Think deeply about something I’ve covered in the module and to share your thoughts or opinions on the subject.

Art and Truth This is a “Reflect and Respond” Application Assignment. For these assignments I ask you to think deeply about something I’ve covered in the module and to share your thoughts or opinions on the subject.  These assignments are designed to help create a depth of understanding and engagement with the material that we’re looking at, often by creating a space for you to dialog with your classmates.In this module, we looked at a couple of photographs that documented the horrors of war (O’Sullivan’s Harvest of Death, and Ut’s Vietnamese Girl).  As photographs, they carry with them a certain claim to accuracy and truth that we as viewers have come to expect from journalists. And yet, they are also artworks that reflect the perspectives of their makers.  For this assignment, I would like us to use those artworks (and the two additional photos I have included below) as a platform for a bigger conversation about art, truth and fiction. What do we expect when we look at photographs of war? Do we expect an unmediated image, or one that has been altered and composed to communicate the feelings of being there?  Is one type of artwork true, and the other false?  Is it possible to be true and false at the same time? To help us answer those questions, I want to focus our attention on two of the very first war photographs ever taken: Roger Fenton’s “The Valley of the Shadow of Death,” 1855. Instead of reading something about the artworks, I want you to listen to the RadioLab podcast episode “In the Valley of the Shadow of Doubt,” which aired Sept. 24, 2012.  It’s a wonderful exploration of how images fit into our pursuit of truth, and what our expectations are regarding the role of art in the documentation of war. You can stream the audio below, or visit the I think we look at war photographs to get a perception of unaltered reality. Paintings are made according to the way how the artist perceives and later expresses what he experiences, but photos, on the other hand, show us how life and events really are. I think the fascination with war photographs comes from the natural human pursuit of truth. In war, we are stripped down of our egos and we see the horror of it in the spotlight. When we see war photographs like those listed above and in the readings we see the raw material of what is really happening, forever captured by the flash of a camera.There is no fiction in war and we get a disturbed feeling that is way less strong than the subjects of the photos experience it. It humbles us, shocks us, and also helps put things into perspective of the comfortable lives we are living in America. I know Ukrainians displaced by the war and the photos and videos they show me from the front lines help give me insight into my life and help me understand what really matters.What matters is compassion and loving-kindness. Everything else is relative. If we have more compassion we would never have to see any war again. Unfortunately, that is not the case and these photos stand as a testament that as humans we are not yet as developed as we would like to think. 

Research two aircraft that are notably different. Compare and contrast cost, performance, design, material selection, and maintenance requirements.

Your case study is due at the end of the module week.Research two aircraft that are notably different. Compare and contrast cost, performance, design, material selection, and maintenance requirements. Estimate variables (e.g. cost) which aren’t readily available. Where estimates are used, justify your thought process.For one of the aircraft, discuss three design features and associated tradeoffs (performance and/or structural) engineers likely contemplated. For one of the tradeoffs, outline the pros and cons of the decision.Within your report, discuss the relationship between aerodynamic performance and structural design and how each influences one another.For one of the aircraft, estimate the maximum normal bending stress at the wing-fuselage interface using the following simplifying assumptions:There exists a primary spar carrying the bending load.The spar can be modeled as an “I-beam.”The only force acting on the wing is gravity (weight).Based upon the spar material you selected, calculate the wing spar Factor of Safety. Also, estimate the maximum wingtip deflection(?max) based upon the case of a “Cantilever Beam with a Uniformly Distributed load”as shown in these slides of Cantilever Beam equations images (PPTX). 

With Aristotle’s virtue theory in mind, do you think he would say that consuming performance-enhancing drugs (i.e., steroids) in professional sports is morally permissible?  Why or why not? 

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapter 5 of the How Should One Live? An Introduction to Ethics and Moral Reasoning. You should also read or watch the resource your instructor has provided for this discussion, which you can find in the instructor’s discussion prompt post.
In the ancient Greece of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, a “symposium” was a banquet held after a meal, an “after-party” of sorts that usually included drinking, dancing, recitals, and engaging conversations on the topics of the day. For our purposes in this course, the Symposium discussions will not involve dancing, recitals, or a banquet, but they will provide food for thought on current ethical issues and direct application of the ethical theory discussed in each of these weeks.
For this Symposium discussion, your instructor will choose a topic of current ethical interest and a resource associated with it for you to read or watch. Your task is to consider how virtue ethics applies to the controversy, dilemma, event, or scenario selected by your instructor. It is a chance for you to discuss together the ethical issues and questions that it raises, your own response to those, and whether that response aligns with a virtue ethics approach. The aim is to identify, evaluate, and discuss the moral reasoning involved in addressing the chosen issue.

Discussion Topic: Virtue in Performance Enhancing Drugs
This week, we will consider how virtue ethics applies to performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. 
Please watch this videoLinks to an external site. that outlines the kinds and types of Performance Enhancing Drugs and some ethical issues.
According to Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean, Virtue requires that we seek the mean between excess and deficit. Additionally, his conception of eudaimonia, or the good life, suggests that the perfection of excellences is a central component of living. Our physical abilities, character traits, and above all, our intellect were to all be perfected. 

With Aristotle’s virtue theory in mind, do you think he would say that consuming performance-enhancing drugs (i.e., steroids) in professional sports is morally permissible?  Why or why not? 
Are there some performance-enhancing drugs or therapies that are more moral than others? 

Your posts should remain focused on ethical considerations. At some point in your contribution, you must address how a virtue ethicist would approach this issue by explaining and evaluating that approach. If you have a position, you should strive to provide reasons in defense of that position. 
When responding to peers, you should strive first to understand the reasons they are offering before challenging or critiquing those reasons. One good way of summarizing their argument before offering a critique or evaluation.

What do you think is the primary motive for helping behavior: egoism or altruism? Why?

Choose 1 question; In addition to those mentioned in the module, what other costs and rewards might affect a potential helper’s decision of whether to help? Receiving help to solve some problem is an obvious benefit for someone in need; are there any costs that a person might have to bear as a result of receiving help from someone?What do you think is the primary motive for helping behavior: egoism or altruism? Why? Are there any professions in which people are being “pure” altruists, or are some egoistic motivations always playing a role?There are other prosocial behaviors in addition to the kind of helping discussed here. People volunteer to serve many different causes and organizations. People come together to cooperate with one another to achieve goals that no one individual could reach alone. How do you think the factors that affect helping might affect prosocial actions such as volunteering and cooperating? Do you think that there might be other factors that make people more or less likely to volunteer their time and energy or to cooperate in a group 

How has Moore’s Law (i.e., the exponential rate at which technology has advanced) contributed to the prevalence and increased risk associated with cyberattacks over time and into the future?

You may be familiar with Moore’s Law, which is named for Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel. In 1965, in what eventually became known as “Moore’s Law,” he speculated that the overall processing power of computer chips would double every two years, essentially indicating that technology would advance at an exponential rate. At the time, this seemed far-fetched, but over the last 50+ years, it has proven to be a fairly accurate prediction. Reflecting on the fast pace at which technology has advanced, and knowing that threats to computer security have been present since their inception, answer the following:How has Moore’s Law (i.e., the exponential rate at which technology has advanced) contributed to the prevalence and increased risk associated with cyberattacks over time and into the future?Of the many different types of exploits or computer attacks (as noted in Chapter 3 of the textbook), choose the one that you believe poses the greatest risk to an organization and explain why. Can you envision another type of risk becoming more serious as technology continues to advance? If so, which one?

To what extent did the financial cost of the Revolutionary War influence the nation’s post-war economic stability and fiscal policies?

In the wake of the American Revolution, a critical question emerges concerning the economic impact of the war on the fledgling United States. To what extent did the financial cost of the Revolutionary War influence the nation’s post-war economic stability and fiscal policies? Calculating the war’s cost involves assessing various factors, such as troop salaries, munitions, naval expenses, and debt incurred, spanning from 1775 to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Additionally, considering inflation rates during this period is crucial for a precise assessment. How did the issuance of Continental Congress bills, loans from foreign powers like France, and the eventual establishment of the United States Mint impact the nation’s financial landscape? Furthermore, evaluating the economic consequences of war on different regions and social classes within the United States adds complexity to the equation. How did these financial burdens shape early American economic policies, such as the formation of a national bank and debates over taxation? To comprehensively understand the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, how can we calculate and contextualize its economic toll on the newly independent United States? 

Any United States Supreme Court case that involves an interpretation of the  Constitution this encompasses most of the cases that come before the  Supreme Court.Who is involved in the case?

 
Any United States Supreme Court case that involves an interpretation of the  Constitution this encompasses most of the cases that come before the  Supreme Court.Who is involved in the case? However, please choose a case that was heard by the  Supreme Court from 2009 to the present. Again, please do not choose a  case that is older than 2009. This will help ensure that you are writing  your summary on current, relevant case law. 
– Who is involved in the case?
– How  has the case moved through the legal system (who filed it, in what  court? What appellate court heard it? How did it get to the Supreme  Court?)?
– What was the issue in the case?
– What did the Court decide? (note that the US Supreme Court is called “Court”, not “court” and not “SCOTUS”)
– What was the Court’s analysis (WHY did they decide as they did)?
 
Did any Justices dissent, and if so, what did they have to say?
– What is the impact of this case?
If you can’t find a good case,  search on Nexis Uni or OYEZ you should be able to find something.

Compile examples of unethical behavior in the media and explain modifications to the source or scene that could be used to correct the ethics violation.

Topic: Media Smorgasbord

Over the course of one week, please compile examples of unethical behavior in the media and explain modifications to the source or scene that could be used to correct the ethics violation.
In your discussion, complete the following:
· Identify the source and scene (if applicable).
· Identify the ethical violation that was committed.
· Explain modifications to the source or scene that could be used to correct the ethics violation.
Post your answers to the Forum by FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13.

Should students be allowed unlimited attempts to pass a skill?  Why or why not?

 DIscussion:
Read this excerpt from a student who failed a third attempt at a skill and is therefore dismissed from the program.
“I just flunked my third chance at passing my clinical skills test going into my third semester of nursing school. I am so humiliated. Now I have to withdraw from the program entirely and re-apply, which sets me back a year. I am a good student…I passed all previous skills evaluations, pass clinicals, make at least “B” on classroom work and even scored a 93 on the most recent HESI. I am also a bit angry since I felt I wasn’t given a good environment to pass this final, critical checkoff – missing several items of equipment, the instructor dropped a glass of water during my checkoff and cut me off several times during my explanations. I am so demoralized.”
Evaluation of students is a difficult part of being a faculty member. Skills lab check offs are stressful for both students and faculty, and the outcome is sometimes devastating. In your initial post, consider your thoughts about skills check offs from an instructor’s perspective.  Consider such things as:

Should students be allowed unlimited attempts to pass a skill?  Why or why not?
Given that this is high stakes testing, what responsibility does the faculty have to create a positive testing environment? What would that look like?
Will you be able to fail a student if necessary?  Instructors who struggle with this may pass students on to the next course/instructor, which may have significant legal and ethical ramifications. 
Students often believe that faculty are trying to “weed out” students.  Do you think that is true? 
Finally, how has being a practicing nurse changed your perspective on evaluation of students in nursing school?

What similarities do you find in the Athenian legal system and our own judicial system in the 21st century?

I’m working on a history discussion question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn. Purpose:We take democracy for granted today. However, it was not the norm for most of human history. The first democracy, a term in Greek that means “rule by the people,” began in the city-state of Athens. Athenians of the Classical period (5th-4th centuries BCE) were proud of the democracy in which they lived, and were interested in thinking systematically about what made their city-state better than the rest. The answer, the Athenians felt, ultimately lay in the connection of democracy and law. Athens did not have a police force, but it was the duty of each citizen to prosecute a crime, whether he was a victim of one himself, or had witnessed a crime. Juries of hundreds of citizens heard each case, and voted for the guilt or innocence of the parties without consulting with each other. The majority determined the case, and then the jury also acted as a judge in determining the penalty.Historians of Classical Athens are very lucky: ca. 100 courtroom speeches from various Athenian cases survive. These speeches were written by professional speech-writers on behalf of clients, who then delivered these speeches when representing themselves in court.Tasks:For this discussion, please read Lysias 1, “On the Killing of Eratosthenes,” written by the Athenian speech-writer Lysias, in defense of Euphiletos, sometime in the late 400s or early 300s BCE. Euphiletos is on trial for killing a man called Eratosthenes, so his situation is quite dire. Please read Euphiletos’ defense speech “On the Murder of Eratosthenes” Next, answer all of the following questions:From the story of Euphiltos we learn about Athenian perspectives on adultery and other aspects of their legal code.   What similarities do you find in the Athenian legal system and our own judicial system in the 21st century? Consider aspects like testimony, jury trials and sentencing.    We also learn from this story about the social relationships between citizens, slaves, and the place of women in Athenian society. Contrast and compare Athenian society and experience with your own experience in our modern society.   For example, have you experienced any negative restrictions due to gender, class, or citizenship status? Do any of these experiences help you understand the struggle of women, slaves, and non-citizens in Athenian society?