Blaise Pascal Essays (1547 words) - Blaise Pascal, Christian Mystics

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont France on June 19, 1623 to Etienne Pascal. His mother died when he was only 3. He was the third of four children and the only boy. He was described as a man of: small stature, poor health, loud spoken, somewhat overbearing, precious, stubbornly persevering, a perfectionist, highly pugnacious yet seeking to be humble and meek. Pascal's father had somewhat unorthodox views on education, so he decided to teach his son himself. He forbade any mathematic teachings or material to be given to him and had any such texts removed from their house. Blaise became engulfed with curiosity due to this rule. He started to work with geometry on his own at the age of 12. He discovered that the sum of the three angles of a triangle is equivalent to two right angles. When his father discovered this he then allowed Blaise a copy of Euclid. At the age of 14 Blaise began accompanying his father to Mersenne's meetings. Mersenne was a member of a religious order of Minims. His cell held many meetings for the likes of Gassendi, Roberval, Carcavi, Auzout, Mydorge, Mylon, Desargues and others. By the time he was 15 Blaise admired the work of Desargues greatly. At 16 Pascal presented a single piece of paper at a Mersenne's meeting in June 1639. It held many of his geometry theorems, including his mystic hexagon. In December 1639 he and his family left Paris and moved to Rouen where his father Etienne was appointed tax collector for Upper Normandy. Soon after settling down in Rouen his Essay on Conic Sections was published in February of 1640. It was his first great work. Pascal also invented the first digital calculator to aid his father in his tax collecting duties. For three years he worked 1642 - 1545. Dubbed the Pascaline, it resembled a mechanical calculator of the 1940's. This almost assuredly makes Pascal second only to Shickard who manufactured the first in 1624. Pascal faced problems with the design of the calculator due to the design of French currency at the time. There were 12 deniers in a sol, and 20 sols in a livre. Therefore there were 240 deniers in a livre. Hence Pascal had to deal with more technical problems to work with this odd way of dividing by 240. Yet the currency system remained the same in France until 1799, but Britain's similar system lasted until 1971. Production of the Pascaline began in 1642. It was recorded by Adamson that: By 1652 fifty prototypes had been produced, but few machines were sold, and manufacturing of Pascal's arithmetical calculator ceased in that year. In 1646 Etienne Pascal injured his leg and had to recuperate in his house. Two young brothers from a religious movement outside of Rouen came to help take care of him. Pascal was affected deeply and became very religious. It was at this time that Pascal began many experiments on atmospheric pressure. By 1647 he proved to himself that a vacuum existed. Descartes visited Pascal September the 23rd for 2 days in which they argued about the vacuum which Descartes did not believe existed. Descartes wrote a rather cruel letter to Huygens after visiting the young Pascal. he believed ?has too much vacuum in his head. In August of 1648 Pascal deduced that, because the atmospheric pressure decreases with height, there must be a vacuum that exists above the atmosphere. Descartes wrote to Carcavi in June 1647 about Pascal's experiment stating: It was I who two years ago advised him to do it, for although I have not performed it myself, I did not doubt of its success. In October of 1647 Pascal wrote New Experiments Concerning Vacuums which would lead to disputes with various scientists who didn't believe in vacuums. Etienne Pascal died in September of 1651, which hurt Blaise badly. He wrote to one his sisters giving a deep Christian meaning to death in general and also to his father's death particularly. These ideas were to later form the basis of his philosophical work called Pensees. Then in May 1653 Pascal worked with mathematics and physics writing Treatise on the Equilibrium of Liquids which he explains his law of pressure

The Effects of Drugs essays

The Effects of Drugs essays Drugs are everywhere. Nearly everybody knows somebody who has used or uses drugs, whether the user is a friend or a celebrity. Since drugs are everywhere, so are the effects of drugs. While drugs affect everyone around them, some of the effects that drugs have on a user include becoming antisocial, losing sight of goals, being content with less, transforming into a different person, and gambling with health. Withdrawing from loved ones, such as friends and family, a drug user usually becomes antisocial. After using drugs over time, they tend to avoid most or all public situations. If a teen is experimenting or using drugs while in school, he or she may never begin and sometimes quit extracurricular activities such as clubs and sports. This type of person becomes so involved in their drugs that they eventually just stay to their self. A users withdrawal from normal social functions may also cause problems within various relationships. While an addict may not mind the distance widening between them and their boyfriend, their mom, or their best friend, their loved ones do care and sometimes feel hurt. Drugs simply steal and imprison the people who use them. Not only do drugs cause a person to draw away from their friends and family and social activities, but they also cause a person to withdraw from their goals. Developing a general lack of interest, a drug user may lose sight of their future. They may stop attending school or work and not complete homework or simple, necessary tasks. For a student using drugs, college suddenly may not appear important anymore. They may settle for a career at Mc Donalds or Burger King. Workers or parents may not seem concerned with earning their next raise or even taking care of their children. Areas in life that once held importance begin not to matter. If a person begins using and abusing drugs, they will never know their full potential as their f...

Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Smoking - Essay Example Smoking is badly affecting the society and steps need to be taken to solve this problem. Smoking is a global issue that needs to be dealt with. Increasing the number of taxes on cigarettes as well as the implementation of bans can prove to be useful for the purpose of discouraging the smokers from smoking and this fact has been proven as many smokers have quit smoking following these regulations. On the other hand proper education regarding the harmful effects of smoking among certain age groups can also prove to reduce the number of non smokers from smoking. The daily news reporter quoted in the year 2008 that the ban on smoking had led to 400000 people quitting smoking in England. A survey in Sweden also indicated the fact that the easy availability of cigarette should be restricted as this might also prove to be helpful for the reduction in the number of smokers as well as subsequent reduction in the passive smokers (Landes

SARS Treatment Methods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

SARS Treatment Methods - Research Paper Example Since SARS is almost impossible to extinguish from the face of the planet Earth, the fear of this disease has existed since it first appeared among the populations in 2003, making it a powerful weapon against the fearful populations that never truly goes away. The primary source comes from the American Medical Association (AMA). AMA collects data on disease outbreaks, as well as research and activism related to health (AMAa). Its mission and guiding principles focus on the belief that a corporate association can promote ethical approaches to patients, further innovations in the field, and set standards for other physicians and medical students, among other things (AMAb). It also acts as support to physicians on legal issues by providing information on antitrust laws and physician payment filing (AMAc). The AMA website contains 64 different sources on the word â€Å"SARS† (AMAd). Resources range from definitions of the disease, to clinician infections and health system preparedness (AMAd). Information through articles is provided on international SARS outbreaks as well (AMAd). AMA provides links to other organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO). AMA also focuses on other infectious diseases. Besides SARS, AMA also provides information on â€Å"tuberculosis, influenza, viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, bloodborne and foodborne pathogens †¦ allergies, meningitis and many others† (AMAe). Information provided comes in form of â€Å"extensive reports, fact sheets, toolkits and links to then latest research† (AMAe). ... 2003 Detection and Responses to SARS In November 2002, SARS contagions began in Foshan City (Kaufman 53 - 54). This city is located in the South of China, where large numbers of pigs and chickens live in close proximity to humans (Kaufman 54). Thus, this area is known for virus mutations and disease outbreaks among humans (Kaufman 54). Symptoms of SARS are similar to flu. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms start with an increased bodily temperature above 38 Celsius degrees (1). Other symptoms might follow: bone ache, headache, and feeling of discomfort, diarrhea, dry cough and finally, pneumonia (CDC 1). However, China, unlike other countries, attempted to hide SARS outbreaks. As the outbreaks set in, the Chinese government covered them up, thus allowing the infected to travel abroad and infect more persons (Kaufman 54). As a result, the contagion became global, instead of being only isolated to a few areas in China. By January 2003, when autho rities were secretly notified, disease had spread across the entire region. However, the public was still kept unaware (Kaufman 54). According to Kaufman, the justification for secrecy lies in the fact that pneumonia was not required to be reported to the public (54). WHO acted a few months later. According to Bloom, one of the top WHO infectious disease specialists was infected by SARS in March of 2003 in Hanoi (701). The specialist died. Rumors spread about additional contagions in China (Bloom 701). Once WHO was alerted by a health computer logarithm, on February 11 the Chinese authorities reported the epidemic (Kaufman 55). It was in April that WHO was allowed to access the area (Kaufman

Human Resource Management, Employers and the Management of Labour Essay

Human Resource Management, Employers and the Management of Labour - Essay Example The business environment and the way of working of the industry have been undergoing many alterations since the past few decades. Previously managers were only liable for keeping discipline in an organisation. They even did not have a noteworthy role to play in the process of selection and recruiting. But the scenario has been altering and the role of managers has been observed to totally metamorphose. The fundamental reasons behind this metamorphosis were the increasing consciousness between the workers and the abolition of trade unions to a large extent. The other reason was that the managements were no more inflexible and became increasingly agreeable to causes and also adjustable to the progresses in the technological sector (Dalton, 1950). But in the current era, the organisations have realised the magnitude of their human resources as it is with the help of these resources that increased productivity is attained by an organisation. An important feature which needs to be mentioned is that the supervisors in an organisation are referred to as the management and the employees coming in the category of nonsupervisory level are referred to as the labourers in this paper. Labours require working in teams in organisations and thus it is an obvious fact that there would cause differences between themselves. In such circumstances the interference of management is considered quite necessary so as to resolve the issues and maintaining a good working environment (Dalton, 1950). The purpose of this paper would be to assess the labour problems and the rights of the managers along with the differences in the traditional and contemporary practices. Labour Problem and the Need to Resolve It Disputes among the human resources and the m anagement are a known phenomenon. Disputes among the employees could take place due to various reasons and it is in this context that the managers need to take control of the situation. The managers are the one who are being entrusted with the responsibility of solving the disputes. In this context it is important to understand the reasons of dispute among the employees or the human resources first and then the role and need of the managers. The reason for disputes among the labourers and the management in the industries has been categorised into four key divisions which relates to the economic, managerial, political and other causes (Dalton, 1950). It has been learnt that majority of the industrial differences among the labourers and the management has been owing to economic reasons. The prime economic reason has been the problem of low wage. The wage structure in the industries is generally low and so, it gives rise to some grave complexities for the human resources in terms of me eting up to their basic requirements. The human resources want the pay or the wages to be proportionate to the quantity of work done by them. Such wants takes the form of industrial differences and problems. The want for higher pays has been observed to be the most central reason for problems between the labourers and the management (Michael, 1988). The want for extra pays in the form of bonus has been credited to be the other reason for differences arising out of want for pays. The augmenting cost of survival has been the reason for the labourers to claim and put forward their want for extra remuneration as dearness allowances. The increasing prices has been turning out to be triggering the want for dearness allowances and the un-acceptance of such wants by the labourers give rise to these industrial differences. The workforce of an organisation is considered to be an integral division of the production. The

Attachment, Cognitive and Language Development Influences

Attachment, Cognitive and Language Development Influences Introduction In this paper we will discuss the Case Study of Hannah G. We will look at different theories to Attachment, Cognitive and Language development. We will look at how parenting styles and influence in the marital system can influence a child. We will look at how genetics and environmental factors influence development, as well as a child temperament. Attachment theory Bowlby believes that attachment isn’t present at birth, it develops after the first nurture, comfort and protection the mother or the primary caregiver provides (Louw,Louw, Van Ede, 2012). Relationships with primary caregivers that involve emotional and affective engagement, has an impact on how a person perceive themselves, others, and the world (Reuther, 2013). Psychologist Harry Harlow also concluded through an experiment with mokeys and surrogate mothers that comfort and security plays an important role in the development of attachment. In the experiment, Harlow uses two surrogate mothers. Both mothers were made out of wire. Both mothers were equipped with feeding equipment. Only one of the mothers was covered in a soft cloth. The monkeys showed more interest in the clothed mother, they would go to the wire mother to suck on the bottle for food, and return to the clothed mother (Louw et al, 2012). Freud believes that â€Å"early experiences can have a long-term effect on personality development† (Shaffer, 1994,p.43). If we take Freud psychosexual stages we see that the oral stage may have an impact in the attachment between infant and mother or primary caregiver. During the first year the infant are spitting, chewing, sucking, and biting objects. Freud suggested that the sex instinct seek pleasure through the mouth. A baby’s basic pleasures, food, are pleasured through sucking on the mothers’ breast. When a baby is weaned off the mothers’ breast to early the person may later in life be over dependant on others (Shaffer, 1994). Erikson agrees with Freud that the mothers feeding process has an impact on the development of the child’s personality. However, Erikson believes that the mothers’ responsiveness to the infant is just as important as the feeding process. The child learns to trust trough the caregiver or mother who provided food, comfort, affection, and safety. If these needs are not met, the child learns that other people are not to be trusted. This takes place from birth to one year. Erikson calls it the Basic trust versus mistrust stage (Shaffer, 1994). Even though Erikson, Freud, Bowlby and Harlow has different views on the topic on attachment. They all have the same conclusion. For attachment to take place the infant needs has to be met by the mother or the caregiver. If there is an interruption in the attachment process, there may be long-term effects. Cognitive and language development Piaget described cognitive development as â€Å"an individual’s interaction with the environment† (Louw et al, 2012). Piaget argues that development perceives learning how we interpret the world through mental schemas allowing us to make sense of our environment. Learning happens when facing situations that our schema cannot process leading to disequilibrium. To equalise itself the mind simulates new information or adapt to using new skills. Piaget calls this the process of assimilating new information and skills into our pre-developed schema. Piaget believed that thought determines language. He believed that once children were able to think in a certain way they developed the language to the describe their thought (Louw et al, 2012). Vygotsky agrees with Piaget that learning happens by interacting with the environment. Vygotsky argued that learning proceeds development. He holds that our present stage of development is enhanced when confronted with new tasks, just out of reach of our present abilities. Vygotsky believed that language and thoughts are independent but they converge through development. He believed that children developed language through social interaction with adult who already know the language. Through that action they can connect these thoughts and the language they have learned (Louw et al, 2012). Bronfenbrenners Ecological theory suggest that a child’s development is determind by what they experience in their environments they spend time in. (Friedman Wachs, 1999)(Check pligarism). Emotional development Babies are able to â€Å"read† others emotions from a young age. Being able to distinguish others emotions is important for a baby’s social and emotional development, it has an impact on attachment bonds. As babies grow older the constantly seek approval or disapproval from people they trust. If a Mothers or primary caregivers are emotionally unavailable or only irregularly responsive to the infant or childs needs may result in an insecure attachment ( Zilberstein, 2013). Ethologists believe that an infant who were neglected, or parent who are inattentive will not develop a strong emotional attachment with their caregiver. This may lead the child to be shy and emotionally unresponsive to other people (Shaffer, 1994). Parenting Styles Marital system Uninvolved parents is parents who have rejected their children or who has their own personal issues to attend to than to attend to the child every need other that their basic needs, food and cloths (Kip Shaffer, 2009). Children of uninvolved parents may show signs of impulsiveness, antisocial, and have relational problems with others ( Louw et al, 2012). They might also be aggressive and have external behaviours such as temper tantrums (Kip Skaffer, 2009). Children become angrier and distress when parents cannot stop arguing. A child’s distress increases when the arguing between parents increases. â€Å"Children who observe intense and destructive conflicts between their parents suffered from emotional insecurity, depression, anxiety, behavior problems, relationship difficulties, and poor regulations, even years later† (Clarke-Sewart Parke, 2011, p. 190).. Parents who can resolve their problems in a respectful manner can teach the child to how to resolve conflict in a positive and respectful manner. â€Å"Children were most likely to have problems if their parents expressed anger frequently, intensely, physically, and without resolution†(Clarke-Stewart Parke, 2011, p. 190). Parents amicable marriages parenting style can be angry and instructive, children will in return act aggressively when interacting with the parent. They might even act aggressively towards other children (Clarke-Stewart Parke, 2011). Children’s social interaction develops by observing their parents.(Clarke-Stewart Parke, 2011). Bandura believes that observational learning is the most important learning method (Shaffer, 1994). Children simulate what they have observed. In the experiment with the Bobo dolls, children observed and learned the aggressive response adult shown towards the doll and they simulated the same aggression towards the doll. Not only do they learn to simulate this behaviour but children become emotionally aroused when watching people fight (Shaffer, 1994). Bandura suggested that aggressive behaviours that are maintained become habitual (Shaffer, 1994). Urie Bronfenbrenners Bioecological model refers to the effect the child has on the environment and the environment on the child, this includes reciprocal interactions between the developing child and other people, objects, and symbols in their immediate environment (Cockcroft et al, 1999). Being an only child and temperament Only children always wants to be the centre of attention. They tend to be possessive over their belongings and everything must go their way. Because they are the only sibling, they spend more time in adults’ company. Because they spend so many time in adult companies they tend to find it hard to socialise with their peer, they prefer socialising with adults (Rosemond, 2011). Only children have low tolerance for discomfort that caused by frustration, disappointments, boredom, and by being denied what that want. This is may result in tantrums of verbal of physical abuse. They lack empathy towards others; they are unable or are unwillingly to see that their behaviour affects others. They struggle to adapt to demands that are set by situations outside their immediate family. For example a school setting where are establishes social structures and recognised authority figures. They have a poor self-esteem and are chronically miserable, angry, and anxious (Mamen, 2006). A difficult child is a child who does not easily adapt to into daily routines or new environments. They cry a lot and has temper tantrums and is difficult to comfort. Deviant behaviour is a result of children who grows up in a home were marital problems persist. This happens when a child behaviour and environment influences compliments each other (Louw et al, 2012). Role of the media Bandura believies television violence enhances aggressive behaviour in children (Shaffer, 1994). Rowel Huesmann suggested that not only does television violence predict aggressiveness in children and adults but also their involvement in criminal activities (Shaffer, 1994, p. 495). We can see that conflict and aggression is a norm for Hannah. Hannah has learned and observed that the world is a violent place ant that interpersonal problems can be solved aggressively (Shaffer, 1994). Drabman and Thomas suggested that television violence may detach the viewers emotional reactions to aggressive episodes. This may lead to a person to lack strong empathic distress for the victims of aggression (Shaffer, 1994). Case Study Hanna Hannah has difficulty expressing herself and her feelings. This could be an indication that maybe there are an interruption in the development of her schemas of emotions. We learned that Hannah’s mother was unavailable for some time with depression, and this could have had an impact on how she developed socially. This could also imply that Hannah’s Schema of emotions aren’t developed well. The fact that her parents are uninvolved parent could also have an impact, as well as the parents’ marital problems. She was emotionally detached from her mother from birth and she grew up in a home were she was constantly exposed to aggression. This aggression is from the conflict between her parents and the aggression of television violence. The fact that Hannah finds it hard to make friend and bits or hits other children can be explained by many reasons, it can be because she has attachment issues, being away from her mother could have caused her to develop mistrust i n the world and other people. She might be trying to solve a problem in an aggressive as she had learned through her parents conflict and the television violence is that it is the only way to resolve conflict, as she hits and bits them. She might also find it hard to make friends because as we discussed she does not know how to connect with them in a social way because she exposed to adult company most of the time. Her parents marital problems has an impact on her having an antisocial behaviour. Hannah interact aggressively toward her parents, this could be either their uninvolved parenting styles or their marital conflict or it could be both. We see that Hannah has a difficult child temperament that is why they find it difficult to manage her. If we consider the bioecological model of Bronfenbrenner we can conclude that most of Hannah’s deviant behaviour is based on nurture. Nurture refers to the influences the environment has on a person’s characteristics. Conclusion We can conclude that there are many factors that can explain Hannah’s behaviour. The fact that she does not have a bond with her mother. The learned behaviours from her parents, as well as the television. Nurture plays a big role in Hannah’s development. We cannot just rely on one theory to explain a person’s development but rather consider all. Reference List Louw, A.E., Louw, D.A., Ven Ede, D.M (2012) Human Development (2nd ed.) Cape Town, South Africa. Kagiso Tertiary Clarke-Stewart,A., Parke, R,D.(2011) Social Development. Hoboken, NJ. John Wiley Sons Inc. Kip, K. Shaffer, D.R (2009) Developmental Psychology Adolenscence: Uninvolved Parenting (8th ed.) Beltmont USA. Cencage Learning Maman, M (2006) The pampered child syndrome: how to recognize it, how to manage it, and how to avoid it : A guide for parents and professionals. London, England. Maggie Mamen Reuther, B.T (2013) On our everyday being: Heidegger and attachment theory. E-Journal retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4sid=6cc19ba4-d428-43b6-8a4f-f5d613962a5c%40sessionmgr115hid=125bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pdhAN=2013-26844-001 Rosemond, J (2001) John Rosemonds: New Parent Power. USA. John Rosemond Shaffer, D.R (1994) Social and personality development (3rd ed.) Belmont Califonrnia. Wadsworth, Inc. Zilberstein, K (2013) The use of limitations of attachment theory in child psychotherapy/ practice view. E-Journal retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4sid=1876914d-d464-4c5e-919d-bbd00f71e893%40sessionmgr198hid=125bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pdhAN=2013-03963-001

The Selfish Gene Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

The Selfish Gene "We are survival machines—robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve selfish molecules known as genes." -- Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene (1). Can genes alone determine your DNA's place in the next generation? Are humans simply vessels for these genes? With his provoking work entitled The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins attempts to answer such questions as he proposes a shift in the evolutionary paradigm. Working through the metaphor of a "selfish gene", Dawkins constructs an evolutionary model using a gene as the fundamental unit of selection, opposed to the more commonly accepted belief of the species as the unit of selection. This "selfish gene", possessing a certain selfish emotional nature, acts as an independent entity fighting to ensure its replication in future generations, maximizing its number of descendents (2). Those successful in replicating have made the most of their given environment (1). For the interests of this paper, is it valid to assume that natural selection occurs at the level of DNA? Hence, what can be implied about genetic predispositions? For Dawkins, evolution of a species is dependent upon the transmittance of this information to the next generation; the individual species is irrelevant (2). This theory is a departure from Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which concentrates on the species. Species, to Dawkins, are "survival machines" whose purpose is to host these genes, as species are mortals and fleeting, whereas genes are not (2). Is it valid to assume Dawkins position that humans are merely "robot vehicles"? This concept, alienating emotion, physical, and cultural growth from evolution, can be startling. By placing the importance of natural selec... ... , The opening pages of and selections from Dawkins work http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/Dawkins<br>/Work/Books/selfpage.htm 2)The Selfish Gene Theory, Explanatory site providing overview of theory http://bovination.com/cbs/selfishGene%20Theory.jsp 3) The Selfish Gene?" Reason in Revolt , Genetic issues and Dawkins discussed http://www.marxist.com/rircontents.asp Works Consulted 4) In Defense of Selfish Genes , Dawkins refute to claims made about his theory by Mary Midgely http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/articles/dawkins_genes.htm 5) Selfish Genes and Social Darwinism , Counterarguments for Selfish Gene Theory http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/articles/%20midgley_genes.htm 6) The Selfish Gene: The Underpinnings of Narcissism , Further discussion and implications on Selfish Gene Theory http://samvak.tripod.com/journal43.