Confucianism And Chuang-Tzu Essays - Chinese Philosophy, Taoism

Confucianism And Chuang-Tzu The brightest signs of art and thought in civilization often spring from turmoil, be it outer war or inner strife, as is definitely the case in ancient China. During one of these periods in transition of government and ruling class, two distinct philosophies sprang from the raging waters of China's ever-cyclic river of war and rebuilding. These philosophies were the brain-children of two very notable individuals, Confucius and Chuang Tzu, both of whom saw the suffering of their country men and felt called upon to render the way which would relieve their people. Confucius, was a very rational, logical man who believed that the world could be set into its proper order by prescribing morals embedded in ritual's practiced by those in power. Therefore instilling a desire for the people to practice these same rituals and ultimately leading a moral educated life. Although this is just a very basic statement of Confucian thought it does illustrate the great differences in the approaches taken by these two men. For while in all his teachings Confucius stressed the importance of morals and the attention that must be paid to scholastics and the matters of the physical world of politics and order, Chuang Tzu, takes an entirely different, and I believe, commonly misunderstood approach to resolving the same issue. In his writings Chuang Tzu, constantly hints at the existence of this mystical energy force, which flows with exact order through the cosmos, a presence if you will that has been since there has been anything, but yet is not old. In the mind of Chuang Tzu, when one discovered this flow, and was able to establish a solid connection, one would be filled with the energy of the cosmos, taking its' power with them wherever they went, constantly using it to guide them through the labyrinth that appears to those outside of "the way" to be the path of life. Therefore, by establishing and maintaining this connection, one can no in absolute certainty what is and what should be the proper course of action they should take. It has been said many times that Chuang Tzu himself was quite a spiritual mystic, which I believe to be a fitting description. However, the problem arises when individuals take this description and simply write off his works as nothing more than complex fairy tales separated by only a few degrees from those of dragons and fairies in western myth. One must not make this mistake, for mysticism and the life and work of and eastern spiritual mystic has just as much validity as does that of faith and the writings of another quite "mystic" spiritual character found embedded in western thought, this person being none other than Jesus of Nazareth. There are many questions which modern science has no answer and for these questions the mystics have the upper hand, for if through their arts, one souls finds their way then they have accomplished a task which will forever elude the scientific realm.

Bio science essays

Bio science essays The body is constituted of different types of cells which unite together to form contrary tissues. Tissues are a group of similar cells and their intercellular substance specialized to perform a specific function; primary tissue types of the body are epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous tissue. Epithelial is pertaining to a primary tissue that covers the body surface, lines its internal cavities, and forms glands. The connective tissue is also a primary tissue; form and function vary extensively. Functions include support, storage and protection(Marieb, E. N., 1998, P.109) Epithelium occurs in the body as (1) covering and lining epithelium and (2) glandular epithelium. Covering and lining epithelium forms the outer layer of the skin, dips into and lines the open cavities of the cardiovascular, digestive, and respiratory systems, and shelters the walls and organs of the closed ventral body cavity. Glandular epithelium customs the glands of the body. Epithelium is broadly disseminated throughout the body; its functions are many and varied to perform specific roles. Its functions include protection, absorption, secretion, filtration, excretion and sensory reception. Protection is covering or lining the body surface both internal and external. Absorption is the process by which products of digestion pass through the alimentary tube mucosa into the blood or lymph (protein-containing fluid transported by lymphatic vessels). Secretion is 1. The passage of material formed by a cell to its exterior; 2. Cell product that is transported to the exterior of a cell. Filtration is the passage of a solvent and dissolved substances through a membrane or filter. Excretion involves elimination of waste products from the body. Sensory reception which is dendritic end organs, or parts of other cell types, specialized to respond to a stimulus(Marieb, E.N.1998, p111-116). The classification of epit...

Be An Anthropologist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Be An Anthropologist - Essay Example This may have resulted from the existence of independent sub-fields within the subject. This paper will, therefore, investigate anthropology from a physical anthropologist perspective. The paper will also examine evolution based on cultural anthropology. The discussion within this paper seeks to establish the relationship between the two different points of view and its implications towards the subject. Physical anthropology is both a social science as well as a biological science. Physical anthropology deals with adaptations and variations in the human species as implied by biological principles and theories. The social aspect of physical anthropology seeks to establish the implications of human variations and adaptations on human behavior and culture. Human evolution stands out as a major subject within physical anthropology since it determines human developments and relations. Physical anthropologists consider evolution as accumulation of changes within consecutive generations. Th is implies that evolution results from the heritage of inheritable factors from successive generations. Although there are several inheritable characteristics within the human species, not all potential characteristics contribute to evolution. The desirable character within a population dominates the undesirable characteristics within a successive generation in a given population. ... Physical anthropologists analyze DNA to study human evolution, and this indicates the importance of biology in the subject. DNA is a substance contained in all living cells of an organism. Biologists claim that this substance contains or carries hereditary materials (gene) from parents to their offspring. Studying the DNA enables anthropologists to define the relationship between people. DNA analysis enables physical anthropologists to study successive changes within humanity that constitute evolution. The analysis, therefore, enables a physical anthropologist to validate the existence of evolution. Differences within humanity resulting from geographical disparities can also be explained through DNA analysis. DNA analysis is important to a physical anthropologist; however, it does not sufficiently explain the origin and evolution of the human race. Physical anthropologists also consider cultural analysis to be an important aspect of the discipline. To study evolution, physical anthro pologists study the relationships between culture and biological characteristics of humanity and rely on knowledge and theories developed by other academic discipline. Biological theories and principles on DNA enable physical anthropologists to study human evolution and evolutionary differences. Studying different languages among different communities also contributes to evolution knowledge among physical anthropologists. The book Man, Mind and Science by Leaf is a very useful resource in anthropology. The resource contains relevant information on physical anthropology. According to the resource, evolution is a continuous process that depends on various aspect of humanity. The source proves that evolution theories can only be validated through a

Katrina disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Katrina disaster - Essay Example The paper addresses planning and implementing of the rescue work, workers safety and hazards, equipment and protective gear required, hazardous materials inside the hospital and their removal. Keywords: Personal Protective Equipment – PPE, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - NIOSH, Federal Emergency Management Agency – FEMA, High efficiency particulate absorbing – HEPA, Occupational Safety and Health Association - OSHA, contaminants, hazards, hygiene. Evaluation of a large New Orleans Hospital after Hurricane Katrina and resultant flooding is taking place directed by Incident Commander, lead by Industrial Hygienist of the hospital with a team comprising of Hospital’s Safety Supervisor (Programs & Training), the Environmental Manager (physical plant, wastes and regulatory issues), two technicians (IH and environmental sample collection and testing) and 25 other employees. The recovery team is given the name ‘Rescuers†. Teams would be organized by phases in the recovery mission. Phase one would be to make second floor safe and clean for working environment as per set standards. Second phase would be initial evaluation of the building further breaking down into sub-phases according to building levels. Then third phase would be removal of hazardous material from basement and 1st level. Fourth phase would be reconstruction and rehabilitation of the floors. Final phase would be testing and monitoring for safety prior to opening the hospital fro operation. Team would be housed on site in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers powered by generators. Team’s offices would be on the 2nd floor of the building (since below levels are waterlogged) along with surgical suites, clinical laboratory and pharmacy. Pharmacy has been looted and trashed. Since communication means through land line is impossible and few cell phone networks are working, hence radio satellite would be installed for reliable mean of

Enterprise Architecture (EA) Enables SDLC Processes Paper Research

Enterprise Architecture (EA) Enables SDLC Processes - Research Paper Example There have been several attempts to define EA in a more precise way but it is clear that finding a common definition that embodies all that EA stands for. According to quote (year) however, the harder this attempt is made, the more divergent opinions come up as to what EA really stands for. For the purpose of the current paper however, a definition that is used by The Enterprise Architecture Body of Knowledge (2013) is adopted, which explains that EA analyses areas of common activity that are found within an organization by exchanging information and other resources to guide future states. EA are also known to be very applicable from an integrated viewpoint in terms of strategy, business and technology (quote). From the definition given about EA, it would be understood that EA emphasizes on the exchange of information. Meanwhile, at the initiation, planning or concept of phase of SDLC, sponsors identify a need or opportunity that they seek to pursue (quote). By incorporating EA, these sponsors will be aided to exchange information with other stakeholders to confirm the viability of the needs or opportunities that they identify (quote). This means that EA helps sponsors not to make bad decisions as to whether they have to carry on the opportunities with other phases of the system development. In effect, EA can help in gathering useful information as to whether the system development should be started in the first place. The requirement analysis phase of any SDLC has been noted to be a resource focused phase as it ends with decisions on the requirements that will be needed in undertaking the whole system development (quote). By extension, a lot of the financial budgeting is done at the requirements analysis phase. With this noted, quote (year) indicated that EA can be used to support the requirements analysis phase by

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Monopoly Economics Essay

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Monopoly Economics Essay Markets are the heart and soul of a capitalist or free market economy which is based on the notion of competition. Varying degrees of competition ultimately lead to different market structures with different outcomes to the market. The main market structures are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly, each with a different outcome to the market which leads economists to consider some market structures to be more desirable for the society such as perfect competition while others are less desirable such as Monopoly. It is often argued that monopoly restricts competition through entry barriers and therefore should be forbidden. This is supported by a strong case against monopoly as it restricts consumer choice and prevents small innovative businesses from being established. In addition, a monopoly will produce at a lower output and charge higher prices than a competitive market, with the same cost structure. This leads to a loss of economic welfare and efficiency. However, if monopolies are always assumed bad then questions of why firms seek to be monopolies and why governments accept or tolerate monopolistic firms will rise. In theory monopoly is a market with only one seller that dominates and sets price and quantity of the good. The markets demand curve is the firms demand curve and it is assumed that there are no substitutes and thus a firm is a price-maker that is motivated by profit maximisation and is supported by restrictive barriers to entry of the market that subsequently prevents competition. In reality it is hard to find a market in which some form of substitute firm or product does not exist. Therefore, the Competition Commission in the UK defines a market as a monopoly if there is a firm possessing over a 25% market share and facing no significant competition. In order to evaluate monopoly and to determine whether it should be allowed or not, it is vital to understand the characteristics of monopoly and to apply various efficiency concepts such as productive efficiency, allocative efficiency and X-efficiency to both extremes of the market structure, perfect competition and monopoly, to understand their effect on both consumer and producer surplus in the form of households and firms which consequently affect the general economic welfare. 2.0 Characteristics of Monopoly There are various characteristics of monopoly but it is mainly distinguished from other market structures by its barriers to entry. These barriers are a variety of obstacles or boundaries that prevent other firms from breaking into the monopolistic firms market, thus allowing the monopolistic firm to maintain its monopoly and therefore continue to earn supernormal profits. Sloman (2010) suggests that barriers to the entry of new firms are a must for an existing firm to maintain its monopoly position. There are a number of entry barriers that would exist in a market in different forms such as economies of scale, economies of scope, legal patents, licences, product differentiation and high start-up costs. Economies of scale are considered as one major barrier, this occurs when a reduction in unit costs depends on the output size. In such case, a large firm is most efficient and new firms cannot afford to enter the market and gain market shares. The industry may not be able to accommodate more than one producer which is known as natural monopoly. This is the case with public utilities such as water, gas, electricity where these firms have economies of scale to prevent new firms from entering the market. Economies of scope is another barrier as firms who produce a range of products are likely to achieve lower average costs of production and undercut prices to drive new firms out of the market. Proctor Gamble enjoys economies of scope as it produces hundreds of products but could afford to hire expensive skilled workers and experts who can use their skills across the product line and therefore spread the costs and lower the average total cost for each product. (Alesina and Spolaore, 2005) Patents and licences are also considered main entry barriers. The US Patent and Trademark office issues patents for 20 years period, in accordance with the 1995 GATT agreement. (USPTO, 1995) These patents give an inventor the exclusive right to produce a product for a 20 years period such as the case of the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, which has a patent on Viagra until 2014. (Stevens, 2007) Likewise, licences are granted by governments which allow one or a few firms to operate in a specific market under government regulations and control. Product differentiation and brand loyalty where a firm produces a differentiated product and the consumer associates that product with the brand. An example of product differentiation would be the car industry, where different firms would produce substitutes but they are not considered as perfect substitutes as required in perfect competition, so each firm would have some form of monopoly power in its product category. This is clearly evident in the luxury sport cars market such as Ferrari, Porsche and Lotus. Other forms of entry barriers may include high start-up costs for new firms in comparison with an established monopoly firm which is likely to have gained enough experience and efficiency techniques to be able to reduce costs and hence prices for any potential new firms to be able to compete. Based on the characteristics of monopoly, it is important to evaluate its economic efficiency and therefore its effect on consumer surplus and social welfare in general. In the next section, we compare the economic efficiency of both extremes of the market structure. 3.0 Economic efficiency In economic terms, monopoly and perfect competition should be judged on the extent to which they contribute to improving the human wellbeing and social welfare, therefore, it is important to assess whether the market structure is efficient or inefficient. Nellis and Parker (2006) point out that the success or failure of firms is directly affected by the extent to which they are managed efficiently. The lower the cost per unit of output, without reducing the quality of the product, the higher the economic efficiency of a firm. This is evident in a competitive market where firms strive to be economically efficient in order to survive. However, this is not the case in a monopoly which is generally considered as an inefficient market structure. This can be clarified by the following analysis of various economic terms of efficiency. 3.1 Allocative efficiency Assuming an initial distribution of income and wealth, allocative efficiency occurs at the point when it is impossible to improve overall economic welfare by reallocating resources between markets. For the whole economy to be allocatively efficient, price must equal marginal cost in every market. However, it is unlikely that a monopoly seeking profit maximisation would be allocatively efficient. A monopoly tends to restrict output below the market equilibrium to force up the prices. PRC MC AC Welfare loss MR AR=Industry demand=MU Q2 Q1 Output Figure 1 Allocative inefficiency and welfare loss Figure 1 demonstrates how a monopoly is allocatively inefficient. While a perfectly competitive market would have an output Q1 where the price P is equal to both MC and MU based on demand curve so all units produced add more to welfare (MU) than the resources they cost to make (MC). A monopolist is in equilibrium with an output Q2 where MC=MR, which means some units that would have been benefited society are no longer produced and thus an overall welfare loss. 3.2 Productive efficiency This can only be achieved if a firm uses the available techniques and factors of production at the lowest possible cost per unit of output. Lipsey (1992) states that in the context of an industry, the interpretation of productive efficiency is that firms are operating so that costs are minimized. In monopoly, in contrast to perfect competition, there are no competitive forces that would make a firm hold costs down to a minimum. PRC MC AC C2 C1 MR AR Q2 Q1 Output Figure 2 Productive efficiency Figure 2 illustrates the productively efficient output Q1 which is the minimum point of the AC curve where unit cost is C1, where the least amount of scarce resources possible are being used per unit of output. However, a monopolist will produce the profit maximising output Q2 with higher costs C2 per unit which can be passed to the consumer, hence demonstrating productive inefficiency. X-efficiency The concept of x-efficiency requires that the lowest possible prices are paid for inputs or factors of production. However, there is less incentive for a monopoly to make full use of the available technology, mainly due to lack of competition. Monopolies are more likely to be technically and productively inefficient, incurring unnecessary production costs and wasted resources. A firm could be employing too many workers or investing in machines that are never used, deeming it technically inefficient. It could be paying its workers unnecessary high wages or buying capital or raw material at unnecessary high prices. This means that the monopolists LRAC is above that which would be technically possible, therefore resources are wasted. Costs LRAC monopoly LRAC possible = X-inefficiency Output Figure 3 X-efficiency gap The x-inefficiency gap, as shown in figure 3, is considered as unnecessary production costs that a firm can reduce. In a perfectly competitive market, a firm must eliminate any form of x-inefficiency in order to survive and make normal profits. However, this is not the case with monopoly, which are able to survive while incurring unnecessary production costs and making satisfactory rather than maximum profits. The evaluation of economic efficiency of a monopoly compared to perfect competition has highlighted a number of disadvantages to support economists case against monopolistic firms. 4.0 Disadvantages of Monopoly In general, a monopolistic market structure would produce less output and charge higher prices which leads to a decline in consumer surplus and a deadweight welfare loss. The higher prices would lead to allocative inefficiency and supernormal profits, leading to reduced benefits to consumers and unequal distribution of income. This also raises a question about equity. The higher prices would exploit low income consumers and their purchasing power might be transferred to shareholders in the form of dividends leading again to unequal distribution of income. A monopoly tends to be less motivated towards economic efficiency such as cutting costs or increasing productivity. There is also a possibility that a monopoly would experience diseconomies of scale as the higher it gets bigger, their average costs increase. Further more, the lack of competition could discourage a monopoly from investing in research and development, leading to lack of innovation and worse products. However, with all the evidence against monopoly, there are still the questions of why do monopolies still exist, why firms seek to be monopolies and why do governments seem to tolerate them? 5.0 Advantages of monopoly On economic terms, perfect competition is generally regarded as more desirable than monopoly. However, monopolies are not necessarily bad, considering they are as highly motivated and public-spirited as competitive industries. Economic theory assumes that everyone is motivated by self-interest; this applies to competitive markets as well as to monopolies. Firms in competitive markets would aspire to be a monopoly by eliminating competition but this is unlikely achieved due to market forces and the absence of barriers to entry and exit. The fact that monopolies make supernormal profits allows them to invest in research and development and allows them to fund high cost investment spending into new technology. This is likely to result, if successful, in improved products and lower costs on the long run. An innovative monopoly could therefore be considered dynamically efficient over a long term as it reaps the reward of investment in research and development. Microsoft did not start as a monopoly but the introduction of Windows version 3.0 in 1990 followed by various Microsoft Office applications provided the market power to become a monopoly. Its position as a monopoly was further cemented by the continuous investment in research and development. It is generally argued that monopoly in high technology sectors is good as it provides firms with a greater incentive to invest in research and development. Patents for new ideas are normally acceptable as it encourages firms to fund the initial research and development and it allows these firms to recoup their investment. Another advantage of monopoly is economies of scale. An increased output would lead to a decrease in average costs of production, which can be passed to consumers in the form of lower prices. Likewise, cutting prices would be an advantage for a monopoly as it would increase sales and maximise economies of scale. PRC S (Perf comp) =â‚ ¬Ã‚  Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ã‚ C Ppc Pm LRMC (monopoly) D industry Qpc Qm MR (monopoly) Figure 4 Market equilibrium under monopoly Figure 4 shows the market equilibrium in perfect competition at output Qpc and supply = demand. A monopoly would generate economies of scale on the long run and drive down marginal costs to LRMC. A monopoly would therefore be able produce a profit maximising output Qm at a price Pm which is lower than perfect competition. Profits and consumer surplus are higher under monopoly and both consumer and producer would benefit. Kerr and Gaisford (2008) highlight the impact of international trade on domestic trade and the need for a domestic monopoly capable of generating the economies of scale required to compete in the international market. BT is a good example of domestic monopoly in the 1980s that had to invest in systems and technology to be able to compete in the international market. Also, the threat of international imports would force a domestic monopoly to set marginal revenue equal to marginal cost and reducing its prices, which is a boost to consumer surplus and social welfare. 6. 0 Conclusion Despite the fact that monopoly produces less output at higher prices and the negative implications on consumer surplus and social welfare, nevertheless, the existence of monopolies are inevitable as long as firms seek profit maximisation as well as increased market share and ultimately market dominance. In a free market economy, the chances of supernormal profits will eventually encourage other firms to attempt to break into a monopolistic market. The threat of competition or even a financial threat of a takeover will force a monopoly to become highly economic efficient. The American economist William Baumol argues in his theory of contestable markets that a monopoly may be forced over time to make the same production and pricing decisions as a competitive market would, merely due to the possibility of future competition. (Griffiths and Ison, 2001) From the above analysis, it is easy to conclude that perfect competition is productively more efficient than monopoly. However, if we take into account the substantial economies of scale that a monopoly would have, then it is more likely that a monopoly is more productively efficient than competition. In some cases, such as a natural monopoly, it is more acceptable to have just one firm as a monopoly provided that its price and productivity are regulated. Von Mises (1966) concludes that the mere existence of monopoly does not mean anything. The publisher of a copyright book is a monopolist, but he may not be able to sell a single copy, no matter how low the price he asks. Not every price at which a monopolist sells a monopolized commodity is a monop ­oly price. Monopoly prices are only prices at which it is more advantageous for the monopolist to restrict the total amount to be sold than to expand sales to the limit which a competitive market would allow. Although monopoly is not desirable as it restricts competition and causes a reduction in consumer surplus and social welfare, it is however inevitable in a real business market that a firm would often take advantage of its strong market position to control the supply of goods or services. Monopolies are not illegal but their abuse of market power to limit competition is illegal and therefore actions by governments to regulate the market would be required. Finally, all firms are concerned with determining the price level that would give them sufficient profit while maintaining the consumers attraction and demand. This should work in the benefit of consumers and the society if regulations are in place for governments to intervene when a firm abuses its monopoly power to the detriment of consumers.

Paper Airfoil Aerodynamics -- physics aerodynamics

Missing figures Two basic principles of fluid dynamics underlie all objects in flight: The forces of Lift, opposing the downward acceleration of gravity, and the forces of drag due to air-resistance. Both forces, properly harnessed and controlled lead to such ingenious devices as the parachute and the helicopter. Aerodynamics, the field of fluid dynamics involving the flow of gasses, even has applications in fields as separate as the automotive industry, fire-safety, and golfing. The aerodynamics of paper airfoils, and additionally, the study of airfoils of small size and low mass are allowing the emergence of a new generation of aircraft: low-speed, affordable aircraft for a variety of uses: military reconnaissance, civilian law enforcement, and interplanetary exploration. This web-project will explore and discuss some of the fundamentals and phenomena regarding such low-speed airfoils. Constructing paper airfoils is one easy and enjoyable way to study such aerodynamics. Daniel Bernoulli, a member of the Swiss family of mathematicians, studied the dynamics of fluid flow. He is honored today with a principle of fluid flow named after him: Bernoulli?s Principle. Bernouli?s principle shows that the average velocity of an ideal fluid is directly proportional to the pressure (A force over an area) it exerts upon a surface along that flow. Figure 1.1 shows an example of a device used to measure the velocity of moving fluids utilizing this principle. A pitot-tube utilizes the differences in pressures between the stagnant air at the tip and the moving air across the opening to determine the velocity. A greater difference in pressures means a greater fluid speed. According to popular myth, Archi... ...t. Although, typically, increasing the thickness of a wing generally increases its curvature, leading to greater lift. For the case of paper airfoils, which are mostly flat, increasing the curvature of the wing leads to a loss in stability and a very large increase in drag. 5. Airfoils with shorter chord lengths typically suffer from less viscous drag than those of longer chord lengths. These wings are called high-aspect ratio wings, The aspect ratio is the ratio of the wing's wing-span to it's surface area. For paper airfoils, due to lack of rigidity at long lengths and short chord lengths it is possible for a wing to fold in on itself at speeds of sustainable flight. This typically puts an upper limit to a wing's span of only a few tens of centimeters when it is constructed of paper, and therefore most paper airfoil wings are low-aspect ratio.