Monday, September 30, 2019

Literal Translation Essay

A naive view of literal translation might be that it consists in the one for one substitution of the word forms of the target language for the word forms of the source language. This is what normally meant by the term â€Å"literal translation†. Yet , this view is unrealistic. Literal translation, also known as direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another â€Å"word-for-word† (Latin: â€Å"verbum pro verbo†) rather than conveying the sense of the original. Literal translations thus commonly mis-translate idioms. Also, in the context of translating an analytic language to a synthetic language, it renders even the grammar unintelligible. A literal English translation of the German word â€Å"Kindergarten† would be â€Å"children garden,† but in English the expression refers to the school year between pre-school and first grade. Literal translations in which individual components within words or compounds are translated to create new lexical items in the target language (a process also known as â€Å"loan translation†) are called calques, e. g. , â€Å"beer garden† from German â€Å"Biergarten. † Literal translation of the Italian sentence, â€Å"So che questa non va bene† (â€Å"I know that this is not good†), produces â€Å"Know(I) that this not go(it) well,† which has English words and Italian grammar. Further more, literal translation of idioms is a source of numerous translators’ jokes and apocrypha. The following famous example has often been told both in the context of newbie translators and that of machine translation: when the sentence â€Å"The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak† was translated into Russian and then back to English, the result was â€Å"The vodka is good, but the meat is rotten. † This is generally believed to be simply an amusing story, and not a factual reference to an actual machine translation error [1]. Literal translation can also denote a translation that represents the precise meaning of the original text but does not attempt to convey its style, beauty, or poetry. Charles Singleton’s translation of The Divine Comedy (1975) is regarded as a literal translation. In Conclusion , A literal translation is a translation that  follows closely the form of the source language Also known as: word-for-word translation. This translation can not be applied in nature, because it will result sentences can not be understood . â€Å"literal† translations can actually result in mis-communication of the meaning of the text. The point is, of course, that the translators have decided to translate words, but not larger semantic units such as phrases.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

A Comparison of Vietnamese and American Writing-Pedagogy Essay

A Comparison of Vietnamese and American Writing-Pedagogy As an international student and educator from Vietnam, I see a lot of differences in the educational systems of the United States and my own country. In order to illuminate the differences between teaching writing in Vietnam and teaching writing in America, I would like to give a brief introduction to teaching writing in Vietnam and what I have learned from a writing class here at Eastern Illinois University. In my discussion of pedagogy in Vietnam, I would like to highlight two things: how Vietnamese people study Vietnamese, and how Vietnamese study English. Though I need to read more about American writing pedagogy, I see some basic similarities between the two countries. As in the United States, mathematics and language arts are important subjects in Vietnam. In Vietnam, however, writing isn’t a subject per se, and students develop their writing skills through the study of literature. In primary school, the teacher begins by asking the student to write simple and short para graphs about what happens in his/her daily life. Popular writing topics include â€Å"the person you love best,† â€Å"pets,† and so on. When grading, the teacher pays attention to spelling, clarity, and the way students use words. In secondary school, a student begins to write longer and more difficult essays, including plot summaries, movie reviews, character- and other kinds of literary analysis. Students continue to study writing up to graduation, when they are required to demonstrate their mastery of writing skills in an exam. Students who want to go on to university must pass an additional exam. The different is, however, university students do not take courses devoted to writing. They devote their time to their majors. Form is an important element of essay-writing in both countries. As in English, an essay in Vietnam includes three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion. There is a major difference, however: In America, the college essay derives from classical rhetoric. Ultimately, Aristotle and the syllogism provide the basis of a linear and logical structure. Milton’s â€Å"Of Education† and his political writings would be examples here. In Vietnam, the classical model derives from the Chinese/Confucian tradition. That tradition emphasizes the elaboration of or commentary upon a classical text or phrase. The Western essay is very linear and à ¢â‚¬Å"thesis-driven,† and compared to it the Vietnamese essay can seem circular. To Vietnamese, it is organic. Models for this form can be found in Zhuang Tzu’s, Meng Tzu’s â€Å"Doctrine of the Mean† or Literati prose. Even though these two classical models have been changed and developed considerably in modern writing, their original ideas have great influence on writing customs between the two countries. Western essay strictly follows the thesis statement and topic sentence. All sentences are coherent and support to topics sentences. Vietnamese essay, however, is circular. Students don’t go directly to their topic but approach to indirectly. The reader knows what the student is doing and tries to enjoy the essay. The approach isn’t as analytical. In Vietnam, academic essays can be of different types: description (van ta), commentary (binh luan), proof-and-explanation (chung minh va giai thich), analysis (phan tich), and critique (binh giang). In the introduction to an essay describing a landscape, a student gives general information about the place, time and setting, and the reason he/she is writing. An analysis or a proof essay is a little different. Most importantly, here a student has to give information about the author, setting and social background of the story. In the body, he/she takes up the selected text and discusses its general characteristics, outstanding f eatures, details and logic. Connections between commentary and text should be clear. The conclusion, in general, offers a brief summary of the main idea and a personal or â€Å"felt† response to the subject. The most important differences between English and Vietnamese writing are linguistic and cultural. English grammar is demanding and prescriptive with regard to such matters as tense, agreement, singular and plural forms, etc. In Vietnamese, however, word-building is very complex, and students devote their attention to morphology rather than syntax. Vietnamese (again like Chinese) has classifiers, a linguistic item unknown to English. Lexical items are variously â€Å"classified† in countless ways, including â€Å"animate† (con), inanimate (cai), â€Å"book-like† (quyen), â€Å"picture† (buc), â€Å"photographic† (tam), â€Å"food or medicine† (thuc). The classifiers can be baffling to non-native speakers of Vietnamese. Student-writers have to know how to use classifiers correctly, however, so they have to master word building skills that English students don’t. Finally, there are pronouns. â€Å"He,† to give only one example, ca n variously be any of the following in Vietnamese: no, anh, anh ay, anh ta, ga, y, ong ay, and ong ta. Knowing  these dedicated differences and using them correctly in each context is very important in writing. These linguistic features perhaps help to account for the Vietnamese love of word- play and elegant variation in many contexts where they would be unusual in English. The beautiful is important. This notion of elegance even carries over into the technology of Vietnamese writing. Computers haven’t reached most VN classrooms, and the technology of penmanship still matters. Because enthusiasm in writing comes from the beauty of nature and internal sensation, sitting with teacher and friends in a writing class is believed to be better than with technology devices. Third, I would like to introduce what a good essay is. A good essay is the combination of good grammar, language and knowledge. When grading, the instructor usually pays attention to the content: accord with the topic, clear form and organization, proportionality between introduction, body and conclusion, cohesive transition, logical phrases and sentences, correct spelling, clarity, neat presentation†¦ The instructo r often would underline obscure sentences or redundancies, cross out sentences that may be incohesive, contradictory and write his/her comments at the beginning of these sentences. Now we come to another question: how is a writing class organized? Because a writing class is in fact a literature class, the teacher lectures most of the time. Sometimes, he/she stops to ask students some questions related to his/her lecture or ask them to give their own opinion about some things. The class is not divided into groups for students to discuss or write collaboratively. Students listen to their teacher and write on their own. After students submit their tests, the teacher grades and comments. Normally, the teacher chooses interesting and good essays to read aloud and points out how they are interesting, what is good about them. Then teacher mentions those essays that are not very good, points out the common errors and teaches students how to avoid these errors in later tests. Since writing an essay in Vietnamese usually means writing about literature, the reader may wonder how a student writes essays on other subjects, such as history or geography. Invention is not stressed as much in Vietnam as here. Students listen to the teacher’s lecture and takes note carefully. Sometimes, professors simply dictate their notes to students. Before exams, teachers often give students a list of questions to prepare at home. Students find the answers in the teacher’ s textbooks or  notes, and then try to get them down by heart. The teacher chooses one or two topics for student to write at the exams. There are no take home exams. Students do their research the same way as here. The teacher gives student topics to write about, and the student then chooses a topic and writes a proposal. The teacher will offer suggestions or advice. After that, the student collects material from books, newspapers and the Internet and starts to write. Thesis topics are often very broad. Therefore, the student needs to convince his/her readers using reasonable and logical arguments. The way Vietnamese learn how to write in their own language is of course different from the way they learn to write in English, which is a foreign language. In the following paragraph, I’m going to point out what the differences are. In theory, a student is supposed to learn every step as a native speaker does. The purpose is to learn how to write good essays. However, a writing class in Vietnam is usually more like an ESL class than an American writing class. Freshman and sophomore students learn to write sentences and short paragraphs. The topics are often very simple, for example: write abo ut the first day at school, an unforgettable memory. The teacher focuses on grammar, and the way of using words. Juniors and seniors learn to write essays, but what they learn is basically the theory; they don’t practice writing essays very often. A student is only required to write essays in final tests or graduate exams. The essay is usually about 1-2 pages in length. A 4-page essay is the longest. The topics are about what happens in daily life. In these essays, a student writes his/her own opinion, what he/she sees and thinks. Because their English is limited, students rarely do research in the language or make many quotations. Students aren’t usually acquainted with MLA/APA styles, and teachers focus mostly on grammar errors. In order for students to practice writing, the teacher gives writing assignments for them to write at home. Then the teacher will ask a student to write the assigned essay on the chalkboard. The whole class discusses the ideas and grammar in this essay and participates in the writing process. We have seen that writing customs vary from one country to another, especially between the cultures of East and West. Differences in writing pedagogy reflect cultural and linguistic differences. Being aware of those differences would be of importance to anyone teaching in a diverse classroom. Appreciating those differences can lead to a richer sense of the possibilities of language for all peoples.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Philosophy of War Essay

Human history is plagued with series of bloody conflicts and wars, which resulted into killing of millions of men, women, and children. Different historians and analysts have presented variety of theories debating on the root causes of war. What ever the reasons, wars bring destruction, annihilation, and sorrows to the humanity. Development of technology further compounded the situation. It simplified the obliteration of mankind with introduction of weapons of mass destruction. Man is now capable of wiping out the humanity with least efforts. Inventions created for warfare have also helped in maintaining a balance of power and were actually successful in preventing wars from materializing. This paper will focus on philosophy of war, highlighting various theories about causes of war, with an analytical scrutiny of the present scenario where weapons of mass destruction have deeply affected the world peace. War is an instrument of policy. It is the continuation of national policies through other means (Clausewitz 12-13). In general terms, war can be described as a method and an approach of pursuance of national goals and objectives. War in military terms is a state of widespread conflict between states, organizations, or relatively large groups of people. It involves use of bloody aggression between two regular armies or between armed civilian groups (â€Å"War,† pars. 1-2). A common perception of war is a military campaign between at least two opposing sides. The disagreement leading to war may involve a dispute over sovereignty, territory, resources, or religion etc. Wars take place despite majority of populace opposing them. There are a large number of theories debating over why wars happen regardless of strong opposition. Whatever the cause of war, the development of technology has intensified the resultant human destructiveness. Development of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction have altogether changed the nature of war. The latest deadly military arsenals have reshaped the war strategies. These weapons are proving to be a strong deterrence against outbreak of war between two states but their possession by belligerents and terrorists have serious implications. Human history is devoid of any era which can be termed as peaceful. There has always been some war or conflict taking place between two opposing sides. The war itself has remained a constant phenomenon throughout the course of history however causative factors for such conflicts are certainly numerous. There are a large number of theories explaining causes of war including the political, economical, psychological, sociological, anthropological, and historical theories. These theories identify specific circumstances and inescapable trends imposing war on humanity. Two important theories have been deliberated upon in following paragraphs which stem out significantly when viewed in concurrence with present scenario. The theory most affected with advent of weapons of mass destruction is the psychological theory, also known as human aggression theory. This theory professes that human beings, especially men are born aggressive and violent. History is witness of the fact that people are capable of committing the most terrible acts of violence on other people. Wars have been waged, and millions have been killed due to personal agenda of leaders. Even before recorded history men killed men for petty issues, and vested interests. People when equipped with weapons tend to be more threatening and provoked in their aggression. Experiments have indicated that the presence of a weapon can augment ferociousness. It increases the consequences of aggressive incidents (Hinde and Pulkinnen, pars. 2, 15). Psychologists have agreed to some extent that although human nature is violent but people forcing large scale destruction and wars do not possess stable personalities. These people are normally mentally unbalanced and lack rationale. This school of thought argues that leaders like Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin were mentally abnormal. Just consider, any such leader, if in possession of nuclear arsenals in today’s world, can play havoc with the humanity. Inherent aggression of mankind coupled with modern weapons of mass destruction, if left uncontrolled and unchecked will ultimately lead the world to the end of times. The other important cause of war having serious implications in today’s world is rooted out of anthropological theories. Several anthropologists see the war as fundamentally cultural, learned by nurture rather than nature. To this school, religious, ideological, and nationalistic beliefs create an environment for acceptance of war (â€Å"War,† par. 16). Religion is often exploited to justify actions and motivate the masses to support the aggression. Most wars in the history are perhaps fought in the name of religion. It is fact that Crusades are more commonly attributed to the religion than any other war. There had been many other conflicts as well originating out of religious differences. Islam emerging out of Arab lands in 8th century started posing a major threat to various kingdoms ruled in the name of Christianity. Religion thus became a central theme in most conflicts fought there on (Armstrong 4). The late 20th century witnessed struggles for territorial sovereignty, political autonomy and access to resources. Religion remains the major motivating factor here as well, and dominates most of the post World War II conflicts. Issues in former Yugoslavia, Middle-East, South Asia, and Central Asia, are all evidences of anthropological theory about the causes of war (Dorfman 103). The ongoing war on terrorism highlights an interesting analogy regarding the previous discussion. The West (dominated by Christians) is threatened by the East (Islamic world). There are extremist elements existing in the East which are making all out efforts to crush the hegemony of the West. The attacks of 9/11 were perpetrated by Islamic extremists. The riposte in the form of war on terror is though not directed against the religion of Islam but it is manifested to root out the Islamic extremist elements which are causing grave concerns to the real existence of modern world (Conway, par. 7). Imagine, if Al Qaeda gets nuclear weapons, rest assure it will not hesitate a minute to use it against the West. Technology and nuclear arsenal held by former soviet republics provide an open market to religious terrorists. Most of this equipment was retrieved by Russia. The threat still exists due to presence of left over infrastructure and skilled human resource. The philosophy of war is deeply affected by the advent of weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons deter the escalation of crises to war. The weapons of mass destruction may not help in stopping outbreak of disputes between two opposing states but certainly prevents a war. The cold war era is an evidence of this prevention. In the recent times, it stopped a major war between India and Pakistan. In year 2001, there was a long standoff between large conventional armies consisting of over one million regular troops of both the nuclear states. In the recent history, it was the largest concentration of troops on international borders. Armies of both the countries equipped with weapons of mass destruction stood face to face for complete one year. The only thing which prevented the deadliest war in the history of mankind from materializing was the nuclear capability of both the sides. Using weapons of mass destruction for peaceful purposes is always viewed apprehensively, and with doubts. In today’s transforming world, the idea of preventing a war by keeping nuclear arsenals is much debatable. The question arises that do we still need to parlay the fear of nuclear war in order to secure our national interests and international peace (Gompert, pars. 0-15). The facts however can not be ignored. The technology exists in the market. It is available to all and can be well exploited for all purposes. If we can not keep away the extremists, and mentally abnormal leaders from possessing it, then we need it too. It is not only necessitated from the point of view of our own security but it is mandatory for maintaining peace in the world. Modern weapon systems and latest war machinery will be required to harness the people with dreadful intentions (Orend, pars. 11-15). Once war commences, whatever its merits, philosophers disagree on the role of morality within war. Many have claimed morality is necessarily but it is discarded by the very nature of war including Christian thinkers such as Augustine, whereas others have sought to remind warriors both of the existence of moral relations in war and of various strictures to remain sensitive to moral ends. Sociologically, those going to and coming back from war often go through rites and rituals that symbolize their stepping out of, or back into, civil society, as if their transition is to a different level of morality and agency. War typically involves killing and the threat of being killed, which existentialist writers have drawn on in their examination of war’s phenomenology (Moseley, par. 4). Philosophy of war is a complex and intricate matter. It has an expanded horizon, with a broad spectrum of hypotheses. Simple and undeniable explanation of warfare would imply annihilation and sufferings. Man has killed man for various motives. No solid reasoning can be offered for an unimaginable scale of bloodshed caused by the humans against humanity. The subject lends itself to metaphysical and epistemological considerations, to the philosophy of mind and of human nature. It also encompasses more traditional areas of moral and political philosophy. With the invention of weapons of mass destruction, mankind is vulnerable to extreme dangers of extinction. Hope however is never lost. Eisenhower in 1953 while addressing United Nations General Assembly in the backdrop of the atomic bomb said that the United States does not wish merely to present strength, but also the desire and the hope for peace. The atom can be used for peace, and welfare of mankind. However, the constant threat of these weapons falling in the hands of extremists or abnormal leaders would keep haunting the humanity.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Gas Cell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gas Cell - Essay Example Configured for gas sampling, the cell incorporates 2 valves, an inlet and an outlet, that enable flowing gas samples through the cell. In its solid and liquid vaporization configuration, the cell has an outlet needle valve from which a vacuum can be pulled and two (2) sample inlets. One inlet is a needle septa injection port on the top of the cell which is similar to the type used in gas chromatography. There is a second inlet in the form of a side port for inserting solid samples, which also doubles as the thermocouple port. Using the side port eliminates the need to recheck vacuum seals whenever the cell is opened to insert solid samples. The 250w heating jacket extends over the end of the cell so that both the cell body and the optics are heated, and allows operation at temperatures up to 1000K. Condensation on the optics is minimized by heating them to the same temperature as the sample chamber. A type J iron constantan thermocouple is provided with plugs which are compatible with the optional temperature controller. The cell body is type 304 stainless steel and an assortment of seals is provided - silicon rubber, viton and PTFE. Stainless Steel 304: SS 304 is the most versatile and the most ... It also has excellent low temperature properties and responds well to hardening by cold working. SS 304 is used in all industrial, commercial and domestic fields because of its good corrosion and heat resisting properties. Using SS304 is reducing the chances of failure of cell due to heating & creep. Creep Data Stress for a creep rate of 1% in 10 000 h. Temperature, oC 550 600 650 700 800 Temperature, K 823 873 923 973 1073 Stress, MPa 120 80 50 30 10 Environment Data/ Corrosion Rate The performance of SX 304 compared with other metals in various environments is shown in the following table. The corrosion rates are based on a 10 year exposure. Environment Corrosion Rate (m/year) SS 304 Mild Steel Rural 0.0025 5.8 Marine 0.0076 34.0 Marine Industrial 0.0076 46.2 So as compared to other metals stainless steel 304 is having very less corrosion rate, so this metal is best for the Gas cell. Stainless steel is also a preferred substrate because of its lower cost to fabricate into a mirror it requires multi-layer coatings, including gold as the primary reflective surface, which is expensive. Copper: Copper is a chemical element. Copper is malleable, ductile, excellent electrical conductor, non magnetic, resistant to corrosion, excellent heat transfer capacity, durable, & recyclable element. It is a ductile metal with excellent electrical conductivity and is rather soft in its pure state and has a pinkish luster which is. It finds extensive use as an electrical conductor, heat conductor, as a building material, and as a component of various alloys. Though copper has ductility property hence it can be drawn into thin wire. The ductility property of copper can reduce the chance of failure of cell due to

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Co-education and singl-education Research Paper

Co-education and singl-education - Research Paper Example The same is discussed at length in the paper, to arrive at a logical conclusion, regarding the viability and credibility of single-sex education as the most preferred and beneficial environment for learning. Various articles reviewed as a part of this study point to the fact that single-sex education is increasingly preferred as the most feasible strategy in terms of enhancing student performance, offering the best possible opportunities for students, encouraging them to take up leadership roles, reduce gender bias and instances of sexual abuse, increase and improve career preferences by encouraging students to take up gender-dominated occupations, and breaking gender stereotypes by introducing unconventional educational courses which focus on all round development of the students. Historically, educational institutions have been essentially gender specific, where there were separate schools for boys and girls. This study begins with the history of single-sex education in the U.S. and eventually traces the benefits, criticisms and comparison of learning outcomes across various fields, with regard to studies conducted world-wide, to trace the impact and influence of type of educational setting on the students’ learning outcome – not only academically but with respect to their long term benefits as well. According to Bracey (2007) the American educational framework was predominantly oriented toward single-sex education. Such a framework was an outcome of inherent societal structure which was largely patriarchal in nature, where the expectations, opportunities and attitudes towards education of girls varied largely from that of boys. Boys were believed to be more in need of a formalized education since they were naturally assumed to head their families and hence take up more important jobs which required professional training, while girls on the other hand, were assumed to take up family responsibilities and take care of their domestic lives, hence

Pyschological and Sociological Theoretical Explanations of Suicide Essay

Pyschological and Sociological Theoretical Explanations of Suicide - Essay Example The hopelessness theory also well defines the psychological aspect of suicide which, according to Beck’s concept of cognitive triad, makes a person think negatively about himself, his future and the world around him (1979). Emile Durkheim gave the sociological theoretical explanation of suicide (Pickering, Walford & British Centre for Durkheimian Studies, 2000). According to him, there are four kinds of suicide that result from discrepancies in a person’s ties with the society (Craighead & Nemeroff, 2002, p.1653). Altruistic suicides are those suicides that have to be committed in order to please the society, like satti in India. Egoistic suicide results from weak or too few ties with the society. Anomic suicide occurs when the ties with the society get a setback all at once, like the death of a friend. Fatalistic suicides result from excessive regulation of a person in society, like slaves and prisoners. Thus, society makes a person act in a certain way which, at times, can lead to suicide. This sociological explanation of Durkheim is still accepted by all

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Information Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Information Management - Essay Example Furthermore, the INSPIRE methodology is used to implement changes in a range of situations. This paper presents a detailed analysis of INSPIRE methodology. This research will offer a comprehensive overview of different aspects of this new emerging paradigm and its implication for the business enhancements and re-organization. Innovation System for Performance Improvement and Reorganization methodology has been developed in a broader way. This methodology facilitates in implementing and driving changes to facilitate managers to concurrently harness innovation, as well as to manage the business transformation procedure. In addition, it is useful in team building process. INSPIRE offers structures and metrics to facilitate, control, and monitor the transformation process. Additionally, the INSPIRE methodology is most helpful in process of organizational change. Despite the fact that, INSPIRE is intended for business change circumstances, it does not misplace view of the precise detail that is frequently necessary to make organization change happen efficiently. In addition, the INSPIRE methodology encompasses a lot of business aspects in case of business change like that resistance, politics, skills, knowledge, features of the marketplaces as well as economic context of a given user business. Since, these fe atures are necessary to formulate effectual organizational transformation. For the reason that INSPIRE is so influential, that it forces its clients as well as users to build up extremely accurate thinking regarding such details, with regard to enhance the influence of subsequent interference actions all through the procedure of carrying out organizational change (Kawalek, 2009). This research is based on the detailed analysis of Innovation System for Performance Improvement and Reorganization (INSPIRE) methodology. This research will concentrate on the implementation of the INSPIRE

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Chapter review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter review - Essay Example In Chapter 9, Poets and Revolutionaries: Three Women of Calcutta, she reveals the lives and insights of three strong-willed and talented women in the city, Aparna Sen, a film maker, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, a poet and Veena Bhargava, a painter. The chapter discussed their careers and their womanhood. In this chapter, you’ll be able to see their individuality and how they achieved their independence and uniqueness. This chapter provided Bumiller the contrast she needed in showing the different lives of the women in the rural villages and the women in the cities. Her interviews with the three successful women of the city showed that none of them think they faced problems because of their womanhood. This is in contrast to the other women she was able to interview during the previous chapters. It shows here in this chapter that these three women were leading their lives not very different from their Western counterparts. They grew up having dinners with their families. They also have differences with themselves to the point that sometimes they question their own actions, choosing between their family life and their careers. Though they might not have any problems or issues that they encounter that will make them feel oppressed and exploited, far different from the other women of India living outside the cities, they have the common problem of the dilemma of doing one thing over another. This can be seen in the sacrifices that they have to make in order to become successful. The women in this chapter were only a few of those that were able to define their personal and social identities. They were able to master control over their lives, sometimes even the control over the men. Much different from the women of the rurals, where most are slaves to a very oppressing and explo itative society. Here, it showed how they used the many issues of oppression and exploitation of other women of India to push their own

Monday, September 23, 2019

Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public - Essay Example Advantages for an organization for going public Although going public is an expensive process but there are several advantages. Some of the most important advantages for going public are as follows: More capital can be raised by a company if it starts floating its share in the market. By floating shares in the market, company can have a better growth rate. People know and recognize more about companies whose shares are in the market rather than firms that are privately owned. Going public is a way to brand and market the company as well. It also builds the brand image of the company and the company becomes more reliable and trustworthy (Glueck , 1980). Because of being a better and more renowned company, a public company is able to attract and retain better human resource which helps in improving productivity level of the company. While acquisitions, shares of the company can be used instead of cash. Debt to equity ratio of the company improves because of going public as the capital raised is included in the equity section rather than liabilities. Debt to equity ratio is one of the ways lenders analyze and assess the risk of the company and it explains the amount of debt the company has in comparison to its liabilities. Organizations can motivate employees by offering them stock options which are considered more valuable than other rewards like cash and bonuses. Disadvantages for an organization for going public Besides the advantages of going public, there are several disadvantages because of which many organizations do not go public and float their shares in the market. The most important disadvantages which restrict an organization from going to public are as follows: Going public is an expensive process and if an organization has other ways or options to raise money then it should go with the alternatives rather than floating shares in the market. There are several fees and costs associated with going public like accounting fees, expense allowance of underw riter, filing fees, cost of travelling, cost of printing and legal fees and all these costs are to be included while analyzing whether the firm would go public or not (Hoch, Kim, Montgomery, and Rossi, 1995). In addition to this, if the management of the company is not aware about the process of going public then it should not indulge in such activities because it is a difficult process and they should go public only when the management is not aware about the whole process and complications involved in it. Information about the company increases and more people know about the organization in comparison to the time when the organization was operating as a privately held company. Customers, suppliers, shareholders, investors, analysts, and other stakeholders of the company tend to focus a lot on the organization and strategies which it has adopted. As the company goes public, it has to follow the requirements of SEC and financial reporting of the company has to be in accordance with t he rules and guidelines provided by SEC (Kaplan, and Atkinson, 1998). Top management or entrepreneurs could feel like as if they have lost the control of the organization and thus it can have an impact on their decision making and productivity. Remuneration and compensation packages paid to the top management of the organization are known to others because public information and everyone would be aware about the salaries of people at the top managerial level. Because of going public, risk of shareholder litigation increases. Many shareholders are

Sunday, September 22, 2019

How Christianity and Judaism are Alike and Different Essay Example for Free

How Christianity and Judaism are Alike and Different Essay Judaism and Christianity are two of the many religions of the world. Both of these religions can be found in the Middle East. Although they are very similar, they also differ in many ways. People who believe in the Jewish religion are called Jews. Jews believe that the Messiah is yet to come. In the world there are about 13 million Jewish followers. Jews go to a synagogue to worship their Messiah. They also read the Torah, which is their Holy Book. Abraham founded Judaism in 1700 B.C.E. Jews consider Jerusalem a holy city because of the Wailing Wall is located there, (which is the last remnant of the second temple.) Finally, Jews believe that they are the Chosen People and that Israel is the Promise Land. On the other hand you have Christianity, these followers are called Christians. Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah. They also believe that Jesus suffered and died for peoples sins and then that he rose from the dead. There are over 1,000 million Christian followers all over the world! Christians believe that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem so they consider Jerusalem to be a Holy City. They also believe in God and read about their religion in a Bible in a Church. Finally, Jesus established Christianity in 4 B.C.E. Now youve learned all about the differences between Judaism and Christianity but now you have to learn the similarities between the two religions. Both religions are monotheistic meaning they have one God who created the universe. Also, both consider Jerusalem a holy city in different ways. Both religions also have a sacred book that they read to discover things of their religion, although these religions have different books they still learn many similar things, and finally, both religions recognize Jesus in some way, either as a prophet or a Messiah. So, as you can see Judaism and Christianity are very similar but also very different.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Advantages and Disadvantages of Positivism

Advantages and Disadvantages of Positivism Q. Discuss the advantages, strengths, disadvantages and weaknesses of a  positivist approach to the social sciences. The profusion of use and multifariousness of meaning of the word positivism results in a need for any essay on the subject to first give its own precise definition for its use of the term, distinguishing its particular context from its use in other contexts. The term positivism, first coined by the philosopher Auguste Comte in the nineteenth-century, was first originally confined to the boundaries of philosophy and natural science; by the present, the term has spread its meaning to cover fields as diverse as law, political theory, the social sciences, philosophy and even literature. In all of these fields the dictionary definition of positivism as ‘. . . a system recognizing only that which can be scientifically verified or logically proved, and therefore rejecting metaphysics and theism’ (Oxford, 1989: pp. 385-386) remains broadly true of most of its uses, though it does little to reveal the subtle distinctions of use of the word positivism in each of these disciplines. For instance, legal positivism is ‘. . . a view which, in contrast to the natural law view, claims that a legal system can be defined independently of evaluative terms or propositions is the view that in law’ (Hugh-Jones, S. Laidlaw, J, 2000: p88); in literature positivism refers to a specific period of Polish literature where writers were inspired by the nascent achievements of science and technology; and in philosophy the term logical positivism meant the scientific investigation of the philosophy of language — as in writers such as Wittgenstein. All in all then, the term positivism has an umbrella use designated by the dictionary definition, but then has several further and more individualistic uses depending upon the context in which it appears. ‘Positivism is the view that serious scientific inquiry should not search for ultimate causes deriving from some outside source but must confine itself to the study of relations existing between facts which are directly accessible to observation’ (Hugh-Jones, S. Laidlaw, J: 2000: p.3) The definition of positivism chosen for use in this essay, its particular domain being the social sciences, is that stated above by Hugh-Jones and Laidlaw. According to this version of positivism, data gathered from sense perceptions is the only possible data that may be used as a foundation for knowledge and thought. Hence, all data and phenomena taken from beyond sense perceptions or the properties of observable things is banished — thuds a priori metaphysics and theology dismissed in toto. Science alone sets the perimeters for human knowledge, and, accordingly, positivism maintains the expectation that science will ultimately attain to solve all human problems. As such, a social scientific definition of positivism regards the research of social scientists as identical in importance to that of natural scientists; that is, social scientists, like natural scientists, employ theories and explanations for phenomena, inferred from sense data for the purpose of social benefit. Wit h respect to political science as a social science Popper thus says ‘We get the particular definition of one of the social sciences — political science — which tries to separate the subject from the values we apply to it, and argues that it is possible to develop value-free knowledge’ (Popper, 1983: p. 75). This quotation shows the extent to which one particular social science’s use of the term positivism has mutated from its general umbrella use. For the purposes of this essay, positivism will be regarded as having four essential characteristics (King, 1994: p. 204). (1) It is concrned with the search for the unification of scientific method, that is, with the notion that logic and inquiry are universal principles extending across all scientific domains. (2) That the ultimate end of scientific inquiry is to gives explanations of social phenomenon and to make predictions about their behaviour as according to discernable laws of society. Thus positivism in the social sciences seeks also to develop a ‘general law of social understanding’, by discovering necessary and sufficient conditions for any phenomenon. (3) Positivism maintains that social scientific knowledge must always be subject to proof through empirical experimentation. All subjects of reaseach and investigation in the social sciences should be based upon observations derived from sense-perceptions. (4) Social sciences must seek to free themselves of valu e-judgements as far as possible, and of moral, political, and religion ideas that might contaminate their research. Thus, in short: social sciences must seek to dicover universal conditions behind social phenomena;all social scientific empirical statements must be asolute truthes which are true at all times and true in all places; finally, research can proved only by empirical experimentation. In There Is More Than One Way To Do Political Science Marsh Smith (2001), while debating whether the social sciences might legitimately have both a positivist and realist approach to science, argue that one of the principal strengths of positivism is that it is ‘foundationalist’: that is ‘. . . in ontological terms it argues that there is a ‘‘real world’’ out there, that it is independent of an agent’s knowledge of it’ and that ‘. . . it is possible, using the proper ‘‘research methods’’ for an observer to discover these real relationships between social phenomenon’ (Marsh Smith, 2001: p. 529). Thus the great strength and advantage of a positivist approach to the social sciences is that it grounds anthropology, sociology, political science and so on upon a hard and definite ‘foundation’ of empirically testable data, and makes theories out of this data from which absolute laws of social behaviour may be attained. A second distinct advantage then of positivism is that it permits an analysis of the causal relationships between phenomena. Positivism thus allows the social sciences to make certain predictions about the phenomenal world. Thus Dowding states ‘. . . all good political scientists produce models with definite predictions . . . which they can then test one way or another against data gathered from the actual world’ (Dowding, 2001: p. 92). A chief strength then of a positivistic approach, is that it brings to the social sciences the desire to emulate the excellence of the natural sciences in respect of their rigorous experimentation, precisely stated hypotheses, definite laws, and thus prediction of behaviour. By approaching its investigations thus, social scientists attain a high level of accuracy in their results and in their predictions, and thus come closer to a total description of the behaviour of social phenomenon. By approa ching the social sciences from a positivist position, social scientists are able to cut away from existing ‘knowledge’ many prejudices, suppositions, superstitions and other non-scientific opinions that have gathered about these social phenomena (Marsh Smith, 2001). In other words, positivism, by declaring valid only those things which conform to its vigorous standards of investigation, strips social phenomenon of their perceived nature and reveals them as they really are. A second key advantage of taking a positivist approach to the social sciences is that such a move solidly roots the social sciences in the accomplishments of the natural sciences over the past four hundred years. Early positivists like Comte, Spencer and Saint-Simon understood their theory and work as something growing directly out of the experimental and theoretical achievements of the great natural scientists like Newton, Spinoza, Darwin and others. Comte knew that the natural sciences and natural scientists, were essentially positivist: that is, they appealed to the perception and measurement of objective sense-data from which to make experiments, analyze results and make theory, predictions and laws. Comte and the other early positivists thus understood their work as an act of ‘making explicit’ the theory which natural scientists had adhered to for centuries. When, in the twentieth-century, social positivists like Ernst Laas, Friedrich Jodl and Eugen Duhring began to establish the theoretical and experimental parameters of the social sciences, they also understood their work as a branch of the natural sciences and as a continuation of its discoveries. Anthropologists, sociologists, social scientists of the early twentieth-century faced a choice: they could orientate their subjects within the sphere of natural science and its immense harvest of the past two decades, or they could orientate it in the sphere of theology and the liberal arts which had dominated all human history before the advent of natural science. Laas, Jodl, Duhring and later Marsh, Smith and others have all agreed that the social sciences must be built upon the platform established by the natural sciences. These sciences have been the predominant intellectual authority for Western Europe for nearly four hundred years, and social scientists think that the positivist approach to the natural sciences offers greater objectivity, certainty of prediction, and deeper insight into thei r subjects than could achieved by any other method of inquiry. Further, the allegiance of the social sciences to the natural sciences, through a shared conviction in the positivist philosophy, means that the social sciences can constantly draw upon the fund of new empirical material daily unearthed by these natural sciences. In other words: if the social sciences have an exchange of knowledge between themselves and the natural sciences, then every refinement of experimental method, theory, or analysis achieved by the natural sciences may be immediately seized upon and utilized by the social sciences also. And, vice-versa, this interchange allows the social sciences to more freely disseminate their discoveries within the world of the natural sciences. Moreover, by sharing a positivist philosophy with the natural sciences, the social sciences may draw from its authority in the presentation of their results to the wider scientific and academic community. That is, the employment of positivism by the social sciences, dispels and neutralizes the accus ations from some quarters of the scientific and outside world, for instance those of Karl Popper, that such sciences are ‘pseudo-sciences’. This claim can hold no weight if it is seen that the natural and social sciences share alike the same methodology and principles of operation. Nonetheless, it should be made clear that whilst the social sciences derive authority and knowledge from the natural sciences, that they do not depend upon it exclusively for authority. Indeed, the social sciences have made their own refinements to positivism, and thus their methods of experimentation and analysis, quite independently of those achieved in the natural sciences. The social sciences have adapted the positivism they received from the social sciences to conform to their own empirical material and the idiosyncratic and diverse domains encountered in societies and the human world. In short, the social sciences have moulded positivism to the world of empirical human affairs, thus ent ering a territory that the natural sciences had previously not trodden. Historically, perhaps the greatest weakness and hence disadvantage of positivism generally, and with respect to the social sciences in particular, has been its insistence upon methodological absoluteness. Since the time of positivism’s foundation in the philosophy of Auguste Comte, positivists have persistently sought to use its scientific methods to explain every conceivable aspect of social phenomenon; that is, they have wanted to observe an object in its totality, tracing its entire phenomenological casuistry, its material composition, and thus produce a absolute theory of knowledge about that phenomenon. According to this scientific philosophy positivism must produce absolute laws to describe the behaviour and nature of phenomenal objects. The naivety of this search for the perfection of methodology and absoluteness of social scientific laws was exposed in the second half of the twentieth century, firstly by the advent of post-modernism (Popper, 1989: p.109-128), which sho wed the epistemological difficulties — impossibilities? — of extending science to such extreme levels; secondly, positivism’s applicability in all instances was increasingly undermined by the new theories of social scientists themselves. The various discoveries of anthropology, sociology, political science and other social sciences led researchers to an ever clearer conclusion: the phenomena of social science are far too sophisticated and involve the intimate interaction of too many separate objects, people and processes to be scientifically observed in their totality. Sociologists for instance, in their investigations into the mechanisms of the smallest of social units, the family, soon realized that no absolute and all-encompassing laws could be applied to the behaviour of these units (Gerrad, 1969: pp. 201-212); the great complexity coming from the need for the axioms and paradigms which are true of one family unit must, according to pure positivism, be shown to be true of all family units in all places and at all times. Pure positivism states that the laws of social science are of the same type and significance as the laws of physics, biology and chemistry; but for these laws to attain this equality, the laws of social science must be easily expressible and as rigorously testable as those of the natural sciences. The difficulty of attaining such equality is easily demonstrated by Gerrard’s (Gerrard, 1969) experiments, where he discusses the complexity of social issues involved in a four member family unit in America, and then postulates the near impossibility of scientifically demonstrating that family units in Northern France, in Thailand, in Hawaii and in all other places can be shown to obey the same exact rules as those affecting the family in America. Thus social scientists from the 1950’s onwards, confronted with the sheer vastness of ethnic, racial and community diversity, began to question the possibility of producing social laws that would be universally and ubiquitously binding. And in 2006 when even natural scientists have no certainties even about the exact behaviour and nature of a single atom; how can social scientists hope to prove laws for something as complex as a city? Another weakness of extreme positivism has been its inability to accurately prove its hypotheses through empirical experiments (Popper, 1983: p. 12 also: Dowding, 1995: p. 138). Whereas experimentation in the natural sciences usually involves the investigation of inanimate or relatively simple objects such as metals, stars, chemicals and so, these having the same properties constantly, in contrast, social phenomenon — people, communities, organizations etc., — are animate and are compositions of vast complexly intertwining feelings, emotions, thoughts, volitions, passions, motives, associations and so on. Thus, to undertake a social experiment, a social scientist has to be sure that he can separate the single mental or behavioural element, say ‘a criminal tendency’ that he wants to investigate, and then to exclude or control the influence of the other mental and social factors that will otherwise affect the accuracy of the experiment. In many instances suc h exclusion is nearly impossible to the degree of purity demanded by extreme positivists; a human being cannot be put in a test-tube or a vacuum and so shielded from external influences in the way that magnesium or atoms can. Thus social scientists have become ever more conscious that a major limitation of the positivist approach in respect to their discipline is its insistence upon perfect conditions for experimentation and for the accuracy of hypotheses and predictions (Dowding, 1995). Further, other discoveries in the social sciences have begun to place an ever greater emphasis upon the life of the individual and upon subjective experiences as vital factors in the constituency of societies (Marsh Furlong, 2002). The hermeneutic or ‘interpretive’ approach has come to assume ever greater importance within the social sciences, setting up for itself an area of investigation of phenomenon quite different from positivism, and therefore undermining the legitimacy of positivism’s claims to describe the totality of social phenomenon. Positivism is, according to this view, the outcome of a particular culture and particular history (Western European); what legitimacy then does it have to proclaim its results as of universal validity, as it must, to meet its own standards of scientific investigation? Moreover, social scientists themselves bring to their experiments their own subjective experiences, their own thoughts, volitions, prejudices etc., and these all affect experimentation and thus the security of results — just as surely do these things in the subjects of analysis. Thus David Marsh and Martin Smith have stated, in their powerful metaphor derived from Marsh’s earlier article, that ‘In the social sciences . . . subjective ontological and epistemological positions should not be treated like a pullover that can be ‘‘put on’’ when we are addressing such philosophical issues and ‘‘taken off’’ when we are doing research’ (Marsh Smith, 2005: p.531). That is, they should not be treated as a ‘pullover’, as temporary measure, as they have been by positivists to date. In the final analysis, it seems clear that neither the extreme positivism once advocated in the wake of Auguste Comte’s first philosophical writings, nor extreme anti-positivism nor anti-foundationalist positions as have recently been taken by some hermeneutists and realists, can lead to significant future progress in the social sciences. The chief strength and advantage of a positivist approach is the vigorous process of setting hypotheses, of empirical experimentation to test these hypotheses, of deep analysis to measure the results, and then the ability to codify the results in a set of laws and predictions. Claiming for themselves, in this sense, a parallel certainty of laws and predictions as and laws demanded by the natural sciences, positivism reveals to the social sciences phenomenal objects as they really are — as they are when stripped of superstitions, fallacious theories, prejudice and so on. Positivism demands a definite residue of facts and ‘truthsâ €™ that are universally applicable to social groups and communities irregardless of time, place or environment. In striving so vigorously for such ideals, positivism gives the social sciences a high degree of authority and respectability within the wider scientific and academic community as a whole. Further, a positivist approach in the social sciences affords a ready means of comparison and exchange of knowledge between other disciplines such law, philosophy, literature and so that employ positivism also. Indeed, in seminal respects, such is the importance of positivism for the social sciences that it is difficult to see how they could justify being ‘sciences’ without it. The two principal disadvantages of a positivist application to the social sciences are these: firstly, that its search for ideal and perfect standards of scientific methodology and analysis are too unrealistic when set beside the extreme complexity of social phenomenon; the second weakness, is positivism’s lack of empathy and consideration of the subjective, individual and hermeneutic aspects of social phenomenon. Dealing with the first objection, critics of positivism argue that it cannot — working as it does in the outside world, in cities and in companies, in villages and mass organizations — attain the same standards of empirical excellence, either in experimentation or in verification of results, as can natural scientists working in the controlled conditions of a laboratory and deriving principles mostly from inanimate matter of slighter sophistication than human beings. Moreover, social scientists have a nearly insuperable difficulty in codifying laws of so cial phenomena with the precision that physics or chemistry allow for material phenomena. Thus positivism in the social sciences attains a lower level of prediction and accuracy with respect to the phenomenon it observes, than do the natural sciences. The second major weakness of a positivist application is its failure to take sufficient account of the subjectivity of individual life and to interpret the meaning of that phenomenon for the subject and the community of the subject. On these matters positivism has nearly nothing to say, and thus it is barred from a whole hemisphere of human social experience. As the first sentence of this conclusion suggested: neither an extreme positivist not an extreme subjective or hermeneutic attitude can dominate the future of the social sciences. Rather, social scientists must learn to join positivism with subjectivism, thus fusing the two halves of social phenomenal experience. If positivism can be brought into union with the subjective in the social sciences, and if positivists can learn to tolerate something less than perfection in their methodological approach, then positivism must still be said to have a large contribution to make to the future of social science. In might be said then, in our final words, that positivism is simultaneously an advantage and disadvantage for the social sciences; whether one or other of these qualities is dominant remains to be seen. BIBLIOGRAPHY — Dowding, K. (2001). ‘There Must Be An End To Confusion: Policy Networks, Intellectual Fatigue, and the Need for Political Science Methods Courses in British Universities, in Political Studies, Vol 1., pp. 89-105. — Dowding, K. (1995). Model or Metaphor? A Critical Review of the Policy of Network Approach. Political Studies, Vol. 45, Issue. 1, pp. 136-158. — Green, D. P. Shapiro, I. (1994). Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory : A Critique of Applications in Political Science, pp. 89-95. New Haven, London. — Gerrard, James. (1969). The Sociology of the Family, pp. 303-316. Ford Press, Pittsburgh. — King, G. (et al.). (1994). Designing Social Enquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, pp 201-208. Princeton University Press, Princeton.  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€ Hugh-Jones, Steven Laidlaw, James. (2000). The Essential Edmund Leach, p163. New Haven, London. — Marsh, David Smith, Martin. (2001). ‘There Is More Than One Way To Do Social Science: On Different Ways To Study Political Networks’ in Volume 49, Number 3, pp. 528-541. — Marsh, David Furlong, Paul. (2002). ‘A Skin Not a Sweater: Ontology and Epistemology in Political Science’ in Marsh, David and Stoker, Jerry (Eds.). Epistemology in Political Science, pp. 17-41. Palgrave, Basingstoke. — Popper, Karl R. (1983). Realism and the Aim of Science, pp 1-13. Routledge, London. — Popper, Karl R. (1989). Conjectures and Refutations: the Growth of Scientific Knowledge, 69-76. Routledge, London. — Quirk, Randolph (et al.) (Eds.). (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Life and Religion in To Kill a Mockingbird :: essays research papers

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee in 1960, life in the town of Maycomb is very traditional. Most people have the same racial prejudices and live by certain rules, also referred to as ‘codes’ by Atticus Finch (p. 224). Aunt Alexandra is a good example as she is not from Maycomb but lives 20 miles away. When she comes to live with Atticus and his children, Jem and Scout, the town accepts her immediately for with her â€Å"boarding-school manners† (p.142), her ladylike behaviour and her enthusiastic involvement into the Missionary Circle and the ‘Maycomb Amanuensis Club’, she represents the ideal of a Maycomb woman. Although all people in Maycomb are quite different from each other, most of them, especially the more accepted, show respect, discipline and politeness. This can be seen in the Missionary Circle where ladies sit together to talk, drink tea and eat cakes (p. 253-259) and although they might not always agree on everything, they never directly say so. For example when Mrs Merriweather starts to criticise Atticus’ doing in Tom Robinson’s case, at a Missionary Circle in front of Scout - not naming anyone - Ms Maudie interrupts her and cuts off the subject without drawing anybody else’s attention to the quarrel. There are not many people in Maycomb who are open-minded and willing to accept different people and/or things, which makes it difficult to change. So after loosing the trial, Ms Maudie admits that she did not think Atticus had any chance of winning but that he was â€Å"the only man who could keep a jury out that long† and that it was a step, if only a baby-step, towards equality (p. 238). Furthermore this intolerance leads to Jem and Scout being confronted with offences against Atticus’ decisions by town people and fellow students. For one thing Mrs Dubose, an ‘evil’ neighbour of the Finch’s, criticises Atticus in a way that Jem is not willing to ignore and ends in him cutting down all her beloved camellias (p. 112-114). This in turn leads to Jem having to read to Mrs Dubose for more than a month (p. 117-122). For another thing the children at school badmouth Atticus probably with what they overheard their parents saying and this time it is Scout who looses her head a couple of times. In a small town like Maycomb there is also a lot of gossiping and prejudices against ‘lower class’ people.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Rates Of Reaction :: essays research papers

Rates of Reaction BACKGROUND INFORMATION What affects the rate of reaction? 1) The surface area of the magnesium. 2) The temperature of the reaction. 3) Concentration of the hydrochloric acid. 4) Presence of a catalyst. In the experiment we use hydrochloric acid which reacts with the magnesium to form magnesium chloride. The hydrogen ions give hydrochloric acid its acidic properties, so that all solutions of hydrogen chloride and water have a sour taste; corrode active metals, forming metal chlorides and hydrogen; turn litmus red; neutralise alkalis; and react with salts of weak acids, forming chlorides and the weak acids. Magnesium, symbol Mg, silvery white metallic element that is relatively unreactive. In group 2 (or IIa) of the periodic table, magnesium is one of the alkaline earth metals. The atomic number of magnesium is 12. Magnesium(s) + Hydrochloric acid(aq) = Magnesium Chloride(aq) + Hydrogen(g) Mg + 2HCl  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  =   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MgCl2 +   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  H2 In the reaction when the magnesium hits the acid when dropped in, it fisses and then disappears giving of hydrogen as it fisses and it leaves behind a solution of hydrogen chloride. The activation energy of a particle is increased with heat. The particles which have to have the activation energy are those particles which are moving, in the case of magnesium and hydrochloric acid, it is the hydrochloric acid particles which have to have the activation energy because they are the ones that are moving and bombarding the magnesium particles to produce magnesium chloride. The rate at which all reactions happen are different. An example of a fast reaction is an explosion, and an example of a slow reaction is rusting. In any reaction, reactants chemical reactions ® products. We can measure reactions in two ways: 1) Continuous:- Start the experiment and watch it happen; you can use a computer â€Å"logging† system to monitor it. I.e. Watching a colour fade or increase. 2) Discontinuous:- Do the experiments and take readings/ samples from the experiment at different times, then analyse the readings/samples to see how many reactants and products are used up/ produced. Reaction rate = amount of reactant used up time taken If the amount used up is the same each time then the only thing that changes is the time taken. so, reaction rate  µ   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 time taken. rate = K time taken. Where K is the constant for the reaction. For particles to react:- a) They have to collide with each other. b) They need a certain amount of energy to break down the bonds of the particles and form new ones. This energy is called the â€Å"Activation Energy† or Ea. When we increase the temperature we give the particles more energy which: 1) Makes them move faster which In turn makes them collide with each other more

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Individualism in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken, Zalman Kings In Go

Individualism in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," Zalman King's "In God's Hands" and James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" Every society has certain values and generally accepted ways of living that are considered normal. These principles are what keep societies organized and orderly. Conforming to these principles, however, is not necessarily the road to happiness for every individual. The main character, Shane, in In God’s Hands, Sonny, in Sonny’s Blues, and the speaker in The Road Not Taken, all choose not to live by what is considered normal, or popular, and are able to find happiness by living as individuals. Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken is a poem about the choices every person must make in their life. The first line of this poem, â€Å"Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood†, though only seven words long, can be interpreted to mean several things. First, the color of the trees being yellow, meaning that it is fall, represents a time of change. Second, the â€Å"two roads diverged† signify a choice which must be made. In this first line Frost has metaphorically depicted a person who must make a decision that will greatly change his life. The second stanza describes the road that is chosen as grassy and wanting wear. The second to last line of the poem also says that the speaker took the â€Å"road less traveled by†. These two lines can be interpreted to mean that the choice that was made was not the popular choice. The speaker in the poem has made his decision based on individual preference, rather than what others would consider normal. The character of Sonny, in Sonny’s Blues, lives a life that would not be considered normal in any society. He is a heroin addict who has spent time in prison, and centers his life on pla... ...ing â€Å"get on the tour and make some money while you still can.† Shane is not driven by money and success, like his friends, and thrives only on his love of surfing. At the end of the story Mickey is killed trying to surf a wave that is to big to be surfed, and Keoni gives up on traveling and returns home to his parents. Shane, however, continues his travels, and in the end is able to find what he is looking for. He fins his ultimate wave, and surfs it with no one else around, proving to himself that he is the best surfer in the world. Though these three works differ in many ways, they all share a common theme about individuality. The idea that happiness can be found without conforming to popular opinions is expressed in each of these literary pieces. The speaker in The Road Not Taken, Sonny, and Shane all achieve personal success by living life in their own way.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Impact of Use of Color in Yellow Fish by Ambai

Ambai, or C. S. Lakshmi (1944) hailing from Tamil Nadu, India comes on the forefront of modern Indian writers who have made a huge mark in World Literature as a whole. Her works are characterized by her passionate espousal of the cause of women, humour lucid and profound style and the touch of realism. She is one of the most important Tamil writers today, who have been included in the recently published book ‘Picador’ book of Modern Indian Literature by Amit Choudhuri. Most of her stories are about relationships and they contain brilliant observations about contemporary life.Exploration of space, silence, coming to terms with one’s body or sexuality and the importance of communication are some of the requiring themes of her works. The story, Yellow Fish is one of her most passionately feminine works. The imagery used here by Ambai is excellent and encapsulating as the reader finds his/her own passion stirring as the story comes to the end. The used of colours is v ery symbolic in its irony. Through the use of colours, Ambai has tried to depict the objects characteristics, adding more material to the images, like a real life image anyone from her audience has experienced.The ash grey sea, unlike the ‘blue green open stretch of space’ does more to depict the set of mind her narrator possesses at that particular moment of time. The fact that images of the ash-grey sea and horrific colour images of the fisherwomen’s clothes were inserted, ought to give the reader a premonition, of kinds, about the dark turn, the narrative is about to take a little way ahead. With the unwanted, thrown away fish too, comes an upsurge of images with vivid colours, the colour yellow being associated with the pale rusting leaves, that fall, and are left to lie around in the most discarded state.The narrative begins with the vivid description of the scene of fishing boats returning of the sea. It is high summer and the sand is heated up. Images of s ea and water are predominant. There is a juxtaposition of images of faded blue and the ash grey sea. The bright colors of the fisherwomen’s clothes: demonic red, blinding indigo, profound green and assaulting blue, stand vibrant against the white boats and the bodies of the men, darkened by the saltwater, the black hands of the fishermen and the brown of the wood and the white bellied fish.Image of the fish being unloaded is also particularly staunch since the ‘good’ fish is splashed on the troughs, and the rest, that is the ‘bad’ ones are thrown away. The sea and the water are life-giving sources for so many life-forms, but suddenly, our attention is drawn away from the din of the fisher-folk to a little yellow fish thrown away on the sand of the shore. The line catches our attention because Ambai makes it stand out with her expertise of speech, as if almost drawing our attention towards ourselves. The first person narrative fixes the perspective an d point of view of the story.The detail of colour follows as the narrator observes the varying colour schemes in the events. The colour of the fish is yellow, is significantly pointed out to us as it is put into limelight as it is one of the ‘bad’ fish caught by mistake and was brought home. The narrator takes her time to stoop and watches fish shuddering and gasping for breath. It is this image that wrenches the memory of a similar incident of gasping for breath by Jalaja. â€Å"Like Jalaja’s mouth,† stands alone forcing us to think about the abrupt change from one sequence of events to another.We’re taken into the imagery used by Ambai to show us the occurrences on that particular day, rather than actually narrating. The first image is that of the narrator standing outside Jalaja’s room constantly watching her little daughter struggle to survive. The next image is that of the ashes being brought home, in a small urn and the narrator’ s insistence that the mouth of the urn be left open and the ashes to be immersed in the sea. Apparently unrelated are the thematically linked with the deep use of images and metaphors.In both cases we witness an astounding struggle to survive. Gender differences emerge in the difference in attitude of Anu and Arup – Arup who fails to understand why Anu wants the lid of the urn open, and the loud sobs, hint at the intense grief buried in the narrator’s heart. She is trying to help her child breathe as she couldn’t earlier. For Arup it’s just ashes, whereas for Anu, it’s her daughter inside, whom she wants to liberate. Jalaja, born of water, whom she wants to release into the water, the open sea.All the pent-up feelings of helplessness, frustration and grief, that she could do nothing to save her daughter, resurfaces when the narrator watches the yellow fish gasping for breath and thrashing hopelessly to go back to the sea. The arrogant leap of the f ish can be metaphorically interpreted as the endless possibilities if oppurtunities are provided. It also points towards the overriding theme of self- liberation present in all of Ambai’s written works. Anu has also taken a plunge towards freedom from bondage of ideologies from grief taking her towards realization.

Monday, September 16, 2019

My Riding Trip in the Mountains

My Riding Trip in the Mountains One day in April I was playing games in my room and my dad asks me if I want to go to the mountains to ride four wheelers and dirt bikes, and I said yes. So me and my dad walked up to the garage and put the trailer on the truck. The next day was Thursday and I had to load everything on to the trailer and into the truck. The first thing I had to load up was the clothes, sheets, blankets, tooth brushes, tooth paste, and a couple towels. Then I had to load up the two four wheelers and 3 dirt bikes that we brought. The first four wheeler I had to load up, I had to put in the back of the truck. So I went down to the first garage and got the four wheeler and brought it up to the trailer. Then I went in to the first garage and got the little yellow ramp sand put them in the back of the trailer. Then I got the big wooden ramps and set them up to where I could ride the four wheeler up on to the trailer. Then I rode the four wheeler up onto the trailer to the beginning of the yellow ramps. I got off to get the big ramps and set them up so that I could ride the four wheeler from the trailer to the truck. Then I rode the four wheeler up the ramps and into the truck. The next thing I loaded up was the other four wheeler. So I rode it up the ramps and into the trailer and twisted it side ways. After that I loaded up the yz 125 and twisted it side ways and did the same for the other two dirt bikes. I put the gate on the trailer, loaded up the gas cans, two cycle oil and oil and we were ready to begin our 3 hour ride to the mountains. At about 5:00 we began our journey to the mountains and it was a long boring ride. We arrived at the lodge around 8:30 because of traffic. When we got there we dot our blankets and clothes and went inside for the night. When we got in we each picked a room and put our stuff in it and went back into the living room and watched T. V. As about an hour passed we all went in our rooms and went to bed so we could go riding the next morning. The next morning some unexpected people came to the lodge. There names were brad and jess, and they had four wheelers in the back of their truck. Bra and jess unloaded their four wheelers while we unloaded ours then we went riding. We rode for hours, we went to a bunch of hill climbs, and we crossed a creek twice. We rode 20 miles away from the lodge into Orvinston where we got caught in a parade. So we started to head back towards the lodge and came to the first creek crossing. Brad went first, jess went next, and my dad went third, and I went after my dad but I laid my dirt bike over in the creek because I hit a big slippery rock. Luckily we had a tow rope in the four wheeler. I tied one en of the rope to the rack of brads four wheeler and the other end to my handle bars of my dirt bike and we tried to pop start it. The first couple of times it didn’t work but the fifth time it did so I untied the rope and ran all of the water out of the air box. I noticed that the whole crew was following behind mend then I came to the second creek crossing. I was scarred to go across at first but I did any way and every one followed behind me. I ended up leading the way back to the way back to the lodge, where we ate lunch and rested for about an hour. At about 2:00 that day we back out for another ride. We went up a couple of hill climbs and rode a lot of roads to get to a big mud pit. I rode through it a couple of times on a little four wheeler and got cocky. Bra asked me if I wanted to try his 600 grizzly and I did I planed across it twice and then brad yelled hit it with the throttle pinned, and I did just that. The next thing I knew the four wheeler flipped heals over head and landed on top of me. My helmet flew off and I instantly pushed the four wheeler of me with my feet. I was knocked out for a few seconds and I woke up under water. I managed to get my self up on to my feet and all that I saw was brad running through the water to see if I was ok. The four wheeler was lying on its side. I helped brad push it back over and start it back up. The four wheeler started right up and brad rode it out of the mud pit. I walked out of the mud pit and got on my dirt bike. My helmet was wet so I strapped it to brads four wheeler and we rode back to the lodge. Before I knew it our time to ride was over. We stayed one more night and packed everything up the next morning. Brad had one more thing to do before we left and that was to put a tree stand up for hunting season and I went with him to help him. That took about an hour and when we got back to the lodge every one was ready to leave. Brad locked all of the doors and the gate and we got in the truck and left. That was the end of my riding trip to the mountains.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Research & expressing emotions Essay

Art has been one of the most prolific ways of expressing emotions and thinking by mankind. Most of the traditional artists have been using different mediums to make an art form. They range from clay to paints. But in this age of electronic media, art has also found some new mediums. Electronic art is the art form which started to emerge in early 1990’s and as a result of this many young artist from the new generation became famous. One of them is Eric Jordan. He is not just an artist; he is a philosopher and a businessman. Eric Jordan is the founder of 2Advanced.com.he founded 2Advanced when he was just 23. 2Advanced is regarded as one of the most creative web design companies in the world with clients like Ford, NBC, General Electric and many other Fortune 500 companies. Eric has been the main driving force behind 2Advanced. Eric started   Eric indulged in arts from a very early age when he started making sketches but soon moved to electronic media. He started by experimenting with different softwares but couldn’t get his hand on something which could really satisfy him to express his thinkings. During this point in life he discovered two softwares which would play a pivotal role in the life of Eric: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Flash. He started using these softwares day and night, and his hard work result in eye-catching website of 2Advanced. Currently 2Advanced is in its fourth version of the website. His work became so famous that he got nominated and won the prestigious Webby Award. The famous 2Advanced website was created by Eric in the span of two weeks. The software he used was Adobe Flash, Adobe Photoshop and Freehand. To this date 2Advanced.com has been my favorite work designed by Eric. The blend of futuristic vision with eye-catching graphics and phenomenal graphics has taken Flash and Photoshop to new heights.   Apart from being famous for amazing work at 2Advanced Eric is also a famous DJ in California. He has an extreme passion for electronic music and has been playing electronic music since he was a teenager. He believes that he could bring his futuristic vision of the world to the electronic media and he has been successful in that by showing the work he has done in the field of web design. His work mostly depicts the world of future with a careful attention to detail. In an interview while describing the theory behind 2Advanced, Eric says: â€Å"Many people think the name â€Å"2advanced† was meant to imply mastery of everything, when in reality it constitutes a love of the future and the underlying feeling that somehow I wish I had been born in the distant future. Not because I don’t appreciate the era I was born in, simply because the idea of deep technological advances and a rise in the collective human consciousness are alluring to me. 2advanced was a way for me to tell the story. Some people pick up on the message, some don’t. But even if one person understands the 2advanced voice, it makes it all worth it.†

Saturday, September 14, 2019

I History of Taj Mahal Essay

The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent. It’s the history of Taj Mahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a soul that is filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if it was not for love, the world would have been robbed of a fine example upon which people base their relationships. An example of how deeply a man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made sure that this memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in love with Mumtaz Mahal, his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name Arjumand Banu Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married. Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the â€Å"Taj Mahal†. The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631. Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran, and it took approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The monument was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was finally completed in the year 1653. It was soon after the completion of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was at the end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908, as a measure to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion of 1857: Taj being blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also deprived the monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. Also, the British style lawns that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were remodeled around the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present threats from Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of love continuous to shine and attract people from all over the world. II Taj Mahal Story Male Protagonist: Shah Jahan (Prince Khurram) Female Protagonist: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Begum) Taj Mahal, the magnificent monument that stands at the heart of India has a story that has been melting the hearts of millions of listeners since the time Taj has been visible. A story, that although ended back in 1631, continues to live on in the form of Taj and is considered a living example of eternal love. It’s the love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, two people from the course of history who set an example for the people living in present and the future to come. An English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold best describes it as â€Å"Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.† The story that follows next will prove why the statement is true. Shah Jahan, initially named Prince Khurram, was born in the year 1592. He was the son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the grandson of Akbar the Great. In 1607 when strolling down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, Shah Jahan caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. It was love at first sight and the girl was Mumtaz Mahal, who was known as Arjumand Banu Begum at that time. At that time, he was 14 years old and she, a Muslim Persian princess, was 15. After meeting her, Shah Jahan went back to his father and declared that he wanted to marry her. The match got solemnized after five years i.e., in the year 1612. It was in the year 1628 that Shah Jahan became the Emperor and entrusted Arjumand Banu with the royal seal. He also bestowed her with the title of Mumtaz Mahal, meaning the â€Å"Jewel of the Palace†. Though Shah Jahan had other wives also, but, Mumtaz Mahal was his favorite and accompanied him everywhere, even on military campaigns. In the year 1631, when Mumtaz Mahal was giving birth to their 14th child, she died due to some complications. While Mumtaz was on her deathbed, Shah Jahan promised her that he would never remarry and will build the richest mausoleum over her grave. It is said that Shah Jahan was so heartbroken after her death that he ordered the court into mourning for two years. Sometime after her death, Shah Jahan undertook the task of erecting the world’s most beautiful monument in the memory of his beloved. It took 22 years and the labor of 22,000 workers to construct the monument. When Shah Jahan died in 1666, his body was placed in a tomb next to the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. This magnificent monument came to be known as â€Å"Taj Mahal† and now counts amongst the Seven Wonders of the World. This is the true story of the Taj Mahal of India, which has mesmerized many people with its bewitching beauty. III Taj Mahal Architecture Involvement of 22, 000 workers including masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans called on from all over the central Asia and Iran, and some 22 years later when a monument with a unique blend of Persian, Islamic, and Indian architectural styles came into its own, it was a sight to behold! The grandeur of the structure then created was such that even decades after its creation, it is still regarded as one of the most arresting and attention-grabbing manmade monuments of the world. Not just Taj, even structures alongside it add to the architectural beauty and artistic wonder of the place. The entire Taj complex consists of five major constituents, namely Darwaza (main gateway), Bageecha (gardens), Masjid (mosque), Naqqar Khana (rest house) and Rauza (main mausoleum). The Taj Mahal covers an area of 42 acres in total with the terrain gradually sloping from south to north, towards the river Yamuna in the form of descending terraces. The main gateway situated at the end of the long watercourse, decorated in calligraphy with verses from Holy Quran and a domed central chamber, was constructed from the period 1932 to 1938. The original door of this massive sandstone gateway was made out of solid silver. It was constructed to serve the function of preventing the people from getting any glimpse of the tomb until they are right in the doorway itself. With a vertical symmetry, the main gateway of Taj Mahal stands bordered with Arabic calligraphy of verses from the Quran, made up of black stone. The main tomb of Taj Mahal stands on a square platform that was raised 50 meter above the riverbank and was leveled with dirt to reduce seepage from the river. The four minarets on each corner of this square are detached, facing the chamfered angles of the main and are deliberately kept at 137 feet to emphasize the beautiful and spherical dome that itself is 58 feet in diameter and 81 feet high. The western side of the main tomb has the mosque and on the eastern side is the Naqqar Khana (rest/guest house), both made in red sandstone. The two structures not only provide an architectural symmetry, but also make for an aesthetic color contrast. One can only marvel at the mosque and the rest house as despite being on the opposite ends, the two are mirror image of each other. Out of the total area of 580 meter by 300 meter, the garden alone covers 300 meter by 300 meter. The immaculate symmetry with which this garden has been laid out can be experienced everywhere. The Islamic style architecture of this garden also has a well defined meaning that symbolizes spirituality and according to the Holy Quran, the lush green, well watered is a symbol of Paradise in Islam. The raised pathways divide each of the four quarters into 16 flowerbeds with around 400 plants in each bed. Even today, the garden boasts of being a tranquil and soothing region in the entire complex and is considered best place for taking snaps of the main tomb. A shadowy burial crypt inside the Taj Mahal houses the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan himself, who was buried there after he died. Above these tombs is the main chamber that has the false tombs and perforated marble screens have been used to transmit light into the burial chamber, typical of mausoleums of the Mughals. Semi-precious stones are exquisitely inlaid in both the tombs. Calligraphic inscriptions of the ninety nine names of Allah can also be found on the sides of actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj has some wonderful specimens of polychrome inlay art both in the interior and exterior on the dados, on cenotaphs and on the marble jhajjhari (jali-screen) around them. Shah Jahan’s tomb, which lies next to that of Mumtaz Mahal, was never planned and deranges the otherwise perfect symmetry of the Taj. IV Inside The Taj Mahal As majestically dazzling as it looks from the main gateway, with the glorious view of the mosque and the guest house on the sides and the main mausoleum in the centre with four minarets standing proud at each corner, the insides of TAj Mahal are no less stunningly beautified either. Rather, the painstakingly designed and richly carved interiors brilliantly compliment the grandeur of the entire structure with subtleness. With basic elements in Persian, the large white marble structure that stands on the square plinth consists of a symmetrical building with an arch shaped doorway known as Iwan, which is adorned with exquisite calligraphy and is topped by a large dome and a finial. The angles of the tomb consist of semi-octagonal arched alcoves of equal size. Attached pilasters rising from the base of the tomb demark each of the porticos, on both the sides. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; as the actual graves are located at a much lower level. Moving ahead, all the elements, architecture, furniture, and decorations culminate together to create an eschatological house for Mumtaz Mahal, and that of Shah Jahan. Formed with black marble inlaid in white, the floor of the Taj is paved in a geometrical pattern consisting of octagonal stars alternating with cruciform shapes. One of the longest echoes of any building in the world can be heard in this perfectly designed hall of 24 feet to a side, with two tiers of eight radiating niches. The natural and beautiful flowers like tulips, irises, daffodils, and narcissus filled in opulent vases appear here in basic tripartite arrangement rather than individual flowering plants of the pishtaq halls outside. Another remarkable feature that surrounds the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan in the central chamber is the intricately carved marble screen or jali and is a delight to look at. The semi precious stones forming twining vines, fruits, and flowers inlaid delicately form the rest of the surfaces. The burial chamber is located right beneath the central chamber and consists of the actual graves of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan covered by two cenotaphs. And since the Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves, these cenotaphs have different motifs in their decoration. The real cenotaph of Mumtaz The cenotaph of Shah Jahan that was added much later is bigger than the cenotaph of his wife and is more simplistically decorated than his cenotaph above. Although the same designs appear on the sides of the sarcophagus elements, they are smaller in size. Coming out of such elaborately designed structure as Taj is like coming out of an era that had gone by, an era that added to the world in more than one way, an era that has been kept alive by the wonder that is Taj Mahal.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Learning Theories for Teachers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Learning Theories for Teachers - Essay Example The science of psychology focuses its study area on the mind of the individual, often drawing on cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses to measure and determine the mind's structures and functions. It is generally conceded that many human behaviors are learnt, and so psychologists have sought to identify a learning theory that explains learning processes. Education professionals, in turn, draw on this knowledge base to inform and provide ideal learning conditions for students. The text presents contemporary learning theories as emphasizing cognitive, socio-emotional and physical aspects of learning across the lifespan. This paper aims to present a review of the major learning theories used for teaching in the 21st century, especially noting the advantages of a cognitive-construcitonist approach. Firstly, the two major families of learning theory as conceived by Bigge and Shermis shall be presented. The specific theories of Skinner, Vygotsky, and Brunner shall be detailed. Secondly, a conclusion shall synthesize the main points of this paper, and provide support for education professionals to incorporate cognitive-interactionist theories into their classrooms. Bigge and Shermis identify the two major learning theories of relevance to current education as being the behaviorist and the cognitivist schools of thought. The behaviorists focus on observable behavior and reduced the learning experience to a process of stimulus and response. This psychology approach to learning was adopted in the USA during the early 1900s, when science and technology were experiencing a time of accelerated growth. Hence, the concept of studying measurable, objective, human behaviors aligned with current values of a modernized society embracing standardized production methods. For the extreme behaviorist, all human behavior can be understood through the processes of conditioning, these being classical and operant in form.An example of classical conditioning is Pavlov's dog that 'learns' to salivate when it hears a bell. B. F. Skinner is famous for his development of the principles of operant conditioning, that is, that any behavior is shaped by the consequences t hat follow it. Skinner pointed out that a positive, negative or neutral consequence following a behavior influenced whether a particular behavior was repeated in the future, or if it was not. So, a person learns new behaviors, or is able to modify existing behaviors, as a function of environmental events that either reward or punish that behavior. In this way, Skinner's learning theory is a move away from the traditional behaviorist approach of stimulus and response, as he differentiated between types of responses. When a response was elicited by a known stimulus is considered to be associated with the known stimulus. Alternatively, responses that do not require a specific stimulus, which he termed operants, are independent of the stimulus. Skinner emphasized that it was the operant response that could be strengthened or weakened by use of personal, social or environmental rewards or punishments respectively.Skinner's principles advocated the idea that learning could be 'programmed, ' which fit