Leadership, Effective Leaders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Leadership, Effective Leaders - Essay Example It is importnt tht competing demnds nd pproches not prlyze mngers but insted provide cumultive nd integrtive improvements to ledership effectiveness. In view of bove, current pper provides impiricl pproch towrd the concpet of ledership. Bsing on the book of Chrles Mnz nd Henry Sims, The New SuperLedership, where the principl of self-ledership is peoneered, present discussion covers theorieticl review nd prcticl impliction of types of ledership. It is the im of this pper to present new content nd exmples designed to help leders develop the kind of utonomous, quick-recting workforce necessry to thrive in these turbulent times. I first introduce the theory of ledership styles. Through the discussion of two types of ledrship, I grdully comme to the discussion of effective ledership techniques nd end up with personl model of ledership. Using the exmples of two leders this pper is gret reflection of efficient nd inefficient pproch to ledership. Drwing on contemporry exmples nd profiles, mny from the high-tech nd informtion sectors, Mnz nd Sims shtter the myth of the trditionl, ggrndized versions of "heroic" ledership. They show tht leder truly becomes successful by turning followers into extrordinry self-leders-pillrs of strength tht will support the orgniztion t every level. They detil series of ction-oriented steps through which the SuperLeder provides n opportunity for followers to express nd develop their own ledership skills-nd in the process become highly motivted, dynmic contributors. The typology of ledershi introduced by uthors describes four brod ledership rchetypes: strongmn, trnsctor, visionry hero, nd SuperLeder. The strongmn relies on uthority nd coercion to mke subordintes perform the tsks. Coercion, s mens of influencing the behvior of others, depends upon the expecttion of specified positive or negtive consequences. Coercive power requires tht the expecttion of consequences be reproduced consistently. The continued ppliction of these consequences is usully enough to ensure tht others' behvior will continue to be influenced. Coercion is esy to estblish but costly to mintin since the expecttions of others must be met if their behvior is going to be influenced beyond the previous instnce. uthority is the opposite: it is difficult to estblish but once in plce it is highly effective mens of influencing behvior since specific consequences, nd the inculction of the expecttion of them, re not required. While often considered relic of pst mngeril prctice, mny contemporry leders still employ this uthoritrin style. The trnsctor uses rewrds nd snctions to motivte employees. Positive reinforcement not only shpes behvior but lso teches nd in the process enhnces personl self-imge s Chrles Mnz nd Henry Sims note, the wy the reinforcement is crried out is more importnt thn the mount. First, it ought to be specific, incorporting s much informtion content s possible. Second, the reinforcement should hve immedicy. Third, the system of feedbck mechnisms should tke ccount of chievbility. Compnies should rewrd smll wins. Good news swpping is common in the excellent compnies. The fourth chrcteristic is tht fir mount of the feedbck comes in the form of intngible but meningful ttention from top mngement. The third type, visionry hero, uses inspirtion nd vision to motivte employees. SuperLeders ccomplish this by encourging individuls to set their own gols, monitor

How Most Parents in the United Arab Emirates Select Baby's Name Essay

How Most Parents in the United Arab Emirates Select Baby's Name - Essay Example When it comes to the naming of children according to character, most parents in the United Arab Emirates tend to pick soothing lively names that would go a long way in motivating their children. Such names include A’azz that is a male name meaning a person who is mighty and strong. Another female Arabic name is A‘ishah, which means a woman who is lively and superior (Al, 2001). Normally, parents in the UAE select such names in order to influence their children’s behavior and character. As far as the naming of children after famous businesspeople is concerned, it is important to note that many children have been named after Sunil  Baby, who is a renowned Financial Controller at IAL Container Line (UK) Ltd (Gulfnews, 2014). Although many trendy names are available in the modern era, the conservative United Arab Emirates strongly prohibits the adoption of such names especially western names that are considered foreign and ‘dirty’. It means that parents in the United Arab Emirates have to pick only from the available options, as going against the Arabian culture is considered a taboo. Additionally, the culture of naming children in the United Arab Emirates highly prohibits interchanging names in either gender. Therefore, parents in the country are only supposed to give their males children male Arabian names and the female children should also bear female Arabic names. Contrary names could attract disciplinary actions according to the Islamic laws (Al, 2001). Until recently, parents in the United Arab Emirates used to name their children after the prince and names that depicted the prophets but Saudi Arabia has banned over fifty names and the effect that is soon spiraling in the United Arab Emirates due to the similarity in cultures.

Theory of Forms Essay Example for Free

Theory of Forms Essay Definition. What is Philosophy? There are a number of definitions of philosophy given by many thinkers and they vary according to their interests and orientations. Generally, philosophy is regarded as perhaps the most obstruse and abstract of all subjects that seems apart from ordinary life. Although quiet a number of people may think of it as a being remote from every normal interest, it may be inferred that all of us have some philosophical views, whether we are aware of it or not. Most often, the term appears vague for it has been a part of our conversations. Origin. The word â€Å"philosophy† is derived from the Greek â€Å"philia† meaning â€Å"love† and â€Å"sophia† meaning â€Å"wisdom† or â€Å"knowledge†. The literal definition of philosophy, therefore, is â€Å"love of wisdom†. In current popular usage, many different ideas are involved in the manner we use the term. In some cases, philosophy refers to an attitude toward certain activities. For instance, during election, we often hear some people say, we are voting for a certain candidate because we favour for his philosophy of government. In classes in philosophy, the most common question the teacher asks is what the philosophy of student is. The popular conception of philosophy, in spite of many ways we may use the term, is a complex intellectual undertaking. Regardless of the various ideas of the role of philosophy in one’s life, its importance cannot be overemphasized. Parent Science. Philosophy may be considered as the â€Å"parent science†, in that it has given birth to natural, physical, and social sciences. These disciplines continue to provide philosophy with an abundance of contemporary issues, questions, that are seemingly difficult to answer. Philosophy is both independent fro other disciplines and embedded in their foundations and on-going activities. Philosophy as a science. Philosophy has been defined as a science because it deals with the study of the processes governing thought and conduct. It investigates the principles and laws that regulate the universe and underlie all knowledge, which satisfies the requisites of scientific state of knowing. Science has been defined as a body of systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, and experiments carried out in order to determine the nature of principles of what is being studied. Its main concern is the discovery of truth. The difference between the two fields of knowledge lies in the scope and nature of their interest and their approach. While specific sciences deal particularly with restricted field, e. g. , chemistry, philosophy deals with all aspects of man’s experiences. The interest of science is limited to the physical world, while the concern of philosophy issues on justice, conscience, reason, the soul and the Supernatural Being. The science approach to any investigation is establishing and systematizing facts, principles, and methods through experiments and hypotheses, while the approach of philosophy in its object of study is encompassing. Science tends to eliminate the persona factor and values in the quest for objectivity, while philosophy is interested in human experiences, personal values and purposes. Science is primarily concerned with the nature of things as they are, while philosophy is interested not only in the real aspects but alos in their worth and meaning. The aim of science is to observe nature and to control processes, while philosophy criticizes, evaluates and integrates the various dimensions of human experience. Philosophy as a science carefully examines and criticizes the premises and conclusions of all sciences-physical, natural, and social. Some propositions have been made by the sciences which, when examined carefully, may be found too impossible to attain or to prove. Philosophy synthesizes and compares the assumptions and conclusions of the difficult findings of the different sciences when they appear to be contradictory. Philosophy harmonizes and brings the sciences together to complement and support one another. THREE MAJOR FIELDS OF PHILOSOPHY The three major fields of philosophy are: (1) epistemology, (2) metaphysics, and (3) axiology. Epistemology. Epistemology deals with the study of origin, structures, methods, nature, limit and veracity (truth, reliability, validity) of human knowledge. It also includes logic and a variety of linguistic concerns and the philosophy of science. The word â€Å"epistemology† is derived from the Greek word â€Å"episteme† which means â€Å"knowledge† and â€Å"logos† which means â€Å"the study of†. Epistemology as a theory of knowledge asks fundamental questions about knowledge in all its forms and applications of how it is formulated and expressed and communicated. It also looks into the role of sense experience and how knowledge is acquired. Metaphysics. Metaphysics deals with questions of reality-its nature, meaning and existence. The word â€Å"metaphysics† is derived from the Greek word â€Å"meta† which â€Å"beyond† and â€Å"physikon† which means â€Å"nature† from which is derived the word physics, the science whish deals with matter, energy, force, natural laws and processes. Metaphysics is also concerned about the nature mind, self and consciousness, the nature of religion, such as the existence of God, the destiny of the universe, and the immortality of the soul. Aside from the nature of reality and the universe, metaphysics examines time, space, cause and chance. Axiology. Axiology deals into the study of values. It analyzes the origin, types and characteristics, criteria and knowledge of values. It includes values of human conduct, the nature and justification of social structures and political systems and the nature of art and its meaning in human experience. THE BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY Philosophy has several branches which resulted from man’s philosophical speculations. Each branch endeavours to provide us with useful insights into certain realities. The following are the fundamental philosophical fields of study: 1. Ethics or moral philosophy. This is the philosophical study of the morality of human acts, the search for an understanding of the good life and the ultimate basis of what is good or bad. 2. Metaphysics or ontology. This is the philosophical quest for what reality is in the final analysis. It is the study of beings in general. 3. Theology/Theodicy. This is the philosophical inquiry into the existence of God. His nature and his relations to man and the rest of creation. 4. Philosophy of man. This is the philosophical search for a deeper understanding of what man is and what it means to be fully human. 5. Cosmology. This is the philosophical search for a deeper understanding of the material universe. 6. Political philosophy. This is the philosophical search for knowledge of the ultimate foundation of the state, its ideal form and its basic power. 7. Aesthetics. This is the search for a deeper understanding and knowledge of beauty. 8. Epistemology. This is the philosophical search for answers to the fundamental questions concerning the conditions of knowledge, its extent and limitations. deeper understanding 9. Logic. This is the philosophical science and art of correct inferential thinking and setting forth its conditions. 10. Psychology. This is the science that deals with the science of mind, mental state and processes. The philosophical concept â€Å"psychology† came from the Greek words â€Å"psyche† which means â€Å"soul†, â€Å"mind†, and â€Å"spirit†, and â€Å"logos† which means â€Å"the study of†. To the Greeks, psychology is the study of the soul. Part 2. THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE. THALES Thales was the first known philosopher, scientist and mathematician although his occupation was that of an engineer. He is believed to have been the teacher of Anaximander (611 BC 545 BC) and he was the first natural philosopher in the Milesian School. Thales first went to Egypt and thence introduced this study [geometry] into Greece. He discovered many propositions himself, and instructed his successors in the principles underlying many others, his method of attacking problems had greater generality in some cases and was more in the nature of simple inspection and observation in other cases. Certainly Thales was a figure of enormous prestige, being the only philosopher before Socrates to be among the Seven Sages. Plutarch, writing of these Seven Sages, says that: Thales was apparently the only one of these whose wisdom stepped, in speculation, beyond the limits of practical utility, the rest acquired the reputation of wisdom in politics. It is reported that Thales predicted an eclipse of the Sun in 585 BC. The cycle of about 19 years for eclipses of the Moon was well known at this time but the cycle for eclipses of the Sun was harder to spot since eclipses were visible at different places on Earth. Thaless prediction of the 585 BC eclipse was probably a guess based on the knowledge that an eclipse around that time was possible. The claims that Thales used the Babylonian saros, a cycle of length 18 years 10 days 8 hours, to predict the eclipse has been shown by Neugebauer to be highly unlikely since Neugebauer shows that the saros was an invention of Halley. Neugebauer wrote: there exists no cycle for solar eclipses visible at a given place: all modern cycles concern the earth as a whole. No Babylonian theory for predicting a solar eclipse existed at 600 BC, as one can see from the very unsatisfactory situation 400 years later, nor did the Babylonians ever develop any theory which took the influence of geographical latitude into account. ANAXIMANDER Anaximander (610 – c. 546 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus, a city of Ionia; Milet in modern Turkey. He belonged to the Milesian school and learned the teachings of his master Thales. He succeeded Thales and became the second master of that school where he counted Anaximenes and arguably, Pythagoras amongst his pupils. Anaximander was one of the earliest Greek thinkers at the start of the Axial Age, the period from approximately 700 BC to 200 BC, during which similarly revolutionary thinking appeared in China, India, Iran, the Near East, and Ancient Greece. He was an early proponent of science and tried to observe and explain different aspects of the universe, with a particular interest in its origins, claiming that nature is ruled by laws, just like human societies, and anything that disturbs the balance of nature does not last long. Like many thinkers of his time, Anaximanders contributions to philosophy relate to many disciplines. In astronomy, he tried to describe the mechanics of celestial bodies in relation to the Earth. In physics, his postulation that the indefinite (or apeiron) was the source of all things led Greek philosophy to a new level of conceptual abstraction. His knowledge of geometry allowed him to introduce the gnomon in Greece. He created a map of the world that contributed greatly to the advancement of geography. He was also involved in the politics of Miletus and was sent as a leader to one of its colonies. Anaximander claimed that an indefinite (apeiron) principle gives rise to all natural phenomena. Anaximanders theories were influenced by the Greek mythical tradition, and by some ideas of Thales – the father of philosophy – as well as by observations made by older civilizations in the East (especially by the Babylonian astrologists). All these were elaborated rationally. The basic elements of nature (water, air, fire, earth) which the first Greek philosophers believed that constituted the universe represent in fact the primordial forces of previous thought. Their collision produced what the mythical tradition had called cosmic harmony. ANAXIMENES While his predecessors Thales and Anaximander proposed that the arche, the underlying material of the world, were water and the ambiguous substance apeiron, respectively, Anaximenes asserted that air was this primary substance of which all other things are made. While the choice of air may seem arbitrary, he based his conclusion on naturally observable phenomena in the process of rarefaction and condensation. When air condenses it becomes visible, as mist and then rain and other forms of precipitation, and as the condensed air cools Anaximenes supposed that it went on to form earth and ultimately stones. In contrast, water evaporates into air which ignites and produces flame when further rarefied. While other philosophers also recognized such transitions in states of matter, Anaximenes was the first to associate the quality pairs hot/dry and cold/wet with the density of a single material and add a quantitative dimension to the Milesian monistic system. The Origin of the Cosmos. Having concluded that everything in the world is composed of air, Anaximenes then used his theory to devise a scheme explaining the origins and nature of the earth as well as of the surrounding celestial bodies. Air felted to create the flat disk of the earth, which he said was table-like and behaved like a leaf floating on air. In keeping with the prevailing view of celestial bodies as balls of fire in the sky, Anaximenes proposed that the earth let out an exhalation of air that rarefied, ignited and became the stars. While the sun is similarly described as being aflame, it is not composed of rarefied air like the stars but rather of earth like the moon; its burning comes not from its composition but rather from its rapid motion. The moon and sun are likewise considered to be flat and floating on streams of air, and when the sun sets it does not pass under the earth but is merely obscured by higher parts of the earth as it circles around and becomes more distant; the motion of the sun and the other celestial bodies around the earth is likened by Anaximenes to the way that a cap may be turned around the head. PYTAGORAS (The Mathematical Basis of All Things) Across a span of water from Miletus, located in the Aegean Sea, was the small island of Samos, which was the birthplace of a truly extraordinary and wise man, Pythagoras. From the various scraps of information we have about him and those who were his followers, an incomplete but still fascinating picture of his new philosophic reflections emerges. Apparently dissatisfied with conditions not only on Samos but generally in Ionia during the tyrannical rule of the rich Polycrates, Pythagoras migrated to southern Italy and settled there in the prosperous Greek city of Crotone, where his active philosophic life is usually dated from 525 to 500 B. C. We are told by Aristotle that â€Å"the Pythagoreans devoted themselves to mathematics, they were the first to advance this study, and having been brought up in it they thought its principles were the principles of all things. . . In contrast to the Miletians, the Pythagoreans that things consist of numbers. Although, it is quite strange to say that everything consists of numbers, the strangeness, as well as the difficulty, of this doctrine is greatly overcome when we consider why Pythagoras became interested in numbers and what his conception of numbers was. Pythagoras became interested in Mathematics for what appear to be religious reasons. His originality could be said to consist in his conviction that the study of mathematics is the best purifier of the soul. He is, therefore, referred to as the founder of both of religious sect and the same time a school of mathematics. What gave rise to the Pythagorean sect was people’s yearning for a deeply spiritual religion that could provide the means for purifying the soul and for guaranteeing its immortality. Part 3. THE PROCESS OF THE UNIVERSE HERACLITUS Nature identified with fire. The Universality of change. The logos and Human Nature. Substance that holds everything is fire. Logos or universal reason. Fire is the process of change that which is fed into it becomes something else. Fire is not a random movement but God’s universal reason, the fire that is the unity holding everything together PARMENIDES Goddess. Logical method. What is, is and what is not, is not. A poem that reveals to him the plain truth and the deceptive beliefs of human beings A method that depends entirely on thought and not at all on experiment and observation only that can be which can be thought for. Thought exists for the sake of what is. Therefore, change is the confusion of appearance with reality and therefore change is simply an illusion. EMPEDOCLES Four elements. Love and strife. Earth, fire, air and water were considered as equally original. Love and strife, attraction and repulsion are two different forces at work in nature . Love binds things together and strife separate them. ANAXAGORAS Invisible particles that are the building blocks of nature. A miniscule particles that carry the blue print of everything else that distinguished the mind from matter. Matter is continuum, infinitely divisible and that, however, much it may be divided, each part will contain elements of everything else. Mind the cause of all things. Mind is the principle that gives matter its order. THE ATOMISTS Believed that everything in nature was made of tiny invisible particles or units called atoms Part 4. THE CONCEPT OF TRUTH KNOWLEDGE SOPHISTS’ CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE THE SOPHISTS The term sophist (sophistes) derives from the Greek words for wisdom (sophia) and wise (sophos). The term sophia could be used to describe disingenuous cleverness long before the rise of the sophistic movement. In the fifth century B. C. E. the term sophistes was still broadly applied to ‘wise men’, including poets such as Homer and Hesiod, the Seven Sages, the Ionian ‘physicists’ and a variety of seers and prophets. The narrower use of the term to refer to professional teachers of virtue or excellence (arete) became prevalent in the second half of the fifth century B. C. E. , although this should not be taken to imply the presence of a clear distinction between philosophers, such as Socrates, and sophists, such as Protagoras, Gorgias and Prodicus. This much is evident from Aristophanes’ play The Clouds (423 B. C. E.), in which Socrates is depicted as a sophist and Prodicus praised for his wisdom. 1. Sophists a. Protagoras. Protagoras of Abdera (c. 490-420 B. C. E. ) was the most prominent member of the sophistic movement and Plato reports he was the first to charge fees using that title (Protagoras, 349a). Despite his animus towards the sophists, Plato depicts Protagoras as quite a sympathetic and dignified figure. From a philosophical perspective, Protagoras is most famous for his relativistic account of truth – in particular the claim that ‘man is the measure of all things’ – and his agnosticism concerning the Gods. Plato suggests that Protagoras sought to differ his educational offering from that of other sophists, such as Hippias, by concentrating upon instruction in arete in the sense of political virtue rather than specialised studies such as astronomy and mathematics (Protagoras, 318e). b. Gorgias. Gorgias of Leontini (c. 485 – c. 390 B. C. E. ) is generally considered as a member of the sophistic movement, despite his disavowal of the capacity to teach arete (Meno, 96c). The major focus of Gorgias was rhetoric and given the importance of persuasive speaking to the sophistic education, and his acceptance of fees, it is appropriate to consider him alongside other famous sophists for present purposes. c. Antiphon. The biographical details surrounding Antiphon the sophist (c. 470-411 B. C. ) are unclear – one unresolved issue is whether he should be identified with Antiphon of Rhamnus (a statesman and teacher of rhetoric who was a member of the oligarchy which held power in Athens briefly in 411 B. C. E. ). However, since the publication of fragments from his On Truth in the early twentieth century he has been regarded as a major representative of the sophistic movement. d. Hippias. The exact dates for Hippias of Elis are unknown, but scholars generally assume that he lived during the same period as Protagoras. Whereas Plato’s depictions of Protagoras – and to a lesser extent Gorgias – indicate a modicum of respect, he presents Hippias as a comic figure who is obsessed with money, pompous and confused. Hippias is best known for his polymathy (DK 86A14). His areas of expertise seem to have included astronomy, grammar, history, mathematics, music, poetry, prose, rhetoric, painting and sculpture. Like Gorgias and Prodicus, he served as an ambassador for his home city. His work as a historian, which included compiling lists of Olympic victors, was invaluable to Thucydides and subsequent historians as it allowed for a more precise dating of past events. In mathematics he is attributed with the discovery of a curve – the quadratrix – used to trisect an angle. e. Prodicus. Prodicus of Ceos, who lived during roughly the same period as Protagoras and Hippias, is best known for his subtle distinctions between the meanings of words. He is thought to have written a treatise titled On the Correctness of Names. Prodicus’ epideictic speech, The Choice of Heracles, was singled out for praise by Xenophon (Memorabilia, II. 1. 21-34) and in addition to his private teaching he seems to have served as an ambassador for Ceos (the birthplace of Simonides) on several occasions. f. Thrasymachus. Thrasymachus was a well-known rhetorician in Athens in the latter part of the fifth century B. C. E. , but our only surviving record of his views is contained in Plato’s Cleitophon and Book One of The Republic. He is depicted as brash and aggressive, with views on the nature of justice that will be examined in section 3a. 2. Major Themes of Sophistic Thought a. Nature and Convention. The distinction between physis (nature) and nomos (custom, law, convention) was a central theme in Greek thought in the second half of the fifth century B. C. E. and is especially important for understanding the work of the sophists. Before turning to sophistic considerations of these concepts and the distinction between them, it is worth sketching the meaning of the Greek terms. The term nomos refers to a wide range of normative concepts extending from customs and conventions to positive law. It would be misleading to regard the term as referring only to arbitrary human conventions, as Heraclitus’ appeal to the distinction between human nomoi and the one divine nomos (DK 22B2 and 114) makes clear. The dichotomy between physis and nomos seems to have been something of a commonplace of sophistic thought and was appealed to by Protagoras and Hippias among others. Perhaps the most instructive sophistic account of the distinction, however, is found in Antiphon’s fragment On Truth. b. Relativism. The primary source on sophistic relativism about knowledge and/or truth is Protagoras’ famous ‘man is the measure’ statement. Interpretation of Protagoras’ thesis has always been a matter of controversy. Caution is needed in particular against the temptation to read modern epistemological concerns into Protagoras’ account and sophistic teaching on the relativity of truth more generally. A human being is the measure of all things, of those things that are, that they are, and of those things that are not, that they are not. There is near scholarly consensus that Protagoras is referring here to each human being as the measure of what is rather than ‘humankind’ as such, although the Greek term for ‘human’ –hoanthropos– certainly does not rule out the second interpretation. Plato’s Theaetetus (152a), however, suggests the first reading and I will assume its correctness here. On this reading we can regard Protagoras as asserting that if the wind, for example, feels (or seems) cold to me and feels (or seems) warm to you, then the wind is cold for me and is warm for you. c. Language and Reality. Understandably given their educational program, the sophists placed great emphasis upon the power of speech (logos). Logos is a notoriously difficult term to translate and can refer to thought and that about which we speak and think as well as rational speech or language. The sophists were interested in particular with the role of human discourse in the shaping of reality. 3. The Distinction Between Philosophy and Sophistry The distinction between philosophy and sophistry is in itself a difficult philosophical problem. The terms ‘philosopher’ and ‘sophist’ were disputed in the fifth and fourth century B. C. E. , the subject of contention between rival schools of thought. Histories of philosophy tend to begin with the Ionian ‘physicist’ Thales, but the presocratics referred to the activity they were engaged in as historia (inquiry) rather than philosophia and although it may have some validity as a historical projection, the notion that philosophy begins with Thales derives from the mid nineteenth century. It was Plato who first clearly and consistently refers to the activity of philosophia and much of what he has to say is best understood in terms of an explicit or implicit contrast with the rival schools of the sophists and Isocrates (who also claimed the title philosophia for his rhetorical educational program). SOCRATES Socratic Method Socrates was not a â€Å"philosopher,† nor yet a â€Å"teacher,† but rather an â€Å"educator,† having for his functionSocrates to rouse, persuade and rebuke (Plato, Apology). Hence, in examining his life’s work it is proper to ask, not What was his philosophy? but What was his theory, and what was his practice of education? It is true that he was brought to his theory of education by the study of previous philosophies, and that his practice led to the Platonic revival; but to attribute to him philosophy, except in that loose sense in which philosophy is ascribed to one who, denying the existence of such a thing, can give an account of his disbelief, is misleading and even erroneous. Socrates theory of education had for its basis a profound and consistent skepticism; that is to say, he not only rejected the conflicting theories of the physicists, of whom â€Å"some conceived existence as a unity, others as a plurality; some affirmed perpetual motion, others perpetual rest; some declared becoming and perishing to be universal, others altogether denied such things, â€Å"but also condemned, as a futile attempt to transcend the limitations of human intelligence their, pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. † That it was in this way that Socrates was brought to regard â€Å"dialectic,† â€Å"question and answer,† as the only admissible method of education is no matter of mere conjecture. In the review of theories of knowledge which has come down to us in Plato’s Theaetetus mention is made of certain â€Å"incomplete Protagoreans,† who held that, while all opinions are equally true, one opinion is better than another, and that the â€Å"wise man† is one who by his arguments causes good opinions to take the place of bad ones, thus reforming the soul of the individual or the laws of a state by a process similar to that of the physician or the farmer; and these â€Å"incomplete Protagoreans† are identified with Socrates and the Socratics by their insistence upon the characteristically Socratic distinction between disputation and dialectic, as well as by other familiar traits of Socratic converse. In fact, this passage becomes intelligible and significant if it is supposed to refer to the historical Socrates; and by teaching us to regard him as an â€Å"incomplete Protagorean† it supplies the link which connects his philosophical skepticism with his dialectical theory of education. It is no doubt possible that Socrates was unaware of the closeness of his relationship to Protagoras; but the fact, once stated, hardly admits of question. Knowledge and action Socrates teaches that a man must know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible. In education, Socrates asks us to consider the effect of either an exclusive devotion to gymnastics or an exclusive devotion to music. It either produced a temper of hardness and ferocity, (or) the other of softness and effeminacy. Having both qualities, he believed, produces harmony; i. e. , beauty and goodness. He additionally stresses the importance of mathematics in education for the understanding of beauty and truth. PLATO Theory of forms The Problems theory was meant to solve: (1) The Ethical Problem: How can humans live a fulfilling, happy life in a contingent, changing world where every thing they attach themselves to can be taken away? (2) The Problem of Permanence and Change: How can the world appear to be both permanent and changing? The world we perceive through the senses seems to be always changing. The world that we perceive through the mind, using our concepts, seems to be permanent and unchanging. Which is most real and why does it appear both ways? The general structure of the solution: Plato splits up existence into two realms: the material realm and the transcendent realm of forms. Humans have access to the realm of forms through the mind, through reason, given Platos theory of the subdivisions of the human soul. This gives them access to an unchanging world, invulnerable to the pains and changes of the material world. By detaching ourselves from the material world and our bodies and developing our ability to concern ourselves with the forms, we find a value which is not open to change or disintegration. This solves the first, ethical, problem. Splitting existence up into two realms also solves the problem of permanence and change. We perceive a different world, with different objects, through our mind than we do through the senses. It is the material world, perceived through the senses, that is changing. It is the realm of forms, perceived through the mind, that is permanent and immutable. It is this world that is more real; the world of change is merely an imperfect image of this world. The Forms: A form is an abstract property or quality. Take any property of an object; separate it from that object and consider it by itself, and you are contemplating a form. For example, if you separate the roundness of a basketball from its color, its weight, etc. and consider just roundness by itself, you are thinking of the form of roundness. Plato held that this property existed apart from the basketball, in a different mode of existence than the basketball. The form is not just the idea of roundness you have in your mind. It exists independently of the basketball and independently of whether someone thinks of it. All round objects, not just this basketball, participate or copy this same form of roundness. In order to see exactly what a form is and how it differs from a material object, we need to look at the first two of the properties that characterize the forms. The forms are transcendent. This means that they do not exist in space and time. A material object, a basketball, exists at a particular place at a particular time. A form, roundness, does not exist at any place or time. The forms exist, or subsist, in a different way. This is especially important because it explains why the forms are unchanging. A form such as roundness will never change; it does not even exist in time. It is the same at all times or places in which it might be instantiated. A form does not exist in space in that it can be instantiated in many places at once and need not be instantiated anywhere in order for the form to exist. The form of roundness can be found in many particular spatial locations, and even if all round objects were destroyed, the property of roundness would still exist. The forms are also pure. This means that they are pure properties separated from all other properties. A material object, such as a basketball, has many properties: roundness, ballness, orangeness, elasticity, etc. These are all put together to make up this individual basketball. A form is just one of these properties, existing by itself apart from space and time. Roundness is just pure roundness, without any other properties mixed in. The forms differ from material objects, then, in that they are transcendent and pure, while material objects are complex conglomerations of properties located in space and time. The forms are causes in two closely related ways: (1) The forms are the causes of all our knowledge of all objects. The forms contribute all order and intelligibility to objects. Since we can only know something insofar as it has some order or form, the forms are the source of the intelligibility of all material objects. (2) The forms are also the cause of the existence of all objects.

Features of Intercultural Communication

Features of Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication is about how people from different cultures communicate. It is a face to face communication between people from different cultures and backgrounds (Lewis, Slade 2000). In University, the mixing of different cultures is a good example of intercultural communications. Every day, we learn different things about different cultures. This is important as it allows the world to grow and become closer allowing countries to have relations with each other and to learn and respect the different beliefs of other cultures. There will be problems faced along the way to achieving these goals nevertheless there are always ways to overcome these problems. Problems such as language barriers, traditionalbeliefs , Gender with regards religion are the main issues which present difficulties towards learning about different cultures. One of the problems that can affect the movement of intercultural communications is traditional beliefs. For example, Koreans traditionally as a sign of acknowledgement and respect, greet one another with a bow. If a westerner goes to Korea and greets a Korean with a wave, it may be disrespectful towards the Korean. This can be overcome by education and the acceptance of multiculturalism within each country. A country cannot expand if it does not except multiculturalism. Storey Douglas said in his article that international communications including the flow of popular culture and news, as well as educational, economic, and professional exchange, are shown to have profound influences on how people develop images of other nations and how perceptions and misperceptions affect interaction at the national level (Douglas 1988). Language is the key to a person’s self-identity. It enables the person to express emotions,  share feelings, tell stories, and convey complex messages and knowledge. Language is our  greatest mediator that allows us to relate and understand each other (Imberti, 2007). It can be defined as a system of conceptual symbols that allows us to communicate. It also provides us with a significant frame of reference and a relational context that sustains our identities (Imberti, 2007). An example of how language can be a barrier towards intercultural communication is when a Chinese man is unable to communicate to a Western man because of his lack of knowledge of the English language vice versa. Aki Uchida mentioned in her article about understanding the need to learn English, she saw it as an important means of relating to people of different cultures and constructing shared knowledge and understanding (Uchida 1997). Understanding the need to learn another language is important for overcoming the language barrier to enable communications between cultures helping us relate to different cultures and sharing our knowledge and understanding of our cultures to them. Some cultures believe that women are inferior to men. It is a barrier preventing us to achieve intercultural communication. For example if a successful Australian woman goes to the middle east where women are permitted to work and their job were to simply stay at home and look after the kids, Middle eastern men may find that very intimidating and offensive therefore avoiding any form of communication with the Australian woman. Aki Uchida suggested in her article that emphasizing the possibility that the beliefs and practices that constitute gender are salient cultural resources and attributes that participants may reject, accept, or integrate in the course of cultural building (Uchida 1997). To build obtain intercultural communications; people have to learn to accept and respect their dogmata of another culture for communication to transpire. In respects to the example I gave, Middle eastern men should accept and respect the culture of Australian society and not be afraid to approach the Australian woman with respect and benevolence. Like-wise the Australian woman should realize their culture and be more respectful towards the men not in an inferior way but a restrained manner (not coming across as too aggressive). These are ways that we can form bridges to further improve our drive towards obtaining intercultural communication with different cultures. However there are still people in the world who are ethnocentric. Ethnocentric is having the idea that your particular belief or culture is better than other cultures and beliefs. Having this mind set will only set us back in hopes of obtaining multiculturalism and cross cultural communication. Ethnocentrism is divided into three stages, denial, defence and minimization are the three ways to define an ethnocentric person (Chu 2014). The person is in denial which means he or she is completely not interested in dealing with people of different cultures (Chu 2014). They are comfortable in their culture and usually do not want to step out and accept a different culture. Some are in Defence and take action towards people of different cultures (Chu 2014). Their actions are usually caused by fear of an unknown belief or action and therefore in defence, they retaliate against the person in other words categorising them as â€Å"minorities†. Minimization is when they recognise a different culture but at a very superficial and minimal kind of level (Chu 2014). Our aim should be to try and help those who are ethnocentric to slowly move towards being ethnorelative. Naomi Ludemen Smith described in her article that to be ethnorelative is to adopt a position that dismantles any notion that there is a set of universal standards by which we can rightfully judge or confront the good and the bad of how a people group, religion, and society lives (Smith 2013). ethno relativism is divided into three stages, acceptance, adaptation and integration. Acceptance is to tolerate different cultures, Adaptation is to experience emphathy towards a different culture and integration is not regarding that there is a dominant culture (Chu 2014). To move from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism, according to Deardorff, the attitudes move from top to bottom. Firstly, when dealing with another culture, the ethnocentric individual will have to show respect, openness and curiosity discovery (Chu 2014). This is the basic requirement before moving on to the next stage of gaining knowledge and skills to adaptation. Individual has to show cultural self-awareness which is acknowledging that his or her culture is not perfect. After realising this, you will accept another culture and gain an understanding of it and slowly being open o listen, observe and show respect to a different culture (Chu 2014). After which, a desired internal outcome will be obtained. The individual will gain an ethnorelative mindset and will be able to empathise with other cultures. Lastly, the individual will obtain the desired external outcome being able to behave and communicate affectively and appropriately to achieve his or her goals to some degree with another culture (Chu 2014). Our ultimate goal is to achieve intercultural competence in todays globalised society. All these technical tools on how to become more ethnorelative will be completely useless if the individual does not possess the correct ethics. we need to have ethics when it comes to competence of intercultural communication. In order to address ethics in communication, we must recognise them as an extension of personal convictions or we condemn ourselves to study them as idealistic, theoractical constructs (Casmir 2013). We have to gain these ethics ourselves, gaining knowledge of the norms within other cultures and show respect towards these norms, show hospitality to people from other cultures for others to display respect to our culture therefore displaying the awareness of different cultures ethical responses (Chu 2014). At the end of the day, it is people who communicate with each other and not cultures that communicate with each other. If we look at the differences between cultures from our perspective, there are many differences however if you look at it from a individual human to human perspective, There is not much difference in the way people react to things (Chu 2014). We have to put ourselves into unknown territory for us to change and appreciate different cultures and to display ethics. The learning process or acculturation which is the process of the meeting of cultures and the changes which result from such meetings (Chu 2014). How we acculturate is the same as how we learn about things in our daily lives such as university or our work place, we expose ourselves to unknown situations and learn from it by excepting it. Intercultural empathy is shown when we place ourselves in the shoes of someone from a different cultures perspective and try to understand what it is like from their eyes (Chu 2014). It is like setting a goal for ourselves in the future and working backwards from that goal that way guide us and sets a focus into attaining our goal. Intercultural competence is important to communications because it helps us bridge cultural differences within and among nations (Chu 2014). Multiculturalism is spreading around the world due to globali zation with counties helping each other expand through trades and multi national operations. Therefore, migration is high and individuals from different cultures are made to interact with one another which is why it is necessary for us to have an ethical response to the social reality of cultural tension. Why not get along to help make the world a better place to live in.

The aim of the experiment is to find out the effect of different :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

The aim of the experiment is to find out the effect of different concentrations of reactants on rate of reaction. Rates of Reaction Aim The aim of the experiment is to find out the effect of different concentrations of reactants on rate of reaction. I will find this out by doing an experiment. The reaction that will be used is: Sodium Thiosulphate + Hydrochloric Acid Na2S2O3 + 2HCl Equipment The equipment I will use to do this experiment is:  · Goggles  · Test tubes  · Beakers  · Hydrochloric Acid  · Sodium Thiosulphate  · Water  · X marked paper Background Information The Collision Theory is when particles collide with enough energy to break their bonds if they are to react. Collision means when two particles hit each other. Breaking a solid exposes new surfaces, the smaller the pieces the greater the surface area. Safety Measures A pair of goggles will be worn in order to protect the eyes. Fair Test In order for my findings to be valid the experiment must be fair. I will use the same standard each time for judging when the X has disappeared. I will make sure that the measuring cylinders for the Hydrochloric acid and Sodium Thiosulphate will not be mixed up. The amount of Hydrochloric acid will be 10cm3 each time. Prediction I predict that by increasing the concentration of one of the reactants the rate of reaction will increase because they are likely to collide quicker. Method I first of all start of by wearing goggles as Hydrochloric Acid is an irritant to the eyes. After that I got all equipment out I needed to perform this experiment. Test Tube Beaker X marked paper I firstly put 10cm3 of hydrochloric acid into the beaker which I measured with the test tube. After I put the x marked paper under the beaker. I then poured in the volume of Sodium Thiosulphate and the concentration of it which was 50cm3. Set off the stopwatch and waited to see when the x marked paper is not visible. I repeatedly did this 3 times for each one. Finally, I recorded the results on a results table. Conclusions My results show that if you add more concentration of sodium Thiosulphate and less water to the hydrochloric acid the particles collide more because so the rate of reaction increases. When I repeated my results and experiment the times were similar meaning that I was very accurate with my experiment and judgement. Evaluation I only really encountered one problem which was do the experiment in the amount of time that was given to us and Sodium Thiosulphate ran out during the experiment but that was quickly resolved as borrowed some of my friend who is also doing the experiment.

The Authenticity of Hecate in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Authenticity of Hecate in Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   The authenticity issue of Macbeth's Hecate endures. Recent critics still argue about whether the scenes are Shakespearean, why they are or are not, and what the implications are one way or the other. Some critics cling to the authenticity of the Folio while others wave their copies of Middleton's "The Witch" in protest. The modern director and reader then will find no clear direction to read or not to read from textual scholarship. Instead, would-be travellers to the world of Macbeth had better consider their options and ask specifically: what does Hecate add with her appearance and how do these additions impact the play?    Some critics have made the mistake of trying to dismiss Hecate as a fetching song-and-dance girl. In his Introduction to Macbeth, editor Kenneth Muir remarks: "The Hecate passages were clearly invented to introduce the songs and Middleton is usually blamed for these insertions" (xxxiii). But more recent critics like Henri Suhamy take umbrage with both the form and the substance of this argument. Suhamy notes: "the direction printed in italics in the Folio, after line 33 (III,v)--"Musicke, and a Song"--does not mention any identifiable song, contrary to what is indicated by most editors" (274). Stallybrass seems also to believe that Hecate is there to dance, but at least he credits her with a particularly important number: "the dance of Hecate and the six Witches gives a concrete dramatization of the 'deed without a name' (IV.i.49) which reverses the whole order of 'Nature'" (200). What Hecate's interpolation really supplies, however, is order and much more: balance, authority, direct ion, and reason are all part of the substance she provides.    .. ...ologie." In Minor Prose Works. Ed. James Craigie. Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1982. Muir, Kenneth. "Introduction." In Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. New York: Routledge, 1992. Palmer, D.J. "'A new Gorgon': visual effects in Macbeth." In Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. Boston: Routledge, 1982. Perkins, William. The Damned Art of Witchcraft. (xeroxed copy) Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. New York: Routledge, 1992. Stallybrass, Peter. "Macbeth and Witchcraft." In Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. Boston: Routledge, 1982. Suhamy, Henry. "The Authenticity of the Hecate Scenes in Macbeth : Arguments and Counter-Arguments." In French Essays on Shakespeare and His Contemporaries: 'What Would France With Us?" Ed. Jean Marie Maguin and Michele Willems. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1995.   

Disciplinary Action

Some issues regarding the company’s disciplinary actions towards the employees’ misbehavior has arisen. Usually it is about ethical and legal issues. Some company’s may be too harsh about the decisions and actions towards employee. There are some situations that needed to study well before making actions towards the employee. One of the situations that needed a disciplinary action is when an employee has been consistently missing on staff meetings and an oral warning has already been issued by him. May be the company can give the employee a written warning and give him/her a copy of the documents that will prove his absences on meetings.After the employee received the letter and still did not attend any meetings, the employee should be demoted. Attending staff meetings is part of the job. Not attending the meetings means not doing his work as an employee. Another situation when an employee has a 30% error rate in data entry for a high tech company. The employee s hould know that he/she is working in a high tech company and a 30% error rate in data entry is big enough for the company to have some problems. If the problem is on data entry on sales, a problem might occur on accounting. First, the company should give the employee a written and oral warning.Let the employee be aware of his/her mistakes and then observe if the employee still commits mistakes on the data entry. If after the warning, the error rate still has no improvement, meaning the error rate is not lessen, may be the employee can be transferred to another division. The work may not suit for him. Also, make an investigation if there is a conspiracy behind the error on data entry, the error might be done intentionally. If the employee has been proven to have done the data entry error intentionally and it really affects the company, the company can fire him/her for work.The employee should do his/her work correctly, mistakes may happen but if the mistakes is so high and is being d one continuously, there is a problem with the employee. Additional situation is when an employee is absent from work, on a yearly average, 15% of the time. For this situation, if the absences are still allowed by the company’s policy then there is not much can be done on this situation than to ask the employee to lessen his/her absences and explain to him/her the advantages that he/she and the company will gain if he/she have more time to job. If the absences are not allowed by the company, an oral and written warning can be given.If this kind of behavior continues after the warning, the employee can be demoted for not attending his/her duty well. If an employee has been arrested for drunk driving during off duty, there is not much to say about this because the employee is not working during the incident and whatever the employee does outside working hours is not the company’s business. What the employee has done is a private matter. The most allowable disciplinary act ion that can be made is by talking to the employee; tell that the company has heard the incident during his off duty.The company may also remind the employee in a nice tone and manner that what he/she has done might have an effect on the company and ask him to be careful next time and avoid driving while drunk. Approach the employee as in a way that the company is caring for he employee. That way the employee might not be offended for the company’s action towards the incident because he/she might feel that the company is just caring for his/her safety. The company should study each employee’s misconducts before giving them some disciplinary actions. Let the employee know their mistakes first and then observe if there are changes on their behaviors.