Analysis Of The Cartesian Dualism

Analysis Of The Cartesian Dualism There is the relationship between a reason and an action when the reason explains the action by giving the agents reason for doing what he did. The reason explains the action in this way (a reason that rationalizes the action) also causes the action. There is some confusion, then, about reasons for action. The idea of a reason for action seems to some most naturally to pick out considerations that count in favor of acting in a certain way, while to others it picks out psychological states that explain action. We believe that the relation has to be causal, in order to pick out, from among the many reasons that a person might have acted upon, those that the person did, in fact, act upon. It is convenient to begin by considering dualism. The major position here is Cartesian dualism, named after Descartes, the central figure in post-medieval philosophical discussion of the mind-body problem. For a Cartesian dualist the mind and body are both substances; but while the body is an extended, and so a material, substance, the mind is an unextended, or spiritual, substance, subject to completely different principles of operation from the body. It was this doctrine that Gilbert Ryle caricatured as the myth of the ghost in the machine. It is in fact a serious and important theory. In the Cartesian Dualism, the brain is part of the physical body but the mind or the spirit is not. The mind interacts with the physical body through the brain, more specifically, through the pineal gland in the middle of the two hemispheres of the brain. The body could be divided up by removing a leg or arm, but the mind or soul is indivisible. The mind is not only indivisible but also invisible and immortal. The body is the exact opposite being visible, mortal and divisible. The mind in Descartes explanation is a thinking thing (lat. res cogitans) and immaterial. This thing is capable of doubting, believing, hoping and thinking on its own. The body is extended matter: the soul is unextended spirit. When, however, the extended is acted upon by the unextended, some definite point of interaction is required and it is to be found in the pineal gland. Yet the soul is united to all parts of the body conjointly. The whole body is the souls proper housing so long as the body remains intact. When a member of the bodyan arm or a leg, for exampleis cut off, there is no loss of part of the soul as a consequence because the soul is unitary and indivisible. It then occupies what is left of the body. So without attempting to resolve all the problems, he simply stated that there is a dualism of mind and body, and their interaction is clearly real. The brain is the major locus for the mind or consciousness of the soul, yet mind or consciousness is distributed throughout the whole body. The point of interaction between the two is the pineal gland. Monism is defined as the doctrine that there is only one ultimate substance or principle, whether mind, matter, or some third thing that is the basis of both (or) the doctrine that reality is an organic whole without independent parts (Websters New World Dictionary). The concept of psychological dualism asserts that man is more than the sum of his genotype. Dualistic man has a mind that is separate from his body. This mind may be housed or contained within the body, but it is not contingent upon the physical body for its existence. The mind can act upon the body, and the body can act upon the mind, but they are separate entities that have been traditionally believed to separate at death at which point neither has any influence over the other. The most important aspect of this philosophy is its recognition of a non-biological component of the human person. By the turn of the twentieth century, it had become clear that talk of the mind is too broad and that there may be issues to do with experience and sensation that are distinct from those that arise in connection with such mental states as believing, desiring, and the like (the so-called propositional attitudes). It was thought that, while functionalism, for example, might provide a plausible account of belief, it encountered real difficulties when it came to accounting for experience. Functionalism is a material monist theory of mind: it asserts that everything is physical. It is highly significant both in that it develops behaviourism and that it paved the way for empirical work in neuro-physiology and cognitive science. It was created as Hilary Putnam interpreted conscious states in terms of the (then new) science of computational theory. The function of the brain, states the theory, is consciousness. This approach is useful because by reducing the mind to a function it does away with the issue of how that function is performed. A function can be defined abstractly, without concerning itself with how that function is discharged in the same way that an equation can specify the relationship between X and Y without needing to specify how that equation might be solved. Thus, functionalism avoids the question of how the brain might achieve the feat of consciousness that dogs other materialist theories. Functionalism is also both a response to and a development of behaviourism. Behaviourism argues that conscious states can be understood in terms of sensory input and behavioural output. This leads to a significant issue; namely that it ascribes conscious states to any input/output system (e.g. a water tank). Functionalism adds an intermediary step, arguing that sensory input is processed by a function before output. Thus, two crucial differences to behaviourism are introduced: the function can lead to one or many outputs and some or all of the output can form the input to another internal function without the requirement for external expressive behaviour. With this simple device the diversity of the mind can theoretically be accounted for. An everyday illustration of this process might be a car. It receives multiple inputs in the form of petrol, oil, water, etc and outputs motion, gases, heat, etc. During this transformation process (function) we can also see an example of feedback: some of the motion of the car is used to power the alternator to generate electricity, which in turn forms one of the inputs to the combustion process. So now we have a brief understanding of the theory let us examine why this important theory came about. Firstly there is the need to respond to behaviourism and to overcome its shortcomings. Functionalism can also be seen as developing along with other new concepts of the time. The new science of computers and computational mathematics supplied concepts that could be applied to the brain as a complex system. Functionalism was also applying empiricism to a new area, paralleling the method of the huge advancements made in science in the twentieth century. Each mental state (or process) correlates with some neurological state (or process) Different mental states correlate with different neurological states (though one and the same mental state can have different neural correlates). The correlations are based on causal interactions between minds and brains. Mental occurrences can simply be taken as brain processes (Identity Theory). Mental states/processes are brain states/processes. Hence, we can identify sensations and other mental phenomena with (physical) brain processes.

Life Of William Shakespeare :: essays research papers

Life of William Shakespeare Around 1568, a group of actors visited Stratford and put on a play before the entire town, with permission from John Shakespeare, the mayor of the town. The people loved the play, especially the small children. All of them looked up to the actors, as they returned each year to perform different plays. They had dreams of one day becoming actors, but only one of these children fulfilled this dream. This child was the mayor's son, William Shakespeare. At this time, actors in England usually spent their careers traveling to new towns, performing plays at city buildings or local inns. However, with the help of James Burbage, this all changed. James Burbage designed and built the first theatre in England. The actors could then settle down in one place and perform in a place built for plays. The theatre was a huge success, and many more began popping up over England, but this theatre built by James Burbage was forever known as The Theatre. The layout of the stage consisted of five levels. The lowest level was for trap doors built into the stage. The next level was the main stage, where the actors did most of their performing. Above this was the balcony level, which could be used to represent anything from a city wall to a mountain. The next level contained pulleys which could raise or lower anything from above. The top level was used for creating sounds of rain or thunder, or dropping important objects from the sky. William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at age 18. In two years, they had three children, a daughter named Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith. He didn't stay in Stratford long after this though. He left his family to pursue a career as an actor in London. Shakespeare wrote his first play in 1592. It was a historical play called Henry VI, which was one of the biggest successes of the year. Some scholars criticized him because he did not have a university education like most playwrites, but probably the only reason he was criticized for this was because his play was so popular. After the success of his historical play, he wrote a tragedy called Titus Andronicus, and then The Comedy of Errors, a humorous comedy. Not many playwrites wrote so many different types of plays in so short a time, but Shakespeare was certainly not like any other English playwrite. Very early in Shakespeare's career, however, many theatres closed due to the plague in England, and playwrites were not in high demand. Shakespeare then turned to another type of writing and wrote a narrative poem entitled Venus and

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 28

No one answered the door at the Smalwoods' house. The driveway was empty and the house looked deserted, the shades pul ed down. â€Å"Maybe Caleb's not here,† Matt said nervously. â€Å"Could he have gone somewhere else when he got out of the hospital?† â€Å"I can smell him. I can hear him breathing,† Stefan growled. â€Å"He's in there, al right. He's hiding out.† Matt had never seen Stefan look so angry. His usual y calm green eyes were bright with rage, and his fangs seemed to be involuntarily extended, little sharp points showing every time he opened his mouth. Stefan caught Matt looking at them and frowned, running his tongue selfconsciously across his canines. Matt glanced at Alaric, who he'd been thinking of as the only other normal person left in their group, but Alaric was watching Stefan with what was clearly fascination rather than alarm. Not entirely normal, then, either, Matt thought. â€Å"We can get in,† Meredith said calmly. She looked to Alaric. â€Å"Let me know if someone's coming.† He nodded and positioned himself to block the view of anyone walking past on the sidewalk. With cool efficiency, Meredith wedged one end of her fighting stave in the crack of the front door and started to pry it open. The door was made of heavy oak, and clearly had two locks and a chain engaged inside, and it withstood Meredith's leverage against it. Meredith swore, then muttered, â€Å"Come on, come on,† redoubling her efforts. The locks and chains gave suddenly against her strength, and the door flew open, banging into the wal behind it. â€Å"So much for a quiet entrance,† Stefan said. He shifted restlessly on the doorstep as they filed past him. â€Å"You're invited in,† Meredith said, but Stefan shook his head. â€Å"I can't,† he said. â€Å"It only works if you live here.† Meredith's lips tightened, and she turned and ran up the stairs. There was a brief shout of surprise and some muffled thumping. Alaric glanced at Matt nervously, and then up the stairs. â€Å"Should we help her?† he said. Before Matt could answer – and he was pretty sure Meredith wasn't the one who needed help – she returned, shoving Caleb down the stairs before her, twisting one of his arms tightly behind his back. â€Å"Invite him in,† she ordered as Caleb stumbled to the bottom of the stairs. Caleb shook his head, and she yanked his arm up higher so that he yelped in pain. â€Å"I won't,† he said stubbornly. â€Å"You can't come in.† Meredith pushed him toward Stefan, stopping him just at the threshold of the front door. â€Å"Look at me,† Stefan said softly, and Caleb's eyes flew to his. Stefan's pupils widened, swal owing his green irises in black, and Caleb shook his head frantical y, but seemed unable to break his gaze. â€Å"Let. Me. In,† Stefan ordered. â€Å"Come in, then,† said Caleb sul enly. Meredith released him and his eyes cleared. He turned and dashed up the stairs. Stefan burst through the door like he'd been shot through a gun and then stalked up the stairs. His smooth, stealthy movements reminded Matt of a predator's – of a lion or a shark. Matt shivered. Sometimes he forgot how truly dangerous Stefan was. â€Å"I'd better go with him,† Meredith said. â€Å"We don't want Stefan doing anything he'd regret.† She paused. â€Å"Not before we find out what we need to know, anyway. Alaric, you're the one who knows the most about magic, so you come with me. Matt, keep an eye out and warn us if the Smal woods pul into the drive.† She and Alaric fol owed Stefan up the stairs. Matt waited for the screaming to start, but it remained ominously quiet upstairs. Keeping one eye on the driveway through the front windows, Matt prowled through the living room. He and Tyler had been friends once upon a time, or at least had hung out, because they were both first-string on the footbal team. They'd known each other since middle school. Tyler drank too much, partied too hard, was gross and sexist toward girls, but there had been something about him that Matt had sometimes enjoyed. It was the way he'd thrown himself into things, whether it was the no-holdsbarred tackle of an opposing team's quarterback or throwing the absolutely craziest party anyone had ever seen. Or the time when they'd been in seventh grade and he'd gotten obsessed with winning at Street Fighter on PlayStation 2. Every day he'd had Matt and the rest of the guys over, al of them spending hours sitting on the floor of Tyler's bedroom, eating chips and talking trash and pounding the buttons of the control er until Tyler had figured out how to win every fight. Matt heaved a sigh and peered out the front window again. There was a brief muffled thump from upstairs, and Matt froze. Silence. As he turned back to pace across the living room again, Matt noticed a particular photo among the neat row of frames on top of the piano. He crossed over and picked it up. It must have been the footbal banquet, junior year. In the picture, Matt's arm was around Elena, who he'd been dating then, and she was smiling up at him. Next to them stood Tyler, hand in hand with a girl whose name Matt couldn't remember. Alison, maybe, or Alicia. She'd been older than them, a senior, and had graduated that year and left town. They were al dressed up, he and Tyler in jackets and ties, the girls in party dresses. Elena had worn a white, deceptively simple short dress, and looked so lovely that she'd taken Matt's breath away. Things had been so easy then. The quarterback and the prettiest girl in school. They'd been the perfect couple. Then Stefan came to town, a cold, mechanical voice whispered to him, and destroyed everything. Stefan, who had pretended to be Matt's friend. Stefan, who had pretended to be a human being. Stefan, who had pursued Matt's girlfriend, the only girl Matt had ever real y been in love with. Probably the only girl he would ever feel that way about. Sure, they'd broken up just before Elena met Stefan, but Matt might have gotten her back, if not for him. Matt's mouth twisted, and he threw the photo to the floor. The glass didn't break, and the photo just lay there, Matt and Elena and Tyler and the girl whose name he didn't remember smiling innocently up at the ceiling, unaware of what was heading toward them, of the chaos that would erupt less than a year later. Because of Stefan. Stefan. Matt's face was hot with anger. There was a buzzing in his head. Stefan the traitor. Stefan the monster. Stefan who had stolen Matt's girl. Matt stepped deliberately onto the picture and ground it beneath his heel. The wooden frame snapped. The feel of the glass shattering under his foot was oddly satisfying. Without looking back, Matt stomped across the living room toward the stairs. It was time for him to deal with the monster who had ruined his life. â€Å"Confess!† Stefan growled, doing his best to compel Caleb. But he was so weak and Caleb kept throwing up mental blocks. No doubt about it – this boy had access to Power. â€Å"I don't know what you're talking about,† Caleb said, pressing his back against the wal as if he could tunnel into it. His eyes flicked nervously from Stefan's angry face to Meredith, who was holding her staff balanced between her hands, ready to strike, and back to Stefan. â€Å"If you just leave me alone, I won't go to the police. I don't want any trouble.† Caleb looked pale and shorter than Stefan remembered. There were bruises on his face, and one of his arms was in a cast and supported by a sling. Despite everything, Stefan felt a twinge of guilt as he looked at him. He's not human, he reminded himself. Although†¦ Caleb didn't seem al that wolfish either, for a werewolf. Shouldn't there be a little more of the animal in him? Stefan hadn't known many werewolves, but Tyler had been al big white teeth and barely repressed aggression. Next to him, Alaric blinked at the injured boy. Cocking his head to one side and examining him, he echoed Stefan's thoughts, asking skeptical y, â€Å"Are you sure he's a werewolf?† â€Å"A werewolf?† said Caleb. â€Å"Are you al crazy?† But Stefan was watching Caleb careful y, and he saw a tiny flicker in Caleb's eyes. â€Å"You're lying,† Stefan said coldly, reaching out with his mind once more, final y finding a crack in Caleb's defenses. â€Å"You don't think we're crazy. You're just surprised that we know about you.† Caleb sighed. His face was stil white and strained, but a certain falseness went out of it as Stefan spoke. His shoulders slumped and he stepped away from the wal a little, head hanging wearily. Meredith tensed, ready to spring, as he moved forward. He stopped and held up his hands. â€Å"I'm not going to try anything. And I'm not a werewolf. But, yeah, I know Tyler is, and I'm guessing that you know that, too.† â€Å"You've got the werewolf gene,† Stefan told him. â€Å"You could easily be a werewolf, too.† Caleb shrugged and looked Stefan straight in the eye. â€Å"I guess. But it didn't happen to me; it happened to Tyler.† â€Å"Happened to?† Meredith asked, her voice rising with outrage. â€Å"Do you know what Tyler did to become a werewolf?† Caleb glanced at her warily. â€Å"What he did? Tyler didn't do anything. The family curse caught up with him, that's al .† His face was shadowed and anxious. Stefan found his tone gentling despite himself. â€Å"Caleb, you have to kil someone to become a werewolf, even if you carry the gene. Unless you're bitten by a werewolf yourself, there are certain rituals that have to be performed. Blood rituals. Tyler murdered an innocent girl.† Caleb's knees seemed to give out, and he slid to the floor with a muffled thump. He looked sick. â€Å"Tyler wouldn't do that,† he said, but his voice was unsteady. â€Å"Tyler was like a brother to me after my parents died. He wouldn't kil anyone. I don't believe you.† â€Å"He did,† Meredith confirmed. â€Å"Tyler murdered Sue Carson. We negotiated for her to come back to life, but it doesn't change the fact that he did kil her.† Her voice held the unmistakable ring of truth, and al the fight seemed to go out of Caleb. He sank lower and rested his forehead against his knees. â€Å"What do you want from me?† He looked so thin and rumpled that, despite the urgency of their mission, Stefan was distracted. â€Å"Weren't you tal er than this?† he asked. â€Å"Bigger? More†¦ put together? The last time I saw you, I mean.† Caleb mumbled something into his knees, too muffled and distorted for even a vampire to hear properly. â€Å"What?† Stefan asked. Caleb looked up, his face smudged with tears. â€Å"It was a glamour, okay?† he said bitterly. â€Å"I made myself look better because I wanted Elena to want me.† Stefan thought of Caleb's glowing, healthy face, his height, his crowning halo of golden curls. No wonder he had seemed suspicious; subconsciously Stefan must have known how unlikely it was that an ordinary human would look that much like an archangel. No wonder he felt so much lighter than I expected when I threw him across the graveyard, Stefan thought. â€Å"So you are a magic user, even if you aren't a werewolf,† Meredith said swiftly. Caleb shrugged. â€Å"You knew that already,† he said. â€Å"I saw what you did to my workroom in the shed. What more do you want from me?† Meredith stepped forward warningly, stave at the ready, her gaze clear and pitiless, and Caleb flinched away from her. â€Å"What we want,† she said, enunciating every word distinctly, â€Å"is for you to tel us how you summoned the phantom, and how we can get rid of it. We want our friends back.† Caleb stared at her. â€Å"I swear I don't know what you're talking about.† Stefan prowled toward Caleb on his other side, keeping him off balance so that the boy's eyes flicked nervously back and forth between Stefan and Meredith. Then Stefan stopped. He could see that Caleb looked genuinely confused. Was it possible that he was tel ing the truth? Stefan knelt so that he was at eye level with Caleb and tried a softer tone. â€Å"Caleb?† he asked, depleting his last remnants of Power to compel the boy to speak. â€Å"Can you tel us what kind of magic you did? Something with the roses, right? What was the spel supposed to do?† Caleb swal owed, his Adam's apple bobbing. â€Å"I had to find out what happened to Tyler,† he said. â€Å"So I came here for the summer. No one seemed worried, but I knew Tyler wouldn't just drop out of sight. Tyler had talked about you, al of you, and Elena Gilbert. Tyler hated you, Stefan, and at first he liked Elena, and then he real y hated her, too. When I came here, though, everyone knew Elena Gilbert was dead. Her family was stil mourning her. And you were gone, Stefan; you'd left town. I tried to put the pieces together about what had happened – there were some pretty strange stories – and then lots of other weird things happened in town. Violence, and girls going crazy, and children attacking their parents. And then, suddenly, it was over; it just stopped, and it was like I was the only one who remembered it happening. But I also remembered just a normal summer. Elena Gilbert had been here the whole time, and no one thought anything of it, because they didn't remember her dying. Only I seemed to have two sets of memories. People who I'd seen get hurt† – he shuddered at the memory – â€Å"or even kil ed were fine again. I felt like I was going crazy.† Caleb pushed his shaggy dark blond hair back out of his face, rubbed his nose, and took a breath. â€Å"Whatever was going on, I knew you and Elena were at the center of it. The differences between the memories told me that. And I figured that you must be connected to Tyler's disappearance, too. Either you'd done something to him, or you knew something about what had happened to him. I figured if I could pul you and your friends apart, something would come out. Once you were set against one another, I'd be able to work my way in and find out what was going on. Maybe I could get Elena to fal for me with a glamour, or one of the other girls. I just had to know.† He looked from one to another of them. â€Å"The rose spel was supposed to make you irrational, turn you against one another.† Alaric frowned. â€Å"You mean you didn't summon anything?† Caleb shook his head. â€Å"Look,† he said, pul ing a thick leather-bound volume from under his bed. â€Å"The spel I used is in here. That's al I did, honest.† Alaric took the book and flipped through the pages until he found the right spel . He studied it, his forehead crinkling, and said, â€Å"He's tel ing the truth. There isn't anything about summoning a phantom in this book. And the spel here fits what we saw in Caleb's workshop and what I've been reading in his notebooks. This rose spel is a fairly low-level discord spel ; it would make whatever negative emotions we were feeling – hate, anger, jealousy, fear, sorrow – just a little bit stronger, make us a little more likely to blame one another for anything that went wrong.† â€Å"But when combined with the powers of whatever phantom might be hanging around here, the spel would become a feedback loop, just as Mrs. Flowers said could happen, strengthening our emotions and making the phantom more powerful,† Stefan said slowly. â€Å"Jealousy,† said Meredith thoughtful y. â€Å"You know, I hate to admit it, but I was horribly jealous of Celia when she was here.† She glanced apologetical y at Alaric, who reached out and gently touched her hand. â€Å"She was jealous of you, too,† Stefan said matter-offactly. â€Å"I could sense it.† He sighed. â€Å"And I've been feeling jealous as wel .† â€Å"So perhaps a jealousy phantom?† Alaric said. â€Å"Good, that'l give us more of a basis for researching banishing spel s. Although I haven't been feeling jealous at al .† â€Å"Of course not,† Meredith said pointedly. â€Å"You're the one who's had two girls fighting over you.† Suddenly Stefan felt so exhausted that his legs shook. He needed to feed, immediately. He nodded awkwardly to Caleb. â€Å"I'm sorry†¦ for what happened.† Caleb looked up at him. â€Å"Please tel me what happened to Tyler,† he implored. â€Å"I have to know. I'l leave you alone if you just tel me the truth, I promise.† Meredith and Stefan glanced at each other, and Stefan raised his eyebrows slightly. â€Å"Tyler was alive when he left town this past winter,† Meredith said slowly. â€Å"That's al we know about him, I swear.† Caleb stared up at her for a long moment, then nodded. â€Å"Thank you,† he said simply. She nodded back at him crisply, like a general acknowledging the troops, and led the way out of his room. Just then a muffled, cutoff shout came from downstairs, fol owed by a thud. Stefan and Alaric raced after Meredith down the stairs, almost bumping into her as she pul ed to a sudden halt. â€Å"What is it?† Stefan asked. Meredith drew aside. Matt was lying facedown at the foot of the stairs, his arms flung out as though to catch himself. Meredith stepped quickly the rest of the way down the stairs to him and turned him over gently. His eyes were closed, his face pale. He was breathing, slowly but steadily. Meredith felt his pulse, then shook him gently by the shoulder. â€Å"Matt,† she cal ed. â€Å"Matt!† She looked up at Stefan and Alaric. â€Å"Just like the others,† she said grimly. â€Å"The phantom's got him.†

History of Jade †A Beautiful Mineral

History of Jade – A Beautiful Mineral Free Online Research Papers Hundreds of minerals and precious gems are formed by the earth. One of the hundreds is jade. Jade is one of the most interesting minerals because of its long history. Throughout past centuries jade has been revered for its alleged healing powers, strength for tools and weaponry, and praised for its beautiful carvings in art. This paper will discuss the unique properties and characteristics of jade, the formation of jade, its special history, and the issues with synthetic jade and how to identify the real, truly beautiful mineral. There are two different minerals that can be identified as what most of the population would call jade, nephrite and jadeite. Although they appear to be the same they each have their own unique properties and characteristics. Nephrite is a chemical mixture of actinolite and tremolite and is calcium and magnesium iron silicate occurring in colors ranging from white to spinach green to black. Nephrite is part of the group of rock forming minerals called amphiboles (Desautels 1960). It is a double chain silicate and also contains water (Keller 1990). Jadeite is sodium aluminum silicate often found with calcium and iron and occurs in colors ranging from white to emerald green and other colors. Jadeite is part of the rock forming mineral pyroxene group (Desautels 1960). Like nephrite, jadeite has small crystals that interlock which give it its durability and strength; however it doesn’t have the double chain like nephrite because it is not an amphibole. For the purpose and r equirements of this paper, the focus will be on jadeite. In addition to its unique chemical makeup of NaAlSi2O6 (Holden 1991), jadeite has several other interesting properties and characteristics as well. The color of jadeite can vary from white to green, white with greenish spots, pale lavender, bluish lavender, emerald green (known as â€Å"Imperial Jade†), silvery white, reddish brown, and brownish red (National Audubon Society 1998) and its luster can be described as a dull or waxy appearance (Holden 1991). Jadeite has a hardness of 6  ½ 7 on Mohl’s scale (National Audubon Society 1998). Jadeite cleavages in two directions at almost 90 degrees (87 degrees and 93 degrees), which makes it very distinct (National Audubon Society 1998). It has a specific gravity of 3.3 to 3.5 (National Audubon Society 1998) and a monoclinic crystal system (Holden 1991). Jadeite is very brittle and tough and can be transparent to opaque (National Audubon Society 1998). Jadeite’s unique characteristics and properties are largely due to the way in which jadeite is formed. Jadeite is formed by â€Å"high-pressure regional metamorphism, which occurs where rocks are subjected to very deep burial but relatively low temperature† (Keller 1990). The process of high-pressure and low temperature conditions occur beneath the surface of the ocean and over millions of years. Peter C. Keller Ph. D. states that when the ocean floor slides beneath the edge of a continent the high-pressure and low-temperature conditions occur that are necessary for jadeite to occur (Keller 1990). This happens because the clashing of the two pieces of rock form a great amount of pressure yet the cold temperatures of the ocean result in the low-temperature needed for this mineral to come about. As pieces of the ocean floor fall off and are pushed back into the earth’s surface, recrystallization occurs with significant high-pressure (Keller 1990). The resultin g rocks are known as blueschist or prehnite and vesuvianite in and jadeite is finally located in lode hydrothermal replacement deposits (National Audubon Society 1998). These special circumstances result in the mineral known as jadeite and the rocks, which are iron rich, affect the color of the jadeite that is formed. This is particularly special to jadeite because the color of jadeite is what can determine its market value. For example, â€Å"Imperial Jade† which is a deep, rich shade of green, is highly valued by art collectors and jewelry collectors alike. This highly valued shade of green occurs due to the presence of chromium (Hall 1994). Jadeite predominantly found in Burma, San Benito Co., California, and also Cloverdale Sonoma Co., California. Jadeite deposits have also been found in Guatemala, China, Japan, New Zealand, Western Canada, Alaska and even Wyoming (Holden 1991). One of the most important sources of jade is Myanmar, which has supplied China with jade for over 200 years (Hall 1994). Even though it seems that jadeite is found in many different places of the world, the gem quality of jadeite is actually very rare on a world-wide basis (Keller 1990). Jadeite has a long and interesting history mainly due to its hardness and unique color. Early aborigines along the Amazon River used jadeite for tools and weapons because of its strength and hardness (Desautels 1960). After that, Spanish conquerors of Mexico and were introduced to jadeite when then came to Central America. They believed that jade held special healing powers, especially for kidney ailments (Holden 1991). They named jade â€Å"piedra de ijada† which is Spanish for â€Å"stone of the flank† (Holden 1991). Many years after the Spaniards where introduced to the mystical stone, jadeite was identified in 1863 by French chemist Alexis Damour and the scientific name was coined by the original trade name there after (Holden 1991). The ancient Chinese worked jadeite as early as 1000 B.C. for tools and other such uses. However, jade carving finally became a revered art subsidized by Chinese Royalty during the Ching Dynasty (1644-1912) and reached its peak in relatively modern times (Desautels 1960). Now these jadeite carvings are prized possessions of many art collectors around the world. Jadeite carvings can be priceless pieces of art sought after by many art collectors and can come with a hefty price tag (Holden 1991). Today jadeite is used and fashioned into beads, earrings, bracelets, and cabochons for rings or broaches (National Audubon Society 1998). Because of its unique formation and sometimes high costs, it’s no wonder that many people have tried to simulate jadeite. There are several different way in which jadeite is copied. Serpentine is a jade stimulant because of its convincing color and luster, but is easily detected because it isn’t as hard as jadeite. Other green silicates like californite, massive diopside, and massive green grossularite garnet are also used to simulate jadeite and are more difficult to detect because of their similar hardness to jadeite (Holden 1991). Because of this, scientists, geologists, gemologists and even jewelers have found several ways in which to separate true jadeite from other imposters. One way is to use a petrographic microscope or a refractometer can determine the refractive index (Desautels 1960) which is specific to jadeite. The best method to precisely identify jadeite involved the X-ray diffraction powder method. This is the best method because it depends on th e fact that every crystalline mineral yields a characteristic pattern stemming from difference in internal structure (Desautels 1960) and therefore isn’t confused with other minerals like those the appear to look like jadeite. Even though jadeite is a naturally beautiful mineral, there are ways that it is enhanced and altered to improve in physical appearance. Grey or pale green jadeite can be dyed to look like a strong rich colored jade, like Imperial Jade which is the most sought after (Desautels 1960). Other stones, like Quarzite, can be dyed to resemble or substitute jadeite (Desautels 1960). Jadeite is sometimes imitated with semi opaque or opaque glass. There are many ways in which jadeite can be faked or changed to be more appealing to consumers. Jadeite is a special mineral that has been enjoyed by thousands of people in hundreds of different cultures and is still prized today by many. It is truly a beautiful mineral that has had many uses and meanings, each special to the individual. Jadeite will continue to be valued and treasured across the world. Desautels, Paul E. (1960) The Gem Kingdom. Random House Inc. New York. Hall, Cally (1994) Gemstones. Dorling Kindersley. London. Holden, Martin (1991) The Encyclopedia of Gemstones and Minerals, Michael Freidman Publishing Group, Inc. New York. Keller, Peter C. Ph. D. (1990) Gemstones Their Origins. Van Norstrand Reinhold. New York. National Audubon Society (1998) Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York.J Research Papers on History of Jade - A Beautiful MineralThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsWhere Wild and West MeetThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionThe Hockey GameCapital Punishment19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Spring and AutumnQuebec and CanadaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

James McPherson - Civil War James McPherson - Army of the Tennessee

James McPherson - Civil War James McPherson - Army of the Tennessee James McPherson - Early Life Career: James Birdseye McPherson was born November 14, 1828, near Clyde, Ohio. The son of William and Cynthia Russell McPherson, he worked on the familys farm and aided with his fathers blacksmith business. When he was thirteen, McPhersons father, who had a history of mental illness, became unable to work. To aid the family, McPherson took a job at a store run by Robert Smith. An avid reader, he worked in this position until he was nineteen when Smith aided him in obtaining an appointment to West Point. Rather than immediately enroll, he deferred his acceptance and took two years of preparatory study at Norwalk Academy. Arriving at West Point in 1849, he was in the same class as Philip Sheridan, John M. Schofield, and John Bell Hood. A gifted student, he graduated first (of 52) in the Class of 1853. Though posted to the Army Corps of Engineers, McPherson was retained at West Point for a year to serve as an Assistant Professor of Practical Engineering. Completing his teaching assignment, he next was ordered to aid in improving New York Harbor. In 1857, McPherson was transferred to San Francisco to work on improving fortifications in the area. James McPherson - The Civil War Begins: With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the beginning of the secession crisis, McPherson declared that he wished to fight for the Union. As the Civil War began in April 1861, he realized that his career would be best served if he returned east. Asking for a transfer, he received orders to report to Boston for service in the Corps of Engineers as a captain. Though an improvement, McPherson desired to serve with one of the Union armies then forming. In November 1861, he wrote to Major General Henry W. Halleck and requested a position on his staff. James McPherson - Joining with Grant: This was accepted and McPherson traveled to St. Louis. Arriving, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned as chief engineer on the staff of Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant. In February 1862, McPherson was with Grants army when it captured Fort Henry and played a key role in deploying Union forces for the Battle of Fort Donelson a few days later. McPherson again saw action in April during the Union victory at the Battle of Shiloh. Impressed with the young officer, Grant had him promoted to brigadier general in May. James McPherson - Rising through the Ranks: That fall saw McPherson in command of an infantry brigade during the campaigns around Corinth and Iuka, MS. Again performing well, he received a promotion to major general on October 8, 1862. In December, Grants Army of the Tennessee was reorganized and McPherson received command of XVII Corps. In this role, McPherson played a key part in Grants campaign against Vicksburg, MS in late 1862 and 1863. In the course of the campaign, he took part in victories at Raymond (May 12), Jackson (May 14), Champion Hill (May 16), and the Siege of Vicksburg (May 18-July 4). James McPherson - Leading the Army of the Tennessee: In the months following the victory at Vicksburg, McPherson remained in Mississippi conducting minor operations against the Confederates in the area. As a result, he did not travel with Grant and part of the Army of the Tennessee to relieve the siege of Chattanooga. In March 1864, Grant was ordered east to take overall command of Union forces. In reorganizing the armies in the West, he directed that McPherson be made commander of the Army of the Tennessee on March 12, replacing Major General William T. Sherman, who was promoted to command all Union forces in region. Commencing his campaign against Atlanta in early May, Sherman moved through northern Georgia with three armies. While McPherson advanced on the right, Major General George H. Thomas Army of the Cumberland formed the center while Major General John Schofields Army of the Ohio marched on the Union left. Confronted by General Joseph E. Johnstons strong position at Rocky Face Ridge and Dalton, Sherman dispatched McPherson south to Snake Creek Gap. From this undefended gap, he was to strike at Resaca and sever the railroad which was supplying the Confederates to the north. Emerging from the gap on May 9, McPherson became concerned that Johnston would move south and cut him off. As a result, he withdrew to the gap and failed to take Resaca despite the fact the city was lightly defended. Moving south with the bulk of Union forces, Sherman engaged Johnston at the Battle of Resaca on May 13-15. Largely inconclusive, Sherman later blamed McPhersons cautiousness on May 9 for preventing a great Union victory. As Sherman maneuvered Johnston south, McPhersons army took part in the defeat at Kennesaw Mountain on June 27. James McPherson - Final Actions: Despite the defeat, Sherman continued to press south and crossed the Chattahoochee River. Nearing Atlanta, he intended to attack the city from three directions with Thomas pushing in from the north, Schofield from the northeast, and McPherson from the east. Confederate forces, now led by McPhersons classmate Hood, attacked Thomas at Peachtree Creek on July 20 and were turned back. Two days later, Hood planned to attack McPherson as the Army of the Tennessee approached from the east. Learning that McPhersons left flank was exposed, he directed Lieutenant General William Hardees corps and cavalry to attack. Meeting with Sherman, McPherson heard the sound of fighting as Major General Grenville Dodges XVI Corps worked to halt this Confederate assault in what became known as the Battle of Atlanta. Riding to the sound of the guns, with only his orderly as an escort, he entered a gap between Dodges XVI Corps and Major General Francis P. Blairs XVII Corps. As he advanced, a line of Confederate skirmishers appeared and ordered him to halt. Refusing, McPherson turned his horse and tried to flee. Opening fire, the Confederates killed him as he tried to escape. Beloved by his men, McPhersons death was mourned by leaders on both sides. Sherman, who considered McPherson a friend, wept upon learning of his death and later wrote his wife, McPhersons death was a great loss to me. I depended much on him. Upon learning of the death of his protà ©gà ©, Grant was also moved to tears. Across the lines, McPhersons classmate Hood penned, I will record the death of my classmate and boyhood friend, General James B. McPherson, the announcement of which caused me sincere sorrow...the attachment formed in early youth was strengthened by my admiration and gratitude for his conduct toward our people in the vicinity of Vicksburg. The second highest ranking Union officer killed in combat (behind Major General John Sedgwick), McPhersons body was recovered and returned to Ohio for burial. Selected Sources Sherman Loses his Right Bower by Wayne BengstonCivil War Trust: James McPherson Major General James B. McPherson

Strategic Marketing Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Marketing Management - Assignment Example The market segment of OBC is undergraduate courses, post graduate courses, executive MBA programs and other career based courses. OBC can penetrate more into this segment by adding the number of seats for each of their courses. Through this, they will be able to increase the headcount of their students. Product Development: Product development is another option for OBC. This consists of introducing new products in the existing markets. OBC currently offers postgraduate courses in Strategic Management, Leadership, Business English Language and General Business Management. Additionally OBC can introduce Post Graduate course in Finance Specialization. Though finance is offered as a specialization option in the general management course, a specialized course like the strategic management and leadership will help OBC to attract new category of students. Market Development: The third option available for OBC is market development. In the market development stage, OBC has the option to sell its existing courses to the new markets. One way to do this is to attract students from overseas either through direct admissions or through overseas study centres. Diversification: Diversification is the next option for the company as per the Ansoff Matrix. This involves venturing entirely into a new product offering. As far as OBC is concerned, the primary offering is management education. Diversification does not seem to be a viable option for OBC as it is specialized only in educational sector. Based on the above analysis it can be said that the possible growth opportunity for OBC are market development and product development. These are the two strategies that can add value to the organization. The best option for market development for OBC is developing countries. Developing countries like India, China, Brazil, etc. are spending more for overseas education in the recent days. This is one opportunity that OBC can utilize. OBC

Gold Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gold - Research Paper Example Introduction Gold is a dense element having a shiny, soft and malleable surface. Its chemical symbol is Au which comes from a Latin word Aurum. It has an atomic number of 79. Gold is among the non-reactive metal, thus, it many functional uses in manufacturing industries and natural environments. It has rust resistance i.e. does not react with oxygen. It is a good conductor of electricity being able to convey a very tiny electrical current in temperature ranging from -550 to +2000. 1 This metal is among the most ductile metals, thus, it allows to be molded into very small threads or wires without breaking. Furthermore, gold is malleable. This makes it possible to be shaped into extraordinary thin sheets. It is known to be the least absorptive material, but most reflective of infrared energy. Gold with a high purity has the capability of reflecting 99 percent of infrared rays. Also, gold is among the best heat conductors or thermal energy. This makes it to be used to transfer heat away from very delicate instruments, like electronics. Gold alloys, being the most tenacious and long performing material that is used to guard electronics against high temperatures produced by them. Place on earth where gold is mined include Australia, Alaska, Spain, South Africa (Witwatersrand) and other parts of Africa. South Africa remains one of the biggest gold producers in the world. Figure1. Sample image of gold in a pan taken from gold mine in Alaska. Its shinny and can be seen from a far distance in the pan. General properties Below table gives the major general properties of gold which are going to be discussed further and distinguished into chemical or physical classification. General properties of gold. Atomic Mass 196.9655 g.mol -1 Boiling Point 3129 K, 5173  Ã‚ °F, 2856  Ã‚ °C Standard potential +1,68 V ( Au+/ Au ) Ionic Radius 0.137 nm (+1) Vander Waal Radius 0.144 nm Density 19.3 g.cm-3 at 20 °C Electronic Shell [ Xe ] 4f14 5d10 6s1 History Discovered Middle easte rn (Before 6000 BC) Table1. The common properties of gold material, It shows both physical and also the chemical properties of gold. Occurrence in Nature It occurs in its compound and also in native state (It’s Free State). 2 Gold is not combined with any other element in nature. Telluride (a compound of element Tellurium) is the most common compounds of gold. For example, gold telluride (AuTe 2) is mostly composed of mineral calavarite. Also, gold is found in Nuggets and chunks large enough to see. 3 This enables people to mine gold by picking and collecting it from the rivers and streams. Gold estimation abundance in the earth crust is around 0.005 Parts per Million. 3 This makes a very small fraction as compared to Iron and other metals. Many people believe that, about 70 million tons of gold are found in oceans. This has led to many ocean exploration of gold by many individuals and also some hold a belief that around 10 billion tons of gold are found at ocean bottoms. How evwer, no one has ever found a means or a mining way to exploit that bottom gold. Researchers are working extremely hard to discover a way to exploit that bottom ocean gold, dissolved in seawater. Figure2. Pieces of gold attached to a chunk of quartz. Gold is found in Nu