The Declaration of Independence: A Closer Look Essay example -- essay

In What Did the Declaration Declare?, Joseph J. Ellis, an editor for history publications presents various historical perceptions on the analytical conception of this mythic text of American public life. The Declaration of Independence has enjoyed a long and useful career as an expression of "natural rights," providing Americans with an influential statement of their national doctrine. Thomas Jefferson had no reason to believe that he was writing a document that would become so revered throughout the ages. One may confirm the Declaration’s idealistic origins by examining Carl Becker’s enduring argument that the Declaration was an American product of the doctrines of John Locke. The Declaration was composed for a specific purpose. The members of the Continental Congress were more preoccupied with handling pressing military matters and meeting with delegates in the separate colonies, who were busy drafting and debating new state constitutions. This book by Elli s also provides a general, philosophical justification for revolution based on the colonist’s growing feeling of entitlement of Lockean rights. The colonists attitude about rights is illustrated in the statement â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed† (Ellis 15). These words, taken from the Declaration of Independence, are the most influential in our country’s political culture, even today. This document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. Today, it is read and analyzed constantly in not just America, but all over the world as well. Granted, it was based on gaining Independence from the British Crown’s rule, but its contents still holds true even today. It gives strength to the â€Å"underdog† in society to know even his government believes he is created equal. It puts fear into the soul of an y to-be tyrant, letting him know—we will not stand back and allow you to bully us. It also makes it quite clear that if the people do not find solace in the government, if they are bullied and persecuted consistently by this government, then they have the right to overthrow the oppressors and again, start ane... ...e colonists frustration with Britain; it was in actuality a â€Å"public confession of treason† which meant death and confiscation of estate for one found guilty (Ellis 104) at that time. If one really thinks about it, the men who signed the Declaration risked loosing the very rights stated in the document. The document stated that their creator had given life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They risked their lives, freedom and property to gain independence from the Crown and to have freedoms of their own. These freedoms included, freedom to run their own country as they saw fit, freedom to live life in the manner they chose, freedom to form their own laws and regulations, and many more. Men, who risked death for treason in writing it, wrote this Declaration, and because of them we all enjoy our freedom and ability to have choices. The document not only played a role in gaining independence from Great Britain, but it played a role in the abolition of slavery, in eq ual rights for African-Americans and women, and many more. We should all be proud of the Declaration. It is a document the United States formed on and its contents definitely hold true value even today more than ever.

Lessons in Pragmatism Essay

Having been a Para Educator since 1994, serving both Special Education as well as General education children, I have had countless opportunities to observe incredible teachers in action. In fact, one of my most vital responsibilities is to collect observational data on various special education students and their IEP goals. This allows the teacher to generate reports of student progress and to help in modifying goals and objectives as needed. It is unfortunate that the writing of this paper falls during the summer months making it impossible to conduct a formal observation of a specific lesson plan in real time. Therefore, the focus of this presentation shall be a lesson plan which was located in the database of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, an organization dedicated to providing enriching, meaningful mathematics curriculum while ensuring availability for all students. This particular lesson plan is a multi-dimensional lesson, or a better an investigation, written by Laurie St. Julien (2008) and printed in the publication Teaching Children Mathematics. It has been generated toward third graders as a means to â€Å"pose their own mathematical questions from real data† (St. Julien, 2008, pg. 506) Before performing any critique of a lesson plan, it is first helpful to identify the basic philosophies that provide its foundation. In a course structured around empowerment through group dynamics conducted by Brunson and Vogt (1996), the results correlated with the theology that â€Å"an empowering educational philosophy promotes trust, collaborative learning and tolerance for ambiguity†. (Brunson & Vogt, 1996, pg. 73) Pragmatism is a philosophy that centers not on the simple passing of knowledge from teacher to student, but around the teacher and student acting as co-learners in the educational process. Stallones, 2011) Pragmatic teachers believe that in order for children to flourish, they must be provided with opportunities to create their own knowledge through experience with the real world in a social context. This Pragmatic theology can be traced back to philosopher John Dewey (1859 – 1952). He saw education as the process of reconstructing knowledge through experiencing the real world; seeing Philosophy as a discipline that required constant change, paradoxically requiring the same reconstruction in education. Neubert, 2009) Following this school of thought, students are guided to generate their own questions, and to use scientific means to come to their own conclusions. This seems to go in tandem with the 7000 Pancakes lesson plan, centered on the theme of the incredible weekend output of the busiest International House of Pancakes in the country. This is quite pragmatic in that it clearly relates to a real world construct familiar to most children, as well as the fact that this particular pancake house just happens to sit next to Disneyland. The students have not been asked to arrive at a singular conclusion, but rather to hypothesize and test their theories, problem solve solutions to and adjust their assertions. This is done in a systematic way over more than one period. (St. Julien, 2008) They are also asked to generate and share their own small group generated questions, This allows for the development of scientific analysis and critical thought, particularly when coupled with the opportunity to scientifically attempt to answer each other’s questions through experience. In addition, Pragmatism favors the merger of various disciplines, in this case the blending of mathematics and science. The lesson plan includes an element that focuses on the eggs that are needed to create various numbers of pancakes in various time increments; however it also questions the properties of the egg and how they change when prepared differently embodying a scientific component to the lesson. This is accompanied by hands on demonstration of all of the aforementioned components, even culminating in a pancake breakfast! St. Julien, 2008) The real world connection in every aspect of this lesson, and the scaffolded guidance required by the teacher to implement it effectively, shows the true pragmatic nature of the lesson and its creator. The strengths of the lesson in question are numerous. The social requirements within the various groups and in the numerous opportunities for open discussion provided a psychosocial aspect to this lesson. These social skills are vital in every aspect of adult life, beyond the practicalities of mathematics. This is support by Siegel (1995) in her assertion that â€Å"learning is a social process in which learners actively construct their understandings†. (Smith, 1995, pg. 407) By using the real world construct of the familiar pancake house, and the visual aids that the lesson facilitates the students in developing a vested interest in investigating the questions that naturally arise through scientific analysis. The hypothesis and analysis process that resulted were well established and right on target for the inquisitive mind of a third grader. Allowing them to tactilely handle the different components of the pancakes allowed them to commit the information to memory in meaningful ways, allowing them to apply this new knowledge to other situations. The scientific component is also a major strength, however I believe yet another discipline could have been added to this lesson; I would also ask them to keep a scientific journal chronicling the experience as well as write a short reflective essay at the end to tie in the language aspect as well. To find any other fault with the lesson plan in question or to better it would prove to be extremely difficult.

Qualitative Scholarly Article Critique How Christian...

Qualitative Scholarly Article Critique Different types of research studies form the basis of evidence-based practice among many different aspects of health care. Qualitative research studies look at the most complex issues nurses face today and there is an emphasis on the need for more studies of this type. Critiquing qualitative research studies validate the study and provides a smooth transition incorporating the findings into clinical practice. Therefore, developing and maintaining the skills for critiquing research is a core nursing skill. However, many nurse professionals do not feel fully confident in critically appraising qualitative research studies. Nurses who are not comfortable with their skills in determining the quality of research studies, can spend ample amounts of time and challenges due to the language of research. The purpose of this paper is to systematically appraise a published research article, using the critiquing framework by Polit and Beck (2012). The paper chosen to be critiqued is a descriptive qualitative article that is titled â€Å"How Christian Nurses Converse With Patients About Spirituality† by Pfeiffer, Gober and Taylor (2014) published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. Title The title of this study was appropriate and correlated directly with the study. It described the key aspects of the research study and it conveyed the central topic (how Christian nurses converse with patients about spirituality). The title was less than 15 words, so the

Main Ideas In Story Of Odysseus - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1554 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/04/01 Category Literature Essay Level High school Topics: Odyssey Essay Did you like this example? â€Å"The need for control always comes from someone that has lost it,† Shannon L. Alder, author. The hunger for pride, status, and control is poison to a person. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Main Ideas In Story Of Odysseus" essay for you Create order Terrible events, people, and personal downfall originate from this poison, and our own actions and emotion are affected by it. We always hide our faults from the eyes of others to protect our pride and maintain control, and even try to convince ourselves that we are perfect. The Odyssey by Homer is an epic poem that describes our need for recognition and power, and how we treat people through the story of Odysseus. Because Odysseus changes from a prideful, controlling man to a man who still has pride but also respect for others, we can see that we attempt to protect our pride and authority through trying to control the situation, which causes us to lose sight of important goals, but by loosening our grip and acknowledging and respecting those who are superior to us, we can accept our faults and maintain the important things in life. Because Odysseus is facing his fears of losing control of his life and dying a meaningless death in the ocean after leaving Calypso’s island, we see a change from a man with too much pride and a sense of control, to someone who is weak in the face of his greatest fear, which shows us that we protect our pride and authority through trying to control the situation, but we have to let go of some control and face our fears and transgressions, so that we can reach a less arrogant and more open mind. As Odysseus approaches his Abyss, â€Å"Odysseus’ knees shook and his spirit failed. In anguish he communed with his great heart: ‘Poor wretch that I am, what will become of me after all?’† (70) In the quote when the author describes the ‘great hearted’ Odysseus’ knees shaking, and his spirit failing, his flaws are open to us and himself. In that description, it seems as though Odysseus is unaware of how this will play out, which is obvious when the quote says â€Å"Poor wretch that I am, what will become of me after all?† because he is admitting to not being able to control his future and how he will be viewed, and that is something he cannot bear, the unknown. After his spirit had already failed, â€Å"As he spoke, a mountainous wave, advancing with awesome speed, crashed down upon him from above and whirled his raft around. The rudder was torn from his hands, and he himself was tossed off the raft†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (71) The emphasis on the ‘awesome speed’ and mountainous size of the wave is used to make Odysseus look insignificant and vulnerable, and when the wave ‘whirled his raft around’ we were able to feel the lack of control Odysseus felt. His most important moment of fear is, â€Å"The rudder was torn from his hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬  because a rudder is what steers or controls a boat, and when one is torn from his hands, it symbolizes him losing control over his own life, he can no longer steer it and that is what Odysseus must face and come to terms with. â€Å"Then he wound the veil round his waist, and with his arms outstretched plunged head long into the sea and boldly struck out.† (72) At first, Odysseus’s prideful and arrogant self dismisses her help even when he is in great peril, but once his plan of heading back to his raft fails Odysseus realizes Ino is his only hope for succeeding, â€Å"Then he wound the veil round his waist†¦Ã¢â‚¬  showing that he looked past his pride in order to succeed. â€Å"†¦with his arms outstretched plunged head long into the sea and boldly struck out.† This part of the quote shows an Odysseus with renewed energy entering the waters that had taken his control away moments before with more confidence, and he is basically winning back control from the waves by lending some control of his life to Ino and her veil. Odysseus show us through his change here of noticing the need to let some control go and facing his transgressions, that we protect our pride and authority through trying to control the situation, but we have to let go of some control and face our fears, so that we can reach a less arrogant and more open mind, and eventually succeed. Because Odysseus shows an understanding for the reasons why the Suitors paid for their transgressions while talking to Eurycleia, we see the complete change from an overly prideful and controlling man, to a man whom still has pride but knows how to let go of control and respect others to reach his goals, which shows the solution to our theme that even though we protect our pride and authority through attempting to control of the situation, we can keep sight of our goals and success by letting go of some control, understanding the power of those who are greater than you, and respecting your faults. Whilst escaping from the Cyclops, â€Å"†¦tell them eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (123) Odysseus tells off the Cyclops, even though his crew mate discouraged it and he knew it was not the best choice. This Odysseus brags about hurting and out smarting the Cyclops, â€Å"†¦Tell them your eye was put out by Odysseus†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Now at the time of th e atonement, Odysseus was a much different character. â€Å"Restrain yourself old woman, and gloat in silence. I’ll have no cries of triumph here. It is an impious thing to exult over the slain.† (298) This is the man who boasted all those who he had fallen to his sword and he had injured, now a man who tells others to ‘gloat in silence’. Silent is something he was never before about how great he was, and saying, â€Å"I’ll have no cries of triumph here, † is a symbol of how far he has come, because the Suitors were trash that he took out in order to restore his place, yet he still isn’t celebrating their demise. By using the word impious, Odysseus also makes the point of how it’s disrespectful to the gods to gloat over death, something the old Odysseus wouldn’t have cared about. Odysseus shows a new understanding of the consequences of transgressions and disrespect, â€Å"These men fell victims to the will of the gods and their own infamy. They paid respect to no one on Earth who came near them- good or bad. And now their transgressions have brought them to this ignominious death.† (298) In this quote Odysseus also gives strength and respect to the gods, by saying, â€Å"These men fell victim to the will of the gods† He’s saying that it wasn’t him that was able to take the Suitors, it was the gods. Odysseus also describes the Suitor’s maltreatment of people, no matter who they were, showing an understanding of one of their greatest transgressions, similar to his own. At, â€Å"And now their transgressions have brought them to this ignominious death,† Odysseus is saying that their transgressions, specifically not respecting their fellow man, is what brought them a disgraceful and pitiful death. Odysseus’ in depth views on the Suitor’s downfall, the gods, and their faults is a show of how he understands the consequences of those who are too insolent and disrespectful, which is a complete change from the overly conceited and controlling Odysseus to the more open minded and respectful man whom knows his goals, showing us t hat even though we attempt to protect our pride and authority through controlling our lives and those around us, we can keep sight of our goals and succeed by letting go of some control, understanding the power of those who are greater than you, and accepting your faults. The change Odysseus undergoes is from the arrogant, controlling, and disrespectful man to a man who respects those of a higher power, and is still prideful but less boastful, showing how protecting ourselves and pride from our faults through control does not benefit you, but releasing some control and accepting your faults can save you from losing sight of what is important. Our world is filled with distractions, most important is self appearance. Success and greatness is shown through how we present ourselves, and what we have accomplished. The world of social media allows us to bandage out faults and fears with a profile picture and a witty caption, substance is not needed to look great. We boast of the accomplishments we have made, and try to push each other down to parade a campaign of perfection. Odysseus’s journey and change brings about a lesson, in which your transgressions and pride can get the best of you, and controlling your actions and those around you leads to a loss of sight, the sight of the things you hold dear. We must tear apart this allusion of perfection, because it poisons our souls and our views, poisons the water we drink, making us forget the faults that we must remember in order to understand that control cannot make you look better, it only drives away the fear for a little while, but if you embrace your faults, fear will never envelope you again and you can succeed.

The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe - 1644 Words

Edgar Allan Poe was a prominent American writer whose writing reflected his tragic life. He began to sell short stories for profit after being forced to leave United States Military Academy for lack of financial support. Over the next decade, Poe published some of his best-known works, including The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), The Raven (1845), and The Cask of Amontillado (1846). It is in these stories that Poe established his unique dark writing style that often have the recurring theme of love and death, syncing with his own sorrow. Already faced poverty, Poe’s life descended even further when his young cousin-wife was found with tuberculosis, the disease that had already claimed Poe’s mother, brother, and foster mother. However,†¦show more content†¦Again, the narrator insisted that he is not crazy because his homicide was so carefully planned in which no madmen could have plotted. He secretly observed the old man’s sleep for a week straight, b ut felt frustrated when the old man would not open his eye at sleep, preventing the narrator from killing him, since the vulture eye is the only motivation for this murder. On the eight night, the narrator made noises that made the old man open his eyes. Watching the neighbor awake and frightened, the narrator understood and enjoyed old man’s terror. Subsequently he dragged the old man to the floor, pulled the heavy bed over him, and eventually dismembered the body under the bedroom floor. As he finished his job, three police showed up at the door. The narrator invited them into the house with an impeccable composure. Proud of his perfect murder, the narrator even sat the police at the crime scene, where the old man’s corpse still remained. The police suspected nothing; however, as the conversation continued, the narrator started to hear a terrible noise that gets louder and louder. These noises disrupted narrator’s confidence as he became more paranoid that the police are only here to mock him as they had already discovered his crime. Deranged by the sound, the narrator ultimately confessed his crime to the officers and begged them to tear up the planks, hoping it would stop â€Å"the beating of the (old man’s) hideous heart† The protagonist of this story is an

Explain Arisotles Virtue Ethics Free Essays

Dominance is a state of action as opposed to inaction and an individual must work hard in order to achieve it. To reach Dominance you must reason and be a thinker as this is unique to humans, it is the final cause for humanity as it is the most fulfilling position to be in. Reaching such a superior end goal requires hard work and effort: â€Å"man is a political and social animal† – the greatest good for a person is for them to actively participate in the politics of society and to interact with other humans, morality can only arise once these activities have been performed. We will write a custom essay sample on Explain Arisotles Virtue Ethics or any similar topic only for you Order Now A riotous life is an ongoing task and can only be achieved through practice and education. â€Å"Dominance is an end in itself’ and is merely pursued for its own virtues rather than as a means to an end. A virtue, for Aristotle, is a trait that contributes to a person functioning well as a human being such as bravery and generosity. A virtue is not doing one action on one given occasion such as giving to charity once and then never again, it is not ‘feeling virtuous as you are not brave if you feel brave and do not act upon it and it is also not a natural inclination as someone who has been born that way has not worked to become virtuous. Aristotle concludes that a virtue is a learned nature/tendency to reason and act in a certain way. We are each responsible for the choices that we make based on personal vice and virtue, how virtuous a person may be is entirely dependent on how they will intend to act in any given situation. The doctrine of the mean/the golden mean is a central concept in Aristotle virtue ethics. According to the doctrine of the mean, a virtue is a mean state between two extremes: one of excess and one of deficiency. To be virtuous, one virtue must connect with another. Virtues will only fully develop in a minority of people and the doctrine of the mean can be used to guide you; however you must be educated to use this. And so, an element of elitism can be seen here. For example: it is good to be courageous, however you can have too much or, even, too little courage. Aristotle did not explicitly declare what the midpoint was, and so it is clearly not of numerical value and so it must be more about acting at the right time. Although virtue ethics does not give you a clear answer to an ethical dilemma, it allows each individual to respond to each different situation they face. Aristotle believed that there were 4 different groups of people. There are vicious people who are those that do not attempt to be virtuous. There are incontinent people who face moral conflict but usually choose a vice. Continent people do the virtuous thing most of the time but still have to overcome a moral dilemma, and virtuous people enjoy doing good actions, and so they face no moral dilemmas in life. Choices are important as every human has an aim in life. Such aims are then split into either superior or subordinate aims and, according to Aristotle; the superior aim of an individual is Dominance as this is the final purpose of a human. In society, some people re hedonists and seek pleasure, some serve the community and seek honor (politicians) and some are philosophers and live in a state of contemplation. Aristotle believes philosophers to be the best as they possess the ability to exercise key intellectual virtues which allow them to steer themselves towards Dominance. Virtues are either moral or intellectual in which there are 5 intellectual virtues according to Aristotle: prudence/practical wisdom, intuitive intelligence, wisdom, scientific knowledge and craft/art. Of the 5 virtues, Aristotle considers practical wisdom to be the most important in Virtue Ethics as it imply describes moral behavior, and does not require people to do something different to what they already do. You may do a string of good actions, but unless you know the direction you are to go then you may end up on the wrong path. Since people act differently in every situation there are no inherently bad actions. Anyone who is virtuous should, theoretically, always make the correct decision. Aristotle Virtue Ethics is person rather than action based; it looks at the moral character of the person carrying out an action. Good character traits must be cultivated and developed in order for people to truly achieve Dominance. How to cite Explain Arisotles Virtue Ethics, Papers

Hanz De Fuko

Questions: 1. Explain why you were not aware of this brand.2. What marketing the company should adopt to make customers like you recognize the brand? Answers: Review the brand Hanz de Fukois an America based brand which was found in February, 2009. The company was started in San Fransiscos Mission District by its two founders namely, David Alfonso and Christopher Zent. The company provides a range of hair care product which includes, natural shampoo, conditioner, scheme cream, hybridized wax, sponge wax, Claymation and quicksand. This concept was created by taking inspiration from the fact that this specific industry has become profit oriented and corporate. They wanted to give their creativity and individuality a platform in this business to bring out the best. And hence they ended up creating this one of a kind hair products for men. The brand believes in the ideology original formulation for one of a kind individual. Along with hair product, the firm also provides, kits and travel pouches and steel combs. As the firm is based in USA, it provides faster delivery in the country but also supplies products all over the world. The company targets the young g eneration uber cool male population. In an industry which is essentially chemical based, they provide users the option to opt natural products as almost all the products are handmade and have natural contents (Brennan, 2012). As well as on the companys website they provide the information regarding the suitability of its various products for various kinds of hairs present in the world. 1. Explain why you were not aware of this brand. I was not aware of the brand because most of the awareness about the products and firms come from television commercials and billboards around the city. If these components are not included in the companys portfolio, there must be a presence of the products in maximum number of salons and retail store. But the companys product are available on selected stores and salons in USA only as well as the company is comparatively new, and have very little presence on social media, from where I try to find about most of the products. The usage by any style blogger is also not present for the products of this company. Plus I do not know any one of my friend or relative, who is using this companys product. 2. What marketing the company should adopt to make customers like you recognize the brand? The young generation is all about getting to know each other by being present on social media. The company should be actively present in all these medium. For example, they have a presence on Facebook but, the number of followers on the page is only 62,139 and on Instagram it has only 69300 followers. This indicates that the firm has not concentrated on social media marketing. By associating itself with the well-known bloggers, it can promote the use of these products. Therefore, it is recommended that the firm should focus more on social media and it should have a dedicated social marketing strategy. They can also make YouTube advertisements to attract customers (Kavaratzis, 2013). Also this firm should collaborate with maximum number of salons and retail stores to sell. Plus they should also roll out introductory offer to encourage people to try it once. They must also come into association with all the online stores to sell their product. References Braun, E., Kavaratzis, M., Zenker, S. (2013). My city-my brand: the different roles of residents in place branding.Journal of Place Management and Development,6(1), 18-28. Brennan, R., Croft, R. (2012). The use of social media in B2B marketing and branding: An exploratory study.Journal of Customer Behaviour,11(2), 101-115.