Free Essays on Joan Miro

Working Thesis: The Catalan struggle and Spanish Civil War greatly influenced Joan Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s art; Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s techniques of forceful strokes with paint and ceramics enable Mirà ³ to express his feelings and depict the Catalan people’s struggle through art. Surrealism in the 1920s was defined as a fantastic arrangement of materials that influenced Mirà ³, due to the fact that he was one of the most original and sympathetic artists during the Surrealism periods. Mirà ³ was born into the Catalan culture in April 20,1893 in Barcelona, Spain (Munro 288). Having to be born into the Catalan culture gave Mirà ³ an opportunity to have an intense nationalist activity. In which much attention was paid not only to political expressions of the need for autonomy, but also to the re-Catalanizing of every day life (Higdon 1). â€Å"It was necessary to fight so that Catalan, our language might be recognized as a cultural language† (â€Å"Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬ ). In 1910 Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s parents bought a masia which is a sort of traditional farmstead of Catalonia, where the family has its roots on the paternal side. Mirà ³ described the masia in his painting The Farm of 1921-1922 (Figure1). Clement Greenburg a close friend of Mirà ³ who is also a critic, said that Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s art is based on ideas â€Å"of painting as an irrevocable two dimensional medium† (Munro 289). Greenburg also stated â€Å"Mirà ³ is known for his almost total lack of interest in political matters† (Munro 289). The only thing that really kept Mirà ³ interested was his people and their culture. What really shot Mirà ³ down was the Spanish Civil War, he stated that â€Å"I am not in favor of separatism. I am in favor for Spanish unity, European unity, and World unity.† He believed that they should be able to celebrate their myths, and abide by their own laws (Higdon 1). Being Catalan was pretty hard on Mirà ³ as well as his people and their culture. For one, the government tried to shut them out or ... Free Essays on Joan Miro Free Essays on Joan Miro Working Thesis: The Catalan struggle and Spanish Civil War greatly influenced Joan Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s art; Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s techniques of forceful strokes with paint and ceramics enable Mirà ³ to express his feelings and depict the Catalan people’s struggle through art. Surrealism in the 1920s was defined as a fantastic arrangement of materials that influenced Mirà ³, due to the fact that he was one of the most original and sympathetic artists during the Surrealism periods. Mirà ³ was born into the Catalan culture in April 20,1893 in Barcelona, Spain (Munro 288). Having to be born into the Catalan culture gave Mirà ³ an opportunity to have an intense nationalist activity. In which much attention was paid not only to political expressions of the need for autonomy, but also to the re-Catalanizing of every day life (Higdon 1). â€Å"It was necessary to fight so that Catalan, our language might be recognized as a cultural language† (â€Å"Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬ ). In 1910 Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s parents bought a masia which is a sort of traditional farmstead of Catalonia, where the family has its roots on the paternal side. Mirà ³ described the masia in his painting The Farm of 1921-1922 (Figure1). Clement Greenburg a close friend of Mirà ³ who is also a critic, said that Mirà ³Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s art is based on ideas â€Å"of painting as an irrevocable two dimensional medium† (Munro 289). Greenburg also stated â€Å"Mirà ³ is known for his almost total lack of interest in political matters† (Munro 289). The only thing that really kept Mirà ³ interested was his people and their culture. What really shot Mirà ³ down was the Spanish Civil War, he stated that â€Å"I am not in favor of separatism. I am in favor for Spanish unity, European unity, and World unity.† He believed that they should be able to celebrate their myths, and abide by their own laws (Higdon 1). Being Catalan was pretty hard on Mirà ³ as well as his people and their culture. For one, the government tried to shut them out or ...

An Englishman in New York †The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing

An Englishman in New York – The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing An Englishman in New York The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing An Englishman in New York The Problem Of UK-US English in Freelance Writing By Colin Some people see the differences between American English and British English as a problem. I see them as an interesting challenge. And although the title to this article might indicate that I’m English, I am in fact, a British Scot. I am also fully aware there is more to the United States of America than the wonderful state of New York, but I felt it made a good title, so I went with it. Why Has This Difference Come About? The English language arrived in the Americas with the advent of British colonization in the early 17th century. As the British Empire grew, so too did the language, which by 1921 had incorporated around a quarter of the world’s population (approximately 470–570 million people). Since that time, the form of English used in the Americas (particularly in the USA) and that used in the UK, have diverged in many subtle ways, leading to the individual dialects now more commonly known as American English and British English, or on Microsoft Word, as US English and UK English. What Are The Differences? The main differences that have developed between the two strains of English include pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, idioms, and date formatting. A few words have even developed completely different meanings, which can mean something in one dialect, but be a source of embarrassment or insult in the other. Some words may not even be used or are unknown to the other. What Is The Impact? As a freelance writer working from home, I am frequently assigned jobs by companies and individuals, more often than not, from the USA. Telecommuting is an area of freelance writing that I enjoy; working with a local Bed and Breakfast on an advertising leaflet one day, and writing a press release for a US-based dot com client the next. It’s exciting and provides a great way to earn a living. But as this kind of work increases, more often than not I am asked to write articles or essays in the target audience’s own version of the English language. In most cases, this means adapting my work into US English. Is There A Right One Above All Others? No. Clearly it depends on several factors, such as intended readership or editorial preference. A freelance writer should take guidance from both the publication type and the editor when deciding which to use. Where the issue becomes cloudy is when you have a large company with a global audience, or with a company that has separate websites covering different geographical locations. I’ve worked with clients in the past that required two separate articles to be submitted for every one assignment, i.e., one copy of an article in US English for their .com website, and the other in UK English for their .co.uk website. Websites such as our very own Daily Writing Tips, has a global readership, yet the difference in language expectation is highlighted where one readership is of greater number than the other. And so an article written naturally in UK English may stand out against the eye of the US English reader. What Then, For The Freelance Writer? Make a judgment call based on the publication’s intended readership. If there is no information available or it’s too hard to pinpoint, ask the editor. Always remember, though, in the world of freelance writing for the Internet, you won’t be able to please all the people all of the time. But above all, make sure the content is interesting and topical, because if it isn’t relevant, no one will even read it to spot where the differences are. Footnote: Did anyone notice this article was written in US English purely for the benefit of DWT’s US-English speaking readership? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictThe Possessive Apostrophe25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

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

Industrial Project Management - Essay Example Comprising three people, the management team also had a works manager in the team, but what is quite surprising is that the seniority or position of the works manager was never formally acknowledged, leaving bitterness amongst the staff and the team. Ideally, once the works manager is part of the management, he should have been granted the status and powers to deal with the staff as a 'manager', but the indecisiveness is apparent all over in this decision as well. All this is because the company hierarchy and decision flow system is not well planned; instead it is being run as a family business with many lines of communication sending across conflicting signals to the workforce. This not only results in confusing the workforce but it also results in delay for the customer's deliveries. Such delays leave dissatisfied customer, and employees too find it difficult to face the customers advancing reasons for delays etc. This acts as a de-motivator for the workforce. The ad-hoc approach i s also visible in the way the chairman sends across his orders and directives. Chairman is of course within his rights to select people for particular tasks, but at the same time the chairman must not appear to be taking sides opening in favour of someone or against someone, on a routine basis. The favouritism is also apparent in salary reviews for the employees. It results in lowering the morale of other people in the company. Teamwork is also affected, because employees are wary of working with such people. The company is now operating at a small scale, but taking care of customer's preferences, and quality will go a long way in preparing the company for taking on the competition for a longer period, strengthening its financials and adding more value to its products. But as of now company doesn't have any quality standards in place. Today we are living in a competitive era and quality forms one of the important cornerstones for product differentiation. Performance Improvement Essentials For sustainable development the company will have to resort to a number of measures towards improving the motivation level of the workforce, breeding team spirit and for improving the overall outlook of the company. Some of the steps that the company can take are; Motivation for the workforce: Motivation in fact proves to be of strategic importance in an era when competition requires best use of the resources for value addition and customer satisfaction. In simplest terms motivation can be defined as a means of providing motives. Motives can act towards making or spoiling the work, towards doing a job more efficiently or for distorting the work environment. The lack of any positive motivation from the management often results in an automatic negative motivation. This could be defined as the state of an individual's perspective which represents the strength of his/ her natural inclination to exert efforts towards some particular behaviour. It is through their behaviour that employees give expression to their commitment to work, level of motivation and their attitudes. For this small manufacturing company, problems are many on the delivery front and role of the workforce becomes crucial to fulfil the

Aspects of Cultural, Leadership and Shareholder Differences in a Research Paper

Aspects of Cultural, Leadership and Shareholder Differences in a Merger - Research Paper Example Cultural difference was defined by the American Heritage English Dictionary as â€Å"The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions and all other products of human work or thought† (Barrett and Eneroth, 2012). This signifies that when a group of people work together or spend time together, they develop a pattern of habits that become the culture of an organization. Now when another company merges to form a joint venture, the human resource of both the companies have to work in coordination with one another, although they are used to different ways of working or spending time. This is where diversity or difference arises in an organization. Culture in case of private companies are usually quite random and is highly influenced by the decisions of the senior managers, while in case of public companies, group dependability is higher. In such cases, cultural difference is considered to be an obstacle to the success of the alliance (DeChesare, 20 13). In a survey conducted by CFO Research Services in 2004, it was found that among every five respondents, one of them considered cultural clashes to be the primary reason for alliance failure. This raises a question in the minds of readers about the true perception regarding cultural difference during joint ventures or mergers (Chanlat, Davel and Dupuis, 2013, P. 250-251).     Vebego and Risse successfully drove this joint venture for a span of two years. However, the problem had started with the entry of a third party called Westrom Group, which was a similar company like, The Risse Group. The intention of a public-private joint venture was to bring in the knowledge and experience of the public company and since private companies are good at handling business aspect, they can take care of marketing and administration segment carefully. However, the issues were created after the entrance of the third party because the existing companies made the new organization responsible f or many significant decisions, but only the support staffs were considered within the joint venture to handle the operations. The policies and framework for including a third partner were not rightly decided which had augmented the challenges for the joint venture. In this scenario, the cultural transformation tool (CTT) developed by Richard Barrett would be the best way to discuss the lesson learned from this situation, thereby stating the probable recommendations in this context. The CTT assist in the cultural evolution of the organization, which further helps the leaders to manage the operations. Barrett introduced a consciousness model with seven levels, which are evolutionary in character. He did some modifications to Maslow’s Hierarchy model. In 1998, he had developed a model, which was also called CTT. As can be seen in Figure 1 below, there are seven levels of consciousness such as service, making a difference, transformation, cohesion, self-esteem, relationship and s urvival (Barrett Values Centre, 2009a).

Competency Goal Functional Areas Essay Example for Free

Competency Goal Functional Areas Essay To establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment. I keep children healthy by monitoring their health daily. I ask if they have any boo boos and if so how they got them and I put them on a daily health list, I also do this by carefully observing children, watching for signs of illness, making sure immunizations are up to date. I also keep children healthy by keeping the room clean. Children are informed and able to make good decisions on how to stay healthy like washing hands after going to the bathroom, blowing their nose or coughing into their hands, when we come in from outside and before after lunch. I also keep children safe by creating and environment where children gain the knowledge that allows then to make appropriate choices. I make sure activities are safe and developmentally appropriate. The children are encouraging to make good choices by having discussions, giving lessons, and reading books that talk about safety issues I try to create a fun and safe environment where children can learn and grow. I provide and age appropriate environment for the children. I do this by preparing a weekly lesson plan, providing activities for children of all developmental levels. I have activities that are for inside the classrooms which are for gross motor skills such as bean bags, musical instruments, dance music, and all sizes of blocks. I also have fine motor activities, such as large and small beads to string, Lego’s, locking flowers, stencils, scissors, crayon and markers. I also allow time for the children to practice writing skills like their names and letters also to draw beautiful pictures. Competency Goal 1 Functional Area 1: Safe In order to help provide an environment which is safe for the children in my care, I do the following to prevent and reduce injuries: I keep all cleaning supplies and chemicals locked up and out of the children’s reach, to avoid poisoning or other injuries. I am also certified in First Aid and CPR which give me the knowledge to handle any injuries or accidents. I am familiar with the classroom and center emergency evacuation procedures in case of a fire or other emergency. I maintain an easily accessible and current list of emergency numbers and also all the parent numbers. I inspect all toys and equipment, frequently throughout the day to ensure that they are safe for use. I teach safe use of playground equipment. Functional Area 2: Healthy In order to provide and environment that promotes health, and prevents illness and which teaches children about good nutrition and practices that promotes wellness, I do the following: I keep the toys and the rooms clean. I wash my hands and wear gloves before and after handling food. I wear gloves if and when children need help when going to the bathroom, cleaning their noses; in order not spread germs. I also teach the children how to wash their hands after using the bathroom, wiping their nose, coming in from outside, while letting them know how important, it is to washing their hands. I also follow centers’ policies for sick children to prevent other illnesses from spreading throughout the center. I also read books about health care and talk about going to the Doctor and Dentist. I also share the importance of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.

Five Past Midnight in Bhopal Essay -- Environment, Methyl Isocyanate,

Union Carbide owned and operated a pesticide factory in Bhopal, which at one point was a gift to the city’s people and economy. However, an explosion released the toxic chemical methyl isocyanate or MIC into the air, killing thousands of innocent people in cities in close proximity to the plant and exposing many more to its effects. Union Carbide as a company prided itself on its safety standards. However, several oversights would give rise to this disastrous event. Carbide neglected to explain the dangers of MIC, to design the factory properly, and to operate the factory in a safe manner successfully. In this paper, I will argue that Union Carbide’s negligence caused the release of the toxins and the poor immediate response. MIC itself is a highly volatile and deadly substance that is used in the production of the pesticide, Sevin. Carbide neglected to explain the dangers of this substance on several fronts. First, Carbide studied the substance thoroughly in order to construct a manual designed to instruct workers on how to handle MIC properly. However, they neglected to include knowledge of an antidote to MIC in the manual. "Injection with sodium thiosulfate could, in certain cases, neutralize the deadly effects of the gas." (Bhopal, 92) If Carbide had included this information in the manual, then all of the employees, including the medical staff, would have a purported treatment in the event of an accident. This treatment could have saved the lives of many people in a disaster. Secondly, not only did the medical staff lack knowledge of an antidote, but also they â€Å"did not have any specific training in the effects of gas-related accidents, especially those caused by methyl isocyanate." (Bho pal, 167) The company ... ...egligence on all fronts allowed for the opportunity of the worst-case scenario to take place. The people of Bhopal had a right to a clean environment and air. Union Carbide knew the critical information about the gas and had a professional responsibility to uphold its obligation by not releasing toxic gas into the atmosphere and by making sure their employees followed all procedures. The company knew that a disaster of this magnitude was possible beforehand. Therefore, they knew the consequences that would occur from a failure on their part to correctly operate their factory. Carbide showed a lack of care in operating the factory where a moral obligation to the safety of the people was clearly present. Therefore, Union Carbide’s negligence is responsible for the release of toxic MIC into the air and the poor immediate response to the disaster.

Antoni Gaudi – Essay

Antoni Gaudi One of Spain’s most internationally recognized architects, Antonio Gaudi has left his mark throughout Barcelona and Catalonia. His whimsical vision and imaginative designs have brought a bit of magic to this historic region. Gaudi? s culmination of traditional elements with fanciful ornamentation and brilliant technical solutions paved the way for future architects to step outside the box. Born in Reus, Catalonia in 1852, Gaudi was the first in over four generations to leave the family tradition of metal working. As a child, Antonio never excelled in school. He suffered from arthritis, which kept his attendance low, and preferred to spend his time observing plants and animals, as well as studying forms in nature, which would eventually be so prominent in his designs. It was also during his early years studying with the Escolapius Fathers that Gaudi recognized the â€Å"value of the divine history of the salvation of man through Christ incarnate, given to the world by the Virgin Mary. † He later incorporated such beliefs into his greatest work, The Sagrada Familia. Around 1870 Gaudi moved to Barcelona to study architecture at the Provincial School of Architecture. His grades were again less than superior. However, the young student did earn special recognition in the areas of Trial Drawings and Projects, which allowed him to put his outlandish ideas to use. His professor proclaimed that what had been produced in these two courses was either the work of an insane man or a genius. In 1878 Antoni Gaudi was one of only four students to be granted the title of Architect by the school? s director. At a time of cultural and political renaissance in Europe, Gaudi looked to many sources of inspiration for his work. Medieval books, Gothic art, Oriental structures, the Art Nouveau movement, and, of course, the glory of nature, strongly influenced his designs. His deep love of music, as well as his interest in writers such as John Ruskin, who said that â€Å"ornament is the origin of architecture,† also played a roll in the development of Gaudi? s unmistakable style. After graduating, Gaudi found comfort in the flourishing city life of turn-of-the century Barcelona. Numerous doors were opened for him among the bourgeoisie, artists, and intellectuals of the time. The young architect had a reputation for dressing in the latest fashion, and surrounding himself by high society. However, Gaudi never forgot his working-class roots. His first major project as a professional architect was workers? housing in a factory, the Coopertiva Mataronese, which was intended to improve the workers? quality of life. Gaudi presented his design at the Paris World Fair in 1878. It was there that he met Eusebi Guell, the man who would become one of the artist’s closest friends and most loyal patrons. In the following years, with rapidly growing interest in his work, Gaudi took on many important projects. Among them was the house built for the wealthy ceramic manufacturer, Manuel Vicens, as well as â€Å"El Capricho,† a villa for the brother-in-law of the Marquee of Comillas. Soon after, Gaudi began designing a palace for his good friend Guell (Palau Guell), and then later the two collaborated on Park Guell, which was intended to be a garden city. Gaudi, however, is most recognized for his work on â€Å"La Sagrada Familia,† a twentieth century cathedral in Barcelona. Gaudi took over the project in 1884 after a disagreement between a member of the Temple Council and the original project manager, Fracisco de Paula del Villar (Gaudi’s former professor), over materials. Antonio Gaudi was a mere 31 years of age when he officially gained control over the building. The architect devoted the next forty-two years of his life to its construction, until his sudden death at age 74 in 1926.

Artificial Intelligence

One were to take a look around the room they are currently in, chances are there would be some form of artificial Intelligence present. From cell phones to computers – artificial Intelligence Is everywhere and even a way of life. The next generation of people may never know what life is without some form of intelligence embedded into their everyday schedule and routines. Perhaps the coffee pot that brews their caffeinated beverage every morning is programmed in such a way that they don't even have to touch it.Originally, however, it was programmed by a human. Robots may indeed be programmed intelligently, but robots can never replace humans. According to Kevin Money, It Is said that â€Å"Google and a lot of other companies believe robots today are like cell phones back when they were the size of bricks and cost $6,000. It may take 10 or 20 years, but before long everybody is going to have a robot – or several† (Money, 2013). Robots work alongside human beings to ensure accuracy, precision, and skill that human beings cannot perform on their own.Dan Lyons states that, â€Å"From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal carcasses In slaughter-houses, these ever- ore-Intelligent machines are now not Just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs. Automation isn't just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly paid human lawyers. Surely, robots are designed to assist humans, but can they really replace them? Author Michael Brooks writes about Hugh Lobber, a philanthropist from New York, whose goal Is to create total unemployment for all human beings throughout the world. â€Å"He wants robots to do all the work. And the first step towards that is to develop computers that seem human when you chat to them. It's n ot a new idea. Alan Turing is credited with the first explicit outline of what is now called the Turing test.A human judge sits down at a computer and has a typed conversation with an entity that responds to whatever the Judge types. If that entity is a computer, but the judge thinks It's a person, the conversational computer program passes the test (Brooks, 2013). † Human beings are highly flawed creatures and they often make mistakes. Robots, on the other hand, are computers – they execute a skill, time and mime again, without flaw, for the most part. That's why they are often used in medical settings, so that doctors can have the assistance of a robot to help execute a task.Dan Lyons states, â€Å"surgeons are using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations–not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover In less time and have fewer complications, says Dry. Miriam Cure. † However, this doesn't necessarily mean that robots are going to replace humans. â€Å"The surgery bots don't replace surgeons?you still need a surgeon to drive the robot† (Lyons, 2013). Unfortunately, computers are computers, and one day, they will crash. It may not happen right away, but eventually, there will be a glitch, a mistake, or an entire shutdown.Computers do not have a will or desire to complete a task, so they are only as good as they are programmed. In fact, there are many attributes that computers simply cannot intelligent as they may seem. It is inaccurate to think that a computer may genuinely mimic or replace a human, because they simply don't have mental skills. A robot may be programmed to respond to certain types of tones, words, or body language, but he beautiful thing about human beings is that they can come up with their own responses on their own – no matter what the stimulus may be.According to Greg Egan, it is healthier to communicate with a real human being rather than an artificially intelligent one. He states that, â€Å"The art of conversation, of listening attentively and weighing each response, is not a universal gift, any more than any other skill. Honing one's conversational skills with a computer–discovering your strengths and weaknesses while enjoying a chat with a character that is no less interesting for failing to exist–might well lead to better conversations with fellow unmans† (Egan, 2014).This is significant because human beings need this sort of interaction for mental health and stability. If one were connected to a robot, rather than a human, they would get a false sense of reality. Michael Brooks feels the same way about it. He says, â€Å"When we talk to each other, whether it's about last night's TV or the wisdom of a military strike on Syria, we are doing something far harder than sending a rocket to the moon. We did the moon-shot decades ago but we still can't make a machine that will hold a decent conversation† (Brooks, 2013). Human beings make mistakes. It is simply a part of human nature.If a human was around a robot that didn't make mistakes, or wasn't â€Å"human† enough, then the person would become uncomfortable. According to The Economist, â€Å"To keep human workers at ease, collaborative robots should also have an appropriate size and appearance. Collaborative, humanoid robots should generally be no larger than a six-year-old, a size most adults reckon they could overpower if necessary. Large eyes make robots seem friendlier and, crucially, more aware of their surroundings. † This goes to show the relationships that humans have with each other: the bigger and stronger a arson seems to be, the more intimidating they become.There is a trust issue that takes place within the need for big eyes to seem friendlier and the need to be aware of current surroundings. Isn't one of the greatest parts of being human the ability to judg e character and decide, individually, who is frightening and untrustworthy and who is not? The article also adds, â€Å"But overly humanoid features can lead to problematically unrealistic expectations. † So, if the robot were to randomly burst into flames, then the human would no longer trust it. Alas, assuming the robot could be rusted in the first place would lead to unrealistic expectations – expectations that are not human enough to exceed.Robots are unique because they are programmed. Humans are unique because they are not – meaning they are able to think for themselves and make mistakes. The Economist states that it is important to give robots â€Å"A defining human trait–the ability to make mistakes. Amah Salem programmed a humanoid Asimov robot, made by Honda, to make occasional harmless mistakes such as pointing to one drawer while talking about another. When it comes to household robots, test subjects prefer those that err over infallible ones , Dry Salem says. This is significant to see that humans prefer robots to be more human-like by making mistakes because it makes the person more comfortable. It is almost laughable, because a human is such prone to error, so the robot might as well be, they would prefer a robot to make a mistake would mean that they are searching for that connection – a connection that would sound something like, â€Å"we are only human† and they shrug it off and feel comforted again. Although robots are indeed artificially intelligent and have many technological capabilities, they still can never be exactly eke humans or completely replace humans.They may be able to help doctors and surgeons, factory workers, and make life a little easier in the everyday world, but they simply cannot mimic humans. Therefore, the idea of connecting with a robot should be thrown out the window, along with the idea of making a robot make mistakes on purpose for the comfort of the nearest human being. Wha t the nearest human being needs is to connect with the next human being and have a reassuring conversation that they will not lose their Job to a robot – unless they fail to program their robot ropey. Artificial intelligence Artificial Intelligence Is defined as the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. Artificial intelligence has come a long way as our culture has developed.Many people believe that artificial intelligence is in a sense giving these computers sentience or making them alive. What most people don't agree on is that Artificial Intelligence Is hat delightfulness Ass's from humans if they can think critically about situations and form their own opinions. In the movie â€Å"The Final Moments of Karl Brand† we are shown the basic sense of how humans feel about sentient AH systems.Karl Brand a top researcher for a new experimental AH system downloads his memories into a device. Later after he is murdered his friend pulls up the memories he had â€Å"uploaded† and they create a sentient AH version of himself. Most peo ple are greatly disturbed by the fact that AH could possibly become In a sense living and have a unconsciousness, In this movie the cop is deeply disturbed and rushes to pull the plug on the sediment being.This is how most people commonly react to change and constantly improving technology. Everyday Hollywood releases movies like terminator, and Robotic where artificial intelligences go haywire and takeover all of humanity. However, Most artificial intelligences are actually very intelligent and almost have a human like reasoning and logic. It is because of this sense of â€Å"sentience† that most people feel uncomfortable about robots and the growing technological age. Artificial Intelligence Brian Aldiss’ â€Å"Supertoys Last All Summer Long† is an interesting story which was adapted to film by Steven Spielberg in the movie â€Å"AI – Artificial Intelligence. Reading the story initially one would notice that the story ends with a hanging ending. There seems to be no closure in the story except that the audience is left wondering what happens to David since the couple, Monica and Henry, already acquired the license to conceive a real human child. The story is extremely short and would be impossible to adapt to film if not for the additions that have been made in its movie form.However, the short story itself forms the basis for the entire film save for it’s being extended to feature length. The narrative additions in the film were not added just so the basis, which is the short story, would become feature length, instead these additions serve three basic things – they appropriately conduct the story to a logical and closed-ended conclus ion, they serve to explain certain things that have not been explained in the short story because of its length, and they give the story material a more visual feel instead of the almost vignetted presentation in the literary piece.The narrative additions in the film expand the sphere of explanation for the story; something that was not done in the short story version. Noticeably, in the short story, Aldiss focused on the singular scene of the depressing interaction between Monica, David, and the super toy, Teddy. These interactions are limited to the revelations of how David reacts to the obvious disregard of Monica for him. David wonders why he cannot be loved as much by Monica whom he considers to be his mother.While the short story does not explore this fully, the film makes slight modifications by presenting Monica and Henry as a couple who had a child in suspended cryogenic animation. So, with that addition in the film, Monica is given a reason for her depression and her obvio us distance and indifference for the robot kid, David. In addition to this, the re-introduction of Monica’s real child who emerges from suspended animation serves to add another layer of conflict to the story which was surprisingly linear and less complicated in the short story version.Aside from these critical pieces of the story that were expanded and well explained in the film version, the movie also drew from the robot background of the story and created an entire world where humans interact with robots in the film. The only reference to this in the story is the serving-man which David presented to an audience as a new innovation in robotics as well as David who is the young robot boy.Of course it is assumed that with the existence of these two robots in the short story, the setting for the story becomes the future, but the film explores this further by portraying many other forms of robots to establish the idea that in the world where the story occurs, robots are made fo r various and different purposes. So, judging by how the material was expanded as more detailed narratives in the film, such narratives were not superfluous in the sense that these narrative elements had added more details to the story and made it more tangible as opposed to the fleeting and almost fickle clues that were given in the short story version.Another obvious development in the film that explains why the narratives were purposely introduced is the fact that the additions such as the adventure of David in the absence of Monica and Henry made the story more visual. In effect, the short story was merely used as a jump off platform for the movie, hence the phrase ‘based on the story’. This is expected in most film versions because most of the time, short stories create imaginary worlds in the reader’s mind that are far from tangible.So, while most of the narrative elements introduced in the film are no longer found in the short story, all of these elements can be derived from certain features of the short story itself. This is done to give the film a more material existence. Of course film is a different media an in this type of media, the story is told by visual cues and portrayals as opposed to how a story is told in literature which is mostly through mental images or what is known as imagery resulting from the expert arrangement and presentation of words.So, the addition of the narratives is in fact purposeful and intentional, the intention being to give the audience a more effective portrayal of what was initially only perceived through the imagination. The narratives give flesh to the imaginary world that was presented in the short story version allowing the film version to tell the story itself as well as allow audiences a privileged perspective into the world where the short story takes place in. The most important feature that the narratives gave to the film is the existence of a more satisfying and close-ended conclusion to t he story.It will be recalled that in the short story version the story merely ends with the couple ecstatic at knowing that they were now allowed to conceive a real child. While it is implied in the short story version that the couple had planned on disposing David because of this development when Monica says that David was malfunctioning; (Aldiss) in the film version, David pursues his dream of becoming a real boy and in the end, is reunited with his mother, Monica.While the ‘becoming a real boy’ part does not come true for David, he is given the opportunity to live life as a real boy in the end. The ending of the film is more satisfying for the audience compared to the ending in the short story because while there have been many narrative elements added to the film, these narrative elements worked together to effectively conclude the film version. Without the narrative elements the ending would have been strange and totally illogical.This, perhaps, is the most importa nt role that the narrative elements played in the film in relation to the short story version. So, while some might say that the addition of these elements totally destroyed the original story as told in the short story version, the narratives actually serves to expand the story enough for an appropriate ending or conclusion to be made. Had the narratives been absent from the film version, with the same ending that was used, the audience would have been left with nothing to base the ending on.The short story ended with an open ended conclusion in that the readers are left to assume what happens next, none of this occurs in the film largely because of the narratives which effectively told the story from start to finish and gave the ending sturdy foundations in the body of the film itself. So, the narrative elements in the film are not there merely to extend the short story into a feature version because like literature, any addition to a piece is always intentional.The purpose of add ing the narrative features into the film was to allow a more expanded perspective on the material as well as give the story a more visual appeal which is what is intended; but of course, the most important purpose of the narratives was to allow the story to end successfully. It is impossible to compare a short story to a movie when the movie openly admits that it is only based on the short story.In cases where such is in effect, where the movie is merely based on existing literary material, the literary piece may just be a minute portion of the film as a whole. In the case of Aldiss and the movie â€Å"AI† the director of the movie succeeded in his intentions of adding narrative features to the existing material which is the short story while at the same time preserving the integrity of the basis for the film.In many cases, the base material is lost in the telling of the story through film, but in this case both the director as well as the screenplay writer succeeded in prese rving the basic material while offering a film that was both entertaining and water-tight, story-wise. ? Works Cited Aldiss, Brian. â€Å"Super-Toys Last All Summer Long. † N. p. , 2007. Web. 12 July 2010. . Artificial Intelligence Technology keeps on getting better and better time to time. According to the Kondratieff Cycle, the technology changes states in around 50 years and in the early years of this 50 year cycle it builds upon only losses and only in the last ten years it brigs true returns which are actually the costs of adapting the technology being nullified.Artificial Intelligence is the premium technology being practiced today as it has the ability to mimic human behavior. The fact that AI systems can learn make them more viable for race to gain edge over your rivals, therefore firms are readily adapting such systems as they tend to boost performance of the firms.AI, not only helps the firms, but also helps individuals (employees) in understanding the cases and directing strategies efficiently. It also reduces the work load for many employees but at a tactical or top level.AI is more like a nightmare for operational level employees as it tends to destroy the chain to speed up operations. For instance , an efficient AI planted into a manufacturing firm can eliminate the need for manpower in assembling departments.At present, the commercial world is hungry for technology that would ease operations and decision making to the maximum level as the long run costs of maintaining these systems are extremely low as compared to employee management programs.This means that professional jobs are at stake. Further, such systems do not have an aging problem so knowledge can be contained easily. The point still argued is can we rely on machines that work on binary codes i.e. Yes or No options only?Computers can think but can not think rationally as humans may do, computers may be able to comprehend faster but still they can not act intuitively as humans do. References1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jan Goldberg, Mark Rowh, (2003), â€Å"Great Jobs for Computer Science Majors†Edition: 2, McGraw-Hill Professional2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alan Kernoff, Tom Schwartz Associates, (1986), â€Å"Who's who in Artificial Intelligence: The AI Guide to People, Products, Companies, Resources, Schools and Jobs†, WWAI,3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Samir Dasgupta, Ray Kiely, (2006), â€Å"Globalization and After†,Sage Publications, Artificial Intelligence The movie Artificial Intelligence: A.I. is written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and stars Haley Joel Osment (â€Å"David†) and Jude Law (â€Å"Gigolo Joe†).   The movie is set in the future in a civilization that has taken drastic steps to ensure the survival and prosperity of society by limiting human population.Wealthy nations stay afloat by limiting the number of childbirths allowed per married couple.   In fact couples who exceed the minimum legal standard for number of children were penalized by law.   Human beings also co-exist with androids, called â€Å"mechas† who perform various functions for their human owners, such as gardeners, nannies, laborers, and, in Joe’s case, gigolos.Traditionally, the androids built by humans were not programmed to feel any emotions.   They were programmed merely to assist in the day-to-day lives of human beings.   This all changes when a company called Cybertonics creates a boy mecha called David, who i s built not only with artificial intelligence, but with emotional intelligence (or EQ) as well.In other words, David can love, looks for love, and responds to love from a human being.   As such, David is an experimental model, since no other mecha had been built quite like him, and Cybertronics selected one of their employees, Henry Swinton (played by Sam Robards) from a list of candidates of possible parents-to-be to take in David and to treat him as his own son.Henry decides to take David home under the advisement of the doctor who was worried about the health of Henry’s wife Monica (played by Frances O’Connor).Their own son, Martin (played by Jake Thomas) was seriously ill and was in suspended animation for a long time.   The doctors did not see the possibility of him recovering.The doctor told Henry that instead of worrying about his son, he should start worrying about the emotional wellness of his wife.   In order to do that, Henry thought that he should fil l the void left by the â€Å"loss† of their son by taking home David to take Martin’s place.At first, Monica (played by Frances O’Connor) is appalled at the idea.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The very thought of taking home an android to take Martin’s place angers Monica in the beginning. Henry then appeases her by telling her that he will take David back.He then informs Monica that there is a code consisting of 7 random words that, if spoken, will enable a mechanism in David to start acting and feeling like a real boy.   He warns her that if that code is enabled, David can no longer be returned.   He will have to be destroyed in the factory because if activated, the android would recognize no other mother and would be worthless.She is initially afraid of David, and tries to ignore him, but her maternal instincts take over, and soon, she warms up to David and starts treating him as her son.One morning Monica decides to activate the code embedded inside David, and he h imself starts to respond to Monica in the way a human child responds to his or her parent.   David does everything he can to please Monica, and she responds with warmth and love.   At the Swintons, David also makes friend with Teddy, a mecha teddy bear who speaks and has taken it upon himself to keep an eye out for David.Unfortunately, David’s happy stay at the Swintons, where he is treated as a real live boy and a son, does not last for long.   Martin, the Swintons’ real son, recovers miraculously from his illness and is sent home to his parents.   Upon his arrival, Martin becomes jealous over the attention and love his mother bestows on David.He starts thinking of ways to get David into trouble, to make his mother Monica love David less, and to give him, Martin, her full love and attention.

Examples of Brain Drain in the Developing World

Examples of Brain Drain in the Developing World Brain drain refers to the emigration (out-migration) of knowledgeable, well-educated, and skilled professionals from their home country to another country. This can take place because of several factors. The most obvious is the availability of better job opportunities in the new country. Other factors that can cause brain drain include: war or conflict, health risks, and political instability. Brain drain occurs most commonly when individuals leave less developed countries (LDCs) with fewer opportunities for career advancement, research, and academic employment and migrate to more developed countries (MDCs) with more opportunities. However, it also occurs in the movement of individuals from one more developed country to another more developed country. The Brain Drain Loss The country that experiences brain drain suffers a loss. In LDCs, this phenomenon is much more common and the loss is much more substantial. LDCs generally do not have the ability to support growing industry and the need for better research facilities, career advancement, and salary increases. There is an economic loss in the possible capital that the professionals may have been able to bring in, a loss in advancement and development when all of the educated individuals use their knowledge to benefit a country other than their own, and a loss of education when educated individuals leave without assisting in the education of the next generation. There is also a loss that occurs in MDCs, but this loss is less substantial because MDCs generally see an emigration of these educated professionals as well as an immigration of other educated professionals. Possible Brain Drain Gain There is an obvious gain for the country experiencing brain gain (the influx of skilled workers), but there is also a possible gain for the country that loses the skilled individual. This is only the case if professionals decide to return to their home country after a period of working abroad. When this happens, the country regains the worker as well as gains a new abundance of experience and knowledge received from the time abroad. However, this is very uncommon, particularly for LDCs that would see the most gain with the return of their professionals. This is due to the clear discrepancy in higher job opportunities between LDCs and MDCs. It is generally seen in the movement between MDCs. There is also a possible gain in the expansion of international networking that can come as a result of brain drain. In this respect, this involves networking between nationals of a country who are abroad with their colleagues who remain in that home country. An example of this is Swiss-List.com, which was established to encourage networking between Swiss scientists abroad and those in Switzerland. Examples of Brain Drain in Russia In Russia, brain drain has been an issue since Soviet times. During the Soviet-era and after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, brain drain occurred when top professionals moved to the West or to socialist states to work in economics or science. The Russian government is still working to counter this with the allocation of funds to new programs that encourage the return of scientists that left Russia and encourages future professionals to remain in Russia to work. Examples of Brain Drain in India The education system in India is one of the top in the world, boasting very few drop-outs, but historically, once Indians graduate, they tend to leave India to move to countries, such as the United States, with better job opportunities. However, in the last few years, this trend has started to reverse itself. Increasingly, Indians in America feel that they are missing the cultural experiences of India and that there are currently better economic opportunities in India. Combating Brain Drain There are many things governments can do to combat brain drain. According to the OECD Observer, Science and technology policies are key in this regard. The most beneficial tactic would be to increase job advancement opportunities and research opportunities in order to reduce the initial loss of brain drain as well as encourage highly-skilled workers both inside and outside the country to work in that country. The process is difficult and it takes time to establish these sorts of facilities and opportunities, but it is possible, and becoming increasingly necessary. These tactics, however, do not address the issue of reducing brain drain from countries with issues such as conflict, political instability or health risks, meaning that brain drain is likely to continue as long as these problems exist.

Debate Topics for the High School Classroom

Debate Topics for the High School Classroom Debates are a great way for students to get involved in class. Students have to research topics, prepare for the debate with their team, and think on their feet as they practice public speaking. Learning how to debate does more than improve speaking skills; it also makes for better listeners. As a result, students are better prepared  for college and the diverse career world beyond.   Joseph Joubert â€Å"It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.† (1896) The following list of 50 debate topics  is for use in high school classrooms. While some of these are specifically written for a particular part of the curriculum, others can be modified or used in a number of different classes. Each item is listed as a proposition that one side (student or team) argues to defend while the other side (student or team) argues to oppose. 1:53 Watch Now: Ideas for Great Classroom Debate Topics Science and Technology Human cloning  should be banned.Renewable forms of energy should be subsidized by the government.The U.S. government should fund a space mission to Mars.Social media comments should be protected by free speech.Parents should be allowed to choose their babys gender.Animal testing should be banned.The U.S. government should provide internet service for every citizen.Video games are too violent. Politics and Government America should be able to provide foreign aid to countries that kill  endangered animals.It is never appropriate for the government to restrict freedom of speech.Democracy is the best form of government.All citizens who do not vote should pay a fine.The right to bear arms is a necessary constitutional amendment.Progressive tax rates are unfair.The voting age should be lowered.The driving age should be raised.A border fence should be constructed between the U.S. and Mexico.America should not give foreign aid to other countries.Drone attacks against specific targets are a necessary part of modern warfare.Affirmative action should be abolished. Social Issues Partial-birth abortion should be illegal.All parents should be required to attend parenting classes before having a child.All people should be vegetarians.Mixed martial arts  should be banned.The  death penalty  should be abolished.Sports stars should be positive role models.People should be fined for not recycling.Performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports. Education All students should have an after-school job.Every student should be required to take a performing arts course.Homework should be banned.School uniforms should be required.Year-round education is not a good idea for student learning.Physical education should be required of all students throughout high school.All students should be required to perform one year of community service.Schools should block YouTube.Students should be able to leave school for lunch.Single-sex schools are better for students.Schools should punish cyberbullying that occurs outside of school.Teachers should not be allowed to contact students through social media.Public prayer should not be allowed in schools.High-stakes state testing should be abolished.Poetry should be removed from the curriculum.History (or another subject) is an important subject in school.Schools should not be allowed to track students by academic level.Students should be required to pass algebra to graduate.Students should not be graded on their handwriting. All students should take an online course.The theory of Intelligent design should be taught in science classes.

An Investigation into the issue of human trafficking, the factors that Essay

An Investigation into the issue of human trafficking, the factors that promote it and the obstacles in preventing this evolving - Essay Example Although human trafficking has been present for a very long time, it has increased a lot in the last quarter of the 20th century due to a number of reasons, the main being the increased number of refugees due to many civil wars, increased poverty due to global crises and natural disasters, and the increased emphasis on sexuality in the media. Human trafficking is not just an issue that can be taken lightly. It does not just lead to the exploitation of human beings through the development of the sex industry and forced labor, but also results in other illicit activities. Often, the money from the illicit profits is used for the growth and expansion of drugs or illegal weapons related businesses. This kind of a business again requires some form of exploitation of children and women, and sometimes even men. So a vicious circle is formed from which people cannot escape. Rather more and more fall into these precarious work conditions. The issue of human trafficking needs to be addressed p roperly by governments that want to break people out from the vicious cycle of human trafficking. ... The paper, therefore, looks at the reasons in a lot of detail. In order to understand them, however, it is important to fully comprehend the definition and forms of human trafficking. Definition Human Trafficking, according to Jordan (2002), is the movement of humans within or across borders by the use of inappropriate means, like fraud and force, so that they can be forced into labor, slavery, and servitude. So, human trafficking is an illicit trade whereby human beings are ‘sold’ for the purpose of commercial promotion or slavery. To be more precise, however, the definition provided by the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and adopted by the UN General Assembly on 15 November 2000, according to Bakirci (2009), is as follows. ‘[. . .] recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of dishonesty, of the misuse of power or of a situation of susceptibility or of the taking or getting of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation’ Hence trafficking, according to the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, includes at the very least either some form of sexual exploitation or labor exploitation. It is very important to state here, as Bakirci (2009) relates that human trafficking does not necessarily require movement. Unlike human smuggling, human trafficking does not need the person to be moved from one way to the other. But, in effect, trafficking means the recruitment and harboring of individuals in the professions that have been discussed in the definition above. So, people can also be trafficked in their homelands, as