Globalization, Nation-States and Transnational Entities Essay Example for Free

Globalization, Nation-States and Transnational Entities Essay The historical study of the main characteristics and normative legacy of a nation-state has proved complicated for the social sciences as a whole. During the past few centuries, the nation-state has been deified and demonised equally; it has been regarded as modern as well as ancient form of social and political community; it has been seen as an imagined or imaginary society; rational structure of the community; it has created as much happiness as well as misery; it has been a source for political democracy, cosmopolitanism and ethnic cleansing. It has also coexisted with empires colonies, blocks, protectorates, city-states among other forms of political organisations. It has gone through and experienced the unification, occupation, totalitarian terror, divisions and then unification. It has won legitimacy around ethnic or racial, republican, liberal, democratic class principle and federal (Chernilo, 2007). In spite of all these, a nation-state succeeded to present itself as a solid, stable and as the necessary form of social and political organisation in the contemporary world. The nation-state is a territorial organisation that self-recognizes and deriving its political authenticity from the people and serving as a supreme body for a country as a sovereign territorial entity (Chernilo, 2007). Most people view a nation as a political thing that is self evident, a kind of natural culmination of all societies. It is high time people realised that the idea of a nation that Europe gave to the world was perhaps short-lived political form, a European exception, a precarious transition between ages of kings and the â€Å"neo-imperial† age (Guehenno Elliott, 2000). 1). Modern nation-states have diverse feelings to their territory, compared to the dynastic monarchies; it is semi-sanctified, and non-exchangeable. No nation would swap territory with other states simply, for instance, because the kings daughter got married. They have a discrete type of boundary, in principle defined only by the area of settlement of the national group, although most nation-states also sought natural borders like rivers, lakes, mountain ranges among others. The most outstanding characteristic is the degree to which nation-states use the state as an instrument of national unity, in economic, social and cultural dimensions. This is done by promoting economic unity, first by abolishing internal customs and taxes. Nation-states normally have a guideline to form and sustain a national shipping infrastructure, facilitating business and movement (DiVanna, 2003). Nation-states usually have more centralised and identical public government than its colonial predecessors; they are smaller, and the population less diverse. In several instances, the regional administration is also subordinated to central or national government. They also have an identical nationwide customs, through state’s guiding principle. The model of the nation-state suggests that its populace constitutes a nation, fused by a widespread descent, a common language and various forms of shared culture. When the unity is absent, the nation-state frequently tries to craft it; by promoting a homogeneous national language, through language guiding principle. The nation-states create a common curriculum for both primary and secondary education as a way of fostering a common language. In addition, to create a common identity, history of a nation-state is enshrined in their curricula and taught usually in a propagandistic and mythologized edition, and especially during wars some nation-states still teach this kind of history. Language and cultural policy was sometimes negative, aimed at the suppression of non-national elements. Language prohibitions were sometimes used to accelerate the adoption of national languages, and the decline of minority languages. A nation-state has a constitution that is a set of rules that governs its operations and is official. A state is as well recognised but other countries as independent and with the United Nations by her being a member of the UN. Besides, the state also acts on behalf of the people that are residing in that territory and nation-state is continuous; in the sense that a set of leaders come and go but the nation-state remains, thus its continuity. Nationalism being a product of modernity, reflecting on people’s need to belong to a social group to have a feeling of security in an environment where a people live. Nationalism has been seen as an intense force that has resulted into socio-political conflicts all over the world, besides, it has been an instrument for bigotry and social unrests. The key to lasting business viability in a connected world is that each firm is part of one or more networks of value. Thus collaboration is the pillar to adding value as a network member. More often, people and corporations collaborate because of the profit that may accrue due to such collaboration (DiVanna, 2003) A nation defines itself by not only what it is, but as well as what it is not. It is not a social group, neither is it a religious group, nor a racial group; a nation is what binds together the citizens of a nation is a amalgamation of historical factors that can not be reduced to a single dimension as social, religious, or racial (Guehenno Elliott, 2000) an example of a nation is Germany. A state such as Georgia is described as a definite territory in which a legitimate government has the ability to control its own activities without intrusion from other system of governments (Europa, 2010). It depicts more of a political and geographical area associated with a kind of political body; a nation, on the other hand, describes more of a cultural and/or ethnic entity. The term nation-state implies that the two geographically concur, and this distinguishes the nation-state from the other types of state, which historically come first, an example of a state is Georgia. In addition, a nation-state is understood as a political expression of a single or a central and relatively homogenous ethnic group. It groups very heterogeneous societies, communities loosely under the guidance of a common religious, and/or dynastic tradition. The basis of segmentation that characterise such communities can be geographical, religious, political, social, economical, ethnical, race and even class or caste (European Parliament, 2008), an example of a state is Algeria. 2). The US has territorial boundaries which are not easily swopped. Besides, US is a symbolic community with her people voluntarily dedicate their most important political loyalties in spite of the many meticulous loyalties; economic, spiritual, racial, ethnic, political, social; that otherwise divide them. This gives the people of united state to identify with a common culture as a people of a modern nation-state. In addition, the U. S has an impersonal power structure which bears it legitimacy from a people. A countrys foreign policy, which at time is called the international relations policy, consists of approaches preferred by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals in international relations. The plans are intentionally employed to interact with other nation-states. Contemporarily, due to transnational and globalization activities, the nation-states will also have to interact with non-state actors like terrorists. A nation-state’s interests are paramount; foreign policies are premeditated by the government through high-level decision making progressions. More often than not, creating foreign policy is the job of the head of government and the foreign minister. In some countries the legislature is also involved in the process. 2 b). An example of foreign policy of US is Security from attack is the most paramount foreign policy of any nation. That is a nation should endeavour to have foreign policies that do not make her vulnerable from physical external attack, either by other countries or by individual actors like terrorists. The focus of US foreign policy is thus, geared towards building a power to defend herself from against attack from other nation-states and these individual actors like international terrorists. Security from attack should go beyond the physical attack to include the domestic wellbeing of the American citizens and protect them against some psychological troubles like the loss of their jobs to foreigners, because of perhaps, poor foreign policy on immigration issues, and trade among others. Foreign policy of the US is national interest or international justice; which focuses on the role of the US when other nations go against human rights like right to life, by some regimes which go to war and engage in massacre, genocide among others. Others argue that US should develop a foreign policy that protects human right when abused not only in American soil but also in other parts of the word. This may take a more noble form as diplomacy and may go to the extreme as military intervention if necessary, and then help with the reconstruction of the nation-state in question, like in the case of Iraq (Page Bouton, 2006). The aftermath of World War II saw the creation of European Union which was seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had destroyed the continent. This followed the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community which, while having the modest aim of consolidated control of the previously national coal and steel industries of its member states, is seen to be the first step which culminated in the formation of the European Union. The founding members of the Community were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. It progressed to form a peaceful Europe through cooperation in the 1940s. Due to the war between the east and the west in the 1950s there was need for peace in Europe. Therefore the soviet tanks put down protests against the communist regime in Hungary. In 1957, the launch of the first man-made space satellite by the Soviet Union acted as a pioneer in the space race in addition to the European Economic Community or Common Market that was created by the Rome treaty. The emergence of youth cultures took place in the 1960s bringing with it economic growth. In return, the EU countries stopped charging duty on custom in the course of their trade with each other. During this period, they agreed on joint food production control so that everyone had enough to eat which resulted in excess agricultural produce. In 1973 resulted in a growing community when Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Union, and raised the number of members to nine. This period experienced the last right wing dictatorship in Europe due to Salazar regime being overthrown in Portugal and the General Franco of Spain’s death. The influence in EU affairs by the European Parliament increased and hence all citizens could elect their members directly for the first time. In addition jobs and infrastructure in poorer areas were created when the EU regional policy started to transfer huge sums of money. The changing face of Europe was introduced by the fall of the Berlin wall in the 1980s. Greece additionally joined the European Union followed by Spain and Portugal five years later. The single European Act which is the foundation for a six year program that resolves problems with the free flow of trade across EU borders and creates the Single market was then signed in 1987. In 1989, the Berlin wall was pulled down and for the first time, the border between East and West Germany was opened and led to the reunification of Germany when these two united in 1990. In the 1990s the European Union developed a Europe without frontiers which resulted in Europeans being closer to each other when in central and Eastern Europe there was a collapse of communism. This was when the single market was completed and the four freedoms of movement of goods, services, people and money was developed in addition to the Maastricht Treaty on European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999. Austria, Finland and Sweden join the other member states in 1995, people are allowed to travel without border checks of passports when as, all village in Luxembourg gave its name to the â€Å"Schengen† agreements, numerous young people were able to study in other countries with the support of EU and with the use of mobile phones and the internet, communication was made easier. From 2000 to present, the European Union experienced further expansion due to the introduction of a new currency for many Europeans. The member states began to work jointly to fight crime and introduced the war on terror after hijacked planes were flown in New York and Washington buildings. More than 10 countries joined EU and between east and west Europe there was a healing of political divisions (Europa, 2010). b). These major institutions of the European Union are the European Parliament or EP which is elected directly by EU’s citizens to act as their representative, the Council of the European Union which is a representative of individual member states and the European Commission which endeavours to sustain the union’s interest as a whole. The three form an institutional triangle which makes policies and laws applied throughout the EU. The new laws are proposed by the commission but then they are adopted by the parliament and council. In addition, the Court of Justice which maintains the European law and the Court of Auditors which checks the union activities finances are other institutions that play important roles (Europa, 2010). Moreover, there are also the European Investment Bank, Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions, European Ombudsman, and the European Monetary Institute (ILO, 2010) The countries that make up the European Union are otherwise known as its member states. Though they maintain their independence, they put their power together in order to achieve strength and influence which they could not as individual nations. This means that they give some decision making powers to created institutions which they share so that issues related to a common interest are decided on with democracy at European level. In total, they are27 are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (Europa, 2010) c). The European Union enables closer relationships between its member states in order to maximize on their collective potential. This applies to economic and political activities such as free trade, freedom of movement, and choice of job. In addition it serves to unify the actions of its member countries in terms of security, foreign policy, and cooperation in matters related to police and justice. A lot of beaucracy that was involved with these issues has since been dissolved. In addition it has achieved its principle aim of ensuring Europe’s stability after the Second World War (ILO, 2010) d). Foreign policy objectives for the European Union include peace building and peace making. This involves prevention and control of war or conflict between member states and other nations. It works to eliminate suffering of related citizens The rule of law and respect for human rights and basic freedom should also be strengthened by pursuing ambitious human rights policy that is based on agreement with the respective clause that is concerned with human rights and democracy. An agreement based upon structured and deep political dialogue should also be established in addition to the implementation of the introduced parliamentary dimension (European Parliament, 2008) 4a). The nation-states and transnational entities pursued by the use of foreign policy tools such as diplomatic negotiations, economic aid, and sanctions, trade restrictions, military interventions, unilateral, or cooperative. These options are evaluated and monitored in attempts to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation. A nation-state can use them singly or a combination. b). The consequences of this interaction for international politics are numerous. Some of them include the subordination of national interests of a country to uphold the collective interests of the nation-states, like the United States, or the transnational entities like the European Union. The economic interdependence is likely to either make war between trading partners less likely or, as realists claim, that economic interdependence increases the likelihood of conflict. Such countries that engage in international may be prone to terrorist’s attacks besides, the nation-state can be less popular in other countries when the use military interventions like the case or US intervention in Iraq. References Busby,W. J. , 2010. Who Cares about the Weather? Climate Change and U. S. National Security. Retrieved from http://www. gechs. org/downloads/holmen/Busby. pdf on 12th July, 2010. Chernilo, D. , 2007. A Social Theory of the Nation-State: The Political Forms of Modernity beyond Methodological Nationalism. New York: Routledge. Desmoyers-Davis T. , 2001. Citizenship in Modern Britain. New York, USA: Routledge. DiVanna J. , 2003. Synconomy: Adding Value in a World of Continuously Connected Business. USA: Macmillan. Europa, 2010. Europen Union. Retrieved from http://europa. eu/abc/history/index_en. htm. on 12th July, 2010. European Parliament, 2008. EU strategy for reform in the Arab world. Retrieved from http://www. europarl. europa. eu/sides/getDoc. do? pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2007-0179+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN on 12th July, 2010. Guehenno, J. M. Elliott, V. , 2000. The end of the Nation-State. Minnesota: U of Minnesota Press. International Labour Office (ILO), 2010. European Union (EU). Retrieved from http://actrav. itcilo. org/actrav-english/telearn/global/ilo/blokit/eu. htm. on 12th July, 2010. Page, B. I. Bouton, M. M. ,2006. The Foreign Policy Disconnect: What Americans Want From Our Leaders But Dont Get. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Rosenberg, M. , 2010. Defining an Independent Country. Retrieved from http ://geography. about. com/cs/politicalgeog/a/statenation. htm

Effectiveness Of Kinesio Taping Method Health And Social Care Essay

Effectiveness Of Kinesio Taping Method Health And Social Care Essay Kinesio taping was invented in the 1970s in Japan by Dr. Kenso Kase. Dr. Kase was intrigued with kinesiology and conservative ways of treating traumatized soft tissue. Through his new tape and technique development, Dr. Kase accomplished his goal:  to have patients experience immediate improvement after one visit (21). Through ongoing work in 1984 Dr. Kase was able to establish the Japanese National Kinesio Taping Association and started using the method for the first time with the Japanese National Volleyball Association in 1988 Olympics. Moreover, it was formally used for the first time in the US with the National Athletic Trainers Association. Physical therapists professionals started using it in 1997. Dr. Kase finally took approval from Medicare billing code for taping in 2001 (21). Now kinesio taping is most commonly used in sports treatment centers, also physical therapists use it for muscular pain, joint pain and related ailments because it is effective treatment for muscle and joint dysfunction (21). Kinesio taping, created by Kenzo Kase, is a specialized thin, elastic tape that can be stretched up to 120% ~ 140% of its original length making it quite elastic compared with the conventional taping (12). According to the Japanese National Kinesio Taping Association, the Kinesio Taping Method is defined as one that enhances the bodys natural healing process and provides support through the muscles (21). Kinesio tape has a physiological mechanism and is effective on soft tissue, muscle, and joint. Mechanism of kinesio tape method KT%20on%20skin.jpg The kinesio tape method has a good effect on the human body and most importantly it influences the musculoskeletal system, which makes this method very beneficial for physical therapists. There are many effects for this method. The three main principles that kinesio tape depends on are space, movement and cooling (21). Inflamed muscles are painful and swollen which causes a lack in space. The kinesio taping technique is applied to produce space but also leads to the prospect of improved movement without affecting circulation. This space and movement then allows for cooling of the affected muscles, and in certain cases cryotherapy is used with the tape (21). Another good reason to use this taping is that it acts as a pain relieving agent and, focuses on balancing muscles and enhances the function of the muscle smoothly up to an efficient level. The kinesio tape has physiological mechanisms that give the therapeutic benefits of reducing musculoskeletal disorders. These physiological me chanisms are: Aligns fascia tissue in its desired place. Reducing pressure over the lymphatic channels giving a path for the elimination of exudates. Providing a positional stimulus to the skin. Lifting the skin over areas of inflammation, edema, and pain. Increasing stimulation of the mechanoreceptors to either stimulate or limit movement. The key feature that allows athletes to continue their training and sporting activity with kinesio taping is that it gives muscle support without affecting circulation or range of motion. Now to apply kinesio tape therapists must pre-assess the athlete. (8) Pre-applied Kinesio taping method training and practice are requiring appropriate assessment. Assessing and evaluation the patients condition and looking at both the symptoms, is the only way to provide successful treatment because each individual patients condition is different (10, 21). There are certain screening tools that should be used to evaluate the patient, such as manual muscle testing, range of motion testing, gait assessment, and any other orthopedic special tests that the practitioner may deem necessary (10,21). This clinical assessment dictates the specifics of the Kinesio Taping Method application and other possible treatments or modalities (10).There are different applications to apply kinesio tape after pre- applied examination. Kensio Tape application The specifics of the Kinesio Taping Method application and other possible treatments depend on the condition of the athlete and patient. The mechanism of kinesio taping method utilizes only I strips or modifications in the shape of an X, Y or extra or new specialized shapes that conform to muscles insertions and origins, or calibrating the direction and quantity of stretch placed on the tape at time of application (21).The application of kinesio taping has hundreds of ways. This ways has the capability to re-educate the neuromuscular system, reduce pain and inflammation, provide support for joint, prevent injury or related injury and encourage good circulation and healing. The applications adapt to sit of injuries (21).sports0_gifts_tape_11_20.jpg One article that illustrates the effectiveness kinesio tape effect on forearm extensors on collegiate tennis: This study shows the effectiveness of kinesio tape on musculatur of the forearm extensors on collegiate tennis athletes. The study takes fourteen participants (8 female and 6 male) who exhibit a 40% to 50% chance of being diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis at some point in their occupation, to determine if kinesio tape used in healthy collegiate tennis athletes is effective at decreasing fatigue by maintaining strength of the forearm extensors, which are frequently related with lateral epicondylitis. The outcomes of this study show that Kinesio Tape, when applied to healthy colligate tennis players, helps to sustain the strength of the forearm extensors. (11) Kinesio taping techniques of collegiate tennis: on this study, The kinesio tape group received the application for lateral epicondylitis of the elbow using black 2 inch (5 cm) Kinesio Tape. The subjects forearm was prepared for Kinesio Tape application with alcohol pads. The Kinesio taping Y strip was applied from insertion to origin, to reduce muscle function in acutely over-used muscles, with paper-off tension, which refers to application of the tape directly to the skin from the paper backing. The Kinesio Y strip is made from a single strip of tape with a cut down from middle to produce 2 equal size strips. This application decreases the strain placed on the over-used muscle by assisting with muscle contraction. The base of the Y strip was placed near the region of the radial styloid process with no added tension 0% and rubbed in place to activate glue adhesion. The position of elbow slight flexion with the wrist in neutral was located. (11) Example of applied kinesio tape Kinesio taping application for shoulder impingement syndrome: From Clinical therapeutic applications book by Dr. Kenso Kase, the kinesio taping method were applied (10). The increased space is believed to reduce pressure by lifting the skin. By using the lymphatic correction technique, Kinesio tape decreases the pressure beneath the Kinesio tape strip that acts as channels to direct the exudates to the next-door lymph duct. This technique also works to maintain the scapulothoracic stability by the mechanical correction with applied the kinesio taping to three muscles supraspinatus, deltoideus, and teres minor. Kinsio tape was started with the supraspinatus muscle which generally provides scapular stability and placed the bottom of the strip 3 cm under the greater tubersity of the humerus with no tension with some friction to activate the glue. Next, the patient adducted the shoulder with lateral neck flexion to the opposite side. The remainder of the strip was applied the length of the spinous process of the scapula with some of tension as 15-2 5% of the full stretch application which is100% with some friction to activate the glue. Then, the new piece of taping was applied to the deltoideus muscle. The base of the Y-shaped strip was located 3 cm under the deltoid tuberosity of the humerus with tension o% with some friction to activate the glue. Both anterior and posterior tails were applied with new pieces of taping light 15-25% tension with some friction to activate the glue. The anterior and posterior tails were positioned along the external borders of the anterior and posterior deltoid muscle with no tension0% with some friction to activate the glue. The new piece of taping was performed on the teres minor muscle. The -I- shape type strip was located on the lower facet of the greater tuberosity of the humerus without any tension 0% with some friction to activate glue. Lastly, the patient should abducted arm and the shoulder should be in horizontal flexion with internal rotation and then placed the remainder of the strip along the axillary border of the scapula with radiance 15-25% tension with some friction to activate glue.(9,10) Conclusion kinesio tape, which is specialized tape that is thin, elastic and can be stretched up to 120% ~140% of its original length, making it quite elastic, is one of the effective items used for treatment or prevention of injury for athletes and patients. The following conditions: proprioception in pediatrics (15), patients with acute patellar dislocation (17), stroke (16),different injury in ankle like ankle sprain (18), shoulder pain (7), shoulder impingement syndrome (9), breast cancer related lymphedema (14), care of an infant with gastroesophageal reflux (19),and trunk dysfunction (20), the kinesio tape Deals with it. The Kinesio tape method plays an important role that is affected physiological mechanisms on the site of injure. These physiological mechanisms have a therapeutic benefit to improve muscular skeleton disorder and focus on space, movement and cooling. The specifics of the Kinesio Taping Method application and other possible treatments depended on the condition or the resul t of pre applied, which is a full assessment of patient condition and athlete condition. The application of kinesio taping has hundreds of ways which I strips or modifications in the shape of an X, Y or or extra can be used, and has the capability to re-educate the neuromuscular system, reduce pain and inflammation, provide support for joint, prevent injury or related injury and encourage good circulation and healing. Addition with the paper contains a photo display of the overview for kinesio taping method and practical demonstration for neck painà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦10349365-example-of-kinesio-tape-for-neck-pain.jpg

Brain Mechanism And Artificial Intelligence Psychology Essay

Brain Mechanism And Artificial Intelligence Psychology Essay Artificial Intelligence is the art of programming computers in order to produce intelligent behavior, whereas brain theory is the study of the brains function, to understand how the brain functions, the stimulations that go within and how outputs are produced via mathematical modeling and computer stimulation. It can be argued that both contain similar characteristics for functionality, both works together, this can be seen through artificial intelligence used to understand the roles of brain mechanisms. Furthermore both are involved in high cognitive task, such as reasoning, problem solving and decision making. Although some philosophers have accepted that machines can do everything that humans can do, some disagree with this view arguing that such high sophisticated behavior such as love, emotions discovery and moral decisions can only be carried out by humans. AI for many years has been pursuing the study of intelligent behaviour, but using artificial methodology. Intelligence can be defined as the ability to learn and understand, to solve problems and make decisions, both AI and the human brain share this characteristic. In order to study human intelligence some use artificial intelligence to understand human processes. One of the most significant papers on machine intelligence has been explored by Alan Turning; however his theories still remain universal. Turning (1950) predicted that by 2000, a computer could be programmed to have a conversation with a human interrogator for five minutes and that it would be able to deceive the interrogator that it is human, this suggest a link between AI and brain mechanisms. Both the human brain and machines are able to solve complex mathematical calculations; a machine may be designed to solve these calculations faster than the human brain. Although evidence suggests that our brain stores the equival ent of about of over 1018 bits and can process information at the equivalent of about 1015 bits per second. Therefore both AI and brain mechanisms can work together to produce efficient results, as it is evident that both accept input and generate the correct output. It is required that an intelligent machine should help human make decisions, to search for information, to control complex objects, and finally to understand the meaning of words. One of the possible definitions of AI refers to cognitive processes and especially to reasoning. Before making any decisions, people also reason, it is therefore natural to explore the links between both. Since the early 1950s, there has been a vast development of AI where it has become a valuable tool to support humans making decisions, similarly specific brain mechanisms are involved in decision making in the brain, one can argue that both working together will lead to more valid and faster decisions. To support this, research shows that more sophisticated and user-friendly forms of computer-assisted decision aiding technologies are being developed, examples include decision support systems and external information retrieval system, this then can work alongside brain mechanisms. AI has largely been used for problem solving; such machines have been created than can go beyond the human brain ability to solve problems. These include solving mathematical problems of high complexity; these are programmed to do exactly what we want them to do. AI is now involved in solving real life issues, which are usually dealt by human brain mechanisms, some may suggest that it may reach to such an extent that it outperforms the best traders and investors. Evidence suggest that they are already involved in to forecast the economy and analyze credit risk, these just being to examples. This is a rapid growing field which needs to be given attention. More money is being spent on this as the developments in this field have been immense. Neural networks, is one specific type of AI that mimics many characteristics of the human brain. Research suggests that neural networks are able to draw conclusions of data that is incomplete and may learn from previous mistakes, thus imitating per formance outputs by brain mechanisms. AI systems are increasingly being developed and increasing rapidly, this is because of the variety of applications it includes, such as symbolic reasoning, flexibility and explanation capabilities, thus both AI and brain mechanisms can work together and produce efficient results that would make every day life seem less effortless and produce faster results. The goal of building AI agents was that it provides efficiency and most importantly works parallel to brain mechanisms, such as contains features such as cognitive abilities which will play a role in decision making and help in difficult and complex human situations. Furthermore cognitive abilities such as perception, reasoning, learning and planning turn technical systems into systems that know what they are doing; therefore they may function in parallel to the ways brain mechanisms do. Through the years there has been vast developments and more work is being put into these systems in order to it contains certain amount of repres ented knowledge , learn from previous experiences in order to prevent mistakes previously made and so that it makes further improvement and changes. Furthermore developers have aimed to develop AI even further, such as justify the actions and decisions made, be aware of the capabilities it contains and be able to reflect on its behaviour, these are the same roles that brain mechanisms play, thus they aim to create a parallel model. Although such developments have been made through many years, it may be argued that AI may still not be able to compete with the advanced functionality of brain mechanisms. Despite the speed and memory capacity, AI struggles to contend. The human brain contains around 20 billion neurons, each neuron being connected through synapses of approximately 10,000 other neurons, which AI cannot possibly mimic. However there has been continuous progress and advances of AI, an example might be face recognition software, which detects photos; the brain does this automatically, and relies on memory similar to AI where it uses its stored memory for collection. In AI this has been used for security purposes, which have demonstrated to be very successful. Previous advances include voice recognition, which both AI and brain mechanisms share. For AI this has not only be used in terms of security reasons but also in order to function the device and making it more easier and convenient for use, this has been done through using different applications, where it involves programming, the same way the brain mechanisms programme in order to carry out specified roles. In addition although AI applications use many techniques, the fundamental building block is called the neural network, likewise brain mechanisms functions the same way. Things that were difficult to reason earlier on have become easier to understand through advances in technology. As the human brain being such a complex mechanism it has been difficult to observe human brain activity. New advances have been made in recent years, FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) being one of these discoveries which has helped immensely to capture brain activity, this has been significant help for AI as it enables to have an insight on brain activity, which may help advance and help imitate brain mechanisms. Furthermore, this then shifts the balance between building artificial intelligent systems and studying natural intelligence. It should be expected that in the future, there should be numerous studies on relating artificial intelligence to natural intelligence. Current evidence suggests that both can work together to demonstrate different cognitive states in humans, here artificial intelligence has been used for learning algorithms to distinguish between various cognitive states observed through FMRI. Looking at this area further, natural and artificial intelligence are both said to be closely related in most objects and in everyday life generally. Both get impacted if are hit physically. Human behavior is said to be artificial at times, both function through language and communication. Communication is essential for both AI and brain mechanisms in order to function. Through communication they are able to send out essential messages, which helps to maintain these systems and allows them to function effectively and plays a key role in all aspects. AI shares many characteristics with brain mechanisms; one may argue that an essential feature which only human mechanisms can produce is emotions. Emotion is defined as a persons feelings and behavior which has a direct affect on the performance, emotions may act as an obstacle to produce intelligent outcome, thus it can be argued that because AI lacks to produce emotions this may not have an impact, therefore not having an influence on the outcomes it produces. However it is essential, that in order to emulate human behavior and to work alongside humans that AI should have emotions, it is required that not only should it think and reason but also be able to show emotions. Overall evidence suggests that both artificial intelligence and brain mechanisms are closely related, both work together in order to produce efficient outcomes. AI and brain mechanisms share many key characteristics such as reasoning, problem solving and decision making and intelligence. Recent evidence suggest that AI has allowed us to understand complex brain processes, this then enables to understand human actions and decisions in more depth. However many researchers still argue that the high level cognition can only be produced by brain mechanisms, such as emotions and feelings that AI fails to produce.

Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

"It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways." (Buddha) Is man basically good or is man basically evil? In the popular novel, Lord of the Flies, William Goldings shows that man is basically evil, but that man can overcome those instincts if he tries. Simon, Ralph, and Piggy are prime examples of keeping their good character. In each of them there is a desire to do good. They show throughout the novel that it is possible, even when surrounded by evil, to put aside desires and keep good morals. Simon is the morally good boy. His selflessness and goodness comes from within. He is kind to the little boys, and helps the outcasts. For example, when none of the boys want to give Piggy meat from the first pig, Simon steps up and takes him meat. "Simon†¦wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy†¦"(p.74) While everyone else is cruel to the young ones, he helps the "lil'uns" grab meat from the trees when they can't reach. "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest†¦passed them back to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.56) Simon helps those whom no one else is kind to, perhaps remembering that he was looked down upon once. He realizes what it's like to be scorned and to be the "little one", so he tries to make it less miserable for the outcasts by being kind to them. He wants to always help others, so when he discovers the beast is inside of everyone, not external, as they had imagined, he instantly runs down the mountain to tell him. He helps others even to the point of death. Simon is not the only one to demonstrate selflessness in the book. Ralph is the shows his kindness and goodness at the very beginning of the book. As leader, he desires for all of the boys to be safely rescued and for them to be taken care of. "If this isn't an island we might get rescued straight away†¦everyone must stay around here and wait and not go away." (p. 22) He starts out with the best intentions in mind, and wants to have the best for everyone. As the novel continues, and evil intensifies, Ralph won't participate in the wickedness of others. He keeps away from evil by having quiet times by himself and keeping his goal, to be rescued, in front of himself.

In Search of King Arthur :: Internet Literature Essays

In Search of King Arthur Ever since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by stories of courageous knights and virtuous ladies, who populate the covers and pages of books and screens of the movie theaters. Their splendid attire, glamour of the courts and impeccable manners attracted and conquered the imagination of the little girl. Robin Hood was one of my favorite characters, however there was one hero, who troubled my imagination most of all. I have heard and read numerous stories of a magnificent, just and most generous king of all, King Arthur. Legends and myths surrounding the adventures of this character preoccupied my thoughts and pulled me into reading marathons. Today, several years later, I am continuing to indulge my interests. Luckily there is so much material available on the Internet on the subject of King Arthur's and his knights' adventures that I don't have any trouble locating the material interesting to me. Moreover, I have found the following Internet sites most useful in studying the top ic of King Arthur's adventures: Britannia.com (http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html), The History and Historicisation of Arthur (http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tomgreen/arthur.htm) and Legends (http://legends.dm.net/kingarthur/index.html.). Britannia.com is a very well-structured website. The home page of this Internet site is organized in a manner that allows a viewer to locate necessary information speedily and with ease. However, besides being well structured, the site contains all the essential information related to King Arthur and other main characters of the legend such as Merlin, Guinevere. Information on Geoffrey of Monmounth, the author of the History of the Kings of Britain, is also available. A viewer only needs to click on Arthur, the King (http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/kaking.html) in order to find numerous hypotheses of King Arthur's birth and origin as well as general theories of his existence: "Arthur, it seems, is claimed as the king of nearly every Celtic Kingdom know" (Arthur, the King, p.1). Here King Arthur is claimed to be a Breton king, a Dumnonian king, a Cumbrian king, an Elmet king, a Scottish king, a Powysian king, among others. Many historians such as Geoffrey Ashe, Graham Philips and Martin Keatman identify Arthur with various noble houses that occupied territories of Great Britain and Scotland. Furthermore, Britannia.com contains links to such material as Timeline of Arthurian History (http://www.britannia.com/history/timearth.html). These pages contain a detailed timeline, starting from 63 A.D., with Joseph of Arimathea's coming to Glastonbury, bringing with him the Holy Grail, and ending in 1090 A.

A foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population Essay

Toxoplasmosis is a foodborne disease that is estimated to have infected one third of the human population (2). Not only does Toxoplasmosis infect humans, but it is also been found in almost all of the warm-blooded animals, primarily cats (3). Toxoplasmosis was first found in 1908 by Nicolle and Manceaux in the cells of the gundi, a type of rodent, in Brazil. It was also found by Splendore to be in the tissues of a rabbit. Fifteen years later, in 1923, a fatal case of toxoplasmosis was reported in a child. Finally in 1939, toxoplasmosis was identified as a cause of human disease (2). Toxoplasmosis seemed to first be described by Toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma gondii has two   types of hosts, a definitive and an intermediate. Cats are the only definitive hosts for Toxoplasma gondii meaning that only when the parasite infects the cat will it produce oocysts (eggs). Toxoplasma gondii will not produce eggs in other warm-blooded animals. When the cat digests food that contains this parasite, the Toxoplasma gondii inside of the cat will be released into the digestive tract where it will then multiply and produce oocysts in the small intestine. This process is called intraintestinal infection cycle. The parasite is released in large quantities through the feces. The cat will also start shedding oocysts after 3 days of being infected and will continue to shed for 10 to 14 days. T he oocysts are very resilient and can survive up to a year. Other oocysts in the cat penetrate deeper into the intestine and develop tachyzoite which is the parasite’s form of rapid growth. The tachyzoite spreads throughout the body and start the extraintestinal infection cycle. When the immune system responds, the tachyzoite go into their resting stage and become bradyzoites, which is a slow growing form (3). A human or any other intermediate host can then be exposed to the parasite through either eating meat contaminated with the parasite or accidently (or not) swallowing cat feces (1). The oocysts are not immediately infectious as they must first go through a process called sporulation which takes from one to five days. Once the sporulated oocysts are in the intermediate host, they develop tissue cysts which stay in the host for life (3). When Toxoplasma gondii enters the human host, tachyzoites begin to develop and infect various organs. The parasite then enters the brain and creates oocysts. It then establishes a â€Å"chronic infection† which taxes the immune system (4). Toxoplasmosis usually doesn’t show any for most people. Severe cases of toxoplasmosis usually develop in babies whose mother was infected by toxoplasmosis or by people with compromised immune systems such as people with HIV. Some people with mild cases of toxoplasmosis may exhibit flu-like symptoms with swollen nymph glands along with sore muscles for a month or more. However, the severe cases can cause individuals to develop encephalitis along with eye and other organ damage. Patients may begin to experience pain that is accompanied by a bright light along with reduced vision and redness of the eye (1). Toxoplasmosis 1 http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/ 2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704023/?tool=pubmed 3 http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/toxo.html 4 http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/3/745.full Penicillium chrysogenum 5 http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov2003.html 6 http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/groups/jdeacon/microbes/penicill.htm 7 http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/kitzmann_step/

Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ and Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ Essay

In doing this I will explore some of the key points in both novels. For example they both criticise the period of time they are living in. For Golding it is after the Second World War and he is addressing that war could break out again. Proving this is in the first chapter we hear â€Å"we was attacked!† This shows that mankind would attack children in a passenger plane. Whereas Conrad is living in the late Victorian era where Europe has thrust imperialism on Africa and has exploited the natives into slavery. Evidence of this is the â€Å"chain-gangs†. Firstly I am going to look at how both of the novels in some show a sort of journey into the human mind. In Lord of the Flies it is where the children cross from the good side of the island to the bad side. This starts with Jack saying â€Å"Bollocks to the rules!† This instantly showed the breakdown in society. This started possibly not the journey of the children from good to bad, but it is a journey that the island takes from good to bad. It starts with Jack saying that his choir shall be â€Å"hunters.† This begins the journey. The island starts to get darker and the children start to show the darkness of the human heart. With hunters that can have qualities linked with it that turns people into mere animals with only one thing on the mind†¦killing. This is showed by how when Jack, Simon and Ralph find the ‘candle buds’, Jack acts aggressive with them â€Å"Jack slashed one of them open with his knife and its scent spilled over them.† He didn’t just cut them open; he ‘slashed’ them. He again has killing on his mind with â€Å"we can’t eat them.† It is not only Jack that has taken this journey into evil. Jacks ‘tribe’ are heard to be chanting incessantly â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!† So Golding’s depiction of a journey into the human mind addresses the obsession of killing. Conrad has a similar approach, but instead of killing he uses madness. Evidence that this is a common thing in the Congo is when Marlow pays a visit to the Doctor. The Doctor was â€Å"then with a certain eagerness asked me whether he could measure my head† Marlow let him, and asked the Doctor whether he measured the peoples heads â€Å"when they come back too?† Now the Doctor says something somewhat strange â€Å"Oh, I never see them†¦the changes take place inside you know† So the Doctor implies that people go mad out there and never come back. The characters in the two novels sort of follow the same lines. I have grouped the main four characters from the two novels and have put them in to two pairs- Marlow and Ralph and Jack and Mr Kurtz. Firstly, with Marlow and Ralph they start off as good people but they both make mistakes. For Ralph it was ultimately letting the group vote on whether there were ghosts or not. He did not need to let the vote go. What was strange was the way in that he asked the question â€Å"Who thinks that there may be ghosts?† That question seems to lead everyone into saying that there are ghosts. He instantly lost power. He should have asked, â€Å"Who thinks that there are no ghosts?† This would have led everyone into voting for this. Marlow made the main mistake in being led into Kurtz’s charisma. He had stated his dislike of the ivory being kept, but when he met Kurtz you hear him say, â€Å"I was fascinated† Jack and Kurtz were similar in that they were evil. I have already examined the way in that Jack is evil, as he instigated the break down in the society on the island. He also had a band of bloodthirsty hunters. Kurtz is evil in the way that he â€Å"brought in more ivory than all the other stations put together† but he never returned it. Looking at the viewpoint of the two novels I find that are in two different ways to address the nature of the novels. ‘Heart of Darkness’ has Marlow’s viewpoint. I believe that this was done so that we could be in line with his thoughts and feelings. This makes us understand more about the darkness of the human heart. Whereas ‘Lord of the Flies’ has a narrator. We don’t get the same inside intelligence as with Marlow, but we get some viewpoints such as â€Å"Ralph wept for the end of innocence† Having a narrator helps us to have focused on Ralph on a curve of learning. Simon is viewed differently as his mind is open to us. For example when he encounters the Lord of the Flies, the words that the Lord of the Flies are saying is merely Simon speaking to himself. Golding is writing about Simon in this way so that he can express who the beast actually is. â€Å"Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt†¦ you knew didn’t you? I’m part of you?† We instantly now start to understand that something as bad as the Beast has been made up by the human heart. The setting that Conrad uses is firstly the Thames and then he compares it with Congo. He uses the fact that the Thames leads into â€Å"the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.† Then the journey down the Congo is a road to evil and darkness. The things Marlow see such as the chain gangs. â€Å"Black shapes crouched, lay†¦attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair†¦ They were dying very slowly-it was very clear† In ‘Lord of the Flies’ Ralph is Adam in Garden of Eden as he has an instinctual relationship with his surroundings, but his goodness gradually fades as he is tempted by evil. The apple in the Garden of Eden is the bad side of the island (the fort area). This is proved by the fact that that was where Piggy was killed â€Å"his head opened and stuff came out and turned red.† Both novels address the darkness of the human heart. I believe that they are both very similar. Conrad and Golding both use death as their tool of evil. In ‘Heart of Darkness’ it is the natives of Africa that are exploited and flogged until they die. In ‘Lord of the Flies’ Golding has used the fact that even children would murder each other if they were in charge of society. Both of the texts are fables. The two authors criticise what is happening or what could happen in their period of time. Conrad didn’t like what was happening in Africa in the late nineteenth century. Golding was writing what could happen if another war broke out. They may both go to the extremes to condemn society, but with the violence of the everyday world and the overall greed, anything can happen.