This paper explains the scientific method, the role of Rene Descartes in science and scientific information about the earthworm and then concludes with an elementary school project.
Abstract The paper commences by discussing, in detail and in a style that is easy to understand, the six steps of the scientific method. The next section of the paper presents Rene Descartes, mathematician and author of a text on physiology and psychology. Next, the author presents a detailed discussion of the earthworm. He designs an elementary education experiment project that uses the scientific method on earthworm segmentation. The author concludes that the earthworm is fascinating to watch as it moves and wiggles.
From the Paper "Rene Descartes was a believer in the scientific method. His works often disagreed with the Catholic churches. He had a commitment to the scientific method with a vast array of other subjects. Mathematics was his greatest interest. Descartes wrote a text on physiology and psychology. He said that emotion was finally the physiological base and argued that the control of the physical expression of emotions controlled the emotions "
Abstract The paper provides a history of the use of capital punishment and the rise of the movement for its abolishment. The paper then discusses whether the death penalty is a deterrent to crime and concludes that it is not. It then argues that the death penalty does not do justice to a crime. The paper also argues that the justice system is biased against non-whites and that there is a chance that an innocent person may be wrongfully accused and put to death, an irrevocable punishment.
From the Paper "There are few issues in society today that bring up more emotion and controversy than capital punishment. Throughout human history people have been executed for various forms of unlawful activity. The death penalty is still a widely practiced form of punishment throughout the world. Many liberal democracies have outlawed the custom, citing that it is a cruel and unusual punishment; however, one country notwithstanding remains aboard the figurative train ? the United States of America. I decisively believe state sponsored capital punishment is debauched. However there are numerous arguments opposing my viewpoint. What are some ethical and logical arguments of the advocates and adversaries of the ultimate vengeance?"
This paper examines the use of deadly force by law enforcement agents and concludes that law enforcement's recourse to deadly force where necessary should not be significantly reduced.
Abstract This paper evaluates both sides of the issue about the use of deadly force by law enforcement agents by using a formal logic format of two premises and a conclusion. This paper states that suing every cop who uses deadly force or disarming law enforcement altogether is not the answer to problems that attend the use of deadly force. The author concludes that there is compelling evidence that law enforcement organizations have been conscientious in recent years about developing an ethos of public protection and service and firearm safety. Annotated Bibliography.
From the Paper "Such attitudes and trends help explain why police personnel are increasingly at risk. Police are put in the position of continually second-guessing themselves in the matter of use of deadly force. This means that law-enforcement effectiveness can suffer, which can further erode public safety and make respect for the law an irrelevant social proposition."
Looks at many of the theories regarding intelligence and concludes with the argument that intelligence is influenced by hereditary and environmental factors.
4,150 words (approx. 16.6 pages), 17 sources, 2002, $ 151.95
Abstract This paper looks at the notion of intelligence as a hotly contested debate that continues today. Theorists have suggested widely different definitions: that intelligence is a purely inherited trait, that it is environmentally fostered, and that it is something in-between. This paper suggests that after examining the numerous studies performed in the field of psychology, it must be concluded that intelligence cannot be reduced to the sole product of either heredity or environment, and can in fact be attributed to an integration of both. One's intellectual potential is genetically determined; however, the extent to which that potential is realized depends on one's environment.
Abstract The question of who is responsible for the British Abdication crisis of 1936 is a complex one given that the events of that year involved many different actors who were often pursuing different agendas. In this analysis clearly there is some measure of responsibility to be carried by all of the players in the constitutional drama of that year. However, it must be acknowledged that one person, above all others, bears ultimate responsibility for the crisis. That person is Edward VIII; the monarch who chose private desires over public duties. This essay will argue that as the crisis was originally fostered by his heedless pursuit of his own desires, and concluded with a choice that was his alone to make, then clearly Edward VIII bears the lion's share of responsibility for the crisis.
This paper discusses issues around the death penalty and concludes that there is little suggestion that the debate surrounding the death penalty will ever be resolved.
Abstract The paper states that the difficulty with the debate over the death penalty often adds up to one in which people are arguing about a certain approach to an abstract ethical system and the experiential reality of those involved in and connected to a death-penalty case, which makes the entire issue suffused with an even more impressive and murky layer of complexity than if it were merely an issue of conflicting theories of jurisprudence. The paper points out that, in all of the issues surrounding the death penalty, it is strange how often the issue focuses on the rights of the killer and how infrequently the feelings and thoughts of the victim's family are considered in any real depth. The paper concludes that the United States has come to hold an increasingly unique stance in relation to the death penalty, as it is one of the few countries that practices capital punishment and, certainly, the one that practices it with the greatest frequency.
From the Paper "Indeed, some critics claim that they the argument that families witnessing the execution of death penalty subjects is in fact not beneficial in the least, and that, rather than helping to deal with the stress, it is just as likely to cause damaging psychological effects that may create long-term problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Indeed, one critic of this process conducted a study of 21 journalists who were allowed to witness a public execution in 1994 and discovered that it had severely damaging results on their psyches."
This paper discusses the main reason society does not agree on the issue and, after examining the main arguments for and against capital punishment, concludes in favor of it.
Abstract This paper explains that the primary reason there is so much disagreement between the two camps on the issue of capital punishment, with neither acknowledging the validity of the others arguments, is that many of the supporters of each camp have fundamentally differing stances--morally, ethnically and religiously. The author points out that capital punishment is by no means perfect and much reform within the judicial system is necessary to make it a truly just and positive deterrent force; nonetheless, it is a better alternative to life in prison because, already, our prison systems are extremely overtaxed. The paper concludes that, while some may argue that capital punishment dehumanizes the individual, the same can be said for life imprisonment.
From the Paper "As one study on death row inmates showed, the majority where themselves victims of "severe and sometimes bizarre abuse" (Currie 83). Further, many point to the cheapening affect capital punishment has on the value of life as well as the inhumanity of such a sentence. As far as costs are concerned, those who support life in prison, point out that the death penalty is actually the more expensive alternative when you take into account the process of appeals and the excessive length of time most convicts spend on death row. On top of this, some supporters of capital punishment tend to believe that the possibility of a death sentence may, in fact, make jurors less likely to convict an individual of murder and therefore let those guilty of such crimes go free. A far more frequently voiced concern, though, is the possibility of erroneously convicting and carrying out a death sentence on an innocent individual."
Tags: fundemental, validity, abuse, expensive, alternative
Abstract The paper discusses current views about serial killings, concluding that psychological theories are most pertinent. The paper defines serial killers, explains myths about them and offers examples of some serial killers (Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer & others). The paper also discusses the deviant or pathological processes found in serial killers.
From the Paper "Since ? the media accounts of savage and lurid serial killings and their perpetrators have generated exaggerated and distorted accounts of the extent of the threat posed by serial killers and the etiology of their crimes. Serial killers have diverse backgrounds and personal histories, however, most of them are extremely maladjusted to society and are the product of severe psychological trauma dating back to their troubled childhoods which largely account for their bizarre conduct."
Tags: serial, killers, a, sociological, and, pyschological, view
Abstract This paper explains that the central themes of Kiran Desai's novel "The Inheritance of Loss" include globalization, unbridled capitalism and economic disparity. The author points that Desai's exploration of these themes is unyielding, and her conclusions are dispiriting as she uncovers the gruesome truths about the lives of the people that the comfortable classes learn to ignore. The paper underscores that Desai's novel grapples with the issue of racial self-hatred and relates that story of the judge in the book is studded with humiliations, but the crux of the matter is his reaction to the daily degradations. The paper concludes that this novel, with its unyielding gaze on the intricacies of the relationships between occupier and occupied, educated and illiterate, westerner and colonized, and rich and poor, is a damning indictment of a system that has relentlessly crushed a large portion of the world's population.
From the Paper "While the judge's response to the humiliations and degradations that are the natural offspring of colonialism is one of racial self-hatred, his granddaughter's tutors, Lola and Noni, are the very embodiment of the laughable attempt to appropriate a foreign culture. The two tutors are far less menacing than the judge, and they contribute to the book's subtle humor. Desai introduces these two characters by making note of their cottage's name--Mon Ami. The very "French-ness" of that ludicrous name is surprising, and one is left to wonder what inspired the two aspiring socialites to use such a name for a cottage in the Himalayas."
Tags: capitalism resentment, racial self-hatred, daughters, dark skin
Abstract This paper discusses how Toni Morrison's "Beloved" offers sometimes confusing allegories stressing the power of the past over what may be bizarre events of the present and future. The paper also examines the ghost in the story, called "Beloved", and how the power of Beloved can be seen in how it forces attention to the past in those who need to exhume it and that whatever or whomever Beloved was, she had worked a kind of magic in evoking the deepest feelings of those with whom she insisted on living. The paper concludes that the surviving adults in the novel must make an effort to overcome their pasts, realizing they are past what harmed them, and transform themselves.
Outline:
124 Bluestone Road, Cincinnati
Beloved
From the Paper " At the beginning of Beloved, Morrison commented that Paul D had read of an incident in Cincinnati involving a slave woman who killed one of her children when her owner caught up with her, an example of the way in which Morrison added details in a matter of fact way that leaves the reader to knit together the story as he or she will. The manner in which characters arrive and leave is part of Morrison's able way of suggesting fluid time and how characters are often distracted by matters not of the immediate present. For instance, Sethe's son's, Howard and Buglar, ran away in 1873 after years of life with phenomena that made the household a misery. (Beloved 272) As for Paul D, upon his arrival he comes to terms with an obviously haunted house. "
Abstract Various governments and scientific institutions for over forty years have funded the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Continued public funding is currently under debate. This paper outlines the theoretical paradigm of SETI and current SETI research. It concludes by assessing the current state of the field and concludes that, while there is no evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence (ETI), there is also no evidence against it. Therefore, it concludes, SETI research is an incredibly important and legitimate field of scientific inquiry that must be funded and pursued.
This paper is a complete demographic life history analysis of a geographically local human population, to support the hypothesis that, due to medical advancements, mankind is living longer than compared with the 1930s.
Abstract This paper explains that, since a cohort analysis of human lifespan is impractical, a static analysis of human lifespan was performed using data collected from local graveyards and obituaries of persons who died from 1930 to 1939 and from 1990 to 2006. The author concludes that, when survivorship curves for each period were plotted against each other, the curve from 1990 to 2006 was greater for nearly every age group; therefore, it can be concluded that the demographic data show an increase in lifespan for both males and females from the 1930s to the present. The paper concludes that decreased mortality rates in the United States are due to advances in preventative medicine, more advanced and targeted treatments of disease, lower incidence of disease due to vaccination and better education. Graphs.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion and Conclusion
From the Paper "Once over 1366 data points were collected and checked for duplicate data, it was put into Microsoft Excel and the age of each individual was calculated using the formula year of death minus year of birth. The data was then separated into two groups based on the date of death and this was plotted into various graphs to better analyze the results. Two static life tables were constructed, using this data, which contained survivorship (lx), mortality rate (mx), and survival rate (sx) of all the individuals in each group and then another four tables were made by separating male and female data points in each group. Survivorship intervals were spaced from 0 to 0.99 years of age, 1 to 9.99 years, 10 to 19.99 years, and so on until 100 years of age."
Abstract The paper analyzes the journey of Odysseus from the classical Greek work, "The Odyssey". The writer concludes that this story shows people today that obstacles can be overcome and that they should not give up hope without making an effort first. The paper analyzes the journey of Aeneas from the epic Roman work "Aeneid". The writer concludes that Aeneas is portrayed as a man of honor, respect and courage, similar to Odysseus. The paper analyzes the journey of the soul in "The Upanishads". The writer concludes that this journey is reflected in the Indian society, which believes in a more spiritual world and sees the world we live in as an illusion. Table of Contents: "The Odyssey" Introduction Role of the Traveler Observations Values and Beliefs "Aeneid" Introduction Role of the Traveler Observations Values and Beliefs "The Upanishads" Introduction Role of the Traveler Observations Values and Beliefs References
From the Paper "While he struggled for twenty long years in order to fight, face the storms and deal with the anger of gods, he recognizes that he has some marvelous qualities that make him distinctive from other normal people. He also proved himself as a warrior and a courageous man in the Trojan War. He led the whole battle and kept the operations of his army under control so that they can move towards success. He performed as a great fighter as well as a smart decision maker. When his warriors kept trying to invade troy for more than a decade and didn't succeed, he used his wisdom and planned to invade the city through a tricky strategy of using a wooden horse. This smart decision led to the success of his people over the Trojans. He not only himself exhibited these warrior virtues during his journey to Ithaca but also observed that his loyal fellows possess qualities like honor, bravery and faithfulness. Moreover, he also discovered some other hidden aspects of human motivation and emotion. Finally, by the end of his journey, he realized the meaning of human suffering and pain. He discovered as to why human beings experience pain and grief. In addition to this, he also realized that humans are enslaved to the whims of God."
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses the belief that the adoption of new media seems to involve a shifting or blurring of the boundaries of public and private. The writer looks at the idea that rather than a blurring of lines occurring between these two sectors, there is evidence to show that what was once private is becoming public and what was once public is transforming itself to the private realm. Therefore, a shift rather than a blurring appears to be taking place in our society. This paper explores these notions. The writer maintains that there is much evidence to conclude that the line between public and private spaces is blurring, but there is also as much evidence to show that it is simply shifting. The writer concludes that as attitudes and culture within a society change, so too does the way in which we entertain ourselves, interact with each other and participate in various activities. Many factors go to influence such changes, but as can be concluded from this paper, a significant factor is new media and technology.
From the Paper "Communication over the Internet can be done in various ways, but probably the most influential to society are blogs (an individual's commentary on the world, oneself or a specific aspect of life - sometimes all of the above) and personal websites. An example displaying the convenience of blogs can be seen when a girl, for instance, goes overseas for a month. Before the Internet she would either have to call each of her family members or send each of them a letter telling them of her experience. Now with such things as blogs, this same girl can construct a page with daily updates on what she is doing, where she is and how she feels which everyone she knows can read. She can also display pictures and on some blog sites, sound and movie files. Her family and friends can each make a comment after each of her postings and she can in return address those comments in her next post and also share new information. What is interesting to note, is that most blog sites can be viewed by anyone. What once used to be a very private form of communication has now become a conversation between family and friends undertaken in a very public space. A new public space created by the Internet. To further stress this idea, comments do not necessarily have to be made by family and friends."
Abstract An in-depth look at Plato's "Euthyphro" and the type of communication that exists.The author reveals the ideas about piety and argues that many lessons are taught in a way that is not necessarily dialectic and are rather left for the reader to conclude.
From the paper:
"Plato, in Euthyphro, both understood and utilized this concept in crafting dialogue. In Euthyphro, Euthyphro, a theologian, explicitly defines piety four times. Socrates disproves him each time and adjures him to provide a superior definition. Yet Euthyphro eventually tires of discourse and exits still proud of his knowledge even after retreating from every definitional position. With a cursory read, the reader is left to conclude that Euthyphro is ignorant of piety. However, Plato's pedagogical intent was not to indict a historical figure. Rather, Socrates, though refuting Euthyphro's statements, leaves other potential responses untouched. In turning to this unassailed domain of ideas, a clear theme emerges: Plato intentionally leaves thoughts implicit for the student's benefit."
