Ishmael Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Ishmael - Essay Example The idea is to have the government forces the citizens into the idea of having no personal property until they are used to it, then the government can dissolve. The problem that Ishmael is discussing is that people are trying to fix a system within a prison, but no matter what, being in that prison will prevent any perfection of any system. This system that is being referred to is society. What is basically being argued throughout the book is that it does not matter how hard people attempt to fix the system, it will inevitably fail because it is still within the prison. More aptly put, society is the prison and the system at the same time that we are trying to fix. There are various reasons that we will be unable to fix society. The book defines two concepts which are important to understand why society cannot be fixed. The first is Takers, which refers to people of the heritage from the agricultural revolution. The second is Leavers, which refers to people who those of other non-Taker cultures, which might be referred to as primitive. The character Ishmael states that it is because Takers view themselves as being responsible and in charge of other species. Because Takers are not perfect, omnipotent beings, there is no way for them to be able to discern what should actually be done in regards to other species. This is basically why our society will not work, and the view put forward by the book is that society will continue to be ineffective to the point that it will wipe out the Takers, the very thing that it was supposed to have been set up to save in the first place. This is ultimately what the quote means. To mention communism again, state-mandated redistribution of wealth is not going to work, according to Ishmael. It is simply an attempt to construct the system in such a way as to perfect the system, but of course as

Artificial Intelligence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Artificial Intelligence - Research Paper Example Perhaps other schools of thought surrounding the origin of the human race would not have much to argue about the ability of humankind to create because the records are clear to show that humankind has been able to cater for himself to a very large extent through the invention of machines and other minor items that he needs to live a better life. Generally, the things that are invented or created by men are called artificial things. Careful consideration of the trend of human creation (invention) shows clearly that the ability for humans to create keep getting complicated by the day. The threat and big question therefore remains if humans would not keep getting complicated with their inventions till a stage when the situation would just get out of hand? This research paper shall there delve more into what the risk stands for this world if out of the curiosity to make artificial intelligence products better, there comes a time when the activities of these machines cannot be regulated b ecause of the absence of moral reasoning. Overview of Artificial Intelligence In the 1940s, the world witnessed the ability of humans to create computers to make basic human manipulations such as calculations, sorting and writing very simple. Along the way, the process became even more complex as humans continued to invent machinery to aid him undertaking certain activities that would have rather involve human intelligence (Chaize, 2008). Because these sought of ‘intelligence’ where made by humans (artificial) and not by nature (natural), they were assigned the name artificial intelligence. The commonest form of artificial intelligence that comes to mind when mention is made of the phenomenon is the making of robots. The fundamental idea behind artificial intelligence therefore has to do with the infusion of machines with the ability to think. A mentally sound machine could therefore be said to be the product of artificial intelligence. It is not surprising therefore th at there are now robots that play intelligent games like chess. There are also robots and other forms of machines that have been induced with the intelligence to perform brain related functions such as planning, deduction, knowledge representation, reasoning, problem solving and natural language processing. The question that researchers have always asked has been about what the future of artificial intelligence would be. This is because scientists have always wanted a way of making their inventions better. They have also sought ways of making their inventions more and more complicated and useful for solving immediate problems. Artificial Intelligence and Moral Reasoning Artificial intelligence, though directly concerns computer science have had a lot of controversy and debate even in other fields of studies. One of these fields is philosophy. Philosophy generally concerns the human mind and how it functions. It is also closely related to intelligence since intelligence deals with th e human brain and its function. For artificial intelligence to deal with ‘intelligence’ as a phenomenon therefore, it is expected that philosophers would be concerned about the subject. One major debate that philosophers have always been caught in is the question as to whether or not machines could really be intelligent. In the present research paper, the

Lived experience of war, an ethnographic methodology Essay

Lived experience of war, an ethnographic methodology - Essay Example It cannot be ignored that some of the soldiers involved in the Vietnam lost their lives. However, it is inappropriate for the government to brush aside the long term effects of this war as it is seen to have caused major physiological implication on both the soldiers who survived and the families of the soldiers who dies in battle. It is under this backdrop that this paper will analyse the profound effects on the soldiers returning from the war in Vietnam and the current psychological state of the families of the soldiers who died during the war. â€Å"Research has established that participation in the military requires an individual to be psychologically prepared for anything that can happen† Kashdan et al, 2006, p.127). Over the years, this tradition has been carried through the various training programs that military men and women have to undergo training to psychologically prepare them for the task of ensuring national security. However, an important part that is ignored is the fact that such soldiers have family who begs the question, are these families physiologically prepared to what might happen to their kin in battle. Despite the fact that both nations suffered heavy casualties both in terms of human lives and destruction of property, the fact that the war was being wage din Vietnam has had profound effects on those who survived the war. In addition, the various films depicting the war and its aftermath do not help the situation either. For most U.S citizens, the Vietnam War is over but so many years later, it is as if the war happened a few years ago. According to Laufer et al. (2004, p.65) among the worst affected by the war are the war veterans who have long been forgotten after sacrificing their lives to ensure the peace and stability of the U.S nation. During and after the war, most of the soldiers who surprisingly have shortly graduated from the defence college were

Does Leadership Affect Safety Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Does Leadership Affect Safety Culture - Essay Example This is a crucial topic in every work environment particularly the industrial set up where operational risks are higher, involves a high level of regulation & rules and work is mostly of physical nature. The definition of safety culture by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI, 2010) is the result of the group and personal values, mindsets, acuity, aptitudes and blueprints of demeanour that establish the commitment to, and the approach and expertise of, a firms health and safety running. Safety culture associate with salient attributes such as job satisfaction, responsibility both at personal and management levels, style of leadership, communication methodologies, risk and business continuity plans. Safety culture can be said to be a part of organizational culture; meaning that the latter determines how subordinates view or perceive safety in an organization (Elkins and Keller, 2003 p. 590). Although there are some ambiguity and vagueness in defining safety culture, there is no doubt over the importance or worth of the conception. The happening of incidents, accidents and disasters at the workplace is highly dependent on three key factors namely; human, technical and organizational. The focus of controlling or managing safety concerns has largely been addressed from the technical and human perspectives disregarding the organizational aspect that involves leadership, policy and procedures and is equally key in improving work place safety (Reason, 1997, p.37). The cha llenge of leadership, in this context, is the ability to create and manage culture as well as perceive the shortcomings of a certain culture with an aim to grow it and appropriately manage change as it happens. It is necessary for the organization to uphold sound positive safety culture because substantial losses in finances, lives, and resources (such as time) would occur if safety values at the workplace fail the prioritization test. It also helps

Geographic context, political and economic attributes and identify and Research Paper

Geographic context, political and economic attributes and identify and examine the forces that hook Australia into the global ec - Research Paper Example Most of the employment in the country takes place in the capital cities of the states. Moreover, the Australian Securities Exchange is ranked 9th in the world and it acts as the home of the largest commodity companies in the world such as Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Telstra and BHP Billiton. The country is also a member of WTO, G20, APEC and OECD. In addition, globalization has allowed the country to enter into free trade agreements with countries such as Thailand, US, Chile, New Zealand and ASEAN (Lowtax). Therefore, the advances that have been observed in the global economy have contributed to improved living standards and poverty reduction. Moreover, the economic integration among countries has played a vital role in terms of boosting the prosperity of nations. For example, the advances that have been observed in the global economy have allowed Australia to increase its domestic competition thereby improving its economic performance significantly. Moreover, Australia is competitive internationally since it is regarded as one of the largest importer of goods and services (Economy Watch). Therefore, this paper will discuss the geographical, economic and political attributes that have allowed Australia to participate in the global economy effectively. ... The country has varied climatic conditions, incredible wildlife, beaches and fabulous landscapes which serve as tourist destination sites for people who visit from diverse countries around the world. It has a low plateau which are either deserts or semi-arid areas. It also has a fertile plateau in the south-east region. Moreover, it has large deposits of minerals which service the local and international markets. The mining industry serves as the main driving force of the economy (Beer). Therefore, the geographical context of Australia plays a vital role in terms of fostering the participation of Australia in the global economy. Political attributes Though Australia appears to be isolated, it is an active participant in world politics. The political links of Australia are mostly favored by its geographical location as well as the priorities that its sets with regard to trade and foreign policies. For example, Australia is seen to be facing challenges in the near future. In this case, it is feared that the performance of the global economy may deteriorate. Australia also plays a vital role by impacting on the trends that are being realized in the international business environment. For example, the foreign policies in Australia impact on globalization and the transactions that are carried out internationally (Red Apple Education Ltd). The priority areas of Australia include the US and Asia-Pacific countries such as China and Japan. Australia is linked with other countries politically because of the viability of its international treaties, investment agreements, foreign affairs, trade agreements and defense treaties. Therefore, it is evident that Australia is a major player with regard to influencing the manner in which international business activities are

Primary Causes of Problems at Amazon.Com and their Remedies Case Study

Primary Causes of Problems at Amazon.Com and their Remedies - Case Study Example Question 4 If Amazon buys products from other firms and simply ships them to customers, why does it need so many of its own distribution centers Amazon.com needs many distribution centers of its own because doing so enables it to make product deliveries to customers quickly and also helps the company to save on costs. In addition, the distribution centers were already in operation and therefore just had to be used by Amazon.com in the partnership deals with other companies ("Amazon.com"). Question 5 Will other retailers buy or lease the Web software and services from Amazon Can Amazon make enough money from selling these services Other retailers will buy or lease software services from Amazon.com because the company has immense infrastructure. Although Amazon.com has been making losses for many years due to the high initial costs and intensive promotion activities, it can still make enough money from selling the services it deals in. This evidenced by the fact that the company's financial position has improved somehow since the year 2000 (Post & Anderson, 2006). Customers' confidence in the company put it in a position to make profit. Question 6 Write a report to management that describes the primary cause of the problems, a detailed plan to solve them, and show how the plan solves the problems and describe any other benefits it will provide. Running Head: PRIMARY CAUSES OF PROBLEMS AT AMAZON.COM Primary Causes of Problems at Amazon.Com and their Remedies Abstract This report evaluates the problems faced by Amazon.com since its inception in 1994 and its current status. A detailed plan to solve the problems is given together with an account of how the... In the year 2000, Amazon.com on overhauled its entire system in order to give it a more customer-appealing look.The company spent $200 million on new systems such as software from Epiphany, logistics from Manugistics Company and a new database management system (DBMS) from Oracle. Furthermore, the company signed more contracts with companies such as SAS for data withdrawal and appraisal. All these services of course came with additional costs to the company. In spite of the additional costs, the biggest and perhaps most expensive deal was between Amazon.com and Excelon as a form of business-to business (B2B) integration. In the same year, Amazon.com linked with HP in a deal that would see the company offer information technology services to Amazon’s customers. Despite, Amazon’s desire to expand and dominate the online market, the company was criticized over its activities in 2000. For instance, that year the company conducted a price experiment by quoting different prices on DVDs to different customers. However, customers who logged in to Amazon.com web site at different times discovered that different prices were being offered at different times. Although Amazon.com later confirmed that it was offering random discounts of between 20 to 40 per cent, this never augured well with some of its customers. Among the customers’ sentiments were that they were being charged more when they shopped more and that the exercise was awfully sneaky and unscrupulous. Other customers referred to Amazon.com as a shyster.

Nielsen Nugget Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nielsen Nugget - Case Study Example Also, according to competitiveness, it has the lowest yet it constitutes of the large amount spent by consumers compared to other segments. Therefore more targets to this attitudinal group will help the company to take the advantage of the slight growth in the market. Based on the behavior of different consumer under different conditions, among those who use the Premium people type of coffee, the old singles and couples would be appropriate to target with promotions. This is because they compose of the largest population in the market and by attracting them to use premium people more sales will be realized and hence awesome beans would be able to take the advantage of the slight growth in the coffee market. Some of the promotion strategies that could be used in this demographic segment includes: better and enhanced packaging, better distribution strategies, direct marketing, advertising, publicity and sales promotion. This will ensure that the target demographic group has all the information regarding the product, hence they will consume more of it. These promotions will also make the product more competitive and hence the profitability of the product will be enhanced. The other demographic group to target with promotions would be young families because this comprises of the second largest consumers in the market, if most of them could turn to the use of the product, more profits would be realized. Know about the composition of the population and their income trends in the global market and how they affect marketers. This will help in selecting the best strategy of marketing and the channel of distribution of the product Premium people. It is important to consider and understand how the population growth is shifting in different areas and for different age groups. This will help the awesome bean company to plan for the future. It will also help to cope with competition as demand changes with a change in population. Distribution