Theater History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Theater History - Essay Example Entertainment in these early times involved travelling productions. With the rise however of very popular stars and the clamor of audiences to see their performances as often as they possibly could, the stage theaters started to be strongly patronized. This also marked the beginning of the single play with long-running stage productions. Significantly thereafter, the theater started to become one of the oldest forms of entertainment, and this, even long before the televisions and the cinemas were born. This paper will particularly focus on the following key points: realism, the resurgence of new melodrama and that of political censorship, with the end in view of not only discovering the correlations between the aforementioned key points and the rise of the stars, but that of their linkage as well, to the future growth of theater itself. (Germany) and Konstantin Stranislavsky (Moscow) advocated realism, the true depictions of life. Eventually, this soon became the dominant mode in most of the theatrical productions not only in Europe but also in the West (www.wsu.edu/brians/hum_303/naturalism.html). Most of the playwrights and production directors centered on the lives of shining stars like French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844 -1923) and Italian stage player Eleonora Duse (1858 -1924). The renowned Sarah with the reputation of being a very serious dramatic actress then was referred to as "the most famous actress in the history of the world". She would later in this artistic profession earn the nickname of "The Divine Sarah" (Wikipedia). Injuring her right leg in 1905, an amputation was done in 1915, but this did not stop the ambivalent Sarah from continuing to tour and perform. She succumbed to a lingering ailment and made her final goodbye in 1923 while filming La Voyante (www.who2.com/sarahbernhardt.html). E leonora Duse, on the other hand, was considered as the greatest Italian player of her age, marking her American debut in 1893. With nineteen years hiatus, she made her farewell tour in 1923 (Fuse). Both Sarah and Eleonora had beautiful golden voices and each shared their respective abilities to breathe their emotional lives into the classic roles that they performed. Consequently, in their own respective rights, they would each further the movement toward the bringing about of remarkable realistic acting. Their professional careers became major successes despite of the fact that both their real lives were wrought and harrowed by the characters that they played. This fusion of realism and drama that are seen in turn in both these dramatic performers ushered in many changes in scenic and costume design, acting styles and staging. Similarly, in real life, both of them from frequent bouts of physical ailments, most of the time some financial difficulties, and the common problem of havin g countless love affairs. In any event, together, the two great stage actresses were most instrumental to making the concept of realism, the most dominant mode in the history of playwriting and theatrical productions during the 19th century. RESURGENCE OF NEW MELODRAMA "Melodrama was the primary form of

Baroque music and Baroque art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Baroque music and Baroque art - Essay Example The art here produces unusual diversity during the Baroque period. This was because of current classicism and naturalism events which intermingled and coexisted with the Baroque style. The beginning of the Baroque painting is traced during the 16th century which ended with the painting of church ceilings. Most of the painting work was done in Western Europe with limited paintings being seen in Germany. Most of the paintings were in Austria and Holland where the architects broke from the Italian buildings in 1720s in an ornate monarchies, churches and palaces which were designed by the Asam brothers, J.B. Fischer von Erlach among others. The dramatic turn in music was witnessed during the 17th century with Italy leading the way. Despite the fact that Stile Antico was known polyphonic style, it was mainly reserved for the music. Besides, Stile moderno which mainly focused on solo music, base line and polarity of the melody and outstanding harmony developed for the secular music which w as between the instrumental and the vocal idioms. Just like the periods in art, the music period also presented a lot of diversity. Some of the frequent and common new vocals included oratorio, opera and cantala while the concerto, sonata and overture were the known created instruments for the instrumental music. Claudio Monteverdi was one of the greatest composers and was followed by Giovanni Pergolesi and Allesandro Scarlati; later, a myriad of other composers such as Frederic Handel, Sebastian Bach, etc.

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay Example for Free

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay Should a man whose actions created a wave of genocide and killed thousands of innocent natives be considered a hero? In today’s time, Christopher Columbus is known through the United States as the one who found the country we currently live in. But is that actually true? Over many years, his history has sparked a day that is a remembrance of his â€Å"discovery†. I believe that he is the mastermind behind the genocide of over 250,000 Native Americans, while others believe that he was only a man with a passion for exploring. I personally believe that Christopher Columbus had not a single good intention when he first stepped foot on the Americas back in his time and showed negative glory for his nation, discovery and personal glory. Christopher Columbus found the Americas, but today he takes credit for discovering a new world. Native Americans had been living in civilizations across North and South America long before Columbus had discovered it. This journey has now ruined many of those enslaved, and impacted as well as his precious reputation. With his expedition, he exposed countries to new disease, violence, and slavery. His â€Å"discovery† led him to ruin the America’s of its natives and its resources. These horrible actions should be added to Columbuss reputation, which shows him to be a villain in American history. Christopher Columbus had evil intentions from the start of his voyage when he promised to repay, Spanish monarch and founder of Columbuss travels, with gold, spice, and other servants. When he first arrived in what he thought was Asia, he quickly gathered the natives and introduced them to slavery. He also returned to Europe with the Native Americans possessions. In a resource I studied clearly and bias freely I read the following:† †¦, a sailor called Rodrigo saw the moon shining on white sands, and cried out. It was an island in the Bahamas, in the Caribbean Sea. The first man to sight land was supposed to get a large reward, but Rodrigo never got it. Columbus claimed that he had seen a light the evening before. He got the reward. We humans today know that when something new comes into the picture, something old must come out. No matter which side people choose, they all agree that Columbus made a major impact on the Americas.

Strategies to Lower Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions

Strategies to Lower Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Carbon dioxide emissions from Annex I countries have established since 1990 but are growing rapidly in developing countries (non Annex I countries) at a rate of approximately 4% per year which is reflected in the world emissions which are growing roughly 600 million tons of CO2 per year. Carbon dioxide emissions are the dominant component of greenhouse gas emissions, but represented in 2006 only 69,6% of the total emissions. The remaining 30.4% are methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases with high global warming potential (GWP) which are: SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride), HFCs (hydrofluorcarbons) and PFCs (perfluorcarbons). (Figure 4). Usually one expresses GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent. Total emissions in 2005 were approximately 45 Gtons of CO2.equivalent of which 30 Gtons of CO2. To reduce CO2 and other GHG emissions became thus one of the most urgent tasks we are facing today. There are two approaches to handle this problem: use energy more efficiently, consequently emitting less CO2 and extending the life of fossil fuels reserves. increase the contribution of renewable energies in the world energy matrix National governments as well as some sectors of the productive system (industry, transportation, residential and others) can adopt these solutions in differentiated degrees. In industrialized countries, which have already reached a high level of energy consumption per capita, energy efficiency is the low hanging fruit approach that can be more easily implemented. Renewable energies can also play a significant role. In developing countries where energy consumption per capita is low, and the need for the growth for energies services is inevitable, it can be done incorporating early, in the process of development, clean and efficient technologies as well as renewable energies, following a different path than that done in the past by todays industrialized countries We will discuss hereafter the potential of energy efficiency, renewable energies and emissions trading schemes in achieving the objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. RENEWABLE ENERGIES Table I lists the renewable energy used in the world at the end of 2008 by all types of renewable sources, as well their yearly growth rates. Traditional biomass is left out of this table because it is used mainly in rural areas as cooking fuel or charcoal in ways that are frequently non renewable, leading to deforestation and soil degradation Renewables (including large hydro) represented, in 2008, approximately 5% of the world?s total primary energy consumption but are growing at a rate of 6.3% per year while total primary energy supply is growing at a smaller rate of approximately 2% per year. Taking into account the appropriate efficiency and capacity factors* the numbers in Table I can be converted into the total primary energy contribution from renewables (Table II) and Figure 6. An extrapolation of the contribution of renewables up to 2030 on the basis of the rates of growth in the last 10 years is shown in Figure 7. To give an idea of the effort that would be needed to curb CO2 emissions up to 2050 the IEA produced recently two scenarios of what would be required in terms of renewables in the electricity sector. The results are shown in Table III. In the IEA Scenarios nuclear energy and coal and gas fired thermal power plants (with carbon capture and storage CCS) are included. These numbers are very large but give an idea of the effort required to prevent a catastrophic climate change. The main policy instruments used to accelerate the introduction of renewables in the energy system of a number of countries are feed in tariffs and renewable portfolio standards (RPS) Feed-in tariffs: this is a policy adopted by governments to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy sources in their matrixes. Power companies are obliged to buy renewable energy from independent producers, at a fixed price above the average cost of production. These incremental costs of renewable energy over fossil fuels can be transferred to consumers. Germany has had striking success with feed-in tariffs over the last two decades, supplying 15% of its energy needs through renewable sources. The German approach involves guaranteed fixed payments for 20 years designed to deliver a profit of 7 to 9 percent. The rates charged vary by energy source and are tied to the cost of production. The rates paid for new contracts decline annually, forcing the green energy sector to innovate. Renewable Portfolio Standards: such approach places an obligation on electricity supply companies to produce a specified fraction of their electricity from renewable energy sources (typically 10-20%). Certified renewable energy generators earn certificates for every unit of electricity they produce and can sell these along with their electricity to supply companies. RPS-type mechanisms have been adopted in the UK, Italy and Belgium, as well as in 27 States in the US and the District of Columbia. Regulations vary from state to state, and there is no federal policy. Four of the 27 states have voluntary rather than mandatory goals. Together these 27 states account for more than 42 percent of the electricity sales in the country. Renewable energies are being introduced in a significant way in many countries particularly in Europe in the form of distributed generation* ( ) (mostly renewable) which seems to be the approach to be used in large scale in the future. (Figure 8) ENERGY EFFICIENCY The amount of energy required to provide the energy services needed depends on the efficiency with which the energy is produced, delivered and used. Gains in energy efficiency are usually measured by indicators, one of which is called energy intensity and defined as the energy necessary (E) per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). I = E/GDP Reduction in the energy intensity over time indicate that the same amount of GDP is obtained with a smaller energy input as shown in Figure 9. In terms of CO2 emissions for the OECD countries means a reduction of emissions of roughly 350 million tons of CO2 per year. The reasons for such decline are a combination of the following factors. structural changes in industrialized and transition countries which can come from increased recycling and substitution of energy-intensive materials improved material efficiency and intensified use of durable and investment goods, shifts to services and less energy-intensive industrial production, and saturation effects in the residential and transportation sectors (i.e., a limit to the number of cars, refrigerators, television sets, etc., that a society can absorb). Since more than 80% of the energy used in the world today comes from fossil fuels the reduction in energy intensity is reflected in a reduction in carbon intensity (I=CO2/GDP) which is shown in Figure 11. As can be seem there is a steady decline in the carbon intensity in OECD countries. In non-OECD countries there was also a decline but it has stabilized after the year 2000. Over the next twenty years the amount of primary energy required for a given level of energy services could be cost-effectively reduced by 25 to 35 percent in industrialized countries. Reductions of more than 40 percent are cost-effectively achievable in transitional economies within the next two decades. In most developing countries ? which tend to have high economic growth and old capital and vehicle stocks ? the cost-effective improvement potential ranges from 30 to more than 45 percent, relative to energy efficiencies achieved with existing capital stock. The combined result of structural changes and efficiency improvements could accelerate the annual decline in energy intensity to perhaps 2.5 percent. How much of this potential will be realized depends on the effectiveness of policy frameworks and measures, changes in attitude and behavior, as well as the level of entrepreneurial activity in energy conservation and material efficiency. Standards (e.g., building codes; well-informed consumers, planners, and decision makers; motivated operators; market-based incentives such as certificate markets; and an adequate payments system ( ) for energy) are central to the successful implementation of energy efficiency improvements. EMISSIONS TRADING In addition to national efforts to curb GHG emissions through increased energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy source trading emissions is a strategy used to control pollution by providing incentive s for achieving reductions in the emission of pollutants. Usually it is called a ?cap and trade? system and the way is works is the following: A central authority (usually a government or international body) sets a limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. Companies or other groups are issued emission permits and are required to hold an equivalent number of allowances (or credits) which represent the right to emit a specific amount. The total amount of allowances and credits cannot exceed the cap, limiting total emissions to that level. Companies that need to increase their emission allowances must buy credits from those who pollute less. The transfer of allowances is referred to as a trade. In effect, the buyer is paying a charge for polluting, while the seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions. An early example of an emission trading system has been the SO2 trading system under the framework of the Acid Rain Program of the 1990 Clean Air Act in the U.S. Under the program, which is essentially a cap-and-trade emissions trading system, SO2 emissions were reduced by 50 percent from 1980 leve ls by 2007. Some experts argue that the cap and trade system of SO2 emissions reduction has reduced the cost of controlling acid rain by as much as 80 percent versus source-by-source reduction?.( ) At the international level the Kyoto Protocol (KP) adopted in 1997 and which came into force in 2005, binds most developed nations to a cap and trade system for the six major greenhouse gases. In spite of being a signatory of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United States is the only industrialized nation (i.e., under the KP Annex I) which has not ratified and therefore is not bound by it. Emission quotas were agreed by each participating country, with the intention of reducing their overall emissions by 5.2% of their 1990 levels by the end of 2012. Under the Treaty, for the 5-year compliance period from 2008 until 2012, nations that emit less than their quota will be able to sell emission credits to nations that exceed their quota through use of the following flexibility mechanisms: Joint Implementation projects (JI) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) International Emissions Trading (IET). The second commitment period of the KP, together with a long-term cooperative action under the UNFCCC, will be discussed by nations at the end of 2009. THE EUROPEAN UNION EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME (EU ETS) The European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) is the largest multi-national, emissions trading scheme in the world, and is a major pillar of EU climate policy. Under the EU ETS, the governments of the EU Member States agree on national emission caps which have to be approved by the EU commission, allocate allowances to their industrial operators, track and validate the actual emissions in accordance against the relevant assigned amount. In the first phase (2005-2007), the EU ETS includes some 12,000 installations, representing approximately 40% of EU CO2 emissions, (2.4 billion tons of CO2 equivalent) covering energy activities (combustion installations with a rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW, mineral oil refineries, coke ovens, production and processing of ferrous metals, mineral industry (cement clinker, glass and ceramic bricks) and pulp, paper and board activities. The scheme, in which all 15 member states that were then members of the European Union participated, nominally commenced operation on January 1st, 2005, although national registries were unable to settle transactions for the first few months. The first trading period of the EU ETS ran for three years, from January 1st, 2005 until the end of 2007. With its termination first phase allowances became invalid. The goal of the trial period was primarily to gain experience with key elements of the trading system in order to have a fully operational system for 2008-2012 when compliance with binding reductions would be required under the Kyoto Protocol. (Table IV) The price of allowances increased more or less steadily to its peak level in April 2006 of about ?30 per tonne CO2, but fell in May 2006 to under ?10/ton on news that some countries were likely to give their industries such generous emission caps that there was no need for them to reduce emissions. When the publication of 2005 verified emissions data in May 2006 highlighted this over-allocation, the market reacted by substantially lowering the price of allowances. Prices dropped precipitously to ?1.2 a tonne in March 2007, declining to ?0.10 in September 2007, because allowances could not be carried over or ?banked? and used in the next trading period. Although the first phase ended disastrously, because the allowances could not be banked to the next phase, it did not impact on the prices for contracts for 2008, the first year of the second phase. Market participants knew already in 2007 that phase II would be more stringent in relation to the cap and less lenient in relation to allowances, which explains the high prices for 2008 allowances. The first EU ETS Trading Period expired in December 2007. Since January 2008, the second Trading Period is under way which will last until December 2012. Currently, the installations get the allowances for free from the EU member states governments. Besides receiving this initial allocation on a plant-by-plant basis, an operator may purchase EU allowances from others (installations, traders, the government). In January 2008, the European Commission proposed a number of changes to the scheme, including centralized allocation (no more national allocation plans) by an EU authority, a turn to auctioning a greater share (60+ %) of permits rather than allocating freely, and inclusion of other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and per-fluorocarbons. These changes are still in a draft stage; the mentioned amendments are only likely to become effective from January 2013 onwards, i.e. in the third Trading Period under the EU ETS. Also, the proposed caps for the third Trading Period foresee an overall reduction of greenhouse gases for the sector of 21% in 2020 compared to 2005 emissions. The EU ETS has recently been extended to the airline industry as well, but these changes will not take place until 2012. In addition, the third trading period will be both more economically efficient and environmentally effective. It will be more efficient because trading periods will be longer (8 years instead of 5 years), and a substantial increase in the amount of auctioning (from less than 4% in phase 2 to more than half in phase 3). The environmental effectiveness will be guaranteed by a robust and annually declining emissions cap (21% reduction in 2020 compared to 2005) and a centralized allocation process within the European Commission. A robust secondary market for carbon certificates exists through which investors bank on the future value of the EU ETS certificates changing many times. However the ETS doesn?t include transport, thus this action is limited to industrial process and energy sector. JOINT IMPLEMENTATION (JI) Joint implementation is one of flexibility mechanisms set forth in the Kyoto Protocol to help countries with binding greenhouse gas emissions targets (so-called Annex I countries) meet their obligations. In this mechanism any Annex I countries can invest in emission reduction projects (referred to as Joint Implementation Projects) in any other Annex I country as an alternative to reducing emissions domestically. In this way countries can lower the costs of complying with their Kyoto targets by investing in greenhouse gas reductions in an Annex I country where reductions are cheaper, and then applying the credit for those reductions towards their commitment goal. The process of receiving credit for JI projects is somewhat complex. Emission reductions are awarded credits called Emission Reduction Units (ERUs), where one ERU represents an emission reduction equaling one tonne of CO2 equivalent. The ERUs come from the host countrys pool of assigned emissions credits, known as Assigned Amount Units, or AAUs ( ). After a long preparatory process JI projects began to take shape. As of June 2009, 207 projects have been submitted. If all implemented they will lead to emissions reduction of 338,048 million times CO2 equivalent in the period 2008-2012. The great majority of the projects are in the Russian Federation and Eastern European countries. The number of JI projects by type is given in Figure 14. So far the only certificates issued (ERUs) emissions reduction units are 651 thousand CO2 equivalent for coal bed/mine methane. CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM (CDM) The Clean Development Mechanism is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex B countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. A crucial feature of an approved CDM carbon project is that it has established that the planned reductions would not occur without the additional incentive provided by emission reductions credits, a concept known as additionality. The CDM allows net global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced at a much lower global cost by financing emissions reduction projects in developing countries where costs are lower than in industrialized countries. The CDM is supervised by the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) and is under the guidance of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). By June 1 2009, 4,417 projects have been submitted which if all implemented correspond to 2,931,813 million tons of CO2 equivalent. It represents roughly 1% of the total necessary effort to curb GHG emissions until 2050. Roughly 75% of the CDM projects are in China. In contrast to emissions trading schemes which are actively traded in the stock market JI and CDM are project-based transaction. THE STIMULUS PACKAGE A significant amount of the stimulus package adopted by a number of governments to face the financial crisis of 2007/2008 is made of investments in so called ?green? activities. They amount to 6% of the total recovery packages announced by governments (US$184.9billion dollars). (Figure 17) China and the US remain the leaders, in nominal terms, of the green stimuli activities, earmarking US$ 68.7 billion and US$ 66.6 billion respectively. The sector break-down shows that energy efficiency (Figure 18) remains at the heart of the low-carbon fiscal stimuli. Accounting for as much as 36% of the total US$ 184.9 billion, the sector will receive a boost of some US$ 65.7 billion globally, mainly via building efficiency projects. In addition to that, US$ 7.9 billion has been announced for research and development in energy efficiency. The second major winner is electricity grid infrastructure. More than US$ 48.7 billion has been earmarked for its development and upgrade, accounting for some 26% of the total funds. The Department of Energy has already disbursed US$ 41.9 million in grants for fuel cell energy projects. Furthermore, US$ 101.5 million has been directed to wind energy research and detailed plans have been disclosed on US$ 2.4 billion to be spent on carbon capture and storage and US$ 4 billion for grid upgrades. Details of almost US$ 1.3 billion, out of US$ 2 billion to support energy science research, have also been confirmed and there are now only some US$ 725 million remaining to be allocated.

Archaeology and the Trojan War Essay -- Archaeology Ancient World Hist

Archaeology and the Trojan War â€Å"†¦ he [Heinrich Schliemann] found layers of ruins †¦ and two bore unmistakable signs of violent destruction. One of these layers, the seventh according to more recent excavators, was no doubt the city of Priam and Hector. The historicity of the Homeric tale had been demonstrated archaeologically.† - M.I. Finley, the World of Odysseus Introduction The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout history, it is debated whether it actually took place. Heinrich Schliemann famously said â€Å"I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon.† on discovering tombs with the bodies of Mycenaean chieftains in Turkey. The German businessman-turned-archaeologist claimed to have discovered the city of Troy at the hill now called Hisarlik – about three miles from the Dardanelles. However, his claims are still disputed today. Before tackling the question of whether the Trojan War actually occurred, we must ask in what form. What exactly do we mean by â€Å"the Trojan War†? There is no definitive version of the events in the war, as our knowledge of it comes from a myriad different sources. Then we should consider Schliemann’s discoveries, and the other archaeological evidence for the Trojan War. Finally, after we have defined â€Å"Trojan War† in context of archaeology and historical fact, we must then draw conclusions about the extent to which archaeology proves its historical authenticity. What do we mean by the â€Å"Trojan War†? The first source that comes to mind is the writings of Homer – the Iliad and the Odyssey. The two epics are considered canon. However, Heroditus’ Histories briefly detail the major events of the war, and relays them as if they were historical fact. Heroditus’ account of the war differs slightly from Homer’s version, and he is well aware of this. After relating the tale of Alexander (Paris) carrying off Helen, Heroditus writes: â€Å"Such was the tale told me by the priests concerning the arrival of Helen at the court of Proteus. It seems to me that Homer was acquainted with this story , and while disregarding it , because he thought it less adapted for heroic poe... ..., or even â€Å"Did the version of events Heroditus describes have any foundation in truth?†. If the existence of Troy itself is uncertain, then the historicity of the war can only be more so. Bibliography Ancient Sources: -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homer, the Aeneid, translated by Samuel Butler, taken from www.patroclos.de -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homer, the Aeneid, translated by T.E. Lawrence (Wordsworth, 1995) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homer, the Odyssey, translated by T.E. Lawrence (Wordsworth, 1995) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Heroditus, Histories, translated by George Rawlinson (Wordsworth, 1996) Modern Sources: -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boardman, Griffin and Murray, the Oxford History of the Classical World (Oxford University Press, 1986) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finley, M. I., the World of Odysseus, (New York: The Viking Press, 1978) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finley, M. I., Ancient History – Evidence and Models, (Penguin, 1985) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alan B. Lloyd (editor), Battle in Antiquity (Duckworth, 1996) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Heinrich Schliemann’s Telegrams taken from www.archaeology.org -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier interview extract from Hershel Shanks, taken from www.bib-arch.org -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Additional research taken from Ian Johnston’s web page www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi, and also http://devlab.dartmouth.edu/history

Kohlbergs Moral Development Essay -- Psychology Psychological Lawrenc

Kohlberg’s Moral Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lawrence Kohlberg was born in Bronxville, New York on October 25, 1927. He was born into a wealthy family and enjoyed all of the luxuries that the rich lifestyle had to offer including the finest college prep schools. However, Kohlberg was not too concerned with this lifestyle. Instead he became a sailor with the merchant marines. During World War II, Kohlberg played an instrumental role in smuggling Jews through a British blockade in Palestine. It was during these times that Kohlberg first began thinking about moral reasoning, a subject that would later make him famous. After this Kohlberg enrolled at the University of Chicago where he scored so high on admission test that he only had to take a limited number of courses to earn his bachelor’s degree. This he did in one year. Kohlberg remained at the University Chicago as a graduate student. In 1958, Kohlberg completed his Ph.D. which dealt with moral decision making and was based primarily on the earlier w ork of Jean Piaget. The result was his doctoral dissertation, the first rendition of his new stage theory. Later he served as an assistant professor at Yale University from 1959 to 1961, began teaching at the University of Chicago in 1963. He remained at Chicago until his 1967 appointment to the faculty of Harvard University, where he served as professor of education and social psychology until his death in 1987.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many of our inner standards take the form of judgments as to what is right and what is wrong. They constitute the moral and ethical principles by which we guide our conduct. Lawrence Kohlberg refined, extended, and revised Piaget’s basic theory of the development of moral values. Like Piaget, Kohlberg focused on the moral judgements in children rather than their actions. The manner in which moral judgments develop has been studied extensively by Kohlberg, through the questioning of boys seven years old and up. Kohlberg presented his subjects with a number of hypothetical situations involving moral question like the following. If a man’s wife is dying for lack of an expensive drug that he cannot afford, should he steal the drug? If a patient who is fatally ill and in great pain begs for a mercy killing, should the physician agree? By analyzing the answers and particularly the reasoning by which his subjects reached their answers. Kohlberg determined t h... ...g means that the stages are not just isolated responses but general patterns of thought that will consistently show up across many different kinds of issues. The third concept is Invariant Sequence. Kohlberg believed that his stages unfolded in an invariant sequence. Children go form stage 1 to stage 2 and so on with out skipping a stage. Concept four is Hierarchic Integration. When Kohlberg said that his stages were hierarchically integrated, he meant that people do not lose the insights gained at earlier stages but integrate them into new, broader framework.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other studies confirm that moral development is sequential, moving from external to internal control. In other words, while young children behave in order to avoid punishment or receive approval from others, adults develop internal codes and regulate their own behavior even in the absence of external enforcement. However, criminologists have not found truly strong indications of the effect of moral development on criminal activity. Sociologists who compared the patterns of moral development between delinquents and no delinquents found some differences between the groups, but these differences were not conclusive.

Introduction to Calcium Carbonate Essay

Calcium carbonate, also referred to as Calcium trioxocarbonate (CaCO3), is one of the most widely available chemical compounds on the earth. It occurs naturally in the earth crust, and is said to make up approximately 7 percent of the earth’s crust (Calcium Carbonate, 2006). The compound goes by different common names such as calcite, limestone, chalk, pearl, marble, aragonite, etc. Naturally, calcium carbonate can be found in almost all rocks. It can also be found in the hard shells of some organisms such as pearls, snails, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate occurs in two forms with different geometric structural arrangements of the constituent elements (calcium, carbon, and oxygen). The two crystalline forms are calcite and aragonite. Calcium carbonate, when extracted in a pure form exists as a white powder which has a specific gravity of 2.71 (calcite) or 2.93 (aragonite) (Calcium Carbonate, 2006). Calcium carbonate does not dissolve easily in water. It is poorly soluble in pure water. It has a relative molecular mass of 100g/mol. The bond type between the two major ions: calcium ion (Ca2+) and carbonate ion (CO32-) is the electrovalent type. It has the following chemical properties: reaction with acids to liberate carbon dioxide and water, reaction with water and carbon dioxide to form carbon bicarbonate, and production of calcium oxide and carbon dioxide when heated to temperatures above 900oC. Calcium carbonate is a very important compound because it is has numerous natural, health and industrial uses. It is used in medicine as a form of therapy in peptic ulcer diseases. It is used as an antacid as a result of its property of reacting with acids in the stomach, liberating carbon dioxide and water. It is also used in construction industries as building materials. In particular, it is used to make cement or mortar which is used to hold blocks together. Again, calcium carbonate is used in the steel manufacturing companies. It is used specifically to absorb any impurity in the molten steel material. Another use of this compound is in the manufacture of papers and glass. There are different methods of preparation of calcium carbonate. The method which is being investigated in this experiment is one of the most common methods of preparation of the compound. Large amounts of calcium carbonate (especially for industrial uses) are prepared by mining and quarrying. Small amounts can be produced in the laboratory, or can be extracted from a pure mined source. In the laboratory, it is produced by reacting calcium oxide or quicklime (CaO) with water (H2O). This reaction ends with the production of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). Carbon dioxide is bubbled through calcium hydroxide solution. The end result of this reaction is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The reactions are as follows: CaO + H20 ———- Ca(OH)2 Ca(OH)2 + CO2 ———— CaCO3 + H2O The significance of this investigation is to examine the possibility of preparing calcium carbonate with the above method. The aim of this experiment is to learn about the preparation of calcium carbonate. This experiment attempts to verify the hypothesis that the above stated method can be used to prepare calcium carbonate.