Albert Einstein :: essays research papers

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Further to this, his parents initially believed him to be somewhat backward as he was late in starting to talk. Einstein was noted for saying that he waited until he could speak in complete sentences before he would say a word. He entered school at the age of six and to his parents surprise, he did very well. Albert did not mix well with other students, often preferring to play his own private games or reading books; he never liked school. At the age of 12 he was given a book on geometry, from that point on he taught himself anything he wanted to learn. "In 1905 Einstein received his doctorate from the University of Zurich for a theoretical dissertation on the Dimensions of Molecules, and he also published three theoretical papers important to the development of 20th century physics." (http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/introPhy/Famous/ei†¦n/einstein.html) The first of these, on Brownian Motion, made significant predictions about the motion of particles that are randomly distributed in a fluid. This theory was later proven by experiment. The second paper, on the Photoelectric Effect, presented a hypothesis on the Nature of light. He not only proposed that under certain circumstances light can be considered as consisting of particles, but also stated that the energy carried by a photon is proportional to the frequency of the radiation. No one accepted this theory, even Robert Millikan was overwhelmed when Einstein prove this theory to be correct. "In 1915 Einstein published his third paper on the General theory of Relativity, his theory of Gravity."(http://www.humboldt.com/~gralsto/einstein/einstein.html) In this theory Einstein made his statement on equivalence, in which it’s impossible to distinguish between whether the force acting on a body is caused by the body accelerating or whether it’s gravity. For example, if you were weightless inside a lift in outer space and you then feel a force pulling your feet to the floor you can’t distinguish whether the lift is accelerating upwards, or whether there is a large volume of matter below causing the attraction. "The General Theory of Relativity describes gravity as being the result of a four-dimensional continuum (space-time) and that matter produces curves in this space-time with the measure of the curvature being a measure of the strength of gravity. In this perspective, bodies of matter follow the path of ‘shortest distance or least resistance’ and hence in the case of curved space-time around a star a planetary body would follow a ‘circular/elliptical’ orbit. Einstein’s theory was able to explain anomalies in the Mercury’s orbit which had eluded explanation from Newton’s Laws.

Free Software Vs. Open Source :: essays research papers fc

Free Software and Open Source While Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman argues that Free Software is not Open Source, he is only half right—or only speaking about the question of motivation (the half that matters to him). The definition of Open Source, as enshrined in the Open Source Definition (OSD) is a nearly verbatim copy of the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG). Both the OSD and DFSG are practical articulations of Stallman's Free Software Definition (FSD). Open Source, with a different political and philosophical basis, can only exist because the FSD is broad enough to allow for its translation into other terms yet defined enough to allow for a directed and robust social movement. As much as Stallman might want to deemphasize Open Source, he would never change the broadly defined definition of freedom that made its existence possible. This level of translatability within the domain of Free and Opens Source Software (FOSS) is echoed in the accessibly of its philosophies and technologies to groups from across the political spectrum. Recalibrating the broad meaning of freedom outlined in the FSD to align with their own philosophies and politics, these groups perceive FOSS as a model of openness and collaboration particularly well suited to meet their own goals. In this process of re-adoption and translation, FOSS has become the corporate poster child for capitalist technology giants like IBM, the technological and philosophical weapon of anti-corporate activists, and a practical template for a nascent movement to create an intellectual "Commons" to balance the power of capital. In these cases and others, FOSS's broadly defined philosophy—given legal form in licenses—has acted as a pivotal point of inspiration for a diverse (and contradictory) set of alternative intellectual property instruments now available for other forms of creative work. As a site of technological practice, FOSS is not unique in its ability to take multiple lives and meanings. For example, Gyan Prakash (1999) in Another Reason describes the way that many of the principles and practices of early twentieth century techno-science were translated, in ways similar to FOSS, during India's colonial era. British colonizers who built bridges, trains, and hospitals pointed to their technological prowess as both a symbol of a superior scientific rationality and justification for their undemocratic presence in the subcontinent. Prakash describes the way that a cadre of Indian nationalists re-visioned the practice and philosophical approach to techno-science to justify and direct their anti-colonial national liberation movement.

Discerning Contemporary Approaches towards Effective Education

The pursuit of learning, it must be argued, is an activity that brings into perfection the finest essence of human persons. And the reason for this, as I have mentioned in my previous paper, is quite self-evident: to engage in learning – or any activity analogous to the purposeful acquisition of knowledge – is to nurture the gifts which, at best, summarily render humanity as creatures cut above the rest – i. e. , freewill and rationality (Moore and Bruder 67). Thus, the supreme importance of creating welcome avenues for learning needs to be considered as a task second to none.At the very least, all human persons are, by virtue of their innate superiority, necessitated to constantly strive to create windows of opportunities for higher learning, as well as address ebbs of challenges which, if left unchecked, may end up frustrating the correct methodologies to progressive learning. In view of such felt need, this paper argues for the necessity of framing forward-loo king goals that can best address the contemporary challenges, which otherwise can pose serious threats to the attainment of quality education.To this end, this study deems it appropriate to limit the discussion into unraveling three concrete goals that may be adopted, in the hope of addressing contemporary concerns to education: first, to rethink the model of educational Psychology operative on most learning institution; second, to revolutionize classroom management towards greater inclusion and participation; and third, to re-conceptualize the appreciation of education as that which prepares students for a greater role in the society later on in their otherwise brief lives.It needs to be firstly pointed out however that in itself, education cannot be reduced into these three goals. The human mind, it needs to be argued, is capable of learning many facets of knowledge; and as a consequence, the goals with which each learning facet takes can be taken distinctly from others. For insta nce, if one were to pursue an education in Engineering, the specific goals with which his or her learning process takes must see through the need to develop one’s knowledge of precise mathematical theories on the one hand, and skills relative to concrete application of calculated findings on the other hand.The goal of a person studying Engineering therefore falls more into the acquisition of a knowledge that integrates abstract mathematical theories with concrete skills in fine arts and drawing. One does not compare such goal with, say educating someone who, while mentally impaired, manifests strains of learning nevertheless. The point in contention here lies in the plain recognition that learning can and must always be construed with its varying goals, â€Å"depending on the learner’s frame and chosen field of competence† (Ten Dam and Volman 282).Three Forward-Looking Goals It merits firstly arguing that there is a need to rethink the model of Educational Psych ology operative on many learning institutions nowadays. Herein it would be necessary to cite that there appears to be two major schools of thought being adopted into the conduct of present-day education: the behaviorist and cognitive paradigms. On the one hand, the behaviorist model of education is most often gleaned on learning strategies that take students as ‘passive learners’ – i. e. , as mere reactors to learning stimuli.The stance, as it were, takes on a highly stereotyped understanding of human behavior; it â€Å"takes the mind of a child as a tabula rasa upon which the message of experience is to be written† (Wartofsky 113). On the other hand, the cognitive model of education adopts a paradigm which is exactly the opposite of the behaviorist model. It believes that learning instruction has to promote the mental abilities already intrinsic to human persons, even before they enter their respective learning places – they are mere mental process es that need to be unraveled.When a learner is therefore taken under the acute lenses of cognitive philosophy, the process of developing the unique abilities of abstraction, analysis, cognition, deconstruction, problem solving and self-reflection are the aspects that act as the crux of one’s learning. There is, however, a danger in choosing only one paradigm to adopt. On the one hand, it is certainly unwise to take learners as though they were programmed to uncritically absorb everything that they are being taught.Learning is not entirely about external influences. On the other hand, it is equally self-defeating to regard students as process-induced organisms, without recourse to appreciating their concrete situations. Learning is not completely about internal processes. This is why, it is imperative to rethink the psychological model of Educational. At best, what appears to be a more promising model to adopt is that which seeks to integrate these twin paradigms into a compre hensive model for education.Concretely, this can be achieved by taking learners as â€Å"highly structured organisms, who in their own unique ways, do try to ‘make sense’ of their life experiences in a manner that is not only active but also constructive† (Wartofsky 113). In other words, what Wartofsky correctly notes stems from a keen, if not correct observation that learning is much more than the acquisition of knowledge and the development of innate skills. Learning, instead, brings into fruition one’s knowledge and skills, by charting how one is able to successfully apply these concepts into prolific results.Secondly, the telling need to revolutionize the pedagogies and strategies pertinent to effective classroom instruction represents an unmistakably rapidly-growing concern for most educational institutions. At the very least, the old model of traditional instruction needs to be supplanted with better strategies which are now available in the field. L earning, it needs to be noted, is a delicate process; it must be attended to only by acceptable approaches and inviting programs. For such reason, Kounin believes that classroom management is of the essence in the entire learning process – i.e. , â€Å"good classroom management† must be considered as an indispensable requisite to student’s learning† (qtd. in Emmer and Stough 104). And there are reasons to think the manner by which educators create and design appropriate classroom management styles spells the difference between the welcome promotion of learning and the unfortunate frustration of the same. On the one hand, revolutionizing the contemporary approach to learning necessitates a thorough re-evaluation of the technical aspects of classroom management.This re-evaluation process entails, still according to the suggestions of Kounin, putting a fair amount of effort and energy to apply all the three aspects of classroom management into the learning en vironment: first, to ensure that â€Å"preparations† relative to academic programs and campus regulations are properly articulated and clearly outlined so as to facilitate their effective implementation; second, to determine head-on whether or not the interaction transpiring between the educator and learners during the â€Å"actual† learning process are marked by appropriateness and facility; and third, to determine a program that assesses and monitors how educators are able to â€Å"control† the environment for learning (Vasa 64-66).One may correctly notice that this specific program seeks to guide the learning process before it is undertaken, during its implementation and after the process has been completed. Simply put, the process is comprehensive. And it is with good reasons that a learning institution must adopt such a revolutionary program to guide their respective educational goals and visions into welcome fruition. On the other hand, it has to be likewi se appreciated that any effort to revolutionize classroom management cannot stop at ensuring that the aforesaid technical aspects work effectively in the service of efficiency and facility. With equal or more emphasis, there is a need to revolutionize, in a manner being drastic but progressive, the fundamental concept of the learning process itself.Herein, it is wise to reminded what P. Freire has to say about the matter – i. e. , learning cannot be seen as an asymmetrical process, where teachers dole out incremental nuggets of knowledge and students receive them uncritically as though they were nothing but repositories of data and information. When a learning institution engages in this type of one-way instruction, Freire believes that it adopts an unmistakably restrictive â€Å"banking concept of education†. He believes that under this model, â€Å"knowledge is (considered as) a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consid er to know nothing† (Friere).Instead, Freire maintains that classroom instructions, as indeed the entire process of education, have to revolutionized so as to cater to the need to â€Å"strive for the emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality† (Freire). For only when educators see the supreme importance of promoting the learner’s concrete appropriation of his or her learning can learning environments break free from the traditional spoon-feeding model of instruction that has long plagued the many educational systems. Thirdly, there is a certainly a need to re-orient the goal of education in respect to its duty to prepare the learners in discerning their chosen vocations relative the needs of the society later on. Nowadays, education is often seen as a personal ticket to success; an instrument which yields a higher rate of success to the top.More and more therefore, the call to recover the thrust of education from this highly individualistic frame becomes even more relevant. As indeed, the need to underscore the intricate relations between the goals of education and the needs of the society cannot be under-appreciated. In ways of more than one, learning is really about participating in the network of relationships latched in humanity’s basic sociality. Learning is indeed about â€Å"the increasing ability to participate in the social and culture practices which are considered important in the society† (Ten Dam and Volman 285). And this does not entail seeing the education of students as a precursor their filling up certain stereotyped roles which a society demands.Ten Dam and Volman believes that â€Å"adequate participation† in the society â€Å"does not mean behaving according to a fixed set of norms, but being able to deal flexibly with the differences and other choices and possibilities† (284). Thus, learning is about empowering the students to discover their inner gifts while they are at school so that they can use them for the sake of society’s wellbeing later. In the ultimate analysis, it must be recognized that â€Å"the content of education has† indeed something â€Å"to do with society’s need for people who are prepared for the conditions of life in a civil society† (Daniliuk 13). To briefly conclude, this paper ends with a thought that affirms the abiding necessity of conceiving forward-looking goals to help address the contemporary conduct of education.Time is indeed changing fast; and so is the manner by which the world understands education and human learning. In order to adapt, challenges must be met with equivalent responses and adequate solutions. Three concrete suggestions have been raised in this paper: to re-conceptualize the model of educational Psychology, to revolutionize classroom management approaches, and to recover the role of education in respect to the needs of the society. Surely, there are still a lot more chall enges to hurdle; a lot more Goliaths to slay. For the time being, the world can rest assured that for as long as concrete steps are being framed to address educational issues, there can be little doubt that humanity’s can always strive for constant learning. References Daniliuk, A. â€Å"The Role of Education in the Formation of a Civil Society†. Russian Education   Ã‚   and Society, 50, 5, 2008. Emmer, E. & Stough, L. â€Å"Classroom Management: A Critical Part of Educational   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Psychology,   Ã‚   with Implications for Teacher Education†. Educational Psychologist, 32, 2, 2001. Freire, P. â€Å"The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education†. Ten Dam, G. & Volman M. â€Å"Educating for Adulthood or for Citizenship: Social Competence as   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   an Educational Goal†. European Journal of Education, 42, 2, 2007. Vasa, S. (1984). â€Å"Classroom Management: Selected Overview of Literature†. Teacher Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Monograph, 1, pp. 64-74. Wartofsky, M. â€Å"On the Creation and Transformation of Norms of Human Development†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leonard Cirillo & Seymour Wapner, editors. Value Presuppositions in Theories of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Human Development. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986.   

Domestic and Community Violence Essay

Domestic abuse and child abuse cases have been on the rise in the recent past causing child and human rights activists to seek for ways of containing the situation. Previous studies have concluded that the cases of child abuse and domestic violence have risen in America and the world at large because of poor approaches used to contain them. In addition, the shocking news that more than 1,200 children die each year due to child abuse and a good percentage of them are girls less than 16years is worrying both parents and teachers. The rise in violence prevalence has been attributed to; poor child upbringing, poverty, modernization, lack of knowledge and neglect because studies have proved that abused ‘children’ will abuse their children in future etc (Nocav and Bourbonnais, 2002) The following issues indicate different stories; First, the U. S Advisory Board on Child Abuse has suggested that both child abuse and domestic violence may be the single major precursor to the main fatalities in the country hence the seriousness of the matter. This has come at a time when a survey conducted early this year found out that school age children who witness and exhibit violence of any form not only in their families but also in the churches, towns or schools suffer from problems such as; anxiety, depression and violence towards their peers. This calls for urgent strategies to prevent and address them at once. The best of them is the use of teachers to counsel the abused children, report suspected cases or take any necessary action that will be suitable. Teachers and domestic violence initiative program It has been noticed that more and more cases of child and domestic violence go unnoticed because of stigmatization or fear of retaliation especially by children. The main solution according to this program is to use the interactive ability of our teachers in schools to strictly follow any cases of suspected child abuse either directed to the child or to the parents. Children are very talkative especially with good interaction with their teachers are golden opportunities that can be used to assist those fighting the vice to get access to unreported cases. The objective of this program is to improve system and community responses of abuse of children and their families. All people today face the challenge of developing enhanced policies and programs to meet the increased need for curbing child abuse cases. This program will therefore ensure that members of the community respond immediately to allegations of child and women abuse. This report will deal with a program suitable for teachers in our schools to be in the front line in preventing domestic violence in our society. (Lupton and Power, 2002) The program considers the motivational tactics of getting teachers interact with their children outside the classroom and that they get the opportunity of knowing the problems children undergo while in class. It is obvious that children’s performance while in class reduce especially for abused children. In this program, teachers especially those teachers who teach children in lower grade classes will be taken through training sessions on how to interact more effectively with their students in class. The training sessions will also include learning the signs of domestically abused of sexually abused children The program will involve the utilization of services from survivors and activists who will keep the tracers well informed and properly equipped with the skills to handle, report and discuss cases of violence through the children. In that case, the children will be able to inform their teachers that their parents were quarrelling last night, they were raped last week or even misused over the weekend. These and other reporting tactics will be fundamental in helping the police to further investigate the allegations. As long as they will be funds to help schools identify troubled and troubled children at an early stage, it will be possible to rectify any impacts that might have been created by the abuses children go through. This program will therefore go a long way in boosting reconciliation and cutting incidences of crime and violence in our schools and society. When children are troubled and very disruptive in schools and at home, that is a sign of warning that children are either not being taken care of or they are experiencing some bad habits at home. It is then that teachers, parents and counselors come to look for causes of the wearied behaviors. The program described above will help in ensuring that such kind of strategies is achieved. (Nocav and Bourbonnais, 2002) Conclusion Teachers have a role to play in eradication domestic violence and child abuse in our society. They can do so by creating close interactions with their students who will then reveal what happens behind the curtains either to themselves or the house-help or any of their parents. Since the teachers will be given the opportunity to learn more about social and domestic violence, then it will be possible to change social and institutional norms that perpetuate family violence in the future. Together with other domestic violence programs, child welfare agencies and community organizers everybody can take part in forming effective collaborations and build partnership that will at the long run promote safe and health families. References Nocav, S. and Bourbonnais, C. (2002): No Room of Her Own. A Literature Review on â€Å"Women and Homelessness† CMHC Ottawa Lupton, R and Power, A. (2002): Social Exclusion & Neighborhoods. In Understanding Social Exclusion† Hills J, Le Grand J. & Piachaud D. Edn pp. 118- 140: Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Placenta Previa

Placenta Previa High Risk Pregnancy Placenta previa occurs when an embryo implants itself in the lower uterus and the developing placenta thereby implants low in the uterus and covers the internal cervical os. The previa can be complete, which involves the placenta covering the internal cervical os completely, or partial, which involves only a portion of the placenta covering the cervical os. The diagnosis is of placenta previa is often made in the second trimester by ultrasonography testing and is monitored for placental migration away from the os which occurs with uterine growth.Placenta previa in the second trimester puts the client at risk for developing vasa previa and thought to be a result of inflammatory atrophic changes to the placenta. In the third trimester, placenta previa is the leading cause of painless bleeding leading to hemorrhage. The bleeding occurs as the placental attachment is disrupted from thinning of the area as the cervix and uterus prepare for labor. Due to the location of the placenta, the uterus is unable to contract to stop the flow of blood from the vessels.When bleeding occurs, Thrombin is released and stimulates uterine contractions, which thereby disrupt the placental attachment from the uterus even more, causing increased bleeding and can eventually lead to hemorrhage (Joy, 2012). The incidence of placenta previa is in approximately one in 200 pregnancies, has a mortality rate of 0. 03%. Common risk factors include previous placenta previa, previous cesarean births, suction curettage for miscarriage, carrying more than one baby, delivery of six or more pregnancies, and tobacco or substance abuse (Perry, Hockenberry, Lowdermilk, & Wilson, 2010).For first time pregnancies, placenta previa occurs in about 1 in 1,500 pregnancies but the risk for women who have had more than five pregnancies increases to about 5 in 100 pregnancies.References: J oy, S. M. (2012, June 5). Placenta Previa. Retrieved September 29, 2012, from Medscape: emedicine. medscape. com/article/262063-overview#a0104 Perry, S. E. , Hockenberry, M. J. , Lowdermilk, D. L. , & Wilson, D. (2010). Maternal Child Nursing Care. Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier.

Ethical Dilema Drug Tesing in Nigeria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethical Dilema Drug Tesing in Nigeria - Essay Example There was evidence that using Trovan could lead to problems with joints, tendons and bones, and even perhaps cause liver damage. Led by Scott Hopkins, the team developing Trovan were anxious to carry out controlled clinical trials of the drug on children, in order to conclude whether it could safely be marketed as a treatment for diseases in children. While they believed that further refinement of the drug would make it much safer for children, they would need firm evidence in order to obtain approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for it to be marketed. At around the same time, in February 1996, there was a serious outbreak of meningitis in the area around Kano, a major city in northern Nigeria. Soon, over a hundred children were being brought to the basic local hospitals every day, and by March 3, 1,273 deaths had been reported, with some accounts putting the total at closer to 10,000 (Spar and Day, 2006, p.11). As most of the children infected with menin gitis would certainly die if given no treatment, Hopkins looked upon the outbreak as ‘a unique opportunity to test Trovan pills on children’, and ‘since Nigeria had both a raging epidemic and a distinct absence of personal injury lawyers, a drug trial there would be far more efficient’ than in the United States (Spar and Day, 2006, p.2). Meningitis outbreaks are fairly common across a large area of sub Saharan Africa during the dry season, when cold weather, malnutrition, and urban overcrowding can lead to the disease spreading rapidly among children. Epidemics of meningitis are caused by a particular strain of the bacteria, and the Trovan researchers had reason to believe, after extensive testing, that their new drug would be effective against that strain. It is worth understanding the processes which a drugs company needs to complete if it intends to market a drug in the United States, because, as we will see, it is questionable whether the situation at K ano provided an opportunity to carry out a satisfactory trial of Trovan on children. When a new compound is being developed, the pharmaceutical company responsible for it lodges an investigational new drug application, or IND, with the FDA. Having obtained this, the company is authorised to begin conducting clinical tests, which may be rolled out to many scenarios and over thousands of patients before a drug seeks FDA approval to be marketed. While such approval is sought within the United States, or from the appropriate authorities in other countries, it does not preclude a pharmaceutical company from carrying out clinical trials overseas. Indeed, it is even possible for a drugs company to conduct all of their clinical testing overseas, and only when the research gathered has shown the drug to be both safe and effective, for it to be submitted to the FDA for approval. In the case of Trovan, the new drug already had an IND, had already been subject to extensive clinical trials withi n the US, and so the team developing it were perfectly entitled to add a trial in Kano to its IND, or, alternatively, to carry out the tests in Nigeria and, if the results were positive, submit this data to the FDA subsequently. Pfizer would also have to meet some conditions under Nigerian law

Food Biotechnology - The Production and Growth of Vegetables and Fruit Assignment

Food Biotechnology - The Production and Growth of Vegetables and Fruits - Assignment Example This also means that customers will not to have to use a lot of funds for food because the cost of producing is less (Liles, 2011). Using biotechnology in both the production and growth of vegetables and fruits has allowed scientists to modify the way fruits and vegetables ripen. Normally, vegetables and fruits continue to mature after harvesting (Liles, 2011). Therefore, they must be rushed to the marketplace and sold fast while they are fresh. Genetically produced fruits and vegetables can be collected when ripe. After they are harvested, the ripening process stops. This gives the fruits and vegetables a longer shelf life than the organically produced fruits (Liles, 2011). These genetic modifications also boost a plants resistance to pests, disease, herbicides, insecticides or even severe weather conditions. Genetic manufacturing has also altered a plant's dietetic makeup, making it richer in various minerals or vitamins than organically produced fruits. In spite of harvesting countless of genetically produced plants, experts still do not have a comprehensible understanding of how these genetic modifications affect the human body in the long run. This is because these food kinds of stuff have been accessible since the early 90’s (Liles, 2011). Monsanto, the main GM seed developer in the globe and the institute that offers most research answers to the FDA, argues that the GM seed is undamaging to humans. Nevertheless, some experts have found that GM plants have, in reality, alter the lifespan of humans. The GM plants have also caused diseases to insects and also altered their cognitive abilities, which feed on these plants. Another disadvantage is that the genes might be transmitted to other crops that they are not planned to go in and lead to difficulties since the transmission of the genes would not be recognized (Liles, 2011).  Consumers might get an allergic response to the food when they eat food that is contaminated wit h the bacteria or gene transmitted via cross-pollination unintentionally.