Margaret Atwood Essay Example for Free

Margaret Atwood Essay I came across the quote Context is all; or is it ripeness? One or the other[1] when reading Margaret Atwoods novel The Handmaids Tale for English. I didnt give it much attention, because since I was 12, I had come to the conclusion that there was no such thing as a fact and every thought depended on other factors for it to be true. However in this essay Im going to see if my original assumption was true or if there is a way to reach a truth through different branches of knowledge. Im going to take the definition of truth from the dictionary, solely to have a base for which to compare the rest of the essay to; A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle[2].Which means that that there are facts that are backed by evidence, such as; it is 14:24 (at the time of writing). However in this case we can apply Atwoods context is all, and change it to context is location, as this scenario isnt necessarily true, seeing that in Sydney the time is 22:25, therefore the truth can be considered relative. Relativism is a doctrine where there is no absolute truth; that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture[3]. Which brings up a paradox as if someone were to say context is irrelevant meaning the truth would remain a truth in every situation, it would contradict themselves, as that statement would be relative depending on the context. Francis Bacons Empiricism or otherwise known perception, is the process of arriving at the truth through sense experience.[4] People use their five senses to arrive at a truth, however depending on the context, the exact same senses can make that truth false. An example that happens to me frequently is; when I look at a shirt, to me it looks black, but then when I put it under a stronger light and look at it carefully it often turns out to be dark blue. It doesnt mean the senses are faulty or cant be trusted, but the observation; truth, arrived from the use of perception, isnt congruent when the context is changed. Another very bizarre example that happened to me last year when I bought my new phone; is before purchasing it, I didnt know of anybody that had one, but as soon as I had it in my pocket I started realising that a lot of people around me had it as well. Language is the use of characters, symbols, images and sounds as a means of communicating a message.[5] We assume that language is a truth, as we have a general consensus of the different characters, symbols, images and sounds in language. However once again the truth is challenged with the context is all axiom, where in certain cases the truth behind language doesnt stand. My father told me the following example; when Vice-President Richard Nixon, at the end of the 1950s was visiting Colombia, he used the commonly known OK hand sign, denoted with a circle formed by the thumb and the first finger, with the remaining three fingers outstretched, to which the Colombian people, thought they were being called assholes. Rene Descartes Rationalism is the use of reason, be it inductive or deductive to logically arrive at the truth.[6] Descartes used reason to arrive at his famous; Cogito Ergo Sum, I think therefore I am.[7] He was asking the question How do I know I exist ? and he deduced by no more than reason that it all boiled down to; I doubt that I exist, therefore I think, ergo I am.  When I first heard this deduction, it seemed to me that it was flawless. However I remember looking around the room I was in at the time; I realised that objects such as the chairs, tables and even trees to an extent, couldnt deduce their existence like Descartes did, therefore according to his deduction they wouldnt exist. Once again I came to the conclusion that context will undermine truth.

Descartes - First Meditation Essay Example for Free

Descartes First Meditation Essay In the First Meditation, Descartes presents his philosophical project, and he claims that, in order to complete this project, he needs to put into questions the truth of all his beliefs. Descartes shows that we can doubt of the truth of all our beliefs by two main arguments, the Dream Argument and the Evil Genius argument. In the Dream Argument, Descartes discusses the senses and how it can deceive. Descartes then mentions that when he is dreaming he can also sense real objects, or at least feels he can, causing him not be able to distinguish between being asleep and being awake. This is shown in the quote from the First Meditation, â€Å"I see so plainly that there are no definitive signs by which to distinguish being awake from being asleep. As a result, I am becoming quite dizzy, and this dizziness nearly convinces me that I am asleep† (19, Mediation One). Descartes also discusses the possibility of the universal dream, mentioning that his whole life could in fact be a dream with no actual world that you are awake. Descartes mentions that dream images are images that we already experience in our waking life, they are images that we already know of. The images don’t necessarily have to be something we have seen before because it can be parts of real things we already know that create another image we have not yet seen or experienced. The dream argument that Descartes represents interprets the message that the senses are not always reliable, and we can easily be fooled by them, therefore, we should not rely on our senses to base all of our beliefs on. Now moving on to Descartes second argument, the Evil Genius argument, it implies that everything we think we know is in fact not true and we cannot rely on our senses. In The First Meditation, Descartes presents that God is good, therefore he would not fool the beings he creates into believing false things. If someone were to believe in this suggestion then he would know that he can’t be fooled by anything. This is shown in Descartes quote â€Å"But perhaps God has not willed that I be deceived in this way, for he is said to be supremely good. Nonetheless, if it were repugnant to his goodness to have created me such that I be deceived all the time, it would also seem foreign to that same goodness to permit me to be deceived even occasionally† (21 Meditation One). On the other hand, Descartes mentions that there are some people who believe there is no God, if this is the point of view to be taken then there would be a very big likelihood in us being deceived. The reason for this theory is due to the argument Descartes presents that if there is no good our senses would not be perfect since it would not have been created by a perfect being, such as God. This is shown in Descartes quote, â€Å"But because being deceived and being mistaken appear to be a certain imperfection, the less powerful they take the author of my origin to be, the more probable it will be that I am so imperfect that I am always deceived† (21 Mediation One). In the end of the First Meditation, Descartes sees it as impossible to stop from thinking about these theories, he then tries to believe that his opinions are not true. Descartes does this for the reason to be able to keep thinking as normal without disruptions. Descartes mentions this in his quote, â€Å"Hence, it seems to me I would do well to deceive myself by turning my will in completely the opposite directions and pretend for a time that these opinions are wholly false and imaginary† (22 Meditation One). Descartes then concludes that an evil genius has set out to deceive him so everything he thinks he knows is not true, â€Å"I will not suppose a supremely good God, the source of truth, but rather an evil genius, supremely powerful and clever, who has directed his entire effort at deceiving me† (22 Mediation One). With Descartes doubting all his beliefs he makes sure that he is not led to believe in what is not real by the so called â€Å"evil genius† he mentions in the First Meditation. In regards to the question, does Descartes appear to be a sceptic? I would have to say no, the reason I say this is although Descartes does appear to be a sceptic in all his arguments, he demonstrates theories to all his doubts. When Descartes represents a reason for his doubt this cannot be viewed a scepticism anymore as scepticism as defined is the philosophical position according to which knowledge is impossible. Descartes represents knowledge on each topic he doubts, as to why it should be doubted and for what reasons. Descartes does not constantly doubt everything for no reason, a sceptic doubts everything around them for no reason whatsoever. To prove this argument I suggested we can look at the First Meditation when Descartes denies the thought that he might be insane, which is shown in his quote, â€Å"Unless perhaps I were to liken myself to the insane, but such people are mad, and I would appear no less mad, were I to take their behavior as an example for myself† (19 Meditation One). In this quote it proves that all the doubts Descartes is making in the First Meditation are logical, and provide reason. Descartes is not just doubting for the sake of doubting, but for logic that causes this doubt he is experiencing. This concludes that Descartes is not a sceptic, and his arguments in fact to continue to grow, while maintaining logical reason behind them.

Manuscript Submission and Peer- review System

Manuscript Submission and Peer- review System World’s First Manuscript Submission and Peer- review System  Integrated with Social Networking Dr. Antony Raj*, Balaji Jagadeesan, Muthumariappan M and  Bhuvaneswari Ranganathan Abstract: Any major change in the way people communicate is bound to have major implications for education. Today, in the fast paced life, promoting self written research article/publications is very important to improve the citation of the article and credit to the author’s original concept. Social media has become this significant part of our modern civilization. Manuscript Management system (MMS) – developed by J-Technologies India Limited, made it simple for the authors to share their research papers to their social network and professional network in a jiffy. Introduction During the early days, scholars and researchers wrote their articles and published them in journals. Traditionally, library patrons and researchers came to the library to read or to make copies of these articles. To some extent publishers and vendors competed to receive orders from libraries. The first journal was started during 1665 in France. It was called Journal des sà §avans. The new era of on-line electronic publishing, however, has changed the way of accessing information for scholars and researchers. With the emergence of the electronic publishing, scholars and researchers are able to publish articles on-line without going through a publisher or a vendor and users can access information without going to the library. (Blake 2000) Scientists seek out publication outlets that maximize the chances of their work being cited for many reasons. So, they adapted well to utilize social media from the start to share their resources, discuss the issues they face and also to be known in the scientific community. Citations provide stable links to cited documents and make a public statement of intellectual recognition for the cited authors. Citations are an indicator of the dissemination of an article in the scientific community and provide a quantitative system for the public recognition of work by qualified peers. Having work cited is therefore an incentive for scientists, and in many disciplines it forms the basis of a scientist’s evaluation. (Clark, D. 2012). Social networking as a key to improve citation Social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus etc.,) have become increasingly integrated into the way many people today act, think, and relate to each other. Social networking has a multitude of implications for the field of education and these impact students, educators, administrators, and parents alike. There are numerous challenges and opportunities offered by these sites and making out the maximum from the social networking cloud in terms of getting ones research known. Sonali Guha. (2014) Ease of Sharing with Social network integration The usage of social network is vast and everyone wants to be updated about various things from basic daily occurrences to complicated rocket science. When one shares ones scientific work the rate  at which the work is read increases. This does not stop here, but also; if the research is interesting or novel, people tend to share and also spread the information and this will bring in more people to read and refer the particular research work. Recent updates about current, ongoing research are available in various journals. Some being open access and other require subscription. These journals are known to only limited number of people and not to all. Although, researchers read numerous articles they usually do not take time to share new work through social network due to lack of time even it’s as simple as a copy paste of a url. So this new innovation of integration of social networking in scientific journals aids in easy sharing of information and also acts as a tool. Angell. B and Gabie E. (2012) Integration of Social Networking Portals. Integration of scientific journal with Social networking sites through the Application Programming Interface (API) was first developed by J-Technologies India Limited in the year 2012 and was implemented in their own journal â€Å"Online Journal of BioSciences and Informatics†. Advantages of integration of social networks into journal portals As previously mentioned, social networking acts as a great tool for marketing. The better a scientist’s work is known, better is the appreciation of the work. When a research article is marketed well, the probability of the citation also increases which in turn leads to better impact factor (a rating given by Thomson Reuters). Higher the value, the better the rating of the researcher. This will help the researcher in many ways including getting placed in a better lab, getting research grants etc. Claire Saxby, (2004) Summary Online Journal of BioSciences and Informatics (JBI) have implemented the system of social networking to share the articles. Although, researchers read numerous articles they usually do not take time to share new work through social network due to lack of time even it’s as simple as a copy paste of a url. So this new innovation of integration of social networking in scientific journals aids in easy sharing of information and also acts as a tool. Citations are an indicator of the dissemination of an article in the scientific community and provide a quantitative system for the public recognition of work by qualified peers. Having work cited is therefore an incentive for scientists, and in many disciplines it forms the basis of a scientist’s evaluation. Social networking can help scientists in across many countries get the opportunity to meet and participate in the international research. References Clark, D. (2012). Social Media: Why It Matters to Everyone in Education.The International HETL Review. Volume 2, Article 8, http://www.hetl.org/opinion-articles/social-media-why-it-matters-to-everyone-in-education/ Sonali Guha. (2014) How Social Media Has Changed the World? 5 Impacts of Social Media on Our Lives.  http://webseo22.hubpages.com/hub/How-Social-Media-Has-Changed-the-World-Impact-of-Social-Media-on-Our-Lives Blake (2000) E-Journals: advantages, disadvantages and criteria for selection.  http://lisnews.org/node/1513 Angell. B and Gabie E. (2012) Editors Insights on the Costs and Benefits of Online Journals .  http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/Winter-Spring-1998/angell.html Adam Geib, (2013) Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access.  http://www.edanzediting.com/blog/advantages_and_disadvantages_open_access#.Uww-X86hZHM Anonymous, (2013) Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access Journals. http://monlywhite.blogspot.in/2013/02/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-open.html Anonymous, (2010). Benefits of Open Access for research dissemination  http://www.openoasis.org/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=146Itemid=308   Claire Saxby, (2004) http://www.oxfordjournals.org/news/oa_report.pdf

Mirror :: essays research papers

The Mirror Steam rose from the water and filled the bathroom with ghostly, swirling eddies, and phantasms of white, transparent ribbons of vapor. Tracy basked in the water, relishing the prickly fingers of hot water as it soothed the muscles of her body. Her red hair lay in wet, matted strings over her shoulders and breasts. Her eyelids were closed, hiding her deep, emerald green eyes. Tears squeeze from her eyes as the memory of the phone call echoed through her mind. It had been a woman’s voice on the other end of the line, and she had asked for Justin, Tracy’s husband. Tracy was high strung with emotions and the sound of that woman’s voice sparked the thought that her husband was cheating on her. The hardest part of it all for her to believe was that when Justin got home that night, Tracy confronted him with her fears. Justin didn’t hesitate in telling her that, yes, he was having an affair. She was so distraught over the news that she had kicked him out of the ho use after a lengthy screaming match. Now, Tracy sat in the tub, water to her chin, and her right hand on the ledge of the tub, fumbling lightly with a single edge razor blade. She opened her eyes and delicately ran her finger over the shinning blade. She’d teach Justin. One swipe of the blade and he’d be regretting ever sleeping around on her. She lifted the blade and brought it over to the opposite wrist. As her hand lifted off the edge of the tub, she notices something odd in the mirror. The mirror was completely steamed over with a white, hazy mist, and on the surface of the mirror, written in the condensation, was a short statement that made Tracy’s breath catch in her throat. DON’T DO IT, TRACY! Tracy jerked out of the water, splashing a bunch onto the floor. The statement was written in a loose, looping, and broken script, almost as if it had been written by a child. Before her eyes, the mirror steamed over again and the words disappeared. The razor drops into the water, forgotten. â€Å"Who did that?† she asked the room, knowing that nobody could have done it, she was alone in the house. â€Å"Who’s there?† She carefully gets out of the tub and wraps herself in a large, blue towel.

Racism: The Artificial Category of Race Essay examples -- Sociology Ra

Racism: The Artificial Category of Race THESIS: Scientists and other intellectuals recognize the modern concept of "race" as an artificial category that developed over the past five centuries due to encounters with non-European people. Even though people still attempt to organize humans into categories according to their race, these categories have been shown to have no scientific basis. The term "race" is a modern concept. It's definition has adopted radically new meaning over the past few centuries. Currently, the term is used to characterize differences among human groups. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term "race" in 1512 is "a group or class of persons, animals, or things, having some common feature or features." Today, Oxford's definition is quite different: "a local geographic or global human population distinguished by genetically transmitted characteristics and/or any of the major biological definitions of man distinguished by physically evident features, for example, Caucasian, Negroid, and Mongoloid." This definition is a result of regular interaction with non-European people. The Europeans began to explore other lands, thus creating the idea that some people are different than them and should not be under the same category as them. The constant interaction with groups of people who’s lifestyles were very different led Europeans to believe that they were a different "kind" of people. Scientists worked on and created many different ways to classify the different people they found. This unrefined method of categorization was the origin of a new culture-oriented taxonomic system for human beings. The system is based on the "Great Chain of Being," which is a way of classifying things according to... ...ces of Man. New York: The Macmillian Company and Their Distribution, 1925. Holli, Melvin G. "Race, Ethnicity and Urbanization: Selected Essays." Journal of American Ethnic History 16 (1996): 110-125. Myers, Norma. Reconstructing the Black Past: Blacks in Britain 1780-1830. Portland: Frank Cass Press, 1996. Philip, David. Race and Ethnicity. Lansdowne: Citadel Press, 1980. "Race." Oxford English Dictionary. First ed. 1928. "Race." Webster's New World Dictionary. Third ed. 1988. Smedley, Audrey. Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview. Boulder: Westview Press, 1999. Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1989. Tobias, Phillip. "The Meaning of Race." Race and Social Difference. Baxtor, Paul, Basil Sansom ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1972. 19-43.

The Decoherence Of Measurement :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Arguably the most onerous philosophical question attached to Quantum Mechanics (QM) is that of Measurement. The accepted (a.k.a. Copenhagen) Interpretation of QM says that our very act of conscious, intelligent, observable measurement – determines the outcome of the measurement in the quantum (microcosmic) realm. The wave function (which describes the co-existing, superpositioned, states of the system) collapses following a measurement. It seems that just by knowing the results of a measurement – we determine its outcome, determine the state of the system and, by implication, the state of the Universe as a whole. This notion is so counter-intuitive that it fostered a raging debate which has been on going for more than 7 decades now. But, could we have turned the question (and, inevitably, the answer) on its head? Is it the measurement that brings about the collapse – or, maybe, we are capable of measuring only collapsed results? Maybe our very ability to measure, to design measurement methods and instrumentation, to conceptualize measurement and so on – are thus limited as to yield only the collapse solutions of the wave function? Superpositions are notoriously unstable. Even in the quantum realm they should last but an infinitely split moment of time. Our measurement apparatus is not as refined as to capture a superposition long enough to justify the title of â€Å"measurement† or â€Å"observation†. By contrast, collapses are sufficiently stable to last, to be observed and measured. This is why we measure collapses. But in which sense (excluding longevity which, anyhow, is a dubious matter in the quantum world) are collapse events measurable, what makes them so? Collapse events are not the most highly probable – some of them are associated with low probabilities and still they occur and are measured. Ex definitio, the more probable states will tend to be measured more (the wave function will collapse more often into high probability states). But this does not exclude the less probable states of the quantum system from materializing upon measurement. The other possibility is that the collapse events are carefully â€Å"selected† for some purpose, within a certain pattern and in a certain sequence. What could that purpose be? Probably, the extension and enhancement of order in the Universe. That this is so can be easily substantiated: it is so. Order increases all the time. This is doubly true if we adopt the anthropocentric view of the Copenhagen Interpretation (conscious, intelligent observers determine the outcomes of measurements in the quantum realm).

Notes – Human resource management

Notes – Human resource management Chapter 7 Notes Human Resource Management DEFINE selection and DISCUSS Its strategic Importance. Reliability and validity and EXPLAIN their importance in selection techniques. DESCRIBE at least four types of testing used in selection and the conflicting legal concerns related to alcohol and drug testing DESCRIBE the major types of selection interviews by degree of structure, type of content, and manner of administration. EXPLAIN the importance of reference checking, strategies to make such checking effective, and ANALYZE the legal issues involved.Selection The process of choosing Individuals to fill Job openings The strategic Importance of selection Quality of human resources determines organizational performance. Inappropriate selection decisions are costly. Significant legal implications Avoiding Legal problems use selection criteria based on the Job assess applicant's ability to meet expectations scrutinize applicant-provided information ob tain authorization for reference checking save all records and Information reject applicants who make false statements The selection process Designing the selection processFaceable) qualified privilege negligent misrepresentation Step 5: Supervisory Interview and realistic Job preview The supervisor: is best qualified to assess Job knowledge/ skills can answer Job-specific questions must feel comfortable with new hire can assess fit with current team members Realistic Job Preview (RIP) provides applicants with realistic information, both positive and negative, about the job Step 6: Hiring decision and Candidate notification compile information from all techniques used evaluate information about each candidate immediate supervisor usually makes final hiring decision think about the offer notify all finalists who were not selected