Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 11

Research Paper Example s time wasters, with some educational experts regarding computer games to corrupt the brains of the teenagers playing it, however some tend to understand that computer games have positive educational impacts and help in developing creative minds. People need to understand that computer games help people, both kids, adolescents and even the adults grow in different ways, the benefits of the computer range from health, to social. The benefits of playing video games fall into different categories, from benefits to children, adolescents and even to adults. Playing computer games has evolutionary benefits positively affecting the players regardless of their age. The main positive impact falling in all the categories is improvement in coordination and brain exercises, playing computer games requires Maximum Corporation; this improves the brain activities, as one has to intellectually think of the next move acting as a brain exercise. Some of the benefits include; Improvement in planning, l ogistics, and resource management- many computer games tend to have limited resources that the gamer has to learn to manage, these gamers transfer these skills to real life, they learn how to manage the resources they have effectively. In addition, some games such as the railway tycoons encourage players to undertake certain careers such as architecture and urban planning. Playing computer games improve spatial, the fine motor skills, and the hand-eye coordination-those games involving shooting, the player may be shooting and running at the same time. This is not an easy skill to memories; the skill requires coordination as the player need to know where he is heading and where to aim and shoot. Through this the players needs to coordinate his movements, reactions, and interpretations in the brain, recorded by the movements of the fingertips and the hands. Research shows that some of the fighter pilots gain skills from playing video games, especially the skills for quick reaction.

Multimedia System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multimedia System - Research Paper Example So we can say that multimedia is exhibition of some form of information in any format. This can also be taken as the presenting information by means of numerous dissimilar techniques to obtain across those ideas (Multimedia Product development, 2009). Some years ago, purchasing a multimedia product for a computer was a pretty complex task, on the other hand for the reason that of the marvelous enlargement of multimedia applications, the majority of computers that we purchase nowadays are previously intended to execute and run multimedia products and applications. If we want to develop a multimedia sample or applications then we need a more powerful computer system. If we do not have such machine then its productivity will be lost, but now the majority of people having more powerful machines as compared to 10 years ago computers (Henke et al, 2000). The practice of development of a multimodal product encompasses a comprehensive planning for the over development process. In this circumstances we have to pay more attention regarding the way and tools we have, and which we adopt for the development of the system (Multimedia Product development, 2009). This research is aimed at discussing this development process and its main aspects. This section will discuss about the main aspect of multimedia planning process and events. Successfully developing as well as delivering a multimedia product or applications necessitates an additional powerful PC, very good designing qualities, effective programming knowledge and most important a creative mind. Though, if formation of high-end multimedia product is our objective, then we definitely need to consider positive circumstance that has been recognized particularly for multimedia product development (Henke et al, 2000). Storyboard is the basic step in every type of multimedia product development. In this first phase of the multimedia product development we build up and design a

Mind Body Relationship In Human Person Philosophy Essay

Mind Body Relationship In Human Person Philosophy Essay The mind-body problem has been a much discussed issue in the Philosophy of Mind. All those who undertake any study in consciousness, necessarily need to touch upon this subject. One of the unsettled puzzles is about whether consciousness is part of material or mental realm. It has challenged the scientists as well as philosophers to look for some solutions. They have proposed several theories to address the issue. Among several theories dualism and physicalism were the most discussed. There are some crucial questions regarding mind-body problem: such as; how do they interact, whether the mind and body differ not only in degree and nature but also in kind? The arrival of neuroscience with its several scientific experiments has radically challenged the understanding of relationship between mind and body and forced us to rethink our positions about it. Thus, there is a renewed vigour in studying about consciousness in modern times and it has thrown open several other ways of settling th is issue. This chapter will briefly discuss on how different philosophers perceived the relationship between mind and body in a person and critically analyse various theories of dualism and physicalism in detail and present their difficulties. The concluding part of the chapter will show the need to go beyond dualism and physicalism with the help of neuroscience. We begin our discussion with mind-body relationship in a person. 1.1 Mind-Body Relationship in a Person For many centuries, we have been trying to understand the mind-body relationship in a person. The difficulty behind explaining the relationship between mind-body in a person is that s/he is a dynamic entity.  [1]  Thus, one is in a continued mode of knowing oneself. There are several thinkers who hold the view that a person is composed of body and mind. At the same time there are also some thinkers who oppose this idea. Now we shall discuss the views of some philosophers. There are several ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle who expressed their views on mind-body relationship in a person. For Plato, human being is composed of body and soul. Body is nothing but a prison house into which his/her soul has been locked. His understanding of person is different from our understanding of human being.  [2]  For Plato, person belongs to intelligible world and human being belongs to sensible world. Secondly person can be transformed whereas human being cannot be because human being belongs to physical level of being.  [3]  Thus he says that a person, the subject of interest, is not a human being but rather a soul, an entity distinct from that of human being.  [4]  Here we can see a clear-cut distinction of soul and body in Platos thinking. Aristotle, on the contrary, saw the mind-body relationship from a completely different angle. He says that a person is a composite not of body and soul but of prime matter and the human soul which as a substantial form.  [5]  He does not perceive the distinction between mind and body; instead he makes the distinction between matter and form. Therefore, Aristotle understands body and soul as not of two complete beings in conflict with each other but complimenting each other because matter and form are inseparable in a primary substance. There are also modern philosophers like Hegel, Immanuel Kant and John Locke who understand the mind-body relationship quite differently. For Hegel, an individual is part of the larger life of the Mind. He says that, Mind or spirit, passes through dialectical stages of evolution, revealing itself as subjective mind, objective mind and absolute mind. The subjective mind expresses itself as soul, consciousness and spirit.  [6]  From the above statements it is very clear that he gives importance to mind alone. He has absorbed totally the body into mind; for he says, It (mind) embodies itself, creates a body for itself, and becomes a particular, individual soul.  [7]  Therefore what truly exists for him is mind and not body. However Immanuel Kant speaks about metaphysical dualism rather than substance dualism of the person. He sees person as a Transcendental Self because there is a level of self-awareness that is over and above the categories of normal philosophies. Human being is alone a rational being who has a will and a free choice of action. So Kant postulates person as a transcendental free being, an idea that the inner self is not bound by the laws of nature.  [8]  However, John Locke, being a modern philosopher understands human person as that of ancient philosophers. For him mind is the real person and body is only a possession.  [9]  He separates mind from body and shows that body is only a material reality. He says that, Every man has a property in his own person.   This no Body has any Right to but himself.  [10]  For him mind is the real person and in the real person the body aspect is integrated totally into it.  [11]   The philosophers have changed their focus in the recent years. They give more stress on the purpose of human life. They ask; what does it mean to be a human person? However, with the growing interest in neuroscience, the ontological question bounced back with new a quest. One of the forerunners and pioneers of this movement is Philip Clayton who brought back the same question with a new focus. Now we shall discus the extreme positions of mind-body relationship and their solutions. 1.2 Extreme Positions The Mind-Body relationship has been an unsettled question both for science and philosophy. It has been a herculean task for both scientists and philosophers, who were greatly involved in unlocking the issue of the relationship between mind and body. There are two sets of opposing ideologies proposed; namely dualism and physicalism. Most of the philosophers are divided on their opinions hence this issue seeks our utmost attentions. Here we shall examine these two positions in detail and see why we need to go beyond these divisions. As part of this session, 1.3 deals with substance dualism and property dualism and 1.4 tries to examine the critical appraisal of the mind body relationship. The second part begins in 1.5 which deals with physicalism. Let us begin with dualism. 1.3 Dualism Dualism simply means a condition of being double. It comes from the Latin word duo meaning two which denotes a state of two parts.  [12]  It was originally coined to highlight the co-eternal binary position; for example good and evil, body and mind, mental and material, dark and light etc. It is supported by several arguments.  [13]  In philosophy it is a world view that the world consists of or is explicable as two fundamental entities, such as body and mind, the condition of being double or duality.  [14]  From the point of theology, it speaks about that human being having two basic natures, the physical and spiritual. There are two kinds of dualism- substance dualism and property dualism. 1.3.1 Substance Dualism The substance dualism sees mind and body as two distinct and separate substances.  [15]  Several philosophers like Plato, Thomas Aquinas and Renà © Descartes too held a similar view. They see mind as something that is diametrically opposing body. The attribute of body is extension but at the same time they see that the body is passive; whereas the mind is thinking, active and free. The two substances are absolutely distinct and mind is without extension. Those who hold dualism say that they have a clear and distinct idea of themselves in so far as they are only a thinking and un-extended thing.  [16]  The distinction between body as material and mind as immaterial substance becomes a crucial point of discussion in substance dualism because they differ not only in kind but also in nature and degree. However it is a compelling concept because it gives us a hope of personal survival after death and also many religions hold this theory very dear to them.  [17]  We can see th is distinction in Indian philosophy too. The Sankhaya philosophy holds that there are two entities; namely Purusha  [18]  and Prakrti  [19]  which are the two constitutive elements of the world. However dualism is more clearly and intelligibly spelled by the western thinkers. Now we shall discuss briefly about two predominant philosophers: Plato, from the ancient schools and Renà © Descartes, from the modern thinkers, who represent the rest of the dualistic thinkers of their time. 1.3.1.1 Platonic Dualism Platonic Dualism can be seen very clear in Phaedo, one of his dialogues. In the dialogue, Plato accepts the two ultimate principles; namely body and mind. Here his dualism is metaphysical in nature because he deals with immortality of mind or soul.  [20]  He calls mind as soul.  [21]  For him, the mind is immortal and body is mortal.  [22]  The mind is the one which differentiates the living from the dead. He sees the body as a prison in which the soul is confined. In the imprisoned life, the mind is compelled to investigate the truth by means of the organs of perception of the body. Forms are universals and represent the essences of sensible particulars. Plato says that we do not see reality as a whole. We perceive equal things, but not equality itself. We perceive beautiful things but not beauty itself. To have insights into the pure essences of things, the mind must struggle to disassociate itself from the body as far as possible and turn its attention towards the cont emplation of not only to intelligible things but also to invisible things. Plato defines death as the separation of soul and body, and the state of being dead as state in which soul and body exist separately from one another.  [23]  Thus for Plato, the dualism of mind and body are opposite in nature. He establishes the distinction of mind and body by establishing the distinction between the immortality of mind and mortality of body. He proves the immortality of soul through Argument from Opposites, Argument from Recollection and the Argument from Affinity.  [24]  These three arguments are keys to establish his dualism. Plato defends his immortality of soul from the Argument from Opposites. He says that things that have an opposite come to be from their opposite. For example, if something comes to be taller, it must come to be taller from having been shorter; if something comes to be heavier, it must come to be so by first having been lighter. These processes can go in either direction. Similarly he says that dying comes from living, living must come from dying. Thus, we must come to life again after we die. During the interim between death and rebirth the soul exists apart from the body and has the opportunity to glimpse the Forms unmingled with matter in their pure and undiluted fullness. Thus the cycle of life goes on. The second defence for his immortality of soul is the Argument from Recollection. For Plato, soul must exist prior to birth because we can recollect things that could not have been learned in this life. According to Plato, we recognize unequal things and strive for equality. To notice inequality, we must comprehend what equality is. In order to know what equality is, we must have the prior knowledge so that we can understand the form of equality. Hence, the soul must have existed prior to birth to the form of equality.  [25]   The third defence for his immortality of soul is the Argument from Affinity. Plato claims that composite things are more liable to be destroyed than things that are simple. The forms  [26]  are true unities and therefore least likely ever to be annihilated. Further Plato says that invisible things such as forms are not apt to be disintegrated, whereas visible things are susceptible to decay and corruption. Since the body is visible and composite, it is subjected to decomposition. As against to body, the soul is invisible part of forms and purifies itself by having no more association with the body than necessary. Since the invisible things are the durable things, the soul, being invisible, must outlast the body. Further, soul becomes form-like immortal and survives the death of the body.  [27]  Through these three arguments Plato proves the immortality of soul or mind whereby he makes the distinction between body and mind; thus he proves the dualism. However Platos arguments are highly challenged even by his own disciple Aristotle. Firstly, the Argument from Opposites applies only to things that have an opposite and, as Aristotle notes, substances have no contraries.  [28]  Further, even if life comes from what is itself not alive, it does not follow that the living human comes from the union of a dead (i.e. separated) soul and a body. The principle that everything comes to be from its opposite via a two-directional process cannot hold up to critical scrutiny. Secondly, one becomes older from having been younger, there is no corresponding reverse process leading the older to become younger. If aging is a uni-directional process, perhaps dying is as well. The Arguments from Recollection and Affinity, on the other hand, presuppose the existence of forms and are therefore no more secure than the forms themselves. Thus these criticisms show that we cannot simply take the prior existence of soul as it is true. Therefore Platos und erstanding is more of metaphysical and bit of vague because there are several unanswered questions like things which have two different natures interact. At the same time we acknowledge, he has brought certain clarity in understanding dualism with clear proofs. Now we shall discuss the dualism proposed by Descartes. 1.3.1.2 Cartesian Dualism. Renà © Descartes is one of the modern Philosophers who has extensively dealt with dualism. For Descartes, body and mind are distinct substances and the immaterial mind is somehow associated with the material body.  [29]  Substance dualism gets more predominance in Cartesian dualism.  [30]  He says substance dualism goes along with the view that the identity of a person over time is constituted by the identity overtime of this substance, and in versions of the doctrine that countenance life after death, it is survival of this substance, often called soul perhaps along with certain memory and psychological continuities, that constitutes the survival of the person.  [31]  The idea that there is a fundamental difference in kind between the mind and body can be spelled out in two broadly different ways.  [32]  Descartes held that minds and bodies are substances of distinct kind that, in the case of living human beings, happen to be intimately related.  [33]  The disti nction between the body and mind is: the body is spacial, public and has material qualities; and mind is non-spacial, private and has distinctively mental qualities. By spacial, he means that it occupies some space and time for its existence. It is public which means it is visible and we can experience it. When he says that the body has material qualities, he means that it has several qualities by which the substance expresses itself and reveals it to others and through which we come to know the things.  [34]  Firstly, in contrast to body, the mind occupies no space therefore it can be anywhere at any time. In short it is beyond space and time. Secondly it possesses mental qualities of life feeling, perceiving, experience joys and sorrows of life etc. Thirdly the mind is private because we cannot perceive it.  [35]  Descartes believes that the world is made up of substances. A substance is not a thing as we think like water or coal, or paint. For Descartes substance is an in dividual thing or an entity. He says that substances are different; they are complex. He gives importance to human being and his/her rationality. He claimed that, human rationality could not be a physical process.  [36]   The dualism of Descartes sounds good; however, there are certain conceptual difficulties and seemingly insurmountable problems. One of the crucial issues is the interaction of mind-body which is totally opposing each other in nature and kind. If minds are as distinct from material things as Descartes claims, it seems at least paradoxical: how can then the two sorts of substances interact. In this case property dualism seems to solve some of the problems which substance dualism cannot. 1.3.2 Property Dualism Property dualism maintains that mind is not only one kind of physical substance, having physical or behavioral-material-functional properties but also nonphysical behaviorally-materially-functionally in-eliminable and irreducible properties.  [37]  The advantage of property dualism over substance dualism is that it avoids the casual interaction problem because this theory has no need to countenance causal interaction between material and immaterial or spatial and non-spatial substance, since it admits only that there is only material substance.  [38]  It also need not appeal to Gods divine abilities in order to account for mind-body interaction or the objectivity of the perceived world. It has an edge over materialism that it provides for the intuitive distinction between body and mind by positing a difference in their properties, and especially in the metaphysical categories of their properties. Property dualism holds that without both properties, we cannot satisfactorily ex plain the psychological phenomena. The in-eliminable and irreducible properties are said to be essential to mind because they are responsible for experience, feeling, object directionality and intentionality of psychological states.  [39]  This property dualism could be understood in three ways; namely Theory of Attribute, Anomalous Monism and Non-reductive materialism. 1.3.2.1 Theory of Attribute The first way of understanding the property dualism is through Spinozas theory of attribute. Attributes are part of Spinozas metaphysics.  [40]  For Spinoza God is the only Substance since Gods essence involves existence. He says that, God exists and, moreover, only God can fulfill the conditions for substance, therefore there can be only one substance.  [41]  It is a mistake to assert that mind and body as substances because they are not fully self-subsistent, but are dependent modes or manifestations of God. For him, A true substance must be that which contains within itself, as part of its essence, the complete explanation of its nature and existence.  [42]  This God has infinite attributes. But human being can know only two attributes; they are namely thought and extension. By attribute what Spinoza understands is that the intellect perceives substance as constituting its essence. For him, the attribute of thought is attached to mind and extension to the body. He says that the object of idea constituting the human mind is the body which is certain mode of extension. He says that Therefore, the minds power of understanding extends only as far as that which this idea of the body contains within itself, or which follows there from. Now this idea of the body involves and expresses no other attributes of God than extension and thought.  [43]  This attribute enables us to understand and talk about an extended world and a thinking world in terms of which we understand bodies and minds. He partly invented this theory of attribute for the sake of solving an outstanding question raised by Descartes philosophy of mind. If the mind is, or belongs to, a separate substance from that of the body, then how does the body-mind interact? In order to avoid the problem, Spinoza considered that mind and body is one and the same thing under the attribute of extension and thought. Though the Cartesian notion of dualism was logical, it had constant problems. It coul d not substantially explain the relationship between substance constructed as individual and substance constructed as matter or stuff. But Spinozas explanation came very close to a satisfactory theory.  [44]   1.3.2.2 Anomalous Monism Anomalous monism is proposed by Donald Davidson, who is an American pragmatist. Anomalous monism is a philosophical thesis about the mind- body relationship. This theory has twofold divisions; namely mental and physical.  [45]  It states that mental events are identical with physical events. Events are causes in virtue of the properties that they instantiate, unless mental properties and physical properties are also identified, questions about the causal redundancy of the mental reappear at the level of properties.  [46]  But Davidson says that the mental events are anomalous, that is to say these mental events are not regulated by strict physical laws. Hence, he proposed an identity theory of mind without the reductive bridge laws associated with the type-identity theory. He understands the ontological nature of the relationship of mental events especially propositional attitudes with physical actions. Davidson accepts that there is ontology of events where events, which may seem to be opposed to objects or states of affairs, are the fundamental, irreducible entities of the mental and physical universe. He also believes that event-individuation must be done on the basis of causal powers. He further argues in favour of the individualization of events on the basis of spatio-temporal localization. According to this view, all events are caused by and cause other events and for him this is the defining characteristics of what an event is. The important aspect of Davidsons ontology of events for anomalous monism is that an event has an indefinite number of properties or aspects. He says that a very simple physical action like switching on a light has a large variety of mental events especially reasoning; for example recognizing the need of light, making a choice to switch on etc. For Davidson, a particular reason causes a particular action. Thus it explains that reasons are causes and actions are effects of the causal efficacy of the mental events.  [47]   However there are also people who are highly critical about it. One of the criticisms about the anomalous monism is whether mental events are ever causes of physical events in virtue of their mental properties. Gibb says that If the mental properties of a mental event do make a causal difference, then unless one admits systematic causal over determination, this is to violate the causal closure principle, for according to it an events physical properties are sufficient for the causal effects that event has within the physical domain.  [48]  It is otherwise the mental properties of an event make no causal difference to the physical effects that the event has, then mental properties have the status of epiphenomena. He observes that Consequently, to identify mental events with physical events whilst distinguishing mental properties from physical properties are not to remove but merely to relocate the problem of mental causation.  [49]  For this reason, the non-reductive physicali st who identifies token mental events with physical events but maintains a property dualism can plausibly be accused of property epiphenomenalism. Secondly a strict law cannot be formulated in the same terms as the causal claim because causally related events must have descriptions under which they instantiate a strict law. Similarly, the causal claim and the relevant covering law cannot be formulated in purely mental terms because any mental event that causes a physical event must be characterizable in physical terms and therefore be physical. Hence, mental events are physical events. On the other hand, as there are no strict psychophysical laws that would support the reduction of mental concepts to physical concepts, anomalous monism leads to the rejection of any conceptual reduction.  [50]   1.3.2.3 Non-reductive Materialism Non-reductive materialism represents the current orthodoxy in Western Philosophy thinking about the ontological status of the mind. The proponents of non-reductive materialism hold that the mental is ontologically part of the material world; yet, mental properties are causally efficacious without being reducible to physical properties.  [51]  Even though the mind itself is really physical, our mentalist explanatory scheme is not reducible to physics but is instead autonomous. They hold both irreducibility of the mind as well physical nature of the mind as realism. They are also arguing that they are fundamentally unstable combination. The non-reductionist distinguishes mental kinds from physical kinds, where the mental includes sensation and thought, and the physical is roughly the domain of the physical sciences, including neurophysiology. But those who oppose it say that the whole question of explanatory autonomy became a topical philosophical issue which threatened the reducti onism because there was a general acceptance of materialist theories. It was broadly a metaphysical doctrine. It would seem to follow that all phenomena are susceptible to physical explanation, and if this is true then what can the ontological status be of those concepts, categories and theories which fall outside the domain of the physical sciences?  [52]  Then the non-reductive materialist may have to give up all pretense of having a realist view of mental terms, giving up all talk of real but non-physical mental properties. It seems that you cannot combine Physicalism with realism about the mental and at the same time hold out for the autonomy of the mental. However non-reductive materialism could be still seen as fundamentally a stable position. 1.4 An Appraisal of Mind-Body Relations Though Descartes argues for the mind-body dualism,  [53]  the sort of dualism for which he argues, entails certain conceptual difficulties and seemingly insuperable problems. The main difficulty with mental activity is that, as Descartes understands them, how do the mind and matter interact. If minds are as distinct from material things as Descartes claims, it seems at least paradoxical that the two sorts of substances should interact. The question of the relation between the mental and the physical can be posed equivalently as about mental and ph

Solar Cookers :: Essays Papers

Solar Cookers Jewish families celebrate Passover to commemorate the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II. When the Pharaoh Ramses II freed the Israelites, they fled so quickly that there wasn't time to bake their breads. Instead the Israelites packed the raw dough, which they quickly baked in the hot sun into hard crackers called Matzohs as they fled through the desert. The exodus of the Israelites took place over 3000 years ago, but the Israelites were not the first to harness solar power for cooking, neither were they the last. Solar cooking has had a long rich history and has important implication for the future. Solar cooking is an important link in understanding the sun’s power, is a sink of innovation and technology, is widely applicable around the world, has social, economic and ecological benefits, and is the answer to some of the world’s biggest natural resource shortages. Although, solar cooking is an ind ustry that has yet to be revolutionized into an efficient home appliance, therefore, there are many avenues for innovation and technological advancement to be explored. Horace de Saussure coincidently created the first solar box cooker, although, because cooking food was not his objective he failed to revolutionize the solar cooking as an efficient home appliance. Horace de Saussure, â€Å"set out to determine how effectively glass heat traps could collect the energy of the sun.† Horace de Saussure placed five consecutively smaller open bottomed glass boxes within each other on a black table, in which he placed a piece of fruit. When this miniature five walled green house was exposed to the sun, each consecutive glass chamber trapped warm air and thermal radiation, which are by products of light energy being turned into heat. Consequently the innermost glass box became the hottest, a recorded 189.5 degrees Fahrenheit and Horace de Saussure successfully cooked fruit within this box. Cooking was only an experiment used by Horace de Saussure to understand his greater goal, which was how effectively glass heat traps could collect the energy o f the sun. Although, Horace de Saussure realized the practical application of his heat trap. Horace de Saussure stated, â€Å"someday some usefulness might be drawn from this device . . . [for it] is actually quite small, inexpensive, [and] easy to make.† Horace de Saussure was correct in stating that solar cooking is useful, but contrary to his advice the solar cooker failed to be revolutionized into an efficient home appliance.

Outline Basketball Shoes

Product Category – Basketball Shoes Definition (Dictionary. com) Basketball – a game played by two teams of usually five players each on a rectangular court having a raised basket  or goal at each end, points being scored by tossing the ball through the opponent's basket. Shoe – an external covering for the human foot, usually of leather and consisting of a more or less stiff or heavy sole and a lighter upper part ending a short distance above, at, or below the ankle. Basketball shoes are used when playing basketball. Line types Safety/Performance Shoes made for optimal performance while preventing injuries *EVA for cushioning (light) * Polyurethane for stability (heavy) * Stiff material on the medial side reduce inward rolling * Anti-microbial fabric reduces bacteria Fashion * Celebrity endorsement * Wide variety of color schemes * Word of Mouth Types High-top Pro: * Provides the most ankle support, safest Con: * Heavy, slower movement Mid-top Pro: * Increased mobility for jumping and fast direction changes Con: * Not the best for movement or protection Low-top Pro: Lightest, allows quicker movement changes, easier jumping, and speedier running Con: * Little protection. Smaller players will use these Product lifecycle Target Market Male High School Basketball Players Problem Recognition *Join Basketball Team * Want to fit in with peers Information Search * Internet * Price * Quality * Retail Store * Employee Expertise * Immediate Selection/Comparison * Peer Word of Mouth * Scoop on the latest dope kicks * Determine safe choices Alternative Evaluation and Selection * Mostly deliberation of collected information Limited Decision * Prices are not extreme * Can have multiple pairs of shoes * Outlet Selection and Purchase * Online * Retail Store * Provides immediate purchase * Postpurchase Processes * Wear dem shoes * Games * Stomping around town, lookin’ fly for the sweet honeys * Donate to secondhand stores * Throw away * Hand down t o family members * Sell lightly used shoes online Scientific proof that High-tops are structurally superior to Low-tops. http://www. tpec. edu. tw/%2Fself_store%2F79%2Fself_attach%2F95_5_paper1. pdf

British Health System for US.

The British Health System has been one of the most successful in the world. It has been claimed as the best system in the world. The United States also has got its own health system administered through the Health Management Organizations (HMOs). The US has disagreed with this claim by the United Kingdom and as a result, several studies have been carried out to establish how best and competent the British National Health Service system is compared to system being used in the US. This paper is going to discuss this claim.First, it will describe the National Health System of Britain, how well it is working for the British, then a comparison of the health care needs for the Britain's population and the United States population will be made as well as other considerations that need to be assessed before it is decided whether the NHS is appropriate for the US. An argument as to whether the model may or may not be adopted will be made before a position stand and a conclusion are made. Desc ribe the NHS 650 The NHS is the health care system in Britain which is public funded.It provides services to any resident of the UK with most of the services being free at the of use by patients. However, eye tests, care for teeth, prescriptions and personalized health cares are charged. The system is the England's major health care provider. It was established through an Act of Parliament in 1946. It has been paralleled by the private health care sector which serves less than 8 percent of the population. Much of the funding is from taxation of the citizens. This system is under the administration of the Department of Health. Most of the department's budget is allocated to the NHS.It has now been established that the NHS is the largest health service in the world and is also the fourth largest direct employer in the world (Luft, 2000, p. 17). A brief history of the NHS reveals that it was created by Clement Attlee's Labor government in an effort to bring welfare- state reforms. Just like any other organization, the NHS has got its core principles. It is committed to ensure quality health care to every one, free services at times of need based on the client's medical need but not based on their economic status (D H. ,2000, p. 57).The main aims of the system is to provide global service on the basis of peoples clinical needs but not their ability to pay, to offer a comprehensive set of services, to adjust to ensure the services they offer addresses the needs and preferences of people as individuals, as families and those care for them, to offer services that address the needs of various populations, to ensure minimal errors in their work while improving the quality of their services, to value and support the professional and support staff, to utilize public funds allocated for health care to address the needs of NHS patients only, to partner with other providers of similar services to ensure seamless service to clients, to work towards having a healthy nation wi th minimal health inequalities, to keep the individual clients confidentiality while providing free access to information related services, performance and treatment information.The structure of NHS in Britain begins from the Department of Health which takes care of the political issues concerning the service. Under the DH are 10 strategic health facilities (SHAs) which are in charge of all NHS operations specifically the primary care trusts in their regions. The NHS trusts are several and include Primary Care Trusts which are in charge of primary care and general public health. They have been reduced by almost half in the recent past to reduce costs and to bring services closer together. These Primary Care Trusts oversee about 29000 general practitioners and about 18000 dentists within the NHS system and also commission acute services emerging from other Trusts within the NHS and private sector.These trusts control about 80 % of the total NHS allocated budget. Other administrative structures under the Department of Health include NHS Hospital Trusts, Ambulance Services Trusts, Direct Trusts in charge of communications, Trusts in charge of mental health as well as care trusts (HPEDIS- US,2000, p. 26). The system has the largest number of staff of about with 1. 3 million workers and nearly all medical doctors and nurses in Britain working either in the NHS or in the Trusts or NHS run hospitals. The budget for NHS in the 2008/9 fiscal year is about 94 billion and all is from government funds (Dudley, 2001, 1088). NHS working for the BritishThe British National Health Service has in the recent past been claiming that the way it uses its resources is one of the best and most effective systems of health care in the world. The truth about this claim has been known when it was established that the system is cost effective with a per capita expenditure of about 1,764 US dollars. The British National Health Service provides very comprehensive health service to the citi zen of the United Kingdom. Some of the services in this system include admission in hospitals, outpatient services, preventive and ambulatory care services, quick response services to address cases involving accidents and other forms of emergencies, sebacute care, eye clinic services, dental care, rehabilitation of patients as well as home based health care.The British National Health Service system allows free access to medicines and other prescriptions to populations who fall under the social category of children (those below 16 years of age), the senior citizens (above 60 years) and those with special needs like the disabled (Anderson,2001, p. 230). British National Health Service has also subsidized the cost of buying medicines and other prescriptions to an average cost of about10 US dollars to the rest of the population who lies within the remaining age bracket and social groups. The National Health Service is working very well for British in remitting dental and long term psyc hiatric care needs for its population. The non medical residential health care is one of the National Health Service's programs that are run outside the system's budget.It is essential to note that the National Health Service system is for the service of the whole population in Britain and this is a good stance when compared to other world systems, for example in the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in United States, that serve only the members who comprise mainly the government and private sector employees (Luck,2001,p. 153). Health care needs of the US population Versus the needs of the UK population The health care needs of the United States population and that of the population of the United Kingdom can be deduced from the the mandates of the National Health system of Britain and the Health Maintenance Organizations of the United States because these two systems were set up to address the medical needs of their populations.Kaiser Permanente based in California is the larg est Health Maintenance Organization in the United States and shares every aspect with all other Health Maintenance Organizations and therefore the health care needs, the organization, administration, health care delivery and the kind of services delivered are very similar and therefore in this discussion, the health care needs of the population visiting Kaiser Permanente will be assumed to represent the health care needs of the whole population of the United States (Buisson,2001, p. 34). Before patients get treated, it is a medical requirement to meet a physician for consultation and diagnosis to establish the kind of disease or condition he or she is suffering from. Whether in the United Kingdom or in the United States, all patients have this common need.But the way this need id addressed in the health facilities of these two countries is quite different (Barakat,Wilkinson,Suliman,2003. p. 642). First, the amount of time that patients have to spend before they make consultations is longer in the United Kingdom than in the United States. This was established following a study that was carried out to establish efficiency in service delivery in these two countries. From the study, it was shown that it takes 13 weeks for about 80 % of patients who are referred to physicians before they actually meet the physicians in the United Kingdom while the same size of patient population in the United States take only about 2 weeks before they actually meet their physicians (Richard, 2002,p. 139).Similarly, for 90 % of patients who needs inpatient treatment have their needs met within a period of 13 weeks in the United States while the only about 41 percent of patients in need of inpatient treatment in the United Kingdom of the Great Britain can have their needs addressed within the same period of time. 90 % of the people who have been diagonalized and a surgery prescribed in the United States takes about 13 weeks before their medical needs can be met while for the same per iod of time only 41 % of similar population in the United Kingdom will have be treated. Also, the number of days a patient spends in waiting for his medical administration otherwise called bed days in the US are far much fewer than in the Unites Kingdom based on collected statistics that indicates that 1000 patients spends an average of 327 acute bed days in the US compared to 1000 acute bed days in Britain for the same population. (WHO, 2000, p. 27).Concerning the insurance need of the population, competition in the US Health Management organizations (HMOs) has led to an efficient satisfaction of this need because the people can shift from one Health Management Organization to another if they are not satisfied with the way their medical insurance needs are being met. This is because most HMOs in US are not funded by the government and therefore they have to catch up and compete favorably with the market forces of supply and demand which calls for quality services when competition i s tight. Whether customers are satisfied or not by the way the UK NHS addresses their insurance needs, they have limited choice since the NHS is supported by the taxes they pay to the government. This implies that the need for insurance in the National Health Service is poorly met compared to the Health Management Organizations. Both populations require cheaper access to prescribed medicines.The National Health Service has tried to meet this need partly by exempting those with special needs, the aged (over 60 years) and the children (those under 16 years of age) while the rest of the population pay about six pounds for all prescriptions. The US Health Management Organizations have done very little in meeting this need because the population pays about five US dollars for every prescription (Sekhri, 2000, p. 834). It appears that the British population requires more long – term psychiatric care and dental health services than the United States population. This argument is base d on the fact that the expanse and distribution of the health facilities and related services is determined by the immediate medical needs of the respective population.Based on the same argument, it is likely that the United Kingdom population's non medical health health needs necessitated the establishment of a long term care and home based health care. Since this kind of care has not been established established within the US Health Management Organizations, it is arguable that the US population do not have such health needs or else the needs are too few and thus too insignificant to necessitate provision of these services by the Health Management Organizations. Other factors to consider in determining the appropriateness of the NHS model for the US It is important to access the kind of policies that govern the administration of National Health Service whether they are compatible with the current policies in administration of Health Management Organizations.For example, there are policies that limit the amount of hospitalization the Health Management Organizations will cover. These policies are meant to ensure that less money is spend on hospitalization so that more money can be spend on other types of care such as surgical and specialists procedures. The compatibility of National Health Service policies (which are considered lesser) to the Health Management Organizations' policies should be considered to avoid policy conflicts in case the National Health Service system is adopted in the United States. It is essential also to consider whether National Health service will be in a position to meet the insurance needs of the United States population.Due to competition in health care provision in the US, the US population has been used to effective ways of satisfying their health insurance needs. If National Health System is introduced in place of Health Management organizations, the US population will be forced to adopt to a less efficient system. This is a ret rogressive trend in the health care provision sector and much of the population will be opposed to this new system. However, it is important to consider whether the current system in Britain provide for adjustments to make it more competitive and therefore uplift it to fit in the United States context. If such provisions are impossible, it will also be impossible to have this system in the medical and health service of the US population.Still on the issue of insurance, about 12 % of the United Kingdom population has taken private medical insurance as a security in case they may require non emergency surgeries or they may need to access specialists quickly(HCFA, 1998, p. 36). On the other hand, very few Americans have taken this private health insurance. Much of the population rely a single health insurance which has served them efficiently. Based on this point of view, the United States government may need to consider the fate of its population when they need to access specialists o r non emergency surgery because the National Health Service seems to be slow in reacting to these needs. Adopting a new health system should be aimed at improving the welfare of the US population. Any new system require the support of the population and politicians.The government should first consider civic education to enlighten the population on the benefits of shifting the health care system from the Health Management Organizations to National Health Service system in order to win the social and political goodwill with respect to introducing the new system. Argument: The model may or may not work The introduction of the National Health Service system of Britain in place of the America's Health Management Organizations to serve the American people may from one point of view be workable while it is totally an impossibility from another point of stand. The National health Service covers groups of populations from all socio-economic classes, but in America, Health Management Organiza tions mainly serve those in the mid- lower to middle socio- economic groups because the rich families go for health care options that are a little bit expensive and more flexible.The health systems used in America, according to the US standards, are in the ‘working class' category (Blendon, 2001, p. 37). But the population has the poor and non working people who would be happier to enjoy health care. With the support of this population and politicians who support equality and respect the opinion the minority, the adoption of the National Health Service in the US can be made a reality. The system may be supported by the population on the basis of the subsidized pharmaceutical costs. Currently, the cost of pharmaceuticals in the US is 2 percent to 60 percent higher than that of Britain and the US population admire this aspect of the National Health Service (Ayanian, 2001, p. 60).It is also important to note that National Health Service system is set to serve the entire populatio n while American Health Management Organizations system serve its members who majority get the membership through health plans that have been sponsored by their employers or by the government. This leaves out the unemployed population. For the government to ensure parity in health services provision to its citizens irrespective of their employment or economic status, it may require to consider the National Health Service system. Most citizens of the US require adequate dental care services, but this need has not been addressed well by the current health care system.On the other hand, the health care system of Britain has optimized on this population need. Therefore, with the introduction of National Health Service system, it is possible a large size of the US population will embrace it. On the other hand, data sources have revealed that general practitioners who give general care to patients within the National Health Service system have a starting salary of 43 % lower than their co unterparts in the US. For health care consultants serving within the US Health Management Organizations System, their starting salaries are about 115 % higher than the starting salaries of their counterparts holding the same positions within the Britain's National Health Service System (Danzon,2000, p. 170).If the system is adopted in the United States with its salary scale policies, it will be a major demobilization to the medical practitioners mainly due to the low salaries. This will lead to poor quality service which cannot be tolerated in the US. In short, the National Health Service system can not work in the US unless major amendments are made. If the decision of whether to adopt the National Health Service system or not were to be based on the per capita cost of medication, then the Americans will be less responsive because there will be no difference in the cost of medication per year. However, this is a generalized opinion based on national a figure.There will be no signif icant change in the economic status of the US because the per capita expenditure in medication for these two countries is appropriately the same. The Britain system has also been viewed to be slower than the current system in use in the US. Conclusion It is true that the British National Health Service system is one of the best performing systems of the world but this is in respect to certain aspects like its workforce, the way it considers the poor, and diverse services. But the current system operating in America is in itself more efficient and effective and most citizens are comfortable with it. The NHS offers very little salaries to practitioners and this in America can be a risk, because it will lead to poor services.Americans can never accept a system that is going to make them lark behind and therefore cannot accept the NHS system. References: Anderson, G. (2001). Health system performance compared. Health Affairs . 20: 219-232. Ayanian, J. , Quinn, T. (2001). Quality care. H ealth Affairs. 20: 55-67. Barakat, K. , Wilkinson, P. and Suliman, A. (2003). Performance measures . Am Heart Journ. 143: 640-646. Blendon, R. and Benson J. (2001). How Americans view health policy. Health Aff. 20: 33-46 Buisson, L. (2001). UK market sector. Private medical insurance report . 12: 31-35. Danzon, P. and Chao, W. (2000). Pharmaceutical prices compared. J Health Econ.19: 159-195 D H. (2000). Plan for investment and reform. The NHS plan. Stationery Office: London. Dudley, R. (2001). Managed care in transition. Engl J Med. 344: 1087-1092 HCFA. (1998). 1980-1998 State health care expenditures. DHHS. 13: 24-37. HPEDIS- US. (2000). Models for a national performance measures. Kaiser Permanente program overview. 17: 21-28. Luck, J. (2001). Talking to our patients. Gen Intern Med. 16: 153. Luft, M. (2000). Managed care lead quality of care. Health Affairs. 16: 7-25. Richard, G. (2002). NHS compared with Kaiser Permanente. British Medical Journal. 324:135-143. Sekhri, N. (2000). US Experience. The Managed Care. 78: 830-844.

What Is Sociological Imagination How Can You Use It

What Is Sociological Imagination How Can You Use It SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you ever wondered why your family cooks turkey on Thanksgiving? If you ask, you might get all kinds of reasons: because it’s tradition, because it tastes good, because it’s what the pilgrims ate back in the early days of America. All of those factors- taste, personal history, and world history- lead to one small action of you eating turkey on a holiday. That’s the premise of sociological imagination. Like imagination in the more typical sense, the sociological imagination asks us to use our brains to think differently about things and consider why we do the things we do. In this article, we’ll introduce the concept of sociological imagination, its history, how it changed the sociological field, and how you can use it every day to change your way of thinking about the world. What Is Sociological Imagination? The sociological imagination is a method of thinking about the world. As you may have guessed, it’s part of the field of sociology, which studies human society. When you put â€Å"sociological†- studying society- and â€Å"imagination†- the concept of forming new ideas, often creatively- together, you get a pretty good definition of the concept: a method of thinking about both individuals and society by considering a variety of sociological contexts. The societal imagination encourages people to think about their lives not just on an individual level, but also considering societal, biological, and historical context. Societal context tells us about our culture- when we consider it, we think about how our desires, actions, and thoughts are shaped by our community and how that community is changing. Biological context tells us about how â€Å"human nature† impacts our desires and needs. And lastly, historical context considers our place in time; how have events of the past led up to where we are currently? Basically, the concept of sociological imagination suggests that who you are as an individual is also the you shaped by your immediate surroundings, your family, your friends, your country, and the world as a whole. You may make individual choices about what to eat for lunch, but what you choose- a tuna sandwich, lobster ravioli, or shrimp tacos- is also determined by societal factors like where you live and what you’ve grown up eating. To use the sociological imagination is to shift your perspective away from yourself and look at things more broadly, bringing in context to individual actions. If you’re thinking about lunch, you’re probably more likely to choose something that’s familiar to you. In another culture or even another part of your city, a person who is very similar to you might choose a different food because of what’s familiar to them. If we zoom out a little further, we might realize that people in landlocked states might be unlikely to choose a seafood-based lunch at all because fresh fish is more expensive than it is on the coast. Zoom out more, and you might realize that fish isn’t even on the menu for some cultures because of societal taboos or restrictions. And those are just spatial boundaries. You can also consider your family’s relationship with eating fish, or how your cultural and ethnic heritage impacted where you are, what food you have access to, and your personal tastes. All of this lets you see yourself and your culture in a new light, as a product of society and history. In this sense, using a sociological imagination lets you look at yourself and your culture as a third-party observer. The goal is not to be dispassionate and distant, but rather to see yourself not as â€Å"natural† or â€Å"normal,† as a part of larger systems, the same way that all people are. Why the Sociological Imagination Is Useful Part of the appeal of using a sociological imagination is that it helps people avoid apathy. In this context, apathy refers to a sense of indifference or disinterest in examining the morality of their leaders. According to C. Wright Mills, creator of the idea of sociological imagination, if we accept that our beliefs, traditions, and actions are all normal and natural, we are less likely to interrogate when our leaders and community members do things that are immoral. Considering sociological context allows individuals to question and change society rather than just live in it. When we understand historical and social contexts, we’re better equipped to look at our actions and the actions of our community as a result of systems- which can be changed- rather than as inherent to humanity. In more technical terms, Mills was challenging the dominant structural functionalist approach to sociology. Structural functionalism suggests that society is composed of different structures that shape the interactions and relationships between people, and those relationships can be understood and analyzed to help us learn more about a society. What differed for Mills and his concept of the sociological imagination was that he believed that society was not only a series of systems, but that the role of the individual should also be considered. In fact, Mills believed that social structures arise because of conflict between groups, typically the elite and the others, such as the government and the citizens or the rich and the poor. Institute for Policy Studies / Flickr Where Does the Term Come From? As previously mentioned, C. Wright Mills is the origin of the term â€Å"sociological imagination.† In his 1959 book The Sociological Imagination, the Columbia University professor of sociology suggested that sociologists rethink the way they were engaging with the field. During his time, many sociologists engaged in a sort of top-down view of the world, focusing on systems rather than on individuals. Mills believed both were important, and that society should be understood as a relationship between different systems that originated in conflict. Though his book has since been named one of the most important sociological texts of the 20th century, Mills was not popular among his contemporaries. Mills was particularly concerned with class in social spheres, particularly the elite and the military, and how conflict between the elite and the non-elite impacted the actions of individuals and vice-versa. Mills was also opposed to the tendency of sociologists to observe rather than act. He believed that sociology was a great tool for changing the world, and believed that using the sociological imagination encouraged people of all kinds, including sociologists, to expose and respond to social injustice. Mills referred to the tendency of sociologists to think in abstraction â€Å"grand theory.† This tendency led to sociologists of the time being more concerned with organization and taxonomy over understanding- because Mills was so concerned with the experience of the individual as well as the experience of the whole, this contributed to his feeling that the sociological field was too far removed from the actual humans that comprise society. Because so much of Mills’ ideas of the sociological imagination were intended to bring sociologists closer to the people and their concerns, he developed a series of tenets to encourage them to think differently. Mills’ Sociological Imagination Tips Mills' book was all about how the sociological imagination could help society, but it wasn't only a theoretical approach.The Sociological Imagination contained tips for sociologists as well as the general public to help them better contextualize the world! Avoid Existing Sets of Procedures So much of sociology was based on existing systems that Mills felt the field focused on method over humanity. To combat this, he suggested that sociologists should function as individuals and propose new theories and methodologies that could challenge and enhance established norms. Be Clear and Concise Mills believed that some of the academic language used in the field of sociology encouraged the sense of distance that so troubled him. Instead, he advocated that sociologists be clear and concise when possible, and that they do not couch their theories in language intended to distance themselves from society and from criticism. Observe the Macro and Micro Prior to Mills’ work, structural functionalism was the primary philosophy of the field. Mills disagreed with the top-down approach to sociology, and encouraged sociologists to engage with the macro, as they had been doing, in addition to the micro. He believed that history is comprised of both the big and small, and that study of each is required for a robust field. Observe Social Structure as Well as Milieu Building off of his last point, Mills also suggested that social structure and individual actions, which he called â€Å"milieu,† were interconnected and equally worthy of study. He explained that individual moments, as well as long spans of time, were equally necessary to understanding society. Avoid Arbitrary Specialization Mills advocated for a more interdisciplinary approach to sociology. Part of the sociological imagination is thinking outside of the boundaries of yourself; to do so, Mills suggested that sociologists look beyond their specialized fields toward a more comprehensive understanding. Always Consider Humanity and History Because so much of sociology in the time of Mills’ writing was concerned with systems, he advocated for more consideration of both humanity and history. That meant looking at human experience on an individual and societal level, as well as within a specific and broad historical context. Understand Humanity as Historical and Social Actors Mills wanted sociologists to consider humans as products of society, but also society as products of humanity. According to Mills, people may act on an individual basis, but their individual desires and thoughts are shaped by the society in which they live. Therefore, sociologists should consider human action as a product of not just individual desires, but also historical and social actors. Consider Individuals inConnection with Social Issues- Public is Personal, Personal is Public One of Mills’ biggest points was that an individual problem is often also a societal problem. He suggested that sociologists should look beyond the common discourse and find alternate explanations and considerations. 2 Ins The sociological imagination can be complex to wrap your mind around, particularly if you’re not already a sociologist. When you take this idea and apply it to a specific example, however, it becomes a lot easier to understand how and why it works to broaden your horizons. As such, we've developed two in-depth sociological imagination examples to help you understand this concept. Buying a Pair of Shoes Let’s start with a pretty basic example- buying a pair of shoes. When you think about buying a new pair of shoes, your explanation may be fairly simple, such as that you need a new pair of shoes for a particular purpose, like running or a school dance, or that you simply like the way they look. Both of those things may be true, but using your sociological imagination takes you out of the immediacy of those to answers and encourages you to think deeper. So let’s go with the first explanation that you need a new pair of running shoes. Our first step toward using the sociological imagination is asking yourself ‘why?’ Well, so you can go running, of course! But why do you want to go running, as opposed to any other form of exercise? Why get into exercise at all? Why new running shoes rather than used ones? Once you start asking these questions, you can start to see how it’s not just an individual choice on your part- the decision to buy running shoes is a product of the society you live in, your economic situation, your local community, and so on. Maybe you want to go running because you want to get into shape, and your favorite Instagram profile is big into running. Maybe you recently watched a news report about heart health and realized that you need a new exercise regimen to get into shape. And maybe you’ve chosen new shoes over used ones because you have the financial means to purchase a name-brand pair. If you were a different person in a different context- say if you lived in a poorer area, or an area with more crime, or another country where other forms of exercise are more practical or popular- you might have made different choices. If you lived in a poorer area, designer shoes may not even be available to you. If there was a lot of crime in your area, running might be an unsafe method of exercise. And if you lived in another country, maybe you’d take up biking or tai chi or bossaball. When you consider these ideas, you can see that while you’re certainly an individual making individual decisions, those decisions are, in part, shaped by the context you live in. That’s using your sociological imagination- you’re seeing how the personal decision of buying a pair of running shoes is also public, in that what is available to you, what societal pressures you experience, and what you feel are all shaped by your surroundings. Who People Choose to Marry Marriage for love is the norm in American culture, so we assume that the same is true and always has been true. Why else would anybody marry? When we use our sociological imaginations, we can figure it out. You might get married to your partner because you love them, but why else might you get married? Well, it can make your taxes simpler, or make you more qualified to get a home loan. If your partner is from another country, it might help them stay within the US. So even in the United States, where marriage is typically thought of as a commitment of love, there are multiple other reasons you might get married. Throughout history, marriage was a means to make alliances or acquire property, usually with a woman as a bargaining chip. Love wasn’t even part of the equation- in fact, in ancient Rome one politician was ousted from the Senate for having the gall to kiss his wife in public. It wasn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that love became a reason to marry, thanks to the Enlightenment idea that lives should be dedicated to pursuing happiness. But at that point, women were still seen more like property than people- it wasn’t until the women’s rights movements of the 1900s that American women advocated for their own equality in marriage. In other cultures, polygamy might be acceptable, or people might have arranged marriages, where a person’s family chooses their spouse for them. That sounds strange to us, but only because in our culture the norm is marrying for love, with other reasons, such as financial or immigration concerns, being secondary. So even for an individual, there might be multiple factors at play in the decision to be made. You may never articulate these desires because getting married for love is our cultural norm (and it wouldn’t sound very good in a wedding speech), but these kinds of considerations do have subconscious effects on our decision-making. Sociological Imagination in the Sociology Community As you might have gathered from the numerous challenges Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination posed to established practices, he wasn’t a super popular figure in sociology during his time. Many sociologists were resistant to Mills’ suggested changes to the field. In fact, Mills is sometimes heralded to be ahead of his time, as the values he espoused about human connection and societal issues were prominent thoughts in the 1960s, just after his death. One of his former students wrote about how Mills stood in contrast to other sociologists of the era, saying: â€Å"Mills’s very appearance was a subject of controversy. In that era of cautious professors in gray flannel suits he came roaring into Morningside Heights on his BMW motorcycle, wearing plaid shirts, old jeans and work boots, carrying his books in a duffel bag strapped across his broad back. His lectures matched the flamboyance of his personal image, as he managed to make entertaining the heavyweight social theories of Mannheim, Ortega and Weber. He shocked us out of our Silent Generation torpor by pounding his desk and proclaiming that every man should build his own house (as he himself did a few years later) and that, by God, with the proper study, we should each be able to build our own car! â€Å"Nowadays men often feel that their private lives are a series of traps,† Mills wrote in the opening sentence of The Sociological Imagination, and I can hear him saying it as he paced in front of the class, speaking not loudly now but with a compelling sense of intrigue, as if he were letting you in on a powerful secret.† Though Mills’ philosophy is hugely important to today’s sociology field, his skewering of power and the myopic nature of his era’s academics didn’t make him many friends. However, as time has gone on, the field has come to regard him differently. His challenge to the field helped reshape it into something that is concerned with the macro as well as the micro. Conversations- even negative ones- about Mills’ proposals helped circulate his ideas, leading to The Sociological Imagination eventually being voted as the second most important sociological text of the 20th century. How to Apply Sociological Imagination to Your Own Life The great thing about sociological imagination is that you don’t need to be a trained sociologist to do it. You don’t need a huge vocabulary or a deep understanding of sociological texts- just the willingness to step outside of your own viewpoint and consider the world in context. This helps you escape your own perspective and think about the world differently. That can mean you’re able to make decisions less tinged with cultural bias- maybe you don’t need those expensive running shoes after all. To train your sociological imagination, get into the habit of asking questions about behavior that seems â€Å"normal† to you. Why do you think it’s normal? Where did you learn it? Are there places it may not be seen as normal? Consider a relatively common tradition like Christmas, for example. Even if you don’t come from a particularly religious family, you may still celebrate the holiday because it’s common in our society. Why is that? Well, it could be that it’s a tradition. But where did that tradition come from? Probably from your ancestors, who may have been more devout than your current family. You can trace this kind of thinking backward and consider your personal history, your family history, and the surrounding cultural context (not all cultures celebrate Christmas, of course!) to understand how something that feels â€Å"normal† got to that state. But cultural context isn’t the only important part of the sociological imagination- Mills also suggested that sociologists should consider the personal and the public, as well. When you come upon something that seems like a personal issue, think about it in a societal context. Why might that person behave the way that they do? Are there societal causes that might contribute to their situation? A common example of this is the idea of unemployment. If you are unemployed, you may feel simultaneous feelings of frustration, unease, and even self-loathing. Many people blame themselves for their lack of a job, but there are societal factors at play, too. For example, there may simply be no jobs available nearby, particularly if you’re trained in a specific field or need to hit a certain income level to care for your family. You may have been laid off due to poor profits, or even because you live in a place where it’s legal to terminate employment based on sexuality or gender identity. You may be unable to findwork because you’re spending so much time caring for your family that you simply don’t have time to apply for many jobs. So while unemployment may seem like a personal issue, there are actually lots of societal issues that can contribute to it. Mills’ philosophy asks us to consider both in conversation with one another- it’s not that individuals have no free will, but rather that each person is a product of their society as well as an individual. What’s Next? Psychology, like sociology, can give us insight into human behavior. If you're thinking of studying psychology in the future, this list of psychology master's programs can give you a great look at which colleges have the best programs! Sociology can even help you understand works of literature, likeThe Great Gatsby! Learn more about F. Scott Fitzgerald's take on the American Dream from our guide. A good understanding of history is one of the core pieces to a good sociological imagination. To improve your historical knowledge, consider these high school history classes you should take!

External observations of earth Worm essays

External observations of earth Worm essays The texture of the surface is slimy and wet and the color of the worm was brown. It was in the shape of a cylinderand the size of the worm is 27 1/2 cm. We measured three other things as well 1.clitellum and it was 1 cm long 2. the width of the worm and it was .6 cm is width 3. was the lenght of one of the segments on the worm and it was 2 mm. We also counted the all the segments on the worm and the total number of segments was143. Another word for a segment is a somite. On each segment their are a pair of setea which are located on the ventral side of the worm. The texture of the worms setea was rough, firm, and prickley. next we located the mouth and we came to the conclusion that their are no bones in the mouth. The worm crushes or eats its food by using its gizzard to crush the food. Which broight me to the next question which is what do worms eat and they eat soil and organic material. The mouth is on the anterior end of the worm and the anus is located on the posterior en d of the worm. Liquid wastes are filteres out using the nifridia then the filtered wastes exit using the anus. Then we had to find the clitellum and describe what it looked like and it is a cylinder that is larger then rest of the worm and the clitellum also dosent have and segments on it like the rest of the worm does. The clitellum is locatec 37 segments back from the anterior end of the worm. The clitellum is has key role in the reproduction of earthworms. The clitellum is where the mucus which is holdening the frtilized eggs is secreated and the clitellum is where the sex cells are located. The anus is located 105 segments behind the clitellum. The next thing was to find out about the gential pore and they are the pores in which the eggs and sperm are exchanged and yes you can see the genital pores. I also observed that the worm kept tryingfind a moist spot on our tray and when he did he just covered himself in ...

What Does it Cost to Attend Kenyon College?

Deciding which college to attend comes with plethora of factors to consider, and for many families, college prices doesn’t make this decision any easier. Every year, tuition at four-year institutions rises. College tuition has been increasing almost six percent above the rate of inflation , and is expected to continue doing so. Meanwhile, a college degree is becoming the baseline expectation in the increasingly-competitive job market, and the demand for a college education is greater now than it was one generation ago.   With such high rates of tuition, financial aid becomes more and more important. In the 2015-2016 academic year, 85 percent of undergraduate students received financial aid . Financial aid itself is a multi-faceted creature, and can be a headache to navigate. Kenyon College, home to the prestigious Kenyon Review and a dining hall that bears striking resemblance to Hogwarts’ Great Hall, is a private institution in Gambier, Ohio. The high sticker price, however, is not necessarily easy on the wallet. We’ve compiled this post that covers exactly how you can navigate tuition prices, as well as the different options you have for financing your student’s degree at Kenyon College. If your student is interested, or already admitted—congratulations!—to Kenyon, you’ve probably already visited the college’s Costs and Financial aid page . That’s a good place to start, and will give you a general idea of how much four years at Kenyon might cost. However, it can also be misleading. Costs of attendance for colleges are highly variable. The numbers that you see there are what we call the list prices, and few families actually pay that price. A better number to look for is the net cost , which refers to what families actually pay out of their pockets, after factors like financial aid have been applied. Generally, the elements that will reduce net cost come down to three parts: We’ll look at each of these in detail in this post. Since all financial aid is subtracted from the list price to give the net cost, the list price is where to start in estimating a student’s cost of attendance. In the 2016-2017 academic year, Kenyon College’s list price was $66,670 for both in-state and out-of-state students, since it’s a private institution. Remember that most families don’t pay this price. Who are those who do pay it? In general, it’s the families whose annual household income is greater than $175,000. Even for these families, if the student receives merit aid from the institution, they may not even pay the list price. It’s worthwhile to note that not all colleges offer merit aid, but Kenyon College does. Approximately 47% of Kenyon students receive need-based aid, and 22% receive scholarships. F or the 2016-2017 school year, the average net cost of attendance with need-based financial aid only was $57,328 for both in-state and out-of-state students. The greater your family’s financial need, the more need-based aid a student will qualify for. Here are the average net amounts that families with different incomes pay for Kenyon College. *These numbers do not reflect any Pell Grants that families may receive. Families with an income of $0-30k often receive Federal Pell Grants, which reduce the amount of financial aid that individual institutions need to award. This is why there is a higher tuition rate for families with $0-30k vs. those with $30k-48k. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. What we’ve been talking about so far has been need-based financial aid. In contrast, merit aid is awards granted based on what the college deems to be exceptional performance and potential, usually academic performance, and school or community involvement. It often comes in the form of a scholarship. Merit aid at Kenyon College is relatively generous. Out of a pool of 1000 schools analyzed for merit aid generosity, Kenyon ranks 611th. At Kenyon, 23.1% of students without financial need receive merit aid, with the average amount coming to $3,305 in 2016. The average net price for a student who didn’t qualify for financial aid was $63,365. Often, students still need help financing their college education even with institutional aid and scholarships. This is where student loans come in. Unlike scholarships or grants, loans need to be repaid, often with interest. At Kenyon College, 69% of students take out federal loans, with an average amount of $3,046 per student across their college career. Investing in college is a big decision, especially if your student has loans to pay back, so it’s useful to have an idea of how graduates of a particular school are doing down the line. Kenyon College has a 6-year graduation rate of 90%, which is impressively high when stacked against the 66% average for private nonprofit institutions. The average salary of a Kenyon alum ten years after graduation is $48,700.    Besides the main expenses of tuition and room and board, there are usually other costs to account for when estimating college spending, even if the student is living on-campus for all years of attendance. Gambier, Ohio has an overall cost of living index of 95.6 , which means it’s about 4 percent more affordable to live in Gambier than in the rest of the U.S. in general. If the idea of looking for housing for college gives you a headache, Kenyon College’s housing situation is just right for you. Kenyon is a fully residential college. Students live on-campus for all four years, and have a variety to choose from, from program houses to themed houses. There aren’t many off-campus job opportunities for Kenyon students, since the college itself is the main attraction of the village of Gambier. However, the on-campus employment scene is rich; students can choose from over 1100 job positions filled each year on the Kenyon campus. The minimum wage for on-campus jobs, determined by the minimum state wage, is $8.55 per hour as of 2019.    We’ve covered the main ways in which students can lower than costs of attendance, but the ways to save don’t end at financial aid and loans. There are many merit-based private scholarships available, especially if your student is enrolling in an institution in their home state . The Austin E. Knowlton Scholarship supports a Kenyon student from Ohio with up to $18,000 over four years. One of the most prestigious national scholarships is the National Merit program. Students who take the PSAT are automatically entered for qualification, and the program awards $2,500 to finalists. Take a look at our guide to the National Merit Scholarship program . You can learn more about scholarships on our following posts: Another way to help finance an education at Kenyon is right here at . As a part of our College Applications Program , we help students figure out how to make any school more affordable using our Finances tool, which can show the ROI of different schools and majors and help students identify scholarships to apply for. On average, our students earn about $83,000 in scholarships. Find out if working with our Financial Aid Tools is right for your family! The Applications Program will also pair your student with an admissions specialist who will work with them one-on-one to navigate each step of the college application process, from building a school list to submitting the application.

Sociology 101- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sociology 101- - Essay Example Durkheim is one of the principal architects of sociology along with other prominent names in the subject, Karl Marx and Max Weber. He is also regarded as a father of sociology for institutionalizing and the first professor of social science in France. Durkheim had significant contributions with the establishment of sociology particularly the combination of empirical research with sociological theory. He had also addressed topics such as study of suicide, sociological theory of religion, and refining positivism. Early Age. Durkheim was from a family of French Jews and grew up in Epinal, Lorraine. He was born on April 15, 1858. His great grandfather, grandfather, and his father were all rabbis (Calhoun, 2002). His father, Moise, was also Chief Rabbi of the Vosges and Haute-Marne. Although destined for rabbinate, he was the one who broke the rabbinical chain in their family by living in secular life particularly when he arrived in Paris. At an early age he switched school, from rabbinic al school to academic ones. Although he had close relationship with his family, relation, Jewish community especially the Alsace-Lorraine community, he did not follow Jewish traditions. (Poggi, 2000) Durkheim had successfully entered in Ecole Normale Superieure, one of the most prestigious mainstream public universities in France, in his third attempt. Their batch at Ecole was regarded as one of the most brilliant batches in the nineteenth century. He was in batch with the known socialist Jean Jaures, who became his long-time friend, along with philosophers Henri Bergson, Bustave Belot, Edmond Goblot, Felix Rauh, and Maurice BlondelHenri Bergson, Bustave Belot, Edmond Goblot, Felix Rauh, and Maurice Blondel, also with Pierre Janet, a psychologist, historians Henri Berr and Camille Jullian, geographer Lucien Gallois, and Ferdinand Brunot, a linguist. Details of his historical account described Durkheim to be pessimistic yet he was always part of the intellectual philosophical debates and political discussions. Eventually he became a strong advocate of the republican cause (Calhoun, 2002). At Ecole, Durkheim had studied under the supervision of Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, who was notable for his social scientific perspective and a purist. Aside from the influence of Coulanges to Durkehiem, his readings of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer’s works were credited that influenced him to be exposed with social science at an early age. He then became very interested with the scientific approach to society. This influence also reflected from his academic performance. It was cited that Durkheim was initially interested in humanistic studies, psychology, and philosophy but eventually had shifted his interest in ethics and early scope of sociology. With his aggregation in Philosophy, he had graduated in 1882. Academic Performance. Durkheim is regarded as an advance student during his studies at Ecole. He was included as one of the brightest in his batch. During his studies, he was less of political and more of academics by orientation. Later on, he developed inclination in scientific studies than academics, leading him to criticize the scholastic structure of Ecole. In 1885, he went to Germany to pursue his focus study in sociology at Marburg, Berlin and Leipzig. (Calhoun, 2002) Journey to Sociology. One of the contributions of Durkheim to sociology is the empirical method in sociological research. In his personal essays, he revealed that he had appreciated the value of the empiricism during

Mount Everest 1996 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mount Everest 1996 - Case Study Example cted as guide to the expedition process were incompetent having only participated in climbing of other mountains that did not offer similar challenges to Mount Everest. Despite the fact that most guides to Mount Everest were local recruits, it is very clear that there was no formal corporate and association that offered guidance on how the expedition could be carried out. To add more to obstacles, the two leaders went ahead and hired professional climbers such as Frank Fischbeck, and Doug Hansen were not locals lacked proper authority to facilitate adequate form of assistance in case of any need for concern (Roberto, 2002). The above assessment embraces negligence on the part of management and leadership experience. For instance, at the beginning of the expedition, Hall unsuccessfully failed to engage Jon Krakauer, a journalist with prentice magazine to help him mutually advertise to popularize his firm. The above is an indication that Hall had insufficient value for the business because a good manager can go to any extent to make any expenditure with anticipatory of high returns in the future. Based on NBC report and other local dailies in Nepal, there were several managerial issues that led to the failure of Mount Everest expedition process. Firstly, after numerous attempts without success, Fischer, one of the mountain climbers recruited Pitman, a New York socialite through a process that was perceived plum by some of his colleagues because the process did not take place through adequate consultation and pitman lacked adequate skills of adding impact to the organization (Roberto, 2002). Secondly, ano ther team guided by Fischer consisted of misguided arrangements. For instance, Fischer incorporated his friend Dale, who had a persistent problem of high altitude sickness that was seen as a betrayal towards the success of the group. Besides, the above group also included a Scandinavian of female gender Gammelgaard, who attempted and reach the summit, but such

The dilema socrates and euthyphro finds themselves in Essay

The dilema socrates and euthyphro finds themselves in - Essay Example First of all, Socrates is too inventive in arguments to oppose Euthyphro in his idea of piety. When the latter amends the second definition, he just claims that â€Å"what all the gods love is pious and holy, and the opposite which they all hate, impious† (Plato 14). At this point, here comes the â€Å"Euthyphro dilemma,† so to speak. Moreover, it gives way for Socrates to make the Euthyphro’s claim incomplete or with no further justifications. The question is that the gods may comply with the concept of the â€Å"pluralism of opinions.† As in democratic society, they may seem different in the definition of pleasure and a state of being pleasant. This is why the Socrates may be justified in his reaction on the third definition by Euthyphro. He is likely to provide a syllogism in â€Å"whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved of the gods† (Plato 14). Here comes a strong objection by Socrates w ho points out a form of discretion out of the Euthyphro’s understanding of piety per se.

Comparison Between Holistic And Subject Based Approaches to Curriculum Essay

Comparison Between Holistic And Subject Based Approaches to Curriculum Organization - Essay Example Influential individuals Gur (2006) explain and outline the key factors that affect change in curriculum structure and composition. The first factor that initiates change is a strong and charismatic leadership system that is accepted by the academic staff members. The Main feature of such leadership is to have the necessary capacity that attracts other academic staff to agree and; rally behind the principled educational objectives supported within the environment or institution. A good and appropriate curriculum will ensure a good output especially for a class with an average or reasonable number of students (Gur, 2006, p41). This is because with a smaller class, teacher-student personal relationship is always possible. There is always an anxiety by students to produce constant excellent results because an alteration in the syllabus or curriculum. The relationship eases the performance anxieties experienced by such students and temptation to submit work that is not theirs to the tutor s. However, it should be noted that individual influence on the curriculum change has its own side effects. 2. The need to improve staff training Research has proven the emergence of curricula related challenges in most institutions, especially at the nursery and primary levels of studies. Change in curriculum always comes with the need for better-trained staff members. It requires new teaching skills aimed at meeting the objectives and goals set by the new curriculum system. This may prove to be a significant challenge to most institutions implementing their own curriculum, as they will be required to come up with an impromptu notice for hiring new teachers or training the existing staff. Therefore, the curriculum change is viewed as one of the main and... This essay stresses that several changes are always proposed because of their undisputable goodness. One would find it hard or rather stupid and awkward to argue. For instance, it would be strange to hear an individual arguing that the introduction of laboratory classes for science-related subjects was a wrong idea. Similarly, it is imagined that most leaders would accept that changes in curriculum are indispensable for the students going to various fields of study. Curricula changes and implementation would therefore ease. This paper makes a conclusion that curriculum in any organization plays a significant role in the teaching-learning process in all the educational institutions. The instructional materials, nature of the training the teachers underwent, development of teaching materials, assessment of learners, designing for guides for both the learners and instructors, and setting the principles, are all anchored on the curriculum which is a vital educational document. Thus the role of curriculum in any organization plays a vital role and absence of the document in any educational organization means that the institution cannot function as expected. Curriculum is an educational document, which guides and used for ordering the teaching-learning understandings, which the learners encounter in the educational organization. Curriculum organization involves provision of curriculum and maintaining it to run uninterrupted.

The Main Aspects of Criminal Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Main Aspects of Criminal Law - Case Study Example Woollin). Subjective recklessness is found when the defendant is aware of the risk involved with his action, but still does the act. (R v. Cunningham1982 AC 566)(Smith & Hogan, 2006) The possible issues in the instance of Seema are possible criminal liability flowing from the death of Derek and the defenses which she might claim in reducing her criminal liability if proved. Moving on the mistake of Dr. Wisdom and the possibility of the breaking of chain of causation will be considered. Finally the act of Arun will be considered and the subsequent death of Dr. Ali will be considered. The actus reus of murder is still found in the wording of Sir Edward Coke, which is that the actus reus is present when the defendant "unlawfully killeth any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the Queen's peace' (Smith and Hogan, 1983) The requirement that the killing is lawful is an important aspect and so certain killings which may be as a result of use of reasonable force in self defense may be excluded (Re A 2000 4 All ER 961). Further it is necessary that the defendant accelerated the death of the victim.(Justis) The mens rea or mental element is known by the term malice aforethought and it is general to state that an intention to cause grievous bodily harm will suffice for murder. (Vickers 1957 2 QB 664)(Koenig, 2007) By the facts it can be stated that the actus reus and mens rea can be presumed by the fact that Seema finds the knife and stabs Derek. However the defense of provocation and diminished responsibility may be raised to get a verdict of voluntary manslaughter. Provocation was a common law defense which has been modified by s.3 of the homicide Act 1957. The two tier questions which must be satisfied have a subjective as well as an objective element. First it must be found that did the defendant, as a result of provocation, lose his or her self control (subjective element) and would a reasonable man have done as the defendant did (Objective Element). The elements are decided upon by the jury. (Smith & Hogan, 11th Edition) The subjective question is purely a matter of fact and requires a sudden and temporary loss of control along with cumulative provocation and that the loss of self control must be as a result of provocation. There must be a loss of self control as a result of the provocation and so the defence will not be available where it is found that it was a calculated revenge. The classic formulation can be found in Duffy [1949] where it was stated that the sudden and temporary loss of self control made the defendant at that moment not master of his mind. However in Richens it was stated that the defendant only required proof that he was unable to restrain himself from committing the act. The longer the time interval the higher the chance of

Religion and Civil Rights Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Religion and Civil Rights - Research Paper Example â€Å"Jains believe that the universe and everything in it is eternal. Nothing that exists now was ever created, nor will it be destroyed† . On the other hand, Confucianism gives more importance to ethical practices in human life even though it keeps silence about life after death or God. â€Å"Each day I examine myself on three counts: whether or not I am loyal to those in whose behalf I act; whether or not I am trustworthy in my dealings with friends; whether or not I practice what is imparted† . Different religions have different beliefs, customs, rituals and Gods. Based on this diverse belief system, religions control the civil rights of people. The rights of one religion need not be the rights of other religion. Same way the wrongs of one religion need not be the wrongs of another religion. This paper analyses the civil rights based on the belief system in different religions. Hindu Religion and civil rights â€Å"According to historians, the origin of Hinduism da tes back to 5,000 or more years. The word "Hindu" is derived from the name of River Indus, which flows through northern India†3 â€Å"The foundations of this oldest surviving religion were laid by ancient rishis (sages), who taught their disciples the eternal principles of life they had discovered through their meditations†4. Hindu religion is often referred as the religion of Vedas and Dharma. (Dharma is the code of conduct of life principles). Anyone who practices Dharma can be considered as a Hindu. Different class system is prevailing in Hindu religion like Brahman, Kshathriya, Vaisya and Shudra etc. Brahman people got the rights to do the rituals in the temple whereas Kshathriya got the right to rule the country. Vaisya and Shudra belong to the working class. In short, civil rights of people in Hindu religion were not even earlier even though at present such classifications are meaningless. The greatest strength of Hindu religion is its respect to other religions. It believes in the doctrine of, â€Å"Sanatana Dharma† or Universal Truth. India is a secular democratic country even though of majority of the people in India is Hindus, because of the above Hindu doctrine. No religion is prohibited in India and people have the right to believe and spread their own religion. Buddhism and civil rights â€Å"The religion of Buddha began in 563 B.C. Buddhists believe in karma and rebirth. Karma determines in which form a person is reborn and rebirth is a second birth†5. The beliefs of Buddhism are slightly different from that of other religions. Most of the other religions believe in single God or multi God theory whereas Buddhists are more interested in karma and rebirth. According to their belief, human life consists of so many rebirths which will be ended once a person attains Nirvana. Karma or the activities of a person in his present life will determine the nature of his rebirth. Buddhists do not have belief in soul. For them, soul will be changing from one form to another based on the rebirths. â€Å"They called soul as "self† which is just a bunch of changing characteristics†6 . The belief of Buddhism is based on the four noble truths; â€Å"Life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable and the path to the cessation of suffering†7. According to Buddhism, â€Å"If there were a creator of the world, he would be regarded as responsible for the suffering8. In other words, Buddhists see no chances of happiness in earthly life. All the human activities in this material world will ultimately end up in sufferings. Even if a person did nothing wrong in his present life, his activities in previous life may affect him in his present