Saturday, November 30, 2019

The selfish gene theory Essay Example

The selfish gene theory Paper Therefore, if people acted purely in their self-interest as relayed in the often misunderstood purest form of the selfish gene theory, this person would not contribute to the common account in the first place and would reap the rewards of everyone else’s contribution. Contributions to the common fund started at approximately 50% of the total points of each player but this decreased over the course of the game as some people put less in the common account. Justifications for the decline in cooperation were that the only way to punish people who were not contributing to the common account was to decline to contribute to that account also. We will write a custom essay sample on The selfish gene theory specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The selfish gene theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The selfish gene theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It begs the question as to how sustainable cooperative and social behaviours are without a significant deterrent to behaving selfishly. When this game was conducted with opportunity to heavily punish non contributors by using their own points to deduct from those of the non-contributing players this was consistently selected. This pattern of behaviour meant that cooperation no longer decreased over the rounds so cooperative behaviour was maintained by reward and punishment as it often is in society. More recent neurobiological evidence supports the notion that even this seemingly altruistic behaviour by the actor is selfish at a genetic level, De Quervain et al (2004) found that when a person punishes another for non-cooperative behaviour the dorsal striatum is stimulated and as this is the circuitry involved in reward-related activity there is a direct fitness benefit being bestowed by this behaviour to the actor. Additionally, there are indirect benefits for the group to which the actor belongs as this behaviour increases their survival chances and productivity. Therefore the overall fitness benefits to the person’s genes through the ultimate maintenance of the group and societal norms which help to preserve that group outweighs the personal sacrifices made to maintain this system of cooperative and social fairness which has fitness benefits for those who engage in it (Hamilton, 1964, 1975). If selfish behaviour increases a persons’ overall fitness then it would seem obvious that genes which promote selfishness should increase their presence in the gene pool and that altruistic genes would therefore be outbred. This would mean that Dawkins (1976) explanation for cooperative and social behaviour would be fundamentally flawed. However, game theory has shown how important the combination of those who behave selfishly and those who behave in a seemingly altruistic way is to the evolution of the genes that promote these behaviours. A game called ‘prisoners dilemma’ demonstrates that when two people behave altruistically they increase the overall fitness of both parties and hence the gene that promotes this behaviour is likely to survive and be replicated. When both parties behave selfishly both decrease their overall fitness which makes the gene responsible less likely to survive and be replicated and when one partner behaves selfishly it is their own fitness that will increase but if there is discrimination from those who have the altruistic genes in their willingness to interact with those carrying the selfish gene then this explains why the population is not overcome by those carrying the selfish gene. Dawkins purports that consciousness has evolved to be able to override the influence of the genes and that the more executive decisions are made at the helm of this consciousness. It is the relationship between the genes and consciousness that determine how a person will behave and the influence of the environment and its culture shapes consciousness more than genes do. Dawkins acknowledged a meme as a unit of culture that can be passed from person to person at a much faster rate than genes would be and therefore memes create rules for cooperative and social behaviour and these rules help to maintain systems of cooperation by punishing those who do not engage fairly in social interactions. Therefore where behaviours cannot be explained by genes they are explained by memes and Cartesian-dualism. Because ultimately genes are primarily concerned with their own replication, they influence people to behave in ways that are most likely to meet this need; altruistic and cooperative behaviour has evolved as a consequence of its success at replicating itself and therefore cooperative and social behaviour is explained by the SGT as having evolved at the level of the genes through selfish means. Cooperative and social behaviour at the level of the organism is therefore only a mechanism to ensure that the needs of the genes are being met. The survival of the fittest is therefore not a competition for resources and advantageous selfish behaviour but it is an enhanced chance of survival and reproduction bestowed on those who behave in efficient ways such as through cooperative and social behaviours (Margulis Lovelock, 1974) Conclusively, Dawkins SGT appears to be able to offer adequate explanations for cooperative and social behaviours that enhance the fitness of the actor and those who share the same genes. If the fitness is not directly or indirectly enhanced with an immediate effect then this can be explained as having a lifetime fitness benefit by this same theory but it is worth noting that measuring lifetime fitness benefits is difficult to do which limits this explanation. The weaker the genetic connection between the actor and the recipient the weaker the theory becomes when offering explanations for cooperative and social behaviours, especially as the behaviour of the actor becomes increasingly altruistic. Therefore from the perspective of the SGT even apparently cooperative and social behaviour at the level of the organism is always one of selfish motivation at the level of the genes; put succinctly, ‘scratch an altruist and watch a hypocrite bleed’ (Ghiselin, 1974). References Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. New York: Oxford University Press. Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. I II. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 7, pp. 1-52. Hamilton, W. D. (1975). Innate social aptitudes of man: An approach from evolutionary genetics. In R. Fox (Ed. ), Biosocial anthropology (pp. 133-155). New York: Wiley. Sachs, J. L. , Mueller, U. G. , Wilcox, T. P. , Bull, J. J. (2004). The evolution of cooperation. Quarterly Review of Biology, 79, pp. 135-160. Trivers, R. L. (1971) Evolution of reciprocal altruism. Q. Rev. Biol. 46, pp. 35-7. Gardner, A. , and West, S. A. 2004. Spite and the scale of competition. J. Evol. Biol. 17, pp. 1195–1203. Gardner, A. and West, S. A. 2006. Demography, altruism, and the benefits of budding. Journal of Evolutional Biology. 19, pp. 1707–1716. West, S. A. , Gardner, A. , Barton, N. H. (2007). The relation between multilocus population genetics and social evolution theory. 169, pp. 207–226. Maynard Smith, J. (1964). Group selection and kin selection. Nature, 20, pp. 1145-1147. Johannsen, W. (1911). The genotype conception of heredity, Amer. Natur. , 1911. 95. 1911-10005-00110. 1086/279202. Krebs, J. R. , Davies, N. B. (1993). An introduction to behavioral ecology. (3rd ed. ). Oxford, england: blackwell. de Quervain, D. J. , Fischbacher, U. , Treyer, V. , Schellhammer, M. , Schnyder, U. , Buck, A. , Fehr, E. (2004, August 27). The neural basis of altruistic punishment. Science, 305, 1254-1258. West, S. A. , A. S. Griffin, and A. Gardner. 2007. Social semantics: altruism, cooperation, mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection. J. Evol. Biol. 20, pp. 415–432. West, S. A. , A. S. Griffin, A. Gardner, and S. P. Diggle. 2006. Social evolution theory for microorganisms. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 4, pp. 597–607. Griffin, A. S. , and S. A. West. 2002. Kin selection: fact and fiction. Trends Ecol. Evol. 17, pp. 15–21. Frank, S. A. (2003). Perspective: repression of competition and the evolution of cooperation. Evolution 57. pp. 693–705. Lehmann, L. , and L. Keller. 2006. The evolution of cooperation and altruism— a general framework and a classification of models. J. Evol. Biol. 19 pp. 1365–1376. Kummerli, R. , Gardner, R. , West, S. A. , Griffin, A. S. (2008) Limited dispersal, budding dispersal and cooperation: an experimental study. Ghiselin, M. (1974). A radical solution to the species problem. Systematic Zoology, 23, 536-554. Van Baalen M. and Jansen V. A. A. (2006) Kinds of kindness: classifying the causes of altruism and cooperation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19: 1377-1379 Heylighen F. (1992) Selfish Memes and the Evolution of Cooperation, Journal of Ideas , 2. pp 77-84.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Modules, Structures, and Classes

Modules, Structures, and Classes There are just three ways to organize a VB.NET application. ModulesStructuresClasses But most technical articles assume that you already know all about them. If youre one of the many who still have a few questions, you could just read past the confusing bits and try to figure it out anyway. And if you have a lot of time, you can start searching through Microsofts documentation: A Module is a portable executable file, such as type.dll or application.exe, consisting of one or more classes and interfaces.A Class statement defines a new data type.The Structure statement defines a composite value type that you can customize. Right, then. Any questions? To be a bit more fair to Microsoft, they have pages and pages (and more pages) of information about all of these that you can wade through. And they have to be as exact as possible because they set the standard. In other words, Microsofts documentation sometimes reads like a law book because it is a law book. But if youre just learning .NET, it can be very confusing! You have to start somewhere. Understanding the three fundamental ways that you can write code in VB.NET is a good place to start. You can write VB.NET code using any of these three forms. In other words, you can create a Console Application in VB.NET Express and write: Module Module1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sub Main()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MsgBox(This is a Module!)  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd ModuleClass Class1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sub Main()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MsgBox(This is a Class)  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd ClassStructure Struct1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dim myString As String  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sub Main()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MsgBox(This is a Structure)  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd Structure This doesnt make any sense as a program, of course. The point is that you dont get a syntax error so its legal VB.NET code. These three forms are the only way to code the queen bee root of all of .NET: the object. The only element that interrupts the symmetry of the three forms is the statement: Dim myString As String. That has to do with a Structure being a composite data type as Microsoft states in their definition. Another thing to notice is that all three blocks have a Sub Main() in them. One of the most fundamental principals of OOP is usually called encapsulation. This is the black box effect. In other words, you should be able to treat each object independently and that includes using identically named subroutines if you want to. Classes Classes are the right place to start because, as Microsoft notes, A class is a fundamental building block of object-oriented programming (OOP). In fact, some authors treat modules and structures as just special kinds of classes. A class is more object oriented than a module because its possible to instantiate (make a copy of) a class but not a module. In other words, you can code ... Public Class Form1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Private Sub Form1_Load( _  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ByVal sender As System.Object, _  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Handles MyBase.Load  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dim myNewClass As Class1 New Class1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  myNewClass.ClassSub()  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd Class (The class instantiation is emphasized.) It doesnt matter whether the actual class itself, in this case, ... Public Class Class1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sub ClassSub()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MsgBox(This is a class)  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd Class ... is in a file by itself or is part of the same file with the Form1 code. The program runs exactly the same way. (Notice that Form1 is a class too.) You can also write class code that behaves much like a module, that is, without instantiating it. This is called a Shared class. The article Static (that is, Shared) versus Dynamic Types in VB.NET explains this in much more detail. Another fact about classes should also be kept in mind. Members (properties and methods) of the class only exist while the instance of the class exists. The name for this is scoping. That is, the scope of an instance of a class is limited. The code above can be changed to illustrate this point this way: Public Class Form1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Private Sub Form1_Load( _  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ByVal sender As System.Object, _  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Handles MyBase.Load  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dim myNewClass As Class1 New Class1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  myNewClass.ClassSub()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  myNewClass Nothing  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  myNewClass.ClassSub()  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd Class When the second myNewClass.ClassSub() statement is executed, a NullReferenceException error is thrown because the ClassSub member doesnt exist. Modules In VB  6, it was common to see programs where most of the code was in a module (A .BAS, file rather than, for instance, in a Form file such as Form1.frm.) In VB.NET, both modules and classes are in .VB files. The main reason modules are included in VB.NET is to give programmers a way to organize their systems by putting code in different places to fine tune the scope and access for their code. (That is, how long members of the module exist and what other code can reference and use the members.) Sometimes, you may want to put code into separate modules just to make it easier to work with. All VB.NET modules are Shared because they cant be instantiated (see above) and they can be marked Friend or Public so they can be accessed either within the same assembly or whenever theyre referenced. Structures Structures are the least understood of the three forms of objects. If we were talking about animals instead of objects,  the structure would be an Aardvark. The big difference between a structure and a class is that a structure is a value type and a class is a reference type. What does that mean? Im so glad you asked. A value type is an object that is stored directly in memory. An Integer is a good example of a value type. If you declared an Integer in your program like this ... Dim myInt as Integer 10 ... and you checked the memory location stored in myInt, you would find the value 10. You also see this described as being allocated on the stack. The stack and the heap are simply different ways of managing the use of computer memory. A reference type is an object where the location of the object is stored in memory. So finding a value for a reference type is always a two step lookup. A String is a good example of a reference type. If you declared a String like this ... Dim myString as String This is myString ... and you checked the memory location stored in myString, you would find another memory location (called a pointer - this way of doing things is the very heart of C style languages). You would have to go to that location to find the value This is myString. This is often called being allocated on the heap. The stack and the heap Some authors say that value types arent even objects and only reference types can be objects. Its certainly true that the sophisticated object characteristics like inheritance and encapsulation are only possible with reference types. But we started this whole article by saying that there were three forms for objects so I have to accept that structures are some sort of object, even if theyre non-standard objects. The programming origins of structures go back to file-oriented languages like Cobol. In those languages, data was normally processed as sequential flat files. The fields in a record from the file were described by a data definition section (sometimes called a record layout or a copybook). So, if a record from the file contained: 1234567890ABCDEF9876 The only way you would know that 1234567890 was a phone number, ABCDEF was an ID and 9876 was $98.76 was through the data definition. Structures help you accomplish this in VB.NET. Structure Structure1  Ã‚  Ã‚  VBFixedString(10) Dim myPhone As String  Ã‚  Ã‚  VBFixedString(6) Dim myID As String  Ã‚  Ã‚  VBFixedString(4) Dim myAmount As StringEnd Structure Because a String is a reference type, its necessary to keep the length the same with the VBFixedString attribute for fixed length records. You can find an extended explanation of this attribute and attributes in general in the article Attributes in VB .NET. Although structures are non-standard objects, they do have a lot of capability in VB.NET. You can code methods, properties, and even events, and event handlers in structures, but you can also use more simplified code and because theyre value types, processing can be faster. For example, you could recode the structure above like this: Structure Structure1  Ã‚  Ã‚  VBFixedString(10) Dim myPhone As String  Ã‚  Ã‚  VBFixedString(6) Dim myID As String  Ã‚  Ã‚  VBFixedString(4) Dim myAmount As String  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sub mySub()  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  MsgBox(This is the value of myPhone: myPhone)  Ã‚  Ã‚  End SubEnd Structure And use it like this: Dim myStruct As Structure1myStruct.myPhone 7894560123myStruct.mySub() Its worth your time to play around with structures a bit and learn what they can do. Theyre one of the odd corners of VB.NET that can be a magic bullet when you need it.

Friday, November 22, 2019

A view from a bridge by Arthur miller Essay Example for Free

A view from a bridge by Arthur miller Essay Arthur Miller (560) , Bridge (30) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints ? At the beginning of act 2 in â€Å"a view from a bridge† Arthur Miller creates tension in a number of ways. The first way Arthur miller creates a sense of drama by using body language eg) Eddie’s arm â€Å"jerks slightly in shock† the body language of Eddie is Eddie showing his feelings of disapproval of Katherine and Rodolpho going out together to add to Eddys anger the fact that they both come out of the bedroom together. This shows Eddies love for Katharine but he is becoming far too over protective over Katherine. Arthur Miller also creates tension through the use of short sharp sentences through the scene as well as the repetition of key phrases during the scene, eg) when Katherine says â€Å"I think I can’t stay here no more† when Eddie says â€Å"You aint goin’ nowheres† after that Katherine says: â€Å"Eddie I’m not gonna be a baby anymore† these are all extremely short sentences used within quick succession. The use of short sentences like this is to heighten the drama by showing the views that the characters are in an angry and aggressive as mood well as showing Katherine’s new fear of Eddie and that something is inevitably going to happen. Certain unexpected key events occur in this scene, which shock the audience and create a heightened dramatic impact. This is when Eddie â€Å"reaches out suddenly, draws her to him, as she strives to free herself he kisses her on the mouth† then Rodolpho tells Eddie â€Å"have respect for her† after that: â€Å"Rodolpho flies at him in attack. Eddie pins his arms, laughing and suddenly kisses him. This shows that Eddie’s feelings for Katherine are so powerful that they are uncontrollable; this causes the audience to be shocked and lose respect for Eddie. As well as these happenings, emotions are revealed in this scene, which heightens the tension. This is shown best by Katherine’s fear of Eddie because she usually shows such admiration for Eddie. Eddie crying is also eddy showing emotion â€Å"Eddie strands of tears rolling down his face as h laughs mockingly at Rodolpho. † While Katherine â€Å"is staring at him in horror† Katherine and Rodolpho are also behaving â€Å"out of character† by showing disrespect towards Eddie. Katherine usually acts childish towards him as if Eddie really is her father; and Rodolpho is usually trying to avoid conflict with Eddie as well as trying to win Eddies approval over Katherine Craig young 11vk The mix of violence, humiliation and control in this scene all help to create dramatic impact. This is shown when Rodolpho is violent towards Eddie â€Å"Rodolpho flies at him in attack. † This shows the audience how Rodolpho has changed his attitude towards Eddie. Eddie shows control by forcibly kissing Katherine and then Rodolpho. Eddie does this to show his authority over Katherine and Rodolpho, and to degrade Rodolpho by showing that he has control over him. Further more proving that, Eddie is stronger than Rodolpho. In conclusion the contrast between the events with Eddie and Katherine and the mood of Alferi’s speech at the end of the scene, also creates a sense of tension; due to the contrast between the short sharp aggressive sentences earlier on in the scene then when Alferi speaks there becomes longer calmer sentences, this contrast creates a sense of tension by making the audience think that something more is going to happen. As well as this a part of Alferi’s speech makes the audience realise that something terrible was inevitably going to happen â€Å"but I will never forget how dark the room came when he looked at me; his eyes were tunnels. I kept wanting to call the police, but nothing had happened. Nothing at all had really happened. † This shows that Alferi had the feeling that something had already happened so it seems almost certain that something would happen. A view from a bridge by Arthur miller. (2017, Oct 08).

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Written communication assessment ( 30%) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Written communication assessment ( 30%) - Essay Example PSA is considered to be the leading supporter of pharmacists’ rights. It helps influence the attitudes and policies of the government and society through networking, continuing education, coordination, and health promotion activities. The Consumers Health Forum (CHF) speaks in behalf of the health consumers. It is an independent non-governmental organization which helps fashion Australia’s health care system by encouraging the consumers to participate in establishing health policies. The CHF gathers data, opinions, and complaints from the people and brings them to the attention of concerned government officials. Through their actions, government officials can make the necessary adjustments in policies for the good of the public. According to CHF, the general public should be given affordable, safe and quality medicines and health services. They also believe that consumers should have a chance to be involved in the management of their health care. Consumers should also be given access to vital health information in ways they can easily understand. The CHF prioritizes the safety and quality of health care services especially for patients with chronic conditions. The organization members come from different c ommunity and health sectors, including illness-based groups, population groups and other health-interest groups. (â€Å"Our CHF – Who are we?†). Through these various members, they give a voice to the consumer public. In 1928, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia was established. It successfully bonded together a number of pharmacy organizations from various States. It is registered as an employees’ organization and it has about 4500 member pharmacists throughout Australia. The Guild functions as a single entity, not a federation. The Guild involves itself in several areas of health care such as health

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Ethical Judgments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Judgments - Assignment Example 42). A well-trained conscience stands a better chance in making upright decisions than one inadequately trained. Looking at the natural and social factors determining the shaping of an individuals conscience, one brought up in an apathetic society and under an environment perverted of what is right is most likely to participate in unethical actions. There also are extremists who look for the slightest loop in any decision made, these are likely to see wrong in any actions taken (Ruggerio, 2008). The conscience stands as the best guide an individual has to distinguish between right and wrong (Ruggerio, 2008, pg. 39). Not to be forgotten is importance on the need of time and intelligence is needed when making a decision. Shifting attention to the inquiries and viewing them from the ethical standpoint of the actions is vital in showing ethical and unethical decisions. Looking at the scene of the cosmetologist in a local beauty salon is exceptional in determining right and wrong. 1) A cosmetologist takes pride in his love of making his clients feel great about themselves in their features and looks. He does this while recommending the use of the products he has in store despite the fact that they are not as effective as publicized to be. His emphasize is on clients attractiveness as what all his clients should have. 5) The cosmetologists makes the clients build confidence in the products he has for sale in order to receive high sales and thus high returns despite the fact that the products are not as effective as they are claimed to be. This is treacherous 7) Thus, it is unethical for a cosmetologist to use the clients in order to make high sales while selling them nonperforming products. Retaining a high reputation out of giving false complements to clients is unethical as it denies the clients a chance to seek what is

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Essay Example for Free

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Essay The Discovery of The Rosetta Stone One of the most important by-products of the French invasion of Egypt was the knowledge gathered by the scientists and historians who journeyed along with the army. But, of all the discoveries made, the most important was the Rosetta Stone, the key that unlocked the ancient marvels of Egypt. Do any of you know what the Rosetta Stone is? The Rosetta stone is a very important artifact that was discovered during the French invasion of Egypt in the year 1799. You may ask why this is important. Well because of the Rosetta Stone, the historians and scientists now understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Previous to the discovery, Egyptian writing had been indecipherable. It was August 20th 1799 when the slab of dark stone was uncovered where the soldiers had knocked down a wall of Fort St. Julien. They sent it back to France to be studied. When the French surrendered Egypt to Britain in 1801, the conquerors also decided that the stone be surrendered, also. It was taken the British Museum. It wasn’t until more than 20 years later did someone start to decipher the writing. A British Scientist, Thomas Young and a French scholar Jean Champollion both contributed to the translation we have today. Then, it took another 20 years to interpret the whole slab. The text on the stone is a decree from Ptolemy V, describing the repeal of various taxes and instructions to raise the statues in temples. The Rosetta Stone is 45 inches high at its highest point, 28. inches wide and 11 inches thick. It weighs nearly 2,000 pounds and is currently described as a ganodiorite of a dark grey-pinkish color. Despite vigorous campaigns to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, it remains in the British Museum, as it has almost continuously since 1802. So thanks to Napoleon, and the scientists and historians that traveled with him to war, along with the translators of the stone, we now know much more about the ancient Egyptians, and their peculiar style of writ ing.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Supernatural in Toni Morrisons Beloved :: Toni Morrison Beloved Essays

The Supernatural in Beloved One aspect in the novel Beloved is the presence of a supernatural theme. The novel is haunted. The characters are haunted by the past, the choices made, by tree branches growing on backs, by infanticide, by slavery. Sethe, Denver and Paul D are haunted by the past that stretches and grasps them in 124 in its extended digits. A haunt, Beloved, encompasses another supernatural realm, that of a vampire. She sucks the soul, heart and mind of her mother while draining the relationships that exists between Denver and Sethe and Sethe and Paul D. Sethe is the most dramatically haunted in the book. She is the one who was beaten so badly her back is permanently scarred. She is the one who lived and escaped slavery. She is the one who murdered her child rather than return it to slavery. So she is the one whose past is so horrible that it is inescapable. How can a person escape the past when it is physically apart of them? Sethe has scars left from being whipped that she calls a "tree". She describes it as "A chokecherry tree. Trunk, branches, and even leaves. Tiny little chokecherry leaves. But that was eighteen years ago. Could have cherries too now for all I know" (16). It is apt that her past is represented on her back--something that is behind her, something she cannot see but knows that is there. Also it appeared eighteen years ago, but Sethe thinks that it may have grown cherries in those years. Therefore she knows that the past has attached itself to her but the haunting of it has not stopped growing. Paul D. enters Sethe 's life and discover a haunting of Sethe almost immediately. He walks into 124 and notices the spirit of the murdered baby: "It was sad. Walking through it, a wave of grief soaked him so thoroughly he wanted to cry" (9). The haunting by Beloved in its spirit form is stopped by Paul D. He screams "God damn it! Hush up! Leave the place alone! Get the Hell out!" (18). But Sethe's infant daughter is her greatest haunt and it is when Beloved arrives in physical form that Sethe is forced to turn around and confront the past. Beloved is the manifestation of a murdered two-year old in a 20-year old body. Her mind and actions speak as a child not an adult.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Pros of Lowering Drinking Age Outline

Affirmative side for Lowering Legal Drinking Age (OUTLINE) 1) Human rights. * Individuals who are legally allowed to vote and get married, sign legal contracts, smoke cigarettes, can be responsible when it comes to drinking alcohol as well. Turning 18 allows one to make their own decisions in life. * Evidence #1: â€Å"National Youth Rights Association does not feel this is an issue primarily about alcohol; rather it is an issue about equality, respect, discrimination and freedom.Americans of all ages, races, genders, and ethnicities deserve equal respect, and they deserve the right to make their own choices in life. † 2) Drink safely in regulated environments * Prohibiting this age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as house parties where they may be more prone to binge drinking and other unsafe behavior. * Evidence #1: â€Å"Among college students, a decade’s worth of research in the College Alcohol Study found the proportion of students engaging in frequent binge drinking had increased.Compared to 1993, more 18- 24 year students who chose to drink in 2001 were drinking excessively- as defined by frequency of drinking occasions, frequency of drunkenness, and drinking to get drunk. † * Evidence #2: â€Å"College students experienced a nearly 10 percent increase in the rate of drinking to get drunk between 1993 and 2001, which corresponded to an increase in secondary consequences and treatment for alcohol overdose. * Evidence #3: â€Å" National estimates suggest that among full-time college students, 690,000 are involved in assaults, 97,000 are involved in rapes, and 599,000 are injured as a result of alcohol† 3) Ineffective * Evidence #1 (Prohibition did not work then): â€Å"In 1920, alcoholic beverages were banned in the United States. However, the government had created a huge black market for the intoxicating substance by encouraging the drin kers to switch to spirits. It is believed widely to have been a misguided and failed social experiment that made alcohol problems worse. † Evidence #2 (Prohibition did not work now): â€Å"95% of those who will be alcohol consumers in their lifetime take their first drink before age 21† * Evidence #3(Prohibition did not work now): â€Å"50% of 18-20 year olds consume alcohol regularly† * Evidence #4(Prohibition did not work now): â€Å"75% of high school seniors, 60% of sophomores and 40% of eight graders have consumed alcohol† * Evidence #5(Prohibition did not work now): â€Å" 5,000 lives were lost each year by those under the age of 21. Of these, fewer than 40% are traffic fatalities. The vast majority- over 60%- of alcohol-related fatalities take place off roadways†

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Hindu Religion And Women

Hindu goddesses are traditionally conceived to be strong figures,even indomitable ones. By comparing his female characters to these goddesses, Rushdie attributes them with a force of character. He perceives India as a matriarchy, where maternal power, energy, and love is the means to social cohesion. (Jennifer Takhar) Durga, the washerwoman who had nursed Saleems son in his sickness, is an important figure in Saleems life. As we understand from the description of her (pg:445), she is a powerful woman who is an opposite image of the docile Indian woman. She may be representing the power that is repressed in these women. Saleem fears her as she symbolizes the hope that he has lost. Her name, even before I met her, had the smell of new things; she represented novelty, beginnings, the advent of new stories, events, complexities, and I was no longer interested in anything new. (pg:445) She is again the one who foretold Saleem’s death. So, these kind of women as witches inspired fear in Saleem. Like Durga, Parvati-the-witch, who is Shivas wife, is another important figure. She causes in creating their child which is necessary for the continuation. Mother was seen as a nation. There is parallelism between continuity of nation through having children. Women have roles in productivity; that is why they are important. Parvati acts as somebody restoring order. She helps Saleem return to Delhi by using her magic basket, making him invisible. Parvati reminded Saleem of things he had tried to put out of his mind. (pg:389) So, we can say that she influenced Saleem as other women, as being representator of a nation. When we come to other women in Saleems life, for example Mary Pereira. She is the one who gives birth to Saleem; she creates him in both biological sense and metaphorical sense. She changes the babies and at the same time fates. Out of guilt, she attaches her whole destiny to Saleems life by becoming his caretaker. She also influences the class positions of the babies. (Saleem and Shiva) The pickling process which is a process of preservation, linked to preservation and continuity of traditions metaphorically, is significant. This food process is under control of females and it is an important source of authority and identity for the women. It is the preservation of the past. The womens way is practical, oral; it is a way of transmitting tradition we can say. Pickling process is only a symbol of this transmission. So, Mary P. , like the other women in Saleems life has great effect on Saleem. Reverend Mother, on the other hand, who is the bride behind perforated sheet turns out to be the head of the family. She is also very powerful. She becomes the head after the marriage. She preserves identity of the nation. She is like the other women; asserts her authority in cooking. Her food, for example, revives Ahmed Sinai after freeze. She uses food as battleground where she wages her battles against her husband. We see the monitoring of food, so simple and practical but can influence men. It is this simplicity of mothers, their affection influnces Saleem. To Saleem women, like India, is nothing without its past. no escape from past acquaintance. What you were is forever who you are. (pg:368) And this connection to past is through these women. They are the ones who create nation and preserve it like the pickles. Amina, Saleems mother, changes and influences his life also. He sees her naked in the bathroom and witnesses her unfaithfullness on the phone. All this causes him to have some kind of explosion in his head and that explosion causes him to hear voices in his head. It is the birth of Midnights Children.. He sees mother, motherland, the nation-India-,earth is not pure as he identifies women with the nation. Identification is between the country and the body of the woman, especially mother. He sees the body of woman as the country and he should protect country as well as honor of mother. But seeing her motheris not pure, the discovery of impurity in mother will bring crisis in his head- the multiplicity of nation-. The body is homogeneous as anything. Indivisible, a one-piece suit, a sacred temple, if you will. It is important to preserve this wholeness. (pg:237) Padma,whom Saleem exchanges opinions about how to tell a story is another significant figure. While he writes, his illiterate listener, Padma, sits beside him showing her emotional responses to his stories, questioning their credibility. When Padma shows interest on her face, Saleem speeds on telling his story. She keeps questioning what is next.. She encourages him to write which is the only gift Sallem has for continuity, preservation. Padma is important as a caretaker; providing warmth, food, human kindness to Saleem. She is India for him, connected to all country as a mother. She has earthly characteristic. She emerges as an earthly, stable, real, practical woman that ties her to the motherland. That is why, according to me, she is the most important character in this novel. But although she is a preserver for Saleem, she unwillingly poisons him by feeding him with things she thinks hell be ni love with her. It is a poison which is also a cure; both nourishing, reviving, perserving and also poisonous,destructive. She is like India creating him. And ceratinly Padma is leaking into me. As history pours out of my fissured body, my lotus is quietly dripping in, with her down-to-earthery, and her paradoxical superstition, her contradictory love of the fabulous (pg:38) In short, women had important role in Saleems life. They are the mothers, the creators of men. If they were not on earth, no continuity would take place; there would be no world. Saleem is afraid of them also because although they create him as nation creates men; they also prepare the fall of men. They both give significance and at the same time destroys. They can take away the identity as in Saleem. Saleem is the nation also as he creates; he writes. He tries to create meaning and form. And women help Saleem create himself, his identity like the nation does to all human beings. But it can also unmake people. The women try to hold on to past and keep it safe as past is a country from which we have all migrated; that its loss is part of our humanity. (Imaginary Homelands; Essays and Criticism 1981-1991. London: Granta Books, 1991) And this statement teaches the migrants that reality is an artifact and it doesnt exist until it is made and it can be made well or badly, and it can also be unmade, like women did to Saleem. When we come to the question of why White Castle didnt give place for women might be because the childhood theme ook great importance in the book. For example, the grandfathers looking for his childhood at homeThat is why it gives much space for the child king. There is the continuous looking for the simple, untouched ide before recognizing sexuality, leaving the mother, to have potency. There is again the fear to lose the pureness, wholeness of the childhood. And because of it there are the speeches in this novel that tells about the childhood naughtiness. It is like the fear of the child. And if we relate this to the women ,as we said women are the creators and they are connected to past, there is no escape from it and when it involves naughtiness and things like a child fears. So, as the Hodja did, there is both an escape from it and at the same time looking for the past innocence. That is why there is no sexuality with women in the book. As they are feared, they can unmake men. The dangerous influence of women is not given permission in the book; only limited and innocent ones are implicitly told. Consequently, women and sexuality are barred and not given much importance as in Midnights Children happened the contrast. According to me, it is because it is known how influential women are and can be dangerous in creating. And when you want something wholly new and create your own identity, as the characters in White Castle wanted, it is not a good idea to include women and sexuality. The women can bring fall of men while creating them.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Social Brain essays

The Social Brain essays The ability of humans to learn and retain knowledge is an incredible power source and also a dominant characteristic of the human species. The intricate abilities of the mind allow for humans to learn skills and to have the power to control and dominate the world they live in by means of learned behavior. The two cerebral hemispheres of the left and right specialize in motor and sensory skills which specialize the socialy established beliefs and behaviors unique to humans. In writing The Social Brain Michael Gazzaniga proclaims an understanding of the principle of both the right and left brain hemispheres by examining split brain patients. Gazzaniga believes in cognitive dissidence and studies the modularity of the brain structure. The modularity is the independent functional traits that contribute to the skills and tools of language and writing. The contribution of individual modules is evident in the perception of a human belief system and the evolution of the sophisticated civil ized life of a human being. The two cerebral sides of the brain operate with their own selective areas of domination, but depend on eachother for reference, information, and influence which yields continuation of human evolution of increasing brain activities. Michael Gazzaniga writes chronologically as he studies the aspects of a split brain and the distinct behavior that humans have developed unique cognitive styles and the brain modules allow them for infer and differentiate . Gazzaniga believes that the free will of humans allows the species to choose and control their environment. The progress of his studies of the split brain, is by isolating the separate hemispheres to see if one influences the other. The interests of his studies of the effect of the sensory abilities of both the right and left hemisphere takes him around the world. The course of the book covers the studies of a lifetime from an inquiring student about the possibilit...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Dystopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dystopia - Essay Example This, therefore, implies that the members of the society live in a state and conditions that cannot be said to be conducive for human existence because of how they are controlled. Some of the sources of control that make the citizens to live in a dehumanized state include religious, technological and corporate control (Gordin, Tilley and ‎ Prakash 56).The American society is controlled by bipartisan parties that are not focused on the actual societal needs. There are several aspects of the American society today that show that the citizens are living in a dehumanized state. In the American society, there has been the collective loss of memory. Moreover the society has forgotten the history of mankind, how man came into existence and how man used to live long time ago. This has been caused by the bureaucratic religious and technological control in the society. In the current American society, mega corporations such as United Continental and Colgate Palmolive have continued to reduce and dwarf the power of the government and the citizens (Shteyngar 201). Due to this bureaucratic control, things like heath care and education have been privatized and the effect of this is disastrous. The collective memory loss and the forgetting of history of mankind have made the citizens become easy to manipulate. Gordin, Tilley and ‎ Prakash continue to say that the American society is easy to manipulate psychologically (32). The result of this is that the society has lived in a dehumanized state. The control that the society experiences from the bureaucratic, religious and corporate aspects of their lives has facilitated the psychological control; hence, making the state of living to be one that can be said to be a dehumanized one. Shteyngart say that the American society is so much concerned about their well wellbeing and they strive hard to be able to improve their lives (112). They have continued to be controlled by their jobs and personal needs. In the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

ETHICS SAFETY AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ETHICS SAFETY AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT - Essay Example The powder is collected in a receiving vessel (hopper) from where it can be used in a further stage of the process. The receiving vessel is fitted with a filter to allow the air used in the pneumatic conveying process to be separated from the powder which collects in the receiving vessel. This pneumatic conveying system differs from a normal pneumatic conveying system in that the receiving vessel is placed above the blow tank system. A pipeline is used to transfer the pharmaceutical powder, Pharmex from the blow tank to receiver vessel to some distant area. A filter is used at the receiver tank and finally the powder settles down. The air compressor feeds the system with air under a desired pressure. In figure 1, the relief valves and the regulator valves are shown as PRF and NB respectively. Introduction Risk assessments are conducted in order to identify any fire & explosion hazards before the commencement of a process. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) (Health and Safety Executive, 2003) regulations is a useful tool for this work. It is imperative that employees be prevented from exposure to hazards. Implementation of COSHH regulations leads to: i. Higher productivity and efficiency by the use of more effective controls. ii. Improved employee morale. In this exercise, we will try to find out where there is enough powder present in this process for explosion to occur. Powder more than 80 gm/m3 is quite enough to have an explosion. The plant has powder transported from one area to another area by blowing it, which means the pipeline has the mixture of powder and air and thus possesses the potential of explosion. Explosive Atmospheres In pneumatic conveying system, workplace air and Pharmex can form the explosive atmospheres and this condition can be classified as hazardous area according to DSEAR (DSEAR 2002, SI 2002/2776). Therefore special precautions over ignition and fuel sources are required to prevent fire and explosions. Non hazardous ar ea outside the workplace needs risk assessment as well. Hazardous areas are further classified as Zones which are included in DSEAR. When we talk about dangerous substance and explosive atmosphere regulations then we look at Zone. Zones Pharmex and air form a mixture in the process. Pharmex is susceptible to explosion. The mix of air and Pharmex is present continuously in the pneumatic conveyer system. Therefore, the apparatus is considered as Zone 20, according to DSEAR. To start the process we have to put the powder into the plant, as the powder is not present continuously, hence the filling of powder is in Zone 21 according to DSEAR. The proposed equipment for zone 20 is category 1 equipment, following DSEAR regulations. Risk Assessment First, the hazards that have potential to cause harm are identified. Secondly, the risks present to people’s health are assessed. Regarding the conveying system shown in figure 1, the main hazards are fire and explosion. Fire & Explosion Fi gure.2 The above triangle illustrates that igniting and burning a fire or causing an explosion requires three elements mentioned at the edge of the triangle. 1) Ignition source: The ignition source can be directly associated to heat. 2) Fuel: Is necessary for the fire or explosion to burn. 3) Oxidiser: Substances also necessary for the reaction of fire or explosion. Oxygen is the most common oxidiser. The fuel (Pharmex) and oxidation (air) are present at most places in the