Tok Can a Machine Know

In today’s day and age, the question â€Å"Can a Machine Know? † is very important and relevant to what we are doing with machines in making them more and more humanlike and capable of human functions. A machine, as defined on Dictionary. com â€Å"is an apparatus consisting of interrelated parts with separate functions, used in the performance of some kind of work. † That seems simple enough, not very complicated at all. But then if you look up â€Å"know†, the definition is very hard to grasp. Dictionary. com defines â€Å"know† as: â€Å"to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty. This doesn’t give much justice to the word and requires you to define other terms such as understand and truth and certainty. It is much easier to use the term as defined according to Plato. His view is regarded to be the â€Å"classical† definition. According to Plato, at least three criteria must be satisfied in order for there to be knowledge; a statement must be justified, true and believed. And so if a machine meets all these requirements then it must in fact know. With machines, the main argument against their capabilty to know is that everything they can do is because humans programmed them to do it. Machines cannot do anything on a whim; they have no imagination or creativity. Creativity is one of the things that makes humans rather special and not just walking computer processors. It enables us to make decisions which are not based simply on algorithms or past history or other data. We can be bold, reckless, brave, and foolish or act in many other emotional ways. This is impossible to program as emotions do not lend themselves to mathematical analysis. Yet emotions are an essential part of knowledge. For example I know whether I am happy today or not and it probably affects what I do today more than the facts I actually know. Computers can never be happy or sad. They cannot love or grieve. They cannot, in other words, be human and know. But the other side of the argument is that humans are just computers which contrary is the exact opposite stated in the above paragraph. We are just many bits and pieces that are all working together to let us live and experience life. In fact humans are classified as biological machines, and if humans can know anything, machines should be able to know. Many consider the only aspect that makes humans and other higher organic creatures different from the commonly defined machine is our ability to express emotions and intuition. These emotions and intuitions come from our mind, which is a system; a system of biochemistry, electricity, some mechanics and maybe a bit of quantum mechanics, but a system nonetheless. If you take any individual part of this system away, none of these parts will understand anything. They're simply exchanging information with different parts according to set rules. This is exactly what a machine does when given instructions and prior facts and figures. As I was researching this topic and looking at both sides of the argument, I admit I was very torn. At first I thought no, there’s no way a machine can know. They don’t have brains and everything they do is programmed beforehand for them by humans. But as I delved more deeply into the question I found that some advanced robots are not quite like that. On Youtube, there are many videos which include Honda’s robot, named ASIMO, that show machines can think very much on they’re own. One video talks about how this robot can actually â€Å"see†, a trait we usually only give to living organisms. Though it has two cameras for eyes, the way it processes the information it views through the cameras is very humanlike, like a child learning their surroundings. A man shows the robot objects that it has already learned to indentify and ASIMO says what they are out loud. But then the man shows it two completely different objects, a toy car and a toy robot, and tells ASIMO what they are. The man then shows the robot the two objects again and asks it what they are. ASIMO dutifully replies what each is correctly. This amazed me because it showed machines could actually learn from experience, just like humans. But that wasn’t all, ASIMO was later told indentify a chair. At first a normal looking wood chair was placed in front of it and the robot nodded. Then a stool was placed in front and ASIMO nodded again, even though the stool looks nothing like a chair. But then it is showed a table and ASIMO shakes his head no. This was very astounding to me because it showed a machine making a judgment. So to actually determine whether or not a computer can know, we must go back to Plato’s description of knowledge and see if a machine fits. The main purpose of most machines is to record vast amounts of data which are all truthful so that fulfills the first criteria easy enough. Then it must be justified which is done by the programmer feeding information to the machine. And last but not least it must believe and because the computer must follow the code it’s given, then it must believe and thus it fits all of Plato’s criteria for knowledge. But this just seemed too easy so I decided to look into the ways of knowing, and if the machine fit all those components, then it definitely knows. Though a machine can use reason to solve problems that no human can, use intuition to figure out if an object is a chair or not, speak in every language known to man, see objects and know what they are, and be able to hear a human and respond, machines still cannot experience emotion and that is the one thing stopping them from knowing. As stated in a previous argument, an essential part to knowing is through emotion and creativity and imagination. Without these things a machine cannot know. Until humans are able to make a machine that has the capacity that the human brain does, a machine will never know like a human. It will understand how to perform certain tasks and learn new things, but it will never be able to create something of its own or experience any type of emotion. In saying this, I do believe that in the near future, with technological advances, there will soon be a machine which can think for itself and have its own ideas and creations. Due to Raymond Kurzweil’s theory of Singularity, humans will create machines that have intelligence which surpasses their own and by that time machines will most definitely know. Because of the human sciences striving to create robots that are humanlike, they will eventually become successful and once the breakthrough is made, then there will be thousands of different machines that can know and our society will have totally changed. But as of right now, a machine cannot know. It can perform very humanlike tasks and talk and walk and speak but there is still the barrier of not being able to imagine or feel which separates humans from machines.Bibliography http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=53888;page=3

Chad’s Creative Concept Essay

Introduction †¢ Case Findings†¢ Problems†¢ Reasons behind the problems†¢ Questions and Answers †¢ Chads Creative Concepts is a company foundedby Chad Thomas that designs and manufactureswood furniture.†¢ The company began by producing custom-madefurniture and within a short duration developed asolid reputation for creative designs and high-quality workmanship.†¢ As company’s reputation grew and salesincreased, the sales force began selling some ofthe pieces to retail furniture outlets, which ledthem into the production of a more standard lineof furniture. †¢ Buyers of standard line furniture were much more pricesensitive and imposed more stringent deliveryrequirements.†¢ Custom designed furniture, however, continued todominate sales, accounting for 60% of volume and 75% ofdollar sales.†¢ Currently, the company operates a single manufacturingfacility where the equipment is mainly general purpose innature for providing flexibility to custom m ade furniture. †¢ Both custom and standard furniture compete forprocessing time on the same equipment by the samecraftspeople. †¢ Sales of standard line is increasingsteadily, so it requires more regularscheduling, but custom made furniture is givenpriority because of its higher sales and profitmargins.†¢ Thus, scheduled lots of standard furniturepieces are left sitting around the plant invarious stages of completion. †¢ The holding cost of the company is increasingwith dollars tied up in inventory, both of rawmaterials and work in process.†¢ The company has to rent expensive publicwarehouse to accommodate the inventoryvolume resulting in further increase of holdingcost.†¢ The increased lead times in both segmentshas resulted in longer promised delivery times. What type of decision must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run?The situation that Chad is facing is between the manufacturing andturn over. He needs to focus on decisions onscheduling, inventory, capacity & layout.†¢ He need to make scheduling decision to make sure there is not many raw materials as work in progress status. The standard line manufacturing need to be scheduled properly to avoid this problem.†¢ The standard product’s warehouse is costly. So, he need to reduce inventory by deciding on good supply-chain and implement it.†¢ As both the manufacturing line are well in demand and well increasing as well. So, he need to increase capacity to accommodate demand for both product lines.†¢ He can also separate out the production lines after increasing capacity

3rd Economics Commentry : International Trade Essay

The European Central Bank (ECB) is employing a new system of monetary policy which now it directly purchases government bonds from the Spanish and Italian governments. The objective is to lower interest rates on Spanish and Italian government bonds, which theoretically should show private investors that the two countries are financially able in returning their money thus decreasing the rising pressure on interest rates in the Eurozone, a dilemma threatening to counter the current torpid recovery from the 2008 and 2009 recessions. Monetary policy is a term for the manipulation of the interest rates and money supply by the Central Bank of a country, managed to either decrease interest rates (expansionary monetary policy) or increase them (contractionary monetary policy). In hope of shifting the Eurozone economy closer to its full employment level, the European Central Bank currently is purchasing European government bonds proficiently boosting the money supply of the euro. If effective, the ECB’s â€Å"quantitative easing†[1] should reallocate loanable funds towards Spain and Italy’s private and public sectors as a result of lower interest rates on government bonds. The increase in supply of loanable funds should bring down the interest rates for private investors (households and firms), making private investments more appealing. The purchase of bonds by the European Central Bank makes it inexpensive for Spain and Italy to borrow money, lowering the interest rates on their bonds, returning international investor confidence, who may possibly be more agreeable in saving their money in Spain and Italian banks. The influx of loanable funds into these economies (rise in the supply of loanable funds from to ) should decrease the real interest rate reassuring a greater number of firms to invest in capital goods and households to fund the consumption of a higher number of durable goods, pushing aggregate demand (AD) to the right (increase) returning the economy of the Eurozone to its full level of employment of output (represented as a shift from to in the right hand side graph). Though usually monetary easing like this should result in inflation, it is unlikely given the European’s large gap in output (illustrated as the distance between and the full employment level of output shown as a dotted line). An increase in AD should result in an increase in output however insignificant inflation as a result of the excess capacity of the factors of production within the European economy. An expansionary fiscal policy would prove impractical for Spain and Italy aiming for full employment as the increase in reluctance over their deficits and debts has triggered amassing borrowing charges from the private sector. The ECB as Krugman debates should carry on playing a growing part in the development of credit to cash strapped European governments; with the intention of preserving low interest rates to prevent the crowding-out of private spending’s. The problem of inflation in Europe’s current recessionary atmosphere should be a rather miniscule concern. It is only when the confidence of private sector stakeholders has returned (a circumstance requiring small borrowing cost) will private sector spending recommence and the economies of the euro may begin generating employment and increasing their production again. In the short-term, Italy and Spain should take profit from the ECB’s bond-buying initiative, and make significant, productivity-enhancing funding’s in infrastructure, schooling and job training. The states of the Eurozone must become more competitive with those of Eastern Europe and Asia if they optimise to economically grow. In the medium-term, the Eurozone nations must exhibit a promise to fiscal limitation and more stable budgets. Eradicating loopholes that permit industries and prosperous consumers to evade paying taxes is imperative for example. In addition, rising the age of retirement, economizing on social welfare programs and raising marginal tax rates on the highest income earners should all visibly communicate the message to investors that these countries are indeed dedicated to fiscal restraint. As a result, their dependency on European Central Bank lending’s will deteriorate and private lenders will once more be keen on buying government bonds from the Eurozone at lower interest rates, permitting constant advancement in the private sector.

Public Health Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Public Health Report - Essay Example One suggestion for getting involved in hunger alleviation programs in OC is to participate and attend construction event. The event raises awareness about malnutrition and hunger among children. Other than joining such events a person can host individual canned food programs and drives, volunteer or donate to OC food bank. I think creating public awareness and education on ways to reducing hunger among vulnerable communities is crucial for reducing food insecurity. We should not wait for people to have malnutrition or even die from hunger. Programs should be developed to educate the community on methods to reduce hunger. For people facing hunger, the food security programs can offer food to these people. As such, any person who donates to food security programs such the OC food bank would have participated and involved in reducing food insecurity. People should advocate for local, state, and federal authorities to improve access to food and other associated health services among vulnerable communities. Through political involvements and commitment, leaders can set pledges, policies, and mobilize resources to reduce hunger. Coker, M. (2014, September 16). Orange County CAN Turn Around Its Shameful Childhood Hunger Statistics. OC weekly. Retrieved at:

Global Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Global Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Secondly, a high demand for quality and safe products become a challenge to a majority of Supply chains. Normally, the first obstacle and a lack of understanding on how to reduce the costs cause this. Management of supplier relationship could prove imperative in overcoming this challenge. Additionally, outsourcing, regular maintenance of machines as well as forecasting and preparing for customer’s ever-dynamic needs could be helpful. Thirdly, inadequate knowledge of the need to have a supply chain resiliency plan has been identified as the major hurdle for many. Three important relations in this third option include the supplier-customer, top management-supplier, and top management-customer relationships. This paper has extensively handled this topic, and hopefully, it will offer the much-needed solution. Supply chains play a critical role in ensuring that the services needed are delivered to their respective clients. On the other hand, the clients trust this industry to deliv er products and services, which are reliable, safe, and ones that meet the precise need they have. However, the recent horsemeat scandal involving Tesco has cast a shadow of doubt on the supply chains. A debate has since risen on the need to change the way supply chains do business with some calling for transparency on this industry’s operations. While it is easy to criticize an industry whenever a scandal especially one that has to do with health concerns, this paper’s takes a different approach. With an aim to provide a solution to a vital industry whose services are needed, this paper seeks to highlight at least three obstacles the Supply chain has to overcome. To achieve this goal, this paper uses the UK automobile manufacturers, Jaguar as a case study originally named ‘Swallow Sidecar Company’, Jaguar Landrover is UK multinational company headquartered in Whitley.

Health final project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health final project - Research Paper Example The hazards of obesity can lead to several problems that affect your health, including diabetes heart disease, sleep apnea, cancer, high blood pressure and gerd. The danger with these diseases is dependent on how long you have been obese, what other health conditions you may have as well as connections with your overall health. If you want to ensure that you remain healthy, then fighting obesity can help you to overcome further health complications. The epidemic is one which is now by different types of obesity. The diagnosis is based on how much body fat an individual carries, compared to the percentage of muscle in the body. If this goes over recommended levels by a certain amount, then you also fall into a specific type of obesity. You can measure your obesity level through the following chart. If you are overweight or obese, you can easily find a cure to prevent future problems and diseases. By beginning to fight obesity, you will be able to enjoy life, prevent health problems and can take yourself out of the statistics of obesity. While the percentages are high for those that are fighting obesity, the epidemic can be overcome. The first step is to understand obesity and the several factors which cause the problem by following the following checklist: If you want to know more about how to overcome obesity, then you want to start by not being alone. The rise in the epidemic has led to several support centers that are willing to help you understand more about obesity as well as how to overcome this problem. You can begin by visiting the OAC, or the Obesity Action Coalition. This website can help you to understand the complexities of obesity, as well as how to overcome the problem. By working with others who understand obesity, you can easily begin to overcome obesity while moving into a healthy lifestyle. To start overcoming obesity, you can look at

China-Iran Economic and Security Relationships and Its Impact on the Essay

China-Iran Economic and Security Relationships and Its Impact on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Essay Example has more than a quarter of the total world oil reserves, Iran has the fourth largest oil reserves and Iraq has huge oil deposits and is second to Saudi Arabia in terms of quantity. (10) On the other hand, DAB and Kuwait are also abundant in oil (9) and are considered as two of the leading oil producing countries in the world. What is more important around this region is that the cost of production of oil is usually low compared to the cost of production other oil producing countries. Several states in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, employs cheap labour thereby effectively reducing the cost of production even more. Since the cost of producing oil is much lower in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, these countries earn more income from their operations than most other oil producing countries. Furthermore, with low oil production cost, countries around the Gulf like Iraq and Saudi Arabia have more flexibility in the events where prices of oil in the world market dive. The instability of prices of oil in the world market makes it difficult for other oil producers to keep up with the fluctuations of prices. However, since oil is the primary source of energy all over the world and it is difficult to find alternative sources of fuel, consumers have to go through the ups and downs of prices. Every time there are disturbances in the Middle East and production of oil is affected, the prices will shoot up. For instance, if a crisis in Middle East causes a net deficit of four million barrels of oil a day – this estimate could double in just a short time.(6) This gap in the production and the consumption of oil could cause a huge imbalance in the supply and demand for oil. This means that when disturbances happen in the Gulf area, a series of economic events will be triggered as oil production in the area slow down. The United States understands the role that the oil producing countries are playing in the Gulf. It also sees the grave consequences of a slowdown in the

Corrosion testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corrosion testing - Essay Example This implies this solution produces a corrosive atmosphere in the chamber. The accepted standard of testing chambers according to the international standards on salt sprays test (ISSST) is four hundred liters. Alternatively, some other solutions can also be applicable when testing corrosion. The test that applies 5% NaCl is the neutral salt spray whereby other solutions appropriate for this chamber include acetic acid. With the use of this solution, the name of the method of testing is acetic salt spray. The other solution that can apply in this case is acetic acid mixed with of copper chloride, which is one of the known corrosion tester is the Q-FOG cyclic corrosion testers. Designs of these instruments vary according to their capability of chambers. They also vary based on the various environments to which they have to operate. Figure 1: An example of a Q-FOQ cyclic corrosion tester. Results or testing of this machine is similar to those of an outdoor testing, which most of the sal t spray testers have failed to deliver. The purpose and application of the corrosion testing equipment The desire to maintain use and existence of different machines is a concern for numerous engineering industries. They attempt to prefer using their materials not only in an efficient way but also to ensure long-term usage of their products. This field uses various metallic instruments that are either ferrous or non-ferrous. What stands in the use of these metallic instruments is the fact that they are subject to attack by varied weather conditions. These conditions include humidity, basic solutions, gasses, and acids. The main purpose of these elements is to initiate the effect of corrosion on metallic materials. Therefore, producers of these metallic materials find it necessary to choose an ascertained coating material for the different elements. The quality control that applies during production of various metallic instruments is also essential in the present era. This calls for corrosion testing instruments that apply in the global field. This is because they help in identifying the corrosion element that exists for a metal, which is essential in providing users with longevity of their respective metallic materials. Various tests performed by the corrosion testers Many tests can apply in investigating corrosion in different metals. These tests vary depending on the variables involved, for instance, weather conditions and machine’s specifications. The humidity test is one of the common tests in the field of corrosion. In the corrosion testers, this takes place in the humidity cabinets that are airtight and moisture proof (Prateepasen & Jirarungsatian E11). The chamber also has an average temperature of 100 degrees. The purpose of this test is to determine whether the oxidative attack has begun on a given metal. In this case, the person taking the test searches for any appearance of a blister with the intention of knowing whether an attack has already began on a given metal. Another category of corrosion testing is the salt spray tests. In this case, the sizes of chambers may have standards according to given specifications. Chambers in this case have large sizes as compared to those used when taking humidity tests. The other tests include immersion tests, impact tests, outdoor exposure tests besides others. The tests mainly focus on eliminating effects of

Personal Values Development Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Personal Values Development Paper - Essay Example Values may differ between individuals and values emerge because we are not satisfied with something at some point in life. Values affect decisions and actions in our life. It is important to understand them and ensure that our behavior is in line with the values that we have. The first institution that we inculcate value from is the family. I grew up in a big family including grandparents and this instilled in me the importance of a family in the development of an individual. I learnt to value human beings above things; I learnt to value relationships above everything else. Values have immense power to energize everything concerned with it (Gurunet, n.d.) and applying values releases fresh energies. Through a family we learn to share the joys and sorrows; we learn what it means to have someone by your side. Family value to me is way above the conservative ideology where religion is the source of morality and nuclear family is the essential (Wikipedia). It is even above the liberals’ view of affordable child care and family planning. To me a family is the first priority and the family teaches us the value of sacrifice, the importance of sharing, the joy of receiving and the pleasure in giving. A family teaches us to live in harmony – harmony not just with others but harmony within our own self. We learn to live in peace with our self. The human mind is a bundle of thoughts and emotions and constantly reeling under an agony of indecision. The family teaches us to live in harmony with our own self. We learn to respect each other; we understand that even a small child of 3-4 years needs to be respected and should be respected. As I grew up and went to school, I interacted with children from different walks of life and strata of society. I realized people do not always say what they mean. They often want to hide something, or many times to save themselves or others. I contemplated and realized that if one has to lie in order to save

The Kite Runner Essay Example for Free

The Kite Runner Essay What would you do to redeem yourself for a very bad thing you’ve done? In the novel The Kite Runner, the main character, Amir, will redeem himself for what he had done in his childhood by doing good things. In Afghanistan, there is a segregation of ethnic groups between the Hazara and the Pashtun. Hazara people work for the Pashtun people. Hassan Is a Hazara and Amir is a Pashtun. Although Amir and Hassan are best friends, Amir never consider Hassan as his best friend or even a friend. Even though Amir is a mean and jealous character when he is young, he evolves into an entirely different person. He redeems himself by showing unselfishness and generosity to a stranger. He grants Rahim Khan’s last request and risks his life to go help Sohrab in Afghanistan. As a child, Amir’s character shows jealousy and selfishness because he doesn’t receive enough attention from his father. Amir is always jealous of Hassan for being treated the same as him by Baba. In his head, Amir thinks that he is Baba’s true and only son, so he doesn’t understand why Baba treats Hassan the same way he treats him. When Amir and Hassan go to buy kites, they get the same kind of kite, and when Amir asks for a fancier one, Baba buys the same for both of them. â€Å"Sometimes I wished he wouldn’t do that. Wished he’d let me be the favorite. † Amir doesn’t like Hassan to be treated the same way as him because he is jealous. He once thought that the orphans should have died along with their parents because he is jealous of the kids that get to spend time with his father. This shows that when Amir is young, he was mean and selfish. To run away from his jealousy and guilt, he frames Hassan for stealing his watch and money by placing it under the mattress. After Amir frames Hassan for stealing his watch and money, he never had the chance to see Hassan again in his life. Although he purposely pushes Hassan out of his life, Amir is obsessed with Hassan throughout the novel. He thinks about Hassan when there was war, wonders if Hassan is still alive. He thinks about Hassan when he was grown up, wonders if Hassan was alive or if he has any wife yet. Its because Amir is full of guilt and obsession over Hassan. Deep inside, he thinks that if Hassan dies, it might be because of him. Amir also regrets the action in the past. Amir regrets that he wasnt mature enough to understand that Hassan is his best and only friend. He regrets that he wasnt strong enough to stand up for himself. He regrets how he was ignorant, and didnt know that Hassan is his brother. Throughout the novel, Amir has evolves into an entirely different character. He changes from a mean and jealous boy to a generous and kind man. Amir plants fistfuls of crumpled money under the mattress. He shows kindness to a stranger like Farid. Amir wants to help Farid’s family because he understands what his family has to go through in Afghanistan. When Amir was searching for Sohrab at Afghanistan, he met a beggar that knew his mother. Amir gave the beggar on the streets three dollars. Three dollars is not a lot of money but to give three dollars to a beggar is not a common thing that happens. This proves that Amir also evolves into a character that has empathy towards people, and changes into another level of kindness. He also evolves into a character that has more courage. As a child, he won’t fight people back and needs Hassan to help him. He also couldn’t stand up to the General but now he can finally stand up to the general, when he said to the general that, â€Å"you will never again refer to him as’ Hazara boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab. † â€Å"There is a way to be good again†. These words come out from Rahim Khan’s mouth. He convinces Amir to be a good person after he finds out what Amir has done in the past. Amir tries to redeem himself by meeting with Rahim Khan and grants him his last request before he dies. He goes back to Afghanistan to help Sohrab out of that poor and dangerous place. This shows Amir’s commitment to Hassan. He redeems himself to Hassan. Amir would risk his life to go help Sohrab, even though he has other responsibilities like how he has his wife at America. If he dies in Afghanistan, it will really affect Soraya’s life. He even accepts Sohrab in his family and adopts him. It shows that Amir is really dedicated to this redemption. The novel shows the evolution of Amir as a character. He becomes more kind and generous to other people. He also redeems himself for the bad things that he did to his half brother. His regrets lead him to his redemption. After Amir finds out that Hassan is his half brother, and that he has passed away, that is when Amir starts to evolve into a different character. He starts showing kindness and generosity because it is Amir’s way of redeeming himself. I think at last Amir really did become a good person.

Nesting and Matrescence as a Birthing Strategy

Nesting and Matrescence as a Birthing Strategy Critique of Walsh (2006) â€Å"Nesting and ‘matrescence as distinctive features of a free-standing birth centre in the UK. Introduction The provision of evidence-based midwifery care in the current UK maternity care setting is of high priority (Rosswurm and Larrabee, 1999). According to Kitson et al (2000) the implementation of research-derived evidence into clinical practice is mediated by the relationship between the attributes of the research in question, including the type and nature of the research evidence and its rigour and perceived quality; the clinical context or setting within which the research is applied; and the process of implementation and its effects on practice. Research evidence can inform individual aspects of midwifery care, midwives’ attitudes and knowledge, or even the design and development of midwifery services. While for many midwives and other healthcare practitioners there can be ongoing challenges in the practical integration of research evidence into their work and professional role (Rosswurm and Larrabee, 1999), the value of research still lies in its rigour, usefulness and the s pecificity of findings (Stetler et al, 1998). For midwives, use of research evidence also means they can better support women to make informed choices (Magill-Cuerdon, 2006), particularly about place of birth, whilst keeping up to date (NMC, 2004). This essay addresses the critique of a qualitative research study focusing on elements of birth centre midwifery care. Birth centres have emerged as a significant driver within the UK maternity model for bringing about better client satisfaction, better clinical outcomes and more alignment with normality in midwifery. They also represent the emergence of policy which is responsive to some aspects of women’s (and midwives’) choices (Beake and Bick, 2007). The articles were critiqued using a framework derived from the work of Rees (2003), and Cluett and Bluff (2003), due to their familiarity to the author and their ease of use. Both authors have a midwifery orientation, and while this critique has been informed by a range of nursing, midwifery and general research sources, it is good to retain a midwifery orientation for the process itself. Critique Title, Authors and Focus The title of the study is clear and relates to the findings of the research and its focus on birth centre practice within the UK locality and maternity services paradigm. However, it does not refer to the nature of the research, which would have allowed the reader to immediately identify the underpinning research paradigm. The author is a Senior Lecturer in Midwifery within the UK, within a Midwifery Research Unit. It would also have been useful to know what involvement the author might have had in the unit and how specialist their knowledge of the research location was, to judge, for example, if there is any potential for bias (Polit and Hungler, 1995). Literature Review The literature review is placed within the Introduction section of the paper, and presents both a rationale for the research and a placement within the historical development of policy and practice. The nature of the review here firmly places the paper within a midwifery paradigm by critiquing historical applications of evidence within quantitative or scientific paradigms, which focus on pathology (Walsh, 2006). Conversely, theorists define the UK maternity services spectrum as being founded upon an holistic paradigm promoting normality, natural birth, choice, control and client-centred care (Beake and Bick, 2007). Walsh (2006) orients the discussion towards international issues about intervention rates, and links the discussion to pace of birth. However, apart from this, there is very little critical evaluation of existing research within the topic area; rather the author refers to an earlier study to which he contributed evaluating quantitative research studies about free-standing birth centres (Walsh, 2006). The author also uses this section of the paper to define some terms and some of the focus of the paper. A more detailed research critique would have been appropriate here (Baker, 2006; Cutcliffe and McKenna, 1999; Gerrish and Lacey, 2006; Holliday, 2002). Research Methodology The author is explicit about having a qualitative approach, namely methodology, which is suitable for answering their research question (Walsh, 2006). The stated aim of the research â€Å"was to explore the culture, beliefs, value, customs and practices around the birth process within an FSBC† (Walsh, 2006 p 229). According to Cutcliffe and McKenna (1999) qualitative research methodologies can attempt to answer questions about clinical practice which may not be adequately addressed by quantitative research approaches. Ethnography is an established methodology for this kind of research, particularly relating to birth setting and to midwifery centred care, all well aligned with qualitative models (Rees, 2003) and theory generating research (Parahoo, 2006). The usefulness of research studies such as this may be linked to their ‘fit’ with the issues concerned, and also with how detailed and rich (not to mention informative) the data derived are (Kearney, 2001). Such r esearch also has the advantage of being more client-oriented (Parahoo, 2006). The methodology itself is outlined clearly and certainly suggests not only a deep grasp of the true meaning of ethnograpy but also the kind of depth of data it will produce (Baker, 2006). Sample The author defines clearly the setting of the research, which is appropriate for an ethnographic study (Goulding, 2005), and defines the sample as comprising 15 midwives, 10 maternity care assistant (all the clinical staff working at the centre) (a purposive sample) and 30 women who agreed to be interviewed of which five allowed observation of their care (Walsh, 2006). The latter is described as an opportunistic sample (Walsh, 2006), which is similar to a convenience sample and is the kind of sample most commonly required for this kind of research (Wilkinson, 2000). There is no detail provided about how this sample was recruited, and so it cannot be judged whether or not this was done ethically or if any coercion was involved (Rees, 2003). There are no details given about the types of participants, or any demographic information which might enhance transparency and allow the reader to evaluate the transferability of these findings (Grix, 2004). While sample size is not usually of iss ue in qualitative research (Rees, 2003), and in particular, in ethnographic research (Devane et al, 2004; Hicks, 1996), as it is the richness of the data which is most significant (Hek and Moule, 2006), the sample size does seem to be adequate, particularly when the timescale and span of the research is considered. Ethical Considerations Some attention is paid to ethics, in that access was requested and afforded by the local PCT who owned the building, and permission was secured from the hospital that employed the staff (Walsh, 2006). Ethics somittee was granted, and all participants provided â€Å"informed written consent† (Walsh, 2006 p 229). Again, more detail here would have allowed the reader to evaluate the nature of the information and consent, and any other ethical issues there might have been in the research process (Austin, 2001). Ethical issues should be of primary importance in carrying out research of this nature, particularly in observing women during the time of birth, when they are not only particularly vulnerable but also particularly exposed (Austin, 2001). Vulnerability of subjects should be considered in designing clinical research (RCN, 2004). Some caution is needed over understanding the kinds of women recruited to the study and their level of vulnerability, for example (Rees, 2003). A slightly more critical view of the ethical dimensions of this paper would have been useful (Cooper, 2006). For example, while ethics committees of fundamental importance in research governance and have a significant responsibility for the protection of patients and participants (Cooper, 2006), this does not mean that they can ensure true informed consent is given and has continued to be given throughout the duration of the study. The Nuremburg Code (1949) underlines the need for voluntary consent, but could there have been any sense of obligation on the part of the research participants to take part? The Nuremburg Code (1949) further places responsibility for determining the quality and nature of the consent upon each individual person who initiates, directs or engages in the research, and so this author would question whether or not having all the birth unit staff involved in the study might have introduced some pressure on women to participate. Hollway and Jefferson (2000) descri be consent as a continual understanding of the implications of the research for the participant. There is no indication of how this has been addressed here. Data Collection and Analysis Data collection is dealt with as briefly as the sample, analysis and literature review are treated. The author carried out observation followed by follow up interviews, taking field recordings (audio) which were transcribed the next day, and interviews with women, midwives and MCAs, all of which were audio recorded and transcribed (Walsh, 2006). This kind of data collection is suited to the research design (Moore, 2006; Easton et al, 2000). Walsh (2006) describes the analytical process as ‘thematic analysis’ (p 230), using line by line coding which again is an established process for analysing qualitative textual data (Goulding, 2005; Holloway and Jefferson, 2000; Rees, 2003). The thematic analysis process is outlined, and one example of how the researcher arrived at the themes and meanings is provided, which enhances transparency and auditability (Cluett and Bluff, 2006). The author also discusses the process with reference to other literature. However, more detail here would have enhanced this section (Easton et al, 2006). Findings As is fitting for a qualitative paper, the findings are discussed in some detail, under sub-headings which clearly signpost the discussion for the reader and make it easy to read and assimilate the information (Baker, 2006). The author also includes quotes from the textual data to exemplify the discussion (Rees, 2003). The findings are commented upon throughout, and there is an extension exploration of each theme. The themes were: The turn to birth environment and setting Affect of the first visit Nesting responses Vicarious nesting Care as mothering Discussion and Implications for Practice The findings from this paper have clear implications for the understanding of the design and provision of birth locations within the UK maternity services. They also have significance for understanding the nature of midwifery practice, particularly within such a setting. The ‘human’ side of caring was evident, from the behaviours of staff in making the environment positive and supportive, to the behaviours of women and staff during their time in the centre. The discussion section of the paper focuses on two elements of these findings, that of nesting as â€Å"psychosocial safety† (p 235) and â€Å"Psychological safety and ‘matrescence’† (Walsh, 2006 p 236). The author contextualises these findings within the current medical model, demonstrating a level of engagement with women on the part of midwives that goes beyond clinical actions to something more nurturing and much more intimate. The complexities of women’s experiences of birth are continually referred to in the literature, and yet there is little apparent significance paid to these when the overarching concern of ‘live mother and live baby’ is trotted out as the final justification for any kind of maternity care that transgresses women’s preferences or emotional responses. Choices in childbirth are in particular complex, and the kinds of decisions that women make about their birth location, experience and preferences are not only related to their individual preferences and knowledge but to the socially-acquired knowledge and attitudes they have developed, which are significantly affected by obstetric models and concerns over ‘safety’ (Magill-Cuerden, 2006). It is apparent from this article that understanding the psychosocial, emotional and even spiritual dimensions of the birth environment, including the relationship with maternity care providers, provides depth of insight into women’s needs and into what can realistica lly be offered them under that all-encompassing, frequently-touted term ‘support’. Women need to understand the factors that influence their decisions (Magill-Cuerden, 2006), but women and midwives also need to understand the ethical, emotional and relationship dimensions of their ‘matrescence’, the process of becoming a mother (Walsh, 2006). The implications for practice here are significant, because, working in the medical model of care, midwives are often hampered in their ability to provide the psycho-emotional or spiritual aspects of care and nurturing which are highlighted as so significant in this paper. Also, there may be midwives and maternity care assistants who do not have the requisite sensitivity, trust in women and themselves, and emotional intelligence to reach this level of practice. Walsh (2006) cites all-too-family â€Å"unhelpful behaviours† including â€Å"paternalism, being patronising† and â€Å"indifference and fear of intimacy† (p 238). Thus, it can be seen that for many midwives achieving what is described in this paper is not suitable. The anecdotal evidence from clinical midwifery practice is that, in the opinion of many, midwives who can achieve this state work in the community or in birth centres, and those who cannot opt for high risk, centralised maternity care areas in which they either can avoid this level of engagement with the client or are actively discouraged by organisational or ward culture from doing so. Walsh (2006) makes the following recommendation: â€Å"These findings lead me to believe that midwives should seek ways to rehabilitate ‘nurture’ and ‘love’, derivative of matrescence, as familiar childbirth language and as mainstream caring activities in childbirth.† (p 238). However, attention would also need to be paid to the effects on midwives themselves, who may suffer from emotional backlash or even burnout, particularly in the current UK context. This would also have implications for the nature of pre-registration midwifery education in the UK, because it would have to become part of the process of becoming a midwife, and it is much harder to teach abstract aspects of ‘becoming’ than it is to run emergency drills and teach students how to critique research papers. However, if such a paper can be used as evidence to change practice, then it would, overall, be a positive change. Conclusion A critical evaluation of this qualitative paper has highlighted its strengths and weaknesses, in that the author has adhered to principles of qualitative research, has selected a question or area of enquiry which demands a qualitative approach, and has demonstrated an ability to use such research to reflect woman-oriented ways of knowing (Hicks, 1996). There are limitations to the study, one of which is that the author does not really explore its limitations in any great depth, but overall the quality of data analysis, exploration and discussion is such that the lack of detail about basic research principles is eclipsed. The author firmly locates the study within the current context, but could go further in exploring the impact on midwives if such principles do succeed in changing practice. While Cluett and Bluff (2006) state â€Å"practice based on traditional knowledge is no longer acceptable† (p 276, Walsh (2006) has taken ‘traditional knowledge’ and ‘tes ted’ it through a study of one particular birth setting, and provided a reasonable level of evidence (in terms of midwifery care at least) for the benefits of certain underlying principles of what has been discarded by the medical profession as the unimportant emotional side of maternity care. References Austin, W. (2001)Nursing Ethics in an Era of Globalization. Advances in Nursing Science. 24(2) 1-18. Baker, L. (2006) Ten common pitfalls to avoid when conducting qualitative research. British Journal of Midwifery 14 (9) 530-531. Beake, S. and Bick,D. (2007) Maternity services policy: does the rhetoric match the reality? British Journal of Midwifery. 15 (2) 89-93. Cluett, E.R. and Bluff, R. (2006) Principles and Practice of Research in Midwifery Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Eslevier. Cooper, T. (2006) Research ethics committee approval: the good, the bad and the ugly. British Journal of Midwifery 14 (7) 439-440. Cutcliffe, J.R. McKenna, H.P. (1999) Establishing the credibility of qualitative research findings: the plot thickens Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30(2), 374-380 Declaration of Helsinki (1964) Available from: http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/helsinki/. Accessed 30-7-08. Devane D., Begley C.M. Clarke M. (2004) How many do I need? Basic principles of sample size estimation Journal of Advanced Nursing 47(3), 297–302 DoH (2001) Governance arrangements for NHS Research Ethics Committees. Available from: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4005727. Accessed 30-7-08. Easton, K, McComish, J.F., Greenberg, R.(2000). Avoiding common pitfalls in qualitative data collection and transcription. Qualitative Health Research 10 (3) 705-707. Elliott, J. (2001) Making Evidence-based Practice Educational . British Educational Research Journal 27 (5) 555 574 . Gerrish, K. Lacey, A. (eds) (2006) The Research Process in Nursing, 5th edition Oxford: Blackwell Science Goulding, C. (2005) â€Å"Grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology.† European Journal of Marketing 39 (3/4) 294-208. Grix, J. (2004) The Foundations of Research Basingstoke: Palgrave. Holliday, A. (2002) Doing and Writing Qualitative Research London: Sage Publications. Hek, G. and Moule, P. (2006) Making Sense of Research (3rd ed) London: Sage Publications Hicks, C.M. (1996) Undertaking Midwifery Research London: Churchill Livingstone. Hollway, W. and Jefferson, T. (2000) Doing Qualitative Research Differently London: Sage Publications. Kearney, M.H. (2001) â€Å"Levels and Applications of Qualitative Research Evidence.† Research in Nursing and Health 24 145-153 Kitson, A., Harvey, G. and McCormack, B. (2000) Enabling the implementation of evidence based practice: a conceptual framework. Quality in Health Care 7 149-158. Magill-Cuerden, J. (2006) Information giving or receiving: helping women make informed choices. British Journal of Midwifery 14 (10) 614. Moore, N. (2006) How To Do Research (3rd ed). London: Facet Publishing. NMC (2004) Code of Professional Conduct Available from www.nmc-uk.org. Accessed 4-8-08. Nuremburg Code (1949) Available from : http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/nuremberg.html Accessed 30-7-08. Parahoo, K. (2006)Nursing Research: Principles, Process and Issues. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Polit, D.F. and Hungler, B.P. (1995 ) Nursing Research: Principles and Methods. (6th ed.) Philadelphia: Lippincott. RCN (2004) Research Ethics: RCN Guidance for Nurses London: RCN. Rees, C. (2003) Introduction to Research for Midwives Edinburgh: Books for Midwives. Rosswurm, M.A. and Larrabee, J.H. (1999) A model for change to evidence-based practice. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 31(4) 317-22. Stetler, C.B., Brunell, M., Giuliano, K.K. et al (1998) Evidence-based practice and the role of nursing leadership. Journal of Nursing Administration. 28(7-8) 45-53. Walsh, D.J. (2006) ‘Nesting’ and ‘Matrescence’ as distinctive features of a free-standing birth centre in the UK. Midwifery 22 228-239. Wilkinson, D. (2000) Researchers Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Practitioner Research. London: Routledge.

The Myth Of Equality In American Society Politics Essay

The Myth Of Equality In American Society Politics Essay The American society is viewed by the global community as the nation of freedom, as the country in which any person is able to experience the greatest degree of equality. Indeed, the United States of America is undoubtedly the most diverse nation in the world with people representing different cultures and ethnicities. The Constitution of the United States guarantee equal protection of all citizens and prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, physical characteristics, or any other factors which make one person different to the others. However, it should be recognized that the American society does not function as the nation of equals as discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudices are still widespread. The American children are taught at schools that the United States of America was founded with the idea that all people are considered equal (Jeynes and Martinez 195). The history books suggest that the founding fathers did not apply this idea to the African American slaves in the South; however, the ratification of the Constitution was the first step to bring the principle of equality into law. Even though the American government grants equal rights and equal protections to all citizens, it would be wrong to state with confidence that the American society is the nation of equals. Jeynes and Martinez emphasize that as long as Darwinism evolution remains the sole teaching about mans origins that children are exposed to in the public schools, racism will be highly institutionalized in the way children are instructed (196). Even though this argument deals mostly with religious aspects of the human evolution, Jeynes and Martinez describe the current situation in American society very clear. Even today, many people are strongly convinced that the Whites are superior to African Americans in their intellectual abilities while African Americans are superior to Whites in terms of physical development and athletic skills. It is possible to assume that African Americans, for example, are more skilful in sports due to their physical characteristics; however, this difference should not become the benchmark for dividing society in groups. Due to the social stratification and the segmentation of the nation into different groups, the concept of equality is present on the paper only. Every person has a number of groups he or she belongs to. For example, a teenager may belong to the African American group by his race, basketball team by his sports participation, Christian group by his religious beliefs, and high school community by his age. From one side, social identification is necessary for the development as well as normal functioning of any person. From the other side, the institutionalized social groups contribute to further division of society and diminishment of the concept of equality. Sidlow and Henschen draw the attention of the American nation to the idea of civil rights which guarantee all citizens equal treatment under the law, as supported with the Fourteenth Amendment (99). From the standpoint of democracy, all people have equal rights as well. However, the idea of equality within American society is an ideal which has not been achieved yet. Numerous groups in American society struggle today to obtain equal treatment. For example, the gay couples try to obtain legal equality in terms of marriage and adoption of children and millions of illegal immigrants strive to achieve legal status of citizens. Thus, the law does not allow discrimination against a particular group of people; however, it does not imply that equality is created. In a sense, the emergence of the independent United States is based on the history of discrimination against minorities. Sidlow and Henschen emphasize that discrimination against women, African Americans, and Native Americans dates back to the early years of the nation, the time when farmers in the South refused to give equal rights to others (99). As more and more diverse people arrived to the United States, it was necessary to bring in the issue of equality into political framework. Nevertheless, it was not enough to ensure equality on the paper; it was necessary to integrate the concept of equality into social relations. Consequently, today millions of people belonging to diverse minority groups have no opportunity to experience equality in their daily lives. It is important to mention that despite of the widespread recognition of the importance of equality and tolerance towards differences among people, the scientific and academic community started to focus on the rights of minority people only a decade or two ago. In particular, the idea of the inclusive classrooms emerged only several years ago, when the educators realized that their classrooms were composed of diverse students with different needs. It does not mean that classrooms became diverse only a decade ago. It means that the issue of equality has not been properly addressed before. Initially, it was expected that the diverse people coming to the United States would be assimilated into the mainstream culture. However, Vera and Feagin argue that today the mere idea of assimilation is no longer effective. Thus, clear distinctions are made between those who believe all people should be given a fair chance to succeed and those who believe that if people dont have equal access to res ources, measures should be take to equalize opportunity (299). Unfortunately, the equality in American nation exists mostly theoretically rather than practically. People are judged by their market value, as Americans are taught to respect the wealthy and despise the poor. The human character has less value than social and physical attributes. Moreover, Vera and Feagin suggest that very few people are willing to support proactive measure to ensure equality because it would mean loss of the privileges for the dominant groups. At the same time, many people believe that equality is the defining feature of the American society, as any person from any part of the world is able to become successful in this country. However, this view is expressed in support of the economic success rather than social equality. In addition to economic measures of success, the American people attribute significant value to individualism as opposed to collectivism. In other words, Americans tend to emphasize the importance of individuals rather than teams, groups, or community. Naylor argues that because of this particular flavor of self-reliance, the American nation can not become equal (56). For many people, equality means nothing more than equal participation in educational and educational systems, for example. Indeed, equality does not mean that all people have equal talents and are able to achieve outstanding success. Equality is not attainable in these aspects. Therefore, equality means equal access to systems and equal opportunities for all people. The global community believes that the American nation grants equal opportunities to all citizens. Nevertheless, until today no significant progress has been achieved to guarantee equal opportunities. Many initiatives have been introduced to tackle the problem of discrimination with the hope to integrate equality into American society. For example, the affirmative action was institutionalized to give minority students a better chance for admission. However, affirmative action initiative failed because of its ineffectiveness. The American society is not a nation of equals, and the removal of the political barriers to equality did not result in the removal of economic and social barriers as well. Naylor suggests that the members of the mainstream culture tend to focus on freedom, the rights of the individual, equality, achievement, and mobility (57). The members of other groups strive to become part of mainstream culture as well. The reason to seek membership in dominant culture is rather obvious for many centuries, the dominating groups have been enjoying more rights and freedoms. Today, the situation is not much different to the time when African Americans were slaves, for example. Even though slavery has been prohibited, members of minority groups do not have equal access to political, economic, and social systems. The reason for the failure to bring equality into society is not related to the weakness of political system or lack of opportunities for all. The key issue behind lack of equality is related to cultural and economic factors. For example, a teenager born to immigrant parents may not have equal opportunity to attend college compared to other students only because his parents are not able to afford education. Consequently, this teenager is not able to take advantage of equal opportunity to have well-paid job because lack of education is projected on career. In the long-run, this teenager is likely to become an adult who does not fit the mainstream group of successful, educated Whites not because of ethnic or racial differences but rather because of the social and economic barriers. In conclusion, the American nation prides itself for its principle of equality, freedoms and rights for all. Nevertheless, the reality is that equality remains nothing more than a concept addressed by the American Constitution. As the nation of immigrants, the American society includes diverse people who strive to take the fullest advantage of their individualism. To ensure equality, the government should remove not only legislative barriers to equal participation but also provide all people with an opportunity to participate in economic and social systems.

Medias Impact on Politics Essay -- Government

Here in America, we try to pay close attention to everything that goes on in the government. Whatever decision they make we want to know when, where, why, and how. This is because whatever decision that they make will determine what will happen with this country as a whole in the long run. So what is the best way to find out what’s going on with our government? Why the media of course. The media plays a major part in every aspect of the government including what happens in elections, the reporting of major military operations and how the American people will react to certain political situations or scandals. Here are some the ways that the media affects the way we think when it comes to the government. The Right to Laugh: Media Satire and its Role in Politics. In times of political and world turmoil such as the ones we live in today, one may find it impossible to turn on a television or open a newspaper without finding some work that aims to criticize or express opinion about the state of things. Straight ahead and well written essays and reports and serious discussions are always important and the most common method for challenging the status quo. However, in our media saturated world, satires and political comedy are also a valid and potent weapon. Throughout the history of the 20th century and continuing stronger than ever today, political humor and satire has played a significant role in how we as a society perceive, judge, and run our government. True satire is meant to firstly challenge an idea or thought construct and in effect evoke change, all the while making its audience find humor in the idea it challenges. Television programs such as Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Dennis Miller Live, Comedy Central’s... ...ws.mpr.org/features/2003/03/26_losurem_arabtv Hale, E. Arab Media Focus on Another Side of the Conflict. USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2003, from the World Wide Web: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-30-arab-media_x.htm Audiences fragmented and skeptical: The tough job of communicating with voters (February 5, 2000). The Pew Research Center for People and the Press. Interest Index, Final Topline, January 12-16, 2000. Milbank, D. (October 18, 2000). Tracking Laughs is no Joke in Election Year. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2003, from the World Wide Web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36109-2000Oct18Found=true Moore fires Oscar anti-war salvo (March 24, 2003) The BBC Online Journal. Retrieved March 27 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2879857.stm

Clockwork Orange :: essays research papers

The movie A Clockwork Orange takes place in the future of London. Anthony Burgess originally wrote it. Later on made into a movie, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The movie is to represent ultra-violence and how there is no scientific cure yet. The social context is very violent in the beginning showing scenes of rape and assault. The movie shows a violent killer and rapist, and an attempt to cure him that fails. The author of A Clockwork Orange is Anthony Burgess, also went by the name Joseph Kell. He was born on February 25, 1917, in Manchester. His family was middle class, and their religious background was Catholic. His family life was not easy. His father was a cashier and piano player. His mother died of the flu in 1919, two years after he was born. So with his mother gone and his father not doing to great financially, his maternal aunt then raised him. His stepmother then raised him. Despite the many changes in where he was living, he always was good in school. He continued his studies at Xaverian College and Manchester University. When in college he studied the English language, and literature. He finished school in 1940, which was right around World War II. So he now had to serve at the Royal Army Medical corps. He fell in love and got married in 1942, to an alcoholic named llwela Isherwood, who passed away in 1968 due to alcohol. Burgess was released from the medical corp. around 1945, and then started teaching. He held down to jobs from 1946 to 1950. The jobs were a college professor at Birmingham University and a teacher at Banbury Grammar School. He was not writing that much at this point, only studying music. Anthony Burgess completed his first novel in 1949, although it was finished, it was not published until 1965. In 1954 he was an education officer, he then wrote a trilogy. This trilogy included Time for a Tiger, The Enemy in the Blanket, and Beds in the East.

He can see those eyes, those beautiful blue eyes stained with blood and evil – Creative Writing

Sweating, He awoke from this nightmare. Breathing in frantic, panicked breaths. He often woke up like this. Always the same nightmare. No matter how he tried he could never get back to sleep. Those eyes he saw, they haunted him, no matter how he hated to admit it, they completely controlled his life. Ever since that night three years ago when his life was ripped to pieces†¦ just like his parents. He'd grown up in a small town called Raggs on the east coast of Germany with his Mother, Father and twin sister. To their neighbours and friends, they were a normal family, but He knew different, he knew of his father brutality and abuse towards his sister and mother. His sister would come into his room late at night, covered in bruises and shaking. She hated their father; she'd always talk about how she wished he was dead, that one day she was the one who'd kill him. That she'd kill our mother too for not protecting them, for letting him beat her. He always agreed. He thought they were just words that helped her release the pain inside herself. Until he saw it. He was walking home from football practice late at night, it was cold and there was a heavy fog. His friends had all gone home before him and he was alone. He walked as fast as he could; these streets were dangerous after 8pm. It was cloudy and the moon was hardly visible. There was something wrong about that night. It was too quiet. As he approached his front door, he could smell an awful scent, it reeked of blood. He rushed inside, the smell was overwhelming, he felt faint. All the lights were off, but he could tell someone was home, the house always smelt of fresh flowers, his mother loved flowers. It was too odd. He heard a shuffling noise in the back room, almost as though someone was dragging something. He tiptoed along the hallway, trying to be as quiet as he could, feeling along the cold walls to keep himself from tripping up. He felt something wet on his fingers; in the dim light it looked black on his fingertips. It was blood. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he could see it. Blood everywhere, all over the carpet and the walls, drag marks going into every room. His heart was thumping inside his chest, his throat was dry. What had happened? Had his father gone mad? Was there a murderer in the house? What had happened to his sister? His mother? He crept into the back room, holding his breath, what would he do if they noticed him? He didn't know how to fight. He scanned the room with his strained eyes; the curtains were pulled; only a little moonlight lit the room. There was someone sitting there, on the sofa. Staring at him, so it seemed, though he couldn't see the persons face. The mysterious stranger stood up and started walking towards him, he could feel himself hyperventilating. From the silhouette, the stranger seemed quite short, about his height with a feminine figure and short hair. â€Å"I told you I'd do it, Ien.† The stranger whispered, getting closer. That voice. It was familiar, soft and girly, but it sounded wrong. It was too harsh sounding. Too menacing. The light filtered in through the gap in the curtains. His eyes were drawn to the figures on the floor around his feet. A stifled scream escaped his lips as he realised who they were. It was his mother and father; they were white as snow, apart from the blood painted on their skin. He looked back up at the stranger, tears spilling from his eyes. His green eyes met deep blue ones staring back at him. He knew those eyes. He knew that same green cross-shaped scar that he himself wore under his left eye. It was his sister. They weren't their real parents, but they'd adopted them when they were 6 and treated them with nothing but love and affection, until the beating started. But it was a family, and that was more than enough for Ien. He couldn't remember much of his real parents, his mother died in childbirth and his father was violent. But he couldn't remember how he got this scar, and why Lena had it too. It was a strange scar, his was a cross, like you get at a gravestone, it was tinted blue and stained under his left eye. Lena had the same, but hers was upside down, and green. It would be logical if they were born with them, but they weren't. He couldn't even remember where his dad went. Neither could Lena. They both blacked out one night, and woke up in a hospital; apparently they were comatose for 2 years. The frustration of not knowing things was too much to bear, Ien liked having answers, Lena always told him that sometimes the answers were best left to the imagination. That the answers weren't always the answers you wanted. â€Å"Lena?† He whispered. His heart was racing, what was happening? Why was she looking at him with such dreadful eyes? His father's eyes. â€Å"Lena, what did you do?† â€Å"Sometimes the answers aren't always what you want to hear.† She giggled. She started walking towards him, the weak, rotted floorboards beneath her creaking as she moved. He saw a flash of light from her hand, she was holding something. A knife. He heard the drip-drop of blood as it ran off the blade, filling the cracks in the floorboards, slowly getting closer. â€Å"And my name is not Lena. Lena wouldn't hurt a fly. She's so weak. But I'm stronger than Lena. I've seen the things she's gone through, I feel her pain. She's crying inside me. But this time I'll take over, she can't hold me back anymore.† Ien drew a long, shaky breath. He could feel the tears filling his eyes. Who was this monster? Dirtying Lena's hands with the blood of the people she loved the most? He couldn't let Lena be destroyed by this thing that is controlling her mind, but she's getting closer. He was so confused. What did she mean by ‘She won't hold me back anymore'? Were there two Lena's? Before Ien had time to figure everything out, she had the blade at his throat. The cold metal cutting into his skin and making his hair stand on end. She brought her mouth close to his ear, her cold breath chilling him to the bone, she whispered â€Å"And now it's your turn.†

Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” Essay

What would the world be like if mankind disappeared? This is the theme of Ray Bradbury’s story â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains†. All of the characters in the story are machines, which through personification take the place of human characters. The theme of man’s destruction reverberates throughout the story. Bradbury uses personification to describe the mechanical creations of man that eventually lead to the story’s theme of the destruction of mankind. There are no human characters at all in the story; instead, there are machines with human characteristics. Miller notes that personification is constantly used to describe the house’s actions (1). This is seen in the first line of the story,† In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get up, seven o’ clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would† (Bradbury 76). The distress of the voice-clock gives it a humanoid impression, which allows it to take the place of human characters. Another interesting example of personification is seen in the way that Bradbury describes the robotic mice. â€Å"Behind it whirred angry mice, angry at having to pick up mud, angry at inconvenience† (Bradbury 77). However, machines are incapable of feelings. Hicks observes that readers are reminded that the rodent readers are mechanical, and that feelings-â€Å"those highly praised human emotions†-cannot exist in machines (234). In fact, there is only one living character in the whole story. As Jennifer Hicks points out, the only live being in the house is the dog, who enters mid-story (234). The dog is not very seemly. â€Å"The dog, once huge and fleshy, but now gone to bone and covered with sores, moved in and through the house, tracking mud† (Bradbury 77). It is pathetic and dying, much like the human race. Life after the destruction of man is the main theme of the story. It is hinted in the story that an atomic bomb was the cause of man’s demise. Bradbury does not blatantly tall the reader that an atomic catastrophe occurred, but reveals it by describing the house and its surroundings (Miller 6). The reader is told that, â€Å"The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing. At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles† (Bradbury 77). The â€Å"ruined city† and â€Å"radioactive glow† give readers enough clues to  conclude that atomic warfare was the cause of man’s downfall. While it is known that the earth is now empty, Bradbury also indicates that it was empty before the bomb. Peltier suggests that this world was empty even before the destruction, with mechanical mice vacuuming and a sing-song clock telling time. The dull, mechanical world was empty long before people were taken from it (238). This can be seen in the nursery, where â€Å"Animals took shape: yellow giraffes, blue lions, pink antelopes, lilac panthers cavorting in crystal substance. The walls were glass. They looked out upon color and fantasy† (Bradbury 78). Children do not even go outside to enjoy nature, but watch it on their mechanical walls, their lives growing more and more hollow and empty. Another point that Bradbury makes is that if man disappeared, nothing would care, or even notice. Peltier explains that â€Å"The title of the story, taken from the poem quoted within it, suggests that if humankind were gone, nature would not only endure, but it would also not even notice our disappearance† (237). Sara Teasdale’s poem best illustrates this. â€Å"And not one will know of the war, not one/Will care at last when it is done./Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,/If mankind perished utterly;/ And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn/ Would scarcely know that we were gone (Bradbury 79). Indeed, life would go on after mankind, and would go on peacefully. Therefore, Bradbury’s use of personification describe the machines that eventually lead to the story’s theme of mankind’s destruction. Personification allows the machines to show us what the people who owned the house were like: cold, impersonal, and oblivious to the outside- characteristics that led to both man and machine’s downfall. The author uses the story’s theme of the destruction of man to show readers the effects of becoming too dependent on machines and withdrawing from nature and the world. The chilling thing about Bradbury’s story is the acknowledgment of human dependency on machinery today, and the realization that in such a technologically advanced world, the story could easily become reality.

Is social media ruining our lives? Do you think social networking sites like Face book have an over all negative effect on society ? Essay

The Negative Effects of Social Media & Technology Why so many people cannot live without their phone updating their face book? In this generation people are so addicted on face book. Before and after they go to bed they cannot help themselves checking other people’s status and updating their personal life. According to About.com Web tends, â€Å"Social media is form of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, and personal messages. Face book is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. It began as a college networking website and has expanded to include anyone and everyone.† Social media has become part of our daily lives. We are sharing information, ideas, and being able to comment on every ones photos and videos. However, social media has a negative effect in our lives and society. Social networking sites like Face book, My Space, I nstagram, and Twitter have an overall negative effect on society. Face book help to keep us connected to our family, friends and loved-ones. However, people share too much information which can lead to negative threats. Face book has become a big distraction of our society. Social media also allows contact with people around the world. It is actually source of easy communication; it is also common way that people express themselves. It can keep you up to update on the happenings of all our loved ones. However, it has a negative effect on society. Social media has become a big erosion of society. For instance, Face book. If we made ourselves completely exposed to the world, another negative effect on networking sites we shares too much information on face book and it lead us to physical danger. Cyber bullying has become a real threat; especially to teenagers it leads them to suicides. Face book has quickly become one of the most popular social networking websites on the internet. Once you have signed up for Face book account, you have made yourself completely exposed to the world. When you put all your personal private information on face book a lot of people can see your personal information. For instance, if someone wants to find anything about you, they will be able to find you on face book. The people with who you haven’t talked to in a long time for instance, your old classmates, or old friends. The negative effect on  social media sites is what if you were hiding from someone, someone you don’t want to talk to because you owed them some money or they were harassing you, they would be able to find you fairly easily. The bad thing about face book is you cannot hide from someone unless you deactivate your account. The good thing to do on face book is just keep our information private, so the people who are trying to find you on face book cannot do anything. Face book users shares too much information which can lead them a negative threats. They are over sharing of details in their everyday lives. For example, when someone posts photos or videos on face book and Twitter, it becomes viral. Even if the user deletes the video from his/her account, someone mi ght have kept it and then posted in onto other sites. According to We Shall Over share Mary Katherine, â€Å"There are thousands over sharing online as I write, paying the price with a decrease of their dignity, so you don’t have to. It’s amazing how reasonably you act when everyone you know (and many you don’t) is watching you.† Mary Katherine Ham also said, â€Å"It caused to illustrate the dangers of living a life online. As millions of us have taken to Face book, MySpace, and Twitter to connect with friends, share stories, and post pictures at a quickness and total heretofore unknown, we’ve also exponentially multiplied ways to humiliate ourselves. [The weekly Standard, June 8, 2009]. I think people should have personal responsibility because once you say or post something on Face book, you don’t get it back. Consistently, we are over sharing on social networking sites for instance, our photos and videos. Because we are so excited to let people know, what’s going on in our lives? However, we don’t know the danger on social networking sites it goes viral. In the end, we blamed other people for our irresponsible actions. While bullying has always been an issue of society, it seems that in our modern society become common through online media like Face book. It happens to all the children and teenagers. In â€Å"Colleen’s Weekly Blog,† John Halligan father of Ry an’s spoke, â€Å"His son was bullied so badly that he committed suicide at the age of thirteen.(cooleencorrigan.blogs.com)This new form of cyber bullying has been more popular in middle school and high schools. Cyber bullying lead them to suicide because of people hurts other people. There are also a small amount of parents that have face book accounts and keep up with their children. Once we are completely exposed to the social media like face book  and Twitter, we should have more responsibilities for our actions. Networking sites is like fast food, it goes so fast. It will lead us to negative effect on our lives. Social media has become a major part of our society. It connects us to communicate with our family and friends who lived on other city or other country. Face book, MySpace, Instagram and Twitter. However, it has a lot of negative effect on our If we post something on face book or other social media we should personal responsibility for our actions society. People are so addicted on social media like face book. Social media has been big erosion for us. Constantly we forget that we have something to do in our daily lives. Too much information on face book can lead us negative effect on our lives. It also leads to suicide because of cyber bullying. In this generation technology has become famous, people become addicted on social media. If we post something on face book or other social media we should personal responsibility for our actions. Online communication frequently takes the place of real life. They become dependent on the technology and forget how to socialize in face to-face. Back in the day computer did not exist; they only used telephone to communicate with other people. People used to live a simple life and had more time for their family and friends. What happened to our generation right now? Why is our society, especially the young generations, are so addicted to new technology? They cannot leave without their phone; they cannot go to sleep without checking their face book. What if technology did not exist? Are we going to be more focused on our everyday lives? Are we going to have a simple life without depending on our technology?

Watching Television Is Bad for Children

Television is an ever-present form of entertainment and information in modern society. Although there are many excellent educational programs, I believe that television may not be good for children. This is because television can make children more violent due to violent content and because television may have a negative influence on children’s schoolwork. One problem is that television makes children more aggressive. Oftentimes, especially in the evenings and on cable television there is a lot of violence depicted in programs.Children are often exposed to these programs, and there are some people that believe that these programs can even make children more violent. In the news, there was a story about a young boy who was watching an action movie that had a lot of fighting. The boy tried some of the things that he saw in the movie on his younger brother and put him in the hospital. The problem is that many of the characters in movies that are performing violent actions are sup posed to be the heroes, and children want to mimic the actions of their heroes. In a young mind, seeing as children are copying heroic action, they do not see it as a wrong behavior.Another big problem with television is that it may have a negative influence on children’s schoolwork. Every moment spent in front of a television screen is one less moment spent on more productive activities. In recent years, educators have pointed out a drop in academic performance, and one of the culprits may be television. When children are at home, especially alone, they tend to turn on the TV in order to be passively entertained. However, there is no learning going on when one just sits and watches TV. That is much easier than putting thought into schoolwork.Television can be addictive and cause children to spend more time watching TV than doing their homework. Children have to be monitored to make sure that the bulk of their time is spent on the more important activities, such as learning. Television can be an entertaining way to spend free time as long as it is not abused. However, children especially need to monitored when they watch TV. This is because there is evidence that television violence is causing some children to be more aggressive, and TV may also be harming children academically. As with anything, watching too much television is bad for children. Watching Television Is Bad for Children Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Watching television is bad for children. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Most people in the world including children use to watch TV at least two hours per day. Some people believe watching TV may pose several negative effects for their children, while others think that TV provides more benefits for children than negative effects. These two points of view will be discussed accordingly.In the modern world there are many different programs, movies and cartoons which are interesting for all children. Some parents complain that their children use to watch TV for a long time, while they are at work, which results to a slow progress at school and also make their lifestyle less active. This is evidenced in how many children like to watch the ‘Nickelodeon’ channel and even know the names of most characters in many cartoons. It is obvious that children prefer to spend their time watching TV than doi ng daily homework for school purposes or going in for sports.On the other hand, many argue that watching TV poses advantages to children’s intellectual capacities, because they may also watch many cognitive channels, for instance the ‘BBC World’, the ‘Animal planet’ or the ‘Discovery’ which provide daily news or other interesting facts. In conclusion, watching TV is not bad for children, as it may develop their intellectual capacities. However parents should control what their children are watching and also do not allow them to watch TV more than two hours per day, because watching TV for a long time may pose several negative effects for their studies at school as well as for their health status.

Jurisprudence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Jurisprudence - Essay Example The people affected in the new legislations include ethnic minority groups which in turn undermines civil liberties and the basic human rights of the individuals involved. In 2000, counter terror laws were passed which had serious drawbacks in relation to human rights. Some of the laws passed included indefinite detention without fair trial of any foreign nationals who by any reason were considered to have an involvement in terror activities. Another one included up to sixteen hours of house arrest without charge to individuals who the security organs considered a threat as far as terrorism was considered. Pre-charge detention which was passed into law at that time also allowed a fourteen day detention of individuals in terrorism cases which compared to any law was the longest in detention of individuals before trial. The Terrorism Act 2000 had many contentious sections especially the one which was later repealed that allowed stop and search on individuals without suspecting them. The laws set were found to be infringing on the rights of peaceful protestors and ethnic minority groups which should be allowed to hold their demonstrations in peace. The definition of terrorism in counter terror laws which includes individuals with religious, racial, or political cause that may be viewed as having or causing individuals to become radicals. For instance, the Islamic religion has been related to terror activities due to the involvement of some individuals found to be Muslims in terror activities. In countering terrorism, the speeches made by individuals that are purported to support terrorism were considered to be part of terrorism. This broad definition of terrorism have been found to be wrong since there are no strict measures put in place to categorize a piece of information as supporting terror. This could lead to some people being considered criminals due to the speeches they

International buiness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International buiness - Assignment Example Under this theory, the role of government is highly important. Government needs to push and encourage companies and organization to a more competitive level, in this manner, increasing performance and eventually the overall combined benefits. Competitive Advantage and Porter’s Diamond Theory Competitive advantage is that area of expertise of a firm where it outperforms its competitors or more specifically, other nations or countries. Through researches, it has been observed that marketing plays a vital role in building up the competitive advantage of companies. The name ‘Diamond’ has been labeled due to the four factors, which the natural environment conceptualizes. According to Porter’s Diamond Theory, a country can capitalize its competitive advantage in any of the area where it excels other countries. For instance, due to the climate and weather conditions of European countries, Starbucks is very popular among those countries but if the company intends t o expand itself in South East Asian countries, then the weather conditions of South East Asia do not permit the company to expand its’ business in these areas. Therefore, European countries have competitive advantage of having cold weather. Another example includes Nike. Nike chose China for manufacturing concerns due to cheap labor and overhead expenditures in lieu of European countries, where overhead expenditures and labor are much higher as compared to China. Therefore, China possesses competitive advantage of having low labor and overhead costs than European Countries. Literature Review Droge and Neven (2001) stated that it is difficult for agricultural food SMEs to become and stay competitive in this period of globalization. The paper of Droge and Neven (2001) argues that the holistic diamond model of Porter is superior in investigating the cluster dynamics; here cluster is defined as a homogenous group of firms involved in marketing specific product in a specific locat ion. Droge and Neven (2001) concluded that despite of the fact that this model has not been tested in most of the developing countries, but those rare researches that have been conducted to validate the diamond model, affirm that the diamond model of Porter is intrinsically better. Rugman and Verbeke (1993) proposed an article to study the interaction between international and national determinants of a country, which leads to competitive success of a country at global level. Rugman and Verbeke (1993) stated that the model can be made even better and therefore, suggested extending the Porter’s Diamond framework and used a variant, i.e. SWOT analysis in order to functionalize the Porter’s Diamond model (Rugman and Verbeke, 1993). Narula (1993) stated that the diamond model of Porter is a static one. The author further stated that it is based just on the subjective analysis of only those countries, which are industries based. Narula (1993) further stated that this model is not applicable for the developed or developing countries. The author highlighted the role of technology in the development

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 17

Management - Essay Example The government will then have the money to take measures of social welfare. The legal dimension proposes that the business organisations should follow the rules and regulations proposed by the government and should not evade taxes. During their operation, business organisations should follow the rules related to health and safety of the staff, rules against racial or sex discrimination, emission norms etc. There are several industry specific rules such as rule related to hazardous waste, which must be followed. The ethical dimension refers to the business ethics of fair competition while protecting the interest of the major stakeholders be it the shareholders, consumers and the employees. It requires the business owners to work with the moral conscience while taking business decisions. The discretionary dimension is the philanthropic part of social responsibility wherein the business organisation make donations for the social cause such as poverty alleviation, education of the poor sections of the social, control of a deadly disease like cancer or HIV AIDS. There are donations made by businesses during any national or global calamity. All these become a part of discretionary philanthropic act. Only two of the four dimensions discussed above has been the part of Friedman’s statement i.e. economic and legal dimension. In his essay, Friedman argues that the ethical and the discretionary dimensions can be the responsibility of any individual be it the businessmen or the employees of the organisation and not the business. As was insisted in the stakeholder theory by R. Edward Freeman, business organisations have legal obligation towards the primary and secondary stakeholders to run in a profitable and fair manner. The primary stakeholders include shareholders, customers, business partners, employees and the community while the secondary stakeholders include the government and the regulatory bodies, civic institutions

EUROPEAN LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

EUROPEAN LAW - Essay Example idity and the legal basis of the said directives.2 The manufacturers invoked the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality, right to property and the right to conduct economic activity under Articles 28 and 30 EC and the European Convention Human Rights Protocol, which specify provisions on basic right to property and the right to conduct economic activity freely. The claimants also invoked infraction of Article 253 EC also referred to as the duty to give reasons. Furthermore, the manufacturers of food supplement also challenged Articles 3, 4(1) and 15 (b) of the EC rulings, which state that only food supplements which comply with aforesaid directives may be sold within the European Community and the vitamins and minerals specified under the directives may be utilised. The directive further stated that effective August 1, 2005, products which did not comply with the directives should be prohibited.3 The court has dealt with these issues in the past as for instance in the case of Sw edish Match and Arnold Andre4 and has made its decisions based on the judgments brought forth on that particular case. The EC Directives define ‘food supplements’ as products or items whose purpose is to supplement the daily diet, foodstuffs which contain concentrated nutrients or materials having nutritional or physiological results. These supplements are either marketed in isolation or come in dosage forms, which include capsules, tablets or pills. One of the disputed directives state that only ‘vitamins and minerals’ specified ‘in the forms listed in Annex I and in the forms listed in Annex II maybe used for the manufacture of food supplement5. The court riling and the EC directives likewise invoked treaties signed by the member states of the EC. The Directive provided in Article 15 also affirmed that ‘Member States shall bring into the force of laws’ and other aforesaid stipulations needed to abide by the Directive6. The manufacturers of health foods asked the courts

Will be provide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Will be provide - Essay Example creased from 3 to 3% and following system stabilization the flow set point percentage was found to remain constant but the position of the flow valve had closed slightly from 30.1 to 47.5%. Additionally, the level valve had closed from 32.7 to 25.6%. The results were recorded. The level of the tank and the capacity section was ascertained with the help of a meter stick attached to the tank and the reading was compared to that of a controller. The compared levels ((%) vs. level) was plotted in meters and from the figure the line of best fit as determined by the transmitter gain was found to be1.206 %/cm. The next part of the experiment involved comparison of readings taken from four different flow measuring devices to a standard change in volume over time. While the flow rates of the rotameter and transmitter were read in USGPM, those of the controller and console were taken as percent rates. With gradual increase in the height over time the changes noted in the height was used for volume calculation. Appendix 2 includes the flow rates and after conversion of the actual flow rates to USGPM, a comparison between all the actual, rotameter and transmitter flow rates indicated a mutual agreement in the rates. The flow rates of the console and controller were closer as they used the same controller. The characteristics of the valve were determined for the flow and level value by increasing the flow percentage and taking the valve position values from the display controller. A plot of the Fractional Flow (Flow %/Max Flow %) vs. fractional valve opening which is indicative of the flow and level valve can be used to determine valve characteristics such as to quick-opening, linear, or equal-percentage relationships. In this case, a plot of both valves showed an almost linear valve character except for a slight distortion in the quick opening which can be attributed to drop in pressure across the value. While the valves had identical and linear characters originally,