Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Technology - Essay Example The author disclosed that technology indeed finds ways to solve problems but there are apparent new concerns and issues that are attached to them. He aptly concluded to â€Å"use our technology more discriminately-instead of using it just because we can† (Bell 472). I strongly agree with Bell’s assertion that â€Å"although technology has improved society in many ways, we use it indiscriminately, not distinguishing the good uses from the bad† (Bell 470). From his own example of comparing the leaf blower from the rake, one could determine more benefits of using the rake in terms of providing a good means for physical activity, enjoying nature, and relishing the time while gathering wilted leaves. Other technological gadgets could have given us comforts and convenience in doing daily tasks; but we miss the benefits of going back to basics and using our body’s natural need for physical activity and enjoying the process of doing the tasks rather than the instant results provided by

Economy through US History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economy through US History - Essay Example In fact, in such economies the country’s economic activities depend entirely on the decisions made by the government. For market economies, the supply and demand curves determine the shape that markets will take. Analysts that advocate for market economies argue that market economies are the best for thriving of successful economies. Market economies also work on the assumption that the government does not contribute to well being of the common citizen. It is the responsibility of the citizens to fix prices for their goods, subsidize industries, as well as authorize quotas. Though majority of the countries are characterized by mixed economies, it is evident that citizens have always advocated for a chance to regulate their own economies. In as much, market economies are considered the best in the global world, debates keep raging on how much the government has to do in order to have well-organized economic operations. Over the years, Americans have been on toes in an attempt t o attain a balance between government regulation of the economy and the individuals to make their own economic decisions. This essay shall trace the events and measures that took shape in America to the point whereby individuals were able to make their own economic decisions. In the primordial years, American history was characterized by less involvement of the government in business sectors, especially the private sector. The transportation sector is one of the major economic sectors that did not enjoy less government intervention. This phase of the economy was referred to as the laissez faire phase. Kuttner (220) argues that laissez faire traces its roots to the 18th century, a move that strongly resisted intervention of the government in businesses. This phase worked on the assumption of ‘let it be’, with championing of proper wages and duties for workers. At this time, it was generally accepted that the government had no role to play in restrictions on trade. The go vernment’s role was to ensure that regulations and rules were maintained in the business environment. By 19th century, the notion of laissez faire began transforming. This phase was characterized by small entrepreneurs’ business owners seeking for government interventions in their businesses. As time progressed, majority of these business owners, labor unions and firms were in a dire need for government representation. This move came up as a result of rising rate of uncertainties by the business owners on the movements that were supposedly out for their aid. Kuttner (101) argues that it is at this point that this group of progressives needed support by the government, in terms of business regulation, for free and fair markets. By 1930, the advent of the New Deal was taking shape in America. This phase was characterized by government intervention in the market economies. It was due to public demand that the government had to take control of its business sector, lest a n ew form of rule take over the entire system. It was during this stage that the state was going through massive economic disruptions and destructions that led to the need for immediate action to alleviate the crisis. The state was experiencing what was to be termed as the Great Depression. Murray (76) argues that, at this time the economic state of America was totally dislocated

My Experience with Mother Hens and Their Families Essay Example for Free

My Experience with Mother Hens and Their Families Essay The purpose of our sanctuary on the Virginia Eastern Shore is to provide a home for chickens who already exist, rather than adding to the population and thus diminishing our capacity to adopt more birds. For this reason we do not allow our hens to hatch their eggs in the spring and early summer as they would otherwise do, given their association with the roosters in our yard. All of our birds have been adopted from situations of abandonment or abuse, or else they were no longer wanted or able to be cared for by their previous owners. Our two-acre sanctuary is a fenced open yard that shades into tangled wooded areas filled with trees, bushes, vines, undergrowth and the soil chickens love to scratch in all year round. It also includes several smaller fenced enclosures with chicken-wire roofs, each with its own predator-proof house, for chickens who are inclined to fly over fences during chick-hatching season, and thus be vulnerable to the raccoons, foxes, owls, possums and other predators inhabiting the woods and fields around us. I learned the hard way about the vulnerability of chickens to predators. Once, a hen named Eva, who had jumped the fence and been missing for several weeks, reappeared in early June with a brood of eight fluffy chicks. This gave me a chance to observe directly some of the maternal behavior I had read so much about. We had adopted Eva into our sanctuary along with several other hens and a rooster confiscated during a cockfighting raid in Alabama. Watching Eva travel around the yard, outside the sanctuary fence with her tiny brood close behind her, was like watching a family of wild birds whose dark and golden feathers blended perfectly with the woods and foliage they melted in and out of during the day. Periodically, at the edge of the woods, Eva would squat down with her feathers puffed out, and her peeping chicks would all run under her wings for comfort and warmth. A few minutes later, the family was on the move again. Throughout history, hens have been praised for their ability to defend their young from an attacker. I watched Eva do exactly this one day when a large dog wandered in front of the magnolia tree where she and her chicks were foraging. With her wings outspread and curved menacingly toward the dog, she rushed at him over and over, cackling loudly, all the while continuing to push her chicks behind herself with her wings. The dog stood stock still  before the excited mother hen, and soon ambled away, but Eva maintained her aggressive posture of self-defense, her sharp, repetitive cackle and attentive lookout for several minutes after he was gone. Eva’s behavior toward the dog differed radically from her behavior toward me, demonstrating her ability to distinguish between a likely predator and someone she perceived as presenting no dire threat to her and her chicks. She already knew me from the sanctuary yard, and though I had never handled her apart from lifting her out of the crate she’d arrived in from Alabama several months earlier, when I started discreetly stalking her and her family, to get the closest possible view of them, the most she did when she saw me coming was dissolve with her brood into the woods or disappear under the magnolia tree. While she didn’t see me as particularly dangerous, she nevertheless maintained a wary distance that, over time, diminished to where she increasingly brought her brood right up to the sanctuary fence, approaching the front steps of our house, and ever closer to me but not too close just yet. When she and her chicks were out and about, and I called to her, â₠¬Å"Hey, Eva,† she’d quickly look up at me, poised and alert for several seconds, before resuming her occupation. One morning, I looked outside expecting to see the little group in the dewy grass, but they were not there. Knowing that mother raccoons prowled nightly looking for food for their own youngsters in the summer, I sadly surmised they were the likely reason that I never saw my dear Eva and her chicks again. Inside the sanctuary, I broke the no chick-hatching rule just once. Upon returning from a trip of several days, I discovered that Daffodil, a soft white hen with a sweet face and quiet manner, was nestled deep in the corner of her house in a nest she’d pulled together from the straw bedding on the dirt floor. Seeing there were only two eggs under her, and fearing they might contain embryos mature enough to have well-developed nervous systems by then, I left her alone. A few weeks later on a warm day in June, I was scattering fresh straw in the house next to hers, when all of a sudden I heard the tiniest peeps. Thinking a sparrow was caught inside, I ran to  guide the bird out. But those peeps were not from a sparrow; they arose from Daffodil’s corner. Adjusting my eyes, I peered down into the dark place where Daffodil was, and there I beheld the source of the tiny voice a little yellow face with dark bright eyes was peeking out of her feathers. I kneeled down and stared into the face of the chick who looked intently back at me, before it hid itself, then peeked out again. I looked closely into Daffodil’s face as well, knowing from experience that making direct eye contact with chickens is crucial to forming a trusting, friendly relationship with them. If chickens see people only from the standpoint of boots and shoes, and people don’t look them in the eye and talk to them, no bond of friendship will be formed between human and bird. I’ve seen this difference expressed between hens we’ve adopted into our sanctuary from an egg production facility, for example, and chickens brought to us as young birds or as someone’s former pet. Former egg-industry hens tend to look back at me, not with that sharp, bright, direct focus of a fully confident chicken, but with a watchful opacity that no doubt in part reflects their having spent their entire previous lives in cages or on crowded floors in dark, polluted buildings that permanently affected their eyes before coming to our sanctuary. Psychologically, it’s as if they’ve pulled down a little curtain between themselves and human beings that does not prevent friendship but infuses their recovery with a settled strain of fear. I’ll say more about these hens presently. From the very first, a large red rooster named Francis regularly visited Daffodil and her chick in their nesting place, and Daffodil acted happy and content to have him there. Frequently, I found him quietly sitting with her and the little chick, who scrambled around both of them, in and out of their feathers. Though roosters will mate with more than one hen in the flock, a rooster and a hen will also form bonds so strong that they will refuse to mate with anyone else. Could it be that Francis was the father of this chick and that he and Daffodil knew it? He certainly was uniquely and intimately involved with the pair, and it wasn’t as though he was the head of the  flock, the one who oversaw all of the hens and the other roosters and was thus fulfilling his duty in that role. Rather, Francis seemed simply to be a member of this particular family. For the rest of the summer, Daffodil and her chick formed a kind of enchanted circle with an inviolable space all around themselves, as they roamed together in the yard, undisturbed by the other chickens. Not once did I see Francis or any of the other roosters try to mate with Daffodil during the time she was raising her frisky chick the little one I named Daisy who grew up to be Sir Daisy, a large, handsome rooster with white and golden-brown feathers.

The War Of The Roses History Essay

The War Of The Roses History Essay The War of the Roses affected Englands throne for many years, thereby changing the outlook of the country. The War of the Roses was a civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. This civil war impacted the whole country of England from its economy to the rule of that the English government had over England. The War of the Roses had such a big impact on England and lasted for thirty-three years from 1455 until the last battle in 1487. Because of the length of the war and all the different groups of English nobility being involved in the war, the War of the Roses became one of the most devastating wars to ever happen in the history of England. The War of the Roses was a war of several different battles between the House of York and the House of Lancaster which were the two major house of nobility of in England at the time. These two houses spent the whole thirty-three years of the War of the Roses fighting over the throne of England and who the throne should belong too, because the House of York did not like the way the Lancastrian house was ruling England. The House of Lancaster was started in 1267 and is referred to when talking about the English kings or nobility that were descended from John of Gaunt (Luminarium.com page 1). The Lancastrians were one of the wealthiest groups of nobility in England at the time until the begun the War of the Roses which severely weaken the whole House of Lancaster. Throughout the whole thirty-three years in the War of the Roses the House of Lancaster was only ruled by three different kings. Entering into the fifteenth century the Lancastrians were led by Henry IV who at the time was the King of England and he ruled for the first two years of the war. The rest of the War of the Roses the time was split between Henry V, and Henry VI. The majority of the war Henry VI or Henry VII was on the throne. Henry VI was a very weak ruler who did not do his Lancastrian people well because he suffered from a type of mental illness (Alison Weir page 122). This mental illness of Henry VI severely crippled the throne of England and he lost his power for some time since he was put in jail during that time period. He soon reclaimed his throne when he overcame his illness, but shortly after he became sick again and was taken over once more where he would end up dying in captivity. Henry VI after his death had no heir to the Lancastrian rule because his son had just lost his life seventeen days earlier in the Battle of Tewkesbury which ended the line of John of Gaunt which was the end of the House of Lancaster. The second party that was involved in the War of the Roses was the House of York. The House of York originates all the way back to the beginning of the War of the Roses. The Yorkist Party was only started in order to overthrow the House of Lancaster. Although the House of York was made just to oppose what the Lancastrians were doing it was very strict on who was allowed to be part of the Yorkist Party. Richard, the Duke of York, made thee Yorkist men to start his overthrow of the House of Lancaster in order to be on the throne of England and run the country the way he seemed fit. Richard, Duke of York, was part of the royal line in England who started the House of York because he opposed what Henry VI was doing on the throne (P.A. Johnson page 47). Richard, Duke of York, ruled under Henry VI while he was going through his mental issues but was not allowed to work higher in the government because Henry VI put other people in positions over him. Because Richard, Duke of York, for sever al years wanted to change the way of the government Henry VI had because he thought it was weak. With all of this new found courage Richard had this is when he decided to fight the bad advisors that he had made into personal enemies and forcibly took the throne of England (New Standard Encyclopedia page 111). Soon after Richard got all the Lords to agree on kicking Henry VI off of Englands throne in order for him to take control of England in order to turn England back into the country that it was before Henry VI took over. Even though Richard was denied positions before he became the Protector of England in the absence of Henry VI when he was captured. This brought the House of York into control of England while Richard was on the throne allowing them to make a big push for the total control of England and its entire government. The War of the Roses had some conflict between two houses that ended up being major parts of the English nobility system. The House of Lancaster and the House of York were the two houses that were the main reason behind the War of the Roses. The houses first began to have to conflict between each other when Richard, Duke of York, strongly disliked the way that Henry VI ,leader of the House of Lancaster at the time, was ruling England. With the House of York agreeing with Richard and the House of Lancaster was sticking up for the way Henry VI was ruling England which in turn was the beginning of the War of the Roses. May 22, 1455 was the day that marked the start of the War of the Roses. The fighting and battles in the war did not start for a couple of months after the House of York revolted and decided to take the House of Lancaster to war over the throne of England. With the start of this civil war both houses fought behind their leaders to make sure the throne of England belonged to the right house by the end of the War of the Roses. The start of the War of the Roses happened slower than how most wars in history because they did not start fighting until about two months after The House of York declared war on the Lancastrians. Once the fighting and battles started the amount on English noblemen in both the Lancastrians and Yorkist Houses begun to drop which was devastating. This was a very devastating time for both houses because they were losing their noblemen that were ruling and leading the troops. The length of the war of the roses played a huge factor in this considering that it lasted al most half a century which gave each house many opportunities to kill off the opposing noblemen in turn would weaken the other houses armies. The first battle in the War of the Roses started in 1455 and it was the first Battle of St. Albans. The first Battle of St. Albans was fought twenty-two miles away from London and was Richard, Duke of Yorks, first battle against the House of Lancaster. In this battle Henry VI was captured for the first time and was made the Constable of England (History.com page 2). The House of Lancasters army was the first to enter the town of St. Albans with their two thousand troops. The Lancastrian troops were set up in all the major entrance of the city ready to defend the city for the Yorkist troops. The Yorkist forces set up camp with their three thousand soldiers east of St. Albans in the city of Keyfield. For the several hours in the beginning of the battle both houses tried to negotiate terms in order for the fighting not to happen. Although negotiations were happening Richard, Duke of York, tired from waiting for the fighting to start said, I am not made of stone and with that they began to fight. With this sudden strike from the Yorkist troops the Lancastrian forces were caught off guard and were defeated in the first Battle of St. Albans. With the Yorkist troops quick offensive attack in the first battle of St. Albans it gave them the victory in the battle (Britannica.com page 1). Although the forces from the House of Lancaster were caught off guard by the attack the House of York still lost a very large amount of troops in this first battle. The Yorkist troops although losing one of their major Yorkist leaders had another upside to the win over the Lancastrian troops; they captured Henry VI and took control over the throne of England giving them an advantage for the rest of the war. The next major battle in the War of the Roses was the Battle of Wakefield. This battle being the next major battle in the War of the Roses did not take place until five years after the first Battle of St. Albans. The Battle of Wakefield took place at the Sandal Castle on December 21, 1460. The Yorkist troops were not well prepared for this battle because the Lancastrians forces were the ones to attack quickly this time in the battle which caused remaining Yorkist troops to flee from the Sandal Castle. The Battle of Wakefield was not a lengthy battle at all because of how swiftly the House of Lancasters troops attacked. The battle lasted from December 21 through December 31 which was the day the Yorkist troops fled Sandal Castle. This battle took the lives of about two thousand Yorkist troops but on the other side the House of Lancaster only lost about seven hundred troops (J.R. Lander page 69). The Yorkist troops were completely over powered in this battle with the amount of causalities that each of the houses ended up losing. The greatest casualty in the Battle of Wakefield was the death of Richard, Duke of York, but his death did not ensure the victory at Wakefield it just help the House of Lancaster a great amount which was the last push the gave them this overwhelming victory. With the House of Lancaster completely demolishing the House of York in the Battle of Wakefield they easily won the battle. In this win the Lancastrian troops managed to kill Richard, Duke of York, along with most of the Yorkist troops. With this victory the House of Lancaster made their charge to in taking over the English government once again. The Second battle of St. Albans was the third major battle in the War of the Roses. This battle did not take long to begin after the Battle of Wakefield, because this battle started on February 21, 1461 only one year after. The battle took place in the same location as the First Battle of St. Albans except this time the Yorkist troops were lead into battle by Earl of Warwick since Richard, Duke of York, died in the last battle. The Second Battle of St. Albans only lasted for about a month and ended on March 2, 1461. The Lancastrian and Yorkist troops both suffered a large amount of casualties in this battle with the Lancastrians losing two thousand troops and the Yorkist losing four thousand troops. With each side losing close to the same amount of troops this battle was one of the bloodiest battles in the War of the Roses. Even with both sides being on the same level in this battle the deciding factor that helped the House of York overcome the Lancastrians was when they recaptured the mentally ill Henry VI and some of his other noblemen. With Henry VI recaptured and the Yorkist forces fighting well in the Second Battle of St. Albans the House of York came out with the victory in the battle. The battle was very close and well fought by both house but with the Lancastrian forces losing Henry VI who was King of England and leader of their troops helped give the Yorkist troops the slight advantage they needed to beat the Lancastrian army. With Henry VI being in the hands of the House of York this allowed Earl of Warwick to be put on the throne of England thus becoming the new king of England. Earl of Warwick with his new place on the throne helped the House of York take full control over England. The second to last major battle in the War of the Roses was the Battle of Towton. The Battle of Towton started on March 29, 1461 shortly after the Battle of Warwick. This battle took place in the village of Towton which was part of the city of Yorkshire. At the time in the city of Yorkshire there was a snow storm that caused many problems for most of the troops from both the Yorkist and Lancastrian forces. The Battle of Towton lasted for about of month but in that month over 28,000 troops from both the House of York and House of Lancaster were killed (Robin Neillands page 223). With the largest amount of troops dead in the Battle of Towton it is said to be the, Bloodiest Battle to ever take place on English soil. The battle was very gruesome and gory with Lancastrian soldiers having to retreat from the opposing troops in bloody meadows flinging off their armor in order to try and escape faster so they can save their lives (J.P. Sommerville page 2). The Battle of Towton is the bloodiest battle in the War of the Roses and even though the vast majority of the troops were killed the House of York won the battle. With the victory at the Battle of Wakefield before this battle it gave the Yorkist troops the confidence needed to pull through and win the battle. The Yorkist troops were now in complete control of England and all of its government with this victory at Towton giving the House of York the edge still over the House of Lancaster in the War of the Roses. This victory also wiped out all of the Lancastrian forces that were in northern England which was something that would aid the House of York if the Yorkist army were to win the war (Web.cn.edu page 1). The last and deciding battle in the War of the Roses was the Battle of Stoke Field. The Battle of Stoke Field started on June 16, 1487 which was twenty-six years after the previous major battle in the War of the Roses. This battle would be the last time both houses would fight each other for the throne of England. This battle being the last stand for both the Yorkist and Lancastrian force had a no quarter policy which meant that there will be no one left standing and that this battle would be a fight to the bitter end. With the battle being a fight to the end both sides lost a grand total of seven thousand soldiers with the Yorkist losing 4,000 soldiers and the Lancastrians losing 3,000 soldiers (Historyextra.com page 1). Even with the slim amount of troops lost between the two sides the Lancastrians with the help of Henry of Tudor would come out with the victory over the House of York and also getting the most important win which was the complete victory in the War of the Roses. The Battle of Stoke Field had a major impact on the War of the Roses because it was the deciding victory that gave the House of Lancaster complete control over all of England and the English government. The leader of the Lancastrian forces Henry of Tudor became Henry VII the new king of England and he married Elizabeth of York which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. With the new united houses there was nothing to t keep fighting over because the house were united and collaborating together to lead England the right way. Although the houses were united people who used to be part of the House of York still tried to revolt against the new English government but none of their attempts to overtake the throne were successful. These small militias were soon dismembered by the English government so now more revolts could happen. The War of the Roses had no great impact on the country of England. The battles caused some destruction on cities throughout England no major cities were destroyed. Most of the land that was destroyed was very little and did not affect the people of the city the land was destroyed in. The War of the Roses was not a very destructive war it only killed off most of the English nobility which left the government in England a little weak and in need of some noblemen. The impact the War of the Roses had on the throne of England was tremendous in that the whole time during the war the throne had someone different one it throughout the entirety of the war. The English throne had many rulers during the war which left the country very unstable throughout the War of the Roses until Henry of Tudor took the throne. With Henry of Tudor now on the throne the country of England could get back to its original state. In conclusion the War of the Roses was a war that had a very strong effect on England and its future as a country. The war set the path for the start of the English reformation which would change how the world would view England. If it was not for the War of the Roses the England would still be the same as it was before the war and all the art, music and other things that came out of the English Reformation would never have existed.

Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace, by Amy Bruckman :: Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace

Ever since I have been in college my telephone has been shorting out every time I try to have a conversation with someone on it. It has been so aggravating! Especially when I am trying to talk and the person on the other line keeps saying, what, what...What did you say? It drives me crazy! Well when I got to college I was advised, and later informed, that it was a requirement to know how to use the Internet. So I signed up for an E-mail account. In high school I never used the computer for anything but assignments, but now I constantly find myself on line. I am either E-mailing friends far away, or talking to my family on IM (Instant Message). The Net has been most helpful to me when it comes to contacting others, especially since my phone doesnt work. Most importantly, I feel that the Net has brought my family and I closer together. After I read Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace, by Amy Bruckman, an essay explaining that to enjoy the Net we need to find our own place, our own communit y, so I realized that my community on the Net is E-mail, enabling me to talk to the people closest to me. The movie You've Got Mail starring, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, exemplifies how two people become closer through E-mail. Making it easier for people to connect in ways they always could, but never new how. Both the movie, Youve Got Mail, and Bruckmans Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace explore how the Net brings out a side of us that cannot be seen by the human eye. You've Got Mail is a love story about a man and woman who meet on the Internet and use e-mail to talk to each other. Although they havent met face to face they know so much about each other that if they were to meet, it wouldnt matter what the other person looked like. Hankss character owns a very popular bookstore that in turn makes Ryans tiny family bookstore go out of business. Therefore, Ryan hates Hanks throughout the whole movie. Everyday they seem to run into each other not knowing that the person(s) behind their face s are their soul mates. Little do they know the person they see everyday and the person that they despise is the same person they talk to every night when using E-mail or their I. Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace, by Amy Bruckman :: Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace Ever since I have been in college my telephone has been shorting out every time I try to have a conversation with someone on it. It has been so aggravating! Especially when I am trying to talk and the person on the other line keeps saying, what, what...What did you say? It drives me crazy! Well when I got to college I was advised, and later informed, that it was a requirement to know how to use the Internet. So I signed up for an E-mail account. In high school I never used the computer for anything but assignments, but now I constantly find myself on line. I am either E-mailing friends far away, or talking to my family on IM (Instant Message). The Net has been most helpful to me when it comes to contacting others, especially since my phone doesnt work. Most importantly, I feel that the Net has brought my family and I closer together. After I read Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace, by Amy Bruckman, an essay explaining that to enjoy the Net we need to find our own place, our own communit y, so I realized that my community on the Net is E-mail, enabling me to talk to the people closest to me. The movie You've Got Mail starring, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, exemplifies how two people become closer through E-mail. Making it easier for people to connect in ways they always could, but never new how. Both the movie, Youve Got Mail, and Bruckmans Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace explore how the Net brings out a side of us that cannot be seen by the human eye. You've Got Mail is a love story about a man and woman who meet on the Internet and use e-mail to talk to each other. Although they havent met face to face they know so much about each other that if they were to meet, it wouldnt matter what the other person looked like. Hankss character owns a very popular bookstore that in turn makes Ryans tiny family bookstore go out of business. Therefore, Ryan hates Hanks throughout the whole movie. Everyday they seem to run into each other not knowing that the person(s) behind their face s are their soul mates. Little do they know the person they see everyday and the person that they despise is the same person they talk to every night when using E-mail or their I.

Lady Macbeth, Macbeths Lady-Villain :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth's Lady-Villain    William Shakespeare's moving tragedy Macbeth presents a leading lady who is not the usual sort of woman, but rather a contradiction of the typical woman. Let us consider her character in this essay.    In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons comments on the Lady's cold manner:    [Macbeth] announces the King's approach; and she, insensible it should seem to all the perils which he has encountered in battle, and to all the happiness of his safe return to her, -- for not one kind word of greeting or congratulations does she offer, -- is so entirely swallowed up by the horrible design, which has probably been suggested to her by his letters, as to have forgotten both the one and the other. It is very remarkable that Macbeth is frequent in expressions of tenderness to his wife, while she never betrays one symptom of affection towards him, till, in the fiery furnace of affliction, her iron heart is melted down to softness. (56)    Fanny Kemble in "Lady Macbeth" depicts the character of Macbeth's wife:    Lady Macbeth, even in her sleep, has no qualms of conscience; her remorse takes none of the tenderer forms akin to repentance, nor the weaker ones allied to fear, from the pursuit of which the tortured soul, seeking where to hide itself, not seldom escapes into the boundless wilderness of madness. A very able article, published some years ago in the National Review, on the character of Lady Macbeth, insists much upon an opinion that she died of remorse, as some palliation of her crimes, and mitigation of our detestation of them. That she died of wickedness would be, I think, a juster verdict. Remorse is consciousness of guilt . . . and that I think Lady Macbeth never had; though the unrecognized pressure of her great guilt killed her. (116-17)    Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare interpret the character of Lady Macbeth:    Lady Macbeth is of a finer and more delicate nature. Having fixed her eye upon the end - the attainment for her husband of Duncan's crown - she accepts the inevitable means; she nerves herself for the terrible night's work by artificial stimulants; yet she cannot strike the sleeping king who resembles her father. Having sustained her weaker husband, her own strength gives way; and in sleep, when her will cannot control her thoughts, she is piteously afflicted by the memory of one stain of blood upon her little hand.

Cognitive & Moral Development Theories Essay

ABSTRACT The intention of this paper is to provide an overview of the psychological theories of Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg. While Piaget’s perspective was psychological, Kholberg’s viewpoint was psychological with emphasis placed on moral development and both theories will be compared and contrasted in this paper. Furthermore, the implications of these theories for counselling will be examined. RESEARCH ON THE COGNITIVE & MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES OF JEAN PIAGET & LAWRENCE KOHLBERG JEAN PIAGET Jean Piaget, Swiss biologist, philosopher, and behavioral scientist, was born on August 9, 1896 (Piaget, 2001). One of his most significant achievements was his research in developmental psychology and the resultant theory in cognitive development. Although many of the principles developed by Piaget have been criticized, the impact he has made in the field of cognitive development cannot be exaggerated. According to Morris and Maisto (2008), Piaget is the most influential cognitive development theorist. Piaget’s segue into cognitive development started while developing French versions of questions on English intelligence tests at the Binet Institute, Paris, in the 1920s. He became fascinated with the reasons children gave for answering incorrectly on questions requiring logical thinking. He believed  that the incorrect answers showed significant qualitative variances between the way older children and younger children think. Hence, he made a systematic study of children, including his own, by observing and studying them playing, solving problems, and participating in everyday activities. He asked them questions and tested them in order to learn how they thought. His observations and studies led him to believe that children were not only receiving knowledge from their parents and teachers, but they were also creating ideas and cognitive development is a way of adapting to the environment. Paiget found that the differences were not attributed to the younger children being less intelligent than their older counterparts, as was the general assumption in psychology at the time. Neither did they think at a slower pace than adults. Rather, they just think very differently. His interest in how knowledge develops in humans during different stages of development led to what is popularly known as the stages theory or stage theory of cognitive development. The name is derived from Piaget’s description of cognitive development as four distinct stages in children, ranging from sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal, beginning in a logical manner in childhood and ending in adulthood. This four-stage model shows how the mind processes new information encountered. Children are born with a mental structure that is genetically inherited and which evolves over time. This mental structure forms the foundation for all subsequent learning and knowledge. Cognitive development, therefore, is a â€Å"progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting from maturation and experience† (Singer & Revenson, 1997). According to Singer and Revenson (1997) all children will pass through these stages, which unfold over time, in order to achieve an intellectual functioning at the adult level. The sequence of the stages is fixed and unchangeable and children cannot skip a stage but must go through the stages in the same order, although at different rates. Later stages evolve from and are built on earlier stages, with the child acquiring more complex motor and cognitive skills, moving between stages in a very gradual and subtle transition. The main elements of Piaget’s cognitive development theory are schema, the four processes that enable the transition from one stage to another, and the four stages of cognitive development. Piaget was interested in how an organism adapts to its environment and hypothesized that human behaviours are controlled through mental organizations called schemata, also called schema or schemes, which humans use to represent the world and designate action. Humans also have a biological drive to obtain balance or equilibrium between the schemes and the environment and this is what drives the adaptation. Infants are born with schema operating at birth, which are called â€Å"reflexes,† which are used to adapt to the environment. These reflexes are soon replaced with constructed schemata, which are used throughout life as the person adapts to the environment. Piaget’s first stage is the sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to about two years. Intelligence at this point is based on physical and motor activity without the use of symbols. Hence the child uses mobility, crawling, and walking to facilitate knowledge. The child’s progress is visible through the modification of reflexes in response to the environment. It is at this stage that the child learns object permanence, understanding that objects continue to exist even though they cannot be seen. The end of the stage is manifested in the immature use of symbols and language development that signals the transition to the second stage (Morris and Maisto, 2008). The preoperational stage is the second stage and lasts from age two to about age seven. Intelligence is demonstrated at this stage through the use of symbols, particularly the development of language. Memory and imagination are developed and children are able to mentally represent objects and events. Children are now able to think and process information in a one-dimensional fashion, having the ability to do monological, nonreversible thinking (Coon, 2006). They are very egocentric and find it difficult to see things from another person’s point of view, failing to recognize any duality in conversations. The end of this stage is signaled by the child’s ability to conserve number (Piaget, 2001). Piaget’s third stage, the concrete operational stage, is shown by the child demonstrating logically integrated thought. This stage spans from age seven  to eleven as the child’s exposure to, and integration of knowledge has matured and the child is able to use all three types of knowledge to interact with the environment to a relatively high degree. Operational thinking develops as the child is now able to interact with the environment from more than one perspective. Egocentric thought diminishes. Formal operational stage is Piaget’s fourth stage. This is from eleven years onward or preadolescent to adulthood. Intelligence at this stage is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thinking, however, the individual is moved to a much broader perspective and thinking beyond self (Siegler, 1991). At this stage individuals are able to think abstractly about various issues such as morality, justice, truth, and the nature of existence. They are also able to provide alternative, competing beliefs about these issues. Therefore, cognitive development becomes a pre-requisite for acquiring morality based upon abstract principles. LAWRENCE KOHLBERG Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) is considered by some to be the most distinguished psychologist of recent time in the field of moral development. Expanding upon Piaget’s stages theory, Kohlberg began his lifelong work in studying cognitive moral development (CMD) in 1958 with his dissertation at the University of Chicago (Kohlberg, 1981) Kohlberg suggested that moral judgment develops through six stages divided into sequences of three levels. His stage theory implies that moral changes will always move in an upward direction and individuals must progress through each stage as there is no skipping of stages. Furthermore, varying social, cultural, or religious conditions do no significantly affect the nature of our sequence and only impact the rate at which an individual will progress through this sequence. The three levels are preconventional – the first level of morality, conventional – the second level of morality, and postconventional – the highest level of morality. The preconventional level is open to the cultural norms and labels of right or wrong. However, these labels are interpreted in terms of physical or hedonistic consequences to the individual or in terms of the authority or physical power of the enforcers of the rules. This level is divided into two stages: obedience and punishment and individualism and exchange or instrumental relativist orientation. Stage 1 uses punishment to dissuade the individual from doing the action and continuing to obey the rules. That is, action is motivated by a desire to avoid punishment. In Stage 2, the morality of the action is judged by how it satisfies the needs of the person doing it. Actions are motivated by the rewards or benefits to the individual. At the conventional level the individual’s moves into adolescence and the shift to formal operation thought. The focus is on maintaining the expectations of society and societal roles such as the family, group, or culture, regardless of the consequences. This attitude is one of conformity and loyalty, and level is divided into two stages: Stage 3 – Interpersonal Concordance or â€Å"Good Boy-Nice Girl† Orientation and Stage 4: Society Maintaining or â€Å"Law and Order† Orientation. Moral behavior at Stage 3 is based upon what is approved by others and what pleases or helps others. There is a further shift around mid-adolescence, and the child moves towards respecting the authorities and following the rules, as well as being a â€Å"good citizen†. Both stages require the ability to think about abstract values such as â€Å"social order† and â€Å"duty† and to consider the motives behind the behaviour (Morris and Maisto, 2008) 0063. Finally, the postconventional level, referred to as the â€Å"autonomous† or â€Å"principled† level, involves Stages 5 and 6 of moral development and is mainly concerned with universal principles that relate to the action done. The individual tries to define moral values that are valid apart from the authority of groups. This level also has two stages, Stage 5 – Social Contract Orientation and Stage 6 – Universal Ethical Principles Orientation. In Stage 5 existing laws which are created to protect individual rights define moral actions and the individual examines various values and opinions of different people before deciding on the morality of the action. At this stage the individual may consider the possibility of changing the law for  reasons of social utility. In Stage 6, the final stage of moral reasoning, the individual’s conscience, in harmony with the individual’s chosen ethical principles defines moral action. These ethical principles include equality of human rights, justice, reciprocity, and respect for human dignity. As the individual becomes attached to his or her own ethical principles, the judgement may become innate and there is a high possibility that the judgement may violate the laws and rules. COMPARE AND CONTRAST PIAGET AND KOHLBERG’S THEORIES There are obvious correlations and differences between the theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. As stage theorists, Piaget is the first to propose that cognitive development occurs over stages. He hypothesized that intellectual development in children occur in a hierarchical manner, in four stages from infancy to adolescence. Kohlberg hypothesized moral development occurring over five hierarchical stages. However, unlike Piaget who specifies age ranges and limits his development to adolescence, Kohlberg’s theory does not specify age ranges and occurs throughout the life span. Furthermore, Piaget’s theory proposes that cognitive development occurs in conjunction with biological development, whereas Kohlberg believed that moral development and the understanding of what is morally right or wrong stems from socialization with parents, teachers, and peers. Both theorists believed that cognitive development is influenced by the individual’s social environment. Based on Piaget’s theory, moral development occurs in two distinct stages. Children initially believes that their parents or God dictates rules and as such, their moral judgements are based on the consequences of their actions rather than their intentions. Around age eleven, this way of thinking about morality changes as children begin to understand that morals are based on their own judgements and intentions. Essentially, children transition from a more concrete understanding of morality to a more abstract understanding. They now realize that rules are not absolute and really just ways that human beings to cooperate and coexist. Kholberg did not dismiss Piaget’s theory, but built upon them, offering a  more refined and deeper understanding of moral development in children in a six-stage model. Like Piaget, Kohlberg believed that children’s first understanding of morality is based on rules and the consequences of their actions. He also believed that children struggled with similar issues such as relationships, individual rights, social orders, and universality over a period of time. However, his theory provides a more detailed and in-depth understanding of the moral development of humans than Piaget’s theory. IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING Counselling professionals need to have a grasp of the basic theory and concepts of the growth periods in human development. This is not only important for the client, but the counsellor as well, who must be self-aware and knowledgeable about any development issues in his or her past that may benefit from a review of the theories. Since many of the psychotherapy methods and approaches reference incidents and issues in the client’s past, an astute counsellor will mentally reference the developmental stages in order to determine how the client’s level of development at the time may have influenced a particular trauma. According to Colin Feltham (2006), a counsellor who is knowledgeable about common age-specific characteristics is better able to provide help in assessment and the planning of and referral for therapy. For example, Piaget believed that children ages zero to seven years, who have not transitioned into the operational period, do not process the concepts of death and loss in the same way adults do. There is a lack of maturity of understanding in this area and a counsellor who is ignorant of this could transpose adult emotions such as loss, grief or anger to a young child, resulting in the child being confused. In the same way, adolescence can be a distressing period as teens and young adults’ transition into the Formal Operations period. They may be experiencing pressure to fit in and conform, while processing significant physical, emotional and moral changes at the time. The effective counsellor who is both informed and empathetic will be better able to support and guide his or her client. In conclusion, significant links have been identified between cognitive and moral development theories and counselling behaviours. There are links  between cognitive complexity and empathy; moral development and empathic response. Counsellors who are at higher stages of moral and cognitive development are more empathetic, usually more able to define themselves and clients in positive terms, are more likely to analyse their reactions to client in an objective manner, and are more aware of the interactive nature of the counselling relationship. That is, counsellors at higher stages of cognitive and moral development are better equipped to handle the complex problem-solving and social interaction that is required in the counselling process. REFERENCES Cognitive and Moral Development 3 APPENDIX THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF COUNSELLING KHOLBERG’S LEVEL AND STAGES PIAGET’S COGNITIVE IMPLICATION FOR COUNSELLING Behaviour Therapy Preconventional Level (Stages 1 & 2)