Social Order And Its Effect On Society - 1386 Words

Every day social order is taken for granted. Social order is related to social realities, which are shared expectations about a chain of events, the types of people involved and associated behaviors and feelings (O’Brien, 2011). It is not until someone violates these realities and interactional routines that they recognize the difference and become aware. For this reason, during the 1950s, Harold Garfinkel developed the breaching experiment; a breaching experiment is an activity used in social science to breach or violate common, taken-for-granted understandings and practices of everyday life in order to better understand it. This showed that reality maintenance requires a lot of interactional work. The objective of a breaching experiment is to disrupt normal procedures so that the process by which everyday life is constructed or reconstructed can be observed and studied. An example of one of the breaching experiments Garfinkel did, was when he asked students to spend time in their homes â€Å"acting† like boarders—asking permission, being polite and formal, etc. The results concluded that students reported family members who expressed shock, anxiety, embarrassment and anger towards their behaviors. Some of the implications of this is that it is important that people act in accord with commonsense assumptions with how they are supposed to behave. Therefore, we are all participants in the construction and maintenance of everyday cultural realities (O’Brien, p. 343-348, 2011).Show MoreRelatedSocial Orders And Its Effects On Society Essay2086 Words   |  9 Pageslike or where we originate from. Individuals have constantly realized that imbalance is divisive, socially destructive and comprised of multiple dimension. However, societies acceptance of inequality has developed a false sense of reality regarding equality, what is amazing, now that we have the information to think about social orders, is the way clear the impacts of imbalan ce are. 21st Century variations of systemic inequality echo’s inequalities of the past. Fifty years after the march onRead MoreThe Strange Cause Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1535 Words   |  7 PagesCause of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson can be effectively analyzed through the effects of social masks, and what the characters symbolize in order to convey a way to understand ourselves and the world, bring consciousness about self perception and the negative effects of social pressure. To start with, in the novella the characters represent aspects of our society s ideologies that influence the way we behave and think. For example, Stevenson writes, â€Å"from both sidesRead MoreNegative Effects Of Social Media Essay1209 Words   |  5 PagesStatistics show that teens spend nearly 9 hours a day on social media websites, which is more than one-third of their day (Tsukayama). Social media, among teenagers and young adults, is quite popular. It is used on many different platforms and in so many ways which allows high schoolers to be constantly attached. Over the past decade, with the emergence of social media, the amount of time these websites consume from individuals has become greater and greater. Parents who have grown up in a differentRead MoreSociety s Perception Of Beauty1148 Words   |  5 PagesBeauty is a perception we hold in society as what is attractive or not. Our perception of beauty is a social construct, meaning that it is made through society throug h its depictions of beauty. In our society today, our perception of beauty is shaped through the media, since the media portrays specific standards of beauty that people feel they must follow. Although media portrays beauty across different races and ages, society’s perception of beauty is skewed towards a specific and established standardRead MorePolitical Order1635 Words   |  7 PagesPolitical order refers to a set of organizations, and a series of actions that enables the state to try and stabilize society to create a sense of order, therefore preventing social chaos. Political order and disorder are everywhere - we practice this on an everyday scale. Social Scientists try to connect the routine and micro-level effects of everyday lives, with the larger scale process of the State, which provides an institution for political order for society.This essay will examine and assessRead MoreSociety s Perception Of Beauty1193 Words   |  5 PagesBeauty is a socially construct ed perception regarding what is seen as attractive or not. Our perception of beauty, as stated previously, is a social construct, meaning that it is made through society and the people who are part of it. In our society today, our perception of beauty is shaped primarily through the media, since the media portrays specific standards of beauty that people feel they must follow. Although the media is perceived to portray beauty across different races and ages, society’sRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility On A Social Level1086 Words   |  5 PagesKirtan Bodawala September 27, 2014 E.Mylonas Eng. for Occupational Purposes Abstract The purpose of this paper is to understand how a large progressive company operates in the corporate world as well as fulfills their corporate responsibility on a social level. While corporate responsibility is important, it is always viewed through the fiscal viability dimension of the maelstrom. The business case dominates the representation and operationalization of corporate responsibility. Due to the increasedRead MoreFunctionalism and Marxism. A Critical Evaluation Essay1135 Words   |  5 Pageswhich promoted a new scientific way of thinking (`The Enlightenment), heralded the advent of several new scientific disciplines. These social sciences attempted to explain the rapid and fundamental changes which were shattering traditional ways of life in Britain and Europe. Sociology emerged as one of these innovative areas and sought to analyse the nature of society and the complexities within it using collective theories and perspectives. The construction of a sociological perspect ive can best beRead MoreEssay Human Nature and Proper Order1725 Words   |  7 PagesProper Order in Confucianism and as taught primarily by Mencius, the Chinese philosopher, is the conceptual theory that instructs how people can reach their highest potential of moral and material well being embodied in Mencius conception of human nature. The theory of proper order is the primary and philosophical means to that end. Although proper order may seem in many ways philosophically abstract, Mencius teachings of proper order in history have had lasting and tangible effects on modern EastRead More The Medium is the Message Essay1075 Words   |  5 Pages he says that â€Å"[t]he railway did not introduce movement or transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure† (8). In other words, in addition to providing fast and available transport ation for people, the railway also fundamentally restructured society. People were able to travel, see new things, have new experiences, realize that there are people living

Germany During The Cold War - 1901 Words

Section A: Plan of Investigation This investigation will assess the extent to which the division of Germany during the cold war affected the social conditions of the citizens living in both sides. The two main sources used will be â€Å"Growing up in East Germany† written by Bruno van den Elshout and â€Å"Berlin After the Wall† by Cassie Leventhal. Investigations on the manner in which the social and economic differences on each side of the wall will be evaluated through examples of the citizen’s lives. Other supplementary sources are used such as charts and graphs relating to the social standards and behaviors that differentiate the citizens of the East and West. Section B: Summary of Evidence In 1990, as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was reunited under one government, many of the citizens saw each other as foreigners and claimed that the fall of the wall actually brought some negative impacts to the citizens living in East Germany. According to Leventhal, negative stereotypes developed about the East Germans and â€Å"Westerners resented the huge transfer of payments to the East, calling the recipients ‘dependent, shiftless, backwards and ungrateful. In contrast, East Berliners developed hostility towards those in the West, calling them Boastful, aggressive, and insensitive.† (Leventhal). Because many of the city services were united, East Berlin had to compete with the more industrially efficient West Berlin which causedShow MoreRelatedErika Riemann’s Oral Testimony on Life in East Germany During the Cold War1220 Words   |  5 PagesErika Riemann’s oral testimony on life in East Germany during the Cold War Erika Riemann was a teenager living in East Germany at the end of World War II. Her oral testimony describes her experiences as a political prisoner during the cold war. She was arrested in 1945 for drawing a bow on a portrait of Stalin that hung in her school classroom. At the time of her arrest she was only 14 years old. After World War II Germany was left devastated and in ruins. There had been massive destructionRead MoreThe Collapse Of Communism Was A Major Victory For The United States1231 Words   |  5 Pagesreunification of Germany. This event brought East Germany and West Germany back together after being separated for forty-five years.The country reuniting also brought democracy to the East Germans who had been oppressed under communism in East Germany. The transition let Germany govern themselves, ending the control of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. This event was important in America; because it symbolized the collapse of communism. It meant that the United States cold war with RussiaRead MoreThe Berlin Wall : The Cold War1506 Words   |  7 PagesThe Berlin Wall: The Cold War’s Symbol European history has always interested me and one of the events we covered in my World Cultures history class was the Berlin Wall. I wanted to spend more time on the topic because I love all history and it interested me. I am sure we learned a little more than what I remember of the Wall but I know is the basic facts. We glazed over it and pretty much just acknowledged its past existence then moved on. We recalled it was in Germany and was a result of manyRead MoreEssay on The Cold War and West Germany 1960-19701442 Words   |  6 PagesThe Cold War and West Germany 1960-1970 During the formative years of the Cold War, Germany had become both the potential balancer and ideological battleground between the East and the West. After Stalins death in 1953 tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union seemed to be improving. However, by the late 1950s when Khruschev took over power, hostility was on the rise due to his efforts to bully the United States into dà ©tente through intimidation. Khruschev wished for, amongRead MoreThe Cold War Has Been Examined Throughout History911 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: The Cold War has been examined throughout history. The question is often debated about what theory best explains the cause for the cold war. It is often argued whether or not one explanation does the best job at explaining the Cold War. The disagreement is often between about what forces pushed for the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union for power. The best explanation often states that there were many factors at play such as the bi-polarity of great powers ofRead MoreWhy Was A Regime Was Or Was Not Democratic During The Time That World War I? Essay1695 Words   |  7 Pages Whether a regime was or was not democratic during the time that World War I, World War II, and the Cold War took place has no influence on being the exact cause of the war, because the determining factors of why the previously listed wars occurred lies among the many constraints; protecting alliances, attempts at deterrence, balancing power, acting on misinterpretation, rise in aggression, and difference of beliefs and ideologies in relation to those of people from other countries. It just so happensRead MoreUnited States And Soviet Union1221 Words   |  5 PagesFollowing World War II there was a lot of tension between two of the Allied countries. The United States and the Soviet Union were in a state of political and military tension with each other. Opposing ideologies on how to deal with the world’s affairs post World War II fueled this rivalry but there was always a tension between the two countries. World War II, with its common goal, brought these two countries togeth er as allies. With Hitler and the Nazis threating their way of living these two countriesRead MoreWorld War I And The Soviet Union794 Words   |  4 PagesDuring World War II, Allies came up with agreements to be imposed on the defeated; however, these agreements broke down quickly after the war. Resentment among the winners became intense. Instead of settling affairs at a peace conference, as they did after World War I, the Allies worked out most of the peace terms through military negotiations right after the war in meetings that lasted until 1963. Some of these settlements included the Soviet Union expanding westward, Germany being occupied byRead MoreThe Cold War During World War II854 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a major event in the U.S. and Soviet Union’s history. The main reason that these two countries entered into the Cold War after World War II was power. The USSR and United States had two very different perspectives on power coming out of World War I I. This disagreement ultimately caused the Cold War. Russia’s perspective after World War II was influenced by Joseph Stalin. Stalin, the leader of the USSR at the time, was a merciless dictator. His main concern was maintaining power andRead MoreAdenauer and Post-War Germany 1309 Words   |  6 PagesAdenauer and Post-War Germany Introduction The downfall of Germany after the Second World War is an outcome thought by many that time as deserving for a nation touted to have caused one of the most atrocious events in human history. The Nazi Party, which ran Germany under its terrible regime before and during the Second World War, has perpetrated a series of destructive actions that soon wrought havoc to the rest of the world. From the anti-Semitic platform of the Nazi Party that generated the

Can Appointments Redefine Success Free Essays

It is difficult today to manage a handful of business cards. The great way to deliver business values and to increase in the customer loyalty is one to one appointments. There is no particular formula or not any kind of competition for setting appointments. We will write a custom essay sample on Can Appointments Redefine Success? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Personal or face to face appointments can redefine success as the discussion is not done on the phone and does not involve any confusion. Organizations today are emphasizing on the personal or face to face meetings. This oldies the customer relations with the company and has great potential in closing the final deals. Major decisions, strategies and consulting is possible with a personal appointment. These are small things that can play a vital role in the success of the company. Below are benefits of appointments and face-to face meetings- Develop a personal relationship. Definitely, you can create relationships with a phone call, but it is more effective with a personal meeting. Impressive presentation will surely help develop a good relationship. Once you succeed in developing a relationship, you are more likely to make a sale. Easier to present your material- Once the appointment is set, you are sure that there would be confusion as you can present your material In person than it is over the phone. Further, In a face-to face meeting, you can get the prospect’s undivided attention. Handing the Information- In today’s technological era, it is very easy to email Information and many of us Ignore the Importance of handing somebody a hard copy. Deal In person and surely, you will get the success. Surely, setting an appointment can help redefine your success. You need to be keen on setting an appointment. Some simple tips can work wonders and can add to the success graph of the company. If you want to generate BIB appointments for the company’s benefit, then keep on Improving the methods and the tools you are using to set appointments. Share what Is going on In your mind. Talk to people and discuss the ideas about the business leads and how to set appointments for further lead generation. If you have something out of the box, share It with others. Be yourself ND believe In your Ideas. If you are willing to take the business to a new level, hire people who can take the pressure and capacity. They can work hard to make your dream true. Working with people having lesser capableness will stop the growth and you will be out of the competition. Show confidence In your team and they will feel the need to prove their capableness and trust to you. They will succeed If they are working as per their rules and comfort. They should know that you have faith In them. Identify the weak points In your BIB appointment setting team. Check the telemarketing efforts and understand the reason of the failure. After Identifying the problems In the team, It Is easy to come up with a solution. After the problem Is solved, the team along with the business moves easier and faster. You should be able to strike the balance of creatively and business. Creative Ideas can give you some new ways to Implement business Ideas. People who can Implement these Ideas In reality are also Important for a business team. Face to face appointments will surely help you In success by evolving confusions. Develop good relationships and success will be simply yours. By b2bmarketingstrategies set, you are sure that there would be confusion as you can present your material in person than it is over the phone. Further, in a face-to face meeting, you can get the era, it is very easy to email information and many of us ignore the importance of handing somebody a hard copy. Deal in person and surely, you will get the success. Company’s benefit, then keep on improving the methods and the tools you are using to set appointments. Share what is going on in your mind. Talk to people and discuss generation. If you have something out of the box, share it with others. Be yourself and believe in your ideas. If you are willing to take the business to a new level, hire dream true. Working with people having lesser capabilities will stop the growth and you will be out of the competition. Show confidence in your team and they will feel the need to prove their capabilities and trust to you. They will succeed if they are working as per their rules and comfort. They should know that you have faith in them. Identify the weak points in your BIB appointment setting team. Check the telemarketing efforts and understand the reason of the failure. After identifying the problems in the team, it is easy to come up with a solution. After the problem is to strike the balance of creativity and business. Creative ideas can give you some new ways to implement business ideas. People who can implement these ideas in reality are also important for a business team. Face to face appointments will surely help you in success by avoiding confusions. Develop good relationships and success will How to cite Can Appointments Redefine Success?, Papers

African resistance to imperialism free essay sample

The author holds an MA in History and a Ph. D. in International Relations, both from the University of Copenhagen. Since 1985, he has been (senior) research fellow, subsequently programme director at the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute (COPRI), which in 2003 became part of the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). He served as Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) from 1997 to 2000, and has been External Lecturer at the Institute of Political Studies, University of Copenhagen since 1994 and at the Centre of African Studies since 2002. In the academic year 2003/04, he served as Visiting Associate Professor at the research centre on Development and International Relations (DIR) at Aalborg University, where he is presently external lecturer. In addition to being the author of numerous articles and editor of seven anthologies, he is the author of three books. He is presently writing a two-volume book on Civil Wars, Genocides and Interventions. African Con? icts and Con? ict Management. 2 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 Contents Abstract 5 Executive Summary 6 Preface 8 Religion in Sub-Saharan Africa Traditional Religion What is â€Å"Traditional Religion†? Traditional Religion and Anti-Colonial Struggles Traditional Religion in Modern African Societies Traditional Religion in African Civil Wars Islam The Coming of Islam Islam versus Colonialism The Present Appeal of Islam Islam and Civil Wars in (West) Africa Christianity Christianity and Colonialism Africanisation of Christianity Christianity, Armed Con? icts and Genocide Summary 10 11 12 13 15 17 19 19 20 21 23 25 25 30 33 35 Religion, Con? ict and terrorism in East Africa Clash of Civilisations/Religions in East Africa? Religious Terrorism in East Africa? 36 36 39 East African Case Studies Djibouti Ethiopia From Axum and the Ethiopian Empire to the Dergue The EPRDF, Ethnicity, Nationalism and Religion The Present Situation Eritrea Sudan Islam in pre-Independence Sudan Independence and the North-South Con? ict The CPA and Darfur 45 45 47 47 50 53 54 57 57 60 65 3 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 Somalia Islam in Somalia through the Ages Civil War and State Collapse Islam, Con? ict, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Kenya Cliterodectomy Crisis and Mau Mau Rebellion Independent Kenya The Muslim Communities: Fanaticism and/or Terrorism? Tanzania Colonialism and the Maji-Maji The Independence Compromise Rise of Fanaticism? Uganda Colonialism and Christianity Civil Wars: from Independence to Museweni From the War of the Spirit(s) to the Lord’s Resistance Army 67 67 70 72 75 75 76 78 82 82 84 85 86 87 87 89 Conclusion 93 Endnotes 95 Defence and Security Studies at DIIS 4 138 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 Abstract The report provides a brief overview of the religious landscape of Africa with a special focus on the role of religion in the continent’s several con? icts. It then proceeds to look at East Africa, where the three religious â€Å"families† of traditional religion, Islam and Christianity are all present in large numbers. It does not ? nd any signi? cant correlation between con? ict propensity or terrorism and religion, neither in the sense that religious diversity gives rise to any â€Å"clash of civilizations† nor in the sense that the predominance of any one religion (e. g. Islam) make a country more prone to con? ict or terrorism. It then proceeds to country case studies of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, providing a brief overview of the history of religion and con? ict and an assessment of the present situation and the prospects for the future. 5 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 Executive Summary The report provides a brief overview of the religious landscape of Africa, exhibiting a more or less even spread of the three main religious â€Å"families† of traditional religions, Islam and Christianity, and with a predominance of syncretism. Just as Africa may well be the world’s most religious continent, it may also be the one where the religions are most mixed. Religious elements have been present in many of Africa’s con? icts ever since pre-colonial times, just as European colonialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries gave rise to resistance movements that were partly inspired by religion – either by traditional religions or Islam. Since independence, religions has also played a role in various armed con? icts, e. g. in West Africa. The report then â€Å"zooms in† on East Africa, where the three religious â€Å"families† of traditional religion, Islam and Christianity are all present in large numbers. It does not ? nd any signi? cant correlation between, on the one hand, con? ict propensity or terrorism and, on the other hand, religion – neither in the sense that religious diversity gives rise to any â€Å"clash of civilizations† nor in the sense that the predominance of any one religion (e. g. Islam) make a country more prone to con? ict or terrorism. Moreover, the report does not  nd East Africa to be particularly prone to terrorism. With the exception of the two almost simultaneous terrorist attacks against U. S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, terrorism has not been much of a problem in East Africa; and most of what is sometimes labelled religious terrorism has much mo re to do with nationalism than with religion. There is even less support in the available data for the assumption that Islamist terrorism is a serious problem, as most of the region’s religiously-motivated terrorism has been perpetrated by a group calling itself Christian, namely the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. The report then proceeds to country case studies of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, providing a brief overview of the history of religion and con? ict and an assessment of the present situation and the prospects for the future. Whereas religion played a role in the struggle against colonialism in Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, since independence 6 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 religion is only found to have been the decisive factor in the con? ict in Sudan, whereas seemingly religious con?icts in other of the region’s states really been about something else, either nationalism or politics pure and simple. Even in Sudan, the North-South con? ict contains a number of other elements than religion, e. g. a struggle over resources, against marginalisation and for democracy and political rights, while the con? ict in Darfur has virtually nothing to do with religion, pitting two groups of Muslims against each other. 7 DIIS REPORT 2006:6 Preface Even though one might have thought that with modernity and globalisation religion would recede into the background as far as politics and con?icts are concerned, we seem to be witnessing the exact opposite. Contrary to the fashionable secularisation thesis, religion thusseems to be motivating a growing number of people, also as far as their political attitudes and behaviour are concerned – and sometimes this even takes the form of violent struggle. Even though these phenomena are not con? ned to the developing world, but are also found in, for instance, the United States, the manifestations tend to be more violent in these â€Å"peripheral regions†, where bizarre spectacles such as riots over Miss World contests in Nigeria, the burning of Danish ?ags and embassies, motivated by a seemingly â€Å"trivial† matter as the printing of caricature drawings of the Prophet, seem to have become the order of the day – and where more serio us manifestations such as religiously motivated terrorism are also attracting growing attention, mainly because they also a? ect the developed world. There is thus an urgent need for what one might call a â€Å"polemology of religion†, i. e. theories of the relationship between religion and con? ict. 1 This theoretical endeavour has however been relegated to a future study, whereas the present one is devoted to the more concrete topic of the relationship between religion and con? ict in Africa, with a special focus on the East Africa, which seems to be attracting the most attention in the West. The paper commences with an overview of the three main religious â€Å"families† on the continent, i. e. what is, for lack of a better term, labelled â€Å"traditional religion† as well as the various versions of Islam and Christianity.

Tragedy and the Common Man Essay Example For Students

Tragedy and the Common Man Essay In Arthur Millers 1949 essay, Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller began by saying, In this age few tragedies are written. This particular essay was published in the New York Times, was also the preface that was prepared for Death of a Salesman in 1949. Before Millers Death of a Salesman, there was only one type of tragedythat which fit Aristotles definition. For Aristotle, plays of tragedy had to revolve around kings, gods, or people of high class. In these classic tragedies, the diction must be elevated and fitting of the characters. Arthur Miller challenged just about every belief and convention that had previously been accepted about tragic plays, as in Shakespeares Hamletwhich could be considered the paragon of tragedies. In claiming, The tragic mode is archaic, Miller explains that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were. This very notion that regular people are just as fit to be main characters in a tragedy as royalty was also applied to the audiences understanding of a tragic play. If the play was supposed to be about upper-class people, and was spoken in a vernacular that was only known to the high-bred, how were the common people who saw these plays supposed to comprehend their meaning? The only way for this problem to be solved, according to Miller, was to present a character to whom the audience will readily relate. Miller did this by presenting Willy Loman, the main character of Death of a Salesman, who was a common workingman with a wife and two kids. We will write a custom essay on Tragedy and the Common Man specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The reason that there is such an absence of tragedies in this day and age, is that the turn which modern literature has taken toward the purely psychiatric view of life, or the purely sociological, has been one that creates skepticism. With so much thinking involved, and analyzing, no one can really enjoy a play for what it ispure entertainment. By constantly trying to figure out a reason for why something happened, the audience can no longer accept tragic action, let alone heroic action. This, along with the societal belief that in order for a protagonist to be recognized as a character he must be faultless, has made tragedy nearly impossible. Every person has his/her faults, even the great Hamlet had his downfall; his ambivalence and indecisiveness brought him down. Just as Willy Lomans lack of self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy are what destroyed him. Millers ideal tragic hero is one who is intent upon claiming his whole due as a personality, and when approached with a struggle, demonstrates the indestructible will of man to achieve his humanity. A tragic hero who is willing to take on challenges and who will fight a battle which he could not possibly have won, is what makes the audience accept him as a hero who by his own virtue is worthy of their attention and perhaps even respect. Hamlet, for example, stood up for his fathers memory, by fighting his uncle, King Claudius. Millers common man, Willy fought the battle of life, by trying to make the best of what he was given in life and continues to support his familyeven at the age of sixty. Without creating a bridge for the gap between the two parties involved (in this case, the audience and the plays characters), there is no play. With a character that is equal to, or very near the average audience, the audience will pay more attention. In one sense, Arthur Miller is correct in saying that there are no tragedies out there. That is, only if one defines tragedy by Aristotles description. As of today, there have been many movies, television shows, as well as plays and novels that portray a tragic herobut not necessarily in the Aristotelian sense. Take for example, Good Will Hunting, a movie about an almost regular guy who defies the pre-set mold of what a poor person with no formal education should become. Even though this guy was poor and did not come from an aristocratic family, the audience watched. Many who saw the movie, recommended it to their friends and even paid to see it again! Why? It was interesting

Biography of John Napier, Scottish Mathematician

Biography of John Napier, Scottish Mathematician John Napier (1550-April 4, 1617) was a Scottish mathematician and theological writer who developed the concept of  logarithms and the decimal point as a mathematical calculation method. He also had an influence in the world of physics and astronomy. Fast Facts: John Napier Known For: Developing and introducing the concept of logarithms, Napiers Bones and the decimal point.Born: 1550 at Merchiston Castle, near  Edinburgh, ScotlandDied: April 4, 1617, at Merchiston CastleSpouse(s): Elizabeth Stirling (m. 1572-1579), Agnes ChisholmChildren: 12 (2 with Stirling, 10 with Chisholm)Notable Quote: Seeing there is nothing that is so troublesome to mathematical practice.... than the multiplications, divisions, square and cubical extractions of great numbers, which besides the tedious expense of time are... subject to many slippery errors, I began, therefore, to consider [how] I might remove those hindrances. Early Life Napier was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, into the Scottish nobility. Since his father was Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle, and his mother, Janet Bothwell, was the daughter of a member of Parliament, John Napier became the laird (property owner) of Merchiston. Napiers father was only 16 when his son, John, was born. As was the practice for members of the nobility, Napier did not enter school until he was 13. He did not stay in school very long, however. It is believed that he dropped out and traveled in  Europe to continue his studies. Little is known about these years, where or when he may have studied. In 1571, Napier turned 21 and returned to Scotland. The following year he married Elizabeth Stirling, daughter of Scottish mathematician James Stirling (1692-1770), and bat a castle at Gartnes in 1574. The couple had two children before Elizabeth died in 1579. Napier later married Agnes Chisholm, with whom he had ten children. On the death of his father in 1608, Napier and his family moved into Merchiston Castle, where he lived the rest of his life. Napiers father had been deeply interested and involved in religious matters, and Napier himself was no different. Because of his inherited wealth, he needed no professional position. He kept himself very busy by being involved with the political and religious controversies of his time. For the most part, religion and politics in Scotland at this time pitted Catholics against Protestants. Napier was anti-Catholic, as evidenced by his 1593 book against Catholicism and the papacy (office of the pope) entitled A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John. This attack was so popular that it was translated into several languages and saw many editions. Napier always felt that if he attained any fame at all in his life, it would be because of that book. Becoming an Inventor As a person of high energy and curiosity, Napier paid much attention to his landholdings and tried to improve the workings of his estate. Around the Edinburgh area, he became widely known as Marvellous Merchiston for the many ingenious mechanisms he built to improve his crops and cattle. He experimented with fertilizers to enrich his land, invented an apparatus to remove water from flooded coal pits, and bat devices to better survey and measure land. He also wrote about plans to bad elaborate devices that would deflect any Spanish invasion of the British Isles. In addition, he described military devices that were similar to todays submarine, machine gun, and army tank. He never attempted to build any of the military instruments, however. Napier had a great interest in astronomy. which led to his contribution to mathematics. John was not just a stargazer; he was involved in research that required lengthy and time-consuming calculations of very large numbers. Once the idea came to him that there might be a better and simpler way to perform large number calculations, Napier focused on the issue and spent twenty years perfecting his idea. The result of this work is what we now call  logarithms. The Father of Logarithms and the Decimal Point Napier realized that all numbers can be expressed in what is now called exponential form, meaning 8 can be written as 23, 16 as 24  and so on. What makes logarithms so useful is the fact that the operations of multiplication and division are reduced to simple addition and subtraction. When very large numbers are expressed as a logarithm, multiplication becomes the addition of  exponents. Example: 102  times 105  can be calculated as 10  25  or 107. This is easier than 100 times 100,000. Napier first made this discovery known in 1614 in his book called A Description of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms. The author briefly described and explained his inventions, but more importantly, he included his first set of logarithmic tables. These tables were a stroke of genius and a big hit with astronomers and scientists. It is said that English mathematician Henry Briggs was so influenced by the tables that he traveled to Scotland just to meet the inventor. This lead to a cooperative improvement including the development of  Base 10. Napier was also responsible for advancing the notion of the decimal fraction by introducing the use of the decimal point. His suggestion that a simple point could be used to separate the whole number and fractional parts of a number soon became accepted practice throughout Great Britain. Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Listening Strategies Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Listening Strategies - Literature review Example Language learners were normally expected to develop their listening skills without any assistance, while the other three skills of reading, writing and speaking are given the necessary attention (Mendelsohn 1984; Oxford 1993). Second language learners were expected to listen to the target language all day and then expected to improvements in their ability to comprehend. This approach was described as the osmosis approach (Mendelson 1984) The arguments in relation to the importance of listening were initially voiced in the middle of the 1960’s. Rivers (1966) indicated that speaking can only be described as communication when it is understood by someone else and so teaching learners how to comprehend spoken words is paramount in importance if the aim of communicating is to be achieved. Thus, Hedge (2000) indicates that the literature relating to ELT has emphasised the point that listening skill has been taken for granted over the years. In fact, a number of second language teach ers have refused to pay attention to the significance of listening in facilitating the acquisition of a second language (Luchini and Arguello 2009). However, Nunan (1999) points out that listening has been treated as relatively important as it is the means by which the skill of speaking is attained. The incorporation of listening into a more modern set of guidelines, including functional language and approaches to communication was the main focus of the 1980’s (Morley 2001). This attention increased significantly in the 1990’s and this has continued into the decade of the 2000’s. Even though listening is now regarded as a critical aspect of language learning, it continues to be the least understood of all the processes (Osada 2004). Thus, Luchini and Arguello (2009) states that allowing students to answer questions after listening to tape-recorded material is not a means of teaching them to listen. In this regard, Hedge (2000) points out that the aim of answerin g questions after listening to recorded material is only for administering tests and not teaching second language learners to listen. This practice was found to have a negative impact on the ability of second language learners to communicate well in the target language. In relation to the neglect of listening comprehension in both research and practice, Osada (2004) indicates that even up to recently there has been insufficient research in this area. In fact, Nunan (1997) referred to listening as a Cinderella skill because it has been ignored in preference for other skills such as speaking. Listening is important in order to facilitate language learning as it facilitates a better understanding of the inputs. Osada (2004) also emphasised the complexity of the listening comprehension process. Anything that is said has to be understood at the same time as it is heard and so knowledge and skills necessary for doing so has to he used at the same time. In order to process the speech the c omprehension of the text has to take place at the same as the listening. Additionally, it has to be retained in order to have a better understanding of the speech that follows. Furthermore, it requires continuous adjustment based on previous knowledge and incoming information. This poses a problem for listeners as the space available to process the information is limited. Osada