Essay Topics That Can Be Used to Teach Childhood Memory

Essay Topics That Can Be Used to Teach Childhood MemoryIn order to write an essay on childhood memory themes, you will need to choose among several options such as personal experiences, childhood memories, well-known writers and classic works. It is of critical importance that you choose between the various genres before you start writing your essay.It is very important that you choose personal experiences or anecdotes that are based on truth to avoid issues that arise when factual anecdotes are used in childhood memory topics. On the other hand, if you use personal memories that are based on false memories, you will risk being taken to task for your errors. As a result, you should always try to base your personal experiences on facts, rather than on stories.What is also recommended when writing about childhood memory topics is to pick out the most memorable memories from each section of the essay. This will help you build a theme around the selected memories, which will make it easi er for you to create the right flow for your essay. If you pick two memories and weave them together with a connecting theme, it will become much easier for you to weave a narrative around the selected memories. For example, if you pick two childhood memories and one of them is of your mother's appearance, you can integrate it with a story about your mother's appearance.Another way to help you choose between the available subjects is to seek professional assistance. You can seek the help of a memory expert. A professional memory expert will provide you with a host of memories and help you choose the correct one for your essay.You can also take the suggestions of others for childhood memory essay topics. Others have also given you some suggestions on childhood memory topics. You can take these to the bank and ask for the opinions of others.In addition, remember that you are not the only one who is writing this essay. There may be other students who are taking the same class as you, s o if there are some that have a certain topic in mind that you feel comfortable about, you can request for their help.In fact, there are many different types of readers when it comes to essay topics. Thus, it is essential that you know what types of readers you are dealing with before you start writing your essay. It is possible that one or more of the readers will offer their input as to which topics they find most interesting.Of course, you will not want to put too much pressure on yourself when you are reading your essay. Make sure that you allow yourself enough time to revise your essay before you submit it.

Organization Behavior and Management Space Shuttle Challenger

Space Shuttle Challenger Orbiter History The Challenger was initially referred to as the STA-099. The shuttle was built to work as a test vehicle for the Space Shuttle program and was named after the HMS Challenger, which was a British Naval research vessel. The HMS Challenger sailed in the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Pacific Ocean during the 1870’s.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Organization Behavior and Management: Space Shuttle Challenger specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When the Challenger was built it underwent intensive vibration and thermal testing for a year. NASA awarded Rockwell, a Space Shuttle orbiter manufacturer, a contract in 1979 to build the Challenger by converting the STA-099. The Challenger arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in July 1982, and it became the second orbiter to be operation in the center. The Challenger had been designed to be a historic craft and many were optimi stic it would outlive the rest. The Space Shuttle took its maiden flight on April, 1982 for the STS-6 mission, which saw the first ever space walk in the space shuttle program. The EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) was done by Astronauts Donald Peterson and Story Musgrave. This lasted about four hours and it was also during this mission the first deployment of a Tracking and Data Relay System constellation was done. After completing nine successful missions, on January 28, 1986 the Challenger was launched on the STS-51L and after a mere 73 seconds it exploded killing all the seven crewmembers (NASA, 2011). This paper will look at the SHUTTLE 51-L MISSION, the organization that was involved in the Challenger project, the mechanical failure of the Space Shuttle Challenger, the organizational behavior and management shortcomings that contributed to the disaster and finally make organizational behavior and management changes that can be adopted to prevent a reoccurrence of the same disaste r. Discussion NASA Program As the Challenger Space Shuttle progressed, there was an increase in the demands being placed on NASA and this resulted to an increased risk of disaster (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990). The NASA team had a false sense of security having carried out 2Kramer, James, 1987 missions, which had been successful. Prior to the launch, there were many wrangles within NASA, and managers were working in a place with heavy overload and turbulence (Kramer James, 1987). The management at NASA was characterized with a disease full of decay and destruction (Kramer James, 1987 p.14).Advertising Looking for case study on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There was lack of a formal DSS program at NASA initialized before the launch for the shuttle operations. There were strong indications that decisions were being made through satisficing and short cuts. There were lots of compromise and operations were greatly aff ected. NASA was accused of having semi-uncontrolled decision making as they tried to satisfy the needs of the military, scientific community, industry and this led to the space shuttle being declared operational even before the development stage of the shuttle had been completed (Kramer, James, 1987). Decision making at NASA was done by default as there lacked DSS. The organizational structure at the program was political and manipulations were done to meet requirements of the political power. When the Reagan Administration declared the Space Shuttle â€Å"operational†, many employees at NASA lacked motivation and left with the impression that decision making on the project should be made by the political administration (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990). Employees began being complacent and safety of the shuttle was highly compromised, as they tried to keep the shuttle on schedule and satisfy the clients. This presents the situation at NASA prior to making the decision to launch the s pace shuttle (Dunbar Ryba, 2008). SHUTTLE 51-L MISSION (Challenger Flight) The 51-L mission was the 25th mission that NASA was going to undertake in its STS program. Shortly after launching the Challenger on 28, January 1986, the Challenger exploded mid air, destroying the vehicle and killing the entire seven crew members on the mission. This mission was aimed at deploying a second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite as well as the Spartan Halle’s Comet Observer. The mission was also going to be the first time there were observers or passengers participating in a program called NASA Teacher in Space Program ((Dunbar Ryba, 2008). S. Christa McAuliffe was one of the crew onboard and she was going to conduct live broadcasts that were going to be broadcasted to schools throughout the world (Dunbar Ryba, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Organization Behavior and Management: Space Shuttle Challenger specifically for you for only $16.05 $ 11/page Learn More The destruction of the Challenger and the loss of life had profound impact on the society and the way it viewed the Space program and particularly NASA. As this paper will discuss, the tragic decision that was made to allow the launching of STS 51-L was as a result of long term contributing factors that were further increased by bad or weak organizational behavior and management strategies. The outcome of this tragedy caused loss of life, resources and made people to mistrust the space program. Although the accident of the Challenger was blamed on the hardware failure of the SRB â€Å"O† ring (known as Solid Rocket Boost), the decision that was made by the management was also flawed. The decision was based on faulty organizational behavior and management and this was further aggravated by the mismanagement of initial information that suggested the launch be postponed (NASA, 2008). Other factors that besides organizational behavior and managem ent played a major role in contributing to the accident occurring. They included the demand NASA was getting from the political ruling class to deliver and launch on the scheduled day (NASA, 2008) The process of proving to the American people and the political system that there was need for a reusable space shuttle had begun in the 1960s. The Challenger was one of the ways that this could be proven and thus a lot of pressure and expectation was put on the program. Unlike the previous missions such as the Apollo, the Space Shuttle was going to be used in space operations without having a defined goal (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990 p. 3). This presents the first contributing factor in the Challenger’s accident. Without a defined role for use, the Challenger was going to be used as a utility vehicle for space operations and thus there lacked a strong support for the project, both financially and politically. In order to gain favor and political support for the project, the Challenger wa s sold and presented to the political elites as a â€Å"quick payoff† (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990 p. 8). The project also gained support by predicting that it could be used by the military as a means that could be used to enhance the national security. To the industry, it was sold as a commercial opportunity, where companies could offer clients an opportunity to visit space. Many scientists in the program told the American public that the Challenger Shuttle was going to be an American Voyage that was going to have great scientific gain (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990 p. 10). To the world, the Challenger project was sold as a partnership that was going to include the ESA (European Space Agency) as well as a means that was going to improve the relations between nations and bring together people of different nationalities, sex and races by serving as crew members during missions (McConnell, 1988).Advertising Looking for case study on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The process that was used to gain support in the economic, social and political arena for the space shuttle can be cited to be the second contributing factor that resulted to the accident (McConnell, 1988). There was use of heterogeneous engineering, which means that the engineering and management decisions in the project were structured in ways that were going to be appealing to the political, economic, and organizational factors rather than being structured into a single entity mission that was aimed at achieving specific goals (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990 p. 9). When the Space Shuttle became operational, it was faced with many operational demands from many people. It had to live up to the promises that had been given by NASA. This placed a lot of pressure on the management team as they tried to coordinate the needs of the military, political elites and the scientific community. The political pressure was to provide a space vehicle that was going to be reliable and could be reused. It w as also supposed to be difficult to achieve this as it was going to hinder the ability of creating an effective system for integration and development. It was also going to be infeasible to create a management support system that could cater for the diverse requirements. There was also a low moral within the NASA employee, which was created during the Reagan Administration when the shuttle was given the green light for operation even when the development stage had not been completed (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990). The American Congress expected that the Shuttle program was going to be financially self supportive after billions of dollars had been used to go to the moon (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990, p. 15). With this lack of support from Congress, NASA adopted and operated as a commercial business instead of a government program. It can therefore be concluded that the environment of the program prior to launching had been one mucked wih conflict, short cuts and managerial stress (Jarman Kouzmin, 1990, p.15). Mechanical failure of the Challenger Before the launching date, concerns had been raised about the integrity of carrying on with the launch when the temperatures were as lower than those expected for optimal performance. On a previous mission, 51-C, it had been noted that the booster joints were covered with soot and grease after launching on a cold weather. Tests were carried out in the laboratory on the effect of low temperatures on the O-ring resilience. It was recommended that they be replaced by steel billets and this would have meant a redesign of the field joint. By the time of the accident, the steel billets were not ready. Engineers at Alan McDonald made a presentation that detailed on the effects the cold weather was going to affect the booster performance. This was necessary because the temperatures of the launching date were expected to be lower than 350F. After the concerns were raised a meeting was convened and various heads and engineers attended. The pe ople in attendance included, engineers, top management of Marshal Space Flight Center, Kennedy Center, and Morton Thiokol. The meeting was called to discuss on the effect the cold weather was going to have on the mission especially the boosters’ performance. Engineers gave a clear presentation that argued that the cold weather would have a major effect on the joint rotator and the O- ring seating. The test carried out had only gone to a low of 530 F and this presented a problem of the unknown (Rogers’s, 1989). Thiokol provided NASA with information concerning the launch and thought that the low temperatures were going to affect the O-rings to a point they were going to be ineffective. The mission had been cancelled previously due to the cold weather and NASA was not ready for another cancellation (Kramer, James, 1987 p.23). Although information had been provided by a GDSS from another company showed that the O-rings were going to work under the predicted weather, engi neers from Thiokol were skeptical about the data they had inputted into the GDSS. This meant that NASA was relying on a GDSS that had flawed information (Kramer James, 1987). At this juncture, NASA asked for a definitive confirmation or rejection of the planned launch from Thiokol. The representatives from Thiokol responded by recommending the launch be delayed until the temperatures were favorable. NASA continued to pressure Thiokol to change their minds and NASA level three managers is reported to have retorted to the representatives, â€Å"My God, Thiokol, When do you want me to launch, next April?† (Kramer, James, 1987, p.7). It was after this that Thiokol representatives asked to be given time to rethink their recommendations. An engineer with Thiokol was asked to stop reasoning as an engineer and start thinking as a manager, which suggests that the group was placing organizational needs in front of safety of the shuttle. Thiokol representatives returned to the GDSS an d recommended that the launch be done as planned. When NASA asked if there was any objection to this no one from the GDSS objected. During the launch the O-ring were severely affected by the cold weather and this mechanical failure caused the accident and the eventual loss of the crewmembers (Kramer, James, 1987). Critical analysis of the organizational behavior and management shortcomings that contributed to the disaster The environment, organizational behavior and management which NASA and its developers operated in gave a large margin for human error. However, Thiokol and NASA had a chance to avert the accident during the GDSS meeting before the launch. The organizational behavior and management fallings can be attributed to the accident. First, the team especially Thiokol had prior knowledge that the O-ring was going to be affected by the cold weather months before the launching. However, the primary goal of the project was to meet the launch date. NASA warned about the problem , but it downplayed it. This presents the first element of the mismanagement of information and bad organizational behavior that resulted into the accident. Any suggestion and proposals of the launch-taking place were met with positive support from the management while all suggestions of delays were shot down without taking into consideration the risk involved in carrying out the launch (Turban, 1988). Third, there was a strong feeling among the people involved in the project management to live up to the promises made. Despite the fact that Thiokol engineers were skeptical about the planned launching, their management went ahead and agreed with the other members of the GDSS to continue with the launch (Turban, 1988). Fourth, there was bad organizational behavior and management on the part of Thiokol, because they agreed with the other teams although their engineers were telling them to stop the launch (Priwer, Philips, 2009). Fifth, all people involved in the top management of the project were afraid of how the political elites and the public would react if another cancellation was done. In the previous one year the launch had been postponed six times. Many in this group were starting to rationalize that if they had succeeded in the past they were as well going to succeed this time (United States Congress, 1986). Finally, the group as stated before was working with flawed data and even when Thiokol engineers began to question the integrity of this information, nobody took action. People in the GDSS meeting who were proposing that the launch be delayed were unwelcome and therefore the management had its mind made on the launching date. During the meeting, it was seen that NASA representatives were at times assertive and intimidate the other players to a point where they disregarded warnings given. The meeting is also faulted as a bad organizational behavior and management, because it was easy to downplay the personal opinions held by each member. Instead of th e speaker conversion, the meeting should have been held at a place where all members were present and maybe the outcomes would have been different. The GDSS failed the point where Thiokol asked to be given five minutes to conduct a private meeting. Before this point Thiokol had maintained that the launch should be cancelled, but after the private meeting it changed its mind. Conclusion The failure of the spaceship Challenger can be blamed on the organizational behavior. NASA has a variety of risk avoidance system. Their aim is to ensure that the missions are safe. NASA is one of the smallest federal agencies and operates under a strict budget of US$ 15 Billion (NASA, 2010). This removes any flexibility during risky situations. This agency has been known to be dependant to their history for decision making. Since their establishment in 1958, their main aim was to beat the Soviet Union spaceflights. Though their budget keeps being cut, they still stick to their mission. The cut costs made NASA realize that they could include the private business sector. This increased their pressure for success, which was also coming from the government. They had to research and develop the operations with limited time. NASA Budget in billions of American Dollar (NASA, 2010) The normalization of deviance is another short coming on the management of the NASA. This is a term, which is used to explain the way sometimes some technical flaws are not scrutinized by the various safety bodies over time. This is because they are both expensive and time consuming. Due to the pressure to produce, it is seen as absurd to spend resources on problems, which are not a risk (Launius, 1992). The postponing of the launch can be because of many reasons. Maybe the problem was the O-rings significance was not considered so much hence the problem with it was a minor one to them. The other reason would be, because the president was using the flight as a reference in his speech or maybe it was because of the much pressure, which was being exerted by both the private sector and the government. Recommendations Failures can happen no matter the safety systems applied. Though the cause of the failure was technical, the organizational failure caries a huge part in it. There are numerous things that NASA can do to avoid these types of organizational failures ever happening (Lewis, 1988). One of them is the Hierarchical power. Some of the management’s personnel at the high posts have no interest in the hierarchy. Some of them would rather not make decisions that would jeopardize their work. The congress, a body of the NASA which offers regulatory oversight, has no desires to jeopardize the central district of NASA through their decisions. These are huge obstacles to the changes that should be made in the organizational behavior and management. They should create a way in which the engineers can have the ability of by passing the hierarchy and bureaucracy before launching unsafe missions. If the engineers had had their way during the Challengers disaster, the O-rings would have been replaced or the launch postponed. Though these activities would be very costly to NASA, it would not be as expensive as losing the crew and the vehicle (United States Congress, 1986). The bureaucratic procedures should be sometimes be exempted from getting some data. This is because hunch or intuitions which the engineers might have may take a long time to be researched on and analyzed (Hall, 2003). References Dunbar, B. Ryba, J. (2008). Kennedy Space Center. Web. Hall, J.L. (2003). Space Policy. Columbia and Challenger: Organizational failure of NASA. Berkley: University of California at Berkley. Jarman A. Kouzmin, A. (1990). â€Å"Decision pathways from crisis. A contingency-theory simulation heuristic for the Challenger Shuttle disaster†, Contemporary Crises. Kramer, C. James A. (1987). The Space Shuttle Disaster: Ethical Issues in Organizational Decision Making. Mi chigan: Western Michigan University Press. Launius, D. (1992). â€Å"Toward an Understanding of the Space Shuttle: A Historiographical Essay†. Air Power History, Winter. Lewis, R.S. (1988). Challenger; the final voyage. New Yolk: Columbia University press. McConnell, M. (1988). Challenger: A Major Malfunction. London: Routledge. NASA (2010). Kennedy Space Center. Web. NASA. (2008) Spacelink Challenger Press Release. Web. NASA. (2011). The Mission and the History of Space Shuttle Challenger. Web. Priwer,S. Philips,C. (2009). Space exploration for dummies. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons. Rogers’s commission. (1989). Report Of the President Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. Washington DC. G.P.O Turban, E. (1988). Decision Support and Expert Systems, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. United States Congress. (1986). Investigation of the Challenger Accident; Report of the Committee on Science and Technology, House of Representative, Ninety-Ninth Congress , Second Session. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. This case study on Organization Behavior and Management: Space Shuttle Challenger was written and submitted by user Aydin Flores to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Belonging Essay Example

Belonging Essay Example Belonging Essay Belonging Essay Belonging to a community or a group can impact someone through their attitudes, behavior and habits. It can also affect them socially as it may prevent them from revealing their true identity and in some cases may allow them to broaden their beliefs. A persons place in the community affects the entire community and their actions can affect the community in a positive or negative aspect. These ideas have been reflected in the texts Strictly Ballroom, Neighbors and Drifters. Strictly Ballroom directed by Bag Lurching shows a young man, Scott Hastings, who ballroom dances but wishes to change his style of dancing. This goes against the authority and the federation and affects the whole community. In Neighbors written by Tim Winston, illustrates a married couple broaden their beliefs about belonging to a place through acceptance from the community which allows them to create their own identity within the community. However, Drifters written by Bruce Dade represents ideas of both belonging and not belonging to a community and how it can affects people differently. In the movie Strictly Ballroom, Scott is portrayed as a semi- professional ballroom dancer which is reflected as his identity in the community. The ballroom community prevents Scott from expressing his own way of dancing in which he can mirror his feelings allowing him to create his own identity within the community. This restriction results in him going against the federation to create his own identity within the community ultimately allowing him to express his dancing from the heart instead of choreographed steps which relate in no way to the true meaning of the songs to which he dances. These steps are highlighted through close- ups to his movements to exaggerate that he is different from the rest and also to his ace revealing his true feelings about his way of dancing, which is of happiness and excited imaged through his enthusiasm and dedication for dancing. However, the result of Coots actions are revealed as Barry Fife, the head of the Federation, as Barry Fife eliminates Scott from the Groper competitions for not following the demonstrated steps of professionals. This scene is underlined by extreme close-ups to Barry Fifes face to convey his dominance over the ballroom community and also his anger is pictured as his face turns a bright red due to Coots rebellious actions. Ultimately, elimination affects Scott in no way as he is motivated by the audience especially by his father and Francs family. Their clapping is symbolic as it encourages both Scott and Fran to keep on dancing and forego the expectations of the authority. This builds a new identity for Scott and Fran and a new meaning of ballroom dancing in the community. In comparison to Strictly Ballroom, Neighbors illustrates a view of belonging yet not belonging to the community. The married couple in the poem view the perception of belonging to be neighbors were seldom seen and never eared which conveys that they had never been accepted within a neighborhood. The validity of the word never indicates that they had no connection or interaction with their neighbors throughout their stay in their previous town which, subconsciously, affected their attachment with their town. The alliteration used in the phrase points out the word seldom highlighting that even if they were seen there was still no interaction. However, their views of belonging changed gradually as time indications of the barriers, preventing the married couple, breaking down and allowing them to come closer to their neighbors and building a relationship twine them. The connotations of coming closer build as the neighbors start to interact reflected as they find themselves smiling back at the neighbors. The verb highlights that they were becoming a part of the community and felt themselves creating their own space within in the community. Ultimately, interaction between the neighbors started to become common as they told barely-understood stories signifies that their differences were overlooked and eventually the married couple found themselves shouting which is ironic as they criticized the Macedonian family for shouting when they first came to this town. Shouting is symbolic as it represents the married couple embracing the Macedonian lifestyle and allowing them to identify their individuals sense of self with their neighbors and creating their place in the community with their neighbors. In comparison, Doug from the movie Strictly Ballroom has no belonging to the ballroom community nor his family as his role in his family is of the submissive, always quiet and self-reserved. This prevents him of creating his own identity, which is of a professional ballroom dancer who gave up his dream for dancing to create his own identity instead of a superficial one who dances he steps of the corrupted federation. Ultimately removing his name from the ballroom dancing past, he leads himself to having no identity in the ballroom community or his family. This is reflected in the scene in which Liz throws her bag and Doug catches it. He is seen merely as the record player sitting on the side and listening to peoples orders. The close-up in this scene shows Doug and his facial expression of shock as he sees not the bag flying to him but Scott dancing the steps of the federation, this highlights Dogs role as he is not in shock of the bag. The lour brown connotes the feeling of sadness and isolation which in Doughs case is highly accurate. Doug behaves submissively to cause no disruption in Coots carrier for which he forgoes his identity of being a professional dancing. The irony that Scott is following Doughs path in life is what allows Doug to identify himself, again, as a dancer and to dance freely in the community. The stereo-typical legend of like- father-like-son is the theme demonstrated to indicate to Doug that his dreams of dancing in the Groper competitions through the use of his own steps can be achieved by his son. Finally allowing him to reveal his true identity of a ballroom dancer and to reclaim is position in his family and in the community. Similarly, belonging to a community has not been possible for the drifters as they constantly move to different places preventing them from connecting to their new homes or allowing them to adapt to the new environment. This affects the family identity as their short stays in towns avert them from planting their name or place in the community, ultimately not allowing the members of the family to have a permanent identity. Shell go out to the vegetable patch and pick all the green tomatoes from he vines reflects her place in the community as the green tomatoes are symbolic to her place within the community. She hasnt had enough time to completely adapt to the environment of this still new community and hasnt had enough time to build its roots strong enough to stay here permanently and engrave her name in this environment. This is contrast to her oldest daughters feelings as she had adapted to tears. The use of emotive language help create the image and reveal that the oldest daughter wants now to be stable in this community and wants to create a throng bond with this environment, Just as she did when she first came to this new town. Ultimately, this has no effect on the decision made and leaves on memories of this town, reflected as shell only remember how, when they first came here Make a wish, Tom, make a wish. The use of repetition symbolizes unfulfilled dreams and her eagerness to create a permanent identity for her and her family. In essence, belonging to a community or group has a significant impact on an individuals sense of self and the community as it may affect the individual to create their own identity or even prevent them from creating their identity. In cases such as in Strictly Ballroom belonging to a community may not be valid as it may cause isolation and sadness, in reference to Doug. Similarly, in Neighbors was demonstrated a similar theme of superficial aspects of belonging however they eventually resolved into a silent understanding of differences allowing the neighbors to connect and accept each other for whom they were. In association to these texts, Drifters represents a view of not belonging to the community as they were drifters, always moving preventing them from creating an attachment with their new home or building any permanent roots.

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 10

Ethics - Essay Example It stresses that morality only acts as the driving force for the individual’s ethical and virtuous behavior, rather than the individual exhibiting ethical behavior because of certain rules, to garner expected consequences and because of certain social contexts or compulsions. Standards and concepts of virtue ethics or virtuous behavior were put forth by ancient thinkers like Aristotle and Confucius. Aristotle classifies virtue as moral virtue and intellectual virtue while defining the dual forms of virtue. â€Å"Virtue, then, being of two kinds, intellectual and moral, intellectual virtue in the main owes both its birth and its growth†¦.. while moral virtue comes about as a result of habit, whence also its name (ethike) is one that is formed by a slight variation from the word ethos (habit).† (Aristotle). Thus, Aristotle thinks that moral virtue is the result of habits that an individual forms in his/her life. Moral virtue is not an inborn quality, on the other hand, it is an characteristic, that an individual acquires by habit. â€Å"From this it is also plain that none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature; for nothing that exists by nature can form a habit contrary to its nature.† (Aristotle). When a person has a habit of doing virtuous things, the quality of virtue is imbibed in his/her behavior. Aristotle provides the examples of builders and lyrep layers to prove his point regarding the role played by habit in the development of virtue. He explains that to carry out a particular work, an individual is required to learn that work first and this learning is acquired by doing that work. Aristotle further states that intellectual virtue is developed in an individual, owing to the training and education he/she receives. Moral virtue is formed, owing to the habit of the person for doing virtuous things. However, to develop this habit, the person has to learn about virtue and it is here that

Judaism, Kabbalah Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Judaism, Kabbalah - Essay Example This was a period before the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment which saw the development of empiricism and science. Thus things were often explained on the basis of spirituality and mysticism. At such a period, the Kabbalah was an important source of explanations in the Jewish community around Europe because it was seen as the authoritative source of interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. And due to the emphasis placed on spirituality, it had a very strong appeal amongst Jews and Christians alike. Kabbalah practiced amongst the Jews in Europe especially in Italy in the Middle Ages mixed principles of Aristotlean philosophy and Sufism in a way that provided a strong body of knowledge in mysticism that was helpful in the interpretation of Christianity and Judaism in that era (Idel 21). This mix gave a practical guide and reasonable system for explaining things in Europe at that time. Due to this feature, it became widely accepted by most people in Middle Age Europe since it gav e explanations to things that the Church was preaching throughout Europe. Although Kabbalah was a Jewish system, the Catholic Church created units within the Church that applied some of the principles of Kabbalah (Idel 22).

Realities Behind Deceiving Appearances Essay Example for Free

Realities Behind Deceiving Appearances Essay According to Alfred Kazin, â€Å"In every great novel of society what counts is the reality behind the appearance† (Kazin, 1981, 297). In other words, he’s saying that the best books are those that include one or more realities behind appearances. The novel first I chose is called Perfect by Ellen Hopkins. This book has four main characters; Cara, Sean, Kendra, and Andre, who are all teens struggling to fit the ideal of perfection, even if it means hurting and lying to themselves and others. The other novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain tells a story of a runaway slave named Jim and a young boy Huck, running from the dangers of his father. Together they are trying to get to the North but run into many roadblocks. This adventure includes deceit, danger, excitement and most of all, friendship. Both of these novels show reality behind experiences through its actions, dialogs, and the characters themselves! In the following paragraphs, I will compare and explain the reality behind appearances such as friends or family, disguises and secrets in both novels, Perfect and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Jim, a runaway slave from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows many realities behind deceiving appearances. An example of a deceiving appearance is when Huck and the duke paint Jim all blue and dressed him up in King Lear’s outfit before leaving to town. Huck doesn’t want to risk Jim being taken away and sold back into slavery so they disguise him as a â€Å"sick arab-but harmless when not out of his head† (Twain 157) so that he wont have to uncomfortably lay tied up in the wigwam all day. The reality behind this disguise is that Jim is a kind and harmless runaway slave. After a tiring adventure, Jim talks to Huck about his family. When telling stories to Huck, he reveals a reality behind a deceiving appearance about his daughter Elizabeth. When Jim’s daughter was young, she got very sick. When she was better, Jim had told her to shut the door but she just stood there smiling at him. He repeated himself and again, she just smiled at him. Thinking that she was being naughty and a rebel, he smacked her across the head as a punishment. When he slams the door shut and she doesn’t budge, wince, or make any notice of it, Jim realizes â€Å"Oh, she was plumb deef en dumb, Huck, plumb deef en dumb† (Twain 156). The biggest and most important reality behind a deceiving appearance is that along this adventure, Jim was  freed from slavery. After all the trouble Tom put him through, Tom finally fesses that Jim was free because â€Å"Old Miss Watson died two months ago, and she was so ashamed she ever was going to sell him down the river, and said so; and she set him free in her will† (Twain 289). The duke and the king from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are very mischievous people. They are full with illusions, lies, and intelligence. The first reality behind appearance Huck saw is their names. On the day they first meet, both men claim they were a king and a duke in order to receive pity and to be spoiled by Jim and Huck. While Huck sees through this appearance, Jim does not. Later on in the story, the king cons the people of a religious camp in order to get some money. He pretends to be a pirate who changed his ways after he was robbed and now is working his way back to the ocean in order to change all pirates. He gives credit to the people of the town to earn their pity and succeeds. â€Å"‘Don’t you thank me, don’t you give me no credit; it all belongs to them dear people in Pokeville camp-meeting, natural brothers and benefactors of the race, and that dear preacher there, the truest friend a pirate ever had’† (Twain 132). The reality behind the king’s appearance is that it was all an act and that he is just a cheater. Even after this silly event, the king and the duke are still greedy for more. When they find out that a man who has a lot of money for a relative has died, they head towards the town. There, they pretended to be the uncle of three girls who are very sweet and innocent. Eventually, the actual heirs to the money show up and start to expose the duke and the king. They have a more authentic english accent and state that the handwritings when compared to an old letter aren’t the same. In my novel, Perfect by Ellen Hopkins, there are four main characters struggling to fit an ideal of perfection. One of the main characters is named Kendra. Kendra is a senior in high school and everything you would want to be. She’s popular, on the cheer team, rich, and most of all, skinny. Kendra’s obsession with perfection comes with dangerous consequences as she is willing to do anything to achieve it. The most deceiving illusion when it comes to Kendra is her appearance itself. Kendra has gone through many plastic surgeries to look as she is now. With a rhinoplasty already  scheduled, she is also hoping to get a boob job which her stepfather refuses to allow. Along with the plastic surgery, in order to lose weight, Kendra eats as little as possible. Kendra believes she is fat, being 5’ 10† and 122 pounds. Though everyone tells her she’s not, she states that the â€Å"stinking mirror doesn’t lie. Everytime I walk by, it shouts out, †˜Hey. Chub. When are you going to lose those fifteen pounds of ugly-ass flab? Do you want to stay size four forever?’† (Hopkins, 23). The reality behind Kendra’s illusion is that she’s already beautiful and dangerously skinny. With every calorie she doesn’t eat, she inches closer and closer to death. One of the reasons why she believes that she’s not beautiful is because her boyfriend Conner left her. She believed he left her because she wasn’t good and pretty enough. The thought of this tortures her because Conner was her first love, the first person whom she gave her heart and soul to. She later finds out that Conner is in the hospital because of an accident. The reality is that Conner didn’t get into an accident, he tried killing himself and he didn’t leave her because he thought she was ugly. He left her because he had fallen in love with someone else. When Kendra leaves her beauty agent for Xavier, she begins to work with a man named Gilles. Xavier tells Kendra that Gilles is one of the â€Å"biggies† and that she needs keep him happy. â€Å"I have to keep Gilles happy. He likes the way I look. Especially naked† (Hopkins 496). Gilles and Xavier claim that they love her but in all honesty, they are taking advantage of her. If they rea lly did love her as she is, they wouldn’t abuse her body with pills, sex and surgeries. The appearance of Gilles loving her for her style and determination masks the reality that in order to do business, she must trade it with her service to him. Another character who has a deceiving appearance in the novel Perfect is a girl named Cara. Cara, like Kendra is also on the cheer team, beautiful, rich, has good grades and a wonderful sexy boyfriend but is she really all the things people make her out to be? Cara has a secret, one that could ruin her reputation; She’s a lesbian. Her boyfriend Sean is just an appearance. An appearance to make her seem straight when in reality, she’s a lesbian. When Sean finds out about her secret after they break up, he exposes her by taking a photo of Cara and her lover making love and sharing it to all of her â€Å"friends†. After this incident, all of Cara’s friends leave her and  began calling her cruel names such as slut and dyke. â€Å"I can’t believe Cara broke up with Sean. Neither can half the senior class They’re chopping her into little pieces: is a slut anyway, always was full of it, serious commitment issues† (Hopkins 306). The comfort and companionship of her friends was all an appearance in which the reality was just to use Cara for their own benefit. Because of this incident, Cara finally decides to tell her parents. â€Å"‘Dani said I should press charges’ Mom’s eyes grew steadily more severe. ‘I think it’s best to let it drop. If this becomes public knowledge, the media will smear it all over the headlines. Our reputation will be ruined. Bad enough we had to deal with all the flak about Conner.’ She straightened her blouse, as if it had been wrinkled by the very idea of her children disgracing her name† (Hopkins 535). The definition of parents is a mother and a father and that’s exactly what Cara’s parents are. A mother and father, nothing more. Though they do provide Cara with materialistic needs, it is all for her mother’s reputation. Her heartless parents with their high expectations are so extreme that it causes her twin brother Conner to kill himself. The idea of loving and supportive parents is just an appearance that the Sykes family create when the cold truth is that they don’t hold any familial bonds with each o ther. In the preceding paragraphs, I have compared and explained the realities behind appearances in both novels, Perfect and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As Alfred Kazin was saying, realities behind deceiving appearances make a book more interesting to read. It also makes the readers realize that there are many illusions in our daily lives. Through the characters, we can perhaps learn a lesson on how to act, spot, and deal with these realities behind appearances.

The Lost Roanoke Colony Essay -- essays research papers

Jamestown is thought by most of our general population to be the first colony in the New World. This is only half true. Jamestown is considered our first successful colony, however it was not our first attempt at a colony. There were a few attempts to colonize the New World before Jamestown and one in particular that is found to be interesting is Roanoke also known as the Lost Colony. It received this name due to the fact that the colonists that settled this colony disappeared very mysteriously. This poses the question of What happened to the people of Roanoke? There are many different viewpoints of what occurred to the colonists and the goal here is to address each one of them. In England, a document signed on January 7, 1587, created a governing body called the Governor and Assistants of the City of Roanoke in Virginia. John White, an illustrator and map maker, was appointed governor. Then on May 5, 1587, eighty-five men, seventeen women, and eleven children boarded the ships heading for the New World. The plan was originally designed for the colony to settle at Chesapeake Bay, however on July 22, 1587, Simao Fernandes, the ship captain of the expedition decided to drop everyone off at Roanoke Island, the site of a previous expedition called Greenville, instead of pushing up the coast to the Chesapeake Bay. John White believed that they would reunite with the fifteen colonists left behind from the previous expedition. Instead he only found the bones of one of the men, ...