Belaboring Colonialism essays

Belaboring Colonialism essays In the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the reader is given a look at Belgiums colonialism, and how grimly corrupt that policy is. Colonialism is a policy in which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies. (The American Heritage Dictionary, colonialism) Usually a country like Britain would take over a primitive country such as Africa civilize it and make some sort of trade or stimulate mutual economic growth. However, in Heart of Darkness, colonialism detracts from the civility of Africa and adds a brutal element. Conrad uses this inhumane description of colonization to support other themes in the novel. This technique enhances the most prevalent themes in the novel. The Plot of Heart of Darkness revolves around the trade or removal of ivory from Africa. It becomes more than a trade though; the search for ivory becomes a greedy obsession to all involved. The following quote shows the tainted greed and obsession ivory has brought. The word ivory rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse.(HoD, 44) The way the British wished to rape Africa of its ivory seems to show how disgraceful their system of colonialism was in Conrads eyes. However, his reason for go in into such detail is to strengthen more prevalent themes. One such theme is darkness. Conrad nearly belabors the idea and tone of darkness in this novel. These constant references to the brutality of colonialism simply are the crux of his topic of darkness. Frequently throughout the novel Conrad gives descriptions of the horrible treatment of the Africans. One such passage shows Marlow nonchalantly describing a chain gang, Six black men advancing in a file, toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing smal ...

Free Essays on The Possibility Of Evil

In the short story â€Å"The Possibility of Evil† by Shirley Jackson, Miss Adela Strangeworth is an elderly woman living on Pleasant Street who is known for her beautiful roses. The setting is taking place in a close-knit town, which plays the essential role in her motives for evil. Strangeworth thinks she owns the town and everyone inside it. She believes there to be great evil among everyone but, herself. She writes letters throughout the story to people in her town and telling them all the negatives about them. She doesn’t postmark her name so no one is to know who is writing them these letters. She leaves them to believe it could never be her nor would she want it to be her to be blamed for such a thing. Until, she mistakenly drops one of the letters and is seen doing it. Strangeworth goes about her everyday with having her usual trips downtown to the grocery and making sure to say hello to everyone she passes. She makes comments to everyone whether it is negative or not she is always being the judge of character. Adela Strangeworth’s role was one she chose herself. . Adela Strangeworth was involved with everyone’s business, â€Å"This was, after all, her town, and these were her people; if one of them was in trouble, she ought to know about it† (JACKSON 469). She wrote them secret, mean and hateful letters in reciprocation to their evil actions, which began to ruin their lives. Her nosiness, not the towns, drove her to her final fate. Adela Strangeworth resorts to evil actions in order to gain control over what she desired. â€Å"Her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion† (JACKSON 467), the letters she writes are all assumptions, lacking evidence and facts for such accusations. Adela Strange worth’s acts were so cruel in the public’s eye that they destroy her rose bushes. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines cruel as â€Å" causing pain and suffering to others† (DICTONARY 189). Her decisi... Free Essays on The Possibility Of Evil Free Essays on The Possibility Of Evil In the short story â€Å"The Possibility of Evil† by Shirley Jackson, Miss Adela Strangeworth is an elderly woman living on Pleasant Street who is known for her beautiful roses. The setting is taking place in a close-knit town, which plays the essential role in her motives for evil. Strangeworth thinks she owns the town and everyone inside it. She believes there to be great evil among everyone but, herself. She writes letters throughout the story to people in her town and telling them all the negatives about them. She doesn’t postmark her name so no one is to know who is writing them these letters. She leaves them to believe it could never be her nor would she want it to be her to be blamed for such a thing. Until, she mistakenly drops one of the letters and is seen doing it. Strangeworth goes about her everyday with having her usual trips downtown to the grocery and making sure to say hello to everyone she passes. She makes comments to everyone whether it is negative or not she is always being the judge of character. Adela Strangeworth’s role was one she chose herself. . Adela Strangeworth was involved with everyone’s business, â€Å"This was, after all, her town, and these were her people; if one of them was in trouble, she ought to know about it† (JACKSON 469). She wrote them secret, mean and hateful letters in reciprocation to their evil actions, which began to ruin their lives. Her nosiness, not the towns, drove her to her final fate. Adela Strangeworth resorts to evil actions in order to gain control over what she desired. â€Å"Her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion† (JACKSON 467), the letters she writes are all assumptions, lacking evidence and facts for such accusations. Adela Strange worth’s acts were so cruel in the public’s eye that they destroy her rose bushes. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines cruel as â€Å" causing pain and suffering to others† (DICTONARY 189). Her decisi...

Scene analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Scene analysis - Assignment Example Based on sounds effects, the producer has utilized love and cultural music backgrounds that provide the audience with similar themes to those presented by the characters. The scene offers the audience with an insight of the themes and characterization aspects in the movie. The segment also provides a general overview of the film due to the presence of the main characters and an example of what happens to most of the mistresses after joining the royal family. Visual themes (Mise en scà ¨ne) have also had the effect of providing a perfect scene in terms of costumes, lighting, design and color (Maslin). The scene also serves as part of the movie’s title due to the presence of the red lanterns that have to be lit after any of the mistresses spends the night with Chen. The selected part also presents knowledge on the use of the lanterns during the welcoming and preparing the new mistresses to the family. Additionally, the scene has presents love and Chinese cultural themes that prevail in the film. The scene has a close relationship with the film’s production due to its design. The segment has utilized most of the aspects of productions as set by the director, mostly the movie’s title. There is the presence of editing benefits since most of the scenes includes the same setting; hence, reducing costs in the production of the movie. The audience is also thrilled by the background of the movie based on the Chinese culture and a connecting with the movie’s title. The scene has exposed a variety of themes that have been portrayed in the entire film. For instance, poverty and dissatisfaction that are present in other segments of the movie have been strongly presented in the scene. The red lanterns act as symbols of Songlians suffering from the introduction of the film. Additionally, the scene present’s part of the title, proving the audience with

Talent Management In Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies Essay

Talent Management In Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies - Essay Example Clearly defining the extent of each employee’s role in various company activities is just one of the ways Talent Management helps to accomplish that objective. Surprisingly, organisations have only just begun to embrace models of Talent Management as a means to reaching goals and objectives. This proposal will explore the current model of Talent Management, exploring its advantages, processes, and objective. Since 1987, Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (GAMCO), renamed Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) in 2007, has through the investment of the Abu Dhabi government, become the largest provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in the Middle East. It serves not only the Gulf Region and other parts of Middle East but also attracts customers for Africa, North America and Asia. ADAT’s operation has garnered approval from many certificates on Authorities including local, European and American ones, provides the following services in-house and remotely on site: 1) Airframe Services; 2) Component Services; 3) Engine Services; 4) Technical Services; 5) Technical Training & 6) Material & Management Supply. In combination with major United Arab Emirates government defence contracts, its principle activities include the sale and support for missile defence, commercial jetliners, satellites, military aircraft, and human space flight to Etihad Airlines and various international carriers operating to and from more than 50 international airports worldwide. In this case study will analyse Talent Management in Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). 1.2 Problem Statement Due to the highly competitive nature of the aviation industry the need for Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) to employ a team that can expand its technical and management team is immense. The challenge; therefore, becomes can ADAT adopt effective strategies that will not only enable them to attract, but also maintain the right talent. As likely surmised, the right talen t is paramount to maintaining a competitive advantage in both new and existing markets. 1.3 Research Aim This study aims to  analyze the Talent Management process in Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies and to make recommendations for improvement. One of the largest--if not the largest--cost to a company generally involves compensation for its workforce. Proportionately, effective analysis of the process of recruiting and hiring employees will pay dividends in providing insight to areas of improvement. Studies have shown that a high standard of performance from employees positively correlates with a high performance from the company (Peter 2008). Unfortunately, only a handful of companies are able to achieve that goal (Peter 2008). Leading to the questions of how to handle that limited supply of talent, how to procure it, and how to maintain it. The company that figures this out first will ultimately become the leader in their respective field. Bent (2011) argues that available profess ionals within the aviation industry are declining substantially. This is due to procurement by other companies. From previous studies, a multitude of factors affect employee recruitment aside from financial compensation such as development and training, potential for advancement, work environment, relationship with co-workers and boss, recognition, and

Political Ideology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political Ideology - Essay Example However, Alexandre Kojve, describe the platonic ideology not only as the science of ideas but also as a science of object reality in his Essai d'une histoire raisonne de la philosophie paenne (vol. II, Platon et Aristote). Pierre Daunou, Constantin-Franois Volney, Pierre Cabanis, and Dominique Garat, claims to be an ideology as Destutt de Tracy, but the term was used to belittler or express disapprover of it by Napoleon and Franois Ren de Chateaubriand. [1] Also, Karl Marx, present ideology as a critical sense that displayed the opposition between the noble senses given to ideology by Destutt de Tracy, which is having a negative meaning. In Germany, ideology, as an expression of alienation and it is essentially incapable of dialectical relationship that unit or resist those representation. Ideology would then be seen as the discourse of a class, a party, or an association that seeks to cultural achievement, political post, economic, intellectual, spiritual, or other domination over society and individuals. Communist are different from other working class because they point out and bring about the common interest of the entire proletariat, independently of the citizen, they represent the interest of the movement entirely. As a result of this, Marx's and Engels' view that Communist were not a partisan attachment to any form of organization, but only to the working class beyond it and the class as a whole. Successful or not, Marx and Enge ls have never for a day played a full time political leader of a party organization or active leader of mass working class organization or elite vanguards, unlike Kautsky, Lenin, or Mao. They only serve as an intellectual to the emerging German Social Democrats and other working-class parties in Europe. Engels, work did more than marx's to attract and convert people to the must influential political parties or movement of the modern times. As a result of this, we can absurd to say that Engels invented Marxism. He was not only the first Marxist historian, but also an anthropologist, philosopher, and commentator on the early Marx. Presently, Marx and engels are protected from being denounced by certain activists as hypocritical idealist whose political knowledge is at variance with their theory. The communist in the world today are very few because those who think they are communist are deeply involve in political groups that demand primary loyalty to themselves rather than to the working class. Whereby the definition of political ideology of both Marx and Engels, which is in the interest of the working class as a whole, turns out never to be at variance with the interests of their own political party. [13] On the other hand, Gramsci depart from the definition of hegemony that was widely accept by Marxist during the worldwide economic depression in the early 30s, when Marxism theory failed in most advanced capitalist nations of the west. This was considered by Lenin to be a strategy of political leadership in the democratic revolution where leadership was base on a fundamental alliance with the peasantry. He did not

Managing Change in Difficult Times

Managing Change in Difficult Times Summary and Introduction Roles and functions of HR in the Organizational change Responsibility of HRM Attract and retain best staff Alternatives of Downsizing HR Perspective and Sustaining Role Conclusion Summary and Introduction This assignment context recognizes the potential challenge of human resource management roles in the difficult period. Managing the change in difficult time is the techniques, process and tools that manage the people (office employees) in recession to accomplish the required business results. The main focus is on the change in organization from how employees do their jobs today and how they will do their jobs after the change is put into practice. Today, Human Resource Management (HRM) is emphasizing on adding value in the organization as a key player. The most significant challenge for organization in difficult time (recession) is transforming of the human resource to recognize, sustain, enlarge and exploit talents in the whole organization to their fullest capacities than organization can claim that it has the best of the systems to identify talents across the organization. The management professionals and employees might undergo through the anxiety and other issues during recessio n and economic downturn, so organization must make plan for economic crisis. Starting with the explanation of HRM and its functions in an organization by analyzing how the HR actions are contributing and adding value to the organizations overall effectiveness. Roles and functions of HR in the Organizational change HR can and ought to play a key role in creating and executing organizational change and transition. HR can give help and direction in investigation and determination, highlighting the employee’s problems that will essentially influence the success of the organization. HR might recommend on resourcing programs and planning and executing the key learning, reward, aspects of involvement and communications process. HR can foresee individual’s issues and manage them before they get serious. If the program does include rebuilding and downsizing, HR can recommend on how this ought to be carried out empathetically and with the base interruption to individuals live. HR needs to assume a dynamic part in refrain the top gifts, go about as an issue mother while top entertainers rebuffed with being remunerated for their exhibitions, get individuals adjusted and created to battle with this basic circumstance, create individuals on cross useful aptitudes to adjust the surplus and deficiency of workforce, help the corporate to raise the individuals execution bar, guarantee the reasonable assessment of individuals execution, assume a dynamic part in control of communication flow, pass the onus of making the corporate lean, audit its minor low cost benefits and help upgrade the worth expansion for every worker by augmenting workers inputs. When the business is in turbulence zone, HR can put its straight out best in guaranteeing that he directs the corporate effectively. HR needs to be capable in such circumstances in light of the fact that they not just need to keep up the individuals inspiration level however needs to expand it utilizing non-money related apparatuses. There are sure focuses that HR can choose in such a circumstance where individuals are unstable about their employment. HR can give careful consideration to create the individuals on key aptitudes and upgrade skills. Responsibility of HRM HR ought to be engaged in more positive side, making and helping employees to reorganization, execute and change which will eventually make a solid influence on business. In todays economic down turn and recession when job cuts, pay reduction, loss, uncertainty of employment atmosphere overcome, HR has special responsibility to establish ease environment to the exaggerated by counseling, showing care and apprehension preparing them for different skillfulness, linking and deploying in other required areas of functions like crisis management team and security. Attract and retain best staff HR needs to be proactive and think of right on time mediations with respect to any association to get by amid subsidence; the capacity to hold its best individuals is must. Amid nowadays, HR individual at times even take the cruel decision of diminishing the numbers and land up at downsizing. The expression downsizing is even taken as rightsizing and upgrading yet we may not know or disregard the way that not the terrible circumstance or the great conditions keeps going long. The organization needs to put resources into learning and improvement by giving proper learning open doors and offices, however the prime obligation regarding learning and advancement rests with people, who will be given the direction and backing of their directors and, as fundamental parts of the HR department. Create and offer the vision, belief in a craved and developing future. Furnish workers with a strong learning environment where learning capacities can be found and implemented for instance, associate systems, steady arrangements and frameworks, ensured time for learning. When the going is intense, HR and supervisors to test the difficulties and the cure is to downsizing the noble way. Besides, this is the time to execute new thoughts; change the HRM procedures and change the methodology. This must be carried out in a manner that it cuts expenses and propels individuals. Alternatives of Downsizing To avoiding potential downsizing problems, organization might take the following actions as alternatives: Outsource Employees: Employees can work on other company projects as organization can provide outsourcing services is specialized domain. Part Time Job: Pay employee on hourly basis or cut the number of job hours to engage employee with the organization, and during his free time he can do any other work for earnings. Shift of Department: Association can move the staffs to other business component if the one business unit of the organization is not performing well Work at Home: People can work remotely in their homes and result in saving of operations cost. Amid these questionable times, corporate will understand the imperativeness of having skilled gifted workforce which will guarantee that center stays on trainings yet there may be a real lessening in preparing plan. In this time any choice taken by the organization affects every individual generally bits of gossip buoy around. Its top administrations obligation as human asset to guarantee that the correspondence channels are kept open, straightforwardness is kept up. We likewise need to guarantee that precise correspondence happens on time in full, rather than workers listening to things with points of interest from the grapevine first. Sufficient backing from pioneers and administrators as far as individuals administration methods to discover approaches to keep up the inspiration levels of workers. On the off chance that the corporate arrangements are to conserve an allotment of the workforce, advising ought to be given to those both workers who will be staying back additionally the representatives who have been asked to leave, be reasonable with them. HR Perspective and Sustaining Role The present challenges for HRM are corporate reorganization, changing demographic workforce, sustaining companys position and growth, changing mindset of workforce, knowledgeable and multi skill workforce, new industrial relation approach and CSR (corporate social responsibility). There are a lot of people more potential outcomes of sustaining human resources expanding part as development impetus as well as sustaining business through more noteworthy worker engagement. Subsequently, HR experts need to reduce their expenditures and get prepared for some difficult yet significant exercises which will help to change the view of HR for eternity. The monetary emergency is compelling to divide some worker and there is no chance to get around. Do it, however abstain from making frenzy around, in workers, in speculators, in business sector and in nation by shouting boisterous about the subsidence. HRs undertaking is additionally extraordinary, if the human asset administrator makes helpful environment through his or her expert approach in attaining benefit, with the backing of all groups which is the need of great importance. Business has encountered diverse elements that posture numerous difficulties. Human asset and requirement powers together strive for accomplishing the normal objectives like consistence and adherence. HR tries all deliberations to make and sustain an employer and representative benevolent environment and reacting to the current needs and difficulties. Conclusion HRM must be capable to address the right kind of demands related to HR roles or functions during the difficult period and economic downturn. HRM must play a very practical role in managing the problems of global economic downturn by serving organization to improve their skills to learn and work together, moreover manage ambiguity, diversity and complication. HRM is responsible to manage the human resource of the organization to maximize profit at minimal cost and exploit the productivity.

Potential and Challenges for Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soils

Agriculture occupies a larger portion of global land area (about 35%) than any other human activity (Betts and Falloon, 2007). Agriculture soil stocks have been suggested as potential measure to sequester atmospheric CO2 to help stabilize its concentration in atmosphere and has been estimated that 0.4-0.9 Pg C year-1 can be sequestrated within global agricultural soils (Paustian et al., 1998). This has been supported by the fourth assessment made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that identified agriculture as among the economic sectors having the greatest near-term (by 2030) greenhouse gas mitigation potential, largely via soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration (Smith et al.,2007). However, currently, there is much uncertainty and debate due to uncertainties associated with quantifying the impact of the various crop management practices on green house gas emission ,the spatial and temporal scales involved in quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from, and C sequestration in, agro-ecosystems, uncertainty of future climatic conditions that affect type of crop mana...

Contrasting both Kant and Aristotle’s views Essay

Aristotelian philosophy, some two thousand three hundred years old, is perhaps one of the most influential philosophies in history. After being preserved by Arab scholars during the fall of Rome, the teachings of Aristotle were found by Christians during the dark ages. His works, including Nichomachean Ethics, were of great influence to many Christian philosophers during medieval times, but soon philosophies began to shift, marking the conception of the Enlightenment. Philosophy took a drastic shift from predominantly substantive reason to procedural views, markedly seen in works by philosophers St. Augustine, Rene Descartes, and quite notably Immanuel Kant. By comparing the views shared by Aristotle in Nichomachean Ethics, and Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals it is possible to better understand the shift from substantive to procedural reasoning. Although Aristotelian philosophy and logic shares some common ground with the writings of Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals marks a shift from society and substantive thinking toward the self and procedural reason. Kant believes that each living organism serves a purpose. For example, the highest purpose of a honey bee is undoubtedly to produce honey. Much in the same sense, Kant feels that because humans alone are given the ability to reason that the highest purpose of humanity is to use reason. (Groundwork, Ch. 1, Ln. 50-80) Aristotle would agree with this statement but uses a different logic. Aristotle sees an intrinsic good within every action, as well a hierarchy of goods and actions. Using the logic that any action partaken for the purpose of some greater cause is secondary to the greater cause, Aristotle reasons that for humans, the act of reasoning is of the greatest â€Å"good† because all other actions exist only to maintain the ability to reason. (NE, Bk.1 Pg. 1-2) Between these two philosophies, the purpose of human reason differs based on what each philosopher believes to be the function of humanity within society. Aristotle states that because happiness is the ultimate goal of nearly all human actions (especially within what he considers one of the most important realms of humanity: political science) the purpose of  humanity, and thus human reason, is to find happiness. (NE, Bk.1 Pg. 4) Kant, on the other hand, feeling that to succumb to the needs of the body and desires (what he calls heteronomy) is selfish, feels that it is the responsibility of humanity to use its reason to act out of â€Å"good will.† (Groundwork, Ch. 1, Ln. 3-5) Exemplifying the procedural nature of Kant’s logic, Kant feels that it is the duty of humanity to act only out of good will by using reason to determine what Kant calls the categorical imperative. Kant defines the categorical imperative as an act of good will which is preformed with no considera tion to the ends, or consequences of an action. (Groundwork, Ch. 2, Ln. 280-300) In the world of Aristotelian philosophy, the only way to truly attain the end goal of happiness is to be virtuous. (NE, Bk.1 Pg. 4) To define virtue Aristotle looks to society’s views of an individual. People praise a brave man for being brave and strong man for his ability to run quickly or lift great objects. (NE, Bk.1 Pg. 4) Because of the importance of society within Aristotle’s thinking, he feels that for a person to truly be virtuous, society must perceive desirable characteristics within that person and recognize those characteristics through praise. To illustrate and explain his organization of virtues and what is required of them, Aristotle uses the final paragraph of book one in Nicomachean Ethics: â€Å"Virtue too is distinguished into kinds in accordance with this difference; for we say that some of the virtues are intellectual and others moral, philosophic wisdom and understanding and practical wisdom being intellectual, liberality and temperance moral. For in speaking about a man’s character we do not say that he is wise or has understanding but that he is good-tempered or temperate; yet we praise the wise man also with respect to his state of mind; and of states of mind we call those which merit praise virtues.† -Aristotle, (NE, Book 1, Final Paragraph) Unlike Aristotle, Kant finds goodness not in the views of society, but instead finds goodness by turning inward and looking individual within one’s self and their exertion of good will. Kant feels that to express good will, an individual must use what he calls a priori reason. (Groundwork, Ch. 2,  Ln. 280-300) A priori reason requires that the individual ignores subjective influences like consequences and circumstances. By focusing on objective means like morality and reason Kant suggests that the individual attempting to exert good will should act in a way that he or she would consider a moral maxim (categorical imperative). Kant thinks we must ignore the norms of society and the way society functions and act only using a priori reason because society inherently cannot function in an a priori fashion. This is because society takes into account its own needs, desires, and calculates the consequences of its own actions while placing all of these things over pure reason and good will. By taking into consideration circumstances and consequences society fails to create universal moral law and thus contradicts its own reasoning because the actions of society are not appropriate in all situations and circumstances. (Groundwork, Ch. 2, Ln. 580-590) Should a man in need of money to buy food borrow money from a lending institution knowing that he will not be able to pay that institution back? Kant argues that that man should not, for if his decision were to become universal law and every man or woman were to borrow money without the intention of paying it back than lending institutions would fail. (Groundwork, Ch. 2, Ln. 590-605) Aristotle, believing that society can teach its citizens to be virtuous (and thus happy), finds that virtues are not found intrinsically within each individual. For a person to be virtuous he must be born to a respectable family, for he were not born into respect then he would never be viewed by society with the same esteem as others. He must also not have any major disfigurations, for these too would lead to a lower value within society. Assuming these conditions are met, the individual may then begin to practice virtuous actions, because through habituation virtuous actions can become the nature of that individual, and that through practice an individual may grow to perform virtuous acts not out of desire to be virtuous, but because he simply enjoys the virtuous acts. Only if the individual finds pleasure in performing virtuous actions may that person be seen as virtuous within the eyes of society, for if pleasure is the end goal of humanity, then surely the enjoyment of virtuous a cts is worthy of praise from society. After outlining and discussing both Kant and Aristotle’s views on the purpose of humanity, its role within society and the moral and ethical consequences to those roles it is clear that Kant’s thinking is representative of enlightenment thinking. Before the Enlightenment Aristotle’s views were widely accepted. During this time it was customary that each person function in a manner accepted by society. Ethics and morality were dictated by social norms. The purpose of reason was seen as the pursuit of pleasure, and through virtue and the practice of virtuous actions reason could allow the individual to attain the end goal of life: happiness. In response to Aristotle’s logic, a shift in thought occurs. This shift, called the Enlightenment, is represented by the belief that only pure reason can lead to true morality. The consequences of this belief is that individuals no longer focused on the norms within society to dictate morality, but to look within themselves to use their own reasoning to dictate what should and should not be done. An example of this thinking can be found in Kant’s beliefs about a priori reason and the categorical imperative. By ignoring consequences within society, as well as the ends attained by each possible action Kant feels each individual can find true moral goodness through pure reason. This type of procedural logic is representative of the moral and ethical â€Å"turn inward† which exemplifies Kant’s philosophy as well as the revolutionary shift thinking that became the basis of the Enlightenment.

Article for Non Experts Artificial Intelligence

Article for Non Experts Artificial Intelligence Introduction Calculators cannot be regarded as intelligent machines since they are not capable of working in the absence of human beings and cannot be taught. They are basically made to solve problems that people can readily solve. Regardless of speed and the complexity of mathematical problems that they can solve, all that they do is to accept some input and generate desired output.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Article for Non Experts: Artificial Intelligence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They may be fast but that does not mean they are intelligent since they only generate what was previously programmed and fed into them. According to Levy (2010) â€Å"the aim of Artificial Intelligence is not to regurgitate what has previously been programmed by merely solving a problem. Artificial Intelligence should instead help humans come up with entirely new and different ways of solving problems†. Unlike other disciplines that are well defined, Artificial Intelligence (AI) lacks clear details that can readily make it to be understandable. We all know how easy it is to distinguish between chemistry, physics, astronomy, biology, mathematics, languages, art, and music because all these disciplines are well defined (Russell and Norvig, 2006). There lacks clear definition of AI that can be widely accepted, in other words AI lacks clearly defined goals. Artificial Intelligent systems should be able to learn from experience with the aim of improving themselves, in other words, intelligent machines should be those that are capable of learning. History of Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence may seem to some to be one of the recent subjects of study given its close association with computer technology. On the contrary, AI has a long history which can be traced back to imagination, philosophy and fiction. Disciplines such as engineering, electronics and others that were invented long ago have had their fare share of influence on AI. Historically, people are know to have applied the use of AI in areas like learning, deduction, and knowledge representation as well as translation, associative memory, theorem translation etc. Artificial Intelligence has historically existed in the realms of theory. It all began when Homer wrote some mechanical articles about â€Å"tripods† waiting to serve the gods at dinner, thus, imaginary mechanical characters have been part of human culture from antiquity.Advertising Looking for article on other technology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, it’s only after renaissance about half a century ago that the AI scientists undertook to build machines that imitated human thought and intelligent behavior with the aim of testing whether Homers theories could be put to practice. As demonstrated in some films like the terminator, Robocop, transformers and ot hers, prospect of machines that can mimic human beings remains in the future but discussion on the implication of such a reality should be encouraged at whatever cost (Levy, 2010). With an earth whose population has hit a record high of over seven billion and still rising, problems facing humanity are bound to escalate. Terrorism, diseases without cure, global warming, and increasing cases of financial insecurity even among the developing countries as demonstrated by movements like we are the ninety nine percent can overwhelm human beings at some point in future. Perhaps the invention of intelligent mechanical beings can be the only solution to social, economical and political woes that may overwhelm humanity. Like the ancient philosophers, should not the modern human being who relies on machines more than ever before stretch his imaginations once more and save humanity from a hoard of current and future problems that are all so real? Perhaps governments will some day be required to relocate people to some other planet due to overpopulation on earth. Descartes who is a famous philosopher suggested the possibility of inventing intelligent machines to help human beings discover who they truly are. Machines can eventually help bring about actual civilization by eliminating limitations of human intelligence that is prone to bias and that can be easily corrupted. Mechanical men designed to reason like human beings can help eliminate inefficiency in human institutions. They can be used to settle disputes in courts by using mechanical reasoning devices that use rules of logic. Prior to the invention of calculators, mathematics was a preserve for the few. Its invention did not render the mathematicians obsolete but strengthened their skills all the more and made it possible for many more others to learn the discipline much efficiently and effectively thereby improving humanities output or productivity. In Jewish folklore, there is this artificially created being calle d Golem that is akin to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Such imaginary characters have always fascinated human imagination. However, such characters have always fueled irrational fear of intelligent machines among people. The first machine that seemed to emulate human thought was the chess playing machine invented in eighteenth century. Chess is a game that is intellectually demanding since it requires application of too much thought. People often believed that Turk was able to think on its own and thought that the machine could play against a human counterpart on its own.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Article for Non Experts: Artificial Intelligence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, unlike other people, a newspaper writer was able to observe that Turk was a machine since it played so well. It made flawless moves. Imagine a society where no professional ever made a mistake, would it not be perfect and ideal for human existence. Diplomatic rows would be solved free of human emotion and would be based on tradeoffs or win win solutions thereby making wars to be a thing of the past. No one would ever have to lose his life because of misdiagnosis by a doctor or faulty sentence handed over by a judge to an innocent citizen. The initial studies of AI involved chess which was used for studying inference. In 1997, AI proved to be no maniac’s delusional imagination when the world chess champion, Gary Kasparov was defeated by Deep Blue Program designed to test relevance of artificial intelligence. Buddhist views on Artificial Intelligence Philosophy plays a major role in determining what direction is taken by the AI researchers. It is well understood that AI systems cannot be built in the absence of undivided attention from human mind given the very nature of the subject. Another thing that one ought to bear in mind is that AI is a multi-disciplinary subject that requires close cons ultations among stakeholders from all other disciplines. Given that Human mind is the most intelligent thing on record, researchers naturally applies the knowledge they have gathered so far concerning its workings in building AI systems. According to Hagen (1999) â€Å"the Buddhist perspective on AI is a controversial one given the belief that the only way an individual can achieve enlightment is by suppressing every plan and calculation made by the mind â€Å". According to Buddhism, an enlightened individual is devoid of common intelligence that shows how the world is made of interacting parts. The individual sees the world differently, he does not plan, classify, build mental assumptions to accommodate his observations and cares little if his actions should succeed or fail. Contrary to this belief, AI researchers’ endeavors to equip their systems with the ability to learn from past observations or with knowledge derived from day today experiences of the researchers thems elves. Artificial Intelligence systems use bits or parts of different information to arrive at decisions. This means that when designing an AI system, one cannot help but divide the world into interacting parts that can either be relevant or irrelevant depending on the decisions that are to be made by the system. All successful robots and programs are based on this premise. Despite their usefulness to human and environment, Buddhists consider this to be against the natural state of human mind (Hagen, 1999).Advertising Looking for article on other technology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Buddhism teaches that all is flux and nothing abides. According to this principle there is no rule or regulation that can be applied constantly with success since change cannot be stopped from taking place by words written in any language. Any concept becomes obsolete with time. Buddhism teaches that change affects everything including our mind and ego that most people consider to be constant. This means that there can be perceptions without a perceiver or feelings without a feeler, interesting indeed (Hagen, 1999). Buddhism teaches that everything is intimately interconnected and that reality cannot be a composition of parts. This means that everything is everything else. Thus, subdividing reality into parts will eventually provide wrong results. This concept is referred to as chaotic system. This kind of system cannot be divided into parts with limited controllable interaction. In such a system, work input does not equal work output since a minor change in output can lead to outpu t that is non-proportionately big and with unpredictable changes. An example of such a system is the weather. Predicting weather often involves segmenting a certain area of interest into smaller parts and then applying simplified rules to each section. The results obtained from each section are combined and calculation of effects of each part of the other parts is done. However, it is a well known fact that not even the strongest of the super computers ever get to produce accurate weather predictions. According to Buddhism, it would be impossible to predict the weather by splitting it into parts. The only way of predicting it would be by considering it to be part of a whole. This means that one must take into account everything that can directly or indirectly affect the weather, such as the motion of an insect, heat generated by bacteria or even the light emitted by distant galaxies which has the potential of increasing the energy of a few air molecules. According to Buddhism, an in telligent machine can only be created when it is given both the power to think and to become enlightened. Creating a mind that can be enlightened can be a real challenge for developers of AI systems. Artificial Intelligence and Global Risk The greatest mistake that is often made by people is to assume too quickly that they understand something. Most people profess to understand the concept of genetically modified organisms, evolution and even artificial intelligence. Advocates of AI agree that AI is known for promising so much while at the same time delivering too little. AI is certainly not a simple subject, but people often treat it as some sort of fantasy subject that requires little or no attention. This is embarrassing indeed. Consider other disciplines like astronomy whose reputation never gets ruined by promising to create stars from hydrogen and then failing to create even a tiny one. This clearly shows that AI is not a complicated discipline but rather people tend to think they know a lot about it than they actually do. Villains, dignified men, men of collar you name them, none if asked to press a button that would lead to total destruction of the world would ever agree. They all need a platform from where each can carry out his noble or ignoble duties. Speaking thus, the destruction of the world would definitely be more of an accident than design. Human thought works in a way that allows it to provide accurate or approximate answers. People can easily tell what risks are capable of causing deaths more than others. However, when asked to be precise, they tend to overestimate risks that cause few deaths and underestimate those that can cause more deaths. This shows that human thought is often faced with the risk of making errors. Once a group of people were asked by a researcher to estimate the likely causes of deaths in United States, majority of them noted down that homicide caused more deaths than diabetes. Other studies have consistently proven tha t human judgment cannot be free of errors. Reports from various quarters noted that people were unwilling to buy flood insurance policies even when they were heavily subsidized. People tend to underestimate threats that can jeopardize their lives due to floods. They are simply not able to conceptualize or imagine a threat that has never taken place (Levy 2010). People living in flood prone areas will often take comfort of levees and dams built to control floods. However, what they forget is that serious damage could occur should a single uncontrollable flood strike. If people get used to controlling minor threats, they soon become reluctant and tend to treat the occurrence of major hazards as unlikely. Talk of dangers that threaten the very existence of man and nobody will take you serious for no such danger has ever faced humanity. Can machines use thought to assist human beings? The search for intelligent life in outer space is nothing new. Through Search for Extra Terrestrial Int elligence program or SETI, scientists have tried without success to determine whether other animals other than man possess intelligence or whether there is possibility of intelligent beings that live in outer space. All these efforts have born no fruit. It must feel lonely indeed being the only beings who are self aware in the universe. There are numerous fiction movies like star wars and the likes that suggest the possibility of developing artificial intelligence in machines in incredible ways. If anything, achieving such levels of intelligence in machines is still a pipe dream that is yet to be achieved. This does not mean that artificial intelligence is not in use today. Factories use robotic arms that can handle delicate tasks. Cars are fitted with micro computers that can detect slight changes in driving style and road conditions. The problem is whether AI researchers are able to come up with intelligent machines that are capable of engaging humans in objective dialogue. To und erstand how this is possible, it would be proper to discuss the difference between people and computers. Logic in man is not equivalent to computer logic which is discrete. This means that a computer cannot give you any other answer other than a single answer that it was initially programmed to give. This makes it possible to easily plot a computer’s decisions on a decision tree. Each set of discreet decisions taken is represented by a single node. This gives ability to the computer system to be able to search and understand every single one of these decisions. On the other hand, people do not make static decisions. For instance, if a group of persons were to be asked to state whether Lake X which is 960 feet deep is deep or not they can either give a yes or no answer. This kind of logic referred to as fuzzy logic is certainly not solid. It is mostly based on an individual’s opinion. For a computer, the answer is definite. The answer given b y the computer will have be en obtained from some programmed rule like, â€Å"Less than 500 feet shallow, yes, more than 500 feet, deep, and no†. Humans are what they are today as a result of millions of years of evolution. Creating a machine with all human ability within a short period of time would definitely be a daunting task given all the stages that humans had to go through. Intelligent machines would therefore have to undergo evolutionary processes similar to those of humans in order for them to gain from enough experience and obtain intelligence equivalent to that of humans. Measuring amount of intelligence obtained through a certain degree of evolution can be quite difficult. 60 years ago, a method to determine the level of machine intelligence in comparison to that of man was invented and given the name Turing Test. Turing Test Alison MathisonTuring is a scholar who happened to be an outstanding mathematician. He wanted to establish whether it was possible for computer program to possess intel ligence. He devised certain rules that would enable him accomplish his task. The rules were in form of a game commonly called the game of imitation. It involves a group of three people playing together, (A) a man, (B) a woman, and (C) an interrogator who can either be a male or female. C is locked in a room separate from the rest. The interrogator is supposed to identify between A and B which is the machine and who is a person. C does not know the exact names of A and B since they have been labeled X and Y respectively. The interrogator is supposed to say what he or she thinks of x and Y i.e. X = A or X= B, and Y =A or Y=B. The interrogator asks A and B questions (Penrose, etal, 2009). Turing suggested that if the responses of a computer were real enough, it would be impossible to distinguish between the real person and the computer. People have always wondered whether Turing test was designed to test the smartness of a human as opposed to machine intelligence of fooling the interro gator. Turing test has been used to develop most of the modern chat programs that tends to fool a person that they are conversing with a human. The person conversing with a human and a machine is made to believe before the game starts that he will be playing with a man and a woman. When the game is over, he or she is asked to state what player between A and B he or she would assign machine status. If the integrator is unable to tell the difference between the machine (advanced computer) and human, then the computer is deemed to have passed intelligence test (Levy, 2010). The test normally takes five minutes. Scholars have argued that this test cannot be used to define artificial intelligence for a number of reasons: A computer can imitate human behavior but not necessarily true intelligence. A computer can be intelligent but not able to chat like a real person. Turing Test Turing Test cannot articulate consciousness in a machine. Humans sometimes exhibit totally irrational, cha otic, unpredictable and unintelligent behavior. There is also some intelligent behavior that is uncharacteristic of human nature. Artificial intelligence can be faced with major setbacks indeed. For instance would such machines be able to experience pain and pleasure, make generalizations, generate ideas, use commonsense and so on. Such questions can make the idea of trying to build artificial intelligent systems to seem absolutely ludicrous. Does this mean that efforts to create artificial intelligent systems should be abandoned, absolutely not? One cannot understand something that cannot be created. Artificial Intelligence Case Study Somewhere in St. Leo Laboratory, Eddie Brown is fine tuning the behavior of a machine. Scattered around him is a horde of robots some of which resemble small all-terrain motor vehicles. They appear to be kind of lifeless and slow pieces of electronic gadgets. However, these contraptions are kind of curious in that reason bout the environment and react to surrounding changes. Literary speaking, these machines can â€Å"think†. Eddie, a senior artificial intelligence researcher compares the minds of these contraptions to those of knowledgeable insects that have learned to survive. A housefly is intelligent in that it is able to adapt to surroundings by doing those things which it can do well so as to increase its chances of survival. Eddie states that, going by that definition of intelligence, these robots are smart. Researcher Eddie (left) In a different Laboratory located elsewhere, Eddie collaborates with fellow researchers in the school of computing to build artificial intelligent systems that can make complicated decisions. These researchers have been charged with the task of exploring new applications. This is a project of DARPA or defense advanced Research Projects agency. The robots designed should be able to perform two important tasks. First, they should be able to learn from the researchers how to search for bio logical hazards in rooms. Second, they should be able to detect, intercept and destroy a moving enemy target. The robots should be able to perform these tasks without any assistance from the researchers. Most universities focus on building robots with low-level performance with basic system guided movements. There are some that embark on projects to build machines with a higher level of reasoning. Researchers in Georgia school of computing are doing everything to integrate the different levels of functionality to build robots with human like behavior for use by private sector and the military (Brooks, 2009). Building machines which simulate human knowledge and awareness is no mean task. Consider the case of a common human driver on a highway or a route he or she is used to. This person will drive along at ease without being conscious of the act of driving. This is called reflexive behavior. However, if the driver gets lost, he becomes conscious of driving as he or she tries to find the way out. This is called cognitive reasoning. The artificial intelligence researchers endeavor to make intelligent machines that can think and act as well as be able to learn and apply the required skills. This task lies squarely within the jurisdiction of specialists who can develop high level, behavior based software for robots. This system of software borrows heavily from neuroscience and psychology. Eddie uses this set of software to control hardware. Sensors are used to enhance both the software and the hardware and help develop and sustain methods through which robots can acquire and process data that they are able to perceive in real time using data and other information from global positioning satellite. Conclusion Just like humans, intelligent machines in the foregoing case can be assisted to gain knowledge through the use of various techniques. The most common technique if the Learning Momentum which was discovered by a person called Arkin and his team mates. The robot is taught that if a behavior has nothing wrong with it, then it should continue repeating it. The other technique is the reinforcement technique. This is just like the stick and carrot technique used to teach kids. Computer generated rewards are used to encourage the robot every time it makes good decisions thereby making it continue repeating the same. The foregoing project undertakes to investigate ways through which intelligent systems can get to interact with humans by instilling psychological properties in them. Other than the project that was just discussed, researchers from the College of Computing have undertaken to develop a group of 100 miniature robots to imitate a large scale system that includes different genre of machines, humans and robots. The group of robots is expected to work together in an environment they are not used to and which is subject to change from time to time. Sensors are allowed to be erroneous and able to gather information from different points. The sensors should be able to help the robots detect the movement and position of their counterparts. This acts as the principle means of cooperation and communication. This system is akin to that found in a colony of termites or bees. The robots will be able to act properly after a long duration of time since they will have been able to identify wrong moves made due to sensor errors. In other words the robots will have used intelligence to solve movement and spatial problems. Hindrances to advancement in the field of artificial intelligence range from intelligence, ethical, conscience, perception, locomotion and power storage (Russell and Norvig, 2006). References Brooks, R. (2009). Intelligence without representation . The Case Study of Artificial  Intelligence. 5 (47), 7-23 Hagen, S. (1999) Buddhism Plain simple, New York, NY: Broadway Books. Levy, S. (2010) Artificial Life: a Quest for a New Creation, New York, NY: Pantheon Books. Penrose, R., Shimony, A., Cartwright, S., Alfred o, H. (2009) The Small, The Large, and  The Human Mind, New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Russell, S. and Norvig, O. (2006), Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

ocean current essays

ocean current essays El Nino has been a reoccurring phenomenon for centuries. Man has only started to realize how much of the worlds weather is effected by it. The term El Nino refers to an irregular warming of the seas surface. During the last 40 years there have been 10 significant El Nino occurrences. Most affecting the coast of South America. Water temperatures increase along the coast as far as the Galapagos islands. Weak events will raise the water temperature 2 to 4 degrees Celsius and will have minor impact on fishing. However strong events such as the 1982-83 event will disrupt climate conditions around the world as well as local conditions. It has been linked to floods and droughts all over the world. Hurricanes and tropical storms are also altered in their numbers by El Nino. Therefore it would be very helpful for people if El Nino could be predicted and prepared for in some form. During a El Nino cycle there are many biological changes. Due to a depressed thermocline there is less photosynthetic activity resulting in a decrease in the primary life forms that form the beginning of the food chain. The warmer waters that are brought by these changing cycles hold less dissolved oxygen forcing fish to go deeper or venture elsewhere. Due to a lack of data during El Nino occurrences it is not fully known if fish populations are depleted solely due to exposure to El Nino. A decrease in their growth and reproductive success has been observed by many surveys in coastal waters. The link between climatic effects around the world and El Nino is now well established. It has taken many years of studying to understand how the pieces of the puzzle, from ocean currents to winds and heavy rains fit together. During the 1920s a scientist was on assignment in India trying to predict the Asian monsoons. As he sorted through his records he discovered a connection between barometer readings at stations on the eastern and western sides o...

Death penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Death penalty - Research Paper Example Marzili observes that Criminologists, Lawyers and other practitioners have over the years tried to analyze and study the rate at which murder declined after murderers are executed but there have been no authoritative conclusive results. In 1973 however, Isaac Ehrilch research carried in the United Sates showed that for every one inmate executed, seven lives were spared as potential murderers were prevented from committing such crimes. The results were similarly observed by his disciples. For those who support capital punishment, the likelihood of tangible results not being felt, they argue, is as a result of lack of swiftness in executing the convicted culprits. For this MSU authoritatively asserts that: ‘’The fact that some states or countries which do not use the death penalty have lower murder rates than jurisdictions which do is not evidence of the failure of deterrence. States with high murder rates would have even higher rates if they did use the death penalty’. Indeed, others have supported the argument citing that it is preventive in the sense that people in general fear death more so death that is planned and decided by the courts. Even more interestingly is the fact that death penalty against a murderer would prevent him from committing any other offence ever and thus seen as a permanent deterrent measure. Further, these executions take approximately forty days before they are conducted. But one issue that begs the question why should the convicted be made to wait on death row? Why long wait in death row While the death penalty is seen by many as just, some people have argued that often times those convicted of murder and sentenced to death are put on wait for too long. This is more compounded by the cost incurred as any investigation relating to death penalty usually costs three times more than a non-death case (Marzili 50). When one is convicted and sentenced to death, they are usually put on death row during which time the state expends housing, health-care and food costs on them. However, some of the reasons which have been cited for long death row are many and how that affects the cases have some moral standing (Marzili, 58). First, if the convict becomes sick or ill, then he has to be treated before the execution takes place. Olando (2009) provides a case where in 2003 about $121,025 was spent on a life saving dialysis for a condemned killer who had been subjected to death row for six years. This was the case involving Horacio Alberto Reyes who was c onvicted of murdering Maria Zetina. He wanted a kidney transplant and argued that this would save tax payers in the long run (Olarndo 8). Secondly, it allows for arbitrary search of any pending justice. Reverend Jesse Jackson had once argued that death sentence is basically an arbitrary punishment. According to him, it does not entail objective templates or guidelines when it should be sought or executed. Therefore, the lack of the objectivity leading to discriminatory practices puts it that whoever is sentenced is allowed humble time to seek redress through an appeal. He further argues that many Americans support of death penalty is anchored on individual propensity to violence, an individual’s criminal history among other factors; parameters

Dq3-Sheila Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dq3-Sheila - Essay Example One major setback is of the great extent of information asymmetry involved as it is evident that various departments are involved leading to a varied opinion amongst each and every one of them (Pot, 2011). Taking the case of two standard departments in most organizations that are, the human resource and finance department. The human resource deals with many of the issues relating to the employees of an organization or company such as the management of benefits and new staff recruitment and may also team up with the management to reach a common goal. Whereas the finance department deals with organizing the financial and accounting affairs of the organization, for example, the proper presentation and preparation of reports. Having these two distinct units be aligned to a similar goal impedes the whole process thus negatively affecting the business intelligence foundations for use at the departmental level. The departmental effort for aligning goals can also affect positively the business intelligence for use at the corporate level (Schneider, 2013). This can be explained by the fact that, an organization operates as one whole unit. Through the system, information is enabled to all departments that allowed easier coordination of work within the organization. From the intelligence, leaders will make decisions that are aligned with the primary goals and objectives and recognize the efforts of all departments. As they operate with similar missions, the system performance becomes efficient, and goal accomplishment is made possible. Business intelligence can be briefly described as the strategies an organization adopts to achieve its purposes. In addition, the business intelligence, due to goal alignment can be affected by inhibiting the whole and could be more efficient information from being operational due to goals being set by top management, or the relevant