My Educational Philosophy A Reflective Comparison

each pedagogue has the lower limit of five old ages of experience. In comparing my educational doctrine in which I have gain through their old ages of experience. I will besides contrast their doctrine along side of my ain. At manus there are assorted diverse constructions in doctrine utilized in our instruction construction today. It is non unnatural to separate extra doctrines integrated in a school or schoolroom environment. While incorporating the assorted educational positions in the schoolroom, one would be obliged to hold construction of their schoolroom community. An person who enjoys learning will invariably prevail to develop their comprehension and acclimatise with the changing era. PhD Elise Kirchoff an pedagogue of 25 plus old ages in instruction has the assurance, creativeness and bravery ; individualizing has she would show her instruction manner. She believes in being convenient in order to be lissome towards each pupil acquisition demands. PhD Kirchoff besides considers mortal true within our school territory ; instructors contain a kind of freedom in their academic professionalism when it extends to choose on methods of direction and developing lessons. Meaning it all depends on the territory 1 may work for. As clip goes by each coevals instruction, larning potency does vary. The instruction manner educated in the early 80 ‘s is most likely infective in today ‘s schoolroom. PhD Kirchoff agrees in non being prepared on holding to make â€Å" throng control † ( Kirchoff ) . Though in the methods of subject in maintaining a schoolroom orderly focused and respectful she replied, have zero tolerance in schoolroom breaks would maintain the le sson traveling. With 30 old ages of learning experience PhD Kirchoff feels NCLB has non aided in her ability to learn, it has footing an surplus in paper work as an option. However throughout her old ages of learning she has come to appreciate the diverseness of legion pupils and how each pupil acquisition demands are inimitable. There are no cooky cutter lessons for particular need pupils. Jason Keller with 10 old ages of learning experience nine old ages in physical instruction while one twelvemonth in particular instruction. Keller Teachs in the BIC unit ( behavioural unit ) he based his replies toward his category. He based entirely on the unit for the ground of, when I set up the interview he was merely able to reply as a particular instruction instructor non has physical instruction instructor in which he has 9 old ages of experience. That said Keller ‘s personal strengths he finds particularly helpful in learning is to be patient and understanding. The pupils who are placed here have utmost emotional, behavioural jobs non including their disablements. Keller describes his instruction manner geared toward positive support instead than ensue and hit oriented, more advancement and betterment based. In comparing to PhD Kirchoff, Keller besides deems on the belief of holding the freedom to academic methods of direction and developing lessons. Both feel the same about NCLB, how it has non made their occupation as pedagogues any easier. Merely it has been a load of paperwork. Where they experience the clip is wasted on alternatively on category direction. Jessica Morales five old ages of schoolroom direction, Morales finds strengths particularly helpful in her instruction describe as, willingness to ne'er give up. When feeling overwhelmed, one needs to be able to stay unagitated and take a deep breath. Her teaching manner is flexible a manner to suit to all her pupils demands. In pull offing her to be flexible for the diverseness of each of her pupils it takes some work, though she feels the more that she gets to cognize her pupils, the easier it becomes. It will ne'er be wholly easy, but you will larn to suit your pupils. In comparing to these fantastic pedagogues my educational doctrine I would depict as being able to intrust the instruction and development to every pupil in malice of cultural or cultural background or economic position. However, my educational doctrine encloses by wrought of legion effects ; in trusting on my philosophic foundation to assist me construct both content and teaching method. It is of import to hold strong beliefs, grounded in sound theory to steer our teaching.A It is every bit imperative to go on unfastened minded to innovative tendencies and techniques that may advance our students.A In naming an educational doctrine motionless it will non be eligible ; it alters with clip and apprehension, and I will persistently copy, detect, and filtrate what I believe and why I believe it. As I gain knowledge my doctrine will alter, take a few things out or taking a few things in. A Among these changes I am unfastened to anything and my positions will be flexible and as unfastened to sentiments as I can be. A When I tell my pupils to woolgather, purpose for the stars, I am stating they can suppress a new end each new twenty-four hours, and so I will hold succeeded in my schoolroom. As an pedagogue I have seen the impact on pupil ‘s lives as their instructor the positive influence we have towards them to go good function theoretical accounts in society. We as instructors and students to the system learn something every twenty-four hours. I anticipate bring forthing a affecting experience within my pupils ; whereby they develop comprehension, include an optimistic ego reg ard and connubial motivation.A The apprehension they attain will be nonsubjective oriented and syllabus driven.A The manner I achieve this will fluctuate intrusting on the eccentricity of peculiar category and the pupils in the category. Finally, professional development is compulsory for whichever instructor who obtains unremitting self betterment. A I am non merely an pedagogue ; I am facilitator in the instruction development and supply a positive function theoretical account to society. A I contain an digesting answerability to magnify my comprehension of both capable affair and sophistication, and to invariably re-examine my proceedings and course of study in response to a continuously altering environment. As an educationist I need to be enthusiastically attentive of the place I participate in a pupil ‘s existence.A Life suggestions an incomputable district of educational duties, each forcing personal growing and extended cognition with each individual.A As a instructor, I need to be a supple to the character that validates an unqualified, reliable blessing of all my pupils and invariably petitions to help an instruction that counterparts each individual.A In my schoolroom, I will show a secure, an environment which encourages a regard of persons self construct and larning style.A Many have an of import input to suggest to this world.A In any circumstance I will help pupils in their hunt of their individuality immediate to the extended ends of instruction.

A Walking Holiday in Costa Rica by Mary Novakovich Essay

You’d have to have been living on another planet for the past half-decade not to have clocked the rise and rise of the Red City, Marrakesh. While five-star resorts have proliferated right up to the walls of the 1,000-year-old medina, inside them, along its chiaroscuro labyrinth of alleys and lanes, chic and unique riads have upturned and elevated paradigms of Moroccan design and service. Urbane and luxurious, Marrakesh now feels like a place where there’s nothing—or close to nothing—you can’t have. Which is why the places to look for the real Morocco often lie far from the burnished suites and buzzing restaurants of this city on the plain. Striking out for the farther reaches of the country is rewarded with unique takes on traditional hospitality, both new and timeless. They can be found deep in the southernmost region, where ungenerous stone begins to surrender to the saffron-gold sands of the Sahara; or high among the towering Atlas, where Berber culture has its oldest and still strongest roots, and brilliant colors and tribal traditions flourish amid sometimes indescribably severe natural beauty; or along Morocco’s coast, whose whitewashed, fortified villages reflect both European colonial history and Islamic mystery. Far below the historic Berber stronghold of Zagora, in the Drà ¢a valley, where only the faintest tire-tread marks indicate your path, my guide and I speed in our Toyota 4Runner past a scene of cinematic emptiness, shaded in the non-tones of the desert. After an hour’s drive from the town of M’hamid, we reach, of all things, a schoolhouse, set on a small rise; here, a 4 x 4 awaits to shepherd me to Erg Chigaga Luxury Camp. The brainchild of a transplanted English hotel executive, Nick Garsten, and a Berber desert guide named Moustafa Boufrifri, known to all as Bobo, the camp lies in the Erg Chigaga dunes, which climb to heights of 1,000 feet. The eight traditional caidal tents are connected by twin pavilions with ornate blackwork on their exteriors; inside, the walls are striped in bold red and cream, and thick pile rugs line the ground. Bathrooms have hand-worked metal  vanities and hot- and cold-water buckets on teak platforms for hammam-style bathing (which uses o nly about one-tenth of the water required by a conventional shower—a crucial concession here, where it is the most precious commodity). Crimson wool runners crisscross the camp, from tent to tent and from dining to leisure pavilions; at night they’re banked with lines of glowing lanterns. Flanking one edge of the main area is a row of palm trunks, between which are suspended several hammocks—what Bobo charmingly refers to as Erg Chigaga’s â€Å"chill-out zone.† Bobo himself—supremely competent and drily funny in five languages—lopes about in his cobalt-blue turban and djellaba, pouring shots of â€Å"Berber whiskey,† the ubiquitous and wickedly strong mint-tea blend. Two newer and more private tents, set about a 15-minute walk from the main camp, make excellent honeymoon destinations. The energy of Erg Chigaga seems prevailingly friendly and informal—a place to leaven the intrigue and high romance quotient of a desert bivouac with doses of extreme-ish activities (sand-boarding to the south; late-afternoon camel treks) and easy camaraderie around the fire after s unset. About 20 miles from Erg Chigaga, in the taller dunes at the edge of the ancient Iriki lake bed, is an encampment conceived for those who seek desert romance of the writ-large, Lawrence of Arabiavariety—and are willing to pay top dollar for it. The Camp of Dar Ahlam is a one-night experience as part of a longer stay at the elegant guesthouse of the same name in Skoura, some 200 miles to the northwest. First set up in 2007 as a single tent, it has expanded over the years, and can now accommodate as many as 30 people, but is still meant for only one group at a time. During my stay I am looked after by Ahmed, the camp manager, and a small staff. The camp reprises the narrative theme for which its namesake hotel (â€Å"house of dreams,† in Arabic) is known: my stay unspools in a series of mise-en-scà ¨nes straight from a Thesiger passage—or a Ridley Scott epic. My tent is of the simplest white canvas, lined in sisal and furnished with a low wooden bed and an embossed-brass table surrounded by kilim-covered cushions. At dusk, I sat ensconced in a Roorkhee chair in front of it, enjoying an aperitif (served on estate silver), surrounded by towering mounds of the Sahara, their summits shaped to paper’s-edge fineness by the wind. I had no inkling of the production happening one dune away, until Ahmed came to collect me for dinner; a trek over its crest revealed a tent surrounded by lanterns and, inside, lambent with the glow of multiple  candelabras. A table was set opulently enough to please a cherifa. I was served a tangia, a meat stew prepared in a terra-cotta urn and slow-cooked overnight in a wood-fired oven.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 22

Chapter 22 A PERFECT LONESOME CHRISTMAS The archangel Raziel hovered outside the Santa Rosa Chapel's big cathedral window, looking through a small pane of pink glass that formed Saint Rosa's cheek. He smiled at his handiwork, then beat his great wings and flew off to find some chocolate to sustain him on his trip home. Life is messy. Would that every puzzle piece fell into place, every word was kind, every accident happy, but such is not the case. Life is messy. People, generally, suck. This year, however, the Lonesome Christmas party in Pine Cove was coming off with clarified joy, an infectious goodwill, and a general harmony of spirit that shone in the guests with a smooth, high polish – a no-mess affair. â€Å"Theo,† Molly said, â€Å"can you grab the other lasagna pans out of the back.† She was carrying two of the long stainless-steel pans herself, and she was careful to bend at the knees as she set them down on the buffet table to keep the back of her short cocktail dress in the realm of decency. It was a plunging neckline LBD (little black dress) she'd borrowed from Lena just for the party – the first low-cut thing she'd worn in years. â€Å"We could have barbecued after all,† Theo said. â€Å"I told you fucksticks that the storm would turn south,† Mavis Sand growled as she sawed the end off a baguette like the moyl at a titanic bris. (Some people's goodwill shines differently than others'.) Molly set down her lasagna and turned around into the arms of her praying mantis of a husband. â€Å"Whoa, sailor, Warrior Babe's got work to do.† â€Å"I just wanted to tell you,† Theo said, â€Å"before everyone gets here, that you look absolutely stunning.† Molly brushed her hand across her neckline. â€Å"Scars don't do that, do they? They don't just disappear overnight like that, right?† â€Å"Doesn't matter to me,† Theo said. â€Å"Never mattered. Wait until you see what I got you for Christmas.† Molly kissed him on the chin. â€Å"I love you, even if you have mutant tendencies; now free me, Lena needs help with the salad.† â€Å"No, I don't,† said Lena, coming out of the back room carrying a huge salad bowl. Tucker Case followed close behind with a stainless caddie of dressings. â€Å"Oh, Theo,† Lena said, â€Å"I hope you don't mind, but Dale is going to come by in his Santa suit tonight.† â€Å"I thought you guys were in combat,† Theo said. â€Å"We were, but he surprised me a couple of nights ago when I was stealing some of his Christmas trees, and was just losing his temper when Tucker happened along and popped him in the nose.† Tucker Case grinned. â€Å"I'm a pilot, we're used to handling tense situations.† â€Å"Anyway,† Lena continued, â€Å"Dale was drunk. He started crying, getting maudlin, talking about how he was having trouble with his new girlfriend, saying how he hated that everyone saw him as the evil developer, so I invited him here. Thought maybe if he could do something nice for the kids, it would make him feel better.† â€Å"No problem,† Theo said. â€Å"I'm glad you two are getting along.† â€Å"Hey, Theo!† yelled Joshua Barker as he ran across the chapel floor toward them. â€Å"Mom says Santa will be at the party.† â€Å"A quick appearance, Josh, then he has to get on his route,† Theo said. He looked up to see Emily Barker and her boyfriend/husband/whatever Brian Henderson coming across the room. Brian was wearing a red Star Fleet Command shirt. â€Å"Merry Christmas, Theo,† Emily said. Theo hugged Emily and shook Brian's hand. â€Å"Theo, have you seen Gabe Fenton?† Brian asked. â€Å"I wanted to show him the shirt, I think he'll get a kick out of it. You know, nerd solidarity.† â€Å"He was here a little bit ago, Brian, but then Val Riordan arrived and they were talking. I haven't seen them for a while.† â€Å"Maybe they went for a walk. Beautiful evening, isn't it?† â€Å"Isn't it,† said Molly, coming to Theo's side. â€Å"He said he was good with weather,† said the Narrator. â€Å"Shhhhhhh,† said Molly. â€Å"Pardon?† Brian said. Out behind the chapel, the dead were feeling festive as well. â€Å"He's going to do her right here in the graveyard,† said Marty in the Morning. â€Å"Who would have thought a shrink could moan like that. A little carnal scream therapy, huh, doc?† â€Å"No way,† said Bess Leander. â€Å"She's wearing Armani, she's not going to mess up that outfit.† â€Å"You're right,† said Jimmy Antalvo. â€Å"They'll just suck face and take the party home for makeup sex. But how do you know she's wearing Armani?† â€Å"You know what?† said Bess. â€Å"I have no idea. Just a feeling, I guess.† â€Å"I do hope they sing ‘Good King Wenceslas, † said Esther, the schoolteacher. â€Å"I just love that song.† â€Å"Has anyone seen the biologist's dreadful dog?† asked Malcolm Cowley, the dead book dealer. â€Å"Last year the beast urinated on my headstone three times.† â€Å"He was sniffing around a minute ago,† said Marty in the Morning, â€Å"but he went inside when they started to bring the food out.† Inside, Skinner was sitting under the Christmas tree, looking at the strangest creature he'd ever seen. It was hanging from the lower branches, but it didn't look like a squirrel, or smell like food; in fact, it had a face that looked like another dog. Skinner whimpered and sniffed the air. If it was a dog, where was its butt? How could he say hello if he couldn't sniff its butt? He took a tentative step back to study the thing. â€Å"What are you looking at?† said Roberto.

Describe and assess the listener's experience of two different Assignment - 2

Describe and assess the listener's experience of two different composition or two performances of the same composition - Assignment Example William’s version waits for the strumming of guitar and then opens with ‘Moon River’ (Williams, 2010). His opening is not sad at all, Sinatra’s opening bears a sad connotation to it. Sinatra’s version does not have the strumming sound that creates a happy mood in William’s performance. There are plucking sounds with the ‘pick’ of the guitar that turn to flamingo style at 17 seconds into the song. The melody of the two performances is different from each other. Sinatra’s song has acoustics and strings to create the melody (Sinatra, 2011). William’s song has acoustics but lighter strings to create the same effect (Williams, 2010). The strumming is constant with the melody while Sinatra’s version has different style of guitar playing, strumming of Spanish guitar is almost absent from it. William’s performance enters into that energetic loud voice at about 40 seconds into the song with the line ‘I’m going your way’ (Williams, 2010). The beginning of the song ‘Moon River’ is different from Sinatra’s version as the first word Moon has a high tone and then a low tone of River to complement the happy strumming of the guitar. Sinatra says out both words out loud but with the sad tone, that gives the feeling of isolation. The performance by Andy William has more harmony than Sinatra’s. There are two occasions when a choir like harmonious backup vocals are added to William’s voice (Williams, 2010). Frank Sinatra sings the whole song alone. The pitch, tone, notes and chords sing in unison, Sinatra’s version has more variation in it, which adds to the mystery of the song. The ‘vertical part’ of the song is evident in William’s version. It is different from the melodic line. On a similar note, the counterpoint is very small to detect and distinguish from the harmony in William’s song. Sinatra’s version does not have the counter point. The musical form of the two songs is almost

Analyse and assess the factors behind the motivation of American Essay

Analyse and assess the factors behind the motivation of American soldiers in the Civil War - Essay Example In the reconstruction era most of the issues raised in the civil war were settled however, some of the issues remain unsolved but people got the solution of their major causes and problems1. The American Civil War has been regarded as one of the earliest industrial war fought in America. During the war mass produces weapons, railways, telegraphs streams and roadways were widely employed. It was also the deadliest war in the history of United States because over 620,000 soldiers were killed during the war and numbers of civilian casualties were also reported from all over the country. The war concluded with the desired outcomes for the North in term of termination of Confederacy and slavery. The demand of free men society was approved and all the slaves were freed from the slavery and were bestowed the rights to live freely in the country2. Factors behind the Motivation of Soldiers The identification of the factors behind the motivation of the soldiers to fight in the Civil war is an important issue that has been explored extensively by the historians and social scientists. The social and political situation of the country has been assessed in detail to understand the perspectives of people and soldiers. In addition to this, the letter, dairies and life stories of different soldiers participated in the war are also widely read and analyzed to understand their motive to take part in the war. Since, Civil War soldiers were the most literate soldiers in the war history they had strong intellectual base and thoughtful motivations behind their fight that they widely expressed through their letters and personal diaries3. Understanding the thinking style and direction of the Civil war soldiers is a complicated and challenging task that became easy by reading the diaries and letters of these soldiers. This understanding is very important to identify the factors that actually worked to motivate them at that time and to understand what the soldiers were thinking and feeli ng at the war time. Due to this reason, their personal writings have been regarded as most important source to list out the factor behind the motivation of soldiers during the civil war. The letters and dairies acted as major source to understand the thoughts and actions of the soldiers during the Civil war. On the basis of this analysis the historians and war experts have listed out numbers of factors that encouraged the soldiers to fight in the war. The American Civil War lasted for four years during which thousands of soldiers were dead but war was fueled by more soldiers came forward to take part in the war. There are several factors that motivated the soldiers to take part in the Civil war. Most of the soldiers participated in the Civil War were volunteer from the civilian life and they were not professional soldiers. They don’t have professional training of war but their motivation kept them fighting throughout the war just like the professionally trained soldiers. The motivation of the soldiers during the Civil war is a golden part of the political history of America because people were fighting for their cause with full dedication and potential. The traditional thoughts affirm that the soldiers were motivated to fight during the war by the factors like patriotism, ideology, religious issues and quest for glory however, the in depth studies have pointed out towards some close and real reasons

Employee Safety in Nursing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employee Safety in Nursing - Term Paper Example Emphasis is given on the failures of the relevant rules but also on the causes that have led to the continuous expansion of the problem. Suggestions are made for resolving the problem, or at least for controlling the further expansion of the problem. The barriers and the obstacles that the suggested measures are expected to face are also presented. It is concluded that employee safety in nursing may be difficult to be appropriately promoted; the nature of the particular profession, being related to health, seems that hides the potential risks for the sector’s employees. Also, the supportive role of nurses can be considered as opposed to dynamic contests, even for claiming rights, which are recognized by the law. The fact that nurses are at a rather low position in the organizational hierarchy is another factor preventing individuals working in the specific position to ask for the protection of their rights. The legislative texts and practices used in US for ensuring the safety of nurses are mentioned in order to show, at least indicatively, the progress made in the particular field and to explain the conditions in which such measures are likely to be developed – since suggestions are made for the increase of safety of nurses in healthcare units of various size. 2. Employee safety in nursing Employee safety is a complex concept; in nursing, the challenges faced by regulators trying to control the problem are many – mostly because of the continuous exposure of nurses to patients with various psychological problems, a fact that increases the chances for a violent event against nurses in the workplace. On the other hand, the volume of work in the specific sector is usually high; the needs and the rights of employees are often ignored due to the lack of time availability; the health problems of patients are set as a priority, an approach which can be accepted but up to a level. Employees in the healthcare sector have equal rights to health and s afety, as also the patients. The nature of their work should not be used as an excuse for ignoring the law focusing on the health and safety of employees in the particular sector. The problem is higher for nurses; their direct involvement in the treatment of many diseases on a daily basis makes their profession extremely risky – referring to the exposure of nurses to infections of various types due to the lack of adequate safety measures. On the other hand, due to the continuous development of technology, the complexity and the volume of services in healthcare sector have been increased. The health risks for nurses have been significantly increased, a fact that proves the inability of the state to develop effective rules for ensuring health and safety in nursing. It should be noted that the causes of the problem can be identified not only in the advances of technology in the health care sector but also in the increase of the number of cases handled daily. As the number of peo ple having access to healthcare services is increased, so do the risks for nurses. The continuous increase of immigrants, who are exposed to many infections due to their living conditions, is another factor threatening the health of nurses. At the same time, the training of nurses on health and safety is not always appropriate; under the pressure of time – for covering emergent needs in healthcare units across the country – the information provided to nurses regarding their health and safety

The history of Restorative Justice in the UK Essay

The history of Restorative Justice in the UK - Essay Example Restorative justice practice consists of â€Å"direct and indirect mediation, family group conferences, healing/sentencing circles and community restorative boards† (Walgrave and Bazemore 1991; Crawford and Newburn, 2003; Gavrielides, 2007 cited in Gavrielides, 2011, p.2). The term â€Å"restorative justice† was coined in modern justice literature and practice during the 1970s (Yantzi, 1998).Van Ness and Strong (1997, p.24) assert that Albert Eglash introduced the term in his 1977 article, but later in (Van Ness and Strong, 2010) he referred to the research of Skelton (2005) who argues that 1977 chapter was reprinted from an article that Eglash published during 1958-59(cited in Gavrielides, 2011, p.2). Raymond Michalowski divides human societies into to broad historical categories: ‘acephalous’ (Greek word meaning headless) and ‘State’. Acephalous societies are considered to be earliest human aggregations ever recorded in history of human kind. Main characteristics of these societies were their diffuse structure, blood-related organization, and strong affiliation with group values (Michalowski, 1985). These societies were also the earliest kinds of human community that was there for some 30,000 years. Arthur Hartmann asserts that acephalous societies can be differentiated between nomadic tribes and segmental societies. They were small in size, economically cooperative, and comparatively egalitarian (Hartmann, 1995). Rene Kuppe states major attributes of acephalous societies: â€Å"a close relationship between these societies and their lebensraum, a lack of organization as state and social stratification, and the dealing with conflicts within a society th at is not based on institutional force by the state†(Kuppe,1990,p.10). Michalowski asserts that these societies laid pressure on potential deviants through promoting collective responsibility and group emotions that in turn

Graphic aid Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Graphic aid - Assignment Example On the other hand, Apple’s share price has seen a more dramatic increase in terms of absolute amounts, rising sharply from the low of about US 400 dollars to peak highs of US 700 dollars (Yahoo! Finance, 2012; Google Finance, 2012). On the other hand, focusing on the most recent performance of the stocks, it is clear that while Samsung’s share price has plateaud somewhat with the share price stabilizing around 1.3 million Korean wons, the share of Apple from the most recent poll has seen a kind of dramatic drop. In the plot, one can see that from the high of US 700 dollars, the most recent share prices are below US 600 dollars. The prognosis for Apple moving forward is a bit shaky, and the recent drop in the stock price may be an indication that the investing public is not so enamored with the prospects of the company in 2013 and onwards, given the more recent missteps made by the company relating to core technologies for its smart phone, as well as missteps relating to the way it has priced its new tablet offerings as well. In contrast, Samsung’s price reflects some stability (Lappin, 2012; Yahoo! Finance, 2012; Google Finance, 2012). The images tell a story, from the point of view of Apple, about how Samsung smart phone designs have evolved over time, and with the iPhone introduction as the mark point for comparing how Samsung designs changed with that milestone. This graphic has been used by Apple’s lawyers before the court to make their case with regard to their claim that Samsung basically copied the smart phone designs of Apple and iPhone. Prior to the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the graphic shows that Samsung phone designs were largely rounded at the bottom, many with keypads, and had small screens. There were also navigation buttons at the center, and in all the phones reflected older design paradigms for

Measures to avoid the collapse of Jarvis construction Essay

Measures to avoid the collapse of Jarvis construction - Essay Example Jarvis Construction Company could have avoided collapse by ensuring an intensive analysis of the environment prior to formulating strategies. This should have been followed by a clear plan of implementation to ensure the mission of the construction firm remains on track (Adamson and Pollington, 23). Organizational strategic management demands that a company must remain in control of its strategies of operations. Jarvis construction lacked extensive external analysis in the United Kingdom construction industry. This caused the management to squander the opportunities available within the construction market. The conflict between price water house coopers and Jarvis was an early indicator of strategic collapse of weakening. The management of the company failed to appreciate the fact that strategies are not always implemented exactly as planned (Radosavljevic and Bennett, 19). Strategic organizational management in the construction industry demands flexibility depending on the market pr essures and the need to retain competitive advantage. The unforeseen environmental events affected the performance of the company adversely (Adamson and Pollington, 23). This could have been avoided by appreciating the gap between the strategies which are intended and those realised. The invariable changes in the course of implementation lead to profit warnings and inevitable losses. The management needed to have a constant strategic action with is dynamic and responsive to market pressures. The management of Jarvis Company could have invested in skilled and analytical thinkers. The training of personnel capable to digesting data and bring out the desired direction. The first change in the construction and the rising competition was not addressed in time. The failure of the company to adapt to the environmental influences has a profound effect on the firm (Radosavljevic and Bennett, 19). The management of the company needed to utilize industrial organization to ensure that the indus try maximized its competencies and resources (Adamson and Pollington, 23). This would have course Jarvis Construction Company to influence the strategies of the rival companies or even alter the industrial structure in the United Kingdom. An analysis of the operations shows that Jarvis Construction Company lacked a distinctive competence despite the strong reputation and decades of experience, the construction giant succumbed to the gradual market pressure which can be attributed to lack of operating strategy. The value of the company continued to fall (Radosavljevic and Bennett, 19). The management of Jarvis Construction Company failed to enhance its tangible and intangible assets. These included information, equipment, capital and knowledge. The management of the Jarvis admitted failure in delivery of quality services of London-Glasgow express. This could have been avoided by ensuring that the operational strategy is run effectively and effectively. The risk management strategy of the company needed to be reinvented to address the current threats to within the construction industry (Adamson and Pollington, 23). This is evidenced the results of the Potters Bar crash in Hertfordshire in 2002. The company needed to invest in sustained competitive advantage through excellence in service delivery. Systematic and comprehensive financial strategies could have been used to ensure the company avoided a financial meltdown. The financial advisers of Jarvis Construction Company should have helped the company to capitalize of the favorable market situations. Overreliance of a single client posed directly threats to the financial stability of the

The Cover-up Most Important Facts Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 24

The Cover-up Most Important Facts - Case Study Example As that paper outlines, following the formal procedure for purchase of equipments whose costs are more than $ 50000 could have taken time and deprived the department of the short term returns and also the advantage of low cost of the equipment. Failure to ensure technical support however undermines the potential benefits. Another important fact to the case is Colin’s failure to disclose the decision and action that Jeff and he took and this identifies an ethical dilemma. Rose has been supportive to Colin and is good at offering advice. He is also Colin’s senior and Colin fears that possible disclosure would lead to his sacking even before arrival of corporate representatives. Continued concealment of their decision however means that he continues hiding costs until the corporate department knows about the issue. Another important fact to the case is Colin’s reaction to other people. He demonstrates harshness on his child and his wife complains of his over-commitment to work. Other people such as workmates could also be victims of Colin’s hyperactivity and this is an ethical issue as he could be subjecting people to unnecessary psychological harm . The reporte stresses that "in the situation, I would approach Rose and discuss the situation with him, expressing my sincere remorse. I would explain to him reasons for my failure to disclose cost of acquisition and expenses on the machine, contrary to reporting standards by IFRS 7 and identify morality of my action. According to utilitarian ethics, an act is only immoral if it leads to greater harm to a greater percentage of involved stakeholders and even though the purchased equipment has not been used in the organization, its use could benefit all involved stakeholders to identify morality of the decision."

Full Day Kindergarten Essay Example for Free

Full Day Kindergarten Essay Full day kindergarten should be mandatory and of no extra cost for all of the elementary schools. This will boost the children’s academic achievement. The children that are exposed to full day kindergarten will learn more in literacy and mathematics than those in half-day kindergarten. The students that are in a full day program get to spend more time on their math, writing, and reading activities. The full day students also get the advantage of being able to participate in gym, art, and music classes. The half-day students do not get to experience gym, art, or music class. I have seen results first hand because I chose to put my son in a full day kindergarten versus the half-day. I chose to bring my son to a school that is located in Fridley so that he could receive the benefits of the full day kindergarten. The half-day program that Blaine offers has a very undesirable schedule for parents who work. The half-day schedule for Blaine elementary school is full days Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday. I think that the earlier the educational intervention begins the higher the impact and the more likely the effects will be retained. Other than the health of a child, I think that nothing should be more important than their education. Giving children the opportunity to be in a full day kindergarten program gives them opportunities that the half-day students do not receive. One of the opportunities is being able to spend more time on reading, writing, and math. The teachers also have more time to sit one on one with each student one or in small groups and work on these skills. They also have a different theme for each month that they focus on. Some examples of the themes are the solar system, U. S. residents, maps, and the celebrations around the world. Children also absorb things more easily when they are younger. Being a mother of a full day kindergarten student, I see the results of the extra reading, writing, and math that the teacher does with him. My son is one of the youngest in his class and he is reading at a first grade level. As for his writing, he attempt to write big words using phonics. For example, I came home one day a few months ago and he had written on his dry erase board â€Å"I see a red ladebug†. He also brought home a worksheet that he had written about his favorite fruits. On this worksheet, he had written â€Å"watrmlon†. As far as his math goes, he is always measuring things in the house with a kid’s yard ruler. The themes that they work on each month give the students the ability to know what is going on in the world around them. My son came home from school one day and told me that there was a planet that was not considered a planet anymore. I did not know this and I was in complete awe. According to Debra Ackerman, â€Å"Children in full day kindergarten programs score higher on their achievement test than those in half-day programs. Full-day kindergarten advocates suggest that a longer school day provides educational support that ensures a productive beginning school experience and increases the chances of future school success. In both full-day and half-day programs, kindergartners spend most of their class time working on reading, language arts, and math activities, but the total number of minutes teachers devote to specific subjects differs. For example, 80 percent of full day but only about 50 percent of half-day programs devote more than 30 minutes each day to mathematics instruction. Sixty-eight percent of full day but only 37 percent of half-day classrooms dedicate at least 60 minutes to reading instruction each day. Perhaps most striking, 79 percent of full-day teachers read aloud to their students every day, compared to 62 percent of half-day teachers. Reading aloud is a critical activity in helping to develop children’s reading skills. Additional research shows children’s literacy learning is enhanced in full-day programs, as the full-day schedule provides a more intensive, ongoing, enriched language and literacy experience for the young child. (Ackerman) Children in full day kindergarten programs score higher on their achievement test than those in half-day programs. I asked my son’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Janssen, what the average for reading was for her class. Ms. Janssen stated that the majority of her students are already in the first grade reading level as of the end of the second trimester. As said by the Indiana Association of Public School Super Intendants, â€Å"Full day kindergarten programs are associated with greater reading achievement gains during the kindergarten year than half day programs†. Plucker, 6) The students are graded on their writing and math abilities as well. According to the Kalamazoo Public Schools reports, â€Å"The group of kindergartners advanced in 2010 to first grade at Kalamazoo Public School, where 60 percent tested at or above the 50th percentile in reading on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills last April. That’s a 7-point increase compared to Kalamazoo Public School first-graders tested in April 2009, Rice said. On the Iowa Test Basic Skills math test, 52 percent of first-graders tested a t or above the 50th percentile last spring, a 12-point jump over spring 2009. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills are administered in schools nationwide and is a norm-referenced test, which means scores are based on how students perform compared to other test-takers. The Kalamazoo Public School results show that 60 percent of Kalamazoo students are in the top half of first-graders nationwide in reading and 52 percent are in the top half in math. † (Mack) Children who are in full day kindergarten have better social and behavioral effects than those who are in half-day kindergarten. When children are in school for the full day they have more time to get to know the other students. They get more time to interact together socially and they are learning while they are interacting. The students also get to go to specialists and they go with their classmates. Some of the specialists that Hayes Elementary offers are music, art, Spanish, and gym. Going to the specialist is something that the full day kindergarteners get to do and the half-day kindergarteners do not get to do. These students also get to spend more time with the teacher. This means that they will be less hesitant to approach their teacher. According to Clark, â€Å"Some researchers have examined social and behavioral effects. According to researchers, a clear relationship emerged between the kindergarten schedule and childrens behavior. Teachers rated children in all-day kindergarten programs higher on 9 of the 14 dimensions; there were no significant differences on the other 5 dimensions. Other researchers who have studied social and behavioral outcomes found that children in all-day kindergarten programs were engaged in more child-to-child interactions and they made significantly greater progress in learning social skills†. Clark) In the kindergarten classrooms of Hayes Elementary, the students get into groups called centers. During this center time, the teacher takes a group of five students to a table to do independent reading and the rest of the students go to a center. The centers are groups of three or four students and the students get to interact socially while doing something educational. Some examples of the centers are writing center, listening center, leapster center, and art center. The writing center is where the students can write freely. The listening center is where the students put on headphones, listen to directions, and write down what they hear. The leapster center is where the students get to play a handheld learning game that integrates math, reading, and spelling in the games. Finally, the art center is where the students get to draw and color what they want. When the time is up the students clean up as groups. A full day of learning offers many social and emotional benefits to kindergarteners. As stated by NEA, â€Å"They have more time to focus and reflect on activities, and they have more time to transition between activities. When children are taught by qualified teachers, using age-appropriate curricula in small classes they can take full advantage of the additional learning time—social, emotional, and intellectual— that a full day allows. Further, research finds that children adjust well to the full-day format. † (NEA) The full day kindergarten teachers plan and use the extra time in class well. The time in class is spent differently in both the full day kindergarten and the half-day kindergarten. According to the research that the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, â€Å"The research provides evidence that time in full day kindergarten programs is different both quantitatively and qualitatively from how time is used in half day programs† (Plucker, ii). Full day kindergarten offers benefits to teachers. Teachers prefer the full day program to the half-day program. If there is a child that is struggling with something, the teacher has the ability to find time to help that student. There is also more time to finish activities. According to Ms. Janssen, â€Å"With the full day program I am able to get through four reading groups versus two reading groups in one day. With the full day program we are able to go more in depth on our unit that we focus on in class. † (Janssen) According to the NEA, â€Å"Switching to full-day kindergarten gave teachers more time to plan the curriculum, incorporate a greater number of thematic units into the school year, and offer more in-depth coverage of each unit. (NEA) In the half-day programs there is less time for multiple activities. According to Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Many kindergarten teachers favor full day kindergarten because they find it difficult to balance cognitive activities and affective social activities in the short kindergarten day. † (Martinez, 2) Teachers also prefer full day kindergarten because there is more instructional time than that of a half-day kindergarten program. As stated by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, â€Å" Across all of the schools in the Indiana sample, the proportion of instructional time is similar across program types, resulting in much greater instructional time in full day programs, representing approximately 40-50% more instruction in full day programs than half-day programs†. (Plucker, ii) Teachers also have the benefit of getting to know the students and their parents better. According to Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Teachers state that they have a chance to know children and parents better, to do more individualization of instruction, and to expand the curriculum horizontally. (Dr. Martinez) There are so many benefits for the children. A very important benefit is that the full day kindergarteners have the opportunity to an easier transition into the first grade because they are already used to the full day schedule. The time that the students get to spend with the teacher is a great benefit as well. The extra time that is spent with the teacher is as much beneficial for the teacher as it is for the students. According to the research from Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Teachers thought children developed closer relationships and were more relaxed in the full-day program and felt more a part of the school. Teachers indicated they were able to give more individual attention to students and that children had more time to develop both academic and socialization skills. Teachers noted they could work more on the continuing development of each child and felt children showed more advancement. Teachers indicated they felt closer to the children and that they got to know both child and family better. Some indicated in the full day they felt more flexible, were more relaxed and spontaneous, and felt better prepared to meet with parents. † (Dr. Martinez, 6) The time that the students get to spend on activities is another great benefit. According to NEA, â€Å"in a study evaluating teachers’ views on full-day kindergarten, teachers reported a number of benefits for themselves as well as children and parents. Participating in full day eased the transition to first grade, helping children adapt to the demand of a six-hour day. Having more time available in the school day offered more flexibility and more time to do activities during free choice times. Having more time actually made the kindergarten program less stressful and frustrating for children because they had time to fully develop an interest in activities. Participating in he full-day schedule allows more appropriate academic challenges for children at all developmental levels. Children with developmental delays or those at risk for school problems benefited from having more time to complete projects and more time for needed socialization with peers and teachers. † (NEA) Full day kindergarten offers more benefits to the students that are at risk and children that come from educational and economical disadvantaged homes. If the full day kindergarten programs cost money, as most do, they cost around 3000 dollars per child for the year. The 3000 dollars is charged to the parents of the child. The children that come from the educationally and economically disadvantaged homes would not be able to attend because of the cost. These children are the ones that benefit from the program the most. According to the Indiana Superintendents, â€Å"Students at or below the poverty level enrolled in full day kindergarten scored statistically significantly higher in math and reading than their half day counterparts. Poor children enrolled in full day kindergarten programs tested statistically significantly above half day pupils on reading, spatial, and verbal skills, naming colors and letters, and identifying numerals. (Plucker, 6) Parents prefer full day kindergarten as well. I as a mother prefer the full day kindergarten program to the half-day program. One of the advantages is that I do not have to figure out childcare and who would bring my son to the childcare. Trying to figure out childcare and school between my job schedule would be undesirable. As said by Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Full-day kindergarten saves parents day-care problems, while providing children a comprehensive, developmentally-appropriate program. Parents said that children often feel more stress when they have to go from a school situation to a day-care environment, where different rules and philosophies apply. Therefore, parents favor a full-day program, which reduces the number of transitions kindergartners experience in a typical day. † (Dr. Martinez) Full day kindergarten also takes a huge cost out of many parents’ monthly budget including mine. Even though some people would be against this and say, â€Å"Why would I have to pay for your childcare? † I would say that many parents including myself pay taxes too. Their parents wanted them to have the best education that they could have gotten. Most importantly, I know that my son and many other children are getting the best out of their day while they are in school. They are having fun while they are learning. My son enjoys being in school. If he had a choice, he would go on Saturdays and Sundays. Children attending full day kindergarten spend the day learning instead of watching television or playing video games. Full-day kindergarten provides parents with better support for their children. According to NEA, â€Å"For parents who work outside the home, full-day kindergarten means that children do not have to be shuffled between home, school, and childcare. For all parents, there is more continuity and less disruption in the child’s day and more time for focused and independent learning. One study of parent attitudes found that after the second year of a full-day kindergarten program, 100 percent of full-day parents, and 72 percent of half-day parents noted that, if given the opportunity again, they would have chosen full-day kindergarten for their child†. (NEA) In conclusion, having full day kindergarten should be mandatory. There are many benefits of the full day kindergarten program. The benefits are not limited to the students. Teachers and parents also get great benefits out of the full day program. According to MaryBeth, â€Å"Research has shown that it is important to begin learning early in life. School systems that have implemented the academically based full day kindergarten are finding it to be successful. If I had to choose again if a child of mine was going to go to full day or half-day kindergarten, I would not even have to think twice. A child’s education should be one of the most important things to think about. These children will be the future and they need a great education to get there.

Coffea arabica Essay Example for Free

Coffea arabica Essay I. A. About the Industry Coffee is a brewed beverage with a distinct aroma and flavor, prepared from the roasted seeds of the Coffea plant. A coffee plant is usually a bush or small tree that grows to 10-12 feet (although it can grow up to 32 feet) and can produce coffee beans for decades. It can live for between 60 and 70 years. It can take up to four years for a coffee tree to reach maturity and bear fruit. The English word coffee originates from the Arabic word ‘kaweh’ meaning strength or vigor. The seeds are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa. Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee is slightly acidic (pH 5. 0–5. 1) and can have a stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. Commercial coffee is grown in an area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn affectionately known as the â€Å"bean belt†. In order for the coffee plant to thrive, it needs moderate sunshine and rain, porous soil and constant temperatures between 65 and 75? F. Before the coffee bean can be used to make coffee, it has to be roasted. The roasting process changes the color of the green coffee beans. First they turn yellow and then brown. The longer they roast the darker they become. The strongest roasts result in black beans. At the same time, the heat causes changes in the taste and smell of the beans. Aromatic oils are released that bring out the flavor of coffee. In the nineteenth century, people roasted their coffee at home on their stoves or over open fires. Nowadays, the commercial coffee roasters use enormous ovens to roast the coffee. Temperature and time are carefully controlled, sometimes by computers, because just a few seconds can dramatically change the final flavor of the coffee. The roasting can be done in just a minute. In general, a light roast gives a mild taste, a medium roast produces a well–rounded, rich flavor and aroma and a high roast gives a strong, distinctive flavor. Coffee is one of the most consumed drinks after water. Coffee is one of the most traded commodities in the world after oil. Over 1400 million cups of coffee are drunk around the world each day. The majority of coffee is consumed at breakfast. Coffee berries, which contain the coffee seeds, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown are also the most highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the robusta form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the devastating coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix). Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor, before being ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways. An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for twelve countries in 2004, and it was the worlds seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Consequently, organic coffee is an expanding market. The top 10 coffee-producing countries are: Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Guatemala , Vietnam, Cote d’Ivoire, Mexico and Uganda. The emotional and physical benefits of coffee are numerous. Not only does coffee taste good, it can stimulate, relax and refresh the body. Coffee stimulates the senses through its caffeine content which stimulates metabolism and supports mental alertness and concentration. The body absorbs it within 30 minutes, and its positive effects may last 2-5 hours. Coffee relaxes the body because it hydrates it. Because water is the main ingredient in a cup of coffee, it helps the body work towards its daily water needs and is practically free of calories. Coffee also refreshes the body with its wealth of polyphenols. Polyphenols are nutrients that help maintain the body in good health over time. They are also found in green tea, fruits and cocoa. B. Brief History of Coffee The history of coffee goes at least as far back as the thirteenth century. The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goat herder who discovered coffee while searching for his goats, did not appear in writing until 1671 and is probably apocryphal. From Ethiopia, coffee was said to have spread to Egypt and Yemen. The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the fifteenth century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen. By the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and Northern Africa. Coffee then spread to Balkans, Italy, and to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, Asia and then to America. Wild coffees energizing effect was likely first discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia. Coffee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia; the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi shrines of Yemen. In East Africa and Yemen, coffee was used in native religious ceremonies that were in competition with the Christian Church. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. The beverage was also banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe In the Philippines, coffee has a history as rich as its flavor,† says the National Coffee Development Board (NCDB), whose main objective is to develop and promote the Philippine coffee industry through technical assistance and credit programs for coffee farms and through marketing and promotions of coffee for domestic and export markets. History records show that the first coffee tree was introduced in Lipa, Batangas in 1740 by a Spanish Franciscan monk. From there, coffee growing spread to other parts of Batangas like Ibaan, Lemery, San Jose, Taal, and Tanauan. Batangas owed much of its wealth to the coffee plantations in these areas and Lipa eventually became the coffee capital of the Philippines. â€Å"By the 1860s, Batangas was exporting coffee to America through San Francisco,† the NCDB- records. â€Å"When the Suez Canal was opened, a new market started in Europe as well. Seeing the success of the Batangenos, Cavite followed suit by growing the first coffee seedlings in 1876 in Amadeo. In spite of this, Lipa still reigned as the center for coffee production in the Philippines and Batangas barako was commanding five times the price of other Asian coffee beans. † In 1880, the Philippines was the fourth largest exporter of coffee beans, and. when the coffee rust hit Brazil, Africa and Java (Indonesia), it became the only source of coffee beans around the world. The coffee rust disease almost wiped it out during the last quarter of the 19th century. Coffee registered a total production of 123, 934 metric tons valued at P6818, 18 million in 1995. Today, however, the Philippines produces only . 012% of the worlds coffee supply. Efforts are being undertaken to revive the industry however, with the majority of coffee produced in the mountain areas of Batangas, Bukidnon, Benguet, Cavite, Kalinga, Apayao, Davao, and Claveria.

Programming Creativity and Development of Students

Programming Creativity and Development of Students Programming the Creativity and Development of the Students and the Community Abstract: The goal of this research paper focused in try to show the importance of the technology more exactly the implementation of the internet in the development of the creativity and innovation on students and community of developing countries, also make know the importance of courses for have a certificate that now these courses for the development of some skills and abilities or use of some machines, technologies that can be taken on internet. Other goal try to make to know the dedication and fluency of the creativity for innovate in scientist due to the old educational systems make think that they dont are so creative. In the past were some people that dont know how to use a computer or use some programs, or machines and want to know how to use, but sometimes dont have the chance for learn either for the absence of money or because dont are courses, project or programs for try to learn, and if there exist are so expensive or dont have enough capacity, also in the educational part the old structure of education just focused in the development of the knowledge and not the in the development of the creativity of the students. However, now almost of the people know use a computer, smartphone, laptop, etc., but keep being people that dont know how to use these and need help for learn how to manipulate, these are one of the reason that need to create courses, project or programs for include more and more the community. Too the educational system in this century has changed extraordinary the students know how to use machines, technologies, skills, etc. that in the past anybody can believe, and have more c hances for develop their creativity as well as the development of their scientist thought, also now they have the opportunity for create their own entrepreneurship, projects and of this way make that the community will be more connected. The educational and professional system of today in many countries of the world keep using the same old techniques that dont cause any effect or help to the students or workers of this century, there are many different changes in the ways that the students and workers are learning and trying to develop their skills with the technological advance of the world such as: Workers need a different mix of skills than in the past. In addition to foundation skills like literacy and numeracy, they need competencies like collaboration, creativity and problem-solving and character qualities like persistence, curiosity and initiative. (Segan, 2016). However, in the case of the Finland system we can see a big change, and this occur because this system give the chance to the students without regard the age that they have. They can take the classes that they want either for example: electricity, programming, mechanics, etc., but this happened because the Finnish education has incorporated a really great system based in the trust. The Finland Government trust and believe in their teachers and professionals because they has passed a series of courses and projects for have their degrees, and know that they can guide to the students to they really want learn. In this century students can study, learn, and practice easily all thanks to the great advance of the technology, also have more access to courses, projects for improve their skills or try to handle some machines, too have the chance to know how to use these skills, machines by internet and of this way have a certificate that say that they have the skills or the knowledge for use some machines one example of this is the courses that the Cisco Networking Academy that bring the opportunity for everybody can develop their IT skills and career building program for learning institutions and individuals worldwile, another example is blending learning that the students of Innova Schools in Peru have, this model have a curious characteristic because combines traditional classroom methods with individual, independent study delivered through online content. (Segan, 2016) making to the students know more about their selves skills and try to improve their relationship with another classmates. In the past even now almost everybody think that scientists dont have enough creativity and just solve some exercises or just focus on simple problems. However, Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine (Ossola, 2014) because they need to imagine how can something work or be and next try to show that their theories, ideas are true one good example of this maybe be the atomic theory of Dalton he had to imagine how is a particle his structure, composition, etc. A big problem with the perception or the way of the society see to the scientists is focused in that the schools make see to the students that just be a way to solve a problem, but the true is that are more than one ways to solve some problems, exercises, etc. The development of the technology made to students, professionals, the community in general have more possibilities for improve their skills, also have more access to courses, projects that in the past just few people have access and now with the internet they have the chance for take this kind of courses, also of this way they can learn more and improve their skills having the opportunity for have a certificate making more easy find a job. References Segal, S. (2016, May 20). The case for disruption in Latin Americas classrooms. USA: Council of the Americas. Ossola, A. (2014, November 12). Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine. The Atlantic.

Education Philosophy Essay -- Teaching Education Careers Essays

Educational Philosophy I have an eclectic philosophy of education that I derived from a wide range of pre-existing philosophies. I identify most with the philosophies of essentialism and perennialism. In my opinion, students should have a strong foundation in the core curriculum areas of English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. After all, house built on a weak foundation will not stand. I also prefer the perennialist’s approach of studying the classics like Homer, Shakespeare, Milton etc. Everything in the present is a product of the past, for this reason I feel like the great works of the past still have relevance today. I first realized that I had a desire to become a teacher when I moved to North Carolina for my senior year of high school. I absolutely hated school there; the only thing that kept me coming to school was Mr. Schaffer’s Psychology class. I bonded with him at the very beginning of the school year. He always gave me encouragement and often told me that he could see potential in me. He taught me about the low percentile of male teachers in the early grades and the rising tide of single parent families. Mr. Schaffer inspired me to go into early education (K-6) so I could become a positive role model for the Students. He also taught me that it’s important to never pigeon hole a student and to never give up on any student. My classroom will have the look and feel of a progressive classroom. However, it will function like an essentialist classroom. I feel like the seating design of rows is old, outdated and un-stimulating. I want the seating to be in clusters made up of four desks put together. I learned this method from my cooperating observation teacher. There are ma... ...nt that we work with reform and not against it. As an educator, I plan to be a continuous learner. As of now I am very optimistic about my professional development plans. I can never be educated enough. I am a person who is on a quest for knowledge. After finishing my bachelor’s degree I definitely want to pursue a master’s degree. At some point in the future I would like to receive national certification. I strive for perfection and even though it may be impossible to reach I can improve and move closer to fulfilling my goals. I will never stop developing professionally. I plan to do anything and everything to make myself a more educated person. After I retire from the teaching profession I plan to start a career of politics. I will start by running for the board of education. Hopefully, as a politician I can have a positive impact on education.

Starting a Football Team Essay -- Papers

Starting a Football Team So you and your friends think you're ready to tackle being part of a League. Good ... but be careful. It's not as easy as it sounds and you must be aware of all the pitfalls before you take the leap. Organisation An essential must before you do anything else. You need at least two or three people to take some responsibility. Being part of any League carries a heavy burden for one newcomer. From these people, elect a secretary, a treasurer (oh yes, it all costs money) and a manager. Of course one person can do several roles, but it's a lot for a newbie to take on alone. Unless you're a strong individual, your club won't last long. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration Now you need to register yourselves with your local county football association. They are the governing body for all football within your area. You cannot even play a friendly against another team unless you're registered. Remember, football isn't all sweetness and light and sometimes unsavoury incidents happen. Your local football association are there to deal with such matters, among other things. If you are not registered and something goes wrong, you could find you or your players on a civil charge with the chance of a heavy fine or even jail (that's not to say you get away scot free if you're registered, more on that later). Usually county football associations (and local leagues) will only deal with the club secretary; this is standard practice. When you register, you will need a name for your team. Be prepared for a disappointment. Your name may already be in use and your... ...me, I'm as mad as the rest! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, this all sounds horrendous to me, where do I sign up? Presuming the men in the white coats haven't dragged you away screaming and you live in our part of Essex, you can apply to the Essex Sunday Corinthian League on-line from this link before the end of March each season. But be warned - All new clubs are screened and your application's success isn't guaranteed. Having said that, the on-line application is proving a roaring success. No fewer than six teams were playing in the League during 2000/2001 after submitting an on-line application! TIP - Always apply to more than one League. This way you stand a better chance of being accepted. Most Leagues won't ask for money when you apply, only after you're in.

Properties Of HighÂlime Fly Ash Concrete :: Concrete

PROPERTIES OF HIGHÂâ€"LIME FLY ASH CONCRETE ABSTRACT Fly ash is a waste product from coal based thermal power stations. About seven million tons of fly ash is being produced annually from these thermal power stations in Turkey. Concerted efforts are needed to make the material used to a great extent. These paper give the results of an investigation on the performance of fly ash concrete made with ASTM C class fly ashes from two sources. PC42,5 cement used in the experiments conforms to TS19 (Turkish Standards). A comparison between concretes with and without fly ash was provided for various aspects. All the concrete mixtures contained polyhydroxy carbon salt plasticizer which complies with ASTM C 494-81 Type D. Their workabilities were kept constant. As freshly-mixed concrete properties slump, unit weight, air content, setting time and bleeding values were determined. As mechanical properties compressive strength and were measured after 24 hours, 7, 28 and 90 days. Durability in terms of freezing and thawing resistance (ASTM C 666 Procedure A), and permeability were also investigated. Keywords: Fly ash, concrete properties, binder material, micro-structure Senel Artirma, Geophysics Engineer, Quality Assurance Manager of Nuh Beton Ready-Mixed Concrete Company, Turkey. Erdem Tandirli, Civil Engineer, Quality Control Chief of Nuh Beton Ready-Mixed Concrete Company, Turkey. 1 1. INTRODUCTION Environmental hazards and over-comsumption of energy resources has been and still are the most concerning issues for the modern world. In this respect the usage of fly ash which is a waste product of the thermal power stations by ready-mixed concrete industry as a binder material can be an effective way both of decreasing the ash discharge out to the environment and of cement consumption thus of saving the resources on a national scale. From the concrete technology's point of view, the usage of fly ash causes qualitative changes in concrete properties. The answer to whether these changes were improvement or not can be given only by knowing the intentions of usage. For this purpose fly ashes were added both in addition to and as a substitute for some part of the cement, and fresh and hardened concrete properties were investigated. 2. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES 2.1 Materials 2.1.1 Cement The cement used is Turkish, portland cement (PC 42.5) and comforms to Turkish standart TS19 while approximately corresponds to ASTM C 150-89 Type I. Its chemical composition, and principal compounds are summarized in Table 1.a, physical and mechanical properties in Table 1.b along with standart limits. Table 1.a Ââ€" Chemical properties of cement Chemical Composition Components, % PC 42.5 TS 19 ASTM Type I SiO2 21.16 - - Al2O3 3.60 - - Fe2O3 4.50 - - CaO 64.90 - - MgO 1.20 5 max.

Book Review: Treasury of Royal Scandals is a national bestseller book written by Michael Farquhar

A Treasury of Royal Scandals is a national bestseller book written by Michael Farquhar that describes â€Å"The Shocking True Stories of History’s Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors. † This book is a random collection of different royal families and individuals who despite their many differences, have some similarities. However, they are often dark and negative similarities. No matter what person, family, or civilization someone is talking about historically, six themes seem to always come up, are discussed, and are debated. These themes include religious intolerance, disregard for the common public, dysfunctional personal lives, extreme pursuit of dynasty, a sense of superiority, and inequality towards women. These themes have influenced the outcomes of history from past to present – and may continue to in the future. It is within these themes that the similarities between the people and families mentioned within this book can be found. Religious freedom may be something that many people in the United States take for granted today, but people who lived during Pope Gregory IX’s rule were more familiar with religious intolerance. Pope Gregory IX had made his uncle’s persecution of heretics an official function of the church when he established the Inquisition in 1232. During his rule, Catholics were encouraged to â€Å"squeal† on other people’s acts of heresy, children testified against their parents, and mothers testified against their children. Anyone accused of heresy was dragged before papal inquisitors to answer charges, and once condemned, a victim was sent to be burnt at the stake. The entire town of Champagne, France was even put on trial and burnt at the stake after the local bishop was accused of allowing heresy. After Pope Gregory IX’s death, Pope Innocent IV came to rule and â€Å"improved† upon the inquisition methods. He now allowed torture to be used, but only allowed a person to be tortured once. Unfortunately for those people, however, one torture session could last several weeks. It became obvious during the time of the inquisition, that there was no religious freedom what so ever. If there was one person whose life exemplified a disregard for the common people, that person was Gregory Rasputin. Rasputin was a â€Å"greasy, drunken peasant, with the manners of a barnyard pig, and a staggering case of b. o. o boot, he was also king of creepy† (194). Of course, a man who cultivates this kind of reputation for himself clearly has no concern for the opinion of others. Rasputin’s eyes were legendary – a pale blue color with the ability to pierce and caress, while still looking naive and cunning. Rasputin used these eyes to dominate every person he was talking to – with not only the intensity they had, but also the way he continually stared at people for long periods of time. Rasputin influenced and dominated the royal family through Alexandra, the wife of the tsar, who was blind to his inner intentions. Although Alexandra refused to see this, the people saw perfectly. The people knew that Rasputin was a fraud whose influence on society was becoming more and more widespread as time went on, and eventually all of it would end in an uprising of some sort. Eventually, Rasputin was killed after many dramatic tries by Yusoupov (richest man in Russia and tsar’s nephew by marriage). It seemed that Rasputin was not ready to die, however, since he was poisoned, shot, shot twice more, beaten upon, and drowned before he was declared dead. Although many problems throughout history were between rulers and their people, some rulers also had dysfunctional personal lives. A good example of this is Napoleon, who chose to divorce his first wife in order to marry someone else who could possibly give him an heir, and who was constantly fighting with his brother (Joseph). Childless, Napoleon named his nephew heir to the throne, which outraged Joseph. Joseph had assumed that he would be heir to the throne and believed that he had the right to the throne as the eldest member of the family. This assumption outraged Napoleon in return, and the quarrel between the two brothers continued. Over time, Napoleon’s strive for power caused other arguments among his siblings, and in the end only three brothers (out of seven siblings) played active roles in his empires. It could probably be said that many of the rulers throughout history had their mind on everything, but what was best for their people. Therefore, it is only natural that Austrian Empress Maria Theresa constantly had her mind on creating a dynasty. Maria was an especially curious monarch, who created the Chastity Commission – a special department of the police charged with suppressing vice. It was said that Maria even played a part in the commission, disguising herself and roaming Vienna in search of her unfaithful husband. When she was not busy â€Å"storming the bedrooms of her people,† she concentrated on marrying off her children to the families that would help strengthen her position. One â€Å"episode† that showed Maria Theresa’s priorities was one involving her son Prince Joseph. He was heir to the throne and had fallen in love. Unfortunately, however, Princess Isabella of Parma (his chosen one) was a lesbian and had her eyes on someone else besides Prince Joseph. Maria Theresa never would have tolerated a lesbian relationship, that could jeopardize the dynasty, but that all ended when Isabella suddenly died of smallpox at the age of twenty-one. Despite the Prince being devastated by his loss, Maria Theresa wasted no time and immediately remarried him to a bride, whom he dared not even touch with his finger because of her â€Å"painfully ugly† appearance. There were few rulers, especially monarchs, who lacked a feeling of â€Å"superiority over ordinary men† (34). Louis XIV of France definitely did not lack this trait of monarchs. In fact, Louis XIV also felt himself to be superior to other monarchs. It was said that â€Å"Louis refused to be grouped with other kings under the term â€Å"Their Majesties† because, he explained, from that there might be deduced â€Å"an equality which does not exist† (34). During Louis’s seventy-two-year-reign (longest in European history), he strove to have all of the glory and prestige of France focus on himself. Louis controlled everything from tree maintenance to how visitors should enter the garden of Versailles in a specific way to honor him. Two actions of Louis’s particularly displayed his feelings of superiority. The first of these actions was when he decided to call himself the â€Å"Sun king,† because he wanted to be the sun and light up everything for all of France. However, it seemed that Louis wanted to light up things for himself, not France, as shown by his next action that practically put France into bankruptcy. The â€Å"Sun King† rebuilt and enlarged the castle at Versailles, which he had fallen in love with at a young age. Versailles became an icon that resembled the prosperity of France for the time, while it also almost drove France into bankruptcy. Perhaps it is the story of Henry VIII and his wives that seems to fit into almost every theme. However, it is Henry VIII’s inequality towards women that stands out the most, as he divorced half of his wives for their ladies in waiting who were living in the same household throughout the entire divorce process. Henry’s disregard for women’s rights was legendary, as he married and divorced frequently in his conquest to have a son, who would become the heir to the throne. For example, Henry declared himself Supreme Head of the Church in England in order to officially divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, by declaring their marriage unlawful. As a result, Catherine was never given a fair trial, and her only daughter (Mary) was declared illegitimate. Religious intolerance, disregard for the common public, dysfunctional personal lives, extreme pursuit of dynasty, a sense of superiority, and inequality towards women have all influenced history. However, although there have been many rulers involved in scandals, those rulers have also done great things. At the times of some of these scandals, the accepted â€Å"practice† was different, but civilization has progressed to an entirely different level. Even though history may repeat itself some time or another (and has in many cases), it is some of these scandals that have brought us to where we are today. For example, it was Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn who bore Queen Elizabeth (â€Å"The Virgin Queen†), all as a result of Henry VIII’s desire for a son and divorcing his first wife. So, encourage others to bring up, discuss, and debate these topics, which have helped shape history, good and bad, to the point it has reached today.

Apush Vietnam War Essay

It is obvious that the wars impact the involving powers. The Vietnam War greatly changed America forever. It was the longest war fought in America’s history, lasting from 1955 to 1973. The Vietnam War tarnished America’s self-image by becoming the first time in history the United States failed to accomplish its stated war aims, to preserve a separate, independent, non communist government. The war also had great effects on the American people. It was the first war ever broadcast on television. The public was able to see what happened on the battlefield. One of the chief effects of the war was the division it caused among the people. Americans have never been as divided since the Civil war. This war would have lasting effects on the United States. The Vietnam War took longer than America had expected and its short term failures and the long lasting permanent defeat caused America a great loss of military, loss of human resources and most deadly, the loss of American hope. During the four years it took Nixon to end the war, he expanded the conflict into Cambodia and Laos and launched a massive bombing campaign; although many legislators criticized the war, the Congress never denied the funds to fight on the foreign land. For instance, General Fred, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, wrote a Memorandum to the President Ford, which stated, â€Å"We went to Vietnam in the first place to assist the South Vietnamese people–not to defeat the North Vietnamese. We reached out our hand to the South Vietnamese people, and they took it. Even though America tried to help, Vietnam was the land of its people, so they knew their land way better than Americans. Additionally, a reaction to the U. S. Peace moves in Vietnam voiced, â€Å"Indian reactions to the late March, 1968, U. S. peace efforts in Vietnam are somewhat mixed. About four out of ten literates agreed that the U. S. was sincerely trying to end the war, while nearly a third had reservations about the American intent. † Americans started having mixed feelings about the war. Many wanted the war to end and some felt like it wasn’t worth fighting for. The critical turning point came with the Tet Offensive, which began on January 30, 1968 when the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacked the key cities and every major American base in South Vietnam. The Tet Offensive underscored the credibility gap between the official statements and the war’s actual progress. On May 1, 1975, the North Vietnamese occupied Saigon and Americans evacuated with 150,000 of their South Vietnamese allies. After all the wars that came before this one, America have always had a stand as the world power, and with that, they believed they could win any war. Johnson faced a dilemma in Vietnam: his predecessors had made a commitment to stop the Communism there and the American public also seemed willing to follow his leadership, but some of his advisers cautioned him against the continued American involvement. Some critics of the war advised the administration to pursue a face-saving way out of Vietnam but Johnson continued to dispatch more advisers, weapons, and economic aid. In 1964 president Johnson, believing that the American credibility was on the line, seized the opportunity to increase the pressure on North Vietnam. However with that in mind, at home, the people were doubting Johnson’s decisions and many totally condemned it. For example, Ronald Ridenhour, a veteran who survived the My Lai Massacre reported to The New York Times, â€Å"It would show the American people and their Government that the policies of force abroad and deception at home were not only antithetical to the principles of a democratic society but low, mean, stupid, brutal and self-destructive as well. † He desired to have the government system to more organize and to follow through with their words. Unlike Johnson, Nixon had a different approach towards the war. Working with Henry Kissinger, his national security assistant and key foreign policy advisor, Nixon exploited the deterioration of Soviet-Chinese relations which began in the early 1960s. After two years of secret negotiations, in February 1972, Nixon became the nation’s first president to set foot on Chinese soil; although the act was largely symbolic, cultural and scientific exchanges followed. As Nixon and Henry Kissinger hoped, the warning of U. S. -Chinese relations increased Soviet responsiveness to their strategy of detente. In Vietnam and elsewhere, Nixon and Kissinger continued to equate the Marxism with a threat to American interests and actively resisted the social revolutions that might lead to the Communism. Jane Fonda in a broadcast at Hanoi, stated, â€Å"One thing that I have learned beyond a shadow of a doubt since I’ve been in this country is that Nixon will never be able to break the spirit of these people; he’ll never be able to turn Vietnam, north and south, into a neo-colony of the United States by bombing, by invading, by attacking in any way. She believed that fighting won’t settle down any problems related with the war ,instead it will just be a waste of time. In the April of 1972, Congress was getting more concerned about abuses of Presidential power day by day; the Senate voted to terminate the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution but the House did not go along. Consequently, Nixon pulled the U. S. soldiers out of Cambodia. When drafted into the war, American soldiers had no idea about how long the war would last, but some of them entered into the war with pride, because they had the notion of fighting on foreign land for their homeland. Little did they know that it will change their lives forever. By observing the photos of wounded marines, it becomes evident that if they were badly injured, they could not return to the war and was sent home. After the war had ended, all the veterans were damaged; physically or mentally. The veterans generally expressed two kinds of reactions to the defeat. For instance, Mr. Ron Ridenhour, who witnessed the undeniable situation of the My Lai Massacre expressed,â€Å"I must take some positive action on this matter. I hope that you will launch an investigation immediately and keep me informed of your progress. † He asked the government to bring the incident into the light. He believed that there should be a reasonable explanation for what happened in My Lai, a suspicious incident. Similar to Mr. Ron Ridenhour, many others regarded the commitment as an honorable one and felt betrayed by the U. S. government for not letting them and their now-dead comrades win the war; others blamed the government for sacrificing the lives of the American youth in an immoral or useless war. Because the Vietnam War was in large part a civil, guerrilla war, combat was remarkably brutal. The Veterans Administration (VA) estimated that nearly one-sixth of the three million veterans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus it can be said that the U. S. entered a war for which they had no idea about how to end it. This is valid to say that the technological United States failed in front of united human power. The Vietnam war has mpacted America’s point of view and perspective of its people due to the war being a failure. Delusioned by the thoughts of having victory in every war, and then suddenly not being able to stop the spread of communism within a country abroad, and lastly, the voice of the American people which did support the war; the Vietnam war has changed America by uplifting the absolute trust of the American public on the American Government, American Military and the American leadership.

Array

C++ provides a data structure, the array, which stores a fixed-size sequential collection of elements of the same type. An array is used to store a collection of data, but it is often more useful to think of an array as a collection of variables of the same type. Instead of declaring individual variables, such as number0, number1, †¦ , and number99, you declare one array variable such as numbers and use numbers[0], numbers[1], and †¦ , numbers[99] to represent individual variables.A specific element in an array is accessed by an index. All arrays consist of contiguous memory locations. The lowest address corresponds to the first element and the highest address to the last element. Declaring Arrays: To declare an array in C++, the programmer specifies the type of the elements and the number of elements required by an array as follows: type arrayName [ arraySize ];| This is called a single-dimension array. The arraySize must be an integer constant greater than zero and type c an be any valid C++ data type.For example, to declare a 10-element array called balance of type double, use this statement: double balance[10];| Initializing Arrays: You can initialize C++ array elements either one by one or using a single statement as follows: double balance[5] = {1000. 0, 2. 0, 3. 4, 17. 0, 50. 0};| The number of values between braces { } can not be larger than the number of elements that we declare for the array between square brackets [ ].Following is an example to assign a single element of the array: If you omit the size of the array, an array just big enough to hold the initialization is created. Therefore, if you write: double balance[] = {1000. 0, 2. 0, 3. 4, 17. 0, 50. 0};| You will create exactly the same array as you did in the previous example. balance[4] = 50. 0;| The above statement assigns element number 5th in the array a value of 50. 0. Array with 4th index will be 5th ie. last element because all arrays have 0 as the index of their first element w hich is also called base index.Following is the pictorial representaion of the same array we discussed above: Accessing Array Elements: An element is accessed by indexing the array name. This is done by placing the index of the element within square brackets after the name of the array. For example: double salary = balance[9];| The above statement will take 10th element from the array and assign the value to salary variable. Following is an example which will use all the above mentioned three concepts viz. eclaration, assignment and accessing arrays: #include using namespace std; #include using std::setw; int main (){ int n[ 10 ]; // n is an array of 10 integers // initialize elements of array n to 0 for ( int i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) { n[ i ] = i + 100; // set element at location i to i + 100 } cout

The Value of Philosophy

The Value of Philosophy and the Point of Our Lives It is basic human nature to question. There is a curiosity inside all of us that leads us to wonder about everything. Curiosity leads to examination, which leads to contemplation. Through this process the mysteries of life and the universe are slowly discovered. But there are some questions that can never be answered with certainty. These questions make up the study of philosophy, and are considered using reason and logic. Two of the main arguments in philosophy discuss its value and the meaning of life.Socrates, Bertrand Russell, Blaise Pascal and Thomas Nagel attempt in their own way to reason through these questions and form their own unique answers. In Bertrand Russell’s â€Å"The Value of Philosophy†, he discusses what philosophy is and why it is important. He concludes that the value of philosophy is rooted in its very uncertainty. He maintains that all those questions that cannot be answered are a part of philoso phical discussion, and questions with definite answers are a product of the physical sciences.When Russell is explaining in detail the value of philosophy he says, â€Å"These questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation† (Russell 12). For Russell, philosophy opens the mind and dispels ignorance and dogmatism, allowing us to think more freely and consider more possibilities. In Plato’s â€Å"Apology: Defence of Socrates,† Socrates also holds the view that philosophy is a necessary practice for all persons when he argues, â€Å"An unexamined life is no life for a human being to live† (Plato 40).Socrates has just been found guilty of corrupting the youth and not acknowledging the gods of the city. Once the verdict is reached, he argues for execution rather than exile because he believes that his study of philosophy is supreme in his lif e and it would be more honorable to die than to flee and study philosophy elsewhere, under subpar conditions than those in Athens. Philosophy is important to him because it allows people to think for themselves rather than go along with what they are told to believe.Russell and Socrates both uphold that the importance of philosophy come from what is does for the mind. Philosophy opens our minds, allowing unawareness and hypocrisy to dissipate. By questioning, we come to know more about the universe, and ourselves. However, Russell and Socrates do disagree on the certainty of truth. Socrates believes that there is certain truth, and one can reach it through reason and contemplation. Conversely, Russell maintains that everything is uncertain, but philosophy is still valuable because thinking of all possible explanations enlarges our minds.Through philosophy we are released from presumption, obliviousness, and bigotry. Whether or not we can know the absolute truth, contemplation throug h reason still holds immense importance for human beings. I draw from Socrates as well as Russell when I consider the value of philosophy. Philosophy allows me to see the world for what it is, instead of being bogged down by the opinion of the masses, or the societal norms. Through reason I can consider the truth and it’s importance to me. Similar to Russell, I see that much of philosophy’s greatness lies in its uncertainty.We cannot know for sure what the answers are, but through observation and thought we can form many possibilities, enlarging our minds to hold more than one solution to any given problem. Consequently this allows us to have a more open mind, and we can approach life with a broadened sense of self. Another question philosophers ask is â€Å"What is the point of our lives? † The answer varies greatly between each individual, demonstrated by the separate thoughts of Socrates, Pascal, and Nagel. Socrates argues that it is worse than death to be un just.He gives some examples of what qualifies as unjust. Injustice includes: lying, injuring others, breaking the law of a just state, and hurting those who hurt you. Above all, Socrates argues that the point of our lives is to seek the truth. He condemns the sophists because they have no regard for the truth; they only appreciate material things. The sophists were a group of philosophers around the time of Socrates who taught the youth of Athens how to win arguments, whether what they were arguing for was true or not. Socrates maintains that this is not the way to live.Life is not about money or material things, rather, the point of life is to be just, honorable, and true to yourself as well as the laws of the state. He even argues that one ought rather die than live a bad life. â€Å"I suggest that it is not death that is hard to avoid, gentlemen, but wickedness is far harder, since it is fleeter of foot than death† (Plato 41). Socrates claims that it is much easier to live in wickedness than die. Therefore, injustice and dishonor are two of the greatest evils and one should avoid them at all costs.In â€Å"The Wager,† Pascal presents a view of life centered on belief in God. Similar to Socrates, he upholds that life is about pursuing the truth as well as living a good life. He argues for the existence of absolute truth when he states, â€Å"Is there not one substantial truth, seeing there are so many things which are not the truth itself† (Pascal 83). Pascal maintains that this â€Å"one substantial truth† is God, and reasons for His existence. He claims that in life, we have two choices: to believe in God, or to not believe in God.We must accept the wager; we have no choice. There are four possible outcomes from this wager, according to Pascal. If God does indeed exist, and we so believe that he exists, we will gain infinite bliss; if we do not believe that he exists, then we are damned for eternity. However, if God does not exi st and we believe the same, then we lose nothing, but we also gain nothing. If we believe that He exists and He does not, then we also lose nothing, but have lived a good life with faith, humility, and compassion.Above all, Pascal wants us to believe. His main points are summarized when he writes, â€Å"If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing† (Pascal 83). We must wager, and we must believe in God, for He is the ultimate truth. Thomas Nagel discusses absurdity, which is the discrepancy between how seriously humans take their lives, and how uncertain life actually is. Everything is open to doubt, and that causes us to feel that our lives are insignificant, and therefore, nothing matters.He maintains that humans deem life absurd through epistemological skepticism, or the view that nothing can be known with certainty. He presents five options, which vary from completely avoiding life’s absurdity to embracing it fully. His thoughts on absurdity and his sol ution to it are best portrayed when he states, â€Å"If†¦there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that does not matter either, and we can approach our lives with irony instead of heroism or despair† (Nagel 27).By accepting the view that nothing matters, we accept the view that believing nothing matters also does not matter, freeing us from absurdity. Nagel urges us to not despair, but also not take life too seriously. Pascal, Nagel, and Socrates present different views of how to make our lives worthwhile; but all agree that our lives should be spent in search of the truth, which is reached through honest reasoning and individual contemplation. When faced with the absurdity and uncertainty of life, Pascal and Nagel agree that suicide is not a legitimate escape.It is not necessary and ends up robbing us of the possibility of infinite happiness or a life free from absurdity. I agree with Socrates’ view, that dishonor and injustice must be avoided in order to live a good and honest life. I accept Pascal’s wager, and am willing to place my bet on the existence of God, hoping to gain all. I have also experienced some of the absurdity Nagel discusses and have come to my own conclusions. I maintain that we should live for today. By living in the present we escape the fear of the future.We do not get hung up on the uncertainties, but still acknowledge their existence. I also agree with Nagel that life should be approached with irony, and we should not take ourselves too seriously. Russell, Socrates, Pascal and Nagel all present plausible answers to the questions â€Å"What is the value of philosophy,† and â€Å"What is the purpose of our lives†. They use reason and logic to reach their conclusions. Through philosophy, we can broaden our minds and free ourselves from the dogmatism of society.Once our minds are expanded, we are able to think with reason and discover, for ourselves, the truth. References Nagel, Thom as, â€Å"The Absurd,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Pascal, Blaise, â€Å"The Wager,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007.Plato, â€Å"Apology: Defence of Socrates,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Russell, Bertrand, â€Å"The Value of Philosophy,† In John Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007.