Nuclear Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nuclear - Research Paper Example What followed was a struggle with the nuclear energy dichotomy and appreciating the drawbacks and benefits associated with this type of energy. What still remains a puzzle is whether nuclear energy has more benefits to mankind compared to its disadvantages. This research paper will focus on the benefits, drawbacks and safety use of nuclear energy. The process of generating nuclear energy is believed to be the cleanest of all processes causing the least impact on the environment. This follows the fact that the nuclear plants do not emit harmful gases like nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide to the environment. This makes nuclear energy emission free energy that does not affect water, air and land resources. Nuclear energy is used in radiation and isotopes techniques mostly in agriculture. Nuclear energy is also used in human health for the treatment of cancer by radiotherapy application. Gamma emissions on the other hand are applied in the sterilization of supplies in medicine such as bandages, cotton and gloves used for burn dressing and surgery. Radioisotopes are actively used in the tracing of pollutants that are found in air as they easily trace the residue thus ensuring safe and healthy environment. The process of decaying of the radioisotopes leads to the emission of large amounts of energy that can be appl ied in controlling the heart pacemaker (Rutherford 67) Nuclear weapons have also been observed to use minimum fuel as it makes use of small amounts of uranium which exist in high reserves on the earth surface and will be available for more than 100 years to come. Nuclear energy can be used in the proliferation and production of nuclear weapons and such weapons have been used by super powers to dictate, cause tension and cause massive destructions and killings in different countries. The waste that comes from

Is Science a Religion Essay Example for Free

Is Science a Religion Essay Is science a religion? This topic has been debated by many creationists and scientists alike. The philosophy of science makes no claims to knowledge about the supernatural or metaphysical and, by not so doing, is left with an enterprise that although hugely successful is also permanently on trial (Manne, 2010). The only thing scientists can agree upon is the empirical nature of science, but the steps from observations to theory are not without philosophical problems. DISCUSSION Thomas Kuhn thinks that scientific paradigms are essentially pictures of the world that are consistent with observations and logically coherent. But such pictures are necessarily always incomplete, at least until such time as we know everything, and our minds seem to struggle to accept this; it seems like there is an aesthetic compulsion to create harmonious images, even if that means filling in the spaces with metaphysical constructs. Andrew Brown states that the dictionary is wrong; science can be a religion too. He explains that if you strictly use the dictionary definition of science then it cannot be considered a religion, but if you look at science objectively you can see how it could be considered one. He makes a strong argument that religion has too many definitions for science to not be considered one. Richard Dawkins believes the opposite. He states that science is based upon verifiable evidence. Religious faith not only lacks evidence, its independence from evidence is its main virtue. Dawkins makes a good argument for science not being a religion. He even goes so far as to reconsider his stance only if science can get as much education time as religion does. Dawkins’ Atheist views are widely known but there are many more scientists that believe religion has no place in the world. Michael Ruse, on the other hand, asks why religion is not being taught in public schools while science is. His argument is that if â€Å"God exists† is a religious claim, why then is â€Å"God does not exist† not a religious claim? And if Creationism implies God exists and cannot therefore be taught, why then should science which implies God does not exist be taught? I am sure Dawkins was referring to Sunday school and bible study when he referred to science getting as much education time as science, but Ruse has a valid point. Science is taught in schools due to separation of church and state, therefore everyone has to learn science. Sunday school is voluntary. Peter Harrison demonstrated how the role of religion in the rise of modern science often focused on the way in which religion motivated particular individuals, or provided the essential content of approaches to nature. These relate to the origins of science and assume that, once established, modern science becomes self-justifying. However, seventeenth century criticisms of science, such as attacks on the Royal Society, suggest that science remained unimportant for quite some time. The rise of science to cultural importance in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was possible only because science was eventually able to establish itself as religiously useful initiative. Religion played a key role not only in the origins of modern science, but in providing the ongoing social sanctions that ensured its persistence and rise to prominence. This is a concept I am sure Dawkins would not appreciate, yet it has merit. The relationship between Science and Religion can be explained from two discrete points of view. Some would argue that scientific explanations are the only means of explaining our existence, while others would argue that religion and the story of creation provide a sufficient amount of the worlds conception. Religion and science both have the same basis, which are truth and understanding. It is this similarity that allows a direct link between science and religion. I believe that there is sufficient evidence to prove that science and religion are compatible. Albert Einstein had the same opinion when he presented the idea of the nature of light that was argued for hundreds of years. Scientology is also a proven example of compatibility between religion and science. Also, when looking at the two from a more general point of view, it would be obvious to say that they can both work together to give us a better understanding of the universe. In the early 1700s, a constructive debate on the true nature of light led to various arguments and theories. The corpuscular theory, which was more religious based, depicted light being tiny particles that were transferred from a source like the Sun to a destination. A more scientific theory suggested that light was a wave phenomenon where the energy was carried by a wave motion and not by movement of actual particles. In the early 1900s, Albert Einstein discovered that light was both a wave and it was composed of tiny particles. He felt that both sides were right all along and both contributed to finding out the true nature of light. With this discovery, he felt that there was a strong link between science and religion. Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind (Einstein, A). Saying this, he believed strongly in the fact that religion and science were compatible. He believed that religion was a byproduct of fear and a tool to help the primitive human mind deal with it. He believed that many leaders and rulers incorporated religion into their daily functions to secure their rule. The question â€Å"is science a religion? † still remains. The problem may lie in how science and religion differentiate in their distinct methodologies of searching for knowledge and belief. Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, it attempts to collect accurate information about the shared reality and to model it in a way that can be used to make reliable. They have concrete and quantitative predictions about events; everything has a hypothesis and has reasons to prove it. Science gains their knowledge through scientific method: testing hypotheses to develop theories through elucidation of facts or evaluation by experiments. It develops theories of the world which best fit the observed physical observed evidence. It can be categorized into two major types of sciences: human science and natural science and they rely mainly on empirical evidence. Religion is a set of beliefs and is related to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. Theologians believe in the omnipotent power that God has, they put faith on God and use religion as a tool to satisfy their unanswerable questions and desire to know. Some religious people maintain that religious knowledge is absolute and infallible. However, the knowledge each person believes in varies as religious knowledge varies from religion and each individual. Science tends to be more tangible while religion is more imperceptible according to senses. There is domestic danger in being a world religious leader and technological powerhouse. Religious commitment and leadership in science and technology greatly enlarges the potential for conflict between faith and science in the United States. The relationship between religion and views of science should be of interest not just to scientists and social scientists concerned with public opinion research, but to policy makers as well. Public opinion has significant impact upon the making of public policy. Commonly held perceptions about particular scientific findings could help determine the eventual shape of laws and other policies for issues such as abortion or climate change (Keeter, 2007). Tradition has taught mankind that religion and science are two competing theories that can never be intermixed. Science and religion put forth competing theories on how the world was created, who is responsible for such creation, and what happens to individuals when they die. Further, science proposes solutions for many of society’s problems that many religions clearly define as wrong, such as abortion, stem cell research, and cloning. Early scientists and philosophers integrated science and religion to explain the course and state of the cosmos. For instance, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, and Newton all asserted that mathematical relations, the foundation of science, were a product of God. According to the four, it was God who invented mathematics and then imposed mathematical laws on the universe to back them up. More than 100 years ago, William James remarked, â€Å"I do not see why a critical science of religions might not eventually command as general a public adhesion as is commanded by a physical science†. In James view, studying religion by way of science could shed more light on the issue than philosophy alone. James believed that philosophy fell short in that it failed to â€Å"capture the depth, motion, and vitality of religion†. By focusing on religion from a scientific point of view, researchers could better determine the concreteness of the religious experience. So, is science a religion? The answer is it depends on who you ask.  There is no concrete evidence to prove that it is or isn’t. I tend to believe that it could be. People like Richard Dawkins say emphatically no, yet he has blind faith that â€Å"what science cannot explain today, it will be able to explain tomorrow† (McGrath, pg. 148). Some have even gone so far as to compare Dawkins’ â€Å"infatuation† with Darwin with the Christian’s worship of Jesus Christ. I have not read anything that proves this but it could be another example of how science can be viewed as a religion. Either way, it seems that some level of faith is required for both and we can learn a lot from each one.

A Third Leg In The Strategy Tripod Commerce Essay

A Third Leg In The Strategy Tripod Commerce Essay In recent times strategy has become a major and significant part of international businesses (IB). A strategy is there to help the organisation to achieve its objectives and goals. There are various factors in the industry that multinationals can take to make investment decisions, nevertheless in the international business environment, it has been dominated by both industry and resource base views. A resource base view lies within the company and not on the outside, it also tells us how the company or organisation will deliver a sustainable competitive advantage and how these resources will be controlled and managed in a way that its end results cant be copied by its competitors and would create a competitive barrier and generate a competitive advantage at a sustainable level Porter 1980).An industry base view is based on a clear understanding of the organisations competitive and economic structure, the challenge here is to position the company in a way that it could gain a bigger po rtion of the profits in the market that the company is operating in and even with new entrants coming into the market place , the organisation should turn its core competencies in an advantage. According to the journal the authors (M.W.Peng, D.Y.L. Wang and Y. Jiang) state that the view of international business strategy emerged through and institution base. They also state that this one of the legs that support and uphold the tripod strategy, and the other two part of the tripod strategy is based on a resource base view and an industry base view. In the journal the authors did a review of four distinct characteristic s or qualities of important research , these four characteristics are :(1)antidumping as entry barriers;(2)competing in and out of India;(3)growing the firm in China and the fourth being governing the corporation in emerging economies. According to the authors they state that there were questions confronting the international business raised by (Peng 2004a), where he identified emerging nations in Asia to indicate a realistic and intermediate phase during the early and late stages of institution transitions. In the article the authors stats two arguments that is based on network strengths and network content. To determine strategy and performance the authors cite (Porters 1980) competitive strategy, which a frame works for industry analysis (Porters Five Force analysis). A third leg in the strategy tripod In the third leg of the strategy tripod the authors state that the industry-base view is rooted in a way the MNEs strategy is based on certain conditions within the nature of the industry that the company has a focus on. They (authors) also state that with a resource based view IB concentrate more internally that externally, as most of the value lies within the organisation. With both industry and resource-based views, it still brings up questions to investment locations. In the tripod strategy the authors cite (Scot 1995:33) where he define institutions as concrete structures , e.g. buildings and as human capital , including political and social aspects which they state , e.g.corruption,economic liberations and ethical norms , these are a few examples from the article that also affect the stability of markets that MNEs operate in. Research by (Lawrence Lorsch , 1969) clearly shows that the dominate part of research is a task environment view , where economic variables were looked at and what the market demand are and a change in technology.(Peng 2008) states that shaping strategies and performance have an impact on both formal and informal institutions. Antidumping as entry barriers Peng citing (Porter 1980) states one of the five forces that govern competitiveness within an industry is entry barriers. Within the IB environment entry barriers give rise to a new term known as liability of foreignness. Dumping is legally defined as an exporter selling goods below price abroad. Mexico is an active user of anti-dumping policy and they have initiated investigations against China. Anti-dumping is a contingent protection and is permitted by the WTO, the law is there to protect market price and minimum pricing protection is inconsistent with regards to anti-dumping legislation. The law was primarily used by four nations, USA, EU, Canada and Australia. During the period 1995-2000 South Africa had 173 anti-dumping investigations and 113 anti-dumping measures imposed, compared to USA with 354 and 219 and India with 400 and 302. In Australia, Customs is responsible for anti-dumping and the Department of Commercial Defence in Brazil and discrimination is also evident, whereb y cases are filled by local companies. Competing in and out of India (Dacin, Goodstein Scot, 2002) state that institutional logic is what shapes a companys strategy. Peng cites (Kapur Ramaurti, 2001) that Indian and non-Indian company strategies are affected by politics, societal and legal changes, also documented in the article is the rise of Indias information technology (IT) and there emergence as the 2nd largest player in the IT field behind the USA. The reason for the growth in India is due to government investing in higher education. Since 1991 India made major changes to its legal and regulatory reforms and this has liberalized the economy and made it a competitive market for IBs. Indian companies abroad are having issues with the local or host countries, where the western countries are passing laws to protect jobs and a ban on contracts to the Indian companies.(Lewin Peeters 2006) state that a lot of MNEs have invested in India because of the quality of work and the value created by the IT industry .MNEs that invested in India are Cisco , I BM , SAP and GE to mention a few , these MNEs also tap into the talent pool and with the arrival of so many MNEs in India , it has forced the local IT companies to be more competitive. Growing the firm in China Chinas growth started in 1978, it embarked on economic reform and prior to that everything was state controlled. The government liberalised foreign investment and trade and relaxed on prices. They invested by educating their workforce and industrial production. IMF research shows increase worker efficiencies are the major factors behind the growing economy, together with new factories , machinery for manufacturing and communications. (Peng Heath , 1996 ) did research that shows the local managers in China and the interpersonal networks has helped informal substitutes and has translated micro into macro , thus linking alliances to grow the company. According to (North, 1990) strategic choices are formed through networks of formal and informal structures, where he states the weakness come from formal institutions and informal institutions with governing relations play a bigger role in organisation strategies and performance. Governing the Corporate in Emerging Economies According to (Jensen Meckling 1976) the system used to govern developed economies is known as the Anglo-America system, they also state that conflicts by both the shareholder and managers are the key conflict issues.(Morck,2000:11)states that concentrated ownership is how most companies throughout the world is controlled. In emerging nations the authors raise issues where key conflicts are based on two principles and this is controlling and minority shareholders. Emerging nations that do not understand the nature of conflict policies in corporate governance becomes disastrous and irrelevant. In South Africa which is an emerging nation, directors are appointed from outside to assist the company in improving its performance. , e.g. Pick n Pay a south African company employed its CEO from the UK (Tesco) , Pick n Pay is a family owned company (90%) with a smaller interest from outside shareholders. IB in emerging economies have to focus on various things other than the companies capabilities and the nature of the business .IBs have to focus on the political aspect , as well as cultural and language. In South Africa they have to understand the countrys diverse race groups, religions and languages as the country has eleven official languages, as for China MNEs are operating on their door step via Hong Kong and with India now a leader in the IT field, the west must work together with both China and India so that capitalise on their resources. Industry-base view and resource-based view are there to maintain a tripod strategy, thus giving the opportunity to IBs to invest in foreign countries and to gain market share

Leadership :: essays research papers

Leadership When Ronald Reagan said, "What I'd really like to do is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again", he probably was not thinking too much about the definition of leadership. However, without realizing, he pretty much defined it. I believe the definition of leadership is having a impression on others, and not only inspiring them, but making a physical difference in their lives (hopefully in a good way). Without that aspect, there is not only no effective leadership, but there is no leadership at all. To have this ability to make impressions and differences, you need communication skills. One who can not communicate well will never be a leader. A leader must know how to speak so his ideas are understood in the correct way. Ronald Reagan very own nickname was "The Great Communicator." The examples that prove his nickname true are his great acting skills, the fact that his talks with the Soviet Union push to the Russian move toward capitalism. The next aspect of effective leadership is the ability to make decisions to change, and not always stick to the status quo. What good is a leader who is afraid of change? Despite economic setbacks, President Reagan reduced government spending tremendously, and cut back on business regulations to strengthen the business sector of the economy. By making this change, the inflation rate fell 13% to 2%, and created thousands of jobs for Americans. When Reagan entered office, the unemployment rate was 10.8%, when he left it was 5.3%. This economic growth would have never come if Reagan did not have the will to change. Even though Reagan's term sounds successful, there were many problems. Failure is an aspect of leadership whether we want to believe it or not. The drug menace, loss of international competitiveness, falling standards in education, and the rising national debt were all of Reagan's flaws. However, to be an effective leader, one must realize that there will be flaws such as Reagan experienced in his term, and it is the effective leader's duty to try to

The Misunderstanding of Internet Freedom

The Misunderstanding of Internet Freedom The public governance has been a significant part of every system. People as citizens always discuss their opinions with each other. In accordance with the system which they are ruled, their discussions have an effect on the rules and regulations of the government. In modern societies which embrace democracy as management system, the influence of public determination is predominant. As it is mentioned above sharing and declaring public decision is the milestone of governance in such societies.Therefore, the more advanced ways people have to communicate, the more they can contribute to the improvement of democracy. If it is compared with the past, people have faster, cheaper and much more effective communication tools in order to exchange and spread their ideas. The Internet and new communication technologies enhance democracy by making any kind of information accessible and by providing people with rapid and cheap communication. The Internet e nables the improvement of democracy because it gives people the opportunity to be aware of current issues. It offers a wide range of information to everyone regardless of their status.People who are interested in a topic can access plenty of data about what they are looking for. It is not anymore the case that people have to delve into books in libraries in order to find a useful resource which contains relevant information. People already have a well-organized library which searches and introduces them to the most appropriate information on their subjects – The Internet. In addition to individuals, many non-governmental organizations and any other social groups that share common ideas can publish their arguments and spread them across the world.For example, human rights organizations use the Internet to advocate their arguments. L. Pal reveals that the international human rights movement has grown hugely since the 1950s when approximately 38 non-go0vernmental organizations w ere identifiable, to around 14,500 by 1994 (qtd. Brophy and Halpin 353). The new ICTs (information and communication technologies) and the Internet provide people with advanced opportunity to declare their opinions and to contribute to democracy.To illustrate, (International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development) ICHRDD started to use electronic publications and participated in the PeaceNet Human Rights gopher service that retrieve important data published by other organizations (354). The information becomes accessible to all concerned workers and volunteers so that they will be more sophisticated in their fights and they are able to defend their arguments. (Brophy and Halpin 356). The new information communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet contribute to development of democracy because they facilitate communication with rapid and cheap tools such as e-mails.It is stated by Brophy and Halpin that â€Å"Electronic communications and networking cut through th e barriers of time and distance, facilitating the finding of information in a way previously impossible. † (353). Likewise to the authors statement, instead of costly phone calls or even more incommodious face to face meetings, electronic communications enable people to communicate or exchange their ideas in a rapid way whether they are at the opposite sides of the world. ICTs help citizens to contribute to democracy because they make mobilization of people more effective and cheaply.They also provide circulation of information through networks, and they strengthen NGOs so that capacity of governmental agencies is limited (Brophy and Halpin 354). As it is mentioned above, ICTs enhance contributions of citizens to democracy because they transform people into aware, active and investigative elements of democracy. They enable people to discuss and question conviction, and come up with new perspectives and creative resolutions. Inherently, there are people who deny the contributio n of the Internet freedom to democracy.It is also argued that the Internet makes things worse in terms of liberalization. Evgeny Morozov who is an expert on interaction of digital technologies and democracy believes that authoritarian governments hinder democracy from developing by censoring the Internet or attacking web-sites (1). Besides, there are some governments that censor web-sites which advocate child abuse, cyber-crimes, and terrorism (Ash 8). They also legally or illegally gain access to e-mail account, spy on searches and so on (Ash 7).These examples might seem to be assaults on privacy or obstacles to the improvement of democracy. But your privacy is not more important than the welfare of your country and children. You cannot jeopardize your country and children while some terrorists threaten benefits, security, and economy of your country or pedophiles abuse your children physically or psychologically. It should be preferred to protect your country and your children to your privacy. As a result, it is legitimate and reasonable to block websites like this.Besides, the reliability of governments is controversial. Everybody might not be satisfied about government’s implementations. However, the ones who elect the government are the majority of society. People are given the right to choose the people who will govern them. Of course, they can question the practices and submit their thoughts through NGOs and so on. But they should also be respectful to the will of the public. In conclusion, the role of public in governance is significant in all modern democracies.The more people declare their thoughts the more they can contribute to democracy. With the developing technologies and the Internet, people are more likely to communicate, exchange ideas and search for what they need. New ICTs such as e-mails and electronic documents enable people to enhance democracy. On the other hand, in order to prevent illegitimate censoring and regulations by gover nments, we should implement all laws in the online world as well. Finally, we should use our right to elect cleverly and declare our views through NGOs in an appropriate way.References Ash, Timothy Garton. â€Å"Internet Freedom†. freespeechdebate. com. N. D. Web. October 2012. Brophy, Peter, and Edward Halpin. â€Å"Through the Net to freedom: information, the Internet and human rights†. jis. sagepub. com. Journal of Information Science. 24 March 1999. Web. October 2012. Morozov, Evgeny, and Joanne J. Myers. â€Å"The Net Delusion : The dark side of Internet freedom†. Carnegiecouncil. org. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. 25 January 2011. Web. October 2012.

Virginias Role in the American Revolution essays

Virginias Role in the American Revolution essays For the next half-century these products of the golden age served as leaders successively in the War of Independence, in the formation of a new nation based on the new principles of the inalienable rights of man, and in governing the republic during its formative years (Dowdey, 337). The American Revolution spanned about 20 years. During these 20 years the colonists of America worked for independence from their mother country, Great Britain. Virginia contributed leaders, politicians, military commanders, congresses, and held battles on their soil. Virginia gave the most important contribution during the American Revolution. Virginian politicians and leaders proved vital to the American Revolution; leaders such as, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Henry Lee. In March 1775, Patrick Henry gave his renowned Give me liberty, or give me death! speech (Stokesbury, 57). This speech helped spark revolution fever among the colonists. Henry attended the Virginia House of Burgess. He was also known for his exhilarating and rousing speeches, which sparked the Southern Colonies. Henry preached anti-British rule slogans, during and prior to the Stamp Act and Townsend Acts, Whether of not Patrick Henry was a demagogue . . . he exerted a new kind of popular appeal, and he had used this appeal to advance himself to a position of military power. . . (Dowdey, 345). Patrick Henry served a key position in the independence of America. Thomas Jefferson was given the duty of writing the Declaration of Independence. He wrote it in two days and had it reviewed and proofread by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Jefferson borrowed many ideas from John Locke, a famous English philosopher. In the first sentence of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence it states: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their crea...