Honor System a Professional Responsibility Essay - 1

Honor System a Professional Responsibility - Essay Example They cannot afford any blunder in their behavior which may lead others to think anything in contrast to the behavior and belief which was expected of that person. This set of rules, this guideline that is there to direct members on how to act or more specifically, how NOT to act, is called the honor code. In simple terms, it is there to uphold the honor of the community by avoiding any action which goes against its teachings. There are majorly two types of honor codes. One is academic and the other is for forces. The academic honor code is highly evolved into becoming perfect now. All major colleges and universities have their own honor codes which have been perfected to their own standards by trial and error. Students have found loopholes in each one of them and when discovered, the holes were filled by re writing the code for the new students. The result is that the present honor codes, though different, are very well defined and do not give any excuse to any student to behave in a way regarded as unacceptable. The honor codes for forces are present for all three, the Naval, Air Force and Military. At the heart of these honor codes, is the military honor code. Being trusted by the public for the welfare and security of that whole country, the military honor code is well defined and comprises of the essence of responsibility. It reads that "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." (USAF Academy, 1985) This is all very interesting. Surely it shows how thoroughly the code encompasses the whole idea of the organization. The soldier knows by reading the code what his duties and responsibilities are and how to go about fulfilling them. This will help shape his life at the academies. From the very start he knows what is required of him and he will be following a clear cut path towards becoming the sort of soldier and commander that is required and expected of him by the nation.

Measuring the Enthalpy Change for the reaction Essay Example for Free

Measuring the Enthalpy Change for the reaction Essay Observation: 1) To start with, the copper sulphate solution is transparent blue colour. 2) At the fourth minute, using the glass rod to stir the solution as the Zinc powder is placed into the solution, the colour changes into dark turquoise and the solution fizzes due to the chemical change. 3) The Zinc powder then dissolves in the solution. 4) As I stir the solution, the colour changes to grey with black precipitate. 5) Then, the solution gradually changes from grey to black with black precipitate. At the twelfth minute, the black precipitate dissolves yet the solution continues to fizz showing the chemical reaction is still taking place. After collecting the data and recording my observations, I then draw a linear graph in order to work out the temperature rise which occurred at the fourth minute. I decided to draw my graph landscape as I figured out that drawing the graph landscape is the best method to draw the conclusion and working out the temperature rise as the data are more spread out so I can draw out a more accurate measurement. After working out the change in temperature from the graph, I will then use the value to calculate the heat given out (in Joules) during the experiment. The equation that I will be using is: q = mc ?T Hence, q = 4.18 x 28.1 x 50.0 = 5872.9 J Moles of aq copper sulphate used in the experiment: Volume x concentration = 50.0 x 0.500 = 0.0250 moles 1000 1000 Moles of Zinc power used in the experiment: Mass = 4.761 = 0.07283 mr 65.37 =0.0728(3s.f) In the method given, I was asked to weigh out the mass of the Zinc powder between 4.5g and 5g. This shows that the reagent Zinc is in excess as the mass of Zinc does not effect the outcome of the results. The limiting reagent for this experiment is copper sulphate solution. Hence, I will be using the moles of copper sulphate to work out the rest of the calculation in the experiment. I will then use the values that I have worked out from the previous calculation to work out that molar enthalpy change for the reaction: ?H = -q = -5872.9 = -234.9 Moles x 1000 0.0250 x 1000 = -235(3s.f) Note: This is assuming that the experiment is under standard condititions. During this experiment, I must also consider the errors into account as they could affect the overall results. The apparatus that I used for this experiment is the most likely cause of error for example, transferring the Zinc powder from the weighing boat to the polystyrene cup is an error as there would be Zinc powder leftover on the weighing boat but in this investigation, it would not be the case as Zinc powder is in excess so the error would not take into account. First of all, I will work out the maximum percentage error in using each piece of the apparatus. This is to ensure that I have include all the possible errors in the apparatus and so that I can comment on whether if the apparatus contributes in affecting the overall results. The maximum percentage error in apparatus: Error in balance = à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.001g = 0.001 X 100 4.761 = 0.02100 %( 4s.f) Error in the thermometer = à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.2 = 0.2 X 100 28.1 = 0.7117 %( 4s.f) Error in 50ml burette pipette= à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.05 = 0.05 X100 50.0 = 0.1% Overall maximum percentage error= 0.8327% = 0.833% (3s.f) Hence, after working out the maximum percentage error, I can use the figure to estimate the degree of uncertainty in my enthalpy change. The enthalpy change is -235 in 3s.f. I have decided to use 3s.f as an appropriate degree of accuracy so the maximum percentage error 0.8327% will be 0.833% in s.f. In my opinion, the maximum percentage error is small so therefore I dont think it will effect my enthalpy change to an extent as the smaller the number of the maximum percentage error, then the more accurate my enthalpy change will be. I also thought of including the error of the stopwatch but it wouldnt affect the maximum percentage error much so therefore I decided to exclude it from my calculation as the error is tiny and can be discarded. Conclusion The reaction between Zinc and Copper Sulphate solution is an exothermic reaction meaning that the reaction releases heat to its surrounding. Therefore, theoretically, the temperature of the solution would increase when the reaction is taking place. This is proven in my results table as when I added the Zinc powder to Copper Sulphate solution at the fourth minute, the temperature dramatically increase from 19.2à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C to 40.2à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C. The reaction is spontaneous as the temperature increase very rapidly and then gradually slowing down in the later time interval. From my graph, I have drawn the best fit line for the data that I plotted onto the graph to show a trend that the temperature gradually decrease after a set amount of time. The best fit line proves the accuracy of my results as the best fit line crosses most of the data that I plotted which shows that the data that I collected is reasonably reliable. The best fit line also helps me to identify the anomalies of my values as I can clearly distinguish the anomalies from my values by using the best fit line. However, I must also take into account of the two anomalies which I circled on the graph and these points do not respond to the trend of the values. This may be due to the possible errors that could have taken place during the experiment. For example, at the fifth minute after that Zinc powder has been added, the temperature that I collected (40.2à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C) is an anomaly as it does not fit into the best fit line. This may be due to the fact that I havent stirred the solution properly with the glass rod so the heat may not spread through some parts of the solution so by recording the solution with the thermometer, I may receive an unreliable value so therefore I must take into account that it is important to stir the solution vigorously to ensure that the heat is spread out throughout the solution and to ensure that the precipitate has completely dissolved and no sludge remained. In order to see how well the performance of my results are, I will need to use the theoretical value of the enthalpy change and compare it with the value of my enthalpy change so that I can see how far my value is from the correct value. The theoretical values that I used are from the chemistry data book; JG Stark, H G Wallace, 1982, Chemistry data book, page 57. The values that are used for Copper aq and Zinc aq are: By using the Hess Law, I will work out the theoretical enthalpy change by using these values from the data book. = -(+64.4) + (-152.4) = -216.8 Kjmolà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ I will then compare my value with the theoretical value of the enthalpy change. To do this, i will work out the percentage difference between my experimental value and the theoretical value. This is to see how big the percentage difference between my value and the theoretical value as the smaller the percentage, the more accurate my value will be to the theoretical value. So first, I will work out the difference between my experimental value and the theoretical value. -216.8-(-234.916) = 18.116 Kjmolà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Then, I will use this value to find the percentage difference between my experimental value and the theoretical value.

Stereotypies: Antecedents and Consequences in Domestic Dog

Stereotypies: Antecedents and Consequences in Domestic Dog Stereotypies their antecedents and consequences in the domestic dog (Canis Familiaris) 1 Chapter 1: Introduction (2000 words) 1424 1.1 Repetitive Behaviours 2 The simplest behaviours are repetitive including normal play but this usually has a challenge, an example is avoiding cracks in the pavement (Williams and Hill, 2012). There are many kinds of repetitive behaviour, when learning a trick the behaviour is practiced until the whole trick is flawless. Many believe that the young play as a way of practicing the skills needed when adults; however research by Fagen (1981) and Smith (1982) found that â€Å"play is not practice†. 1.1.1 Normal behaviours Normal behaviour is essential to promote an animal’s psychological and physical homeostasis so the animal can interact with and modify its environment. One of the five freedoms used to assess animal welfare is the ability to express normal behaviours (FAWC, 2009). However, the definition of normal behaviours in human terms is relative to a person’s culture and age and may be related to an animal’s culture. Kilgour (2012) asserts the definition of normal behaviour is not straightforward; however, an ethogram of domestic animals nearest wild relatives gives some idea of an animal’s different behaviours and time budgets. Lindsay (2001:pp.40-42) provides a dog ethogram of ‘normal behaviours’. Daily activity for dogs and their owners tends to vary day to day but over the seven days affords a more constant estimate of activity (Dow et al., 2009) this indicates that many companion dogs’ activities tend to be routine. Stressed dogs frequently find grooming calming, if the stress is long term this can lead to over grooming causing hair loss and damage to the skin. 1.1.2 Abnormal behaviours Abnormal behaviours are those that are atypical of animal’s in the wild (Birkett and Newton-Fisher, 2011). Abnormal repetitive behaviours are unvarying and apparently functionless that can be readily interrupted, whereas for stereotypy the behaviour must be difficult to interrupt (Mason and Latham, 2004; Haverbeke et al., 2008) these can be either impulsive/compulsive or stereotypies (Garner, 2006). 1.1.3 Stereotypic behaviours Stereotypic behaviours are all repetitive unexplained behaviours but are not necessarily predictable (Bergeron et al., 2006). Repetitive stereotypic behaviours may be symptomatic of stress but may not necessarily be a problem (Rooney et al., 2009), in the dog this could be grooming to relieve stress and only becomes a problem if it results in hair loss or damage to the skin. 1.1.4 Stereotypies Many people understand the term stereotypy to indicate that an individual exhibits a problem behaviour. 1.1.5 The Evolutionary view of Stereotypy Japyassà º and Malange (2014) write that from the evolutionary view the term abnormal behaviour should be avoided, because phenotypic diversity in genes, morphology and behaviour are major forces driving evolution. Phenotypic diversity is important as enables an organism to adapt to new environments; those behaviours that seem abnormal now could become the new normal depending upon evolutionary selection. The apparent lack of function in behaviour is questionable as eventually some function may be determined, or help in coping with stress or a means of communication. The function of stereotypes may also be revealed in unexpectedly perhaps related to communication (Japyassà º and Malange, 2014). 1.1.6 The Ethological and Animal Welfare view of Stereotypy The animal welfare view is that stereotypies are abnormal, functionless repetitive behaviours (Japyassà º and Malange, 2014). look for another ref. The ethological view is that stereotypies are repetitive behaviours that are unchanging irrespective of the context (Japyassà º and Malange, 2014). These views are drawn together by Mason (1991) defining stereotypy as repetitive, unvarying, uninterruptable behaviours with no apparent proximate or ultimate function. However, Rapp and Vollmer (2005) write that frequently stereotypic behaviours provides their own reinforcement and not social consequences. 1.1.7 What are Impulsive/Compulsive Behaviours Impulsive/compulsive repetitive behaviours are variable and have a goal directed; but the behaviour persists even after the achieving the goal or the goal becomes inappropriate (Garner, 2006). 1.1.8 Impulsive repetitive behaviours Impulsive repetitive behaviours are identified in humans with Tourette’s syndrome manifesting as complex tics, or as trichotillomania, hair plucking. 1.1.9 Difference between Impulsive/Compulsive Behaviours Clinically the distinction between impulsive and compulsive repetitive behaviours is important, however differentiating them is more complex in animals than in humans (Garner, 2006). 1.1.10 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Mills and Luescher (2006) state that stereotypy and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are hard to differentiate Eilam et al. (2012) add that OCD is a disabling condition affecting the sufferer’s quality of life. Ethology is the study of animal behaviour aiming to understand proximate and the ultimate causes of behaviours; the concept of the ethogram methodology is extended to the study of OCD behaviour (Eilam et al., 2012). Observations by Eilam et al. (2006) showed animals performing rigid behaviour sequences in specific locations, according to Kalueff et al. (2007) these are the spatiotemporal and locomotor characteristics of OCD. 1.1.11 What is the difference between OCB and stereotypy Chok and Koesler (2014) used functional analysis to assess the differences between stereotypy and obsessive compulsive behaviours (OCB) by identifying physiological states internal (heart rate) and external (defined by facial expression or vocalisations). Signs of pleasure were regarded as a measure positive reinforcement, hence stereotypy and of displeasure regarded as signs of OCB. 1.1.12 Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviours (OCB) Humans exhibiting obsessive-compulsive behaviours (OCB) are aware that these behaviours are irrational but are unable to resist their compulsion to continue to perform the behaviour. 1.2 Stereotypies and the environment 1.2.1 Maternal Deprivation Captive animals particularly in commercial environments but including companion animals are frequently removed from their mothers earlier than would occur in the wild (Latham and Mason, 2008). Maternal deprivation leads to an increase in the frequency and severity stereotypes these can be short term as with belly-nosing in piglets or can cause neural changes inducing later persistent stereotypes (Latham and Mason, 2008). The relationship between the animal’s stereotypic behaviour and the environmental deficit is not always clear. Wiedenmayer (1997) found that providing a substrate suitable for digging did not reduce stereotypies in gerbils but providing a tunnel system did. Digging was not the controlling motivation just means to achieve a burrow. 1.2.2 Stereotypy: Interdisciplinary Communication The term stereotypy has different uses in different research areas ethological, medical and animal welfare; there is not even an agreement about including lack of function or abnormality in the definition (Japyassà º and Malange, 2014). Edwards et al. (2012) asserts the lack of a consistent definition for stereotypies is insufficient for both academic and medical diagnostic purposes. 1.3 Stereotypies Behaviours 1.3.1 Ungulate stereotypies Ungulates are the most common mammal exhibiting stereotypy; many ungulate stereotypies tend to resemble species typical feeding and foraging behaviours (Bergeron et al., 2006). Examples of typical stereotypies for ungulates are given in Table 1. Cattle at pasture spend between 7 to 9 hours grazing and similar time ruminating; possibly herbivores have evolved to require a minimum feeding period each day (Redbo and Nordblad,1997). This could explain the number of oral stereotypies reported for animals fed on a concentrate food with restricted roughage as their time budget eating and ruminating is less that at pasture. Table 1: Examples of ungulate stereotypy 1.3.2 Carnivore stereotypies Some species of carnivores do well in captivity do not exhibit abnormal behaviours and breed successfully. While carnivores that have high activity levels and patrol large ranges have high levels of stereotypy. Vickery and Mason (2005) found carnivore stereotypies are mostly locomotory pacing and weaving, other reported stereotypies was some oral and head swaying. Clubb and Mason (2007) found the carnivore stereotypy levels are significantly predicted by their typical travel distances and natural home-range size. Perhaps some species are unsuitable for zoos and should be conserved in large areas that enable their natural behaviours. 1.4 Overall Research Aims 1.4.1 Relationship between breed type and stereotypy To try to measure the spread of different stereotypies across breed groups. It has been found that some breeds have their own particular set of stereotypes for example flack sucking in Doberman Pinchers (Houpt, 1992). 1.5 Outline Research Methods and Timescales 1.5.1 Research method A questionnaire will be used to measure the relationship between breed type and the stereotypy emitted. The survey was initially created using several survey software programs available online; many were restricted either the number of questions asked or the variety of question types was limited, or the resultant output file was not in a format readily converted for SPSS. Eventually Google Docs was selected and the survey created and was piloted on social media the resulting file of about 20 responses was downloaded in text format that could be readily input into a spreadsheet which then needs to be reformatted for input into SPSS for processing. The questionnaire included some questions that had open questions in the form of the ‘other’ option a free text input area. This was to allow flexibility and for respondents to feel empowered and encourage more accurate replies. This means these responses need interpreting and the formation of new categories or allocated to avai lable options for processing (Questionnaire, 2015). These questions are qualitative but once the responses have been interpreted in allocated to categories, the subsequent treatment of the data will be quantitative and analysed using quantitative statistical methods. The social environment shared by the domestic dog and their human companions unique and investigating the environment care must be taken not introduce bias by the questions asked. 1.5.2 Comparability of Responses 1.5.2.1 Outline Research Method 1 Timescales During May 2015 the survey was deployed in several different social media and forums across a number of interest groups including relating to dogs: trainers, problems, breed categories and general chat forums. The number of respondents stalled by June and further locations sort.

Thomas Edison Essay example -- History Biography

I decided to do my report on Thomas Alva Edison because he brought a lot of things into our world. He invented the light bulb, the alkaline battery, the phonograph, and many other things. Many of our modern electronics origins came from Thomas A. Edison. I thought he was very interesting. That is why I chose him. Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847, and lived with his middle class parents, Samuel Edison (his father) and Nancy Edison (his mother). Surprisingly, the young boy did not even talk until he was four years old. In 1854, at age seven, Tom and his parents moved to Port Huron, Michigan. There, near the beginning of the year in a noisy schoolhouse with 38 other kids, his teacher lost his patience with Tom's behavior and endless questions. So, his mother pulled him out of school and home taught him very well, for she used to be a teacher. But, Tom's parents were not educated enough to home teach Tom, for his growing interest in things dealing with physics found his parents stumped. Luckily, his parents had enough money to hire a tutor. By age twelve, he had persuaded his parents to let him sell snacks and newspaper on the railroad. By age fourteen, he had published his first newspaper called the "Weekly Herald." At its high point, Tom sold 400 copies per day and was getting $10 per day (which was a lot back then). Because of the newspaper, he now had enough money to focus more on experiments. Tom now had one lab in the basement of his home and kept things for experiments in his locker on the train. One day, while crossing a bumpy section of the track, the train jerked, letting a chemical from Tom's experiment fall on the floor and set fire to the train. The conductor was so mad he hit... ...three more children. When Thomas grew older, so did his deafness. Mina told Tom what people were saying by tapping the words on his knee in Morse code. All in all, Thomas Edison was not a very good father because he was busy all the time. However, this busyness and hard work changed our lives with his many inventions. One of his famous quotes describes his attitude, "Invention is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Thomas Edison died on October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey. At his funeral, these words were spoken, "Picture an electric-lightless, an electric-powerless, a telephoneless, a motion-pictureless, a phonographless world, and a faint realization of his greatness dawns upon us." Bibliography Kevles, D., Keysarr A., Maier P., & Smith, M. (2002) A History of the United States: Inventing America. New York: W.W. Norton.

Best kept secret of the church

What is the â€Å"best kept secret† of the church? Why? According to the clip, the â€Å"best kept secret' of the church is the Church's Catholic Social Teachings. It is God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice. I think it is the best kept secret of the church because the church has helped the poor in many ways and because of authoritative statements-?whether from church or government-?have less attraction today than acts of authentic witness.Also is it will also make social sues which will make the Catholic church receive not so good comments so they do not let other people know the secret of the church. And doing good doesn't need to be rewarded by other people, but to be rewarded by God alone. 2. Give at least 5 issues presented by the clip. A. Poverty because many Filipinos are â€Å"kapok† and uneducated b. Concentration of Wealth Because the poor thinks they are poor, they remain poor. C. Environmental Abuse The co ntinuity of illegal logging that makes the Earth worse. D. Inequality in land distributionThere are many informal settlers in our country because they don't have their own land and they can't buy because they don't have that kind of money. E. Social inequality The government doesn't entertain the poor people because they know that they won't gain anything from them, and the higher people or rich people help but only a few times. 3. Chi arch responses/actions on the given issues. In our recent times, the church response to this by having an outreach program or sometimes ask for donations to offer foods for those who are in deed. B.Concentration of Wealth Because the poor doesn't think they can survive and have a better life if they work, they don't work. But then the church gives seminar to help those people to carry on with their lives so they don't have any more excuses. C. Environmental Abuse Due to the continuation of the doings of the illegal loggers, the church and its people d ecided to have a checkpoint and the people were there to secure their place and to reduce the risk of the earth being destroyed wherein due to his action they were able to capture illegal loggers and to take back the logs they got.Also the priests help in planting trees, which is also a good thing. D. Inequality in land distribution The church tried to help and give the poor people voice and maybe encouraged them to appeal to the court about their current situation of the land where they are staying now. Another is that the church provided the church to be the place where the people can have their meeting. E.Social inequality When inside the church, there are no social inequality shown wherein all the people are together and are happy with being together and they all share foods to eat and it helped them improve their social relations. 4. Do you agree or not in the church's doings? Why? Yes agree. Because the church are doing their best to help or to provide proper action in regards to those situation and it need not to be publicized. Doing something good does not need someone to commend you but to make the other person feel good and to know that God with reward you as well is what really matters.

Christianity and Islam Essay

A few months ago, when a Vatican official announced that Catholicism was surpassed by Islam as the world’s largest faith, many news agencies around the world carried what seemed to have been a largely unnoticed issue for this present generation – religion. At least for some time, renewed debates about whether or not one should indeed consider Islam as a religion that commands world’s largest followers surfaced one after another. The issue many people think should not be dismissed is the fact that Christianity – a religion which combines an array of all its offshoots namely Roman Catholicism, Orthodox, Protestantism, Anglicanism, Evangelicals, among others – still has the largest adherents compared to any other religion, including Islam. Even if Christianity may be broken down into some larger or other smaller denominations, many people subscribe to idea that since all Christians root their belief in Christ, one must take them as belonging to a singular religion, the largest in the world to be exact. To consider Christianity as a single religion involves rounds of new separate debates. Surely, when the differences between the mainstream Christian blocks and the thousand of other minor denominations are brought into the fore, their respective beliefs will manifest diversity, resemblance, opposition, and even contradiction. Tedious as this process may appear, one may not yet consider the fact that even in the Islam religion itself there are further classifications of membership that must be taken into careful account. Again, it is legitimate to inquire whether it is proper to take Islam as a unitary religion, or they too must be broken down into their finer types. As one may correctly observe, inner divisions within the world’s largest religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. – appear to be a fundamentally given fact. One can perhaps inquire whether it is possible to identify a major religion with millions, if not a billion of adherents, which does not have any, or have not suffered from any inner rift at any given point of its history. It may be interesting to ask therefore, what accounts for the eventual internal fall out of world religions in history? Better yet, how must we attempt to understand what happens in a religion that has been divided into smaller aggregate types in the course of history? II. Rationale and Scope This brief study presents a case for divisions transpiring within world religions. But since the scope of studying the issue is broad (considering that there are many major world religions to cite), this research shall be restricted at tackling Christianity and Islam as chosen types. Specifically, the study shall describe the events that transpired during the Catholic-Protestant divide of the mid 1500’s for Christianity, and the Shiite-Sunni divide for Islam. To be sure, there are other identifiable divisions which can be noted in the history of Christianity. While there are small schisms involving â€Å"heretics† who refuse to accept fundamental Christian teachings, Christianity is said to have been divided into two major blocks during the 11th century. It produced the dichotomization between the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, which until the present still exists. For the purposes of limiting this study, the Christian division which shall be discussed in this study shall dwell on the Luther-led Reformation of the 1500’s. Meanwhile, it is also insightful to note even in the Islam religion, there have been various types of smaller divisions and schisms. For the purposes of this study too, the rift between the Shiites and the Sunnis that was created in the early years of Islam religion shall be the one in focus. A short analysis and interpretation of the sample religions used shall comprise the conclusion of this study. III. Discussion Proper a. Nature of Religion Before relating the events defining the divisions that were experienced both by Christianity and Islam, it will be helpful to cite some theories to help explain the dynamics of religion. This is important since it shall provide a working perspective which is to be used later on in the analysis. Religion is a phenomenon which may be understood in many ways. Basically speaking, it refers to the common innate feeling or â€Å"belief in a Supreme Being† (McCutcheon, 2007, p. 22). Religion obviously stems from a belief that there is a higher being that must be worshiped or adored. But religion does not pertain to kind of personal belief alone. It also describes how a believer finds the need to belong to a community which shares the same belief, and thus obey a given set of rules within it. Thus, another definition for religion may also be expressed as a â€Å"unified system of belief and practices relative to sacred things† which â€Å"unites (believers) into one single moral community† (McCutcheon, 2007, p. 22). Combing both definitions enable one to fully appreciate the fact that religion pertains to both a personal ascent to God, and a commitment to a community, a set of rules and a specific set rituals. When seen under the lenses of scientific inquiry (e. g. anthropology, sociology, philosophy, etc. ) religion reveals patterns and dynamism consistent with human belief system, knowledge, interest and relationships. This means that religion is molded into the belief system of the believers. For instance, if Christians hold that Christ in his lifetime was compassionate to the poor, it follows that they too, since they follow Christ, must do something good for their less fortunate brethren. Or if Moslems take Mohammad as their example, and Mohammad was a deeply spiritual man, they too must not take spirituality lightly in their lives. Religious mindset is committed to certain courses of action (Slater, 1978, p. 6); and these actions are meaningful only because believers draw their identities from a person or a belief system they embrace – be it the Lordship of Christ, or the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad (Slater, 1978, p. 82). This is one of the primary reasons why religions possess their â€Å"continuing identities† (Slater, 1978, p. 82). So long as a group of Christians identify themselves to the teachings of their religion, say Catholic Church, they will remain to be Catholics. As indeed, so long as a group of Moslems identify themselves to the teachings of their religion, say Shiite group, they will remain to be identified with it. What explains the shift in a belief system is when one cannot anymore identify either with a teaching, or specific religious structures. It is a general rule that key to a religion’s perpetuity is establishing an identity. When people start to feel alienated with what they used to hold or believe it, it can explain why a group of believers create their own groups to accommodate their otherwise alienated belief system. To help establish the point, it may be good to lay down two glaring examples. b. The Shiite-Sunnis Divide Islam was born at least five hundred years after Christianity was already an institutionalized religion. But what started out only as a small community following Muhammad, Islam grew in exponential proportion in just a short span of time. Within the rapid growth came bitter disputes and eventual breakaways. Although Islam is a religion which does not readily recognize that there are divisions within them, scholars are almost unanimous in agreeing that some factions already broke from within the Moslem community dating back to the days when the religion itself was merely beginning to be established. In a sense, Islam is a religion broken down into at least two major divisions even before it got to be formally established as a religious phenomenon. It all started when a certain man named Muhammad, who by the way was born in 570 to a very poor family, begun to attract followers after experiencing visions and revelations (Renard, 1998, p. 7). His reputation spread in neighboring places, and soon found himself at odds with ruling empires for the large number of followers he had gathered. After this increasingly expanding community finally settled in Mecca in 630, Muhammad would die two years after (Renard, 1998, p. 7). His death would then see his community figure in a prolonged tug-of-war for rightful succession, and would officially begin the drift within the newly established religious community. One group claimed that Muhammad chose his rightful successor in the person of his son named Ali before he died. The other group contested the claim and said, no instructions were made by the Prophet whatsoever. Instead, they held that it was appropriate for to appoint leaders themselves, and eventually chose Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law, as the first of the four caliphs (meaning head), to rule the Islam community. Those who embraced the leadership of Ali were eventually known as the Shiites, while the followers who believed Abu Bakr’s caliphate eventually came to be known as Sunnis. As such, the neat separation within the just-emerging Islamic religion has been established. Since it exists up until today, it can be described as the â€Å"largest institutional division within the Muslim community† so far (Renard, 1998, p. 13; Ayoub, 2004, 72). c. The Catholic-Protestant Divide The era that colored the Catholic-Protestant divide was a Church marred with controversies, silent disenchantment and an ever growing discontent among Christian faithful. As history would show, it was through and because of Martin Luther – and his whole ebb generating protests against the Church – that the radical break from Catholicism was to be established. But hundreds of years before the supposed break, there had already been numerous events that point to the restlessness within the membership of the Church which it tried to quell. What were the controversies about? As early as the 1300’s, roughly two hundred years before Luther was born, an ordained priest by the name of John Wycliffe started to publish series of attacks against some of the major teachings and traditions of the Church. In 1372, he was summoned and reprimanded by Church authorities for his teachings that dwelled on the following: his denial of the doctrine of transubstantiation (a belief that the bread and wine used in celebrating the Eucharist is transformed into the real body and blood of Christ), attacks on the authority of the Pope as the head of the Church, corrupt practices within the Church, and emphasis on preaching and the use of Scriptures for teaching the doctrines of the Church (Cook, 2008, p. 95). Wycliffe probably represented the first courageous voices which tried to confront what’s wrong with the Church. In fact, he did try to raise legitimate concerns about both the divisive doctrines and lamentable discipline which the Church at that time practiced. Years after, Luther would pick up from where his predecessors had left out. In 1517, he released his Ninety-Five Theses to the public – a collection of ninety-five protests against many Church teachings – both doctrinal and moral – and Church practices, such as indulgences (spiritual merits obtained in return for monetary donations), celibacy (the promise for priests not to marry), Eucharist, among others (Cook, 2008, p. 100). Since the general religious atmosphere at that time was already ripe for reforms, his ninety-five theses were easily duplicated and spread throughout the German empire – a testament, as it were, to a huge popular support he enjoyed for the risks he took. Luther’s break from the Church was formally established when he burned the Papal bull Exsurge Domine (a decree which threatened him of excommunication if he did not recant his protests) in front of many people in a public square (Cook, 2008, 101). After which, he did subsequently ask the authorities of the German kingdom to support his cause for Church reform. Luther is remembered as a man who broke the Catholic Church apart. True enough, even before he died, he already saw the far reaching effects of his call for reforms he perhaps initially did not intended to jumpstart. Thanks to Luther, Christianity would never be the same again. The â€Å"Germany after (the) Reformation† movement in the mid 1500’s became a home to a new breed of Christians who came to be branded as Lutherans, Calvinist, Reformers, or even Protestants (Pennock, 2007, p. 168). In principle, Luther earned the reputation of being an agent of division within the Christian religion. IV. Conclusion To be sure, Christianity and Islam are not the only major religions in the world which had suffered a kind of break-up from within. Religious divisions are commonplace, and that variations sprouting from within large communities may be brought about by various factors. When divisions occur, one normally observes that differences pertaining to a host of issues including (but not limited to) doctrines, practices, or even recognized leadership become patent. As earlier mentioned, the dynamics of religion may help explain why a feeling of alienation (or a loss of identity) can push a believer or a group to break-away from mainstream religion to form their own set of practices and norms independently. Christianity and Islam were taken as exemplifications. In the points that were developed, it was seen that they share a history with lots of bitter disputes, which in turn led to an eventual division. But both religions suffered from internal rifts quite differently as well. Islam’s division was more political in nature, as two major factions with their respective claims to rightful succession to their now-dead Prophet-leader tore the emerging community apart – thus, the Sunnis and the Shiites. Christianity on the other hand, after experiencing many breakaway groups in the course of history, had to suffer yet another major blow from internal disputes led by Martin Luther in the 1500’s on account of doctrine and practices. What followed was a Christian religion torn once again, which ushered the creation of a big faction named Protestants. Religious divisions can be put under rigorous inquiry. There are viewpoints that consider these divisions as something that separate one group after another, while there are those who propose to see the same divisions as something that merely distinguish (but not separate). While the two viewpoints may be valid in their respective senses, this study places much interest not on their â€Å"distinguishability† or â€Å"separability†, but on the fact that, truly, religious divisions from within happen. References Ayoub, M. (2004). Islam. Faith and History. Oxford: Oneworld. Cook, C.. (2008) The Routledge Companion to Christian History. New York: Routledge. McCutcheon, R. (2007). Studying Religion. An Introduction. London: Equinox. Pennock, M. (2007) This is Our Church. A History of Catholicism. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press. Renard, J. (1998)101 Questions and Answers on Islam. New York: Paulist Press. Slater, P. (1978). The Dynamics of Religion. Meaning and Change in Religious Traditions. San Francisco: Harper and Row. (Also consulted) http://ca. news. yahoo. com/s/capress/080330/world/vatican_muslims

Dead salmon study by Craig Bennett Essays - Neuroimaging

Dead salmon study by Craig Bennett Essays - Neuroimaging "Dead salmon study" by Craig Bennett What happened in the study? i.e the procedure Neuroscientist Craig Bennett purchased a whole Atlantic salmon, took it to a lab at Dartmouth, and put it into an fMRI machine used to study the brain. The fish sat in the scanner, they showed it "a series of photographs depicting human individuals in social situations." To maintain the rigor of the protocol, the salmon, just like a human test subject, "was asked to determine what emotion the individual in the photo must have been experiencing." The salmon "was not alive at the time of scanning." 33978858382000What did the study show? i.e. the findings When they got around to analysing the voxel (think: 3-D or "volumetric" pixel) data, the voxels representing the area where the salmon's tiny brain sat showed evidence of activity. In the fMRI scan, it looked like the dead salmon was actually thinking about the pictures it had been shown. What the implications are for brain imaging research The result is completely nuts but that's actually exactly the point. Bennett, who is now a post-doc at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his adviser, George Wolford, wrote up the work as a warning about the dangers of false positives in fMRI data. They wanted to call attention to ways the field could improve its statistical methods. Researchers get up to 130,000 voxels from each set of scans they do of a brain. They have to comb all that data for signals that indicate something is happening in a particular region of the brain. The fMRI data has a lot of natural noise, though, and with the amounts of data generated in the work, chance can play some tricks.