Plato And Aristotle Essays (2179 words) - Ancient Greek Philosophers

Plato And Aristotle Plato, a Greek philosopher was among the most important and creative thinkers of the ancient world. He was born in Athens in 428 BC to an aristocratic and well-off family. Even as a young child Plato was familiar with political life because he's father, Ariston was the last king of Athens. Ariston died when Plato was a young boy. However, the excessive Athenian political life, which was under the oligarchical rule of the Thirty Tyrants and the restored democracy, seem to have forced him to give up any ambitions of political life. In 388 BC he journeyed to Italy and Sicily, where he became the friend of Dionysius the ruler of Syracuse, and his brother-in-law Dion. The following year he returned to Athens, where he devoted his time to research and instruction in philosophy and the sciences. Most of his life thereafter was spent in teaching and guiding these activities. In 347 BC Plato died, while he's published writings all still live. They consist of some 26 dramatic dialogues on phil osophy and related themes. The philosopher Socrates was a close friend of Plato's family as well as his teacher. Plato's writings attest to great influence on him. This could be a good explanation to why Plato uses Socrates to voice his own opinions about his Ideal State. Book I of Plato's Republic, beings with Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus discussing justice. Each give their own meaning of justice or dikaiosyne. Cephalus says justice is truth telling and debt paying. He views justice this way because he is an honest and just businessman. Polemarchus, who is Cephalus's son, agrees with Cephalus's definition, but continues by saying justice, is giving each his own due. By this he means, helping one's friend. Finally, Thrasymachus, who is a sophist, defines justice as the advantage of the stronger. Justice is not to the advantage of everyone but to the advantage of the rulers. Socrates proves that justice brings unity to any group of people, because it allows them to trust and rely on one another. The discussion of justice is continued in the beginning of Book II. Glaucon enters the conversation and he divides all things into three categories: 1) Those that are pleasurable for themselves and their results, 2) Those that bring good results, but with difficulty, and 3) Those that bring no results, but are pleasurable. Glacon then asks Socrates which category justice falls within. He replies by placing it in the first category. ?I myself put it among the finest goods, as something to be valued by anyone who is going to be blessed with happiness, both because of itself and what it comes from? (Republic, Book II 358a). Glaucon claims that the general view of justice lies in the second category, the mean between two extremes. Glaucon defends his argument by using the example of the ?Ring of Gyes,? a magical ring that turns its wearer invisible. He continues to argue that if humans were given the opportunity to be unjust without getting caught or without suffering any punishment or l oss of good reputation, they would naturally choose a life of injustice, in order to maximize their own interests. Now the issue at hand is to prove whether it is more beneficial to lead a just or unjust life. In an attempt to provide a satisfactory definition of justice, Socrates tries to make an analogy between the justice of an individual human being and of an entire society or city. He then begins to build and imaginary city. Socrates defines the basic city as the Health City opposed to a Feverish City. Socrates states that the fundamental needs of human beings in the society are food, shelter, and necessary clothing and things needed for production. However, Socrates is aware that the people of this city will want more then just the bare necessities. He continues to build this political correct city by manipulating a number of different things such as; adding a specialized class of soldiers, adding guardians, controlling any false information (censoring), creating men and women equal, and balancing their education between philosophy and physical training. Finally, Socrates just city is built. Now that Socrates has built his just city

Violation of U.S. Soldiers in South Korea essays

Violation of U.S. Soldiers in South Korea essays Last week, media reports announced that the Chinese army is facing a new problem. They are not being defeated by a foreign invasion or struggling against advanced military weapons. The army of the world's largest nation is becoming weak from too much studying. China's People's Liberation Army recently made up a new physical exam to test new recruits. Xinhua news agency reported that out of 20 young college graduates, only 3 passed the physical check-up. Most of the other students failed because of poor eyesight or health problems due to weight. All over the country, there are reports of growing rates of obesity in young people. Near-sightedness is also more common than ever before. Why the sudden rise in unhealthy young people? It's mostly because of too much time spent studying. Starting from elementary school up until college, Chinese students study all day and night. They don't have time for physical exercise. Does this sound familiar? Yes, Korean students seem to be following the same sad trend. Ten ~ fifteen years ago it was not common to see very overweight girls and boys in Korea. Now, anywhere you go, you notice kids struggling with weight problems. It's not hard to see what the problem is. Kids are sitting at desks all day. They eat junk food late at night just to stay awake. There isn't enough space or time to play outside. So, when they're not stressing and studying, teens entertain themselves with their computers. This not only results in unhealthy bodies, but poor eyesight. Sometimes it seems like more kids in the nation wear eyeglasses than not. For boys that must later do military service, being out-of-shape can often be traumatic. It is extremely difficult to suddenly go through hard exercise and training, if all you've ever done is eat, study, and sleep. The world is working on finding a balance between nations to avoid war. Korean leaders are trying to maintain independent political strength, while keeping friendly...

FOOD TAXES Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

FOOD TAXES - Research Paper Example In addition, those states which charge sales tax on food such as Arkansas and Utah subject food sales to local taxes. This leads to differences in the rates of taxes charged from one city to the other within the same state. Although some states do not charge tax on food, there are certain food items or products that are taxable. Each state has provided a list of these non-exempt products. For example, in Iowa, product such as chewing gum, dietary supplements and pet foods and supplies are subject to tax2. Currently, there is debate on whether or not states should start to charge ‘fat tax’. Many have argued that there is need to charge high tax on unhealthy products in order to reduce the occurrence of diseases like obesity and heart diseases. For example, in an article by Lara Salahi and Samantha Meaney (2012), the authors argue that adding tax on unhealthy foods and drinks will help reduce the cases of obesity and other diseases3. For instance, they argue that a tax rate of about 20 per cent in sugar-sweetened drinks could help reduce obesity cases by 3.5 per cent and also help to prevent close to 3000 heart-related

America's Involvement in WWI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

America's Involvement in WWI - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, WWI became a focal point in American history because it gave an opportunity for America to assert its dominance as a foreign power and give rise to social reforms. America entered WWI for array of reasons. First and foremost, Americans wanted to abandon the policy of isolationism. The domestic issues that plagued American enticed Americans to take as a lead as a huge superpower. Secondly, the sinking of Lusitania was a huge focal point as it carried American soldiers and ammunition. It is crucial to understand that even prior to entering the war, the US was supplying aid to allies. Although it called itself neutral, it clearly was not. The icing was "discovery" of the Zimmerman Telegram, which threatened the USA> At this point, Germany’s conquest of winning the war was too easy to ignore. Thirdly, it was evident that the U.S. had huge economic investments with the British and French. If the Germans continued to impose their will, then they would not be able to pay the U.S. debt back. Another huge reason was the political scheme for the leaders of the US. It was clear that Woodrow Wilson did not want to go to war but also did not want to lose to his counterpart- Teddy Roosevelt. As usual, Roosevelt has been aggressive with the war of Spanish-American war and had no problem for Americans to enter a political issue that needed leadership. When Teddy Roosevelt decided to run for another term, Wilson felt that it was best for him to also enter the country into this war (Micahels 40). Hence, President Wilson wanted to make the world safe for democracy Without a doubt, WWI was turning point in American history because it gave an opportunity to America to display its awesome power. World War was a war that was indisputably fueled by American propaganda by portraying the Axis power as supreme evil. Unmistakably, this was heavy task since so many European descents resided in America. Europe’s condition at this point

HIV AIDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 40-70 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HIV AIDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 40-70 - Essay Example y is designed to illustrate statistics on this often-underlooked population demographic to determine whether the 40-70 female maintains high prevalence of HIV and AIDS. It further looks to identify whether any social programs exist which impact this particular group and discusses the potential toll HIV and AIDS can take on their lives. AIDS is cited as the third largest cause of death in African American women between the ages of 35 and 44, with the disease being the fourth leading cause of death in the 45-54 year old African American female group (CDC, 2008). Combined, this is a significant cause for alarm. In the pursuit of identifying appropriate research for older African American women ages 55 and beyond, no statistical diagrams or charts which highlighted studies could be located. The aforementioned clearly illustrates that more research into the 40-70 African American population should be identified. For instance, contemporary research studies tend to show a pattern of behaviors which, when charted, can be predicted which give insight into what drives the behaviors socially. Once you have painted a construct of how people interact in these different, segregated social groups, it makes the process of identifying methods to assist these women more difficult as it provides no personality, socio-cultural template by which to relate to the struggling women. As 64 percent of all people in the United States who have HIV and AIDS are African Americans, understanding how infection rates occur and the overall sexual practices of the 40-70 group could provide the necessary tools to break down social barriers in terms of treatment options. Sadly, however, it does not appear that there are adequate social programs in place to assist women of this age group who might be battling with HIV and/or AIDS. However, there are several which are designed to offer clinical research information and a sense of community. One of which is the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF)

Definition Of Fact Finding Techniques Information Technology Essay

Definition Of Fact Finding Techniques Information Technology Essay Introduction Requirement analysis can be said to identify investigation, documenting and analysing requirements of the system. The first investigation step of the need of a system is a major activity of problem analysis. This is the role of a system analyst to determine the actual requirement of a system. Sometimes, system analyst may make mistake in discovering the requirements and in trying to analyse a problem. As a result, they may come up with the wrong solution in designing and implementation of a solution. And the solution will not be able to solve the real problem and even cause a new problem in later system analysis process. Therefore, this paper looks at one of the effective methods (fact-finding) for system analyst to help them in gathering information. Definition of Fact-finding Techniques Fact finding is process of collection of data and information based on techniques which contain sampling of existing documents, research, observation, questionnaires, interviews, prototyping and joint requirements planning. System analyst uses suitable fact-finding techniques to develop and implement the current existing system. Collecting required facts are very important to apply tools in System Development Life Cycle because tools cannot be used efficiently and effectively without proper extracting from facts. Fact-finding techniques are used in the early stage of System Development Life Cycle including system analysis phase, design and post implementation review. Facts included in any information system can be tested based on three steps: data- facts used to create useful information, process- functions to perform the objectives and interface- designs to interact with users. Fact-finding techniques There are seven common fact-finding techniques Sampling of existing documentation, forms and databases Research and Site visits Observation of the work environment Questionnaires Interviews Prototyping Joint requirements planning Sampling of existing documentation, forms and databases The best way to analyse the existing system is to collect facts from existing documentation rather than from human sources. There are various kinds of documents to collect facts from existing documents. These include: e-mails, customer complaints, suggestion box notes and reports that document the problem area problem performance reviews, samples of completed manual forms and reports and samples of completed computerized forms and reports various types of flowcharts and diagrams, program documentation and user training manuals System analyst uses sampling techniques in order to organize the above documentation. Sampling technique is the process of combing a representative sample of documents, form and records (Bentley, Whitten, 2007). According to these authors there are two commonly used sampling techniques namely randomization and stratification. Randomization is the process of selecting sample data randomly. Stratification is the systematic process to deduct the variance of sampling data. We can have better understanding of the system due to the analysis of existing documents, forms, files related to the current system. Research and Site visits Research and site visits, second technique, is the process of examining the problems which had previously solved by other sources that can be either human or documents. To solve the requirements of problem, the analyst visits to other organization that had previously experienced for similar problems. In addition, the analyst can also find the information from database, reference books, case studies and Internet. Advantages of Research and Site visits It can save the time if the problem is already solved. Researcher can know how different person previously solved the same problems. Researchers always know the details information about the current development system. Disadvantages of Research and Site visits Need authority to access the appropriate source of information. As documentation of problem is not recorded, there is difficult to solve the problem. Observation of the work environment Another fact finding technique is observation. In this technique, system analyst participates in the organization, studies the flow of documents, applies the existing system, and interacts with the users. Observation can be a useful technique when the system analyst have user point of view. Sampling technique called work sampling is useful for observation. By using this technique, system analyst can know how employees spend their days. Questionnaires Questionnaires are also one of useful fact-finding technique to collect information from large number of users. Users fill up the questions which are given by the system analyst and then give the answers back to the system analyst. Questionnaires can save time because system analyst does not need to interview each of users and if the time of interview is short, questionnaires are more useful. To fulfil the requirements of the system objective, system analyst should have the ability to clearly define the design and frame of questionnaires. There are two types of questionnaires: Free-format questionnaires In free-format questionnaires, users are allowed to answer questions freely without immediate response. The results are also useful in learning about feelings, opinions, and experiences of the respondents. Fixed-format questionnaires The purpose of fixed-format questionnaires is to gather information from predefined format of questions. Users are allowed to choose the result from the given answers. There are three types of fixed-format questions: multiple-choice questions (Yes or No type), rating questions (Strongly agree, Agree, No opinion, Disagree, Strongly disagree), ranking questions (numbering according to the preferences). Advantages of Questionnaires People can fill the forms and give answers freely to the analyst. This technique is inexpensive. Users are more willing to response real answer as they do not need to give their personal information. Responses can be calculated and analysed quickly. Disadvantages of Questionnaires Incomplete answers will be received from users. Analyst cannot observe the body language of user responses. Analyst has no chance to define vague or incomplete responses. Good questionnaires are difficult to prepare. Interviews Interview is the most commonly used technique to collect information from the face-to-face interviews. The purpose of interview is to find, verify, clarify facts, motivate end-users involved, identify requirements and gather ideas and opinions. The role of interview includes interviewer who is system analyst and interviewee who are system owner or user. Interviewing technique needs good communication skills for interaction between system analyst and user. There are two types of interviews. Unstructured interviews An interview that is conducted with only a general goal or subject in mind and with few, if any, specific questions (Bentley, Whitten, 2007). Open-ended questions type is used in unstructured interview that allows user to answer freely in an appropriate way. Structured interviews Structured interview is an interview which contains predefined set of questions. In structured interview, close-ended questions type is used to limit answers to specify choices, short and direct responses from the interviewees. Advantages of Interviews By motivating interviewees, they have confident to answer the questions more effectively. System analyst can examine the more feedbacks from the interviewees. System analyst can prepare questions for interviewees to be more suitable or change the questions for every individual. System analyst can know the nonverbal communications of interviewees by perceiving the body movements and facial expression. Disadvantages of Interviews Interviewing is time consuming and costly mechanism in fact-finding technique. Moreover, the communication skills of the system analyst affect the success of interview. Prototyping Another fact-finding technique is known as prototyping which collects the requirement facts of the system. Prototyping is sampling a small working model and it is more related to pre-design of the information system. The implementation of prototyping can be developed in earlier stage of system development life cycle when analyzing the facts. The process of prototyping facts in order to specify the userà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s requirements is also known as discovery prototyping. Advantages of Prototyping Users and developers are able to test and understand the system in advance before final implementation. It also can make and determine development of the system before applying high development costs in the information system. In addition, it is a kind of training mechanism. Prototyping require less time on fact-finding and it is useful in defining the constant and consistent requirements. Disadvantages of Prototyping Training of developers is a requirement in prototyping. Sometimes users can misunderstand the performance, reliability and features of prototype as real results. Therefore, users need to train to know that prototype only covers system functionality and it is not a complete system. Development cost and schedule may change in prototyping. Joint requirements planning JRP is the structured group work meeting to identify, analyze problems and define the requirements of system. JRP is becoming increasingly common in systems planning and systems analysis to obtain group consensus on problems, objectives and requirements (Bentley and Whitten; 2007). JRP can tabulate the facts efficiently in a short time and it can also replace in the place of numerous and separate interviews. JRP contains different participants with each specialized roles to perform structured meeting. JRP participants include sponsor, facilitator, users and managers, scribes and IT staff. Sponsor is an individual in top management, who has full authority to decide who will be participants, time and location of JRP session. The role of facilitator is to lead JRP session, motivate participants, solve conflicts and meet the requirements of meeting during the JRP session. Users in JRP session are responsible for rules and requirement of business, prototype, and satisfactory decisions. An d Managers are responsible for projects, schedules and costs and training requirements. Scribes job is to record everything discussed in the meeting. IT staff responsible for models and documentation concerning with facts during the discussion. Advantages of JRP JRP is formed different individuals with various roles and covers both in users and in management levels. JRP saves time to develop systems as it is not required one-on-one interviewing of each participant within the organization. When JRP incorporates prototyping as a means for confirming requirements and obtaining design approvals, the benefits of prototyping are realized (Bentley and Whitten; 2007). Disadvantages of JRP Extensive training is required for JRP as it is a group form. Active participation of all individuals will results the solution of JRP sessions. Using Questionnaires in Usage of Automated Teller Machine In our paper we applied Questionnaires technique for problems that are found in Usage of Automated Teller Machine. The following questionnaire is designed for usage of Bank Automatic Teller Machine. We planned two parts for our questionnaire: first part is collecting the demographic characteristics of users and second part is collecting the user feed backs according to our questions. Section A 1. Gender: Male Female 2. Age: 15-20 21-40 41-50 Above 3. Occupation: Student Civil Servant Business Others 4. Types of account: Savings Current Others Section B No. Questions for Usage of Automatic Teller Machine Yes No 1 Do you use Automatic Teller Machine for your banking Transaction? 2 Can you operate ATM with ease? 3 Did Automatic Teller Machine enable you perform transaction for 24 hours? 4 Can you access Automatic Teller Machine at any location? 5 Are you aware of settlement of utility bills through ATM? 6 Are you aware of making fund transfer through ATM? 7 Are you comfortable with ATM Usage for Banking Transaction? 8 Is Automatic Teller Machine transaction charges Affordable? 9 Is Automatic Teller Machine Network reliable? 10 Did your Automatic Teller Machine card ever get trap during Transaction? 11 Did ATM ever debit your account without issuing out physical cash? 12 Is your complaint attended to promptly? Conclusion In this paper we discussed about the seven fact-finding techniques based on studying our text book and some articles. During our assignment, we become to understand that if the system analyst knows details of fact-finding techniques, they can get knowledge of gathering the required information to develop the current system.

The Xerox Company Essay

They help many businesses to be able to function and communicate. Xerox is a family business. The CEO’s brother and husband both work for the company. However the fact that Xerox is a family business has in no way affected the CEO’s ability to make business or personal decisions. The company’s best interest is always her top priority. The ability to keep her personal and business life separate is a unique characteristic that all successful management staff posses. After watching the Xerox video and thinking about the characteristics for managerial decisions, made me have no envy for the CEO’s position. The typical characteristics of managerial decisions are lack of structure, uncertainty of risk, as well as conflict. In fact, the way the CEO obtained her position was full of uncertainty and I am sure there was conflict as well. The way the former CEO was forced out of office seemed to show a lack of structure with no contingency plan. There was a past scare of bankruptcy that may have future investors and employees questioning the structure of the company. The new CEO has made several positive moves for the company but is still forced to eliminate jobs to reduce costs. The CEO of Xerox is much like many other CEO’s of other large corporations, humble, down to earth and they value their company as well as their employees. They understand that each one of their decisions will affect the rest of the company and those who keep it running. Unfortunately as the CEO she was faced with having no other positive alterative to correcting the deficit other than eliminating positions. The CEO understood that to ensure the future of Xerox was protected that she must make changes immediately. She measured the risks and the consequences and felt that it was in the best interest of the company to merge. In the end Xerox was faced with a grim future and tough choices. The CEO showed her skills in the decision making process while remaining equal and ethical to all interested parties. We all learned that in a management roll, especially the role of a CEO is faced with nasty ugly decisions. Every choice that person makes can make or break another person’s life. Choices are not always easy nor do they always come with an immediate positive solution. This CEO was Xerox’s last chance to remain a successful company in the future. The company took a huge risk for a sinking company and it paid off!. Risk assessment at it’s finest.