Engineering codes of ethics, case scenarios, and societies that enforce them Essay Example for Free

Engineering codes of ethics, case scenarios, and societies that enforce them Essay Ethics can be defined as a branch within the wider field of philosophy whose main concern is addressing the issue of morality. Morality as a concept seeks to justify actions as good or bad, right or wrong and whether such actions are justified and virtuous. Ethics in itself is divided into many categories which normally vary to suit the issue at hand. From a general perspective, ethics can be widely grouped into theoretical and practical ethics. The theoretical aspect is concerned with theoretical meanings of moral propositions and the manner in which their truth values can be ascertained. The practical aspect of ethics seeks to address the possibility of achieving moral outcomes in a given situation (Luegenbiehl, 2003). Engineering ethics in this context is part of applied ethics that is skewed towards the examination and the setting of standards concerning the duty of an engineer to the general public, how they should attend to their clients, their duty to their employer, and their obligation towards enhancing and maintaining the moral integrity of the engineering profession. Engineering as a profession is very diverse in terms of the possible branches one can venture into. This diversity make some of the engineering fields share only very limited principles. While most of these disciplines tend to complement each other, these engineers are bound to work in different environments. As such there cannot be a unifying code of ethics for the whole engineering fraternity. Ethical codes in this profession are largely dependent on the exact field of specialization and the jurisdiction of practice. Another factor that comes into play is whether an engineer is providing consultancy service to his clients or the engineer is an employee of a given manufacturing enterprise (Colby Sullivan, 2008). In most countries, the engineers who attend to their clients are normally referred to as professional engineers and are usually licensed. They abide by codes that ensure professional ethics and to a larger extent governed by a number of statutes. Their counterparts who practice in the manufacturing industry have to abide by certain laws, key among them being whistle blowing and also the law of product liability. Their practice leans more towards business ethics as compared to engineering ethics. Professional engineers are usually in private practice and are always responsible for drafting some of the codes of ethics that govern their profession. Engineers who practice in the industrial sector do not enjoy accreditation by the relevant government agencies. It is an arguable fact that despite the field and sector of practice, these engineers face similar ethical issues. Similar in the sense that they share the same root causes but only change slightly in form depending on the discipline and the sector of practice (Luegenbiehl, 2003). Engineering societies have for a long time drafted their own codes of ethics. These codes of ethics have undergone a series of refinement over time in a bid to make them more viable to overcoming ethical issues. Such codes of ethics usually act as general guidelines since ethical issues are very diverse and as such some of these codes have to be adjusted to suit the situation at hand. In the United Kingdom, a notable example is the ‘Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)’, which chose to incorporate its ethical codes into the standards of conduct. The code of ethics in engineering basically seeks to ensure the wellbeing of the public, the clients in the case of a professional engineer, the employer for the engineers who practice in the industry, and for the enhancement of the moral integrity of the engineering profession (Colby Sullivan, 2008). Any engineering profession is susceptible to a number of risks some of which may be detrimental to a wider section of the population. With this risk in mind, the first aim of an engineer is to ensure the safety and health, not only of the general public but also for themselves and their workmates. Engineers are required to subscribe to principles that ensure sustainable development in the course of their undertakings. Since the engineering profession is very diverse, an engineer who may be very competent in his field of specialization may not be able to achieve much in another line of engineering. For most of the engineering societies around the world, there are basic ethical codes that they seem to share in common. A code of ethics in the field of engineering always restricts engineers to stick to their areas of specialization. This is to avoid exposing himself and the general public to the imminent danger. An engineer is required to speak the truth on the technical aspects of a job and maintain a professional relationship with the employer or his client. Conflict of interest is a sure way to compromise and as such should always be avoided by an engineer. An engineer is supposed to safeguard the integrity and the interest of the engineering profession. In as much as an engineer is supposed to advance career wise, they have an obligation of ensuring professional growth for their juniors. According to the law of whistle blowing, an engineer is more obliged to safety than he is to the client or to his employer. This law requires the engineer to report cases where their employers or clients fail to follow their directions and in the process are exposing the public to potential danger. In some instances, some the relevant authorities fail to take action and this may end up in the engineer going public (Luegenbiehl, 2003). The most notable cases of disaster in the field of engineering have been caused by both technical and ethical issues. While some of these accidents have been due to technical aspects and design inadequacies, others have been due to inefficient management culture. Some of the cases that have been established to have an ethical dimension on their occurrence include the Chernobyl disaster, Bhopal disaster, Boston molasses accident, Johnstown Flood, just to mention but a few (Pfatteicher, 2001). Chernobyl disaster was an incident that took place in Ukraine, and it involved the meltdown in a nuclear reactor plant. This accident was to a larger extent blamed on human error. The personnel were blamed for using a limited ‘operational reactivity margin. ’ The disaster caused to the people living within the neighbourhood was immense in gravity and most of the effects were of a long term nature. The mental health of the people was extremely affected; cases of cancer were later reported to be rampant in the area. All these effects came about due to the irradiation of the area by radioactive material. The workers were also affected with more than thirty losing their lives within a span of three months from the time of occurrence of the disaster. An advisory group that was later formed to look into the cause of this disaster blamed the people who were responsible for the design of the power plant. They failed to consider certain pertinent aspects of the design which could have prevented such an occurrence or which could have ensured that the accident did not proceed to reach the level it did. It was realized that in the course of preparation and subsequent testing of turbine generators, it was done without the incorporation of systems that were responsible for technical protection. This was viewed to have been a breach of the safety provisions that were required for the actual technical exercise (Pfatteicher, 2001). Some of the most outstanding organizations that are concerned with engineering ethics include the ‘Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE)’ in the United Kingdom, the ‘Canadian Society for Professional Engineers,’ and the ‘National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)’ which have been seen to be championing for the upholding of ethical practices within the engineering field. The reasons for their establishments are to ensure that engineers in private practice, the government and in the manufacturing sector are able to subscribe to a common code of ethics within a given jurisdiction. Such bodies have certain punitive measures to their members in cases where ethics appear to have been sidelined in making decisions. To ensure that engineers adhere to such codes set by these organizations, it is mandatory to be registered with certain bodies within given jurisdictions to practice as an engineer (Haws, 2001). There has been a general drift towards formulating an all encompassing code of ethics for all engineers throughout the world. This has been noted by the fact that the codes formulated by most societies throughout the world appear to be having certain similarities. While this appears to be a very noble idea, some room and allowances will have to be allowed to accommodate the different cultures in the world. It is deemed that developing a set of common ethical codes and supplementing it with additional entries that regard the cultural setting and the exact field of specialization within engineering. The codes should be set out in such a manner that no confusion can be reported within a given jurisdiction (Luegenbiehl, 2003). References: Colby, A. , Sullivan, W. M. 2008, â€Å"Ethics Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Education. † Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 97. Haws, D. R. 2001, â€Å"Ethics Instruction in Engineering Education: a (Mini) Meta-analysis. † Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 90. Luegenbiehl, H. C. 2003, Themes for an International Code of Engineering Ethics. Retrieved on 9th February 2010, from: http://www. asee. org/conferences/international/papers/upload/Themes-for-Int-l-Code-of-Eng-Ethics. pdf . Pfatteicher, S. K. , 2001, â€Å"Teaching Vs. Preaching: Ec2000 and the Engineering Ethics Dilemma. † Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 90.

Natural Church Development

Natural Church Development ESSAY TOPIC: AN AUDIT OF THE OF A CONGREGATION DESIGN TO DISCERN ITS STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREAT. STRATEGY FOR ITS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT BUILDING ON YOUR AUDIT INTRODUCTION In recent years, it has become very difficult to get people to church. Many would rather go to football field or a cinema than to church. Some complained that church is boring and out of date while others believe it is meant for the elderly and the children. Whichever way, there is a drift away in thinking. Burke echo the above observation said, The reality is, postmodernism is a fad, it is not a new trend we can ride out and ignore. Whether or not you realise it, you live in a postmodern world . There is no point in pretending that you are not or wishing that things would go back to the way they were thirty years.[1] Wishing things in church go back decades back is not good for people and civilization nevertheless it is unrealistic. However, Synder noted that, the church of God is Gods kingdom or institution on earth and for that reason, the theological or organisation structure should not be questioned knowing well that from insertion of the church to now, the church is still unfol ding Gods purpose for humanity.[2] The church has a role of unfolding Gods plan to the world yet faced with these challenges, what are the solutions to overcoming them. It is also worth noting that each church has her peculiarity. This essay will be focusing on using the Natural Church Development module to take a look at the health of a church I once worked with discern the strength and weakness and strategizing a solution. This essay measures the churchs health rather than the typical growth by using the Schwarzs eight quality of characteristics of church health. THE CHURCH HISTORY AND HEALTH Coming from an African church setting, I felt compelled to pick on one of the African church setting I have been involved for years for this essay due to my insight of the congregation and the history. I felt assured to proceed using the church because the pastors and the governing boards were willing to assist in the research that might be involved. Furthermore, the governing board and the pastors were open to the administration of the Natural Church Development using the eight quality characteristics to access the church health. The NCD experimental mode was used throughout the collation and administration of the project. The main instrument of the NCD used was the questionnaire, due to short time in getting data needed to write this essay. The questionnaire used for this essay was limited to only very few members of the congregation of twenty who were pick randomly in order to have a balance information. The expectation is that at the end of the project, the church would have been healthier and experience growth. Also, putting to mind the stresses this change might bring to the congregation, the governing board and pastors are helping the congregation negotiate the change while the project last. This estimated time of completion is one year. The church setting has her origin from Nigeria, West Africa with over 65 years of existence. The central core message of the church as well as the organisational principle is based on the book of Hebrew 13:8 with Berner noting that, has almost gone full circle through the vicissitudes of days of small things to periods of intense evangelistic fervour and search for doctrinal anchor and purity, to the present explosion into socio-political power, economic privilege and spiritual aristocracy.'[3] Nigeria in West Africa has diverse religion and beliefs with three main religion mainly the African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam. This diversity brings with along hunger for the truth. Moreover, the quest to fight poverty also aided the growth for search for divine intervention which many found in the churches. This is possible because of the reliance on Holy Spirit among the Pentecostal churches. Furthermore, the young and educated wanted something different from the traditio nal religion or the orthodox churches settled for this new moment. The growth of Pentecostalism began to make most churches to focus on the leading of the Holy Spirit and the power of Pentecost so much that church leadership and organisation in most of these churches have to be by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The selected church organisation of this essay was one of the early church of this moment. The growth of the church movement led to the expansion of the church beyond the border of Africa to other countries including United Kingdom where the parish of the church for this essay is located. The location of this parish was strategic because it is in an area of London that was seriously in need of a change and a living church. As most churches in that area then were either empty and the buildings were converted to hall for general social activities or you see only elderly weekly. This calls for the need of a church for the people not only to worship God but also socialise together creating a community in a community. As noted by Avis, Mission is not a discrete activity of the church, but the cutting edge of the churchs life. It includes the vital areas of social engagement, compassionate care, prophetic critique, Christian education and intellectual dialogue and apologetic.[4] The challenge I discovered was that the church was not reaching the people of the community and the few people coming were people of the same culture. Research carried out in the community during my earlier years in the church shows that there were people searching for a church nearby but were not feeling welcomed to be a part of the church due to approach, cultural design or the mode of service and people management. The pastors and governing board noticed these challenges but were limited with lasting solution to these challenges. Moreover, they are of the opinion that it is God that gives the increase 1 Cor 3:6. Secondly, there were sense of satisfaction and success because there were flints of cars always packing for church services. It is sad because though there were flints of cars in major services, the people coming were from other communities, the church was unable to reach her immediate community. Furthermore, some the members who were from Africa now residing in this area were not getting the spiritual satisfaction there were hoping for because of their experiences from the African setting of the church. The theological implication of the struggle was that many who were very spiritually thorough back in Africa were now struggling with their faith either due to cultural, economic or social differences that need to be attended to in other to create a balance among the congregation. Many not only left the church to seek for spiritual satisfaction while some left Christianity completely due to disappointment in the leadership style or approach. Looking this, Snyder stated that, the church is the agent of the Kingdom of God first of all through what it. It best serves the kingdoms interests as the messianic community of Gods people rather than as an ecclesiastical institution.[5] For clarity of purpose I concentrated my project on the principle of the church, that states but God that gave the increase[6] Though, there are numerous books, theories and modules on the concept of church health today. For me to remain focus on my objective, and fundamental principle of the parish, I restricted myself to the Natural Church Development by Christian A. Schwarz. In this essay, the concept given by Christian A. Schwarz and the eight quality characteristics will be used to analyse the church health and how to experience growth. NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT The leadership of the church believes that it is only God who gives the increase in ministry or church. This ideology echoes Schwarzs NCD. However, NCD gives a more details and analytical ways of getting result. Schwarz believes that church is like a plant and should experience natural growth progressions.[7] Which is based on biblical principles growth citing Mark 4:26-29.[8] He sees the church as a biotic plant that has the potential of reproducing itself if there is the right condition for growth which include reducing the environmental resistance[9] to the minimum.[10] As noted by the leadership of the church that it is God that gives the increase, Schwarz believes that Church growth can happen all-by-itself[11] In as much as God is the one that causes the growth Schwarz pointed out that there must be self-organisation for proper growth to occur.[12] Since plant grows by itself once the conditions of growth are met, then the church can also naturally grow as God is the one that g ives the conditions of growth in the first place.[13] He noted that for biotic potential to be released for self-organisation of a church there must be quality characteristic, minimum strategy, biotic principles and paradigm shift.[14] Hence, he Defines Natural church development as Releasing the growth automatisms, by which God himself grows his church.[15] While mentioning the sources of his discoveries which include research, observation of nature and biblical studies of natural growing processes of plants Schwarz made it clear that observation of the natural study of plant or church should not be the standard of accessing the growth but the scripture and what is theological acceptable.[16] He distinguished NCD from other concepts of church growth development because it is principle-oriented[17], quality services[18] and the release of natural growth focus[19] with which the church is built by God.[20] Schwarz gave his qualities of characteristics for effective self-organisation as follows: Empowering Leadership which involves teaching and making leader from the lay members of the church Gift-oriented lay ministry. By this, members are helped to discover and identify Gods gift and are developed. Passionate Spirituality which include the role of spiritual exercises in church Functional structures like heads of department and unit leaders. Inspiring worship service. Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationship. Selection Christian Schwarzs NCD to access my church health because of his discovery which agrees with the teaching and the ideology of the leadership of the church, one cannot overlook some of the lingering questions in the approach applied by Schwarz. He carried out researches all over the world collating data to prove the viability of NCD but there were little said on the word of God regarding the concept except for the initially scripture. For any concept on Gods church to be effective, attention must be given to the word of God above technology and research. Though technology and research enhances good result.[21] Similarly, he seems to distant himself from size and numbers and make quality of service seems to be all that is need even if there is not numerically growth.[22] APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT God plan of reconciliation of man through Jesus Christ using the church is important Col. 1:17-20 and the mission of the church is to demonstrate this headship[23] but if the church is not measuring up then the devil and the world have the upper hand as seen today. Schwarz stated that for any church to experience good health growth, the characteristics must interplay and a weakness in one of the characteristics and can limit the effectiveness of the others.[24] Analysis and review of questionnaires were carried out with the pastors and the governing board of the church. During the review, it was discovered that though the church was not lacking in all the quality characteristics but as mentioned above lacking in one can limit the others. There were area that needed to be strengthen. Schwarz pointed out that the level of contentment in a congregation can be traced to the level of involvement people have in the congregation. People who are involved in their churches using the gifts and depending on the Holy Spirit, have a higher contentment than those who do not.[25] The church empowerment of leadership was good as there were structures to teach members on getting involved. Members are trained in-house and are made to serve in any department of the choosing. Furthermore, during this training gift are discovered, identified and are used for the church, this promotes confidence, peace and desire to want to serve God with the gift.[26] Holistic small group called house cell where members are divided according to the location and a central place is pick for the meeting of the group. This foster good relationship among the members. Schwarz said that, seek to apply the Bible in a relevant way characterise healthy church.[27]However, there were situation where members are too familiar that relocating them for other assignment became an issue. One of the strategy to solving that was rotational of the leadership of the small group. Passionate spirituality was one of the major problem because of the doctrinal beliefs of the church (Africa origin of the church). Some of the members were unhappy with too strict laws on dressing, where you cannot put on a particular kind of dressing once you are a member of the working unit in the church. Looking at the questionnaire, the issue of dressing stood out for attention. The pastors and the governing board had to biblically look for a balance that will be attracted to encourage people been free. Some were not in agreement with the leadership as this was changing the doctrine of the church. However, the understanding of the people as regard passionate spirituality were difference from what Schwarzs. Schwarz believe that Passionately spiritual Christians are enthusiastic about their faith. Passionately spiritual people are growing in their faith and holiness regardless of dressing or any doctrine that might be in place.[28] Schwarzs thought was carefully planned to one of t he services and there were significant progress. Healthy churches are not overworked by activities that take it turns on both the members and the leadership instead it allows for room it allows for programs that help the leaders to reproduce themselves.[29] For a church that believes in making members active by putting up many church activities, helping the leadership understood the negative impact was very important and how to shift away from such practices to a practice of reproducing quality believers. Inspiring Worship services involves giving God honour, recognising his sovereignty through the sacraments, the Word of God, preaching, testimony and fellowship through the power of the Holy Spirit.[30] Worship is a priority and it is to be taken so. Therefore, for a healthy church, quality time must be spent in prayers and planning of any services or programme to bring people to the presence of God. Need-oriented evangelism is needed for the church as evangelism is the duty of all believers. While Jesus was ascending to the sky is said Go ye to all the nations Matt 28:19. New strategy of evangelism was introduced to encourage members to meet the need of both Christian and non-Christian. One of such was the introduction of a food bank to assist as many in the community in need of food and though this many came to the saving knowledge of the Lord. John the Apostle wrote, Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God 1 John 4:7. Snyder writes, Christians are kingdom people when, having found peace with God through Jesus, they build a peaceful community and become agents of Gods peace in the world[31] The people were encouraged not to show love to other believers only but to the unbelievers alike so that by our love, they can come to the knowledge of Gods grace and measure. The pastors and the governing board realise areas of improvement, took it on board and began to implement the change in order to have a healthier church that can serve the community and shows Gods kingdom on earth. CONCLUSION Schwarz believe that, healthy or whole churches are those that are strong in all eight specified areas[32] and one quality cannot lead to growth in churches but rather involving the interplay of all eight characters. His words, the key is found in the harmonious interplay of all eight elements.[33] Therefore, it is important to improve the services giving in the church to same standard or more compare to what is offered in the world by so doing making the Church become more attractive to the world. BIBLIOGRAPHY Avis Paul, A Church Drawing Near: Spirituality and Mission in a Post-Christian Culture (London, Great Britain: The Cromwell Press 2003) Schwarz Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Practical Guide to a New Approach (Barcelona, Spain: M.C.E. HOREB 1996) Snyder Howard A., Signs of the Spirit: How God reshapes the church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House 1989) Snyder Howard A., The Community of the King (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977) Snyder Howard A., A Kingdom Manifesto (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977) Spencer Burke, Colleen Pepper, Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations about God, Community, and Culture (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House 2003) King James Version Bible Ulrich Berner, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Nigeria. Local Identities and Global Processes in African Pentecostalism (published Doctoral Dissertation, Owerri, Imo State, 2003), p.1 [Accessed 17 Jan 2017] [1] Burke Spencer, Pepper Colleen, Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations about God, Community, and Culture (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House 2003), p. 26. [2] Howard A. Snyder, Signs of the Spirit: How God reshapes the church (Grand Rapids: Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House 1989), p. 270. [3] Berner Ulrich, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Nigeria. Local Identities and Global Processes in African Pentecostalism (published Doctoral Dissertation, Owerri, Imo State, 2003), p.1 [Accessed 17 Jan 2017] [4] Paul Avis, A Church Drawing Near: Spirituality and Mission in a Post-Christian Culture (London, Great Britain: The Cromwell Press 2003), p.13 [5] Howard A. Snyder, The Community of the King (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977), p.73. [6] 1 Cor 3:6 Kjv Bible [7] Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Practical Guide to a New Approach (Barcelona, Spain: M.C.E. HOREB 1996), P.9 [8] Christian A. Schwarz, P.8 [9] Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Practical Guide to a New Approach (Barcelona, Spain: M.C.E. HOREB 1996), P.10 [10] Christian A. Schwarz, P.10 [11] Christian A. Schwarz, P.10 [12] Christian A. Schwarz, P.10 [13] Christian A. Schwarz, P.11 [14] Christian A. Schwarz, P.11 [15] Christian A. Schwarz, P.13 [16] Christian A. Schwarz, P.13 [17] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [18] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [19] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [20] Christian A. Schwarz, P.14 [21] Christian A. Schwarz, P.19 [22] Christian A. Schwarz, P.45 [23] Howard A. Snyder, The Community of the King (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977), p.117 [24] Christian A. Schwarz, P.50 [25] Christian A. Schwarz, P.24 [26] Christian A. Schwarz, P.24 [27] Christian A. Schwarz, P.32 [28] Christian A. Schwarz, P.27 [29] Christian A. Schwarz, P.28 [30] Christian A. Schwarz, P.31 [31] Howard A. Snyder, A Kingdom Manifesto (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Versity Press 1977), p.22. [32] Christian A. Schwarz, P.38 [33] Christian A. Schwarz, P.39

History of Communism Containment

History of Communism Containment After the Second World War, the United States began seeing an expansion of communism into Eastern Europe and sought to stop the spread of communism by adopting a policy of containment. The U.S and President Truman saw the Soviet Union to be a serious threat to the free world and as a result, they were about to enter a new kind of war: the Cold War. After defeating Germany during World War II, most of Europe and Asia lay in ruins, and on the horizon a new threat appeared, communism. Even though the U.S. and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II, they both emerged from the war as global powers, with differences on their perspectives of the world. Both nations were competing with each other economically and militarily and where in at an impasse. The U.S. was the richest country in the world and it promoted democracy and capitalism, while the Soviets thought communism was a better (political system because it transformed their economy and status in the world from nothing but a declining empire to a super power once again) (StudyWorld). By 1947, relations between the two countries had broken down completely. President Truman took decisive steps to contain Soviet expansion in regions in which the U.S. had vital interests. With the takeover of Greece and Turkey by a Soviet backed guerilla movement, this was the first sign of communist aggression that forced the U.S. to react. In March 1947, Truman decided to (draw a line in the sand)(US History)by asking Congress to appropriate $400 million for these two nations to help them in the form of military and economic assistance. The Truman Doctrine came about as direct result of the Soviet aggression and was basically an (open pact to any group willing to stand against communism, guaranteeing them military and financial aid)(US Dept of State). This is also the beginning of an embarrassing an unprecedented series of foreign policy blunders on the part of the U.S. The Truman Doctrine would later be used to justify shady actions in Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba. The second step in containment was the Marshall Plan, which provided economic relief to the rebuilding of Western European nations such as Great Britain, France, Belgium and even Germany. By boosting these economies, the U.S. ensured that (communism would not rise in any of these countries from a weak economy)(Studynotes). Four years later, not only were the Western European industries producing twice the amount that they had before war broke out, but the U.S. saw a postwar economic boom with record levels of trade. At first the U.S. Congress wasnt in favor of the proposed plan, but following a coup by communist in Czechoslovakia, they approved it. An official alliance with other nations that opposed communism came to be after the coup in Czechoslovakia. In April 1949, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was founded. The countries agreed that they would (stand by each other as one, and any attack on a member of the alliance is an attack on all)(US Dept of State). At the time, this was a great idea; trying to prevent communism from taking over the world. But as time went by, we have come to realize that as a part of NATO, the U.S. is the majority partner, and is becoming the worlds police and major contributor of the funds for these efforts. I think that the U.S. needs to withdraw from NATO and try and get the U.S. back to status of the worlds super power. We dont have the funds to bail out the rest of the world, when our own economy is in such dire straits. Being a member of NATO, provides a presidential loophole for military intervention by America in any foreign struggle without Congress declaring war, which is a bad idea. All this did was force the Soviet Union to flex its muscles and in 1955, it formed an alliance, known as the Warsaw Pact, with other Eastern European nations, such as Poland, Bulgaria, E. Germany, and Romania. Now, these countries are (no more than puppet nations held by the Grand Puppeteer, Russia)(Pieper). In one fell swoop the Soviet Union (gained almost as much land as Napoleon or Hitler; but without a war)(US History). Americas idea of a united effort at the containment of Communism had exponential grown into a united expansion of communism, just the opposite effect the U.S. was trying to accomplish. After World War II, redrawing of boundaries all over the world came about. Korea, who was conquered by Japan during the war, was divided at the 38th parallel, and the northern part of the country was given to the Soviet Union and the southern half to the U.S. In 1950, the Soviets left N. Korea leaving a communist regime behind. That regime, funded and equipped by China, invaded S. Korea. The United Nations, led, of course, by the United States, (raised an army to restore peace and expel the aggressors)(Pieper). The U.S. established a cease-fire zone, but not before the victory changed hands twice and lasted three years. Some might say that (communism in this case was successfully contained but with the loss of 53,000 American lives in a fruitless attempt to topple a regime is hardly a victory)(US Dept of State). Another failure of containment by the United States would be in Vietnam. After the fighting with France ended in 1954, Vietnam was split in two like Korea, North Vietnam being Communist and South Vietnam led by the Vietnamese who supported the French. In 1963, the South Vietnamese leader was assassinated, and the U.S. sent over American troops to support the non-Communist regime, while in accordance with the Truman Doctrine. The resulting struggle would prove to be (the most agonizing and long defeat of the American military in history)(StudyWorld). Two elements of the U.Ss failure of Vietnam were trying to win a traditional war in a guerrilla setting and not having full support of the U.S. people. This resulted in a loss of 68,000 U.S. soldiers and over 400,000 South Vietnamese. The U.S. started withdrawing troops in 1973, but by 1976, all of Vietnam came under communist rule, proving once again that containment didnt work. Even after the Korean War and the creation of the Warsaw Pact, the expansion of communism was not over. In 1959, a rag-tag band of guerillas overtook the government of Cuba and it fell under Fidel Castros regime. The U.S. was unwilling or unprepared to stop this, either for fear of judgment from the international community or of the (shortsightedness caused by a general distaste for Cubas previous government)(Nuclearfiles). This would later come back to haunt them, in both the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Realizing the problem that Castro could cause, the U.S. planned a literal exertion of the Truman Doctrine. President Kennedy ordered the execution of The Bay of Pigs operation and in April 1961, 1500 Cuban exiles landed in the Bay of Pigs. American air support never arrived and the plan backfired and all of the exiles were gunned down mercilessly. Again containment was once again dashed. A year later was probably the scariest moment of the Cold War. The Soviet Union made a deal with Castro to place nuclear missiles on Cuba and those missiles gave the Soviets a chance to hit U.S. soil without an air offensive. The range of those missiles was 3000 miles, which could demolish the whole eastern seaboard. After a U2 flight over Cuba, President Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba and stated that any further attempts to arm Cuba would result in an act of war. The Soviets backed down and removed the silos from Cuba. It was found later, that Russias president made a secret deal with the U.S. agreeing to remove the missiles from Cuba if the U.S. would remove missiles from Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a (propaganda victory for the U.S. and an undisclosed blow to containment)(Nuclearfiles). Even though 1989 marked the end of the Cold War, some say that since the Soviet Union ultimately fell, the policy of containment was successful. I think this is wrong. The Soviet Union fell under its own weight; the countries expenditures were huge. They had a very large army to support and the cost of such a large country could not be sustained, leaving them no choose but to declare bankruptcy. Another symbol of the U.S. failures to contain communism, is that the nations under the Soviet bloc remain to this day; Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, and China are still completely Communist nations. Not only was American (containment in the height of the Cold War a failure)(US History), those failures can still be seen to this day. And if the U.S. isnt careful, we too could come under communist rule due to our astronomical debt in which China holds the note. Works Citied Containment of Communism Nuclearfiles.org. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. 1998-2012. Web. 5 Nov 12 Pieper, Moritz. Containment and the Cold War: Reexaming the Doctrine of Containment as a Grand Strategy Driving US Cold War Interventions. Student Pulse. 2012. Web. 5 Nov 12. Studynotes.org. 2008. Web. 5 Nov 12. Studyworld.com. Oakwood Mgt. 1996-2012. Web. 5 Nov 12. U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian. US Department of State. Web. 6 Nov 12. USHistory.org. Containment and the Marshall Plan. Hall Assoc. 2008-2012. Web. 5 Nov 12

Synesthesia and the Implications of Sensory Fusion :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Synesthesia and the Implications of Sensory Fusion Synesthesia is defined as the sensation produced at a point other than or remote from the point of stimulation, as of a color from hearing a certain sound.[1] (From the Greek, syn=together+aesthesis=to perceive). In common language synesthesia is an involuntary blending of the senses by some people, which allows them to see colors when looking at numbers, for instance. This is a topic that was introduced over a century ago, but has not been taken serious until recently with the development of tests capable of testing whether or not the condition was real. Previously, scientists thought that this was a figment of the imagination, drug abuse, or in its most concrete form one of memory. As if seeing a number paired with a color, say in early childhood was the reason that a person paired them later on in life. There was also the theory that these people were very creative and when they said that they could taste a shape, it was only an unconventional metaphor. However, thanks to in depth pursuit of this topic by scientists, especially Ramachandran and Hubbard the validity of such statements has been proven. One test they developed to test the ability of people to pair colors with the site of ordinary numbers involved printing up sheets with similar numbers, like 2 and 5. Many people claimed to see a certain color when presented with the number 2 and a different color when shown 5. The 2's and 5's were arranged in such a way that one number formed a distinct shape in the midst of the jumble of the other number. A non-synesthetic would be incapable of distinguishing any pattern due to the close resemblance of the numbers. But, in 90% of the cases where people claimed to see colors they were easily able to discern the shape because it registered stood out for them as a completely different color. One wonders what takes place in the brain to cause such phenomenal differences in perception. The cause is unknown for certain, like many things in the realm of science it has not been researched nearly enough, but there are some indications. The merging of certain senses points to a crossing of signals in the brain. Although the theory is an old one, it has come to the forefront of the scientific researcher's minds, with increased focus on the topic.

Trapped by Society in John Updikes A&P Essay -- A&P Essays

Trapped by Society in John Updike's A&P      Ã‚  Ã‚   People often take their place in society for granted. They accept that position into which they are born, grow up in it, and pass that position on to their children. This cycle continues until someone is born who has enough vision to step out of his circle and investigate other ways of life in which he might thrive. One such person is embodied in the character of Sammy in A&P, by John Updike. Sammy is the narrator of the story and describes an incident in the store where he encounters a conflict between the members of two completely different worlds the world that he was born into and the world of a girl that captures his mind. Through his thoughts, attitudes, and actions, Sammy shows that he is caught between the two worlds of his customers at the A&P.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sammy's thoughts, as told to the reader in his narration, betray a deep understanding of the people he comes in contact with. When the girls walked into the store, he began to describe not only their looks, but also their attitudes and personalities without ever speaking to them. The one who held his attention was also the one he named "Queenie". On page one he says, She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. Sammy understood that she was the one in charge, and by saying that the other two made their shoulders round he showed that he realized their passivity was by choice; they followed her by their own wills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sammy also understood how the "regulars" of the A&P thought and reasoned. He correctly interpreted the customers’ reactions to the girls, saying, "A few houseslaves in pin curlers even looked round after pushing their cart... ...ed what he did for them and wanting their appreciation for his attempt to disassociate himself from the people in the store. He called them "his" girls, trying to bring himself to their level in the social scheme as he saw it (3).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sammy was indeed caught between the two worlds that collided one day in the A&P, and he chose to pursue the one that was not his own. He was able to do this when others were not because he understood both worlds, his attitude toward each were completely different, and his actions were drastic enough to cut him free from the bonds that his world had on him. With two paths to choose from and only one to follow, Sammy took the path less traveled in that small town by the sea. He was, to use his own analogy, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Works Cited Updike, J. A&P. www.crown.edu/humanities/Wheatonj. 17 January, 2004. Trapped by Society in John Updike's A&P Essay -- A&P Essays Trapped by Society in John Updike's A&P      Ã‚  Ã‚   People often take their place in society for granted. They accept that position into which they are born, grow up in it, and pass that position on to their children. This cycle continues until someone is born who has enough vision to step out of his circle and investigate other ways of life in which he might thrive. One such person is embodied in the character of Sammy in A&P, by John Updike. Sammy is the narrator of the story and describes an incident in the store where he encounters a conflict between the members of two completely different worlds the world that he was born into and the world of a girl that captures his mind. Through his thoughts, attitudes, and actions, Sammy shows that he is caught between the two worlds of his customers at the A&P.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sammy's thoughts, as told to the reader in his narration, betray a deep understanding of the people he comes in contact with. When the girls walked into the store, he began to describe not only their looks, but also their attitudes and personalities without ever speaking to them. The one who held his attention was also the one he named "Queenie". On page one he says, She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. Sammy understood that she was the one in charge, and by saying that the other two made their shoulders round he showed that he realized their passivity was by choice; they followed her by their own wills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sammy also understood how the "regulars" of the A&P thought and reasoned. He correctly interpreted the customers’ reactions to the girls, saying, "A few houseslaves in pin curlers even looked round after pushing their cart... ...ed what he did for them and wanting their appreciation for his attempt to disassociate himself from the people in the store. He called them "his" girls, trying to bring himself to their level in the social scheme as he saw it (3).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sammy was indeed caught between the two worlds that collided one day in the A&P, and he chose to pursue the one that was not his own. He was able to do this when others were not because he understood both worlds, his attitude toward each were completely different, and his actions were drastic enough to cut him free from the bonds that his world had on him. With two paths to choose from and only one to follow, Sammy took the path less traveled in that small town by the sea. He was, to use his own analogy, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Works Cited Updike, J. A&P. www.crown.edu/humanities/Wheatonj. 17 January, 2004.

Ancient Greece Essay

Greek Mythology, set of diverse traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals. The ancient Greeks worshiped many gods within a culture that tolerated diversity. Unlike other belief systems, Greek culture recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred, written text like the Bible or the Qur’an. Stories about the origins and actions of Greek divinities varied widely, depending, for example, on whether the tale appeared in a comedy, tragedy, or epic poem. Greek mythology was like a complex and rich language, in which the Greeks could express a vast range of perceptions about the world. A Greek city-state devoted itself to a particular god or group of gods in whose honor it built temples. The temple generally housed a statue of the god or gods. The Greeks honored the city’s gods in festivals and also offered sacrifices to the gods, usually a domestic animal such as a goat. Stories about the gods varied by geographic location: A god might have one set of characteristics in one city or region and quite different characteristics elsewhere. II A A1  PRINCIPAL FIGURES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY Greek mythology has several distinguishing characteristics, in addition to its multiple versions. The Greek gods resembled human beings in their form and in their emotions, and they lived in a society that resembled human society in its levels of authority and power. However, a crucial difference existed between gods and human beings: Humans died, and gods were immortal. Heroes also played an important role in Greek mythology, and stories about them conveyed serious themes. The Greeks considered human heroes from the past closer to themselves than were the immortal gods. Gods  Given the multiplicity of myths that circulated in Greece, it is difficult to present a single version of the genealogy (family history) of the gods. However, two accounts together provide a genealogy that most ancient Greeks would have recognized. One is the account given by Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony (Genealogy of the Gods), written in the 8th century BC. The other account, The Library, is attributed to a mythographer (compiler of myths) named Apollodorus, who lived during the 2nd century BC. The Creation of the Gods According to Greek myths about creation, the god Chaos (Greek for â€Å"Gaping Void†) was the foundation of all things. From Chaos came Gaea (â€Å"Earth†); the bottomless depth of the underworld, known as Tartarus; and Eros (â€Å"Love†). Eros, the god of love, was needed to draw divinities together so they Greek Mythology might produce offspring. Chaos produced Night, while Gaea first bore Uranus, the god of the heavens, and after him produced the mountains, sea, and gods known as Titans. The Titans were strong and large, and they committed arrogant deeds. The youngest and most important Titan was Cronus. Uranus and Gaea, who came to personify Heaven and Earth, also gave birth to the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants who made thunderbolts. See also Creation Stories. A2 A3 A4 Cronus and Rhea Uranus tried to block any successors from taking over his supreme position by forcing back into Gaea the children she bore. But the youngest child, Cronus, thwarted his father, cutting off his genitals and tossing them into the sea. From the bloody foam in the sea Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was born. After wounding his father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to offspring—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—Cronus swallowed them. Only the youngest, Zeus, escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in place of the baby. Zeus and the Olympian Gods When fully grown, Zeus forced his father, Cronus, to disgorge the children he had swallowed. With their help and armed with the thunderbolt, Zeus made war on Cronus and the Titans, and overcame them. He established a new regime, based on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. Zeus ruled the sky. His brother Poseidon ruled the sea, and his brother Hades, the underworld. Their sister Hestia ruled the hearth, and Demeter took charge of the harvest. Zeus married his sister Hera, who became queen of the heavens and guardian of marriage and childbirth. Among their children was Ares, whose sphere of influence was war. Twelve major gods and goddesses had their homes on Mount Olympus and were known as the Olympians. Four children of Zeus and one child of Hera joined the Olympian gods Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Ares. Zeus’s Olympian offspring were Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Athena. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus. The Offspring of Zeus  Zeus had numerous children by both mortal and immortal women. By the mortal Semele he had Dionysus, a god associated with wine and with other forms of intoxication and ecstasy. By Leto, a Titan, Zeus fathered the twins Apollo and Artemis, who became two of the most important Olympian divinities. Artemis remained a virgin and took hunting as her special province. Apollo became associated with music and prophecy. People visited his oracle (shrine) at Delphi to seek his prophetic advice. By the nymph Maia, Zeus became father of Hermes, the Olympian trickster god who had the power to cross all kinds of boundaries. Hermes guided the souls of the dead down to the underworld, Greek Mythology carried messages between gods and mortals, and wafted a magical sleep upon the wakeful. Two other Olympian divinities, Hephaestus and Athena, had unusual births. Hera conceived Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, without a male partner. Subsequently he suffered the wrath of Zeus, who once hurled him from Olympus for coming to the aid of his mother; this fall down onto the island of Lemnos crippled Hephaestus. The birth of Athena was even stranger. Zeus and Metis, daughter of the Titan Oceanus, were the parents of Athena. But Gaea had warned Zeus that, after giving birth to the girl with whom she was pregnant, Metis would bear a son destined to rule heaven. To avoid losing his throne to a son, Zeus swallowed Metis, just as Cronus had previously swallowed his own children to thwart succession. Metis’s child Athena was born from the head of Zeus, which Hephaestus split open with an axe. Athena, another virgin goddess, embodied the power of practical intelligence in warfare and crafts work. She also served as the protector of the city of Athens. Another of Zeus’s children was Persephone; her mother was Demeter, goddess of grain, vegetation, and the harvest. Once when Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow, Hades, god of the underworld, saw and abducted her, taking her down to the kingdom of the dead to be his bride. Her grief-stricken mother wandered the world in search of her; as a result, fertility left the earth. Zeus commanded Hades to release Persephone, but Hades had cunningly given her a pomegranate seed to eat. Having consumed food from the underworld, Persephone was obliged to return below the earth for part of each year. Her return from the underworld each year meant the revival of nature and the beginning of spring. This myth was told especially in connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred rituals observed in the Greek town of Elevsis near Athens. The rituals offered initiates in the mysteries the hope of rebirth, just as Persephone had been reborn after her journey to the underworld. Many Greek myths report the exploits of the principal Olympians, but Greek myths also refer to a variety of other divinities, each with their particular sphere of influence. Many of these divinities were children of Zeus, symbolizing the fact that they belonged to the new Olympian order of Zeus’s regime. The Muses, nine daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, presided over song, dance, and music. The Fates, three goddesses who controlled human life and destiny, and the Horae, goddesses who controlled the seasons, were appropriately the children of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of divine justice and law. Far different in temperament were the Erinyes (Furies), ancient and repellent goddesses who had sprung from the earth after it had been impregnated with the blood of Uranus’s severed genitals. Terrible though they were, the Erinyes also had a legitimate role in the world: to pursue those who had murdered their own kin. A5 Disruptive Deities Human existence is characterized by disorder as well as order, and many of the most characteristic figures in Greek mythology exert a powerfully disruptive effect. Satyrs, whom the Greeks imagined as part human and part horse (or part goat), led lives dominated by wine and lust. Myths depicted them as companions of Dionysus who drunkenly pursued nymphs, spirits of nature represented as young and beautiful maidens. Many of the jugs used at Greek symposia (drinking parties) carry images of satyrs. Equally wild, but more threatening than the satyrs, were the savage centaurs. These monsters, Greek Mythology depicted as half-man and half-horse, tended toward uncontrolled aggression. The centaurs are known for combat with their neighbors, the Lapiths, which resulted from an attempt to carry off the Lapith women at a wedding feast. This combat was depicted in sculpture on the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena in Athens. The Sirens, usually portrayed as birds with women’s heads, posed a different sort of threat. These island-dwelling enchantresses lured mariners to their deaths by the irresistible beauty of their song. The seafaring Greek hero Odysseus alone survived this temptation by ordering his companions to block their own ears, to bind him to the mast of his ship, and to ignore all his entreaties to be allowed to follow the lure of the Sirens’ song. B B1 B2 Mortals The Greeks had several myths to account for the origins of humanity. According to one version, human beings sprang from the ground, and this origin explained their devotion to the land. According to another myth, a Titan molded the first human beings from clay. The Greeks also had a story about the destruction of humanity, similar to the biblical deluge. The Creation of Human Beings Conflicting Greek myths tell about the creation of humanity. Some myths recount how the populations of particular localities sprang directly from the earth. The Arcadians, residents of a region of Greece known as Arcadia, claimed this distinction for their original inhabitant, Pelasgus (see Pelasgians). The Thebans boasted descent from earthborn men who had sprung from the spot where Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, had sown the ground with the teeth of a sacred dragon. According to another tale, one of the Titans, Prometheus, fashioned the first human being from water and earth. In the more usual version of the story Prometheus did not actually create humanity but simply lent it assistance through the gift of fire. Another tale dealt with humanity’s re-creation. When Zeus planned to destroy an ancient race living on Earth, he sent a deluge. However, Deucalion, a son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha—the Greek equivalents of the biblical Noah and his wife—put provisions into a chest and climbed into it. Carried across the waters of the flood, they landed on Mount Parnassus. After the waters receded, the couple gratefully made sacrifices to Zeus. His response was to send Hermes to instruct them how to repopulate the world. They should cast stones behind them. Stones thrown by Deucalion became men; those thrown by Pyrrha, women. The Greek People According to myth, the various peoples of Greece descended from Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. One genealogy related that the Dorian and the Aeolian Greeks sprang from Hellen’s sons Dorus and Aeolus. The Achaeans and Ionians descended from Achaeos and Ion, sons of Hellen’s other son, Xuthus. These figures, in their turn, produced offspring who, along with children born of unions Greek Mythology between divinities and mortals, made up the collection of heroes and heroines whose exploits constitute a central part of Greek mythology. C C1 C2 C3 Heroes Myths about heroes are particularly characteristic of Greek mythology. Many of these heroes were the sons of gods, and a number of myths involved expeditions by these heroes. The expeditions generally related to quests or combats. Scholars consider some of these myths partly historical in nature—that is, they explained events in the distant past and were handed down orally from one generation to the next. Two of the most important of the semihistorical myths involve the search for the Golden Fleece and the quest that led to the Trojan War. In other myths heroes such as Heracles and Theseus had to overcome fearsome monsters. Jason and the Golden Fleece Jason was a hero who sailed in the ship Argo, with a band of heroes called the Argonauts, on a dangerous quest for the Golden Fleece at the eastern end of the Black Sea in the land of Colchis. Jason had to fetch this family property, a fleece made of gold from a winged ram, in order to regain his throne. A dragon that never slept guarded the fleece and made the mission nearly impossible. Thanks to the magical powers of Medea, daughter of the ruler of Colchis, Jason performed the impossible tasks necessary to win the fleece and to take it from the dragon. Afterward Medea took horrible revenge on Pelias, who had killed Jason’s parents, stolen Jason’s throne, and sent Jason on the quest for the fleece. She tricked Pelias’s daughters into cutting him up and boiling him in a cauldron. Medea’s story continued to involve horrific violence. When Jason rejected her for another woman, Medea once more used her magic to avenge herself with extreme cruelty. Meleager Jason and the same generation of heroes took part in another adventure, with Meleager, the son of King Oeneus of Calydon and his wife Althea. At Meleager’s birth the Fates predicted that he would die when a log burning on the hearth was completely consumed. His mother snatched the log and hid it in a chest. Meleager grew to manhood. One day, his father accidentally omitted Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, from a sacrifice. In revenge Artemis sent a mighty boar to ravage the country. Meleager set out to destroy it, accompanied by some of the greatest heroes of the day, including Peleus, Telamon, Theseus, Jason, and Castor and Polydeuces. The boar was killed. However, Meleager killed his mother’s brothers in a quarrel about who should receive the boar skin. In her anger Althea threw the log on to the fire, so ending her son’s life; she then hanged herself. Heroes of the Trojan War The greatest expedition of all was that which resulted in the Trojan War. The object of this quest was Helen, a beautiful Greek woman who had been abducted by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy. Helen’s husband Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon led an army of Greeks to besiege Troy. After ten Greek Mythology years, with many heroes dead on both sides, the city fell to the trick of the Trojan Horse—a giant wooden horse that the Greeks built and left outside the gates of Troy while their army pretended to withdraw. Not knowing that Greek heroes were hiding inside the horse, the Trojans took the horse into the city. The hidden Greeks then slipped out, opened the city gates and let their army in, thus defeating Troy. The Iliad, an epic poem attributed to Greek poet Homer, tells the story of the Trojan War. The story continued with the Odyssey, another long poem attributed to Homer, in which the Greek hero Odysseus made his way home after the Trojan War. Odysseus returned to his faithful wife, Penelope, whereas Agamemnon returned to be murdered by his faithless wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Historians considered the Trojan War entirely mythical until excavations in Turkey showed that there had been cities on the site of Troy and that fire had destroyed one of these cities at about the time of the Trojan War, sometime from 1230 BC to 1180 BC. C4 C5 Heracles and Theseus. The deeds of the heroes Heracles (see Hercules) and Theseus exemplify a central theme in Greek mythology: the conflict between civilization and wild savagery. Each hero confronted and overcame monstrous opponents, yet neither enjoyed unclouded happiness. Heracles had been an Argonaut but left the expedition after being plunged into grief at the loss of his companion Hylas. In another story, a fit of madness led Heracles to kill his own wife and children. But he is best known for his feats of prowess against beasts and monsters, which began soon after his birth. The most difficult of these feats are known as the 12 labors, which are believed to represent efforts to conquer death and achieve immortality. Although Heracles died, his father, Zeus, gave him a place on Mount Olympus. Theseus successfully slew the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. On his voyage home to Athens, however, he forgot to hoist the white sails that would have signified the success of his adventure. According to one tale, Theseus’s heartbroken father Aegeus, seeing black sails, believed his son had died, and committed suicide. The Aegean Sea in which he drowned is presumably named after Aegeus. Oedipus No hero of Greek mythology has proved more fascinating than Oedipus. He destroyed a monster, the Sphinx, by answering its riddle. Yet his ultimate downfall served as a terrifying warning of the instability of human fortune. As a baby, Oedipus had been abandoned on a mountainside by his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, because of a prophecy that the child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Saved by the pity of a shepherd, the child—its identity unknown—was reared by the king and queen of the neighboring city of Corinth. In due course, Oedipus unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy, matching the horrific crimes he had committed with the equally ghastly self-punishment of piercing his own eyes with Jocasta’s brooch-pins. Greek Mythology III A Gods and Goddesses B THE NATURE OF GREEK GODS AND HEROES In many respects the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology resembled extraordinarily powerful human beings. They experienced emotions such as jealousy, love, and grief, and they shared with humans a desire to assert their own authority and to punish anyone who flouted it. However, these emotions and desires took supernaturally intense form in gods and goddesses. As numerous literary descriptions and artistic representations testify, the Greeks imagined their gods to have human shape, although this form was strongly idealized. The Greeks, moreover, modeled relationships between divinities on those between human beings. Apollo and Artemis were brother and sister, Zeus and Hera were husband and wife, and the society of the gods on Mount Olympus resembled that of an unruly family, with Zeus at its head. The gods could temporarily enter the human world. They might, for example, fall in love with a mortal, as Aphrodite did with Adonis; Apollo with Daphne; and Zeus with Leda, Alcmene, and Danae. Or they might destroy a mortal who displeased them, as Dionysus destroyed King Pentheus of Thebes for mocking his rites. Not all Greek divinities resembled human beings. They could also be uncanny, strange, and alien, a quality made visible in artistic representations of monsters. For example, the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa had a stare that turned her victims to stone. The Graeae, sisters of the Gorgons, were gray-haired old crones from birth. They possessed but a single tooth and a single eye between them. Typhoeus was a hideous monster from whose shoulders grew a hundred snakeheads with dark, flickering tongues. Even the major deities of Olympus showed alien characteristics at times. A recurrent sign of divine power is the ability to change shape, either one’s own or that of others. Athena once transformed herself into a vulture; Poseidon once took the form of a stallion. This ability could prove convenient such as when Zeus assumed the form of a swan to woo Leda. Zeus turned Lycaon, a disrespectful king, into a wolf to punish him for his wickedness. The ability to exercise power over the crossing of boundaries is a crucial feature of divine power among the Greeks. Heroes Greek mythology also told how divinities interacted with heroes, a category of mortals who, though dead, were believed to retain power to influence the lives of the living. In myths heroes represented a kind of bridge between gods and mortals. Heroes such as Achilles, Perseus, and Aeneas were the products of a union between a deity and a mortal. The fact that the gods often intervened to help heroes—for example, during combat—indicated not the heroes’ weakness but their special importance. Yet heroes were not the equals of the gods. With a logic characteristic of Greek myth, heroes typically possessed a defect to balance out their exceptional power. For example, the warrior Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, was invulnerable except in the heel. The prophet Cassandra, who warned the Trojans of dangers such as the Trojan Horse, Greek Mythology always prophesied the truth but was never believed. Heracles constituted an extreme example of this paradox: His awesome strength was balanced by his tendency to become a victim of his own excessive violence. Nevertheless, the gods allowed Heracles to cross the ultimate boundary by gaining admission to Olympus. IV A B THE FUNCTIONS OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Like most other mythological traditions, Greek myths served several purposes. First, Greek myths explained the world. Second, they acted as a means of exploration. Third, they provided authority and legitimacy. Finally, they provided entertainment. Explanation Greek myths lent structure and order to the world and explained how the current state of things had originated. Hesiod’s Theogony narrated the development of the present order of the universe by relating it to Chaos, the origin of all things. By a complex process of violence, struggle, and sexual attraction, the regime led by Zeus had eventually taken over. Another poem by Hesiod, Works and Days, explained why the world is full of trouble. According to the poem the first woman, Pandora, opened a jar whose lid she had been forbidden to lift. As a result of her disobedience all the diseases and miseries previously confined in the jar escaped into the world. Such a myth also makes a statement about relationships between the sexes in Hesiod’s own world. Scholars assume that he composed the poem for a largely male audience that was receptive to a tale that put women at the root of all evil. One of the commonest types of explanation given in myths relates to ritual. Myths helped worshipers make sense of a religious practice by telling how the practice originated. A prime example is sacrifice, a ritual that involved killing a domesticated animal as an offering to the gods. The ceremony culminated in the butchering, cooking, and sharing of the meat of the victim. Hesiod recounts the myth associated with this rite. According to this myth, the tricky Titan Prometheus tried to outwit Zeus by offering him a cunningly devised choice of meals. Zeus could have either an apparently unappetizing dish—an ox paunch, which had tasty meat concealed within—or a seemingly delicious one, gleaming fat on the outside, which had nothing but bones hidden beneath. Zeus chose the second dish, and ever since human beings have kept the tastiest part of every sacrifice for themselves, leaving the gods nothing but the savor of the rising smoke. Exploration Myths charted paths through difficult territory, examining contradictions and ambiguities. For instance, Homer’s Iliad explores the consequences during the Trojan War of the Greek leader Agamemnon’s decision to deprive the warrior Achilles of his allotted prize, a female slave. Achilles feels that Agamemnon has assailed his honor or worth but wonders how far he should go in reaction. Is he right to refuse to fight, if that means the destruction of the Greek army? Is he justified in rejecting Agamemnon’s offer of compensation? One of this poem’s themes explores the limits of honor. Greek Mythology The dramatic genre of tragedy provides the clearest example of mythical exploration (see see Greek Literature; Drama and Dramatic Arts). The great Athenian playwrights of the 5th century BC— Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—wrote tragedies that explored social questions by placing them, in extreme and exaggerated form, in a mythical context. Sophocles’s tragic play Antigone concerns just such an extreme situation. Two brothers have killed each other in battle: Eteocles defending his homeland, and Polynices attacking it. Their sister Antigone, in defiance of an edict by the city’s ruler, attempts to bury her ostensibly traitorous brother Polynices. Sophocles raises several moral issues. Is Antigone justified in seeking to bury her brother? Which should prevail, a religious obligation to tend and bury a corpse, or a city’s well-being? The answers to these moral issues are far from clear-cut, as we might expect from a work whose subtlety and profundity have so often been admired. C D V A Legitimation Myths also had the function of legitimation. A claim, an action, or a relationship acquired extra authority if it had a precedent in myth. Aristocratic Greek families liked to trace their ancestry back to the heroes or gods of mythology. The Greek poet Pindar, who wrote in the early 5th century BC, offers ample evidence for this preference. In his songs Pindar praised the exploits of current victors in the Olympian Games by linking them with the deeds of their mythical ancestors. In addition, two Greek city-states could cement bonds between them by showing that they had an alliance in the mythological past. Entertainment Finally, myth telling was a source of enjoyment and entertainment. Homer’s epics contain several descriptions of audiences held spellbound by the songs of bards (poets), and recitations of Homer’s poems also captivated audiences. Public performances of tragic drama were also hugely popular, regularly drawing some 15,000 spectators. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Our knowledge of Greek mythology begins with the epic poems attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which date from about the 8th century BC even though the stories they relate probably have their origins in events that occurred several centuries earlier. Scholars, however, know that the origins of Greek mythology reach even farther back than that. Origins of Greek Mythology Linguists (people who study languages) have concluded that some names of Greek deities, including Zeus, can be traced back to gods worshiped by speakers of Proto-Indo-European, the common ancestor of the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit languages. But it would be misleading to regard the people who may have spoken this language as originators of Greek mythology because many other elements contributed. Greek Mythology Archaeologists have shown that many of the places where mythical events presumably took place correspond to sites that had historical importance during the Mycenaean period of Greek history (second half of the 2nd millennium BC). Scholars thus consider it likely that the Mycenaeans made a major contribution to the development of the stories, even if this contribution is hard to demonstrate in detail. Some scholars have argued that the Minoan civilization of Crete also had a formative influence on Greek myths. The myth of the Minotaur confined in a labyrinth in the palace of King Minos, for example, might be a memory of historical bull-worship in the labyrinthine palace at Knossos on Crete. However, there is little evidence that Cretan religion survived in Greece. Nor have any ancient inscriptions confirmed that Minos ever existed outside of myth. Scholars can demonstrate influence on Greek mythology from the Middle East much more reliably than influence from Crete. Greek mythology owed much to cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, especially in the realm of cosmogony (origin of the universe) and theogony (origin of the gods). To take one example, a clear parallel exists in an early Middle Eastern myth for Greek poet Hesiod’s story about the castration of Uranus by his son Cronus and the subsequent overthrow of Cronus by his son Zeus. The Middle Eastern myth tells of the sky god Anu who was castrated by Kumarbi, father of the gods. The weather and storm god Teshub, in turn, displaced Anu. Scholars continue to bring to light more and more similarities between Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies. B Development of Greek Mythology Our knowledge of Greek myths comes from a mixture of written texts, sculpture, and decorated pottery. Scholars have reconstructed stories that circulated orally by inference and guesswork. Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, stand at the beginning of Greek literary tradition (see Greek literature), even though they almost certainly depended on a lengthy previous tradition of oral poetry. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War; it focuses on the consequences of a quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, two of the leading Greek warriors. The Odyssey is about the aftermath of the Trojan War, when the Greek hero Odysseus at last returns to his home on the island of Ithaca following years of wandering in wild and magical lands. The Trojan War later provided subject matter for many tragic dramas and for imagery on countless painted vases. Hesiod’s Theogony, composed in the 8th century BC at about the same time as the Homeric epics, gave an authoritative account of how things began. The creation of the world, described by Hesiod in terms of passions and crimes of the gods, is a theme that later Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Plato developed but took in new directions. This connection serves as a reminder that mythology was not a separate aspect of Greek culture, but one that interacted with many other fields of experience, particularly the writing of history. For example, in the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus employed numerous themes and story patterns from Greek epics and tragedies in writing his historical account of the war between Greeks and Persians (see Persian Wars). Although the authority of Homer and Hesiod remained dominant, the poetic retelling of myths continued throughout antiquity. Myths were constantly remade in the light of new social and political circumstances. The Hellenistic period of Greek history (4th century to 1st century BC) saw many new trends in the treatment of myths. One of the most important was the development of mythography, Greek Mythology the compilation and organization of myths on the basis of particular themes (for example, myths about metamorphosis). Such organization corresponded to a wish of newly established Hellenistic rulers to lend legitimacy to their regimes by claiming that they continued a cultural tradition reaching back into a great past. Artists, too, portrayed myths. Statues of gods stood inside Greek temples, and relief sculptures of scenes from mythology adorned pediments and friezes on the outside of these temples (see Greek Art and Architecture). Among the best-known examples are the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens. These reliefs include depictions of combat between centaurs and Lapiths. Other visual representations of mythology were more modest in size and scope. The best evidence for the use of mythology in Greek painting comes from painted ceramic vases. The Greeks used these vases in a variety of contexts, from cookery to funerary ritual to athletic games. (Vases filled with oil were awarded as prizes in games. ) In most cases scholars can securely identify the imagery on Greek vases as mythological, but sometimes they have no way of telling whether the artist intended an allusion to mythology because myth became fused with everyday life. For example, does a representation of a woman weaving signify Penelope, wife of Odysseus who spent her days at a loom, or does it portray someone engaged in an everyday activity? The Greeks retold myths orally, as well as preserving them in literary and artistic works. The Greeks transmitted to children tales of monsters and myths of gods and heroes. Old men gathered to exchange tales in leschai (clubs or conversation places). Storytelling, whether in writing, art, or speech, was at the heart of Greek civilization. VI A THE LEGACY OF GR.

Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction

Course: Research Methodology (BT21603) Lecturer: Dr. Zakariya Belkhamza Name of Members| Matrix Numbers| Signatures| Rachael Ubu| BB11110489| | Nurul Hidayah Binti Ariff| BB11110460| | Annie Thien Li Len| BB11110055| | Nicole Chow Soo Yee| BB11110372| | Surianti Binti Abidin| BB11110579| | Khuzaimah Binti Mohd Nurung| BB11110242| | Jazmiah Jamaluddin| BB11110209| | Mazlinah Binti Majid| BB11110310| | Siti Munirah Bte Abd Malik| BB11160816| | Wang Qin| BB11170684| | 1. 0 Research Topic Factors that affect customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. 2. 0 Research BackgroundThe English word â€Å"hotel† derives from the French word hotel (coming from hote meaning host). It refers to a townhouse which is any building that is frequented by seeing visitors. A hotel is an establishment which provides lodging for a paid short term basis. Kotler (1996) defined customer satisfaction as â€Å"the level of a person’s felt state resulting from comparing a product’s perceive d performance or outcome in violation to his/her own expectations. † The importance of this study is to gain knowledge on customer satisfaction and the problems resulting in lack of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry.According to Alex Hisaka (2011), the importance of customer satisfaction can have an impact on your business and if you don’t start paying attention you’ll lose an opportunity to make a customer happy. Customer satisfaction with hotel properties has been identified as one of the factors leading to the success of a tourist destination (Shih, 1986; Yau and Chan, 1990; Stevens, 1992; Mok et al. , 1995). Research into customer satisfaction in the service industry has increased dramatically in recent years (Peterson and Wilson, 1992). Customer satisfaction has long been an rea of interest in academic research. Hunt (1975) considers satisfaction an evaluation on which the customer have experienced with the services is at least as good as it suppos ed to be. For demographic characteristic, nearly 46 percent of the respondents had stay at Medium- Tariff hotels, 42 percent at High-Tariff â€Å"B† hotels and 12 percent at High-Tariff â€Å"A† hotels. The finding clearly demonstrates that the services encounter or customer-employee interaction is a major determinant affecting travels’ perceptions in relation to service quality, resulting in their likelihood of returning to the same hotel. . 0 Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction * Service Quality * Room Quality * Service Quality * Room Quality Research Framework 4. 1 Research Problem Hotel industries nowadays are facing one of the most important challenge is to provide and maintain customer satisfaction. Kandampully (2000) Service quality has become a factor important in the overall tourism experience and one which ultimately dictates the success of the tourism business. According to Lewis and Booms (1982), service quality is measure of how well the ser vice delivered matches customer’s expectations.A part from that, room qualities also becomes a factor that can influence customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. Room qualities are important considerations for travel in-lodging selection. It includes cleanliness of room, comfort of bed, and quality of in-room temperature control and quietness of room. (Knutson, 1988; Barsky and Labagh, 1992; McClearly and Weaver, 1992; Gilbert and Morris, 1995; Heung et al. , 1996). Positive relationship can make a higher commitment of customers and increase their rate of return.Long term relationship between customers and hotel is becoming more important as the positive correlation between overall satisfaction levels of visitors and their abilty to return to the same hotel. Since most previous research found out that most study on customer satisfaction in hotel industry focused in Hong Kong, United States and other European countries, where there’s a lack of Malaysian study focusi ng in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Therefore, this research will focus on customer satisfaction in hotel industry in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. 4. 0 Research Objective 1.To investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction 2. To investigate the relationship between room quality and customer satisfaction References 1. Choi T. C and Chu. R, 2001, determinant of hotel guests’ satisfaction and repeat patronage in the Hong Kong hotels history. 2. K. s. (kayne) Chan, 1998, journal of hospitality and tourism research. Tutorial 1 Research Methodology 1) What research is all about? 2) Describe the characteristic of scientific method (What is scientific research? ) 3) What is problem statement? How to write a problem statement Answers 1.Research is about doing or making a study in a specific area of interest. According to Saunders, research is defined as something that people undertake in order to find things out in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge. 2. Scientific research is the development of a theory that is then tested through a series of propositions. The characteristics of scientific research are that firstly, we would have to create a hypothesis about the relationship between two variables. Second characteristic is that by using the hypothesis, we would have to test it through a series of propositions.Thirdly, we would have to examine the logic of the hypothesis by comparing them with existing hypothesis relating to our hypothesis. Fourth, we would have to collect appropriate data to measure the variables. Fifth, if the results of the analysis are not consistent with the problems, the hypothesis is rejected and the theory is false. Lastly, if the results are consistent then the theory is true. 3. Problem statement is analyzing the problems related to the hypothesis. By asking the correct problem statements, we can ensure that we can relate the problems to the hypothesis. Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction Course: Research Methodology (BT21603) Lecturer: Dr. Zakariya Belkhamza Name of Members| Matrix Numbers| Signatures| Rachael Ubu| BB11110489| | Nurul Hidayah Binti Ariff| BB11110460| | Annie Thien Li Len| BB11110055| | Nicole Chow Soo Yee| BB11110372| | Surianti Binti Abidin| BB11110579| | Khuzaimah Binti Mohd Nurung| BB11110242| | Jazmiah Jamaluddin| BB11110209| | Mazlinah Binti Majid| BB11110310| | Siti Munirah Bte Abd Malik| BB11160816| | Wang Qin| BB11170684| | 1. 0 Research Topic Factors that affect customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. 2. 0 Research BackgroundThe English word â€Å"hotel† derives from the French word hotel (coming from hote meaning host). It refers to a townhouse which is any building that is frequented by seeing visitors. A hotel is an establishment which provides lodging for a paid short term basis. Kotler (1996) defined customer satisfaction as â€Å"the level of a person’s felt state resulting from comparing a product’s perceive d performance or outcome in violation to his/her own expectations. † The importance of this study is to gain knowledge on customer satisfaction and the problems resulting in lack of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry.According to Alex Hisaka (2011), the importance of customer satisfaction can have an impact on your business and if you don’t start paying attention you’ll lose an opportunity to make a customer happy. Customer satisfaction with hotel properties has been identified as one of the factors leading to the success of a tourist destination (Shih, 1986; Yau and Chan, 1990; Stevens, 1992; Mok et al. , 1995). Research into customer satisfaction in the service industry has increased dramatically in recent years (Peterson and Wilson, 1992). Customer satisfaction has long been an rea of interest in academic research. Hunt (1975) considers satisfaction an evaluation on which the customer have experienced with the services is at least as good as it suppos ed to be. For demographic characteristic, nearly 46 percent of the respondents had stay at Medium- Tariff hotels, 42 percent at High-Tariff â€Å"B† hotels and 12 percent at High-Tariff â€Å"A† hotels. The finding clearly demonstrates that the services encounter or customer-employee interaction is a major determinant affecting travels’ perceptions in relation to service quality, resulting in their likelihood of returning to the same hotel. . 0 Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction * Service Quality * Room Quality * Service Quality * Room Quality Research Framework 4. 1 Research Problem Hotel industries nowadays are facing one of the most important challenge is to provide and maintain customer satisfaction. Kandampully (2000) Service quality has become a factor important in the overall tourism experience and one which ultimately dictates the success of the tourism business. According to Lewis and Booms (1982), service quality is measure of how well the ser vice delivered matches customer’s expectations.A part from that, room qualities also becomes a factor that can influence customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. Room qualities are important considerations for travel in-lodging selection. It includes cleanliness of room, comfort of bed, and quality of in-room temperature control and quietness of room. (Knutson, 1988; Barsky and Labagh, 1992; McClearly and Weaver, 1992; Gilbert and Morris, 1995; Heung et al. , 1996). Positive relationship can make a higher commitment of customers and increase their rate of return.Long term relationship between customers and hotel is becoming more important as the positive correlation between overall satisfaction levels of visitors and their abilty to return to the same hotel. Since most previous research found out that most study on customer satisfaction in hotel industry focused in Hong Kong, United States and other European countries, where there’s a lack of Malaysian study focusi ng in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Therefore, this research will focus on customer satisfaction in hotel industry in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. 4. 0 Research Objective 1.To investigate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction 2. To investigate the relationship between room quality and customer satisfaction References 1. Choi T. C and Chu. R, 2001, determinant of hotel guests’ satisfaction and repeat patronage in the Hong Kong hotels history. 2. K. s. (kayne) Chan, 1998, journal of hospitality and tourism research. Tutorial 1 Research Methodology 1) What research is all about? 2) Describe the characteristic of scientific method (What is scientific research? ) 3) What is problem statement? How to write a problem statement Answers 1.Research is about doing or making a study in a specific area of interest. According to Saunders, research is defined as something that people undertake in order to find things out in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge. 2. Scientific research is the development of a theory that is then tested through a series of propositions. The characteristics of scientific research are that firstly, we would have to create a hypothesis about the relationship between two variables. Second characteristic is that by using the hypothesis, we would have to test it through a series of propositions.Thirdly, we would have to examine the logic of the hypothesis by comparing them with existing hypothesis relating to our hypothesis. Fourth, we would have to collect appropriate data to measure the variables. Fifth, if the results of the analysis are not consistent with the problems, the hypothesis is rejected and the theory is false. Lastly, if the results are consistent then the theory is true. 3. Problem statement is analyzing the problems related to the hypothesis. By asking the correct problem statements, we can ensure that we can relate the problems to the hypothesis.