Philosophy of the Human Person free essay sample

For me, the whole point of doing philosophy, of understanding who we are and what we are as humans, and of understanding our lives can be compared to the simple act of writing that as a student, I can very much relate to. I personally love to write, especially in my native language, Tagalog. Each time I decide that I want to write, I can think of the best beginning and end that would perfectly support my chosen topic. However, as I write, I tend to stop. In the course of my writing, the ideas and thoughts that I previously had seem to cease and I cannot go on. I often find myself thinking and wondering what would be the best direction I can take to be able to reach that perfect ending that I had in mind. I get confused a lot and most of the time, I become undecided. Now that I think about it, this is no different from the life that we live as individuals, and as part of society. As humans, we always already know that our existence in this world has a definite beginning and end—that is, birth and death. We know for a fact that our time on this earth is limited; that we are mere mortals. And it is precisely because of this fact that we often find ourselves worrying, and sometimes even fearing, the idea of death. We are very anxious of making our lives worthwhile so that we can say to ourselves in the end that we have lived a good life. We will all end up with the same fate and there is nothing we can do about it. In the end, what would matter is how we have lived our lives—what we have done, what we have achieved—in reaching that end which is death. In other words, what matters is the direction that we have chosen for ourselves in living the life that we want. However, for me, there is no better achievement that a man can get than to understand who he is and what he is as a person. In our lives, we would often be confronted with different challenges, we would be introduced to various cultures, ideas, and concepts, and we would meet people who differ from us. All these experiences, and their influences, can change the way we view our lives, and even the way we view the world. These, too, can have an effect on the direction that we have chosen for ourselves. We will get confused. We will doubt if the path that we are on is the right one. This confusion—doubt— now leads us to the main argument of this essay. This will revolve around the idea that we, humans, are thinking beings and that we are capable of discerning what is right from wrong—that we have the ability to make decisions for ourselves in living our lives. This essay will explain the relationship between the idea that we are thinking beings and why we do philosophy, why we question, the problem of philosophy, our existence, the existence of others, language, and self-understanding. We, humans, have always been curious about our surroundings. We never fail to wonder. We have this innate characteristic of wanting to know how things work. This natural curiosity could be traced back to the Greeks. During the ancient times, the Greeks were always in awe and in astonishment for nature. They concentrated on what is there—on reality as it presented itself. What mattered for them was the nature of things: how they worked, and what it is that is already contained in each thing. In other words, they valued the substance or the whatness of things. For ancient thinkers, things existed by acting out their substance—their whatness—which remained potentially in them. In applying the notion of substance to human beings, Aristotle asked, â€Å"What is the substance of being human, and how is it acted out? † Aldo Tassi gave an answer to this question by saying that, â€Å"The world of Aristotle is populated by entities each of which possesses a nature enabling it, by virtue of its relationship to other things, to be or to develop what it is. The terms by which anything is are already fully contained in each thing and if we are to do justice to things, we must allow ourselves to be engaged by these terms. Looking at the nature which man displays in the various relationships he enters into with his fellowmen, it becomes apparent that the political order is the context which gives the greatest scope for man to be or to develop who he is in relation to his fellows (Tassi 1985, 190). † The nature of the human being for Aristotle, then, was to speak—to be in relation with others. According to him, persons must engage in politics. It is where man finds his purpose. Man, therefore, is a political animal; a rational animal. Now, what I have done so far is prove that we, humans, are hinking beings. What I am trying to get at here is prove that it is because of this idea that we are able to understand and direct our lives. For the next part of this essay, I will try to prove why thinking leads us to self-understanding. First, it is precisely because we are thinking beings that we do philosophy. During the earlier part of this course we have established that what we do in philosophy is thinking. However, it has not come to me until now that there seems to be a problem with this argument. Do we do philosophy because we think or do we think because we do philosophy? Philosophy is something that we do, perform, and commit. Along with many other sciences, it is an activity. But in order to be able to perform something, we have to have a foundation—perhaps knowledge—about a certain activity. Therefore, I firmly believe that we have to have the thought first before we can do philosophy. However, we would not really explain what is around us if we do not ask ourselves first what it is that surrounds us. In other words, we question. The human person is defined by an infinite thirst for knowledge, for the truth, for life and for love. According to Karl Rahner, we are defined by the dynamism of transcendence. We have an a priori tendency to go beyond ourselves, to transcend objects, and to constantly seek to find more and more knowledge to find the truth. It is already innate in human nature to seek to discover mysteries that are sometimes beyond our knowing. According to Kavanaugh, there is an assumption that all individuals are driven to authenticate who they are. The initiation of philosophy, therefore, is the act of questioning—particularly the kind of questioning that asks â€Å"Who am I? Questioning, for me then, is a life-long experience that we do until the end. â€Å"Every man wants to know himself and do something about himself. (Kavanaugh 1970, 21)† The self is closest to us but it is that which we are most unfamiliar with. This unfamiliarity with who and what we are necessitates our need to question. We need to be open to what and who we are. However, as we age, the way we view the world changes, the kinds of questions we ask change,and together with these, we change. The same thing goes for the things we write about. I have experienced a lot of times, while writing, the feeling of being uncertain about what to say next. I ask myself, â€Å"Is this the best statement to follow that previous one? † Sometimes, I even have doubts if what I am writing coheres with the whole idea of the topic. And when I run out of things to say, I seek help from others. I either ask them about their opinions or ideas or go to the library to research. Now, if I may relate this to philosophy, it stems from the fact that we, humans, are thinking beings that the problem of philosophy arises. Philosophy is not an acquisition of knowledge. However, in a considerably long period of time now, this is what seems to be the impression that people have about philosophy. We often see philosophy as a science of learning things just for the sake of learning them. Moreover, the astonishment, the harmony, the correspondence of humans to the nature of things has been lost through time. Our relation to the whatness of things has been obscured and confused. Before, people wondered what their place in the world was. They wanted to know what their purpose was and they understood themselves based on what is there. Today, we are faced with a completely different scenario. Nowadays, people ask â€Å"What is the place of that thing in relation to me? † From a cosmocentric view of the world, men have shifted to an anthropocentric one. This view of the world can be mainly attributed to the French philosopher Rene Descartes. He recognized the fact that error exists and therefore, he felt the need to be critical and asked himself, â€Å"How can I distinguish what is true from what is false? † For modern thinkers, â€Å"natural† observation was not enough; it was necessary to put nature â€Å"on the rack†Ã¢â‚¬â€that is, to manipulate nature—in order to know anything with certainty. As Tassi quoted Francis Bacon, â€Å"simple observation is not sufficient to give us scientific knowledge. We must vary the circumstances in order to induce nature to give up her secrets; that is, we must put nature ‘on the rack. ’ (Tassi 1982, 185)† Descartes did this by doubting everything outside the â€Å"I† and his way of â€Å"paying attention† explicitly showed how much he wanted to avoid uncertainty—error. With his universal methodic doubt, Descartes was able to come up with the conclusion that his proposition, â€Å"I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time I pronounce it, or that I mentally conceive it. Gallagher 1984, 32)† With this, we are led to the coincidence of thought and existence. What good Descartes has contributed to philosophy is that he introduced the idea that it is precisely because we, humans, think that we exist. However, when Descartes has proven the certainty of the â€Å"I† when he said that †Å"all beings which think exist,† his next task of proving the existence of the not-â€Å"I† has become very problematic. He failed to realize that human consciousness, or knowledge, is bipolar. For Thomas Aquinas, the subject can only know if it has already known its object. Therefore, we always already are aware of the existence of that thing which we think of or talk about. As Edmund Husserl stressed in his concept of intentionality, to be conscious is to be related to something—that which consciousness intends. â€Å"The nature of a conscious act is such that the act is reference to another. It intends, or tends out to its other; the intelligibility of consciousness is its intentionality. (Gallagher 1984, 49)† Now, the whole idea of existence can be perfectly elaborated by going back to the act of writing as an example. Why do we write in the first place? For me, personally, people write because they do not want to be forgotten. They want, in the smallest of ways, to leave something that would last forever. This is precisely because we know that we are mortals. For some, writing is their way of telling the whole world that they exist. They want to express how they feel and they want to be heard. Sometimes, we write because we want to escape the complexities of the reality that we are in and we create our own world with what we write. Here, we try, as much as possible, to change whatever it is that we do not like about our own realities. Therefore, writing proves the existence of the person who writes. On the other hand, we write because we have an audience. We write because we always intend for someone to read our work. If one’s main purpose in writing is to prove his existence, then this gives us the idea that he wants to prove his existence to someone other than himself. In other words, what we write is supposed to be shared. Otherwise, if one keeps it to himself, he does away from the main purpose of his writing. Simply put, the act of writing proves the existence of the â€Å"I† and the non-â€Å"I. If we go back to Aristotle’s concept of the nature of the human being, that is, to speak and be in relation to others, then we can say that by performing the act of writing, we are serving our purpose as humans. With this, several questions arise: â€Å"How exactly do we write? How do we relate to others? How do we speak to them? † This is where the concept of language comes in. We can ne ver separate man from language. â€Å"We can only think in a language, and just this residing of our thinking in a language is the profound enigma that language presents to thought. Gadamer 1976, 62)† Therefore, it is precisely because we are thinking beings that we are able to communicate with one another. Language has constituted a big part in our discussion of the philosophy of the human person. This may be attributed to the fact that it is in the presence of language that we exhibit our nature and serve our purpose and consequently, become humans. As Gadamer puts it, we are always already familiar with language. â€Å"We are always already at home in language, just as much as we are in the world. Gadamer 1976, 63)† And, when we talk about language, we cannot avoid the concept of speaking. Like consciousness, when we speak a language, it is always intended towards someone. Language is always shared. â€Å"Whoever speaks a language that no one understands does not s peak. To speak means to speak to someone. (Gadamer 1976, 65)† Because of thing sharing of language, when we speak, the words we utter are always open to interpretation. The same thing goes for writing. When a person writes, it cannot be helped that what he knows will affect the output of his work. After all, it is his work. Whatever cultural backgrounds that person is from and whatever his beliefs are, all this will greatly influence the kind of writing that he does. However, once a person has written something and has shared it to the whole world, the text suddenly acquires its own entity. It now has its own being. â€Å"Writing renders the text autonomous with respect to the intention of the author. What the text signifies no longer coincides with what the author meant. (Ricoeur 1986, 83)† It is when we write that we get to express what we like, what we believe in, and how we want certain things to be. It is when we write that we understand ourselves better—just like when we read. I believe that our writing mirrors our lives. It reflects the way we view the world, the kind of person we want to be, and where we want to be. We understand ourselves when we write. We write because we have a language. We have a language because we think. Remember what I said about fearing that we might not have lived our lives to the fullest when confronted by death. In the end, it is all a matter of choice. After all, we are a rational being. Only we have the right to direct our lives. Yes, at times we will doubt, we will ask if we are on the right path. But, whatever path we choose to take for ourselves, it will be right depending on how we look at it—how we interpret it. Ayn Rand said, Man has been called a rational being, but rationality is a matter of choice — and the alternative his nature offers him is: rational being or suicidal animal. Man has to be man — by choice; he has to hold his life as a value — by choice; he has to learn to sustain it — by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues — by choice. Works Cited

Professional IT Culture Occidental Engineering

Question: Discuss about the Professional IT Culture for Occidental Engineering. Answer: Introduction The report depicts IT professional risks occurred in a large engineering firm namely as Occidental Engineering. The software engineer Mr. Wayne Davison was working on Operation Safe Skies a building prototype project (Schrum et al., 2013). While working under the project, the organization and the employees faced several ethical issues. The report will provide a defense on IT culture in turns of ethical grounds based decision making. During analysis various risks come under focus. Firstly, the project manager Deborah and the software engineer Wayne were just trying to determine the time to be taken in order to fix the machinery issue. On the basis of certain principles and benchmark they tried to satisfy their duties (Nguyen, 2014). These issues raised as the company just wanted to survive in the competitive environment. The report will provide ethical codes generated by Australian Computer Society. The reason behind the occurrence of ethical dilemma is the norms and policy of the organization. The situation of Occidental Engineering is fictional but difficult to impulse and it elaborated various crucial ethical points. Evaluation of ACS values against the philosophical theories In the year of 1992, ASC provided an overview of ICT based ethical issues (Joshi et al., 2013). The issues majorly indicate fatalities that have been occurred due to tragic software coding. There are around six codes relevant to ICT ethical issues. The codes are as follows: The primary of the public interest: the software engineering code of ethics is a practical framework required to make moral organizational decisions (Joshi et al., 2013). The decisions are taken based on the software engineer issues that are affecting the organization. According to this code of action public interests get more values above personal interest. In this case study, the software engineer Wayne was working on a software project and the project methodology used is prototype modeling. However, during after the completion of the project when it was handed over to the software engineer for testing he found that, certain little issues existing in the project (Alvesson Sveningsson, 2015). Due to the presence of several aircrafts within a single system, sometime the system was losing the flow of the track. Nevertheless, for organizational existence the project manager advised to launch the software without proper testing. The issues kept private though was not consistent with pu blic interest. The enhancement of the quality life: The advanced ICT management system puts specified impact on the society that enhanced the life quality of the public and also reduces the disabilities. The air traffic control system is one of the important parts of the aerospace division. Thus, the quality of the product should be enough good for the public interest. As the manager was not ready to take such a loss for the company thus, he decided to deliver the flawed product (Tong, Tak Wong, 2015) In order to enhance the quality of the life the company should think about each and every single part of the complete project. For the safely and security of the public this play a crucial role. The personal satisfaction of the project manager hampered the overall system. Honesty: It is referred to as the trustworthiness of the public and of the stakeholders. The professional decision made by the manager of Occidental engineering of aerospace company do not wanted to miss the deadline provided by the client and thus, she forced the testing engineer to deliver the product without proper testing (Hogan Coote, 2014). This is a major dishonesty towards the clients. It was clear that the faulty product will not run properly without appropriate features. The software engineer was doubtful whole signing off from the role. Competence: Competence is referred to as the ability of thee expert team and the products produced by them accordingly. During analysis of this case study it is defined that, the employees are enough capable. The track of the system was losing the flow due to presence of too many aircraft systems (Center, 2014). The employees working on the project were determined that they can resolve or fix the issues but they need some time for the coding and testing. On missing deadline and cost overruns the government has certain policies so they are quite afraid of it. The assurance provided by the employees proves that they are capable enough in their allocated job role. The employees are too much responsible for their role in the organization. The employees are educated but the financial condition of the company was not supportive in nature. Processional development: In order to develop the professional relationship and quality of the products technical development is required to be adopted by the organization. The employees of the company are expert but according to the changing times more technical adaptation was needed (Nguyen, 2014). The organization was lagging it. Moreover, motivation and training and development of the IT professional were absent which was another ethical issue. Altitude changes from the assigned one, contradiction in critical maneuver, discretionary of the pilot re other issues relevant to it. Though the manager gave his approval but still it was not al l safe for the consumers. Professionalism: In professionalism the employees should avoid certain things such as they are needed to be impartial, information disclosure (Alvesson Sveningsson, 2015). They must respect other employees, initiative in responsibilities to maintain the integrity, sharing technical knowledge to improve the abilities of the employees. The engineer denied doing improper works but he did not disclose the organizational issue to the public. ACS generated the ethical codes for professionalism. In this particular case study, it is defined that the employees were bound to provide the product within the given deadline as the manager was not ready to lose the project (Mahaux et al., 2013). The organization did not acquire all the required improvement facilities and thus, they were suffering from various ethical issues. Apart from this, to resolve the unethical behavior they did not adopted appropriate actions. According to the contract it was clearly mentioned that, the delivered software sh ould have to be in proper working condition. Identification of the potential consequences to the project client Risks evolved in Occidental Engineering Technological risks were raised within the organization. According to McFarland, (2012) simultaneous satisfaction for all the requirements is not possible from the ethical a well as from the corporate perspective. Ethics is referred to as n practical science. Sometimes it become necessary to compromise with the system and some of the demands based on the rate of priority were developed by the organization. The risks oriented in this case are as follows: Dignity of the employees: Human dignity is one of the most considerable factors (Ortega Toro, 2016). The case study recognizes the primacy of ethics in human life. It gives protection and privacy the human life (Center, 2014). The faulty aircraft system would have hampered the life of others thus, the human dignity was not so far considered properly. Management issue: The organization had faced many other issues that hamper the overall system of the organization. There was not a single set of norm followed by different organizations rather Occidental Engineering had certain particular norms and regulations to be followed by the organization (Mahaux et al., 2013). In order to avoid cancellation of the project the company had adopted some moral judgments. The manager of the project had undertaken a judgment whereas the testing engineer obtained simulating judgment for the organization. The test engineer stated that the project is similar to a car that does not possess any brake. It means that the car is a risk to the passengers. Similarly, the imperfect aircraft is a life risk for all of those who are going to use it. Autonomy: The autonomy of the human subject must be always respected. The ethical, social and political life of their community is strictly based on the financial position of the company (Center, 2014). The financial structure of the company was not up to the mark and thus the repeat changes were too much time taken. Victims of the risks The victims of the risk involved the software tester Wayne Davidson and the project manager Deborah Shepherd of Occidental Engineering and the client of the aircraft (Ariza-Montes, 2014). From the ethical perspective, it had been defined that, the major risks was faced by the manager of the project as she was in the top most position of the company. The clients demanded for a certified product without any imperfection but during testing period the software developer noticed that, as lots of aircraft systems were present within the product thus the system was losing track during execution (Ariza-Montes, 2014). The other software engineers of the company demand for some extra time to fix the issue. However, due to lack of time the manager of occidental engineering company refused to give them extra time. With the hidden fault the manager decided to hand it over to the client of the product. After analysis of the situation it has been determined that the project manager faced the major risk. As she made commitment to the client of that particular product, due to financial risks they were unable to meet the requirement of the client. If the issues are recognized by the client then the manager will be a financial victim (McFarland, 2012). Similarly, considering the corporate ethical aspect, software developer realized that the product was not meeting all the clients requirements and therefore, if any complaint arises from the client side then, it will be risk to the tester. Finally, the main victim is the client as, the company planned to provide them a faulty product with hidden imperfections. Duty of the project manager of Occidental Engineering The manager of Occidental Engineering Company is the top most managerial level employee and he was bound to act the main role for the company (Chatman et al., 2014). He had the responsibility of all other working employees. If the case study is considered then, it can be said that, she must not allow the launching of the aircraft with the hidden faults, rather she must request for extra time, to resolve the machine orient issue. Thus, it is defined that, she should not break the rules of ethics. Only, in order to avoid the financial risks she must not allow the employees to deliver the product to the clients (McFarland, 2012). The duty of the project manager is to maintain the organization culture including the behavior of all the individual employees working for the company. She must be aware of the deadline of the project before 3 days of the submission. Duty of the software engineer of Occidental Engineering The software engineer of Occidental Engineering Company is also the testing engineer of the particular project (Hogan Coote, 2014). The responsibility of the developer is to motivate all the employees working under the project and also he must monitor the process of the work flow. Apart from this, the developer should have enough knowledge about the project that he is going to develop. Considering the Occidental Engineering case study, it has been defined that, the software developer was trying to maintain the ethical approach of the organization. Not only this but also When he realized the exact fault he denied to deliver the project to the client (Panuwatwanich Stewart, 2012). The duty of the software engineer is to build a perfect project for the clients. The software tester should make sure the quality of the product before 3 days of the deadline. Technologies adopted to resolve the ethical dilemma occurred in Occidental Engineering There are different technologies that should be adopted by the organization to resolve the ethical dilemma. The faults can be resolved by adopting different advanced technologies. These are as follows: Reduce cultural barrier: The cultural barriers existing among all the working employees of the company should be reduced by adopting open communication. In open communication system the top level managers are bound to listen to all the other employees (Xi, Zhang Ge, 2012). Thus, there is a chance to the employees to share their view point with the others. Motivation: Instead of provide support to the bad ethical approaches the project manner of the company should motivate the employees to work under proper approaches (Mahaux et al., 2013). Expert team: The organization should adopt different advanced technologies. So that, the technical issues can gets resolved easily. The team must have enough knowledge regarding ICT project management (Joshi et al., 2013). The expert team should be aware of all the single ICT application in the practical field such as designing, coding and testing. Training and development program: The organization should arrange certain training and development program to enhance the knowledge the employees according to the emerging technologies. Conclusion From the overall discussion it can be concluded that, the report has provided a defensive ethical ground to the company. The figure provided in the case study described that, Occidental Engineering Company is working on a project on SafeSkies for Federal Aviation Agency. Uncertainly and organizational conflict is another issue occurred due to the test result of the software. Then, they are forced to select between two situations such as compromising with the organizational difficulties and to deliver defective products. The operation project had reported to the project manager and the test manager also reports to the project manager of the company. The ethical dilemma implies that the wrong working progress hampered the overall system and in order to develop the ICT management certain recommendations are also mentioned. References Alvesson, M., Sveningsson, S. (2015).Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge. Ariza-Montes, J. A. (Ed.). (2014).ICT Management in Non-profit Organizations. IGI Global. Center, A. S. (2014). The Amherst Survival Center Volunteer Handbook.Policy,25, 26. Chatman, J. A., Caldwell, D. F., O'Reilly, C. A., Doerr, B. (2014). Parsing organizational culture: How the norm for adaptability influences the relationship between culture consensus and financial performance in high technology firms.Journal of Organizational Behavior,35(6), 785-808. Fink, C. (2014). ENGINEERING and ETHICS. Hogan, S. J., Coote, L. V. (2014). Organizational culture, innovation, and performance: A test of Schein's model.Journal of Business Research,67(8), 1609-1621. Joshi, M., Cahill, D., Sidhu, J., Kansal, M. (2013). Intellectual capital and financial performance: an evaluation of the Australian financial sector.Journal of intellectual capital,14(2), 264-285. Mahaux, M., Nguyen, L., Gotel, O., Mich, L., Mavin, A., Schmid, K. (2013, May). Collaborative creativity in requirements engineering: Analysis and practical advice. InIEEE 7th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS)(pp. 1-10). IEEE. McFarland, M. (2012). Occidental Engineering.Online Ethics Center. Nguyen, C. (2014). Ethics of The Integration of Robotic Intelligence and Technology In Surgery. Ortega Toro, J. A. (2016). Una codificacin prefija para un idioma artificial. Panuwatwanich, K., Stewart, R. A. (2012). Evaluating innovation diffusion readiness among architectural and engineering design firms: Empirical evidence from Australia.Automation in construction,27, 50-59. Schrum, L., Davis, N., Jacobsen, M., Lund, A., Ferhan Odabasi, H., Voogt, J., Way, J. (2015, April). A Global Perspective: Current Trends and Issues in ICT for 21st Century Education. InPaper presented at American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. Tong, C., Tak, W. I. W., Wong, A. (2015). The impact of knowledge sharing on the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction: The perception of information communication and technology (ICT) practitioners in Hong Kong.International Journal of Human Resource Studies,5(1), 19. Xi, Y., Zhang, X., Ge, J. (2012). Replying to management challenges: integrating oriental and occidental wisdom by HeXie management theory.Chinese management studies,6(3), 395-412.

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SAT Subject Test Dates Guide (2015 and 2016)

SAT Subject Test Dates Guide (2015 and 2016) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We have all the information you need about SAT Subject Test (also known as SAT II) dates in 2015 and 2016. While the SAT Reasoning Test (aka the SAT I)changed dramatically in 2016, the Subject Tests didn't have any large changes in terms of content. The exam dates of the SAT Subject Tests, however, were affected. Read on to find out more! Note: This guide covers 2015-16 only; for the current year's SAT Subject Test dates, click here. SAT Subject Test Dates in 2015 and 2016 First, get familiar with the dates when the SAT Subject Test is offered. The SAT Subject Test is generally administered every time the SAT Reasoning test is, except in March (when, historically, the SAT Subject test has not been offered). You can also look at our SAT Reasoning Test Dates for 2015-2016 here. Test Date Regular Deadline Late Registration Online Score Release October 3, 2015 September 3, 2015 September 22, 2015 October 22, 2015 November 7, 2015 October 9, 2015 October 27, 2015 November 26, 2015 December 5, 2015 November 5, 2015 November 23, 2015 December 24, 2015 January 23, 2016 December 28, 2015 January 12, 2016 February 11, 2016 May 7, 2016 April 8, 2016 April 26, 2016 May 26, 2016 June 4, 2016 May 5, 2016 May 25, 2016 June 23, 2016 Which SAT Subjects Will Be Given on Which Dates? Note that not all subjects are given on all dates. We did a historical analysis over a long period of years and found that the following subjects generally given on all dates. Available All Dates: Literature, United States (US) History, Math Level 1, Math Level 2, Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics. Two Languages are given on almost all dates. Available All Dates Except November: French Reading Only, Spanish, Reading Only. Finally, a few subjects such as theremaining languages and World History are given on a minority of dates. You can do your own analysis based on the 2014 and 2013 dates yourself. Test Name Oct 3,2015 Nov 7, 2015 Dec 5, 2015 Jan 23, 2016 May 7, 2016 June 4,2016 Literature YES YES YES YES YES YES United States History YES YES YES YES YES YES World History YES YES Math Level 1 YES YES YES YES YES YES Math Level 2 YES YES YES YES YES YES Biology E/M YES YES YES YES YES YES Chemistry YES YES YES YES YES YES Physics YES YES YES YES YES YES Languages: Reading Only French YES YES YES YES YES German YES Modern Hebrew YES Italian YES YES Latin YES YES Spanish YES YES YES YES YES Languages:Reading and Listening Chinese YES French YES German YES Japanese YES Korean YES Spanish YES Chart Locations without a YES are assumed to be NO. How to Plan Which SAT Subject Test Dates to Choose First, I would recommend our general guide to choosing SAT test dates. Yes, it's written for the SAT Reasoning Test (SAT I) but the general principles also apply to the SAT subject tests. There is one additional twist for SAT Subject Tests much more than the SAT itself, the best Subject Test dates are strongly determined by when you're learning and forgetting the material. Unlike the SAT Reasoning Test, where you're probably getting better at reasoning year by year, the SAT Subject Test should be taken during or right after when you're studying the highest level of the subject. For example, if your high school does biology sophomoreyear, and you know you won't study biology again, you probably want to take the June exam of biology, or the September exam at latest. Forgetting information is a real problem! Likewise, if you're taking chemistry junior year, but AP Chemistry senior year, you want to time your SAT Chemistry as late as possible senior year (likely the December of your senior year). Therefore, a good rule of thumb is to take the test as close to the end of your most difficult course in that subject! Warning: SAT Test Dates May ChangeSign up to Receive Free Updates // What's Next? Click here to see the full list of SAT Subject Tests and learn how to choose which tests are best for you. Before you decide when to take your Subject Tests, you should look at our list of colleges that require SAT Subject Tests. If you're trying to avoid difficult SAT Subject Tests, check out this article on the easiest SAT Subject Tests. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Rocky (1976) - 5 Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Rocky (1976) - 5 Question - Essay Example Identify aspects of sound in your selected film. Discuss them in terms of how they affected your viewing experience; in other words, did the art of sound effects add value to your experience? If so, how? If not, why not? Literal sound is mostly used in the picture in order to recreate realistic scenery of the events and capture Philadelphia area. For instance, Rocky`s shy visiting of the zoo store where Adrian works is adorned with birds twittering which creates romantic atmosphere. It helped to understand Rocky`s sensitive and irrational side. Identify the type of music in your selected film. Discuss them in terms of how it affected your viewing experience; in other words, did the score or songs add value to your experience? If so, how? If not, why not? Rocky`s ability to be tough and determined on the boxing ring and tender in relationship is captured in the soundtrack. When it is needed the hero along with the sound becomes strong and aggressive but in intimate moments delicate music shows his loving nature. The main song â€Å"Gonna fly now† underlines Rocky`s struggle for life and for victory. Identify the types of editing in your selected film. Discuss them in terms of how it affected your viewing experience; in other words, did the different types of shots and framing add value to your experience? If so, how? If not, why not? The montage of the film concentrates on shots which show Rocky`s gradual transformation. Some shots (as jogging near the sea port) are excessively long and acquire symbolic meaning. Moreover, quick-cutting montage is balanced with long and picturesque scenes. â€Å"Rocky`s† editing has determined some meditative pace along with logical ad coherent structure. You have engaged your critical thinking skills by becoming aware of and assessing various elements of film. How do these exercises connect the study of film to real-world experience? Additionally, in what other ways do films have cultural value? Explain

Moral and Ethical Dilemma in the ase of Spaulding v Zimmerman Case Study

Moral and Ethical Dilemma in the ase of Spaulding v Zimmerman - Case Study Example The Law Council of Australia has established rules for model conduct of lawyers, however, these tend to revolve around a client-centered approach which is inimical to the practice of law in an ethical manner, rather it tends to be centered around better earning and protecting the client at any cost. Such a client-centered approach makes lawyers amoral and indifferent to maintain ethical standards or morality in the practice of law, thereby engaging in role-differentiated behavior that ignores moral considerations in the case of clients, which would be relevant and applicable in the lawyer’s own life.  Wasserstrom argues that while such an approach may be useful in criminal cases in ensuring that all clients get a fair chance in court, irrespective of the lawyer’s personal convictions in that relevant area, it is not applicable on a wider basis to all cases. Positivist philosophy also separates law and morals, so that a lawyer is not necessarily required to make a mora l decision, rather he/she is expected to ensure that the client’s best interests are served as far as possible within the framework of the law. In the instant case of Spaulding v Zimmerman, the issue that arises is the need to disclose potentially damaging information mandated from an ethical standpoint. Lawyers are to work in the best interests of their clients, yet they are also considered officers of the Court who must serve the cause of fairness, equity and justice. A lawyer has a paramount duty to the Court to pursue the course of justice, which shapes the kind of society that we live in. Allowing individuals to escape with wrongdoing is not in the interests of justice or fairness to all men. Therefore, in the instant case, the professional responsibility of the lawyer would have mandated the disclosure of knowledge that could be inimical to the Plaintiff in the long run, especially since the Defendants were morally in the wrong, to have caused bodily harm to the Plainti ff.

Indias Agricultural Sector: An Analysis

Indias Agricultural Sector: An Analysis Agriculture Sector Submitted by   Introduction to Agriculture sector Agriculture sector from an Indian Economic perspective constitute majorly the following four such as: Food-crops and oilseeds, Fiber, plantation crops, fruits and vegetables. As per the 2013 RBI statistics Indian agriculture sector contributed 11.36% of real GDP. This sector is also the highest employer in the country employing approximately 60% of the population. In H1 2013-2014 Agriculture sector of India recorded growth rate of 3.4% [1] and this is higher by a margin of 0.8% during H1 2012-13. The primary reasoning was attributed to a good and a normal monsoon during the year. This spike in the growth of the agricultural sector contributed to a better growth rate for the GDP of 4.6 considering it was a sluggish period for all other sectors including services and manufacturing. Eventhough being one of the oldest sector, Agricultural sector is still contributing phenomenally to the GDP growth of the country. So, in this report an attempt is made to analyse salient aspects of the Agriculture sector from economic perspective, government policy perspective and other items that constitute the growth of the sector. Also, the report studies the major issues that’s being faced by the facing and potential way to resolve them is being brought out. Key factors affecting the performance of Agriculture sector: Climatic factors: Monsoons, soil degradation, water availability, floods and droughts. Policy factors: Government policies related to credit availability, support prices, crop specific programmes, ensuring availability of markets for the produce. Market factors: Pricing, integration with downstream consumers, transparency. Macro-economic factors: Supply and demand, change in consumption patterns. Technology factors: Availability of farming technology, awareness of the available technology among the farmers, incentives to adopt modern technology, educating farmers about the benefits of using technology. Global factors: Export and import policies, trade restrictions. Section IV Agriclutural Policies, Ramesh V V Issues faced by Indian Agriculture sector Unequal growth of Agriculture sector at different areas of India Dependence on seasonal rainfall :The performance of the sector is highly dependent on the seasonal rainfall India receives during the monsoon season. Decrease in land availability due to population growth and industrial sector growth Non availability of farm labourers Low level of mechanisation of the sector yielding lower productivity Unavailability of logistics affecting the returns from the sector Traditional cultivation methods: Restrained access to finance: Lack of facilities for storage of the food grains: Fragmentation of land Low quality seeds: Using better quality seeds can improve the yield by 40%, adoption of Bt seeds can also increase the yield, however higher cost of seeds and activism are hindrances to adopt Bt seeds widely. Unbalanced fertilizer utilization: It is one of the main reason for the stagnation of the yield, depletion of soil fertility and pollution of water bodies. Lacklustre government policies on fertilizer subsidies are one of the reasons for unbalanced use of Nitrogen based fertilizers Cropping Patterns: Sub-optimal crop pattern leads to low rates of profits. Geographical conditions vary and accordingly suitable crop patterns should be adopted, however farmers follow traditional practices which leads to lower profits. Policies and Schemes towards Agriculture: The Department of Agriculture Cooperation, Government of India, has been implementing various schemes and programmes for the benefit of farmers through State Governments. The Guidelines and other details of various programmes and schemes have been made available in their departmental scheme guidelines. Relevant details on the type and extent of benefits for different components promoted under various schemes are mentioned here. For simple understanding of subsidies and eligibility criteria of the same a handbook has also been constructed by the department. It has been prepared by categorizing various activities in 11 different themes such as, Soil Health, Soil Conservation Fertilizers, Seeds, Irrigation, Training Extension for Farmers, Mechanization Technology, Agricultural Credit, Agricultural Insurance, Plant Protection, Horticulture, Agricultural Marketing and Integrated Farming. Besides this, broad suggestions on practical aspects of each of these themes have also been includ ed. Schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (subject to qualifying criteria for the States), National e-Governance Plan-Agriculture, National Mission on Agricultural Extension Technology Etc have nation-wide coverage.A few other schemes such as National Food Security Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Cotton Technology Mission, Jute and Mesta Technology and Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) have Crop/ Area / District wise applicability. The expert committee has come up an estimate of around 11172 crores in the next ten years for infrastructure development for agriculture marketing as of 2008 and has come up with some reforms in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act, (APMC)act, details from NABARD website Subsidies are helpful to farmers in India as nearly 11% of farmers have land but not have sufficient funding to irrigate the land. Three main types of financing are required for agriculture sector. i.e., Short term, Medium term Long term finance. Subsidies in an agriculturally oriented developing economy like India helps increase the productivity of the farmers. Institutionalized credit provisioning: Credit raised by farmers from Non-institutional lenders, from 95% in 1951 to 40% in 2002, India has come a long way in providing sustainable credit access to the farmers. Non-institutional lenders levy a high rate of interest and historically have manipulated the farmers, which led to poverty and its side effects like illiteracy. Analysis on the Agricultural Sector Demand vs Supply: The agricultural sector in India is doing pretty good job to meet the domestic demand and also exporting food grains in certain categories. The total demand for Y2010 was 228Mt and the total supply was 270Mt. Not only in 2010, if you see the trend for the past 5 years before 2010, the supply more than demand. This clearly tells us India is a food surplus country and there is no real pressure on the demand-supply process. The supply is mainly increasing because of better and modern farming technique and high productivity per hectare. Storage facilities have improved over the last 2 decades and at affordable prices are helping the farmers to preserve the crop thru the year. There is still a lot of scope for improvement for our agro output storage facilities. Our storage facilities are not on par with other developed countries and our farmers end up with a lot of spoiled food grains. Table: Agro Production –Demand in INDIA between 2005 and 2011 (All Figures in Metric Tons) Source: http://agcensus.nic.in/ Focus on Agriculture- Union Budget 2014. Government has proposed a technology driven green revolution and in this specifically protein revolution had more focus this year. Below par expectation of monsoon and its obvious impact on Agriculture was certainly considered this year. Keeping this in mind Government has proposed aRs.1,000 crore outlay for a new scheme named, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, which will address sufficient irrigation facilities and mitigate some risk. To address the problem of price volatility, fund called Price Stabilization fund amounting to 500 crores was allocated. Agriculture credit target was set to 8lakh crores. Interest subvention for timely repayment of loans at 3% subvention has also been included against the current 7% rate. Rural infrastructure fund of 25000 crores was also institutionalized. Soil health is one major factor which is linked to productivity. In this regard, 100 crore project scheme was included which delivers every farmer a soil health card. In this mission, an additional 56 crores towards mobile soil testing laboratories was proposed. Agriculture research institutions to come up in Assam and Jharkand with an initial investment of 100 crores and an additional allocation of 200 crores for Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and telangana and Haryana for Agriculture and horticulture institutions respectively was also proposed. Kisan TV, a dedicated channelon various aspects of agriculture. Bhoomi Heen Kisan scheme, institutionalized through NABARD for landless farmers towards guarantee for finance was proposed. Funds will cater to around 5 lac farming groups who will practice joint farming. Warehouse infrastructure fund of 5000 crores was allocated to address wastage loss in supply chain. Existing APMC, will be re-oriented in close association with state governments which in potential must take care of markets and introduce reforms for farmers. One thing that was criticized was the denial of a policy of minimum price Scheme, MPS which figured in the previous government’s budget. Impact of Fiscal Policies on Agricultural Sector Most Gov.’s that came to power in India have implemented pro-agricultural policies and have given a lot of sops and benefits to this sector. Though the outlook might seem healthy, the short term inconsistent policies have made the agricultural sector unproductive and unsustainable. If the situation continues like this, experts believe that Indian would become a net food gain importer in the next 20-30 years of time. Subsidy Input subsidies are a major part of the policy in Agricultural sector in India. The major subsidies are subsidies on electricity used in farming subsidy in fertilizer prices subsidy in seed purchase Indian agricultural sector is more dependent on input subsidies than any other major emerging countries. The recent Gov. order passed by the Chief Min of the newly farmed Andhra state to waive off all the agro loans taken by its farmers is an example of this Input subsidy and illustrates how heavily this is impacting the Agro sector. The subsidy on fertilisers has been increased to 67% in 2010 from 41% in 2004. This steep subsidy was possible because Gov. kept the nominal fertilizer prices unchanged in spite of high inflation and allowed real subsidized fertilizer prices to fall. The total Gov, input subsidy stood at 9.6% of the total Agro sector output. Among all the subsidies fertilzer subsidy amounts to 11 Billion dollars out of the total 60 Billion subsidy provided by GOI. This also plays a key role in the increase in non plan expenditure and which in turn increases the fisical deficit. The input subsidies have also produced some unintended side effects like over utilization of land, soil degradation, nutrient imbalance of soil and reduction in ground water level. Minimum Support Price The Govt had setup the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to define the minimum support price for almost all the major crops. The intention is to help the farmers but it interferes with the demand and supply. Tax Subsidies Indirect taxes for farm output is almost nil. Inflation The GOI expansionary policies and fiscical stimulus in 2009-10 has resulted in increase in inflation. This has resulted in the increase in cost of the farm labour and non subsidized farm equipment procurement. This has put pressure on the margins of the farmers. Restriction on Exports/Imports Whenver the supply was lower than demand for a particular crop happens i.e in supply shock scenario Govt generally tends to look to restricy exports. This has been an usual pattern with recent incident when the prices of onion and sugar increased as a result of lower production and the got wa quick to restrict the exports of these commodities Impact of Monetary Policies on Agricultural Sector Agricultural loans are available for various farming related activities. Farmers may apply for loans to purchase inputs for the cultivation of food grain crops as well as for horticulture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, floriculture and sericulture businesses. There are also certain special loans made available by many public sector banks and co-operative agriculture banks to finance the purchase of agricultural machinery such as tractors, harvesters and trucks. Construction of biogas plants and irrigation systems as well as the purchase of agricultural land can also be financed through different types of agricultural finance. NABARD offers a Kisan Credit Card Scheme and crop loans under the Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana. Kisan Credit Card Scheme helps farmers raise short-term funds for agriculture and other farm-based activities, on an on-going basis, with very flexible and friendly repayment terms. It also offers an agricultural loan for development of agriculture related industries, purchase of machinery and other agricultural purposes. Interest Rates Conclusion The agriculture community must be weaned off the subsidies gradually once sufficient development is made so as to increase the sustainability of Indian agriculture by providing them the right price for the cultivated produce, introducing highly effective storage facilities, providing necessary training to the farmers regarding use of technology and equipment thereby reducing wastage considerably and enhancing the sector as a whole. Agricultural subsidies can be a blunt instrument that can impede progress and slow down economic growth if theyre implemented without heed to the situation and specific date of expiry. Agriculture and industry has shown remarkable vigour and dynamism in contributing to a healthy growth in exports in the recent past. India’s food security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as increasing its production of fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands of a growing population with rising incomes. Policy makers will thus need to initiate and/or conclude policy actions and public programs to shift the sector away from the existing policy and institutional regime that appears to be no longer viable and build a solid foundation for a much more productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector. References http://www.finmin.nic.in/ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/budget-2014-green-revolution-kisan-tv-channel-agri-institutes-arun-jaitley-finance-ministry-narendra-modi/1/370753.html http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/agriculture-gets-priority-in-narendra-modi-govt-budget-2014/1/208042.html