Dick Hebdige argues that subcultural style should be regarded as a Essay

Dick Hebdige argues that subcultural style should be regarded as a semiotic form of resistance against authority - Essay Example Culture is an indispensable part of social life. From this point of view, culture is also necessarily related to politics even if the particular relationship is not standardized, in terms of its forms. Hebdige has thoroughly explored the potential relationship between culture and politics. In his book ‘Subculture: the Meaning of Style’, first published in 1979, Hebdige uses examples from cultural trends developed in Britain during 1970s (Blake 1998, p.97). Emphasis is given to the cultural trends, especially in terms of music and dress, of youths in different subcultures (Blake 1998, p.97). The research on this subject has led Hebdige to the assumption that social relations can be influenced by the cultural background of the parties; for politics, a similar view could be developed (Blake 1998, p.97). The view of Hebdige that subcultural style should be regarded as a semiotic form of resistance against authority is evaluated in this paper. Reference is primarily made, pri marily, to the concept of subculture, as described in the study of Hebdige. Then, two examples are employed for showing the value of the views of Hebdige if they are used in practice. It is proved that, indeed, subcultural style can be used as a form of resistance against authority. Still, the implications of such use are rather difficult to be identified. Neither can it be said that a particular subcultural style has been found to be effective in supporting a strong resistance against authority. 2. Hebdige and subcultural style as a semiotic form of resistance against authority 2.1 Key points of Hebdige’s view in regard to subcultural style For Hebdige, subcultures are related to two key terms: ‘conjuncture and specificity’ (During 1999, p.441). More specifically, Hebdige promotes the idea that subcultures are not limited to a particular aspect of life or to a particular area (During 1999, p.441). Rather, subcultures can be identified ‘almost everywhereâ⠂¬â„¢ (During 1999, p.441) being influenced though by specific conjunctures (During 1999, p.441). The term ‘conjunctures’ (During 1999, p.441) in the above use reflects not just the cultural and social trends developed in a particular region but also the political and economic conditions of the region (During 1999, p.441). It is in this framework that subcultures are created and developed (During 1999, p.441). At the next level, these subcultures change as they are adopted by people in different social classes and of different age (During 1999, p.441). Through the above transformation process a high range of styles appears (During 1999, p.441). It should be noted that the notion of subculture as developed by Hebdige is based on the continuous opposition with the system, leading to a phenomenon described as ‘resistance through style’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). The particular type of subculture has been characterized as heroic, indicating a strong willingness for fighting the system, including politics (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). However, today subculture has been slightly transformed; a transmission to ‘a post-heroic phase’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86) has been unavoidable since the willingness of people to fight the system has been gradually reduced. On the other hand, the value of subculture for evaluating the social trends for opposing the system remains significant (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). When efforts are made for evaluating the power of subculture within a particular society the following fact should be taken into consideration: subculture, as described by Hebdige, needs to ‘represent noise, disturbance and blockage of the system of representation’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). If the above requirement is not met, then the social

Texts 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Texts 2 - Essay Example The model somehow mixes the inner and outer sings as well as many disciplines which can be seen by explaining that sociology, psychology and economics are major disciplines whereas parks and recreation, agriculture and transport are not the fields of study but are included as major disciplines in the model. The model actually is a puzzle between major and minor disciplines (Tribe, 1999) Also, we can say that marketing and business represent themselves as a problem. Marketing in general is considered a business function, it uses principles and guidelines from sociology and psychology as well as uses some of the business principles. Marketing is studied as a sub major in business and also, law is included in the business studies. So we can include these two as sub majors in the major discipline of business. "techniques required in business studies are derivative partly from the disciplines that contribute to them and partly from the world of business practice." Henkel’s analysis clearly explains aforementioned theories and states that in an alternate form that the validation of a part of its knowledge is outside of its academy (tribe, 1999). Tourism and business studies are the two emerging fields of studies and both of these fields collide or cooperate with each other in one way or the other. Hence, Tribe forces on the fact that there needs to be a new formulation of re interpretation of the model presented by Ritchie and Jafari since we need to incorporate business and marketing in the their model.Accommodating all the disciplines and departments under one heading of tourism studies is rather confusing and very difficult. We can say that we now need to divide the field of tourism studies into multiple fields, at least two and one of these two fields can be called tourism business studies whereas rest are still to be identified or incorporated into other fields of tourism studies. A tourism business study is a field of study mainly inspired from business

Property Equity and trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Property Equity and trust - Essay Example Most civilizations are moving away from the government-sponsored tenure systems. This change means that the government initiatives to provide the legally binding property rights fail to meet the needs of the locals. This paper discusses the factors that contribute to the changes in legal property ownership and the implications of such changes on the socio-economic and legal systems. For the purpose of this paper, a property is defined as either immobile, fixed assets or mobile assets that can be valued in economic terms and that which provides a sense of wealth to the owner. Property rights define the control that particular individuals in the society have over assets, the profits gained from the assets and the residual rights over such property. An ideal property right must be secure and easily defensible within the court system. The security the individuals obtain from property rights is subject to the stability and predictability of such rights. However, there are various informal constraints to legal property ownership such as gender definitions and assignments. These informal limitations inevitably affect legal access to the property since they are not flexible or responsive to formal changes (Engels 112). It is evident that the socio-cultural ways are not bound to change completely at once despite the economic pressures from formal sectors such as gender equity and affirmative action to improve the property access rights of the females. The formal laws are antagonistic to the informal property rights resulting in instability of such formal rights. Due to the instability, individuals have opted to a privatized property ownership, which offers comparatively stable property ownership rights. Taking the example of the land ownership in Africa, it can be determined that the imposition of formal private property rights by the government is sometimes conflict

Dick Hebdige argues that subcultural style should be regarded as a Essay

Dick Hebdige argues that subcultural style should be regarded as a semiotic form of resistance against authority - Essay Example Culture is an indispensable part of social life. From this point of view, culture is also necessarily related to politics even if the particular relationship is not standardized, in terms of its forms. Hebdige has thoroughly explored the potential relationship between culture and politics. In his book ‘Subculture: the Meaning of Style’, first published in 1979, Hebdige uses examples from cultural trends developed in Britain during 1970s (Blake 1998, p.97). Emphasis is given to the cultural trends, especially in terms of music and dress, of youths in different subcultures (Blake 1998, p.97). The research on this subject has led Hebdige to the assumption that social relations can be influenced by the cultural background of the parties; for politics, a similar view could be developed (Blake 1998, p.97). The view of Hebdige that subcultural style should be regarded as a semiotic form of resistance against authority is evaluated in this paper. Reference is primarily made, pri marily, to the concept of subculture, as described in the study of Hebdige. Then, two examples are employed for showing the value of the views of Hebdige if they are used in practice. It is proved that, indeed, subcultural style can be used as a form of resistance against authority. Still, the implications of such use are rather difficult to be identified. Neither can it be said that a particular subcultural style has been found to be effective in supporting a strong resistance against authority. 2. Hebdige and subcultural style as a semiotic form of resistance against authority 2.1 Key points of Hebdige’s view in regard to subcultural style For Hebdige, subcultures are related to two key terms: ‘conjuncture and specificity’ (During 1999, p.441). More specifically, Hebdige promotes the idea that subcultures are not limited to a particular aspect of life or to a particular area (During 1999, p.441). Rather, subcultures can be identified ‘almost everywhereâ⠂¬â„¢ (During 1999, p.441) being influenced though by specific conjunctures (During 1999, p.441). The term ‘conjunctures’ (During 1999, p.441) in the above use reflects not just the cultural and social trends developed in a particular region but also the political and economic conditions of the region (During 1999, p.441). It is in this framework that subcultures are created and developed (During 1999, p.441). At the next level, these subcultures change as they are adopted by people in different social classes and of different age (During 1999, p.441). Through the above transformation process a high range of styles appears (During 1999, p.441). It should be noted that the notion of subculture as developed by Hebdige is based on the continuous opposition with the system, leading to a phenomenon described as ‘resistance through style’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). The particular type of subculture has been characterized as heroic, indicating a strong willingness for fighting the system, including politics (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). However, today subculture has been slightly transformed; a transmission to ‘a post-heroic phase’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86) has been unavoidable since the willingness of people to fight the system has been gradually reduced. On the other hand, the value of subculture for evaluating the social trends for opposing the system remains significant (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). When efforts are made for evaluating the power of subculture within a particular society the following fact should be taken into consideration: subculture, as described by Hebdige, needs to ‘represent noise, disturbance and blockage of the system of representation’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). If the above requirement is not met, then the social

Property Equity and trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Property Equity and trust - Essay Example Most civilizations are moving away from the government-sponsored tenure systems. This change means that the government initiatives to provide the legally binding property rights fail to meet the needs of the locals. This paper discusses the factors that contribute to the changes in legal property ownership and the implications of such changes on the socio-economic and legal systems. For the purpose of this paper, a property is defined as either immobile, fixed assets or mobile assets that can be valued in economic terms and that which provides a sense of wealth to the owner. Property rights define the control that particular individuals in the society have over assets, the profits gained from the assets and the residual rights over such property. An ideal property right must be secure and easily defensible within the court system. The security the individuals obtain from property rights is subject to the stability and predictability of such rights. However, there are various informal constraints to legal property ownership such as gender definitions and assignments. These informal limitations inevitably affect legal access to the property since they are not flexible or responsive to formal changes (Engels 112). It is evident that the socio-cultural ways are not bound to change completely at once despite the economic pressures from formal sectors such as gender equity and affirmative action to improve the property access rights of the females. The formal laws are antagonistic to the informal property rights resulting in instability of such formal rights. Due to the instability, individuals have opted to a privatized property ownership, which offers comparatively stable property ownership rights. Taking the example of the land ownership in Africa, it can be determined that the imposition of formal private property rights by the government is sometimes conflict

A Tiger came to tea Essay Example for Free

A Tiger came to tea Essay Ive never seen so many children so excited about having a snack, It was like when animals are at a zoo, waiting to be fed, when they can see the zookeeper coming towards them. And the hustle and loud noises from the children was like the anticipation of crowds waiting for their favourite singers to come on stage. As soon as the children scoffed their snacks and gulped down their drink, we made our way to where the bouncy castle was outside. Every child was having a great time whether it was running around on the grass, bouncing on the castle or eating its picnic; it looked like the wonderful picture if a stranger was to come in to see what a playgroup did on the days of the summer. A perfect picture of summer with children having fun and enjoying themselves, the sun shining and everyone with huge smiles on their faces.  As I was sitting reading A Tiger came to tea to one little girl, Charlotte, all of a sudden a heard this all mighty cry, I jumped up so quickly that my heart all most stopped. The parents also looked stunned to see what an earth had gone on. I hurried to where the noise was coming from. Some children had even stopped bouncing on the castle, to see what had happened and to get them to stop bouncing on some thing they loved must have been something of a terrible shock. I came to the brightly coloured bouncy castle that had a tiger on the front the noise that usually was quite loud from the air at the back. This noise had somewhat been drowned out completely but the amount of commotion from worried parents and intrigued children. This enjoyable, blissful afternoon had turned into a worrying afternoon of turmoil.  My heart racing, I didnt know what to expect. I could feel my hands and forehead getting more and more sweaty, just like my first day starting. It wasnt a very nice feeling at all.  Still having this little girl sitting comfortably in my lap, I decided that I would go and look to see what the entire disturbance was and if I could do anything to help. I lifted Charlotte off my knees, placed the book down and slowly started to make my way over to the bouncy castle. The weather had turned from sunshine and clear skies, into black clouds and wind, making the atmosphere even more chilling. Approaching the giant inflatable I was feeling tremendously nervous and anxious.  Behind it was a little boy, Nathan, lying there crying and screaming like he had been punched hard in the stomach. The sight of his poor defenceless body made me just want to go and hug him. So that he wouldnt feel alone, that he could find comfort in my arms.  Had he stopped breathing? What if he would never be the same clever, ecstatic little boy that he was?  Blood was pouring from one of his legs and his arm was in an awkward position as if he had fallen on it funny. At that point I knew he had had a nasty plunge. I dint know what to think, I had never experienced anything like this before, especially on such a ting delicate boy. I was shaking, all that was going on inside my head were negative things and this point in time I couldnt think of positive.  Call an Ambulance, shouted Marion who looked very disturbed. Its Nathan, hes hurt  Nathans mum came running to the scene, her face had turned as white as snow, obviously from the shock.  Its on its way shouted one of the other leaders who had gone to call the ambulance. The ambulance turned up within a few minutes and Nathan was rushed off in it, the blue lights flashing, the siren going off, at this point all the children were just amazed at the ambulance. You could hear,  Look, lookambulance or Nee noor. Nee noor from the children.  I looked on in disbelief thinking how could that have happened within the half an hour of everyone enjoying themselves, then this terrible accident that Nathan had encountered. I just wished that he would be ok, that the broken arm and cut leg was the only thing that he had done.

How Terrorism Has Impacted The Police Mission

How Terrorism Has Impacted The Police Mission How has terrorism impacted the police mission in the United States? What disagreements exist regarding the appropriate law enforcement behavior which fights terrorism but maintains personal liberties? The basic police mission in the United States, according to Schmalleger (2007) are to: (1) enforce and support the laws of the society of which the police are a part; (2) investigate crimes and apprehend offenders; (3) prevent crime; (4) help ensure domestic peace and tranquility; and (5) provide the community with needed enforcement-related services (p.192). For the most part, the principal basic police mission of the United States remained the same. However, as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 Islamic terrorist attacks, police took on more antiterrorism and incidents of terrorism related emergency response responsibilities. Police agencies are now dedicating more of their time and resources to training in preparation for future potential terrorist attacks and the gathering of information and the intelligence essential to prevent terrorist attacks. Also, Polices priority now is emergency response to incidents of terrorism, and it takes precedence over all other police duties. According to Delattre (2006), disagreements have surfaced since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and one of these disagreements is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦how much intelligence federal agencies can and should share with state and local police since the FBI are too guarded with their information (p. 415). This means, that criminal intelligence and information must be shared across jurisdiction and between agencies all over the country because information sharing is vital to antiterrorism. Police network with the community and they are able to exchange information with the community to gather intelligence, and this information may be critical to other agencies, such as the FBI, and vice versa. It has been recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) (2008), that there are five key principles that must be formed for the basis of any effective national homeland security, and they are: Homeland security proposals must be developed in a local context, acknowledging that local, not Federal authorities have the primary responsibility for preventing, responding to, and recovering from terrorist attacks. Prevention, not just response and recovery, must be paramount in any national, state, or local security strategy. For too long, federal strategies have minimized the importance of prevention, focusing instead on response and recovery. Because of their daily efforts to combat crime and violence in their communities, state and local law enforcement officers are uniquely situated to identify, investigate, and apprehend suspected terrorists. Homeland security strategies must be coordinated nationally, not Federally. A truly successful national strategy must recognize, embrace, and value the vast diversity Among state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies. A one-size-fits-all approach will fail to secure our homeland. In summary, antiterrorism cannot be prevented by the Federal agency alone. They need assistance from the local police, state police, and other law enforcement agencies, especially from local police because they are the ones that patrol communities, guard public speeches and public events, so forth. They are more familiar in their community as far as usual goings-on. Police exchange information from the citizens and gather intelligence. Therefore, information sharing must be done nationwide between agencies. Though, information must be secure to protect citizens privacy . What role does social stigma play in police ethics? Give specific examples from reading or experiences where social stigma played a role in either furthering police corruption or reducing it. Social stigma plays a big part in policing and rules in police officers whose character is flawed. On the other hand, police officers of excellent character are not influenced by social stigma whether or not he or is supervised. Violators of the accepted norm are regarded as outsiders and are stigmatized. One good example is the New York Police department in 1993 that tolerated corruption, dishonesty, brutality, fraud and other misbehaviors of the Buddy Boys. Supporting wrongdoing by the police officers in a way of sustaining the code of silence to protect their own careers from discovery of corruption in their units and that a deep-rooted reluctance to uncover corruption is to be found in all ranks (Delatree, 2006, p.253). Reality is that police officers work in a criminal justice system that is flawed and they deal daily with the portion of the populace that are corrupt or criminals, and these are not excuses to validate police officers wrongdoing or participation in such. Law enfo rcement personnel must persist and persevere in the feat of their sworn duty. They must not allow themselves to be affected by the ethical tests and temptations in which they find themselves. Are the ethical forces behind police corruption the same as those involved in police abuses of force? The ethical forces behind police corruption are the same as police abuse of force. When police officers are sworn in, they avow to The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. Corruption and police abuse are proscribed within the boundaries of The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics. Excerpts from The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics provided by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (2008) reads: As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justiceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities. Therefore, any violation to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, whether it be coverted or not, is unethical. Bad is bad, unethical is unethical, violation of the law is a violation of the law, no matter how you twist and turn it, no matter which angle you look at it, it is still bad, unethical and a violation. Discuss individual conscience and police assignments using specific examples. How can training prepare would be police officers for the ethical dilemmas they will face? The meaning of conscience is the the inner sense of what is right or wrong in ones conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action (Dictionary.com, 2010). A police officer, due to religious beliefs, for example, may not believe in abortion. In this case, his individual conscience means is that if he safeguards an abortion clinic, that he would be doing something against his religion and that it is wrong. In employing individuals for police positions, departments should look for evidence that the candidate is a person of conscience a person whose habits show a trustworthy sense of right and wrong and regard for the golden rule (Delattre, 2006, p.335). With a good foundation intact, training will then intend to enable people to discover what they already consider good and right, not to ask what they out to consider good and right. According to Delattre (2006), there are at least three lessons must be taught to recruits: (1) The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution explicitly denies to government the power to deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; (2) That all of us have faults; and (3) the concerns the way of life intended by the Constitution a way of life in which justice and securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity are fundamental (p.336). In summary, effective policing rely more on inborn personal characters and traits than on educational achievements or history of good credit. Training enables them to apply the good and right in an in-life scenario, in a classroom setup.

Rethinking the Philosophy of Education Essay -- Teaching Education Res

Rethinking the Philosophy of Education ABSTRACT: Philosophy is a special way of signifying the world. If philosophy is the place where the question is radical, then the task of the philosophy of education is to turn education into a problem through the practice of criticism. With this in mind we ask, Is teaching possible? What can really be transmitted? If man, as psychoanalysis indicates, is constituted as a desirous being, learning is possible only if desire is present. This interweaving of philosophy and psychoanalysis leads us to consider the impossibility of education in terms of three questions. (1) Is it possible or desirable to transmit the culture in its entirety? (2) Is learning possible without desire? (3) Could any pedagogical syllabus cover for lack in the other? "In the field of teaching, no one should be in his place anywhere (I quieten down with this continuous shifting: if some day I found my place, I would not even pretend to teach, I would absolutely give up)" Roland Barthes, L’obvie et l’obtus. We are living a moment of deep, historical mutation, in which traditional meanings are dissolving. This makes it necessary to re-think the certainties which the essentialist and totalizing Modern conception has crystallized; to question them from the standpoint of the crossroads at which this age of postmodernism has placed us. But Modernity has not been a homogeneous process: some new routes have been opened and they allow us to question those truths. Rousseau, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, Foucault and many others enable today's reflexion taking other different standpoints. This is what we will try to do in relation to education. Philosophy is a special way of signifying the world and turning reality... ...ndiscipline, failure, maladjustment. In a multiple, globalized, changing world, subject to deep, social unfairness, the philosophy of education must question thought in order to keep on resisting, in order to dare to think the unthinkable and must prosecute the underground task of unmasking of the nietzschean mole. Notes (1) F. Kafka, Carta al padre, Nuevomar, Mà ©xico, 1983. p.26-27. (2) M. Heidegger,  ¿Quà © significa pensar?, Nova, Buenos aires, 1958, p. 20. (3) I. Bergman, Las mejores intenciones, Tusquets, Mà ©xico, 1993. (4) J. Lacan, El Seminario 6. El deseo y su interpretacià ³n, Paidà ³s, Buenos Aires, 1995. (5) A. S. Neil, Summerhill. Un punto de vista radical sobre la educacià ³n d elos nià ±os, Fondo de Cultura Econà ³mica, p. 20. (6) A. Puiggrà ³s, Volver a educar. El desafà ­o de la enseà ±anza argentina a finales del siglo XX, Ariel, 1995, p. 95

The New International Economic Order Essay -- Economy Economics Essays

The New International Economic Order The gap between the rich and the poor is growing more and more every day. Something has got to be done to solve this issue. In 1974 members of the Third World gathered together at the United Nations. Their purpose was to find the answers to solve the gap between the rich and the poor. A total of seventy-seven members proposed the NIEO, hoping this might solve the gap. The NIEO stands for the New International Economic Order. Its aim was to bring the rich and the poor countries together to discuss issues that might bring the gap closer together. The negotiations of the NIEO were called the North and the South Dialog. Eighteen clauses made up the NIEO. These clauses were the changes that the Group of 77 desired. One of the clauses stated that each state would be free to determine their own economic and political system. Unfortunately this did not happen due to the fact that rich countries have taken it among themselves to determine what is right for poor countries. The poor countries do not have a say in what they want. The second clause stated that each state it to control their own natural resources. This means that rich countries will no longer be able to control poor countries natural resources like they had been doing. This causes a huge problem with rich countries who gather natural resources from these countries and the corporations who make money off of the natural resources. The rich countries do not like to see this take place. One example has to do with Chili and their copper. The copper of Chili is controlled by IT&T. During a presidential election in 1970, a man by the name of Allende said that if he was elected he would nationalize the copper. He was soon elected and then... ...ms. One example deals with the AIDS epidemic in Ghauna. Twenty-five percent of the people in Ghauna have the AIDS virus. The AIDS virus is spreading even faster in the Third World Countries because of the lack of modern technology. The Third World Countries feel if the United States finds a shot that will prevent AIDS, the shot should be a Heritage of Mankind which means everyone will be intitled to it. The United States says no because they did the research and spent the time and money. Overall, the Group of 77 had very good intentions. They saw that there needed to be something done to help solve the gap between the rich and the poor. The only problem is that the rich countries are far to ahead of the game. They will not allow many of the proposals to go into action. This leads to an even larger gap between the rich and the poor that is still on the increase.

Spirituality for the Alienated

Struggling with the Spirit in today’s world is a daunting challenge. Most fail. This is because the mainline culture holds that the life of the Spirit is actually a life of the mind, a life of the emotions somewhat distorted by older, â€Å"discredited† system of spirituality and life. Burg’s project, however, is not so much denying this rather dogmatic approach, but in reconstructing it so that the moderns can come to the life of the spirit with few doubts and problems. However, Borg speaks to me for several reasons: first, my love of the eastern tradition stresses Christ as Tao, as the path, rather than as a dogmatic set of beliefs.It is not so much that dogma is a problem–as it merely asserts things as true–but these propositions never exist in themselves, they exist as part of a broader whole, a struggle with myself and the modern world (Damascene, 1999). This struggle is about integration: the integration of a tradition, a set of beliefs held p ropositionally, but also its integration within a culture that is often hostile, and that–it seems–seeks to constantly throw roadblocks in the way of one’s struggle. This paper, then, will take my own struggle through the methods Borg uses to reconnect Christianity to modern life.The basic thesis here is integration: taking the insights from all relevant communities to construct a reasonable and useful understanding of Jesus and his mission. For Borg’s (1995) work, the real struggle is twofold: first, the struggle between the communal understanding of Christ and his historical essence, and second, the struggle with integrating â€Å"modern scholarship† with one’s life of true faith. This struggle is very real, but for Borg, his uncritical acceptance of â€Å"modern scholarship† as a set of infallible oracles who have no agenda or ulterior motives make his approach weak and compliant.Nevertheless, the insights taken from this approach cannot be ignored. The basic historical approach Borg takes is highly problematic: Christ did not say what is attributed to him, this existed as an oral tradition prior to being written down, hence unreliable, and lastly, that these oral ideas were written down by a community that had already experienced Christ and hence, itself is largely personal and cultural (Borg, 1995). Unfortunately, he refuses to deal with the large body of work that refutes these theses, such as McDowell (2006), Strobel (1998), Siciliano (2001) and so many others.His assumption that the modernist scholarship is true (rather than as an ideological construct) shows his criticism to be poorly developed: if the Christ of the ancient world is an ideological construct of the community (and hence unreliable), why is the modern academic, also part of a community, not guilty of the same crime? The fact that Borg is a part of this community might help in answering that problem. If I am to hold that Christ is the creat ion of an ideologically motivated community, then there is no reason why the â€Å"modern scholarship† on this question is not also an ideologically motivated community.Nevertheless, it is the case that struggles against the modern idea are real, and some of their insights cannot be cast out of hand, as this community does to what they call the â€Å"fundamentalists. † There are several issues Borg takes the reader though that are full of insight and use for the modern Christian buffeted by the modern mentality. In Borg’s Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (1995), he stresses that images of Jesus are important for one’s development as a Christian. There are several images that he identifies:Jesus as Savior: likely the most common image. Christ came to earth to save man frm sin, to take his human nature and link it to the divine, hence cleansing it, and bringing it through the realm of death, hence conquering it. Second, Jesus as teacher, Jesus came to earth to primarily teach a set of doctrines about Himself, the world and the Christian’s relation to it. Third, Jesus as the â€Å"king of creation,† the stern judge and teacher of righteousness. Fourth, Jesus as moralist, that Jesus came to earth to primary teach an ethical system.And lastly, Jesus as a liturgical figure, the Jesus whose beauty is such that normal words cannot describe it, but it can only be understood in poetry and the symbolism of liturgy (Borg, 2-5). This is an important approach. All of these, to one extent or another, are a part of each Christian’s life, but some are more significant than others. Borg seems to hold that the real problem for modern Christians is the â€Å"propositional† nature of â€Å"faith. † That faith, for him, is the assent to a series (literally a list) of propositions: Christ is the Son of God, Christ walked on water, etc.The problem is that the modern person lives in a society that lives by its own do gmas: that such things cannot happen because they â€Å"violate the laws of nature. † Of course, this assumes that Christ is not their author. He does have a solution, one that I find personally satisfying: that there are two Christs (though not literally), the Christ that existed prior to the resurrection, and the Christ that came after. The latter is the Christ that should motivate the modern reader, and this is the Christ that motivated the early Christian community to write the scriptures.The assumption is that this community made up a series of stories and held to it. The fact that the resurrection and crucifixion made no sense to the surrounding Jewish or pagan world is not considered. In other words, that no real religious interest was served by creating these stories, since the concept of a crucified God was abhorrent to both communities. Nevertheless, he holds that the motivation of writing the Gospels come from the resurrection, which Borg takes as true from the tes timony of the Scriptures that he does not trust (Borg, 1995). Nevertheless, Borg, while inconsistent, is involved with a similar struggle to my own.Being from a secular household, the concept of Christ and his miracles was strange to me. No different, really, than a cartoon superhero. It was so easy to reject them, so hard to accept them. But this was not a matter of assent and intellectual life, but rather socially. To preach Christ to anyone other than the converted is to lose a great deal of social capital. This I felt powerfully. But intellectually, I never had a problem: â€Å"science,† or rather, the scientific establishment, tells me that the infinitely complex life of DNA came into existence by chance.If this was true, then how strange was it to believe that God came to earth to teach men about Himself? I never thought it strange that Christ was God, while my friends believed that Eric Clapton was God. What I did find strange was the mentality of belief as â€Å"prop ositions. † In other words, that one could hold to the list of accepted beliefs about God and Christ, but the integration of these ideas into the world about them was the real challenge. Borg’s other famed work, The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering the life of Faith, has helped me put this problem into a better perspective.In fact, it is precisely the statement of the problem that makes the most sense, just as much as the solution itself. In other words, the context of the problem suggests its own answer. Borg writes that Christ should be seen as a way of life rather than as a set of beliefs (Borg, 2004, 25). However, the problem is that Borg seems to say this so as to relieve himself of the pressure of believing things that â€Å"modern scholarship† has decided are false. This, as I have already said, is the great weak spot of this series of books. But it helps to place it like this:Dogma: This is an intellectual approach to God and Christ. It holds to a set of beliefs both as reflecting the historical world of facts, and at the same time, demands a consistency among the propositions believed. This is fair enough. But the real issue is that it is a matter of the head. If Christianity was to be a strictly rational, empirical religion, then why did Christ not speak in this way? Christ, rather than speaking as a metaphysician, spoke in parables, He spoke in aphorisms, He spoke in stories of only a few sentences. He seems to preach by example as much as by words.Way: Christ preached by example, by the words and actions that he integrated within himself for a short span of three years. He struggles with non-belief, the arrogance of the Pharisees, and incomprehension of the Romans. But this is precisely our condition: our modern Pharisees, our modern secular people consistently give us trouble. Christ is a way of struggle rather than as a set of dogmatic beliefs (Damascene, 1999). Borg (2004, 28-37) does one better: he reduces the struggle t his way: Christ and the Christian mission in the modern world can be reduced to four specific approaches:(1) Assensus: this is a matter of rational assent. This is the problem, at least when such assent is separated from the community. One can hold that Borg is really trying to minimize conflicts, to minimize the â€Å"dogmatic† element of Christ so as to lower the threshold of belief: more and more can come to Christ if they do not need to â€Å"pass the belief test. † At the same time, Borg can also be said to hold this because either he does not believe the dogmatic pronouncements about Christ, or his community (i. e. the academic community) does not, and he does not want to be left out, or attacked as a â€Å"fundamentalist.† (2) Fidelity: this is the matter is personal relationship. This is not so much a matter of a-dogmatism, but goes beyond it: love is stronger than intellectual assent. One follows Christ not because he has given assent to a series of dog mas, but rather, because Christ is a man worthy of being followed. A man that exudes love in the strongest sense of the world. (3) Vision: the approach where faith in Christ makes sense out of the whole: the world, the community even of religion. While it is is true that Christ preached the coming of his Church, he did not speak of it all that much.Christ spoke of a life of struggle, of virtue, of a personal relationship through faith. The apostles had this, and still could not keep Judas. The vision is to bring the whole into integration with Christ’s teachings, the real basis of this paper and the basis of my personal life. One cannot run from the world, but one can infuse it with Christ and his teachings. But this is difficult with so many teachings about Christ, one does not know which image to pick,. This is the problem, and many have rejected Him altogether because fo the disagreements. This many be the real strength of Borg and his approach.(4) Trust: this seems to syn thesize all the above. One trusts in the message of Jesus, but a message that might not be literally â€Å"true,† but is the experience of God in and by the community. If one approaches scriptures in this manner, then one can get over the â€Å"belief threshold† and see the Scriptures as a â€Å"response to God,† rather than a historical record. On a more personal note, the most satisfying part of Borg’s work is in his threefold â€Å"basis† of the Christian life in the modern era. I’d like to make this the conclusion, and the real central element of my personal response to reading Borg.In his (2004) work, Borg holds that the modern mission of Christianity can be reduced to three elements: (1) The affirmation of the reality of God. Now this can be done two ways: first, through intellectual arguments, but also as a set of experiences. Borg prefers the latter. Nevertheless, in my own history, it was the former that led me to the latter. In my younger years of obligatory doubt, it was not the experience of God, it was the understanding of him. Once I understood him, I could feel and experience him. But my understanding came in the form of a series of negations: I could not believe that DNA ever came into existence by chance.DNA is the great proof of the intelligence of God, the very nature of His creative power (at least that which is open to human observation). I could not believe that matter was eternal. Even in my younger years, while I could not articulate such an idea, I most certainly believed it. Materialism holds that matter is God, in the sense that all things, including life, came from it. It is also eternal and hence, all powerful. Once I realized this set of ideas that must be held by materialism, I realized that the life of the spirit was for me. Life cannot come from death, since something cannot give what it does not have.Consciousness does not come from chance. I saw these as the affirmation of the dogmati c and ideological community of modern scholarship and science, I saw it as the worst and crudest form of obscurantism (2) The centrality of Jesus. While I have no problem with this concept, I can not imagine that Borg can say the same. Jesus? But if one holds that the Jesus of Scripture is deliberately falsified, then what is he speaking of here? He never says. Jesus seems to become an archetype rather than a person. If one holds that the New Testament is falsified (a concept I hold as fantastic) then Christ can never be central.In other words, unless one holds to certain things as historically true (i. e. dogma), then Christ can never be the central part of one’s life. (3) Lastly, the centrality of the scriptures. There are two ways of viewing this: first, the scriptures as historically true, which Borg rejects, and the scriptures as reflecting, in words, the early community’s experience with God. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive, but the latter does more a ccurately reflect out situation. We do experience God in our lives. What we write about this comes out as vague and poetic.It is not history, but at best, psychology. It does not mean that the experiences are false, but that there are only so many ways that such experiences can be expressed. The final expression cannot, however, be called â€Å"history. † I commend Borg for trying, but he ultimately, fails. He cannot have it both ways: to reject scripture (as his community does) but still hold Jesus as central. Jesus cannot be central if his life is falsified. Borg is ultimately a sloppy writer that seems to want to pleas everyone, and make Christianity an easy religion for all to approach.Whatever he likes about the Scriptures he uses, whatever will get him made fun of by his colleagues, he rejects. This is dishonest, and says more about the academic community than the early Christian community. Basically Borg is trying to rescue Christianity from the attacks of the modern c ritics, while affirming that everything that those critics say about the Bible is true. Nevertheless, we have all experienced the doubt, the pressure of the outside world. It is all the matter of context and expression: how we approach God in a materialistic world. That, Borg can do nicely. Bibliography:Borg, Marcus (1995) Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. HarperOne. ___. (2004) The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering the Life of Faith. HarperOne Damascene, Fr. (1999) Christ the Eternal Tao. St. Herman’s Press. Fr. Damascene’s book strongly takes the approach advocated by Borg. He holds that Christ as a relational entity (so to speak) leads to believing in Christ as the Way, a method, a path to Enlightenment and truth. McDowell, Josh. (2006). Evidence for Christianity. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Strobel, Leo. (1998). The Case for Christ. Zondervan. Siciliano, Terry. (2001) Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Evidence for Christianity.Truth Press. These are three major wor ks that refute the thesis that Christ’s message was falsified. There are many means to do this, but the most impressive one is that the message that came out in the Scriptures is repugnant to both the Jewish and Pagan mentality: rising from the dead, execution like a common criminal, no military force, etc. were all highly disagreeable to the environment in which the Scriptures were first written and disseminated. Hence, they must be true. If one was going to invent a series of events, the last series one would invent at the time was that which was actually written.

Physical development Essay

Physical growth in humans is an ongoing process that most of us are blessed to witness. The earliest stage of development seems to be the germinal period, the first two weeks of conception. During this period the embryo and the zygote have started to form. The embryonic period, also known as the prenatal period, follows two to eight weeks after conception. The respiratory and digestive systems form at this time also. The middle layer of cells, called the mesoderm, will become the circulatory system, bones, muscle, excretory system, and reproductive system. The outer layer of cells, the ectoderm, will become the nervous system, the sensory receptors (eyes, nose, ears), and skin. The placenta, the umbilical cord and the amnion (fluid-filled sac) develop along with the embryo. The final developmental stage during conception would be the fetal period. It begins two months after conception, lasting an average of seven months. Three months after conception the fetus becomes active, moving its arms and legs, opening and closing its mouth, and moving its head. The face, forehead, eyelids, nose, and chin are all distinguishable, as are the arms, hands and legs. At four months, a growth spurt occurs in the fetus’ lower parts. By the end of the fifth month the toenails and fingernails have formed and the fetus is more active. By the end of the sixth month the eyes and eyelids have completely formed, a grasping reflex is present and irregular breathing occurs. (1) Infancy has now come into effect. The cephalocaudal, the first growth pattern in infants, will make the infants head look enormous. During this spurt the head takes up a fourth of the body while the legs take up a third. (7) One of my sons is almost two years old. He is still in the â€Å"big head-little body† stage. His shirts scarcely fit over his head, but are just right for his little neck and shoulders. The second growth pattern is called proximodistal. In this stage the arms and legs grow faster than the hands and feet, causing balance issues. Again, my youngest is extremely clumsy, due to the unaccounted growth in his limbs, but a joy to watch! Don’t worry, the rest of them will catch up quickly. (2) By childhood most of rapid growth begins to slow down. The skeleton continues to change throughout early childhood. Near the end of the preschool years, a child begins to lose their baby teeth. (7) My oldest son is going to be six years old soon. He has his first loose tooth, along with excitement about meeting the â€Å"tooth-fairy.† Children tend to become sick more often due to the immune system not being fully developed. Ligaments are not fully attached to the bones yet so children will have seemingly abnormal flexibility. Adolescence is a very special and difficult time for teenagers. Along with many social changes, physical changes also are very distinguishable. Puberty is a leading example of the physical changes they encounter. It is interesting to know that a female baby already has over one million follicles for eggs to develop in, which decreases to one hundred thousand by puberty.(3) Most females begin the stages of puberty before boys do. It is accompanied by increase in breast size, height increase, and (the ever dreadful) menstrual cycle, initiated by the thickening of the uterus caused by the cyclical changes in the presence of estrogens, otherwise known as the ‘period.'(3) Males tend to begin puberty after females have developed, although it will last longer. Males have a growth spurt due to testosterone, which is produced by the male testes. It initiates the growth spurt, and does so more effectively than estrogen, making most males on average taller than females. After secretion of prolonged testosterone, the male shows secondary sex characteristics such as increased bodily hair, deepening of the voice and increased development of muscularity. The initial secretion of testosterone initiates sperm production, giving the male fertile gametes available for reproduction. (3)(4) Puberty also has many bearings on an adolescent’s social environment. You can read more about it at this web site: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/x/nxd10/transition/group212/dating.html .And finally we come to the adulthood. This is the age when everything seemingly is balanced, between health and mentality. This is when your body is supposed to be at its peak performance. (7) You will not notice many changes, physically, at this time. When you reach middle adulthood, on the other hand, this is the area of concern for a lot of individuals. At this  point your physical appearance will start to deteriorate. The most noticeable physical change would be a person’s height. Your seeing and hearing will probably not be as good as it once was. You may start noticing grey hair in certain places or possibly no hair at all! Your skin will become loose and wrinkly as you continue to gain unwanted pounds. (6) But it is a part of the physical development ‘roller coaster’. Imagine you’re on a roller coaster. When you first step into the seat (conception), to buckling your belt and getting excited as you are looking at everyone else (infancy), to the long, anticipated climb up the first drop-off (childhood), raising your hands with no fear as you begin to plunge into the overhang (adolescents), down and around the turns and loops of early ‘adulthood’, and finally enjoying the end of the ride and how fun it was getting there. http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/social/psych30/UnitsofStudy.htm (1) http://ntmain.utb.edu/ecantu/Psyc%202314/Feldman3Notes/InfancyPhysFeldman4Notes.htm (2) http://biology-online.org/7/5_growth_development.htm (3) http://w3.whosea.org/adoloscnce/changes.htm (4) http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d46/psy/dev/mid_adult/ (5) http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/hesguide/humanrel/gh6729.htm (6) http://www.freeessays.cc/db/34/mci170.shtml (7)