Human and Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Human and Utilitarianism Essay Let me begin by defining Utilitarianism: utilitarianism is the belief of doing what is right for the greater number of people. It is a theory used to determine the usefulness of the happiest outcome and how it will affect everyone else. Now, this sounds like a amazing theory, what would be better than making yourself and others happy? I found myself at first agreeing with this theory up until I really looked into it. At first I found myself thinking that not everything is about being happy; some may have to suffer for the happiness of others. For example, there were two boats one contains three criminals on death row being transported to prison and the other boat contains ten happy, loving families simply enjoying a vacation. Both ships have bombs that will go off in a matter of seconds, blowing up both ships and killing everyone. However, there is a solution. I for some odd reason have a device that sets off a bomb on ONE SHIP and deactivates the other. Now the morally right thing to do would be what? What is moral and right? Taking lives? Or saving them? I do not believe in ‘playing God’ or taking lives. I would simply ignore the Utilitarianism way of thinking and walk away. I would let nature take its course. If God has arranged this to happen, then it is meant to happen. Who am I to walk in and ‘play God’ ? I have to say I agree with Hospers when he says â€Å"A hundred men might gain great pleasure from beating up or killing just one Insignificant human being; but other mens lives are not theirs to dispose of. † (Hospers) A Utilitarian would approach this situation by asking himself/herself, what will bring happiness? What will do good for greater numbers of people? Why should the prisoners get to live? There are only three prisoners, and have done nothing good but cause harm to society. What have these families done? The Utilitarian will start to analyze each detail of the situation. They first see that there are only three prisoners as opposed to ten large families. Hence, there are less people on the prisoners boat. Then he/she will see that the prisoners have already been sentenced to death, all being on death row. However, the main point will be that these are three bad men. Doing bad things, and causing pain and sorrow to others. Why should ten happy families be punished for their wrong doings? The Utilitarian would settle for simply deactivating the bomb on the prisoners boat. Believing that killing them will bring greater good and happiness to all. My argument to this is a human life is a human life; what if one of those men are actually innocent and were convicted for a crime he didn’t commit? What if the other criminal was to be released in the morning and go home to a family of eight children and a loving wife? Truth is we don’t know. Utilitarianism fails to acknowledge that a life is a life- we are not suppose to be playing God. We don’t decide who lives and who dies, even if it is for the greater good. We should just let nature run its course. Utilitarianism is a theory of always choosing pleasure over pain for the greater good of all. I believe that I have kept a closed mind towards Utilitarianism. The prisoners are already on death row, which means they are going to die for the evil they have set loose on our world. Why should I sacrifice the lives of innocent families, for a couple of men that have caused unhappiness to all? I want to reach happiness, as does everyone else in the world. I mean does the world function over what the greater good for all is? Is that why we have soldiers in Iraq sacrificing their lives for the greater good of America? Maybe I have just overlooked all the positive outcomes of Utilitarianism. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what it has to say. I want happiness, I want innocent lives to be saved, and I want to strive for the greater good of all. I find it interesting how easy it is to fall into the comfort of Utilitarianism. It goes along with my morals and values and yet I still feel a sort of guilt. If I were to deactivate the bomb on the ship with the families and let the prisoners die, I would still be taking a human life. In my religion (Catholicism), a life is a life. We must forgive sinners and those who have sinned against us. But if these prisoners are on death row†¦were they already destined to die? Would that already be in God’s plan? Was it God who sacrificed his only son for all of us sinners? I feel in a way that makes God himself a follower of utilitarianism. He set the example of offering his only son for our sins, to open the gates of heaven for everyone. Yet one of the Ten Commandments is â€Å"Thou shall not kill. † Is that not hypocritical? As I keep analyzing this situation I realize that God is God. He decides who lives and who dies, not us. I feel that it’s hard to stick to my morals when hearing the theory of Utilitarianism. Allowing someone to die at my hand for the greater good, for happiness of others. That just sounds selfish to me, kind of like the holocaust. Did all those innocent Jews endure experimentation and torture for the greater good of all? I mean, if it weren’t for these grotesque experiments we wouldn’t know the maximum altitude that crews in damaged planes can parachute safely to the ground or find the cure/treatment for hypothermia. The Jews were used as guinea pigs for the greater good of everyone else. Is that not Utilitarianism? So many people could have died of hypothermia if that experiment was never conducted. But how many innocent lives were lost to reach this conclusion? Is there a limit to how much sacrifice should be made for the greater good? There should be. This is where I cannot connect with Utilitarianism, the fact that some sort of evil has to be done to help others. I see hypocrisy in this theory; it wants happiness but wants to rule out evil. People are evil, mean and rude. No one can be happy all the time; no one can bring eternal happiness. This takes me back to my original example, who would I save? The prisoners on death row or the innocent families? The Utilitarian’s seem to have a more interesting argument. Its funny how by writing this paper, my views changed. I look at the situation differently now. I do not feel as biased and conservative as before. My ideas have changed to a more liberal understanding sense. Why release these evil me back into the world? We have enough chaos and evil. These are just three men who chose their paths and now have to pay for it. They were sentenced to death for a reason, I will not be held responsible for the innocence of happy families, children, parents, aunts and uncles. They are not in prison because they have not done anything wrong. They simply stepped onto a ship, whose fate I now hold in my hands. I have made my choice; I will deactivate the bomb on the families boat and let the prisoners face death.

HR Consultant An Organization Education Essay

HR Consultant An Organization Education Essay Working as a HR consultant an organization has approached you for consultancy, you are given the task by the senior management present the theoretical background of learning theories and learning styles. You will develop a presentation which should address the different learning styles, learning theories and their contribution in planning and what is the importance of ensuring transfer of learning in workplace Grading Statement Pass Merit Distinction P1 differentiate between different learning styles M1 a range of methods of presentation has been used D1 capacity for innovation and creative thought has been used P2 analyze learning theories and explain their contribution to the planning and design of learning events M2 it is appropriate for familiar and unfamiliar audiences P3 explain the implication of the learning curve and the importance of ensuring the transfer of learning to the workplace Outcome 1 Tasks for P1 Discuss the different learning styles including (activists, reflectors, theorists, pragmatists) Tasks for P2 Discuss the learning theories e.g. behaviorist, cognitive The impact of the learning curve and transfer of learning to the work place, Tasks for P3 Discuss the impact of the learning curve and transfer of learning to the work place. Tasks for M1 You should include relevant figures, diagrams, tables in the presentation to justify your point. Your presentation should look interesting and professional Task for M2 You should consider that the language and concepts are appropriate for your audience and you have considered that management may not know the theoretical backgrounds therefore appropriate level of language and examples are incorporated. Task for D1 Table of Contents preface 5 summary 6 Introduction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.7 learning styles 7 honey and Mumford learning styles 7 David Kolb learning styles 8 Learning theoriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. 9,10 Learning curve and transfer of learning to workplaceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 11, 12 . Bibliographyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 13 Preface Being HR consultant, we have developed a report for our client. In which we discussed the theoretical background of learning theories and learning styles. We hope our work will be appreciated. Summary Being HR consultant we have developed a report for our client. First of all we have discuss that how learning theories can help organization during human resource development. After discussing its importance we discuss the different learning styles of learners that how individual learns. We discuss the theories of David Kolb and honey and Mumford learning styles. Furthermore we explain and discuss the three different learning theories such as cognitive, behaviorist learning theories. Beside this we have also define the impact of learning curve and transfer of learning to work place. In order to complete this assignment we collect data from our course book human resource development and employee relation and similarly from different websites. All the references can be seen at the end of report. Task for P: 1 Discuss the different learning styles including (activists, reflectors, theorists, pragmatists) As we know that there are different type of learning styles developed from Psychological and educational research. According to these researches different people learn differently from one another. According to (http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk) these learning approaches help trainer to understand an individual learning preferences, so s/he effectively convey his training. Further they explain that some student may prefer to learn from visual effects while some may prefer or enjoy learning from listening lectures. There are many researcher and psychologist which contribute to this subject such as Kolb Learning Cycle, Honey and Mumford styles. (www.jivepartners.org.uk) Honey and Mumford styles: Activist: Activists learn best when they personally involve themselves in activity. They are called activist. They enjoy the here-and-now and often thrive in short-term crisis situation. According to our course book of (human resource development and employee relation.) Such kind of people get bore with long term implementation and consolidation. Activist learners are open-minded, not sceptical, and this tends to make them enthusiastic about new work. They think that they can do anything, beside this activist first act and then think. Reflectors: According to our course book (human resource development and employee relation.) Reflectors are the learners which learn best from activities where they are able to stand back, listen and observe. They like collecting information and being given opportunity to think about it. Reflectors learn less when they are rushed into things without the opportunity to plan. Before starting any activity, first they analyze the situation from all angles. Pragmatist: Pragmatists are keen on trying out ideas, theories and techniques to see if they work in practice. They positively search out new ideas and take the first opportunity to experiment with applications. They are the type of people who return from courses brimming with new ideas that they want to try out in practice. They like to get on with things and act quickly and confidently on ideas that attract them. (human resource development and employee relation.) Theorist: Its mention in our (human resource development and employee relation.) Course books that theorist like to understand the theory behind the actions. Such kind of learners need model. Concepts, and fact in order to learn they like to analyze and synthesis, and feel uncomfortable with subjective judgment. Further its mention that they learn best when an activity is backed up by ideas and concept that form a model system or theory. Such kind of learner learns least when activities are unstructured or ambiguous. Kolbs learning styles inventory: According to (http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk) David Kolb published his learning style model in 1984. The model gave rise to related term such as Kolbs experiential learning theory. In his book he also acknowledged the work of previous scholars such as Rogers, Jung and Piaget. He has done great work in this field and still acknowledged by teachers, trainer and managers. According to Kolb and other researcher that effective learning proceeds around a cycle. The below diagram clearly mentioned that how it processed. (http://bsspdl.wordpress.com/) According to article written by (kendra cherry, 2012)Psychologist and educational theorist DavidHYPERLINK http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/david-kolb.htm HYPERLINK http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/david-kolb.htmKolb present a four-stage learning cycle designed to describe how learning by experience takes place. Further she explained that the experientialHYPERLINK http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/experiential-learning.htm HYPERLINK http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/experiential-learning.htmlearning cycle have four different stages, concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. From these stages four learning style have been identified, accommodator, divergers, assimilator and converger. Accommodator relies on concrete experience and active experimentation learns from hands on experience and more rely on other people for information. Divergers learn from concrete expe rience and reflective observation. Assimilator combine abstract conceptualization observation; understand a wide range of information and more interested abstract ideas and concepts. Task for P 2 Discuss the learning theories e.g. behaviorist, cognitive etc: Behaviorist theory: In an article written by (kendra cherry, 2012) its mentioned that the term behaviorism refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed. Beside this there are some other scientists which contribute a lot to the field of psychology. The concept or theory of behaviorism is very exciting. According to our course book (human resource development and employee relation.)Behaviorism is a theory of learning and it believes that all behaviors are acquired as a result of conditioning. Conditioning happen after a  person interacts with his environment. There are two type of conditioning classical conditioning and operant conditioning. In 1904 Ivan Pavlov a Russian scientist researched on dogs. His researched proved that dog salivated at the sight of dry food. If a buzzer sounded just before the dogs were given sight of the dry food they still salivated at the sight of the food. After the two were associated a number of time, the dog salivated at the sound of the buzzer, even before the food appeared. Therefore, it can be claimed that the dog had learnt to salivate at the sound of buzzer. Pavlov called the presentation of the food unconditioned stimuli and the salivation the unconditioned response. He regarded the association of the food with buzzer as conditional stimulus. Cognitive theory: According to article written by (kendra cherry, 2012)Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology which deals with mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. There are different people which done a lot of work on cognitive theory such as jean Piaget, Wilhelm Wundt and many more. There are a lot of differences between behaviorist and cognitive theory for example behaviorist generally ignores the internal dynamic of learning while cognitive learning theory stress on the importance of what goes on inside the learner. Cognitive theory is assumed to be comprised of a number of sub theories and is widely used in educational and counseling. The key to learning and changing is the individuals cognition (perception, thought, memory and way of processing and structuring information). Cognitive learning a highly active process largely directed by the individual, involve perceiving the information, interpreting it based on what is already known, and then recognizing the information into new insight or understanding. Cognitive theorist, unlike behaviorists, maintains that reward is not necessary for learning. More important are learners goal and expectation, which create disequilibrium, imbalance, and tension that motivate them to act Social learning approach: According to article written by (kendra cherry, 2012) there also another theory proposed by psychologist alburt bandura His theory suggest that children learn new behavior from observing other people There are three primary principles at the center of public studying concept. First is the concept that people can learn through observation. Next is the concept that inner psychological declares are an important aspect of this procedure. Lastly, this concept identifies that just because something has been discovered; it does not mean that it will result in a change of behavior or actions. The below diagram will help us in understanding these theories and how these help us during training and development of human resource. There are different methods through which we learn. Task for P3 Discuss the impact of the learning curve and transfer of learning to the work place. The learning curve definition: A learning curve is a graph showing the relationship between the time spent in learning and the level of competence attained. Hence it describe the progress and variable pace of learning (it is common for people to say that they are on a steep learning curve when they have to acquire a lot of new knowledge or skill in short period of time. (human resource development and employee relation.) Explanation: From the above definition its clear that learning curve is a concept used to determine how quickly a skill can be perfectly understood. The learning curve is represented through graph which shows the connection between learning and its duration. It also shows that how much skill or knowledge is improved of individuals from training. There is also concept of flat curve or gradual learning curve. Its important to say that on flat curve learner gain knowledge slowly. Flat curve subjects take a long time to gain complete mastery over, but provide ample time to truly imprint the procedures or skill components on the brain. Subjects with a gradual or flat curve are often very difficult to learn, as they do not provide the rewards of quick, usable knowledge. According to our course book (human resource development and employee relation.)Learning curve also used to plan the size of the chunks to be taught in one session or stage of learning. Further it explains that learning curve can also go up and down. This happen normally when trainee become unable to practice or forget newly acquired skill or knowledge. Transfer of learning: Definition: According to our course book of (human resource development and employee relation.) Transfers of learning refer to the extent to which newly learned information or skill has been transferred from the learning context to the application of a specific task. Explanation: Transfer of learning mean that how much an individual or trainee effectively able to apply the skill or knowledge on the job, which s (he) learned from training. In a situation where trainee effectively transfers the learning to task is called positive transfer; on the other hand in a situation where trainee didnt effectively transfer the learning to the application of task, will know as negative transfer.

A Pair of Tickets by Amy Tan Essay -- American Literature

"A Pair of Tickets" by Amy Tan In the story "A Pair of Tickets," by Amy Tan, a woman by the name of Jing-mei struggles with her identity as a Chinese female. Throughout her childhood, she "vigorously denied" (857) that she had any Chinese under her skin. Then her mother dies when Jing-Mei is in her 30's, and only three months after her father receives a letter from her twin daughters, Jing-Mei's half sisters. It is when Jing-mei hears her sisters are alive, that she and her dad take a trip overseas to meet her relatives and finally unites with her sisters. This story focuses on a woman's philosophical struggle to accept her true identity. The protagonist of the story is Jing-mei. She is a flat character who turns out to be dynamic. Throughout her life, she has been very stubborn about accepting her identity. An example of this is when she explains, "I was 15 and had a vigorously denied that I had any Chinese whatsoever under my skin" (857). She shows her dynamic characteristic at the end of the story when she finally does accept her heritage. The main conflict of this story is Jing-mei's struggle between accepting her identity based on her heritage and not on a personal image. There is no real order in which this conflict is clarified, because the climax and resolution come about at the same time. The conflict is internal due to the fact that she cannot accept her true identity. The climax comes when she finally meets her twin sisters and says, "I get beyond the gate, we run toward each other, all three of us embracing, all hesitations and expectations forgotten" (870). It is then that the resolution comes into play and "After all these years, it can finally be let go" (870). It is at that point, when she can finally a... ...Also an important quote is when she says, "But today I realize I've never really known what it means to be Chinese. I am thirty-six years old" (857). Even though she was in her 30's and still had that identity crisis, it was uplifting knowing that all it took for her to resolve that conflict was one meeting with her sisters. The story "A Pair of tickets" examines a woman who has grown up with American influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can see Jing-mei struggles with her identity for over 30 years, but it finally is resolved once she is able to meet her twin sisters that have been missing from her life for over 30 years. Works Cited Tan, Amy. â€Å"A Pair of Tickets.† The Longman Anthology of Short Fiction. Compact Edition. Ed. Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2001.

Matthew Hopkins - An English Witchfinder :: essays research papers

Matthew Hopkins - An English Witchfinder "Thou must not suffer a witch to live." This single phrase justified the death of thousands of victims throughout Europe and North America. Matthew Hopkins was an English witchfinder who was responsible for the ruthless persecution of scores of alleged witches during the witchcraft mania that swept parts of England under the Puritans. Born in c.1621 Hopkins was a son of a minister and raised in Essex, which had a long tradition persecuting witches. Hopkins studied law and had a variety of careers before he hit upon the idea of establishing his career as a witchfinder in the Essex parish of Manningtree and Mistley around 1644. It must be noted that his timing was brilliant. The Civil War was wreaking havoc on England and creating tension throughout Puritan society. Anyone who suggested a reason for the nation's trouble was going to get a hearing. Hopkins at the age of 24 made his first charge against a one-legged crone called Elizabeth Clarke, claiming she was a member of a coven in the Manningtree area. Clarke was arrested and questioned in Chelmsford. As a result of her "confessions" roughly 31 other women were brought before the Assizes, nineteen of whom were hanged. This was the beginning of Hopkins' "reign of terror." After adopting the self-styled title of Witchfinder-General Hopkins acquired two assistants, John Stearne and Mary Phillips, who searched for the "Devil's Mark" on the accused. Apparently obsessed by his mission to obtain confessions of witchcraft, the three began a tour of the eastern counties of England. To those who questioned his qualifications for such work, pointing out that he had never studied the subject, he replied that his expertise issued "from experience, which though it be meanly esteemed of, yet surest and safest way to judge by." Such was the demand of his services that he made an extraordinary profit from his work considering that the average daily wages of the time was as little as 2.5 pence. Hopkins charged 40 shillings for each investigation that he was asked to undertake and 9 pence for each witch he found. When the proceeding from a single town was over, the bill was usually between  £15 and  £23. In the space of little more than a year Hopkins brought over a hundred women, typically old, poor and unattractive, to the gallows in Essex alone. He extracted his confessions by various means such as `pricking', `swimming', and `watching and waking'.

Breakfast of Champions: Life With Others Essay -- Breakfast of Champio

Breakfast of Champions: Life With Others  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      For anyone who has ever wondered what the meaning of life is, it is to be the eyes and ears of the Creator of the Universe, if one believes Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions (1973). In Breakfast of Champions the protagonist, Kilgore Trout, is a lonely science fiction writer who lives in a hole in the dredges of New York City. His only work published was "to give bulk to books and magazines of salacious pictures" ( 21). Finally catching his break, Trout is invited to the Midland City Arts Festival, home of Dwayne Hoover. Hoover, who is a wealthy car salesman, owns a share of virtually everything in Midland City. However, Hoover is on the brink of insanity at this time and is thinking that one of the artists at the festival will help him find the solution to his quest for fulfillment. Vonnegut uses characters from diverse lifestyles to develop his discouraging views of humanity. Through comical writing, Vonnegut shows how love, relationships, ideas and even gossip can have strong effects on humans and society. Sometimes people don't realize the effects of words on other people. In Breakfast of Champions, Dwayne Hoover comes to this realization the hard way. Already having a bad day, Hoover runs into one of his employees named Harry. Not too fond of the way Harry dresses, feeling he is too bland, Hoover addresses him. "Harry, why don't you get a bunch of cotton waste from Vern Garr, soak it in Blue Suncoe* and burn up your f-cking wardrobe?" (46). Later in the chapter, he ridicules Harry's appearance again. "I have some news for you: modern science has given us a whole lot of wonderful colors, with strange, exciting names like red!, orange!, green!, and pink!"(48)... ...54). Hoover got up from the table to go on a eleven person beating rampage which included: his son Bunny, mistress Francine and Kilgore Trout. "It shook up Trout to realize that even he could bring evil into the world-- in the form of bad ideas" (15). Due to Hoover, Trout realized how powerful his words were, went on to win the Nobel Prize for medicine. Trout and Hoover's derogatory comments and unthoughtful actions served to discourage and devastate people's lives around them. The satirical comedy which the novel is perceived by the reader makes it humorous, but as the story unfolds it becomes depressing. There is a sense of truth in Vonnegut's disturbing view of humanity. The road of life is set out for people to travel, being careful of ones actions will make it less bumpy. Work Cited Vonnegut , Kurt. Breakfast of Champions. Dell Publishing Co. 1973

Analysis of Data Mining

ITKM Analysis of Data Mining The article Data Mining by Christopher Clifton analyzed how different types of data mining techniques have been applied in crime detection and different outcomes. Moreover, the analysis proposed how the different data mining techniques can be used in detection of different form of frauds. The analysis gave the advantages and disadvantages of using data mining in different operation. The major advantage was that data mining enables analysis of large quantities of data. This is important since such data cannot be analyzed manually since the data is often complex for humans to understand.However, data mining techniques have been used for deceitful purposes such as inappropriate disclosure of private information. The article analyzed different data mining techniques. Predictive modeling is one such technique used in estimation of particular target attribute. Descriptive modeling was another technique, which entails dividing data into groups. The other techniq ues described include pattern mining used in identification of rules relating to different data pattern and anomaly detection, which entails determining the unusual instances that, may arise when using the different data-mining model. ) What is the title and what was the objective of the study/analysis) The title of the article was data mining. The article focused on skills in knowledge discovery can be used in analysis of large volumes of data sets. According to the article, data mining was invented about one and a half decades ago due to the advances in artificial intelligence. Discovery of expert system, genetic algorithms, neural networks, and machine leaning led to develop ways to adapt these schemes and use them for data mining purposes. Related article: What Business Can Learn From Text MiningThe objective of the article was to give a history of data mining, the different types of data mining and the application of data mining in different fields such as business, scientific research, as well as by security agents in detection of crimes and terrorist activities (Clifton Web). Regarding the history of data mining, the article stated that data mining was first implemented in credit card fraud detection. The 2) What data mining algorithm was used (i. e. cluster analysis, decision tree, neural network, other) and describe the algorithm?The analysis used both decision tree algorithm and clustering algorithm. By using decision tree algorithm, the information regarding data mining techniques was grouped by making use of predefined knowledge. The analysis entails description of different crime detection techniques. Moreover, the most appropriate technique for detection of different types of crimes was suggested based on the profitability of using any single technique. Using clustering technique, the data was divided into different groups to obtain certain patterns. Such pattern included classification to data mining techniques based on their uses.This was used to develop ways in which the different techniques can be applied in business (Clifton Web). 3) What was the outcome of the analysis, and how did it benefit the business, if there was a benefit? The analysis identified the various data mining techniques, their applications, strengths and weaknesses. The analysis was important to the business world. For example, the analysis on use of data mining in detection of credit card fraud identified the challenges involved on the process. This was crucial since it gave insights on how different techniques can be developed to make data mining more effective in credit card fraud detection.Another reason why the analysis was important to the business world was that it analyzed the different data mining approa ches such as predictive modeling, descriptive modeling, pattern mining, and anomaly detection. The analysis explained how the different techniques work. Moreover, the analysis was crucial since it provided insights on how different techniques can be used in detection of fraud crime in different types of business transaction. Moreover, it highlighted the shortcoming on the different techniques. This is crucial since it provided intuitions on areas that can be improved to make the techniques more effective (Clifton Web).An additional reason why the analysis was important is that it pinpointed the issues that arise when using data mining techniques in fraud detection. One such issue is privacy concern. This was crucial since it gave insights on how the business world can continue using data mining techniques to combat crime without risking loss of reputation. Moreover, the companies can use data mining for fraud detection crimes while making less error such as those of biasness (Clifto n Web). Conclusion Data mining has undergone modification with technological advancement. Data mining play a great role in enabling detection of problems such as frauds.This is because it enables analysis of large and complex quantities of data. In the article about data mining, Clifton used both decision tree and cluster analysis to assess the different types of data mining. By using decision tree, the author group data mining based on the techniques used. By using clustering, the data was grouped to obtain certain patterns. The analysis was important to business world since it provided insights on how the different data mining techniques work. Works Cited Clifton, Christopher. â€Å"data mining . † Encyclopedia Bratanicca (n. d. ): 1-3. Web. .

Managing Change Exercises

Redesign Roles The process of redesigning roles among business organizations actually aim to make it possible for business staffs to gather ways by which they are able to extend their skills, their capabilities of completing their jobs as members of the organization. The major aim is to actually serve the company right through equalizing the ways by which the staffs are given their chance of differentiating their environment with that of the others. This then would naturally hold the employees strongly capable of shifting their capabilities of completing their jobs with the organization. Shifting their responsibilities actually open the employees to new wave of tasks that actually enhance their skills as individuals as well as assets of the organization. The aim of shifting their responsibilities and roles in the organization actually aims to help them get over the effects of work boredom. 2- Redesign Reward System Everyone has the right to have a chance to enjoy company rewards. It is essential however that the required standards for such rewards be shifted every now and then to allow others have a chance to enjoy the benefits of the said rewards according to their capabilities as individual workers of the company. Shifting the different requirements for the said rewards is a certain step up for the organization’s way of motivating their people. 3- Act Consistently with Advocated Action Without the administration’s wise judgment of the situations that they are supposed to deal with, it is undeniable that the decision making process within the organization would weaken thus making it harder for the business company to progress as a group of asset staff members within the industry that they are involved with. Moreover, the lack of advocated action on the part of the administration would cause the entire organization to fail within the plans that they themselves have set to complete. Most likely, failure is the result of the major plans that they are to suspend as part of the organization’s progress. 4- Encourage â€Å"Voluntary Acts of Initiative† Encouragement is one of the key reasons why people stay at the jobs that they are working at. Primarily, people feel that they are special or are worthy of the company if they are able to understand the fact that they are given the right attention by their employers through encouraging them to be their best at doing the tasks that they are particularly appointed to complete. Failure to do so would naturally cause the organization’s failure in terms of boosting its staff’s morale in performing well at their jobs. It is necessary that a company’s administration be able to adjust its priorities so as to be able to set the encouragement that they think is needed by the staff. No matter how diverse the people within the organization maybe, the effective strategies of the administration in posting the plans for encouragement could actually boost the morale not only of the individuals but of the entire organization as well. EXERCISE 12.4 â€Å"Reflection on Your Experience of Change: Profile of Yourself 1. Repeat this list 2. Rate yourself in regard to each action. The actions that have been mentioned within these activities are of high importance to the author as he views hem as primary foundations of organizational success. As for personal evaluation, the application if the two factors of management as mentioned herein has a good rating on the part of the author’s self-evaluation, whereas, the second phase of management which includes the two other factors of management is where the author rates quite lower than the accepted average rating. This is because of the fact that the author might have actually intended to boost the moral of the employees as individuals thus forgetting the fact that they have to be motivated as part of the entire organization’s work force. 3. Which are the actions that you have identified as most in need of attention (those you rated poor or very poor)? Through the personal evaluation that the author of this paper has done, he has primarily observed that the factors on advocated actions and the voluntary acts of initiative are the ones that require immediate action on the part of the organization that the author is currently involved with. This is because of the fact that the people who are working within the organization that he is involved with are not given much attention as they are not given fine options of actually being involved within the plans of the entire group. Hence, as a result, they are less motivated to perform at their best in the job-tasks that they are appointed with as part of the company. Consequently, the author of this paper aims to encourage the organization in actually giving importance to the said factors of business procedures. 4. Where possible, discuss your ratings with others in the group/class. Are any particular actions most commonly nominated as needing attention? What could be done to develop your capacity in this regard? The factor that commonly requires action within the group is that of the Voluntary Acts of Initiative. It has been observed through the evaluation that the said factor of management is less likely given attention to by the administration as the people intend to be directed by the administration than that of actually serving as part of the company in a voluntary manner. The idea is that less people are able to take consideration of their actions as well as to how these acts particularly affect that of the organizations that they are currently working for. The assets and the major foundations of the organization lie stable within the capabilities of the organization’s employees to work well, as well as voluntarily for the sake of their organization’s success. True, with the self-pursuing attitude of the workers as the administration of the organization itself work well with them, the organization could stand tall in progress, thus continuously advancing in terms of prosperous profit gains and performance level upgrade on the part of the employees. References: Paul D. Houston , Stephen L. Sokolow. (2006). The Spiritual Dimension of Leadership: 8 Key Principles to Leading More Effectively. Corwin Press. Peter G. Northouse. (2006). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications, Inc; 4 edition. Sage Publications, Inc; 4 edition. ISBN-10: 141294161X. Stephen R. Covey. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Free Press; 15 Anv edition. ISBN-10: 0743269519. Lynne Joy McFarland. (2001). 21st Century Leadership: Dialogues With 100 Top Leaders. The Leadership Press; Reissue edition. ISBN-10: 0963601806. Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2003) Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Mark Williams. (2001). The 10 Lenses: Your Guide to Living & Working in a Multicultural World (Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development). Capital Books.