Interview a job analyst- HR staff member Assignment

Interview a job analyst- HR staff member - Assignment Example This paper is therefore based on the interview between myself and the hospital job analyst to ascertain the type of job evaluation system they use and those who conduct the evaluation. Job evaluation is meant to rank jobs according to their relative worth in order to assign an equitable pay packages. However, the type of job evaluation systems used differ from one organizes to the next according to job evaluation analyst According to the hospital job analyst, evaluation of jobs is done using quantitative systems, since the hospital is complex and has many jobs done within it. They therefore use the following quantitative systems to evaluate their jobs: Under this method, they award points to different jobs based on the degree to which the job possess the compensable factors in comparison with the objective standards set for any particular job. In this case, different points are assigned to the jobs depending on the level of education required e.g. PHD or degree level, where those that require PHD level of education are assigned higher points compared to those that require only degree level. Similarly, different points are also awarded on the job depending on the nature and complexity of the job like the surgeons, which require high mental demands, will be assigned high point in ranking. This ensures that the right remuneration package is awarded depending on the number of points a job has. According to the analyst, this method has the advantage that the system can remain in operation for a long period of time before it is changed and it is also objective compared to other systems (Solomon, 1947) Factor comparison is also another system they use in the hospital to evaluate the different jobs. He however explains that this method is not so often used. Under this method of job evaluation, compensable factors are identified in determining

Food And Wine Tourism in Newzealnd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Food And Wine Tourism in Newzealnd - Essay Example So, in order to enlighten the importance of Special Interest Tourism, this paper talks about â€Å"Food and Wine tourism† in New Zealand. Special interest tourism It is the type of tourism that involves tourist’s holiday choice that is totally inspired and influenced by their specific motivation and desire. There are different forms of special interest tourism, like education, beauty, sports, food, cultural and entertainment (Cook 2007, pp.63). Different countries have different specialties, for example Dubai is famous for its shopping, and New Zealand, Australia, and Turkey are famous for their food. Read defined specific interest tourism as â€Å"The travel for people who are going somewhere because they have a particular interest that can be pursued in a particular region or at a particular destination. It is the hub around which the total travel experience is planned and developed†. (Ritchie, Carr, & Cooper 2003, pp. 28) Food and Wine tourism The special inte rest tourism that has been selected for this paper is â€Å"Food and Wine tourism† in New Zealand. The food and wine do not mean mere eating and drinking, but are related to the respective country’s culture and heritage. ... es of specialist food production regions are the primary motivating factors for travel.†(Buhalis & Costa, 2006) Food is directly related to a country’s heritage, culture, and traditions. Food is considered to be a major component of tourism, whatsoever is the type of tourism; food always acts as a tourist attraction. So, intentionally or unintentionally, the tourists are always seeking excellent quality food and wine when they are on their holidays. Wine tourism Today, wine is making quite a large business for the last few years. Wine production has been increased at a massive level in different countries like New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Europe, and this has resulted in development of the tourism industry in the respective countries. Moreover, â€Å"wine tourism is a subcategory of food tourism, which implies visit for specific high-quality vine to vineries, vineyards and restaurants to a country. The wine tourism also includes visit to the wine festivals in a pa rticular country†. (Buhalis & Costa, 2006) Food and wine tourism does not mean a trip to a restaurant; rather it is the desire to taste and experience a particular type of food or a special traditional cuisine can act as a motivator to travel across the home country (Thach, 2007). Food and wine tourism characteristics and typologies Food and wine tourism is flourishing due to a number of reasons around the world. The most important and predominant reason of promoting the food and wine tourism is to improve economic growth. Moreover, food and wine tourism has gained attention due to increased interest in the other country’s societal values, environmental interest, and their culture. Today, many people and countries are showing interest in dining and cooking, subsequently which has resulted in an

Good Governance Vs Good Administration Politics Essay

Good Governance Vs Good Administration Politics Essay Good governance and good public administration are essential aspects of democracy. The ability to distribute societys resources, curb the abuse of power and corruption and guarantee equality of all persons before the law is fundamental to a well-functioning society. The starting point of this research has been the hypothesis that our new commitment to governance norms is interlocked with the emergence of a new model (or new models) of legitimate political action and state regulation. The present analysis will concentrate of the following factors among others: the enforceable content of the right, including the role of the European Ombudsman; the relationship between good governance and good administration; the uncertain reach of the concept of maladministration; Democratic governance differs from the concept of good governance in recognizing that political and civil freedoms and participation have basic value as developmental ends in themselves and not just means for achieving socio-economic progress. Democratic governance is built on the concept of human development in its full sense of the term, which is about expanding capabilities people have, to be free and able to lead lives that they would choose to. The capability to be free from threats of violence and to be able to speak freely is as important as being literate for a full life. While the range of capabilities that people have is huge and almost infinite, several key capabilities are fundamental in human life and are universally valued, not only those in the socioeconomic sphere such as health and survival, education and access to knowledge, minimum material means for a decent standard of living, but those in the political sphere such as security from violence, and political freedom and participation. Indeed, these are core elements of human well being reflected in the Millennium Declaration. Democratic governance needs to be underpinned by a political regime that guarantees civil and political liberties as human rights, and that ensures participation of people and accountability of decision makers. In 1977, the Council of Europe argued in its Resolution 77 (31)  [1]  that since the development of the modern state had resulted in an increasing importance of public administrative activities, individuals were more frequently affected by administrative procedures. The principal task of the Council of Europe was to protect the individuals fundamental rights and freedoms, hence they intended to undertake efforts to improve the individuals procedural position vis-à  -vis the administration by promoting the adoption of rules, which would ensure fairness in the relations between the citizen and the administrative authorities  [2]  . The following principles were stated: I Right to be heard II Access to information III Assistance and representation IV Statement of reasons V Indication of remedies  [3]   Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union stipulate that every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of the Union. This right includes the right of every person to be heard, before any individual measure which would affect him or her adversely is taken; the right of every person to have access to his or her file, while respecting the legitimate interests of confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy; the obligation of the administration to give reasons for its decisions  [4]  . Every person has the right to have the Community make good any damage caused by its institutions or by its servants in the performance of their duties, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States. Every person may write to the institutions of the Union in one of the languages of the Treaties and must have an answer in the same language. The setting out of the right to good administration represents the establishment of a new fundamental right. The principle of good administration has been developed by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and in the rulings of the Court of First Instance, and is based on the existence of a Community governed by the rule of law. Paragraph 1 reaffirms this general right, the essential elements of which are expanded on in paragraph 2. The right to good administration arises from a concern for equal treatment, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Court, and with the right to an effective remedy (article 47 of the Charter) as well as rights which go with it. (the right to be heard and each persons right to access to his or her file) This right is also contained in article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The institutions obligations arise from the provisions of the Treaties: the general ob ligation to give reasons for decisions, (article 253 EC) making good of damages (article 288 EC) and the possibility of communicating with the institutions of the Union in one of the languages of the Treaty. (article 21 EC) Unlike in the Treaty, in the Charter this possibility is open to every person  [5]  . The European Ombudsman instituted by the Treaty of Maastricht (articles 21 and 195 EC) is authorized to receive complaints in cases of maladministration in the activities of Community institutions and bodies. In April 2000, the Ombudsman made a recommendation containing the principles to be included in a Code of good administrative conduct applicable to the servants of institutions and bodies of the Union in their relations with the public  [6]  . The Commission has added a Code of this type in annex to its internal regulations, in the context of the reform of its services and operations. The other institutions and bodies of the Union have also adopted a Code of good administrative conduct based on the Ombudsmans recommendations, or are in the process of doing so. Furthermore, in the context of police and legal cooperation, and in order to create an area of freedom, security and justice, the Union is committed to a global anti-corruption policy, set out in the Commissions communication of 1997. So we can say that democratic local governance is the process of governing democratically at the local level, viewed broadly to include not only the machinery of government, but also the community at-large and its interaction with local authorities. (Use of the term .local. refers to all sub-national levels of government.) When effective decentralization and democratic local governance advance in tandem, local governments and the communities they govern gain the authority, resources, and skills to make responsive choices and to act on them effectively and accountably. Advancing the capacity of local governments to act effectively and accountably requires promoting the desire and capacity of civil society organizations and individual citizens to take responsibility for their communities, participate in local priority-setting, assist in the implementation of those decisions, and then monitor their effectiveness  [7]  . Local autonomy is an important factor which enhances progress towards local democracy and the achievement of good governance (Ron Duncan, 2004). Governance nowadays occupies a central stage in the development discourse but is also considered as the crucial element to be incorporated in the development strategy. However, apart from the universal acceptance of its importance, differences prevail in respect of theoretical formulations, policy prescriptions and conceptualization of the subject itself. Governance as a theoretical construct, separate from the theory of state, is not only in an embryonic stage, but its formulation also differs among researchers depending on their ideological convictions. According to Larry Diamond (2005) good governance consists of several dimensions. One is the capacity of the state to function in the service of the public good. Effective functioning requires knowledge of the policies and rules that best serve the public good, and hence training of state officials in their various professional realms. It requires a professional civil service with a set of norms and structures that promote fidelity to public rules and duties, in part by rewarding those who perform well in their roles. This relates intimately to the second dimension of good governance, commitment to the public good. Where does this commitment come from? It may be generated by dedicated and charismatic leadership. Or it may derive from a cultural ethic that appreciates and a structure of institutional incentives that rewards disciplined service to the nation or the general community. In every modern society, however, it must (at a minimum) be reinforced by institutions that punish betrayals of the public trust, and so this normative element is strongly linked to the concrete institutional ones. A third dimension of good governance is transparency, the openness of state business and conduct to the scrutiny of other state actors and of the public. Transparency requires freedom of information, including an act to ensure that citizens can acquire information about how government makes decisions, conducts business, and spends public money. Needless to say, it requires full openness and competitiveness in public procurement, but it also requires openness with regard to the personal finances of government officials. Transparency is intimately related to accountability, the fourth dimension of good governance. Governing agents are more likely to be responsible and good when they are answerable for their conduct to the society in general and to other specific institutions that monitor their behaviour and can impose sanctions upon them. Effective oversight requires open flows of information, and hence transparency, so that monitors can discover facts and mobilize evidence. This requires a system of government by which different institutions check and hold one another accountable, compelling them to justify their actions. Power is thus constrained, bound not only by legal constraints but also by the logic of public reasoning. Transparency and accountability are thus intimately bound up with a fifth dimension of good governance, the rule of law. Governance can only be good when it is restrained by the law: when the constitution and laws (including individual rights under them) are widely known, when the law is applied equally to the mighty and the meek, when everyone has reasonable access to justice, and when there are capable, independent authorities to adjudicate and enforce the law in a neutral, predictable, and efficient fashion. Both effective government and well functioning markets require that there be clear rules about what constitutes acceptable conduct in all realms of economic, social and political life. All actors, public and private, must have confidence that those rules will be observed. Only under a rule of law can property rights be secure and contracts enforceable. Only through a rule of law can individuals be secure against arbitrary harm from the state or powerful private actors. A fifth dimension of good governance consists of mechanisms of conflict resolution. Participation is one means for doing so. Development is not only about choice at the individual level but also about making difficult choices at the collective level. Often there is no clear answer to the question of what is in the public interest. Only through a process of political participation and dialogue can conflicting interests be reconciled in a way that is deemed minimally fair by all (or most), and that generates broad commitment among the relevant constituencies or stakeholders in the policy arena. But participation in itself can also stimulate conflict. Conflict resolution requires as well fairness, justice, and transparency, and often more specific mechanisms to ensure that all groups are heard and included and that power and resources are decentralized and dispersed in a way that gives each community or region some real control over its own affairs. Finally, when good governance functions in the above five ways, it also breeds social capital, in the form of networks and associations that draw people together in relations of trust, reciprocity, and voluntary cooperation for common ends. The deeper a countrys reservoirs of social capital, and the more these are based on horizontal relations of equality, the more vigorous is coordination for and commitment to the public good. Social capital thus not only fosters the expansion of investment and commerce, embedded in relations of trust and predictability, it also breeds the civic spirit, participation, and respect for law that are crucial foundations of political development and good governance. In other words, it generates a political culture of responsible citizenship. All of this in turn breeds political legitimacy and stability-further deepening the societys appeal to investors who must risk capital in the effort to create new wealth. In many respects then, good governance consti tutes a virtuous cycle in which the several elements reinforce one another in a dense interplay. Shalendra D. Sharma (2007) demonstrates that good governance has several characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective, efficient, equitable, and inclusive and follows the rule of law. At a minimum, good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially by an independent judiciary and its decisions and enforcement are transparent or carried out in a manner that follows established rules and regulations. Since accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law, accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Policy analysis based empirically on the historical experiences of governance gives prominence to government failures to deliver, leading to propositions for downsizing or rightsizing, while policy prescriptions for good governance take an evolutionary view of the matter questioning relevance of public sector management of certain activities in a changed context (Hye Hasnat, 2001). Good governance is the term that symbolizes the paradigm shift of the role of governments (Holzer, 2002).. Moreover, governance is not only about the organs or actors as affirmed by Hasnat Abdul Hye. More importantly, it is about the quality of governance, which expresses itself through elements and dimensions, which will be listed in this study. Nevertheless, he states that: Just as the dancer cannot be separated from the dance, the organs or actors executing governance in their respective spheres cannot be relegated to the background. It has become a truism to say that good governance is essential for successful development. This simply begs the question what is good governance? Governance is about processes, not about ends. Common definitions describe governance as a process by which power is exercised without explicitly stating the ends being sought (Hyden, 2000). At international levels some definitions were depicted. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Given that the term governance means different things to different people, it is useful, therefore, for the UNDP to clarify, at the very outset, the sense in which it understands the word. Among the many definitions of governance that exist, the one that appears the most appropriate from the viewpoint of the UNDP is the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a countrys affairs at all levels. It comprises mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences.  [8]   Good governance is, among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable, effective and equitable, and it promotes the rule of law. It ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources. The World Bank: According to the World Bank, governance is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a countrys economic and social resources for development. On this meaning, the concept of governance is concerned directly with the management of the development process, involving both the public and the private sectors. It encompasses the functioning and capability of the public sector, as well as the rules and institutions that create the framework for the conduct of both public and private business, including accountability for economic and financial performance, and regulatory frameworks relating to companies, corporations, and partnerships. In broad terms, then, governance is about the institutional environment in which citizens interact among themselves and with government agencies/officials. UN concept Governance is the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights. Good governance accomplishes this in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule of law. The true test of good governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The key question in the UNs concept is: are the institutions of governance effectively guaranteeing the right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, fair justice and personal security? The concept of good governance has been clarified by the work of the Commission on Human Rights. In its resolution 2000/64 the Commission identified the key attributes of good governance as: transparency responsibility accountability participation responsiveness (to the needs of the people) Resolution 2000/64 expressly linked good governance to an enabling environment conducive to the enjoyment of human rights and prompting growth and sustainable human development. In underscoring the importance of development cooperation for securing good governance in countries in need of external support, the resolution recognized the value of partnership approaches to development cooperation and the inappropriateness of prescriptive approaches. By linking good governance to sustainable human development, emphasizing principles such as accountability, participation and the enjoyment of human rights, and rejecting prescriptive approaches to development assistance, the resolution stands as an implicit endorsement of the rights-based approach to development. OECD The concept of governance denotes the use of political authority and exercise of control in a society in relation to the management of its resources for social and economic development. This broad definition encompasses the role of public authorities in establishing the environment in which economic operators function and in determining the distribution of benefits as well as the nature of the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. (OECD DAC, 1995); At the Local Development and Governance in Central, East and South East Europe Conference  [9]  aroused two questions: What are the obstacles in coordinating policies, adapting them at the local conditions and involving business and civil society in strategic planning and the orientation of measures, and what are the best mechanism and initiatives to overcome these obstacles? Can these initiatives be mainstreamed and extended to all regions of the country to connect the various actors of local development around long term goals and concrete implementation tasks whatever the local conditions? At the same conference Professor Xavier Greffe (2005) enounced several types of instruments that could help good governance at local level: a proper allocation of responsibilities between the different levels of government involved (the institutional environment for governance), a sound organization of forums where stakeholders could interact and create synergy (institutional design), good management of project execution in its different dimensions: legal, financial or cultural (regulation of governance).  [10]   USAID Governance encompasses the capacity of the state, the commitment to the public good, the rule of law, the degree of transparency and accountability, the level of popular participation, and the stock of social capital. Without good governance, it is impossible to foster development. No amount of resources transferred or infrastructure built can compensate for-or survive-bad governance. It can be concluded that the introduction of democratic institutions in the form of more ample political rights, civil rights, and freedom of the press, among others, may or may not be associated with improved governance. Are the various cases of enlightened dictatorship the rule or the exception in the recent past? Do most democracies allow their population to choose more effective policymakers or are they just used as a tool by specific classes and oligarchies to control political power and sustain ineffective, corrupt regimes? Before making any predictions, it needs to be established whether the notion of good administration now acts as a kind of umbrella for the numerous disparate rules previously grouped around the notion of user protection in which case the change would be a quantitative one or whether it is of an entirely new nature in which case there has been a qualitative shift. It is still too early to give a definite answer. There is good reason to think, however, that in future, any oversight brought to bear on the activities of the administration will focus not just on specific administrative acts, but also on the administrative procedures themselves. In other words, there has been a shift in emphasis from the outcome of administrative action (result) to administrative behaviour (functioning). Other clues, the discussion of which is beyond the compass of the present report, suggest that this is indeed the direction in which the concept of good administration is moving. Good administration, go od governance, good legislation all effectively presuppose the existence of a large pool of good people. Is a good administration one that makes good decisions (i.e. legal decisions) or will we eventually come round to the view that good acts are ones that are produced by a good administration, without the need for any other reference to some predefined legality? In other words, are good acts to be defined objectively in their own right or should they, as Aristotle suggests, more properly be regarded as the acts of a good person? (Fortsakis, 2005) The features of good administration cannot be fixed or fully enunciated, but are identified only when the conduct of the administration fails to reach an acceptable standard, a standard that varies over time and context. And in the modes of the concept most often embraced-such as the notion of citizen as consumer with marketplace choice, and the notion of consultation, a form of participatory democracy which privileges those individuals and communities who have the political sophistication to organise themselves and further marginalise large sectors of unorganised society-she finds a virtual denial of the democratic concept of citizen as sovereign, the creator of state power who can dictate the exact limits to be placed on personal autonomy.

Analysis of Abbey Tomb, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and To Aut

Analysis of Abbey Tomb, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and To Autumn ‘By using the first or second person – a poet creates a sense of direct dialogue with the reader.’ What is your response to this view? By the use of the first or second person a poet can establish a connection between the character and the reader because the poet can address the reader directly. The poems I have chosen to study are ‘Abbey Tomb’ by Patricia Beer, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ by T.S. Elliot and ‘To Autumn’ by John Keats. Beer’s use of the first person in ‘Abbey Tomb’ creates the sense that the monk is confiding in the reader. In addition the link between reader and the Beer’s character is enhanced because the monk is talking through time, which makes the reader feel involved because the monk is intrusting the reader with his grievance that has lasted beyond the grave. ‘I told them not to ring the bells†¦their tombs look just as right as mine,’ it could be seen here that the monk is trying to get the final word to the reader as time has worn away the truth and there is no one alive who knows he was right. This also implies his frustration that the other monks did not listen to him because his complain is made directly to the reader. With the use of the first person Beer is able to create what resembles a first hand account of the incident, which is being retold to the reader. ‘We stood still†¦staring at the door,’ the monks were waiting for the Vikings. ‘We heard them passing by†¦only I could catch the sound of prowling men†¦everybody else agreed to ring the bells,’ the monks then think the Vikings had left and decided to ring the bells; again we see that the monk is trying to prove he was right by em... ...logue with the reader, even though the poem is written in the second person because is addressed to Autumn, as proclaimed in the title of the poem. Keats makes no reference to the audience throughout the poem, but personifies Autumn ‘sitting careless,’ ‘thy hair soft-lifted†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘by a cider-press, with patient look, thou watchest.’ Therefore this demonstrates that a poem can be written in the second person and contain no sense of a direct dialogue with the reader. I believe that the statement is too specific; some poems in the first or second person, like ‘Abbey Tomb,’ are purely expressed to the reader because the use of ‘I’ can create the sense of a conversation. On the other hand, in ‘the love song of J.Alfred Prufrock’ and more directly in ‘To Autumn,’ another character is addressed beside the reader which weakens the sense of a direct dialogue.

My Dream, My future Essay

â€Å"Live Your Values, Pursue Your Dreams, And Follow Your Passions†. This really implies the true ways we must do to have the best future life we could possibly have. Seeing through around the earth, we will find all kinds of people exist in the world. I think why those people are different from each other might be a difficult task to study—–which factor influences and drives them different. It is lucky that I am the one among them so I know that mine is my dream. Over my life time I would like to achieve many things but there are three main things I would like to accomplish: to be a triumphant person, help my loving parents and most especially to serve my fellows. I have been exhilarating by my dream, from the day I knew why I came into the world to so far and even in future, which is making me different from others. It is a goal, an aim, a direction for my life. It is not strange from outside, but from inside. Read more: Future plans essay It is to be an engineer. At first, I could hardly decide what I want to be in the future because there are so many choices painted in my mind. But at this time, I am at the crossroads where I have to make decisions, specifically at my choice of course in the college and at the same time, my profession. With all the sacrifices and eschews that my parents are exerting just to send me in school, I don’t have reasons not to give my bests all the time. This is my second dream. At that time, I have my job and I have something to make them feel so proud of me, I would like to give them the best life. I would like to make them feel comfortable and see sweet smiles in their faces. This is really the one I like to achieve in my life, mountains of words can’t explain how much I love and appreciate them. With all of my knowledge and values learned, I would like to share these to my fellows especially to those youths, in the future, by serving them with unconditional, whole-hearted and without any ambiguity or doubts. This really shows our compassion and charitable heart for others. Simple dreams of mine for others but worth living reasons for me. I, together with my parents, have a simple means of living; but because of firm determination, strong faith in GOD, good values and virtues I assure that we will have the bests of life in the future not because of the luxuries but the richness of love, compassion for people and passion for God. These are my dreams, my inspiration which I have to work on for the future.

Plato, Descartes and the Matrix Essay

After obtaining knowledge from the Matrix, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave or The Republic and the first Mediation from Descartes, I see that there are a few likenesses and contrasts. I would need to say that The Matrix and Plato’s hole purposeful tale were more comparable because the individuals included in both stories, they existed in this present reality where they were being cheated about what the fact of the matter was. In the Matrix, once Neo saw this present reality and that all that he thought was true was really a hallucination, is very much alike to the shadows on the dividers of the surrender that the prisoners saw in Plato’s Allegory of the hole. In both stories, both characters could encounter reality as well as the phony world and was given opportunity to see reality and were confounded. Nonetheless, the detainee in Plato’s story in the wake of picking up this new information let others in servitude know of his recently discovered learning however felt that the first truth was less demanding to with the exception to. Then again Neo in The Matrix chose he needed to realize what the right truth was. Both characters were intrigued by figure out reality however they recognized reality in an unexpected way. Plato thought it was fundamental for the affixed man in the Allegory of the Cave required to escape from the hole to look for reality. Socrates portrays a gathering of individuals who have lived anchored to the divider of a buckle the greater part of their lives, confronting a transparent divider. The individuals watch shadows anticipated on the divider by things passing before a blaze behind them and start to attribute structures to these shadows. As indicated by Socrates, the shadows are as close as the detainees get to review the reality. He then clarifies how the savant is similar to a detainee who liberated from the hollow and comes to comprehend that the shadows on the divider are not constitutive of reality whatsoever, as he can see the genuine type of reality as opposed to the minor shadows seen by the detainees. Descartes considers and rejects the likelihood that my faculties could just lead me adrift. We research situations when we have been tricked by our faculties, through the activity of those extremely same faculties. However, wouldn’t I be able to be envisioning now, and not understand this? This theory is hard to negate, on the off chance that you permit that a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"fantasy† require not be disconnected and unreasonable. It is coherently conceivable to have an intelligible dream where, for instance, I am in Sheffield, at my machine, composition a consummately or at any rate sensibly mindful response to Ask a Philosopher, regardless of the fact that such dreams happen just seldom if whatso ever. Coherent probability is everything Descartes needs. This is what might as well be called the Matrix situation. As a general rule, while I form my answer, I am dozing in a â€Å"unit† having encounters sustained specifically to my mind by a super-machine. The Matrix speculation is hard to negate. However it still isn’t sufficient for Descartes’ reasons. Since, even on this speculation, certain key convictions stay unchallenged. Specifically, the conviction that there exists a universe of material questions in space. The presence of a physical world is one of the essential suppositions of the Matrix story. That is the reason Descartes makes the additional stride of imaging a capable, non-physical sagacity fit for creating the knowledge of ‘an universe of material protests in space’ in me, despite the fact that in all actuality no such world exists. A fiendishness evil spirit. Anyhow how â€Å"wicked† is this spirit, truly? Berkeley took Descartes’ contention for uncertainty and stood it on its head: nothing could possibly consider confirmation of the presence of ‘matter’, on the grounds that all we ever have is ‘experience’. All that exists, in extreme the truth, is God and ‘limited souls’ similar to us who have encounters that God delivers in us. – When you gaze out at the world you are taking a gander at within God’s thoughts. Ignorance is bliss of illusion when we have security in the unknown of danger. It’s when we establish the danger we want to return to the ignorance to regain the safety. The very nature of man is to need what he doesn’t have. All promoting was focused around that start. You have an auto; however, you don’t have another auto or that auto that was constantly publicized. The very nature of all creatures is â€Å"Fight or Flight.† When they exited the hole – they didn’t have the security of the cavern. So as I studied that story, they came back to the hollow. Security is a manifestation of solace however is not acknowledged until we have lost it – or expects that we will lose it-. The extent that obliviousness, the greater part of us does not feel we are uninformed. We are and need to be unmindful of something else we would go insane. For example, might you want to know the date and time of your  passing? In the event that you realized that, it would cloud any of your problems. You could presumably consider nothing else, irregularly. That information would overpower you. Study the passing line convicts. Obliviousness is most happy when we don’t know we are incorrect yet think we recognize what we are doing – or we think we are on the whole correct. We weren’t sheltered when we fail to offer particular knowledge of looming dangers, yet we feel safe when we don’t think about those risks. To be certain are beliefs are true to ourselves we must firs t pretend that they are not and then begin to question their truths. Descartes argued that our customary knowledge of the world can’t give the sort of ensured establishment on which all other information could be based. We are frequently disillusioned to discover that what we have been taught are simply biases, or that what our faculties let us know is erroneous. That ought to make us ponder about whether the various things that we think are clear may moreover be mixed up. With a specific end goal to test whether what we think we know is genuinely right, Descartes recommends that we embrace a strategy that will dodge slip by following what we know back to a firm establishment of indubitable convictions. Obviously, it is conceivable that there are no totally unshakeable truths. It is additionally conceivable that we may find that our partialities can’t be uprooted or that convictions we think are extreme establishments for all our different convictions are not so much extreme whatsoever. The purpose of our contemplations is to test those convictions, regardless of the possibility that we have held them for quite a while. Furthermore that assess toward oneself will take a true effort. In request to figure out if there is anything we can know with conviction, Descartes says that we first need to uncertainty all that we know. Such a radical uncertainty may not appear sensible, and Descartes positively does not imply that we truly ought to uncertainty everything. What he recommends, however, is that with a specific end goal to check whether there is some conviction that can’t be questioned, we ought to incidentally imagine that all that we know is faulty. This misrepresentation is what is known as a speculative uncertainty. To verify that we consider the affectation important, Descartes recommends that there may be great contentions to believe that such questioning is defended and along these lines more than just something we ought to put on a show to do. His  contentions fall into two classifications: those pointed against our sense encounters and our supposition that we can recognize being conscious and envisioning, and those pointed against our thinking capabilities themselves. http://philosophy.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/Notes/descar1.html

Do Insects Hibernate in the Winter

Do Insects Hibernate in the Winter An insect doesn’t have the benefit of body fat, like bears and groundhogs, to survive freezing temperatures and keep internal fluids from turning to ice. Like all ectotherms, insects need a way to cope with fluctuating temperatures in their environment. But do insects hibernate? In a very general sense, hibernation refers to the state in which animals pass the winter.1 Hibernation suggests the animal is in a dormant state, with its metabolism slowed and reproduction paused. Insects dont necessarily hibernate the way warm-blooded animals do. But because the availability of host plants and food sources are limited during the winter in cold regions, insects do suspend their usual activities and enter a dormant state. So how do insects survive the cold winter months? Different insects use different strategies to avoid freezing to death when the temperature falls. Some insects employ a combination of strategies to survive the winter. Migration When it gets cold, leave! Some insects head to warmer climes, or at least better conditions, when winter weather approaches. The most famous migrating insect is the monarch butterfly. Monarchs in the eastern U.S. and Canada fly up to 2,000 miles to spend their winter in Mexico. Many other butterflies and moths also migrate seasonally, including the gulf fritillary, the painted lady, the black cutworm, and fall armyworm. Common green darners, dragonflies that inhabit ponds and lakes as far north as Canada, migrate as well. Communal Living When it gets cold, huddle up! There’s warmth in numbers for some insects. Honey bees cluster together as the temperatures drop, and use their collective body heat to keep themselves and the brood warm. Ants and termites head below the frost line, where their large numbers and stored food keep them comfortable until spring arrives. Several insects are known for their cool weather aggregations. Convergent lady beetles, for example, gather en masse on rocks or branches during spells of cold weather. Indoor Living When it gets cold, move inside! Much to the displeasure of homeowners, some insects seek shelter in the warmth of human dwellings when winter approaches. Each fall, peoples houses are invaded by box elder bugs, Asian multicolored lady beetles, brown marmorated stink bugs, and others. While these insects rarely cause damage indoors – theyre just looking for a cozy place to wait out the winter – they may release foul-smelling substances when threatened by a homeowner trying to evict them. Torpor When it gets cold, stay still! Certain insects, particularly ones that live in higher altitudes or near the Earth’s poles, use a state of torpor to survive drops in temperature. Torpor is a temporary state of suspension or sleep, during which the insect is completely immobile. The New Zealand weta, for example, is a flightless cricket that lives in high altitudes. When temperatures drop in the evening, the cricket freezes solid. As daylight warms the weta, it comes out of the torpid state and resumes activity. Diapause When it gets cold, rest! Unlike torpor, diapause is a long-term state of suspension. Diapause synchronizes the insect’s life cycle with seasonal changes in its environment, including winter conditions. Put simply, if it’s too cold to fly and there’s nothing to eat, you might as well take a break (or pause). Insect diapause may occur in any stage of development: Eggs – Praying mantids survive the winter as eggs, which emerge in spring.Larvae – Woolly bear caterpillars curl up in thick layers of leaf litter for winter. In spring, they spin their cocoons.Pupa – Black swallowtails spend winter as chrysalids, emerging as butterflies when warm weather returns.Adults – Mourning cloak butterflies hibernate as adults for the winter, tucking themselves behind loose bark or in tree cavities. Antifreeze When it gets cold, lower your freezing point! Many insects prepare for the cold by making their own antifreeze. During the fall, insects produce glycerol, which increases in the hemolymph. Glycerol gives the insect body â€Å"supercooling† ability, allowing body fluids to drop below freezing points without causing ice damage. Glycerol also lowers the freezing point, making insects more cold-tolerant, and protects tissues and cells from damage during icy conditions in the environment. In spring, glycerol levels drop again. References 1 Definition from Hibernation, by Richard E. Lee, Jr., Miami University of Ohio. Encyclopedia of Insects, 2nd edition, edited by Vincent H. Resh and Ring T. Carde.