Respond to classmates-Sexuality Around the World Essay

Respond to classmates-Sexuality Around the World - Essay Example For example, homosexuality is openly condemned in many African countries and viewed as an act against African customs. Specifically, a Sub-Saharan country, Uganda, has been pushing for a legislative action against homosexuals dubbed â€Å"Kill the Gays Bill† by the media (Sharlet, 2010). This high criminalization of an aspect of sexuality instills fear and degrades sense of belonging when homosexuals have to leave their countries for fear of being incarcerated or killed so to speak. Societies and governments can essentially play a vital role in reducing sexual dysfunctions. They need to consider individual differences in sexual orientation, personality, character, sexual needs, and sexual interests. Expecting all persons to exhibit the same sexual behavior is ignorant to the actual environment within which people are brought up. Sexuality freedom should be upheld. Countries around the world approach sexuality from diverse and dynamic points of view. Your focus on Indonesia is very informative and country-specific, thus highlighting sexuality in an intensive and extensive approach. The highlights you have presented about Indonesia are shared by many other countries worldwide. For instance, in many Middle East and African countries, women are there to be seen and not heard. Ultimately, their self-esteem is highly affected subject to sexuality and sexual performance. Beading of girls is a common practice among the Samburu people of the Kenyan communities in East Africa (Parkinson, Phillips, & Gourlay, 2006). Young girls engage in sexual activities with older men, resulting in the belief that their sexual behavior is best designed for the older males in the community. Notably, underage marriages are common alongside female genital mutilation (Parkinson, Phillips, & Gourlay, 2006). These practices often result in sexual desire and arousal implications relative to what the young girls are made to believe and

European influence in North America Essay Example for Free

European influence in North America Essay In early colonial America, there were thirteen colonies. The English started them all, but those colonies varied indefinitely. The two primary regions of the colonies were the Chesapeake and the New England Regions. In the very beginnings of these regions, there were ample amounts of differences to create two very different American cultures. The first permanent English settlement in America is Jamestown, Virginia. Jamestown began as a business venture and then failed. Later a Virginia Company of London, which was a joint stock company, organized and sent one hundred and four colonists into Virginia in 1607. In a ships list bound for Virginia it is shown that there were no families aboard, just primarily single men and a hand full of single women. Also the list shows that the people aboard had no history in mining, instead there were people sent over that were perfumists and other needless expertise. The New England region had quite a different attendance, on a ships list bound for New England; there were many families with relevant work abilities. Having many families attributed significantly to the survival rate being much greater than Chesapeake Bays. John Winthrop, a leader of the puritans wrote God almighty in his most holy and wise providence hath so disposed of the condition of mankind [that in all times some must be rich, some poor, and some high and eminent in power and dignity, other mean and in subjection[yet] we must be knit together in this work as one man. These words spoken by John Winthrop show how the New England region was prosperous from the beginning. The New Englanders acquired ability or was established in their daily religion to form together and work as one. This unity was not embedded in the culture of the Chesapeake area. Captain John Smith wrote, on the history of Virginia the worse [among us were the gold seekers who] with their golden promises made all men slaves in hopes of recompense. There was no talk but dig gold, wash gold refine gold, load gold. This was the primary goal, to mine gold. One defines the religion in the New England region. The New England region was primarily consisted of Puritans. The Puritans initially left England in search of a refuge to purify the religion. Other than the Puritans there  were the Pilgrims, which were derived from the Puritans. There werent many differences at all between the Puritans and the Pilgrims. The only difference between the Pilgrims and Puritans is that the Pilgrims were not only against the Anglican Church but they called for a total separation from the church. In the New England Region the Puritan oligarchy was in place until the great awakening. In the Chesapeake region there were many religions from the beginning. For instance, Catholics, originally Protestants, settled Maryland. In result, New England was a lot more established and put together. Geography had many importances in colonial life. There wasnt any mountains in Jamestown therefore the colonists were susceptible to many attacks and invasions. Governor Berkeley and his council wrote on their inability to defend against the Dutch attacks in 1673. We thought it our duty to set forth in this our declaration, the true state and condition of this country in general and our particular disability to engage in war at the time of this invasion therefore do humbly beseech you most honorable council to consider that Virginia is interacted by so many vast rivers as makes more miles to defend than we do have me to defend them/. The Chesapeake region were not the only ones to run into trouble due to their geography, the New England region also had problems defending themselves. For instance in King Phillips war. Geography is also a major factor in any civilizations economy. The Chesapeake region primarily grew tobacco on there land. We all know that tobacco eventually ruins the soil, from draining all the vital nutrients from the ground. In order for the Virginians to generate a profit, they had to have an ample amount of land. The need to harvest tobacco resulted in a need for free-labor or indentured servants. Indentured servants were made to pay for there passage to colonial America by service instead of money. This source of service resulted in the Chesapeake Region having extremes of classes; meaning that the wealthy were becoming wealthier and the poor were becoming poorer. In Bacons rebellion a wealthy landowner, Nathanial bacon of Virginia finally  got fed up the aristocracy or that ran the government because he wasnt inducted. This is an exert from Bacons Manifesto We cannot in our hearts find one single spot of rebellion or treason or that we have in any manner aide at subverting the settled government, document H. These mean formed a government called the tide water aristocracy. Eventually Bacon started a riot. The poor in result were forced to move out to the western frontier. By them moving, it created tensions with the Native Americans. The Native Americans soon revolted and attacked the colonies. Bacon dies, and the rebellion were put to an end. This only occurred in the colonies and not England due to many things. One, there was more land to farm, two there was no tide water aristocracy, there was only land owners that were members of the church and established in the clergy. In the Chesapeake regions economy there was more than one variable, tobacco wasnt stable. In conclusion, New England and Chesapeake Regions were both settled largely by people of English origin but became to very distinct societies. There were many political, economical, religious, and cultural differences between the two regions. These differences resulted in two very distinct societies.

The Oslo Agreements :: essays research papers

Framework & Implementation The Israeli Palesletinian peace negotiations took a giant leap forward during Yitzhak Rabin’s term as Israeli prime minister, with the commencement of the Oslo Peace Process. While no significant progress was being made in Washington in the bilateral talks agreed upon at the Madrid Conference in 1991, a secret unofficial channel began operating between Israelis and the PLO, under the auspices of Norway. The unofficial talks continued throughout early 1993 and culminated in the initialling of a joint Declaration of Principles (DOP) on August 19, 1993. Then, after having formally recognized each other in mutual letters, Israel, represented by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the PLO, represented by Yassir Arafat, signed an agreement in Washington on September 13, 1993. The DOP created a framework for areas of negotiation and set outlines for a rapid hand-over of Gaza and Jericho to Palestinian self-rule. According to the agreement, major fundamental and controversial issues, such as Jerusalem, the future of Israeli settlements on in Judea & Samaria, and the Palestinian refugees (from '48 and '67), would be deferred to the permanent status negotiations. The following stages in the transition of power and land from Israel to the Palestinians were put forth. 1. Gaza and Jericho First: Self rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces. The details of the Gaza and Jericho First Agreement were negotiated and concluded in Cairo between Rabin and Arafat on May 4, 1994. The Cairo Agreement spelled out a step-by-step program for the extension of autonomy within a specified time-frame, without this being conditional on bilateral implementation or objectives. 2. Transfer of civil powers and responsibilities: Responsibilities in five specific spheres (education and culture, health, welfare, taxation and tourism) will be transferred to the Palestinians. The DOP proposed that this transfer take place immediately following the implementation of the Gaza-Jericho agreement. 3. The Interim Agreement and Elections: Elections will take place on the West Bank and Gaza Strip for a new Palestinian Authority. The Interim Agreement will detail the self-government arragements in the West Bank and terrotories. In the rest of the West Bank, Israel will pull out its forces from Palestinian populated areas. The Palestinian Council will have a strong police force in order to guarantee public order and internal security. Central to the DOP were two economic annexes which outlined economic cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians, both bilaterally and in the multilateral context.

Branches of Philosophy Essay

In order to narrow the aims of discussion philosophy was broken into branches. Traditionally philosophy has been broken into four main branches; however we would like to add a fifth branch in our text -Epistemology Epistemology, from the Greek words episteme (knowledge) and logos (word/speech) is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge and love. -Metaphysics Metaphysics (derived from the Greek words â€Å"ta meta ta physika biblia†) – meaning ‘the book that follows the physics book’. It was the way students referred to a specific book in the works of Aristotle, and it was a book on First Philosophy. (The assumption that the word means â€Å"beyond physics† is misleading) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the study of â€Å"first principles† and â€Å"being† (ontology). In other words, Metaphysics is the study of the most general aspects of reality, such as substance, identity, the nature of the mind, and free will. In other way is a study of nature and the nature of the world in which man lives -Logic Logic (from Classical Greek (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy amongst philosophers (see below). However the subject is grounded, the task of the logician is the same: to advance an account of valid and fallacious inference to allow one to distinguish good from bad arguments. -Ethics Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the â€Å"science (study) of morality†. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is â€Å"good† or â€Å"right. † The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. Other Branches Philosophy of Education: Fairly self-explanatory. A minor branch, mainly concerned with what is the correct way to educate a person. Classic works include Plato’s Republic, Locke’s Thoughts Concerning Education, and Rousseau’s Emile. Philosophy of History: Fairly minor branch (not as minor as education), although highly important to Hegel and those who followed him, most notably Marx. It is the philosophical study of history, particularly concerned with the question whether history (i. e.the universe and/or humankind) is progressing towards a specific end? Hegel argued that it was, as did Marx. Classic works include Vico’s New Science, and Hegel and Marx’s works. Philosophy of Language: Ancient branch of philosophy which gained prominence in the last century under Wittgenstein. Basically concerned with how our languages affect our thought. Wittgenstein famously asserted that the limits of our languages mark the limits of our thought. Classic works include Plato’s Cratylus, Locke’s Essay, and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Philosophy of Law: Also called Jurisprudence. Study of law attempting to discern what the best laws might be, how laws came into being in the first place, attempting to delimit human laws from natural laws, whether we should always obey the law, and so on. Law isn’t often directly dealt with by philosophers, but much of political philosophy obviously has a bearing on it. Philosophy of Mathematics: Concerned with issues such as, the nature of the axioms and symbols (numbers, triangle, operands) of mathematics that we use to understand the world, do perfect mathematical forms exist in the real world, and so on. Principia Mathematica is almost certainly the most important work in this field. Philosophy of Mind: Study of the mind, attempting to ascertain exactly what the mind is, how it interacts with our body, do other minds exist, how does it work, and so on. Probably the most popular branch of philosophy right now, it has expanded to include issues of AI. Classic works include Plato’s Republic and Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, although every major philosopher has had some opinion at least on what the mind is and how it works. Philosophy of Politics: Closely related to ethics, this is a study of government and nations, particularly how they came about, what makes good governments, what obligations citizens have towards their government, and so on. Classic works include Plato’s Republic, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Two Treatises, and J. S. Mill’s On Liberty. Philosophy of Religion: Theology is concerned with the study of God, recommending the best religious practises, how our religion should shape our life, and so on. Philosophy of religion is concerned with much the same issues, but where Theology uses religious works, like the Bible, as it’s authority, philosophy likes to use reason as the ultimate authority. Philosophy of Science: Study of science concerned with whether scientific knowledge can be said to be certain, how we obtain it, can science really explain everything, does causation really exist, can every event in the universe be described in terms of physics and so on. Also popular in recent times, classic works include Hume’s Treatise on Human Nature, Kripke’s Naming and Necessity, Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Empiricism is a philosophical idea based on the idea that all reliable knowledge about the world is gained in the process of experience. Famous empiricists were Hume, Locke and Berkley, basing themselves on ideas already postulated by Aristotle, that we are born with the Tabula Rasa which receives throughout our lives information on which it can base all thinking and knowing. The movement of empiricism was in part a countermovement to what Descartes and Spinoza had proposed as rationalism. Knowledge derived from experience is called a posteriori. ————————————————- Doing Philosophy Many fields can be studied and learned without ever actually working with the tools in the field. For instance, chemistry can be learned in depth without ever picking up a test tube or mixing ionic compounds. Philosophy, however, is more about the methodology behind deriving answers than it is about the answers themselves. As such, students studying philosophy must use the methodology of philosophy on the philosophy they are learning as they are learning it. Doing philosophy involves asking the right questions, critically examining the work of previous philosophers, truly understanding the works and the reasoning behind the works, and possibly building on the works of previous philosophers by expanding or testing this methodology.

Fourty famous studies that influeneced psychology Essay

Born First, Born Smarter This study involves a person’s intellectual development in correlation to the order in which they were born in relation to their siblings. Two research psychologists, Robert B. Zajonc and Gregory B. Markus, developed a theory in an attempt to explain the relationship between birth order and intelligence. They conducted this study by gathering information from previous research and applied it to the data they collected themselves. A research project was conducted n the late 1960’s that involved testing the intellectual abilities of children born at the end of WWII. They found a strong relationship between the birth order and the Raven test scores. The ones born first scored higher, and the score decreased with the declining birth order. However, the average Raven score for the first born in a two family is only about 5 points higher then that for a last born in a family with nine children. So the more children you have, and the smaller the gap between each child is, the more intelligent each child in succession will be. In Control and Glad of It Researchers Ellen J. Langer and Judith Rodin conducted a field experiment using elderly people in an elderly home to test the outcome of when people are given control as opposed to when people have everything done for them. Langer and Rodin’s prediction was that if the loss of personal responsibility for one’s life causes a person to be less happy and healthy, then increasing control and power should have the opposite effect. Two floors of the elderly home were randomly selected to be observed. One floor was given options for certain things such as there furniture arrangement and which movie they would like to attend. The other floor, was given no such options and had everything arranged and done for them by the staff. The staff was asked to fill out questionnaires about the patients on their floor (the staff new nothing of the experiment). The questionnaires had questions on it to comment about things such as if the patents were sociable, happy, alert, and even how much they visited other patients. The differences between the two groups were incredible. They determined that overall, the increased responsibility group’s condition improved over the three weeks of  the study, while the no-control group was doing progressively poorer. They concluded that when people who have been forced to give up their control and decision-making power are given a greater sense of personal responsibility, their lives and attitudes improve, as is true with the opposing side. More Experience = Bigger Brain Mark R. Rosenzweig and Edward L. Bennett wanted to find out if the brain changes in response to experience. Because this experiment involved long periods of observation and even autopsies to observe the changes in the brain, the two researchers couldn’t use human subjects, so they used rats for the experiment. Three male rats where chosen to participate and assigned to one of three conditions. One rat remained in the colony cage with the rest of the colony. One rat was placed in an â€Å"enriched environment† and one was placed in an â€Å"impoverished environment†. There were 12 rats in each of these conditions for each of the 16 experiments. The standard cage had many rats and had adequate space with food and water always available. The improvised environment was a slightly smaller cage, isolated in a separate room, where the rat was alone with adequate food and water. Finally, the enriched environment was a large cage filled with many toys and furnished with e very luxury a rat could want. The results indicated that the brains of the enriched rats were highly different from those of the impoverished rats. The cerebral cortex of the enriched rats was significantly heavier and thicker then those of the impoverished rats. Also, the study found a significantly greater number of glial cells in the enriched rats’ brains compared with the rats raised in the dull environment. After 10 years of experiment and research the researchers could clearly and confidently state that â€Å"there is no doubt that many aspects of brain anatomy and brain chemistry are changed by experience.† However, many scientists were skeptical of there findings because there were factors that Rosenzweig and Bennett didn’t take into consideration. The enriched rats were handled more which could have been a brain stimulus and the impoverished rats could have been stressed from having no contact with anyone or anything at all. See Aggression†¦Do Aggression One of he most famous and influential experiment ever conducted in psychology history demonstrated how children learn to be aggressive. This study by Albert Bandura and his associates Dorothea Ross and Shelia Ross was carried out in 1961 at Stanford University. The researchers asked for the help of the Stanford University nursery in obtaining thirty-six boys and thirty-six girls raging from ages 3-6. The average age for he children was 4 years and 4 months. Twenty four of the children were assigned to the control group which was the group that wasn’t exposed to any model. The rest of the children were divided into two groups: one exposed to aggressive models and one exposed to non-aggressive models, they were also divided by sex. They eventually had 8 experimental groups divided by gender and level of aggression. First, the experimenter brought a child from one of the groups to a playroom with an adult model. The adult model beat a Bobo doll with a fake mallet while the child played with other toys. Another child was brought in after and the adult model ignored the Bobo doll. This went on for all the groups. 1) The children who were exposed to the violent models tended to imitate the exact violent behaviors they observed when left alone with the Bobo doll. 2) Overall, girls were more likely to imitate the verbal aggression toward the Bobo doll, while the boys showed more physical violence. 3) Boys were significantly more physically aggressive then girls in nearly all the conditions. 4) The boys used the mallet significantly more then girls in almost all of the conditions. 5) The control group was generally less violent then the experimental group.6) in cases with a non-aggressive female, the children used hardly any aggressive language. What You Expect Is What You Get This study involves teacher’s expectancies of pupils and how that affects the students I.Q. gains. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson conducted a study where they theorized that when an elementary school teacher is provided with information (such as I.Q. scores) that creates certain expectancies about a student’s potential, either strong or weak, the teacher might unknowingly behave in ways that subtly encourage or facilitate the performance of the students seen as more likely to succeed. An elementary school was chosen and  all the children grades 1-6 were given an I.Q. test near the beginning of the year. The teachers were told that there students were taking the â€Å"Harvard Test of Inflected Acquisition†. This was told to them because this test was supposed to be a predictor for a child’s academic blooming. Teachers believed that students that scored higher would enter a period of increased learning abilities. This was also not true. Children were chosen at random to be within the top 20 percentile of this test and the teachers were informed of this. All other children were the control group of this experiment. At the end of the year the children were tested again using the I.Q. test and the children originally chosen for the top 20% showed a significantly increased score then those of the control group in grades one and two. In grades 3-6 the difference was not so great. The reason for the 1st and 2nd grade development was thought to be because of how younger minds were more malleable then older children and how younger children don’t have a reputation from previous school years. I Can See It All Over Your Face Researchers Paul Ekman and Wallace V. Freisen conducted a study about how facial expressions and emotions are a universal language. The first problem with this experiment was that the researchers had to find subjects that had never been exposed to media or magazines because this would enable the subjects to not truthfully identify a certain emotional expression. Ekman and Freisen found a group of people like this in the Southeast Highlands of New Guinea called the Fore people. They were an isolated Stone Age society with not much contact of any other people outside there environment, let alone any media. They had not been exposed to emotional facial expressions other then those of there own people. The two researchers showed there experimental groups of adults and children pictures of different facial expressions of people from the United States and told them a sentence. They asked them to identify by pointing, to the correct matching facial expression. The adults were given three pictures to choose from and the children were given two. There was not much difference between male and female recognition of expressions, however the children did fair a little better in the experiment. This could have been attributed to the fact that  the children only had to choose between two pictures instead of three. The results for both adults and children clearly support the researcher’s theory that particular facial behaviors are universally associated with particular emotions. The only trouble that the Fore people had was distinguishing between fear and surprise, and this was because these people closely associated fear and surprise as one emotion. Racing Against Your Heart Using their earlier research and clinical observations, two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman, developed a model of traits for a specific type of persons behavioral pattern that they believed was related to growing levels of cholesterol and to heart disease. The first pattern, pattern A, had characteristics such as a drive to achieve your goals, a competing personality, multi-tasking that involves meeting deadlines, and extreme alertness. Following this is another type of people, called pattern B. Pattern B is the exact opposite of pattern A. They lacked drive, ambition, desire to compete, and involvement in deadlines. A third set of behaviors developed was called pattern C. This was very much like pattern B but involved anxiety and insecurity. Friedman and Rosenman interviewed about 166 men for there experiment. They first questions they asked them were about there family’s medical history, so they could see if they had CHD. While in this interview the researc hers categorized each man into a pattern A or B category by the way he answered questions, or his tone, or body language. Each subject was asked to keep a log of there diet over the course of a week and blood tests were taken from each of the men to measure cholesterol levels. Friedman and Rosenman matched each man into pattern A and pattern B easily. Each man fit into one of the developed patterns. The researchers found that the men in Pattern A group had significantly higher chances of heart disease and that type A behavior was a major cause of blood abnormalities. However there could be other reasons why Type A had higher chances of heart disease such as, there family’s history. More men in the pattern A group had parents with heart disease. Another difference was that pattern A men smoked more cigarettes a day then did the subjects in group B. This study was very important in the history of psychology for a few  reasons. One way was that it proved certain behavioral patterns can cause major heart related illness. Another is that this study began a new line of research and questioning into t he relationship between behavior and CHD. The largest long-range outcome from this study that has played an important role in creating a new branch of psychology called health psychology. Not Practicing What You Preach This study involves attitudes and actions toward different racial groups. It was determine if what people say is actually what they will do if they come face to face with the problem. Richard T. LaPiere traveled extensively with a young Chinese couple in 1930 and 1931. The couple was very nice and personable and he was glad to be traveling with them. During this time there was a lot of prejudice in the U.S. against Asians. So, LaPiere was very surprised when the Asian couple was graciously accommodated at a very fine hotel that had a reputation for greatly disliking Orientals. Two months later he called the same hotel and asked if they would accommodate a very important Chinese man and they said defiantly not. LaPiere then developed a theory that stated â€Å"What people say is often not what they do†. The study was conducted in two separate parts. First, LaPiere went with his Chinese friends to many hotels and restaurant throughout the U.S. over the course of two years. He took record of how the couple was treated and made sure to first stay out of site of the managers of the establishments to ensure that the couple wouldn’t be treated differently in his presence. The second part of the experiment was for LaPiere to wait 6 months after there trip (to make sure the effect of the Chinese couples visit had faded), and then call each establishment that they went to or stayed at, and asked them if they would accommodate a Chinese person. After almost three years, LaPiere had enough information to make a comparison of social attitudes social behavior. Out of the 251 hotels and restaurants they attended, only one refused the couple and LaPiere service because of the couple’s race. Aside from that instance, all other places accommodated them with average or above average service. When he received most of the letters back with an answer from the hotels and restaurants over 90% of them said they would absolutely not accommodate anyone of the Chinese race. This confirmed LaPiere’s theory that what people  say, is not always how they will act. The Power of Conformity Research psychologist Solomon E. Asch conducted a study to see if people will give into peer pressure and conform to there friends ideas. A person was let into a room (Subject A) with seven other subjects. These seven people, without subject A knowing, were not participants in the experiment, they were helping the experimenter. Each person was asked which line was longer on a card that was shown to them. Subject A went first and then followed was the seven other subjects and then subject A was asked again. They did this several times until one time, all the other subjects disagreed with subject A and all picked the same one, different form his choice. When the card came back to subject A he picked the one everyone else picked. Seventy-Five percent of the time the first subject will conform to the group’s consensus at least once. The powerful effects of group pressures to conform were clearly demonstrated in Asch’s study. There are four factors that could have an effect on the reduction of conformity. These factors are social support, attraction and commitment to the group, size of the group, and gender of the group. If you have people on your side you are more likely to stay with your answer rather then conform. Crowding Into The Behavioral Sink The effects of crowding on our behavior are something that has interested psychologists for decades. One man in particular, John B. Calhoun was especially interested in it when he conducted this study on crowding and social pathology. It may be hard to believe but rats do have a social side. The reason Calhoun used rats were because he needed many subjects for long periods of time that were willing to crowd together for a while. Humans wouldn’t be very good at this. He used a 10Ãâ€"14 foot room and divided it into 4 sections. Section one was connected to section 2 by a ramp, section 2 was connected to section 3 by a ramp, and section 3 was connected to section 4 by a ramp. The walls were electrified so in order to get from section 1 to section 4 you needed to go through all the rooms. The rooms were also filled  with shreds of paper, in order for the rats to make nests. The experimenter filled the rooms with rats. They started with about 4 rats and waited or the rats to multiply until they reached 80. When over 80 were reached some rats were removed so they always had a constant number. When the rats got older, they started to fight with each other for space even though it wasn’t necessarily too crowded. The two end rooms were soon fought for because they got the most space and privacy so the rat that won the fight always stayed on guard at the end of the ramp for security. Some rats became submissive and others always fought. Some of the rats were very sexually active and some wanted nothing to do with it. Some of the mothers in the two middle pens became inadequate. They often left their children and lost all maternal abilities. One environment where the same thing that happened to the rats might happen to humans is in an overcrowded prison. It was found in a very crowded prison where each inmate has approximately 50 square feet, as opposed to one with more room, there were more cases of homicides, suicide, illness, and disciplinary problems. Crowding also has negative effects on problem-solving abilities. When in a small room that’s crowded subjects had a more difficult time listening to a story and putting tighter a puzzle, then did another group with more space and the same tasks. Relaxing Your Fears Away Researcher Joseph Wolpe was a research psychologist specializing in the systematic desensitization treatment of neuroses. The word phobia comes from Phobos, the name of the Greek god of fear. Phobias are divided into three main categories. Simple phobias are phobias that involve irrational fears of animals or specific situations such as small spaces or heights. Social phobias are irrational fears about interaction with others. Agoraphobia is the irrational fear of being in an unfamiliar, open, or crowded space. These are all irrational and all can be treated in similar ways. Systematic desensitization is a behavioral technique that was credited to Wolpe as perfecting and applying it to the treatment of anxiety disorders. Systematic desensitization is the way of unlearning a learned behavior. Reciprocal inhibition is when two responses inhibit each other, and only one may exist at a given moment. There are three steps that a patient must follow in order  to rid themselves of a phobi a. Wolpe says that you cannot be in a complete relaxed state and have an irrational fear at the same time, so the first step is relaxation. He taught the patient to go into a deep state of relaxation whenever they wanted or needed too. The process involves tensing and relaxing your muscles until you have reached a state of complete relaxation. Wolpe also incorporated hypnosis to ensure full relaxation. The next step in the process is for the therapist and patient to develop a list of high anxiety-producing situations involving your phobia. Starting with the least stressful and ending with the most stressful. The final stage is called the unlearning stage. The patient has to go into a deep state of relaxation and the therapist will read off to you your fears of the list. If at any point you feel anxiety the therapist stops you return to your relaxation mode and the therapist will continue. This process continues until the therapist can go through the entire list with you feeling the least bit anxious. The success of their therapy was judged by the patients own reports and by the occasional direct observation. He had a success rate of 91% with the 39 cases he had. The average number of treatment sessions needed was 12.3. Wolpe said that he hasn’t had any patient relapse after a complete desensitization recovery. Who’s Crazy Here, Anyway? David L. Rosenhan conducted an experiment with sane people going into mental facilities claiming to hear voices, to see if the patients would be immediately released if acting completely sane. Rosenhan questioned whether the characteristics that lead to psychological diagnoses reside in the patients themselves or in the situations in which the observers find the patients. Eight subjects including Rosenhan committed themselves to eight different mental hospitals. Each subject was completely sane and in perfect mental health. When committing themselves to the hospital they complained of hearing voices and all but one where admitted and on record as having schizophrenia. Each patient once admitted, acted perfectly sane and showed no signs of schizophrenia yet were treated as though they did have a mental illness throughout their entire stay. They were given medication which they disposed of and were not treated as normal people. It was as if because they  were in the mental hospital, they were automatically considered to not be a real human being. Rosenhan’s study demonstrated rather strongly that normal â€Å"patients† cannot be distinguished from the mentally ill in a hospital setting. According to Rosenhan, this is because of the strength of the mental setting has over the patient’s actual behavior. Once patients are admitted to such a place, there is a strong inclination for them to be viewed in ways that strip them of all individuality. This study surprises me. I’m taken aback that these professionals that have worked with mentally ill patients cannot decipher between a truly mental patient and a completely mentally-healthy patient. It is extremely unprofessional that the staff member/nurse did at one of the facilities by adjusting her bra in front of patients as if they weren’t real people. Thanks For The Memories One of the leading researchers in the area of memory is Elizabeth Loftus at the University of Washington. She has found that when an event is recalled it is not accurately recreated. Instead it’s what’s called reconstructive memory. Loftus defines a presupposition as a condition that must be true in order for the question to make sense. For example, suppose that you have witnessed an automobile accident and I ask you, â€Å"How many people were in the car that was speeding?† The question presupposes that the car was speeding. One experiment done by Loftus was having students in small groups watch a car accident video that was about 1 minute long. After the film ended the students had to answer questions. For half the students the first question was â€Å"How fast was car A going when it ran the stop sign?† The other students had a question that read â€Å"How fast was car A going when I turned right?† The last question for both groups was â€Å"Did you see the stop sign?† In the group that had been asked about the stop sign 53% of the subjects said they saw a stop sign for car A, while only 35% in the â€Å"turned right† group claimed to have seen it. Based on these and other studies, Loftus argues that an accurate theory of memory and recall must include a process of reconstruction that occurs when new information is integrated into the original memory of an event. There is little doubt that in the course of criminal prosecutions, eye witness reports are subject to many sources of  error such as post event information integration.

Biography of Benito Mussolini, Italian Fascist Dictator

Biography of Benito Mussolini, Italian Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini (July 29, 1883–April 28, 1945) served as Italy’s 40th prime minister from 1922 to 1943. As a close ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II, he is considered a central figure in the birth of European fascism. In 1943, Mussolini was replaced as prime minister and served as the head of the Italian Social Republic until his capture and execution by Italian partisans in 1945. Fast Facts: Benito Mussolini Known For: Mussolini was a fascist dictator who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.Also Known As: Benito Amilcare Andrea MussoliniBorn: July 29, 1883 in Predappio, ItalyParents: Alessandro and Rosa MussoliniDied: April 28, 1945 in Giulino, ItalySpouse(s): Ida Dalser (m. 1914), Rachelle Guidi (m. 1915-1945)Children: Benito, Edda, Vittorio, Bruno, Romano, Anna Maria Early Life Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883, in Predappio, a hamlet above Verano di Costa in northern Italy. Mussolini’s father Alessandro was a blacksmith and an ardent socialist who scorned religion. His mother Rosa Maltoni was an elementary school teacher and a devout Catholic. Mussolini had two younger siblings: brother Arnaldo and sister Edvidge. Growing up, Mussolini proved to be a difficult child. He was disobedient and had a quick temper. Twice he was expelled from school for assaulting fellow students with a penknife. Despite all the trouble he caused, however, Mussolini still managed to obtain a diploma and even worked for a short time as a school teacher. Socialist Leanings Looking for better job opportunities, Mussolini moved to Switzerland in July 1902. There he worked a variety of odd jobs and spent his evenings attending local socialist party meetings. One of his jobs was working as a propagandist for a bricklayer trade union. Mussolini took a very aggressive stance, frequently advocated violence, and urged a general strike to create change, all of which led to him being arrested several times. Between his turbulent work at the trade union during the day and his many speeches and discussions with socialists at night, Mussolini soon made enough of a name for himself in socialist circles that he began writing and editing several socialist newspapers. In 1904, Mussolini returned to Italy to serve his conscription requirement in Italy’s peace-time army. In 1909, he lived for a short time in Austria working for a trade union. He wrote for a socialist newspaper and his attacks on militarism and nationalism resulted in his expulsion from the country. After he returned to Italy, Mussolini continued to advocate for socialism and develop his skills as an orator. He was forceful and authoritative, and while frequently wrong in their facts, his speeches were always compelling. His views and his oratory skills quickly brought him to the attention of his fellow socialists. On December 1, 1912, Mussolini began work as the editor of the Italian Socialist newspaper Avanti! Changing Views In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set off a chain of events that culminated in the start of World War I. On August 3, 1914, the Italian government announced it would remain strictly neutral. Mussolini initially used his position as editor of Avanti! to urge fellow socialists to support the government in its position of neutrality. However, his views of the war soon changed. In September 1914, Mussolini wrote several articles supporting those who were backing Italy’s entry into the war. Mussolini’s editorials caused an uproar among his fellow socialists and in November of that year after a meeting of the party executives, he was formally expelled from the party. Wounding On May 23, 1915, the Italian government ordered the general mobilization of armed forces. The next day, Italy declared war on Austria, officially joining World War I. Mussolini, accepting his call to the draft, reported for duty in Milan on August 31, 1915, and was assigned to the 11th Regiment of the Bersaglieri (a corps of sharpshooters). During the winter of 1917, Mussolini’s unit was field testing a new mortar when the weapon exploded. Mussolini was severely wounded, with more than 40 pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. After a long stay at a military hospital, he recovered from his injuries and was discharged from the Army. Turn to Fascism After the war, Mussolini, who had become decidedly anti-socialist, began to advocate for a strong central government in Italy. Soon he was also advocating for a dictator to lead that government. Mussolini wasnt the only one ready for a major change. World War I had left Italy in shambles and people were looking for a way to make the country strong again. A wave of nationalism swept across Italy and many people began to form local nationalist groups. It was Mussolini who, on March 23, 1919, personally assembled these groups into a single, national organization under his leadership. Mussolini called this new group Fasci di Combattimento (the Fascist Party). Mussolini formed groups of marginalized ex-servicemen into squadristi. As their numbers grew, the squadristi were reorganized into the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicuressa Nazionale, or MVSN, which would later serve as Mussolini’s national security apparatus. Dressed in black shirts or sweaters, the squadristi earned the nickname â€Å"Blackshirts.† The March on Rome In the summer of 1922, the Blackshirts made a punitive march through the provinces of Ravenna, Forli, and Ferrara in northern Italy. It was a night of terror; squads burned down the headquarters and homes of every member of both socialist and communist organizations. By September 1922, the Blackshirts controlled most of northern Italy. Mussolini assembled a Fascist Party conference on October 24, 1922, to discuss a coup de main or â€Å"sneak attack† on the Italian capital of Rome. On October 28, armed squads of Blackshirts marched on Rome. Although badly organized and poorly armed, the move left the parliamentary monarchy of King Victor Emmanuel III in confusion. Mussolini, who had stayed behind in Milan, received an offer from the king to form a coalition government. Mussolini then proceeded to the capital supported by 300,000 men and wearing a black shirt. On October 31, 1922, at the age of 39, Mussolini was sworn in as prime minister of Italy. Il Duce After elections were held, Mussolini controlled enough seats in parliament to appoint himself Il Duce (the leader) of Italy. On January 3, 1925, with the backing of his Fascist majority, Mussolini declared himself dictator of Italy. For a decade, Italy prospered in peace. However, Mussolini was intent on turning Italy into an empire and to do that the country needed a colony. In October 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. The conquest was brutal. Other European countries criticized Italy, especially for the nations use of mustard gas. In May 1936, Ethiopia surrendered and Mussolini had his empire. This was the height of Mussolinis popularity; it all went downhill from there. Mussolini and Hitler Out of all the countries in Europe, Germany had been the only one to support Mussolinis attack on Ethiopia. At that time, Germany was led by Adolf Hitler, who had formed his own fascist organization, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (commonly called the Nazi  Party). Hitler admired Mussolini; Mussolini, on the other hand, did not like Hitler at first. However, Hitler continued to support and back Mussolini, such as during the war in Ethiopia, which eventually swayed Mussolini into an alliance with him. In 1938, Italy passed the Manifesto of Race, which stripped Jews in Italy of their Italian citizenship, removed Jews from government and teaching jobs, and banned intermarriage. Italy was following in the footsteps of Nazi Germany. On May 22, 1939, Mussolini entered into the â€Å"Pact of Steel† with Hitler, which essentially tied the two countries in the event of war- and war was soon to come. World War II On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, initiating the Second World War. On June 10, 1940, after witnessing Germany’s decisive victories in Poland and France, Mussolini issued a declaration of war on France and Britain. It was clear from the very beginning, however, that Mussolini was not an equal partner with Hitler- and Mussolini did not like that. Over time, Mussolini became frustrated both with Hitlers successes and with the fact that Hitler kept most of his military plans a secret from him. Mussolini looked for a means of emulating Hitler’s accomplishments without letting Hitler know about his plans. Against the advice of his army commanders, Mussolini ordered an attack against the British in Egypt in September 1940. After initial successes, the attack stalled and German troops were sent to reinforce the deteriorating Italian positions. Embarrassed by his armies’ failure in Egypt, Mussolini, against the advice of Hitler, attacked Greece on October 28, 1940. Six weeks later, this attack stalled as well. Defeated, Mussolini was forced to ask the German dictator for assistance. On April 6, 1941, Germany invaded both Yugoslavia and Greece, ruthlessly conquering both countries and rescuing Mussolini from defeat. Italy Revolts Despite Nazi Germanys victories in the early years of World War II, the tide eventually turned against Germany and Italy. By the summer of 1943, with Germany bogged down in a war of attrition with Russia, Allied forces began bombing Rome. Members of the Italian Fascist council turned against Mussolini. They convened and moved to have the king resume his constitutional powers. Mussolini was arrested and sent to the mountain resort of Campo Imperatore in Abruzzi. On September 12, 1943, Mussolini was rescued from imprisonment by a German glider team commanded by Otto Skorzey. He was flown to Munich and met with Hitler shortly thereafter. Ten days later, by order of Hitler, Mussolini was installed as head of the Italian Social Republic in Northern Italy, which remained under German control. Death On April 27, 1945, with Italy and Germany on the brink of defeat, Mussolini attempted to flee to Spain. On the afternoon of April 28, on their way to Switzerland to board a plane, Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were captured by Italian partisans. Driven to the gates of the Villa Belmonte, they were shot to death by a partisan firing squad. The corpses of Mussolini, Petacci, and other members of their party were driven by truck to the Piazza Loreto on April 29, 1945. Mussolinis body was dumped ​in the road and people of the local neighborhood abused his corpse. Some time later, the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were hung upside down in front of a fueling station. Although they were initially buried anonymously in the Musocco cemetery in Milan, the Italian government allowed Mussolini’s remains to be re-interred in the family crypt near Verano di Costa on August 31, 1957. Legacy Although Italian Fascism was defeated during World War II, Mussolini has inspired a number of neo-fascist and far-right organizations in Italy and abroad, including the People of Freedom party and the Italian Social Movement. His life has been the subject of several documentaries and dramatic films, including Vincere and Benito. Sources Bosworth, R. J. B.  Mussolini. Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.Hibbert, Christopher.  Benito Mussolini: a Biography. Penguin, 1965.

Free Essays on Virtue Aristotle

Aristotle defined virtue as the excellence of the soul, and happiness is the virtuous activity of the soul. In the moderate, self-controlled and courageous, everything is in harmony with the voice of reason. Aristotle differentiated intellectual virtues from ethical virtues. Intellectual virtues are developed by teaching; ethical virtues are formed by habit (ethos). Virtues are not implanted in us by nature nor are they contrary to nature, for we are equipped by nature to receive them and can develop them by habitual practice. Thus we become just by acting justly, self-controlled by controlling ourselves, and courageous by acting bravely. Others may become undisciplined and short-tempered by acting in those ways. Thus habits developed in childhood make a considerable difference. Aristotle noted that the purpose of this study is not to know what virtue is but to become good; thus we must act according to right reason. Aristotle observed that ethical qualities are destroyed by defect and by excess. Just as too much or too little food destroys health, the same applies to courage and moderation. The one who fears everything becomes a coward, while the one who fears nothing acts recklessly. Whoever revels in every pleasure is undisciplined, while those who avoid every pleasure are insensitive. Virtuous behavior is reinforcing. Abstaining from pleasures results in moderation, and the practice of moderation helps one to abstain from pleasures. Enduring fear makes one courageous, and acting bravely makes one more able to endure fear. These pleasures and pains test virtue, which can be developed or destroyed by whether it is practiced or not. Yet avoiding pleasures and enduring pains must be of the right kind done at the right time and place and in the right manner. Choice is determined by what is noble, beneficial, and pleasurable and their opposites of what is base, harmful, and painful. Ethical action requires knowledge of what one is doing... Free Essays on Virtue Aristotle Free Essays on Virtue Aristotle Aristotle defined virtue as the excellence of the soul, and happiness is the virtuous activity of the soul. In the moderate, self-controlled and courageous, everything is in harmony with the voice of reason. Aristotle differentiated intellectual virtues from ethical virtues. Intellectual virtues are developed by teaching; ethical virtues are formed by habit (ethos). Virtues are not implanted in us by nature nor are they contrary to nature, for we are equipped by nature to receive them and can develop them by habitual practice. Thus we become just by acting justly, self-controlled by controlling ourselves, and courageous by acting bravely. Others may become undisciplined and short-tempered by acting in those ways. Thus habits developed in childhood make a considerable difference. Aristotle noted that the purpose of this study is not to know what virtue is but to become good; thus we must act according to right reason. Aristotle observed that ethical qualities are destroyed by defect and by excess. Just as too much or too little food destroys health, the same applies to courage and moderation. The one who fears everything becomes a coward, while the one who fears nothing acts recklessly. Whoever revels in every pleasure is undisciplined, while those who avoid every pleasure are insensitive. Virtuous behavior is reinforcing. Abstaining from pleasures results in moderation, and the practice of moderation helps one to abstain from pleasures. Enduring fear makes one courageous, and acting bravely makes one more able to endure fear. These pleasures and pains test virtue, which can be developed or destroyed by whether it is practiced or not. Yet avoiding pleasures and enduring pains must be of the right kind done at the right time and place and in the right manner. Choice is determined by what is noble, beneficial, and pleasurable and their opposites of what is base, harmful, and painful. Ethical action requires knowledge of what one is doing...

Oral and Verbal - Commonly Confused Words

Oral and Verbal - Commonly Confused Words The adjective oral means pertaining to speech or to the mouth. (The homophone aural, by the way, refers to listening and hearing.) The adjective verbal means pertaining to words, whether written or spoken (though verbal is sometimes treated as a synonym for oral). See the usage notes below. In traditional grammar, the noun verbal refers to a verb form that functions as a noun or a modifier rather than as a verb. Examples of Oral and Verbal Oral language has existed much longer than written language, and most people speak more often than they read or write. (Elizabeth Coelho, Adding English: A Guide to Teaching in Multilingual Classrooms, 2004)Although candidates with defective foreign speech were likely to be screened out early on by teacher training programs, even well-spoken Jewish immigrant girls frequently failed the oral exam. (Joyce Antler, The Journey Home: Jewish Women and the American Century. The Free Press, 1997)Copy is the verbal portion of an advertisement and may include headlines, sub-headlines, body copy, and signature. (William Pride and O.C. Ferrell, Marketing, 2006)Jargon is the verbal sleight of hand that makes the old hat seem newly fashionable. (David Lehman, Signs of the Times, 1991) Usage Notes [A]ll language is verbal, but only speech is oral. (Henry Hitchings, The Language Wars: A History of Proper English. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011)Oral communication is speech, conversation. Verbal ability is ones skill with words, and the verbal section of the SAT, the college entrance examination, tests a high school students knowledge of written language. . . .Verbal and oral are now so inextricably confounded that the tautological phrase verbal and written has become entrenched: The position requires . . . strong verbal and written communication skills (RenewableEnergyWorld.com) . . ..This may seem like a morass, but dont despair. Avoiding this accident of style is easier than you may think. Just remember that oral refers to spoken words, written refers to written words, and verbal refers to anything expressed in words, whether spoken or written. (Charles Harrington Elster, The Accidents of Style: Good Advice on How Not to Write Badly. St. Martins Press, 2010) Verbal  Redundancies The misuse of verbal for oral has a long history and is still common. Nevertheless, the distinction is worth fighting for, especially in legal prose. . . .Because verbal is always used in reference to words, verbal definition is redundant, as there can be no definition without words. . . . Similarly, verbal is redundant in such phrases as verbal promise, verbal denial, verbal affirmation, and verbal criticism, as these activities usually cannot occur without words. (Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 1995) Practice Exercise Test your knowledge of the difference between oral and verbal by filling in the correct word. (a) Like Corso, Ray had spent his time in jail reading, writing poetry, and educating himself. His poetry was designed to be the _____ equivalent of jazz. (Bill Morgan, The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation, 2010)(b) It would be unlawful for an employer to administer a written employment test to an individual who has informed the employer, prior to the administration of the test, that he is dyslexic and unable to read. In such a case, the employer should reasonably accommodate the applicants disability by administering an _____ test as an alternative. (Margaret P. Spencer, The Americans With Disabilities Act: Description and Analysis. Human Resource Management and the Americans With Disabilities Act, 1995) Answers to Practice Exercises (a) Like Corso, Ray had spent his time in jail reading, writing poetry, and educating himself. His poetry was designed to be the  verbal  equivalent of jazz. (Bill Morgan,  The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation, 2010)(b) It would be unlawful for an employer to administer a written employment test to an individual who has informed the employer, prior to the administration of the test, that he is dyslexic and unable to read. In such a case, the employer should reasonably accommodate the applicants disability by administering an  oral  test as an alternative. (Margaret P. Spencer, The Americans With Disabilities Act: Description and Analysis.  Human Resource Management and the Americans With Disabilities Act, 1995) Answers to Practice Exercises: oral and verbal. (a) Like Corso, Ray had spent his time in jail reading, writing poetry, and educating himself. His poetry was designed to be the verbal equivalent of jazz.(Bill Morgan, The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation, 2010)(b) It would be unlawful for an employer to administer a written employment test to an individual who has informed the employer, prior to the administration of the test, that he is dyslexic and unable to read. In such a case, the employer should reasonably accommodate the applicants disability by administering an oral test as an alternative.(Margaret P. Spencer, The Americans With Disabilities Act: Description and Analysis. Human Resource Management and the Americans With Disabilities Act, 1995) Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words 200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

Stress in Psychology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stress in Psychology - Research Paper Example â€Å"Even as modern suburban living offers an environment conducive to family lifestyle: ample living space, good schools, and relative safety, the suburban lifestyle is accompanied by substantial amounts of stress† (Cappell, Et al, 2001). The study investigates levels of stress for over 500 residents living in suburbs of Chicago, by measuring various demographic factors, such as gender, age, age of children, employment, number of hours worked each week, amount of time spent caring for the home, amount of time spent caring for children and number of hours of sleep each night. Levels of stress are measured by the number of stress related symptoms survey respondents report, for each factor. Overall, married males with families, living in the suburbs, who work reasonable hours and contribute little to household chores experience lower levels of stress, according to Cappell, et al (2001). Brown, D. & James, G. (2000). Physiological stress responses in Filipino-American immigrant nurses: The effects of residence time, lifestyle and job strain. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62: 294-400. Retrieved from http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Physiological_Stress_Responses_in_Filipino-American_Immigrant_Nurses.pdf. The study investigates blood pressure levels among immigrants to Hawaii, of Filipino origin. Blood pressure is assumed to be a predictor of physiological stress. Respondents in the study are nurses and nurse aids, who are Filipino immigrants. The use of blood pressure as a stress response shows a pattern that the authors believe cannot be accounted for, by physical demands of work. Results indicate that respondents who have lived and worked in the United States longer, have higher average blood pressures, than those who have been in the country a shorter period of time. â€Å"Women who resided in the United States longer had significantly smaller dips in their blood pressure during sleep† (Brown & James, 2000). Blood pressure normally dips during sleep. Th e assumption is that those with smaller dips in blood pressure are suffering from a higher level of stress. Respondents were also given questionnaires to measure their perceived lifestyle, compared to both Filipino and American lifestyle, using a scale. Respondents rated themselves as generally having a lower perceived American lifestyle. The implication for results of this research, is that acculturation brings about higher levels of physiological stress response. Steckel, R. (2005). Young adult mortality following severe physiological stress in childhood: Skeletal evidence. Economics and Human Biology, 3: 314-28. Retrieved from http://web.econ.ohio-state.edu/rsteckel/VITA/2005%20Young%20Adult%20Mortality.pdf The author uses skeletal remains to suggest a link between childhood physiological stress and adult heath. The research conducted is an investigation of skeletal findings presented by groups of anthropologists. Steckel bases his research on previous studies that link childhood health to adult success and growth (stature) to adult wellness. Femur length is a proven method among anthropologists, for determining stature. â€Å"In a large collaborative study that investigated skeletal health over the past several thousand years, these included three indictors of health during childhood (stature, linear enamel defects, and skeletal signs of anemia)† (Steckel, 2005).. Stature is also included as an important

Banking on a Beard Award Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Banking on a Beard Award - Assignment Example Decision making process I have used a decision tree as a support tool to show possible consequences and also chance outcomes, resources costs and losses. I have used the decision identify a most likely strategy to reach a goal (Goetz T 2011). In addition, it is used to calculate the conditional probabilities. Before making any conclusion, I have looked at the scenario at hand and have realized that there are different points that my friend has not synthesized. It is also noticeable that the starting of the restaurant may be due to vague opinions. This is so because research has to be carried out before undertaking any business venture. It emerges that Jennifer, enjoys her current career and her drive are to manage her own business. She is also inclined towards entrepreneur ventures and adds that it is a way of improving her personal value. Her justification and judgment depends on her desire to manage her business. During my analysis, I have realized that sixty percent of business ve ntures into restaurants fail within their first three birthdays. It is also noticeable that if Jennifer starts the restaurant business she will use her saving worth 250 dollars. If Jennifer remains in her current job, she will be eligible for a promotion whereby she will be entitled to fifty percent increase in price. Conclusion According to the decision tree the probability of Jennifer retaining her current job as a banker is 0.333. The probability also of getting a promotion and termination is also 0.333. If Jennifer get a promotion after a year, the amount of money she will get, will be greater than any other option. It is also likely that if she retains her job, she may also retain her current position as a banker. This means, she will not get promotion but, this is not a dreadful thing since she will earn slightly lower, than the restaurant business. She will also retain her savings unlike when she starts the business since she will top up the bank loan. There is a 0.333 chance that Jennifer may also loose her job meaning that she will have no earnings. The other option with Jennifer is to start her restaurant business; this may be risk taking since more than half businesses fail before their 3rd birthday. The probability that the restaurant business will flourish with a huge success is 0.1 or ten percent chance. It is a pretty low chance to act on but if the business succeeds Jennifer will earn a large profit. The profit is greater than her current career job even if she does not get a promotion. The moderate success probability is 0.3; this is thirty in percentage scale. The probability is below the average or half. There is a large probability that the business will close. This accounts to sixty percent. Jennifer should take caution when analyzing or rather making a decision whether or not to start the restaurant business. In order to break even, the restaurant should be big enough to produce sales exceeding $ 200,000 so that she manages to pay the ban k loan, and return the money lent to the business and also get a substantial profit. Recommendations The recommendation that I would give Jennifer regarding her desire to quit her job, and start her restaurant is to remain in her job, and not to start her restaurant. This is because in the banking job, the money she would get annually when promoted much greater than what she would get from the

New Gillette Razor Pricing For Asian Market Essay

New Gillette Razor Pricing For Asian Market - Essay Example Gillette Research and Development has engineered a new sanitary razor product, and Gillette Information Management aims to provide decision support for the purpose of pricing the new product. Here, we investigate the market for shaving products with respect to this endeavour. Gillette Information Management has collected 90 relevant observations. With that data, we produced the necessary descriptive statistics and histograms about price by gender, number of cartridge blades, and country of purchase. We apply the mean and median to describe the central tendency of data and the standard deviation to describe the variability of data (Table 1). The coefficient of variation compares variability across the sample (Table 1). The data is within the range of normal distribution because Kurtosis and Skewness are both between 2.0 and -2.0 (Table 1). Female razors constituted over 70% of the sample. They are an average of .36 more expensive than the entire sample. The coefficient of variation, Skewness and Kurtosis were all comparable to the sample at large (Table 2). Male razors are an average of .90 less expensive than the entire sample. Skewness and Kurtosis were all comparable to the sample at large, but the coefficient of variation was over 20 percentage points lower (Table 3). A histogram of the data reveals a dissimilar trend in the data where there are less logical bins than the female products prices and the yield. Each bin seems to have an outlying frequency, and the minimum is .80 lower than the yield’s (Figure 3). Our method is the application of descriptive statistics and histograms to answer the certain question that will assist us in determining the price. We note the data set is almost completely left-skewed. Most of the products are aimed at women so our packaging should target that demographic. The results are limited because of the high coefficient of variance of the yield.  

Quality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Quality - Research Paper Example The CNE article uses reliable data through showing consultations with the IOM report of 2000 and the studies of James in 2013. For instance, by referring to the studies such as that of James, it is clear that the research conducted is of high quality, reliable, and valid. The assumption is that the study involves the identification of preventable adverse events that are readily applicable in the hospital contexts. For example, some of the preventable adverse events encompass the errors of omission, errors of context, errors of commission, errors of communication, and those of context. The experimental design used in this article entails several measures concerning the patient safety and culture. Besides, the experiment includes varied elements of the patient safety culture that undergo developments. The design in this context gains confidence by using numerous tools to ascertain the safety of the patients. Some of the tools involved include the safety attitude questionnaires, safety cultural surveys, and the safety cultural improvement tool. There is tailoring of the instruments to various individuals to gain a broader perspective of the issue in question. Contextually, the tools targeted the hospital staff, the patients, and the medical personnel. Thus, it is a good design for the analysis of the safety of patients in the health care setup. Ulrich & Kear (2014) have managed to use accurate data and statistics from recognized studies and reports. For instance, the IOM report indicates the numbers of people injured and those that died due to preventable adverse events. In spite of the accurate use of this data, the research fails to carry out a critical statistical analysis to ascertain and give feedback to the individuals that participated in the surveys and questionnaires. In summary, the article provides an account of what safety has entailed in the US after the patient safety took the center stage of the health care system. It reflects on

Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Discussion Questions - Assignment Example The second part of the statement states that police have enough experience to differentiate between offenders and those who have not committed a crime. If this is true then police officers have simply become biased against certain individuals. This is because police officers have created a profile of a criminal on the basis of their race, age and gender and they follow this profile to make arrests and detail suspects. This activity of profiling individuals has backfired and police officers are now being suspected of being biased against people belonging to certain age groups, race as well as gender. In a research conducted by Kochel et al. the researchers identified that race of an individual has a major impact on the decision of whether to arrest them or not (Kochel, 2011). The researchers prove that people belonging to the black race had a higher statistical probability of being arrested as compared to the whites. The UCR as well as the NCVS are two distinct procedures through which the government of United States collect and record data on crimes and criminal activity. The data collected by UCR is managed by the defense agency of FBI and this data includes information on the number of arrests for different crimes (fbi.gov, 2014). The data that is used to prepare statistical reports of UCR is provided by law enforcement agencies that operate at the local as well as the federal level. On the other hand the information that is collected for the purpose of recording data in NCVS contains data that has been collected through direct and indirect victims of crimes and it contains information on all crimes except crimes that are commercial in nature and homicide. The data that is collected by the UCR is collected on the basis of arrests that have been made by different law enforcement agencies. The information that is collected through UCR has a

Human Resource Staffing Principal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Resource Staffing Principal - Essay Example Staffing, in fact efficient and dedicated staffing has been always a focal point of HR experts around the globe in the quest of sorting out the best and the perfect method to staff men for the job. Staffing is the process of finding the best of the human resources available to satiate the needs of growing or even sustain modern organizations. Small or large, every organization undergoes a process of staffing, and this is what makes staffing and important aspect of every organization (Morgen Witzel, 2004). The first step towards staffing is having a strategy that will be the basic guidelines in the entire staffing process. Developing a staffing strategy means analyzing the short and long term goals of the organization and then developing the positions that are required to achieve those goals. This way the organization managers know what exactly is required and what will be the suitable candidate. This also makes realize the remuneration and the additional facilities that are provided to the employee. The most fundamental issue that is haunting the top managers is finding the right work force that will not only fulfill the requirements of the job but also compete with other brands in the market. For this, the HR staffers develop a strategy of what type of staff they need and what are the sources that will satiate those demands. Developing a staffing tactic also requires identifying the key human resource areas and also realizing the sources of substitutes if a position goes vacant unexpectedly. After the development of a definite strategy comes the stage where the position is defined and the resources for that position is delineated. For example, an organization dealing in motorcycle sales is expanding and opening a new office in another state. The strategy requires making two fundamental decisions, would the organization’s own staff will be managing the sales in all the cities in that state or will he organization be letting our dealerships to local inves tors. How will those sales managers/dealers be managed and where to get the people interested in doing those jobs. Who will be performing what job and what salary and other benefits will he get in return all are delineated and this is what constitutes developing a HR staffing strategy. There are multiple types of organizations according to working styles and this is what determines they models of HR they have. Most of the organizations like the sales department of Apple or DHL couriers simply can not do without people to people interaction and thus require people to manage the reins of the organizations despite the fact that most of the 9-5 jobs are being automated. However, services like the airports and hospitals cannot be just closed down at 5pm because the shift is over, these require to be working in shifts and therefore have three shifts of eight hours each. Regular staff allows for the regular work to be done on regular basis and thus brings consistency in the work done. With growing interdependence on technology and unavailability of efficient work force everywhere, many organizations even rely on telecommuting or freelancing to get results. Companies like Cisco, Intel and Deloitte have a reliable number of telecommuters. Most of the internet and computer based jobs are filled by telecommuters, this way the employers have to pay only for the work done, reduce costs and achieve

Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Discussion Questions - Assignment Example The second part of the statement states that police have enough experience to differentiate between offenders and those who have not committed a crime. If this is true then police officers have simply become biased against certain individuals. This is because police officers have created a profile of a criminal on the basis of their race, age and gender and they follow this profile to make arrests and detail suspects. This activity of profiling individuals has backfired and police officers are now being suspected of being biased against people belonging to certain age groups, race as well as gender. In a research conducted by Kochel et al. the researchers identified that race of an individual has a major impact on the decision of whether to arrest them or not (Kochel, 2011). The researchers prove that people belonging to the black race had a higher statistical probability of being arrested as compared to the whites. The UCR as well as the NCVS are two distinct procedures through which the government of United States collect and record data on crimes and criminal activity. The data collected by UCR is managed by the defense agency of FBI and this data includes information on the number of arrests for different crimes (fbi.gov, 2014). The data that is used to prepare statistical reports of UCR is provided by law enforcement agencies that operate at the local as well as the federal level. On the other hand the information that is collected for the purpose of recording data in NCVS contains data that has been collected through direct and indirect victims of crimes and it contains information on all crimes except crimes that are commercial in nature and homicide. The data that is collected by the UCR is collected on the basis of arrests that have been made by different law enforcement agencies. The information that is collected through UCR has a

LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT - Article Example Stevens is also director of the Golden Apple Art Residency located in Harrington, Maine. The following paper seeks to describe one painting from these paintings, in addition to what the painting means. The painting chosen for this paper is Slipping into the Velvet Past. This painting is shown in the picture below. Slipping into the Velvet Past is a painting created in 2011 whose medium is an oil painting on canvas. The painting is a large-scale painting from the series of paintings Journey: Life from the Inside out, measuring a height of 48 inches and a width of 60 inches width. The painting is a visual metaphor that describes various psychological stages that happen in a journey that persons embark on. It is a unique narrative that is also figurative. A woman referred to as Annara, a female figure who depicts the hope experienced during a journey, is telling the story narrated in this painting. She is seen resting with a white mask on her face and wearing a white dress. She rests curled up in the middle of dried velvety fallen leaves in a jungle. She depicts a sweet, innocent girl. Annara is seen in this painting with her eyes closed, as she peacefully awaits the unfolding of her life (www.ferris.edu, 2012). The young girl describes youth and the anticipation of life as it unfolds, waiting to experience the endless possibilities that await her. As a young person, Annara has little personal history of her life or any past failures that could stand in her way or discourage her. She is also a young person with no sense of danger to warn her of her wonderful future. All she has is her imaginations to impel and propel her to her future ahead. She is, therefore, in a pure and clean state and surrounded by hope and promise. This is demonstrated by her surrounding, an environment of natural coexistence that is not polluted by modern technology. As she lies down curled up like a baby, Annara describes fragility and delicateness in

The Cahokian civilization Essay Example for Free

The Cahokian civilization Essay The Cahokian civilization, one of the largest Native American tribes, was indigenous to the Midwest. Cahokia is also known as â€Å"the city history forgot.† This complex and sophisticated society challenges the stereotypical beliefs of Native American as being primitive, ignorant savages. The Cahokian civilization provides the basis for political, economic, and social developments that â€Å"changed the course of human history.† ( Timothy Pauketat) After reading Timothy Pauketat’s insightful essay, â€Å" Cahokia: A Pre-Columbian American City†, I was intrigued by the Cahokia’s people and culture. This society quickly evolved from a village to an elaborate city. The Cahokian complex architectural aspects included better homes, pyramids and plazas. Through expansion, their beliefs and customs were diffused into other civilizations. Due to warfare, many complex advancements were designed to protect the central city. An elaborate 15, 000 log wall was built to defend their city. The advanced Cahokian society was developed prior to any European interaction. Having known very little about such a complex and elaborate civilization, I was intrigued by many of the Cahokian developments and beliefs. Their centralized authority, the nature and the extent of their influence over vast areas, are aspects of many other European civilizations. This essay challenged many of my prior ideas and beliefs about the Native Americans. The city planning and the organization of the city of Cahokia resembled the city of ancient Rome. The Cahokian civilization used the method of Cahokianization to expand and spread their ideologies throughout their territory. Similarly, the ancient Romans used the method of Romanization to expand and spread their empire. Both societies developed and utilized similar military tactics and strategies. Under the rule of Constantine I, the Romans built a wall to protect their city from invaders, the Cahokians built a wall made of logs for protection. These two distant civilizations demonstrated similar ideologies and strategies. I have gained more insight and knowledge after reading Timothy Pauketat’s essay on the intricate city of Cahokia. It is puzzling that such a complex society that had lasted for about 250 years just vanished. Many archeologists have different ideas on the collapse and disappearance of Cahokia. It is incomprehensible that such an elaborate society vanished and is forgotten in many history books. The civilization of Cahokia was advanced, complex and sophisticated. This innovative tribe challenges the European ideologies of viewing Native Americans as primitive and ignorant. This civilization provided the economic, social and political standards that was implemented in other civilizations.

Essay --

At the beginning of this century the German nation was, in all respects, one of the more civilized worlds. However, under the rule of Hitler, he came to use all their skill and strength to split support and extend a tyranny that mocked all the values of the civilization. The followers of Hitler, the Nazis, despised freedom tolerance, reasoned dialogue and simple human decency; they made use of the lie, mass hysteria and terror; they tortured, enslaved and wiped out millions of innocent people. If Hitler had won it is possible that it would have ended with the civilization in Europe and, although he died defeated, the atrocities that took place between 1933 and 1945, under Nazi rule, have been copied, too often, by others. National Socialism (or Nazism) had many points in common with fascism. However, its roots were typically German: authoritarianism and expand military of Prussian Heritage; the German romantic tradition opposed to rationalism, liberalism and democracy; various racist doctrines that Nordic peoples - the pure Aryan called - were not only physically superior to other races, but they were also their culture and morals; as well as certain philosophical doctrines, especially those of Friedrich Nietzsche, who idolized the State or uplifting worship superior individuals, which is exempted from abide by the conventional limitations. Among the theorists and planners of National Socialism was General Karl Ernst Haushofer, who exerted a great influence on the Germany foreign policy. Alfred Rosenberg, editor and leader of the Nazi party, formulated the racial theories based on the work of the writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain. The financial Hjalmar Schacht was responsible for develop and put int o practice much of the economi... ... socialist doctrine, containing in addition, propaganda techniques, and plans for the conquest of Germany and, later, Europe. Mein Kampf became the ideological foundation of National Socialism a few years later. This book, which would later give it to all German couples on their wedding day, as if was an outside of the Bible, consists of a series of rhetorical speech on a few issues such as nationalism, racism and the anti-democratic theories, together with a series of projects of future actions. This last part describes his intention to manipulate the masses by means of propaganda, always emphasizing that to achieve power, is worth everything, predicting a great global battle by the superiority of the race with a cynical frankness. Germany had to get rid of the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles; it had to attack Russia to destroy communism. The truth is that

The Latino Culture in America Essay -- Cultural Identity Essays

The Latino Culture in America Latinos have struggled to discover their place inside of a white America for too many years. Past stereotypes and across racism they have fought to belong. Still America is unwilling to open her arms to them. Instead she demands assimilation. With her pot full of stew she asks, "What flavor will you add to this brew?" Some question, some rebel, and others climb in. I argue that it is not the Latino who willingly agreed to partake in this stew. It is America who forced her ideals upon them through mass media and stale history. However her effort has failed, for they have refused to melt. The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith). The adolescent rebelled. "Speaking out is an exercise of privilege. Speaking out takes practice. Silence ensures invisibility. Silence provides protection (Montoya 282)." Graffiti tagged cracks seeped in blood, it remind the young of their battle with an invisible division. In Octavio P... ...wler-Salamini and Mary Kay Vaughan, eds Creating Spaces, Shaping Transitions: Women of the Mexican Countryside, 1850-1990 Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1994. Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998. Paz, Octavio. "Pachucos and Other Extremes" in The Labyrinth of Solitude and The Other Mexico New York: Grove Press, 1985 Bradbury, Ray. "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" (originally published in 1958) in The Chicano: From Caricature to Self-Portrait New York: A mentor Book from New American Library, Times Mirror, 1971 *meaning garden, the experience of gardening in central Mexico (Goldsmith) *Many of the juvenile gangs that have formed in the United States in recent years are reminiscent of the post -war pachucos (Paz, 14).

The Design Argument – as Level

Outline the Key Concepts of the Design Argument [21 marks] The design argument is also referred to at the Teleological Argument stemmed from the Greek work ‘Telos’ meaning end or purpose. It is an ‘A posterior’ argument (from experience) based on our empirical senses and it is synthetic meaning that it is from observation. The argument is also inductive meaning there a number of possible conclusions. The main basis of the Teleological argument is based on a designer commonly known as ‘the classical God of theism’ (hereafter referred to as God)The outline of the design argument is that the universe has order and purpose and is regular, the complexities of the universe demonstrate some form of design, a design requires a designer, and this designer is God. This however is an inductive leap meaning that the Design argument is valid but not sound. The key concepts of the argument are that the universe has order, there are laws and regularities, the universe has purpose, and therefore the objects in the universe appear to work towards and end or purpose.The universe has benefit, meaning that it provides all that is necessary for life and more and finally, the suitability for human life, as the Universe provides ideal environments and conditions for human life to exist and flourish. Like the cosmological argument, the design argument goes back to Plato, who stated that the human body, with all its particles and elements, must owe its origin to ‘the royal mind soul and mind in the nature of Zeus’.The theory of the Design argument was first put forward by Socrates who was a Greek Philosopher who lived in 400 BC, one of the main strengths of Socrates proposing this theory is this means it is a Pre Christian idea and also that it has withstood the test of time. Socrates said ‘With such signs of forethought in the design of living creatures how can there be any doubt that they are the work of choice or design. â₠¬â„¢ Thomas Aquinas who lived in the 13th century furthered the idea of Socrates Design Argument; he wrote a book called the ‘Summa Theologica’ and was strongly influenced by Aristotle.Aquinas rejected the possibility of an infinite regress of movers and causes to explain the existence of movers and causes to explain the existence of mutable beings. Aquinas proposed 5 ways to prove the existence of God, the unmoved mover, the uncaused case, Possibility and Necessity, Goodness Truth and Nobility and the Teleological Argument. He called these the fifth way and is ‘’from the governance of things’’. Aquinas also proposed the theory of design qua regularity, ‘That we call God’.Aquinas maintained that since such behaviour patterns rarely change, and their end result is beneficial, there must be a purpose to them, and if non-rational beings can work towards such a goal, something must be directing them to do so. ‘Now whatever lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless directed, and this being we call God. ’ He also championed the Analogy of the arrow directed by the archer showing that in order for something to end somewhere, there must be someone causing the movement, the arrow could not have ended us on the board on its own.William Paley, an 18th Century Philosopher continued to develop the principles of the Design argument, showing many more extended features to Socrates original concept. Paley championed the theory of design qua purpose and that a design requires a designer. ‘’The world is too complex and well-designed to have come about by chance. It seems to have been planned by an intelligent mind for a special purpose. ’’ For Paley, the world is like a machine made up of intricate parts, all of which worked towards an end for the benefit of the whole. Paley proposed the analogy of the watch and the watch maker. ’Suppose you had never seen a watch before . One day when you are out walking, you find one on the ground. You would instantly see how complex it is. ’’ His theory was that if you came across a watch then it is so intricate therefore it must have been designed. Therefore the universe is so fine-tuned that there must have been a designer for this too. It is obvious that both are not there by chance. Another analogy for this is the eye is designed so well for the purpose of seeing. A designer gave each part of the universe a special purpose. Paley makes the inductive leap to say that this designer is God.The Anthropic principle is a key feature of the Design argument and suits the theory of Design qua Regularity proposed by F. R. Tennant showing that science and religion are one in the same. He argues that human life flourishes on earth, therefore there must have been a supreme designer, that designer being God. Tennant accepts the scientific reasoning of evolution as a fine balance of ‘’fine tuningà ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and God’s chosen way to support life. Tennant also argues that ‘’the world could so easily have been chaotic’’ and that ‘’the universe is not chaotic, nature is the outcome of intelligent design. ’ Others argue that the earth runs so smoothly and everything works together therefore ‘’The world is compatible with a single throw of a dice and common sense is not foolish in suspecting the dice has been loaded’’ cited by Vardy. James Lovelock of the 20th century furthered the anthropic principle in ways of the Gaia Hypothesis, ‘’engineering on a planetary scale’’ cited by Vardy. He suggests that the oxygen content in the air, the salt content in the sea and the temperature of the earth are all precise in order for human life to flourish.If the oxygen content in the air were to be 12% less no fire would be able to burn, if the oxygen content were 25% more, then no f ire would ever go out, however over the last 25 million years, the oxygen content has remained at 21% which is perfect to sustain human life. One other person who championed the idea of the Anthropic principle is Arthur Brown from the 20th century, he says that science shows the way in which a designer chose to design, †The ozone gas layer is mighty proof of the creators forethought†¦ Just the right thickness and exactly the correct defence, gives evidence of a plan. ‘ However there are two type of Anthropic principle, the weak Anthropic principle states that conditions on the earth were such that human life adapted to the conditions, for example evolution. The strong anthropic principle revolves around conditions being set up for human life to be introduced, for example a Baby's nursery being all ready for the baby to be introduced into it. In 1986 Freeman Dyson said â€Å"in the universe there are many accidents of physics and astronomy that have worked together for our benefit, it almost seems as if the universe knew we were coming. The weak anthropic principle however states that human life adapted to the conditions of the earth, for example, by way of evolution. This does not eliminate that Evolution means that there was no divine power involved, in the 19th century Archbishop Temple stated â€Å"The doctrine of evolution leaves the argument for an intelligent creator†¦ stronger than it was before. † In the 20th century, Tennant worked alongside Taylor in proposing the aesthetic principle which observes that the universe possess a natural beauty that goes beyond that which is necessary to live.For example art, literature, music all contribute in making the world a nicer place for us to live, we would be able to live without these things however F. R Tennant observes that ‘Nature is not just beautiful in places it is saturated with beauty†¦ from an intelligent point of view beauty seems to be superfluous to have lit tle survival value. ‘ Another example of the aesthetic principle is shown within people and the example of Weary Dunlop, cited by Vardy. Weary Dunlop was an Australian Doctor during World War II who cared for thousands of injured soldiers who showed endless compassion and love.This example shows that humans are not selfish, leading to an intelligent designer creating some humans to have beauty beyond what is necessary. Franciscan Theology also supports the aesthetic principle and stresses the idea of beauty and the beauty within creation; this therefore leads to a direct pointer of God's nature, showing an omnibenevolent and numinous experience. In the 20th century Richard Swinburne furthered the argument of God due to that of Design, by developing the argument of probability as a key concept.He furthered a statement made by Socrates, ‘with such signs of forethought in the design of living creature, how can there be doubt that they are the work of choice or design. †™ Swinburne suggested that the evidence of design and the order in the universe increases the probability of the existence of God. He states that a belief in God is compatible with science. This is due to the theory that without a designer the universe could have been chaotic, the universe seems to be governed therefore order is present, order is more probable and the probability for design is much greater than that of chance.Swinburne uses the parable of the card shuffling machine to show that if a man was locked in a room with 10 card shuffling machines and unless the ten machines all chose an ace of hearts from each of the packs, he would die, however the machine chooses an ace of hearts from each pack. Swinburne says it would not be adequate for the victim to claim that no explanation of the draw is required here. You would have expected the card machines to have been designed that way as the chances of this happening are seemingly almost impossible.Swinburne uses this parable to even say that ‘’the very succession of science is showing us how deeply ordered the natural world is’’ and that ‘’science provides strong grounds for believing that there is a deeper cause in that order. ’’ Harold Morowitz thought that the chances of the universe being ordered in such a way would be the equivalent of throwing four billion penny pieces into the air and all of them landing ‘heads up’. William Ockham developed the theory of Ockham’s razor, and even though not specifically to do with the design argument, he states that ‘’the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation’.Fred Hoyle continued Swinburne’s probability as a way of explaining a need for a designer by proposing that the probability that the universe developed by chance is much the same as if a whirlwind flew threw and junkyard and assembling a Boeing 747. Even though Kant rejects the idea of the des ign argument he even states that ‘it is the oldest, the clearest and most accordant with the common reason of mankind’ and that ‘this proof always deserves to be mentioned with respect’. b. Comment on the view that the strengths outweigh the weaknesses [9 marks]The teleological argument contains many opponents who have found weaknesses within its theory. Epicurus, a Greek Philosopher devised the Epicuran Hypothesis, stating that the universe has come about only by chance and that a number of particles floating around in space, at some point these particles formed together to create a universe, due to there being enough time for the combination of particles to make a universe. He rejects Swinburne’s theory of probability and believes that the chaotic state, by chance, led to order.Sarah Tyler explains this theory in ways of monkeys and typewriters in saying that if an ‘infinite number of monkeys’ were to be given an ‘infinite amount of typewriters’, in time they would eventually ‘produce the entire works of Shakespeare’. However, in my opinion, judging by Epicuran Hypothesis and then Swinburne’s theory of probability, I believe that the strength of Swinburne’s argument outweighs that of Epicurus. Neither can be proven however with what humans know today, Swinburne’s development somewhat seems more probable in explaining how the universe began.I believe that the strengths in this case outweigh the weaknesses of the design argument. The main critic of the Design argument was David Hume in the 18th century, who was an empiricist, therefore based all his arguments of proof. He does not reject the idea of God, however fails to make the inductive leap from having a designer to that designer being God. He says that ‘the world was only the first rude essay of some infant deity who abandoned it afterwards. ’ Hume believes that if there is a God that this God is not necessarily what humans assume him to be, if he is even still in existence.Hume also believes that there could have been a ‘co-operative of lesser god. ’ For example a man who claims he builds his own house does not actually build it but requires others to do the work for him, e. g. a carpenter, electrician. Hume states that humans ‘assume’ what is going on outside the world and beyond, yet we cannot know. Another rejection of the design argument from Hume is that he says the world around us is not perfect yet religious believers claim that God is perfect and unlimited in every way, therefore if a perfect God designed the world, why isn’t it perfect?Hume then furthered his rejection of the Design argument by refuting the use of analogies by saying that they are unsound because God is beyond human understanding therefore anyone who uses Analogies is supporting anthropomorphism and likening God to a human or object, therefore making God less divine. Hu me also says that the world is natural like an animal or vegetables, it is organic and it grows changes and moves. Hume continues to say ‘the world is more organic than mechanic’, likening the world to a carrot. Hume does have many more criticisms on the Design Argument however his main problem with it is due to the inductive leap.Other criticisms of his include not assuming the laws of cause and effect. In my opinion, Hume’s argument for the weaknesses of the design argument is a very strong argument as he considers the theory of God when proposing his ideas. No other person has been able to challenge Hume’s criticism that if the world is not perfect then God cannot be omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient, leading to a gap in the inconsistent triad of God. In my opinion I think that this weakness does have an impact on all other strengths as it is the only one hat I can definitely say is a valid argument and makes sense to me. Another person who oppo ses the Design argument is J. S. Mill in the 19th century, who furthered the work of Hume and goes contrary to the idea of the world being an ordered, beautiful and harmonious place. He looks at the problem of suffering and that as there is so much in the world, this goes against the idea of an all loving, all powerful God. He states that if there were a designer God, he would have control over cosmic forces. ‘’Go straight to their end without regarding whom or what they crush in their road. ’ In my opinion, this weakness is fairly strong as the problem of evil demonstrates a limited God. A God that is wholly good or wholly powerful would not have created evil therefore it has to be one or the other. JS Mill personally believes that this God is good but not all powerful. Charles Darwin of the 19th century, wrote the book ‘Origin of Species’ is another person who refutes the design argument and provided an alternative explanation for the design of wor ld without reference to God, this is the theory of evolution and natural selection, ‘the survival of the fittest. However, I believe that Darwin’s theory of evolution is a weak argument against the existence of a God as it can also be placed into the category of the weak anthropic principle as the way God chose to introduce human beings; however we adapted to the conditions over time. Therefore I believe that Paley as a proponent of the design argument, his theory of there being a designer to design the universe is a much stronger argument than Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution as there is no explanation as to where evolution began in the first place, so ultimately no conclusion.Richard Dawkins of the 20th century argues that Natural Selection give the appearance of design however we are mistaken into believing that this shows there must be a designer. He opposes Swinburne and Tennant and Taylor and says that nature is random, meaning the world was formed by c hance. He says that ‘’Biology is God’’ and people are lazy therefore made up this ‘’God of the Gaps’’. He says there is ‘’no more evidence for God then there is the Easter Bunny’ and that ‘life has no purpose’ and ‘God is a superfluous hypothesis’.I believe that this weakness to disprove the Design argument is weak as there is no evidence and is trying to disprove one of the earliest theories by comparing it to the Easter Bunny, therefore I feel that this weakness does not outweigh any of the strengths. A. J Ayre as another opponent said ‘unless we can say what the world is like without design we cannot conclude design’. Kant furthered this by saying the world could be chaotic but we perceive it as being ordered.To conclude this argument, the design argument is a religiously ambiguous and Paul Davies makes this clear by stating ‘’this is really a question of your threshold of conviction. It has to be a matter of personal taste whether you regard the accumulated evidence as compelling enough to want to make that inductive leap. ’’ The design argument is eschatologically verifiable. Many people however still are not convinced yet do not reject the argument fully, for example John Wisdom’s parable of the Gardener showing that everyone has different opinions on how the world was designed and has been maintained.John Lesley also says that ‘’if rocks had made by God stamped on them we would know it is made by God – they don’t’ therefore we can’t know for sure. In conclusion to the question of strengths and weaknesses I feel that for me, the strengths, even, though there may be fewer than weaknesses, their principles outweigh the number of weaknesses. I personally think that the design argument cannot thoroughly prove the existence of God; however it gives a clear indicator to a des igner.