Foreign Architecture in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Foreign Architecture in China - Essay Example The lack of traditional Chinese form in any specific region and the ability of architects to reform China's urban landscape using experimental designs are attractive to architects (Moller 2004 p 1). China's architectural designs since the 1950's have been built heavily from Western influences, and most of the urbanised architecture from 1950 to 1970 was inherently designed and constructed by Russian builders (Moller 2004 p 1). China's spending on construction ranks only behind the United States and Japan's and is growing the fastest of the top ten spenders, at 8-9 percent annually. Remarkably, given China's cultural pride, most of the highest-profile projects now underway in Beijing were designed by foreign celebrities (Economist ed 2004 p 63). The influx of foreign architects in Beijing has incited controversy amongst Chinese nationals. Zhou Ganzhi, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, says, "No other country has opened its architectural design market to the world as wide as China. The rise of pan-internationalism threatens the distinctiveness of Chinese cities, making architectural evaluation difficult" (Hong 2005 p 15). The general consensus amongst critics of ... Is the Distinctiveness of China Threatened The influx of foreign architects in Beijing has incited controversy amongst Chinese nationals. Zhou Ganzhi, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, says, "No other country has opened its architectural design market to the world as wide as China. The rise of pan-internationalism threatens the distinctiveness of Chinese cities, making architectural evaluation difficult" (Hong 2005 p 15). The general consensus amongst critics of foreign and Western architecture in Beijing, China is that it removes the traditional and regional identity. Yung Ho Chang, architect, states that Chinese and Asian cities have a "lack of clear traditional urban structures this introverted quality is at odds with a modern lifestyle and the openness demanded by a highly developed commercial society" (Moller 2004 p 1). China's biggest cities are struggling to balance modern design with their historical structures (Mcguigan, Lin-lui and Mooney 2003 p56). Wu Chen, a traditional Chinese architect states "Beijing has become an experimental site for foreign architects" (Hong 2005 p 14). Beijing has changed beyond recognition, losing the traditional Chinese forms and incorporating more global influences and talents who have been drawn to China in the building effort of Beijing officials (Mcguigan, Lin-lui and Mooney 2003 p56). Review of Relevant Literature Each resource in this research essay has been verified as either a foreign architect working in China, or a Chinese architect. For example, Xuefei Ren received a PhD at the University of Chicago and has published several texts on urban planning (Ren 2006 p 1) Web sites of the actual architects (verified by name, address and

Research Methods in Education (Topic Question undecided) Essay

Research Methods in Education (Topic Question undecided) - Essay Example A quantitative study conducted on 415 students and 83 teachers in public schools in the US revealed that students and teachers in schools with uniform policies generally felt safer, had higher self-esteem and more positive attitudes toward school climate, than students and teachers in public schools where no uniform policies were in place (Wade & Stafford, 2003). A study conducted by Gottfredson and Gottfredson (2001) involving 848 school principals in the US indicate that one of the main activities that schools implement to improve student behaviour and academic outcomes is to improve school climate. Implementing mandatory school uniform policies have been a subject of much discussion with increasing interest in its relationship to improved school climate. It has been suggested that the mere implementation of a school uniform policy at the very least symbolizes a school’s commitment to school climate change and this perception alone improves student outlook and performance (Brunsma & Rockquemore, 1998). Brunsma and Rockquemore (2003) observe however that with all the interest in the link between school uniform policies and school climate and the importance of school climate to student behaviour, safety and academic achievement, research on the significance of school uniform is sorely lacking. Much of the research is purely theoretical or uses flawed methods. Therefore, more research is needed on the implications and effectiveness of mandatory school uniforms (Brunsma & Rockquemore, 2003). This proposed research will thus fill a gap in the literature by examining and analysing the extent to which a mandatory school uniform policy effects perceptions of school climate. It is anticipated that this research will provide empirical evidence of student and teachers’ perception of school uniform and its relationship to school climate and will identify areas for further

Aristotles Friendship Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotles Friendship Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle addresses the topic of friendship in Book 8 and 9 of his Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle makes the argument that friends can be regarded as second selves. Aristotle says that just as virtuous behavior improves an individual, friends have the potential to generate improvements upon each others lives. The main gist of Aristotles argument is on the relationship between friendship and justice (102). He asserts that if people stay friends, they do not have any need for justice, but if they maintain justice, they also need friendship in addition. This paper shows that the arguments that Aristotle makes in support of this assertion is convincing. Additionally, the arguments made here explain both the ethical and political importance of friendship for Aristotle. Aristotle categorizes friendships into three categories: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure, and friendships of the good (107). He asserts that the failure or success of ones friend is just like the ones own failure or success. Friendships of pleasure are based on delight in other peoples company alone. People who drink beer together are said to be in this friendship. However, when these people no longer enjoy sharing the activity, the friendship may come to an end. Friendships of utility are those friendships that are formed with no regard to the other person. When a person is buying merchandise, has to meet the seller, but the relationship that is required is rather shallow. The only reason why such people communicate is for them to transact business. Typically, quarrels may result in this friendship only. Friendship of the good involves the enjoyment of each others characters. As long as these friends maintain their similar characters, their relationship endures because its main motive is care for each other. This is friendship at its best, what in modern English may be referred to as true friendship. In Book 8, Aristotle says that without friends, nobody would choose life. Even those people in possession of all the goods that they need in life, including high office, need friends. They do not perceive the use of all such prosperity without an opportunity of beneficence, which can only be exercised in its most laudable form towards friends. Similarly, it is impossible to guard prosperity without friends. Aristotle also indicates that friends are the only refuge when misfortunes and poverty strike (108). For the young, friendships are a way of avoiding straying. For older people, it is useful for ministering to their needs as well as supplementing the various activities that could be failing as a result of weakness. For Aristotle, friendships appear to be holding states together, and lawgivers are more careful about friendships than for justice. Since unanimity seems to be like friendship, they aim at this most of the time, and strive to expel faction as their worst enemy. It is on this basis that he indicates that when men are friends, they need justice. However, when they are just, they require justice as well. The truest form of justice according to Aristotle is thought to be an enduring friendly quality (118). Friendships are considered not only necessary, but also noble, since people always praise those who show love for their friends. It is also thought to be a great thing to have many friends. The different kinds of friendships may be cleared if attention was shifted to the object of love, in which case only the lovable objects can be loved. Lovable objects are those that pleasant, good or useful. For this reason, friends are formed on the basis of the good and pleasure that is produced, which has to be useful. However, a clash emerges in this argument, especially in determining whether men love the good or what they consider good for them. Whatever is good for a man, though, becomes the object of his friendship. The clash arises in that each man loves not just what is good, but that seems good for him. For Aristotle, this makes no difference. Aristotle poses the question of whether goodwill in itself constitutes friendship. In this case, goodwill amounts to friendship only when the feeling is reciprocated (120). This is because, many people may have goodwill for those they have not necessarily judged to be useful or good. This raises the genuine difficulty of telling who friends really are without their feelings being communicated. To be friends, then, there is a need for feelings to be mutually recognized as wishes of goodwill to each other. In terms of justice, the friendship of the good is enough proof against slander. This is because it is difficult to trust anyone except a man who has been tested by oneself. When all the things that are demanded in friendship are found, true friendship is said to exist. However, nothing prevents various evils arising, such that the assertion that he would never wrong seems to be inaccurate. Considering the three forms of friendships, it is true to say that bad men will always be friends for the sake of utility or pleasure, while good men will always be friends for their own sake, that is, for the virtue of their goodness. In the latter case, these are friends without qualifications while others are accidental friends, for whom, the only thing that they share is the resemblance of needs. In efforts to explain why the truest friendship is the one that one of the good, Aristotle argues that the friendship that is without qualification pleasant or good seems to be desirable or lovable. Here, the impression made is that love is merely a feeling, and friendship a state of character. The mutual love for certain choices springs from the state of character of the friends. Men tend to wish well those they love, not because of a feeling, but as a result of a certain state of character. In loving friends, men indicate their love for what is good for themselves. Aristotle completes the logical analysis by saying that in becoming a friend, a man ideally becomes good to his friends (129). Each of them, then, both love what is good for himself, while at the same time making an equal return through goodwill and pleasantness. In this sense, friendship is said to be similar to the concept of equality. Incidentally, both the concepts of goodwill and pleasantness are found in the concepts of friendship and equality. Most people appear to like being loved instead of loving, mainly because of ambition. Aristotle supports this proposition by saying that this is the reason why most men love flattery; since the flatterer takes the position of inferiority in a friendship, or pretends to be such and to more be more loving than he is being loved. Most people aim at being loved since this is akin to being honored. With friendship, there is love. Therefore, friendship does a lot of justice by making everyone feel honored. If people did not the terms that bind them in various forms of friendships, there would be no need for justice. From the arguments that Aristotle makes, friendship and justice appear to be concerned with similar objects, and expressed between the same persons. In Aristotles view, there is thought to be a certain form of justice as well as friendship in every community. Friendship depends on community, and brothers and comrades tend to have many things in common, including, in some cases, property. Aristotle ventures into what appears like a contradiction when he says that claims of justice tend to differ. However, he makes his argument clear by giving examples of duties of parents to children, as well as those of brothers to each other, which he says are never the same. The same case applies to the duties of comrades and their fellow citizens. The same case applies to all other kinds of friendships that exist. On the basis of this argument, it is possible for one to draw a parallel between the principles of justice and the principles of friendship. It appears that where one applies, the other cannot apply. Injustice increases when it is exhibited towards people who are considered friends in the fuller sense. For instance, it sounds more offensive to defraud a comrade than to defraud a fellow citizen. It is also more offensive to deny ones brother assistance than to refuse to help a stranger. It is more terrible for one to kill ones mother than to kill any other citizen. The demands of justice, therefore, appear to increase with the insensitivity of the level of friendship. This implies that there is a limit of friendship to which justice does not apply. It also implies that when there is justice, friendship becomes a necessity, such that when the concept of justice is introduced into a scenario where friendship is at play, both elements tend to have an equal extension. Aristotle also assesses the position of friendship vis-Ã  -vis that of justice by bringing into perspective the concept of constitution (119). He identifies three kinds of constitutions: monarchy, aristocracy, and timocracy or what many people refer to as polity. The best constitution, according to Aristotle, is monarchy, while the worst is timocracy. Although both monarchy and timocracy are a one-man rule systems, the main difference between them is that the tyrant looks at his own advantage while the king looks to the advantage of his subjects. Each of these constitutions may involve friendship just as much as it involves justice. The friendship that exists between the king and all his subjects is dependent on the benefits conferred, and Aristotle likens it to the friendship of the father to his son, the only difference being the greatness of all the benefits conferred. The reason why Aristotle brings into perspective the aspect of constitutionality is to shed light on the concept of friendship as it applies to governments. His arguments make the concept of friendship to predominate that of justice. At the same time, he seems to suggest that justice cannot take place in a vacuum there has to be a friendly relationship of sorts between all the participants in the legal process within a given jurisdiction. In the deviation-forms of constitution, justice hardly exists; the same case applies to friendship. In the least, friendship exists in its worst form, such that in a form of government such as tyranny, there is too little or no friendship at all. This is because of the lack of anything to be shared between the ruler and the ruled. Even if justice was to exist in such a type of constitution, people would not appreciate it since the spirit of friendship is lacking. In Aristotles view, in every form of friendship, there has to be some form of association. For instance, the friendship that exists between brothers and sisters is born out of a shared parentage and upbringing. Aristotle also carries the association debate even further, noting that friendships form the basis of humankinds very existence. Particularly, he indicates that man has a tendency to form couples and households more readily than even cities. He also notes that unlike animals, mans associations in the form of couples are not for reproduction purposes only, but for many other purposes in life. To this extent, the tendency to form marriages arise from not just pleasure but also utility. Through such illustrations, Aristotle provides a clear proof of the power of friendship over justice (138). Although friendships of utility are always full of complaints, this does not necessarily mean that an injustice has been committed against the complainant; rather, it is normal for the process of bargaining and haggling to be characterized by tough talk and claims of unfair pricing. No form of justice can be said to have taken place in such engagements, regardless of the outcome of the bargaining process. Everything is left in the hands of the two people who have become friends of convenience in order to transact business. In Aristotles view, two types of justices are worth considering for purposes of assessing their applicability to friendships: unwritten and legal justice. The legal type is one where the terms are fixed, while the unwritten one is the one where moral values are conventionally applied. Aristotles explanation of the applicability of both unwritten laws and legal laws is enlightening on the ways in which friendship takes the place of justice. In the same light, friendship is identified as necessary where the formal rules of justice require to be applied, for instance in the legal laws. In other words, even where legal laws have been put in place for political reasons, friendship is needed in order for the ethical aspects of justice to be put into consideration. Work Cited Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics (Translated by Ross, David. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Achilles in The Illiad is not a Hero Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive

Achilles in The Illiad is not a Hero   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the introduction of the Essential Illiad given by Sheila Murnaghan, Achilles is labeled as â€Å"the greatest of the Greek heroes†. In classic mythology a hero is a person of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits and is often the offspring of a mortal and a god. Achilles was the greatest fighter among the Greeks or Trojans and feared no man in battle. He was also the offspring of a mortal and a god so by classic mythology definition, Achilles was indeed a hero. A hero is defined by the present day Websters Dictionary as: â€Å"one who inspires through manners and actions; an individual who leads through personal example and accomplishments requiring bravery, skill, determination, and other admirable qualities.† Achilles, in no manner, fits this definition. By contemporary standards, he is instead a pathetic villain. Aside from being a kidnapper, rapist and murderer, Achilles proves to be emotionally weak, selfish, and malicious. Many times throughout the Illiad, Achilles is also referred to as â€Å"godlike†. The gods of Greek mythology were subject to the same emotions and character flaws as humans, and though privileged to some foresight, the gods had similar mental capacities as humans. What really set the gods apart were their powers (controlling the elements, changing their appearance, etc.), great strength, and immortality. Because of his great strength and apparent invincibility, it is easy to see why Achilles would...

A Problem Critical to the Education in the 21st Century Essay

In the 21st century I believe that inequitable opportunity is the most critical education problem. Inequitable opportunity impacts people of different racial backgrounds in various ways. It limits the knowledge a student receives, the rate at which they learn, funds available to the school, the students ability to succeed in the workforce upon graduating, it even affects the knowledge or lack of knowledge a student learns at home. Though this may affect the teaching staff in ways, minorities from a lower income family are the ones impacted most. These students often fail because they are not prepared for success. Students from a lower social class have fewer resources available to them; therefore they do not make it to the top. Schools in poverty stricken areas receive less funding, and this severely impacts the students. The school is unable to provide students with up to date technology, and the resources needed to compete with their peers from more privileged backgrounds. The school will not be able to provide ESL classes for Latino students. Students will more than likely drop out; the ones who actually manage to graduate will probably be less qualified to perform essential job duties. These students will not be as knowledgeable because they may be using outdated texts, and they are not able to learn how to fully utilize technology needed to survive in today’s workforce. Schools that are in a low income neighborhood do not have modern buildings, the school buildings are very out dated. The air conditioning and heating may not be working properly creating a very uncomfortable learning environment. This may discourage students from wanting to go to school and it definitely does not attract quality faculty. Another issue that impacts the student severely is the lack of parent participation in the education process. This is crucial to the development of the child from a very early age; it is imperative that a parent be involved in preparing their child for life, as well as reinforcing things learned at school. Education starts at home and moves to the public arena where social interaction, behavior skills and knowledge are enhanced. Poor parent participation may be the result of work schedules, transportation issues, language barriers, or suitable clothing. Once again children from low- income families suffer the most. Both parents may have to work just to pay the bills, and in some situations there is just one parent, forcing some students to help care of siblings at after school when they should be focusing on homework or studying. As the child ages less attention will be paid to the individual as class size increases, the number of teachers increase with diverse classes, and overall s ize of the school grows. At this point the child will need extra help completing assignments and requiring encouragement to continue the education process consistently and for the duration through some college. The parent is not exempt from the learning process because of inadequacy or exempt because of poor education. As briefly mentioned earlier, in this setting the teaching staff is likely to be under qualified, once again this impacts the student. By the teaching staff not being qualified the type of skill the students will learn will not be up to par. Classroom Managers should also be aware of how they are engaging their students. They should have high expectations of all of their students. There seems to be a lot of racial stereotyping in minority communities. Teachers should know that all Asian students aren’t smart and that all African American students inferior learners. If teachers establish a high expectation of learning from all of their students and expect all of their students to do well then those expectations will be seen by the student. Students are then able to work at their highest potential and are not limited; a teacher should believe that all students are capable of learning at a higher level. The teacher of the 21st Century need to be more culturally responsible and they need to be more aware of what is going on in the classroom. Educators need to be trained in a way that is going to be more beneficial to the educational process as a whole. For example if a teacher has a classroom where the majority of the students are not being successful then that teacher and/ or teaching techniques should be reevaluated. The classroom is not a place where a student is just given work to perform and the teacher is detached, the classroom of the 21st century needs to be an interactive classroom where teachers and students comes together to share ideas, and engage each other in the learning process. Unless a Teacher can step out of the conventional box and begin to assess themselves and what they actually bring to the classroom, it will not evolve. Teachers should interact with students on a more personal level in the classroom and get to know their students as individuals; some children can get lost in the classroom for a number of reasons; including personal problems at home, and learning disabilities. By being involved more with the student’s teachers are better to adapt to a student that is having problems because they are unable to read well, or a student that is simply having problems seeing the board. Without establishing some type of a relationship with the children it is very hard for a teacher to recognize the problems students are having and how to effectively deal with these problems. Just because a student is unable to keep up with fashion, technology receives free lunch does not mean that this student does not have the ability or the will to learn. There are successful people that grew up in poverty, and have gained success through hard work and education. Everyone should have the same opportunity to receive quality education. Students are taught that education is the key to success, so how can one succeed when the education is not equal to their peers, the ones they will be competing against for their spot in the future. Education is the poor man’s dream to a better life. With minorities and Latinos making up a large amount of students in school the effects of inequitable opportunities has a larger impact on them. Students who come from an inferior social-economic level are just as motivated as students who come from a higher social class. You have Latinos who hardly speak English and are attending schools that are incapable of accommodating them; therefore they do not earn a degree and are forced to take a low paying job. â€Å"Status† may have an impact on a student in a social environment, but in the educational system this should not be a factor. The students from a lower social class are being prepared for failure, while the students from a higher social class are being prepared for success. In the 21st century I believe that inequitable opportunity is the most critical education problem. Recognizing the problem is the first step, however we as a society need to find solution on how to better level the playing field in the educational comm unity in order to make schools work for everyone. One thing we can to is to not only encourage proper funding for schools in low income areas but to also make sure that this funding get appropriated to do what is needed in order to make sure that the children have a proper learning environment. Bills and referendums continue to be passed in education s in order to make sure that schools are up to par but sometimes this money does not get to the prosper schools. Some schools get new buildings and a/c systems while other schools just get paint. We need to come together to demand to our elected officials that something be done about the conditions of certain schools. We need to make sure that these school schools have the materials that they need in order for them to produce successful students. Books need to be provided to every student not only in class but also at home as a reference for homework and studying. Computers need to be provided in these schools so that the students don’t fall behind on technology and become inferior to their peers. We elect these officials and we need to demand that they begin to look out for the betterment of our schools. We should go online and see how they are voting on the issues that affect us. If they are not pushing the type of educational reform that we need in our communities and in our school then we need to elect someone who will. Parents need to become more involved in their students learning. We must understand that a lot of parents are working, and most low income households are being led by a single parent; we need to find a way to get these parents involved to help their children so that they don’t continue to fall behind. Even if it’s just educating them on the process of following up with their elected officials and making sure they vote and their vote counted and is heard. Opening up the schools for parent participation and PTO and PTA meeting on a weekend rather than on a school night would make it easier for parents to become more involved. Also, schools could try social networking, and sending up dates to parents Facebook or Twitter pages to keep them up on what’s going on in the schools. This is a new era and the American household has changed and the educational sytem needs to keep up in order to keep these parents involved and up to date on what’s going in their child’s school. Teacher also need to be developed in the classroom and become more responsible for what is going on and have high expectations for all of their students. This will ensure that all student as are working to their best ability to learn. This can be done by giving existing teachers additional training and giving new teachers the training they need to be successful in the 21st century classroom.

Humanities Religion Paper Essay

Throughout the span of this course I have learned what it takes to build a successful empire. There are many tactics that are involved in constructing an empire that is stable, which include an effective irrigation system, having an army, land for crops to grow, a system of government, the development of social classes, a trading system, tools and specialized skills for the making of goods, and a shared standpoint of religious beliefs. The one thing that I found most intriguing is how throughout the period of time every civilization has had some sort of caste system. A caste system is a social structure which separates individuals of a civilization into their inherited social class; it can also prohibit the marriage of two individuals of different caste. In the time we live in now you can still separate people into a variety of different social classes such as: upper class, upper middle-class, middle-class, lower middle-class and poor. But let’s rewind a few thousand years in to one of the earliest known civilizations, the Mesopotamians. The history of Mesopotamians can be separated into two categories, the Sumerian period and the Semitic period. During these periods I see the caste system come into play because Priests were at the top of the chain, they were the ones who controlled religious and economic dealings. The Law Code of Hammurabi, I would also consider to be part of a caste system. Majority of the Law code’s requirements deal with the relationship between a husband and wife, along with the relationship between other members of the family, these are a couple of the passages from the code: 131. If a man accuses his wife and she has not been taken lying with another man, she shall take an oath in the name of god and she shall return to her house (book). 145. If a man takes his wife and she does not present him with children, and he sets his face to take a concubine, that man may take a concubine and bring her into his house (book). Even though these do not directly deal with a certain social standing they do however show the standing of women during this period, and also these laws would apply to anyone in any social class. The Egyptians had their own form of the caste system. Egypt was structured so that there was an upper and lower caste. They had a strongly controlled government ruled by one single ruler, the pharaoh. The pharaoh was regarded as a living god, the equal of any other deity (book). Right below the pharaoh was the priest, whose responsibility was to preserve the tradition of religious beliefs. Pharaohs are at the top of the chain, government officials fall directly below the pharaoh and consist of nobles and priests. Next on the chain below the government officials would be the soldiers, merchants and artisans fell directly under the soldiers, farmers were second to last on the chain and then at the very bottom you find the slaves. During ancient Greece time in the city of Athens, I see a form of the caste system fall into place. Social classes during the ancient Greece period applied strictly to men and women took their social standing from their husbands. Any person born into an Athenian family is considered to be a citizen and part of the upper class during this period. The middle class was comprised with merchants, merchants were any men who were non-citizens and are ineligible to become a citizen. The lower class was any freed slave. A slave could become free only if his/her ransom was paid off by a family member. Again you see the slaves fall at the very bottom of all caste systems. Athenians viewed their slaves as barbarians because most, if not all were from a foreign region. I have also learned that the Romans had a set caste system. In my book it states that the Romans had an extremely hard working middle class that were devoted to their central government. When I was reading this, all I could think about is how my family would be considered middle class and how hard working both my parents are. They are devoted to making sure I am provided with what I need, which is what Augustine wanted for the Romans. Augustine’s social reforms were intended directly at the upper classes and were anticipated to return his people to traditional family values. During the Roman republic citizens were split into two classes the patricians and the plebeians. Patricians also known as aristocrats filled the upper class; they had elite rights to the Roman Senate and magistrates. The lower class was known as the plebeians. The plebeians would elect leaders to represent them and their interests while also protecting the lower class people against states officials who treated them discriminatorily. The Aryans are the true developers of the caste system. They made a separation between nobility and the common people. The caste system of the Aryans divided their society into castes of priesthood, the warriors, the laborers and the serfs. India went through many changes and so did their caste system. The caste system was one the shaping social forces in India, reinforced by many laws concerning marriage, table exclusion, laws of rituals purity and so on (book). I have found the caste system of India the most fascinating so far, I believe it most accurately represents the way we caste individuals now.