Success of vertebrates The WritePass Journal

Success of vertebrates   Introduction Success of vertebrates   IntroductionReferencesRelated   Introduction Vertebrate mean backbone and every species in the vertebrate classes has a backbone.   Phylum chordatata contains the most familiar species, which includes humans. All chordates have several things in common that occurs in some stage of their development. They have pharynged slits, which are openings that connect the inside of the throat to the outside of the neck. These are often used as gills, and are only present in humans when they are at the early stage of development (foetus). A tail is also present, which extends past the anal opening.   The main feature is the notochord, which is a rod that supports the nerve cord and this is present in all species. The nerve cord is a bundle of nerve fibres which connects the brain to every muscle and organ in the body. These nerve fibres are used to send messages to organs and muscles from the brain. In most species these features disappear with age. There are about 44.000 species in three subphylum’s groups (Matthew Morris15/05/ 2003). Vertebrata is the largest subphylum with the more well known animals such as: mammals, reptiles, fish, aves, amphibians. Every animal with a back bone is present in vertebrate subphylum. All vertebrates have a skeleton of either bone or cartilage and there brain is protected by a bony cranium which consists of three parts. They have well developed hearts with three or four chambers and have a closed circulatory system. There are 41700 species in eight different groups and they are as follows: Amphibia (frogs, salanders), Aves (birds), Cephalaspidomorph (lamprey), chondrichthyes (hag fish), osteichthyes (bony fish) and reptilian (crocodiles, snakes, turtles). Agnatha which are also known as jawless fish is a lower class vertebrate and the best representative for this vertebrate is the marine lamprey (petromyzon). This fish is eel like in its appearance, but much more primitive in its structure than true eels, which are more developed bony fish. The lamprey body is very soft and scale less and its skeleton consist of just cartilage (it lacks bone completely). There are no traces of paired fins and most of all it is completely jawless. The lampreys rounded mouth cup forms an adhesive disc, which it uses to attach to other fish that it preys on as a blood sucker. It has a rough tongue like structure in the mouth that is good substitute for having no jaw bone. There is just one nostril opening which is situated on top of its head, and having a hypophsial pouch combined with it. The gills passages in typical fish are slits, but in the lamprey they are rounded pouches, which are connected by narrow tubes with the pharynx and body surface. Cartilaginous Fishes (Chondrichthyes) date back to the Devonian period and fossels that were found resembled sharks. The animals of today are made up of about eight hundred species which include; sharks, skates and rays. The cartilaginous fishes got their name from the fact that their skeleton is made of cartilage, not bone. With their gills exposed to sea water, all marine fishes are faced with the problem of conserving body water because Sea water is about 3.5% salt, which is over 3 times that of vertebrate’s blood. The cartilaginous fishes solve that problem by maintaining a high concentration (2.5%) of urea in their blood (which is far higher than the 0.02% of other vertebrates) that is in osmotic balance with sea water. This ability develops late in embryo, so the eggs of these species cannot simply be released in the sea, but there are two solutions to this and they are: Enclose the egg in an impervious case filled with isotonic fluid before depositing it in the sea and, Retain the eggs and embryos within the mothers body until they are capable of coping with the marine environment. Both these solutions require internal fertilization and the cartilaginous fishes were the first vertebrates to develop this. The pelvic fins of the male are modified for depositing sperm in the reproductive tract of the female. Bony Fishes (Osteichthyes) as the name indicates their skeletons are made of bone and they are divided into two groups which are: ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) and lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii). Ray-finned fishes have thin fins that are supported by the spine and there are around thirty thousand species. the only Lobe-finned fishes that are still around today are one possibly two species called coelacanth, which were thought to be extinct and several species of lungfish that are found in Africa, South America, and Australia.In additions to gills, these fishes had a pair of pouched outgrowths from the pharynx which served as lungs. They were inflated with air taken in through the mouth and may have provided a backup gas exchange organ when the water became too warm and stagnant to carry enough dissolved oxygen. Their kidneys were adapted for the hypotonic environment in which they lived.   These animals diversified through the remainder of the Devonian period (which is oft en called the Age of Fishes). Some migrated to the oceans. In this more stable environment, their lungs became transformed into a swim bladder with which they could alter buoyancy. Their kidneys became transformed as well adapting them to their new hypertonic surroundings. The nostrils of bony fishes open only to the outside and are used for smelling. Some of the lobe-finned fishes developed internal openings to their nostrils. This made it possible to breath air with the mouth closed as modern lungfishes do. These rare modern lobe-finned fishes are the sole survivors of once-flourishing groups that also gave rise to the tetrapods - the four-legged vertebrates. In the Devonian (perhaps as early as 395 million years ago), the paired fins of some sarcopterygians moved under the body and developed limbs (complete with digits). This enabled them to venture out on land. So once again, evolution was opportunistic giving rise to the first land vertebrates, the amphibians. Amphibians in its class included all cold blooded species that are in between the evolutionary development of fishes and reptiles. They Include 4 living species which are the frogs, toads, salamanders and newts. Amphibians were the first vertebrates to move from a water habitat to a earthly one, and they are also the ancestors of all reptiles, birds, and mammals. Although there are a few species that live their lives in water, most spend a lot of time on land. Most Amphibians are species of the class Amphibia and are vertebrates easily recognised by their ability to live on land and water. amphibians have an aquatic larval, or tadpole stage that metamorphises into an adult. Amphibians are believed to have evolved from either the lobe-fin fishes (Crossopterygii) or the lungfishes (Dipnoi). These fishes had an advantage over other fishes by the fact that they had lungs. They could breathe on land which ment that when there was a shortage of water they could use there fins to pull thems elves onto to land to search for another water source and in time they became less dependant on water. Reptiles came into being about 315 million years ago, when amphibians developed two unique features, which were; skin and an egg covering that helped stop water loss and this is how they evolved into reptiles. These two adaptations allowed reptiles to become a dominant life form on land, as where amphibians are dependant on water to survive. The main success for reptiles was being able to produce offspring on land. Most reptiles lay eggs that are hard and brittle, or covered with paper like shell. Some reptiles like snakes and lizards are ovoviviparous, which means they give birth to living offspring that hhatch from an egg from inside the female and then she gives birth. Birds have been termed glorified reptiles but are treated as a different class (aves). They are a far removed species from the general reptilian group because from that group there was a flying species called the pterosaurs. The aves are not descended from pterosaurs, they are descendants from another flying species called archosaur which had feathers instead of membrane. In birds we see a group of vertebrates that in a lot of ways is not considered a high level class of species like mammals. Birds can be trained but seem relatively much less capable of learning by experience than mammals. On the other hand they show innate behaviour patterns of a complexity unknown to mammals. A lot of these patterns are related to social behaviour for example, courtship, nest building and rearing there young. Mammals are vertebrates that have hair, a four-chambered heart and mammary glands (sweat glands), which is where the name mammal came from because they are the only animals that have sweat glands. Mammals first came about 200 million years ago during the Jurassic Period and there are about five thousand four hundred living species of mammals today that differ greatly in size, form and adaptations. Mammals inhabit every country and have occupied a wide variety of places, which include grasslands, wetlands, scrublands, seas and oceans, below ground, forests, mountaintops, Polar Regions and deserts. Mammals range in size from the minute bumblebee bat which measures a mere three centimeters in length, to the massive blue whale, which can measure up to 33 meters from head to tail, which makes it the largest animal alive today. Although mammal’s species vary in form, they do share some rare characteristics and they are; that their lower jaw bone which carries the teeth attaches directly to the skull. In other vertebrates, the jaw bone is one of multiple bones that does not attach directly to the skull. Mammals also have a unique arrangement of three bones, which are; the incus, malleus and stapes, that located in the middle of the ear. These bones turn sound vibrations into neural impulses. Two of these bones, the incus and malleus, originated as bones within the jaw. Another feature which is unique to mammals is that they have two lumps on the base of the skull (known as a double occipital condyle) which are used to hold the skull in the top neck vertebra, but in other vertebrates, the base of the skull has only a single lump. Hair is also unique trait to mammals because no other animals in the other class of vertebrates have true hair and all mammals have hair covering at least some part of their body at some time during their life. Hair grows from skin cells called follicles and it is made of a protein called keratin. Hair serves many functions which differ in different animals and they are to insulate, to conceal, to signal, to protect, and to sense the immediate surroundings. Insulation is to keep heat in the body, but it also helps to protect the body from too much heat as in the case of diurnal desert animals such as the camel. The coloring of hair on animals helps them to conceal themselves from predators or prey because some animal’s fur matches their habitat. Hair also provides by its color a means of signaling other members of ones o wn species (e.g., the white tail of the white-tailed deer, flashed by a fleeing animal to signal danger) or members of other species like the skunk which has a big white stripe down its back which is warning to predators. The hair also serves to protect the skin from abrasion and from excessive UV radiation. The success of vertebrates lies in the evolution and adaptation which helped vertebrates to survive on land, in water and in different climates all around the world. References DeBlase, A. F. and R. E. Martin. 1981. A manual of mammalogy. Second Edition. Wm. C. Brown, Publishers. Dubuque, Iowa. xii+436 pp. Pough, F. H. J. B. Heiser, and W. N. McFarland. 1989. Vertebrate Life. Third Edition. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York. xiv+904 pp. Romer, Alfred Sherwood, Thomas. S. Parsons, The Vertebrate body Fifth Edition, Philadelphia;London: Saunders 1977 Savage, R. J. G., and M. R. Long. 1986. Mammal Evolution, an Illustrated Guide. Facts on File Publications, New York. 259 pp. Vaughan, T. A. 1986. Mammalogy. Third Edition. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, Orlando Fl. vii+576 pp. Young, J, Z, (John Zachary), the life of vertebrates third Edition, Oxford; clarendon Press 1981 Catered to those in Grades 1 through 8: https://bestvpn.org/kids-research-and-education-links-database/ Focused more on college/academic sources: https://bestvpn.org/academic-research-guide-and-link-portal/ Matthew Morris, 15th may 2003 anglefire.com/moz/animals/phylum/chordata.html 18th mar 2011

The Background of the Battle of Lepanto

The Background of the Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a key naval engagement during the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars. The Holy League defeated the Ottomans at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent and ascent of Sultan Selim II to Ottoman throne in 1566, plans commenced for the eventual capture of Cyprus.  Held by the Venetians since 1489, the island had largely become encircled by Ottoman possessions on the mainland and offered safe harbor for corsairs that routinely attacked Ottoman shipping.  With the end of a protracted conflict with Hungary in 1568, Selim moved forward with his designs on the island. Landing an invasion force in 1570, the Ottomans captured Nicosia after a bloody seven-week siege and won several victories before arriving at the last Venetian stronghold of Famagusta.  Unable to penetrate the citys defenses, they laid siege in September 1570. In an effort to bolster support for the Venetian fight against the Ottomans, Pope Pius V worked tirelessly to construct an alliance from the Christian states in the Mediterranean. In 1571, the Christian powers in the Mediterranean assembled a large fleet to confront the growing menace of the Ottoman Empire. Assembling at Messina, Sicily in July and August, the Christian force was led by Don John of Austria and contained vessels from Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Genoa, Savoy, and Malta. Sailing under the banner of the Holy League, Don Johns fleet consisted of 206 galleys and 6 gallasses (large galleys that mounted artillery). Rowing east, the fleet paused at Viscardo in Cephalonia where it learned of the fall of Famagusta and the torture and killing of the Venetian commanders there. Enduring poor weather Don John pressed on to Sami and arrived on October 6. Returning to sea the next day, the Holy League fleet entered the Gulf of Patras and soon encountered Ali Pashas Ottoman fleet. Deployments Commanding 230 galleys and 56 galliots (small galleys), Ali Pasha had departed his base at Lepanto and was moving west to intercept the Holy Leagues fleet. As the fleets sighted each other, they formed for battle. For the Holy League, Don John, aboard the galley Real, divided his force into four divisions, with the Venetians under Agostino Barbarigo on the left, himself in the center, the Genoese under Giovanni Andrea Doria on the right, and a reserve led by lvaro de Bazn, Marquis de Santa Cruz in the rear. In addition, he pushed gallasses out in front of his left and center divisions where they could bombard the Ottoman fleet. The Fleets Clash Flying his flag from Sultana, Ali Pasha led the Ottoman center, with Chulouk Bey on the right and Uluj Ali on the left. As the battle opened, the Holy Leagues gallasses sank two galleys and disrupted the Ottoman formations with their fire. As the fleets neared, Doria saw that Uluj Alis line extended beyond his own. Shifting south to avoid being flanked, Doria opened a gap between his division and Don Johns. Seeing the hole, Uluj Ali turned north and attacked into the gap. Doria responded to this and soon his ships were dueling with Uluj Alis. To the north, Chulouk Bey succeeded in turning the Holy Leagues left flank, but determined resistance from the Venetians, and the timely arrival of a gallass, beat off the attack. Shortly after the battle began, the two flagships found each other and a desperate struggle began between Real and Sultana. Locked together, Spanish troops were twice repulsed when they tried to board the Ottoman galley and reinforcements from other vessels were needed to turn the tide. On the third attempt, with aid from lvaro de Bazns galley, Don Johns men were able to take Sultana killing Ali Pasha in the process. Against the wishes of Don John, Ali Pasha was beheaded and his head displayed on a pike. The sight of their commanders head had a severe impact on Ottoman morale and they began withdrawing around 4 PM. Uluj Ali, who had success against Doria and captured the Maltese flagship Capitana, retreated with sixteen galleys and twenty-four galliots. Aftermath and Impact At the Battle of Lepanto, the Holy League lost 50 galleys and suffered approximately 13,000 casualties. This was offset by the freeing of a similar number of Christian slaves from the Ottoman ships. In addition to the death of Ali Pasha, the Ottomans lost 25,000 killed and wounded and an additional 3,500 captured. Their fleet lost 210 ships, of which 130 were captured by the Holy League. Coming at what was seen as a crisis point for Christianity, the victory at Lepanto stemmed Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean and prevented their influence from spreading west. Though the Holy League fleet was unable to exploit their victory due to the onset of winter weather, operations over the next two years effectively confirmed a division of the Mediterranean between the Christian states in the west and the Ottomans in the east.

Joint venture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Joint venture - Essay Example One of the biggest advantages of joint venture is that it saves time. It takes a company a lot of time and effort to develop the knowledge base required to expand into the industry, be able to develop and introduce new products in the market, and improve efficiency and productivity in business. Joint ventures provide companies with the opportunity to share expertise, obtain lead time, and minimize the cost that is otherwise incurred because of lack of experience and expertise. Another very important and rewarding feature of joint venture is that it promises good quality. Understandably, when one firm has to make a product, some features of the product that the firm is capable of producing would be of good quality while the quality of other features might be compromised. Since the different companies joining hands to form a joint venture are experts in their respective fields, products made in a joint venture are of very good

Different opinions about what is psychology Essay

Different opinions about what is psychology - Essay Example But psychologists do experiments and make observations which others can repeat; they obtain data, often in the form of quantitative measurements, which others can verify. This scientific approach is very different from forming opinions on the basis of individual experience or arguing from premises that no one can test. As a science psychology is systematic. But one of the major aspects of science that is measurement is not possible in most of the situations. Psychological studies cannot be measured directly by physical scales. Even then we can often design our experiments and arrange our observations so that we can use physical measures of space and time to tell us about psychological events. Thus, fundamental differences in viewpoints show up in the very definition of psychology and in ideas about what psychology should study and how. Such differences and the arguments as they spark can make psychology a lively field indeed. In the history of psychology, strong differences of opinion about what psychology should study and how it should do it were represented by schools of psychology-groups of like-minded psychologists, which formed around influential teachers who argued for one viewpoint or other. Psychology as a separate area of a study split away from philosophy around 100 years back is captured in William James famous textbook of 1890, the principles of psychology. James Wundt & the other psychologists of the time thought of psychology as the study of mind. In the decades of the twentieth century, psychologists came to hold quite different views about the nature of mind and the best ways to study it. About the same time, fundamental questions were raised about what should be studied in psychology: should psychology be the study of mind, should it study behavior or should both mind and behavior is included Different influential psychologists of the time held quite different views on the nature of mind and the proper subject matter for psychology. The prominent schools of psychology may be categorized as Structuralism, Gestalt, Functionalism, Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis. Structuralism: Around the ideas of mind, structuralisms thought as in chemistry, a first step in the study of the mind should be a description of the basic or elementary, units of sensation, image and emotion, which compose it. The main method used by the structuralists to discover these elementary units of mind was introspection. Subjects were trained to report as objectively as possible what they experienced in connection with a certain stimulus, disregarding the meanings they had come to associate with that stimulus. These experiments using introspections have given us a great deal of information about the kinds of sensations people have, but other psychologists of the challenged the idea that the mind could be understood by finding its elements and the rules for combining them. Still the others turned away from describing the structure of the mind to study how the mind functioned. Gestalt psychologists maintained that the mind should be thought of as resulting from the whole pattern of sensory activity and the relationships and organizations within this pattern. According to Gestalt psychologists, the mind is best understood in terms of the ways elements are organized. Functionalists did experiments on the ways in which learning, memory, problem solving and motivation help people and animals adapt to

Research Paper on Plato Essay Example for Free

Research Paper on Plato Essay Abstract Many Philosophers made a difference in society but Plato is perhaps recognized as the most famous. His writings have had a profound effect on people, politics, and the philosophy throughout the centuries. He was a public figure and he made major contributions to society. Plato helped to lay the philosophical foundations of modern culture through his ideas and writings. One of the most philosophical thinkers of Western civilization, Plato is the only author from ancient Greek times whose writings survive intact. His collection consists of thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters, though the authorship of some is contested. Plato was born in Athens, into a prosperous aristocratic family. His Father’s name was Ariston and his Mother’s name was Perictione. His relative named Glaucon was one of the best-known members of the Athenian nobility. Platos name was Aristocles, his nickname Plato originates from wrestling circles, Plato means broad, and it probably refers either to his physical appearance or his wrestling style. â€Å"Plato is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy,† (Kraut, 2009). Plato was born during the Golden Age of Athens’s which saw the birth of classical architecture, drama, arts and politics. However, as he was growing up he observed the decline of Athens as a cultural center. He witnessed instances of cruelty, disloyalty, and dishonesty and it was in clear violation of his values. It was also during this time that Plato fell under the influence of Socrates, who engaged the people of Athens in philosophical discussions. â€Å"It was into this bright, sly, worldly atmosphere that Socrates appeared, moving questioningly about the streets of Athens†. (Plato 1984). In 339 Socrates was brought to trial and charged with having false Gods and corrupting the youth. Socrates was found guilty on the charge and was sentenced to death. The execution of Socrates weighed heavily on Plato and he turned away from politics, he thought the behavior of the courts was unjust. He decided not to get involved in political life, instead he decided to leave Athens with other friends of Socrates to travel and study. During his travels he met with all kinds of people and studied not only philosophy but geometry, astronomy, and religious teachings. Socrates was extremely influential to Plato and he was the main character in numerous writings, he was also influenced by Heraclitus, Parmenides, and the Pythagoreans. One of the most important goals Plato set for himself was to keep the memory of Socrates alive by recording and bringing about the kind of impact that Socrates had on people. Nearly all of Plato’s work takes the structure of dialogues in which Socrates is usually the main character. One of the goals of a Plato’s dialogue is to engross the reader in philosophical questions related to the ideas being discussed. The Socrates of the Platonic dialogues is modeled after the real Socrates but it is in part an imaginary character used to impart Platonic themes. Plato’s dialogues are divided into three groups, the early or Socratic dialogues; the dialogues of middle age; and the dialogues of old age. In the early dialogues, Socrates is the main character, but it is generally believed that Plato is expressing his own views. These are the only remaining dialogues of Socrates teachings hence; they are referred to as the Socratic dialogues. In The Apology Socrates was accused of having false gods and corrupting the youth. While on trial Socrates claimed that he was innocent and was not at all wise, â€Å"Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy Understand that I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times. † (Plato 1984). Middle Dialogues During Platos middle period he wrote the following, Meno, Republic, Euthydemus, Menexenus, Cratylus, Phaedrus, Symposium and Phaedo. The most important difference between these writings and his earlier works is that he is establishing his own voice in philosophy. In the Meno Plato introduces us to the Socratic idea that no one knowingly does wrong, â€Å"Virtue is the desire of things honourable and the power of attaining them. † Plato (1984). In the Phaedo we become familiar with the platonic doctrine of the Forms; this is where Plato makes a claim as to the immortality of the soul. Platos most influential work, The Republic, is part of the middle dialogues. It is a discussion of the virtues of justice, courage and wisdom. It addresses the question of how do humans approach living a good life. The dialogue finishes by looking at various forms of government and describing the ideal state. The allegory of the â€Å"Myth of the Cave† is also in The Republic it is an important writing because it contains the main points of his philosophy. It is intended to be a metaphor for education and it explains issues regarding the theory of knowledge. Plato believed one must explore the belief that a greater reality exists. It is through this belief that a person can gain greater insight into true reality and become enlightened. Without it we are like the prisoners of a cave who only see the shadows of objects and live in complete darkness. â€Å"And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened, behold! Human beings living in an underground den† (Plato 1927). It is only through philosophy that we can come out of the cave into the true world. â€Å"Who is best suited to rule the state – lovers of opinion or true philosophers? (Plato 1927) His final years at the Academy he wrote the later dialogues which included the Parmenides, Theatetus, Sophist, Statesmas, Timaeus, Critias, Philebus, and Laws. It should be noted that Socrates has a minor role in these writings. Plato examines his metaphysical theories through these dialogues. He discusses art, dance, music, poetry, drama, and ethics in connection to immortality and the mind. He also dedicates himself to the philosophy of mathematics, politics and religion. Plato argued that women were qualified to play a role in politics and philosophy. In The Republic, Socrates argued that women were as capable as men in pursuit of accomplishments. There is a suggestion that women should be educated for their roles in the class of guardians and possibly work next to men. A woman’s role could be significant in society, but different from a man’s role. Even though Plato believed that women were necessary in a working society, he did not mean he thought women were equals of men. Plato thought that women lacked the strength of men and that women were more suited for other responsibilities in life. â€Å"If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things. † (Plato 1927) The impact of Plato’s work cannot be measured or calculated. His writings had great influence on the entire intellectual development of Western civilization. Despite the fact that Plato did not leave a well-formed, rigid philosophical system he is considered the father for all forms of philosophical idealism and dualism. â€Å"The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful. † (Plato 1984). After he died the Academy continued until AD 529, when it was closed due to its pagan teachings. Neo-Platonism, founded by the 3rd-century philosopher Plotinus, was an important development of Platonism. It was a philosophical system which was as a combination of Platonic, Pythagorean, and Aristotelian elements. Originally it was opposed to Christianity but later on it integrated it. It dominated European thought until the 13th century and re-emerged during the Renaissance. The most important Renaissance Neo-Platonist was â€Å"Marsilio Ficino† who developed significant ideas from Plato and Neo-Platonism. Ficino founded of the Academy in Firenze and was responsible for the circulation of Neo-Platonic ideas. Ficino is credited with translating all of Platos’ dialogues into Latin and produced a great work called Platonic Theology, in which he outlines Neo-Platonism. His philosophy is based on the doctrine that the human soul is the center of the cosmos. It is the only thing that sits between the world of ideas and the world is the soul. Neo-Platonism was revived in the 17th century by the Cambridge Platonists such as Cudworth and Smith. The school stressed the importance of reason, maintaining that faith and reason are not that different. Rene Descartes an 18th century philosopher and Neo-Platonist developed a method to achieve truths. If something is not recognized by the intellect or reason can be classified as knowledge. According to Descartes. These truths are gained without any sensory experience (Descartes). He argued that as a result of his method, reason alone determined knowledge and that this could be done independently of the senses. â€Å"Cogito ergo sum, I think therefore I exist† (Descartes) Plato developed an absolutist ethical theory which is that there is a greater good toward which to aspire. He developed this theory to respond to the skepticism and the beliefs of the Sophists who Plato felt did not preach wisdom, but rather their opinions. Plato tried to protect the part of reasoning in human life though he had resistance from the ancient Greek preachers know as the Sophists. They came from different cities and proclaimed that they were able to impart knowledge to young men how to live prosperous lives. Even though the Sophists did not belong to a school and did not have a common creed, some opinions were typical of them as a group and were absolutely conflicting to the views of Plato. The Sophists were great communicators and skilled public speakers. Plato felt that the Sophists were more likely to appeal to emotions rather than to reason. According to Plato philosophers influence people’s souls not their bodies and Plato agreed with Socrates in thinking that the nurturing of the soul is more vital than the nurturing of the body. Furthermore, he also believed that true leaders need to have wisdom, and knowledge. Platos influence has been monumental as one philosopher said the history of philosophy is simply a series of footnotes to Plato. (Whitehead) Platos has been criticized down through the centuries for his philosophy of the forms. His ideas of the just life and an ideal state are complex. Plato tended to specifically ignores much of human nature. Plato did not think in the realm of the physical world, he was always looking to a different one where things exist only if he can prove there existence. References Kraut, R. (2009, Sept) Plato Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/plato; Plato. (1984) Great dialogues of Plato New York: Mentor Books trans. by Benjamin Jowett Blackburn, S. (1945) The republic of Plato. (45 ed. ). London: Oxford University Press, USA. trans. By Desmond Lee Descartes. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-works; Alfred North Whitehead. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/whitehead/

Ford Motor Company Essay -- essays research papers

It was once said, â€Å"Those who do not study the past are deemed to repeat it.† On the brink of the new 21st century it is important for us at the Ford Motor Company to take a look at our past to see what has worked and what has not in order to set the standards for the automotive industry. It is also imperative to take a close look at what our competitors have done because we can also learn from their mistakes as well as improve on some of their ideas that have worked for them. It is important to realize that the world is ever changing and therefore what people want, and the market for automobiles is changing as well. Therefore we must first take a look into our competitors, and our pasts before we can then begin to look toward the future of the Ford Motor Company in the 21st century. It was a little over one hundred year ago that Henry Ford first came up with his dream to create an automobile that would change the world. Although it was Henry’s dreams and drive for success that lead him to his achievements it was not without the three giants-steel, oil, and transportation, that were the building blocks for the Ford Motor Company. From the beginning he knew that in order to sell his product and make his company a success he would have to be able to appeal to the masses. At this time Ford was not the only man to be in the small but growing automobile industry. There were others such as David Buick, Ransom Olds, and Billy Durant, who were also trying their luck in this new market. At this time owning an automobile was almost impossible unless one was quite wealthy. Although Buick, Olds, and Durant were all producing autos they were all having trouble selling their products because their production costs were too high. These costs were reflected onto their sel ling price, which was very hard to afford for most of the working class. This is what caused their financial troubles and helped Ford move into the market. He understood that in order to make his company a success he would have to make his automobile one that could be afforded by the masses. While the other producers of autos were more concerned with who had the bigger, better, and faster car, Ford had a different focus. His philosophy was: â€Å"I will build a motor car for the great multitude†¦it will be so low in price that no man†¦will be unable to own one.† It was for the next five years, a young Henry Ford d... ... by the Chrysler Corp. The minivan market is still growing because of the capacity that it offers, its affordability, and efficiency. Although at this time the SUV is the fastest growing market, it is risky to put more effort into it due to the fact that the bigger, faster, gas guzzler craze is probably nothing but a craze, especially as we move into a more environmentally safe future. This has been seen before in the early eighties when this same craze took place right before gas prices jumped and the move to a more efficient automobile took place. American car companies were not ready for this and foreign markets became much more popular. In order not to repeat this history, more emphasis should be placed on the development of a new and efficient minivan that will surpass GM and Chrysler. In conclusion, as we move through the beginning of a new century we must first look to our past to learn what has worked and what has not. After doing so, we can then begin to devise our plans that will move us ahead with the changing times. This can, and will be, accomplished as the Ford Motor Company moves back on top of the automotive industry where it started almost 100 years ago.

Today’s Education System

An Essay on the Present Education SystemWe live otherwise in the twenty-first century. This century is extremely connected with engineering promotion, high mobility, globalisation, and coevals Z. Generation Z or iGeneration is a name used for the cohort of people born from the early 2000s to the present twenty-four hours. This coevals has some different features with its predating coevals, leting us to implement different attack in instruction.Our Education System: TodayI will get down with the job of our current instruction system. The biggest job is, it did non actuate childs. Millions of childs do non cognize any purposing of traveling to school, except duty. When we went to school we were indoctrinated by scenario: work hard, rewarded did good, acquire a college, and eventually you will hold a occupation. But in the hereafter, it is non guarantee any longer, non if the path to it marginalises what you think of import about yourself. Furthermore, confronting the unpredictable econ omic fortunes. This current system was designed and conceived for a different age: Victorians, between 18th and nineteenth century. It was arranged in the rational civilization of the enlightenment and in the economic fortunes of the industrial revolution. The rational theoretical account of the head stated that the existent intelligence consist of capacity of deductive logical thinking and cognition of the classics, what we come to believe as academic ability. It divides people to academic and non academic, smart people and non-smart people. In effects, many superb people think that they are non. In this system, these childs are medicated. They are forced to bury any distraction such as games, iphones, telecasting, and concentrate to the deadening material at school. Students start losing their involvement, barely believing heterosexual, and losing their attending wholly. In category, they are given the theory and required to memorise it, without cognizing the relevant of that context in existent universe. That is why pupils still disengaged. It becomes more terrible with quantitative standardized proving. They merely know they oblige to analyze and go through the criterion. Education is modeled based on the involvement of industrialisation and in the image of it. Schools are organised on mill lines and pupils are its manufactured merchandises. The Victorians produce instruction which remake us photocopy of each other. How make you be submissive, how do you sit patiently be disengaged for approximately two hours and take it. The humanistic disciplines are the victims of this outlook. The humanistic disciplines, particularly address the thought of aesthetic experience, when senses are runing at their extremum. When we collaring about the exhilaration of these things with our experiencing, when we are to the full alive. While anesthetic is experience which shut your senses off and dampen yourself to what is go oning. We are acquiring our kids educated by anesthetizing them. The deductions are easy to be described. These childs merely give replies based on what their instructor said. They are afraid to see things from different positions, lose their critical accomplishment, and really bad foretelling what will do them happy.The New Model of SchoolPlaning new theoretical account of instruction demands coaction of pupils, instructors, schools, and authorities. Lets start with basic inquiry, what sort of end product that we truly want from instruction system? I ever imagine if schools can be topographic point where pupils can come excitingly, full of autonomous cogniti on, so much more passion and information about they want to make. It is the existent acquisition procedure, they learn something when they have ground to larn it. First, we should waking them up to what is inside of themselves! If we are interested in the theoretical account of acquisition, we should non get down from production line outlook. We have to alter our way from conformity-standardised testing and course of study to divergent thought. Divergent thought is an indispensable capacity for creativity-the procedure of holding original thoughts that have value. It is ability to see tonss of possible replies to a inquiry, tonss of ways to construe a inquiry, and to believe laterally, non merely in additive or convergent ways. We might non judge this topic is superior and this is non. We teach them how to believe their ego involvement, appreciate it, and facilitate that. It besides important to alter the civilization of our establishments that dainty academic pupils as the potencies merchandise and non-academic pupils as the remainders. Second, we have to cut the disengaged concatenation between school and the world. We must revised our end: mark oriented become geographic expedition oriented. Students are non teached how to reply inquiries on the test, but how one job in the existent word can be connected and answered by theory they learned in the category. They must non coerce to bury their favorite games or telecasting channels, but we lead unite them with instruction. The point is, we do non restrict their imaginativeness. They may come with alone inquiries or even unanswerable, but it is the manner they can get down believing critically.Students will understand how their school linked to their life, and they used to see things from scientific discipline position. Third, concentrating on the reading comprehension and critical accomplishment. Actually, it based on Indonesia status. Trends in International Mathematics and Science ( TIMSS ) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study ( PIRLS ) appraisal revealed that the reading ability of Indonesian kids is low. Whereas, reading ability is the fundamental of scientific discipline acquisition. Why it can go on? One of the ground is, we do non hold reading comprehension course of study, we merely have linguistic communication course of study. I besides have merely learned that reading to understanding is by doing note beside the of import paragraph and rewrite it on our ain words through essay, non the multiple pick. The multiple choice-we used to utilize, is non stimulate pupils to love literacy and read, doing the open-minded is non formed. Finally, they do non cognize how to work out a problem-things they will confront in world. As I said earlier, this instruction reform besides need teacher coaction. We know, sometimes teacher treats their pupils as how they were treated by their instructor. It is wholly different. Today coevals is immune from such stiff school and strict regulations are non effectual any longer. Teachers have to cognize how to do them travel to school voluntarily and to the full motivated. The schoolroom has to be designed to supply adequate infinite for bettering pupils imaginativeness and geographic expedition. However, instructors are the executor of course of study in the category. Go through state with the best instruction system, Finland, instructors there are good educated and trained. Better instruction system need better human resource to present it. Finally, what I hope to be in the new theoretical account of school and high school for twenty-first century are the pupils that full of larning enthusiasm and the instructors that focuses on geographic expedition instead than how to fix pupils go throughing the test. I want reading-writing civilization and wonder colored the school. I do non desire modern establishment dumped critical thought merely because there is non any statement facilitator. Education is non knowledge transportation that remake pupils as a design of their instructor. Students must hold ability to transform the cognition, so the concluding end of instruction to set out coevalss who can reply the epoch menace can be achieved. As the Malcolm Forbes quotes â€Å" Education ‘s intent to replace an empty head with an unfastened one †

Cultural Perspectives on Crime Essay

Minorities are over represented in the criminal justice system because they are targeted during drives to reduce hooliganism, juvenile drug offenses and crime. Then there are biases against them during prosecution, trial and judgment. Finally, the minorities get harsher sentences than their white counterparts (Davis. A 1998). In my opinion the minorities are over represented in the criminal justice system because of prejudices within the system. Way back in 1991, in LA, police officers beating Rodney King were captured on video. Rodney was a black man and this evidence supported the claims of the Afro-American community that cases of police brutality were a norm. The prejudice in the system was further exposed when in the trial court; the jury did not find the four officers guilty of wrongdoing. This case helped to justify the claims that there was a bias in the justice system and that it was very difficult for colored persons to get justice. This form of discrimination it is alleged is found in the entire justice system. In reality what has happened is that there is a failure of judges, even elected officials to correct the injustices in the criminal justice system. In addition, the criminal justice policy makers have also failed to redress injustice (Lochner. L, 2003). The result is that minority groups in general and black and Hispanic Americans are targeted and victimized by law enforcement agencies. When charging for crimes is done it is the colored persons that are targeted. To add insult to injury colored law abiding citizens are regularly challenged because of racial profiling and police bias. This prejudice has permeated almost everywhere. When the cop is patrolling his attitude towards colored people for the purpose of prosecution and penalty to the treatment of colored by the prosecutors and judges. The essential point is that all individuals should be treated in a similar manner. This is what the Constitution requires the justice system to do. What is the consequence of such police action? The prison inmates are mostly Hispanic and blacks. There are communities of blacks who have actually fallen apart and have dispersed because a large part of the youth has been lost to prisons. This has fostered a belief in these people that the law enforcement system cannot be trusted and should not be supported (Cole. G & Smith. C 2004). This belief has reinforced the prejudice in the law enforcement agencies that colored communities are beds of lawlessness and so should be punished and incarcerated. How is this prejudice reinforced? There are law enforcement policies and tactics that target blacks and Hispanics, moreover, there is the issue of racial profiling. In other words the blacks and Hispanics are usually the targets of suspicion. What happens is that on the basis of bias and suspicions the blacks and Hispanics are blamed for most of the crimes in the area, and ultimately jailed. This system is well ingrained in prosecution. At every step the blacks and Hispanics are treated unfairly. During the first plea bargaining with prosecutors to the final sentencing, there are preconceived notions against blacks and Hispanics. The persons in the justice system especially the judges and prosecutors are all logical and rational persons but there are presuppositions that are introduced in the system which skews the outcomes against blacks and Hispanics (Pratto. F 1994). Till recently sentencing was an important task of great responsibility that was entrusted to judges that were known to be men of integrity and impartiality. Currently, there has been an involvement in sentencing of sentencing commissioners, prosecutors and legislators that has made this process inhuman and mechanical leading to long sentences against the blacks and African Americans. What are the consequences? Several colored people who would otherwise have received shorter or non-jail sentences are now languishing in jail. If those blacks that were eligible for probation had been treated similar to their white counterparts, they would have not been jailed. What is more appalling is that if the courts had taken cognizance of the inequities piled on the colored people injustice could have been reduced (Petersilia. J 1983). The courts in general have refused to investigate into or rectify racial inequality in the system. There are several reasons why the inequity against blacks and Hispanics is being perpetrated. One is that the statistical information about the overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system has not adequately been compiled. In addition, there is not adequate diversification of the law enforcement agencies especially the police (Miller J 1996). Further in light of harsh sentencing against blacks and Hispanics, the death penalty should at least be suspended. Most importantly, the sentencing guidelines are outdated. Finally, the existence of the felony disenfranchisement laws creates and perpetrates prejudice in the system. One area in which the prejudice against minorities is most lucid is the juvenile justice system. There is an extremely harsh treatment against blacks and Hispanics. These youths are tracked and marked in most anti drug campaigns. They are put behind bars. There are more and more black and Hispanics arrested for selling drugs where as arrests of white juveniles has decreased (Bishop. D, 2000). What happens when there is discrimination against blacks and Hispanics? Those minorities who violate a law can expect longer sentences; they can expect fewer leniencies than their white counterparts. In addition, minority youth face harsher sentences and bear the brunt of the efforts of legislators to treat them as adults. The result being that these minority youth because of the machinations of the legislators are more likely to be converted to hardened criminals. Finally whenever legislators or policy makers choose to enforce law more vigorously, there is an increase in the number of atrocities against minority offenders. Even though the constitution requires that two cocaine dealers be treated equally by the law we find that the minority dealer bears the wrath of the law enforcement agencies. Ethnic background and racial heritage is becoming a basis for unfairness. This inequity is pervasive and affects every step of the criminal justice system (Sherman L 2002). What is dreadful is that in the criminal justice system, racial discrimination is increasing and not reducing. This makes a mockery of the progress in civil rights made till now. To sum, black and Hispanics bear the worst rage of the criminal justice system. They are followed by cops, watched and arrested more than their white counterparts. Then they face a criminal justice system that assumes that colored people are more likely to commit crimes. They are dragged to juries, prosecutors and judges who feel that minorities are more likely to have committed crimes. Finally, the legislative machinery ensures that tough sentences are passed against them to root out crime in the country.. They are over represented in the criminal justice system because they have been singled out for ruthless treatment. References: Bishop. D, (2000) Juvenile Offenders in the Adult Criminal Justice System, Crime and Justice, Vol. 27, pp 81-167 Cole. G & Smith. C, (2004) The American System of Criminal Justice, Thomson Wadsworth. Davis. A (1998) Prosecution and Race: The Power and Privilege of Discretion, Fordham Law Review. Vol. LXVII, No. 1. Lochner. L, (2003) Individual Perceptions of Criminal Justice System, Working Paper 9474 NBER Working Paper Series available at: http://www. nber. org/papers/w9474 Miller J (1996) Search and Destroy: African-American Males in the Criminal Justice System, Cambridge University Press. Petersilia. J (1983) Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System, Rand Corporation, Santa Monica. Pratto. F (1994) Attenuators and Hierarchy Enhancers: Social Dominance Theory and the Criminal Justice System, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Volume 24, Issue 4. Sherman L (2002), Trust and Confidence in Criminal Justice, NIJ Journal, Retrieved from: http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/189106-1. pdf on January 4, 2007.

Free Essays on Tennyson And Lady Of Shalott

Tennyson’s 1832 poem, â€Å"The Lady of Shalott,† found itself born again in its revised state after Tennyson’s ten year silent period. In both versions, the Lady of Shalott is a body of creativity. Her weaving is an artform. Enveloped in the tapestry are images and pictures of the reflections she sees passing in her magic mirror. The Lady of Shalott is an artist of both the loom and of images. Tennyson uses this status and her fate to embody the characteristics of an artist. For example, she is withdrawn in a tower from which she can see below the workings of a society - Camelot. An artist must, therefore, be secluded and detached so as to accurately convey the meaning behind his/her subjects and make a statement on society. However, this portrayal of the detached and elusive artist is even more clearly defined in specific revisions of the poem between 1832 and 1842. The deletion of specific descriptive details and the changing of the final stanza proves that the1842 revised version of Tennyson’s â€Å"The Lady of Shalott† is more effective in conveying the notability of an artist who detaches and abstracts from his/her subject so as to make an accurate statement on society. Specific details are described in the 1832 version of â€Å"The Lady of Shalott† which are excluded from the revised 1842 version. Specifically, images of adornment that add to the description of the Lady in the earlier version are removed from the later version of the poem. For example, the 1832 version specifically mentions pearls decorating the Lady of Shalott. She is described as having a â€Å"cloudwhite crown of pearl† and a â€Å"pearlgarland winding her head†. In addition, in this earlier version, the portrait of the Lady of Shalott is not the only concept described with more detail and adornment. The images that create her setting are also described in more decorative detail: â€Å"She leaneth on a velvet bed,/ Fully royal... Free Essays on Tennyson And Lady Of Shalott Free Essays on Tennyson And Lady Of Shalott Tennyson’s 1832 poem, â€Å"The Lady of Shalott,† found itself born again in its revised state after Tennyson’s ten year silent period. In both versions, the Lady of Shalott is a body of creativity. Her weaving is an artform. Enveloped in the tapestry are images and pictures of the reflections she sees passing in her magic mirror. The Lady of Shalott is an artist of both the loom and of images. Tennyson uses this status and her fate to embody the characteristics of an artist. For example, she is withdrawn in a tower from which she can see below the workings of a society - Camelot. An artist must, therefore, be secluded and detached so as to accurately convey the meaning behind his/her subjects and make a statement on society. However, this portrayal of the detached and elusive artist is even more clearly defined in specific revisions of the poem between 1832 and 1842. The deletion of specific descriptive details and the changing of the final stanza proves that the1842 revised version of Tennyson’s â€Å"The Lady of Shalott† is more effective in conveying the notability of an artist who detaches and abstracts from his/her subject so as to make an accurate statement on society. Specific details are described in the 1832 version of â€Å"The Lady of Shalott† which are excluded from the revised 1842 version. Specifically, images of adornment that add to the description of the Lady in the earlier version are removed from the later version of the poem. For example, the 1832 version specifically mentions pearls decorating the Lady of Shalott. She is described as having a â€Å"cloudwhite crown of pearl† and a â€Å"pearlgarland winding her head†. In addition, in this earlier version, the portrait of the Lady of Shalott is not the only concept described with more detail and adornment. The images that create her setting are also described in more decorative detail: â€Å"She leaneth on a velvet bed,/ Fully royal...

How to control email (and free yourself)

How to control email (and free yourself) How to control email (and free yourself) If there’s one area that unites most professionals, it’s the struggle with email. Whether it’s how to manage the daily deluge of messages in our inboxes, how to respond to them or how to write them so they don’t lead to misunderstandings, finding ways to control email (and not let it control us) is a challenge we all face. The trouble is that email is everywhere. We send and receive more than 205bn emails a day [PDF], and when we open our laptops, email is usually the first thing we look at. Many of us will even check our inboxes immediately after our alarm wakes us in the morning. At biologys mercy Our biology doesn’t help: we’re wired to search. That brief frisson of pleasure you feel when you realise someone’s emailed you is actually a small rush of the hormone dopamine. Unfortunately, it usually is very brief indeed, and followed by a sinking feeling as you realise it’s just another problem to deal with. Opening yourself up to this kind of stress while you’re half-asleep does little to protect your mental health, and it’s also a real barrier to business success. That’s because in checking and responding to email so frequently and habitually, we’re building our agendas around everyone else’s goals, rather than our own. I know this all too well. I’ve lost days to my inbox, veering wildly off track and wondering where my original list of goal-related tasks went. But there’s a lot you can do to stop email controlling your life. Here are some suggestions: Take control with technology Technology itself is one of the answers. There are several apps that will automatically prioritise key emails, categorise others and filter out the stuff you really don’t want to see at all. (Obviously check with your colleagues in IT before installing software on a work computer.) For example, I’ve been using Sanebox, an intelligent system that files emails based on my history and behaviour, for over a year and it’s made a huge difference. It puts emails from addresses it can’t find in my contacts list into separate folders, saving my inbox only for messages it thinks I need to see. Then it emails me a digest once a day to tell me they’re there. (I can check the folders any time.) Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and Apple mail also have helpful functions built in that are worth exploring. They’re less sophisticated, but free. WeekWill goes one step further. It sends you a text and can even call you if you get an email from anyone on your VIP list, so that you can switch off your mail app altogether. You can then check any critical emails using webmail (which, as it involves an extra step, is less tempting). This revives the prospect of email-free holidays. Remember those? Change your habits You don’t have to use a technical fix. You could try restricting yourself to checking and responding to email for half an hour, say, three times a day. If that works, you could then whittle it down to twice, or even once a day. For this to work, be sure to set an autoresponder to let correspondents know that’s what you’re doing. But be careful to word the automatic response sensitively or you’ll simply irritate people. Bluntly telling them that you check your email only twice a day will probably do more harm than good. (I’ve received emails like that and I confess it made me feel like the sender valued their time more than mine, even though I wanted to spend money with them.) Instead, you could write something like this: So that I can focus on doing the best work for my clients, I check email just twice a day, at around midday and 3pm. Then, throw them a lifeline, just in case: If you need to speak to me urgently, don’t worry. Just send me a text or call me on †¦ Most people will be happy to wait once you’ve reassured them in this way. This method needs real discipline, though. You need to use these half-hour periods for quick replies only. An email that takes an hour to respond to is a task in its own right. So try to recognise such messages and acknowledge that you need to plan them in properly (sending a holding reply if necessary). Take back your day Whatever you do, do something. It’s not sustainable to let email hijack your agenda every day. It will seriously restrict your progress and could damage your mental health. This article originally appeared in a slightly different form in The Guardian. Image credit: Basar / Shutterstock

Daubert Standard Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Daubert Standard - Assignment Example From this essay it is clear that the Daubert standard states that the evidence should be reliable in nature; this means that the testimony provided by the expert witness should be obtained through a scientific method. According to the Supreme Court, an expert’s testimony is reliable if the scientific method used is testable, can be proved as false, and can be tested to be proved right or wrong. The testimony is even considered as reliable if it has been previously reviewed or is going to be reviewed in future by peers and it has an error rate attached to it already and the testimony or the finding should be acceptable by the community of science.This study outlines that  the crime scene investigators found two different sets of paints on the victims jeans, one paint was from the wall of the victim’s house and the second paint was from an unknown source. The forensic lab decided to figure out whether both the paints were from the same source or not. They developed a hy pothesis stating that both paints were from different sources and then they developed a null hypothesis stating that both the paints were from similar source.  The lab conducted various scientific tests to validate their hypothesis and prove that the paints were from different sources. The tests proved that the paints actually were from two different sources and the paints are not same. This test could have even proved the other way around that the paints were from the same source if other scientifically validity tests were used.