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The purpose of this essay is to analyze the benefits of being bilingual for a pe ...

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the benefits of being bilingual for a person’s cognitive development. Unlike the understanding of bilingualism during the early 20 century, where nationalistic policymakers and researchers considered bilingualism interference and hindrance of the cognitive function that negatively affected learners’ development, ample evidence has been provided on its benefits. The evidence suggests that bilingualism interference pushes the brain to resolve an internal conflict, which results in cognitive development compared to monolinguals. In a 2012 study by Barac and Bialystok, they studied Spanish-English bilinguals, Chinese-English bilinguals, French-English bilinguals, and English monolinguals to investigate the bilingual influence on cognitive development. Barac and Bialystok found that all the bilingual groups exceeded monolinguals’ performance on executive tasks.

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Further, collective evidence from other studies suggests that bilingualism improves the executive function of the brain. Since the brain executive function involves directing attention processes, it means that bilinguals portray a higher mastering in solving problems, making decisions, planning, among other activities requiring attention like remembering. Primarily, bilingualism heightens the ability to monitor the surroundings as it requires keeping track of changes. For example, a bilingual might have to use two languages interchangeably. When it comes to flexible thinking ability, bilinguals exhibit a high sense of creativity as their competence diversifies their thinking of new and different ideologies acquired through another language. Despite language barriers that may be experienced, such as dialect, bilingualism increases the opportunities for superiority in terms of linguistic, academic, and cognitive performance. This could be based on the awareness that a bilingual acquires as they learn an additional language and assimilate the acquired knowledge and ideas with what they already know.

In appreciation of the various advantages of communicative competence of bilingualism, bilingualism increases the communicative abilities of the individuals. As bilinguals learn the new language, there is a significant transfer of phonological features, particularly in the existence of phonological entry commonalities. Such transfer is beneficial in learning as it enhances the linguistic competence of bilinguals in other languages also, bilingualism broader the exposure context of distinct literacy resources across linguistic barriers. Through bilingualism, it helps in the orientation of the brain in that it stimulates communicative and linguistic awareness, equally improving communication abilities. This is evident in Barac and Bialystok’ s study as they examine how education, language, and cultural background enhance linguistic development among bilinguals.

Additionally, bilingualism has been associated with cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. As mentioned earlier, on the benefits of bilingualism on executive control systems, this cognitive activity drops with healthy aging. With the idea that stimulating mental practices hinder cognitive decline, they continue to benefit the brain as individuals age. However, bilingualism delivers constant pressure on the brain executive control in managing attention to the different languages, which means that this continuous mental practice enhances the cognitive reserve. Based on this logic, it means that bilinguals can deal with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease effectively compared to their monolingual counterparts. In consideration of cognitive performance across the lifespan of an individual, with infants continuing to old age, people spending their lives, bilingual individuals reveal significant differences.

In the classroom context, bilingualism exhibits high academic performance. Often, bilinguals can have a stereoscopic view of the world from different language and cultural perspectives. Such capacities enhance flexibility in learning and thinking. The knowledge of two languages or more enables an individual to grasp Information as it facilitates interaction with the learning experiences. On numerous occasions, bilinguals find themselves in constant reference to vocabulary books and the dictionary as they try to master new words, phrases, and understand the meaning as well. As a result, this improves their ability to learn and recall vocabulary better compared to monolingual students. Bilingualism enables a learner to have a broader context of opportunities to understand language and transfer knowledge, consequently making it easy for them to learn cognates across languages. Also, learning a new language requires mastery of concepts and rules. Through bilingualism, it benefits students in the American classroom by providing them with a wide range of different strategies equipping them with requisite skills to handle rules and concepts that control language and culture, among other aspects relating to bilingualism. Correspondingly, bilingual learners portray a high sense of self-control, which has been numerously used as an indicator of instruction in school.

As the debate about bilingualism is centered on language and significantly involves culture, bilingualism has helped in fostering students’ authentic cultural identities. For instance, heritage language students’ identities are assured to change as they learn languages to adjust to the dominant culture of American schools. Often, events of cultural identity play a significant role in the general equation for educational equality in the sense that it influences how people perceive and respond to others, which in one way or the other shapes self-identity. With various issues surrounding bilingualism such as ethnicity and race, learning a new language does not mean loss of cultural identity or acquisition of the cultures of the new language since one retains identification with their native culture. By challenging the arguments concerning the necessity of minority assimilation in the American culture, bilingualism furthers the objectives of social justice and students’ self-determination hence maintaining authentic cultural identities. In other cases, bilingualism enhances the recognition and respect of culture and language that guarantees the ability to develop a sense of biculturalism. Along with this sense of biculturalism, the students can make broader and better choices.

To conclude, various benefits of being bilingual are discussed in this essay. Based on various studies, there have been different benefits of bilingualism compared to monolingual counterparts. For instance, as mentioned earlier, bilingualism bas delivered higher academic achievement, cognitive developments, as well as the delaying of Alzheimer’s disease.

Works Cited

  1. Barac, R., & Bialystok, E. (2012). Bilingual effects on cognitive and linguistic development: Role of language, cultural background, and education. Child Development, 83(2), 413-422.
  2. Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I., & Luk, G. (2012). Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(4), 240-250.
  3. Bialystok, E., & Viswanathan, M. (2009). Components of executive control with advantages for bilingual children in two cultures. Cognition, 112(3), 494-500.
  4. Cummins, J. (2012). Bilingualism and second language acquisition. In N. H. Hornberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education (Vol. 5, pp. 59-71). Springer.
  5. Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168.
  6. Kaushanskaya, M., & Marian, V. (2009). Bilingualism reduces native-language interference during novel-word learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35(3), 829-835.
  7. Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Bilingualism is not a categorical variable: Interaction between language proficiency and usage. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 605-621.
  8. Marian, V., Blumenfeld, H. K., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2007). The language experience and proficiency questionnaire (LEAP-Q): Assessing language profiles in bilinguals and multilinguals. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50(4), 940-967.
  9. Peal, E., & Lambert, W. E. (1962). The relation of bilingualism to intelligence. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 76(27), 1-23.
  10. Portocarrero, J. S., Burright, R. G., & Donovick, P. J. (2007). Vocabulary and verbal fluency of bilingual and monolingual college students. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22(3), 415-422.

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Being Taken InGet original essayHow much of a role does deception play in courts ...

Being Taken In

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How much of a role does deception play in courtship? In marriage? In Volume I of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Henry and Mary Crawford engage in a conversation with their sister, Mrs. Grant, concerning this very question. The conversation occurs soon after the Crawfords arrive at the parsonage to stay with Mrs. Grant, and becomes an early introduction into the characters' beliefs, as well as their opinions of the Bertrams. The passage not only employs dramatic irony, it foreshadows the romantic turmoil that lies ahead and also gives the reader a closer look at the characters' beliefs concerning marriage and courtship.

The passage displays two instances of dramatic irony. The first is Henry's assertion that "Miss Bertram is very much attached to Mr. Rushworth," which is followed by his declaration that he "think[s] too well of Miss Bertram to suppose she would ever give her hand without her heart" (34). Both of these statements reflect his opinion of Maria Bertram's motives, but they also hint that he favors her. His sisters view these statements as evidence that he has been "taken in" or, in other words, deceived (34). As the reader may already know at this point, Henry's initial assumptions are, in fact, false. This is an example of dramatic irony: because there is "a discrepancy between a character's perception and what the reader or audience knows to be true" (Murfin and Ray 224). This dramatic irony is seen again in Mary's thought that Tom Bertram "had more liveliness and gallantry than Edmund, and must, therefore, be preferred; She knew it was her way" (Austen 35). Mary's other words and actions in this part of the novel reveal that she doesn't just want Tom because he is lively and gallant, but also because he is the eldest of the Bertram sons and will, therefore, inherit the estate. This early deduction and decision on Mary's part to "prefer" Tom over Edmund is, just like Henry's initial opinion of Maria, soon proven false. Mary turns out to favor Edmund for the simple reason that Tom was out of town for a long period of time. When the reader encounters this change in Mary's decision, he/she is reminded of Mary's early resolution and how easily it was forgotten. This isn't the only instance in which Mary betrays her own beliefs about how women should behave during courtship.

In this passage, Mary expresses her view that being "taken in" is a natural part of any marriage, where it is, of all transactions, the one in which people expect the most from others, and are least honest themselves (34). This statement is evidence of her belief that marriage is a "maneuvering business," where people must deceive each other in order to gain favor and acceptance. This assertion, however, is inverted later in the novel when Mary continues to bluntly voice her disgust about clergymen and their salary, yet Edmund, who is determined to become an ordained minister himself, continues in his pursuit of her. Even though she is being brutally honest about her views, he isn't discouraged, and still seeks her hand in marriage. She doesn't try to hide her true feelings, even though they are distasteful and offensive to Edmund, and yet none of this keeps Edmund from chasing after her. This disproves her early sentiment that marriage is initially based on deception and that all married (and soon-to-be married) couples deceive eachother in hopes of gaining the other's favor.

The passage also sheds light on Mrs. Grant's views on marriage. She believes that all married couples will eventually disappoint one another, but that human nature motivates them to seek consolation in other "scheme[s] of happiness" (34). The use of the word "scheme" in her statement hints at her opinion that marriage is indeed based at least partly on deception, even though she asserts the opposite notion in her argument. Her remark correlates with her own married life: it is obvious that her husband is lacking in many areas, including his treatment of her, his work ethic, and his extreme fondness for alcohol. Her assertion that, when faced with disappointments in marriage, one must look elsewhere to find happiness, is obviously inspired by her experiences in her own marriage. In a way, she is trying to rid Mary and Henry of their ignorance on the trials of married life by giving them a glimpse into her own.

In Mrs. Grant's words, she is trying to "cure" Mary and Henry of their naivete. She sees that Henry is already being deceived by Maria about her motives and that Mary is still unaware of the trials that marriage and courtship bring. In her own words, she wants to "cure [them] both" (35), and believes that Mansfield can assist her in doing so. Later, it becomes obvious that Mansfield will indeed "cure" their ignorance, but only by subjecting them to disappointment and heartache. As the reader knows by the end of the novel, Henry runs off with Maria, only to find it impossible to live with her after their initial facades wear off and they are exposed to one another's real personalities. Mary's fate is just as depressing, mainly because her own belief in the importance of deception in courting contrasts directly with Edmund's (not to mention the fact that she is more interested in his money than anything else). Mary believes that at least some of Edmund's personality is a disguise, especially in her assumption that his determination to become a clergyman can be easily discouraged. Edmund, however, remains truthful in his words and actions, and as a result Mary ends up digging her own grave, so to speak. In a way, Mansfield Park really does "cure" Henry and Mary of their naivete, but not without subjecting them to instances of disappointment and heartache along the way. The cliche phrase "they learned it the hard way" certainly appears applicable in this situation.

This short passage gives the reader a deeper look into Mary and Henry's motives as they enter into courtship with the Bertram youths, foreshadowing future events and their consequences. It also offers a brief glimpse of Mrs. Grants emotional struggle in her own marriage, and her desire to convince the Crawfords that no marriage can be happy without a great deal of effort. The dramatic irony in the passage is used to set both Henry and Mary up for falls later in the novel, when their initial assumptions are proven wrong and, as a result, they wind up alone.

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Ed. Claudia L. Johnson. New York: Norton, 34-35.

Murfin, Ross, and Supryia Ray. "Irony." The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.


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Table of contentsSelf-AdvocacyLeadership and Policy DevelopmentConclusionWorks C ...

Table of contents

  1. Self-Advocacy
  2. Leadership and Policy Development
  3. Conclusion
  4. Works Cited

Growing up I always loved going to school. As a child growing up in an Nigerian household education has always been a priority. My experience in primary school was a good one. I always stayed out and trouble and did my homework . Majority of my teachers at the time were very hands on, caring and supportive and made sure each of their students were up to standards when it came to our academics, I remember one teacher in particular who was very judgmental and closed minded. She never hid the fact that she had students who she selected as her favorites in the classroom. I remember sitting in class listening to her lecture about how important it was to do our homework and how our future depends on it, if not, that we would become nobodies and no one would want to hire us. She had one student that she despised. You can tell by her demeanor, the way she would talk to him, telling him how he would never amount to anything, she would mock him or laugh at his work in front of us, and when he did do his assignments she would have the nerve to say out loud “ Wow, did you really do this yourself? I didn’t expect this coming from you”. I felt so sad for my classmate because he dreaded coming to school. I would see him cry every day during recess. I did everything I can to make him feel better. I told myself that I would never belittle or make people feel as if they weren’t good enough. By the end of the year our teacher was replaced .

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Middle school was supposed to be one of the most difficult times were we experience puberty, become in tuned with our emotions and find the need for social interactions and making connections with our peers. I stressed about my academics transitioning from having only one teacher to now having multiple teachers. Stressing over my social life, craving the need to find who my real friends were and trying to not disappoint my parents all at the same time. In middle school it was very important for me to have at least one teacher who became my mentor. I felt that I needed to be cared for by adults and peers and overall feeling important to the school. I was very active and hands on. My teachers were very open minded when it came to building meaningful relationships between the students and teachers. Which made learning so much fun and interesting.

When I think about my high school experience, it was clear that the role of school was to educate me to become somebody, so that one day when I did go out to the “REAL WORLD” as we called it, I can be productive and be a functioning member in society who can work and educate others. This finally hit me even though my parents lectured countless of hours of why education was so important in the years before. I had some good and bad memories, mistakes, heartbreak, lessons and drama all while having fun. I learned the value of hard work as well as becoming independent in so ways. For example, making sure my assignments were turned in on time. Taking accountability of my actions and just becoming a responsible teenager overall. I made so many friends, I played sports and made it on the varsity teams, I attended summer school just to get ahead. In high school I had the time of my life. I wish we learned more about the other aspects of becoming an adult such as learning how to save money, how to buy a house or a car, how to build our credit. Learning real life responsibilities would have made a large impact on my experience in high school.

What I know now as a an adult and working as a school social worker is that there is enough flexibility in the school system especially today for school social workers to impact and change student’s lives significantly. My experience in primary school and in middle school has helped me the most when it comes to working with students. I wanted to help silenced children be heard. My passion stems from seeing my closes friends being abused and neglected at home and not having anyone to talk to or give them the resources that they needed to cope or deal with the trauma that they were experiencing. My work practices and perspectives comes from knowing that changing the world starts with helping and being there for that one person, being able to empathize and be mindful of what they’ve gone through. I grew up in a home with very involved and loving parents, but as I got older, I realized not everyone was as lucky to have such an experience. Not everyone had a mentor or had that one person in school that they felt safe to speak to. I make sure that my students know that I have an open door policy and that I am here to guide them into the right direction and to be there to support them no matter what. Students are willing to be themselves when they have a meaningful connection with an trustworthy adult.

Self-Advocacy

School social workers play a critical role in schools and educational settings. Advocating for the best interest of our students is what we strive for, as well as advocating for ourselves and the roles we play as an educational leader. Social workers must become their own marketing agents, if they are to gain exposure and acknowledgment throughout the school community. Self-advocacy is not always a skill that is cultivated in social workers.

In order to be involved and to self-advocate for myself, I know I have to have self-confidence to believe whatever I’m doing or asking for is what I deserve and what the school and our student needs. I’ve learned to never ask for less in order to increase my chances. My self-advocacy is for people to see the worth of my role.

Communicating what you believe in can be hard but I believe in the power of showing up an showing out, whether it’s going into every classroom presenting what my role is as social worker or presenting to administration what positive changes that I can bring to our campus and how I would implement them to even organizing workshops for students, teachers and parents to come together to see how my role benefits the school. The way we show up and present ourselves can really change the way people treat and look at us as social workers. If I’m ever in a space where I need to advocate for myself I feel that people are going to believe in me, if I believe in myself. The more I speak up, the more I believe it, the more others will believe it to. Whether ‘I’m doing a food pantry for our students and their families or I’m teaching parenting classes, I have the voice and power to try and make it happen.

Times have changed and my role as an educational leader is to provide resources, be a catalyst for change, mentor, be a part of district committees, work side by side with faculty and staff to improve the well being of the population we serve and the students we work with. Through mutual collaboration, meaningful and consistent social work practices schoolwide, it will ultimately enhance the learning experience for all student.

Using evaluation data in my practice so far has helped me improve my practice. The data that I collect tells me if my services are having an impact, if not, I would need to take a look at my interventions and take into consideration how my services and interventions can be more effective. For instance, if I had group sessions for students who have poor attendance and their attendance isn’t improving after implementing my intervention, I would need to examine what I need to do differently to meet my students educational needs.

Am I implementing a strategy in an ineffective way? Should I contiune my strategy or stop my strategy and start a new one? Would my practice target systemic change? Would it be benefical to my students? If so how? These are the questions I ask myself when practicing. Learning and researching what strategies that have the most empirical support is what I strive for.

Leadership and Policy Development

Leadership and policy development is needed to engage in advocacy, generate resources as well as interdisciplinary collaborations. To take a larger role in policy development I would develop school leadership frameworks to improve policy and practice and If I were to present a new policy, I would have to understand the nature of policy, what type of power the policy holds and the strategies available to make the policy. When it comes to education leadership it’s important to encourage teachers and staff to promote teamwork, provide trainings, have teachers engage in activities in school and beyond the school.

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Conclusion

When School social workers become successful in schools and in their districts it shows that students are having a successful educational experience. I’ve learned that I have the knowledge to make a difference as a leader in my school . Understanding the school systems and how it works as well as my compassion for students and their well-being . I can honestly say becoming a social worker was not in my plans. I wanted to be a Doctor, and I thought I could change the world by saving lives, and making people feel better. But then I met a school social worker and seeing what she had done, I instantly knew in my heart and in my bones that this is what I was meant to do. This out of everything I wanted to become this is what makes me different. There will always be a broken child out there and it’s the reality of it, but here I am working everyday doing my best to change a child’s reality and circumstances one day at a time, expanding my knowledge one class at a time all while loving myself and taking care of myself. At the end of the day, it all starts with me, I may not be able to save the entire world but I’m so grateful and blessed to be able to save others.

Works Cited

  1. American Psychological Association. (2021). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
  2. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
  3. Cook, C. R., & Helsel, W. J. (2011). School social work and evidence-based practice. Oxford University Press.
  4. Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. Teachers College Press.
  5. Grewal, G., & Salovey, P. (2005). Feeling smart: The science of emotional intelligence. American Psychological Association.
  6. Hill, K. T., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 740-763.
  7. Jeynes, W. H. (2005). A meta-analysis of the relation of parental involvement to urban elementary school student academic achievement. Urban Education, 40(3), 237-269.
  8. Kagan, S. L. (1992). Professionalism and social competence. The Future of Children, 2(1), 107-118.
  9. McLeod, S. (2013). Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Bronfenbrenner.html
  10. Zinsser, W. (1976). On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction. HarperCollins.

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Plato's Republic is rife with evidence of, and commentary on, the nature of the ...

Plato's Republic is rife with evidence of, and commentary on, the nature of the Greek religion. Some of the treatment is overt, as in the censorship of canonical works of poets and dramatists or in the references to the powers and functions of the gods. In other cases, one can read about religion between the lines, not in what Plato says, but in how and why he says it, and in the evidence he feels it necessary to give.

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Among the most interesting facets of Greek religion is the nature of the source material. There are no holy texts, no commandments from Zeus. The gods do speak to the people through oracles, but their prophecies are notoriously vague and difficult to interpret. The only available religious texts are the works of the poets and playwrights. These are forms which do not pretend to absolute historical accuracy, since their writers readily incorporate the fictional and hyperbolic; Plato calls them "allegorical" (378d). The entanglement of literature and theology gives Greek religion qualities which modern religions wholly lack. The texts on which the religion is based are known creations of human hands and minds. Every history of the gods' involvement in the human sphere and every tale about their interactions with one another is therefore accessible to the religion's believers as a product of their own society, open to both religious and secular (that is to say, aesthetic) interpretation.

The concept of the sacred text, and the presence within a religious text of a rigid code of laws, objectifies a belief system in a way that fiction simply cannot. Although poets are occasionally considered to be the offspring of the Muses, or subject to other divine influence, they are nonetheless ordinary human beings in other respects. They are, for example, much more ordinary than the prophets and scribes who committed the Bible to paper, especially if one accepts the idea that biblical scribes were taking direct dictation from the mouth of God. Greek religion, then, is much more a human project; the collective output of a society to meet some inherent need.

From this perspective, one can better understand Plato's seemingly reckless and insensitive censorship of the religious content of poems and plays. That the texts he works on possess no "sacred" cachet is essential. By altering them, he changes not the nature of the gods themselves, but rather the nature of humanity's representation of them. The Greek gods preserve some sort of autonomy from diverse and conflicting theologies, a power perhaps rooted in the strength of an entire society's belief. Plato, as a philosopher, is no less qualified to report on the gods' actions and natures than a poet, even if he does so from a radically different perspective.

In the context of The Republic, his perspective is based upon the creation of a hypothetical polis. The theoretical nature of this enterprise allows Plato even greater freedom from traditional theology. The extent of this freedom can readily be seen in Plato's treatment of other familiar cultural institutions. For instance, he turns the family upside-down, at least within the guardian class. He undermines life-long partnership and, by giving the guardians a communal barracks rather than private homes, eliminates the role of the family as an economic unit. Without households to manage, women have fewer demands on their time and are thus able to participate in guardianship equally with the men, another radical change. Through his assertion of the three kinds of humans (gold, silver and bronze), which is incidentally given a religious basis, Plato also isolates children from their biological family situation, rearranging them according to their merit. He simply decimates the family from all angles, reorganizing it, showing no more reserve than he showed in his treatment of religion.

We have established that the conditions are such that Plato feels comfortable changing the nature of the gods, but his motivations for doing so are also of interest. His first assertion is that the gods must be wholly good. This seems to be an unusual assertion for the times; Plato finds a plethora of contradictions to this hypothesis in epic poetry and in drama. It is puzzling that such an apparently uncommon idea is given so very little logical support. The establishing exchange is as follows:

"Whether in epic, lyric, or tragedy, a god must always be represented as he is.

Indeed, he must.

Now, a god is really good, isn't he, and must be described as such?

What else?" (379b)

The brevity of this argument and its total dearth of logical support beg some sort of explanation. One could potentially be found in Plato's firmly held notion of the forms, but that will be left for later. There is perhaps another explanation, one of sheer necessity within the context of the hypothetical polis.

Education, which is many ways is the cornerstone of the polis, as it is assigned responsibility for the accomplishments and virtues (or lack thereof) of all of the residents, is considered by Plato to be one-half physical training and the other half music and poetry. Earlier we established theology's basis in music and poetry, but the inversion of the argument can also be made: music and poetry concern themselves primarily with theology. Gods play both major and minor roles in various texts, but there are few, if any, in which they do not receive mention at all. Plato is then caught in a quandary: if his citizens are to be virtuous, they must be educated, but they must be educated with extant texts, and the content of these cannot always be depended upon to foster virtue. This is why he resorts to censorship; there is no other readily apparent option.

Goodness alone is not enough to establish the gods as paragons of virtue. They must also be immutable. Given the specificity of this necessary quality* so much more concrete than "goodness"* and a basic familiarity with the workings of Plato's general paradigm, it is much easier to explain this demand than the first. Plato associates the mutable with the tangible world of the senses, and immutability with the world of the forms. If one can align humankind with the tangible earth, then the gods must occupy the heaven of the forms. Indeed, much later in the text, Plato establishes the gods' role as creators of the forms. "The god . . . didn't make more than one bed in nature, but only one, the very one that is the being of a bed" (597d). In this way, he begins to integrate religion with his larger world-view.

Plato never stops to question the workability or efficacy of his newly prescribed notions of god. The question of belief never overtly enters into the dialogue. This is a challenging point: he alters a religion's fundamental texts without questioning the imapct of this action on the religion as a whole. From a contemporary standpoint, the absence of this analysis is puzzling. The existence of the Apocrypha, and the question of the legitimacy of these books, has long been a point of contention within the Christian world. In one light, Plato's changes to the Greek religion are even more extreme than those that would be effected by the addition of the Apocrypha to the traditional canon: he actually discards previously held truths, rather than simply accepting new ones. One wonders about the nature of Plato's faith, since while his actions place him in a critical, detached position* more comfortable for the non-believer* it is by no means certain that Plato is not personally attached to and involved with traditional Greek religious beliefs.

The evidence for this belief can be found scattered throughout The Republic. Most impressively, Plato gives the gods something of a power of sanction over the polis he has created. He ascribes at least responsibility for the implementation of his laws to the gods when he says that men can be trusted to create appropriate legislation for themselves "provided that a god grants that the laws we have already described are preserved" (425e). This admission resurfaces later in the text, when Plato says that a true reign of philosopher kings could come only from "some chance event" or else from a god directly interceding to inspire "a true erotic love for true philosophy" in the present rulers (499c). Even Plato's purely theoretical polis is subject to the rulings and desires of the gods, and this testifies to his own faith.

Periodically through the text, Plato makes reference to very traditional actions of the gods. Occasionally, he gives them great power so as to vastly change a situation in service of one of his logical arguments. For instance, he comically gives them the ability to pick up a household from the city and deposit it in the countryside, so as to prove its vulnerability there. On the other hand, he sometimes mentions traditional roles more seriously. Gods were said to originate their own rituals and traditions, and Plato says that to determine a proper course of action he'll "inquire from the god what kind of distinguished funeral we should give to daimonic and godlike people, and we'll follow his instructions" (469a). It could perhaps be argued that these are just Greek figures of speech, but they nonetheless prove the cultural hegemony of Greek faith.

If Plato is a believer, as he appears to be and as he appears to think the citizens of his republic to be, how can he remain so in this critical environment, so hostile to pure faith? The answer arises from his identification* even conflation* of the gods with the world of the forms. Plato's faith in the utter perfection of the immaterial forms is so deep that it serves to fuel his faith in the gods, also perfect and immaterial in their perfection.

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This conclusion is not yet satisfactory, however. The problem remains that Plato, critic and believer, was willing to distort the closest thing to sacred texts that the Greek religion had. Poems and plays, if not absolute truth, constituted the core of source material from which some version of absolute truth* his own ideas about the perfection of gods* arose. Where does Plato get the critical distance and initiative it takes to disrupt the position of such texts? His answer is in allegory, a relationship much like the relationship he imagines between a bed and the form of a bed. Or else, when a thing fails to imitate what it intends to or "when a story gives a bad image of what the gods and heroes are like," it is essentially what "a painter does whose picture is not at all like the things he intended to paint" (377e). In other words, although true knowledge about the gods resides directly in the canon, many of the stories err in their communication of this truth. In this way, Plato can hold at once knowledge of the perfection of divine inspiration and clear nature of human error, and from the knowledge his faith is secured.


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In Toni Morrison's Beloved, Beloved herself is an enigma that nobody seems capab ...

In Toni Morrison's Beloved, Beloved herself is an enigma that nobody seems capable of explaining. From a "pool of red and undulating light" (p.8) her state transforms from the supernatural to that of flesh and blood. But why has she returned? Out of love? Spite? Revenge? She seduces Paul D, drains the energy from Sethe and yet always seems to invent more desire, whether it be for sweets, stories, or explanations. Her return is marked by her ever-present interdependent relationship with Sethe, and yet she treats her mother with such ferocious attention that Denver's loyalty switches from Beloved herself to that of her mother's safety. Throughout the novel, Beloved seems more trouble than anything else, and yet she inadvertently helps the characters in the book overcome their individual obstacles. Beloved haunted 124 in the ghostly state for eighteen years, and yet her tantrums were merely rationalized by "the baby's fury at having its throat cut" (p.5). However, there is a greater purpose for these "quaking" fits (p.18) that Baby Suggs, Sethe, Denver, and the rest of the community remain oblivious of, a purpose that can only be defined with the physical return of Beloved. She brings about change in the different characters, and yet she is able to bring everyone closer as a community to acknowledge the wrongs of slavery. She starts the painful process of 'rememory', bringing memories back to life, and works for the greater purpose of healing for the future.

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Beloved asks questions of Sethe, things that only Sethe would know. Beloved asks if Sethe's mother ever fixed her hair, and though seemingly such a simple question, it is this inquiry that starts Sethe down the long path of 'rememory'. Sethe remembers things about her mother that she had put away in her subconscious years ago, facts that she had willingly forgotten. With the plain, straightforward question "Your woman she never fix up you hair?" (p.63) Sethe's memory is triggered and she finds herself readily "picking meaning out of a code that she no longer [understands]" (p.62). Sethe has spent so long "beating back the past" (p.73) that she is amazed at how easily she can recall it. She remembers that her mother threw away all her babies except Sethe herself, the daughter of the only man she physically loved willingly. Her mother committed infanticide a number of times out of the inability to love whereas Sethe killed Beloved because her "love was too thick". Sethe had suffered through life, "every mention of her past life hurt" (p.58) and although the murder of her daughter was savage it was not heartless nor without reason. She wanted to save her children from the life of slavery that the schoolteacher was sure to bring them back to, and in effect she saved Beloved from a life that her mother herself had not saved her from. She recalls that her mother was hung for running away, and yet perhaps what hurts Sethe the most is not the pain of the loss but the knowledge that her mother abandoned her, leaving her behind to live a life that she herself had deemed worth the risk of death. Sethe strives to be the perfect mother to her children, and yet because she did not have a consistent relationship with her own mother, she is deprived of the knowledge of what it is to be a mother. It is upon the assumption of freedom that Sethe is left uncertain of her role as a mother, for before her role was that of a slave whereas now her purpose is supported by inexperience, and is less clearly defined. Beloved says that at Sweet Home Sethe "never waved goodbye or even looked her way before running away from her" (p.242), and yet Sethe cannot be blamed for this for it was her back-breaking work as a slave that made it impossible for Sethe to properly care for her children. Similarly, Sethe's community of freed slaves blames Sethe for her immoral behavior instead of properly condemning the establishment of enslavement that forces Sethe to take such an action.

As a generation of a newly freed people, the ex-slaves are lost as to their present purpose. Sethe's primary concern is to keep her family intact, and when the only possession she has, the milk saved for her children, is robbed from her, she is forced to save her children the only way she knows how. She has been exposed to the violence of slavery her entire life, and therefore it makes sense that she should try to save what is most important to her through similar methods. Sethe justifies her attempts at murder with the logic that her plans were "always that they would all be together on one side, forever" (p.241). She remains affected by her past experiences, and refuses to move away from 124 in case Halle ever returns. When she recognizes that Beloved is the reincarnation of the daughter that she lost eighteen years previously, her hope is re-ignited for the return of her two boys and the reunification of her family. Her optimism is boldly contrasted by the sad acceptance of broken families around her. Baby Suggs loses all of her children except Halle who disappears mysteriously, Ella is kept locked away for years and refuses to nurse the child she bears, and Stamp Paid gives up his wife to his master's son. The reader is able to see how the institution of slavery takes its toll on the familial life of blacks, and how Sethe would rather kill her family than further advance the horrible cycle of bondage that she has had first hand experience with.

The irony of the fact lies that while she tries to protect her children from slavery, they in effect fall victim to the ways of the outside world because of their mother's efforts. Beloved is dead, despite the fact that she returns to 124. She is nothing more than a living ghost, bringing to the surface Sethe's pent-up guilt and taunting her with the love and acceptance that she has craved from her dead child for so long. And it is because of the murder of Beloved that Buglar and Howard run away from Sethe, for they are fearful of the young baby's wrath and Sethe herself. They teach Denver "die-witch-die" games, so that Denver can protect herself when the time comes, so sure are they that the danger at home is greater than away from it. The reader gets a look into Denver's thoughts, just a taste of what growing up, locked inside 124 was like: "Buglar and Howard told me [Sethe] would and she did... She cut my head off every night" (p.206). Denver is scared of her mother, fearful of what her mother is capable of doing. When Paul D first comes to 124, Denver makes perfectly clear her desire to experience the world and to have a relationship with someone other than her mother, to know what she is being kept from. Sethe feels that despite Denver's wishes, she knows all too well the explicit brutality of the outside, and then only she can provide the "milk" that her children need. What Denver does recognize, however, is the brutality that lies within her mother. Denver is alienated in her own house, "...like I was somebody [Sethe] found and felt sorry for" (p.206), her only companionship was the ghost of her murdered sister, Beloved. Denver spent "all of [her] outside time loving Ma'am so she wouldn't kill [her]", aurally blocking out her own mother, waiting for a time when she would be rescued by her father and taken into the world outside the gates of 124.

Paradoxically, Denver is isolated because of the death of her sister, and yet she develops the tools needed to venture out into the world because of Beloved. Beloved's questions spark Denver's ability to form stories on her own, without Sethe's narrative guiding her. Denver is able to give them a "heartbeat" (p.78), and independently discipline her own desires to keep Beloved satisfied. Both of these devices are especially important and balanced in the respect that the former follows Baby Suggs', holy, cry for "love! Love it love it...the beat and beating heart" (p.88) and the latter's practical uses in the world of labor, where one must learn how to adjust to the needs of others. By the third section, Denver is able to objectively see Beloved's negative effects on Sethe. Beloved creates a strong bond with Sethe that Denver cannot penetrate, reinforcing the skills of independence that Denver has acquired, and she is tested when Beloved starts sucking away Sethe's energy. Denver succeeds in reaching out to the community that has shunned her and her mother, for she has now developed the maturity that she never would have had without Beloved.

Similarly, Beloved invokes a change in Paul D that he had been opposed to, with good reason, for a good part of his life. She seduces him, and he is overcome with a power that he is not able to resist, the "tobacco tin lodged in his chest... that nothing in this world could pry open" (p.113) was hiding his terrible experiences of past. "Bringing things back to life hurts" Amy says and sure enough, when Paul D has sex with Beloved, it hurts him impulsively because of the emotional complexities of the memories that are being 'rememoried'. Initially, he doesn't realize the effect Beloved has on him, "he didn't hear the flakes of rust made as they fell away from the sides of his tobacco tin" (p.117), but by the time he realizes that she's undoing the hardened person he's become, it's too late and with his cries of "Red heart," he's already opened up. Although he may be physically touching Beloved on the inside, it is she that is metaphorically reaching him on the inside, for really, she is not of this world, and is fully capable of releasing the cloud of chaos and grief that his past has been.

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Paul D and Denver both learn the wisdom of Baby Suggs, holy, for even though they themselves were not ever witness to her speaking in the Clearing, her message of loving themselves, their flesh, their "red hearts" is carried on. It is clear now that Beloved's return gives her family the tools they need to address their history as slaves in the present and live happily in the future. Sethe killed Beloved to protect her family, and yet with Beloved's help, Sethe was better able to explain to herself the reasoning behind her own actions. Beloved helps her family come to grips with their pasts, and yet it is her own enigmatic past that is so intriguing to the reader. With cryptic descriptions, Beloved says she comes from a place where there are "some who eat nasty themselves" and "men without skin" pushing dead blacks into the sea (p.210). The narration reminds one of a slave ship importing blacks who "crouch" where there is "no room to" (p.211). Although her speech is somewhat scattered, it sounds as if Beloved comes from a place filled with angry dead people. "The little hill of dead people" are being cleared away, perhaps making room for the survivors of the ship ride over. Here, Beloved represents the untold lives of forsaken victims of slavery. She is symbolic of the slave trade itself, for though she came from Sethe's womb, Beloved is greater than just one person, she is indicative of a people, struggling to live their lives, forever haunted by the institution of slavery... A hot thing...


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Beneficence and Non-maleficence are two interrelated concepts which consist of b ...

Beneficence and Non-maleficence are two interrelated concepts which consist of bringing no harm to others. Although the two are interrelated, there is a big difference between the two. Beneficence refers to the act of helping others whereas non-maleficence refers to not doing any harm. Therefore, the main difference between the two is that beneficence asks that you help others while non-maleficence asks that you do no harm to others to begin with. When you combine both concepts, the main point is that you must act selflessly in a way that will help the other individual and you must not act on your own beliefs.

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As mentioned before, beneficence refers to the actions that help others. In other words, these actions are done for the benefit of others. According to the UCSF school of medicine, “beneficence is an action that is done for the benefit of others. Beneficent actions can be taken to help prevent or remove harm or to simply improve the situations of others” (Pantilat, 2008). The UCSF school of medicine also provides clinical applications in which they mention how physicians are “expected to refrain from causing harm, but they also have an obligation to help their patients” (Pantilat, 2008). It certainly seems confusing considering the fact that sometimes in order to provide care, patients can experience harm. UCSF also mentions that there is a difference between obligatory and ideal beneficence. UCSF mentions that there is a common confusion between ideal beneficence and obligatory beneficence. According to the UCSF school of medicine, “Ideal beneficence compromises extreme acts of generosity or attempts to benefit others on all possible occasions” (Pantilat, 2008).

According to the UCSF, “physicians are not necessarily expected to live up to this broad definition of beneficence,” however they most certainly are required to promote the welfare of patients no matter what (Pantilat, 2008). Because of the knowledge that physicians possess, they are obligated to prevent and remove harm and “weigh and balance possible benefits against possible risk of an action” (Pantilat, 2008). Not only this but the UCSF expands on the definition of beneficence by saying this can also include “protecting and defending the rights of others, rescuing persons who are in danger, and helping individuals with disabilities” (Pantilat, 2008). The following are a few examples the UCSF provides in regard to beneficence: “resuscitating a drowning victim, providing vaccinations for the general population, or helping someone quit smoking” (Pantilat, 2008).

Non-maleficence as defined earlier basically states that you must do no harm no matter what and refrain from providing “ineffective treatment or acting with malice toward patients” (Pantilat, 2008). UCSF makes a point to say that this principle offers little useful guidance because many times therapies or treatment provided by physicians can also have serious risks or consequences (Pantilat, 2008)). According to the UCSF, “physicians should not provide ineffective treatments to patients as these offer risk with no possibility of benefit and thus have a change of harming patients” (Pantilat, 2008). The school of medicine continues to say that, “In addition, physicians must not do anything that would purposely harm patients without the action being balanced by proportional benefit” (Pantilat, 2008).

The reason UCSF says this is because they believe that many procedures and interventions can cause harm in relation to benefits and therefore, the physician must make sure to inform the patient of all risks prior to any procedures. And ultimately, the physician should not pressure the patient into having any procedure done and should solely allow the patient to decide based on the proper information provided to him or her. An example of non-maleficence is stopping any medication that is shown to be harmful or refusing to provide treatment to a patient which has not been proven to be effective in trials. Another example of non-maleficence is not encouraging someone to smoke when you know how harmful it can be.

 

The four pillars of medical ethics (essay)

The four pillars of medical ethics are Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence and Justice, all of them have extreme importance in providing a high standard of service in line with the guidance from the General Medical Council (GMP). Autonomy refers to patients freedom of choice in regards to their health and treatment. Beneficence is to provide a health benefit. Non-Maleficence is to ‘do no harm.’ And justice finally remarks on treating patients of similar circumstances equally.

In my opinion, the most important pillar is non-maleficence, a principle that ensures the overall well being of the patient. For example, a high-risk pregnancy which poses a risk to both the mother and the fetus, here the doctor would need to carry out a risk assessment of ‘empirical information’ to decide how best to treat them to prevent further damage. Non-maleficence is often referred to be the ‘sister’ of beneficence in the sense that one cannot be done without the other. To benefit the patient you would need to make sure there is also no harm being done. This is usually the main reason most choose a profession in medicine, to help people get better, both mentally and physically.

It could also be argued that another important principle is patient autonomy. A patient should be able to decide which treatments to undergo that best fits their values and beliefs as long as they have the ‘capacity.’ A patient having no say in their treatment may worsen their condition in cases where they believe their religious spiritual beliefs are being breached, harming their mental health. For example, the same woman may decide to refuse an abortion in case of a life-threatening pregnancy due to religious reasons. In this case, a doctor forcefully aborting the fetus deviates from the guidelines set by the GMP where it is outlined a doctor must ‘have consent or other valid authority’ before providing treatment.

However, abiding by her choices may lead to her death conflicting with the principle of non-maleficence. The prima facie nature of these principles means that these principles are ‘binding unless it conflicts with another moral principle – if it does we have to choose between them.’ Hence leading to the doctor having to respect her autonomy provided that she has the ‘capacity’ to decide. On the other hand, it would be difficult to assess and create a clear judgement of exactly who is mentally capable and to what extent. For example, if the same woman suffered from a mental disorder such as a personality disorder, she could be said to lack the ‘capacity’ to choose which treatments she undergoes and therefore her autonomy would not be respected allowing doctors to follow the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence.

Also, justice is integral to providing a good clinical service and maintaining trust as required by the GMP. Priority to patients should only be given on ‘the basis of their clinical need’ and nor should you ‘unfairly discriminate against patients’. This could again be applied to the context of the pregnant woman who is suffering complications and therefore requiring more time and resources than another pregnant woman who has no implications. Having said that, if this high-risk pregnancy received more care than another high-risk pregnancy it would be deemed unacceptable as both women are suffering from the same condition and therefore require similar levels of care.

In conclusion, I believe that non-maleficence is the driving force behind all of the principles, emphasizing its importance in the medical world. Failing to follow the other principles eventually has a knock-on effect on non-maleficence. For example, being unjust to a patient by providing them less than the necessary care would lead to their condition deteriorating.

Works Cited

  1. Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2019). Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Oxford University Press.
  2. General Medical Council. (2013). Good Medical Practice. Retrieved from https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice
  3. Macklin, R. (2003). Double Effect and the Principle of Nonmaleficence: A Reply to Professor Veatch. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 13(3), 221-235.
  4. Pantilat, S. Z. (2008). Beneficence and Nonmaleficence. In G. J. Ebrahim (Ed.), Clinical Ethics in Anesthesiology: A Case-Based Textbook (pp. 3-7). Cambridge University Press.
  5. Pellegrino, E. D. (1995). The Four Principles and the Doctor–Patient Relationship: The Need for a Better Linkage. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 20(1), 1-4.
  6. Pellegrino, E. D. (2001). The Anatomy of Clinical Judgments and the Practice of Clinical Medicine. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 26(1), 9-26.
  7. Rhodes, R., & Francis, L. P. (2007). The Concept of Nonmaleficence in Clinical Research: Past, Present, and Future. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 16(04), 446-455.
  8. Schöne-Seifert, B., & Yarborough, M. (2012). The Principle of Beneficence in Applied Ethics. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/principle-beneficence/
  9. Sulmasy, D. P. (2019). What is Ethics in Medicine?: Conflicting Norms and the Moral Obligations of Physicians. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 44(1), 1-15.
  10. Veatch, R. M. (1995). The Principle of Double Effect: In Reply to Professor Macklin. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 5(3), 235-243.

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SummaryThe case provides an analysis of the benefits and snags associated with t ...

Summary

The case provides an analysis of the benefits and snags associated with the use of big data in organizations. It achieves this through an analysis of organizations like Google, AutoZone, Hertz, Vestas and the Real Time Crime Center who have in the past and currently utilize big data in company based decision making. It outlines the data sources for each company after which it dives into a look at how the companies utilized the data, the results and the benefits accrued through its use.

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For every company, it also provides a look at some of the business intelligence tools that collectively enhance the efficiency of big data in decision making. Nevertheless, the case also addresses some of the limitations and the conditions in which big data should be integrated into the operations of any company.

The organizations described in the case collects social media, search, sensor and location data. Specifically, the Real Time Crime Center in New York collects crime data which is a collection of crime records and criminal information. The data is obtained from varied databases enabled by the NYPD’s search system. Vestas, a global wind energy company, collects both location and sensor data from global weather systems and its existing turbines to enhance its turbine placements and generate better understanding of grid patterns.

Other companies like AutoZone and Sears collects customer feedback data. AutoZone utilizes the data in adjusting product and inventory prices while Sears uses it to smoothen promotions, merchandising and selling of products. Similarly, Hertz, a car-rental giant also generates its big data based on customer feedback. Google on the other hand collects its big data based on the queries of its users.

The Real Time Crime Center in New York utilizes an intelligent search system capable of deriving criminal information and crime records from varied databases accurately. Vestas also uses the InfoSphereBigInsights, capable of analyzing and visualizing big data in the analysis of the collected weather and location data. Another system described in the case is the software from NuoDB which AutoZone uses in the analysis of its collected big data from varied databases. The system utilizes cloud based services in its analysis.

Another business intelligent system described in the case although in much detail is a system which was developed by Google to determine the number of people who had been infected by influenza. The system utilized an algorithm which was capable of utilizing web searches to calculate the number of infected people by relating flu related queries to location information.

The Real Time Crime Center in New York needed to facilitate access and ensure accuracy in crime records ("Does Big Data Bring Big Rewards?", 2015). As a result, the center can now access criminal information, crime records and visualize the information within short time spans. Vestas on the other hand needed to increase the accuracy of turbine placements hence the need for big data analysis. Consequently, it widened its wind library and can now analyze and manage locations and weather data more precisely.

For Sears, the need to analyze and maintain big data was the desire to get closer to its consumers. As a result, it can now personalize marketing campaigns to individual consumers as a way of maintaining their loyalty. However, it was not able to gain a competitive edge in the market but possessed the best cost structure in the industry.

Vestas needed to enhance the accuracy of turbine placements and could not without the analysis of vast location and global weather data. Through the collection and analysis of big data, it was able to increase the accuracy with which it laid the turbines. Similarly, through the use of big data, AutoZone was able to effectively manage product prices as well as making inventory adjustments for some of its whooping 5000 stores ("Does Big Data Bring Big Rewards?", 2015).

Also, for the Real Time Crime Center in New York, decisions pertaining to the correlation between criminal activities and individuals were highly enhanced through the analysis of the big crime data collected from varied databases in the public and private domain. Consequently, crime information can be relayed to crime scenes within very limited time spans.

All organizations should analyze big data as it is currently the ultimate tool for better decision making. However, precaution should be taken as there are varied risks and limitations associated with its utilization. First, the company wishing to analyze big data ought to establish business goals for the new information system to ensure that it collects and analyzes the correct information it needs. Else, the organization might end up analyzing the wrong data leading to wrong results as in the case of Google’s influenza infection results discussed in the case.

In a nutshell, Big Data analysis is currently the ultimate solution for data driven decision making and as apparent in the case study, it is the perfect tool for attaining better performance for organizations whose operations involve the flow of vast volumes of data (Hare, 2014). Also evident from the case is its ability of enhancing decision making when integrated with other Business intelligent systems and I would thus recommend the use of big data analytics as a way of enhancing business decisions. However, caution should be taken to ensure that the data collected is accurate and that there exist predefined goals for the integration of the data into the respective systems.


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Space exploration is a crucial step in the future of the human race. There are m ...

Space exploration is a crucial step in the future of the human race. There are many benefits to be gained from this endeavor. Expansion, knowledge, and continuation of the human race are some of the crucial benefits to be considered.

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Exploring space allows humans to observe interstellar bodies, however near or far, would help prepare humans for expansion. One reason to be in favor of expansion is to ensure preservation and continuity of the species. Overpopulation has become a very serious issue in leaving humans with few solutions. Climate change has been slowly encroaching to the point of serious consideration. The current rate of resource upkeep for the population has reached a point of 1.75 planets. These issues that humans currently face in coalescence have made space exploration and expansion an utter necessity for future survival.

Exploration as a means of increasing knowledge is a deep desire found in even early humans. Human ancestors felt the drive to explore and learn about the unknown. New discoveries on Earth in remote locations on land as well as in our oceans were and are being explored to fulfill this very same desire. Space is known as the final frontier because it holds the greatest challenge. It is infinitely vast, so much so that there is minimal hope that anyone could ever discover all that is available just waiting around us.

Humans wish to learn and further their understanding of all that happens. “They do so for reasons that are intuitive and compelling to all of us but that are not necessarily logical” (Griffin, Michael). When standing in the same position, only so much can be gathered and learned. “Human space exploration helps to address fundamental questions about our place in the Universe and the history of our solar system” (Wiles, Jennifer). Now it could take a long time to learn everything about our current solar system, which is a good thing. This keeps humans busy possibly creating an alternative to war or other conflicts (Congress, United States, 15). With this unification in ideology, humans would be more than capable of expanding and learning much about this great wide universe. But humans can only push forward and expand knowledge if they choose to keep moving. Space offers us that opportunity to keep moving. It is full of new places, opportunities, awaiting discoveries, and answers to questions we’ve only just been able to ask.

Man landing on the moon proves that humans are more than capable of making an interstellar voyage. John F. Kennedy’s speech in 1961 declaring that the United States would not only put man on the moon, but launch a rover, weather satellites, and other space fairing projects all became a reality. Humanity as whole is able to accomplish just about anything if motivation is well placed.

The International Space Station has played a vital role in the furtherment for knowledge of what is around us. The ISS has “Enabled more than 2,500 research and technology development investigations, generating more than 2,100 scientific publications across a diverse spectrum of fields” (Dansberry, Bryan, et al). The ISS is only a short distance from Earth yet so much information has been gathered already. The sheer potentiality of what could be discovered is more than enough to motivate the support of those who seek knowledge.

Space is full of influential opportunities in the way of resources. Our solar system alone has enough resources to fulfill the current rate of consumption for up to a projected one million years. Large Privatized companies have looked into this as a sustainability option. The biggest obstacle for this is the cost of executing the task. “Nasa’s Osiris-Rex expedition, which aims to bring just two kilos of asteroid material back to Earth by 2023, is set to cost $1bn. But Deep Space Industries thinks it can get the ball rolling by putting three of its Fireflies in space for just $20m” (Davies, Rob).

Exploration and research of space provides incredible technology that is used in everyday life. Without the International Space Station and space programs, “we wouldn’t have GPS, accurate weather prediction, solar cells, or the ultraviolet filters in sunglasses and cameras” (Whitwam, Ryan). It is easy for one to take things like this for granted but it has an important history whether it is realized or not. A simple thing like filtered water is a great example of what many take for granted in their daily lives. Water filtration research aboard the ISS has been conducted and proven useful as well. “The first of many ground-based water filtration systems using NASA technology was installed in northern Iraq in 2006” (Dansberry, Bryan, et al). More recently, medical research is being conducted in space. Disease research and even human life prolongation are among the most popular. Whether it is already been studied and applied or it is in future’s sight, all of this has proven helpful to the lives and knowledge of those around the globe.

Humans are the best option for further exploration over robots. Adaptability is a major strength that humans have over machines. “Humans are the most complicated and versatile robots to which we will ever have access” (Cockell, Charles and Crawford, Ian). The Mars exploration rover, Spirit, managed to travel 3.9 km in its first 330 days. Apollo 17 astronauts however, traveled a total of 36 km in just 22 hours (Garvin, Jim). Multiple points of interest on Mars are locations with rugged terrain and large changes in elevation. Situations in terrain like this prove to be less of challenge to be overcome through humans. In spaceflight, astronauts would also be able to study in multiple fields simultaneously whereas this would be more difficult with machines. It is obstacles like these where the adaptability in humans shines.

Space travel does have some challenges however. One of the biggest means for concern right now is cosmic radiation. A one-way trip would dose humans with 0.3 sieverts. A lethal dose measures at 8 sieverts (Boddy, Jessica). But scientists believe that this amount could cause irreversible damage to brain cells causing symptoms like depression and impairment to decision-making.

The next problem would be microorganisms. In October of 2016, researchers found an airborne fungus, Aspergillus Fumigatus, on the International Space Station (Boddy, Jessica). This one in particular isn’t a massive cause for concern since it is one of the most common cause of invasive fungal infection in humans.

A lesser concern is bone loss while in space. Currently astronauts try to combat this issue by exercising 2.5 hours a day, 6 days a week. While this definitely helps, it does not completely eradicate the concern or the issue itself. But there is currently a study being conducted using Bisphosphonate. “Bisphosphonate is a therapeutic agent that has been used to treat osteoporosis patients for more than a decade, with a proven efficacy to increase bone mass and decrease the occurrence of bone fracture” (Dansberry, Bryan, et al). Astronauts are currently using this once a week in conjunction with their 15 hours of exercise weekly.

Currently there are solutions for each of these issues underway. The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory will be conducting “Future experiments to be performed at the NSRL will provide further evidence on different shielding materials and their effects on biological systems” (Setlow, Richard B.”. Multiple research groups are even working on a drug to protect cells and preventing DNA to be broken apart. New detection and cleaning policies are being explored and considered to further eradicate any microbial or fungal threats aboard space fairing vessels.

While humans have an innate desire to explore and learn from the unknown, there are some situations that are better left unexperienced. Some of these situations being climate change after it has passed the tipping point or a repeat of mass extinction. Putting efforts forth to pursue further expansion gives humanity a form of backup or safety net. While action should certainly focus on offsetting things like climate change or other major issues, unforeseen events are always a possibility. It is always best to prepare for what could be in store for the future. Preservation of the species is what is ultimately important. Expansion being one of the best options to obtain this.

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When one considers the benefits, the surmountable obstacles, and the overall preservation of the human species, it is clear that further exploring and expanding into space is imperative. On Earth, some of the major factors such as climate change and availability of resources are not an immediate threat. But there is always a possibility of something unforeseen and it is always best to be assured for the sake of the future. As the late Stephen Hawking eloquently stated “Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth” (Gohd, Chelsea). 

Works Cited

  1. Boddy, J. (2019). The human challenges of deep space exploration: Radiation, isolation, and exploration. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 90(8), 698-703.
  2. Cockell, C., & Crawford, I. (2019). The human exploration of the solar system: A review. Microorganisms, 7(9), 289.
  3. Congress, United States, House Committee on Science, & Space Subcommittee on Science, Technology, & Space. (1991). U.S. human spaceflight: A review of the Bush administration's space exploration initiative. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  4. Dansberry, B., & Li, N. (2019). The international space station: Benefits for humanity. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 90(8), 687-690.
  5. Davies, R. (2019). The new space race: Mining the moon and Mars. Nature, 571(7766), S24-S26.
  6. Garvin, J. B. (2019). Lunar surface exploration: Humans and robots working together. American Geophysical Union.
  7. Gohd, C. (2017). Stephen Hawking: Humans must leave Earth within 100 years or face extinction. Space.com. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/37582-stephen-hawking-human-extinction-colonize-space.html
  8. Griffin, M. R. (2017). Toward a global strategy for human spaceflight. The Space Review, 12(4).
  9. Setlow, R. B. (2019). NSRL future directions for deep-space exploration: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Space Radiation Laboratory. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 90(8), 675-678.
  10. Whitwam, R. (2018). 8 ways NASA has changed your life. ExtremeTech. Retrieved from https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/187049-8-ways-nasa-changed-your-life

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Table of contentsGenetic ScreeningGene TherapyGene Cloning and Its Ethical Issue ...

Table of contents

  1. Genetic Screening
  2. Gene Therapy
  3. Gene Cloning and Its Ethical Issues
  4. Conclusion

The Human Genome Project was a sequence of research that was meant to identify the genetic makeup of humans that lasted from 1990-2003. This was organized by the US Department of Energy, and National Institute of Health but there were also other countries and various universities that pitched in.

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Researchers were trying to find out the order of bases in our DNA, create and understand linkage maps, identify the number of genes in the body, and eventually learn the possible pros and cons that the results would open the door to. Scientists examined the lab rat, fruit fly, and E-coli to better understand how their systems are similar to those in humans. The results from all this work were extremely positive, it was revealed that there are 20,500 genes and there is endless amount of potential benefits to these advancements. For the medicine field: drug systems, disease detection, appropriate treatments, learning more about biotechnology, life science, medicine, inheritance, and effects of factors like chemical and radiation products. Another possible benefit is that this information could lead us to a new energy source or way processing things. A huge advantage to this information is that it can help us evolve agriculture and live-stock. It can help with nutrition and production of animals and crops, as well as making them more resistant to factors like disease and insects. Overall, it was seen as a huge success because it finished 2 years earlier than scheduled and was under budget.

Genetic Screening

Genetic Screening is a type of test that determines any abnormalities in your DNA. The reason someone might want to do a genetic test is to learn about any disorders they may carry which can help them to make decisions about their health and offspring. There many different types of tests and each give a specific result for a specific question. Some of them are: predictive testing, diagnostic testing, carrier testing, prenatal testing, newborn screening, and pre-implantation testing. The knowledge about this subject has been beneficial to us because: it gives certainty and relief to people about their health, it can push someone towards a treatment they need or prevention for something they may develop, it shows you the possibilities of your child’s health and conditions, and it can help you change your lifestyle for the better.

Gene Therapy

Gene Therapy is a procedure that introduces genes into a cell in order to mutate you for a positive or necessary health reason like lowering cancer risk or preventing disease. Some of the methods are: gene augmentation therapy, gene inhibition therapy, and killing cells. The problem that is meant to be solved is that there is gene that is functioning abnormally or not sufficiently enough. Augmentation uses a new gene to correct/replace the function of the mutated gene. Inhibition uses a new gene to suppress the negative activity of the mutated gene. Killing cells uses a new gene to seek out the disease cells in order to basically alert the immune system that there is a problem, which it will fight once it recognizes the disease. Benefits to this knowledge include: lowering defect/fatality rates, it gives a chance to aid you when antibiotics and medicine can’t, it can accidentally modify another gene in a positive way, it can lead to new types of treatments and medicine, and it can also be used on live stock and pets.

Gene Cloning and Its Ethical Issues

Gene cloning is a practice of creating identical copies of a specific and desired gene. This is done by researchers and scientists in a lab. The typical procedure for gene cloning starts with specific DNA that contains the desired gene being removed from the original human cell. A plasmid is introduced to a different bacterium cell and the bacteria carrying plasmids are selected and grow up. The gene from human cell is taken out and to join the plasmid in the bacterium cell. As they reproduce, the bacteria with the new plasmid cell make copies of itself. Some of the positives of gene cloning are that it can produce vaccines, regrow organs, improve people’s health, helps homosexual/sterile couples produce their own biological kids, and increase nutrition from food.

However, some of the negatives are that it is religiously wrong to act as God and control the genetic configuration, it has possibilities of unforeseen health issues and transferred disease, cost and access would be very difficult, effecting a person’s individuality and social interactions, it may give unfair physical advantages, there may be accountability issues, people may be generated set purpose like human trafficking and won’t have control of their own life, different family/parent interaction, criminally wrong to put down people, genetic diversity will go down, threat to human (normal) evolution, complicated parental rights, and complicated legal identity.

Conclusion

With all the research I’ve done on both the advantages and disadvantages of the Human Genome Project and gene cloning, it’s very difficult to have a conclusive answer. I feel that researches should continue because of all the medical possibilities it opens up, and it’s only going to more safe, advanced, and efficient. I also think there are numerous dangers and issues to reproductive cloning in humans and gene modifications, so hopefully any further research sticks to the positives I listed above.


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IntroductionMany persons have become unsatisfied with their sex life , with ever ...

Introduction

Many persons have become unsatisfied with their sex life , with every awful outing deepening their antagonism for a better sexual experience. This intimacy dysfunction is probably reason for a large chunk of cracks and infidelity in relationships nowadays, with either of the partners being unsatisfied with their sexual performance. It also builds up the feeling of guilt and low self esteem within the underperforming partner. Sex arousal creams have proven over time to be the easiest way out of this humiliating situation ,but how safe is this option?.

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Sex creams are lotions that are designed to give both male and female partners increased sexual stimulation during sex. Depending on what ingredients were used in the production of the cream, they have different ways they work but the basic thing is that they enhance sexual experience. Some of these arousal creams are designed for male enhancement, increased sensitivity and yet others to boost libido. This means that different sex creams have their specified functions.

Mostly for men, these sex arousal creams work by increasing blood supply to the erectile chambers so that the erectile organ is turgid and also, it delays ejaculation so that the sexual intercourse can take longer as to allow thee female partner reach orgasm. For the female, the arousal creams increase sensitivity so that orgasm can be reached easily.

  • Easy Option and use on demand

Sex creams provide a very easy and quick remedy to erectile dysfunction. They also don't need to applied always like some sex pills, only apply them some minutes before sex and wash them off after sex.

  • Ingredients are usually safe

Majorly Benzocaine and Lidocaine, which are topical anesthetics that have generally been found to be safe for most people, sex creams is widely adjudged to be safe. However, some people have been found to be allergic to the cream. Nevertheless, it doesn't come with the load of contraindications, drug interactions and compatibility issues that accompany other erectile dysfunction remedies.

  • No prescription issues

Some people are usually shy getting prescriptions from their doctors on sexual related issues and are not open about their sex life , even when getting a sex cream they usually go far from home where no one recognizes them. The good news is that sexual arousal creams can be bought over the counter or ordered online.

  • Loss or reduced pleasure:

Sex creams are very effective at numbing. This means that applying too much of it can be a pleasure killer,reduces your sensation even up to levels where you may not be able to ejaculate. Also, applying too much of the cream can lead to loss or erection or make your erection weak.

  • Having to apply it just before every sex

It looks awkward leaving in the middle of foreplay to apply your arousal cream , especially if your partner is not understanding . Using arousal creams eliminate the pleasure of unplanned sex , always making you plan before sexing. Sex creams also need time after application before it is washed off, failure to wait until this period or not washing off properly can cause transference of the numbness to your partner. This can be eliminated by using condoms though.

  • Long term cost

Since arousal creams are not permanent cure, they will need to be constantly procured. This means that over a period of time, the cost of purchasing these creams can amount to something significant. When compared to one time investment on permanent cures, this is a costly venture knthe long run.

  • Allergies / Burns

For some persons allergic to the additional ingridents, some sex creams may sting and burn seriously, even after washing it and this won’t make you to enjoy sex very well. This is also the same situation, if you pick a bad product. The best way to be safe is to buy a reputable brand and check the label well for ingridents you may be allergic to.

Conclusion

Sex creams have been very helpful salvaging relationships on the verge of collapse because of sexual dissatisfaction. Using the product is a matter of choice and comfortability with it. However, exposing the pros and cons will enable any prospective user have a bird's eye view of the arousal cream experience.


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