Scarlet Letter And Scapegoats Essays - Salem Witch Trials

Scarlet Letter And Scapegoats In the novel, The Crucible, both scapegoats and vengeance play prominent roles. Abigail Williams exhibits both these characteristics. She committed the greatest of crimes. She destroyed the reputations of many and killed much of her surrounding society. Her power lied in the fact that judges believed her, making all those women who fell victim to her scapegoats. She is the one who triggers off a sense of hate in the play. She tempts John Proctor into lechery, and to escape punishment for dancing, she deflects the actions and blames them on someone else, and does not care how many lives she ruins. Later when she grows into power and influence, she seems to enjoy sending these innocent people to their deaths. Of course, the people she accuses are actually innocent, but she has the ability to manipulate people into believing that she is doing good. Reverend Hale, the witchcraft expert who initiates the problems in Salem, is positive about his belief that there are witches and feels that he carrying out the desires of God himself. Yet, as the play moves on, Hale notices that honest and good people are being sentenced and executed. Abigail lied to get some backing on her accusations by accusing two of the worst ladies in town of being witches, as well as the black slave from Barbados, Tituba. This was very believable, as these women held no social rank among the town. Vengeance is a quality that allows a person to want to seek revenge on another. This is typical of Abigail. She wanted John Proctor, and to get him, she was rounding up accusations of Elizabeth, his wife. Abigail was plotting to get Proctor, she was not just doing it out of the heat of passion, she had it in for his wife. She thought that it was the only thing that stood in her way. She was not going to stop until her death had been accomplished. Also in the play, many other names of towns-women were called out, accusing them of being witches, only for the fact that someone wanted to get revenge on them. For the reasons I have described, the characters in The Crucible make and are made scapegoats, out of vengeance and hatred for them. English Essays

Different Heavy Metals Toxicities Affect the Growth of Baci essays

Different Heavy Metals Toxicities Affect the Growth of Baci essays Heavy metals have toxic effects for almost all the living things, but because of different species variety, heavy metal toxicity affects in different ways for different organisms. For example, bacteria as a group are more sensitive to the heavy metal toxicity than fungi, (Rajapaksha et al, 2004). Heavy metal pollution can come from natural source (e.g. silver metal mine), but most of the times, they are caused by human activities. Industrial wastes are the biggest source of heavy metal pollution, (Bae et al, 2000). People need to use heavy metal salts during plating procedure, dyeing, chemical synthesis and other areas. The common heavy metal wastes are silver salts, copper salts, and mercury compounds. This heavy metal can cause a lot of negative effects in living things. First of all, heavy metal can destroy protein structures, and that will make the protein lost its function. Secondly, heavy metal can accumulate in organisms body, and that might cause long-term effects such as mut ation. Because it is too complex and inhumane to do experiment on human body, we need to find another organism, which allow us to see the effects of toxicity by those heavy metals in a controllable constant environment. In fact, bacteria are the good choice. They are unicellular, and have a short generation period. These advantages let us can easily monitor them for even a long term study. I am going to discuss the effects of three different heavy metal salts on the growth of four species of bacteria. My hypothesis is different heavy metal have different levels toxicity to the organisms, and different species have different responses to the same heavy metal environment. This test will let us understand which one in these three metals are the most toxic one, and it also can show us the degree of toxicity for different metals applied. We followed the procedure from Biology 108 Laboratory Manual 2004-2005. ...

Radio Frequency Identification Implications for the environment Research Paper

Radio Frequency Identification Implications for the environment - Research Paper Example The fundamental technique that forms the background of the technology is that the tagged object has emissions which are encrypted and read by a reader which would then give an output. The reader, as well as the object, is usually placed at a distance which would allow for the transmission of the radiated signals. The distance can vary from a few inches to even over a meter. With the advent of computing technology, the readers have incorporated what bear semblances to the microchips that computers have. The chips are like microprocessors which are able to execute certain commands and even process information intelligently to give logical output. This is what is referred to as smart cards and they also have the virtual digital memory. Every technology has its downside. Likewise, the RFID chips have been proven to impact on the environment (Raymond, 2006). Consequently, in the following discourse, an analysis of the impact that they have on the environment is carried out. The essence of the technology was to ease human interaction. However, it is undeniable that the technology has also had an impact on human life in ways which are detrimental if viewed from the perspective of safeguarding the human community. These include its applications in learning institutions as well for security reasons. The point of detest in this application is that the aspect of privacy which every person should be accorded is in a way violated. Therefore, the essence of human interaction is to allow civility and freedom. In most cases, the tags or chips are usually used to monitor the movements of people. However, natural human interaction is not always limited. Thus, any technological invention which puts imminent threats to the free will of interaction that every person has would be viewed as not good for humanity. Its application comes, for instance, in schools where registered students would be the only ones allowed to access some

Developing Professional Practice Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Developing Professional Practice - Coursework Example In particular, they are able to perform the assessment as to whether the professions as well as their organizations are able to engage in what they know and what they understand. As such, they are able to really make a significant difference hence drive the performance of the company (CIPD, 2014). It is mainly the two core professional areas that include the CIPD HR profession map and other behaviors that help to uphold the concept of â€Å"HR professionalism†. These are all covered in the CIPD map in the form of 10 professional areas that encompass 8 types of behavior that are set out within the 4 different bands that are related to competence. The map is thus able to copbver most of the areas in HR professionalism. Band 1 is located at the start of Hr and is extensive up to band 4 that is mainly comprised of senior leaders (Valerio, 2005). The CIPD professional map is highly designed to provide relevance and applicability to most HR professionals who are in operation anywhere around the world. This applies to all sectors as well as organizations of all shapes and sizes. This is because of the way with which it is designed to offer support to a variety of support to every HR professional at all the stages of their career. Through the focus on the core that helps professional to build up the various technical areas that are relevant to their professional areas, these professionals are able to develop a number of insights, strategies and come up with workable solutions. They are able to use the CIPD HR profession map to develop insights and solutions that can be put into action. These are given priorities and developed through a deep understanding of the business. It thus involves both the contextual understanding of the organization (CIPD, 2014). Great professionals in the HR field work better from a contextual and deep understanding of the business and the organization. It helps them to come up with insights and strategies that are actionable and provide them

The Blame game, an interesting perspective Essay

The Blame game, an interesting perspective - Essay Example † provides another reflection on the key causes of child obesity which consist of factors beyond the fast food industry. Child obesity is caused by many elements that consist of nutrition, genetics, and society. Obesity, like other health- related behaviors is one of the chief causes for disability. It is associated with heart disease, heart stroke, high blood pressure, and even cancer. Undoubtedly, childhood obesity is in rise throughout the United States as approximately 9 million of children in the US are obese or overweight. Children in this current generation have a shorter life expectancy due to high rates of obesity as opposed to children 2 decades ago. . Obesity much like other diseases is associated with important risk factors such as heart disease, heart stroke, and even cancer. Many elements contribute to obesity, which is why it is important to address these issues. This paper will seek to address the problem and seek the remedies that could be implemented in order to eliminate this problem. According to Siegal, , fast-food restaurant around schools is a huge public concern that can serve as detrimental for kids in Chicago as the availability and the price of greasy food is extremely low. He further argues that obese children experience peer pressure for not having that perfect body shown on TV as the body to have both psychologically and emotionally. According to his perception, it is ironic how society wants people to have the perfect body but at the same time promotes unhealthy food to children. Consequently, children are faced with emotional distress because there are confused. He justifies his opinion by portraying his recent study shows that those obese children are more likely to have low self-esteem, depression, higher rates of anxiety disorders, and psychopathology Since they are often discriminated and isolated in society, obese children are prone to fail academically. He further on goes to suggest that obese children scored lower an d math and reading test because they lack self-esteem that is so vital towards their academic success. One of the key elements that lacked from Seigal’s argument is the fact that Siegal’s research lacked was the actual eating habits of the students. Since nutrition is not our schools system priority, children have unlimited access to unhealthy foods (Siegal).. In some schools physical education programs have been cut due to lack of funds to support while the contract to vendors with high calories and low quality foods are encouraged within the schools settings. Many of the competitive foods now sold in school cafeterias, vending machines, school stores, and school fundraisers are typically high in calories and low in nutritional value (Siegal).. Indeed, Schools can be viewed as a factor for child obesity. . Since Siegal fails to observe the eating patterns of young children, Miranda Cox argues that other elements as well as fast food industries should also be accounted for. Undoubtedly, the rise of obesity can be blamed for lack of parent’s cooperation, poor nutrition from schools, and the availability of fast food (Siegal).. It would not be fair also to blame the food industry for the poor quality of food being supplied to the children. The lack of regulation from the FDA in the food industry is also the key cause of obesity. Seigal is clear that he wants a clear distinction of buffer zones between fast food chains and schools. However, Miranda Cox ultimately states in her argument that even with

Are Computers Really Intelligent?

Are Computers Really Intelligent? Are computers really intelligent? Computer Intelligence has been in hot debate since the 1950’s when Alan Turing invented the Turing Test. The argument over the years has taken two forms: strong AI versus weak AI:. That is, strong AI hypothesises that some forms of artificial intelligence can truly reason and solve problems, with computers having an element of self-awareness, but not necessarily exhibiting human-like thought processes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_AI). While Weak AI argues that computers can only appear to think and are not actually conscious in the same way as human brains are. (http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/pom/pom_functionalism_AI.htm). These areas of thinking cause fundamental questions to arise, such as: ‘Can a man-made artefact be conscious?’ and ‘What constitutes consciousness?’ Turing’s 1948 and 1950 papers followed the construction of universal logical computing machines, introducing the prospect that computers could be programmed to execute tasks which would be called intelligent when performed by humans.(Warner 1994: 118). Turing’s idea was to create an imitation-game on which to base the concept of a computer having its own intelligence. A man(A), and a woman (B), are separated from an interrogator, who has to decipher who is the man and who is the woman. As objective is to trick the interrogator, while B tries to help the interrogator in discovering the identities of the other two players.(Goldkind, 1987: 4). Turing asks the question: What will happen when a machine takes the part of A in this game? Will the interrogator decide wrongly as often when the game is played like this as he does when the game is played between a man and a woman?’ (Quoted from Goldkind 1987: 4). Turing’s test offered a simple means test for computer intelligence; one that neatly avoided dealing with the mind-body problem. (Millican, P.J.R., 1996: 11). The fact that Turings test did not introduce variables and was conducted in a controlled environment were just some of its shortfalls. Robert French, in his evaluation of the test in 1996, stated the following: ‘The philosophical claim translates elegantly into an operational definition of intelligence: whatever acts sufficiently intelligent is intelligent.’ However, as he perceived, the test failed to explore the fundamental areas of human cognition, and could be passed ‘only by things that have experienced the world as we have experienced it.’ He thus concluded that ‘the Test provides a guarantee not of intelligence but of culturally-oriented human intelligence.’ (Ibid : 12). Turing postulated that a machine would one day be created to pass his test and would thus be considered intelligent. However, as years of research have explored the complexities of the human brain, the pioneer scientists who promoted the idea of the ‘electronic brain’ have had to re-scale their ideals to create machines which assist human activity rather than challenge or equal our intelligence. John Searle, in his 1980 Chinese Room experiment argued that a computer could not be attributed with the intelligence of a human brain as the processes were too different. In an interview he describes his original experiment: Just imagine that youre the computer, and youre carrying out the steps in a program for something you dont understand. I dont understand Chinese, so I imagine Im locked in a room shuffling Chinese symbols according to a computer program, and I can give the right answers to the right questions in Chinese, but all the same, I dont understand Chinese. All Im doing is shuffling symbols. And now, and this is the crucial point: if I dont understand Chinese on the basis of implementing the program for understanding Chinese, then neither does any other digital computer on that basis because no computers got anything I dont have. (Free Inquiry 1998: 39). John Searle does not believe that consciousness can be reproduced to an equivalent of the human capacity. Instead, it is the biological processes which are responsible for our unique make-up. He says that ‘consciousness is a biological phenomenon like any other and ultimately our understanding out it is most likely to come through biological investigation’ (Searle, 1990 :58-59. Quoted from McCarthy, 2001, http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/’). Considered this way it is indeed far fetched to think that the product of millions of years of biological adaptation can be equalled by the product of a few decades of human thinking. John McCarthy, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at Stanford University advocates the potential for computational systems to reproduce a state of consciousness, viewing the latter as an ‘abstract phenomenon, currently best realized in biology,’ but arguing that consciousness can be realised by ‘causal systems of the righ t structure.’ (McCarthy, 2001, http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/ ) The famous defeat of Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion, in 1997 by IBMs computer, Deep Blue, promoted a flurry of debate about whether Deep Blue could be considered as intelligent. When asked for his opinion, Herbert Simon, a Carnegie Mellon psychology professor who helped originate the fields of AI and computer chess in the 1950s, said it depended on the definition of intelligence used. AI uses two definitions for intelligence: What are the tasks, which when done by humans, lead us to impute intelligence? and What are the processes humans use to act intelligently? Measured against the first definition, Simon says, Deep Blue certainly is intelligent. (http://whyfiles.org/040chess/main3.html). According to the second definition he claims it partly qualifies.(Ibid). The trouble with the latter definition of intelligence is that scientists don’t as yet know exactly what mechanisms constitute consciousness. John McCarthy, Emeritus professor at Stanford University explains that intelligence is the ‘computational part of the ability to attain goals in the world.’ He emphasises that problems in AI arise as ‘we cannot yet characterise in general what computational procedures we want to call intelligent.’ (McCarthy 2003: 3). To date, computers can perform a good understanding of specific mechanisms through the running of certain programs; what McCarthy deems ‘somewhat intelligent.’ (McCarthy 2004: 3). Computing language has made leaps and bounds during the last century, from the first machine code to mnemonic ’words’ In the 90’s the so-called high-level languages were the type used for programming, with Fortran being the first compiler language. Considering the rapid progress of computer technology since it first began over a hundred years ago, it is likely that unforeseeable developments will occur over the next decade. A simulation of the human imagination might go a long way to convincing people of computer intelligence. However, many believe that it is unlikely that a machine will ever equal the intelligence of the being who created it. Arguably it is the way that computers process information and the speed with which they do it that constitutes its intelligence, thus causing computer performance to appear more impressive than it really is. Programs trace pathways at an amazing rate for example, each move in a game of chess, or each section of a maze can be completed almost instantly. Yet the relatively simple process of trying each potential path fails to impress once it’s realised. (Reed, 2003: 09). Thus, the intelligence is not in the computer, but in the program. For practical purposes, and certainly in the business world, the answer seems to be that if it seems to be intelligent, it doesnt matter whether it really is. (Reed 2003: 09). However, computational research will have a difficult task to explore simulation of, or emulation of, the areas of human cognition. Research continues into the relationship between the mathematical descriptions of human thought and computer thought, hoping to create an identical form.(Wagman, M., 1991: 2). Yet the limits of computer intelligence are still very much at the surface of the technology. In contrast, the flexibility of the human imagination that creates the computer can have little or no limitations. What does this mean for computer intelligence? It means that scientists need to go beyond the mechanisms of the human psyche, and perhaps beyond programming, if they are to identify a type of machine consciousness that would correlate with that of a human.. References Goldkind, J., 1987, Machines and Intelligence: A Critique of Arguments against the Possibility of Artificial Intelligence. New York: Greenwood Press Inquiry. Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism. Volume: 18. Issue: 4. . Page Number: 39+. McCarthy, J., 2001, ‘What is Artificial Intelligence?’ Available online from: ‘http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/’ [Accessed 14/11/06] Millican, P.J.R., 1996, The Legacy of Alan Turing. (Volume1). Oxford: Clarendon Press Online Encyclopedia. Available online from: ‘http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_AI.’ [Accessed 17/11/06] Reed, F., 2003, ‘Artificial Intellect Really Thinking?’. The Washington Times. May 1, 2003. p. B09 Wagman, M., 1991, Artificial Intelligence and Human Cognition: A Theoretical Intercomparison of Two Realms of Intellect. New York: Prager Warner, J, 1994, From Writing to Computers. New York: Routledge URL’S ‘http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/pom/pom_functionalism_AI.htm’ [Accessed 17/11/06] ‘http://whyfiles.org/040chess/main3.html’ [Accessed 14/11/06] Further Reading DeLancey, C., 2002, Passionate Engines: What Emotions Reveal about Mind and Artificial Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press Wagman, M., 2000, Scientific Discovery Processes in Humans and Computers: Theory and Research in Psychology and Artificial Intelligence. Westport, CT: Praeger

Doctor-Assisted Suicide Essay -- Euthanasia Essays

Doctor-Assisted Suicide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Suicide is the act or instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially if that person is of sound mind. Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing individuals who are hopelessly sick or injured for reasons of mercy. Doctor-assisted suicide is a term used to describe the act of a doctor or physician providing direct or indirect means of assisting someone in taking their own life. There are 2 types of euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is withholding life-sustaining treatment either before or after it has been initiated. Active euthanasia is "taking steps to end your life, as in suicide, handling the action yourself" (Humphry 20). It is an explicit act such as writing a lethal prescription or a directly injecting a lethal dose. Approximately 30,000 Americans kill themselves every year. This means that the rate of suicide is about 11.0 per 100,000 people. This rate is just the average, and it varies greatly among sexes and races. The suicide r ate for males is 19.8, but the rate for females is 3.8. This difference in rates appears deceptive because females are 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than males. Males are just more effective in their methods. White Americans have a higher rate of suicide than any other ethnic group. It is believed that homosexuals have a much greater rate than heterosexuals, but this is difficult to research because many homosexuals hide their sexual orientation from fear of persecution. The terminally ill are most closely associated with the doctor-assisted suicide issue. Many in this group argue that once all medical care has failed, then one has the right to hasten death to avoid pain and suffering. If a person is going to inevitably die from a painful disease, then that person should have the right to decide when, where, and how death comes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many ways for one to commit suicide. The 2 major types are self-inflicted and assisted. Despite the popular issue of legalizing doctor-assisted suicide, most suicides remain self-inflicted. Zeinert describes the statistics:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the majority of those who commit suicide do so by shooting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  themselves. In fact, the latest statistics available from the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NCHS show that 59 percent of all suicides were committed   Ã‚  ... ...ks Cited Cohen, Adam. "Showdown for Doctor Death." Time 7 Dec. 1998.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 Nov. 2001 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1998/dom/981207/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  nation.showdown_for_doc2a.html>. Greenhouse, Linda. "Justices Uphold Laws Banning Assisted Suicide." The New York Times on the Web 27 June 1997. 30 Oct. 2001 <http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/07/20/reviews/scotus-suicide.html>. "High Court Rejects Constitutional Right To Doctor-Assisted Suicide." American Civil Liberties Union News 26 June 1997. 30 Oct. 2001 <http://www.aclu.org/news/n062697g.html>. Humphry, Derek. Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assisted Suicide for the Dying. Eugene: The Hemlock Society, 1991. Katz, Stephen R. "Doctor Assisted Suicide-a Bad Oxymoron and a Bad Idea." Connecticut Post 27 Apr. 1998. 30 Oct. 2001 <http://pages.prodigy.com/DOCTORINFORM/suicide.html>. Torr, James, ed. Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven P, 2000. Uhlmann, Michael, ed. Last Rights? Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Debated. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1998. Zeinert, Karen. Suicide: Tragic Choice. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 1999.