Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Human Anatomy and Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Anatomy and Physiology - Essay Example The hip joint is a good example of a ball and socket joint. A ball and socket joint is so-called because of its general physical makeup, which consists of a bony pocket and a ball-like appendage on the connecting bone that fits within this pocket. This type of joint provides a wide range of motion in several directions as well as the ability to carry a great deal of strength. In addition to the hip joint, the shoulder joint is another example of a ball and socket joint. The bones of this joint consist of the ilium, the femur and the ischium. The ilium contains â€Å"four spines serving as sites for muscle and ligamentous attachments† while â€Å"two large processes - an upper, lateral ‘greater trochanter’ and a lower, medial ‘lesser trochanter.’ †¦ provide attachments for muscles of the legs and buttocks† (â€Å"Human Anatomy Online†, 2004). The important ligaments involved in this joint include the pubofemoral ligament, the iliofemoral ligament, the ligaments of the sacrum and the ischiofemoral ligament. The major muscles involved in this joint include the iliopsoas muscles, the gluteous muscles, the piriformis and gemellus muscles, the sartorius muscle, the pectineus muscle, the quadriceps femoris muscles, the gracilis muscle, the adductor muscles and the hamstring muscles. The iliopsoas is actually two muscles that blend (â€Å"Human Anatomy Online†, 2004). The psoas major originates at the â€Å"sides of T12 to L5 vertebrae and intervertebral discs between them† and its insertion at the lesser trochanter of the femur. The iliacus originates at the iliac crest, iliac fossa, ala of sacrum, and the anterior sacroiliac ligaments while insertions are at the tendon of psoas major and the body of the femur, inferior to the lesser trochanter (â€Å"Muscles of the Hip and Thigh†, 1998). These muscles are the strongest flexor muscles of the thigh and work to maintain erect posture at the joints as well as to raise the trunk from a flat (lying

Monday, October 28, 2019

Terror management theory

Terror management theory The effects of terror management theory on political decisions Summary The terror management theory suggests that feelings of anxiety and fear are caused by thoughts of death (mortality salience) which may affect our thoughts, decisions and actions. The fear/anxiety caused triggers off defence mechanisms which cause individuals to feel closer to their beliefs and what they regard as a good and valued way of living (cultural worldview). The study will be looking at how the manipulation of mortality salience affects the ratings of two world leaders, predicting that they will rate highest the world leader which identifies the most with their cultural worldview. The participants will be British University students and the design of the study is an independent measures design. The participants will be asked to fill in an identification scale on being British, a word search where the experimental condition will contain mortality salience and the control condition will not, they will also be asked to fill in small maths calculations and they will be finally as ked to rate two world leaders (Englands prime minister Gordon Brown and Russias president Dmitry Medvedev) on a scale indicating how strongly they feel about the statements about each world leader. The ethical issues in the experiment are confidentiality, informed consent, anonymity, mortality salience and the use of findings. These issues will be dealt with by gaining presumed consent, the right to withdraw from the experiment at any time and debriefing each participant at the end to make sure they are comfortable and satisfied with the information they provided. Mortality salience will be kept as minimal as possible via using a word search and a distracter task which will be used afterwards to ensure that as little harm or no harm at all is caused to the participants. Introduction Terror management theory was developed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon and Tom Pyszczynski and is based on death. Humans are unique as they are the only living species that are aware of their inevitable death and this causes fear (terror) which would make carrying on with daily tasks impossible. Therefore, it is suggested that when an individual is reminded of death (mortality salience) they instantly use two defence mechanisms to protect themselves and get rid of these thoughts of death. The first defence mechanism is when an individual has their own personal views and standards on how they should live their life and therefore, individuals strive to meet those standards to feel as valued members of society (cultural worldview). Culture also provides individuals with symbolic immortality such as, being part of families and ethnic groups, because even after their mortality these groups will still exist and individuals will still be remembered as parts of them. The second defence me chanism is self-esteem which reduces anxiety when self-esteem is high and this is achieved by individuals believing and maintaining that they live up to the standards that are parts of their cultural worldview. When individuals are successful this causes high self-esteem which reduces the anxiety caused by threats. Furthermore, when others have the same cultural worldview as ours (in groupers) it suggests that our view is right and we need this confirmation from others to keep believing in our cultural worldviews. However, defence mechanisms are triggered off when there are threats against ones world view and beliefs. The thought of death and other individuals with different cultural worldviews (out groupers) could challenge our beliefs leaving us with feelings of anxiety which makes individuals want to live up to their cultural worldviews even more. Many studies have tested the mortality salience hypothesis such as Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszczynski and Lyon (1989) who used twenty two judges in a study where half of the judges were reminded of their own death (mortality salience), before setting bail to a prostitute and the other half were not. The judges who were reminded of their death set bail at $450 and judges who were not reminded of their death set bail at $50. This shows that the knowledge of death causes individuals to maintain their cultural worldviews which is reflected onto the amount of bail set as generally prostitution would be seen as wrong in many individuals cultural worldview. The terror management theory also assumes that when people are reminded of death this affects their decisions towards certain important issues such as politics. Studies show that when mortality is salient many individuals support people with the same political views as their selves and act hostile and negatively towards people with different political views. For example, Landau et al. (2004) found that when individuals were reminded of the 9/11 attacks they seemed to be more supportive of President Bush whereas, in control conditions less than half supported his decisions. This shows us that the thought of death can have effects on our political decisions and views and this knowledge of fear seems to be used by politicians to receive more support from the public. Other studies have also showed that death increases nationalism. In one study on American participants, when they were reminded of death they were more positive towards people who thought positively of America and were more negative towards people who thought negatively of America (Greenberg et al.,1990). Different countries also found similar results such as in Germany when Germans were reminded of death they sat closer to other Germans and sat further away from Turks (Ochsman and Mathay, 1994). These studies show us that when individuals are afraid of their mortality they feel closer to their cultural worldviews than ever before as a way of protecting themselves. This causes attitudes and beliefs to strengthen which in turn causes individuals to view any other belief as wrong and negative. This may cause extreme behaviour such as terrorist attacks, hate crimes and violence. As a result of all of these, individuals would feel closer to a president who knows exactly what they are doing, are devoted and sending out a strong message. Rationale (purpose) and aims of study: The aim of the study is to show that thoughts of death affect our lives and the decisions we make, including decisions about politics. The study will be testing to see how British participants will react towards their very own world leader prime minister Gordon Brown and another world leader, Dmitry Medvedev Russias president. Participants should prefer Gordon Brown rather than the other world leader when reminded of death as he is closer to their cultural worldview. Research questions: When mortality threat is salient will individuals have a stronger attitude towards their beliefs and their cultural worldview? Hypotheses: Individuals political orientation will be closer to their cultural worldview when mortality threat is salient. Method: How hypotheses addresses aims of study: The aim of the study is to show that thoughts of death affect our political decisions as well as general decisions and the hypotheses relates to this as it is suggesting that individuals will feel closer to the world leader which identifies with their cultural worldview the most. Operationalised variables: 1) Mortality salience is manipulated by the word searches, ones neutral; one has death related words and 2) asked to rate world leaders on a scale about whether they are good/satisfying world leaders. Design: The participants will be randomly assigned and the design used will be an independent sample design, as different participants will be used for the two different conditions. The independent variables are the manipulation of the mortality salience (control condition and experimental condition) and the two different world leaders. The dependent variable is the results from the rating scales of the two different world leaders. Participants: British university students, male and female. Around 50 participants will be used. Materials: Identification scale, two word searches, small maths calculations and profiles of the two world leaders including the rating scale. Procedure: First of all participants will be seated and the first thing they will fill out is their gender, age and an identification scale on how British and close to their culture they feel. Then they will do a word search, however, there will be two conditions in the experiment one will be the controlled condition where participants will receive a normal word search and will not involve mortality salience, whereas, the experimental condition will involve mortality salience. After the word searches participants will work out small maths calculations, then they will receive profiles of two world leaders one is Gordon Brown Englands prime minister and the other is Dmitry Medvedev Russias president. In order to eliminate the effect of order effects I will have some profiles with Gordon Brown presented first than Dmitry Medvedev and vice versa. Participants will have to rate the statements of the world leaders on a scale indicating how strongly they feel about each one. Ethical issues: The ethical issues in the experiment are confidentiality, informed consent, anonymity, mortality salience and the use of findings. These issues will be dealt with by gaining presumed consent, the right to withdraw from the experiment at any time and debriefing each participant at the end to make sure they are comfortable and satisfied with the information they provided. Mortality salience will be kept as minimal as possible via using a word search and a distracter task will be used afterwards to ensure that as little harm or no harm at all is caused to the participants. Analysis of results: The results will be analysed by a 2 by 2 mixed factor Anova. The IVs are mortality salience (experimental condition and controlled condition) and the world leaders (Gordon Brown and Dmitry Medvedev). Schedule for completion of project: Collect all data by December Analysis of data in the Christmas break Write up of results and report January/Febuary till March

Friday, October 25, 2019

Autoparasitoid Wasps Essay -- Biology Encarsia Pergandiella Parasite

A parasite lives in a close relationship with another organism, its host, and causes it harm. The parasite is dependent on its host for its life functions. For example, viruses are common parasites. The parasite has to be in its host to live, grow, and multiply. Parasites rarely kill their hosts. A common, well-known type of a parasite is a hookworm. It is possible for humans or their pets to get them. Hookworms attach themselves in the lining of the small intestine, and cause diseases, and malnutrition as well, as they eat the nutrients and keep them from going to the host. Here, we'll be talking about a different type of parasite, called a parasitoid. The parasitoid Encarsia pergandiella is a tiny wasp that lays its eggs in developing whiteflies. The wasp larva eventually kills the whitefly, and then emerges as free-living adults. This is why it is said that the wasps are parasitic. If you have ever seen Aliens, the developing aliens are parasitoids. Parasitods are different from normal parasites because they kill their hosts when they develop. Encarsia pergandiella develops in a strange way. Unlike most parasitoid species, they are autoparasitoids. This means females develop on whitefly immatures and males develop on immature parasitoids. This means males are parasitoids of other parasitoids, including females of their own species! The fertilization process is a female decision. The female stores the male sperm for later fertilization of eggs. All bees and wasps, including parasitoid wasps are haplodiploid. This means not all eggs have to be fertilized to develop. Unfertilized eggs become males, which are haploid. Fertilized eggs become female, and are diploid. In autopara... ...romosome carried by the males was killing the whole male set of chromosomes, leaving only one set of female chromosomes along with this extra chromosome, which becomes a male haploid wasp. This PSR chromosome is also called a supernumerary chromosome in the nuclei. In the study of Encarsia pergandiella, male wasps were also found to come from fertilized eggs that had been placed on the whitefly host and it was found that, similar to N. vitripennis, the entire paternal set of chromosomes was being lost. It was thought that perhaps an extra chromosome, such as the PSR chromosome, was also being carried in them. However, after further study a supernumerary chromosome was not found. The casue of genome loss in E. pergandiella is still a mystery. Perhaps the male set of chromosomes were being killed by another source, such as a virus or transposable element.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Compare the ways in which 3 poets write about relationships Essay

Introduction ‘To his coy mistress’, ‘Remember’ and ‘Since there’s no help†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ are all poems about relationships, the difference is the interpretation of the poet’s message, structure and other various aspects of the poems. ‘To his coy mistress’ by Andrew Marvell and ‘Since there’s no help’ by Michael Drayton were both written around the 16th and 17th centuries and explain very different characteristics of love. Drayton wrote a poem about the end of a relationship with a partner expressing that the love between them is dying. On the other hand Marvell writes, in a poetical way, someone’s argument to a lover trying to persuade them to have sex with them. This poem captivates your attention with the extremes a man would go to have sex with a young virgin, unlike the other poems that are about two partners love for each other. Similarly to Draytons poem, about love in a relationship, Christina Rossetti wrote a poem in the late 19th century to her partner telling him what to remember about their time together. Themes/subject The poem ‘To his coy mistress’ starts with Marvell addressing the young lady, whom he wishes to be his lover that there is no time for her to be coy. Straight away this gives the impression that he’s an intimidating and powerful man. ‘Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, lady, were no crime’ Marvell tells the lady that being coy is alright when you have time but implies their time is limited and therefore she has no time to be coy, in effect he is pressurising her to do something that she is uncomfortable with. Through the repetition of time in the above sentences you may have guessed that it plays an important role in the poem. Marvell refers to time regularly in the poem as part of his persuasion techniques. The way in which he uses time pressurises the woman into doing what he wants. For example ‘Time’s winged chariot hurrying near’ implies that she can’t live forever so must make the most of the time she has. He uses time again in the concluding lines of the poem as a last persuasion to get his way ‘Thus, though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run’ Here Marvell explains to the lady that they cannot make time stand still completely but they can make the most of the time they have. When you feel bored and upset your time seems to go slowly compared to when you are happy and this quote uses this to say that their time will be ‘running’ if they are together due to the good times they will have. Similarly to Marvell, personifying time, Drayton uses the same technique by personifying love ‘Now, if thou would’st, when all have given him over, from death to life thou might’st him yet recover’ Here Drayton has personified love by saying it is dying but may come back to life. I feel this is a good method by which the poet can get his message across with ease. In this case Drayton has personified love as a person on the verge of death. When comparing the two poems it becomes clear that this technique is also useful in distinguishing the message from a speech or letter into a poem. Images A positive image in the love poem ‘Remember’ is where Rossetti writes ‘Better by far you should forget and smile than you should remember and be sad’. She is expressing that she would rather be forgotten if that is the way to make her husband remain happy as she doesn’t want to be remembered if it will make him sad. Rossetti’ symbolises her love for her husband because she couldn’t bare him being sad by remembering her, therefore giving an optimistic image of their relationship. Rossetti also expresses sorrow images ‘Gone far away into the silent land. When you can no more hold me by the hand’ portrays that when she dies she will go to a silent land where she will be all alone, in comparison to when she is alive she can hold her husband’s hand, this reminding him that when she dies they will be separated forever. This is a sad image because it implies that their close bond will be split for eternity. The sadness is emphasised further because their relationship together was obviously true love yet now it is near its end. Marvell uses death in his persuasion, ‘Time’s winged chariot hurrying near’ A downbeat quote persuading the young lady that if they do not have sex that soon times winged chariot will collect them. He is implying it will be too late if they wait as eventually they will get old and die. Marvell personifies time as a chariot and I think his meaning is that a chariot collects people once they die and as they age the chariot gets nearer and so tries to put across this image to the woman. Marvell attempts to persuade the young lady that he will spend an age to admire each part of her and at the very end of the admiration she will love him back. He then says that she deserves no less than this and that he will never give her less than what she deserves. ‘An age at least to every part and the last age should show your heart: for lady, you do not deserve this state; nor would I love at lower rate’ this quote is not intimidating, like most of the poem I think he says it so the young lady thinks he is a good man. I don’t think Marvell wrote the poem because of his love for her, even though in some parts of the poem he tries to re-assure her that he does love her, instead I think he uses it to take advantage of her naivety – quote gives a pleasant image but has malicious intentions. I feel he says this only because writing about love is a good method when trying to lure her into bed and even though this quote may be deceiving she will probably not realise due to her young age. At the end of the poem Marvell tells the young lady that he would rather die than be without her ‘Rather at once our time devour than languish in its slow-chapped power’ Lines 39-40. This gives an image that he would rather all his time go, and would prefer to die than be without her because he would have to suffer in times power as his life would seem to be going slower if he wasn’t with her. As this quote is written in the concluding lines of the poem it continues to lead your thoughts to think he uses love as a means of enticing her into doing what he wants and to trick her into believing that he’d rather die than be without her. In the poem ‘Since there’s no help†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ there are a lot of negative images with few positive ones. This is due to the fact that love is dying out compared to Marvell’s poem in which the man wants the lady to believe he is in love with her, so if he expresses too many negative images then she would be less likely to believe him, different in that of Rossettis poem in which the relationship is very strong but the circumstances are of the person dying and not the love and by this she portrays how much love she has for him. In the opening lines Drayton tells the lady he wants nothing more to do with her ‘you get no more of me’ even the phrase itself gives you the image that he doesn’t want them to be together any longer. He continues to feel bitter and depressed and he reflects his mood in the negative images he gives in the poem. ‘I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart, that thus so cleanly I myself can free’ Drayton is almost trying to persuade her and himself that he doesn’t love her anymore and that he can be free of her, if their relationship ends. I don’t think Drayton does want the relationship to end but says this because he feels that he has no choice and doesn’t want to give his partner the impression that he would forgive her, whatever she does, otherwise she will take him for granted. Structure Marvell, Drayton and Rossetti all use rhyming couplets in the structure of their poems and this makes the poem easy and interesting to read. If it excluded the rhyming couplets reading the poem would be dull and the poet’s message would probably be lost in what would sound more like a speech. Drayton and Rossetti both wrote traditional love poems, the differences being that Rossetti wrote about the great amount of love between a couple and Drayton wrote about the lack of love in the relationship. Both poems include only 14 lines as opposed to the 46 of Marvell’s poem, however, all three poems work well. I felt Marvell chose to write a longer poem so he could properly express the argument and message it contained whereas I felt Rossetti and Drayton chose the shorter structure would be the most efficient way to explain what they wanted as they may have felt that choosing a longer structured poem to end a relationship or to express someone’s feelings would make the poem dull and boring. The difference between Rossetti’s and Drayton’s traditional love poems is that Rossetti split the poem into two stanzas; one with 6 lines and the other with 8 and thus uses the structure of a Petrachan sonnet whereas Drayton used the Shakespearean Iambic Pentameter which contains what would now be 10 syllables per line. Rossetti and Drayton writing a sonnet is evidence that they must love their partner. To write a sonnet to someone puts across the fact that you love them through the structure alone because of it being a traditional love poem. Language / Tone Marvell wrote his poem with persuasive and argumentative language. He tries to pressurise the person it is written for by consistently using death in his argument. At the beginning he says that there is no time to be coy but later says the opposite by saying ‘if you please, refuse till the conversion of the Jews’. As Jews are renowned for the pride they have in their religion he may feel there is not much chance of his succeeding with the young lady unless he poses this argument to change her opinion. Marvell tries to allure the young woman into having sex by using shock tactics ‘Then worms shall try that long-preserved virginity and your quaint honour turn to dust and into ashes all my lust’ Notice the language that he uses, as opposed to saying that someone else will take her virginity he gives her the image of her losing it to worms once she dies. This is a horrific image and using this destructive image it is far more effective because of the message behind it. Rather than using kindness to persuade his mistress into having sex he tries to scare her and in using such a forceful phrase on someone he claims to love further confirms his intimidation of this poor innocent girl. In comparison Rossetti wrote her poem in a more relaxed way but still with an important point to make. This is because she was writing it to someone who she has loved for most her life, however, she still wanted to persuade him not to grieve. Remember is repeated throughout the poem, this is because she wants to be remembered but doesn’t want to be mourned. Her message is expressed when she writes ‘Only remember me; you understand’ and ‘and afterwards remember, do not grieve’ both these quotes found in the second stanza of her poem prove that she doesn’t want him to forget her nor grieve. Rossetti, unlike Marvell, didn’t write on her own behalf as Rossetti wrote solely for her husband and mentioned herself rarely in the poem, I felt this was sad as she is the one dying but she didn’t want to meake her husband feel more upset so she couldn’t tell him how she was really feeling. You can tell she loved her partner and that the poem was written with good intentions. Drayton wrote his poem in such a way that it seemed that he was trying to persuade himself that he would be better off ending the relationship as well as telling his partner that their relationship had finished. Draytons intitial message to his partner is that their relationship is worth nothing, however, at the end begins to realise the love he has for her and so tells her the love may come back and as he does this the message at the end is very similar to the message expressed by Rossetti ‘when all have given him over, from death to life thou might’st him yet recover’ Drayton, talking about love personifying, hints that the love may come back to their relationship and may this happen his relationship could be similar to Rossettis loving relationship with her husband. My response to the poems My feelings about each poem differ; I feel the poem by Rossetti is sad as you can tell the relationship was strong and the poem was written to give her husband strength to go on after her death and remember the good things once she’s dead. It is effective as you know they had a good relationship because information such as their planned future together can be taken from the poem ‘no more day by day you tell me of the future that you planned’. It is also sad because she showed no self pity and so makes you feel sorry for her husband who wouldn’t know how his wife felt about her nearing death. My feelings about Marvells poem are completely different. I think this poem is quite threatening and harsh. He tells the young lady in the poem that she has to make her decision before she is old and ugly as he will no longer love her. I think he is also mean to write a poem in the persuasive language he does because she is young and naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and he uses this to his advantage. The horrific images he portrays further prove that he uses love falsely because if he did love her he wouldn’t scare her into having sex against her will. ‘Then worms shall try that long-preserved virginity and your quaint honour turn to dust and into ashes all my lust’ This illustrates the extremes the speaker is prepared to go to in order to get what he wants, he is trying to give her negative thoughts of what will happen if she rejects him. As mentioned before, the poem was written in the 17th century in an era which girls normally married as virgins and usually at a very young age. Marvell uses this to his advantage by continuing to express, what I think, is false love because by getting her to believe he is in love with her he feels he stands a greater chance of her losing her virginity to him. I felt sorry for Drayton after reading his poem because I felt he wrote it after finding out about his partner’s affair and this would account for his harsh way of ending their relationship and angry tone used when ending it. However, to tell his partner that he can be free without her is surprising, especially when at the end of the poem he says the love may come back. I think Drayton wrote this poem on the back of an affair his partner had been having, ‘Now at the last gasp of loves latest breath, when, his pulse failing, passion speechless lies, when faith is kneeling by his bed of death’. The phrase speechless lies could be a reflection of the times she lied to him while having the affair and faith kneeling by deaths bed shows that along with the love, faith had also left the relationship giving further reason to think she had an affair. Aswell as this Drayton lets his partner know that the love in their relationship is dying and has nearly gone completely, by saying that it is taking its last gasp of breath. Shortly after, Drayton gives his partner the impression that the love may come back. ‘Now, if thou would’st, when all have given him over, from death to life thou might’st him yet recover’. This quote gave me the feeling that the relationship could come back giving reason to believe that the poem was written as retaliation after finding out about an affair. Understandably he would be distraught and so uses the harsh images mentioned in the early stages of the poem but finally ending by realising the amount of love he has for his partner and so says that they might be able to overcome this and love each other again. The poem I preferred Overall the poem that I most preferred was Draytons poem ‘Since theres no help†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This is because unlike Marvells poem it isn’t as long and is kept to a simple 14 line structure. I feel that this made it easier to understand as opposed to Marvells longer poem. Even though the longer length may have added more detail I found this made it far easier to lose interest. Rossettis poem, like Draytons, was short, however, I liked the way Drayton personified love throughout his poem by expressing loves life in his relationship. I disliked the overuse of ‘remember’ in Rossettis poem, even though it was obviously intentional, I thought it made the poem repetitive with Rossetti continually telling her husband what to remember and remember what not to do. However, I did think that Marvells poem was strong in its persuasiveness and thought it would probably be successful in taking advantage of the young girl, which was the purpose of him writing it. Another reason for my preference of Draytons poem is that it questions the strength of the relationship and whether feelings can be turned off so easily.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Stress and Self Esteem

In recent studies philosophers have discussed whether stress and self-esteem have any relations to one another. Does the effect of a person’s stress affect their self esteem? It might seem that a person with low self esteem could be the effects of a high level of stress. Self-Esteem affects everyone, especially teenagers. The articles suggest that there may be other factors that influence stress and self esteem. Introduction â€Å"The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stress as a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.It may seem confusing but everyone has dealt with stress in their lifetime. Stress is something that is not diagnosed by a doctor, but when a person is stressed, they can definitely feel it (R. , Jill, 2012, par 2). What is self esteem? It is the opinion you have for yourself and your value as a person. Self confidence is also a major role in self esteem. Studies have shown that ther e is a negative relationship between self esteem and stress. It was also found that self esteem appears to control the effects of stress on psychological functioning.Those with low self esteem distribute more of a higher stress level than those with a high self esteem. By having a high self esteem it makes dealing with stress easier. High self esteem may protect the individual from distress by allowing the individual to feel less vulnerable and help them rise up from difficult situations. High self esteem may also result in more active and effective coping and in enhanced motivation in response to stress (Abel, 1996). Individuals have their own way they deal with stress and their self esteem.Stress and self esteem have relations to one another but people deal with things differently. â€Å"Another study examined self esteem as a moderator of the influence of perceived stress and coping on symptoms of depression in a sample of 713 college students. The results suggest that self este em may play an important role in the development of depressive symptoms in college students through interactions with perceived stress and coping (Eisenbarth, 2012, par. 1). † If an individual does not see them self as worthy, or important, a rise in stress is likely to occur (Eisenbarth, 2012).I believe the strength of the relationship between the two variables is a medium. Even though research suggests that stress and self esteem do not have such a close connection, I think self esteem and stress are closely connected because every person handles stress differently. If a person has a high level of stress and a low self esteem, it may cause his or her self esteem level drop even more. College students tend to have a higher stress level which could lead to serious depression disorders. The transactional model of stress and coping forwarded by Lazarus and Folk-man (1984) defines stress as an imbalance between people’s perception of the demands placed upon them and their interpretation of the resources available to cope with those demands (Esienbarth, 2012, par 3).† Those with higher levels of self esteem may take stress more lightly, while those with low self esteem may only see the negative sides of the stress which could cause their stress to heighten even more. â€Å"A United States study shows that forty three percent of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress (Hall, 2012, par 2). If an individual has a high self esteem and recently suffers from a lot of stress can cause the persons self esteem to go from high to low. Having a low self esteem can lead to weight gain and depression. If a person does not get help when suffering stress or self esteem problems, it could eventually lead to health problems. Researchers found that there is a strong relationship between how someone copes with stress and self esteem. People with low self esteem are more likely to view their behavior as being dependent on the situation while people with h igh self esteem have a greater ability to connect in a wide range of coping behaviors.Why do people with low self esteem view their coping behavior more as self-dependent? It has been suggested that self esteem influences coping because it is so strongly related to personal preferences which they use for their own differences and outcomes (Abel, 1996). It may be that peoples coping styles reflect their self esteem, but they could also be building a barrier that could make their self esteem crash. If a person continuously worries about their self esteem and how to cope with it, the more stressed and anxious they may become.Self esteem is not as important as self acceptance. Many people argue that self esteem and self acceptance are the same thing, however to some people they disagree (R. , Jill, 2012). Things people need to do to make themselves feel better is to learn to accept themselves for who they are and not what you expect yourself to be. Everyone does good and bad things. Str ess and self esteem are handled differently by everyone. Building a high self esteem can take years to complete and when they face stress it doesn’t affect them as much as it does a person with low self esteem.By having high self esteem it makes dealing with situations easier. People with low self esteem seem to be shy, quiet, and self conscious about themselves and when they have high levels of stress they tend to keep to them self and cope with it on their own (R. , Jill, 2012). There are many different ways of coping with stress because everyone has it. Stress is a normal situation for people and everyone deals with it their own ways. Even though research says stress and self esteem have little to do with each other, there have not been a lot of studies to prove it.In conclusion, Stress and self esteem have little to do with how people deal with or perceive the levels of stress in their lives. It has more to do with other factors such as coping styles and self concept. The purpose of this correlation essay was to research that people with high self esteem see themselves to have lower levels of stress than those with low self esteem and people who have low self esteem perceive themselves to have high levels of stress than those with high self esteem (Eisenbarth, 2012).References Abel, M. H. (1996). Self-Esteem: Moderator of mediator between perceived stress and expectancy of success. Psychological Reports, 79, 635-641. Eisenbarth, Chris. (2012). Does Self-Esteem Moderate the Relations among Perceived Stress, Coping, and Depression? College Student Journal, 46, 149-157. Retrieved from http://www. nclive. org. Hall, Joanna. (2012). Outsmart Stress. Good Health, 72-74. Retrieved from http://www. nclive. org. R. , Jill. (2012) Stress and Self Esteem. Retrieved from http://www. ourstressfullives. com

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Famous Ancient Greek Sculptors

Famous Ancient Greek Sculptors These six sculptors (Myron, Phidias, Polyclitus, Praxiteles, Scopas, and Lysippus) are among the most famous artists in ancient Greece. Most of their work has been lost except as it survives in Roman and later copies. Art during the Archaic Period was stylized  but became more realistic during the Classical Period. The late Classical Period sculpture was three dimensional, made to be viewed from all sides. These and other artists helped move Greek art - from Classic Idealism to Hellenistic Realism, blending in softer elements and emotive expressions.   The two most commonly cited sources for information about Greek and Roman artists are the first century CE writer and scientist Pliny the Elder (who died watching Pompeii erupt) and the second century CE travel writer Pausanias. Myron of Eleutherae 5th C. BCE. (Early Classical Period) An older contemporary of Phidias and Polyclitus, and, like them, also a pupil of Ageladas, Myron of Eleutherae (480–440 BCE) worked chiefly in bronze. Myron is known for his Discobolus (discus-thrower) which had careful proportions and rhythm. Pliny the Elder argued that Myrons most famous sculpture was that of a bronze heifer, supposedly so lifelike it could be mistaken for a real cow. The cow was placed at the Athenian Acropolis between 420–417 BCE, then moved to the Temple of Peace at Rome and then the Forum Taurii in Constantinople. This cow was on view for nearly a thousand years - the Greek scholar Procopius reported that he saw it in the 6th century CE. It was the subject of no less than 36 Greek and Roman epigrams, some of which claimed that the sculpture could be mistaken for a cow by calves and bulls, or that it actually was a real cow, attached to a stone base. Myron can be approximately dated to the Olympiads of the victors whose statues he crafted (Lycinus, in 448, Timanthes in 456, and Ladas, probably 476). Phidias of Athens c. 493–430 BCE (High Classical Period) Phidias (spelled Pheidias or Phydias), the son of Charmides, was a 5th century BCE sculptor known for his ability to sculpt in nearly anything, including stone, bronze, silver, gold, wood, marble, ivory, and chryselephantine. Among his most famous works is the nearly 40-foot tall statue of Athena, made of chryselephantine with plates of ivory upon a core of wood or stone for the flesh and solid gold drapery and ornaments. A statue of Zeus at Olympia was made of ivory and gold and was ranked among one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Athenian statesman Pericles commissioned several works from Phidias, including sculptures to celebrate the Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon. Phidias is among the sculptors associated with the early use of the Golden Ratio, the Greek representation of which is the letter Phi after Phidias. Phidias the accused of trying to embezzle gold  but proved his innocence. He was charged with impiety, however, and sent to prison where, according to Plutarch, he died. Polyclitus of Argos 5th C. BCE (High Classical Period) Polyclitus (Polycleitus or Polykleitos) created a gold and ivory statue of Hera for the goddesss temple at Argos. Strabo called it the most beautiful rendering of Hera hed ever seen, and it was considered by most ancient writers as one of the most beautiful works of all Greek art. All his other sculptures were in bronze. Polyclitus is also known for his Doryphorus statue (Spear-bearer), which illustrated his book named canon (kanon), a theoretical work on ideal mathematical proportions for human body parts and on the balance between tension and movement, known as symmetry. He sculpted Astragalizontes (Boys Playing at Knuckle Bones) which had a place of honor in the atrium of the Emperor Titus. Praxiteles of Athens c. 400–330 BCE (Late Classical Period) Praxiteles was the son of the sculptor Cephisodotus the Elder, and a younger contemporary of Scopas. He sculpted a great variety of men and gods, both male and female; and he is said to have been the first to sculpt the human female form in a life-sized statue. Praxiteles primarily used marble from the famous quarries of Paros, but he also used bronze. Two examples of Praxiteles work are Aphrodite of Knidos (Cnidos) and Hermes with the Infant Dionysus. One of his works that reflects the change in Late Classical Period Greek art is his sculpture of the god Eros with a sad expression, taking his lead, or so some scholars have said, from a then-fashionable depiction of love as suffering in Athens, and the growing popularity of the expression of feelings in general by painters and sculptors throughout the period. Scopas of Paros 4th C. BCE (Late Classical Period) Scopas was an architect of the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea, which used all three of the orders (Doric and Corinthian, on the outside and Ionic inside), in Arcadia. Later Scopas made sculptures for Arcadia, which were described by Pausanias. Scopas also worked on the bas-reliefs that decorated the frieze of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Caria. Scopas may have made one of the sculptured columns on the temple of Artemis at Ephesus after its fire in 356. Scopas made a sculpture of a maenad in a Bacchic frenzy of which a copy survives. Lysippus of Sicyon 4th C. BCE (Late Classical Period) A metalworker, Lysippus taught himself sculpture by studying nature and Polyclitus canon. Lysippus work is characterized by lifelike naturalism and slender proportions. It has been described as impressionistic. Lysippus was the official sculptor to Alexander the Great. It is said about Lysippus that while others had made men as they were, he had made them as they appeared to the eye. Lysippus is thought not to have had formal artistic training but was a prolific sculptor creating sculptures from tabletop size to colossus. Sources Bellinger, Alfred R. The Late Bronze of Alexandria Troas. Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society) 8 (1958): 25–53. Print.Corso, Antonio. Love as Suffering: The Eros of Thespiae of Praxiteles. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 42 (1997): 63–91. Print.Lapatin, Kenneth, D. S. Pheidias. American Journal of Archaeology 101.4 (1997): 663–82. Print.Palagia, Olga. Pheidias Epoiesen: Attribution as Value Judgement. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement.104 (2010): 97–107. Print.Squire, Michael. Making Myrons Cow Moo? Ecphrastic Epigram and the Poetics of Simulation. The American Journal of Philology 131.4 (2010): 589–634. Print.Stewart, Andrew. Praxiteles. American Journal of Archaeology 111.3 (2007): 565–69. Print.Waldstein, Charles. The Argive Hera of Polycleitus. The Journal of Hellenic Studies 21 (1901): 30–44. Print.Wycherley, R. E. Pausanias and Praxiteles. Hesperia Supplements 20 (1982): 182–91 . Print.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Understanding the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Understanding the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle Heisenbergs uncertainty principle is one of the cornerstones of quantum physics, but it is often not deeply understood by those who have not carefully studied it. While it does, as the name suggests, define a certain level of uncertainty at the most fundamental levels of nature itself, that uncertainty manifests in a very constrained way, so it doesnt affect us in our daily lives. Only carefully constructed experiments can reveal this principle at work.   In 1927, the German physicist Werner Heisenberg put forth what has become known as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle (or just uncertainty principle or, sometimes, Heisenberg principle). While attempting to build an intuitive model of quantum physics, Heisenberg had uncovered that there were certain fundamental relationships which put limitations on how well we could know certain quantities. Specifically, in the most straightforward application of the principle: The more precisely you know the position of a particle, the less precisely you can simultaneously know the momentum of that same particle. Heisenberg Uncertainty Relationships Heisenbergs uncertainty principle is a very precise mathematical statement about the nature of a quantum system. In physical and mathematical terms, it constrains the degree of precision we can ever talk about having about a system. The following two equations (also shown, in prettier form, in the graphic at the top of this article), called the Heisenberg uncertainty relationships, are the most common equations related to the uncertainty principle: Equation 1: delta- x * delta- p is proportional to h-barEquation 2: delta- E * delta- t is proportional to h-bar The symbols in the above equations have the following meaning: h-bar: Called the reduced Planck constant, this has the value of the Plancks constant divided by 2*pi.delta-x: This is the uncertainty in position of an object (say of a given particle).delta-p: This is the uncertainty in momentum of an object.delta-E: This is the uncertainty in energy of an object.delta-t: This is the uncertainty in time measurement of an object. From these equations, we can tell some physical properties of the systems measurement uncertainty based upon our corresponding level of precision with our measurement. If the uncertainty in any of these measurements gets very small, which corresponds to having an extremely precise measurement, then these relationships tell us that the corresponding uncertainty would have to increase, to maintain the proportionality. In other words, we cannot simultaneously measure both properties within each equation to an unlimited level of precision. The more precisely we measure position, the less precisely we are able to simultaneously measure momentum (and vice versa). The more precisely we measure time, the less precisely we are able to simultaneously measure energy (and vice versa). A Common Though the above may seem very strange, theres actually a decent correspondence to the way we can function in the real (that is, classical) world. Lets say that we were watching a race car on a track and we were supposed to record when it crossed a finish line. We are supposed to measure not only the time that it crosses the finish line but also the exact speed at which it does so. We measure the speed by pushing a button on a stopwatch at the moment we see it cross the finish line and we measure the speed by looking at a digital read-out (which is not in line with watching the car, so you have to turn your head once it crosses the finish line). In this classical case, there is clearly some degree of uncertainty about this, because these actions take some physical time. Well see the car touch the finish line, push the stopwatch button, and look at the digital display. The physical nature of the system imposes a definite limit upon how precise this can all be. If youre focusing on try ing to watch the speed, then you may be off a bit when measuring the exact time across the finish line, and vice versa. As with most attempts to use classical examples to demonstrate quantum physical behavior, there are flaws with this analogy, but its somewhat related to the physical reality at work in the quantum realm. The uncertainty relationships come out of the wave-like behavior of objects at the quantum scale, and the fact that its very difficult to precisely measure the physical position of a wave, even in classical cases. Confusion about the Uncertainty Principle Its very common for the uncertainty principle to get confused with the phenomenon of the observer effect in quantum physics, such as that which manifests during the Schroedingers cat thought experiment. These are actually two completely different issues within quantum physics, though both tax our classical thinking. The uncertainty principle is actually a fundamental constraint on the ability make precise statements about the behavior of a quantum system, regardless of our actual act of making the observation or not. The observer effect, on the other hand, implies that if we make a certain type of observation, the system itself will behave differently than it would without that observation in place. Books on Quantum Physics and the Uncertainty Principle: Because of its central role in the foundations of quantum physics, most books that explore the quantum realm will provide an explanation of the uncertainty principle, with varying levels of success. Here are some of the books which do it the best, in this humble authors opinion. Two are general books on quantum physics as a whole, while the other two are as much biographical as scientific, giving real insights into the life and work of Werner Heisenberg: The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics by James KakaliosThe Quantum Universe by Brian Cox and Jeff ForshawBeyond Uncertainty: Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and the Bomb by David C. CassidyUncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science by David Lindley

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Problem With Feudalism

The Problem With Feudalism Medieval historians arent generally bothered by words. In fact, the intrepid medievalist is always ready to leap into the rough-and-tumble milieu of Old English word origins, medieval French literature, and Latin Church documents. Icelandic Sagas hold no terror for the medieval scholar! Next to these challenges, the esoteric terminology of medieval studies is mundane, and no threat to the historian of the Middle Ages. But theres one word that has become the bane of medievalists everywhere. Use it in discussing medieval life and society, and the average medieval historian will screw up his face in revulsion. There might be some sighs, some head shaking, and perhaps even some hands thrown in the air. What is this word that has the power to annoy, disgust, and even upset the ordinarily cool and collected medievalist? Feudalism. Every student of the Middle Ages is at least somewhat familiar with feudalism. The term is usually defined as follows: Feudalism was the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe. It was a hierarchical system of social relationships wherein a noble lord granted land known as a fief to a free man, who in turn swore fealty to the lord as his vassal and agreed to provide military and other services. A vassal could also be a lord, granting portions of the land he held to other free vassals; this was known as subinfeudation, and often led all the way up to the king. The land granted to each vassal was inhabited by serfs who worked the land for him, providing him with income to support his military endeavors; in turn, the vassal would protect the serfs from attack and invasion. Of course, this is an extremely simplified definition, and there are many exceptions and caveats that go along with this model of medieval society, but the same could be said of any model applied to a historical period. Generally, it is fair to say that this is the explanation for feudalism youll find in most history textbooks of the 20th century, and it is very close to every dictionary definition available. The problem? Virtually none of it is accurate. Feudalism  was  not the dominant form of political organization in medieval Europe. There was no hierarchical system of lords and vassals engaged in a structured agreement to provide military defense. There was no subinfeudation leading up to the king. The arrangement whereby serfs worked the land for a lord in return for protection, known as manorialism or seignorialism, was not part of a feudal system. Monarchies of the early Middle Ages may have had their challenges and their weaknesses, but kings did not use feudalism to exert control over their subjects, and the feudal relationship was not the glue that held medieval society together. In short, feudalism as described above never existed in Medieval Europe. We know what youre thinking. For decades, even centuries, feudalism has characterized our view of medieval society. If it never existed, then why did so many historians say it did for so long? Werent there entire books written on the subject? Who has the authority to say that all those historians were wrong? And if the current consensus among the experts in medieval history is to reject feudalism, why is it still presented as reality in nearly every medieval history textbook? The best way to answer these questions is to engage in a little historiography. Lets begin with a look at the origin and evolution of the term feudalism. A Post-Medieval What, Now? The first thing to understand about the word feudalism is that it was never used during the Middle Ages. The term was invented by 16th- and 17th-century scholars to describe a political system of several hundred years earlier. This makes feudalism a post-medieval construct. Theres nothing inherently wrong with constructs. They help us understand alien ideas in terms more familiar to our modern thought processes. The phrases Middle Ages and medieval are constructs, themselves. (After all, medieval people didnt think of themselves as living in a middle age they thought they were living in the now, just like we do.) Medievalists may not like the way the term medieval is used as an insult, or how absurd myths of past customs and behavior are commonly attributed to the Middle Ages, but most are confident that the use of middle ages and medieval to describe the era as in between the ancient and early modern eras is satisfactory, however fluid the definition of all three time frames may be. But medieval has a fairly clear meaning based on a specific, easily-defined viewpoint. Feudalism cannot be said to have the same. In 16th  century France,  Humanist  scholars grappled with the history of Roman law and its authority in their own land. They examined, in depth, a substantial collection of Roman law books. Among these books was something called the  Libri Feudorum- the Book of Fiefs. The  Libri Feudorum  was a compilation of legal texts concerning the proper disposition of fiefs, which were defined in these documents as lands held by people referred to as vassals. The work had been put together in Lombardy, northern Italy, in the 1100s, and over the course of the intervening centuries, many lawyers and other scholars had commented on it and added definitions and interpretations, or  glosses.  The  Libri Feudorum  is an extraordinarily significant work that, to this day, has been barely studied since the 16th-century French lawyers gave it a good look. In the course of their evaluation of the Book of Fiefs, the scholars made some fairly reasonable assumptions: That the fiefs under discussion in the texts were pretty much the same as the fiefs of 16th-century France- that is, lands belonging to nobles.That the  Libri Feudorum  was addressing actual legal practices of the 11th century and not simply expounding on an academic concept.That the explanation of the origins of fiefs contained in the  Libri Feudorum- that is, that grants were initially made for as long as the  lord  chose, but were later extended to the grantees lifetime and  afterward  made hereditary- was a reliable history and not mere conjecture. The assumptions may have been reasonable- but were they correct? The French scholars had every reason to believe they were, and no real reason to dig any deeper. After all, they werent so much interested in the historical  facts of the time period as they were in the legal questions addressed in the  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Libri Feudorum.  Their foremost consideration was whether or not the laws even had any authority in France- and, ultimately, the French lawyers rejected the authority of the Lombard Book of Fiefs. However, during the course of their investigations, and based in part on the assumptions outlined above, the scholars who studied the  Libri Feudorum  formulated a view of the Middle Ages. This general picture included the idea that feudal relationships, wherein noblemen granted fiefs to free vassals in return for services, were important in medieval society because they provided social and military security at a time when  the central  government was weak or nonexistent. The idea was discussed in editions of the  Libri Feudorum  made by the legal scholars Jacques Cujas and Franà §ois Hotman, both of whom used the term  feudum  to indicate an arrangement involving a  fief. It didnt take long for other scholars to see some value in the works of Cujas and Hotman and apply the ideas to their own studies. Before the 16th century was over, two Scottish lawyers- Thomas Craig and Thomas Smith- were using feudum in their classifications of Scottish  lands and their tenure. It was apparently Craig who first expressed the idea of feudal arrangements as a hierarchical  system;  moreover, it was  a  system that was imposed on nobles and their subordinates by their monarch as a matter of policy.  In the 17th century,  Henry Spelman, a noted English antiquarian, adopted this viewpoint for English legal history, as well. Although Spelman never used the word feudalism, either, his work went a long way toward creating an -ism from the handful of ideas over which Cujas and Hotman had theorized. Not only did Spelman maintain, as Craig had done, that feudal arrangements were part of a system, but he related the English feudal heritage with that of Europe, indicating that feudal arrangements were characteristic of medieval society as a whole. Spelman wrote with authority, and his hypothesis was happily accepted as fact by scholars who saw it as a sensible explanation of medieval social and property relations. Over the next several decades, scholars explored and debated feudal ideas. They expanded the meaning of the term from legal matters and adapted it to other aspects of medieval society. They argued over the origins of feudal arrangements and expounded on the various levels of  subinfeudation. They incorporated manorialism and applied it to the agricultural economy. They envisioned a complete system of feudal agreements that ran throughout all of Britain and Europe. What they did  not  do was challenge Craigs or Spelmans interpretation of the works of Cujas and Hotman, nor did they question the conclusions that Cujas and Hotman had drawn from the  Libri Feudorum. From the vantage point of the 21st century, its easy to ask why the facts were overlooked in favor of the theory. Present-day historians  engage in  a rigorous  examination of the evidence and clearly identify a theory as a theory (at least, the good ones do). Why didnt 16th- and 17th-century scholars do the same? The simple answer is that history as a scholarly field has evolved over time; and in the 17th century, the academic discipline of  historical  evaluation was in its infancy. Historians did not yet have the tools- both physical and figurative- we take for granted today, nor did they have the example of scientific methods from other fields to look to and incorporate into their own learning processes. Besides, having a straightforward model by which to view the Middle Ages gave scholars the sense that they understood the time period. Medieval society becomes so much easier to evaluate and comprehend if it can be labeled and fit into a simple organizational structure. By the end of the 18th century, the term feudal system was in use among historians, and by the middle of the 19th century, feudalism had become a fairly well-fleshed out model, or construct, of medieval government and society. The idea spread beyond the cloistered halls of academia. Feudalism became a buzzword for any oppressive, backward, hidebound system of government. In the  French Revolution, the feudal regime was abolished by the  National Assembly, and in Karl Marxs  Communist Manifesto,  feudalism was the oppressive, agrarian-based economic system that preceded the inequitable, industrialized, capitalist economy. With such far-ranging appearances in both academic and mainstream usage, it would be an extraordinary challenge to break free of what was, essentially, a wrong impression. In the late 19th century, the field of medieval studies began to evolve into a serious discipline. No longer did the average historian accept as fact everything that had been written by his predecessors and repeat it as a matter of course. Scholars of the medieval era began to question interpretations of the evidence, and they began to question the evidence, as well. This was by no means a swift process. The medieval era was still the bastard child of historical study; a dark age of ignorance, superstition, and  brutality; a thousand years without a bath.  Medieval historians had a great deal of prejudice, fanciful inventions and misinformation to overcome, and there was no concerted effort to shake things up and reexamine every theory ever floated in the study of the Middle Ages. And feudalism had become so entrenched in our view of the time period, it wasnt an obvious choice of target to overturn. Even once historians began to recognize the system as a post-medieval construct, the validity of the construct wasnt questioned. As early as 1887,  F. W. Maitland  observed in a lecture on English constitutional history that we do not hear of a feudal system until feudalism ceased to exist.  He examined in detail what feudalism supposedly was and discussed how it could be applied to English medieval law, but never did he question its very existence. Maitland was a well-respected scholar, and much of his work is still enlightening and useful today. If such an esteemed historian treated feudalism as a legitimate system of law and government, why should anyone think to question him? For a long time, nobody did. Most medievalists continued in Maitlands vein, acknowledging that the word was a construct, and an imperfect one at that, yet going forward with articles, lectures, treatises and entire books on what exactly feudalism had been; or, at the very least, incorporating it into related topics as an accepted fact of the medieval era. Each historian presented his own interpretation of the model- even those claiming to adhere to a previous interpretation deviated from it in some significant way. The result was an unfortunate number of varying and even conflicting definitions of feudalism. As the 20th century progressed, the discipline of history grew more rigorous. Scholars uncovered new evidence, examined it closely, and used it to modify or explain their view of feudalism. Their methods were sound, as far as they went, but their premise was problematic: they were trying to  adapt  a deeply flawed theory to such a wide variety of facts. Although several historians  expressed concerns over the indefinite nature of the well-worn model and the terms many imprecise meanings, it wasnt until 1974 that anyone thought to stand up and point out the most basic, fundamental problems with feudalism. In a ground-breaking article entitled The Tyranny of a Construct: Feudalism and Historians of Medieval Europe,  Elizabeth A. R. Brown  leveled an unwavering finger at the academic community and roundly denounced the term feudalism and its continued use. Clearly,  feudalism was a construct that was developed  after  the Middle Ages, Brown maintained, and the system it described bore little resemblance to actual medieval society. Its many differing, even contradictory definitions had so muddied the waters that it had lost any useful meaning. The construct was actually interfering with the proper examination of evidence concerning medieval law and society; scholars viewed land agreements and social relationships through the warped lens of the feudalism construct, and either disregarded or dismissed anything that didnt fit into their chosen version of the model. Brown asserted  that  considering how difficult it is to unlearn what one has learned, to continue to include feudalism in introductory texts would do readers of those texts a grave injustice. Browns article was very well-received in academic circles. Virtually no American or British medievalists objected to any part of it, and almost everyone who read it agreed: Feudalism was not a useful term, and really should go. Yet, feudalism stuck around. There were improvements. Some new publications in medieval studies avoided using the term altogether; others used it only  sparingly,  and focused on actual laws, land tenures, and legal agreements instead of on the model. Some books on medieval society refrained from characterizing that society as feudal. Others, while acknowledging that the term was in dispute, continued to use it as a useful shorthand for lack of a better term, but only as far as it was necessary. But there were still authors that included descriptions of feudalism as a valid model of medieval society with little or no caveat. Why? For one thing, not  every  medievalist had read Browns  article,  or had a chance to consider its implications or discuss it with his colleagues. For another, revising work that had been conducted on the premise that feudalism was a valid construct would require the kind of reassessment that few historians were prepared to engage in, especially when deadlines were drawing near. Perhaps most significantly, no one had presented a reasonable model or explanation to use in place of feudalism. Some historians and authors felt they had to provide their readers with a handle by which to grasp the general ideas of medieval government and society. If not feudalism, then what? Yes, the emperor had no clothes; but for now, he would just have to run around naked.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Racism by culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Racism by culture - Research Paper Example What is this survived "dinosaur" of the last eras called racism? The given work will explain the essence of the modern racism and prove that the roots of racist ideas are in the educational and cultural environment a person is brought up in. Racism is the set of views, based on the ideas of physical and intellectual inequality of human races and of the decisive influence of racial distinctions on history and culture. There is also a little broader definition of racism that can be found in encyclopedias, which state that racial signs impose decisive influence on abilities, intelligence, moral and behavioral features and traits of people’ s character (Flanagan et al 515). Racism includes the ideas about initial division of people into the highest and the lowest races, the first of which are the founders of the civilization, thus they want and should dominate over the second. â€Å"Racism is the overarching societal paradigm that tolerates, accepts, and reinforces racial inequalities, and is associated with racially unequal opportunities for children to learn and thrive. Racial inequalities result in the discriminatory treatment of people of minority status. For instance, individuals from historically marginalized racial groups may be perceived as less worthy or less intelligent than those from the majority culture. At the same time, children or communities from the majority culture are allowed to maintain their established privileged and valued status. This privilege can result in better treatment and opportunities than are afforded to others within educational systems and other social institutions. The presence of racism in educational settings harms everyone, but has the most negative and lasting impact on racial minority groups† (Racism, prejudice, and discrimination).The implementation of racist theories in practice

Blogs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blogs - Assignment Example The blog is using facts and opinion with the numbers and statistical data on bullying and other forms of antisocial behavior highlighted. The blog is reflecting with how the past was structured and the difference that is seen in comparison to the present attributes of anti-social behavior. There is a photo of a young lady with a computer that appears disgusted or broken by a picture or a post that she has seen on her computer. The photo is social how the computer may influence a person if only it’s written badly and in the process lead to bullying and other forms of anti-social behavior. This article looks at the influence of social media on teens. In the blog the writer asserts that there are detrimental effects not only on their social behavior but also on their academic performance. The article is examining the difference that may be witnessed in future with more students in the current generation using the same platform for all their academic work. The blog is based on opinions that have been generated from deductive reasoning by the writer. The blog does not quote other writers but has deduced its argument from a single analogy and is projecting the same to be the case into the future. The last blog looks at the influence of social networking in children and uses the opinion by other cites and also factual information to conclude that it being affected badly. There are less face to face conversations and the children are going to grow with depleted connections with the other members of the society. The blog looks at the past and future effects of social media and does not see any form of better social behavior coming from the social media

Blogs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blogs - Assignment Example The blog is using facts and opinion with the numbers and statistical data on bullying and other forms of antisocial behavior highlighted. The blog is reflecting with how the past was structured and the difference that is seen in comparison to the present attributes of anti-social behavior. There is a photo of a young lady with a computer that appears disgusted or broken by a picture or a post that she has seen on her computer. The photo is social how the computer may influence a person if only it’s written badly and in the process lead to bullying and other forms of anti-social behavior. This article looks at the influence of social media on teens. In the blog the writer asserts that there are detrimental effects not only on their social behavior but also on their academic performance. The article is examining the difference that may be witnessed in future with more students in the current generation using the same platform for all their academic work. The blog is based on opinions that have been generated from deductive reasoning by the writer. The blog does not quote other writers but has deduced its argument from a single analogy and is projecting the same to be the case into the future. The last blog looks at the influence of social networking in children and uses the opinion by other cites and also factual information to conclude that it being affected badly. There are less face to face conversations and the children are going to grow with depleted connections with the other members of the society. The blog looks at the past and future effects of social media and does not see any form of better social behavior coming from the social media

Friday, October 18, 2019

Code switching project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Code switching project - Essay Example 3). In this view, the determination of the social motivations for a language alternation becomes important. This paper looks at the social motivations for code switching I terms of the various applications in social, discourse and identity expression situations. This follows an interview analysis that seeks to determine the patterns for code switching, as well as the attitudes evident from such changes. According to Buchholtz and Hall (2005), socio-cultural linguistics arises as an important subject that looks at the broad interdisciplinary area involving the integration of culture, society and language (Nilep 2006, p. 3). The utilization of code switching arises as a key determinant of bilingual and multilingual speakers. The availability of language resources including the knowledge of two or more languages enables different individuals to depict instances of language alternations. Code switching refers to the application of two or more languages between various speakers during a given speech or conversation (Lowi 2005, p. 1). In this case, the concept stands to be essential in such practices involving bilingual or multilingual speakers. This translates to the utilization of code switching as a means for conversation, and as an approach towards the establishment, maintenance and description of existing boundaries due to ethnicity (Fong 2011, p. 23). Additionally, the idea arises as an important tool for symbolizing relevant features of background in speakers. This provides multilingual speakers with an opportunity of expressing their own identities, thus, becoming an effective social process (Lowi 2005, p. 1). In providing for a social context, code switching allows individuals to explore their identities and ethnic backgrounds. This arises due to the various communicative functions depicted with the utilization of code switching (Shin 2010, p.94). The use of code switching becomes essential in ensuring that communication between two or more

Labour Law (feminism) [ question in the box ] Essay

Labour Law (feminism) [ question in the box ] - Essay Example , self-employed and assumed all economic risks with respect to her earnings.1 This case reveals the complexities of the debate over the feasibility of considering sex workers who are by and large ‘service providers’ in an entertainment industry as employees and in doing so engages the feminist debate over whether or not sex workers are legitimate employees.2 The feminist debate on sex work is divided into two opposing views. On the one hand, radical feminists view sex work as nothing more than a facilitator of male ‘sexual aggression’ against women.3 Indeed the male power theme associated with prostitution is captured by those who liken prostitution with slavery and thus conjures up reflections of white slavery. However, within the European Union (EU), anti-prostitution policies are typically aimed at eliminating street prostitution and treating prostitution as a public nuisance that is primarily an involuntary career choice.4 On the other hand, post-modern liberal feminists argue that women are free to do as they wish with their ‘own bodies and sexuality’.5 Thus liberal feminists take the position that sex workers are voluntarily engaged in sex work and in should be protected as any other worker should be. Thus from the radical feminists’ perspective, sex work should be banned. From the perspective of the postmodern liberal feminists, sex work is a valid and legitimate form of work and should therefore be regulated as such.6 The radical feminists’ perspective hinges on abrogation which is influenced by dominance feminist theory which views sex work as an exploitation of women.7 Postmodern liberal feminists on the other hand propose a ‘theoretical model of sex-worker rights’.8 However, when the definition of employee is taken into account, the feasibility of sex-worker rights is questionable. This is because an employee by definition is an individual requiring protection from an employer who is in turn obligated to protect his or her

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Genetic Engineering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genetic Engineering - Research Paper Example Nature has the inherent ability to produce a new combination of genes through the process of natural sexual reproduction. However the number of combinations that can be produced is small due to limitations in sexual reproduction mechanism. Through the process of genetic engineering innumerable genes can be shuffled from a variety of organisms and used for the production of novel and economically viable traits (Genetic Engineering). This process was initially developed for the production of genetically modified foods that had resistance against pesticides and which provided higher yields. Genetic engineering allows for bulk production of substances which could be an economically viable option in cases where conventional process required to produce the same compound are expensive. This technology is now being widely used for the commercial production of enzymes, antibodies, crops, drugs and vaccines. In addition, several genetically modified organisms such as insects, bacteria, plants, livestock, fishes and animals are also being produced through this process that is not otherwise possible through natural means (Epstein; Abbas, Lasekan and Khalil). Though the technology has ushered in the production of organisms, crops and drugs with unique properties major interest groups within the society believe that genetic engineering is a threat to mankind as there are several grave consequences associated with the development. One of the main concerns is the ability of this technology to disrupt the natural ecosystems and the environment. All the genetically modified organisms such as plants, animals and microbes would further reproduce and mutate to give rise to ne life forms and all of these could cause irreversible changes to the natural ecosystems and environment (Epstein). Most of the genetic engineering work is carried out through the use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology that employs vectors such as plasmids or viruses to transfer the

Oratorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Oratorical Analysis - Essay Example On June 12, 2005 Jobs was asked to deliver the commencement address for Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. His humorous and yet serious speech is available on You Tube and also the text of it is available at the University’s web site (2005). In that talk, Mr. Jobs talked about four distinct points: 1) His early life through college, 2) His tenure and abrupt departure from Apple and career thereafter 3) Jobs’ cancer diagnosis and facing death before fifty and 4) The concluding statements. This paper will then attempt to give an Oratorical Analysis on that speech and including the text, along with the You Tube video, other information will be gleaned as needed from Biography’s work on Mr. Jobs (Biography 2012). I. Early Life Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. His father was a Syrian professor at the University of Wisconsin and his mother, Joanne Schieble, was a graduate student. Yet there were two very big proble ms, at least for the post McCarthy and I Like Ike United States of America of 1955. First, his parents were unwed and that was the time period females were sent away in shame if they became pregnant, for they were in â€Å"trouble†. The second and equally just as terrible major issue was that his biological father was Syrian, Abdulfattah Jandali. Biracial relationships were a definite taboo although his parents eventually also produced a daughter, whom Steve Jobs finally met in the eighties. So his mother decided long before Steve’s birth to give him up for adoption. The one stipulation she had was her child be raised by college graduates and the adoption was arranged for a lawyer and his life. Yet there was a huge problem with that; they wanted a girl and Steve was definitely a boy. So they rejected the infant sight unseen. A hasty replacement was obtained with a couple named Clara and Paul Jobs from the Silicon Valley. Although hard working (Clara was an accountant a nd Paul was a machinist) neither had graduated college. As a matter of fact Paul Jobs had never even graduated from high school! Schieble was so upset that she put the adoption on hold for many months before she finally relented, after a compromise was reached and the Jobs’ promised that young Steven would eventually attend college. He eventually met his mother and knew who his father was, although they did not connect. Jobs sarcastically referred to his birth parents as a sperm and egg bank. By all accounts Steven had a happy childhood and it was probably through Paul Jobs that the boy developed his life’s work, for man and son spent many enriching hours in the family garage tinkering with electronics. Yet for all of his accomplishments the boy was not very good in school, even though he tested so highly in elementary school that the educators wanted to propel him forward to high school, a proposition that his parents did not approve. A good part of Jobs’ free thinking philosophy was no doubt shaped by the turbulent decade of the sixties, the very years of young Steven’s formative years. One needs to only watch singer Billy Joel’

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Genetic Engineering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genetic Engineering - Research Paper Example Nature has the inherent ability to produce a new combination of genes through the process of natural sexual reproduction. However the number of combinations that can be produced is small due to limitations in sexual reproduction mechanism. Through the process of genetic engineering innumerable genes can be shuffled from a variety of organisms and used for the production of novel and economically viable traits (Genetic Engineering). This process was initially developed for the production of genetically modified foods that had resistance against pesticides and which provided higher yields. Genetic engineering allows for bulk production of substances which could be an economically viable option in cases where conventional process required to produce the same compound are expensive. This technology is now being widely used for the commercial production of enzymes, antibodies, crops, drugs and vaccines. In addition, several genetically modified organisms such as insects, bacteria, plants, livestock, fishes and animals are also being produced through this process that is not otherwise possible through natural means (Epstein; Abbas, Lasekan and Khalil). Though the technology has ushered in the production of organisms, crops and drugs with unique properties major interest groups within the society believe that genetic engineering is a threat to mankind as there are several grave consequences associated with the development. One of the main concerns is the ability of this technology to disrupt the natural ecosystems and the environment. All the genetically modified organisms such as plants, animals and microbes would further reproduce and mutate to give rise to ne life forms and all of these could cause irreversible changes to the natural ecosystems and environment (Epstein). Most of the genetic engineering work is carried out through the use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology that employs vectors such as plasmids or viruses to transfer the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Spiritual Dimension of Being a Beginning Teacher Personal Statement

The Spiritual Dimension of Being a Beginning Teacher - Personal Statement Example I believe teaching is a career choice that is geared towards uniting both people and ideas, which I think are key to my success as a profession in life. Teaching is a noble profession. Notwithstanding, teaching is also a profession that is adaptable to different personalities. My personality is generally very outgoing and people-oriented. I believe that working with others is key as a teacher, and think that I would be able to adapt well to a learning environment situation that requires me to interact with many different people on a daily basis. So much of a teacher’s attention is demanded every day in the smallest of interactions. I feel that I should teach because my personality is suited to meeting those many small and specific needs students have. I think I would be very good at that. Further, I would like to use my skills to help students learn, at varying levels. I have years of experience studying my field. Finally, I am interested in working in a profession that is gea red towards involving both people and ideas. I am convinced that the field that I would work in would have to include a human element besides just working strictly with information. So, I like the fact that I get to work with people and have social interactions with students, faculty, and staff. This is a key component of my happiness. After doing my teacher aiding, I realize that I cannot work with ideas and information alone. It is really the people at my workplace, in my profession—whom I will come across every day—who will make my life more enjoyable. That is what I look forward to as a teacher, is the camaraderie and sense of belonging to an organization. In closing, I am looking for many things as I search for my teaching career as I embark on a new journey. In essence, why teach? I don’t just teach because I can, but because I must, for the following reasons. Teaching is a profession which suits my personality. I want to teach in order to utilize my core subject skills to help other people. Last, but not least, I would like to be involved in a profession that includes both people and ideas as part of its schema—following in the footsteps of great former teachers before me. III. My Goals as a Beginning Teacher My goals as a beginning teacher are based on Curtain’s (2004) assertion that â€Å"the three characteristics of effective teachers [which are]: [having] classroom management skills, †¦teach[ing] for lesson mastery, and†¦ practice[ing] positive expectations† (pp. 205). I believe these goals will help me to be a well-prepared and productive teacher. These goals are important to have because they will keep me focused on what I should be striving for within the teaching profession. One cannot expect to be an effective teacher if the classroom environment is out-of-control.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Gifted Learners in Diverse Classroom Essay Example for Free

Gifted Learners in Diverse Classroom Essay As our nation becomes more culturally diverse we our schools need to begin modeling and preparing for this diversity. The importance of learning about diversity in culture and stereotypes is of particular concern with gifted learners. This article discusses the Ford and Harris model (2000) which combines higher order thinking skills with culturally relevant content to engage students in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation as they examine different perspectives and become involved in social action. There are several different methods to this model that can be used a social studies classroom to engage gifted learners. The first is the transformational approach where the curriculum is set up to show contributions and perspectives of many groups. This allows students to see various perspectives across the spectrum of cultures. Next, the social action approach has students identify issues that they think might need to be changed and make action plans. They are empowered in both of these approaches. Blooms Taxonomy is used at the highest level in both of these models and students are able to learn from themselves, inwardly, and from each other in order to hopefully develop positive relationships. Along with using these two approaches discussions, infusions of literature and poetry, role-playing, examining primary documents, ethnographic research, photojournalism, and service learning are easily applied to middle and high school classrooms. The importance of keeping gifted students engaged has been well documented. High qualities discussions have in the classroom are a great way for student to share, debate, develop original thinking and analyze various perspectives of other gifted students. In a multicultural classroom discussions could become significant learning experiences for young people by allowing participants to challenge the points of view held by others while reexamining their own beliefs Parker (2001). Multicultural literature infused into the classroom and curriculum can give many cultural perspectives for students to reflect upon. Teachers reported gains in self-esteem and academic achievement in diverse students when given literature in which they felt reflected their own culture. Another good technique that teachers can use in a multicultural classroom is role-play. When students place themselves into the role of another it is found that they internalize the culture while also learning about the content. This use of critical thinking skills, along with cooperative learning is a big part of a multicultural classroom. Role-play is one strategy that enriches instruction and supports the unusual sensitivity to the feelings of others evident in gifted learners (Clark, 2007; Piechowski, 2006). Teachers, who have used the process of ethnographic research, or the study and systematic recording of human cultures, have found that gifted students are enriched with the process. Ethnographic research includes interviews, artifacts and observations. Along with Ethnographic research the use of primary documents is an important part of a multicultural classroom. Examples include manuscripts, diaries, letters, photographs, postcards, posters, audio or video recordings, oral histories, speeches, or official documents (Bogdan Biklen, 2006). Primary documents are increasingly becoming a part of the questioning process on the end of course exams so it is vital that gifted students are given access to them and understand their importance. Photographs, or photojournalism can be impactful for the visual gifted learners. Photojournalism supports numerous characteristics of gifted learners, including their emotional depth and intensity, as well as their strong capacity for processing information, generating original ideas, and comprehensively synthesizing ideas and solutions (Clark, 2007; Davis et al. 2011). Finally, service learning is an area were gifted learners are provided the opportunity be creative with their ideas. In service learning students can find a need in the community and find a method to assist. Because many gifted learners have high levels of empathy this suits them well. Terry (2008) noted that service learning can help gifted learners reach their creative potential as they seek solutions to societys problems, while also assisting them in their journey toward self-actualization. There are many methods that creativity and diversity can be brought into a multicultural classroom. With gifted students choice and variety is important so that the student remains engaged. The gifted learners needs will drive much of the instruction. This is just a few of the ideas that would work in a social studies classroom in particular. As with all things creativity, curriculum and enrichment are the key to keeping students engaged with gifted learners.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Manage finance and budgets :: essays research papers

Pre-amble Custometal Pty Ltd has been trading since 1992 under a couple of different names before becoming a proprietorship in 1998. Since its conception in 1992 it has been with the same owner and trades today as a sole proprietorship. Custometal’s customers consist of the construction industry across Melbourne. Custometal is what is known in the industry as a metal work sub-contractor, with our scope of works basically consisting of custom fabricating all metal items excluding structural steel and items that can be mass produced. Custometal’s company structure consists of 1 general manager, 2 accounts staff, 2 estimating staff, 1 foreman, 2 leading hands and 16 tradesmen, 4 labourers and one apprentice. Being a trade based company; really what we are selling is the time and skills of our workforce more then a physical end product of their labour. 1.0 Introduction Being a trade based company; Custometal’s budgets are not as easy and strait forward as those of manufacturing, retail or even most services companies. Like most companies, we have sales targets, administration budgets, and services budgets that can be fixed, but our workshop budgets and production-based budgets rely heavily on the amount of contracts we have and the type of products we have to supply. The flow of Custometal’s budgets like most are circular, therefore it is difficult to talk about communication of budgets without talking about reporting procedures and how activities are controlled and monitored. The production cycle of our products starts with the estimating department, once the contract is awarded, the estimating department communicates the budget to the production staff who intern communicate the budget to the tradespeople. With the aid of the accounts staff, the production staff monitor and control the budget though the production cycle and report the outcomes back to the estimating department and the general manager and this analysis is used by the estimating department to refine quoting procedures and formulate estimates for simular jobs. 2.0 Roles of the departments 2.1 Estimating Department The estimating department is responsible for formulating production budgets by providing quotes to Custometal’s customers. By submitting quotes, the estimating department enters into a legal agreement with the customer where they are agreeing that if a contract is awarded to Custometal, we will undertake the works at the price stated. The quote and the documentation provided by the customer become legal documents stating the following:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The product on offer – Tender documents are a package that includes a scope of works, written specifications of the product, requirements such as Australian standards to conform with and conditions that the product has to stand up to, detailed drawings and bills of quantities.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

One Summers Day :: Personal narrative

I walked over to the refrigerator and helped myself to the orange juice. Sarah was in the laundry room adjacent to the kitchen. She was talking to me about something, but I don’t think I was listening. I poured the orange juice and found my usual seat in front of the television. On weekend afternoons, if we were at Sarah’s house, we always watched MTV, no matter what else was actually on. We had just returned from the beach. Sarahrecently bought a new couch and it was so comfortable. It made watching MTV like a glass of ice, cold water on a fiery, hot day.Sarah had a small, but roomy house and everything that happened in it is heard by everyone else in the house, perfectly. Mostly because she had wood floors, but also because the walls are pretty thin. Her living room, where I was, had a new couch, a new stereo, and a new entertainment system . . . the works. Sarah’s living room is surrounded by windows all around you facing the streets, which really unnerves me. Not only do the walls have windows but the front door is all windows too. When someone comes to the door, not only can you see who it is, they can see you. I was particularly fearful about this that afternoon because we were on our own for the weekend. Sarah lives with her stepdad, Nolle, and her mom, Deborah (who happened to be out of town this weekend), on the west side of Santa Cruz. She has a stepbrother Willy, who lives on his own but sometimes stays at Sarah’s house. Willy is a skater and graduated from Santa Cruz High about 4 years ago and now goes to Cabrillo. Whenever I see him at Sarah’s, which is about 90% of the time, he’s skating out in front.Sarah and I met through a volleyball club around 3 years ago. Since then we’ve been best friends. She’s a year younger than me and also goes to a different school, so although we’re almost always together, we do have some time apart. We have many mutual friends that we have introduced to each other over the years. Sarah is a very attractive girl, one would say she has a perfect body. But I don’t see her in that perspective. Once you know someone really well, you can’t say or think about how they look, you just know.

Friday, October 11, 2019

A System of Profound Knowledge

In respect to quality of materials, there are three well known philosophers whom are most referenced: W. Edwards Deming, Philip B. Crosby, and Joseph M. Juran. Throughout the twentieth century, these three men have continuously integrated new systems for improvement in the quality system. The first and probably most well known of these philosophers is W. Edwards Deming. Deming first came into the public eye when he was credited with assisting the Japanese after World War II and helping to elevate the Japanese industry into the forefront of world industry. Deming stresses that the most important part of quality is the role of management. Deming also emphasizes on achieving long term goals through cultural transformation rather then short term needs. Deming†s findings can be viewed best through his â€Å"System of Profound Knowledge,† and his â€Å"14 Points of Management.† While Deming was continually expanding his research, Philip B. Crosby entered the forefront of quality in the 1970†³s. Crosby has been a consulter as well as a trainer for many leaders in the manufacturing industries. Like Deming, Crosby also has a â€Å"14-Step Pan for Quality Improvement.† Crosby†s main focus is first evaluate the quality system and make improvements on the current system. Another of Crosby†s main concerns is defects. Crosby emphasizes that the performance standard should be â€Å"zero defects.† The most recent of the philosophers is Joseph M. Juran. In the late 1980†³s Juran founded an institute to consult and train management in quality. In addition to Deming, Juran also visited Japan to assist their industry at the end of World War II. Juran†s most famous theory of quality is his â€Å"quality trilogy,† which focuses on planning, control and improvement of the quality system. Although Deming, Crosby, and Juran have never collaborated on their work, many similarities are apart in their beliefs. For example, all three men stress the importance of the management system. Also, they have created step-by-step processes by which industries should follow in order to prove the quality of their products. Another important point which is shared by all three men is that quality should be viewed as an entity. Regardless to the fact that all three have based their lives on the ambitious goal of developing a system to improve quality, there are several key differences exist amidst these three quality experts. First and foremost is their definition of quality. Deming uses statistical predictions, basing his entire view of quality on the quality of the process, not the product whereas Crosby and Juran focus more on the customer. Crosby stresses on the conformance of the quality system to the needs of the customer. Juran goes even one stop further, and basis his entire definition of quality on the intended use of each product by the consumer. Another key point in which the men disagree is goal setting. Deming focuses his ideas mainly on long-term goals, where on the contrary, Crosby and Juran state that short-term goals are equally important. After extensively reading the works and ideas by there three experts, it is obvious to see why the have been so successful. Quality is a very important part of the industrial as well as the consumer world, and the need for quality improvement increases everyday.