Americas Transcendental Voice :: Essays Papers

Americas Transcendental Voice Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the true fathers of transcendentalism in America. He was said to be the founding member of the smallest church. The congregation included only himself, and his church waited on the world to see his views as the truth. Emerson's beliefs were greatly influenced by friends he met in Europe and the romantic movement of the time. Transcendentalists of the time did not believe in miracles, they thought everything had a common sense answer. They believed that the mind was not just a blank slate to be filled only with what we can perceive through our senses, but something which was capable of intuition and imagination. Emerson believed that God along with great peace and serenity could be found in nature. This essay will trace how Emerson’s transcendental beliefs are reflected in Nature. This essay will also follow Emersion’s appreciation of nature, his transcendental quest to find truths that were beyond the reach of man’s limited senses. In his first chapter entitled Nature Emerson writes â€Å"To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.†(615) This reflects his feelings towards society and how it must be left behind to truly find God. Later in this chapter he marvels over how God Had made the atmosphere in such a way that we can see the rest of the universe, God’s almighty handiwork. Emerson ponders just what the future generations of people will still appreciate the city of stars God has provided. In Nature Emerson also expresses his love and admiration for the poet when he writes how a woodcutter sees a tree as a stick of timber where the poet sees it for what it is, a tree. Also in this first chapter Emerson expresses his transcendental belief that children are closer to God when he writes, â€Å"The sun illuminates only the eye of a man, but shines into the eye and the heart of a child.†(616). From this first chapter we can tell that Emerson ha d an almost insatiable love of nature, he believed that god was all around us, in our fields, our forests, and our rivers. The second chapter of Nature is entitled Commodity. In Commodity Emerson is ranking all the advantages which our senses owe to nature.

Karl Marx - The Victory of the Proletariat and the Fall of the Bourgeoi

Karl Marx - The Victory of the Proletariat and the Fall of the Bourgeoisie In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx writes of the proletariat working class on the verge of revolution due to the overwhelming oppression perpetrated by the bourgeoisie. Marx lays out a sequence of steps, which demonstrate the coming of the revolution, a revolution caused consequentially by the actions of the bourgeoisie. As the bourgeoisie constantly form new ways to revolutionize production, they invariably move toward a consequence wherein the working class discovers its oppression and turns to the only means of change possible, a complete revolution. Marx first discusses the necessity for the bourgeoisie to revolutionize instruments of production, an action necessary for the benefit of their own profit. The owners, who incessantly â€Å"resolve personal worth into exchange value,† (p. 828) attempt to derive new forms of production to minimize the â€Å"callous ‘cash payment’† owed to their workers in order to maximize the surplus of production. This ultimately leads to a great disassociation between the laborers and their product. In Alienated Labor, Marx describes the worker as â€Å"poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and extent,† (p. 791). Since the bourgeoisie undoubtedly wish to maximize the wealth produced by the laborer, their actions inevitably lead to the marginalization of the working class. Searching for cheaper, more effective means of production, the non-workers track down raw material from remote zones, invent new technologies for producti on, and generally separate workers from their own creations. In these ways, the bourgeoisie undeniably alter the relations of production. As Marx said in Alien... .... They have exposed the world of injustice to the proletariat, who will burst asunder the conditions of the times in a new revolution that will bring an end to the bourgeois. In the modern industrial age of Karl Marx, the bourgeoisie perpetually revolutionize the instruments of production, altering relations of production, and most importantly, the relationship of human beings to the rest of society. In this revolutionizing, the bourgeoisie produce greater surpluses, but also their own grave-diggers, alienating the class that will revolt to reclaim their individual identities as human beings. For Marx, this change requires only time, and as the proletariat begin to realize the injustices of their positions in society, they will begin to recognize the necessity for revolution. The victory of the proletariat and the fall of the bourgeoisie are equally inevitable.

Human and Plant Circulatory System

The human circulatory system includes the heart, blood vessels, and the blood. The circulatory system in humans is also known as the cardiovascular system. The main parts of the plant circulatory system are xylem and phloem. Humans and plants rely on their circulatory system a great deal. Plants and humans rely on their circulatory system to supply the body or plant with nutrients, humans to transport oxygen throughout the body, and plants to carry carbon dioxide throughout the body.The circulatory system in both humans and plants also help the body eliminate waste from the body of plants and humans. The xylems in plants are vessels, starting with the root of the plant where water and minerals are absorbed and efficiently carry the water throughout the body of the plant. The xylem also provides support to the plant. Nutrients or sugars produced through photosynthesis need to be sent to every cell in the plant, phloem makes this possible. Similar essay: Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in An Aquatic EnvironmentPhloem lives as long as the plant while xylems function for one year. The xylems of a plant can be seen when a tree is cut the rings of the xylem can be seen also telling the age of the tree, each ring represents one year. The heart in humans pumps the nutrient rich blood throughout the human circulatory system via blood vessels. The blood vessels pump the blood throughout the body allowing oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to be picked up in the lungs, intestines, and endocrine system.The various blood vessels in the human body then make a delivery to each cell in the body. The blood vessels then head back to the heart, on the way back carbon dioxide and waste is picked up to be exerted. Plant and animal circulatory systems are high functioning. Plants rely on gravity and water surface tension to transport nutrients throughout the body of the plant, humans need a pumping heart to continuously pump blood thr oughout the body.Plants and humans both have tube shaped vessels to carry the nutrients, water, blood throughout the body of the plant or human, they both also have two sets of vessels that travel in opposite directions, both circulatory systems are designed to bring nutrients throughout the body. Plant vessels have only water solutions going through the vessels while humans have red and white blood cells flowing through the vessels as well. Plant and human circulatory systems have a great deal in common and differ greatly. The two distinct system provide the best function for the human and plant.Humans are highly active and need the quickly action of the human circulatory system to reproduce and keep a continuous cycle of nutrients throughout the body. The circulatory system of plants are more constant and depends on the nutrients available in the environment in which the plant lives. . Rutishauser, S. (2011). â€Å"Transport in Plants† UntamedScience. Accessed Nov 21, 2012 at http://www. untamedscience. com/biology/plant-biology/transport-plants Carter, J. (2006) â€Å"The Circulatory System. † Retrieved November 20, 2012 from http://biology. clc. uc. edu/courses/bio105/circulat. htm

Learning Theories Essay

Lev Vygotsky, born in the U. S. S. R. in 1896, is responsible for the social development theory of learning. He proposed that social interaction profoundly influences cognitive development. Vygotsky’s key point is his belief that biological and cultural development do not occur in isolation. Vygotsky approached development differently from Piaget. Piaget believed that cognitive development consists of four main periods of cognitive growth: sensory motor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations. Piaget’s theory suggests that development has an endpoint in goal. Vygotsky, in contrast, believed that development is a process that should be analyzed, instead of a product to be obtained. Marcy P. Driscoll stated (as cited in Riddle, 1999) that â€Å"Vygotsky believes the development process that begins at birth and continues until death is too complex to be defined by stages†. The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygoysky states: â€Å"Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological) (Funderstanding, 2001). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain time span that he calls the â€Å"zone of proximal development† (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that this life long process of development was dependent on social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development (Kearsley, 1998). Vygotsky describes it as â€Å"the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through Learning Theories 3 problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers† (Funderstanding, 2001). In other words, a student can perform a task under adult guidance or with peer collaboration that could not be achieved alone. The Zone of Proximal Development bridges the gap between what is known and what can be known. Vygotsky claimed that learning occurred in this zone. Therefore, Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the cultural context in which they act and interact in shared experiences. According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. Initially, Children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that the internalization of these tools led to higher thinking skills (Riddle, 1999). When Piaget observed young children participating in egocentric speech in their preoperational stage, he believed it was a phase that disappeared once the child reached the stage of concrete operations. Driscoll states (as cited in Riddle, 1999) â€Å"in contrast, Vygotsky viewed this egocentric speech as a transition from social speech to internalized thought†. Thus, Vygotsky believed that thought and language could not exist without each other. Vygotsky’s theory was an attempt to explain consciousness as the end product of socialization. For example, in the learning of language, our first vocal noises with friends or adults are for the purpose of communication, but once mastered they become internalized and allow â€Å"inner speech†. Traditionally, schools have not promoted environments in which the students play an active role in their education and in the education of their friends. Vygotsky’s theory, however, requires the teacher and students to play untraditional roles as they collaborate with each other. Instead of a teacher dictating the lessons to students and later evaluate them, a teacher should collaborate with her students in order to create meaningful ways that students can make their own evaluation. Learning then becomes a reciprocal experience for the students and the teacher. Learning Theories 4. The physical classroom, based on Vygotsky’s theory, would provide clustered desks or tables and work space for peer instruction, collaboration, and small group instruction. Like the environment, the instructional design of material would be structured to promote and encourage student interaction and collaboration. Thus, the classroom becomes a community of learning. Because Vygotsky asserts that cognitive change occurs within the Zone of Proximal development, instruction would be designed to reach a developmental level that is just above the student’s current developmental level. Vygotsky proclaims, â€Å"learning which is oriented toward developmental levels that have already been reached is ineffective from the view point of the child’s overall development. It does not aim for a new stage of the developmental process, but rather lags behind this process† (Social Development, 1996). Appropriation is necessary for cognitive development within the zone of proximal development. Individuals participating in peer collaboration or guided teacher instruction must share the same focus in order to access the zone. Samuel J. Hausfather states (as cited in Riddle, 1999), â€Å"joint attention and shared problem solving is needed to create a process of cognitive, social, and emotional interchange†. Furthermore, it is essential that the partners be on different developmental levels. In addition, the partner that is on the higher level needs to be aware of his partner’s lower level. If this does not occur, or if one partner continually dominates, the interaction is less successful. Scaffolding and reciprocal teaching are effective strategies to access the zone. Scaffolding requires the teacher to provide students the opportunity to extend the current skills and knowledge. Hausfather reports (as cited in Riddle, 1999) â€Å"the teacher must engage students’ interests, simplify tasks so they are manageable, and motivate students to pursue the instructional goal. In addition, the teacher must look for discrepancies between students’ efforts and the solution, control for frustration and risk, and model an idealized version of the act†. Learning Theories 5 Reciprocal teaching allows for the creation of a dialogue between students and teachers. This two-way communication becomes an instructional strategy by encouraging students to go beyond answering and discussing questions. A study (as cited in Riddle, 1999) demonstrated the Vygotskian approach with reciprocal teaching methods in their successful program to teach reading strategies. The teacher and students alternated turns leading small group discussions on reading. After modeling four reading strategies, students began to assume the teaching role. Results of this study showed significant gains over other instructional strategies. Cognitively Guided Instruction is another strategy to implement Vygotsky’s theory. This strategy involves the teacher and students exploring math problems and then sharing their different problem solving strategies in an open dialogue (Riddle, 1999). Vygotsky’s social development theory challenges traditional teaching methods. Historically, schools have been organized around recitation teaching. According to Hausfather, (as cited in Riddle, 1999) â€Å"the teacher disseminates knowledge to be memorized by the students, who in turn, recite the information back to the teacher†. However, the studies described above offer empirical evidence that learning, based on the social development theory, facilitates cognitive development over other instructional strategies (Riddle, 1999). School structure does not reflect the rapid changes that society is experiencing. Opportunities for social interaction have greatly increased with the introduction and integration of computer technology. Therefore, the social context for learning is transforming as well. Learning relationships can now be formed from distances through cyberspace, whereas collaboration and peer instruction was once only possible in shared physical space (Bacalarski, 1994). Computer technology is a cultural tool that students can use to mediate and internalize their learning. According to Kathryn Crawford (as cited in Riddle, 1999) â€Å"recent research suggest changing the Learning Theories 6 learning contexts with technology is a powerful learning activity†. If schools continue to resist structural change, students will not be as prepared as they should be for the world. Lev Vygotsky lived during the Russian Revolution, a time of great change in his culture. His theory was that biological and cognitive development does not happen apart from each other. These two developments sustain and grow from each other. This is when learning takes place. Because of this theory, his environment of change was a great influence in his own cognitive processes. Learning Theories 7 References Bacalarski, M. C. , (1994). Vygotsky’s Developmental Theories and the Adulthood of Computer Mediated Communication: a Comparison and an Illumination. Retrieved November 7, 2003 from http://psych. hanover. edu/vygotsky/bacalar. html. Funderstanding, (2001). Vygotsky and Social Cognition. Retrieved November 7, 2003 from http://www. funderstanding. com/vygotsky. cfm. Kearsley, G. , (1998). Social Development (Vygotsky). Retrieved November 9, 2003 from http://members. aol. com/daidpeal/vygotsky. html. Riddle, E. M. , (1999). Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory. Retrieved November 7, 2003 from www. kihd. gmu. edu/immersion/knowledgebase/theorists/constructivism/vygotsky.

Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plato - Essay Example In this tragedy lies heroism and moral fortitude. Although deemed guilty by the then prevailing laws of Athens, he stands righteous in spirit. Even when given the choice between a life in exile or immediate execution, he chose the latter as a matter of adhering to principle. The following passages will elaborate this assessment. Socrates was brought to trial by the democratic Athenian jury, which had scores to settle with prominent members of the previous regime. Socrates’ association with the previous regime made him a target of persecution, irrespective of the veracity of the alleged charges. He was accused of undermining religious and state authority and for also corrupting the minds of young Athenians. But in reality, Socrates made no deliberate attempts to bring down the religious and state authorities. Instead, he encouraged his students to adopt a critical approach to moral actions, also suggesting that the Athenian rulers themselves are not exempt from such scrutiny. E ven when sentenced to death by the Athenian court, Socrates did not try to evade his fate, but rather accepted it with equanimity. Even though he is termed ‘guilty’ by the Athenian court, his rationale for accepting the verdict reveals the moral soundness of his decision, thus, in effect, vindicating his moral righteousness. (Vlastoc, 1991, p.114) For example, â€Å"At 49c-d Socrates elaborates his leading premise to 'one should not wrong any person', adding to this 'not even if one has been wronged by him'. At 49e5-7 he states a further premise 'one should do what one has agreed to do, provided that it is not wrong'. He then proposes that it follows from these premises that it would be wrong for him to escape (49e9-50a3)†. (Bostock, 1990, p.2) By reasoning in this fashion, Socrates puts principles ahead of self-interest. In this broad sense, he is really not guilty. Moreover, his concern for law and order among Athenian civilians made him put public interest ahe ad of his own. For example, â€Å"if Socrates tries to escape, he will be attempting, for his part, to destroy the Laws, and (thereby) the whole city; for a city could not survive if the verdicts reached by the courts were set aside and rendered powerless by individuals. (50a8-b8).† (Bostock, 1990, p.2) Socrates reasons that one should do nothing wrong, further adding that his own life till that point was lived in accord with this premise. Since disobeying Athenian laws would amount to doing wrong, he argues against his own bodily interest and surrenders to the court. He thus accepts the death penalty imposed on him as a matter of righteous conduct and lawful behavior. It is easy to extend this logic and come to the conclusion that Socrates thought that it would always be wrong for any citizen of Athens to disobey any law of the city. But a detailed analysis of all of Socrates’ sayings shows that this is not the case. Moreover, there is ambiguity and contradiction with in the set of Athenian law that creates sufficient doubt about the ‘guilty’ verdict: â€Å"The Laws say that if Socrates escapes he will have both failed to obey and failed to persuade (52a3-4). Now quite a natural way of taking this charge would be to suppose that it claims that Socrates has not obeyed the law against impiety and corrupting the young, and also has not persuaded the jury that he should not be condemned on this account. If that is the correct way of taking it, then our proposed third

Operations Management - Discussion Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations Management - Discussion Paper - Essay Example The question of survival of the fittest has made the business organizations to increasingly take resort to the above strategy (Lawler and Worley, 2006, p.154-155). The paper endeavors to further divulge on the issue of gaining a new workforce at the cost of the existing people in a much detailed fashion. Maintenance of Stable Workforce within Organizations in Respect of Changing Markets The fact of changing market conditions impose challenges over the business organizations in regards to maintaining a stable workforce. It is found that to overcome the stress of external changes in the technological and competitive business sphere business organizations have shifted their endeavor to work for the development of the existing people to recruiting readymade skillful and productive workers from outside. Though it is held that retiring workers increases the turnover cost of the concerns yet it helps the concerns to strategize the development process of staffs to meet market demands. In ord er to compete with the technological and business development of its competitors the business concerns need to take in effective manpower that can be trained quite faster to help the organization counter market challenges. The policy of taking in new recruits and retiring the existing people in regards to market changes and opportunities is referred to as ‘travel light’ and was employed by Kodak when film technology shifted from chemical to digital. Chemical engineers were replaced by digital photography engineers (Lawler and Worley, 2006, p.154-156). Workforce Stability in Organizations based on Financial Position of the Concern It is observed that taking resort to the above discussed ‘travel light’ human resources policy endangers the business organization in regards to increasing the cost of human resources of the concern. The organization needs to both render immediate financial benefits to the retiring employees and also to invest quite enough to recru it and train the new workforce. Further the new workers need to be properly streamlined into the business process which requires enough time leading loss of productivity and thereby rise in business costs. Administrative costs also get highly tuned to such both in relation to rendering advertisements for recruiting and also in terms of generation of insurance, uniform and other costs for the new individuals. Again the new employees on failing to use the machineries in the right manner lead to increase in the cost of erosion of such. The time required for the new employees to be trained properly requires existing employees to perform the overtime work for which they are required to be rightly paid. This increases the cost of operations for the firm (Indicator Protocols Set: EC, 2006, p.7). Organizational Productivity in terms of Skills and Competition and Workforce Stability Organizations round the world in order to better compete with their competitors are found to take resort of ne wer and productive workforce based on new skill sets. However such practice of the business conc

Apple Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Apple - Assignment Example is the story of the late Steve Jobs life and history, and he is in many ways linked to the success of the company. In the 1990’s Apple’s market share and fortunes suffered a dip and spiraled down. Steve Jobs, who had left the company in 1985, made a comeback in 1996, became the CEO and embarked on changing the company’s fortunes. His return heralded the beginning of a new way of doing things. He introduced products that were easier to use and more responsive to consumer needs (Elliot, 2012). The first of these was the iMac introduced in 1998, followed by the iPod music player in 2001 and the iTunes music store in 2003. These products under the leadership of Jobs significantly turned around the company’s fortunes and changed its philosophy, from a computer company to a consumer electronics and media sales one. More eye-catching products including Smartphones and tablets were introduced and by 2012 it was the largest global public trading corporation with a US $626 billion value higher than that of established names like Microsoft or Google. Its revenue in 2012 totaled US $ 65 billion dollars and rose to US$ 156 in 2012 which was a major turnaround (Dubrin, 2015). This turn around teaches us several lessons in Management starting with the inspirational leadership of Steve Jobs. He relied on a group of engineers and designers to innovate Apple’s products. This group was highly motivated and inspired. They would often go for retreats to brainstorm and come up with suggestions. The core team would be comprised of the best brains, and the retreats would serve as means of creating a work-life balance. This team would be well compensated in line with Maslow’s motivation theory and ERG expectancy theory. The core team was close-knit, loyal and stuck together. It was tasked with the creation of Apple’s unique products; a challenging, intrinsic as well as extrinsically rewarding job. Steve Jobs set them clear and inspiring objectives and pushed them