George Berkeley Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

George Berkeley - Essay Example This paper briefly analyses why he oppose the concept of matter and support the role of God in human life. Berkeley argued that whatever the material bodies at our sight are not material objects but light and colors only. He has pointed out that human senses has limitations in identifying the exact nature of objects because of the inferior powers of our senses. He has questioned the Newtonian concepts like space, time, motion etc. Newton was successful in defining material objects with respect to space, time, motion etc. Newton argued that every object in this universe is made up with a three dimensional space (Length, breadth and thickness).Moreover he has also argued that every object in this universe is either in a state of motion or in a state of rest with respect to another object. Berkeley questioned these Newtonian arguments and pointed out that our senses do not have the ability to recognize the actual shape and size of material objects in this world. Berkeley’s argume nts were summarized as a theory called "esse is percipi" which means all the things surrounding us are nothing but our ideas or shadows. These ideas were formed with the help of imperfect sensory inputs. Berkeley believed that human senses are not matured or perfect enough to recognize the actual shape and size of matters in this world. ... In other words, animals and human have different sensory abilities. The above example clearly shows that in this universe, different living things have different sensing abilities. Moreover it is quite possible that living things with superior sensing abilities than humans exist in this universe. Berkeley also argued that sensory inputs have no other existence which is different from our perceptions. For example, two blind people who try to recognize the shape of an elephant may perceive the shape of elephant differently if they touch different parts of elephant body. The one who touches the ear of the elephant may perceive the shape of elephant as flat whereas the one who touches the legs of an elephant may perceive the shape of elephant as cylindrical. In other words, we are quite similar to these blind people. Our senses are incapable of assessing the proper shape of an object. It is quite possible that the shape of an object may have other dimensions which we are incapable to per ceive using our senses. Berkeley believed only in spirits and ideas. He argued that the mental substance is a combination of mind, spirit and soul. Moreover, ideas rest in this mental substance. He also argued that spirit is the only active being whereas ideas are passive beings. In other words, ideas can be perceived differently by different people whereas spirit cannot be altered. Thus, Berkeley succeeded in classifying human knowledge into two broad categories; knowledge with respect to ideas and knowledge with respect to spirit. Spiritual knowledge cannot be perceived whereas knowledge based on ideas can be perceived by human senses. Thus, Berkeley argued that spiritual knowledge is beyond our control or beyond our grasping abilities. In short,

IM Not Scared Essay Example for Free

IM Not Scared Essay In comparison to his peers Michele reveals a level of maturity that his friends do not have. He defends Barbara before Skull can obscenely exploit her. Barbara is constantly harassed for being the only girl in the ‘gang’. Not even Michele could comprehend ‘how she put up’ with them, assuming it was the ‘fear of being left alone’. Barbara as well as Michele, is too innocent to distinguish the best for their own wellbeing. Michele has morals and instinctively knew that ‘there was something dirty’ with Barbara’s punishment. Unlike Michele, Skull has no remorse. Skull has the audacity to abuse people as he desires. Michele does not engage is exploiting others, in fact he obtains the rational reasoning of an educated adult. The most imperative case in which Michele expresses maturity is when he discovers Filippo. Initially Michele acts childish proclaiming Filippo as his, evidently influenced by Skull’s flawed and selfish logic-‘finders keepers’. Michele also behaves in that manner due to the lack of exposure of such situations. This is the only way he knows how to handle the ‘secret discovery’. Michele observes the discovery of a boy in a hole as a mysterious adventure that he must solve. But the height of Michele’s developing maturity is exposed through the continual visits to Filippo. Michele takes responsibility for Filippo’s wellbeing by ‘bathing his eyes’. The flaws of the adults force Michele to lose his rightful youth and take on the problems of adulthood. The adults in the novel have no redeeming justifications as to why they kidnapped and caused Filippo to become a ‘tormented soul’. Maturity may result in betraying promises in order to do the right thing. Despite Michele being obligated to his father, he recognises the wrong his parents have committed. Michele’s ‘oath was crumbling away’. He combats his fears and is ‘not scared of anything’ in attempt to save Filippo from his ominous death. Michele is punished for trying to do the moral thing. Michele is a character who demonstrations a significant transition from naivety to maturity. While Michele is obtaining maturity the adults are losing it by betraying their duty of parenthood and morality. Innocence no longer exists in Michele’s world because he has been exposed to the heinous realities of the world. Michele is able to distinguish the difference between reality and imagination and realises ‘it’s men you should be afraid of, not monsters’.

Online Personalities in Building Social Relations

Online Personalities in Building Social Relations 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1Introduction According to Gordon Allport (1935) attitude is an important concept in social psychology. He stated that the individual will experience confusion without attitude because attitude will determine what will be seen, heard, thought and done. Attitude can be defined as the measure of mans social world, whether positive or negative aspects. Attitude is a general assessment of a man, including his own, objects and continuous nature of issues and involves a period of time (Petty Capioppo, 1986). Typically, the attitude associated with the view, feeling, thought, belief, and the etc. Social psychologists assume that almost all of the cognitive and perceptual process involves the evaluation process. Jarvis Petty (1996) mentioned, although people can judge something easily, it does not mean that they can assess spontaneously. Individuals require a rating scale that can make the difference in the tendency to evaluate an object. According to the schematic model, the attitude is seen as a thought that serves as a schema or set of ideas related to how it is organized and used again, just like the memory effects in mind. Therefore, as a scheme, it integrates all the components related to attitudes such as beliefs, emotions, physiological reactions, behavioural tendencies, and intentions. If seen from the schematic model, it is aligned with neurological network system molecules and other nervous system. Thus, the attitude is considered as something that exists in certain parts of the brain. Scheme is actually a cognitive structure or a mental framework for organizing and managing information in mind. It is an abstract representation of an object, thing or event we have experienced and it is located within the long-term memory. Mental framework is centred on specific themes related to people, things or objects, events or situations. Scheme to help us process information, and profoundly influenced the way we inter pret things. People schema is a cognitive structure that describes the of personality of others. Usually, it can be used to interpret individuals, specifically. Through it, individuals are able to understand others and create expectations about the particular individual behaviour. The present scheme is basically derived from our socialization agent. It is more abstract and focused on the relationship between normal personality trait known as Implicit Personality Theory, a set of assumptions that are not announced or secret, against any personality traits that communicate with each other. One of the schemes is to make use stereotype against someone from another group. Stereotype is a set of attribute characteristics to all members of the group or social category. Stereotyping leads us to think that all team members have specific attributes and simplify the complex social world. However, sometimes it involves excessive generalizations to be formed prejudices. We often rely on common stereotypes, such the stereotype about the ethnic, racial groups, gender groups and the commonly held religious groups in our society. Integration is a process for creating a national identity among the separate groups in terms of cultural, social, and location within a political unit. Meanwhile, solidarity can be understood as a process that unites all people and the country so that every community can build an identity and shared values and feelings of love and be proud of land (Shamsul Amri, 2007). In history, a serious effort towards unity of Malaysia began sprouting seen after the onset of tragedy May 13, 1969 when the Council of National Unity and in line with the Ministry of National Unity was established. But actually work towards a common goal has started in the 1957 Independence Constitution. In this context the clauses in the Constitution that led to the use of Malay as the official language, the provisions of the implementation of national-type schools and the use of minority languagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹, has been articulated by Article 152 and 153, which we often refer to as a social contract between the leader-leaders of various ethnic groups dominant in Malaysia. The reality in the contemporary context, the Malaysian Government policy of racial unity is friendly and tolerant. For an example, the issue of minority ethnic language. The language of ethnic minorities has not been sentenced but never used prohibited in any school in Malaysia, though the national schools. Even created is a national type schools by giving the right to ethnic minorities to use their mother tongue as the teaching language. The New Age bulletin reported that there are 1.2 billion social networking users worldwide. According to socialbakers.com (a social media and digital analytics company), currently, there are 12457560 Facebook users in the Malaysia, which makes it number 17 in the ranking of all Facebook statistics by country. â€Å"The emergence and widespread global adoption of social networks has vastly influenced human interaction on an individual, community and larger societal level, and underscores the convergence of the online and offline worlds,† notes Linda Boland Abraham, comScore CMO and EVP of global development in the December 21 report, â€Å"Regardless of geography, social networks are weaving themselves ever more intricately into the fabric of the digital experience, opening a world of new opportunity for business and technology.† According to socialbakers.com (a social media and digital analytics company), currently, there are 12457560 Facebook users in the Malaysia, whi ch makes it number 17 in the ranking of all Facebook statistics by country. Their social networking statistics show that Facebook penetration in Malaysia is 47.62% compared to the countrys population and 73.70% in relation to number of Internet users. 1.2 Statement of Problem Malaysia is a multiracial and multicultural country. Thus, efforts to form a unity are has been a huge challenge since independence obtained for Malay Land. Although various efforts were taken to build national integration, however, Malaysia is still filled by the events of ethnic conflicts such as event management disputes of a Hindu temple and mosque in Kampung Rawa, Penang in 1998, and the tragedy of Kampung Medan in 2001. These events are indication that the issue of racial unity is not yet over. In this effort, can be seen that there are elements of the approach taken by Malaysia government are quite different from the approach which is considered mainstream in the West. American and some European countries like Britain and France for example, using the concept of melting pot or mould smelters in their approach to integrate the various ethnic minorities, indigenous ethnic groups, and the dominant ethnic group in the country. During the melting process of ethnic minority cultures melted, digested, and even some fade away, blended in the culture of the dominant majority. However, in Malaysia we see the concept of the mould smelters does not exist, but that there is a salad bowl or a bowl of vegetables’ which do not melt any of the ethnic elements but unify skin colour and cultural diversity in an environment. Perhaps it is time the authorities find other alternatives to resolve this integrity issue. One alternative that can serve as a choice is through social networking services such as facebook, twitter and so on. . I quote the words from The Chief Executive Officer of CyberSecurity Malaysia, Lt Col Prof Dato Husin Jazri, (Retired) spoke on issues about cyber safety; the establishment of social networks is unavoidable. Youths have always been the earliest adapters to new cultural trends, hence it is no surprise that social media has resonated with teens. What we can do is educate them on how to use new technology, like social networks, safely. Therefore, I believe, it is time we looked at the use of social networking facilities in a more positive perspective. A study by Brendesha, M.T., Michael, T.G. Geneene, N.T. (2008) has shown that the internet, particularly chat rooms and social networking sites, can be vital ally in multicultural education efforts. 1.3 Significance of Study This study examines the complexities of augmented reality and online personality and its pertinent relations in social networking among diverse online communities in Malaysia. Social networks have been associated empirically with the online personality portrayed to the online communities. Through the development programmes of MdeC Malaysia, including the on-line community projects, questions arise on whether on-line networking will enhance, reinforce or modify the forms of social identity between online community members who differ in terms of ethnicity, class and gender. It is envisaged that this study will provide useful information pertaining to online network patterns, policy makers who are looking at community integration and social integration theorists interested in social capital. More generally, the current study will address questions pertaining their social identities and personalities, particularly on the nature of information society or knowledge society in Malaysia. 1.4 Research Questions Could augmented reality adequately simulate human personality within their social experiences? Could cognition influence personality in relation to ethnic-relations, social capitals and nationhood social identity? Is there are differences between the personalities portrayed in the augmented realities and personality featured in reality, particularly pertaining social identities and race representations? 1.5  Research Objectives 1.5.1 General Objective This study aims to examine the complexities of online personality and its pertinent relations towards social relation within social networking services. 1.5.2 Specific Objectives To understand, in what ways do on-line communities work in the context of a multi-ethnic society. To examine, is there are differences between the personalities portrayed in the augmented realities and personality featured in reality, particularly pertaining social identities and race representations. To examine the current Malaysian ICT initiatives on promoting adequate augmented reality to simulate racially-integrated artificial personality within the 1Malaysia concepts of online and mobile social experiences. To ascertain the patterns of on-line networks and the contribution to shape the future of on-line communities within the context of social integration and national unity in Malaysia 1.6Theoretical Framework Theory Of Reasoned Action (TRA) was developed in 1967. In the early of 1970s, the theory was revised and expanded by Ajzen and Fishbein. By 1980, TRA was used to study human behaviour and develop appropriate interventions. In 1988, Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was added to the existing model of reasoned action to address the inadequacies that Ajzen and Fishbein had identified through their research using TRA. The theory states that attitude toward behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, together shape an individuals behavioural intentions and behaviours. The purpose of the theory of planned behavior is to predict and understand consumer behavior. According to the theory, a person’s behavior can be predicted by intention, which is predicted by the person’s attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived control (Ajzen,1991). An attitude toward a behavior is defined as one’s positive or negative evaluation of the particular behaviour based on the person’s beliefs. The key term for this theory are:- Behavioral belief: an individuals belief about consequences of particular behavior. The concept is based on the subjective probability that the behavior will produce a given outcome. Attitude toward behavior: an individuals positive or negative evaluation of self-performance of the particular behavior. The concept is the degree to which performance of the behavior is positively or negatively valued. It is determined by the total set of accessible behavioral beliefs linking the behavior to various outcomes and other attributes. Normative belief: an individuals perception about the particular behavior, which is influenced by the judgment of significant others (e.g., parents, spouse, friends, teachers). Subjective norm: an individuals perception of social normative pressures, or relevant others beliefs that he or she should or should not perform such behavior. Perceived behavioral control: an individuals perceived ease or difficulty of performing the particular behavior (Ajzen, 1988). It is assumed that perceived behavioral control is determined by the total set of accessible control beliefs. Control beliefs: an individuals beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behavior (Ajzen, 2001). The concept of perceived behavioral control is conceptually related to self-efficacy. Behavioral intention: an indication of an individuals readiness to perform a given behavior. It is assumed to be an immediate antecedent of behavior. It is based on attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, with each predictor weighted for its importance in relation to the behavior and population of interest. Behavior: an individuals observable response in a given situation with respect to a given target. Ajzen said a behavior is a function of compatible intentions and perceptions of behavioral control in that perceived behavioral control is expected to moderate the effect of intention on behavior, such that a favorable intention produces the behavior only when perceived behavioral control is strong. Diagram 1.1 : Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) The theory of planned behaviour is an appropriate theory to study the intention of the person to adopt positive social relation via online medium. The theory can be used to evaluate individual personality, their feelings about the social norm pressure, and the difficulty of achieving the desired behaviour. 1.7Conceptual Framework Motivational Level Volitional Level Diagram 1.2 : Conceptual Framework 1.8Definition of Terms 1.8.1Social networking facilities Conceptual definition Abbreviated as SNS asocialnetworkingsiteis the phrase used to describe anyWeb sitethat enables users to create public profiles within that Web site and form relationships with other users of the same Web site who access their profile. Social networking sites can be used to describe community-based Web sites, online discussions forums, chatrooms and other social spaces online. (http://www.webopedia.com) Operational definition Referring one of the platforms used by the online community, which is Facebook. 1.8.2Augmented personality Conceptual definition Augmented means to make greater in size or value. While personality referreing to the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character (http://oxforddictionaries.com) Operational definition Refer to the personality that being portrayed in cyberspace 1.8.3Social relation Conceptual definition Social relation refer to a multitude of social interactions, regulated bysocial norms, between two or more people, with each having a social position and performing asocial role. In sociological hierarchy, social relation is more advanced than behavior,action, social behavior,social action, social contact and social interaction. Social relations form the basis of concepts such associal organization, social structure, social movement andsocial system. (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org) Operational definition Refer to the social interaction and relationship in cyberspace. 1.8.4Online community Conceptual definition A virtual community, also called online community is a group of people that interact through computer-mediated communication, mostly a website or portal that provides various channels for social networking. (http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Virtual_community) Operational definition Refer to a group of people who interact and share common interests, ideas, and feelings via Facebook. 1.9Research Limitation This study is limited to Facebook users only whereas there are several other social networking services provided. There is a possibility that the distribution of respondents location is less comprehensive due to access to the internet.

Non-Traditional Sports: Social Barriers :: Bodybuilding Synchronized Swimming Essays

Non-Traditional Sports: Social Barriers Gender barriers have always existed in the field of sports. I will be focusing specifically on women in the field of bodybuilding and men who enter synchronized swimming in order to illustrate the social and cultural costs and benefits of these individuals entering their given sports. Breaking Barriers: The gym is the world of gods and heroes, goddesses larger than life, a place of incantations where our bodies inflate and we shuffle off our out-of-gym bodies like discarded skins and walk about transformed. . . . Here, in this space, we begin to grow, to change. The transformation has begun, and our flawed humanity is falling off fast. We are picking up our shoulders, elevating our chins, shaking ugliness from our shoulders with a series of strokes, the glistening dumbbells, listening to our blood's rush. Our pasty misshapen bodies are developing clean lines. Our day's tribute of trials and heartaches is fading, for here, in this gym space, we become kings and queens. Larger, invincible, gods in ourselves. (Introduction, Bodymakers: A Cultural Anatomy of Women's Body Building) Women in bodybuilding is a recent phenomenon. It is an example of the cultural transformation and revolution that has been in the process for many years now. Leslie Heywood, the author of the quote above, is an assistant professor of English at the State University of New York, Binghamton. As stated by a critic of her recent book, Bodymakers, "Heywood looks at the sport and image of female body building as a metaphor for how women fare in our current political and cultural climate. Drawing on contemporary feminist and cultural theory as well as her own involvement in the sport, she argues that the movement in women's bodybuilding from small, delicate bodies to large powerful ones and back again is directly connected to progress and backlash within the abortion debate, the ongoing struggle for race and gender equality, and the struggle to define "feminism" in the context of the nineties. She discusses female bodybuilding as activism, as an often effective response to abuse, race and m asculinity in body building, and the contradictory ways that photographers treat female bodybuilders." It is evident from this brief yet descriptive narration of her book that Heywood believes both cultural costs and benefits of women in the sport of bodybuilding exist, as well as in any other field in which women push the restraints of social acceptance.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Television Essay

In today modern world television is the most popular and recognized from of media and most homes in the western and developed worlds own one. That small (in some cases rather large) box sitting in your lounge is your connection to the outside world. It is an indispensable item and many of us cannot imagine life without it. As with everything there are advantages and disadvantages with the television. The main advantage is televisions ability to bring you news as it happens. A second advantage is the fact we are using more than one sense when viewing. The final advantage in this essay is the vast amount of information and documentaries available for viewing. However the first disadvantage is the amount of time spent watching television is often considered a waste of time. The second disadvantage is the fact that families may be in the same room but with the television on may not even acknowledge each other. The final disadvantage illustrated in this essay is that young children are of ten being exposed to sex scenes and scenes of violence. Read more: Television advantages and disadvantages essay Firstly, for many of us the television is our first or only source of news and current events. Most channels have news updates up to four times a day and current affairs programmes which take a deeper look at the news that has affected the world that day or week. Theses programmes are often family friendly and are sometimes the only form of media available or easy to understand for children or non-speakers of English. These news shows keep people up to date on the outside world it is possible to know everything that happened in a day without even going outside. However these news shows can try and monopolize people’s opinions and be a bias to one political party or one side of a war. Secondly, what many of us do not realise is that we use at least two senses to enjoy television. We use our eyes to watch the television screen and the visual on the screen. We also use our ears or hearing to listen to the dialogue and noises on the screen. Compared to other forms of media which usually involve only one sense e.g. the radio only requires the hearing sense and a book only requires sight. Even though the television lets us see and hear things it can cause eyesight problems and many people turn there televisions up which can cause hearing problems. The final advantage is the vast amount of educational programming available for viewing particularly on channels like the discovery channel and national geographic which can educate and stimulate people and wet every audience member’s appetite. It is also the fastest way to improve your knowledge and help you learn something completely new. Where else can you learn about Marylyn Monroe and Winston Churchill in the same afternoon? Many people who cannot afford university or night courses or simply just want a basic knowledge of one particular subject or event. Use documentaries to quench their thirst for learning. The first disadvantage is that many people do not realise how much time they spend watching television if you spend one hour a day watching television. That is 365 hours a year and 3607 hours in ten years. You can only imagine what you could do with that time, it is possible to learn a language or do a university course. Many value their television shows over exercise or physical activity which can lead to obesity and ‘couch potato’. Many people also feel the desire to watch a favourite television show every day or every week and neglect social commitments and therefore becoming anti-social. A second disadvantage is that many people neglect their families so they can watch television. A family may be in the same room but would not say a word to each other or acknowledge each other. Many families now also eat dinner in front of the television which means normal dinner table conversation is lost. Most large families also have multiple televisions so that each member can watch the programme they would like to watch this means that some families may spend less than an hour in each others company before going to bed. A final disadvantage of watching television is the violence and sex scenes that young children are often exposed too. Many of us find shows with crime or violence entertaining but these are not suitable for children of young ages. These scenes are practically common on crime dramas. Children may not intentionally be being exposed but by simply being in or near the same room as an older child or adult watching the programme. With children being exposed to these scenes it can corrupt there innocent minds leading them in some extreme cases become violent to other children. It can also lead to more permanent problems such as violence or evil thoughts well into adulthood. Fortunately this can be easily avoided or reversed by not allowing young children to view these programmes by placing them in a different room from the television or sending them to bed. In conclusion television is perhaps the world’s greatest invention though it is possible it will one day be replaced by something resembling a computer it is still indispensable devise that takes up our time to exercise or our family time it can also have scenes that corrupt young minds. As Winston Churchill once said ‘the best things are either immoral or bad for you’ television is best in moderation. So next time you’re bored don’t turn on the television go out and play some sport. in todays modern world. Television however has advantages and disadvantages as illustrated in this essay. It can be an educational, multi-sensory communication

Solute Definition and Examples in Chemistry

Solute Definition and Examples in Chemistry A solute is defined as the substance that is dissolved in a solution. For solutions of fluids, the solvent is present in greater amount than the solute. Concentration is a measurement of the amount of solute present in a chemical solution, with respect to the amount of solvent. Examples of Solutes Usually, a solute is a solid that is dissolved into a liquid. An everyday example of a solute is  salt in water. Salt is the solute that dissolves in water, the solvent, to form a saline solution. On the other hand, water vapor is considered a solute in air, because nitrogen and oxygen are present in much larger concentration levels in the gas. Different Types of Solutes When two liquids are mixed to form a solution, the solute is the species present in the smaller ratio. For example, in a 1 M sulfuric acid solution, sulfuric acid is the solute while water is the solvent. The terms solute and solvent can also be applied to alloys and solid solutions. Carbon may be considered a solute in steel, for example.