Sunday, October 13, 2019

Analysis of Descartes’ Mind/Body Distinction Essay -- Descartes Medit

In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes states â€Å"I have a clear and distinct idea of myself, in as far as I am only a thinking and unextended thing, and as, on the other hand, I possess a distinct idea of body, in as far as it is only an extended and unthinking thing†. [1] The concept that the mind is an intangible, thinking entity while the body is a tangible entity not capable of thought is known as Cartesian Dualism. The purpose of this essay is to examine how Descartes tries to prove that the mind or soul is, in its essential nature, entirely distinct from the body and whether or not he is successful. While I agree with his theory that the mind and body are distinct, I do not believe the mind is non-extended and I do not agree with Descartes’ assertion that the mind is capable of existence beyond the body. One of the ways in which Descartes attempts to prove that the mind is distinct from the body is through his claim that the mind occupies no physical space and is an entity with which people think, while the body is a physical entity and cannot serve as a mechanism for thought. [1] I believe most of this portion of his position to be true. The body quite certainly has a physical presence and is not capable of controlling or thinking for itself. I begin to disagree with Descartes’ theory at the point where he states that the mind is non-extended. The mind is assuredly capable of thought, as Descartes states, and has intangible elements in the form of memories and personality characteristics; however, I believe that the mind is an extended entity because physical matter is required for these elements to exist. In my opinion, this means that the only logical conclusion is that the brain is the physical extensi... ... ceases to function. Descartes makes very interesting points on the differentiation of the mind and body in Meditation on First Philosophy. His position on the body being a strictly physical entity while the mind is not is a superb point of reasoning that can be applied on many different levels with many different results. Overall, I believe that there are some areas of Descartes’ position that could be modified or expanded upon given what has been learned about the brain through modern science. Nonetheless, given the knowledge available during his lifetime, I believe that Descartes is generally successful in proving his viewpoint to be the correct one. Works Cited [1] Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy. 1641 [Translated by John Veitch (1901)] Meditation 6, http://www.classicallibrary.org/descartes/meditations/9.htm

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Profiles in Courage: Sam Houston :: essays research papers

Sam Houston was a great man in our history. He stood up for what he believed was good for the Union not the North or the South. When Sam was rebuked for providing the winning margin for his opponents he said â€Å"I know neither North nor South; I know only the Union.† He also said everyone â€Å"†¦must stand firm to the Union, regardless of all personal consequences.† He was fiercely ambitious, yet at the end he sacrificed for principle all he had ever won or wanted. He was a Southerner, and yet he steadfastly maintained his loyalty to the Union. He could be all things to all men—and yet, when faced with his greatest challenge, he was faithful to himself and to Texas. When still a dreamy and unmanageable boy, he had run away from his Tennessee frontier home, and was adopted by the Cherokee Indians, who christened him Co-lon-neh, the Raven. An infantry officer under Andrew Jackson in 1813, his right arm had been shredded by enemy bullets when he alone had dashed into enemy lines at the battle of the Horseshoe, his men cowering in the hills behind him. A brave man he was indeed. Apparently he discovered but a few days after his marriage that his young and beautiful bride had been forced to accept his hand by an ambitious father, when in truth she loved another. Sam struck out with one grand assault on Texas officialdom by announcing himself a candidate for Governor in the 1857 election. But his votes on Kansas and other Southern measures could not be explained away to an angry constituency, and Texas handed Sam Houston the first trouncing of his political career. On November 10, 1857, Sam Houston was unceremoniously dismissed by the Texas Legislature and a more militant spokesman for the South elected as his successor. In the fall of 1859, the aging warrior again ran as an independent candidate for Governor, again with no party, no newspaper and no organization behind him, and making but one campaign speech. Houston delivered his inaugural address directly to the people from the steps of the Capitol, instead of before a joint session of the Legislature. Sam Houston earned his place in Profiles in Courage by his refusal to support the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This bill repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and would have allowed the residents of territories from Iowa to the Rocky Mountains to decide the slavery issue themselves.

Friday, October 11, 2019

How American and British towns and cities are preparing for peak oil

Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This is expected to happen at the midpoint of depletion, that is, when only half the oil that will ever be produced has been consumed, and the other half is still underground. When oil production starts to decline, the economic impacts will be dramatic. Economic growth is largely dependent upon a growing oil supply. The International Energy Agency has forecast oil demand to expand at a rate of 1.3% annually over the period 2004-2030. This is likely to lead to large spikes in the oil price along with the price of gas and electricity which are closely linked on financial markets. British local authorities are now starting to consider the potential impact of peak oil on their services and communities. The preparations they have made are as follows: Woking Borough Council in Surrey has achieved major cuts in the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of its buildings largely by converting to combined heat and power (CHP), that is, small, local gas fired power stations, which provide both electricity and heats to buildings nearby. CHP is highly efficient because it exploits the large amounts of heat that are normally wasted in electricity generation to provide space heating and hot water. Woking says this approach has cut gas consumption by as much as 30% and emissions by even more which is a great achievement. But although Woking has cut its gas consumptions, its dependency upon gas is now even higher than before because a far greater proportion of its total energy comes from this single source. Woking is now proud that it now generates 82% of its own electricity, and distributes it through a private wire network. The preparations the US cities have made are as follows: In the Arlington County, Virginia, the board has published an environmental initiative called fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative To Reduce Emissions) This document outlines the aims put in place in the right direction towards preparing for peak oil: – Increase purchase of wind-generated electricity from 3% of the total electricity purchased by the county to 5% – Install solar energy technology (eg: solar water heating) in one or two county facilities to demonstrate its efficiency and effectiveness. – Prepare a strategic energy plan and a climate action plan for County operations and the community. – Plant at least 1,200 trees in 2007. The measures put in place are as follows: – Many transportation options, including transit, and the development of a Master Transportation Plan. – An energy-efficient County fleet, including hybrid-electric vehicles, vehicles running on bio-diesel fuel, and ART buses powered by natural gas. – An aggressive tree planting program, which includes the purchase of wind-generated electricity. – A renewable energy program, which includes the purchase of wind-generated electricity. The document also recommends three things that individuals can do for themselves, which again would also be useful in beginning to mitigate peak oil – Drive a fuel-efficient car, walk, bike, or take transit. If 10 people trade in cars that get 24 miles per gallon for more efficient cars that get 40 miles per gallon, this action alone would reduce CO2 emissions by 40000 lbs per year which is equivalent of taking four of those cars off the road. – Get an energy audit, and implement the recommendations. This year, the county will support 20 demonstration home energy audits. I recently purchased an energy audit for my home and have learned many things I can quickly do to save on energy costs. – Replace one frequently-used light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb. If every household took this simple step, Arlingtonians would achieve the emissions equivalent of removing 1,000 cars from our roadways and save a million dollars a year. It was suggested by experts that the County should distribute at least 2,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs at public events, to reduce CO2 by 100 tons.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

My Research over Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars U. S. History 1301. 046 Carissa Farley Professor Rumanuk April 3, 2013 The Seminole Wars was one of many wars fought during our nation’s history. Some of the wars in our history were fought over Indian Removal. According to Ron Soodalter, â€Å"The Second Seminole War erupted over broken treaties that repeatedly changed the boundaries of the Seminole reservation and finally sought to push the Seminoles out of Florida altogether†.That sounds a little harsh to try and control the land of the Indian tribes. However that is just the way things were back then. Back then the Indians were considered one of the United States biggest enemies. â€Å"The U. S Army and the Seminoles fought three wars between 1816 and 1858. † One of these wars that were fought was the Second Seminole War. The war was fought for seven years. But the Second Seminole War, fought from 1835-1842 cost upward of 530 million-more than the annual federal budget at the time-and resul ted in the deaths of nearly 1,500 soldiers (mostly from disease), the forced removal from Florida of between 3,000 and 4,000 Seminoles, and the deaths of countless others. † Some wonder why all these deaths happened and it all comes down to the military strategy and stopping the spread of disease. There were people who opposed the relocation of the Seminole Indians. Two important people that opposed the relocation were two Seminole chiefs named Osceola and Micanopy.They both planned the effort against relocation but were defeated by a U. S commander by the name of Thomas Sidney Jesup. Jesup’s tactics wore down the Seminoles and in the end helped the United States drive the Seminoles out of Florida. The people who didn’t oppose the removal of Indians included President Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Thomas Jesup, Duncan Clinch, and most of the United States. The war was started due to a â€Å"conflict that was the direct result of the nation’s unbridled d esire for territorial expansion, and of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy. According to the constitution of the United States all men are created equal. So shouldn’t that include Indians? Seeing as how we are treating them as the enemy, I don’t think that the Indians were included as part of the all men are created equal line of the constitution. However some people would say that the Indians are the enemy and should be treated horribly. â€Å"Jackson believed Indians posed a threat to the peace and tranquility of the American nation and should be relocated or eliminated.He formalized his policy in 1830, selling his concept to Congress, which passed the Indian Removal Act by the narrowest of margins. Over the next few years Jackson continued his campaign to remove the â€Å"Five Civilized Tribes†- the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole- and drive them west of the Mississippi. † The Indians were divided in what to do. S ome chose to use non-violence while others decided to go to the Supreme Courts and let the Courts decide what to do. The courts ruled in favor of the Indians and that caused a problem for Georgia.Georgia went to Jackson and Jackson told Georgia to ignore the ruling. Georgia and Jackson decided to ignore the court’s ruling. Because of this the Cherokee Indians were removed in an event called the Trail of Tears. In 1834 Jackson had his sights set on Florida and the Seminoles. â€Å"Eleven years earlier the Treaty of Moultrie Creek had directed the Seminoles to surrender all land claims in the territory and move to a 4-million-acre reservation in central Florida. It also bound them to remain peaceful and to apprehend all runaway black slaves and other fugitives for the government.For its part the government would provide cattle and hogs, an animal annuity of $5,000, an interpreter, a blacksmith, and an Indian agent, and keep all whites from encroaching on Indian Land- the latte r an unenforceable provision. The agreement came with a 20-year shelf life. † Unfortunately Jackson broke the agreement and signed another agreement that would force the Seminoles to move to the Arkansas territory within a three year period and surrender all black runaway slaves. I feel like this is violating laws. It is violating treaty laws but making a previous treaty not being upheld.On the other hand it makes the United States gain more land. I don’t agree with President Jackson’s way of removing Indians and taking all the slaves back but to be fair â€Å"Jackson harbored a personal resentment towards the Seminoles for their practice of sheltering and adopting runaway slaves into the tribe. † However his resentment is violating a person’s right to having the freedom to make their own decisions. â€Å"According to several Army officers present at the treaty negotiations, the Indians had been â€Å"wheedled and bullied into signing†Ã¢â‚¬ . The government tried to justify why they did what they did to the Indians ut the truth is they violated civil freedoms. A turning point in the war happened in late 1835 when â€Å"the hawkish Seminoles judged one chief who had agreed to relocate one traitor to the tribe, and Osceola killed him. It soon became clear war would come-and soon. † Unfortunately Osceola killed the Indian agent on December 28 and anyone in the cabin. He then took treasure from the agent’s cabin. To me this looks like Osceola is out for blood but he isn’t. He is trying to protect his tribe from suffering having to move away from their homes. The agent’s death was avenged by Jesup.Osceola died from Malaria in prison. The war went on in a bloody fashion until it was finally ended by all of the Seminoles going to Arkansas and Florida being given to the United States. Jackson’s prejudice towards the Indians didn’t help. â€Å"In the midst of the War of 1812, Jackson, then in charge of the Tennessee militia, was sent into southern Alabama, where he ruthlessly put down an uprising of Creek Indians. The Creeks soon ceded two-thirds of their land to the United States. Jackson later routed bands of Seminoles from their sanctuaries in Spanish owned Florida. Bibliography SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 62-69. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). â€Å"Outline of the United States History† ——————————————– [ 1 ]. 1 SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 63. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 2 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). 3 ]. SOODALTER, RON. à ¢â‚¬Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 4 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 5 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 6 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 65.Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 7 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 65. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 8 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 65. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 9 ]. SOODALTER, RO N. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 66. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 10 ]. â€Å"Outline of the United States History† (Unknown dates and author)

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

An Analysis Of Criminal Justice And Policing Policy †Free Samples

The world has been witnessing rising calls for criminal justice reforms in the recent days owing to the extraordinarily huge levels of incarceration witnessed across the world. While the policy (criminal justice and policing policy) has been applied in addressing different types of criminal justice issues, this paper intends to focus on the application of criminal justice and policing policy in the control of drugs and gambling. The two vices have had negative consequences to the society and up today it seems there are not established policies to deal with them effectively. In the discussion, the paper will explore the right criminal justices approaches as well the policing policies that can be adopted to the end the menace contributed by the two anti-social aspects. Wayne (2013, p. 203) wonders why policymakers and regulatory authorities define some activities and human behaviors as being criminal, thus subjecting them to legal sanctions while exempting other similar forms of activities and human behaviors from the definition of a crime. In a seemingly quick response, Baradar and Frank (2012, p. 539) offer an answer by stating that what makes an activity or human behavior constitute a criminal activity is the nature of harm that such an activity or human behavior causes. At this point, the reason for a pause is, is gambling a criminal activity? What harm does it cause? Obviously, there are quite a number of harms in the public domain that can be either directly or indirectly associated with the gambling activity. While gambling is an addiction and not necessarily a crime, it is its association with the elevated rates of the crime of illicit drugs that makes it hard to separate the two. In fact, it is gambling that supersedes illicit drug dealing in most of the cases (Reiner, 2012, p. 117). Most gamblers start as law-abiding citizens for the first few years (or months), but upon the exhaustion of their resources, at a time in which they have generated into problem gamblers, they turn to the crime of drugs. A study conducted by Naughton (2011, p. 43) concluded that income-generating criminal activities were statistically related to the pathological gambling witnessed in the world, with drug ranking the highest. In this study, the researchers compared the different convictions of crimes in the United Kingdom with a relatively corresponding pattern of a random sample drawn from gamblers across the United Kingdom.   Besides, another study conducted in Vietnam prisons among 35 women also proved a strong relation between gambling as a social problem in the casinos in Melbourne and the illicit drugs in the area. However, Beck (2015, p. 196) argues that a clear role that gambling plays in contributing to the sale and use of drugs may only be brought out in the light of the knowledge of the other kinds of addictions (noting that gambling is an addiction) and their associated patterns of crimes. Based, on the two researches, this paper attests that gambling causes harm to the society. The author, Carol (2012, p. 124), notes that drug and gambling have been described to constitute the problem of ‘law and order.' But one wonders what the description of ‘the problem of law and order' really means. Different authorities, scholars, and analysts offer differing explanations on the roots of drugs and gambling as a social problem and Bushway, and Emily (2013, p. 318) attributes the difference in the explanations to the fact that all problems rest on theories. As such, it depends on the approach that one uses to describe or analyze the social problem. For instance, economists base their argument on the rationality and self-interest of the crime where they argue that such an individual will cease pursuing crime should the cost of the crime surpass the benefit. On the other hand, sociologists argue that the social environment in which the individuals who turn out to be the victims operates places them in an arguably structurally strained and disorganized setting; which pressures them to pursue the criminal activity. Policy analysts, in high contrast to the two explanations above, advocate that the inequity in the construction and application of laws brew the criminals. Despite all these explanations, there arise situations in which no specific explanation fits in describing the situation. For instance, a closer analysis of gambling shows that individuals who generate ‘clean wealth’ through legally recognized methods serve as gambling greatest victims. Do they turn to the drug after exhausting their resources? Some don’t (Beckett and Alexes, 2011, p. 512).   A more challenging situation arises due to the fact that, owing to the difference in the theoretical approaches to drug and crime as a social problem, there exist key areas of departure in the policy recommendations that each approach generates. Going by the description above; economists advocate for a punitive and a deterring remedy while sociologists favor the expansion of the legitimate opportunities in the economy and equity to solve the problem. In contrast, political analysts encourage a societal reorganization such that wealth is equitably distributed and justice system moves from responding to class power to limiting harm (Braga et al., 2014, p.   650). All the policy recommendations are not, however, with key limitations due to the assumptions that each approach considers. The drug crime and gambling as a social problem being as a result of the inequity in the society is mistaken when considering the fact that wealthy individuals do gamble. The key question at this point would be what the best policy approach to drug and gambling is a social problem? Dansky (2016, p. 64) argues that a suitable approach should act as a double-edged sword; one side aimed at punishment and deterrence and the other aimed at rehabilitation and reintegration. No single side of the ‘sword' would prove effective as it has been witnessed by the two different media publication with one advocating for the use of prisons to deter/stop crime and the other arguing that tough crime laws and punishment serve to fail (Boylan and Naci, 2013, p. 579). With each article basing their argument on well-reasoned arguments, it becomes hard to choose the suitable approach hence the need to blend the two given the fact that a punitive approach through prisons ‘brews more crime' and a rehabilitative approach reduces deterrence. Although gambling has been associated with several social-related problems, the crime of illicit drugs serves as the most prominent. Besides, while no policy approach to a social problem serves as a ‘ready-to-drink solution’ it’s inarguably true that the policy intervention that would go the greatest deal to solving the dilemma would be the most suitable. This calls for the intervention of the criminal justice system and society at large to establish policies that are capable controlling and precenting the gambling activities. Bacchi, Carol. 2014. Analysing Policy. What’s the problem represented to be? Pearson Australia Baradaran, Shima and Frank, McIntyre. 2012. â€Å"Predicting Violence.† Texas Law Review 90 (1): 497-570. Beck, Allen. 2015. â€Å"Use of Restrictive Housing in U.S. Prisons and Jails, 2011-12.† U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Beckett, Katherine and Alexes, Harris. 2011. â€Å"On cash and conviction: Monetary sanctions as misguided policy.† Criminology & Public Policy 10(3): 509-537. Boylan, Richard T., and Naci Mocan. 2013. "Intended and Unintended Consequences of Prison Reform." The Journal of Law and Economics 30(3): 558-586. Braga, Anthony, Andrew Papachristos and David Hureau. 2014. â€Å"The Effects of Hot Spots Policing on Crime: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.† Justice Quarterly 31(4): 633-663. Bushway, Shawn D., and Emily G. Owens. 2013. "Framing Punishment: Incarceration, Recommended Sentences, and Recidivism." Journal of Law & Economics 56(2): 301-331. Dansky, Kara. 2016. â€Å"Local Democratic Oversight of Police Militarization.† Harvard Law Review 10: 59-75. Naughton, M., 2011. ‘How the Presumption of Innocence Renders the Innocent Vulnerable to Wrongful Convictions‘Irish Journal of Legal Studies, 2(1): 40-54. Reiner, Morgan. (eds), 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (5th Edition) Oxford: Clarendon Press. Wayne Morrison, in Hale, C., et al., (eds), 2013. ‘What is Crime? Contrasting definitions and Perspectives’, Criminology, Oxford: OUP.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The development of the discipline of nursing has gone through many Essay

The development of the discipline of nursing has gone through many stages of philosophical debates. Justify the relevance and utility of the knowledge of theory development to your practice - Essay Example Theories were meant to confuse and offer no practical value thus the views widely held in the 21st and 20th century about nursing which focused on obtaining the right outcomes and performing the right process respectively (Shaw, 1993). Such thinking is restrictive and holds researchers and in this case nurses from defining, interpreting and understanding data and discoveries related to their discipline. Theories developed by different scholars view and define nursing from different angles. For example grand nursing theories identify the discipline as broad, complex, nonspecific and may not be easily testable. The middle range theories focus on issues like anxiety, death, social support and the quality of life. The nursing science is not only restricted to medicine and practice but from early theorist and emerging trends in the industry nursing involves other spheres of life such as the cultural, social, mental, environmental among other areas. The nursing profession prides itself in quality care for all people. This is a top priority for the nursing profession especially in this day and age where people have diverse needs and other conflicting issues surrounding the nursing profession (Meleis, 2011). Theory provides nurses with a framework for goal assessment, intervention and diagnosis. It focuses on care and used as a tool to render more efficient and effective service which is described theoretically for different situations. The professional autonomy and accountability is also safeguarded in the theory in practice through principles in the theory (Meleis, 2011). In conclusion theory helps in the identification of goals and enhances communication about care to the primary stakeholders. It also helps the nurses to gain control of several subject matters thus refining theory and relationships in the nursing

Monday, October 7, 2019

Law Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law Journal - Essay Example A few of the abovementioned components are examined briefly below. Legislation is enacted by Parliament which contains two chambers – the House of Commons and the House of Lords. An Act of Parliament begins life as a bill, which is a proposed draft of an Act and passes through the various stages of the enactment process prior to becoming binding law. Delegated legislation as the name suggests is brought about in situations where the statute alone cannot provide for all the technicalities required. So it provides the broad framework whilst the details are filled in by the relevant minister by way of delegated legislation. These regulations when made in the approved manner are just as much law as the parent statute itself. (b) The English Legal System’s civil court structure consists of the European court of Justice, the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal, the Divisional Courts, the High Court, the County Court and the Magistrates Court. The system of Judicial Precedent in a nutshell would involve a court being bound by similar decisions made by courts of equal or higher status and is not merely a mechanical process of matching similarities and differences but involves the art of interpreting the principle derived from an earlier case. Decisions of the House of Lords bind all lower courts. After a protracted debate on whether or not House of Lord decisions binds future House of Lord’s cases the Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent) 1966 1 WLR 1234 established that though the doctrine of being bound had many commendable points â€Å"a too rigid adherence to precedent may lead to injustice in a particular case and also unduly restrict the proper development of the law†. However, the Lords depart from earlier decision only in rare circumstances. One such case is the case of British Railways Board Vs Herrington1 where the lords faced a number of earlier decisions wherein they had held that there was only a limited duty of care in neglig ence owed to children who trespassed onto property. Since perceptions of public policy have changed over the years their lordships felt able to ignore the earlier decisions and impose on British Railways a duty of care in keeping railway fences repaired. Strictly speaking the Court of Appeal is bound to follow all decisions of the House of Lords. There were some attempts by Lord Denning however to change this strict rule. He launched a two pronged attack by saying that (a) that if a House of Lords decision had been made per incuriam it could not be followed and (b) that if the reasoning for a rule had lapsed or seek to be of significance it need not be followed. These attempts were however not viewed favourably by the House of Lords and therefore the Court of Appeal is now bound to follow all House of Lords decisions. It may however choose between its own conflicting decisions. All courts that are lower in status than the Court of Appeal are bound by the doctrine of Judicial Precede nt in the normal way. Contract (a) An offer is a proposal by one person to another of certain terms of performance, which proposal is made with the intention that it be accepted by such other person. The promise of performance however is conditional upon a return promise or an act or forbearance being received in exchange for it for it to mature into a contract. An offer should be definite. Therefore a promise to pay a specified sum if a horse purchased were â€Å"