Compare and contrast Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast Essay Bodhisattva is a special illumination where the adept is believed to be awakened to minds of greater power. Buddhists believe that in bodhisattva the individual is made to obtain an enlightened thought. This kind of illumination obtained has to originate from the universal mind. Through this the adept receives a divine power that flows in his own body, stimulates his sense receptors to make him enjoy an inward spiritual awakening in his whole body (Robinson and Johnson, pg 271-296). Tantric adept focuses on the use of sound of the goddess in order to bring oneness of body, soul and spirit. This makes the individuals attain the ability to expel emotional pain, self depression and individual despair. Tantra implies the process of having a sense of mythical vibrations and sounds. Buddhism and Hinduism believe that through the worship of the goddess, the tantrans acquire a self realization and awareness. BODHISATTVA AND THE TANTRIC ADEPT Bodhisattva is believed to consider the destruction of an era to be as a result of oneself. Atman is thought to be the case where the individual deserves the punishment and the eventual destruction. In most cases this results in the complete extinction of a generation. Tantric adept on the other hand considers the destruction of an era to emerge from duality. In its expression, it opposes the unity that is believed to lead to the realization of Atman. In Bodhisattva, the main identity is Chimaminda which stands for kali. It describes the victory of the Buddhist as followers of Buddha the goddess (De Bary, William, 2003 chapter 1, 2, 3, 4). Tantric adept on the other hand focuses on chinamasta which Hindus consider to be associated with Kama and Rati. This iconography means the process of copulating bodies. It basically demonstrates the creation and his eventual destruction to be part of the human cycle. Prior to Bodhisattva the adept is expected to receive an element called archetype of Buddha. This is the knowledge that erupts all over suddenly without the individual realizing. This same concept is seen in tantric adept which advocates for self realization. Bodhisattva advocates for an inward awakening of the individuals to know what they did not know (Robinson and Johnson, pg. 130-137). The adept should therefore receive a prior archetype of Buddha. This knowledge acquisition is sudden while Tantric adept advocate for women enrolment in Tantra because of the special place they have in the society. Tantric adept encourages initiations which will allow women spiritual and aspiration desires to come to a fulfillment whereas Bodhisattva perceives men to be more superior to women in all spheres. In both Bodhisattva and tantric adept, chinnamaster are understood through having a prior knowledge of Kundalini yoga, susumna, Ida and Pingala. These are the major four channels of great importance to Buddhism and Hinduism. Having a perception of duality is believed to be caused by the inability of the two channels to enter the susumna when it is closed. When the tantric adept has acquired the knowledge of having a feeling of free blood circulation right from the central part, the individual is said to be self realized. The tantric thus uses the knowledge learnt to untie the knots creating undisrupted flow of energy. Both Bodhisattva and Tantric adept considers the goddess head to show destruction of generation (De Bary, William, 2003 chapter 1, 2, 3, 4). The teachings involved in Bodhisattva are hard and quite longer than those of tantric adept. There is only one sudden enlighten at gotra. However this kind of experience lives the adept with wounds of how to master bodhisattva as a way of living. CHARACTERISTICS OF TANTRIC ADEPT All acquired merits are shared which allows an individual to be free from all calamities. Due to this the Buddhist lives together peacefully. Characteristics of prosperity originates from Buddha Worship is done in twenty different ways followed by a dedication for acceptance The Bodhisattva have undergo initiation CHARACTERISTICS OF BODHISATTVA Its basis is on the inward awakening of the individuals It is characterized with an element called archetype Believes in a sudden knowledge acquiring There activity and career are long and hard making enlightens to be above gotra. SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL GOALS OF THE BODHISATTVA AND THE TANTRIC ADEPT Their spiritual belief is on the worship of goddess called Buddha Spiritually it is recommended for the Hindus and the Buddhists to only take refuge in Budda, dhamna and Sangha. These centers are commonly referred to as the Sarangamana. Spiritually they recommend the recognition of the good deeds of an individual. This is encouraged in the spiritual context of the Buddhist to be a sincere approval of them. The Bodhisattva and Tantric adept considers all its faithful to be ignorant. Buddha therefore has a responsibility to provide guidance to the individuals (De Bary, William, 2003 chapter 1, 2, 3, 4). This is called Yacana according to the Buddha perspective. Spiritually teachings of Buddha are not just meant for an individual. These teachings should be offered to others. This merit is meant to inculcate positively of the persons and is referred to as Parimmana. Spiritually every one who subscribe to this faith is expected to develop bodhisattva. Work cited De Bary, William. The Buddhist Tradition. USA: Random house, Inc. 2003. Robinson and Johnson. Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction 4th Ed. USA: Wadsworth publishing Company, 2006. Keith Dowman. Sky Dancer. Nepal, USA: Snow Lion, 1996

The Perfect Knight Essay Example for Free

The Perfect Knight Essay We are made to believe that there are still knights in shining armor out there. That adage was probably rooted from English Literature. Stories of King Arthur and his knights were legendary that it even reached our time. It influences us on how the modern man should act towards the contemporary woman. But what are the characteristics of the perfect knight? How should he feel about love? How does he handle the honor bestowed on him by his king? Was there such a thing as a perfect knight then? The perfect knight being the counterpart of the perfect gentleman of today. We can discuss this by studying four knights: Sir Gawain from the Arthurian stories, Sir Topas from Geoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"Tale of Sir Topas† and Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon in â€Å"The Knight’s Tale†, also by Chaucer. Sir Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur. He is also a Knight of the Round Table. He is said to be the greatest knights. He is the daughter of King Arthur’s sister Morgause and King Lot of Orkney and Lothian. Gawain is often described as a great warrior. He is formidable but he can be brash. He is very loyal to his king and his family. He is friendly to the younger knights. He defends the poor. He is quite the ladies’ man. He is a great healer because he acquires vast knowledge of herbs. If Gawain’s story were made into a movie, there would be versions wherein he is the hero and there would be other versions where he is the best friend of the hero. There are even some stories where he is the provider of the gentle comedy. However, if a reader who is studying Sir Gawain wants to see him in the best possible light, the best literature would be his search for the holy grail. On his quest, his intentions are pure. However, he is only human. He failed to use God’s grace to see his mistakes. In the Arthurian legends, he stopped his brothers Agravain and Mordred from exposing the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere. When Guinevere was sentenced to be burned at the stake. Gawain nobly refused to be deployed in guarding the execution. His loyalty to his friend Lancelot ended when his brothers were killed in the battle between the knight and King Arthur. Their friendship turned into hatred. However, when he was mortally wounded in the battle against Mordred’s armies, Gawain apologized to Lancelot for his actions. He asked for his help to defeat Mordred. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† there is a story entitled â€Å"Sir Topas. † It is about a handsome and young knight who is a hunter, archer and wrestler. Every maiden wants to be loved by him but he’s not interested. He rests beside a watering place where he dreams of an Elf Queen. When he awakes, he is determined to find her. He meets a three-headed giant who challenges him in a battle. He accepts it. He goes home, enjoys a feast and prepares for the battle with his finest weapons and excellent armor. Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon, also from Chaucer’s â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† are good friends. They were imprisoned by Theseus, the Duke of Athens. While they were there, they both fell in love with Emily, the sister of Duchess Hippolyta. After Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon both saw Emily, they fell madly in love with her which brewed up a competition between them. Their love for the same woman resulted to their despise of one another.. They were eventually released from the prison. Both Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon tried their best to win Emily’s love in whichever way necessary. They almost killed each other during the process. This is where Theseus stepped in. He arranged a battle for Emily. Palamon prayed for Emily to be his wife, Emily prayed that she married the one who really loved her and Arcite prayed for victory. All prayers were answered. Arcite won the tournament but died before he could marry Emily. Therefore, Palamon married her. All through out the introductions presented in the paper, the views on courtly love and ethical dilemmas can be seen. First off, Sir Gawain. As a knight, he was true to his word. He pleged allegiance to his king (which he did) and to his country (which he also did. ) However, his ethical dilemma was with Guinevere. When he was asked to be on guard as she burned at the stake, he couldn’t do it. As a knight, he respected women. He chose to be true to this promise rather than obey his king’s command. He was a loyal subject to Arthur and a loyal friend to Lancelot. It would have been the case had not his brothers been killed in the battle. That was when he turned against Lancelot. Again, we see an ethical dilemma in Sir Gawain. This time, he chose family over his duties as a knight. He wanted to avenge the death of his brothers. His final ethical dilemma was plotting against his brother Mordred. Camelot was in danger. The only way for Sir Gawain to save his kingdom was to ask Lancelot to kill Mordred. In his remaining hours, he was loyal to his country and kept his honor as a knight. Meanwhile Sir Topas reflects courtly love. He also mirrors the contemporary man which is the hunter. Men prefer to do the pursuing and the courting. Sir Topas had a liege of women pining over him but he ignored every one of them. He sought out the Elf Queen instead. The Elf Queen represents the girl of his dreams. Finally, Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon, like Sir Topas, also show what men of today are when it comes to courtly love. They will do anything to get the heart of the lady they desire. Even today, we hear stories, be it real or in movies, of men who used to be friends but became enemies because they were after the same girl. This only comes to show that Sir Gawain, Sir Topas, Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon view honor and love as motivations behind their actions. Some of the traits reflected in their stories can be seen in the contemporary man. One can therefore say that when a man is a gentlemen, he can pretty much be the perfect knight. The contemporary man, like Sir Gawain, is loyal to his country and to his duties. He respects women and makes sure that they are taken care of. He, like Sir Topas, prefers to be the one doing the chasing, instead of the other way around. True that some guys like aggressive girls but in the end, these girls will not be taken seriously. They will not be respected like that of those girls who were pursued by the men themselves. As for today’s men being like Sir Arcite and Sir Palamon when it comes to falling for the same girl, there are exceptions. Some men give way. They let the other guy have the girl in order for the friendship to not get affected. This is a reflection of honor today. Perhaps there are still knights in shining armor. Men who will put ladies first before themselves. Men who are true to their word and to the promises they made. Men who can be brash at times because of their emotions but will eventually maintain their composure once their logical reasoning kicks in. Honor and love are two qualities every knight take seriously. They pride being honorable and loving to their duties, their country, their families and their women. That is exactly what the modern man is.

Segmental Features Between Arabic And English

Segmental Features Between Arabic And English This assignment is a complement to the first assignment titled as comparative and contrastive description of segmental features between the Arabic and English languages. In this assignment, differently, the light will be shed on comparative and contrastive description of suprasegmental features between the above-mentioned languages. Ellery, et al. (1995) indicated that features of spoken languages which are not identified as discrete segments are variously referred as prosodic features, non- segmental features or suprasegmental features (p.327). Ellery, et al. (1995) also stated that prosody refers to prosodic features of speech, namely, tone, stress, intonation and others. Thus, three prosodic features will be discussed to show the similarities and differences between English and Arabic. Besides, the focus will be shifted to identifying the problems the Arab learners often face in learning English in terms of prosody. 1-Arabic 1.1 Syllable Structure Reima (2007) stated that Arabic language has three syllable types. These are summarized as follows: 1- Super heavy syllables CVVC CVCC. The super heavy syllable consists of one consonant immediately followed by one or two vowels and end in one or two consonants as in: 2- Heavy syllables CVC CVV. The heavy syllable consists of one consonant immediately followed by one or two vowels as in: 3- Light syllable: CV. The light syllable consists of a consonant immediately followed by one short vowel as in: Reima (2007) asserted that formation of syllables is regular in the Arabic language. In addition, it is not typical to find any syllable in the Arabic language starts with V or CC. 1.2 Stress According to Reima (2007) Watson (2007) the Arabic language has three word stress levels. These are the primary, secondary and weak levels. Swan Smith (2001), Reima (2007) indicated that stress in the Arabic language is predictable and regular. In other words, one can predict or determine the stress of the Arabic words. Swan Smith (2001) stated that Arab learners face difficulty in predicting stress in the English language, particularly in word stress. The difficulty of grasping word stress in English may result in altering the meaning of the word. For instance, a learner may pronounce the verb (convict) as the noun (convict) where the stress position is completely different. Reima (2007) summarized the Arabic stress as follows: 1- If a word contains one super heavy syllable or more, stress falls on the last super heavy syllable as in: 2- If a word contains heavy and light syllables, stress falls on the heavy syllable before the final syllable (nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ final heavy syllable) as in: 3- If a word contains light syllables, stress falls on the first syllable as in: 4- If a word is a present or a past verb, stress falls on the first syllable as in: 5- If a word is a masculine or feminine Arabic noun, stress falls on the second syllable as in: 1.3 Intonation According to Swan Smith (2001) Arabic and English have closely similar intonation patterns, especially in meaning and contour. Reima (2007) summarized the Arabic stress as follows: 1- In Arabic, falling intonation is used at the end of: Declarative statements: the voice starts on amid pitch, rises slightly on the last stressed syllable and drop to a low pitch at the end as in: In commands as in: In Whà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ questions: voice is high in stressed syllable and falls quickly to mid pitch for the rest of the sentence as in: 2- In Arabic, risingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ falling intonation is normally used at the end of: Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ no questions as in: In utterances containing an element of protest or surprise: voice is flat, no rise no fall as in: In vocatives as in: In requests: the voice rises and falls somewhat, with an optional pause as in: 1.4 Rhythm In speech, rhythm has been defined as an effect involving the isochronous recurrence of some type of speech unit (Pike (1945), Abercrombie (1967), Bloch (1950). Dauer (1983) argued that the perception of different types of rhythm has mainly to do with differences in syllable structure, vowel reduction and types of stress. As to Arabic, according to Barkat et al. (1999) Arabic and its various dialects are all stress-timed. Based on the articles I have read, there is a consensus among researchers that Arabic listeners make use of speech rhythm to distinguish between speakers. For instance, Barkat et al. (1999) revealed that speakers of Arabic, due to rhythm, can distinguish between speakers of Arabic from North Africa and speakers living in the Middle East. Many studies have been conducted on Arabic rhythm. One of the important findings is the highness if vocalic intervals in the eastern Arabic dialects such as Palestine than western Arabic dialects such as Tunisia. 2-English 2.1 Syllable Structure According to Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) the distinction between light and heavy syllables can be helpful in predicting stress in English. The former contains a diphthong and/or several consonants in the coda while the latter contains a single short vowel. Heavy syllables tend to be stressed and light ones tend not to be stressed. The relationship between syllables and stress is extremely related. Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) argued there are not pure rules that help learners accurately predict stress placement in multisyllabic words; however, knowing the syllable structures- heavy and light syllables may solve the problem and prove useful. All in all, understanding stress rules in English entails understanding syllable structures first. English words are different in terms of the number of syllables. Some contain one, or two. Some may contain three or four. Some examples are provided below: 2.2 Stress Chomsky and Halle (1968) suggested that stress, like the Arabic language within English words is predictable, and several sets of complex rules have been proposed for predicting stress. Stress is very important in English as it is a major feature that distinguishes certain pairs of words. According to Christophersen (1996), English has the following stress rules: The great majority of twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ syllable words are stressed on the first syllable, e.g.: A number of words have two different stress patterns according to whether they are verbs or nouns, adjectives or verbs e.g.: Noticeably, nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable while verbs are given stress on the second syllable. According to Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) derivational suffixes ca be classified into three types: stress-preserving, stress-attracting and stress-shifting. The first type does not change stress placement in words such as -ful, as in wonder/ wonderful. The second type receives primary stress such as -ee, as in employ/ emplyee. The last type make the stress shift such as -ive, as in reflex/ reflexive. The analysis of suffixation on stress placement is outlined below: When a suffix is added to a word, the new form is stressed on the syllable as was the basic word, e.g.: words ending in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ tion , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ sion , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ic , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ical, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ity , almost always have primary stress on the syllable preceding the ending , e.g. : If a word ending in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ate or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ment has only two syllables, the stress falls on the last syllable if the word is a verb, but on the first syllable if the word is a noun or an adjective. When stressed , the ending is pronounced [eÉ ªt], [mÉâ„ ¢nt] ; when unstressed, it is pronounced [ t], [mÉâ„ ¢nt], e.g. : If a word ending in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ate, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ment has more than two syllables, the main stress will fall on the third syllable from the end. In verbs, the final syllable is pronounced [eÉ ªt] , [mÉâ„ ¢nt]; in nouns it is pronounced [ t], [mÉâ„ ¢nt] , e.g.: Stress placement is also affected by compounding. When two roots are combined to produce new words, the resulting word is called a compound (Deterding poedjosoedarmo 1998 (p. 100). The rules are summarized below: compound nouns have a primary stress on the first component, e.g.: In compound verbs, the primary stress falls on the second component, e.g.: In the intensiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ reflexive pronouns, the stronger accent falls on the last syllable ,e.g.: Numbers ending in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ teen may receive primary stress on either syllable, e.g.: In words ending in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ion, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ sive, the stress falls on the last vowel before the ending .e.g.: The majority of English compounds have single stress .e.g.: All compounds with a present participle, as the first element, have a single stress, e.g.: A double stress is used in compounds of two nouns, if the first noun indicates the material of which or with which the second is made, e. g.: A double stress is used in compounds that have two nouns, each noun indicates a distinct characteristic of the same person or thing, e.g. : In most sentences, some words are more important than others and we indicate this by the way we stress or unstress them. The following words are usually unstressed: articles: a, an, the, prepositions such as at etc. personal pronouns such as I etc. possessive adjectives such as my etc. relative pronouns such as who etc. conjunctions such as and etc. The following words are usually stressed: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, demonstrative interrogatives, e.g.: He shall send it to you. She cooks three meals each day. In an hour, he will be ready to send it. This new car is to be barked here. 2.3 Intonation Roach (2001) pointed out that intonation is difficult to define. Generally, intonation is the melody of speech and is to be analyzed in terms of variations of pitch. It is known that intonation can indicate different types of utterances, such as statements, questions, commands, attitudes and emotions of the speaker. Reima (2007) summarized the intonation rules as follows: A) In English, risingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ falling intonation is normally used at the end of: Simple statements of facts (declarative statements), e.g.: Commands: Questions which begin with an interrogative word, i.e., B) In English, rising intonation is normally used in the following cases: At the end of yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ no questions: In requests: C) In utterances containing an element of protest or surprise: 2.3 Rhythm English, with an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, is obviously stress-timed. Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) stated that rhythm is important in English because many cases of miscommunication can be attributed to failure to interpret familiar words as they are uttered with an unfamiliar rhythm pattern. For example, the speaker may say talking to themselves stressing on talk and them. If a native speaker hears these words, he will misunderstand the words and interpret them as taking to damsels. So, the unexpected rhythm pattern contributed to misunderstanding. As stated above, English words may contain one or more syllables. These words contain syllables (stressed) that are louder, clearer than others (unstressed). Gilbert (1984) believed that the combination of these stressed and unstressed syllables results in the rhythm found in English words. This combination also shows the strength, length and pitch of syllables. Moreover, sentences in English, like words, have r hythm. Dauer, (1993) argued that if one wants to have good sentence rhythm, she/he needs to know how to join syllables together into larger unites besides the clear difference between stressed and unstressed syllables. Problems in learning English in terms of prosody Arab learners find it easy to grasp the predictable word stress in their language; however, they face problems in grasping the unpredictable nature of English word stress. Sentence rhythm is alike in both languages so that Arab learners avoid contracted forms and elision when they read loudly. As a result, heavy staccato rhythm can be found in their reading. Regarding intonation, Swan Smith (2001) found out that Arab learners tend to intone, reducing intonation to a low fall at the ends of phrases and sentences. According to Rababah, (2002) Arab learners face problems that are related to stress, intonation and other features of prosody due to some difference in pronunciation between the two languages. English word pattern with (-ism) suffix receive their stress on the antepenultimate or pre- antepenultimate syllable, but they never receive it on the penultimate or final syllable. Quite contrary to this, in the pronunciation of the Arab learners of English, it is often noticed that stress in such word patterns tend to be consistently shifted to the penultimate (before the final) syllable. According to Ryan Meara (1999) Arab learners confuse English words due to the number of syllables and the shift of stress syllables as in the following example:

Development of Neighborhoods in Chicago Essay -- City Development, Eth

Chicago in the 1920s was a turning point for the development of ethnic neighborhoods. After the opening of the first rail connection from New York to Chicago in the 1840s, immigration sky rocketed from that point on. Majority of the immigrants to Chicago were Europeans. The Irish, Italians, eastern European Jews, Germans, and Mexicans were among the most common ethnicities to reside in Chicago. These groups made up the greater part of Chicago. The sudden increase in immigration to Chicago in the 1920s soon led to an even further distinguished separation of ethnicities in neighborhoods. The overall development of these neighborhoods deeply impacted how Chicago is sectioned off nowadays. Without these ethnicities immigrating to Chicago almost 100 years ago, Chicago neighborhoods would not be as culturally defined and shaped as they are today. Immigration to America from Europe was at an all time high in the mid-1800s. After the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, a large group of Irish immigrated to the United States. Since then, increasing numbers of Irish people have been moving to the United States, especially in Chicago. The Irish had come to realize that the United States really is the land of opportunity. With jobs being available to the immigrants, many more shipped in to start new lives for their families. However, for quite a while they did not live in the nicest of areas in Chicago. Many of the Irish resided in low-class areas such as overcrowded parts around the Loop, and out in the West Side. Not only did the West Side shelter the Irish, but many Germans and Jews lived in that area. Ethnicities wanted to be with their own race. This began the movement of the development of ethnic neighborhoods. Although many et... ... many immigrants faced discrimination, thus leaving them no choice but to live in the slums of some areas and try fight their way up to success. Many of these ethnic groups still reside where their relatives first lived when they arrived many years ago, whereas a majority of the ethnic groups have dispersed all over the Chicago land area, creating many culturally mixed neighborhoods. Ultimately, all of these ethnic groups found their rightful area in which they belong in Chicago. To this day, the areas in Chicago that the different ethnic immigrants moved to back in the 1920s are very much so the same. These immigrants have a deep impact on the development of neighborhoods in today’s society. Without the immigrants’ hard work and their ambition to establish a life for their families and their future, Chicago would not be as developed and defined as it is now.

The Forge and the Satis House in Great Expectations Essay -- Great Exp

The Forge and the Satis House in Great Expectations   Ã‚  Ã‚   During the Victorian Age in England, individuals revealed their class and prestige by flaunting their money, yet they were only disguising their inner character with the riches. Strong relationships are a key to a fulfilled life; in Dicken's Great Expectations, the contrast of the Forge and the Satis house uncover that happiness is born through relationships with others and not through money.    The Forge's simplicity contributes to a simple existance of those who live in it. To begin Pip's journey through life, he resided in a plain wooden house that was like many of the houses around it. THe house did not contain many posessions, yet the space was filled with the love and bond between Pip and Joe. The family did not need more than the basic necessities of life to get by. Pip's imagination was forced to develop as a result of this simplicity, and he expanded his ideas in the process.    Unlike the Forge, the Satis house was frozen in time and the emotions within the walls were frozen as well. ...

B.f. Skinner Essay examples -- essays research papers

B.F. Skinner Psychologist, born in Susquhanna, Pa. He studied at Harvard, teaching there (1931-6, 1947-74). A leading behaviorist, he is a proponent of operant conditioning, and the inventor of the Skinner box for facilitating experimental observations. B. F. Skinner’s entire system is based on operant conditioning. The organism is in the process of â€Å"operating† on the environment, which in ordinary terms means it is bouncing around the world, doing what it does. During this â€Å"operating,† the organism encounters a special kind of stimulus, called a reinforcing stimulus, or simply a reinforcer. This special stimulus has the effect of increasing the operant - which is the behavior occurring just before the reinforcer. This is operant conditioning: â€Å"the behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the behavior in the future.† Say you have a dog and he’s just playing around with his toys and such and then when you throw a toy at him and he catches it then you give him a treat. Then all of the sudden the dog is starting to catch toys and such as you throw it in the air or at his mouth. The operant is the behavior just prior to the reinforcer, which is the treat. Then what if you decide to stop giving the dog treats, well he’ll stop his little trick which your, the owner were enjoying. This is called extinction of the operant behavior. Now, if you were to start showing the dog treats, then most likely he/she’ll want to start doing the tricks again and a little more quickly than the dog learned at first. This is because the return of the reinforcer takes place in the context of a reinforcement history that goes all the way back to the very first time the dog was reinforced for performing the tricks. Continuous reinforcement is the original scenario: Every time that the dog does the behavior (such as performing a trick), he gets a treat. The fixed ratio schedule was the first one Skinner discovered: If the dog did the trick three times, say, he gets a goodie. Or five times. Or twenty times. Or â€Å"x† times. There is a fixed ratio between behaviors and reinforcers: 3 to 1, 5 to 1, 20 to 1, etc. This is a little like â€Å"piece rate† in the clothing manufacturing industry: You get paid so much for so many shirts. Skinner also looked at variable schedules. Variable ratio means you change the â€Å"x† each ... ...e aversive stimulus of hunger? Skinner (contrary to some stereotypes that have arisen about behaviorists) doesn’t â€Å"approve† of the use of aversive stimuli -- not because of ethics, but because they don’t work well! Notice that I said earlier that Johnny will maybe stop throwing his toys, and that I perhaps will take out the garbage? That’s because whatever was reinforcing the bad behaviors hasn’t been removed, as it would’ve been in the case of extinction. This hidden reinforcer has just been â€Å"covered up† with a conflicting aversive stimulus. So, sure, sometimes the child (or me) will behave -- but it still feels good to throw those toys. All Johnny needs to do is wait till you’re out of the room, or find a way to blame it on his brother, or in some way escape the consequences, and he’s back to his old ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. F. Skinner made numerous contributions to the science of behavior. He strongly influenced the area of learning that he named operant conditioning. His Skinner box is now a standard apparatus for the experimental study of animal behavior. Much of his work involved the study of how reinforcement schedules influence learning and behavior.

Differences between family and friends Essay

Throughout our lives we interact in many and varied relationships. These can range from intense emotional and physical interactions, to casual acquaintances. Our ability to bond, congregate and network within these relationships is not restricted to the family or kin from whom we are born; many are the result of friendships formed within our societal settings. We develop friendship relationships within the work place, sporting activities and shared community interests. The commonality of interest can be in residential status, class, race, gender and religious beliefs. The formation of relationships can have a multitude of meanings and importance to the individual, whether formed with family or friends. So how do the importance of relationships between family and friends differ? According to Baker (2001, p.1) â€Å"Our ‘personal’ decisions and lifestyle ‘choices’ are influenced in a myriad, often hidden, ways by what happens in the wider world†. This suggests that as individuals we need the influence of the outside world to assist in our decision-making processes. However, both family and friendship relationships offer a range of external (social) and internal (private) life networks from which the individual or group can access personal and social knowledge, resources and support. The difference in the level, mannerism and depth of needs attended to by both family and friendship relationships must then be discussed to access the importance of each and the role it plays in the life of the individual and society. Friendship Goerg Simmel (in G. Little, 1993, p.31) saw friendship as pure sociability. Simmell â€Å"pictured society as a web of sociability, a subtle balance of delicate exchanges† †¦ â€Å"it was only the name given to the comings and going of human beings, the interchanges that simultaneously link and separate people†. Simmel further describes friends as artists, claiming â€Å"friends must  commit themselves to communicating well, putting all distraction aside†. Simmell’s description of friendship in society, describes the way in which we communicate in our external lives, separate to that of family or kin relations. The communicative commitment we put into these meetings will depend on the level of interaction desired, given our commonality and interest. Therefore, the formation of friendships is based on the attention given to conversation, how well we communicate and the manner in which we construct our communication. All other encounters are purely polite exchanges of greetings between people we meet externally. Friendly interactions can therefore become an extension of our internal family lives. A case study of social networks conducted by Lyn Richards (in Gilding, 1999, p.121-23) of a Melbourne suburb revealed how â€Å"residents constructed a wide variety of relationships with their neighbours†. The social exchange of neighbourhood residents extended to sharing equipment and getting to know each other on a more personal basis, allowing friendship relations to enter the internal domain family life by choice rather than necessity. This offers an interesting perspective to Simmell’s analysis of friendship simply being polite but attentive exchanges of our everyday external lives. It suggests that we not only form friendships externally out of politeness but also  internally to share our family relations. Richards noted however, that the association between friends and family relations are separated by the difference in time spent with family and friends. Edward Shorter (1979, p.231) writes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ in traditional society the kin group counted for relatively little in emotional terms, being primarily a reservoir of material support in emergencies†. The view here is that friendship relations are an extension of family relations, allowing additional resources to be obtained. Friendship is then seen as an important  commodity to completing our hierarchy of needs. Therefore, placing restrictions on the importance and position of family and friendship contributing factors to our family and societal needs, with the extent of these needs measured in material and emotional contexts. Demographically family structures have endured many changes to the way in which family member conduct their lives. Changes to labour market forces, socio-economics and lifestyle choices, have left many with little or no time to conduct friendship relationships within the family unit. The importance of emotional support and mental well-being is then passed onto external avenues such as social services and friendship alliances. Meaning, that whilst our physical needs are being met through income support (wages, benefits), our emotional needs are neglected over time taken to achieve our physical and material needs. Therefore, positioning friendship relations as an important aspect of our familial and societal structure. Talcott Parsons (in van Krieken et al, 2000, p.328) described the functions of the nuclear family as the â€Å"primary socialization of children and the stabilization of the adult personalities of the population of society (1955a, p.16). Parsons analysis of  socialisation and stabilisation functioning describes the family as a secure and sociable entity, capable of providing both social learning and emotional well-being. To support Parsons description Bell and Zajdow (in Jureidini and Poole, 2003, p.275-76) describe the family â€Å"as an entity where people have their emotional needs cared for by a wife or mother has displaced the household whose primary purpose was to produce goods for the material well-being of family members†. The descriptions of families given here, lead to families providing emotional support for its members, similar to that of friendship relationships. How can we determine at this point, which is more important? Family support and learning can be contained within the family, kept private and discussed with members whom share common kin ties. The emotional support of friendship risks private consultation becoming public and has no biological status. Therefore, the family as a social and emotional provider is viewed as more important. The difference and diversity of families and friendship relations as pointed out in Shorter (1979, p.231-41) may provide insight into the importance of family dynamics. Shorter describes a variety of family and kin units, their origins and values placed on human contact. The research shows that despite having sociable human contact, preference is given to remaining close to family and kin, and protecting the family unit from external intrusion. Thus, providing the family with a direct sense of purpose and well-being for the individual, a place of sanctity and security when the outside world is no longer required or available. Our experiences of the world are subjective, we engage in both physical and emotional stimulation to suffice our needs. However, the main source for supply and demand of these needs is found in our value of our family and kin relationships. Family values are found in family traits, traditions and familiarity of its members and Family and Friends 5 its stability in a demographically changing social world. In this sense, friendships may come and go; however, family values will always remain, placing an emphasis on the importance of families. Where do families achieve their stability and security? The structural functionalism of families can assist in maintaining stability and security, through its ability to â€Å"provide individuals with the opportunity for  emotional support, companionship, sexual expression, reproduction and the socialisation of children†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ They maintain social order and control through disciplining their children and other members† (Baker, 2001, p.73). The ability of families to maintain social and familial control provides members with a sense of self-control over ones life. A setting to which they can return to safe in the knowledge that emotional, physical and material guidance and support can be sought. Therefore, positioning the family as a place belonging and familiarity. Conclusion There appears to be little doubt that both family and friends play and important role in ones life. To measure to importance we cannot ignore the difference and diversity of both family and friendship relationships. For some the relationship of friends is extremely important, for others it is the relationship of the family. To assess why friendship relationships appear to be more important, it is essential to recognise the demographic changes that have occurred in the past and the rate at which changes occur in the present. Family dynamics now share a variety of different relationship structures such as, defacto, stepfamilies, same sex partners,  adoption and foster parenting. All of which have their own unique set of values, social and cultural traits. The apparent multitude of difference and diversity of both family and friendship arrangements, in an ever-changing world, may embrace the need for external relations outside the family. Friendship relationships can become symbolic of demographic changes, be non-compliant with family traditions and have the flexibility to endure future change. Thus, placing an importance on the need and value of friendship relationships.