Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Shortcuts to List of Essay Topics Only a Few People Know

Shortcuts to List of Essay Topics Only a Few People Know What List of Essay Topics Is - and What it Is Not Morality has a collection of unsolved problems, the solution on which usually presents a selection. The main aim of topic choice for a proposal essay is to show the idea can be put into place in practice. The central intention of any introduction is presenting the major idea of your definition essay, in different words, you are to state clearly what it is you are likely to define. There's, clearly, a limit on the variety of pages even our finest writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but usually, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. Some students utilize the very first idea which arrives in their head and work on it, but the outcome isn't profitable. Very often it becomes hard to choose a single topic either due to the many ideas in the student's head, or due to their complete absence. Whether you presently have a topic in mind or want guidance in locating the ideal option possible, our team members will be able to help you create a 100% unique and authentic essay that will satisfy all your academic requirements. Always think deeply about how to make a superior essay structure it's a significant part academic writing. In the procedure for writing research articles, it's essential to adhere to a specific topic. You might believe that interesting essay titles do all of the work, permitting you to add obvious examples and share ordinary ideas. To begin with, your key to winning essay is a crystal clear comprehension of what it is you're likely to take care of. Obviously, you won't always have a true situation to discuss for every single topic sometimes you've got to borrow ideas from different people or simply apply your imagination. Each time that you want to make sure your persuasive speech success, you should go far past the topic and words you have prepared. Opt for a prompt at random from above, or pick a topic which you think will be hard that you detach from (because you're going to want to write about this issue, instead of the argument) set timer to 50 minutes and compose the essay. Selecting a topic is an essential issue that partly estimates final success of the job. The Appeal of List of Essay Topics Specifically, it is all about the rules of citation, for instance, an APA research paper format. Be attentive to the size it must be and get started writing the narrative essay outline. Then, there's the format. To compose an outstanding essay, it's critical to use specific academic language. Among the various types of essay, there's a definition essay that could appear to be among the most simple assignments. Different essay types need various questions. When you have that narrowed down, you can concentrate your research and compose a remarkable paper. You simply must be in a position to be comfortable with a couple examples, and be certain you can effectively relate them to your analysis. Recycling is the sole method to conserve Earth. Deciding on a writing topic can be stressful regardless of what subject you're writing over. You've approached the last portion of your essay. At any time you catch yourself feeling captivated by an individu essay or article, take a good look at it. Try out another topic and do the exact same 5-minute writing test till you locate a topic you know you can readily write on. Opt for an intriguing essay topic, and you are going to begin enjoying it.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Islamic State Of Iraq And Syria ( Isis ) Profile And...

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS): Profile and Analysis By: John Prola HMLS 302-6980 Professor Rebecca Himes March 29, 2015 University of Maryland University College The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS): Profile and Analysis Prior to September 11, 2001 The United States of America did not have the proper tools to proactively prevent and respond to a major terrorist attack. After seeing the preparation and planning of the attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City and realizing that it happened within American borders, policy makers were left scrambling to come up with new laws and policies to prevent this from happening again. There are hundreds of terrorist groups throughout the world but†¦show more content†¦One of the newest and most dangerous terrorist groups is the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS and formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq. Tracing back to Osama Bin Laden, this Islamic militant group was formed in October of 2006 after several jihadist groups merged together to form what would be known as the Islamic State of Iraq (Al-Monitor, 2015). The group is an Islamic extremist group that follows the Islamism religion. Many Muslims believe that their relig ion should â€Å"guide social and political as well as personal life† but this jihadi group of individuals are extremists (Berman, 2003). There are just over 1 billion Muslims in the world and of them about 10 million are what is known as Salafi jihadists, who believe that through war they will expand the Muslim culture so that the entire world will follow their beliefs (Livesey, 2005). ISIS follows the Salafi jihadist religion very closely and promotes it with violence and instilling fear in ordinary citizens. As of 2010 the group has been led by 44 year old Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who was born in Samarra, Iraq (BBC News, 2014). Since becoming the ISIS leader, Al-Baghdadi was rarely seen until recently. Some sources believe that this is because the leader before him, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in 2006 after his whereabouts were discovered. The National Counterterrorism Center currently has him listed as one of their most wanted terrorists with a reward of

Monday, December 9, 2019

Identify and Explain Five Metrics Used to Evaluate Hr Performance free essay sample

The indicators are therefore broadly categorized in the following formats. These are: 1. Talent Retention Management 2. Recruiting Effectiveness 3. Productivity 4. Compensation and Pay Management 5. Performance Management TALENT RETENTION MANAGEMENT Talent Retention Management is an organizations commitment to recruit, retain, and develop the most talented and superior employees available in the job market. So, talent management is a useful term when it describes an organizations commitment to hire, manage and retain talented employees. It comprises all f the work processes and systems that are related to retaining and developing a superior workforce. What appears to differentiate talent management focused practitioners and organizations from organizations that use terminology such as human capital management or performance management, is their focus on the managers role, as opposed to reliance on Human Resources, for the life cycle of an employee within an organization. Practitioner s of the other two employee development and retention strategies would argue that, for example, performance management has the same set of best practices. It is just called by a different name. Talent management does give managers a significant role and responsibility in the recruitment process and in the ongoing development of and retention of superior employees. In some organizations, only top potential employees are included in the talent management system. In other companies, every employee is included in the process. Talent management is a business strategy and must be fully integrated within all of the employee related processes of the organization. Attracting and retain talented employees, in a talent management system, is the job of every member of the organization, but especially managers who have reporting staff (talent). An effective strategy also involves the sharing of information about talented employees and their potential career paths across the organization. This enables various departments to identify available talent when opportunities are made or arise. In larger organizations, talent management requires Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) that track the career paths of employees and manage available opportunities for talented employees. RECRUITING EFFECTIVENESS On the other hand, selecting great staff is key for business success. Talented people who continue to develop skills and increase their value to your organization and to your customers are your most important resource. Heres how to select and retain these people and create an environment in which they continue to thrive. The primary elements of any plan to improve the quality of the staff you employ include improving the quality of new hires, identifying and retaining superior employees, and developing employees (especially those with high potential for growth). A performance development approach to providing job expectations and feedback will assist with this process. At the same time, we need to take a look at underperforming staff. Ask whether each individual is in the wrong job. Determine whether we have provided specific and clear requirements so the individual knows what you expect from him. The most important outputs for the performance appraisal, from each persons job, may not be defined or measurable in current work system. We should make the appraisal system one step harder to manage and tie the employees salary increase to their numeric rating. Productivity Increasing productivity is one of the most critical goals in business. Unfortunately, it’s an activity seldom accepted by HR Heads as a legitimate mandate. While most HR professionals acknowledge that their job entails establishing policy, procedures, and programs governing people management, few attempt to connect such elements to increasing employee output (volume, speed, and quality) per each dollar spent on labor costs (or as an easier to measure alternative, revenue per employee). Bonus programs are typically enacted that keep total compensation in line with market trends, regardless of the value of work warranting incentive comp. Training tools are often secured via the lowest-cost provider method ith minimal consideration given to which provider would be most effective. Recruiting practices too are more often managed with the primary goal of minimizing cost, not enabling business capability/capacity. Regardless of the function you look at, in the typical organization, HR is more concerned with executing transactions instead of delivering p roductivity solutions. COMPENSATION PAY MANAGEMENT Would the three salespersons and the receptionist work for free? No. They would, like us all, expect something in return. We must have heard a common phrase: Give and Take. We always have to give things to people in return to what we take from them. Compensation refers to this exchange, but in monetary terms. Compensation is the employers feedback for an employees work. Gary Dessler in his book Human Resource Management defines compensation in these words Employee compensation refers to all forms of pay going to employees and arising from their employment. The phrase all forms of pay in the definition does not include non-financial benefits, but all the direct and indirect financial compensations. BENEFITS: Employees today are not willing to work only for the cash alone, they expect extra. This extra is known as employee benefits. Also known as fringe benefits, Employee benefits are non-financial form of compensation offered in addition to cash salary to enrich workers’ lives. Employee benefits are not performance-based, they are membership-based. Workers receive benefits regardless of their performances. Employee benefits as a whole have no direct affect on employee performance, however, inadequate benefits do contribute to low satisfaction level and increase absenteeism and turnover in employees. While deciding on the benefits package, it is essential to consider the associated costs. ADVANTAGES OF COMPENSATION BENEFITS 1. Job satisfaction 2. Motivation 3. Low Absenteeism 4. Low Turnover Productivity Increasing productivity is one of the most critical goals in business. Unfortunately, it’s an activity seldom accepted by HR Heads as a legitimate mandate. While most HR professionals acknowledge that their job entails establishing policy, procedures, and programs governing people management, few attempt to connect such elements to increasing employee output (volume, speed, and quality) per each dollar spent on labor costs (or as an easier to measure alternative, revenue per employee). Bonus programs are typically enacted that keep total compensation in line with market trends, regardless of the value of work warranting incentive comp. Training tools are often secured via the lowest-cost provider method with minimal consideration given to which provider would be most effective. Recruiting practices too are more often managed with the primary goal of minimizing cost, not enabling business capability/capacity. Regardless of the function you look at, in the typical organization, HR is more concerned with executing transactions instead of delivering productivity solutions. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Much work is invested, on the front end, to improve a traditional employee appraisal process. In fact, managers can feel as if the new process is too time consuming. Once the foundation of developmental goals is in place, however, time to administer the system decreases. Each of these steps is taken with the participation and cooperation of the employee, for best results Human Resource Management (HRM) has never been as significant as it is today. Companies want to attract, retain and motivate brains to meet objectives. Today Humans are regarded as one of every company’s assets so they need to be efficiently and effectively managed. One of the tools companies use to attract, retain and motivate its people is Compensation Management. In this hub, I shall define compensation and benefits along with their advantages for a company and its workers. If as HR performers we believe that the combined efforts of the human resource function should positively influence the performance capability of the workforce instead of hindering it, we should understand the factors that influence performance.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Lifespan development and the human servises

Every stage of human development is significant and unique as people develop, acquire new knowledge and adopt new behavioural models.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Lifespan development and the human servises specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, in infancy (up to one year), the child is dependent on its parents; in childhood (1-10 years old), children rapidly develop physically, mentally and socially; adolescence (12-18 years old) is characterised by numerous transformations and adulthood is the period of functioning of fully developed individuals, though there can also be certain mental and behavioural transformations (Shaffer Kipp 2009). Notably, adolescence stands out as this is the period of considerable emotional turmoil and physical transformation. Adolescents learn how to function in the society and fully develop their behavioural models. During this period, people have to make a lot of choices and are in search for their selves. From theoretical perspective, this period provides new insights into the attachment theory, which will be discussed below. It is also necessary to note that adolescents are the most vulnerable group in the contemporary society as globalisation and rapid development of technology provides numerous challenges for these young people. Therefore, adolescence is a period which requires special attention. It is necessary to note that adolescents have to cope with rapid transformation of their bodies. This physical transformation affects psychological development of adolescents to a great extent (Swanson, Edwards Spencer 2010). Birnbaum and Linver (2013) stress that this is the period when people become active in all respects, i.e. need extra physical activity and are active in forming relationships. This is the period when young people experience their sexuality and often have their first sexual experience, which can affects further development of their person ality (Tolman McClelland 2011). It is noteworthy that their behaviour often changes and they form new attachments. Apart from physical development, adolescents acquire an important skill which helps them function in the society. Hence, they develop self-regulatory tools which shape their behaviour (Gestsdottir Lerner 2008). Self-regulation is important as adolescents learn how to live in the world of adulthood.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As has been mentioned above, adolescents face a variety of challenges. Apart from experiencing their physical transformation (which is quite a serious challenge), adolescents make attempts to become a part of a larger group. Clearly, young people try to understand who they are, but they also feel the need to fit in (Schwartz 2008). This is the period when their attachment to parents decreases and they search for new relationships (Smetana, Cam pione-Barr Metzger 2006). This period is often associated with neglect of rules and desire to break them. Researchers note that this process is often guided by parents, schools, religious institution. For instance, Morris et al. (2007) claim that the family plays a substantial role in development of self-regulation in adolescents. At the same time, Trommsdorff (2012) notes that religious values also shape the way adolescents behave and develop their self-regulatory tools. Apart from the search of their identity, adolescents have to face challenges brought by globalisation. Thus, adolescents pertaining to minorities are often marginalised and face additional challenges as it is harder for them to fit in due to their cultural, ethnic and/or religious peculiarities. Thus, French, Seidman, Allen and Aber (2006) note that African American and Latino American adolescents have to cope with numerous issues as they are often neglected. It is also acknowledged that these issues are especiall y vivid in school settings as adolescents are bound to interact and their otherness comes to the forefront (Fuller Coll 2010; Lam 2007). Furthermore, globalisation is also associated with economic issues which have a significant impact on the development of adolescents. Hence, Hempel, Wuermli and Lundberg (2012) note that economic difficulties families have to face put more pressure on adolescents. First, they are exposed to their parents’ arguments. Adolescents can also feel they cannot become a part of some groups due to lack of money. This makes adolescents search for other ways to find their selves. This new search can lead to some subcultures and substance abuse. However, there are many ways to help adolescents to find their identity without violating laws and becoming outcasts. This is where attachment theory can be applicable. The most critical argument of the theory is that â€Å"child’s relationship with a primary caregiver during infancy is critically impor tant to later development and serves as a prototype for the child’s relationships throughout the lifespan† (Washington 2008, p. 8). Therefore, the closer parents (or a caregiver) and an infant are, the closer tight they will form in the future. In other words, according to this theory, parents can help their child develop strong attachment to them and this will help them avoid numerous issues in their child’s adolescence. This can be true as there are many examples of families where adolescents remain attached to their parents.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Lifespan development and the human servises specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, some researchers have claimed that the theory is out-dated and the period in question is the brightest examples for that. Thus, Smetana (2010) stresses that adolescents tend to alienate themselves for their parents or older relatives as they try to beco me a part of a group of peers. Adolescents often find models among their peers and tend to think that older generations simply try to restrict their basic rights. This is one of the major limitations to the theory as it is clear that although some children can be attached to their parents, they can change during their adolescence. A number of transformations (both physical and mental) often shape adolescents’ personality. However, even though this trend is also common, it does not mean that the attachment theory is totally out-dated. Admittedly, there are certain limitations, but they show that the theory should be considered from a slightly different angle. Thus, it is doubtless that the way caregivers treat children has a significant impact on the child’s development. However, transformations taking place during adolescents can diminish this effect. At the same time, adolescents do not lose all ties with their parents. Attachment does not disappear, but transforms in to new forms. During adolescence, young people tend to form new attachments as they interact with their peers. Thus, the theory can be applied and it can help parents, adolescents, educators, social workers and psychologists assist adolescents find their selves and learn how to live in the society. In conclusion, it is possible to note that adolescence is one of the most meaningful and difficult periods in people’s lives. This is the period of great physical and psychological transformation. This is also the period when adolescents find their selves and learn how to be a part of the society. Contemporary adolescents often face numerous challenges which are related to globalisation. However, the use of the attachment theory can help researchers find ways to better understand this period. Reference List Birnbaum, AS Linver, MR 2013, ‘Adolescent physical development and health’, in G Creasey PA Jarvis (eds), Adolescent development and school achievement in urban c ommunities: resilience in the neighbourhood, Routledge, Oxon, pp. 53-65. French, SE, Seidman, E, Allen, L Aber, JL 2006, ‘The development of ethnic identity during adolescence’, Developmental Psychology, vol. 42. no. 1, pp. 1-10.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Fuller, B Coll, CG 2010, ‘Learning from Latinos: contexts, families, and child development in motion’, Developmental Psychology, vol. 46. no. 3, pp. 559-565. Gestsdottir, S Lerner, RM 2008, ‘Positive development in adolescence: the development and role of intentional self-regulation’, Human Development, vol. 51. no. 1, pp. 202-224. Hempel, K, Wuermli, A Lundberg, M 2012, ‘Adolescence: protecting and promoting human development in times of economic shocks’, Labour Markets and Youth, no. 13, pp. 1-4. Lam, C 2007, ‘Towards a Chinese conception of adolescent development in a migration context’, The Scientific World Journal, vol. 7. no. 1, pp. 506-518. Morris, AS, Silk, JS, [†¦] Robinson, LR 2007, ‘The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation’, Social Development, vol. 16. no. 2, pp. 361-388. Schwartz, SJ 2008, ‘Self and identity in early adolescence’, Journal of Early Adoles cence, vol. 28. no. 1, pp. 5-15. Shaffer, DR Kipp, K 2009, Developmental psychology: childhood adolescence, Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA. Smetana, JG 2010, Adolescents, families, and social development: how teens construct their worlds, John Wiley Sons, Oxford, UK. Smetana, JG, Campione-Barr, N Metzger, A 2006, ‘Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts’, Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 57. no. 1, pp. 255-284. Swanson, DP, Edwards, MC Spencer, MB 2010, Adolescence: development during a global era, Academic Press, London, UK. Tolman, DL McClelland, SI 2011, ‘Normative sexuality development in adolescence: a decade in review’, Journal of Research on Adolescence, vol. 21. no. 1, pp. 242-255. Trommsdorff, G 2012, Cultural perspectives on values and religion in adolescent development, http://kops.uni-konstanz.de/handle/123456789/20981. Washington, KT 2008, ‘Attachment and alternatives: theory in child welfare research’, Advances in Social Work, vol. 9. no. 1, pp. 8-16. This essay on Lifespan development and the human servises was written and submitted by user Aliyah Carr to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essays

Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essays Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essay Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglas Comparative Essay Essay Basil Al Bader 99629 English Composition I Contras/Comparative Essay Final Draft Malcolm X / Frederick Douglas Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas were two main figures of the black community in the United States. Both of them were self-educated. Both of them faced challenges to achieve their education and both of them had impacted by the growth of their knowledge. We will see in this essay how they learned, the challenges they faced while trying to learn and what impact learning had on them. For both Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas, learning to read was a whole process that took time. The first point that we will state is the environment in which they learned to read and write. In 1946,Malcolm X was sentenced eight to ten years in prison. This is where his interest for reading and writing took birth. It is alone in prison that Malcolm opened his first book, which for a matter was a dictionary. In his biography, Malcolm explains the frustration he constantly felt while trying to express his feelings in letter that he wrote. It is this frustration that led him to request a dictionary. At that point, Malcolm did not realize so many words existed â€Å"I spent two days just riffling ncertainly through the dictionary pages. I’d never realized so many words existed! † (211) It is at that point that he started to copy the dictionary. After copying the first page, he’d read his notes out loud over and over. By this process, Malcolm created for himself a great way to learn â€Å" I woke up next morning, thinking about those words †¦ I could also remember what many of those words meant† (211). At that point Malcolm was launched â€Å"I was so fascinated that I went on †¦ I copied the dictionary’s next page†. Frederick Douglas process to learn was different. The first point that we will state is that Frederick was a slave. : He wasn’t initially allowed to learn to read and write. However, he had the chance to be introduced to that valuable knowledge by his mistress â€Å"Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C† (Page given in class). Unfortunately, this situation didn’t last. Once his master realized what was going on, the mistress’s attitude changed. She actually stopped teaching him and for a matter of fact became an obstacle to his learning. From now on Frederick had to find an other way to learn. One way that he describes as being the most successful was to convert every sing id that he met into a teacher â€Å" The plan, which I adopted, and the one by which I was the most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street† (130). This is the main reason of his success to learn reading â€Å"With their kindly aid †¦ I finally succeeded in learning to rea d†. The main difference that we can find between the ways they learned is that Malcolm X learned on his own, with no help while Frederick Douglas used the knowledge of his peers. Learning to read was a long process but it is important to say that it was a hard process. Both of them faced challenges while learning. Life in prison is ruled by very strict rules. Malcolm X had, in a certain way, to fight with theses rules. One of them was the light extinction. Every night, at ten P. M. , lights were turned of and night guards passes in front of every room every hour. Malcolm X describes this situation â€Å" †¦ every night at about ten P. M. I would be outraged with the ‘’lights out’’†¦ At one-hour interval at night guards paced past every room† (213). Determined to read Malcolm always founded a way to overcome theses challenges â€Å" Fortunately, right outside my door was a orridor light that cast a glow into my room. The glow was enough to read by †¦ each time I heard the approaching footsteps, I jumped into bed and feigned sleep†. Frederick Douglas had to face an other type of challenge. The first one was the mean behavior of his masters. As said previously, Frederick’s mistress’ s attitude changes. This changes is a major obstacle to his learning as he describes in his biography how violent her opposition was â€Å"The first step in her downward course was in her ceasing to instruct me †¦ She became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself â€Å". Frederick had also the feeling of being watched, under surveillance, which he describes in his book â€Å" From this time I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a separate room †¦ I was sure to be suspected of having a book† (130). One thing that we can notice on both Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas is the impact that learning to read and write had on them. Both of them realized and understood more about the Black history, the injustice they had to face and the sadness of this situation. It also impacted on their self-esteem and self confidence. In â€Å"Learning to Read†, Malcolm X makes us understand how learning to read as positive for him and helped him to support his imprisonment as he says â€Å"Months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life† (212). The passion he developed for reading made time timeless. Reading allowed him to understand the history of black people, which became the main subject of his readings â€Å"I never will forget how shocked I was when I began reading about slavery’s total horror †¦ Book after book showed me how the white man had brought upon the world’s black†¦peoples every variety of the suffering of exploitation† (214-215). For Malcolm X reading is the lement that will change his life forever as he says â€Å" reading opened to me †¦ reading had changed forever the course of my life† (217). We can definitely say that reading had a positive impact on Malcolm X. It opened his eyes and allowed him to gain confidence in himself and to become the great activist that we know. Frederick Douglas, in the contrary, makes us feel that he did not appreciate the consequences of that learning as much as Malcolm. Actually, reading and more specifically learning about the black history arouses in him a deep anger, as he says â€Å"The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslav ers† (132). Frederick also describes the very deep sufferance he had by reading, â€Å"read had already come, to torment and sting my soul† (132). It is obvious that it is not much reading that hurt him but the knowledge he gets out of it. The impact was so negative; he really gives us the feeling that at some point he was going threw a real depression, â€Å"I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity †¦ I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead† (132). After comparing Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas, we can notice that both of them learned to read and write in their own way, that both of them had to face hallenges but the most important thing to notice is that both of them became very important figures of the black community in America and both of them played an important role in the evolution of the conditions of the black community. It is important to say that in both cases, reading opened doors for them. It allowed them to be more conscio us of their history and of course gives them more knowledge to understand it. I really think that the overall message that we should get from these two stories is the importance to educate ourselves, that this education that now a days, a lot of people still can’t access is one of the keys to freedom.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Complete Study Guide SAT Physics Subject Test

Complete Study Guide SAT Physics Subject Test SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Did you know that if you squeezed all the matter that makes up all the people in the world together, it could fit into the size of a sugar cube? That's because atoms are mostly made up of empty space between very tiny, very dense nuclei. If you're intrigued by the mind-blowing facts and figures of physics, you might be considering the SAT Physics Subject Test. This comprehensive guide will go over exactly what's on the test (don't worry, nothing about sugar cubes). It will also tell you where you can find the best SAT Physics practice tests, and the study tips and strategies you need to know to master the SAT II. There's a lot that we cover in this guide, so here's a table of contents so you can easily find the specific information you're looking for. Format of Physics Subject Test Types of Questions on Physics Subject Test Concepts Tested on Physics Subject Test Where to Find Practice Tests How to Study for the Physics Subject Test Test-Taking Tips When to Take the Physics Subject Test How Is the Physics Subject Test Formatted? The SAT II in Physics is 60 minutes long and asks 75 multiple-choice questions. Every question has five answer choices. There are some independent questions, while others are grouped and ask about the same graph or picture. Perhaps surprisingly, you can't use a calculator on the Physics Subject Test. With less than a minute for each question, the test doesn't present overly complicated math. There are three main types of questions, which are important to understand so you can know which skills to apply. Types of Questions on the Physics Subject Test The three types of physics questions are recall, single concept, and multiple concept problems. Recall questions make up 20% to 33% of the test. They are somewhat straightforward and test your understanding of the concepts of physics. This is an example of a recall question: Answer: E Single concept problems make up 40% to 53% of the test. In addition to recalling a concept, you have to apply a physical relationship, formula, or equation to solve a problem. These questions test your understanding of simple algebraic, trigonometric, and graphical relationships, along with concepts of ratios and proportions. Answer: E Multiple concept problems account for 20% to 33% of the questions. They have the extra step of asking you to recall and bring together two or more different relationships, formulas, or equations in order to solve a problem. Answer: A Now that we understand the format of the test, let's break down the content on the test even further so you know what to study for the test. As you'll see below, it focuses primarily on mechanics and electricity/magnetism. What Is Tested on the Physics Subject Test? According to College Board, the SAT II in Physics covers mechanics, electricity and magnetism, waves and optics, heat and thermodynamics, modern physics, and other miscellaneous concepts. Mechanics and electricity/magnetism questions make up over half the test. Let's look at how the test breaks down. Mechanics: 36% - 42% Kinematics, such as velocity, acceleration, motion in one dimension, and motion of projectiles Dynamics, such as force, Newton's laws, statics, and friction Energy and momentum, such as potential and kinetic energy, work, power, impulse, and conservation laws Circular motion, such as uniform circular motion and centripetal force Simple harmonic motion, such as mass on a spring and the pendulum Gravity, such as the law of gravitation, orbits, and Kepler's laws Electricity and Magnetism: 18% - 24% Electric fields, forces, and potentials, such as Coulomb's law, induced charge, field and potential of groups of point charges, and charged particles in electric fields Capacitance, such as parallel-plate capacitors and time-varying behavior in charging / discharging Circuit elements and DC circuits, such as resistors, light bulbs, series and parallel networks, Ohm's Law, and Joule's Law Magnetism, such as permanent magnets, fields caused by currents, particles in magnetic fields, Faraday's Law, and Lenz's Law Waves and Optics: 15% - 19% General wave properties, such as wave speed, frequency, wavelength, superposition, standing wave diffraction, and Doppler effect Reflection and refraction, such as Snell's Law and changes in wavelength and speed Ray optics, such as image formation using pinholes, mirrors, and lenses Physical optics, such as single-slit diffraction, double-slit interference, polarization, and color Heat and Thermodynamics: 6% - % Thermal properties, such as temperature, heat transfer, specific and latent heats, and thermal expansion Laws of thermodynamics, such as first and second laws, internal energy, entropy, and heat engine efficiency Modern Physics: 6% - % Quantum phenomena, such as photons and photoelectric effect Atomic, such as the Rutherford and Bohr models, atomic energy levels, and atomic spectra Nuclear and particle physics, such as radioactivity, nuclear reactions, and fundamental particles Relativity, such as time dilation, length contraction, and mass-energy equivalence Miscellaneous: 4% - 9% General, such as history of physics and general questions that overlap several major topics Analytical skills, such as graphical analysis, measurement, and math skills Contemporary physics, such as astrophysics, superconductivity, and chaos theory In addition to these concepts, you have to memorize certain formulas that express physical relationships, like F = ma. You have to be able to manipulate equations, read a graph, understand the metric system, and apply lab skills to answer questions. Is there anything you don't need to know? While this test is very comprehensive, there are a few things you don't have to worry about. You don't have to know trigonometric identities, calculus, three-dimensional vectors and graphs, or physical constants. The Physics Subject Test covers a great deal of content, and requires your ability to apply those concepts to manipulate equations and solve problems. Besides learning and studying in your physics class, what materials can you use to prep for the Subject Test? Where to FindSAT Physics Practice Tests You can prepare for the Physics test with high-quality practice questions in books and/or online. First,our book recommendations: Books Using official practice questions is always the best way to prepare for the SAT or SAT Subject Test. College Board currently only provides Physics practice questions in its All Subject Tests Study Guide. While the questions are high quality, because they come from a previously administered test, there is actually only one practice test to try out. Obviously, this is very limited, so you'll want to supplement with another book. You might try studying first with other books and then taking the College Board practice questions a week or two before the Subject Test to make sure you're ready. Because it's a previously administered test, it will be a good benchmark to predict how you'll score, and it can reveal any concepts you need to study last minute before test day. For a comprehensive overview of the concepts you need to know and high-quality practice questions to apply them, I recommend Princeton Review's Cracking the SAT Physics Subject Test. You can use this book throughout the year in physics class to review the concepts and make sure you can apply them to SAT Subject Test questions. One downside of Princeton Review is that the explanations can sometimes be confusing and difficult to follow. Barron's is also a good option with high-quality practice questions. However, some concepts are lacking, so don't rely on it to be completely comprehensive. Barron's would be best to use two to three months in advance of your Subject Test, after you've been reviewing in class and with Princeton Review throughout the school year. Finally, two other options are Kaplan and McGraw Hill, but they would be my last recommendation. Kaplan questions are too easy, so they won't be sufficient preparation. McGraw Hill questions have the opposite problem - some are way too complicated to solve without a calculator, and thus not accurate preparation for the SAT Subject Test. Besides books, you can also find SAT Physics questions online from these sources. Online Practice Questions You should definitely give College Board's 36 online practice questions a try. Make sure to thoroughly read the explanations of any questions you're unsure about or don't know. Then review the concepts, from your class or other test prep materials, and take notes and do practice problems to shore up your understanding. Varsity Tutors has a bunch of helpful practice questions broken up into subsets of concepts. These are a good way to really identify what you know and what you need to review. This similar site also has helpful practice questions that you can automatically score, along with some glossaries and study guides. Finally, Sparknotes, though it doesn't have practice questions, has an informative overview and glossary of terms. How to Prep Effectively for the Physics Subject Test Now you have a bunch of good resources for the Physics Subject Test, but how can you use them effectively to maximize your scores? This section goes over three key study tips to follow. #1: Use Class Material The Physics Subject Test is a challenging test. It covers a lot of material, and this material takes a significant amount of time to learn. Thus staying focused and up to speed in class is vital, as well as reviewing the concepts and practice problems frequently to retain your cumulative knowledge. As you go through your physics class, you should review your classwork in conjunction with a test prep book like Princeton Review or Barron's. Then you can really do more intensive test prep in the two to three months before the Subject Test. Make sure to do a practice test a couple weeks before the test to get a good sense of your preparation and fill in any last minute gaps in knowledge. While you're taking these practice tests, you should make sure to time yourself. #2: Time Yourself Physicist John Wheeler Archibald explained, "Time is what prevents everything from happening at once." With the Physics Subject Test, you might feel like everything is happening all at once because you don't have much time at all. Timing yourself while you take practice tests will help you with pacing and time management. As you strengthen your ability to answer questions quickly and efficiently, you'll both score higher and breathe easier that you have enough time to get to all the questions and answer them well. When you take a full-length practice test, give yourself exactly 60 minutes and sit in a quiet room with few distractions. The more you practice under simulated testing conditions, the more prepared you'll be on test day. Once you take the test, you want to score your questions actively and critically. #3: Analyze Your Answers Correcting your practice tests should be a very active process. By this I mean don't simply let a wrong answer or lucky guess go. Wrong or skipped answers are an opportunity to really analyze the questions, diagnose your weaknesses and misunderstandings, and figure out where you need more prep. If you get a question wrong, mark it down in a notebook. Figure out why it was wrong- did you not know the concept, misunderstand the question, or make a careless error? If the first, you should definitely go back in your notes and review. Then find practice questions that test those concepts. So much of the Physics Subject Test is about application, not just recall. If you didn't understand the question or made a careless error, you probably need to focus on your time management and ability to focus and work efficiently. Practicing under timed conditions, as mentioned above, is the best way to train this skill. Practice tests will reveal where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Each question is an opportunity to pinpoint what you know and what you need to study further. Remember important formulas, like this one. Test-Taking Strategies for the Physics Subject Test Besides getting ready through test prep, there are some strategies you should keep in mind while taking the Physics Subject Test that should help you boost your scores. #1: Know Your Formulas You can't bring a formula sheet with you when you take the Physics Subject Test. The test will give you some constants, but you have to know the formulas that express physical relationships. Note that you also can't bring a calculator into the test. While it might seem like there are a lot of formulas to remember, they will probably start to seem intuitive the more you understand the laws and concepts of physics. If there are any that you have a hard time remembering, it might be a good idea to jot these formulas down in your test booklet at the beginning of the test. This way you can refer back to them as you go along. Make sure you know your formulas as you're studying, as well as how to apply them to single concept and multi-concept problems. #2: Use Process of Elimination On the Physics Subject test, you lose 1/4 of a point for every question you answer incorrectly. If you can't eliminate any answer choices, you should leave the question blank and avoid a point deduction, but if you can eliminate at least one wrong answer, then you're better off making your best guess. Go through the answer choices and see which ones you can cross off as definitely incorrect. This may also jog your thinking in how to approach the correct answer. #3: Don't Dwell With 75 questions in 60 minutes, you have less than a minute to spend on each question. If one of them leaves you stumped, it's best to mark it, skip it, and return to it at the end of the exam if you have time. Remember, it's always a good idea to guess if you can eliminate at least one of the answer choices. But don't spend a disproportionate amount of time on a problem, as all problems count equally toward your ultimate score. #4: Read Critically Sure, this is the Physics SAT, not a critical reading test, but the same skills of close and critical reading apply. Make sure you understand exactly what the question is asking before rushing to answer it, and be on the lookout for words like EXCEPT, BUT, ALWAYS, NEVER, or any other superlatives or words that mark a shift in emphasis. The more you practice, the more calmly you'll be able to approach the questions and deploy these strategies. When Should You Take the SAT Physics Subject Test? You can take the Physics Subject test on the May, June, August, October, November, or December test dates. College Board recommends that you have at least one year of college prep Physics before taking the Subject Test, as well as courses in algebra and trigonometry and experience in the lab. The end of junior year is a common time to take the Physics test, but some students might feel prepared at the end of sophomore year. Either way, it's best to take the test at the end of the academic year when the course content is fresh in your mind. You might also be studying for a final, which will further reinforce your understanding. Remember, you can't take an SAT Subject Test on the same day as the SAT, but you can take up to three Subject Tests in one day. It might be smart to take the SAT first, so that your math studying can inform your physics prep. With these considerations in mind, the June test date would be an ideal time to take the Physics Subject Test. You can read about other considerations for scheduling your SAT Subject Tests and the full list of dates here. With your study plan and test schedule all planned out, you will be well prepared to show off your physics skills on the SAT Subject Test and add this impressive exam to your college applications. What's Next? Looking for study resources on some of these physics topics? Check out our guides to calculating acceleration, the law of conservation of mass, and the specific heat of water. What's a good score for an SAT Subject Test? Actually, what makes a good score depends on the test. Read about the good scores broken down by each Subject Test here. Are you preparing to take the PSAT? This article goes over everything you need to know for the redesigned PSAT, along with 8 free practice tests for you to start preparing. Do you consider yourself a math person? This 800 scorer explains his best strategies for getting a perfect score on the SAT math. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Thursday, November 21, 2019

CAN ALERTNESS OF EMPLOYEES SAVE ORGANISATIONS FROM HACKERS USING Essay

CAN ALERTNESS OF EMPLOYEES SAVE ORGANISATIONS FROM HACKERS USING SOCIAL ENGINEERING FOR CYBER ATTACKS - Essay Example In their actions, hackers in the contemporary society use the most sophisticated of malware to attack information systems and networks in ways never seen before. Nevertheless, the initial role of social engineering in these attacks is core and cannot be overlooked due to the technologies used. Social engineering is hackers’ equivalent of a con or a trick, which makes the target people or systems to think someone, something or an action, is safe, trustworthy and familiar while in reality it is not (Kiountouzis & Kokolakis, 2011). The most common of social engineering con tricks often involve the hacker sending an e-mail to the target person or system. This e-mail if first tailored so that it appears to have come from a trustworthy sender. However, these con e-mails often contain links that when opened or clicked, directs a computer to a malware, which is in turn downloaded by the user on the target computer or system (Kiountouzis & Kokolakis, 2011). At this stage, the hacker em ploys the Remote Access Tool (RAT) to search through the computer network and/or infect other computers or networks. Social engineering is today exploited by hackers to bring down or access others’ computer/information networks and obtain information in the comfort of their homes provided they are sure their target will most likely be sitting at their computers (Kiountouzis & Kokolakis, 2011). ... This paper explores the various types of cyber and security threats to which information and technology companies and there ISs are exposed and the role of employee alertness in averting these threats, particularly those originating from hackers’ using social engineering. In this regard, the paper is a case study of an information security breach at one of the most renown IT security firms in the United States, the RSA. After addressing how RSA responded to the breach, the paper explores the role of employee alertness in averting such threats in the future. However, it is of the essence to first have a general understanding of the various techniques that hackers use to breach information security systems and obtain information illegally. The Protection Motivation Theory This paper will employ the protection motivation theory to explain the role and importance of employee alertness in assisting IS firms in detecting and preventing security breaches via social engineering techni ques. According to this theory employees will always protect themselves based on certain core factors. These factors include but are not limited to the probability of the occurrence of a security threat or breach, the suspected or expected severity of the threat, the vulnerability of the possible victims, the efficacy of the response/preventive mechanisms or behaviours. The motivation to protect oneself and property emanates from the evaluation of threats as well as the ability to cope with the threats or its effects. In the threat assessment context, employees of IS and IT companies are expected to be able to appraise the severity of possible social engineering threats and the seriousness of the situation once it occurs. On the other hand, the coping

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

IT and the Next Generation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IT and the Next Generation - Research Paper Example The Japanese samurai used to regard the katana as a fundamental symbol of their heritage, but you just know damn well that they would have envied all these mechanised weapons like machine guns, tanks and bombers (not to mention nuclear warheads – no offence, by the way, to any Japanese people who may be reading this!) that are so well recognised today. Information technology is no exception. And no-one would disagree that technology has its place in â€Å"lighter† interests as well as â€Å"get things done† ones, such as personal entertainment. We were in awe of the television long before iPod products became released on the market. We actually live in an age where some people would feel embarrassed about being seen with a CD player in public – I state this point to back up the claim that IT has unequivocally altered education programmes to a certain extent, in a bid to keep our children â€Å"up-to-date.† However, the advent of the whole IT thing i t’s by no means nothing but sweetness and light when you think more deeply about it†¦ read on and you’ll see why. ... Besides that several thoughts came from all which made the decision making process much easier as well as effective. New ideas and observations which came from various individuals were quite helpful while we did this study. Some of the possible derivations and observations from our study that we concluded have been summarized below. Main report IT and the next generation Although I’m not a bona fide expert in IT or computer-aided education or anything like that, I do have my convictions in this area that I regard as important to share. Indeed, I would hope that I’ve convinced in the last sentence of the previous section that IT doesn’t just have its significance as a classroom subject. It has considerable societal relevance. I look at children today and I definitely don’t need reminding that youth tend to regard the IT-related products that they possess as status symbols. It is especially obvious with mobile phones and, to a lesser extent, computer games ( Pokemon, at least, certainly took the world by storm). Even the well-known American cartoon series South Park has entire episodes that are parodies devoted to satire aimed at Facebook and computer games consoles, among other things. Of course, children are curious, so you shouldn’t be too surprised if your child relishes the prospect of learning about modern technology (even more so if they are made to believe that it is â€Å"important† i.e. how else would they keep up-to-date in society?). So maybe a good place to start would be to look back at the IT-related education I received as a child. Interestingly enough, my younger brother was writing programmes on a Commodore 64 before we reached puberty†¦ but I can vaguely

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Interview with a Record Store Owner Essay Example for Free

Interview with a Record Store Owner Essay On a less then pleasant day the weather was cold and rainy so before I left the safety of my car I turned my collar up to face the cold and made a bee line to the store so fast it would put Usain Bolt to shame. When I walked in the store I was greeted by the smell of coffee and sound of The Rolling Stones song Monkey Man playing over the store speakers with the owner of the store john singing along to the song and throwing his arms up like a monkey. As soon as you walk into the store your face to face with a giant rack of used DVDs ranging from Driving Miss Daisy to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre the store itself is not very big on the left side of the store is a shelf contain records from Abba to Rob Zombie on the right side is a shelf holding the cds. I was immediately welcomed by john who sitting down in behind his cash register with a sign on it that read â€Å"No Personal Check† behind him was a giant poster of Frank Zappa which seemed like one of his most prized positions john had. John had on a tie dyed rolling stones shirt john had looked tried and he seemed to be discomfort later I found out he looked that way due to having MS. Before john and I stared talking I asked if we could take a walk around the store john told me that he is not able to â€Å"move very well because I have Multiple sclerosis† so he called for his employee Jack to walk with me and directed Jack to answer questions I have. Jack was tall and in his early 20s ,jack and I walked around the store looking at vinyl they had they had seemed to have every record you could ask for and if they didn’t have it they could order it for you . I asked jack to explain the process of how they value the used records that come in the shop jack pulled a random of the shelf and proceeded to go over the check list â€Å"first we look at the condition of the album sleeve any bends or damage to it second we look for the labeling mono, monophonic, monaural, stereo or stereophonic on the sleeve and record label, which identifies the recording process and helps us determine the value and finally we Evaluate the condition of the record by looking for any obvious damage to the vinyl. Jack holds the record up to the light on a slight tilt Look for scratches, record edge nicks or damage to the paper label† we have music here for everyone’s price range after that I thanked jack and retuned to talk to john. When I came back to talk to john he had offered me a cup of coffee I accepted and went on to ask john how long has the store been open john told me that â€Å"I am the fifth owner of Rainbow Records; it first started out in Park Ridge in the mid-1970s. Then the store was moved to Palatine in 1993 by the fourth owner, who offered me the opportunity to buy the store from him in 1997 I then eventually moved the store to here†. I asked john what was the first record he had ever purchased john though for a minute and said â€Å"Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys when I was 9-years-old† I ask john why do you think vinyl sales are going up while CD sales are falling â€Å"There is nothing like vinyl It has a totally different sound than CDs or that MP3 stuff. I’m sorry, but you don’t listen to music on a phone and really get to appreciate it.† I said to john it looks like your store buys all types of records and CDs is there any type of music you won’t buy? â€Å"Classical no one asks for it so I don’t want it besides this is a rock and roll store† John what do you think about kids that have never heard a record on vinyl? They are really missing out Vinyl has a great in-depth sound to it,† he says. â€Å"There is an art to what I call albums and what everybody called albums back in the day. From the cover, which is a piece of art in itself, to listening to, and appreciating the way songs are arranged from side to side, you don’t get that with any other music format.† Looking around the store and seeing I was the only person in there besides jack maybe because of the weather but maybe because the store isn’t doing so well I asked john what got him into the record business â€Å"If you think about how much money you’re going to make, that’s a mistake. You’re not going to get rich doing this. What you’re doing is sharing your love of music with other people,† after john told me that a smile came across both of are faces. Before I had left the shop I walked around the store and picked up three records I think john would approve of the first one I got was The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed, Second album I grabbed was Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys and the third one was Frank Zappa Over-Nite Sensation. When I went up to john for the last time he could not help but to laugh as he rang them up as he handed me the bright yellow bag he said â€Å"enjoy† when I had made it home the first thing I did was put on my new rolling stones record put the needle on Monkey Man and turned my record player up to eleven.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Cuban Missile Crisis :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 6, 1945, the world changed forever. The United States had sent a B-29 bomber plane named â€Å"Enola Gay† to fly over the industrial city of Hiroshima, Japan and drop the first atomic bomb ever – â€Å"Little Boy† . The world had never experienced anything like it. One hundred thousand died almost instantly -- most of them were civilians. Three days later, in Nagasaki, another bomb -- â€Å"Fat Man† – was dropped. This time roughly forty thousand died. The people of the world were glad to see that the bombs ended most destructive war ever, but over the course of the forty years the world feared a nuclear battle that could wipe out all humankind off of the face of the Earth. The images that were coming from the aftermath of the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki affected almost every person in the world in all aspects. The image of the mushroom-shaped cloud and the desolate city would remain in every person’s mind as an image of destruction and as a warning of the danger of a nuclear war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Manhattan Project was the code name for an effort to create an atomic bomb during World War II. It was named for the Manhattan Engineer District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because most of the early research was done in New York City . Refugee physicists sparked the project soon after German scientists had discovered nuclear fission in 1938. Many American scientists feared that Hitler and the Germans would produce a nuclear bomb; consequently, they contacted Albert Einstein to write a letter to United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to help the production of the first nuclear bomb. Roosevelt agreed to assist the scientists and they began the Manhattan Project. The development took place at laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, located on an isolated mesa. The project was to be kept classified under all circumstances. The scientists working at the plant could not even tell their wives about their work, unless they worked there themselves. All the mail in the town was censored; everybody was restricted to a two hundred mile radius and residents were forbidden to tell their friends where they lived. No one in the community had a name; rather everyone was either a â€Å"sir† or â€Å"mister†. The most serious threat to the security of the project was the hiring of Klaus Fuchs who was found guilty of obtaining top-secret documents and sending them to the Soviet Union.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Professional Wrestling-Fake or Real Essay

Professional wrestling is entertainment sport. It refers to a phenomenon that is related to classical wrestling but it has its own distinctive features. It is similar as well as different. The element of entertainment is pervasive in professional wrestling. Every layman says that professional wrestling is fake and a mockery of the traditional wrestling but they forget to understand that one can not get injured or bleed just for a fake competition or fight. It is true that in some elements of a professional wrestling are scripted but it a bleeding combat can not a mock contest. The sole purpose of scripting the wrestling is to provide maximum entertainment to the viewers but what happens in arena is sometime is independent of that scripted combat. Scripted version also helps the competitors to prepare well to entertain at a maximum level. It furthers add colorful characters and a thrilling plot to portray a complete story that is equivalent to the duals of the medieval times. Although enmity is not that severe as it manifested on television or in front of audience but in the arena, the fight is as original as a real dual. The visual details of a combat will help you realize the reality of the professional wrestling. Consider one mighty man carrying another man over head and then throwing it on the hard surface in the arena, will that not cause harm? That surface is made of hard-boards. Will twisting one’s arm to the maximum extent not cause pain? Will Grabbing and pulling one’s hair and then punching or kicking one not result into any pain and winge? Thrashing ones at his/her wounds is another manifestation of the fierce battle as chairs that are used for this purpose are made of pure steel. Even an amateur wrestler cannot bear such immense pain and does not have the courage to lift himself up again to restart. The answer to the above-mentioned questions is very simple; yes it does cause a lot pain. So Wrestling is not only an element of plot but it is pain that is the most prominent element for a wrestler. Sometime a match results into a displaced jaw as well broken bones especially the cervical bone and the rib cage Apart from wrestling, stunts are dangerous but are real. They are scripted to the least details. But these stunts are performed in reality and some it does cause some unfortunate deaths. Same is the case with professional wrestling. Inclusion of dramatic elements also cast doubts about the originality of professional wrestling. The sole purpose of this exercise is an economic one. Wrestling Entertainment Companies needs something excited to generate more interest among people and to attract them at larger and broader level. Another reason is to engage viewers for a longer period of time. This is not a shameful exercise as most profit earning companies engage the customers in one way or the other. The enmity between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat became one of the most celebrated events of the professional wrestling history that lasted from the late 70’s into early 90’s. So professional wrestling is not fake but it is based on scripted outlines. As we all live in relative reality mode, so this must entertained must be relatively understood in the context theater, drama, sociology and other performing arts. It is all about plot bit it also about pain. It is impossible to assume that fakeness will win the hearts of the people but professional wrestling is captivating people all across globe. Audiences are too sharp critics and they note the minute details. So if they are moved by the fight then, they approve it fully. By and large they are unable to find any fault with. It must be kept in mind that only for fame or money, one can not sacrifice his physical and mental health. It is mere passion of the wrestler to start another fight after getting bleeding from the first. Another allegation against the unrealness is the attitude of wrestler toward referee. This fact can not be negated that wrestler behave badly with referee and some time beat them. Please consider a person who is in full savagery and fighting with a more savage competitor. So it should not be strange if this savage hits the referee too. Furthermore, they say that professional wrestling does not have any rules and policy. It must be noted that it is a pure entertainment and an entertainment should not limit its scope by too much rules and regulations. Although sometime decision is scripted and wrestlers are chosen to represent good or bad. But mostly these things are decided in the arena in the favor of those who perform better. Outcome can be pre-determined and a catchy storyline can be given but in arena fights is always real. On watching a movie of a single match between two wrestlers, one can see a lot of moves and occasion in the contest that can prove deadly. Although their enmity can be fictitious but both wrestlers are truly violent, aggressive and deadly. Sometime it too happens, hospitalization is thus too much common in the professional wrestling. The big boot is simply a kick to the face that can force one to have two or three session of plastic surgery. All the above-mentioned arguments and supporting evidence clearly manifest that although some minor elements of this sport entertainment are fake but fight in the arena is real.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Christian Music and Chris Tomlin

I would gather to say that when asked if they would rather listen to Christian or non-Christian music that the general population would choose the latter. Christian music is looked upon as having a dry and bland type of style, one that lulls you to sleep rather than the adrenaline pumping and soul shaking music that you get from most alternative bands. A problem that Christian music artists seem to have is trying to gather popularity for their product. Unlike the MTV bands, where sex sells, the Christian band keeps close to its values of clean wholesome music that glorifies God. Unfortunately the general population hardly shares these same views, and attendance for concerts and record sells are always down. Up until a few days ago I was under the category of non-Christian music over Christian, and was like everyone else thinking that no way could Christian artists stand up to those who were not. I have since seen that these thoughts could not have been farther from the truth. Artists like Chris Tomlin and his band not only bring to you the rhythm, beat, and noise that has come to be generally expected at rock concerts, but his type of â€Å"soul shaking† goes much deeper than others and keeps you in tuned with the Lord the entire time. So this brings about the questions, â€Å"What type of style do artists like Chris Tomlin bring to their concerts that intensifies the general perception of Christian music? † â€Å"Where does Christian concerts have benefits over non-Christian? † I was lucky enough to attend a Christ Tomlin concert this past weekend. Needless to say the experience blew me away along with my perception of Christian music. The atmosphere was just incredible the entire time I was there; such a sense of unity and friendship for one common goal seemed to permeate the room. The concert itself took place in the Nokia Center in Los Colinas, Texas, and there was not any empty seat in the room. Everyone there was with a common goal, to praise Jesus with song, and strengthen his or her relationship with Jesus. One thing I found interesting about this concert was that Chris included a guest speaker. This is something you will definitely not see at any other concert. Louie Giglio was the speaker's name, and after and hour of singing he provided a nice change of gears with a powerful message talking about how big God is and how small we are along with our problems. Using the songs just sang, he pounded in a teaching that brought about a whole new meaning to those lyrics. There was a silence that filled that room unlike any I had ever heard before. People were sitting concentrating on the message that had just been delivered to them and trying to understand its meaning and how it applied to their life. You would never hear any type of silence at a non-Christian concert, or be privileged to listen to a guest speaker. Most of the time it's seeing how much beer you can drink, or weed you can smoke and maybe listening to some music every now and then. Never is your attention focused solely on the stage following every word spoken or sung. Even with a room full of people the atmosphere at a Christian concert allows you in your mind to be by yourself with God. The quality of the music and sound was comparable to any rock concert that I had been to, helping erase my prejudice towards non-Christian music immediately. Chris had a tremendous voice, accompanied with his guitar and piano playing he was nothing short of astounding. He had a good group of guys playing alongside with him, all very inept in what they played. If the lyrics hadn't been praising Jesus you would have thought you had bought tickets to see Green Day. If the singing and instrument play wasn't enough, Chris did a great job of keeping the audience into it. He would have the entire crowd do certain things such as flip open their cell phones and hold them up while swaying back and forth. 10,000 people's cell phone lights were swaying back and forth creating and awesome spectacle and a sense of bonding time with God and each other. While singing was going on, pictures would be flashed up on the screen showing nature's beauty and Jesus on the cross. This reminded people of God's creation and the sacrifice that Jesus suffered for us. The clapping almost never stopped as people started to really get into the concert. Others were moving down to the front of the stage and were jumping up and down with the rhythm of the song. Not just teenagers, I'm talking about full grown men and women some in their mid-thirties to forties, jumping and yelling like it was some mosh pit at Ozfest. Instead of screaming profanities though these people were praising God. This type of celebration seemed to carry on for another hour or so, just singing and dancing, all for the glory of God. You could tell then that things were starting to wind down as Chris played a couple slow songs in succession, and people started moving back to their seats. They ended with the song â€Å"Indescribable† and towards the end of the song the stage went completely black and you couldn't hear Chris sing any more only the crowd. When the song had finished the lights came back on and the band was gone. This gesture struck me the most. When do you ever see a band walk off without saying anything, or acknowledging the applause by the audience? It was because it was important to them. All the glory is given to God there. God is the one that makes that concert possible and they made sure that He was the one glorified, not them. I asked my friend that I had went with, if this was the best Christian concert he had been to. He responded with, â€Å"Best? They are all like this. † It is just not Chris Tomlin that runs his concert like that; many other Christian artists share these same views. Though others still claim that Christianity a cult and that its music is just promoting a singular view. Whatever the reason, Christianity must be applauded for the giant leaps it has taken in the music industry and the quality of its songs. Musicians like Chris Tomlin must continue to be a beacon as a quality performer and God-fearing man to those seeking success as Christian music artists.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Key Drivers of HIV and AIDS in Sub

Key Drivers of HIV and AIDS in Sub Key Drivers of HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and San Francisco Disease epidemics are largely caused by specific historic, political, economic, and cultural aspects. In this respect, the infection spread is often regarded as a social rather than biological process. The plague of the twenty-first century is AIDS that have been caused by a complex of cultural, economic and political conditions. Specifically, gender inequalities, genocide, poverty, and many other factors have had a destructive impact on the situation in developing countries (Kalipeni 15).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Key Drivers of HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and in San Francisco and Church’s Response to the AIDS Pandemic specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Due to the lack of resources, consistent infrastructures, and effective governance, these economies have been struck by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS. The Afric an continent has undergone the worst shifts, particularly its Sub-Saharan region. However, poverty is only one of the key drivers of disease epidemic because there are many cultural, moral, and ethnic determinants influencing the situation. To enlarge on this issue, the rate of people suffering from HIV/AID is significant. Irrespective of local conditions and geographical peculiarities, the reasons for HIV/AIDS emergence are rooted in a complex mix of political, social, and economical factors that drive the epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and San Francisco. The nature of these factors is different, but refers to the common categories. The most tangible of epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa is strongly associated with gender issues. Specifically, such problems as gender inequalities and gender vulnerabilities, violence, and many other gender-related challenges are on the South African agenda (Gender and Inequalities and HIV n. p.). Gender inequalities are more related to masculinity imply ing that males are likely to have more sexual partners. This is of particular concern to men having relationship with much younger women. Further, force sex and violence of physical and emotional character are experienced by women who are less resistant to these threats. What is more threatening is that women have a lesser access to HIV/AID prevention plans causing restrictions to a decision-making process. Poverty and migrations are also among the core reasons for spread of the dangerous epidemic. Specifically, HIV prevention programs are often halted due to the lack of funding. These socioeconomic obstacles prevent the population from receiving sufficient financial, moral, and social support from developed countries (Kalipeni 205). This also explains why AIDS pandemic is still the major threat to our plant (Kelly 26). Despite the fact that many scientific and technological advances directed at preventing the disease have been introduced, the evidence shows that they have little im pact on the developing countries having much lesser access to financial resources.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Cultural believes, morale, and ethics are decisive in defining the underpinnings of increased rates of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. While attaining much importance to cultural forces, it should be noted that educational and information reforms must be introduced to increase the population knowledge and promote generally accepted educational standards (Kalipeni 17). Lack of information and responsiveness explains the inefficiency of prevention plan because cultural constraints determine the results. Although the United States belong to one of the most developed economies, the rate of AID/HIV creates a serious challenge to the US government. The problem is of particular concern to San Francisco region where the epidemic is also on the rise. The contri buting factors involve sexual orientation issues, injection drugs problems, and racial discrepancies. Heterosexuality can be largely associated with psychological, behavioral, and ethical patterns that are strongly associated with homosexuals (Kelly 45). Injection drugs are also toughly connected with the development of AIDS/HIV because they reflect the behavioral and psychological patterns that are typical of citizens (Rao and Svenkerud 86). In this respect, the prevention programs should be culturally sensitive and oriented on shaping new cultural patterns. Finally, racial discrepancies influence greatly the situation with AIDS increased rate as far as immigration issues are concerned. To be more precise, African Americans have higher rates of reported HIV cases among which are such categories as MSM and trans-persons are included (San Francisco HIV Prevention Plan 3). In conclusion, the analysis of social, cultural and political situations in Sub-Saharan region and San Francisco has revealed that that there are a great number of factors contributing to the spread of the epidemic. In particular, the key driving factors of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan African involve gender inequality, poverty and migration, and cultural beliefs. In its turn, San Francisco high rates are largely predetermined by sexual orientation, injection drugs proliferation, and racial discrepancies. All these factors can be embraced into a complex mix of social, cultural, and economical issues. Differences and Similarities of Factors Driving HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and San Francisco The identification of factors triggering the rise of HIV/AIDS in the regions has uncovered a number of distinctive differences and similarities. Before analyzing those, it should be stressed that pandemic is a social process that touches upon many political, ethnic, racial, cultural, and economical issues, which is the explicit similarity related to issue.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Key Drivers of HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and in San Francisco and Church’s Response to the AIDS Pandemic specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another common feature refers to the sexual orientation problem, particularly to homosexual males who have greater risk of being infected by the disease. Hence, due to male gender prevalence in South Africa, men are more likely to be sexually promiscuous. Despite similarities, there are obvious distinctions predetermined largely by economical and political conditions. Specifically, the level of poverty is different and, as a result, the causes of pandemic differ as well. South African region refers to developing economies whereas San Francisco in much more advanced in these terms. In addition, there are also discrepancies in cultural beliefs and perceptions. Lack of education and deficiency in understanding the problem prevents African people from embracing the seriousness o f the issue. Church’s Response to AIDS Pandemic Today, African religious institutions are primarily considered as healing ministries. This tendency has come to the forth when it comes in Christian traditions in African region as far as the problem of AIDS spread is concerned. The analysis of religious background of churches in Zimbabwe and other countries of Southern region have revealed that religion considers AIDS as a deviation of behavior and rejection to follow the main principles of religion (Dube 27). The church reaction on the epidemic, therefore, can be considered through wider applications of religion to AID/HIV problem. Judging from the above, Churches in African places an emphasis on moral dimension to eliminate spiritual and physical suffering that people endeavor because of the disease. In this respect, the Christian communities are more presented as mentors and teachers encouraging people to fight with the pandemic and resort to pre-caution methods. Their actio ns are directed at increasing people’s awareness and promoting specific educational programs based on the Biblical principles. The reforms concern both the infected people and the one who face this threat. Dube, Lilian et al. African Initiatives in Healing Ministry, South Africa: UNISA Press, 2011. Print.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More â€Å"Gender and Inequalities and HIV†. Gender, Women and Health. World Health Organization. 2011. Web. Kalipeni, Ezekiel, et al. HIV and AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology, New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Print. Kelly, Michael. HIV and AIDS: A Social Justice Perspective. Nairobi, Kenya: Paulines Publications, 2010. Print. Rao, Nagesh, and Peer J. Svenkerud. Effective HIV/AIDS prevention communication strategies to reach culturally unique populations: lesson learned in San Francisco, U. S. A and Bangkok, Thailand. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 22.1 (1998): 85-105. Print. San Francisco Prevention Plan. Introduction. SFHIV. 2010. Web.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

House Calls - The Metaphors of Dr. Gregory House

House Calls - The Metaphors of Dr. Gregory House Before you can ask if theres a metaphor in the house, Dr. Gregory House will oblige: Have you guys heard any of my metaphors yet? Well come on, sit on grandpas lap as I tell you how infections are criminals; immune systems the police. Seriously, Grumpy, get up here: itll make us both happy.(Dr. Gregory House in the Mirror, Mirror episode of House, M.D.) Over the course of several years, the names of a dozen writers have appeared in the credits to the Fox TV program House, M.D. Each, it appears, owns a well-thumbed copy of the Merck Manual of Medical Information. And by now all must be collaborating on a new edition of the Dictionary of Metaphors. As regular viewers are aware, the shows deeply disturbed protagonist (played by Hugh Laurie) is inclined to deliver inflammatory eructations of festering figures of speech. Houses Medical Metaphors At times House relies on metaphors to translate complex medical conditions into language that his colleagues (and other true idiots) can understand. Cervical lymph node is a garbage dump. Very small onejust one truck comes, and it only comes from one home. Al Gore would be appalled. (97 Seconds)Saying there appears to be some clotting is like saying theres a traffic jam ahead. Is it a ten-car pile-up, or just a really slow bus in the center lane? And if it is a bus, is that bus thrombotic or embolic? I think I pushed the metaphor too far. (Euphoria, Part 1)Dr. House: You know, when the Inuit go fishing, they dont look for fish.Dr. Wilson: Why, Dr. House?Dr. House: They look for the blue heron, because theres no way to see the fish. But if theres fish, theres gonna be birds fishing. Now, if hes got hairy-cell, what else are we gonna see circling overhead? (Role Model)Dr. House: As far as youre concerned, the patient is Osama bin Laden, and everyone not in this room is Delta Force. Any questions?Applicant #11: Were protecting Osama bin Laden?Dr. House: Its a metaphor. Get used to it. (The Right Stuff)The tumor is Afghanistan, the c lot is Buffalo. Does that need more explanation? OK, the tumor is Al-Qaeda. We went in and wiped it out, but it had already sent out a splinter cella small team of low-level terrorists quietly living in some suburb of Buffalo, waiting to kill us all. . . . It was an excellent metaphor. Angio her brain for this clot before it straps on an explosive vest. (Autopsy) The liver is like a cruise ship taking in water. As it starts to sink, it sends out an SOS. Only instead of radio waves, it uses enzymes. The more enzymes in the blood, the worse the liver is. But once the ship has sunk, theres no more SOS. You think the livers fine, but its already at the bottom of the sea. (Locked In)Dr. Cameron: Idiopathic T-cell deficiency?Dr. House: Idiopathic, from the Latin meaning were idiots cause we cant figure out whats causing it. Give him a whole body scan.Dr. Cameron: You hate whole body scans.Dr. House: Cause theyre useless. Could probably scan every one of us and find five different doodads that look like cancer. But, when youre fourth down, 100 to go, in the snow, you dont call a running play up the middle. Unless youre the Jets.Dr. Cameron: I hate sports metaphors. (Role Model) But House is generally more intent on frightening than on edifying. As he once said: The point of metaphors is to scare people from doing things by telling them that something much scarier is going to happen than what will really happen. God, I wish I had a metaphor to explain that better. (All In) At other times the House metaphor is nothing more than a comic exercise in doctor-patient incivility. Once, after discovering that a young man had attempted self-circumcision with a utility knife, House snapped, Stop talking. Im going to get a plastic surgeon. To get the Twinkie back in the wrapper. House Metaphors About Life in General Of course, House himself is a walking, or rather limping metaphorhis crippled leg an emblem of his deformed spirit. And his acerbic metaphorical remarks may be read as symptoms of an undiagnosed malady. No, there is not a thin line between love and hate. There is, in fact, a Great Wall of China with armed sentries posted every twenty feet between love and hate. (Occams Razor)Dr. Wilson: Beauty often seduces us on the road to truth.Dr. House: And triteness kicks us in the nads. (Occams Razor)Lies are a tool: they can be used either for good orno, wait, Ive got a better one. Lies are like children: hard work, but theyre worth it because the future depends on them. (Its A Wonderful Lie)Dr. House: Nothing matters. Were all just cockroaches, wildebeests dying on the river bank. Nothing we do has any lasting meaning.Evan Greer: And you think Im miserable?Dr. House: If youre unhappy on the plane, jump out of it.Evan Greer: I want to, but I cant.Dr. House: Thats the problem with metaphors. They need interpretation. Jumping out of the plane is stupid.Evan Greer: But what if Im not in a plane? What if Im just in a place I dont want to be?Dr. House: Thats the other problem with metaphors. Yes, what if youre actually in an ice cream truck, and outside are candy and flowers and virgins? Youre on a plane! Were all on planes. Life is dangerous and complicated, and its a long way down. (Living the Dream) You know me. Hostility makes me shrink up like a . . .. I can’t think of a non-sexual metaphor. (Spin)You know its all nice when people start to dig these holes, but then they start to live in these holes and get angry when someone pushes dirt into those holes. Come out of your holes, people! (House vs. God)Dr. House: Im a night owl, Wilsons an early bird. Were different species.Dr. Cuddy: Then move him into his own cage.Dr. House: Wholl clean the droppings from mine? (Sleeping Dogs Lie) Every now and then, however, House finds himself on the wrong side of a metaphor, as in this exchange with a young patient: Dr. House: Are you going to base your whole life on who youre stuck in a room with?Eve the Patient: Im going to base this moment on who I am stuck in a room with! Its what life is. Its a series of rooms, and who we get stuck in those rooms with, adds up to what our lives are.(​ One Day, One Room) And how does House respond to the womans metaphor? As he must, by silentlyand literallywalking out of the room.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Exemplary Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exemplary Research - Essay Example These two papers have been used to demonstrate how a management strategy can be built on the basis of intellectual capital for better performance in the goal achievement arena. To begin with, traditionally, organisations have been seen to work on the premise of three basic factors of production – land, labour and capital. These three factors have been hailed as equally important with labour always having occupied a special place of importance. In this regard, the three factors of production were enough to nicely and simply sum up the requirements of an organisation. (Nahapiet et al, 1998) The modern day organisation used four factors of production or four basic categories of resources: land, labour, capital and expertise. With the advent of various technologies and trends like globalisation, there has been a strong emphasis on the growth of manpower development along the lines of securing employees as long term assets in whose hands the growth of company lies. This is where the term expertise comes in. (Lumpkin et al, 1996) Expertise means many things to many people due to the sole reason that it includes a lot of elements that contribute to the organisation strength when it comes to the achievement of goals. This has basically been used in Non governmental organisations, but has recently been added to every corporation’s list of priorities. This brand of expertise gives rise to intellectual capital through a strategic growth and development process of the organisation’s human capital. These two papers deal with the study of intellectual capital as a form of social capital within the corporate sphere in terms of its brand asset relevance aspect. In this respect, it has been realised that intellectual capital needs to be measured to chart and track the course that is being followed by the organisation and the people within it, as far as reaching and achieving goals is concerned. (Nahapiet et al, 1998) Whether it is in the Research

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Reseach Designs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reseach Designs - Essay Example are real life or assumed scenarios of any situation in which the readers are asked to access and understand the real problem in that situation and then to implement the best possible way to solve that problem. Case studies or case histories can be used to effectively study behavior of many individuals. Case histories are real life situations therefore; others can take the lead and try not to make the same mistakes again as the ones made in the case history. Another example would be that they can be used to evaluation of the people who have the similar kind of personalities like Type A, and Type B and Type C present will react in different situations. So companies and organizations can use these cases to understand how different kinds of people will react in similar situations. For example, if there is a case history present about how a type personality person will react when faced with failure, it can be used to estimate how others will the same personality traits will be reacting in similar situations. 2. Meta-analysis and traditional literature reviews are two different research techniques. Meta-analysis is used to analyze a wide variety of questions by amalgamating and summarizing and reviewing of a previous quantitative research. Certain parts of the research already done are entered into a database where it is analyzed to give another comprehensive view of the research. In the database, all the similar kind of information is gathered to give a common review that might be difficult to interpret meaningfully. Traditional literature review on the other hand, provides an overview of the research findings done by an individual. It is written by actually examining a body of published work and writing a critical ceremony of the body of the text. Literature reviews are usually used to put up different policies forward and indicate future research directions. One of the major advantages of traditional review is that if properly done by an expert, valuable unique

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Business Process for Amazon.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Process for Amazon.com - Essay Example Running business is not only keeping organization's website on Internet and driving it simply; It has a full modus operandi that shows the business to consumer; compel them to make business to hat organization, upgrading the site as required, etc. Tamba Internet (1994 - 2007), clearly says in their website "All successful e-commerce sites follow two vital rules: Goods are clearly and attractively displayed for maximum visual impact; and the customer experience is simple and pleasurable." This statement perfectly fits upon the website commonly known as Amazon.com. The basic work flow of the business is known to be the business process. There are number of different activities from buying a product from the vendor to selling it to the customer; from finding out the vendor to advertising to attract customers; from settling up the prices to buy stock to gaining the profit. All of these basic activities when define in a flow collectively, business process is specified. Business is the name to purchase and sell the product in a manner to earn profit. For, e-commerce the business, CEO of the company shows up the structure of the business by drawing different boxes following each other. Each of the box at that time represents the task or activity perform by the workers or equipments, as an essential step to perform business. This is what the CEO is drawing called as Business Process Diagram. These activities take the input and produce an output which is the input of the other activity. This is known to be the flow of business where internal inputs are shared to produce different major productive outputs. Business Process For Amazon.Com Amazon.com is a real world wide famous website, diversifying its business in many directions using a single web site. This is one of the major e-commerce website doing the biggest business with number of customers and variety of stocks. It is a online shopping e-commerce website. According to David Forbes in his review to Spring Time for IT (2003) told that to implement the whole Amazon.com on to the technical grounds it was a difficult task. As people didn't understand the requirements of the technical industry. Though, employees weren't appreciatively contributing to explain their views and ideas to the designer. However, IT itself is nothing to start of some business process management but its only what designers made it to process at best and it can only be possible if people get cooperative. Leaving decision making upon IT system from the beginning level wasn't good idea as IT may help taking decision but it can only possible if the System is known with the past up and down facts of the business and though in beginning the Subject Matter Experts should come forward and tell each and every functionality they requires to have in the business process management system. Furthermore, cost for making this IT system may gives a hard time but after noticing the Kodak who spent 1billion dollar for its ERP system then to spend much for IT system is worthy enough as later it saves many cost and will help to get many customers to cover the loss. Though, Amazon has converted his whole business in IT in form of Amazon.com. The real meaning while defining the word business is specified to buy and sell something in regard to earn profit. Now, Amazon was online and can be accessible to the entire world just by few clicks

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Underdetermination, Instrumentalism and Realism

Underdetermination, Instrumentalism and Realism Understanding Underdetermination in conjunction with realism and instrumentalism The present essay is about the understanding of under determination thesis in conjunction with the realism and instrumentalism. As we know that realism and instrumentalism are two opposite views in philosophy of science, so by explaining the two it would be much easier to grasp the concept of under determination thesis, which is one of complex doctrine. The intended audiences of this essay are science students and people who are interested to know about the philosophical issues in science. I divide the essay into four of parts. The first part explains the realism and instrumentalism concepts, second part explains the under determination thesis in detail and then the third part will state the views of different philosophers about three schools of thoughts. The fourth and the final part conclude the whole argumentation Realism The word realism in the dictionary means the tendency to view or represent things as they really are. [dic]. In philosophy of science it can be defined as â€Å"the philosophical doctrine that abstract concepts exist independent of their names†. It can be explained as an approach in philosophy that considers objects as they are in the universe as real things and their characteristics as a secondary thing. The advocate of realism are called realist and it is important to differentiate the realists. A person can be realist about the different kinds of things i.e. mountains, physical objects, numbers, universe etc. but in the case of a philosopher, it is required to specify that for what object/thing the philosopher is realist [book]. An American philosopher name Hilary Putnam stated that â€Å"A realist with respect to a given theory holds the following: What makes them true or false is something external that is to say, it is not in general our sense data, actual or potential, or the structure of our minds, or our language, etc. Furthermore he says that the positive argument for realism is that it is the only â€Å"philosophy that does not make the success of science a miracle†. [Book]. Generally, in science established scientific theories are treated as a true fact, but according to realist these theories would be treated as a successful explanation of the whole scientific process or its relation to an object, and not as a whole truth. [Book] An example is that sun, mountains, building etc. exists in this world, but the attributes like length, width, colour etc. are either dependent or independent of the environment. For example the sun is spherical in shape, so it is independent from any material thing of this universe. But in case of a building, its shape and size, all depend upon the person who designed or built it. So it can be said that reality is related to mind and environment. In general, Realism is supposed to be a term that relates to number of subjects i.e. ethics, aesthetics, causation, modality, science, mathematics, semantics etc. When we talk about the realism in the context of science then the intention is to elaborate the scientific realism which has a number of dimensions i.e. metaphysical, epistemological and methodological. Besides this it is also the truth that there is no single version of scientific realism which is being accepted by all the scientific realists. The doctrine of scientific realism states that â€Å" the world studied by science exists and has the properties it does, independently of our beliefs, perceptions, and theorizing; that the aim of science is to describe and explain that world, including those many aspects of it that are not directly observable; that, other things being equal, scientific theories are to be interpreted literally; that to accept a theory is to believe that what it says about the world is true, and that by continually replacing current scientific theories with better ones. Science makes objective progress and its theories get closer to the truth†. Realism has two schools of thought, first one is called Extreme realism, represented by William, a French philosopher; according to him â€Å"universals exist independently of both the human mind and particular things†. The second one is moderate realism and according to which â€Å"universals exist only in the mind of God, as patterns by which He creates particular things†. The main proponent of this view was St. Thomas Aquinas and John of Salisbury. According to epistemological view of realism, things exist in this universe, independent of our understanding or perception. This point is totally opposite to the theory of idealism, which states that â€Å"reality exists only in the mind†. By having a brief explanation of realism, instrumentalism will be discussed, which is the opposite view of realism and most of time called Antirealism. Antirealism is a doctrine that rejects realism, and includes instrumentalism, conventionalism, logical positivism, logical empiricism and constructive empiricism. Instrumentalism Instrumentalism is treated as a doctrine that states â€Å"theories are merely instruments, tools for the prediction and convenient summary of data† [Book]. In other words it can be defined as â€Å"concepts and theories are merely useful instruments whose worth is measured not by whether the concepts and theories are true or false, but by how effective they are in explaining and predicting phenomena†. The point is that in order to make predictions from theories, logic is required, so it can be hard to say theories have no truth values. In view of this instrumentalists admit that theories have truth values, but do not accept this argument that theories should be treated as accurately true. In view of this T.S. Kuhn said that â€Å"Theories may have truth values but their truth of falsity is irrelevant to our understanding of science†. [Book] In other words instrumentalism evaluates the significance of a theory with respect to empirical evidence and did not require the understanding of the actual phenomena. For example Newton gravity model is understandable and working fine, but it has no theoretical foundation [Answer.com] The another aspect of instrumentalism is that it relates closely to pragmatism and this point of view opposes the scientific realism because according to this, theories are more or less true in nature. Moreover, instrumentalism refutes that theories can be evaluated on the basis of truth. Theories will not be perceived as air plane black box which gives output on the basis of observed input. The point is that there should be a clear distinction between theory and observation that further leads to a distinction between terms and statements in each type. Like in science for statement of observation there is a specific meaning for an observable truth, for example if the litmus paper is red, so the observation terms have their meaning fixed by their referring to observable things or properties, e.g. red. Theoretical statements have their meaning fixed by their function within a theory and arent truth evaluable, e.g. the solution is acidic, whereas theoretical terms have their meaning fixed by their systematic function within a theory and dont refer to any observable thing or property, e.g. acidic. Though you may think that acidic refers to a real property in an object, the meaning of the term can only be explained by reference to a theory about acidity, in contrast to red, which is a property you can observe. Statements that mix both T-terms and O-terms are therefore T-statements, since their totality cannot be directly observed†. There is some criticism of this distinction, however, as it confuses non-theoretical with observable, and likewise theoretical with non-observable. For example, the term gene is theoretical (so a T-term) but it can also be observed (so an O-term). Whether a term is theoretical or not is a semantic matter, because it involves the different ways in which the term gets its meaning (from a theory or from an observation). Whether a term is observable or not is an epistemic matter, because it involves how we can come to know about it. Instrumentalists contend that the distinctions are the same, that we can only come to know about something if we can understand its meaning according to truth-evaluable observations. So in the above example, gene is a T-term because, although it is observable, we cannot understand its meaning from observation alone. The explanation of realism and instrumentalism above has provided us the capability to understand the topic with much insight. Now, I switch to under determination thesis. From the above discussion we have the knowledge that instrumentalism is related to pragmatism and this point of view is in contrasts with the scientific realism, which states that theories are often more or less true. Here, I refer to Quine, who said that theories can be underdetermined by all possible observations [23], and Newton Smiths, treat this as a threat to realism. He said, realism in his sense has to be rejected if there can be cases of under determination of theories. Under determination As we know that under determination is a thesis that is â€Å"used in the discussion of theories and their relation to the evidence that is cited to support them†.[1] Arguments from under determination are used to support epistemic relativism by claiming that there is no good way to certify a theory based on any set of evidence. A theory is underdetermined if, given the available evidence, there is a rival theory which is inconsistent with the theory that is at least as consistent with the evidence. Moreover, under determination is treated an epistemological issue about the relation of evidence to conclusions. Historical background The subject gets its first attention by Renà © Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician in the 17th century. He presented two arguments related to under determination. â€Å"While dreaming, perceived experiences (for example, falling) do not necessarily contain sufficient information to deduce the true situation (being in bed)†.[2] As we know that it is not always possible for a person to separate dreams from reality and the theory that what is real or dream at a certain time is underdetermined. The second argument of Descartess is called demon argument â€Å"which is a variant of the dream argument that posits that all of ones experiences and thoughts might be manipulated by a very powerful being (an evil demon) that always deceives. Once again, so long as the perceived reality appears internally consistent to the limits of ones limited ability to tell, the situation is indistinguishable from reality, one cannot logically determine between correct beliefs from being misled; this is another version of under determination†.[2] The second person who talks about under determination was David Hume, who does not use the word under determination specifically but an argument about the problem of induction. I will discuss the induction later in the essay while explaining the under determination types. The Under determination thesis gets the recognition in the twentieth century through the work of Thomas S. Kuhn, who is a famous theoretical physicist and philosopher. He was very much prominent due to his work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that offered an alternative to linear models of scientific progress. According to Kuhn the under determination has a place to for argumentation against theories in the philosophy of science, and scientific realism. According to Khun the under determination can be divided into two types the weak and strong under determination. The both could be stated in the following words: Weak underdetermined is that the currently available evidence is not sufficient to prove the argument, but some evidence that will be available in the future might do this. Strong underdetermined is to claim that it is principally impossible to get evidence that could fully resolve the argument between the opponent theories. Besides strong and weak underdetermined theory there are two other attributes called deductive and inductive under determination. The two rival theories could be deductively underdetermined when the available evidence does not completely deny either theory. The theory is inductively underdetermined when theories are compatible with the available evidence, but still tries to determine, which theory could be a better failure A weak under determination can turn to a strong one if it avoids the attainment of future evidence that turns it into deductive under determination. A counter argument is that it is not possible for a theory to be accurately strong and inductive. In general weak under determination arguments are focused on the availability of evidence for an explicit set of theories, and strong under determination mostly entails common epistemological arguments that relates to the type of evidence and its viability for a particular or general theory. Furthermore, it is generally acknowledged that all theories are weakly underdetermined, but in case of some specific purpose all theories are strongly underdetermined. Explaining the types of under determination thesis, Ludan said that â€Å"for any finite body of evidence, there are indefinitely many mutually contrary theories, each of which logically entails the evidence†. So in other words it can be said that deductive under determination is under determination of selecting theory through a logical method. Finally, the term under determination as thesis is associated with two respectable names Pierre Duhem and W.V. Quine in philosophy of science, â€Å"that neither the truth nor the falsity of any scientific theory is determined by evidence†. According to Duhem-Quine Under determination is a â€Å"relation between evidence and theory. More accurately, it is a relation between the propositions that express the (relevant) evidence and the propositions that constitute the theory. Evidence is said to underdetermine theory†. From the above it can be said that evidence is not enough to prove the theory, belief or truth. Moreover, only the availability of evidence is not enough to make the theory a credible one. In view of this we can call the first argument a deductive and the second inductive under determination. Hence, according to under determination thesis, both arguments have required some definite epistemic proposition, and belief in a theory could not be justified on the basis of evidence. For under determination types, Duhem, also said that â€Å"logic alone cannot take us from the falsification of a prediction to a refutation of an isolated hypothesis. Importantly, deductive under determination does not mean that theory choice is underdetermined, nor does it mean that there is more than one reasonable conclusion given certain experimental evidence†. Up until now we have a basic understanding of the under determination thesis, so now I will discuss what realism actually is, the theoretical frame and the origin of the concept. Another argument against scientific realism, deriving from the under determination problem, is not as historically motivated as these others. It claims that observational data can in principle be explained by multiple theories that are mutually incompatible. Realists counter by pointing out that there have been few actual cases of under determination in the history of science. Usually the requirement of explaining the data is so exacting that scientists are lucky to find even one theory that fulfils it. Furthermore, if we take the under determination argument seriously, it implies that we can know about only what we have directly observed. For example, we could not theorize that dinosaurs once lived based on the fossil evidence because other theories (e.g., that the fossils are clever hoaxes) can account for the same data. Realists claim that, in addition to empirical adequacy, there are other criteria for theory choice, such as parsimony. In particular, it must not be confused with what Newton-Smith takes to be a minimal common factor among the wide range of philosophers who in recent years have advocated a realist construal of scientific theories. This common factor consists of the following theses: (1) Scientific theories are either true or false and which a given theory is, it is in virtue of how the world is, (2) If a theory is true, the theoretical terms of the theory denote theoretical entities which are causally responsible for the observable phenomenon whose occurrence is evidence for the theory, (3) We can have warranted beliefs (at least in principle) concerning the truth values of theories, (4) The historically generated sequence of theories of a mature science may well be a sequence of false theories but it is a sequence in which succeeding theories have greater truth-content and less falsity content than their predecessors. We may refer to (1) as the objectivity, (2) as the causality, (3) as the decidability, and (4) as the convergence of scientific theories. Newton-Smith uses the name realism for the combination of these four theses, and he also seems to hold that this is the standard use of the term. It is clear that theoretical realism in the weakest sense entails neither objectivity, nor causality, nor decidability, nor convergence. In particular, some theoretical propositions may be true even if no scientific theory as a whole is either true or false. Moreover, it is doubtful whether realism in Newton-Smiths sense entails theoretical realism. For example, if all theoretical propositions are false, then theoretical realism is false, but realism in Newton-Smiths sense might still be true. In any case, one of Newton-Smiths main theses is that realism in his sense has to be rejected if there can be cases of under determination. In particular, he claims that either objectivity or decidability has to be weakened if under determination can occur to give up decidability is what he calls the ignorance response (to under determination). This involves embracing the possibility of inaccessible facts facts concerning whose obtaining we could have no information. To give up objectivity is what he calls the arrogance response. This amounts to holding that if we cannot know about something there is nothing to know about. 36 Notice, that this holds only for under determination in Newton-Smiths sense, i.e. under determination by all possible data. It does not hold for the other kinds of under determination mentioned above. In other words, it is only when an underdetermined theory is empirically viable that we cannot know that it is true or that it is false (either because it is neither true nor false, or because we cannot know, even in principle, what its truth value is). In general, we cannot have under determination (of any kind) together with empirical viability, objectivity, and decidability. If a theory is underdetermined, we cannot know that it is true. This I accept. At first, it appears that Quine would not accept this. He holds that there may be two best total theories which are empirically viable and incompatible, but that we may know, at least in principle, that one of them is true and the other false. However, it seems that Quine is then using true and false in a non-realistic sense; according to him, to call a statement true is just to reaffirm it. He does not seem to assume that there is some objective reality, the world, such that the truth of a statement consists it its correspondence with this reality. Hence, presumably he would reject the objectivity thesis which is part of realism in Newton Smiths sense. Realism/Anti-realism Given the various epistemological difficulties (under determination, problem of induction, rationality, social forces), and the lack of a consensus on these issues, why should we think that our theories are actually describing reality? The apparently large gap between observational and theoretical knowledge inspires worry about realism Metaphysical difficulties come into play here as well—we do not have good understandings of the nature of laws and causation, explanation, so how can we claim that we are discovering the nature of the universe?