Dangerous Driving Habits Essay Example for Free

Dangerous Driving Habits Essay Driving a car is a lot of fun and the danger is often overlooked by many. With the dangers rarely being taken into consideration the effects are noticed and felt on a daily basis in our society. People fail to realize that driving requires all five senses. Many people are too confident, some preoccupied, and the most dangerous of all is not being in the right state of mind. Many of today’s drivers have dangerous habits some good and some bad in the end they are all dangerous habits that affect us all. Many of us begin driving very cautiously and soon feel invulnerable on the street. People tend to feel as if they know it all and take their luck for granted while endangering the lives of others. Cars now a day can go much faster than the law permits us to go. For example my father has a Chevrolet Corvette with a heavy foot, he says â€Å"I am the kind of the road† and feels a sense of enjoyment when he is going faster than everyone else. His excuse is never being in a car accident. My sister on the other uses her knee while driving in the city and on the highway! Let’s just say for a second a tire blows and while driving with her knee she does not have enough time to grab the wheel causing her to lose control ending in a major car accident. Maybe the worst of all is convincing yourself a seat belt is not necessary simply because you are too good of a driver. I felt as if I knew it all and there was no need for a seat belt needless to say it saved my life. Everyday distractions take away a lot from a driver and his/her ability to drive well. Cell phones are yet another horrible habit while driving from talking to text messaging. For instance I was on my way to school when the car in front of me slammed on his/her brakes as did I and when looking into my rearview mirror hoping to see if the car behind was going to be able to stop in time all I saw was a girl with both hands on her phone text messaging someone, I know this because she later confessed it to me. Another women putting on makeup while driving, take my mother for example her philosophy is why do my makeup in the house when it can be done in the car to save time. What she doesn’t realize is every time she looks in the mirror to see how her lipstick is coming out she is putting herself in a very dangerous situation. Yet another is music. Just about everyone listens to the radio as loud as can be while driving. Take for instance and young man ready to change lanes with a car in his blind spot and with his new stereo full blast he doesn’t hear the horn from the car he just cut off causing a potentially fatal accident. From cell phones, makeup, and a radio full blast a driver can never be in the fully focused on the road. Yet worst of all a person getting behind the wheel when he/she is not capable of driving. Drinking and driving is by far the worst habit a person can have while driving. Drunk drivers are a menace at every hour of the day, but at night their visibility is cut in half making the situation much worse than it already is. Imagine a young man on his way home from a club in the early morning hours while there is a car broken down unable to pull over, because he is impaired he will not be able to react quick enough to avoid the disabled vehicle. Another horrible habit is getting behind the wheel when you are not rested. Some people do not have a choice as their schedule does not allow them time to sleep enough. Take my father for example on his way home one day with stop and go traffic he dosed off for a second and rear ended the person in front of him. He had no choice to drive but there are things he could have done to wake himself up such as drinking a cup of coffee or eating something before commuting. Driving is dangerous enough and to top it off we all make it worse with our dangerous driving habits. We all need to make better decisions as when to drive, how to drive and when not to drive. It takes a lot of effort to change our driving habits on the road and it will not happen without plenty of discipline and dedication. I have only listed a few yet important habits developed by drivers. If we are driving then we are old enough to know right from wrong and need to make smarter decisions while driving.

Irish Housing Policy Essay Example for Free

Irish Housing Policy Essay The legacy of anxious tenant and the battle for security of tenure continues to educate much political debates and imagery around housing. The longing to be free of landlordism usually is the primary factor for owner occupation at any cost. Many people view Irish as a conservative race by nature. In the field of housing, unique features have developed over the years which make Irish different from other European states. One of these features is the longing to own one’s own home. Successive regime have acknowledged this natural tendency towards this type of tenure and the need of providing it by introducing measures structured to encourage home ownership over the years. Irish housing policy has been greatly controlled by developers and house building companies since the 60s. This is still same today because possession of riches, properties, land and housing is not extensively divulged (O’Connell, 2007). Evolution of Irish Housing Policy Current Irish housing policy has been struggling to tackle the economic development of the past ten years. The upsurge of the economy since the mid 90s resulted to a fast growth in demand for housing mainly in the major cities, with a belated growth in housing development/production. Between 1993 and 2001, the real economic growth was approximately 8% per annum (Norris and O’Connell 2002). Irish emigrants returning home hunted housing in the thriving economy and the pace of new household establishment rose due to absence of emigration in the history of Ireland state. This led to a flourishing housing market and housing price inflated by 20% per year. All this unanticipated development occurred without a rational housing policy suitable for a modern industrializing nation. House builders and developers were left to address the new phenomenon (Norris et al 2007). Politicians complained of the rising prices which were excluding part of the population from accessing housing. This led to development of measures and plans for allowing access to those excluded from the market. One of the key responses of the government was the 2003 partnership agreement which had pledged to provide some ten thousand affordable housing units for low economic group who could not afford housing in the market. This was done by coordinating housing developer and market to develop cheaper units for sale. The state offered assistance through local government and provided subsidies of some state land (Norris and O’Connell 2002). The establishment of social housing policy in Ireland has mostly been seen as a responsibility of the domineering class to integrate the poorest of the low economy into the national community. Attempts to address social segregation of many Ireland population which finds it roots from historical residualisation of social housing have birthed another development and building chances instead of any real resource distribution (O’Connell, 2007). However, the 21st century Ireland housing policy is mostly dealing with housing equity, affordability, mortgage securitization and seasonally horrors of homelessness. The year 2000 was marked with increased social housing construction but this failed to recapture the relative output seen before the 80s. To this end, a number of policies have been formulated and introduced with mixed accomplishment. The first and immediate reaction to drops in social housing was a changing towards housing allowances for private renters (rent supplement) as a way of accommodating low economic households. Though this was structured as a short term housing support, the number of claimants and duration of claiming increased and the scheme became a parallel housing arrangement (Norris et al 2008). Doubts on the efficacy of this scheme and the poor quality of houses rented to claimant made the government to respond by announcing a new Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) in 2002. The local government was made responsible for administration of rent supplement claims and take long term lease from private renters for letting to these households. This was aimed at reducing rental costs and improvement of the quality of accommodation. Social housing reduced its role as a means towards home ownership in the 90s. This led to difficulties in home purchasing and the government came up with schemes to enable the poor householders to purchase their own house. These schemes included the affordable housing scheme, the shared ownership scheme and the mortgage allowances. Between 1991 and 2002, 29% home owners availed themselves for the schemes but there was a question of the sustainability of the scheme due to high mortgage arrears (Norris et al 2007). In 2003, 38% of home owners in the shared ownership scheme had over 3 month arrears (Norris O’Connell 2002). Conclusion Severe economic recession and related political predicament which has hit Ireland in the recent years has made future social housing prediction difficult. However, the mood of latest housing policy changes is an indication of likelihood of expansion of state intervention in the housing system. There has been a radical increase of private rented sector regulation as well as mainstream social housing production (Cowan 2006).

Philosophy Essays Platonic Epistemology Socratic

Philosophy Essays Platonic Epistemology Socratic Platonic epistemology seeks answers to key questions regarding the nature of reality, man, mind/soul, knowledge, being and becoming. The nature of this paper allows only the broadest brush strokes across the Platonic canvas. However following a brief introduction in which I will discuss the Socratic method and its influence on Platonic philosophy. Plato like his predecessor and mentor Socrates, aimed to identify the world around him using a more in depth methodology, from others that had been employed previously. The more Humanistic nature of Socratic enquiry was in marked contrast to the pre Socratic Naturalist approach. In The Republic Plato sets about an examination of specific concepts presented as a serious of dialogues or in a dialectic style. Through various metaphors and dialectic prose Plato delineates theories of reality (including the world of forms and being), the doctrine of Recollection, the roles of dialectic and aporia, and the tripartite structure theories of man and state. Benjamin Jowett in his edition of The Republic suggests the greater aim of Platos work is the â€Å"search after justice† embodying the fields of reality, man and knowledge discussed â€Å"On the basis of proverbial morality by Socrates and Polemarchus then caricatured by Thrasymachus reduced to an abstraction by Glaucon and Adeimantus† all based on the constructs of man and state as delineated by Socrates Influenced by his mentor Socrates and other Greek thinkers mentioned by Jowett. Platos work is still applicable today in a priori philosophies; Idealists concepts such as the tripartite nature of Man and State would have remarkable relevance in modern political theories including Utilitarianism and Communisms. Andrew Levine in his book Engaging Political Philosophy postulates: â€Å"Rousseaus investigation in The Social Contract was the realm of Platonic ideas or forms in contrast to the world of appearances, where de facto legitimate states exists† Any discussion on Platonic epistemology must inevitably weigh the influence of the Socratic school. Platos Socrates is the key to understanding the complexity of Platos thought. Socratic contrarianism and its methodology of aporia, a sort of constant intellectual [foundational] doubting, left Socrates free to claim that he was the wisest of men and was at the same time ‘wise in no way great or small. Platos later theories and epistemology would develop with Socrates almost rebellious dialectical style, questioning the accepted traditional beliefs of Greek intellectual society. (The historic Socrates stood trial and was sentenced to death for preaching his philosophy publicly; he refused to discontinue the practise) Platos adoption of Socratic contrarianism pervades much of his writings, especially in concepts as fundamentally abstract as his denial of knowledge through empirical observation; As witnessed in the Theaetetus when the Socratic midwife prepares to assist the young Theaetetus with his labours while delivering a reply to Socrates question â€Å"what is knowledge.† When questioned Theaetetus equates knowledge with perception, after intense dialectical questioning, during which Socrates successfully refutes arguments that perception is (biconditional) knowledge Theaetetus finally agrees, (with restrictions) that perception is not knowledge. So commences the search for an answer to the question Socrates asks, â€Å" what is knowledge?† Plato rejected all empirical claims to understand the true nature of knowledge â€Å" Knowledge is not constituted by sense impressions, but by the inferences we make about them, by that means being and truth are attainable, in the other way it is impossible† In the Theaetetus Plato demonstrates the concept of being as â€Å"fundamental and universal† Socrates points to the specialization of bodily sense organs. If we ask which organs enable us to formulate opinions or judgements that range across more than one field of sense-experience, we cannot identify such a grouping. â€Å"the things you perceive by means of another for example, that objects of hearing can not be objects of the seeing and vice versa?† The possession of mathematical knowledge or the ability to formulate judgements does not reside in some empirical â€Å" Sorting office†, Socrates states in the Meno, â€Å"Then knowledge is related to what is and knows what is and is as it is. The objects of mind are eternal; those of the senses always changing. Knowledge never changes; opinion, which is not tied down, is subject to change.† It now seems clear that what the mind knows is being, that which is eternal and unchanging, while the senses inform us concerning the â€Å"intermediate flux† The realm of being is comprised of ideas or forms and that of becoming by changing things. â€Å"Aporia and refutative cross examination serve to purify ambiguous formulation by excluding false and misleading interpretations and opening the path to true ones† reflects Rosemary Desjardins, in Logos in Platos Theatetus. Platos dialogues may indeed be aporetic but by subjecting both his interlocutors and readers to elenchus and meiutic method he hopes to lead from gross perceptibility to finer cognition. The relentless inquisitiveness of the Socratic method in conjunction with aporia lends to a degree of abstraction in the nature of Platos philosophy (referred to in Jowetts introduction to The Republic) evidenced by the allegory of the cave, the doctrine of recollection, the nature of reality, the concept of the divided line, and the theory of forms. The allegory of the cave allowed Plato to postulate several ideas archetypal of Platonic philosophy. The allegory of the cave describes the limit placed on mankind, by an over reliance on sensory perception, and the subsequent systems of knowledge that relied on empirical evidence alone to deduct truths. For Plato, the resultant effect of mans self-shackling (empirical observation) is described in Book VII of The Republic. Plato views mankind as: â€Å"living in a underground [den] which has its mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and neck chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads† Plato does not give a finite explanation of enlightenments form nor does he give an example of reality, what he demonstrates in the allegory of the cave is a clear method or path, that man and society must pursue to achieve deeper knowledge of reality. Like the prisoners emergence from the cave, enlightenment at first will be difficult to understand, like the temporary blindness they suffer when first exposed to sunlight, its an arduous path that takes time, patience, temperance and practice, with the temptation for a return to former ignorance always present. Ignorance when lifted will deliver us into the Real world of philosophy with man finally comprehending his own place on the path to true knowledge. Plato delineates this movement with mathematics through the image of a straight line. He divides this imaginary line into two unequal segments, the large segment represents the intelligible world, and the smaller the visible world. He further divides these segments in the same ratio as his first division. The division in the larger segment represents the world of higher and lower forms (ideas). The division in the visible world represent visible objects and the lowest segment represents their shadows and reflections (imagination). For Plato the line represents the levels of cognition available to man and society. Socrates avowed mission was to educate the Athenian populace up until the last days of his life. He likened his mission to that of a gadfly, ‘stinging the lethargic Athenian horse into wakefulness through the application of philosophical dialectic (Socratic method) Plato believed if entered into in good faith, this method would ensure a cognitive assent along the divided line. He believed until individuals and society, collectively questioned the political, ethical, and moral status quo, conciousness would remain in bondage much like the prisoners restricted mechanical life in the cave. Answering his critics regarding the phenomenon of knowledge Plato states that the soul is immortal â€Å" the soul, since it is immortal, and has been born many times, and seen all things both here and in the other world, has learned every thing that is† Plato offers proof of the souls immortality, in the Phaedrus he postulates that its the nature of the soul to initiate its own changes, in effect to be self moving, rather than moved by an outside agency. Therefore the soul cannot be destroyed nor can it come into being. ‘It was not, nor will be, but always is, one whole continuum. (Parmenides.) To contemporary ears the Platonic soul bears great similarities to the Christian Soul unlike his Doctrine of Recollection or anamnesis; Platos Socrates denies his own wisdom; in the Apology he states, â€Å" human wisdom is worth little or nothing† he merely asserts that he is a â€Å" midwife† assisting in the â€Å"rebirth† of knowledge lying dormant in the mind Opinions proven wrong in the course Socratic investigation, does not demonstrate lack of knowledge, but rather, the clouding of mind on account of sensory perception. Platos Socrates asserts that dialectical investigation (with its constant questioning) would lead the inquiring mind towards clues, allowing it a recollection of what was already known through the many cycles of rebirth. Although considered a Platonic absolute the Doctrine of Recollection cannot be contested or proved. Platonic abstraction, denies legitimate validity to Empirical investigation. The a priori solution given by the slave boy in the Meno to the mathematical question posed by Socrates, hardly resolves this problem. Tying into the Doctrine of Recollection and the minds compromised judgement on account of sensory perception, Platos Theory of forms plays a greater role in the Allegory of the cave, where the impressions cast on the caves wall are believed to be real. For Plato the shadows on the wall were a reflection of empirical reality, which in turn was a reflection of a Reality whos dwelling lay in the realm of Forms (ideas). Platos theory of Forms is base on the notion that all things in the world share in common with a greater abstract (ideas) that in turn embodies all things in the empirical world. For example a small red chair, sharing certain physical characteristics in common with a large white chair, is not a real chair, but the perception of the abstract â€Å"chair† in which the white chair and all other chairs mimic. Plato translated his notion of the intangible into the Tripartite nature of man; man Plato contended, was comprised of physical material (the body), and the abstract immaterial (soul and mind). While co-dependant, the two parts ¾ matter and form ¾, function separately of each other.

Greek Art and Architecture Essays -- essays research papers

Essay #1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Palace of Knossos, a Minoan mud brick and timber structure on a shallow stone foundation, featuring a central courtyard, was constructed on an acropolis. It was a place for rulers to reside, shrines for religious ceremonies to be worshipped, the industrial production of objects, and administrative duties. Ample hallways, stairways, chambers, and light wells supplemented the ambitiously built structure. There were plenty of columns to mark he four awe inspiring entrance passages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Four wings, oriented in a north-south direction, surrounded the central courtyard. The east wing featured the residential spaces, a workshop, and a shrine, while the west wing was complete with more shrines, a throne room, storerooms, and a banquet hall. The north wing included a theater area. The south wing featured a separate paved courtyard west of the palace. Inside the Palace of Knossos, plastered walls were painted with color washes. The walls were also decorated with frescos, many of which depicted religious ceremonies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Minoans were a people who enjoyed life. Many wine jars were found and it can be noted that women commonly bore their breasts. Long hair and makeup were popular and many festivals and events were held at the 1400 room palace. Nothing was fortified. These people had a love of art, color, and leisure, as depicted in many of the frescos at Knossos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Minoan art occasionally featured geometric and repetitive forms on walls, floors, and ceilings, but more common were figurative and landscape elements. Often seen were both local and foreign flowers and plants. It is important to mention that no narrative style has been noted and there are no hieroglyphics to decipher the images at Knossos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example of a Minoan fresco at Knossos is the Bull Jumping mural, about 24 1.2† in height. One person holds the horns of a bull while another jumps over the animal. This may have been a sporting event, as bulls were an important image, ad may have been sacrificed. Figures in these Minoan works are much more animated than typical Egyptian examples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A face of a bull with guilded horns, about 12† tall, was found at Knossos. Created from steatite with shell, rock crystal, and red jasper, a wh... ...igures stands in Athena’s outstretched hand. The shield rests at her side, a sign that war is over, but Athena is still prepared and protective of her city. Athena was the goddess of Athens, but it is still unsure which came first. This statue of the greatly revered Athena stood in her temple to be both revered and to protect her city and its people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The shield that rests by Athena is highly decorated and given its immense size, the work that went into this project is unimaginable. The inside part shows the gods against the giants, depicted the giants storming Mount Olympus. The amazons are sculpted on the outside of the shield. Even Athena’s sandals have figurative sculpture, this time of Lapiths and Centaurs fighting. Along the base of the statue, golden images of Pandora and witnesses to her birth contrast strongly against a white background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is so much information available architecturally and symbolically on the Parthenon that it is hard to form a concise short description of important points, however, it is because of this knowledge, that scholars have been able to really understand Greek art and architecture.

The Teachers of Siddhartha :: Hesse Siddhartha Essays

The Teachers of Siddhartha      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the book Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, the main character Siddhartha had many teachers along his quest for happiness.   Throughout his life he denounced   teachers and their teachings.   In his last meeting with his lifelong friend, Govinda, he mentions five in which he was indebted :   a beautiful courtesan, a rich merchant, a dice player, a Buddhist monk, and Vasudeva.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first of these teachers along his way was Kamala a beautiful courtesan. Kamala taught him the wonderful pleasures of love and the importance of wealth and riches in society .    ³It [had] never been my experience that a Samana from the woods should come to me and desire to learn from me.   Never has a Samana with long hair and an old torn loin cloth come to me.   Many young men come to me, including Brahmin's sons but they come to me in fine clothes, in fine shoes; there is scent in their hair and money in their purses.   That is how these young men come to me, O Samana. ²Ã‚   These teachings in which Kamala placed upon him helped him to seek out the riches and wealth that would supposedly bring him happiness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another of the people who Siddhartha obtained knowledge from was the rich merchant Kamaswami.  Ã‚   Kamaswami taught Siddhartha the secrets of making money and living the life of a rich man. While working for Kamaswami   many of Siddhartha's values stayed intact but, slowly   these  Ã‚   values began to slip away.   In many ways Kamaswami taught Siddhartha the dark side of life.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the days went on Siddhartha began hating himself more and more.   He viewed his riches as worthless, for they did not truly bring him happiness. Slowly he began squandering his money playing dice.  Ã‚   He won thousands and lost thousands in order to reach the high he felt when he carelessly bet his money away.   This taught him the worthless value of   money, for money only brought more and more sadness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally after rejecting this life of sin he vowed to leave the city and never return.   As he retreated into the forest he decided to go to the river. At the river he found his friend Govinda, who had watched over Siddhartha while

Russ Feingold :: essays research papers

On March 2, 1953, in Janesville Wisconsin, a United States Senator was born. He was named Russell Dana Feingold, and he grew up shaping, and discussing his political views around the dinner table with his father, Leon, a founding member of Wisconsin’s Progressive Movement. 51 years later, Feingold is a third term U.S. Senator known for work both on Campaign Finance Reform, and on other issues critical to the people of Wisconsin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feingold first ran for office at the age of 29, and immediately began to get recognition as a rising star in Wisconsin politics. After defeating a longtime incumbent State Senator by the thin margin of 31 votes out of 47,000, Feingold sat down and began the real work of politics. After 4 years as a State Senator from southern Wisconsin, Feingold began to gain respect and admiration from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feingold was re-elected to the State Senate in twice before joining a three way primary for U.S. Senator in 1992. Feingold was the least known candidate in the race, but through hard work, and popular TV ads, Feingold received 70% of the vote, and became the Democratic Nominee. Defeating an incumbent Senator is never easy, but Feingold managed to do it, by receiving 52% of the vote, and defeating 2-time incumbent Robert Kasten.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Senator from Wisconsin, Feingold is known for his independence and free thinking. Feingold once said. â€Å"I find it to be the most satisfying moment in politics when people of differing ideologies come together in support of an issue.† He is widely regarded as a man who has the best interests of the people of Wisconsin at heart, what earned him this reputation was his pledge during his first Senate campaign in 1992, to hold one listening session in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties each year. This way, any Wisconsinite could discuss issues directly with Senator Feingold, without an appointment. One issue that was continually coming up in those early listening sessions was Campaign Finance Reform.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the help of his friend John McCain, Republican Senator from Arizona, Feingold worked for almost 7 years on his flagship piece of legislation, what would later become known as the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. The bill, when it was eventually passed in 2001 succeeded in banning unlimited soft money contributions given by corporations to political parties in exchange for favors, or access to politicians.

Avalon Destorying

A sense of belonging Is what all teenagers seek out wealth high school. Destroying Valor by Kate MacAfee takes us through the Journey of the main character Valor, her move to a new school and her struggle to make friends. All the characters within the novel seem to be struggling for a sense of belonging, making it a strong theme of the novel.Valor, Jukes and Alice are the three main characters who all face with the dilemma of belonging and being accepted. In regards to Valor it is her need to progress forward socially which only ends when she develops a strong sense of belonging in the Z group. However with Jukes the desire to belong never ends, her cyber bullying campaign is only a means for her to gain a sense of belonging with her online followers.Alice on the other hand has to maintain her position and sense of longing always following the example of the other girls In her group by bulling the students below her socially. It Is through Valor that the need to belong and be accepte d Is first presented. Valor within the novel moves from a place where she Is â€Å"captain of the hockey team and member of the swimming squad† to a school where she is stuck in the Z group of â€Å"Queers and Weirdoes†. She is constantly in the beginning of the novel trying to get out of the bottom group so that she no longer has toBullying is a problem that seems to have become more vicious with the invention of social networking technology. The novel Destroying Valor by Kate MacAfee explores the theme of cyber bullying and its consequences through the character Marshall. Marshall Is the best friends of the main character in the novel, Valor; It Is she who Is Initially cyber bullied however the focus shifts to Marshal during the novel. Marshall, who Is confused about his sexuality, Is unable to cope with the bullying and In the end