Dismissal Meeting Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dismissal Meeting - Term Paper Example Stewart & Brown (2008) outlines that the manager must keep himself prepared to deal with the expected negative emotional reactions. The supervisor or manager can award the employee with a generous compensation package (Kinicki & Williams 2009). The package could offer the employee economic benefits to reflect on the point that the management understands and is compassionate of the dismissal’s impact. Secondly, the company or manager should make an effort to find another job for the dismissed employee. This could mean researching with colleagues, business partners or friend to check if there is any recruitment taking place or if there are any openings (Holihan, 2006). In addition to this effort, the manager or the company should cover the expenses for the employee’s career counseling and provide an on-site resume writing training to the employee. This can cause loyalty from the employee being laid off (Stewart & Brown 2008). Third, the employer should fund a psychological counseling to the employee (Kinicki & Williams 2009). Many employment consultants outline that those who have lost their employment or jobs experience difficult stages of grieving. The psychologist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross stated that freshly laid off individuals experience a wave of emotions that run from anger to shock and denial, bargaining, stress, depression and finally acceptance (Holihan, 2006). Such stages need psychological counseling. The manager can offer, in agreement with the company, to fund such processes. According to Holihan (2006), prior to the meeting, the manager must provide the employee with a notification. The employee must have prior information of that there is a meeting. However, the manager shouldn’t give information of the meeting before the actual meeting is held. Second, the manager should set up a meeting. A face to face meeting with the employee is often preferred (Stewart & Brown 2008). Dismissal should never be communicated over the phone, by email or

The women's history in US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The women's history in US - Essay Example despite having descended from a distinguished family, Emily sent all four of her children, including Mary, to the same Catholic school, refusing either to teach them about their cultural background or their native language (Lakota Woman, 1990). Mary’s childhood, which was also spent at the Rosebud Reservation, was filled with poverty, brutality, and racism. The social status of women had drastically changed since colonization, and the introduction of the 1876 Indian Act, which instigated the eroding of native women’s rights in various domains. Part of this had been the introduction of mandatory education in residential schools for all children, and Mary, like her mother, was forced to attend. Her years there were desperately hard, with nuns that beat the children if observed practicing cultural customs or speaking their native tongue, and the young teenager ran away. Aggressive, angry, and confused, within a short space of time, Mary Crow Dog had, like so many other Indian women before her, entered the world of alcohol and drugs (Lakota Woman, 1990). It was while she was still a teenager that Mary Crow Dog became involved in the protest activities of the American Indian Movement (AIM), where she began to discover her true Indian identity. This enabled personal development and individual growth that helped her come to terms with being a ‘half breed’ – something which had deeply affected her. Then, in 1972, Mary participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties demonstration in Washington D.C., where she met her future husband. She was only sixteen years old (Lakota Woman, 1990). Leonard, a medicine man, was fourteen years Mary’s senior when she married him in 1973, and she was seventeen. The age gap, however, was less of a problem than the couple’s cultural differences. Mary’s role as the wife of a medicine man held various important responsibilities that often left her exhausted. She learnt the difference between the various ceremonies, she studied

The Wishing Tree Essay Example for Free

The Wishing Tree Essay February 27, 2013 It was the beginning of fall and the wind carried the aroma of fresh fallen leaves. The day was calm; children were playing outside, bikers were riding in the wind and homes were content with fall joy. Things seemed to be going well for everyone, everyone except Samantha Lewinski and her mother. Even the most amazing weather in the world couldn’t stop them from arguing. Samantha was growing into a young woman and she felt she knew everything she needed to know to take care of herself. Samantha had an idea of who she wanted to be and what she wanted to do. Her mother had a different idea. Her mother knew that Samantha was growing into a little woman but she was concerned with Samantha’s safety. These two different perspectives caused a whirlwind of confusion which in result caused many disputes. Samantha and her mother were known for their disruptive arguments throughout the neighborhood and this was the tenth argument this week for them. In their anger they were unaware of the changes to come. Maybe they should have enjoyed the beautiful evening. â€Å"No Sam! That party is going to run until 3:30am and if you don’t want to come home earlier than that, you’re not going at all! Samantha’s mother yelled so loud and hard the veins bulged out of the sides of her face. â€Å"You never let me do anything! Samantha’s heart was beating furiously. She quickly ran out the back door; tears wildly flying out the corners of her eyes. She hated her mother and all she wanted to do was get away. Into the woods she ran. She ran until she could feel her thighs and ankles burning from exhaustion. She sat on the ground, leaning against a large tree breathing violent, harsh breaths. Looking around she realized she had reached a calm, quiet, open spot in the woods. She had never seen this place before. The grass peeking through the fallen leaves was green and soft. The branches from the tree she leaned on reached across a small creek in front of her and the sun glittered off of the water like sprinkles of pixie dust. Samantha sat there in the silence thinking out loud. I’m so sick of my mom, she doesn’t understand me†, Samantha spoke out loud between breaths. Suddenly she heard a voice say, â€Å"I can remove your troubles. Three wishes I’ll provide you with and your problems will drift away. † Samantha, frightened yet curious turned around to see who was speaking to her up in the tree. Only no one was there. Soon she realized it was the tree that was speaking to her but her fear slid away as she pondered on the offer from the tree. Samantha looked at the tree with a sly grin saying, â€Å"I wish I belonged to a different family where the mom will let me do anything I want. The wishing tree shifted its branches and said, â€Å"Your wish has come true. † Samantha smiled with a grin from ear to ear, thanked the tree and immediately ran back home. Minutes later, Samantha arrived home. Bursting through the door with excitement and expectation, she ran into the living room. Samantha was very disappointed. Everyone in her family was the same, nothing had changed. Then she came up with an idea to ask her mother about the party again. This time when she asked, her mother looked at her with blank eyes and simply said, â€Å"Yes, you may. Samantha ran to her room to get dressed, called a ride and was shortly prancing out the front door. The party was a sweet 16 for S amantha’s’ close friend Julie. It was supposed to be pure innocent fun; Samantha had no knowledge of the events to come. Deeper into the party around 1am Samantha’s crush since elementary, Shawn Roberts entered into the party with a large cooler. Eventually it became obvious to Samantha and Julie that the cooler contained alcohol. Everyone drank except Samantha. People began to argue and things got out of control. Consequently, the cops were called by a neighbor and everyone in the party was taken to the police station. Samantha was terrified and wondered if she had made a mistake by asking the wishing tree for a new family. Moments later at the police station everyone was only given a warning and had their parents called. Samantha’s mother pulled in last. She entered the police station with an expression that showed no emotion or anger. Her mother stayed calm throughout the whole drive and even when they arrived home. Samantha kind of wanted to get in trouble for the first time in her life. She realized that her mother was right that day during the argument in the kitchen. If her mother was normal she would have never been in that situation. Now Samantha regretted her wish but she didn’t want to waste a wish to get her real mother back. The next morning Samantha woke up extra early so she could go back to the wishing tree to get her next wish. She ran as fast as she could, the wind blowing through her hair as she dodged twigs and branches. Swiftly, she had once again reached the calm spot in the woods. It seemed even more beautiful than before. It was a little warmer than before and the sun glistened on the water so bright it hurt to look at it. The wind blew roughly, whistling as it passed through the tall strong trees. The wishing tree sat very still in its dramatically stretched pose, looking as though it was trying to touch the water beneath it. Samantha was so excited to get her wish she felt like she was going to burst. As she approached the tree it spoke slowly saying, â€Å"Now child, there is one thing I have forgotten to tell you. Once you have made a wish it can never be taken back†. â€Å"Ok, yea, whatever just hurry before my mom comes looking for me†, said Samantha. Alright, young lady please state your second wish†, said the wishing tree. Samantha looked at the tree with the brightest eyes â€Å"I wish I could be beautiful forever and never grow old†, she told the wishing tree. â€Å"Your wish has come true,† said the tree. Without hesitation Samantha pivoted on her toes and proudly trotted back home. The following day Samantha’s mother left to go shopping. She decided to leave without bothering Samantha because she figured Samantha wouldn’t want to go anyway. Samantha’s mother arrived at the store slowly searching the racks for a new button up for work. She wasn’t having any luck so she looked up and strolled away from the area she was when suddenly she saw the most stunning blouse. It was a deep red button up with ruffles along the center. As she studied the shirt she noticed the face on the mannequin resembled her daughters’, almost exactly. The mannequins close resemblance began to gross her out so she backed away. â€Å"The eyes look so real†, thought Samantha’s mother as she turned around and walked off to find a different shirt. A tear ran out of the mannequins’ eye and down its plastic cheek as it watched the woman walk away.

Vygotsky Influenced By Marxism Sociology Essay

Vygotsky Influenced By Marxism Sociology Essay It is known and accepted in professional journals and works that Marxism influenced Vygotsky but why did this not show up in the earlier translations by Western psychologists? Marxism and Vygotsky L.S. Vygotsky was a witness of the Russian Revolution, which was the hot bed of Marxist theory and the forced development of a communist state (Elhammoumi, 2002). This was a period of tremendous stress and change for the Russian people, in which a significant ideological struggle took place (Elhammoumi, 2002). The basic premise to this struggle was between a focus on the private individual and a socially collective existence (Elhammoumi, 2002). At this level of philosophical transformation mixed with the great turmoil of the time, is the perfect environment for innovative scientist to produce new ideas (Elhammoumi, 2002). The same effect is what compelled Vygotskys ambition to be a part of what was called the new socialist experiment (Elhammoumi, 2002). Vygotsky could not have avoided the effect this philosophy had on his life and invariably, his methods based on this, we can deduce that the Russian Revolution is major evidence of the influence Marxism had his lifes work. Another Marxist influences which show in Vygotskys work are the following definitions, directly from Vygotsky work such as the term Adherence, which means the rejection of all non-materialist and non-Marxist theories (Elhammoumi, 2002). Other Marxist associations to Vygotskys work include his belief that society is not made up of the individual or groups of individuals but is the totality of their interrelationships as construed in the Marxist approach (Elhammoumi, 2002). Or the use of statements in his work such as counsciousness is shaped by social relations, which is also an important idea of Marx (Elhammoumi, 2002). Or Vygotskys work in which he advocates that change in human behavior has several elementary origins, such as, the destruction of capitalist forms of organization and production; the withering away of capitalist order and all forces which oppress manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Elhammoumi, 2002). Or that Vygotsky believed that the destruction of capitalism would be instrumental i n freeing mankind from oppressive powers and allow man to liberate his growth (Elhammoumi, 2002). These ideas were commonly held by Marxist ideology and wrapped in Vygotskys historical-social theories (Elhammoumi, 2002). While researching journals for this paper, I came across an abundance of examples which clearly state that the Marxist influence is now widely accepted within the professional psychological arena. With these examples alone, we can easily agree that Vygotsky was not only influenced by Marx, but we could say that his works were integral in developing, at least, the basis of Marxist psychology (Roth, 2007). Why then, was this notion rejected and even suppressed by earlier Western psychologists until a few decades after World War II? The West and Vygotsky There has been much speculation in the psychological community in the past that Vygotsky was not a Marxist per se, regardless of his use of the doctrine in his work (Sheehy, 2004). This idea was due to Vygotskys work being shunned in the Soviet Union grounded by areas in which Vygotsky questioned and disagreed with Marx (Elhammoumi, 2002). This disagreement led some earlier Western psychologists to argue that Vygotsky rejected Marxism altogether, and was not involved in the development of Marxist psychology (Kosulin, 1986). Other Western psychologist had not only separated Vygotsky from Marxism but had included a rejection of what was termed as bourgeoisie humanism (Elhammoumi, 2002). Nonetheless, Marxist and Soviet psychologists knew that Vygotskys work was crucial in linking their proletariat brand of psychology with natural science in order to keep up with the developments being made in Germany and the United States (Sheehy, 2004). In order to solidify this link, Vygotsky would have to officially be a communist, which the Soviets implied (Sheehy, 2004). Accordingly, Vygotskys Marxist influence in many cases failed to be mentioned in earlier Western translations at all importantly, by overlooking the Marxist influence Vygotskys work is significantly weakended (Kosulin, 1986). The possibility of such suppression could lead to a crisis in the advancement in the entire study of psycholgogy (Kosulin, 1986). But, as will be explained later, Vygotsky link to the development of Soviet Psychology was questionable (Elhammoumi, 2002). We have established that the reasoning behind the suppression of Vygotskys Marxist influence, especially for the American psychologists, is the implication that Vygotsky work was directly involved in what eventually became the Soviet totalitarian government, which is now considered a false accusation (Roth, 2007). Do not forget that Vygotsky perviously shared restrictive ideas with Marxism but did not agree on all stances in regards to psychology (Elhammoumi, 2002). And today we understand that much of Vygotskys connection with Soviet Psychology comes from a Soviet Psychologist names Leontiev (Kosulin, 1986). Leontiev rose to prominence after a period in which Soviet officials had rejected Vygotsky due to his work influenced by the Gestalt psychology and the cross-cultural analysis of consciousness which was considered bourgeois and anti-communist (Kosulin, 1986). This prominence was gained by winning then prestigious Lenin Prize for scientific research, which gave Leontiev access to power within the Soviet governing body (Kosulin, 1986). This enabled him to reintroduce Vygotsky into the Soviet scientific world, an in order to avoid questions regarding Vygotskys original shunning, Leontiev named himself the interpreter of Vygotsky (Kosulin, 1986). Because of this, Vygotsky came to be known as a mere predecessor of Leontiev, which enabled Leontiev the freedom to correct the flaws in Vygotskys work thereby creating a solid link to the development of Soviet psychology (Kosulin, 1986). Evidence is now known that this link is a myth. Regardless, at the time, Western psychologists were rightful ly under the impression that Vygotsky and Soviet Psychology were inexplicably linked (Kosulin, 1986). This is, of course, the main reasoning behind creating sanitized translations of Vygotskys work suppressing the Marxist influence, not to mention more personal reasons like the lack of book sales (Elhammoumi, 2002). At the time, due to the Cold War, Western psychologist were uninterested in promoting anyone associated with communism, socialism, or Marxism (Kosulin, 1986). This went on until the late 1970s and early 1980s when Vygotskys involvement in Soviet science began to be questioned (Kosulin, 1986). MY VIEW I can see this point of view (was V a Marxist?), especially by Westerners, after Soviet Psychologists in later years, integrated Vygotsky into their philosophies which were heavily influenced by political doctrine and the Soviet state itself. In my view, it would be difficult to believe it did not, based on the fact he was alive and living in Russia during the Revolution how could anyone, especially an intellectual like Vygotsky, could not be influenced by the break-down of a political system which had been integral in the make-up of Russia for generations. Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), But, I can see why some psychologist believe there was a connection between Vygotsky and the formulation of Marxist philosophy in the late 1920s, since Vygotsky did not die until 1934. The fundamentals of Marxist Instead of viewing these changes through the eyes of politics. Whether or not you agree or disagree or land somewhere in between in regards to Marxism it remains a ground-breaking shift in intellectualism. In order to see this from another view, Russian, in some cases, was still practicing feudalism which was the social and political structure of the Middle Ages! In the 19th century, as the West experienced a new age of industry and innovation. Although, in my view, true Marxism never came to be in its pure form, and instead, we witnessed the dilapidation and eventual fall of a distortion of this philosophy. I, personally, if these statements are accurate, do not want to see any philosophical or scientific works be deluded by political influences. I believe it is important to maintain historical accuracy, or we are no different than the oppressiveness of the former Soviet Union. What is meant by this, per the author, is that Society does not consist of individuals, but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand and real intellectual wealth of the individual depends entirely on the wealth of his real connections This make sense. (Elhammoui, 2002) It is understood, in my view, that Westerners, Americans in particular, have a deep-seated distrust in anything related to communism based on the Cold War which is the case with Marxism. The main point Elhammoumi is trying to convey is that it is important to maintain Vogotskys Marxist influence in order to maintain a period of major intellectual creativity which occurred during and after the Russian Revolution (Elhammoumi, 2002). First of all, if Marxism was truly so impactful to vigotsky, then the omission of that would not be an accurate translation, which could have possibly left integral pieces out for Western psychologists while working to perfect the science as a whole (Kosulin, 1986). Example of myself or someone I know who experienced this (see directions) Conclusion Paragraph for entire paper SHOULD BE PART OF CONCLUSION Vygotsky, by using the framework of a post-revolutionary Soviet society, was determined to develop a new form of psychology (Elhammoumi, 2002). Just by what we have seen in the previous examples it becomes apparent that within Vygotskys theory, it seems as though he attempted to develop a type of theoretical psychology for Marxism (Elhammoumi, 2002). This brings us to the the issue of the West and Vygostky. TOPIC PAPER 1 7117 Due 3/5 @ Midnight submit to turnitin.com 24 hrs earlier 3 to 5 pages without cover and ref page. Each paper will contain a discussion of, or reflection upon, the topic presented in the course. MUST CITE AT LEAST 2 ADDITIONAL ARTICLES FROM PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS not including those already utilized as part of the course materials. ABSTRACTS are not necessary. Each paper should contain: A summary of ONE major theory/concept (or portion of a theory/concept). At least one example from your own experience or someone you know that is relevant to or illustrates the topic/concept. Your persepective about (a critique of) the theory/concept. You must provide substantive arguments to justify your point of view.

The JD Sports Website: A Review Essay examples -- Electronic Business

The purpose of the website is to make the company money and ensure that a large profit is made. It does this by selling items such as clothing, footwear and accessories. JD sports is not just an online business, it also operates as a high street shop as well. The website runs alongside the high-street shops to help makes sales. The reason it has a website is because this offers a worldwide option and means that anyone over the world can buy products form JD increasing the profit massively. Having a website also means that there are less overheads and staff then in one of the high street shops. The website has more than one purpose. Another purpose is to ensure that the customer keeps on using the website. This is called ‘retaining’ the customer. The website does meet these objectives successfully as the company is still running and is a very wealthy company so it is obviously making a good profit. JD sports is a very well known company around the world any many people bu y products form JD time and time again so they are very successful in retaining their customers. The JD sports website is structured so that it is quick and easy to find any item that is available. There is a search option in the top right hand of the screen and also a list of every brand that has items on the JD sports website. The website has not currently got a site map so I cannot fully understand the site structure. JD sports offer a range of goods from men’s jackets to women’s footwear. JD specialises in clothing and footwear and they make clothing for men, women and juniors. Big brands such as Adidas, Nike and Fred Perry sell their goods to JD and then JD sell on the goods to the public. This is a good thing as all of the biggest brands are available o... ... and want to buy items of a certain brand. To keep the customers going back to the website again JD offer special offers to its customers. These include such things such as '20% off on your next purchase from us'. This makes the customer want to go back to the website and purchase more items. The reason JD offer these discounts is to retain the customers and keep them shopping on the website. There are various ways that JD put these offers across. One way they do it is to post the offer on the homepage of the website so everyone visiting the website can see it when they first go onto the website. Another way they can put the offers across is to send the offer to their customers via email. This makes the offer being made more personal to each customer. This also ensures that each of their customers receives the offer even if they have not visited the JD website.

Corporate Social Responsibility :: Social Responsibility Essays

Introduction of CSR Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a widespread topic in business issues and critical sector. In the fast fast companies are facing fast change and consumers always on the topic of traceability of food chain. Consumers and governmental organizations are increasingly focusing their attention on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. CSR research has evolved over the last 50 years (Carroll, 1999). CSR is divided as a four parts pyramid (Carroll, 1991). Firstly, the meaning of economic responsibility, organization should be profitable. Secondly, the legal responsibility is very important for the company to obey the laws of the society. Thirdly, the ethical responsibility of the company to do what is right and philanthropic responsibility of the company is related to social, educational, recreational or cultural. Each factor is very important and there are lively relationship between all and when understanding the meaning it reflected to corporation.(Carroll, 19 91).As a foundation, Carroll (1979, 1991) integrated various streams of CSR research to define a model that extended corporate performance beyond traditional economic and legal considerations to include ethical and discretionary responsibilities. Article ‘Philanthropic’ Support for the Arts: Views from the Corporate Sector (Nigel J. Baldwin B.Bus. M. Accounting & Finance) Graduate School of Business, RMIT University, August 2009 http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/uploads/approved/adt-VIT20100205.141643/public/02whole.pdf CSR in food industry CSR in the food industry are complicated and with the development of internet, mostly companies use websites for showcase their CSR on food safety developed marketing goals. Moreover, CSR activities can enhance brand, customer satisfaction, employee’s rates and relation with government (Freeman, 1984). There are so many other benefits include improved financial performance, reduced operating costs, relationship link with customers and awareness of their needs (Jones, Comport & Hillier, 2008) Introduction The fast-food industry has been developing rapidly in the markets globally, at the same time bringing several significant changes in practices, work, and employment relations. Fast food is very much popular in every culture, it is spreading by a society, including commercial, political, media and other systems.Fast food restaurants are very famous and their products prepared in a standardized method that their customers satisfied with quickly and efficiently for takeaway. The growth and success has brought disadvantages to the workers’ rights and the conditions of work as well as providing well insight on how work and employment relation should be managed better. (Royle & Towers, 2002)

Demarcation in Philosophy of Science Essay

The demarcation problem in the philosophy of science is about how to distinguish between science and nonscience, and more specifically, between science and pseudoscience (a theory or method doubtfully or mistakenly held to be scientific). The debate continues after over a century of dialogue among philosophers of science and scientists in various fields, and despite broad agreement on the basics of scientific method. The demarcation problem is the philosophical problem of determining what types of hypotheses should be considered scientific and what types should be considered pseudoscientific or non-scientific. It also concerns itself with the ongoing struggle between science and religion, in particular the question about which elements of religious doctrine can and should be subjected to scientific scrutiny. This is one of the central topics of the philosophy of science, and it has never been fully resolved. The Purpose of Demarcation Demarcations of science from pseudoscience can be made for both theoretical and practical reasons. From a theoretical point of view, the demarcation issue is an illuminating perspective that contributes to the philosophy of science. From a practical point of view, the distinction is important for decision guidance in both private and public life. Since science is our most reliable source of knowledge in a wide variety of areas, we need to distinguish scientific knowledge from its look-alikes. Due to the high status of science in present-day society, attempts to exaggerate the scientific status of various claims, teachings, and products are common enough to make the demarcation issue pressing in many areas. The demarcation issue is therefore important in many practical applications such as the following: Healthcare: Medical science develops and evaluates treatments according to evidence of their efficiency. Pseudoscientific activities in this area give rise to inefficient and sometimes dangerous interventions. Healthcare providers, insurers, government authorities and – most importantly – patients need guidance on how to distinguish between medical science and medical pseudoscience. Expert testimony: It is essential for the rule of law that courts get the facts right. The reliability of different types of evidence must be correctly determined, and expert testimony must be based on the best available knowledge. Sometimes it is in the interest of litigants to present non-scientific claims as solid science. Therefore courts must be able to distinguish between science and pseudoscience. Environmental policies: In order to be on the safe side against potential disasters it may be legitimate to take preventive measures when there is valid but yet insufficient evidence of an environmental hazard. This must be distinguished from taking measures against an alleged hazard for which there is no valid evidence at all. Therefore, decision-makers in environmental policy must be able to distinguish between scientific and pseudoscientific claims. Science education: The promoters of some pseudosciences (notably creationism) try to introduce their teachings on school curricula. Teachers and school authorities need to have clear criteria of inclusion that protect students against unreliable and disproved teachings Ancient Greek Science An early attempt at demarcation can be seen in the efforts of Greek natural philosophers and medical practitioners to distinguish their methods and their accounts of nature from the mythological or mystical accounts of their predecessors and contemporaries. Medical writers in the Hippocratic tradition maintained that their discussions were based on necessary demonstrations, a theme developed by Aristotle in his â€Å"Posterior Analytics†. One element of this polemic (passionate argument) for science was an insistence on a clear and definite presentation of arguments, rejecting the imagery, analogy, and myth of the old wisdom. Aristotle described at length what was involved in having scientific knowledge of something. To be scientific, he said, one must deal with causes, one must use logical demonstration, and one must identify the universals which ‘inhere’ in the particulars of sense. Criteria for Demarcation: Logical Positivism also known as Verificationism * Held that only statements about empirical observations and formal logical propositions are meaningful, and that statements which are not derived in this manner (including religious and metaphysical statements) are by nature meaningless. * The Viennese philosophers who introduced the positivist paradigm effectively laid the groundwork for the modern philosophy of science and one of its most important strands of thought. The early Positivists favored a rather strict approach to the demarcation and strongly affirmed the empirical nature of science, meaning that questions that cannot be empirically verified or falsified are irrelevant to scientific thought. * These philosophers, who called themselves logical positivists, argued that to produce a meaningful claim, one must always return to the tangible observations that result from that claim. * By the late 1970s, its ideas were so generally recognized to be seriously defective. Falsifiability * Proposed by Karl Popper. In his monumental book, â€Å"The Logic of Scientific Discovery† he proposed the idea that scientific hypotheses must be falsifiable; unfalsifiable hypotheses should be considered pseudoscience. Popper’s emphasis on falsifiability changed the way scientists viewed the demarcation problem, and his impact on philosophy of science was enormous. * Popper’s demarcation criterion has been criticized both for excluding legitimate science and for giving some pseudosciences the status of being scientific. Postpositivism * Thomas Kuhn, an American historian and philosopher of science, is often connected with what has been called postpositivism. * In 1962, Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, which depicted the development of the basic natural sciences in an innovative way. According to Kuhn, the sciences do not uniformly progress strictly by scientific method. Rather, there are two fundamentally different phases of scientific development in the sciences. In the first phase, scientists work within a paradigm (set of accepted beliefs). When the foundation of the paradigm weakens and new theories and scientific methods begin to replace it, the next phase of scientific discovery takes place. Kuhn believes that scientific progress—that is, progress from one paradigm to another—has no logical reasoning. He undermines science as a whole by arguing that what is considered science changes throughout history in such a way that there is no objective way (outside of time or place) to demarcate a scientific belief from a pseudoscientific belief. Science, Kuhn argues, is like politics: institutions believe that certain ways are better than others at different points throughout history; however, it is impossible to be more or less certain of our basic assumptions about the world. Within a democracy (a specific political paradigm) there can be progress: an economy can grow, schools can be built, and people can be given healthcare. However, if a revolution occurs and the country becomes socialist, the government is not inherently better or worse than before, but simply begins to follow a different set of assumptions. Paradigm shift * A paradigm shift is a phenomenon described by philosopher Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. * Kuhn posited a process to explain the persistence of incorrect ideas, and the seemingly rapid and sudden abandonment of these ideas when they finally are rejected. * People tend to believe in what they know, and science is basically conservative. A current â€Å"paradigm† or theory is difficult to dislodge. It takes either a large volume of evidence, or a particularly powerful single piece of evidence to overturn major scientific theories (scientific revolution). When this occurs, it is called a â€Å"paradigm shift†. Lakatos’ research programs * Imre Lakatos combined elements of Popper and Kuhn’s philosophies with his concept of research programs. Programs that succeed at predicting novel facts are scientific, while ones that fail ultimately lapse into pseudoscience. Feyerabend and Lakatos * Kuhn’s work largely called into question Popper’s demarcation, and emphasized the human, subjective quality of scientific change. Paul Feyerabend was concerned that the very question of demarcation was insidious: science itself had no need of a demarcation criterion, but instead some philosophers were seeking to justify a special position of authority from which science could dominate public discourse. Feyerabend argued that science does not in fact occupy a special place in terms of either its logic or method, and no claim to special authority made by scientists can be upheld. He argued that, within the history of scientific practice, no rule or method can be found that has not been violated or circumvented at some point in order to advance scientific knowledge. Both Lakatos and Feyerabend suggest that science is not an autonomous form of reasoning, but is inseparable from the larger body of human thought and inquiry. NOMA * The concept of Non-overlapping Magisteria is a relatively recent attempt at proposing a clear demarcation between science and religion. It explicitly restricts science to its naturalistic foundations, meaning that no conclusions about supernatural phenomena like gods may be drawn from within the confines of science. â€Å"As to the supposed ‘conflict’†¦between science and religion, no such conflict should exist because each subject has a legitimate magisterium, or domain of teaching authority—and these magisteria do not overlap.† Criteria based on scientific progress Popper’s demarcation criterion concerns the logical structure of theories. Imre Lakatos described this criterion as â€Å"a rather stunning one. A theory may be scientific even if there is not a shred of evidence in its favour, and it may be pseudoscientific even if all the available evidence is in its favour. That is, the scientific or non-scientific character of a theory can be determined independently of the facts†. Instead, Lakatos proposed a modification of Popper’s criterion that he called â€Å"sophisticated (methodological) falsificationism†. On this view, the demarcation criterion should not be applied to an isolated hypothesis or theory but rather to a whole research program that is characterized by a series of theories successively replacing each other. In his view, a research program is progressive if the new theories make surprising predictions that are confirmed. In contrast, a degenerating research programme is characterized by theories bein g fabricated only in order to accommodate known facts. Progress in science is only possible if a research program satisfies the minimum requirement that each new theory that is developed in the program has a larger empirical content than its predecessor. If a research program does not satisfy this requirement, then it is pseudoscientific. According to Paul Thagard, a theory or discipline is pseudoscientific if it satisfies two criteria. One of these is that the theory fails to progress, and the other that â€Å"the community of practitioners makes little attempt to develop the theory towards solutions of the problems, shows no concern for attempts to evaluate the theory in relation to others, and is selective in considering confirmations and disconfirmations†. A major difference between his approach and that of Lakatos is that Lakatos would classify a nonprogressive discipline as pseudoscientific even if its practitioners work hard to improve it and turn it into a progressive discipline. In a somewhat similar vein, Daniel Rothbart (1990) emphasized the distinction between the standards that should be used when testing a theory and those that should be used when determining whether a theory should at all be tested. The latter, the eligibility criteria, include that the theory should encapsulate the explanatory success of its rival, and that it should yield test implications that are inconsistent with those of the rival. According to Rothbart, a theory is unscientific if it is not testworthy in this sense. George Reisch proposed that demarcation could be based on the requirement that a scientific discipline be adequately integrated into the other sciences. The various scientific disciplines have strong interconnections that are based on methodology, theory, similarity of models etc. Creationism, for instance, is not scientific because its basic principles and beliefs are incompatible with those that connect and unify the sciences. More generally speaking, says Reisch, an epistemic field is pseudoscientific if it cannot be incorporated into the existing network of established sciences. Rejection of the Problem * Some philosophers have rejected the idea of the demarcation problem, such as Larry Laudan. Others like Susan Haack, while not rejecting the problem wholesale, argue that a misleading emphasis has been placed on the problem that results in getting stuck in arguments over definitions rather than evidence. Laudan * Larry Laudan concluded, after examining various historical attempts to establish a demarcation criterion, that â€Å"philosophy has failed to deliver the goods† in its attempts to distinguish science from non-science—to distinguish science from pseudoscience. None of the past attempts would be accepted by a majority of philosophers nor, in his view, should they be accepted by them or by anyone else. He stated that many well-founded beliefs are not scientific and, conversely, many scientific conjectures are not well-founded. 3 Major Reasons why Demarcation is sometimes difficult: * science changes over time, * science is heterogeneous and; * established science itself is not free of the defects characteristic of pseudoscience