How Language Shapes Thought

Shaped by Language: What Comes First the Thought or the Language Language, due to its specific properties, is one aspect that makes human beings unique in comparison to other animals and species. The fact that different languages can alter the way we perceive the world, and objects we view. From the perception of space, time and even nouns, languages changes the way we think. Countless studies show that linguistic processes effect even down to the most fundamental thought processes, which unconsciously shapes our brain altering perception.Language is important to how we deal with experience with each other and how we view the world. Consequently, some cognitive psychologists believe that language may influence thought processes. Because of changing unpredictable of human’s thinking in different cultures, it is difficult to define effects of a particular language on a particular thought pattern. The question of language and thought has been debated constantly similar to the age -old question of what came first the chicken or the egg. Drawing on our experiences we must contemplate the original theory that language shapes thought.The hypothesis introduced by Benjamin Whorf, which is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or linguistic determination has stood the test of time and is a beginning to any debate about language and thought. He believed that our thoughts are completely limited by our language. A strong quote by Benjamin Whorf suggests that, â€Å"We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way–an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language† (Whorf 213-14).This allows me to believe language is basically the need for a given group of people to communicate with each other. Another question to ask when thinking about language is what came first, man or language? The size of oneâ⠂¬â„¢s world can shape the size of their vocabulary. Given that man preceded language, every culture shaped different languages according to their specific environments and needs. Resulting in that language is a human cultural that as a nation one helps to make evolve.Not only does their own language shape the culture, but also the interaction with other cultures. Language is a force that allows humans to create ties that bind into a community, providing them social, individual, or cultural identification. In James Baldwin text, â€Å"If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is,† he refers language to being an unparalleled power by stating, â€Å"Language is also a political instrument, means and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity† (242).Baldwin draws points of language’s importance to the experience of the African slaves. Having no common language, the slaves were unable to communicate with one another. They evol ved a language, which they used to articulate their familiar experience and shaped their own community. The African Americans evolved a dialect of English that enabled them to describe their reality and establish their own distinct cultural identity. It is controversial how the humans think by figures or by concepts.In general, it is clear that thinking happens via ideas and imagination, which are expressed by words, and organized in speech. Sciences claim that thinking and language are so related, that changes in languages can organize thoughts, ideas, imaginations and human actions. The word â€Å"macho† shows the difference between thought and the language spoken in both English and Spanish. The essay â€Å"Americanization Is Tough on ‘Macho’† written by Rose Del Castillo Guibault examines the cultural differences behind one certain word.When referring to a Hispanic who is â€Å"macho† resembles that he is a responsible, hardworking man in charge . Even though the language and the word is the same the thought is different in English. The American macho has a negative reference meaning to the word such as: brute, uncouth, loud, abrasive, and a chauvinist (238). When language is used in the normal way, the speaker has a thought with certain content and chooses words such that on the basis of those words the listener will be able to recognize that the speaker has a thought with that content.This example reiterates that once words and phrases supporting particular notions and thinking have been formed, they have the effect of embedding those notions and thoughts firmly and therefore becoming cultural norms. Accepting the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in its â€Å"strong† form that language completely determines thought can be hard for any individual. Taking in the opposing views can show other avenues of the language and thought theory. Just as the chicken and egg question we as humans cannot know everything, or should know ever ything. Some things are left open for interpretation and personal views.So a more limited Whorfianism, that states that â€Å"the ways in which we see the world may be ‘influenced’ rather than completely determined by the kind of language we use, in particular our language can affect that we remember and what we find it easy to pay attention to† (Chandler). As humans continue to grow on this earth our environment shape languages and languages shapes you as your instrument for thought. Work Cited Baldwin, James C. (1979). â€Å"If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? † The New York Times, July 29, 1979 by the New York Times Company Chandler, David. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. † The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. N. p. , 18 Sept. 1995. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. . Guilbault, Rose Del Castillo. â€Å"Americanization Is Tough on ‘Macho’† About Language: A Reader for Writers. 5th Ed. Eds. William H. Roberts and Gregoire Turge on. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 238-39. Whorf, B. L. (1940): ‘Science and Linguistics', Technology Review 42(6): 229-31, 247-8. Also in B. L. Whorf (1956): Language, Thought and Reality (ed. J. B. Carroll). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

Genetic Engineering Tutorial

Chapter 14 Genetic Engineering Choose the best answer for each question. 1. Using this key, put the phrases in the correct order to form a plasmid carrying the recombinant DNA. Key: 1) use restriction enzymes 2) Use DNA ligase 3) Remove plasmid from parent bacterium 4) Introduce plasmid into new host bacterium. A. 1, 2, 3, 4C. 3, 1, 2, 4 B. 4, 3, 2,1 D. 2, 3, 1, 4 2. Which is not a clone? A. a colony of identical bacterial cells B. identical quintuplets C. a forest of identical trees D. eggs produced by oogenesis E. copies of a gene through PCR 3.Restriction enzymes found in bacterial cells are ordinarily used A. during DNA replication B. to degrade the bacterial cell’s DNA C. to degrade viral DNA that enters the cell D. to attach pieces of DNA together 4. Recombinant DNA technology is used A. for gene therapy B. to clone a gene C. to make a particular protein D. to clone a specific piece of DNA E. All of these are correct 5. In order for bacterial cells to express human genes , A. the recombinant DNA must not contain introns. B. reverse transcriptase is sometimes used to make complementary DNA from an mRNA molecule.C. bacterial regulatory genes must be included. D. All of these are correct. 6. The polymerase chain reaction A. utilizes RNA polymerase B. takes place in huge bioreactors C. utilizes temperature insensitive enzyme D. makes lots of nonidentical copies of DNA E. All of these are correct 7. DNA fingerprinting can be used for which of these? A. identifying human remains B. identifying infectious diseases C. finding evolutionary links between organisms D. solving crimes E. All of these are correct 8. DNA amplified by PCR and then used for fingerprinting could come from A. ny diploid or haploid cell B. only white blood cells that have been karyotyped C. only skin cells after they are dead D. only purified animal cells E. both B and D are correct 9. Which of these pairs is incorrectly matched? A. DNA ligase – DNA fingerprint B. Restriction en zymes – Cloning C. DNA fragments – DNA fingerprinting D. DNA polymerase – PCR 10. Which of these is an incorrect statement? A. bacteria secrete the biotechnology product into the medium B. plants are being engineered to have human proteins in their seeds. C. nimals are engineered to have a human protein in their milk. D. animals can be cloned, but plants and bacteria cannot. 11. Which of these is not needed in order to clone an animal? A. sperm from a donor animal B. nucleus from an adult animal cell C. enucleated egg from a donor animal D. host female to develop the embryo E. All of these are needed 12. Because the human genome Project, we know or will know the A. sequence of the base pairs of our DNA B. sequence of genes along the human chromosomes C. mutations that lead to genetic disorders D.All of these are correct 13. The restriction enzyme called EcoRI has cut double stranded DNA in the following manner. The piece of foreign DNA to be inserted has what ba ses from the left and from the right? 14. Which of these is a true statement? A. Plasmids can serve as vectors B. Plasmids are linear DNA found in viruses C. Plasmids can replicate in the host cell D. Both A and C are correct 15. Which of these is a benefit of having insulin produced by biotechnology? A. It is just as effective B. It can be mass produced C. It is less expensive D. All of the above

Agriculture in Scandinavia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Agriculture in Scandinavia - Essay Example Agriculture in Scandinavia and the rest of Europe is known to have arrived from South West Asia in pre-historic times in the form of foreign colonists and their domesticated animals, seeds, and potted plants.Study of transition in Southern Scandinavia became easier and more exciting as the region proved to be a laboratory of human prehistory.There are evidences that the early cultures in Middle East around 8000 BC used wild cereals for food which led to cultivated wheat, use of pottery With the fantastic archeological sources and research combined with impressive chronology, Northern Europe, Denmark and southern Scandinavia are a mine of anthropological information today. Study of transition in Southern Scandinavia became easier and more exciting as the region proved to be a laboratory of human prehistory. There are evidences that the early cultures in Middle East around 8000 BC used wild cereals for food which led to cultivated wheat, use of pottery, grains, and this is believed to have spread farming across Neolithic Europe.It is also argued that the farming revolution reached Scandinavia only around 4000 or 3800 BC, according to pottery and winding coils of clay found in the region. This assumption and belief that lasted all these years has been questioned by recent anthropologists, who claim that the farming was not borrowed, but was indigenized and Price is one among them. "Given current archaeological and anthropological evidence, the consensus among Scandinavian archaeologists today is that the introduction of agriculture was largely the result of indigenous adoption" (Price). World agriculture itself is as recent as around 10,000 years. Around 25,000 BC, hunter gatherer communities ventured beyond the arctic circle into Russia and Siberia. This area was colonized by humans only after the retreat of Pleistocene ice around 14,000 years ago. The key events of human history, pertaining to the development of agriculture, include stone tools of 7500 BC, copper and painted pottery of 4500 BC, carved rock faces of Norway with animal subjects of 4000 BC, Ertebelle culture with pointed-bottomed pots and oval bowls. Also, complex wickerwork of 3600 BC, passage tombs, dolmens of megalith, stone blocks of 3500-2500 BC that show organized endeavors, hand formed decorated pottery and year-round settlements of 2800 BC, artisan work of 2500-2000 BC and the burial mounds of elite households of 2200-1600 BC etc. The forest farmers initially seem to have ventured into agriculture and livestock husbandry, which has been evidenced in Central Sweden, South Norway where the Pitted Ware (hunter-gatherer with some agriculture) started and believed to have spread into southern Sweden and parts of Denmark from 5,900 BC onwards. From 4,800 BC onwards, Late Neolithic Farmers and Stock Herders appeared on the scene combined with Corded Ware traditi on, marking the changes in agricultural societies of Scandinavia with small, rather isolated settlements of indefinable groups of agriculturists. From 4,500 BC onwards, independent agriculture started and 3,800 BC onwards the Bronze Age dawned in Norway and Sweden, giving way to technologically advanced agricultural tools. Eastern Europe seems to have continued with part time farming supported by seasonal dwelling practices and a hunters' way of life for a long time. The Linearbandkeramic farming culture spread across Central Europe, but agricultural foodstuffs were introduced in the late Mesolithic and the delay is attributed to flourishing fishing and hunting which avoided the dire need for agricultural products. Later, there is an abundance proof to show that differentiation in status, class and trade held sway over agriculture in these parts as the burial mounds show. Even though Price agrees with most of the above arguments, some of his claims are rather unprecedented. He says by middle Neolithic period, wheat was 96% of the cereals and barley was 22% at later Funnelbeaker sites. In this period, cattle were becoming indispensable representing 80% of the animal husbandry. Technology was slowly being introduced into the agriculture, pottery and weapons. "The common anthropological background of the dualist society tradition, as it originates from Durkheimian sociology, is mirrored in the separation of peasant society from tribal

Young People Television News and Citizenship Literature review

Young People Television News and Citizenship - Literature review Example He made an attempt to study the formulation and development of identities of young informants. He argued that it is possible to investigate the pop culture and media’s significance in the society if an ethnographic research model is employed in the research which is linked with the daily social processes and interaction of the personnel included in the study. Dover (2007) suggested a couple of very useful research methods to study the symbolic- and use-value of pop culture and media with respect to various teen consumers. The research model goes far beyond the link between text and consumer. In his research, Harindranath (2006) constructed a theoretical framework in order to study the media audiences with respect to their involvement in the deliberative democracy. The researcher argued that in order to start the democratic dialogue and exchange of views regarding the public spheres, it is imperative that the concepts of â€Å"mediated knowledge and representation and inequali ty of access to symbolic resources and cultural capital† (Harindranath, 2006) are explored. Buckingham (2002) refers to past research to identify the difficulties encountered by young people while interpreting news along with their perceptions of the way of representation of primary sociopolitical problems in the news. Buckingham (2007) argued that the political understanding needs to be evaluated in context of the modern societies.

Discuss the nature of Enterpreneurship in StreetShine case. What are Essay

Discuss the nature of Enterpreneurship in StreetShine case. What are the outcomes and how do they differ from those that might be achieved by philanthropy - Essay Example In general, the level of commitment is greater in a social organization than a commercial organization. A number of scholars and experts define a social enterprise as a business whose principal business purpose is the well being of the society (Chapman, Forbes and Brown, 2007; Darby and Jenkins, 2006). These establishments use various types of methods and disciplines of business coupled with the power of the marketplace for the purpose of advancing the environmental, social and human justice agendas (Black, 2002; Vega and Kidwell, 2007). This essay seeks to throw light on the nature of entrepreneurship in StreetShine case. Furthermore, the essay will also discuss different types of factors related to a social enterprise. However, prior to getting deeper into the analysis portion, the study will at first carry out an in-depth analysis of the case. The case begins with the introduction of StreetShine, a social enterprise operating in the UK. The venture was initiated by Nick Grant in the year 2004 and operates from London. The organization is operating in association with the homeless charity, Thames Reach Bondway. StreetShine specializes in employment and training opportunities for the individuals who are in the process of rebuilding their lives or have experienced homelessness. Furthermore, the organization also runs a professional shoeshine service in hotels and city offices of London. The aim of the organization is to offer the shoe shiners to earn guaranteed income opportunity and along with that gain transferable and valuable skills. The notion of social enterprises came into existence in the mid of the 20th century for the prime purpose of addressing the needs of those segments of the society that has not been dealt properly by the government or the corporate sector (Chapman, Forbes and Brown, 2007; Vega and Kidwell, 2007). Despite the presence of non-profit organizations, since the mid of 1800s in various forms,

Dementia Patient Care Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dementia Patient Care Plan - Assignment Example Different diseases that directly affect the brain can lead to the development of dementia, with the major cause being Alzheimer disease. As much as scientists have not identified the exact reasons behind and process that individuals develop Alzheimer disease, it is evident that it results from the death of neurons (nerve cells) in the brain (Lu & Bludau, 2011). It is evident that a type of protein referred to as beta-amyloid and protein fiber masses form deposits within the brain of individuals with the disease. Peter* is an 86-year-old Navajo of American-Indian background. He lives with Maria*, his 80-year-old wife, in a ranch on the outskirts of Alaska. The couple solely depends on Peter’s retirement benefits that are not enough to cater for their needs. The government’s health insurance is limited; hence, the family’s expenses majorly lies in Peter’s healthcare. The couple never had children and has to be independent at old age. However, Peter cut-off his drinking habits after attending rehabilitation. In his heydays, he was a professional footballer right before he retired from football and joined the media as a sports reporter. During his football career, Peter was admitted to hospital for a concussion and a brain contusion after continuous complaints of losing balance and having blurred vision. Peter has faced ten driving under the influence (DUI) charges that led to him losing his driving license and attending a rehabilitation center. Peter’s wife has osteoporosis and is weak, an aspect that has made it difficult for her to take care of her husband. Peter has reported cases of increased confusion and forgetfulness. For example, he stated that he often looks for something when he is holding it in the hand, and forgets names of close people and places. Such occurrences have increased concerns for Peter that he could be developing Alzheimer’s disease.  

Government of South Australia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Government of South Australia - Assignment Example In this particular case, the damage caused to Thad is attributable to an act of commission by Mick, and which was diametrically opposite to the given set of instructions by the former. Thad just needed a quote for the earthmoving job, and he never made any mention whatsoever of immediately carrying out the job (earthmoving). The fact that Mick acted in conformity with the instructions of Thad, and that it was Bobette who misinterpreted the communication from Mick, is not of any concern to Thad. Secondly, Thad is also empowered to file a suit against Bobette, by invoking the provisions of â€Å"trespass†, as elaborated by the Summary Offences Act 1953. This Law describes â€Å"trespass† as any act by a person, in entering on to the land of another person, without any valid authorization or invitation. As per this Act, the aggrieved party is enabled to carry out legal proceedings against the trespasser, to recover compensation for any damage caused by them (trespasser). (2) In the case, Thad had to face a rather huge loss, on account of the unauthorized earthmoving operation of Bobette, as he lost the highly lucrative offer from Australian Conservation Council. As mentioned earlier, the communication gap between Mick and Bobette can in no way be used to prevent Thad from claiming damages, as throughout the course of all the events related to the case, he (Thad) was always specific in his communications with Mick. 2) In this particular case, Bobcat has very limited options for seeking relief through legal recourse, as well as for claiming the amount of its account. As a matter of fact, this aspect of the case involving Bobette and Mick signifies the most intricate facet of the case. Both of them acted in utmost good faith and the communication gap is attributable solely to the circumstances prevailing during the first telephonic talk between Mick and Bobette.

How were European captives treated by Americans Essay

How were European captives treated by Americans - Essay Example Long before the Europeans started the ritual of slavery, Native Americans showed some cases of slavery where captives were enslaved. However, the enslavement practices of Native Americans were quite different from the European practices. The Native Americans did not treat their slaves as inferior creatures. The Native American culture allowed the slaves to acquire freedom through various options. As already mentioned they could either get adopted in the family or else they could free themselves through marriage, in cases of death of their masters or by performing any particular service that provided them freedom from the captor. 2 Not all captives were taken into enslavement; they were also tortured under different conditions. There was also a culture of killing the captives or selling them to the enemies for personal benefits by the Native Americans. A sect of Native Americans had beliefs that captives should be treated according to their bravery and courage in the war. If the capti ve was brave then he earned the respect of the captors. Some captives were sold in exchange for new weapons, food, clothing and other needed items when the Native Americans were in dire need of new weapons and goods at that

Jackson Pollock's Convergence as Fine Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jackson Pollock's Convergence as Fine Art - Essay Example The paper "Jackson Pollock's Convergence as Fine Art" concerns the art of Jackson Pollok. In 1973, his 1952 painting of Blue Poles was purchased by the Australian government for an outstanding amount of US$2 million—that time the highest price ever paid for a contemporary work of art. His paintings are currently valued up to US$40 million. Only works by Rembrandt, Velazquez and da Vinci had commanded more respect and higher prices in the art market. Another of Pollock’s most well-known pieces is Convergence (1952, oil on canvas, 93 1/2 x 155 inches, exhibited in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York). The Springbok Company introduced Convergence as a jigsaw puzzle in 1965. The 340-piece jigsaw puzzle was billed as â€Å"the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle† as hundreds of thousands of Americans struggled to piece together the reproduction of Pollock’s complex art. As Jackson Pollock rose to fame and to a significant reputation in the world of art, some critics argued whether his paintings were really "art", or just mere paint drips on canvas. The seemingly simple act Pollock performed fuelled controversies and split the public opinion. His masterworks triggered discussions whether his style was raw genius or was his work an arbitrary composition of paint brought about by a drunken state. The definition of art is frequently the issue of debate and argument. What constitutes its nature and qualities is a complicated matter. Who is authorized to define art is also a subject of disputations.

WAR Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

WAR - Article Example this is regarding to the agreement with some large companies that would contribute and help students to manage his work position.students in the universities will get the option to ownership the device or to rent it .WARcreates a virtual environment for learning based on simulated examples from course curriculum.. The projector is used to display 3D models and also has a lamp and speakers. The pen type projector consists of photolithography lenses operating in 3D to reflect images and components. WAR itself can be thought of as a unique and innovative concept incorporating the state-of-the-art technologies of ubiquitous learning, adaptive multiple intelligences, etc. Tangible to intangible The business model of WAR is unique in terms of providing the advantages of a ubiquitous learning environment that facilitates students to learn the concepts of their curriculum in virtual real-time using models that can be projected in 3D. The idea of WAR also can be found to be unique in its appr oach to marketing and business, as it focuses on the creation of value to customer rather than creating a tangible asset for economic profitability. The intangible nature of the innovation makes it a standard frame of reference for delivering service over a network of businesses and academic entities. While the philosophy of service delivery through WAR is akin to the concept of Service-dominant Logic (SDL) (Lusch et al., 2011) which helps managements and marketers to use this frame of reference to deliver intangible service offerings, the efficient utilization of the service still depends on the ability of the consumer or student, manager, teacher, etc.in utilizing the service for profitability through increasingly collaborative processes. Personalized experience Consumers today have more access to information, increasingly network in the globalized world, use internet technologies to become aware of the products and services of different companies and are able to provide feedback. There is an increasing awareness of the rights and responsibilities of both consumers and companies owing to increased communication and collaboration during their interactions. Further, companies always have to engage consumers for sustaining their business and also bringing the consumer-company interaction under severe scrutiny.This leads to a challenging situation for companies to develop innovative and profitable patterns of collaboration that can help create value for both and a coherent system for value creation that matches the company’s supply value chain and consumer demand is to be developed based on a new frame of reference for value creation, called co-creation (Source 1). Co-creation of value is centered on consumer experience, and the design of WAR successfully achieves this value in terms of a small device or pen and a flexible temporary ownership of the device. While the different events during consumer-company interaction create experiences for the consumer in the context of space and time, it is the individual consumer’s experience that determines meaning of the interaction. This personal involvement and experience is a combination of subjective, objective and relational events and interactions creating personalized experiences, with the individual at the centre and companies having little say over the outcomes (Source 2). WAR has been achieving this goal with its targeting of students in two phases: experience and share the program and providing feedback. While co-creating of value is important for a company, it should also be able to deliver profits against this value creation, which is another major consideration for the companies. Delivering Profits Customer-centered marketing does not

Immanual Kant Ethical Contribution Essay Example for Free

Immanual Kant Ethical Contribution Essay Born in Konigsberg, East Prussia in 1724, Immanuel Kant began school at the early age of eight years. He studied at the Collegium Fridiricianum, a Latin school that focused on classicism. Later he attended the University of Konigsberg and his major studies were physics, mathematics and philosophy. After receiving his doctorate, Kant became a teacher at the University and focused on philosophy. He was well known for his unorthodox approaches to religion and religious text that many students admired. However his radical teachings caught the eye of King Frederich William II, who barred him from any further writings. Kant obeyed the king until after the king’s death, Kant continued to write and publish his views on religion. He is famous for his deontic philosophical approach which believed actions were morally right or wrong, without the regard to consequences. Kant argued being moral was also being rational. Kant wrote the book Critique of Pure Reason in 1781 in which he investigated the limits of human knowledge and the ability to reason. Kant argued that we act morally because that is what reason demands and he analyzed the nature of reason and what it means to be rational. In 1797 Kant furthered his writings in the Metaphysics of Ethics, where he writes that reason is the fundamental authority for morality. The European Graduate School dictates â€Å"Metaphysics describes a science concerned with this inquiry, a solution to unsolvable problems set by pure reason itself, namely the concepts of God, freedom and Immortality. † Kant believed that our sense of duty, approved by reason and rationality, is considered moral. Kant believed that consequences were not important, but the processes in which people think when they make their choices. Kant argued only one thing was inherently good, and that was good will. Good will is also doing the right thing, doing one’s duty and respecting moral law. (LaFave 2006) This good will is found only in humans, not material, gives us human’s dignity and is our power of rational moral choice. (Garrett 2006) According to Kant, when we respect moral law we are doing something because it makes us feel good and we are doing it out of duty, not inclinations. Kant argues we know what the moral law is by using Categorical Imperative. The Categorical Imperative states â€Å"Act only on those maxims (or rules of action) that you could, at the same time, will to be universal law. † (Garrett 2006) Three tests must pass to for an act to be considered moral, 1) it must be amenable to being made consistently universal, 2) it must respect rational beings as ends in themselves; and 3) it must stem from and respect the autonomy of rational beings. (DeGeorge p. 64) Immanuel Kant unknowingly created what is now called Kantian philosophy with his works and studies. Not only did he have a major impact on literature and the fine arts, his biggest contribution was to modern philosophy. Kant died in 1804. Works Cited DeGeorge, Richard. Business Ethics. 7th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Garret, Jan. â€Å"Kant’s Duty Ethics. † Wku. edu. Western Kentucky University, 2 October 2006. Web. 12 June 2012. â€Å"Immanuel Kant – Biography. † Eds. edu, European Graduate School, n. d. Web. 12 June 2012. LaFave, Sandra, â€Å"Kant’s Ethics. † Instruct. westvalley. edu. West Valley College, 16 August 2006. Web. 12 June 2012.

Impact Of Higher Level Teaching Assistant Education Essay

Impact Of Higher Level Teaching Assistant Education Essay In 2003, there has been a reform that was signed in order to reform the school workforce. Sets of National Standards were produced in order to reflect the production of Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA). The main purpose of posting HLTAs is to provide a high level of classroom support to help ensure that teachers can focus on their teaching role. A HLTA post-holder will be expected to take on more involved roles in support of teaching and learning and may line manage other support staff (e.g. TAs, LSAs). The precise details of the role will be determined by the school/college. HLTAs work strictly under the direction and guidance of a teacher, within the framework of management and supervision of their school/college. Responsibility for teaching and learning remains with the teacher (and ultimately the head/principal), who will exercise their professional judgment based on what is best for pupils. The distinction between HLTAs and TAs is that HLTAs take on higher level roles than other TAs, including planning their own role within the classroom (in support of the teachers planning) and undertaking some teaching activities within an appropriate system of supervision provided by a teacher. HLTAs may line manage other support staff, including TAs. This paper shall discuss the impact made by HLTAs on teaching and learning. This shall also look into the cost being incurred by posting HLTAs as well as supply rates as opposed to covering of teaching assistants. Impact of HLTA in Teaching Practice The NfER 2007 report Deployment and impact of support staffà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ cited in the cwd council e-bulletin no.06 August 2007 revealed more than 90% of the senior leaders who responded believe Higher Level Teaching Assistants are having a positive effect within schools and on pupil performance. In some school localities the opportunity to use able TAs in community liaison and fund raising has been a real bonus, bringing very diverse communities closer together. Equally comments such as C. contributes to the School Improvement Plan and represents TAs and chairs TA meetings every two weeks, clearly demonstrates how the role of the TA can be moved forward to the benefit of a whole setting particularly as many settings now have a considerable number of TAs. One setting had twenty three TAs, all of whom need managing and timetabling. She (the HLTA) has a base room and allocates other TAs to specific classes, were the words from one setting. TAs also need to be kept informed of happenings and discussions within settings thus a HLTA representative at meetings has aided the ability to keep TAs informed as they cascade information. It also means that TAs do not all need to attend meetings and yet are all kept informed. This means that numbers at meetings are more manageable and it means TAs who are paid less do not need to give up more unpaid time. There is also the security of knowing that the person covering a class understands and works to the standards but there are difficulties if the HLTA is absent as there are no HLTA supplies currently and so frequently a supply teacher has to be brought in to cover the absent HLTA. In fact there is no insurance to cover the supply when covering for a HLTA. This also raises the issue of pay as the supply would earn more than the TA. There was however one school which had Level two TAs taking classes during PPA time this was questionable as neither wished to undertake HLTA but it is not known if these two had other qualifications that would make this more acceptable. Webb (2010) however argued that while teachers acknowledge the expertise of the assigned HLTAs, as well as the contribution that they are making, most of the teachers believe that their professionalism are being compromised. According to Webbs study, this is because of the HLTAs lack of teaching qualifications. Stewart (2009) shares this same argument. On his study, teachers viewed that the creation of HLTAs is a threat for their professional status. Moreover, a review of Childrens Services Scrutiny Committee was conducted in Oxfordshire County Council with regards to the impact of having support staff in classes. In summary, there have been varied response with regards to the advantages and disadvantages of such. The impact on teachers workload and morale has been positive, though many teachers report that workload continues to increase. Some head teachers, especially, suggest that many teachers have become less flexible. The impact on head teachers workload has been considerable, notably in small schools, especially where they have taken on the responsibility for the details of organization and additional teaching commitments. This has had a negative effect on morale. The impact on support staff has been extremely varied. Some, especially those training to be teachers or HLTAs have greatly welcomed the increased responsibility of leading classes. Of those teaching assistants leading classes without additional training, some enj oy the additional responsibility, but most feel that they do not have the necessary skills, expertise and experience, especially those working with older children. Support staff are often treated with less respect than teachers. Most planning takes account of the medium-term plan, but the responsibility for planning sessions varies widely. Those releasing teachers unwillingly are often concerned about the quality of lessons and sometimes about the health and safety implications. Most support staff have little or no timetabled time to prepare. Much the most common concern, even from those who welcomed the new opportunities, is that any increased levels of pay, by no means universal, in no way matches the additional responsibility. The benefits for teachers workload and morale are perceived to be mainly at the expense of head teachers and support staff who do not wish to lead classes but are doing so. Impact of HLTA in Learning The main benefits for learning are raised standards and support for the students and greater ability to monitor childrens progress. There is also greater continuity and one person questioned said, we are able to deliver sessions more effectively as they (TAs) know the expectations. The TAs also support booster groups, reading, and extends the gifted and talented, and writes reports. According to Walker (2010), there are positive impacts of HLTAs especially those assigned in mathematics and the sciences. According to the students that was interviewed in his case study, the HLTAs made it easier for them to concentrate and stay focused on their tasks; HLTAs also made them feel comfortable, confident and allows them to ask questions; and made the learning experience fun and also HLTAs have helped them to recognize the importance of the subject matter. Moreover, a review of Childrens Services Scrutiny Committee was conducted in Oxfordshire County Council with regards to the impact of having support staff in classes in terms of the students learning and progress. During PPA time, some schools continue with the usual curriculum, especially for children in the Foundation Stage and nursery schools. A changed curriculum is more usual, with PE, Art/Design Technology and a modern foreign language being the most common subjects covered by specialists. Where teaching assistants lead sessions, spelling, handwriting, guided reading and math practice were popular, with other aspects of literacy and numeracy rarely covered. ICT, PSHCE and RE were less frequently mentioned science, history and geography only occasionally. The impact on the quality of the curriculum during PPA time depends very substantially on the quality of the staff leading classes. Where these are specialist teachers or coaches, most schools thought the curriculum was enriche d. Unchallenging lessons result in lessons less well differentiated for those of different abilities. This often leads to poor behavior where staff leading a class were not well qualified and familiar with the children, especially with older children in Key Stage 2. Children who find change difficult were reported as finding a range of adults difficult, but the Review Group believes it is good for children to learn to relate to different adults, as long as this change is not too frequent. The range of the curriculum was usually thought in schools where specialists are used to have been broadened, sometimes in the subjects covered, sometimes in extending provision to a wider age range. The evidence suggests that the quality of teaching and learning has improved in the rest of the week, particularly because of improved planning and assessment. However, time for curriculum coordinators has been reduced. Though many support staff, especially, are concerned about reduced targeted support for children with special educational needs, the evidence on the overall impact on this group is not conclusive. The use of outside specialists runs the risk of reducing opportunities for cross curricular links and, unless the National Curriculum is closely followed, not providing full curriculum coverage and appropriate progression within a subject. Monitoring both at class and at whole-school level of the impact of PPA time on the curriculum has mostly been informal. Impact of HLTA in Engagement The feedback from one setting with regard to engagement was using TAs has engaged the children and given a sense of purpose. Another setting remarked that there was now very good constant contact with all the staff and children, which is clear evidence of good practice. Overall the engagement appeared to be better or what we already do or just reinforced or brilliant as one setting put it. The feedback to Have HLTAs had an impact in the workplace was generally positive, HLTAs have undertaken PPA, they have covered a range of subjects, some of the OFSTED reports have commented on the good work of the TAs and evidence was in raised standards in some subjects. They had enriched practice as a direct result of their personal and varied experience. One head-teacher even went so far as to say that experience has more of an impact than the qualification/ status, but as another head remarked an unqualified set of staff is a mums army. Generally only those HLTAs who could manage the children were given extended roles as no setting wishes to create further problems. The skills and strengths of the TA were always taken into consideration. The tracking of children had been developed in some settings. One setting said they had fewer problems as it is a familiar adult. Overall the engagement of children was very positive but the HLTA had to be competent as the classes need to see them as the teachers equal. Another setting said that children are open minded to any engaging teacher or TA, thus where the HLTA demonstrates this, the outcome is positive. Positives in Achieving HLTA A study conducted by the Derby City Local Authority have results regarding the positive advantages of having TAs in attaining HLTA. This new knowledge in turn makes the person feel more confident which in turn develops their sense of self and thus raises their own and others perception of themselves. The NfER report 2007 cited in the cwdcouncil e-bulletin no.06 August 2007 claimed that 74% of HLTAs said their status had led to increased confidence and over half cited greater job satisfaction. 73% of TAs agreed that they would recommend HLTA to other TAs clearly demonstrating a positive view of the achievement. 75% believed HLTA had opened up new opportunities for them. 92% felt HLTA was the best way forward in terms of professional development. Currently the TAs are not convinced that HLTA has helped them to progress but there is still a slight increase in those who think it has as the following demonstrates. The question did not really apply to those who had not yet achieved HLTA. 31% said HLTA had helped them to progress professionally whilst only 15% said that HLTA had not helped them to progress professionally. Overall those who had achieved HLTA were fairly positive and the results demonstrated that remodeling has had an impact but there is less clarity as to the role HLTA has played in this. 35% felt positive about achieving HLTA whilst only 4% were negative about achieving HLTA. Conclusion There was quite clearly a role in most settings for a HLTA or equivalent and this person usually had effective interpersonal skills, was good at time management and planning, they frequently had an additional skill such as art or music and as one Head teacher put it, they need to prove themselves as all employed people have to. The organisation of a setting often had an impact on the number of HLTAs or equivalents as some settings developed one TAs role whilst others split the extended role between two or more TAs. This could also reflect the number of TAs who are ready and experienced sufficiently for such a role as HLTA. Deployment of HLTAs needs to be more attractive with remuneration but once this is achieved HLTAs can make a significant contribution to the management of other TAs, to scaffolding information and representing TAs at meetings. The TAs are interested in further training with a small per cent age of TAs seeking HLTA or teaching and some TAs still requiring Key Skills. There needs to be a relevant professional development route for aspiring TAs with more recognition of the different routes. The HLTA status training needs to include a direct observation of the potential HLTA working with a large group or class as happens to all NQTs and other adults working with classes. TAs are making a considerable contribution to our schools and this research so far seems to demonstrate their distinct contribution as stated in the TDA (2006:3)HLTA Training pack but they are by their continued professional development also helping to create the World-class workforce for children, young people and families, that is the Childrens Workforce Development Councils vision. However as one TA remarked, I would not be interested in the HLTA as I feel that the work involved is far greater than the recognition and pay. This needs to be addressed if we wish to encourage TAs to embrace the changes further. Yet 75% of TAs would still recommend HLTA to other TAs. Overall, the presented literature show that in terms of HLTAs impact on teaching, there are two opposing views. Some of the teachers view that HLTAs are a threat to their profession. In spite of the contributions that HLTAs are giving, it is believed that their professionalism are being compromised because of the lack of teaching experience of HLTAs. On the other hand, other teachers reported that HLTAs have positive contributions for the improvement of their teachings quality. Many teachers still believe that the support that these HLTAs are giving helped them in reducing their workloads and stress. In terms of learning, HLTAs support has contributed in the improvement of the students understanding of the subject matter. Also, they have helped in the improvement of of the students achievement and opportunities for their personalized learning. Finally, in spite of varying opinions regarding the impact of HLTA, it is very important to note that these higher level teaching assistants are doing their best to aid the teachers. It is recommended that their skills should be monitored and upgraded periodically so that their outputs could be exceptional as well.

Is Volunteer Tourism Defeating The Point Tourism Essay

Is Volunteer Tourism Defeating The Point Tourism Essay Volunteer tourism is described as the modern phenomenon of travelling overseas as a volunteer (Guttentag 2009: 538), which is exactly what I did in March of 2010. Eleven senior students from my secondary school were chosen to partake in a humanitarian mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We, along with our school chaplain and two teachers, worked with a local organization called Asociacià ³n para el Desarrollo de San Josà © de Ocoa, Inc. (ADESJO), and they sent us on a two hour trip up a bumpy and steep mountain to the village of El Cercado. For two weeks we worked on building ten latrines in the village while getting to know the villagers and making friendships and memories that we would carry with us for the rest of our lives. There is no doubt that as a volunteer tourist I took away a great deal from this trip, but I have begun to wonder what impact volunteer tourism has on host communities and the world at large. After researching the topic of volunteer tourism I have come t o discover that most of the benefits of volunteer tourism are felt by the volunteers themselves and not the host communities and their members. In the area of Global Development Studies this reflects the influence that the Global North has upon the Global South. Even though volunteer tourism is veiled by altruistic intentions, any positive effects could potentially lead to extremely negative effects in the global spectrum. Unsatisfactory work is being done by unskilled volunteers, cross-cultural misunderstanding and cultural stereotypes are being increased and reinforced, and neo-colonialism and capitalism are being supported. This paper will argue that volunteer tourism is more beneficial for the volunteers themselves, while in reality it has negative effects on the locals in host communities. While there are potentially macro scaled negative effects of volunteer tourism, it is important to analyse the initial micro negative effects that lead to these larger negative effects. The first and most important of these micro effects is that unsatisfactory work is being done by unskilled volunteers, while the needs of locals are put aside to focus on the experiences of the volunteers. In recent years volunteer tourism has become very popular, especially among post-secondary students (Bailey and Russel 2010 :353), automatically one is left to question the level of experience these students have in the areas such as infrastructure, education, or environmental conservation. Daniel A. Guttentag (2009) points out that there is a hindrance in work progress and the completion of unsatisfactory work, caused by volunteers lack of skills; (537) and there is even a decrease in employment opportunities (ibid.). It is evident that a great number of volunteer tourists lack certain skills which is undoubtedly due to the fact that they ..do not have enough knowledge, reflection capacity, appropriate skills or qualifications, volunteering and international experience, time to get involved with the locals or altruistic intentions (Palacios 2010: 2). Despite these facts the volunteers experiences are still focused upon. Organizations that plan volunteer tourist trips focus on making the experience of the volunteer tourists trip as enjoyable and safe as possible and work around the needs and desires of the volunteers (Guttentag 2009: 539). Even though some would argue that organization choose volunteers carefully and train them beforehand (Tomazos and Butler 2009:13), this cannot be generalized to all organizations. When the needs and desires of the locals are being ignored in order to service volunteers this negatively affects the lives of the locals in the host communities for they are the people that must endure the potentially poor work done by the volunteers. Volunteer tourists are described as experiential or experimental' (Bailey and Russell 2010: 3), and those two words automatically imply the word different. Volunteer tourists want to experience a different culture in order to grow and re-evaluate who they themselves are as a person (ibid.). Once again the volunteer is experiencing a benefit , but one is left to question what preconceived notion the volunteer has of the culture he or she is entering in to. Another issue that arises with volunteer tourism is that volunteer tourists that arrive in host communities in the Global South with stereotypical ideas increase and reinforce cultural stereotypes and cross-cultural misunderstanding (Raymond and Hall 2008:1). The preconceived notions of the volunteer tourists risk being stereotypical ideas of an impoverished and hungry family living in a shack, which creates a separation between themselves and the locals they come in contact with. If that separation is never bridged, or if the volunteer never gains a true knowledge of the culture because they are too focused on helping the stereotypical other, it creates and enforces cultural stereotype, especially because volunteer tourists may assume that host communities accept their poverty (Raymond and Hall 2008: 2). If there is a lack of communication between the volunteers and the members of the host community then the volunteer gains little to no true experience with the culture they are expe riencing, which can actually negatively impact the host culture (Guttentag 2009: 547). This problem is partly due to how the cultures are being portrayed by organizations. Reflecting true Eurocentric ideals (the notion that the correct way of living is the Western way and all other ways are exotic and irregular), organizations tend to portray volunteer tourist destinations in a way that will attract the volunteer tourists to participate in these excursions. A gap year is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a period of time (usually an academic year) taken by a student as a break from formal education, typically between leaving school and starting a university or college course, and often spent travelling or working (2010). There are organizations that specifically service these gap year students, but they are criticized for: [imposing] a simplistic view of the other so that difference can be sold and consumed. This occurs through the use of sweeping generalisations of destination communities in promotional materials and continues throughout the VTP [Volunteer Tourist Programs] due to lack of critical engagement with the experience. (Raymond and Hall 2008: 3) This simplistic view is meant to enhance the difference between the volunteer tourists and the locals of the host community in order to enhance the volunteers experience, but this is detrimental because it only reinforces Third World stereotypes and has the potential for romanticisation of the other stereotype (Matthews qtd. In Ooi and Lang 2010:3). Once again, the volunteers are benefiting from their experience as volunteer tourists, but it comes at the cost of the people of the Global South who must endure further victimization and stereotypes that create the idea that they must be saved by the Global North because the inequalities between the developed and developing worlds [are highlighted] (Simpson qtd. In Ooi and Land 2010:3). These inequalities reflect global capitalism and neo-colonialism. Poor work quality and issues of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the reinforcement of stereotypes all in the name of the volunteer tourist experience leads to macro-scaled problems of neo-colonialism and the support of capitalism. The Oxford English Dictionary defines neo-colonialism as the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence another country; especially the retention of such influence over a developing country by a former colonial power (2010), and, broadly defined, capitalism is a system having accumulation at its core (Lippit 2007:179). Volunteer tourism is a new way of exploiting the Global South for the gain of the Global North because, as previously mentioned, the needs of the volunteers are focused on despite the fact that poor quality work is being done and it reinforces the notion of the other in order for the volunteer tourists to gain personal experience. Volunteer tourist trips support the notion of the other and reinforce po wer inequalities and thus represent a form of neo-colonialism or imperialism with respect to developing nations (Raymond and Hall qtd. In Ooi and Laing 2010:3). These power inequalities reflect capitalism because it puts the Global South at the bottom of global hierarchy, where they are used in order for those in higher positions the Global North to accumulate money and in this case, to accumulate global experience. This global experience is being gained at the cost of creating a gap between the North and the South in terms of advancement in technology and power, further supporting capitalism. This is reflected in what Guttentag (2009) has termed as the demonstration effect, a term that signifies how a host culture is impacted when tourists draw attention to their lifestyles and items of wealth (11) which leads to the possibility of locals trying to imitate the tourists consumption patterns, and discontent can emerge when these items of wealth are beyond the reach of a host community (ibid.). When attention is drawn to what the volunteer tourists from the Global North have and what the locals of the Global South do not have, it also draws attention the amount of power and wealth that their home countries possess on a global scale. Even now, organizations are aiming to attract the privileged volunteer tourists (Lyons and Wearing 2008: 187), which only increases the gap between the developed and t he underdeveloped, the rich and the poor, capitalism and equality. This inequality between these two worlds has a long history of colonialism, and although that ended after centuries of suffering and exploitation volunteer tourism is arguably a new form of colonialism. Volunteer tourism could possibly degenerate into a voyeuristic exploitation of the cultural other that masquerades as academic sanctioned servant leadership' (Butin qtd. In Sin 2009: 484). The Global North displays altruistic intentions of helping the people of the Global South, while in reality they are exploiting them for their own personal gain which is to train youth to become more socially aware and active, but this only leads to further dependence of the South on the North to repair their problems and ease their hardships. The North remains at the top of the global hierarchy: The basis conclusions of many authors that have contributed to this critical theory of development is that the Western intention of helping underlying the development aid goal as humanitarian as much a colonialist. However , it tends to reproduce the same global patterns of inequality and poverty. Leaving intact if not reinforcing the dominant position of the North. (Escobar et al. qtd. In Palacios 2010: 4) Neo-colonialism, the new form of colonialism, defeats the purposes of all of the fighting that occurred in to end colonialism, while once again the Global South faces the negative consequences of being exploited by the Global North through volunteer tourism. Despite the macro- scaled negative effects that volunteer tourism has the potential of causing, many defend its benefits. Volunteer tourism can enhance civic-related knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours, improve interpersonal skills and emotional regulation, and contribute to better academic performance and meaning in life (Billig et al. qtd. In Bailey and Russell 2010: 3). Also argued is that: the volunteer tourism experience is a direct interactive experience that causes value change and changed consciousness in the individual which will subsequently influence their lifestyle, while providing forms of community development that are required by local communities. (Wearing 2001: 2) Unfortunately, it is evident here that the focus is primarily upon what the volunteer tourists gain from the experience, not the locals of the host communities. These benefits are indeed positive, but mostly for the volunteers and the country that they come from. It is arguable that when the volunteer tourists gain more awareness about these social issues and gain more of a feeling or a desire to make a difference then this will lead to them making a difference in the Global South. However, this is not completely positive because it aids in making the Global South dependent on the Global North. This also reinforces the stereotype of an impoverished and disease-stricken Global South that is doomed unless they are saved by the hero that the Global North has been portrayed as. There is still the argument that volunteer tourism appears able to offer [an] alternative direction where profit objects are secondary to more altruistic desire to travel in order to assist communities (Wearing 20 01: 12) , but this can be an example of the desire for profit being hidden under a veil of altruism there truly is no way knowing whether or not the intentions of volunteer tourists are purely altruistic or driven by egoistic ambitions. Despite the many negative issues that volunteer tourism brings into light, there are attempts to minimise them. Firstly, problems concerning poor work quality done by inexperienced volunteers are being addressed by organizations that offer training to their volunteers that must go through a difficult selection program to begin with (Tomazos and Butler 2009:13). Organizations are also attempting to involve locals in the host communities as much as possible in the work that volunteer tourists are doing, which creates more employment and helps the locals continue with the projects after the volunteers leave (ibid.). Secondly, in an attempt to reduce cross-cultural misunderstanding and the reinforcement of stereotypes, more and more organizations encourage their volunteers to be culturally sensitive and learn from their experience creating understanding and tolerance for other people and cultures (ibid.). Finally, there is a strong desire and attempts to make volunteer tourism beneficial in a way that it teaches others to travel responsibly, especially in regards to the environment, through what has been termed as justice tourism and solidarity tours (Lyons and Wearing 2008: 187) . These forms of tourism aim to move tourists to engage with the lived reality of the locals and to establish interactions based on equity and respect (ibid.). Evidently, there is an attempt to foster more positive effects of volunteer tourism in order to better serve both the volunteers and the locals. To conclude, volunteer tourism is portrayed as being driven by altruistic intentions, however it is evident that the volunteer tourists themselves experience more benefits than do the locals of the host communities. This issue must be addressed because it emphasizes the long standing notion that the North is the only hope of the South in order to be saved from poverty, disease, environmental crises, and even debt, which is actually the exact opposite of what so many theories in this course have implied. The negative consequences of volunteer tourism questions the intentions of volunteers and the organizations that send them, and also questions the intentions of transnational corporations and governments that have come to form global capitalism. Is the intention specifically to always keep the Global South at the bottom of the global hierarchy in order to reap the benefits of the cheap resources that continue to flow from those areas in order to service the lives of the wealthy North? This question can be argued to no end, but there is no answer as straight forward as the fact that even in volunteer tourism the needs of the Global North are put ahead of those in the Global South, while the Global South continues to suffer on too many levels.

An Introduction To Intrusion Detection Systems :: Computer Network Security

I decided to write my paper on Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) because professor mentioned these devices several times in class and I am interested in network security therefore it was a good opportunity for me to learn more about these security systems. An intrusion detection system (IDS) generally detects unwanted manipulations to computer systems, mainly through the Internet. The manipulations may take the form of attacks by crackers. An intrusion detection system is used to detect many types of malicious network traffic and computer usage that can't be detected by a conventional firewall. This includes network attacks against vulnerable services, data driver attacks on applications, host based attacks such as privilege escalation, unwanted logins and access to sensitive files, and malware (viruses, Trojan horses, and worms). Intrusion detection is the process of monitoring the events occurring in a computer system or network and analyzing them for signs of possible incidents, which are violations or imminent threats of violation of computer security policies, acceptable use policies, or standard security practices. Intrusion prevention is the process of performing intrusion detection and attempting to stop detected possible incidents. Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) are primarily focused on identifying possible incidents, logging information about them, attempting to stop them, and reporting them to security administrators. In addition, organizations use IDPSs for other purposes, such as identifying problems with security policies, documenting existing threats, and deterring individuals from violating security policies. IDPSs have become a necessary addition to the security infrastructure of nearly every organization. An IDS is composed of several components: Sensors which generat e security events, a Console to monitor events and alerts and control the sensors, and a central Engine that records events logged by the sensors in a database and uses a system of rules to generate alerts from security events received. There are several ways to categorize an IDS depending on the type and location of the sensors and the methodology used by the engine to generate alerts. In many simple IDS implementations all three components are combined in a single device or appliance. In a network-based intrusion-detection system (NIDS), the sensors are located at choke points in the network to be monitored, often in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) or at network borders. The sensor captures all network traffic and analyzes the content of individual packets for malicious traffic.

The Technology of Landing on Mars :: Computers Space Papers

The Technology of Landing on Mars While just traveling to Mars is a difficult task, landing on the planet has proved to be next to impossible, with only a small fraction of the attempted landings ending in success. Over the years there have been several different designs of Martian landers that have attempted to slip past the proverbial â€Å"galactic ghoul† protecting the planet Mars. However, few of these designs have fared successful at landing smoothly. These technologies have ranged from the original Viking using aero braking and rocket power, to the Mars Pathfinder mission’s novel air bag solution. In order to gain insight into the surface of the red planet, landing is a must. Thus, the potential solutions and their benefits and drawbacks must be examined. The Purpose: Delta V Requirement To get from orbit around Mars to the surface requires a significant amount of braking. First, the lander in orbit has a large amount of gravitational energy with respect to the surface of the planet. Second, orbiting the planet requires a certain velocity that will be greater than the velocity of rotation of the planet for a low orbit, this excess velocity must be bled off as well. Energy requirements they are usually expressed in terms of the change in velocity necessary for a given maneuver, or delta-v. To escape from a planet requires a certain increase in velocity and to land requires a certain decrease. Either way, however, energy is required; in absolute terms, the energy required to land should match the energy required to escape. Escaping the surface of the Earth requires about 11,000 m/s of delta-v. To travel to Mars orbit about 6,000 m/s is required. The smallest portion of the delta-v required is the approximately 5,000 m/s necessary to land on the surface of Mars. (Clarke 221). However, what makes this one of the most interesting phase of the trip is that whereas we pretty much know what to expect from the first two legs of the trip, what types of situations we may encounter on landing are largely unknown. How To: Methods of Landing There are several different options to lower the velocity of the lander once it has reached the planet. These options are generally used in combination with one another for maximum effect. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks, but in combination, some of these can be alleviated. Aerodynamic Drag The most broadly used, and most useful, of the speed-reduction mechanisms fall under the category of aerodynamic drag.

Adolf Hitler Essay examples -- essays research papers

Adolf Hitler On April 20, 1889, the world was changed forever when Adolf Hitler was born to Alois and Klara Hitler in a little town named Braunau-am-Inn, Austria. Alois worked as a customs officer on the border crossing near their hometown. Adolf was the third born in his family, but first to survive. Later would come Edmund, who would live to the age of six, and Paula who would live to out survive Adolf himself. With a poor record in school, Adolf Hitler dropped out with ambitions of becoming an artist. Alois passed away when Adolf was thirteen, so Klara raised Adolf and Paula on her own. Between the ages of sixteen and nineteen is when Adolf Hitler began to become interested in politics. Then, in 1909, Klara Hitler died of cancer and Adolf moved to Vienna in hope of earning a living. Within a year he was living in homeless shelters and eating at charity soup kitchens though. In 1913, Adolf moved to Munich, Germany and volunteered for service in the Germany Army at the outbreak of the First World War. He was accepted into the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Hitler was promoted to corporal and decorated with the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class, he wore the Second Class Iron Cross until his dying day. Ironically, the captain who recommended him for the award was a Jewish man. After this, he began to join a few local army organizations with the mindset of persuading returning soldiers not to turn to communism or pacifism. Hitler was gave his first speech to a large audience. This meeting was a great success, so afterward he organized a much larger event for a crowd of nearly two thousand in Munich Germany. The party was the National Socialist German Workers Party, otherwise known as the Nazi party for short. Shortly after this speech in February, Adolf Hitler was discharged from the army. He continued to expand his influential power inside the party; he began to form groups of friends, thugs, which helped to break up opposing party meetings later. Hitler became the main speaker at all party events, and in 1920 chose the now hated swastika as the Nazi party emblem. By 1921, Adolf Hitler had gained the majority of the support of the Nazi party, and became the leader of the Nazi party with dictatorial powers. But in 1923, Hitler tried to overthrow the German Weimar Republic by force known as the Beer Hall Putsch. Despite capturing the l... ...g countries, he formed alliances with Mussolini and other nations, he had world conquest in sight and he was trying to conquer his neighbors in one blow. Hitler’s main problem was he started to fight to many wars; he had to many fronts to defend so he couldn’t keep his defense fortification strong enough. So his empire began to fall, and his country with it. He was slowly driven back, and his troops moral was declining fast. His dream was over. On May 1, at 9:30 in the evening, Hamburg radio told Germans that a grave announcement was to be made, that the Fuehrer had fallen a war hero. But he didn’t actually die in combat, one theory is that Adolf Hitler was told about his death, and read about it in the London paper obituaries. He actually committed suicide on the previous day in the bunker under the Reich chancellery, where he had been since January 16, 1945. Adolf Hitler’s dream of a one-world government was a good idea and dream; it just came to a corrupt and insane man in a time period that was impossible for such a dream. The world would have been a radically different place if this one man would have had a few small things go different for him during his time of power.

Poetics by Aristotle Essay

Aristotle’s most famous contribution to logic is the syllogism, which he discusses primarily in the Prior Analytics. A syllogism is a three-step argument containing three different terms. A simple example is â€Å"All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal. † This three-step argument contains three assertions consisting of the three terms Socrates,man, and mortal. The first two assertions are called premises and the last assertion is called the conclusion; in a logically valid syllogism, such as the one just presented, the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. That is, if you know that both of the premises are true, you know that the conclusion must also be true. Aristotle uses the following terminology to label the different parts of the syllogism: the premise whose subject features in the conclusion is called theminor premise and the premise whose predicate features in the conclusion is called the major premise. In the example, â€Å"All men are mortal† is the major premise, and since mortal is also the predicate of the conclusion, it is called the major term. Socrates† is called the minor term because it is the subject of both the minor premise and the conclusion, and man, which features in both premises but not in the conclusion, is called the middle term. In analyzing the syllogism, Aristotle registers the important distinction between particulars and universals. Socrates is a particular term, meaning that the word Socrates names a particular person. By contrast, man andmortal are universal terms, meaning that they name general categories or qualities that might be true of many particulars. Socrates is one of billions of particular terms that falls under the universal man. Universals can be either the subject or the predicate of a sentence, whereas particulars can only be subjects. Aristotle identifies four kinds of â€Å"categorical sentences† that can be constructed from sentences that have universals for their subjects. When universals are subjects, they must be preceded by every, some, or no. To return to the example of a syllogism, the first of the three terms was not just â€Å"men are mortal,† but rather â€Å"all men are mortal. † The contrary of â€Å"all men are mortal† is â€Å"some men are not mortal,† because one and only one of these claims is true: they cannot both  be true or both be false. Similarly, the contrary of â€Å"no men are mortal† is â€Å"some men are mortal. † Aristotle identifies sentences of these four forms—â€Å"All X is Y,† â€Å"Some X is not Y,† â€Å"No X is Y,† and â€Å"Some X is Y†Ã¢â‚¬â€as the four categorical sentences and claims that all assertions can be analyzed into categorical sentences. That means that all assertions we make can be reinterpreted as categorical sentences and so can be fit into syllogisms. If all our assertions can be read as premises or conclusions to various syllogisms, it follows that the syllogism is the framework of all reasoning. Any valid argument must take the form of a syllogism, so Aristotle’s work in analyzing syllogisms provides a basis for analyzing all arguments. Aristotle analyzes all forty-eight possible kinds of syllogisms that can be constructed from categorical sentences and shows that fourteen of them are valid. In On Interpretation,Aristotle extends his analysis of the syllogism to examine modal logic, that is, sentences containing the words possibly ornecessarily. He is not as successful in his analysis, but the analysis does bring to light at least one important problem. It would seem that all past events necessarily either happened or did not happen, meaning that there are no events in the past that possibly happened and possibly did not happen. By contrast, we tend to think of many future events as possible and not necessary. But if someone had made a prediction yesterday about what would happen tomorrow, that prediction, because it is in the past, must already be necessarily true or necessarily false, meaning that what will happen tomorrow is already fixed by necessity and not just possibility. Aristotle’s answer to this problem is unclear, but he seems to reject the fatalist idea that the future is already fixed, suggesting instead that statements about the future cannot be either true or false. Organon: The Structure of Knowledge Summary The Categories, traditionally interpreted as an introduction to Aristotle’s logical work, divides all of being into ten categories. These ten categories are as follows: Substance, which in this context means what something is essentially (e. g. , human, rock) * Quantity (e. g. , ten feet, five liters) * Quality (e.g. , blue, obvious). * Relation (e. g. , double, to the right of) * Location (e. g. , New York, home plate) * Time (e. g. , yesterday, four o’clock) * Position (e. g. , sitting, standing) * Possession (e. g. , wearing shoes, has a blue coat) * Doing (e. g. , running, smiling) * Undergoing (e. g. , being run into, being smiled at) Of the ten, Aristotle considers substance to be primary, because we can conceive of a substance without, for example, any given qualities but we cannot conceive of a quality except as it pertains to a particular substance. One important conclusion from this division into categories is that we can make no general statements about being as a whole because there are ten very different ways in which something can have being. There is no common ground between the kind of being that a rock has and the kind of being that the color blue has. Aristotle’s emphasis on the syllogism leads him to conceive of knowledge as hierarchically structured, a claim that he fleshes out in the Posterior Analytics. To have knowledge of a fact, it is not enough simply to be able to repeat the fact. We must also be able to give the reasons why that fact is true, a process that Aristotle calls demonstration. Demonstration is essentially a matter of showing that the fact in question is the conclusion to a valid syllogism. If some truths are premises that can be used to prove other truths, those first truths are logically prior to the truths that follow from them. Ultimately, there must be one or several â€Å"first principles,† from which all other truths follow and which do not themselves follow from anything. However, if these first principles do not follow from anything, they cannot count as knowledge because there are no reasons or premises we can give to prove that they are true. Aristotle suggests that these first principles are a kind of intuition of the universals we recognize in experience. Aristotle believes that the objects of knowledge are also structured hierarchically and conceives of definition as largely a process of division. For example, suppose we want to define human. First, we note that humans are animals, which is the genus to which they belong. We can then take note of various differentia, which distinguish humans from other animals. For example, humans walk on two legs, unlike tigers, and they lack feathers, unlike birds. Given any term, if we can identify its genus and then identify the differentia that distinguish it from other things within its genus, we have given a definition of that term, which amounts to giving an account of its nature, or essence. Ultimately, Aristotle identifies five kinds of relationships a predicate can have with its subject: a genus relationship (â€Å"humans are animals†); a differentia relationship (â€Å"humans have two legs†); a unique property relationship (â€Å"humans are the only animals that can cry†); a definition, which is a unique property that explains the nature or essence of the subject; and an accident relationship, such as â€Å"some humans have blue eyes,† where the relationship does not hold necessarily. While true knowledge is all descended from knowledge of first principles, actual argument and debate is much less pristine. When two people argue, they need not go back to first principles to ground every claim but must simply find premises they both agree on. The trick to debate is to find premises your opponent will agree to and then show that conclusions contrary to your opponent’s position follow necessarily from these premises. The Topicsdevotes a great deal of attention to classifying the kinds of conclusions that can be drawn from different kinds of premises, whereas the Sophistical Refutations explores various logical tricks used to deceive people into accepting a faulty line of reasoning. Physics: Books 1-4. The Physics opens with an investigation into the principles of nature. At root, there must be a certain number of basic principles at work in nature, according to which all natural processes can be explained. All change or process involves something coming to be from out of its opposite. Something comes to be what it is by acquiring its distinctive form—for example, a baby becomes an adult, a seed becomes a mature plant, and so on. Since this the baby or the seed were working toward this form all along, the form itself (the idea or pattern of the mature specimen) must have existed before the baby or seed actually matured. Thus, the form must be one of the principles of nature. Another principle of nature must be the privation or absence of this form, the opposite out of which the form came into being. Besides form and privation, there must be a third principle, matter, which remains constant throughout the process of change. If nothing remains unchanged when something undergoes a change, then there would be no â€Å"thing† that we could say underwent the change. So there are three basic principles of nature: matter, form, and privation. For example, a person’s education involves the form of being educated, the privation of being ignorant, and the underlying matter of the person who makes the change from ignorance to education. This view of the principles of nature resolves many of the problems of earlier philosophers and suggests that matter is conserved: though its form may change, the underlying matter involved in changes remains constant. Change takes place according to four different kinds of cause. These causes are closer to what we might call â€Å"explanations†: they explain in different ways why the change came to pass. The four causes are (1) material cause, which explains what something is made of; (2) formal cause, which explains the form or pattern to which a thing corresponds; (3) efficient cause, which is what we ordinarily mean by â€Å"cause,† the original source of the change; and (4) final cause, which is the intended purpose of the change. For example, in the making of a house, the material cause is the materials the house is made of, the formal cause is the architect’s plan, the efficient cause is the process of building it, and the final cause is to provide shelter and comfort. Natural objects, such as plants and animals, differ from artificial objects in that they have an internal source of change. All the causes of change in artificial objects are found outside the objects themselves, but natural objects can cause change from within. Aristotle rejects the idea that chance constitutes a fifth cause, similar in nature to the other four. We normally talk about chance in reference to coincidences, where two separate events, which had their own causes, coincide in a way that is not explained by either set of causes. For instance, two people might both have their own reasons for being in a certain place at a certain time, but neither of these sets of reasons explains the coincidence of both people being there at the same time. Final causes apply to nature as much as to art, so everything in nature serves a useful purpose. Aristotle argues against the views both of Democritus, who thinks that necessity in nature has no useful purpose, and of Empedocles, who holds an evolutionary view according to which only those combinations of living parts that are useful have managed to survive and reproduce themselves. If Democritus were right, there would be as many useless aspects of nature as there are useful, while Empedocles’ theory does not explain how random combinations of parts could come together in the first place. Books III and IV examine some fundamental concepts of nature, starting with change, and then treating infinity, place, void, and time. Aristotle defines change as â€Å"the actuality of that which exists potentially, in so far as it is potentially this actuality. † That is, change rests in the potential of one thing to become another. In all cases, change comes to pass through contact between an agent and a patient, where the agent imparts its form to the patient and the change itself takes place in the patient. Either affirming or denying the existence of infinity leads to certain contradictions and paradoxes, and Aristotle finds an ingenious solution by distinguishing between potential and actual infinities. He argues that there is no such thing as an actual infinity: infinity is not a substance in its own right, and there are neither infinitely large objects nor an infinite number of objects. However, there are potential infinities in the sense that, for example, an immortal could theoretically sit down and count up to an infinitely large number but that this is impossible in practice. Time, for example, is a potential infinity because it potentially extends forever, but no one who is counting time will ever count an infinite number of minutes or days. Aristotle asserts that place has a being independent of the objects that occupy it and denies the existence of empty space, or void. Place must be independent of objects because otherwise it would make no sense to say that different objects can be in the same place at different times. Aristotle defines place as the limits of what contains an object and determines that the place of the earth is â€Å"at the center† and the place of the heavens as â€Å"at the periphery. † Aristotle’s arguments against the void make a number of fundamental errors. For example, he assumes that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. From this assumption, he argues that the speed of a falling object is directly proportional to an object’s weight and inversely proportional to the density of the medium it travels through. Since the void is a medium of zero density, that would mean that an object would fall infinitely fast through a void, which is an absurdity, so Aristotle concludes that there cannot be such a thing as a void. Aristotle closely identifies time with change. We register that time has passed only by registering that something has changed. In other words, time is a measure of change just as space is a measure of distance. Just as Aristotle denies the possibility of empty space, or void, Aristotle denies the possibility of empty time, as in time that passes without anything happening. Physics: Books 5-8 Summary There are three kinds of change: generation, where something comes into being; destruction, where something is destroyed; and variation, where some attribute of a thing is changed while the thing itself remains constant. Of the ten categories Aristotle describes in the Categories (see previous summary of the Organon), change can take place only in respect of quality, quantity, or location. Change itself is not a substance and so it cannot itself have any properties. Among other things, this means that changes themselves cannot change. Aristotle discusses the ways in which two changes may be the same or different and argues also that no two changes are opposites, but rather that rest is the opposite of change. Time, space, and movement are all continuous, and there are no fundamental units beyond which they cannot be divided. Aristotle reasons that movement must be continuous because the alternative—that objects make infinitesimally small jumps from one place to another without occupying the intermediate space—is absurd and counterintuitive. If an object moves from point A to point B, there must be a time at which it is moving from point A to point B. If it is simply at point A at one instant and point B at the next, it cannot properly be said to have moved from the one to the other. If movement is continuous, then time and space must also be continuous, because continuous movement would not be possible if time and space consisted of discrete, indivisible atoms. Among the connected discussions of change, rest, and continuity, Aristotle considers Zeno’s four famous paradoxes. The first is the dichotomy paradox: to get to any point, we must first travel halfway, and to get to that halfway point, we must travel half of that halfway, and to get to half of that halfway, we must first travel a half of the half of that halfway, and so on infinitely, so that, for any given distance, there is always a smaller distance to be covered first, and so we can never start moving at all. Aristotle answers that time can be divided just as infinitely as space, so that it would take infinitely little time to cover the infinitely little space needed to get started. The second paradox is called the Achilles paradox: supposing Achilles is racing a tortoise and gives the tortoise a head start. Then by the time Achilles reaches the point the tortoise started from, the tortoise will have advanced a certain distance, and by the point Achilles advances that certain distance, the tortoise will have advanced a bit farther, and so on, so that it seems Achilles will never be able to catch up with, let alone pass, the tortoise. Aristotle responds that the paradox assumes the existence of an actual infinity of points between Achilles and the tortoise. If there were an actual infinity—that is, if Achilles had to take account of all the infinite points he passed in catching up with the tortoise—it would indeed take an infinite amount of time for Achilles to pass the tortoise. However, there is only a potential infinity of points between Achilles and the tortoise, meaning that Achilles can cover the infinitely many points between him and the tortoise in a finite amount of time so long as he does not take account of each point along the way. The third and fourth paradoxes, called the arrow paradox and the stadium paradox, respectively, are more obscure, but they seem to aim at proving that time and space cannot be divided into atoms. This is a position that Aristotle already agrees with, so he takes less trouble over these paradoxes. Aristotle argues that change is eternal because there cannot be a first cause of change without assuming that that cause was itself uncaused. Living things can cause change without something external acting on them, but the source of this change is internal thoughts and desires, and these thoughts and desires are provoked by external stimuli. Arguing that time is infinite, Aristotle reasons that there cannot be a last cause, since time cannot exist without change. Next, Aristotle argues that everything that changes is changed by something external to itself. Even changes within a single animal consist of one part of the animal changing another part. Aristotle’s reflections on cause and change lead him ultimately to posit the existence of a divine unmoved mover. If we were to follow a series of causes to its source, we would find a first cause that is either an unchanged changer or a self-changing changer. Animals are the best examples of self-changers, but they constantly come into being and pass away. If there is an eternal succession of causes, there needs to be a first cause that is also eternal, so it cannot be a self-changing animal. Since change is eternal, there must be a single cause of change that is itself eternal and continuous. The primary kind of change is movement and the primary kind of movement is circular, so this first cause must cause circular movement. This circular movement is the movement of the heavens, and it is caused by some first cause of infinite power that is above the material world. The circular movement of the heavens is then in turn the cause of all other change in the sublunary world. Metaphysics: Books Alpha-Epsilon Knowledge consists of particular truths that we learn through experience and the general truths of art and science. Wisdom consists in understanding the most general truths of all, which are the fundamental principles and causes that govern everything. Philosophy provides the deepest understanding of the world and of divinity by pursuing the sense of wonder we feel toward reality. There are four kinds of cause, or rather kinds of explanation, for how things are: (1) the material cause, which explains what a thing is made of; (2) the formal cause, which explains the form a thing assumes; (3) the efficient cause, which explains the process by which it came into being; and (4) the final cause, which explains the end or purpose it serves. The explanations of earlier philosophers have conformed to these four causes but not as coherently and systematically as Aristotle’s formulation. Aristotle acknowledges that Plato’s Theory of Forms gives a strong account of the formal cause, but it fails to prove that Forms exist and to explain how objects in the physical world participate in Forms. Book Alpha the Lesser addresses some questions of method. Though we all have a natural aptitude for thinking philosophically, it is very difficult to philosophize well. The particular method of study depends on the subject being studied and the inclinations of the students. The important thing is to have a firm grasp of method before proceeding, whatever the method. The best method is that of mathematics, but this method is not suitable for subjects where the objects of study are prone to change, as in science. Most reasoning involves causal chains, where we investigate a phenomenon by studying its causes, and then the cause of those causes, and so on. This method would be unworkable if there were infinitely long causal chains, but all causal chains are finite, meaning that there must be an uncaused first cause to every chain. Book Beta consists of a series of fifteen metaphysical puzzles on the nature of first principles, substance, and other fundamental concepts. In each case, Aristotle presents a thesis and a contradicting antithesis, both of which could be taken as answers to the puzzle. Aristotle himself provides no answers to the puzzles but rather takes them as examples of extreme positions between which he will try to mediate throughout the rest of the Metaphysics. Book Gamma asserts that philosophy, especially metaphysics, is the study of being qua being. That is, while other sciences investigate limited aspects of being, metaphysics investigates being itself. The study of being qua being amounts to the search into first principles and causes. Being itself is primarily identified with the idea of substance, but also with unity, plurality, and a variety of other concepts. Philosophy is also concerned with logic and the principles of demonstration, which are supremely general, and hence concerned with being itself. The most fundamental principle is the principle of noncontradiction: nothing can both be something and not be that same something. Aristotle defends this principle by arguing that it is impossible to contradict it coherently. Connected to the principle of non-contradiction is the principle of the excluded middle, which states that there is no middle position between two contradictory positions. That is, a thing is either x or not-x, and there is no third possibility. Book Gamma concludes with an attack on several general claims of earlier philosophers: that everything is true, that everything is false, that everything is at rest, and that everything is in motion. Book Delta consists of the definitions of about forty terms, some of which feature prominently in the rest of the Metaphysics, such as principle, cause, nature, being, and substance. The definitions specify precisely how Aristotle uses these terms and often distinguish between different uses or categories of the terms. Book Epsilon opens by distinguishing philosophy from the sciences not just on the basis of its generality but also because philosophy, unlike the sciences, takes itself as a subject of inquiry. The sciences can be divided into practical, productive, and theoretical. The theoretical sciences can be divided further into physics, mathematics, and theology, or first philosophy, which studies first principles and causes. We can look at being in four different ways: accidental being, being as truth, the category of being, and being in actuality and potentiality. Aristotle considers the first two in book Epsilon and examines the category of being, or substance, in books Zeta and Eta, and being in actuality and potentiality in book Theta. Accidental being covers the kinds of properties that are not essential to a thing described. For example, if a man is musical, his musicality is accidental since being musical does not define him as a man and he would still be a man even if he were not musical. Accidental being must have a kind of accidental causation, which we might associate with chance. That is, there is no necessary reason why a musical man is musical, but rather it just so happens by chance that he is musical. Being as truth covers judgments that a given proposition is true. These sorts of judgments involve mental acts, so being as truth is an affection of the mind and not a kind of being in the world. Because accidental being is random and being as truth is only mental, they fall outside the realm of philosophy, which deals with more fundamental kinds of being. Metaphysics: Books Zeta-Eta Summary Referring back to his logical work in the Categories, Aristotle opens book Zeta by asserting that substance is the primary category of being. Instead of considering what being is, we can consider what substance is. Aristotle first rejects the idea that substance is the ultimate substrate of a thing, that which remains when all its accidental properties are stripped away. For example, a dog is more fundamental than the color brown or the property of hairiness that are associated with it. However, if we strip away all the properties that a dog possesses, we wind up with a substrate with no properties of its own. Since this substrate has no properties, we can say nothing about it, so this substrate cannot be substance. Instead, Aristotle suggests that we consider substance as essence and concludes that substances are species. The essence of a thing is that which makes it that thing. For example, being rational is an essential property of being human, because a human without rationality ceases to be human, but being musical is not an essential property of being human, because a human without musical skill is still human. Individual people, or dogs, or tables, contain a mixture of essential and inessential properties. Species, on the other hand—for instance, people in general, dogs in general, or tables in general—contain only essential properties. A substance can be given a definition that does not presuppose the existence of anything else. A snub, for example, is not a substance, because we would define a snub as â€Å"a concave nose,† so our definition of snub presupposes the existence of noses. A proper definition of a thing will list only its essential properties, and Aristotle asserts that only substances have essential properties or definitions. A snub nose, by contrast, has only accidental properties—properties like redness or largeness that may hold of some snubs but not of all—and per se properties—properties like concavity, which necessarily holds of all snubs but which is not essential. Physical objects are composites of form and matter, and Aristotle identifies substance with form. The matter of an object is the stuff that makes it up, whereas the form is the shape that stuff takes. For example, the matter in a bronze sphere is the bronze itself, and the form is the spherical shape. Aristotle argues that form is primary because form is what gives each thing its distinctive nature. Aristotle has argued that the definitions of substances cannot presuppose the existence of anything else, which raises the question of how there can be a definition that does not presuppose the existence of anything else. Presumably, a definition divides a whole into its constituent parts—for example, a human is defined as a rational animal—which suggests that a substance must in some way presuppose the existence of its constituent parts. Aristotle distinguishes between those cases where the parts of an object or definition are prior to the whole and those cases where the whole is prior to the parts. For example, we cannot understand the parts of a circle without first understanding the concept of circle as a whole; on the other hand, we cannot understand the whole of a syllable before we understand the letters that constitute its parts. Aristotle argues that, in the case of substance, the whole is prior to the parts. He has earlier associated substance with form and suggests that we cannot make sense of matter before we can conceive of its form. To say a substance can be divided by its definition is like saying a physical object can be divided into form and matter: this conceptual distinction is possible, but form and matter constitute an indivisible whole, and neither can exist without the other. Similarly, the parts of a definition of a substance are conceptually distinct, but they can only exist when they are joined in a substance. Having identified substance with essence, Aristotle attacks the view that substances are universals. This attack becomes effectively an attack on Plato’s Theory of Forms, and Aristotle argues forcefully that universal Forms cannot exist prior to the individual instances of them or be properly defined and so cannot play any role in science, let alone a fundamental role. He also argues against the suggestion that substances can be genus categories, like â€Å"animal† or â€Å"plant. † Humans and horses, unlike animals, have the property of â€Å"thisness†: the words human and horse pick out a particular kind of thing, whereas nothing particular is picked out by animal. Genuses are thus not specific enough to qualify as substances. Book Eta contains a number of loosely connected points elaborating Aristotle’s views on substance. Aristotle associates an object’s matter with its potentiality and its form with its actuality. That is, matter is potentially a certain kind of substance and becomes that substance in actuality when it takes on the form of that substance. By associating substance with form and actuality, Aristotle infers a further connection between substance and differentia: differentia are those qualities that distinguish one species in a genus from another. Book Eta also contains reflections on the nature of names, matter, number, and definition. Metaphysics: Books Theta-Nu Summary Book Theta discusses potentiality and actuality, considering these concepts first in regard to process or change. When one thing, F, changes into another, G, we can say that F is G in potentiality, while G is G in actuality. F changes into G only if some other agent, H, acts on it. We say that H has active potentiality and F has passive potentiality. Potentiality can be either rational or irrational, depending on whether the change is effected by a rational agent or happens naturally. Aristotle distinguishes rational potentiality from irrational potentiality, saying that rational potentiality can produce opposites. For example, the rational potentiality of medicine can produce either health or sickness, whereas the irrational potentiality of heating can produce only heat and not cold. All potentialities must eventually be realized: if a potentiality never becomes an actuality, then we do not call it a potentiality but an impossibility. A potentiality is also determinate, meaning that it is the potential for a particular actuality and cannot realize some other actuality. While irrational potentialities are automatically triggered when active and passive potentialities come together, this is not the case with rational potentialities, as a rational agent can choose to withhold the realization of the potentiality even though it can be realized. Aristotle identifies actuality with form, and hence substance, while identifying matter with potentiality. An uncarved piece of wood, for example, is a potential statue, and it becomes an actual statue when it is carved and thus acquires the form of a statue. Action is an actuality, but there are such things as incomplete actions, which are also the potentiality for further actions.