Discussion and Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Discussion and Conclusion - Essay Example for â€Å"prefer not to interact with the community† (?=6.29). The high mean score of the number of the respondents were as a result of negative perception towards the community as well as the rewards associated with teaching in the community schools. The low motivation in the school communities makes many people to shy away and don’t want to interact or take part in any activity which might join them together. It may also have resulted due to the conflict which exists between that group of teachers and the community in question causing the disparity. As many people would like to identify themselves with certain aspects of the society, others seems to rebel and don’t want to be associated with certain aspects of the community hence limiting their interaction. The similar situation was the same with respondents who â€Å"would prefer not to interact with the community in the future† (?=6.13) items; and, second, more modest expectations of the improvement of community relatedness, as indicated by lower mean scores for items such as â€Å"could become closer if interacted a lot† (?=4.85). ... This group of participant may be made up of the teachers who came from that community and can freely interact with the community if they became closer to them. At the same time, the scores may represent those individuals who have not identified themselves with the community and have not realized the benefits. Competence scores present an even more striking result related to the science teachers’ perception of both their own teaching performance and the one of the whole schools community. This is indicated by the mean value for â€Å"feeling pretty good at teaching science in urban schools† (?=2.09), close to â€Å"highly unlikely† response, with the noteworthy higher mean (?=5.85) for â€Å"feeling pretty good compared to other science teachers†. The above mean scores shows that many teachers feels pretty good in teaching science subjects unlike the small number which does not feel pretty good for the teaching of the subject At the same time, autonomy supp ort score show less strong preferences of the survey participants, with total score as well as the separate item statistics appearing to be generally close to neutral estimates. An interesting insight in this regard can be provided by the observed modest but highly significant correlation between perceived autonomy support and negative community-related experience. The low score on the Autonomy support for the principal is as a result of negative attitude that teachers community have on the principal/administration. This might be as a result of a number of factors related to community involvement in running of the schools affairs as well as issues related to good governance and ethics. The results from ANOVA and one-sample t-tests indicated

Herman Millar Inc. Essay Example for Free

Herman Millar Inc. Essay The office furniture manufacturing industry market in the United States is very competitive since many companies offering similar products. Companies compete primarily on price, product and service quality, differentiation, design, speed of delivery and customer service. Firms compete within each market segment and are pressured by growing competition from overseas manufacturers particularly from China and Vietnam. Six manufacturers-Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, HNI, Kimball International and Knoll-account for approximately 60% of the U. S. office furniture market. The remainder of the market is captured by a large number of small and privately owned businesses that successfully supply the local communitys retail demand. The large number of existing companies definitely shaped the landscape of the Chinese market competition. Furniture manufacturing industry concentration has increased in last couple of years because many operators have gone out of business. Following the downturn of US economy, high unemployment rates, have created an intensely competitive environment for existing players; faced with low margins and volatile input costs, many underperforming operators were forced to exit the market. However, as the economy will recover, demand for new office furniture is expected to increase, expanding the number of companies over the five years to 2016. In conclusion, the intensity of rivalry is moderately high. Although current concentration of the industry is a low, the trend of the industry is to become more competitive in future. This would decrease the potential future profit of department store industry. Threat of new entrants The barrier to entry in this industry are medium and are steady. In the US office furniture industry, the capital required to enter the industry is considerably higher. New operators entering the industry face various challenges, including existing and well established distribution networks among operators and suppliers. To remain price competitive, the new operators need to establish strong supply relationships with manufacturers and wholesalers in order to secure good quality and low-priced stock. Since the concentration is expected to rise, it places an indirect pressure on new entrants that need to invest more in advertising to develop brand and market awareness. Marketing and promotional activity must exceed that of the existing players to build customer awareness and overcome retailer resistance. Furthermore, the productivity difference between the small-sized companies and the large-sized companies is very large. The combination of all this evidence indicates that the entrant barrier into the US office furniture industry is relatively high. Bargaining power of Supplier The intense internal competition force for resources among the large number of manufacturers pushed the bargaining power of suppliers to the most significant influence on domestic furniture industry. This refers primarily to suppliers of most important goods i. e. raw material and electric power, which are used in intermediary consumption during furniture manufacture. Purchases of raw materials are the largest expense for the Office Furniture Manufacturing industry, accounting for about 43. 7% of industry revenue. This proportion is typical for manufacturing industries, since operators require significant raw materials to produce final outputs. Input materials used for office furniture include hardwood, such as oak, cherry and maple wood; plywood and veneers; steel; glass; plastic; and glue. During the five years to 2011, the prices of these inputs have been volatile, making it difficult for manufacturers to anticipate future spending and reduce costs. In general, rising commodity prices have negatively affected the industry, increasing purchase costs for manufacturers. Bargaining power of buyers According to the research of IBIS World, department store sales depend heavily on the financial health of the consumer sector, including per capita disposable income. During periods of economic recession and decreasing income of people, consumers cut their spending by delaying purchases or substituting brands’ products with lower level products. This is heavily influenced by the unemployment rate and general economic growth. In the periods of strong economic activity people’s disposable income increase, and vice versa. Threat of substitutes Furniture has been used for thousands of years and built mostly of wood. There is little evidence indicating that wood furniture will be totally replaced by some other material in the foreseeable future. In the industry of furniture manufacture probability of substitutes is almost impossible. Current global trends have a favorable influence on increase in demand for furniture, due to ever faster obsolescence and shorter furniture lifetime, i. . due to frequent changes in design and manufacture technology. Possible threat of trend changes exists, i. e. furniture made from other materials than wood, that is, various metals, plastics and glass. However, despite the reduction of wood in furniture manufacture in the past years, wood is expected to stay one of the most important raw materials for furniture manufacture, because of its advantages when compared with oth er materials. Question: What are the driving forces and the key success factors in the industry? Answer: Having contacts within key markets: It is preferable that manufacturers have established links with a number of customers, including wholesalers, contractors and retail outlets, rather than having one or two that account for the majority of their business. Guaranteed supply of key inputs: Established links with key suppliers enable a steady flow of key inputs and price locks, which may provide cost savings for bulk purchases. Flexible production processes: Furniture items are often custom-made. Producers must be able to adjust products to suit individual requirements. Adapting to changing customer preferences: Goods produced should reflect current trends favored by consumers in order to remain competitive. Highly trained workforce: Staff is required to assemble office furniture efficiently and provide quality workmanship. Question: How have the company’s values shaped its strategy and approach to strategy execution? Provide illustrations of how these values are reflected in company policies. Answer: Question: What is Miller’s strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies most closely fit the competitive approach that Miller is taking? What type of competitive advantage is Miller trying to achieve? Answer: They focus on a growth strategy, through innovative products and production processes. Reinvention and renewal. They survived the Great Depression and multiple recessions, recovered from the dot-com bust and were able to continue expanding overseas. They adapted to save the company, by introducing new designs. In 1996, Herman Miller began an aggressive drive to reinvent its operations and established a fruitful relationship with the Toyota Supplier Support Center. Unique to the office furniture industry, the relationship enabled the company to adopt and implement world-class, lean manufacturing processes based on the Toyota Production System principles. Through the Herman Miller Production System (HMPS), the company dramatically reduced manufacturing square footage and inventories, cut lead times for standard product from 8 weeks Question: What is your overall appraisal of Miller’s financial performance? Answer:

Studies of Bilateral Visual Fields on Word Recognition Essays -- Visio

Studies of Bilateral Visual Fields on Word Recognition Previous research suggests a significant difference in word recognition time between the left and right visual fields, with word recognition and response time of the right visual field significantly faster than the left visual field. The current study investigated bilateral visual fields on word recognition time by means of an online computer program consisting of 55 participants. It was hypothesized that men would respond faster than women, and the right visual field reaction times would be faster than the left. Results indicate that sex had no significant effect on reaction time. However, words presented in the right visual field were responded to significantly faster than words in the left. Supporting previous findings of a right visual (left hemispheric) advantage. The Effect of Bilateral Visual Fields on Word Recognition When examining word recognition, there are a variety of factors that come into play. These factors include the role each hemisphere plays in terms of language processing as well as the physiology of the brain. Further, when examining word recognition one must further understand the assortment of variables that come into play when dealing with word recognition. These include, but are not limited to the handedness of participants in word recognition studies, the type of words that are being studies (for example words of differing length, commonly used words versus less commonly used words), the manner by which participants are attending to the stimuli that are being presented, and the manner that words are presented. Understanding the role that each hemisphere of the brain plays in recognizing words, and the physiology of the brain is fundamental to the understanding of studies of word recognition. A primary tenet of neuropsychology is that the left hemisphere specializes in language, and language processing, while the right hemisphere plays less of a role in the processing of language (Grimshaw, 1998, Nicholls & Wood, 1998). It should also be noted that stimuli presented to the right visual field has direct access to the left hemisphere, while information presented to the left visual field must first go to the right hemisphere, cross the corpus callosum, and then be interpreted in the left hemisphere (Grimshaw, 1998, Nicholls & Wood, 1998). Because each hemisphere of t... ...bral hemispheres. Brain and Language, 80, 45-62. Leventhal, G. (1988). Cerebral dominance and attentional bias in word recognition. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 66, 791-800. Lindell, A. K., & Nicholls, M. E. (2003). Attentional deployment in visual half-field tasks: The effect of cue position on word naming latency. Brain and Cognition, 53(2), 273-277. Nicholls, M. E. R., & Wood, A. G. (1998). The contribution of attention to the right visual field advantage for word recognition. Brain and Cognition, 38, 339-357. Ohnesorge, C., & Van Lancker, D. (2001). Cerebral laterality for famous proper nouns: Visual recognition by normal subjects. Brain & Language, 77, 135-165. Proverbio, A. M., Zani, A., & Avella, C. (1997). Notes and discussion: Hemispheric asymmetries for spatial frequency discrimination in a selective attention task. Brain and Cognition, 34, 311-320. Voyer, D. (2003). Word Frequency and laterality effects in lexical decision: Right hemisphere mechanisms. Brain & Language, 87, 421-431. Weems, S., Reggia, J. (2004). Hemispheric specialization and independence for word recognition: A comparison of three computational models. Brain & Language, 89, 554-568.

Corporate Crime Essay -- Legal Issues, Fraud

conventional criminals. For example an individual that steals bread from a supermarket to feed his/her child if convicted would go to prison or have to pay a fine that they cannot afford. However on the other hand an individual that commits corporate fraud and cons people out of millions of pounds when convicted may have to pay a monetary fine. This is typically not a problem for them as they are not committing crimes due to being in the cycle of deprivation. Usually they commit offenses because of greed. One would question whether the policies and laws are fair when dealing with conventional crime versus corporate crimes? Again this brings us back to the question as why such crimes lightly prosecuted. The sophistication of these crimes makes them difficult and expensive to investigate and prosecute because they are time consuming, labour intensive and financially expensive. For example, if a police officer occupies his/her time on fraud their overall performance would be considered as being poor, in terms of costs and benefits. Thus usually resulting in these sorts of crimes being ignored and no one being prosecuted for the offence. Due to the general invisibility of fraud there is less politicians or media pressure for police officers to deal with these crimes. For this reason fraud is regarded as low priority in most police forces. Also White collar crimes and corporate crimes usually are lightly prosecuted because the politicians do not want to bring it to light therefore there is less media attention and thus seen as being less serious and as the price paid for capitalism. Pearce and Tombs (1993) in their explanation of the disastrous release of toxic gases from the carbide factory in Bhopal, India in 1984 claimed the p... ...w and also in comparison to conventional crime. As both crime surveys and victim’s surveys do not give a clear and full picture of the true extent of crime. Police officers have to develop and become trained computer experts to be one step ahead of corporate criminals in this era of technology and computers where illicit activities occur on a more grand scale (global) and not just in the local neighbourhood. It can be concluded that this debate of why white collar crimes and corporate crimes are lightly prosecuted in comparison to conventional crimes will not end here, however one feels that due to advancement in technologies white collar crimes and corporate crimes will be on the increase thus government need to make policies and create harsher punishment in order to prevent and deter any companies committing these offenses in the near future.

Performance Management Plan Essay

Good afternoon Traci, after assessing the current status and future needs of Marylee Luther’s construction company and taking some notes from your conversation with her the other day we have compiled a performance management framework that we believe will integrate the company’s goals to its strategy while making the growth move from Michigan to Arizona and staying consistent with the organizations current revenue and employee growth projections over the next year. We will briefly outline this performance management plan as it pertains to the categories of alignment of the performance management framework to the organizational business strategy, organizational performance philosophy, the job analysis process you will complete to identify the skills needed by employees, methods used for measuring the employee’s skills, process for addressing skill gaps, and an approach for delivering effective performance feedback. The framework that has been chosen for the organi zation will ease the growing pains of adding 20% more personnel (130 people) over the next year. Performance Framework Organizations with the revenues and personnel comparable to Mrs. Luther’s construction business have made the move to all inclusive software systems in order to handle the monitoring and scheduled maintenance of both operational and employee performance metrics which allow managers to make real time changes that save time and money for the organization. We recommend WebFOCUS performance management framework or (PMF). According to â€Å"Information Builders† (1996-2013), â€Å"PMF is a comprehensive, fully integrated, out-of-the-box solution that fully supports any existing performance management methodology, such as balanced scorecard (BSC). It comes complete with all the functionality and tools companies need to efficiently and effectively set and communicate strategy across the organization, define related metrics, and involve all stakeholders in monitoring and measurement – all from a single, intuitive, easy-to-access, browser-based environment.† Read more:  Growth Performance Management The PMF software has such features as †¢Performance management data models †¢Pre-built dashboards, scorecards, and reports †¢More than 500 pre-packaged metrics for common industries and business functions †¢Strategy mapping to visualize and communicate strategy †¢The ability to manage performance and risk together †¢Mobile alerts †¢In-depth analytics †¢Link scorecards to operational reports The WebFOCUS framework software will be a good fit for the organization due to the fact that the software will give the organization the ability to maintain consistency and allow for growth in every area of the business. Performance Philosophy In order to facilitate the solidification of the performance framework with the organizations new performance strategy, we have chosen a proven philosophy that encourages the simultaneous improvement of both technical and social aspects of the company through aligning the organizations strategy with its goals and clearly incorporating each employee into a definable part of the business. Core principles are developed as guidelines for members of the organization to operate under to stay in line with the business goals. Here are the principles that should be focused on moving forward. †¢The strategy and goals of the organization are clear to all members of the organization and are an integral part of everyday operations †¢The employees are treated as the organizations key assets and are provided with the training, skill development, and resources to succeed while fulfilling the organizations strategy †¢Work is designed around teams to accomplish the goals of the business as a whole †¢Job processes and structures are streamlined to support a focused part of the organizations strategy †¢The management team is present to provide operational boundaries, resources for tasks and guidance when needed †¢The organization will always exceed the expectations of its customers Identifying Employee Needs Given the fact that construction workers are out on job sites most of the day and cannot voice their needs or concerns when they arise, we recommend a system of top-down check ins daily where managers will have mobile conferences with site supervisors after having team meetings that morning on the different job sites. This will help move any employee needs or issues up the management chain faster. To add to that process management will have quarterly one-on-one meetings with all employees to address any needs and guide in filling any performance or skill gaps that will later be scheduled for improvement. Measuring Employee Skills Using the WebFOCUS software, we recommend having employees taking an online test that can be done at work or home that will identify each employee’s skills and strengths and will put those into a database that measures standards to each job and where that employee excels or falls short in that job and the construction industry. The new software will also keep the company goals and focus for both Michigan and new Arizona facilities simultaneously. Addressing Skill Gaps Construction employees are notoriously hands on people so after a proper skills assessment test to identify strengths and weaknesses in that employees current position we recommend a one-on-one meeting between that employee and their manager where a training map can be discussed and implemented over a three month period which will consist of both online and on-the-job training to bring the employee up to industry standards for their respective position. The training will be monitored by site supervisors and progress will be logged and relayed to upper management. Effective Performance Feedback Performance feedback is essential to both the employee as well as the company so we recommend a system of open communication and full disclosure as they pertain to current and the projected 20% new employees over the next year for the company. The process will consist of the manager clearly conveying their expectations of said employee at the point of hire, informing that quarterly one-on-one meetings with the manager will be held to make sure that employees performance goals are being met, and address any issues or concerns that arise. The process for the yearly performance feedback reviews will consist of a clear ranking system based off of the managers previously stated expectations of that employee, social and technical compliances for that employee, and will give an overall score that will dictate any compensation raise or bonus. The day of the performance feedback the employee will receive a printed out copy of the feedback an hour before their actual meeting with management. This will allow the employee to work out any emotions or feeling within themselves first so that the meeting with their manager can be conducted with fresh eyes and ears. The manager will not address any issue with compensation or wander off topic during the feedback and new goals and expectations will be discussed and implemented from that point. Conclusion The information that has been given in regards to Marylee Luther’s construction company warranted a completely all inclusive software system to be able to make assessments and organize information regarding the business and employees. We feel that the WebFOCUS software chosen for her company will streamline processes and expedite growth as they expand to the Arizona market and provide flexibility for the managers to use in new ways moving forward in both states respectively. We believe that the process changes recommended towards employee relations will empower the employees to expand their own knowledge and foster a sense of accountability and ownership that will ultimately take the company and employee to the next level. References Information builders (1996-2013). Retrieved from http://www.informationbuilders.com/products/webfocus/webfocuspmf The center for organizational design (2012). Retrieved from http://www.centerod.com/high-performance-philosophy/

Free Essays on Gambling

Gambling One of the many definitions of the word monster is: a threatening force. Having some personal knowledge of the subject, today I will talk to you about gambling. It used to be that if you wanted to gamble, there were very few places it could be done. It was either you bet on horses at the neighborhood OTB, hopped on the bus to Atlantic City, New Jersey, or flew out to Las Vegas. In 2004, it is the complete opposite. It seems that most Native American reservations have casinos on them, as the casinos are the major revenue resource for the reservation. The Mississippi River Delta seems to be overflowing with gambling boats. On these floating casinos, one can play slots, blackjack, or any variety of games. There is also the Internet for people who want to gamble from the confines of their own home. Along with the many opportunities for gambling come many opportunities for addiction. One of the many definitions of addict is as: To cause to become compulsively and physiologically dependent on a habit-forming substance. Compulsive gamblers must place bets as frequently as possible. They are convinced that the big payoff is just around the corner. Before they know it, they have lost thousands and thousands of dollars. Like alcohol or drug addiction, compulsive gambling is considered an illness. According to Dr. Robert L. Custer of the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, the progression of gambling addiction has three phrases, which are the winning phase, the losing phase, and the desperation phase. The winning phase is exactly that. The gambler has accumulated some winnings and starts feeling good, so they increase their bets, because they think â€Å"Hey I can’t lose.† This leads them right into the losing phase. The losing phase is when they start reflecting on their past wins, and how they can get more money to continue their gambling. They often gamble alone and lie to their families to disgu... Free Essays on Gambling Free Essays on Gambling The Uncontrollable Disease of Gambling In the US today, as gambling is becoming more popular so are gambling addicts. As the states institute legalized gambling, their income increases dramatically. Compulsive gambling needs to be recognized and medically treated before it is too late for the gambler. The only way to treat the disease of compulsive gambling is absence from gambling. Therefore, compulsive gambling must be considered and uncontrollable disease. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, compulsive means an irresistible (uncontrollable) impulse (Mish 166). A disease is defined as being an abnormal bodily condition that impairs functioning and can usually be recognized by signs and symptoms. Uncontrollable means incapable of being controlled (Mish 222). Pathologic gambling has been defined by the American Psychiatric Association â€Å"as a chronic progressive failure to resist impulses to gamble, and gambling behavior that comprises, or damages personal, family, or vo cational pursuits† (Glazer 2). How can it be determined if an individual is a compulsive gambler or not? According to the American Psychiatric Association you are a pathological (compulsive) gambler if you exhibits theses traits: (1) you have â€Å"preoccupation with gambling; (2) a need to increase the excitement produced by gambling; (3) restlessness or irritability when unable to gamble; (4) repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling; (5) gambling in an effort to get back money lost during gambling on a previous day; (6) gambling in an effort to escape† an unpleasant â€Å"mood; (7) lying to cover up gambling; (8) jeopardizing a significant job, relationship, or educational opportunity by gambling (9) engaging in illegal activity to finance gambling; and (10) going to someone else to relieve a desperate financial situation produced by gambling. An individual who fulfills five out of the ten criteria is diagnosed as a pathological gambl... Free Essays on Gambling The casino operators know the laws of probability very well. They know, for example, the odds against getting any one of four possible Royal Flushes in a hand of poker are 649,739 to 1; they are aware that the odds of drawing any one of 624 possible hands of - four of a kind, that is four 2’s, four 10’s, etc., are 4,164 to 1; that in a roll of two die, the odds against a single roll of 2, are 36 to 1. They know if you throw a six faced die once, the chance of getting a 1 or 6 is 1/3, getting an even number is  ½, getting a number less than three is 1/3 and getting a number less than 5 is 2/3. In terms of gambling is the more money you have to wager, and if you pace yourself in betting, the longer you can stay in the game and thus the greater your odds for winning. The less money you have, and the larger your bets, the shorter the length of time you can play and thus the greater your odds for losing. All professional gamblers know this, but I’m not certain they all know why they know it. The lesson to be learned being that if you must gamble, and have a small amount of money, wager small amounts so you can stay in the game longer and thereby improve your odds of winning. Mathematical probability can therefore be said to be proportionate possibility. The mathematician’s definition of what is probable is concerned with what may happen, and is relevant to calculations of practical value only in so far as circumstances warrant the belief that events occur with corresponding frequency in real life. For example, in the game of roulette, the odds of a bet on black winning as opposed to red is 50 - 50. This leads to a paradox in the theory of probability resulting from the fact that the outcome of a croupier’s throw is not causally related to the outcome of previous throws. The longest series of black coming up was 28 straight times in a row. Never-the-less the chances of black turning up on the 29th roll was still 50 - 50. A... Free Essays on Gambling The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution in the Bill of Rights respectfully states â€Å"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people†. (Gerald Murphy, Cleveland Free-Net). This Amendment states the individual’s choice about how to spend ones money. There are a few reasons that the Government should not involve themselves in this situation. First and foremost the constitution does not authorize the federal government to obligate itself in the gambling and the gaming industry. Second citizens who live in a free society and under democracy and the constitution should be able to spend their money in any democratic way they want. (Will Congress Nationalize Gambling). Gambling involves only willing participants. Unlike taxes, the citizens living in this democracy are given the equal opportunity to purse any means of happiness they wish. People who gamble may win hefty amounts of cash and be content, or on the other hand they can take the chance to lose ample amounts of money and be miserable. But that is the responsibility of the people and the Government should trust and respect that. Spending money in a casino is no different from spending money in a tavern or a sports arena or even at a political fundraiser. The governmen t should not engage themselves in this type of situation. The gambling industry has supported many different types of organizations and involves themselves financially in numerous associations. To support the Goverment the Republican and Democratic Party’s receive hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the gaming industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics the total number of money contributed from the gambling industry to politics in the last presidential election was 6.7 million dollars (Metrobeat). Much of the gambling industry’s rapid expansion i... Free Essays on Gambling In a world fraught by deadly ecological problems, the idea of discussing the future of gambling may seem frivolous. Yet it is far from that. As a fundamental human activity, it deserves to be studied without cultural or religious bias for the key that it may provide to survival. We have been fed a lot of myths about our wish for homeostasis, which is really a state of bovine contentment. To attempt to achieve this state we consume mountains of pills and rivers of alcohol. Somehow we seem to feel that if we can deny our essential humanity long enough, we can solve our problems. When we attempt to grow, we are considered mentally ill, masochistic, or naive. Outworn Freudian or Skinnerian approaches to human behaviour are pushed at us, and we seriously consider the nightmare possibilities of Beyond Human Freedom and Dignity. If we are to design for a healthy future, we must remove our blinders and examine the total human personality from the point of view of health, not sickness. Consider gambling. It is a fundamental human activity that is, people have always gambled, are gambling now, and will continue to gamble, in the future. Yet we are told that it is masochistic, sexually sublimative, and aberrant. Gambling has been ubiquitous in human history, and the gambling impulse has served us well. It is part of "the adventurer within us" that part of ourselves which lusts for change, the wooing of the unknown, chance, danger, all that is new. It sends us to the gaming tables and the moon, the laboratory and the numbers man. It is part of what makes us human. Studies show that, contrary to popular belief, gambling is by and large beneficial to the gambler and increases rather than decreases his efficiency. It is beneficial in that it stimulates, offers hope, allows decision making, and, in many cases, provides the gambler with "peak experience," that godlike feeling when all of one's physical and emotional senses are "go." ... Free Essays on Gambling Gambling One of the many definitions of the word monster is: a threatening force. Having some personal knowledge of the subject, today I will talk to you about gambling. It used to be that if you wanted to gamble, there were very few places it could be done. It was either you bet on horses at the neighborhood OTB, hopped on the bus to Atlantic City, New Jersey, or flew out to Las Vegas. In 2004, it is the complete opposite. It seems that most Native American reservations have casinos on them, as the casinos are the major revenue resource for the reservation. The Mississippi River Delta seems to be overflowing with gambling boats. On these floating casinos, one can play slots, blackjack, or any variety of games. There is also the Internet for people who want to gamble from the confines of their own home. Along with the many opportunities for gambling come many opportunities for addiction. One of the many definitions of addict is as: To cause to become compulsively and physiologically dependent on a habit-forming substance. Compulsive gamblers must place bets as frequently as possible. They are convinced that the big payoff is just around the corner. Before they know it, they have lost thousands and thousands of dollars. Like alcohol or drug addiction, compulsive gambling is considered an illness. According to Dr. Robert L. Custer of the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, the progression of gambling addiction has three phrases, which are the winning phase, the losing phase, and the desperation phase. The winning phase is exactly that. The gambler has accumulated some winnings and starts feeling good, so they increase their bets, because they think â€Å"Hey I can’t lose.† This leads them right into the losing phase. The losing phase is when they start reflecting on their past wins, and how they can get more money to continue their gambling. They often gamble alone and lie to their families to disgu... Free Essays on Gambling Over the past twenty or so years, great wealth and improved economic and social conditions have been promised to the communities that have embraced legalized gambling. However, with twenty years of experience it is time to look back and analyze whether this is true or not. It could easily be said that gambling is as American as apple pie. Gambling has shaped American history since its beginning. Lotteries were used by The First Continental Congress to help finance the Revolutionary war. Many of our founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, have sponsored private lotteries. It has been said that "Our founding fathers were just numbers guys in wigs" At one time baseball would have seemed to be the American pastime. This is not so now. In recent years, the attendance at casinos has nearly doubled the attendance at all major league baseball games, with close to 130 million people visiting casinos every year.1 With so much money at stake, the average gambler does not stand a chance against this big business. The casinos go to every length to analyze what makes a gambler bet, stay longer, and loose as much money as possible. Gamblers who come to casinos with the intention of winning money are habitually disappointed. As casino crime lord, Meyer Lansky’s universal gambling truth states; "Gamblers never win, the house never loses"2 Slot Machines and most table games allow players to make bets where the probability of winning is relatively high. Frequent wins are characterized by low payouts. These frequent wins encourage further gambles with low payouts. Frequent winning, low paying games are not the only way casinos get people to keep playing. Nothing less that psychological warfare is going on at casinos across the country. "The days of shaved dice, missing face cards and rigged roulette wheels are long gone. But the pursuit of profitability in the corporate era of gambling has turned the ...

Avignon Papacy - When the Popes Resided in France

Avignon Papacy - When the Popes Resided in France The term Avignon Papacy refers to the Catholic papacy during the period 1309-1377, when the popes lived in and operated out of Avignon, France, instead of their traditional home in Rome. The Avignon Papacy was also known as: The Babylon Captivity (a reference to the forced detention of Jews in Babylonia c. 598 B.C.E.) Origins of the Avignon Papacy: Philip IV of France was instrumental in securing the election of Clement V, a Frenchman, to the papacy in 1305. This was an unpopular outcome in Rome, where factionalism made Clements life as pope stressful. To escape the oppressive atmosphere, in 1309 Clement chose to move the papal capital to Avignon, which was the property of papal vassals at that time. The French Nature of the Avignon Papacy: The majority of the men that Clement V appointed as cardinals were French; and since the cardinals elected the pope, this meant that future popes were likely to be French, as well. All seven of the Avignonese popes and 111 of the 134 cardinals created during the Avignon papacy were French. Although the Avignonese popes were able to maintain a measure of independence, the French kings did exert some influence from time to time, and the appearance of French influence on the papacy, whether real or not, was undeniable. The Avignonese Popes: 1305-1314: Clement V1316-1334: John XXII1334-1342: Benedict XII1342-1352: Clement VI1352-1362: Innocent VI1362-1370: Urban V1370-1378: Gregory XI Achievements of the Avignon Papacy: The popes were not idle during their time in France. Some of them made sincere efforts to improve the situation of the Catholic Church and to achieve peace in Christendom. Among their achievements: The administrative offices and other agencies of the papacy were extensively, and effectively, reorganized and centralized.Missionary enterprises were expanded; ultimately, they would reach as far as China.University education was promoted.The College of Cardinals began to strengthen their role in the government of church affairs.Attempts were made to settle secular conflicts. The Avignon Papacys Poor Reputation: The Avignon popes were not as much under the control of the French kings as it has been charged (or as the kings would have liked). However, some popes did bow to royal pressure, as Clement V did to a degree in the matter of the Templars. Although Avignon belonged to the papacy (it was purchased from papal vassals in 1348), there was nevertheless the perception that it belonged to France, and that the popes were, therefore, beholden to the French Crown for their livelihoods. In addition, the Papal States in Italy now had to answer to French authorities. Italian interests in the papacy had in past centuries resulted in just as much corruption as in Avignon, if not more so, but this did not stop Italians from attacking the Avignon popes with fervor. One particularly vociferous critic was Petrarch, who had spent most of his childhood in Avignon and, after taking minor orders, was to spend more time there in clerical service. In a famous letter to a friend, he described Avignon as the Babylon of the West, a sentiment that took hold in the imagination of future scholars. The End of the Avignon Papacy: Both Catherine of Siena and St. Bridget of Sweden are credited with persuading Pope Gregory XI to return the See to Rome. This he did on Jan. 17, 1377. But Gregorys stay in Rome was plagued with hostilities, and he seriously considered returning to Avignon. Before he could make any move, however, he died in March 1378. The Avignon Papacy had officially ended. Repercussions of the Avignon Papacy: When Gregory XI moved the See back to Rome, he did so over the objections of the Cardinals in France. The man elected to succeed him, Urban VI, was so hostile to the cardinals that 13 of them met to choose another pope, who, far from replacing Urban, could only stand in opposition to him. Thus began the Western Schism (a.k.a. the Great Schism), in which two popes and two papal curiae existed simultaneously for another four decades. The bad reputation of the Avignon administration, whether deserved or not, would damage the prestige of the papacy. Many Christians were already facing crises of faith thanks to the problems encountered during and after the Black Death. The gulf between the Catholic Church and lay Christians seeking spiritual guidance would only widen.

Amount vs. Number

Amount vs. Number â€Å"Amount† vs. â€Å"Number† â€Å"Amount† vs. â€Å"Number† By Mark Nichol The frequent confusion between amount and number is based on a misunderstanding of a small, simple distinction that the words themselves indicate. Amount refers to quantities that are measured in bulk or mass considered as a whole while number pertains to things that can be counted individually: â€Å"The amount of square footage in the attached shed is enough for a push lawn mower or a small barbecue,† but â€Å"The total number of square feet includes the attached shed’s square footage.† In reference to amount, use the terms little or less or the phrase â€Å"much more†: â€Å"The amount left is too little to be of any use.† â€Å"The amount is less than I thought.† â€Å"The amount is much more than we expected.† In reference to number, use the words few or fewer or the phrase â€Å"many more†: â€Å"The number of people who have signed up is too few.† â€Å"The number of people here, compared to the number here yesterday, is fewer.† â€Å"The number of people here is many more than we expected.† (Note that more applies to both amount and number.) Either word can be applied to a particular thing as long as the description of the thing is consistent with the distinction between amount and number: One can refer to the amount of fun one has had, but one can also count the number of fun things one has done. Two categories of things that are flexible in terms of these usages are money and time: One can refer to an amount of money or to a number of dollar bills, or to an amount of time or a number of hours: â€Å"The amount of money in the cookie jar has decreased† and â€Å"The number of dollar bills in the cookie jar has decreased† are both correct, as are â€Å"I need to decrease the amount of hours I’m scheduled to work† and â€Å"I need to decrease the number of hours I’m scheduled to work.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial ExpressionsDoes "Mr" Take a Period?Inspiring vs. Inspirational

Critical Incidents Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critical Incidents Response - Assignment Example He is responsible for how, when, where and what functions are to be carried out. The civilian tactical operations are more controlled as the snipers, assault and breaching processes are involved. These operations help in determining the position of the subject and keep an eye on his activities via snipers. However, the risks associated are also high as these operations have zero tolerance for mistakes. A single and minor mistake may lead to great losses like a loss of the life of hostage/victim if the subject escapes the shot or attack. Military combats are uncontrolled and uncertain in the circumstances. Both groups have a definite aim to achieve and both have the power to carry out their missions. It becomes quite difficult to realize the hidden potentials of the opponent and hence, the circumstances may vary as the combat progresses. However, in military combats the opponents have definite aims to achieve and there is no interference of greed, new aims and new values after the combat starts. The aim is fixed and the efforts are made to dominate the opponents. Transportation disasters are not always emergencies as people may have knowledge of the disaster beforehand and they are sometimes preventable. For instance, a person living near a railway line knows the potential risks associated with living there and may take necessary steps to prevent himself and his family from those risks by shifting to a safer place or plan to eliminate the risks of being struck by the train; especially for children. 2. Why is it necessary for all facets of the community (individuals, businesses, non-governmental organizations, governmental organizations, etc.) to be involved in disaster management planning and response? There is no set disaster management plan as the emergencies are unexpected and uncertain. The disaster management plan requires government agencies, individuals, non-governmental

Synthesis of current research literature on young children's Essay

Synthesis of current research literature on young children's mathematical thinking - Essay Example Number sense is a principal Mathematical component learned in the pre-school and junior levels of education. It is a concise understanding of the meaning of numbers and manner in which these numbers relate. Therefore, the number sense is a very basic yet imperative aspect of junior Mathematics learning that is essential for understanding of the subject. The fundamental concepts of the number senses include mental number line, conceptual structure, constitutive awareness, recognition of the numbers, skills, counting, arithmetic and the feel of numbers. These key components of the numbers sense lead to a comprehensive understanding of the Mathematics subjects. The capability of children to comprehend the number sense is an essential predictor of the future competence in the subjects. Learning and understanding of the number sense concept takes a diverse approach. These methods apply to children as young as 3-4 years old in school and throughout the junior levels. However, the number sense is an intrinsic ability built upon the infant minds even before attending formal education. Due to interaction of the children with adults and other peers, this intrinsic ability remains enhanced. It is made better by the formal number sense learning in the junior school and the pre-school levels. In the formal education system, the following methods are applicable to the learning of the number sense.

Is it morally permissible for data companies to collect and sell Essay

Is it morally permissible for data companies to collect and sell information from peoples public social media profiles - Essay Example Is it morally permissible for data companies to collect and sell information from people’s public social media profiles? The roles, uses and other practices originating as the effects of social technology really determine the consequences of the system as far privacy of information is concerned. There is always significant importance placed upon the acquisition and utilization of the customer information. During the 1980’s customer revolution was the in thing in many organizations. The main aim for this was to capture and store the data of customers using an advanced system. Establishing an intimate relationship between the customer and the corporations was the main target of the entire system on capturing the customer information. From the utilitarianism philosophical point of view which states that one should act in a manner so as to maximize on the amount of happiness in the world. Since most of the people all over the world are not happy with the organizations divulging their information to the public, it is therefore wise for the company’s to respect the people’s wish. By doing this the greatest rule of greatest happiness for greatest number of people will be upheld. In as much as the selling of data information obtained from people’s social media could be profitable to the companies but at the expense of the people’s interest. This should instead be ridiculed and objected in the best way possible so as to ensure that both parties very happy without necessarily stepping on each other’s toes.

Music and Mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music and Mind - Essay Example The infographic laid out on two axes. The horizontal axis is representing the time of the chronological events that had occurred in one day and the vertical axis is portraying the content of the event in four categories. There are vertical bars placed in each time slot, which contains each contents icon in segments. Every segment is color coordinated according to the content of the event. All the icons placed in the vertical bar show a visual representation of the activity, location and nature of the event. The experience has indeed brought to light the extent to which I am exposed to music in different aspects of life. For instance, as I listened to gospel uplifting songs in the morning as I took a shower, checked my emails and took breakfast, the uplifting music inspired me to take the day on a positive note. However, I had a different experience at 11.30 am as I listened to a catchy song albeit I could not understand the lyrics. Although I was walking the dog at this time, I found interesting music can actually be a distraction as I tried to multitask between listening to music, walking the dog, and watching out for passing vehicles and people. A sad song at midday suddenly brought sad moods to me as the same song was played at my best friend’s funeral a few years back. It is important to note how brain can store good and bad memories and retain a strong association with music (Meyer, 2008). Between 12.30 and 1.00 pm, I did not experience any form of music. However, I noted that lack of music actually helped me concentrate on a magazine I was reading during this time. At 1.30 pm, I overheard music from a class as I passed by a learning institution. Although the music was not interesting, it reminded me of good old days when we would recite the alphabet using songs in kindergarten. At this point, I came to reckon that music can be used to enhance the brain to understand

Transmission Electron Microscopy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Transmission Electron Microscopy - Coursework Example With the support of ray, diagrams explain how the images were obtained. Your explanation must include comments about the location and use of the objective and selected area apertures. A TEM consists of condenser lenses to focus the electron beam on the specimen, an objective lens to form diffraction in the BFP (Back focal plane) and the image in the image plane, and other lenses to magnify the image or the diffraction pattern on the screen. In order to obtain images in TEM, we either focus on the central spot (direct beam), or on the scattered electrons (diffracted beam). This is done by inserting an aperture (selected area aperture) into the BFP of the objective lens followed by selecting the appropriate beam. Bright field image (Figure 1) The given micrograph depicts a dark MgO crystal on a light and bright background. The topography on the face of the crystal is very clear. Such an image is called a bright field image and has a very high contrast. ...The parts of the crystal in Br agg orientation appear dark, and the amorphous parts of the crystal are bright. The objective diaphragm is adjusted in such a way that an aperture appears in the back focal plane of the objective lens, allowing only the direct beam to enter and blocking the diffracted beam. The objective aperture, when inserted, controls the collection angle. The placement of the SAD (selected area aperture) is critical as it should be adjusted to obtain only the direct beam in this case. Darkfield image (Figure 2) The micrograph in figure two depicts a bright MgO crystal on a dark background. Such an image is obtained by selecting only the scattered electrons using a selected area aperture, enabling them to reach the image plane. The electrons that are not in the direct beam are selected to form a dark field image. The objective aperture is moved sideways to select the un-scattered electrons. This method is of high utility in case of observing certain specific crystallographic orientations of the s pecimen. The dark field image can also be obtained through another method, called centered dark field operation. In this case, the objective aperture is not shifted and the primary/direct beam is used instead. "The beam is tilted in order to allow only the scattered/diffracted electrons to go through the objective aperture (William and Carter 2009). Selected area diffraction pattern SAED (Figure 7) The given micrograph clearly depicts the symmetry of the lattice of MgO crystal through a selected area diffraction pattern. Selected area diffraction patterns are obtained by inserting the SAD aperture into the image plane of the objective lens and aperture on the optic axis in the middle of the viewing screen (William and Carter 2009).

Music and Mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music and Mind - Essay Example The infographic laid out on two axes. The horizontal axis is representing the time of the chronological events that had occurred in one day and the vertical axis is portraying the content of the event in four categories. There are vertical bars placed in each time slot, which contains each contents icon in segments. Every segment is color coordinated according to the content of the event. All the icons placed in the vertical bar show a visual representation of the activity, location and nature of the event. The experience has indeed brought to light the extent to which I am exposed to music in different aspects of life. For instance, as I listened to gospel uplifting songs in the morning as I took a shower, checked my emails and took breakfast, the uplifting music inspired me to take the day on a positive note. However, I had a different experience at 11.30 am as I listened to a catchy song albeit I could not understand the lyrics. Although I was walking the dog at this time, I found interesting music can actually be a distraction as I tried to multitask between listening to music, walking the dog, and watching out for passing vehicles and people. A sad song at midday suddenly brought sad moods to me as the same song was played at my best friend’s funeral a few years back. It is important to note how brain can store good and bad memories and retain a strong association with music (Meyer, 2008). Between 12.30 and 1.00 pm, I did not experience any form of music. However, I noted that lack of music actually helped me concentrate on a magazine I was reading during this time. At 1.30 pm, I overheard music from a class as I passed by a learning institution. Although the music was not interesting, it reminded me of good old days when we would recite the alphabet using songs in kindergarten. At this point, I came to reckon that music can be used to enhance the brain to understand

Critically evaluate the potential of the city of Palma as a center for Essay

Critically evaluate the potential of the city of Palma as a center for city break tourism - Essay Example In Europe, this progress is set apart by the surfacing of low-fare carriers, for example, a wide variety of the city-break day trips. Globally, an ever-increasing numeral of people takes trips to distant or peripheral destinations, often for a considerably short period of time. Touring Palma is pleasant any time of the year. Spring (April to mid-June) is generally the best. September is also good but can get rain. In a winter, city breaks in Palma and country stays, especially in the plains towards (watch for the almond blossoms), make for a great escape. For Tourism to survive, focus should shift on its aspect, that is, the role of the local population, and show how it is likely to influence demand, especially a volatile demand; the way they endure, or accept or support enthusiasm. Introduction In developed countries, an increasing number of individuals pursue lifestyles that are no longer need-driven (for instance, satisfying basic needs such as food), but that are motivated by the need for esteem and status or experiences for a classification by ‘values and lifestyles’. Discussed herein are submarkets of tourism. City Break Tourism There exist different kinds of sub-markets within tourism; one of this sub markets is city-break tourism. By definition, city-break Tourism, a City Break can be regarded as a short vacation to a city. The arrangements may be a package of accommodation and transport. Alternatively, city-break tourism can be described as an journey to a city with one night accommodation, usually with a sightseeing program, which may be optional or included in the price (Mac Iver & Mac Iver, 2008). Unfortunately, this definition does not take account of the growing popularity of low-cost ‘basic’ air flights which many people book as City Break, making accommodation arrangements themselves. Furthermore, City Break tourism is often sold in weekend packages, and special interest tourism, for example, addressing young tourist gr oups mainly coming for a party holiday, is policies with the main aim to overcome the short summer season. While not comprehensive, this list of types of breaks illustrate that there are both domestic and international. Tourism in industrialized countries has changed considerably in recent years, with a trend towards more frequent, but shorter trips to far distant places. In Europe, this progress is set apart by the surfacing of low-fare carriers, for example, a wide variety of the city-break day trips. Globally, an ever-increasing numeral of people takes trips to distant or peripheral destinations, often for a considerably short period of time. Clearly, these expansions remain smooth the progress of by air travel over the earlier 45 years, has transformed from a lavish form of mobility for the well-off few into a contemporary form of ‘hyper-mobility’ (Mac Iver & Mac Iver, 2008). Hyper-mobility, defined here as mobility that is frequent and often long-distance, is a res ult of the growing network of airports, perceived cheap fares, better education, higher income and a lot of leisure stage, including prospects to depart from work for an extended period of time. One of the fastest growing sectors in tourism is the international City Break market. Furthermore, tourists are prepared to travel further and further for a short break. Major cities provide destinations for

The Verification Principle Essay Example for Free

The Verification Principle Essay Throughout the years, science has been a very productive practice. From explaining why and how things happen to sending people to the moon. Not only do we see its benefits every day, but also new discoveries are being made constantly. Science has proven its success. By using the scientific method and critical thinking, a wide range of things have been discovered. One cannot say the same for philosophy. Many of the questions that were asked by the very first philosophers are still being contemplated and debated over today. Some philosophers thought that in order to make philosophy as successful as science that they would need to adopt a method such as the scientific method. Thus, the Verification Principle came to be. The philosophers with this idea that philosophy needs to be successful, like science, were the logical positivists. These philosophers had a â€Å"scientific envy,† wanting to make philosophy more scientific. Their method to become more â€Å"scientific† was to create the Verification Principle. It states that â€Å"A statement is cognitively meaningful if and only if it is either analytic or in principle empirically verified. They thought that if something cannot be verified analytically or by experiment, then there is no need to debate about it. To understand this principle, one must understand some of the key terms and concepts in it. Something can be described as cognitively meaningful if it can be found to be true or false. Therefore, a statement must have a truth-value. According to the Verification Principle, in order to find if something is true or false, it must be analytic or in principle empirically verified. Something is analytic if it can be found by mathematical means or by using logic. Twenty divided by two equals twenty-two is an example of an analytical statement. Whether the statement that twenty divided by two equals twenty-two is correct, or not, by using mathematical reasoning, the answer can be found to be true or false. Another example of an analytical statement would be as follows: â€Å"A guitar is a musical instrument, and musical instruments sound beautiful. Thus, a guitar sounds beautiful. † Since the argument flows in a logical pattern, the statement is said to be analytic, and therefore, also cognitively meaningful. The last part of the Verification Principle states that a cognitively meaningful statement must be in principle empirically verified. For something to be in principle empirically verified, it must be able to be, in theory, proven experimentally. For instance, the statement, â€Å"Hell is located in the core of Earth,† can be empirically verified. Although it has not yet been proven or disproven, theoretically it could be. Although challenging, I am sure, but eventually we could somehow get a person, or group of people, to dig deep enough and then see if our core is in fact â€Å"Hell. A new and revised Verification Principle would be as follows: A statement can be found to be true or false if and only if it can be found using mathematical reasoning, logic, or if it can be found in principle experimentally. If a statement is not found to have a truth-value using any of these methods, then it is said to be cognitively meaningless, and consequently, does not need to be discussed. The statement that â€Å"God exists† would be considered cognitively meaningless. It cannot be proven mathematically, or logically, that God exists. Nor can it be proven with any type of experiment. Since it is cognitively meaningless, there is no need to debate God’s existence. According to the Verification Principle, many philosophical concepts and questions no longer need to be discussed. One relevant subject, that would be deemed cognitively meaningless, is Ethics. Many if not all statements, or questions, in Ethics cannot be determined analytically or empirically verified. As such, Ethics should no longer be discussed. Whether a person murdering in the name of patriotism or defending one’s own life is ethical, is pointless to debate because it has no truth-value. A mathematician cannot figure out using a formula whether these acts of murder are ethical. Neither can a person use logic to find the answer. It would be absurd to think that a person could determine the answer to the question using an experimental method. Ethics in general, becomes pointless to discuss. Many have objected to the Verification Principle since many things, are considered cognitively meaningless, but do require attention and discussion. Axiology, which asks the question â€Å"What are values,† is completely â€Å"cognitively meaningless† under the principle. Some would say that this could not be correct since values are imperative. Values create a sense of character, personality, and meaning. Surely, we should not just throw out the whole study of what our values are because the answer to the questions cannot be found analytically or by experiment. David Hume brings up a valid point that contradicts the Verification Principle, stating that the principle itself is self-contradicting. Hume points out that science relies on principles that cannot pass the Verification Principle. By the logical positivists trying to mirror the success of science, they created a principle that even the principles of science do not pass. One such principle is the Principle of Induction. This principle, in crude terms, states that the future will resemble the past. According to the Verification Principle, this statement is cognitively meaningless. Once again, neither mathematics nor logic can be used to determine a truth-value to this statement. It also cannot be proven in principle by experiment. Since we are always in the present or looking back into the past, we cannot say that the future will resemble the past, but science bases its rules, theories, and discoveries on this principle. Another scientific principle that does not pass the Verification Principle is the Principle of Universal Causation. It states, also crudely, that every event has a cause. Since there is no way to experimentally determine that every event that has ever happened, or will happen, has a cause, it is cognitively meaningless. Hence, if the Verification Principle is correct, then science itself is cognitively meaningless and does not need to be debated nor discussed. In my opinion, the Verification Principle is not a valid basis on which to determine whether a subject should be discussed or not. Many things, such as ethics, need to be discussed. If we chose to follow the guidelines of the principle, there would be no need to discuss ethics. This would in turn eventually cause people to forget what ethics or an ethical judgment is. There would be no sense of what is good or bad; only who has the bigger gun. Society would be reduced to animals, though we are already close to that point. By people discussing ethics, and ethical judgments, though we may never reach a conclusion or agreement on some aspects of the subject, we choose to not forget about what is just and that there is a difference between right and wrong. Though philosophy may not have all too much to show for all of its work, at least if compared to science, then at the very least it causes people to think for themselves and to not forget about things which are important to human nature. Such things as religion, ethics, values, and creativity are all important to us as humans. If using the Verification Principle, all such things would be â€Å"cognitively meaningless. † In a way, it is the things that are â€Å"cognitively meaningless† that are more important than the â€Å"cognitively meaningful. They are what define us and not only set us apart from all other species, but also from each other. In conclusion, the Verification Principle was a way for some philosophers to make philosophy successful much like science. The principle states that â€Å"A statement is cognitively meaningful if and only if it is either analytical or in principle empirically verified. † Many things in philosophy, such as Ethics, in this sense are â€Å"cognitively meaningless† and should not be discussed. David Hume pointed out that science is based on principles that do not pass the Verification Principle and is therefore â€Å"cognitively meaningless. To be fair, the Verification Principle was a poor attempt to try to put a value on the success of philosophy. The greatness of philosophy though, is that it is not based solely on numbers, logic, and experiments, but also on critical thinking. It is that aspect of philosophy that sets humankind apart from the rest of the animals on Earth. Although some of the questions of philosophy may never be solved, the true success of philosophy is that it causes people to think and to search for answers instead of accepting what they have always â€Å"known† as truth.

Acute Stress Disorder Rehabilitation

Acute Stress Disorder Rehabilitation â€Å"Up to 65 per cent of Australians are likely to experience or witness an event which threatens their life or safety† (19). Quite often trauma victims can recover by their own. However, with others it may have a negative reaction to a traumatic event which can then lead to an illness called Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) (16). This disorder is associated with mental and physical conditions combined thus causing reductions in a person’s quality of life and as a consequence includes economic burdens (12). (3) Due to the result of all the accumulating evidence, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – fifth edition (DSM-5) has marked and modified goals and criteria for ASD. Under new criteria, ASD diagnosis will no longer predict chronic Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It will help to identify more severely affected survivors of trauma prior a diagnosis of PTSD can be made. Furthermore, the acuity people will perhaps get benefit from earlier interventions and sho rt-term rehabilitation programs that are the great help in the recovery process. Early rehabilitation interventions, including self-care strategy, thought control strategy, and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) would speed up recovery and prevent chronic longer term problems. Besides that, family members, clinicians, and social support networks play an important role in support mechanism for recovery process. Inaddition, some potential barriers are also discussed in predicting of new problems and relapse which may occur in order to manage them. Potential recovery According to (2) DSM-5 in 2013, ASD was relocated in Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. ASD is a psychological and physical shock which usually appears in response to a traumatic event in a person’s life. The acutely traumatized person can be directly exposed to or be the witness of a traumatic events such as serious accident (21%), physical assault (19%), rape or witnessing a mass shooting (50%) or natural disaster (10%)(19). (9) Symptoms of ASD occur immediately right after the trauma, and it lasts for more than 2 days and less than 1 month (4). The victim usually suffers from anxiety, distress, intense fear, helplessness, avoidance behaviours or re-experience the event (16). (15) It has been recorded that 15% to 45% of children and adolescents directly experience to at least one traumatic event. There is no statistics of how many distressed people can fully recover due to these traumas; however in many studies it has been confirmed that ASD patients can have a full rec overy under appropriate treatments. This study strongly emphasis on ASD rehabilitation rather than attempting to predict subsequent PTSD. Due to ASD timeframe is short, many victims are usually been ignored. Particularly, children and adolescent are in high risk of developing PTSD which leads to long-term psychological sequel in their life and causes a burden on health care systems. Therefore, (15) highlighted that recognizing ASD symptoms is an important step in toward enhancing intervention in the right time and speed up the recovery process. Additionally, with a formal diagnosis, it will allow highly distressed people to claim compensations from the health care service and payment for recovery treatment (4). In order to get appropriate diagnosis and early intervention, physicians play a critical role for assessments and monitoring all physical and psychological symptoms. Recovery process Whenever a referral from a physician has been made, the traumatized patients will go through a rehabilitation process. This process needs self-care strategy, thought control strategy, and CBT to support patients’ recovery and to decrease the future incidence of PTSD. (7) With self-care strategies, it focuses on personal strengths and their own judgment. Whether any kind of psychotherapies are provided to traumatic people, they should rely on their own recovery ability first. Without their own effort, all the supports will become ineffective. Traumatic patients, then, will receive reassurance and support, such as simple information and advices on self-care to overcome the normal recovery process. However, if the person cannot scope with these extremely severe events, and express a prolonged distress, or interfere with daily activities, they will need to be referral to another level of psychotherapy. Currently, it has been found that thought control strategy is an acceptable strategy for managing trauma related distress in the short term rehabilitation. Use of thought control strategy will aim to reduce the emotional distress by sharing the traumatic stories in the unforgettable period of time (14). There are four components (worry, distraction, social element and re-appraisal) which are the most commonly used to focus on helping the patient to normalize reactions to trauma (22). The first being Worry/Stress, it is best trying to get the patient to not concentrate on the stressful thought itself. Encouraging the patient to try and replace worry or stress with other day to day concerns that may hold a more minor bearing. The second is distraction. Finding a healthy distraction could be simple as think about things that provide a positive feeling or immerse the patient in an activity that is pleasurable. This will stop the patient concentrating on the traumatic event and allow them to go about a daily routine. The third would be social elements that could help. This could be asking or speaking with friends about their thoughts and how they have dealt with such events in their lives. Asking about what worked for them or what may have helped them avoid concentrating on the stressful event. This would be discussed fully so that the patient could reflect and understand how this could apply to their situation. The fourth is re-appraisal, trying and interpreting their feelings and understanding why these things are affecting them emotionally and rationalize their reactions to these feelings. From here they should challenge the validity of their emotions and feelings in order to control positive or negative feelings. If these self-care strategy and thought control strategy still have not worked well for recovery, CBT would be the next step of treatment in rehabilitation. (12) CBT will be given in five therapy sessions this comprising prolonged exposure (PE) and cognitive restructuring (CR). (12) found that these sessions provide brief forms of treatment in reducing acute symptoms of ASD in the initial month after trauma exposure. (8) PE focuses in emotional processing of thoughts. It helps interrupt and reserve recovery process by blocking cognitive and behavioral avoidance. This is accomplished through in vivo and imaginal expose. Vivo exposure involves repeatedly activities and situations that are avoided because of trauma. Overtime, the patient can reduce distressing emotion and fear. Then, they can cope effectively through these distresses. Imaginal exposure is related to repeatedly describe the event aloud in details, then recording. After that, they listen to their record in order to help t hem to realize their coping skill. Following initial assessment, patients were informed that they would be reassessed after 6 weeks Support mechanism Besides psychotherapy in rehabilitation process and early supportive care structure being delivered is an important step which supports the recovery process. Its result last long in reductions of ASD symptoms. Supportive care deliverers are family members, physician or social support network will help the traumatic patient go though the acute phase. (17on) In most cases, family members usually ask for advices on how to help their love in stressful situation. This will let the family to be able to utilize a communal experience in order to enhance the therapeutic growths. The use of positive family members has also been shown effectively assisted their traumatic member to manage their stressful conditions. They provide support, love and reinforce coping strategy with the trauma. The individual does not feel isolated, but also they feel warm and being caring. The individual, therefore, can describe what happened and how they response though this hard time. However in some cases family sometimes is not enough to support traumatic patients. If the trauma patients and their family feel unable to cope with this traumatic event, they can seek professional help from a physician such as an Australian Psychological Society (APS) psychologist. An APS psychologist will help the severe distress people to understand and manage the symptoms associated with the trauma. An APS psychologist would develop effective coping strategies for affected individual as well as their family to support the recovery process (18). If not, traumatic people also seek help from social support network such as Beyondblue, Sane or Mental Health organizations. Beyondblue is a support service designed to support, give advice and create actions. Whatever the situation is, Beyondblue always listens to their distress stories and share their misfortune. Beyondblue members can really help patients come to terms with their illness and help them to move forward (23). Similarly, Th e Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health is a not-for-profit organization which its aim to reduce the impact of trauma causing to the victims. They connect the capability of individual’s family with their organizations within the community. Therefore, they can understand about the traumatic victims, then, help them to prevent and recover from the adverse mental health effects of trauma. Barrier : wrong diagnosis, overwhelm with treatment, comorbid psychiatric disorders Due to a shorten timeframe of ASD, there appear some barriers which prevent the recovery process such as late diagnosis, overwhelmed treatments. Besides that some will subsequently develop comorbid psychiatric disorders. In case of traumatic events happen, the victims are late identified. Then, they will receive some simple advices how to overcome that situations. They are supposed to recover on their own. However, there are still significant people who cannot go through this recovery process by themselves. They need help from physicians to be assessed in order to receive a formal diagnosis. This process somehow is taken time which lead to a late diagnosis. If this is too late for appropriate treatment of stress disorder, it will develop further into PTSD. Furthermore, without this proper diagnosis, traumatic patients will not get the benefit from standard rehabilitation treatments (4). This problem can be predicted by the role of physicians who can manage clinical judgments in order to give their patient an early diagnosis. For those patients who have received treatments within hours or days after an acute trauma incident, they sometime do not response well to treatment plan due to overwhelm of different interventions. They will present a psychosocial and environment difficulties related to problems such as agitation, emotional pain, and dissociation. Quickly treatment but also slowly explanation and monitoring the response from patients will enhance effective support to recovery process. With patients that respond positively and appear to be recovered from ASD, they sometimes sudden relapse when new event happen to their life. They suffer from fear about safety for themselves as well as their family. The relapse can be recognized by close family members who help the patients to report it to physician in order to get continual treatment (17). Treatment of ASD is usually focused on its specific symptoms. However, some subsequently develop with ASD might be appear such as depression, withdrawal, shame or drug and alcohol abuse, and even suicidal behavior (17). The comorbid psychiatric disorders occur due to the inability scoping with that such traumatic events. These occurssing will significantly affect the recovery process; therefore, it is a requirement for careful attention in both pharmacologically and psychotherapeutically. The patient at high risk of suicide or drug and alcohol abuse should be highlighted during initial assessment. It is necessary to evaluate this potential harm which gets into the treatment pathway and the recovery process. Conclusions In conclusion, (4) the criteria set for ASD in DSM-V will allow identifying the people who had negative reaction to a traumatic event. Because of the short duration, it is necessary to assess severe traumatic people as quickly as possible. Then, they can receive an appropriate diagnosis in order to get benefit from rehabilitation treatments. Having an early treatment will move towards healing and recovery process. Moreover, as a result of suffering both physical and psychological conditions, these fragile people require a high level of support from family member, physicians as well as social support network to be back to normal life.

Breaking of Taboo Essay -- Literacy Analysis

The Breaking of Taboo Adrienne Rich was a very critically acclaimed and widely read poet of her era. Ms. Rich was a rebellious pioneer in expressing her viewpoint through her poetry in what was considered highly taboo topics of her time, such as, politics, lesbianism, and feminism. Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland .Her father was renowned pathologist at John Hopkins University, Dr. Arnold Rich, and her mother Helen Elizabeth Rich, was a concert pianist and composer. Adrienne began writing at a very early age, with the encouragement of her father. As a child she grew up reading works from her fathers extensive library from Tennyson, Keats, Arnold. Blake. Rossetti. Swinburne, Carlyle, and Patter (Booth). Adrienne attended college at A. B. Radcliffe College, and graduated in 1951. In her final year at Radcliffe, her collection, A Change of World, was selected by, W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award. In 1953 Adrienne married Alfred Conrad, an economics professor at Harvard, whom she had meet while she was an undergraduate student at Harvard. During their marriage they had three children, David, Paul, and Jacob. In the mid- 60’s Adrienne became very involved in Vietnam anti war protests, feminist, and civil right issues. As time went on Alfred thought she was losing her mind because of the obsession and devotion she had to these causes. This created quite a bit of tension in their marriage. In 1970 she separated from Alfred, which lead to his suicide a few months later. Rich’s early works were very traditional and structured. Her style mirrored the poets who she read extensively as a child. As Rich progressed in her writings, her styled changed drastically. Rich took on a dialogue... ... J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. 876. Print. Brown, Maressa. "6 Powerful Adrienne Rich Quotes Every Woman Should Read." The Stir, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Meredith, May. "Adrienne Rich: 1929-2012 / Feminist poet turned personal into political." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 29 Mar. 2012: A1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne, comp. Twenty-One Love Poems. 2nd. Emeryville, Ca.: Effie's Press, 1977. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems 1950-1970. 1st. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 419. Print. Rich, Adrienne. Dark Fields of the Republic 1991-1995. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995 3. Print. Schuduel, Matt. "Adrienne Rich, feminist poet who wrote of politics and lesbian identity, dies at 82." 28 Mar. 2012, n. p. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. Breaking of Taboo Essay -- Literacy Analysis The Breaking of Taboo Adrienne Rich was a very critically acclaimed and widely read poet of her era. Ms. Rich was a rebellious pioneer in expressing her viewpoint through her poetry in what was considered highly taboo topics of her time, such as, politics, lesbianism, and feminism. Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland .Her father was renowned pathologist at John Hopkins University, Dr. Arnold Rich, and her mother Helen Elizabeth Rich, was a concert pianist and composer. Adrienne began writing at a very early age, with the encouragement of her father. As a child she grew up reading works from her fathers extensive library from Tennyson, Keats, Arnold. Blake. Rossetti. Swinburne, Carlyle, and Patter (Booth). Adrienne attended college at A. B. Radcliffe College, and graduated in 1951. In her final year at Radcliffe, her collection, A Change of World, was selected by, W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award. In 1953 Adrienne married Alfred Conrad, an economics professor at Harvard, whom she had meet while she was an undergraduate student at Harvard. During their marriage they had three children, David, Paul, and Jacob. In the mid- 60’s Adrienne became very involved in Vietnam anti war protests, feminist, and civil right issues. As time went on Alfred thought she was losing her mind because of the obsession and devotion she had to these causes. This created quite a bit of tension in their marriage. In 1970 she separated from Alfred, which lead to his suicide a few months later. Rich’s early works were very traditional and structured. Her style mirrored the poets who she read extensively as a child. As Rich progressed in her writings, her styled changed drastically. Rich took on a dialogue... ... J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. 876. Print. Brown, Maressa. "6 Powerful Adrienne Rich Quotes Every Woman Should Read." The Stir, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Meredith, May. "Adrienne Rich: 1929-2012 / Feminist poet turned personal into political." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 29 Mar. 2012: A1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne, comp. Twenty-One Love Poems. 2nd. Emeryville, Ca.: Effie's Press, 1977. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems 1950-1970. 1st. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 419. Print. Rich, Adrienne. Dark Fields of the Republic 1991-1995. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995 3. Print. Schuduel, Matt. "Adrienne Rich, feminist poet who wrote of politics and lesbian identity, dies at 82." 28 Mar. 2012, n. p. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

Who Do You Choose the Major of English to Study?

There are 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English, and 1,000,000,000 people are learning it while 75% of the world’s letters and postcards are written in English. Despite China, the United States is still a leader in technical innovation and economic development. English is used in the United States and in each of these fields. English is the language of maritime communication and international air traffic control, and it is used even for internal air traffic control in countries where it is not a native language. Most commodities such as silver, gold, and hard currency are traded in English. Throughout the world, many professional papers are published in English. Even papers that are published in other languages often have abstracts in English. English is used in government and as a medium of communication among people who do not have another language in common. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you’re going to read about technology, you’ll probably have to do it in English. We can watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks, and you can watch them everywhere in the world. In terms of academic, English is the language most commonly spoken by academics worldwide. Of course, some important research and work occurs in all countries and in a variety of languages, but the vast majority tends to have been conducted, composed and published with the English language as its basis. Academics and scholars that have some knowledge of English frequently find that sharing their ideas and findings with their peers globally is more eadily facilitated by their mastery of the English language. We can communicate with foreigners easily if we can speak English. When we go abroad, it is very useful for us to compete with other people in studying, and all international conference and competitions are conducted in English, so we need to be well with English to join in order to win. It is also the major international language of communicat ion in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entrainment. English makes us more easily to travel around the world, because more than 100 countries spoken in English. We can ask for direction, have a conversation, ask for help, and who knows, maybe English will save our life someday. Tours are almost always available in English. Even in countries where few people speak English on the street, people who work with tourists generally speak English. In some countries even drivers of buses or streetcars and sellers at newsstands speak English well. English is important to get access to knowledge Today’s media such as the Internet, Television, and the press give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subject, and it all are in English, so you need to be well with English. You can read also  Similarities and Conflicts in † a Streetcar Named Desire† That’s over billion pages of information are in English, so if you want to get any information in the internet you need to know English. On other hand, English is a language that can be used in many parts of the world since the schools nowadays are likely to have English as the first or second language or have educated people who would know the basics of English. When we study at University, we need to be well with English because all document are written in English. If we want to research new lessons or documents in internet, you need to know how to use computer, and in computer everything are in English. English document are billions, and it explains very clear, so it can improve our knowledge. We can make our computer skill more effectively when we know English, because most computer applications are in English, so we will understand them better and become better employee. Five thousand newspapers, over half of the newspapers that published in the world, are published in English. Even in many countries where English is not the main language, there is at least one newspaper in English. In India, there are three thousand magazines were published in English. English Major is study about cultures, literatures, and physiology. So we will get a lot of knowledge about cultures, literatures, and physiology of other country in Asia, Europe, the United States, etc†¦ Especially, when we’re skillful of English we can get a scholarship from school or the United Stated of America to study abroad. English is very important for job opportunity Today. All companies need their workers know at least on language, especially English. In some international companies, every person have to know English well. English is the primary language of business throughout the world. Most international business transactions, including email, memos, reports and contracts, are written in English. If we are interested in advancing in the business world, English is a key to success. Most countries in some way will do business with English speaking countries. As well, English has become the international language of business and is often used as a neutral language for business between various countries. It is now common for an engineer in Mexico to get echnical support in English from an expert in China. With English you can communicate with technicians and experts from the United States in order to help your company. You can also communicate with business people from other countries in the neutral language of English. Companies are also recognizing the value of English and now pay more for employees who can speak English. Knowing English will open the door to many new and exciting jobs in countries all over the world. As well, you will be able to obtain jobs in your own country because you can speak English. Your resume will be stronger because you are bilingual and have a knowledge of the English language. Your opportunities will be numerous when you can speak and read English. English speakers in the world earn more money than non-English speakers. Being a good writer is one of the top ten most important skills that job candidates are encouraged to have in order to be competitive in the job market. Companies are looking for good writers, and there’s no question that English majors heading out into the workforce have this skill in the bag. It’s nearly impossible to succeed as an English major without being a good writer. Moreover, students choosing this major probably really like writing. When you like something, you do it more often and the more you do something, the better you become. English majors tend to be overall successful communicators, which is why it makes sense that so many of us go on to work in media and communication. The major provides individuals with the critical thinking and public speaking skills required to excel in these positions. Even if you aren’t planning to work in communications, the argument has been made that oral communication competency is the most important skill for business students in the workplace. It may also go without saying that having keen communication skills is absolutely necessary in order to be a good manager in the workforce. Finally, Major of English have a lot of advantages for us, English give us a good job opportunity, high salary job, high position at work place, and provided us a good standard of living. In short, English is very important for me and everybody.

Comparison of the Theories of Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim on Religion

Abstract This paper examines the works of Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim on religion, looking at how both theorists essentially viewed religion as serving an integral role in human culture. In particular, this essay considers how both theorist consider religious believers to be mistaken in their ontological beliefs, and the rational causes for this. Introduction While both Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim are concerned with the study of human behaviour as it relates to culture, each does so from within distinct traditions. In terms of religion, Freud’s approach belongs to the psychological tradition, while Durkheim puts forward a sociological approach. In the Freudian view, human behaviour is largely driven by inborn and intangible â€Å"drives†, working in the unconscious. Such phenomena are not directly observable, that is, they are non-empirical; they must consequently be inferred, and as such are conjectural. Durkheim’s sociological method, on the other hand, utilises direct empirical observations of social phenomena (rites, rituals, customs, et cetera), looking to account for the impetus behind and purpose of group behaviour. Hence Freud is concerned with obscure, intangible internal phenomena, whereas Durkheim is concerned with overt and tangible external phenomena. Evidently, the theoretical positions in question to a degree divide between internal and external motivations. Different Routes to the Core of a Delusion Durkheim posits a direct connection between environmental variables, the way groups interact with such variables, and how this interaction is perceived by individual members of said group. There is a mode of cyclical reflexivity in this dynamic: this means people â€Å"living together in society generate rules which are felt by any individual member as acting on him from outside, as having a force which he feels as both uplifting and constraining† (Scharf 1970, 151). This force, Durkheim argues, is an externalisation of conventions peculiar to the group; that are perceived as exogenous but which are in fact endogenous. This tendency to externalise, Durkheim suggests, derives from the natural human desire to ascribe meaning to experience, to seek a pattern in the natural order. Thus, as Kunin states, religion likewise â€Å"is an externalisation of society and its order† and speaks to the â€Å"dialectic relationship between the individual and society† (2003, 82). Religion, then, provides for an externalised object onto which collective emotion can be projected; this is ultimately reflexive because the externalisation at root represents the people themselves. As a result, to honour religious custom is indirectly to honour the group. This is why for Durkheim religious experience serves to strengthen group cohesion and bonding. Freud’s understanding of religion is somewhat pejorative. Connolly observes that Freud noticed â€Å"the connection between abnormal psychological conditions and religion† (1991, 146): which observation he expanded upon in his study â€Å"Obsessive acts and Religious Practices† (1907). As the paper’s title suggests, Freud drew a connection between psychological abnormality and religious practice, noting a resemblance between â€Å"what are called obsessive acts in neurotics and those religious observances by means of which the faithful give expression to their piety† (17). In turn, Fre ud perceived religion, like neurosis, as symptomatic of deep-seated psychological issues. In the words of Gallucci, â€Å"Freud saw religion as a collective neurotic symptom, an obsessional neurosis† (2001, 76). This â€Å"neurosis†, according to psychoanalytic theory, comes about as a defence mechanism against feelings of helplessness which obtain in a dispassionate cosmos. Hence the need for a cosmic father figure, who, as a parent comforts the child, palliates the religious subject with conciliatory notions (about purpose, meaning, boundaries, rewards, and so on). This entire dynamic apparently stems from Oedipal anxieties, where â€Å"each person grows up with a sense of foreboding toward a father figure who is both feared and loved†; this, it follows, â€Å"becomes the basis for the cosmic father figure, who offers protection and salvation but in the meantime needs to be appeased by devotion and sacrifice† (Clarke 2002, 43). In Freud’s mind, r eligion therefore constitutes a surrogate parent. On the surface, Freud and Durkheim proffer two seemingly quite different explanations for religion. Importantly, while these theories are not overtly complementary, nor are they mutually exclusive. Indeed, significant parallels may be drawn between each approach. For example, both both theorists argued that religion is an important factor in community cohesion (Scharf 1970, 155); both agree that â€Å"religion is central to any cultural analysis† (Ginsburg and Pardes 2006, 220); and, thus, both hold that â€Å"that the cognitive roots of religious belief are to be found in social experience† (Spiro 1987, 202). These similarities are significant and, moreover, point to one common determinant: that the underlying basis of religious convictions are contrary to what believers suppose. For Durkheim, the real driving force behind religion is social cohesion; for Freud, the impetus is psychological assuagement. In either case, social unity and mental wellbeing obtain, only for slightly different conceptual reasons. From the above, one might argue that Freud and Durkheim share significant overarching perspectives on religion while holding markedly different structural viewpoints on how and why religion functions. Freud is concerned with psychological structures; Durkheim with sociological structures. Freud believes religion works to console believers from the ultimate anxiety of a meaningless cosmos. Durkheim believes religion provides for a canvas on which social phenomena can be externalised and then re-accommodated as an exogenous entity. Again, both modes of behaviour essentially work to the same purpose: instilling a sense of meaning in human life. At this stage, one might consider the ways in which Freudian theory could compensate for shortfalls in the work of Durkheim and vice versa. For instance, Durkheim offers little in the way of early psychological developmental insights, into the religious pr ocess; yet there is no reason that early anxiety (of an Oedipal nature) could not cohere with Durkheimian ideas. Indeed, such anxiety and the consequent potential for neurosis could suggest an even greater need for group cohesion: as a way of reifying the delusion through consensus, thus alleviating the anxiety. Again, this would chime with Durkheim’s understanding that religion is â€Å"a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things [. . .] which unite in one single moral community called a Church† (cited in Gain 2010, 39). By the same token, Freud’s limitations could perhaps be overcome with reference to some of Durkheim’s insights. Scharf notes a â€Å"weakness of Freudian theory† in that it â€Å"does little to explain [the] variety† in articulations of paternity and fraternity within religious discourse, advising that, here, â€Å"Durkheim’s structural approach has more value† (1970, 154). Accordingly we see that a synthesis of theoretical approaches may not only be possible but highly advantageous. Conclusion Freud and Durkheim take very different roads to arrive at more or less the same destination. For this reason, significant and consistent core elements may be identified between their works. These include the fundamental belief that religion serves an explicable, material, social purpose which is essentially external to theological concerns; that religious believers are at base mistaken in their beliefs (insomuch as these beliefs are connected to cosmic phenomena beyond the rationally explicable); that, it follows, religion is the irrational articulation of an ultimately rational cause (anxiety or clan behaviour); that religion can function as a surrogate or projection of humanity – reformed with divine auspices; and that, finally, religion is an integral element of human culture. What is fundamentally different in these two authors is their methodological priorities. Each man comes from a very distinct tradition. Put simply, Freud and Durkheim were engaged in different discipl ines; as a result, their pursuits were orientated differently The reason Freud and Durkheim’s works are compared at all is that the realms of the sociological and of the psychological possess mutual territory: the grounds of culture. Both theorists have their limitations. Durkheim can be accused of being over reductive and simplistic. Social structure may not be enough to account for every aspect of religion. Psychological, cognitive and other inborn factors may also have a large part to play. Freud, on the other hand, may place too much onus on the unconscious drives in dictating religious experience. After all, religion is so varied and complex, it might be argued, to defy any wholesale theory to explain it away. What, for example, do we make of religions in which there is no â€Å"father figure† proper; or religions which proclaim no deity at allClearly there are unanswered questions on both sides of the aisle. Perhaps a hybrid methodology that adopted a syncretic a pproach to the study of religion might help answer these questions. After all, it seems to be the case that both Freud and Durkheim arrived at crucial insights into the social and psychological determinants that drive religion. References Clarke, P. J. (2002) Explaining Philosophy and Ethics. Cheltenham: Nelson Thomas. Connolly, P. (1991) â€Å"Psychological Approaches†. In: Connolly, P. ed. Approaches to the Study of Religion. New York: Continuum, pp. 135-193. Durkheim, E. (1912). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. (J. Swain, Trans.) New York: The Free Press. Freud, S. (1907) â€Å"Obsessive Acts and Religious Practices†. In: J Strachey (ed. and trans.) Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press. Gain, M., 2010. On Durkheim’s Rules of Sociological Method (Routledge Revivals). New York: Routledge. Gallucci, G. M., 2001. Plato and Freud: Statesmen of the Soul. Philadelphia: Xlibris. Ginsburg, R. & Pardes, L., 2006. New Perspectives on Freud’s Moses and Monotheism. Tubingen: Niemeyer. Kunin, S. D., 2003. Religion: The Modern Theories. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Scharf, B. R., 1970. â€Å"Durkheimian and Freudian Theories of Religion: The Case of Judaism†, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 21. 2 (June), pp. 151-163. Spiro, M. E., 1987. Culture and Human Nature. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.