IQ and Birth order Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IQ and Birth order - Essay Example Inï ¬â€šuence of birth order on the character traits individuals The personality of individuals is affected by among other things their birth order in their families. Conducting a study among 361 siblings from diverse family backgrounds (Melissa.M. 2007) found out that birth order has an influence in the personality traits of an individual in a family. Writing a report on their study findings they concluded that age as a signiï ¬ cant effect on extraversion with younger siblings being more extraverted than the older ones. Closely related to this assertion, are the findings of Ernst and Angst (1983), writing on younger siblings being more extraverted in terms of sociability compared to older siblings. On his part (Sulloway, 1996), alludes that if siblings are to employ their character so as to seek favors from their parents, then parental investment, is increased in extraversion in the younger kids in the family. This in turn leads to competition for attention by the siblings, thus causing siblings rivalry. This amplified extraversion amongst the young siblings protects them from their older siblings hence they are able to assert themselves with much ease. Ahmed M. Al-Khalek and, Richard Lynn (2007) from the University of Kuwait also conducted a study on Intelligence, family size and birth order on about 4643 individuals and also mentioned a correlation between I.Q and the birth order of an individual in their families. Discussing the findings of the study, they realized that children in larger families were more likely to have lower IQs than those from smaller families. However, this finding is in conflict with Zajonc’s con?uence theory and Blake’s dilution theory t hat expects the relationship between family size and intelligence to apply uniformly across all human societies. In addition to this, there was no prove found to support the earlier findings from United States and Europe,that birth order affects the IQ levels of children, where older siblings tend to have higher IQs than the younger ones. It did confirm that there was a positive association between birth order for ages that are below eleven years. Ahmed M. Al-Khalek and, Richard Lynn (2007) also found out there is very minimal effect on an individual’s intelligence and the attention they receive from their parents as whether younger or older than their siblings. Results indicated a very high probability of relationship between family size and intelligence as most intelligent couples had a smaller number of children (Lynn, 1996). It’s also probable that older siblings tend to have relatively lower IQs than their younger siblings, a fact that could be attributed to the a ge of the parents that could also have an effect on their kids. Closely related to this, is the fact that elder mothers are at higher risk of giving birth to babies that have less weight. This condition is often associated with lower intelligent levels. This confirms an earlier assertion by Aliya, Jolly, Ehiri, and Salihu (2005)who confirmed a relationship between later births and the consequent outcomes associated with the

Platos Argument For A Just Life :: essays research papers

Plato's Argument For A Just Life Plato's argument for the benefits of a just life is intrinsically linked to his definition of good and its relation to people's desires. He begins by showing that when the objective of a desire is simple (e.g. quenching a thirst), the desire must be correspondingly simple. Since thirst is a simple desire, the man's objective must also be simplistic and should we assign an adjective to his objective, we would falsely complicate it. In addition, Plato believes that we would be seriously erring if we assign a value of good to an desire. In common use, the adjective good would denote something that is good in relation to others of its kind. We consider a drink good if it contains characteristics that we look for in a drink (e.g. pleasantness or taste). Plato takes this a step further and states that something that is good must not only be good in relation to others but it must be wholly good. Thus a drink cannot be truly good if evil results from it. This poses an interesting question for Plato's readers namely, since no one wants bad things to happen to them, why do people engage in self-destructive activities? The answer lies in the fact that the only reason that we desire to drink is that we anticipate the result of our thirst being quenched. Our appetites see no further consequences than the immediate fulfillment of our desires; they do not contemplate the results of the actions we take to fulfill our desires. For this reason, Plato believes that we must separate the soul based on how it reacts to desires. There must be a part of the soul, Plato reasons, that contemplates the end result of our actions and makes decisions based on a higher reasoning than desire. So we see two distinct parts of the soul. The first is said to be appetite (which desires without reason) and reason (which considers the consequences). Reason may thus work against anything that is not for the total good of the man. Plato holds that if the desire were truly for a good drink, reason would never oppose it. Our usage of the word good, however, has come to denote an expectation of usefulness to our purpose; although this may be relative to the end result that we experience from the object. For example, we call a knife good because it is sharp and cuts well but if the end result is that we cut ourselves, we would say that the knife would have been better if it

Ben & Jerry’s Case Study Essay

Team building was not the most effective way to launch an Organizational Development effort, in the case of Ben and Jerry’s. There are two critical issues that must be dealt with before any kind of team building should be attempted. The first issue would be creating more of a consensus between the founders and the Board about the vision of the ideal organization and the goals of the OD effort. The second issue is the interpersonal conflict between Ben and Chico. The consultant may have used Ben and Jerry’s idiosyncratic personalities to his advantage in order to gloss over the lack of agreement on the company vision between the founders and the board. The board members were asked to write down their differing visions on paper and the consultant performed a ritual of burning these to represent transformation and coming together of management and the Board. This is only a metaphor, and did not have the intended effect on either the Board or Ben and Jerry. Both Ben and Jerry still felt a separation in values between themselves and management after the team building retreat. This was demonstrated by the managers wearing â€Å"we are weird† buttons after the team building. Rather than the ritual burning of the ideas, the consultant would have better served the clients with an intergroup conflict resolution process. The division over the vision of Ben and Jerry’s had become dysfunctional and was creating conflict which polarized the two groups. The groups being the free-wheeling, hippy minded founders and the more business minded managers. This problem was affecting the productivity and effectiveness of the organization at large and must be dealt with and resolved before any interventions are carried out and lower levels of the organization. Management must buy-in to the OD effort, and if they feel that the founders are flawed in their business strategy, it will be impossible for management to carry out their wishes for the way they want their business to grow and prosper. The consultant has acknowledged the problem, yet performed no real interventions to try and resolve it. There was also no mention of a consensus on the focus of the OD effort. It seems that the consultant just tried to make everyone happy without any real conflict resolution interventions.   The next issue that should precede any team building exercises would be an intervention for Ben and Chico. The two men have a large presence and influence over the entire organization. They also represent the larger groups which are in conflict over the fundamental philosophy of the organization. The employees consider them to be two titans of power with legendary arguments. The consultant should have focused on a third-party intervention between these two change agents. If these two powerful and influential men could come together and resolve some of their conflict, that would be the next logical step in properly motivating and developing the organization. This is a basic skill that OD practitioners should have, yet the consultant made no effort to address the conflicts between the two. It’s also very likely that the conflict between Ben and Chico could be the root cause of the polarization of the two groups in the entire organization. If that is the case, you would have to address this issue in order for team building to be effective. The teambuilding efforts of the consultant were appropriate and needed, but only after the two more primary issues are dealt with. The effectiveness of this OD intervention was thwarted by the lack of attention to conflicts in ideology.

Bring Back Flogging - 1340 Words

Bring Back Flogging This essay by Jeff Jacoby illustrates an authors use of ironic sarcasm otherwise known as satire to defend and illustrate his platform on his position. Jacoby uses in this essay verbal irony (persuasion in the form of ridicule). In the irony of this sort there is a contrast between what is said and what is meant. Jacoby s claim in simple is he believes that flogging should be brought back to replace the more standard conventional method of the imprisonment of violent and non-violent offenders. His grounds for the revival of flogging stems back to his initial mention of the Puritan punishment system. He cites how in 1632 Richard Hopkins was Flogged and branded for selling guns and weapons to the Indians,†¦show more content†¦All this holds true assuming that public flogging serves it supposed purpose, and the terrible risks of prison are a confirmed reality. When Jacoby in paragraph three states that today we are more enlightened than our puritan foref athers where they used flogging we lock wrongdoers up in cages, he is portraying a method of verbal irony (sarcasm). He continues his sarcastic voice when he lists a criminal act and states that each punishment seems to be incarceration. His satire of the modern day justice system is even more noticeable when he claims that prison is the all purpose, all in one punishment. His final statement of the essay that perhaps the puritans where more enlightened than we thought contradicts one of his initial statements concluding that we are more enlightened that the puritans how we cage wrongdoers confirms his satire or verbal irony in his essay. The question arises toward Jacoby s first reason for flogging. Jacoby s case for the overpopulation and development of new institutions doesn t find favor in my eyes. Yes, the tax paying American is paying for the prison system, but he also pays to employ many of the correction officers along with the contractors who build and restore many of the institutions. Thus theShow MoreRelatedBring Back Flogging1289 Words   |  6 PagesBring Back Flogging Every civilized society makes laws that protect its values, and society expects from every single person to obey to these laws. Whenever a person from this society breaks one of those laws, the rulers of the society punish him or her either by putting the person behind bars, whipping him or her, or exiling the person. A great debate has been raging since human society started. Some say that depriving a wrongdoer from his or her freedom is the best way to deter him or her fromRead MoreBring Back Flogging Essays475 Words   |  2 PagesBring Back Flogging During seventeenth century flogging was a popular punishment for convicted people among Bostons Puritans. Fortunately, those times have passed and brutal and inhuman flogging was replaced by imprisonment. Columnist for the Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby in his essay Bring back flogging asserts that flogging is superior to imprisonment and advocates flogging as an excellent means of punishment. He is convinced that flogging of offenders after their first conviction can preventRead MoreBring Back Flogging Essay1060 Words   |  5 PagesIn â€Å"Bring Back Flogging† Jeff Jacoby, a columnist for the Boston Globe, presents the use of corporal punishment as an alternative to the current system of imprisonment. Published in February of 1997, the article states that flogging would be a more effective means of punishment than jail. He insists it would be less expensive and serve as a deterrent to first time offenders. Jacoby’s thoughts on prison reform are legitimate, but his re asoning behind the use of corporal punishment is flawed. He failsRead MoreJeff Jacoby’s Bring Flogging Back1018 Words   |  5 PagesIn Jeff Jacoby’s essay Bring Flogging Back, he discusses whether flogging is the more humane punishment compared to prison. Jacoby uses clear and compelling evidence to describe why prisons are a terrible punishment, but he lacks detail and information on why flogging is better. In the essay he explains how crime has gotten out of hand over the past few decades, which has lead to the government building more prisons to lock up more criminals. His effort to prove that current criminal punishment isRead MoreBring Back Flogging by Jeff Facoby715 Words   |  3 PagesA columnist for the Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby, in his article, â€Å"Bring Back Flogging† published on the op-ed page on February 20, addresses the issue of the deficiency of today’s criminal justice system and attempts to persuade us to bring back flogging as a p unishment for certain crime. However, though his syllogism might arouse the reader and educate them on the need for reform, but it fails to convince the reader that corporal punishment is the best option. He supports his argument by providingRead More Do Not Bring Back Flogging Essay1032 Words   |  5 PagesFlogging†¦What is it? What purpose does it serve? For those of us who have never heard of flogging, flogging refers to â€Å"beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment† (â€Å"Flogging† 1). Throughout the 1600s, flogging was utilized by â€Å"Boston’s Puritan Forefathers† (Jacoby 1) as a method of corporal punishment for various crimes. Progressing forward, Jeff Jacoby, columnist for The Boston Globe, provides readers with his view of â€Å"Boston’s Forefathers’† system of punishment in his essay, â€Å"BringRead MoreJeff Jacobys Essay Bring Back Flogging1214 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Bring Back Foolishness† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Jeff Jacobys’ essay, entitled â€Å"Bring Back Flogging† was, in my sincere opinion, poorly constructed. There are numerous instances where I felt that he had either not supported his premises with valid information or had negated his support in later sentences. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The essay begins by drawing forth images of Puritan punishment. He cites two instances of punishment, which were particularly torturous and radical in natureRead MoreSummary Of Bring Back Flogging By Jeff Jacoby795 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Bring Back Flogging†, the author, Jeff Jacoby suggests that people should adopt some of the Puritans tactics to punish criminals instead of putting them in prison. In order to present his claim, Jacoby is based in the use of irony, logos, and ethos. According to Jeff Jacoby a moment of humiliation is better than a couple of years behind the bars. I do not agree with Jeff Jacoby’s argument because the examples he gives and the way he refers to the topic incite to violence, also during the developmentRead More Jeff Jacobys Bring Back Flogging Essay1315 Words   |  6 PagesJeff Jacobys Bring Back Flogging   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This essay by Jeff Jacoby illustrates an authors use of ironic sarcasm otherwise known as satire to defend and illustrate his platform on his position. Jacoby uses in this essay verbal irony (persuasion in the form of ridicule). In the irony of this sort there is a contrast between what is said and what is meant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jacoby’s claim in simple is he believes that flogging should be brought back to replace the more standard conventional method of the imprisonmentRead MoreRhetorical Analysis1358 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ In â€Å"Bring Back Flogging†, Jeff Jacoby addresses the problems within America s criminal justice system. He gives many reasons why imprisonment simply does not work, and suggests that corporal punishment should be used as an alternative. Published in the Boston Globe, a newspaper well known for being liberal, Jacoby provides a conservative view and directs his argument towards those who strongly support imprisonment and view corporal punishment to be highly barbaric and inhumane. However,