Social networking paper Essay Example for Free

Social networking paper Essay Today, 1.5 billion people belong to an online social network, which is one out of every nine people in the world. If you are a part of this phenomenon, just how much does it affect your daily life? People join these sites for a wide variety of reasons. With just a few clicks you can speak to friends and family that may be millions of miles away; or check up on your favorite musicians latest updates. No matter what the reason, there is no denying that social networks have become a major part of society, in the work place, at home, and around the world. Many social networking sites are made for a specific group of people, such as Facebook for college students, or MySpace for music and party people. However, they all have a common structure. Once you sign up for a particular site, you will be asked a number of questions such as your name, age, location, interests, marital status, and possibly a small section to write an â€Å"about me.† Many sites also encourage uploading a profile picture, and some allow you to add a â€Å"skin† or some type of multimedia to your profile. Creating a profile on a social network allows you to define yourself however you wish to be seen. You are able to share your views, and express your interests. Many people feel a sense of independence and self esteem from using these sites. Some people may even create a â€Å"second† life and get lost in an online world, completely losing track of reality. People become addicted to social networking, losing sleep over these sites, ignoring their work duties, or even their loved ones to update a status or check the latest â€Å"trending topics.† According to affilatenetworking.com, as of April 5th 2012, the top five social networking sites are: Facebook, with an estimated 800 million users; Twitter, with an estimated 175 million users; Linkedin, with over 115 million users; Google Plus, with an estimated 90 million users; and Pintrest, which is a brand new social networking site, but is already in the top 30 most visited websites in the USA. With these sites having so ma ny active users, it makes sense that they are prime places to advertise. These sites are users of â€Å"targeted marketing†, meaning that they use information provided by you, to decide which advertisements to show. Facebook for example, uses things you â€Å"like†Ã‚  to determine what ads to show in the sidebar. So if you liked a Facebook page for Thai food, the ad shown on your homepage may be a Thai restaurant that is close to your provided location. Along with your likes, Facebook uses your location, sexuality, and relationship status as means to advertise. ​Companies are not the only ones using the growing popularity of social networks to their advantage; celebrities and artists do as well. They do not normally place ads on the page, but rather make their own Facebook or Twitter for publicity and to share their work. Lady Gaga, for example, has 45,633,442 Facebook fans and 16,862,231 Twitter followers. She is one of the more popular celebrities in social media, but definitely not the only one. Among the rather interesting list of users are: Barack Obama, Kanye West, Megan Fox, and even Oprah Winfrey. By using these sites, public figures such as the aforementioned can communicate with their fans, and share photos and videos with them. They can also promote their latest campaign, music, or movie release. If a celebrity wants to promote a social cause, social media is also a helpful tool to gain supporters. ​Even though social media has many great characteristics and outcomes, there are also some drawbacks and concerns. For example, privacy issues. Facebook and MySpace make it very easy to retrieve personal information and harm someone. Phishing and scams occur often, by scammers who try to steal your personal information for fraud or identity theft. There are also websites that are made to look exactly like your favorite social networking site to steal your password. Once they have the password, they are able use it to send out spam, and even viruses, from your account, or destroy your profile. ​The most venerable victims of social media dangers are children. Predators can pose as children with the same likes and interests as the child, and trick that child into telling them almost anything, including where they live. The safety of a child is at risk when they are on any social networking site. Predators are the biggest danger for children, but there are also scams that affect them. There are hackers or scammers that target children to use their identity to open a credit card, since the credit of a child is always in good condition. ​The problems with social media do not end with people that we don’t know. They also cause problems with the people that are close to us. According to a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial lawyers, one in five divorces in the United States involve Facebook, and 80 percent of divorce  lawyers have reported a spike in the number of cases that use social media for evidence of cheating (Gardner, David). The websites offer an outside source of communication that never existed in the past, allowing people to reconnect with past lovers or meet new ones. They also provide a distraction that takes away from the time that intimate couples are supposed t o share. ​Many employers also use social networks in their hiring process. If a person seeking a job has certain information, comments, or pictures on their page, it can comprise the decision of the employer. The Washington Post released an article stating that there are now background checking services that exclusively run social media background checks for companies all over the country (Duran). A reference to drugs or even inappropriate jokes in a status can completely change a company’s decision. ​There are also cases that take social media past the hiring process, and use it as a cause to fire someone that is already working for them. In Pennsylvania, a teacher posted a picture of herself dressed as a pirate, holding a plastic cup, with the caption under the picture reading â€Å"drunken pirate.† She was then fired for promoting underage drinking. Whether or not these charges were fair, the facts cannot be changed; social media is public. It’s something that anyone can see, including employers, children, students, and parent s (Duran). ​However, social media does not have to be feared or avoided. The more aware users are to the potential dangers, the better. As long as they are used correctly, social networking sites are a great way to interact. Avoiding them would just keep you from communicating and interacting in our society. They provide many useful tools, and an enjoyable way to keep in touch. ​ A social networking site is an online community in which people can connect to other with similar interests. Since their start in 1995 with Classmates.com, social networking sites have grown immensely to include huge websites such as Facebook, YouTube, hi5, and orkut.com (scribd.com). Through these sites, people can communicate, meet new friends, and share information and common values. Businesses can communicate with employees, advertise new products, speak to consumers about current products, and even get ideas for new or improved products. Social networks have changed the way we live today. They provide a means of being socially involved that never existed, and there is no telling how far they will take us, how long they will be around, or how much more they will grow. As a young adult, I can say that social media  affects my life on a daily basis, as it does millions of others’. We are living in an era of the Internet, and there is no turning back now.

Bowlbys Theory of Attachment Essay

Bowlbys Theory of Attachment Essay In the light of changes to the family since 1950 are Bowlbys ideas about care for young children still relevant today? In this paper, Bowlbys theory of attachment and child care will be outlined along with additions from other theorists such as Rutter and Ainsworth. From this we will see how the evolution of the family unit since the 1950s has been affected by such theories along with welfare policy and social theorists which have influenced family life and childcare practices in the UK. Bowlby described attachment as the bond that develops between a baby and its primary caregiver. It is characterised by the interaction patterns which develop in order to fulfil the infants needs and emotional development. Bowlby noted the apparent distress in children separated from their mothers in unusual circumstances e.g. hospitalisation. In studying the more abnormal and distressing situations he attempted to shed light on an understanding of normal emotional attachment development, and how a disruption could prove damaging to the child emotionally and through to adult maturation. Bowlby suggested that the presence of the mother was just as crucial to the baby as being supplied basic needs such as food. His conclusions led him to postulate that the distress at separation from the mother was universal in babies. Bowlby characterised this distress as following the pattern of infant protest, followed by despair and ending in eventual detachment. The term separation anxiety was brought about echoing ethological survival techniques in which patterns of actions enable survival of young animals. Such ideas influenced Bowlby in postulating a significant period attachment of one to five years which was imperative historically to biological survival, and if they were not in place then emotional and intellectual problems would occur in adulthood. This can be seen as a rigid attitude and has played a large part in influencing childcare decisions through the establishment of a connection between maternal absence, child care (including institutional and foster care) and later developmental problems. Studies from Rutter and Ainsworth have agreed with an attachment principle but have developed it to include situational variables such as previous home life, relationships, depth of bonding and care and reasons and reactions of the caregiver in dealing with an absence and return situation that can have an effect on the child above any basic separation. The length of absence, quality of care giving within that absence and inherent flexibility and adaptability of infants as well as their capability to make multiple attachments all need to be taken into account within this area. During the 1940s Bowlby made a connection between the attachment of an infant and mother and the shaping of an infants personality. From this an association was placed on the mother caring for the child instead of working. At this time welfare policies were focussed on a post war development of the family, and working freedoms afforded to women during the war were heavily curtailed as was war time nursery care. Popular policies suggested women should now be investing in their families as a duty. Thus if female workers were not being encouraged politically as an economic asset then child care policy provision was also diminished. Here Bowlbys ideas fuelled policy through popularising images of home based child care and family values by experts. Rutter later influenced changes through his findings of multiple attachment making in children although stressed that continuity of attachment was important. He was in support of child day care as long as it was continuous and high quality, although a preference of parental care was suggested by Rutter. There is a difficulty in isolating variables which result in positive and negative attachments. Indeed some feminists argue that stay at home mothers are often at risk of harming their children through an inability to cope and lack of support from immediate or extended family. Associated with this argument is that of the risk from domestic violence which increases isolation and effects the development of the child even if the primary caregiver is ever present. From the 1950s an increased development of the nuclear family has been argued to provide a duel function. In this the family is seen to provide close personal relationships and act as an economic strategy for development and to maintain stability and control. Such evolution of the family has been characterised by transience and isolation of family units from the extended family and community itself. A close knit extended family can provide more options for child care and support whereas otherwise external methods of care are needed. If maternal proximity with the under-fives is crucial then entire communities would be maladjusted by design and this clearly cannot be held across the board. Again the issue of consistency and quality over quantity of child care can be bought to view. Popular media along with welfare policies have in recent years sought to not only improve childcare and rearing practices, provide support, normalise differing household situations such as lone parent, and expansion and regulation of child day care provision. Feminist theory has been at the forefront of womens re- entry to work force as well as a normalisation of divorce and single parent or co-habiting (step) households. On the other hand the feminist push for womens employment rights has resulted in inevitable contradictions as women are pulled in both directions, and indeed even the act of having children at all is currently considered heavily in an economic light due to the increased cost of living and childcare fees. Nowadays we can see increased governmental intervention in support of the family in the form of lengthening maternity and paternity and parenting care rights, childrens rights, tax credits, flexible working, child care and pre-school provisions and subsidies, and the importance of family environment and child security building in issues of fostering and child protection. Thus the family by whatever shape of form it may take in the UK is heavily affected by the economic requirements and government policy provision. It is now the norm for women to work as well as be responsible for child care and household upkeep. Subsequently it is the norm for mothers to be separated from babies before their first birthday due to monetary need and often this has to be longer than desirable due to a cycle of economic need and high child care fees. Overall, I can conclude that Bowlbys ideas although outdated have persisted through the decades and still influence child rearing and day care decisions. It can be seen as persisting in governmental policy to this day for example, in maternity leave being extended to cover twelve months leave Bowlby would surely support this move. In all Bowlbys ideas of attachment and primary parental care giving remain pervasive and are ingrained within the family unit in the UK, although an acknowledgement of multiple attachments and quality of child care are now highlighted over simply the primary care givers proximity.

Artificial Intelligence In Military Application Information Technology Essay

Artificial Intelligence In Military Application Information Technology Essay Since the dawn of civilizations, humans have endeavored to be in control of their environments and surroundings. This quest resulted in many discoveries and inventions, most notably among them are machines. Human used machines as an aid to make ones life comfortable, effective and efficient and aimed to develop machines capable of working like human beings, if possible. Computer is one of the most important machines which has not only raised hopes in this regard but has also contributed significantly in every sphere of human endeavor. Human approach to problem solving is one of its kinds. It is based on abstract thought, logic, reasoning and recognizing of pattern. Computers and humans are different. A computer is yet to understand all situations and simultaneously adapt to an evolving situations. The military systems including weapons will be smart; too fast, too small, too many, and will create a complex environment for humans to monitor, control and direct them. Information-based systems will lead to a data overload that will make it a challenge for humans to directly intervene in decision making. Weapons and other military systems already under development will function at increasingly higher levels of complexity and responsibility, without meaningful human intervention and control. In future military conflicts, norm of engagement will be to act rapidly. The military architectures of tomorrow will consist of a new array of sea, ground and space based sensors, unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV), and missile defence technologies. These will take advantage of directed energy weapons. Military forces will be both faster and agile. Opponents will take advantage by operating faster than a defender can observe, orient, decide how to respond and act on that decision. The attacker will thus place himself inside the defenders Observe, Orient, Decide and Act (OODA) loop, destroying an adversarys ability to conduct an active defence  [1]  . To execute the OODA process faster than the enemy is at the core concept of future digital and information warfare. Automated systems, assisted by artificial intelligence in some form or the other, may be a way out for this problem. The advances gained in the field of artificial intelligence technology can be utilized by unmanned systems to be able to assess operational and tactical situations and decide an appropriate action. Information will drive success of command and control. These systems will collect data, have the ability to analyze data and provide recommendations to the commander. The difference between providing a recommendation and acting on a recommendation may be only a software twist. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the branch of computer science focusing on creating machines that can engage on behaviour that humans consider intelligent. AI aims to improve machine behaviour in tackling complex tasks. Smart machines have now become a reality and researchers are creating systems which can mimic human thought, understand speech, beat the best human chess player, and achieve many other advantages. With the introduction of web-enabled infrastructure rapid developments have been made in the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques in the recent past. AI is the key technology in many of todays applications in all field including military. AI methodologies are being applied to support decision making at all levels of military operations such as assessment of force readiness, reliability and capability, complex missions planning and integration of data from multiple sources  [2]  . Research in the field of AI is also addressing the challenges presented by supporting such decision making in rapidly changing environments. The use of such technology opens up endless possibilities in the military. This paper aims to trace the contours of AI, examine current efforts to utilise Artificial Intelligence and explore its potential applications in military. Genesis and Recent Past   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   The first Electronics computer was developed in 1941; however, the field of AI research was formally founded at a conference at Dartmouth College in 1956 only. Early work in AI focused on using cognitive and biological models to simulate and explain human information processing skills. In the 1990s and early 21st century, AI achieved its greatest successes. AI has advanced rapidly in the past decade. This happened due to greater use of the scientific method in experimenting with and comparing approaches that systematises and automates intellectual tasks. Thus it is relevant to any sphere of intellectual activities of human. The success can be attributed to the incredible power of modern computers, a greater emphasis on solving specific sub-problems, the creation of new ties between AI and other fields working on similar problems. AI is seen and perceived by different people or groups of people differently. The definitions of artificial intelligence can be broadly put into two approaches: one centred around humans and other centred on rationality  [3]  . The human centred approach must be an empirical science involving hypothesis and experimental confirmation while a rationalist approach involves a combination of mathematics and engineering. There have been efforts to introduce new creative approaches and refine the best one. Recent progress in understanding the theoretical basis for intelligence has gone hand in hand with improvements in the capabilities of real systems. Various subfields of AI have become more integrated. AI has found some common ground with other disciplines. A better understanding of the problems and their complex properties, combined with increased mathematical sophistication has led to workable research agendas. Fields of AI In AI the problem of intelligence simulation is generally divided into a number of specific sub-problems. These consist of particular capabilities that researchers like an intelligent system to display. For difficult problems, most of the algorithms require large computational resources and the amount of memory or computer time required become very high. With rapid strides in computer technology, research and utilization, the field of AI witnessed new frontiers. Russell and Norvig explains, AI encompasses a large variety of subfields ranging from general purpose area such as learning and perception to such specific tasks as playing chess, proving mathematical theorems, writing poetry, and diagnosing diseases. AI systematises and automates intellectual tasks and is therefore potentially relevant to any sphere of human intellectual activity. In a sense, it is a truly universal field  [4]  The various fields and subfields that received more attention in order to solve larger problem s are: Learning The centrality of learning was discussed by Turing in 1950. From the beginning itself machine learning has been central to AI research. The ability to find a pattern in a stream of input is called unsupervised learning where as supervised learning includes classification and numerical regression both. Classification is used to determine what category something belongs in. This is done after seeing a number of examples of things from several categories. Regression takes a set of numerical input and output examples and attempts to discover a continuous function that would generate the outputs from the inputs. In case of reinforcement learning, the agent is rewarded or punished based on good or bad responses. Natural Language Processing It gives machines the ability to read and understand the languages spoken by human beings. Text mining and machine translation are example of some basic applications of natural language processing. Perception Perception provides agents with information about the world in which they exist. Perception is initiated by sensors. Machine perception is the ability to use input from various sensors such as cameras, microphones, sonar etc to deduce aspects of the world. Computer vision is the ability to analyse visual input. Facial recognition, object recognition and speech recognition are some of the selected sub-problems Social Intelligence In order to obtain social intelligence capability, Artificial intelligence has to establish able human interaction and also possess the emotions that people have during their everyday lives. Social skills and emotion play two important roles for an intelligent agent. First, it should be able to foresee the actions of others, by knowing their motives and state of emotions. This involves elements of game theory, decision theory, as well as the ability to model human emotions and also the perceptual skills to detect emotions. Also, it is expected that for good human-computer interaction, emotions need to be displayed by an intelligent machine also. It must appear polite and sensitive to the humans it interacts with. At best, it should have normal emotions and at least it should appear polite. Creativity Artificial Intelligence that deals with the development and exploration of systems that exhibit creativity. It includes systems capable of such things as scientific invention, visual artistry, music composition and story generation etc. A section of AI addresses creativity both theoretically from a psychological perspective and practically via specific implementations of systems that generate outputs that can be considered creative. Artificial Intuition and Artificial Imagination are the areas related with computational research. General Intelligence Many of the researchers hope that their work will finally be included into a machine with general intelligence, combining all the other skills and exceeding human abilities at most of them. Knowledge Representation knowledge representation is one of the important and most familiar concepts in AI. Most of the problems that machines are expected to solve will require extensive knowledge about the world. Among the things that AI needs to represent are objects, properties, categories and relations between objects, situations, events, states and time, causes and effects, and many other less well researched domains. Knowledge representation and knowledge engineering are central to AI research Planning Planning are the subfields of AI devoted to finding action sequences that achieve the agents goals. Intelligent agents should be able to lay down goals and accomplish them. They need a way to imagine the future and be able to select choices that maximize the value of the available choices. They should have a representation of the state of the world and be able to make predictions about how their actions will change it. Multi-agent planning uses the cooperation and competition of many agents to achieve a given goal. Tools Used to Solve Problems of AI In the course of years of research, AI has developed a large number of tools to solve the difficult problems in computer science. A few of the most common of these methods are mentioned: Search and Optimisation Search is the subfield of AI devoted to finding action sequences that achieve the agents goal. Several problems in AI can be solved in theory by intelligently searching through many possible solutions. Reasoning can be reduced to simply perform a search operation. Planning algorithms search through trees of goals and sub-goals, attempting to find a path to a target goal. This process is called means-ends analysis. Robotics algorithms for moving limbs and grasping objects use local searches in configuration space. Several learning algorithms use search algorithms based on optimization. In case of most of the real world problems, simple exhaustive searches are rarely sufficient. Therefore, heuristics supply the program with a best guess for the path on which the solution lies on.   Also in case of many problems, it is possible to begin the search with some form of a guess and then incrementally refine the guess until no more refinements can be made. Logic Logic is the primary vehicle for representing knowledge. It is used for knowledge representation and problem solving. However, it can be applied to other problems also. AI uses several different forms of logic research. Propositional or sentential logic is the logic of statements which can be true or false. There is well developed technology for reasoning in proportional logic First-order logic also permits the use of quantifiers and predicates. It can express details about objects, their properties, and their relations with each other. Fuzzy logic is a version of first-order logic. It allows the truth of a statement to be represented as a value between 0 and 1, rather than simply True or False. Fuzzy systems have been widely used in modern industrial and consumer product control systems and can be used for uncertain reasoning. Several extensions of logic have been intended to handle many domains of knowledge. Other forms of logic designed to help with default reasoning and the qualification problem include default logics, non-monotonic logics and circumscription Probabilistic Methods For Uncertain Reasoning A large number of problems in AI such as learning, reasoning, planning, perception and robotics call for the agent to operate either with uncertain or incomplete information. A number of powerful tools using methods from probability theory and economics have devised by AI researchers to solve these problems. Bayesian networks are a very common tool that can be used for a large number of problems likes learning, reasoning, planning and perception etc. Probabilistic algorithms can also be used for filtering, prediction and finding explanations for streams of data, helping perception systems to analyse processes that occur over time. Mathematical tools have been developed that analyse how an agent can make choices and plan, using decision theory, decision analysis, information value theory. Classifiers and Statistical Learning Methods Classifiers and Controllers are two types of AI applications. Classification forms a central part of many AI systems however, controllers do also classify conditions before inferring actions. Classifiers are functions that make use of pattern matching to determine a closest match. They can be tuned as per examples, making them very attractive for use in AI. These examples are known as patterns or observations. Each pattern belongs to a certain predefined class in case of supervised learning. All the observations combined with their class labels are known as a data set. When a new observation is received, that observation is classified based on earlier experience. A classifier can be trained in many ways. Neural networks A neuron is a cell in the brain whose principal function is the collection, processing, and dissemination of electrical signals. The brains image processing capacity is considered to emerge mainly from network of neurons. A neural network is an interconnected group of nodes, similar to the large network of neurons in the human brain. Neural networks are designed to distinguish patterns in data and forecast an output from a given set of data. Neural networks need to be trained on the data before it can predict or learn. In this way they learn from examples similar to the way a child learns. Computer learning skills that are developed for neural networks are used in a class of computer programs called expert systems. Expert systems also learn from experience and get better at their job, the longer they are doing it. Control Theory Control theory is the foundation of AI and deals with designing devices that act optimally on the basis of feedback from the environment. Initially, the mathematical tools of control theory were quite different from AI, but the fields are coming closer together. Control theory, has many important applications, especially in robotics. Languages AI researchers have developed several specialized languages for AI research, including Lisp and Prolog. In AI, the automation or programming of all aspects of human cognition is considered from its foundations in cognitive science through approaches to symbolic and sub-symbolic AI, natural language processing, computer vision, and evolutionary or adaptive systems. It is inherent to this very complex problem domain that in the initial phase of programming a speci ¬Ã‚ c AI problem, it can only be speci ¬Ã‚ ed poorly. Only through interactive and incremental re ¬Ã‚ nement does more precise speci ¬Ã‚ cation become possible. This is also due to the fact that typical AI problems tend to be very domain speci ¬Ã‚ c therefore, heuristic strategies have to be developed.. Applications of AI General The probable applications of Artificial Intelligence are plenty. Application of AI is possible in all fields, requiring intelligent analysis, precision and automation. They stretch from the military to the entertainment industry, to big establishments dealing with large amount of information such as banks, hospital and insurances. AI can also be used to predict customer behavior and detect the trends. There are many general fields where AI can be very usefully utilized for Autonomous planning and Scheduling, Autonomous Control, Medical Diagnosis, Logistics Planning, and Language Understanding, Problem Solving, Game Playing  [5]  . Some of the important applications are appended below: Pattern Recognition Pattern recognition is the area of research that studies the operation and design of systems that identify patterns in data. When a program makes observations of some kind, it is often programmed to compare what it sees with pattern e.g face, fingerprint or handwriting recognition. Important application areas are image analysis, character recognition, speech analysis, man and machine diagnostics and person identification. Bio-Informatics Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology for the management of biological information. AI provides several powerful algorithms and techniques for solving important problems in bioinformatics. Approaches like Neural Networks, Hidden Markov Models, Bayesian Networks and Kernel Methods are ideal for areas with more data but very less theory. The goal in applying AI to bioinformatics is to extract useful information from the wealth of available data by building good probabilistic models. Data Mining An AI powered tool that can discover useful information within a database that can then be used to improve actions. Data mining  is the process of extracting patterns from  data. Data mining is seen as an increasingly important tool by modern business to transform data into business intelligence giving an informational advantage. It is currently used in a wide range of profiling practices such as marketing,  surveillance,  fraud  detection, and scientific discovery. Expert Systems An expert system is a computer program that represents the reason with knowledge of some specialist subject with a view to solve problems or give advice  [6]  . It is the knowledge-based applications of artificial intelligence that have enhanced productivity in almost all fields such as business, science, engineering, and the military. With advances in the last decade, todays expert systems clients can choose from dozens of commercial software packages with easy-to-use interfaces. Diagnosis and Trouble-shooting explain the development and testing of a condition-monitoring sub-module of an integrated plant maintenance management application based on AI techniques. It is mainly knowledge-based systems, having several modules, sub-modules and sections. Computer Vision It is essential for computer to perceive the objects. Vision includes the acquisition and processing of visual information both. AI enabled technologies have made possible many amazing achievements. Vehicles that are able to steer themselves safely along highways, and computers that can recognize and interpret speech or facial expressions. AI supported vision technology has made many applications possible. Some of them are like 3D modeling, image stabilization, image synthesis, surgical navigation, handwritten document recognition, and vision based computer interfaces. While explaining success of an autonomous system trial supported by computer vision Russel and Norvig mentioned: The ALVIN computer vision system was trained to steer a car to keep it following a lane.   It was tried in the Carnegie Melon University (CMU) NAVLAB computer controlled minivan and used to navigate across the United States for 2850 miles it was in control of steering the vehicle 98% of the time. A human took over the other 2% mostly at the exit ramps. NAVLAB has video cameras that transmit road images to ALVIN, which then computes the best direction to steer, based on experience from previous training runs.  [7]   Image Processing Perception appears to be an effortless activity for humans however, it requires significant amount of sophisticated computation. The team associated with image formation and processing is concerned with research issues related to the acquisition, manipulation, and synthesis and distribution of images. In AI, applications include video phone, video conferencing, teleconferencing, and multimedia databases. Progressively, this research has combined image or vision with audio or speech. For example in the video indexing project, the group is using both visual and audio cues to derive semantic labels for video shots. Robotics Robots are physical agents that perform tasks by manipulating the physical world. Robots are comprised of several systems working together as a whole. Robots are widely used in assembly plants, space stations, and hospitals and now in homes also. Other type of mobile robots includes unmanned land vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicle. Knowledge Representation and Reasoning The representation of knowledge and the reasoning processes that bring knowledge to life are the two concepts, central to the field of AI. The knowledge representation means encoding real world, commonsense etc in a format that is both readable and understandable by the computer. Logical Agents is the representation of knowledge and the reasoning processes that bring knowledge to life. Logic is the primary vehicle for representing the knowledge throughout and Semantic webs describe things in a way that computer applications understand. Gaming Game playing was one of the first tasks taken by AI. Games, unlike other problems, are interesting because they are too difficult to solve. Games like the real world require the ability to make some decisions even when calculating the optimal decision is not feasible. Games also penalize inefficiency severely. Game playing research has contributed in many ideas on how to make best possible use of time. AI techniques are used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behaviour of non-player characters. The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from fields that include control theory, robotics etc. IBMs Deep Blue became the first computer programme to defeat the world champion in a chess match when it performed better than Garry Kasparov in an exhibition match. Military Applications The military applications of Artificial Intelligence are spread over large areas of military functions. Some of the military functions where AI techniques are being used or have potential use are given below. Operations Command and Control Command and Control is considered as one of the most important functions of military operations. In a networked centered scenario of battlefield with host of sensors deployed at different stages and the amount of data flowing between various centres, the time available for decision making is at premium. The information overload sometimes can impair the decision making hence require intelligent filtering of information to take timely and appropriate decisions. AI is used in playing a decisive role in reducing the load on the human beings in the loop and at times taking autonomous decisions as and when warranted. Navigation The availability of Global Positioning Satellites (GPS), Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and autopilot along with host of sensors and On-board computers has helped in overcoming certain human limitations and resulted in safe and efficient management of flying aircrafts. ISR Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance are the key elements of battlefield management. Over time the battlefield scenario has undergone dramatic change and so as the means of identification, surveillance and reconnaissance. Advancement in technology in many spheres has offered sensors with high sensitivity, small sizes and better visibility. AI has contributed significantly in this regard in terms of ground, aerial, space and underwater ISR capabilities.   Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) using AI offer tremendous potential as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms for early detection of security threats and for acquisition and maintenance of situational awareness in the crisis condition. Using their capabilities effectively requires addressing a range of practical and theoretical problems. Developments in the field of hardware and software technologies, as well as economies of scale, make UAVs feasible for increasingly diverse airborne observation mission s. Expert systems are promising technologies that manage information demands and provide required expertise. Thus they are well suited to many of the tasks associated with environmental impact assessment. While highlighting the contribution of artificial intelligence in battlefield surveillance using geographical information system, Maj Jagmohan Singh of Project Management organization, Battlefield surveillance system , Army HQ concludes: Transparency of the battlefield is a critical factor influencing the outcome of future battles. Battlefield transparency would provide a framework for `scientific and deliberate decision making. The dependence of commanders on paper maps and sand models for operational planning will have to be replaced by the latest GIS tools. These tools permit dynamic visualization of a 3D terrain model for seamless access, query and analysis across multiple types of military geographical data. Mapping and analysis is done using various GIS technologies incorporating satellites and aerial imagery, and photography of the target area. The future technologies would further enhance the visualization techniques and enable the commanders to take timely decisions to defeat the adversaries. However, emphasis needs to focus on refinement of some critical technologies such as Multi Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF), Artificial Intelligence and Interoperability issues.   [8]   Weapon System The weapon technology has seen constant change and has gained more lethality and effectiveness in its evolution. A host of modern weapons are in use or in process of development which can change the landscape of the battlefield. Missiles, Directed energy weapons, Standoff weapons, autonomous weapons etc are few examples of intelligent weapons and have even greater potential in future. Communications and Computers Communication is the core of all activities. In the age of modern communication, the geographical boundaries have come closer and visibility has improved to a great extent. The advent of satellite and availability of internet has revolutionized the communication. In future the success of battlefield will depend on maintenance of network connectivity and management of information from a large variety of sources. This will also made real time communication more important. The non availability of real time information can hamper the decision making ability of soldiers fighting the war. It may result in the failure of mission and even danger to personal survival. Wren, Ichalkaranje and Jain commented on the contribution and maturity of AI: Intelligent Decision Support Systems have the potential to transform human decision making by combining research in artificial intelligence, information technology, and systems engineering. The field of intelligent decision making is expanding rapidly partly due to advances in artificial intelligence and network-centric environments that can deliver the technology. Communication and coordination between dispersed systems can deliver just-in-time information, real-time processing, collaborative environments, and globally up-to-date information to a human decision maker. At the same time, artificial intelligence techniques have demonstrated that they have matured sufficiently to provide computational assistance to humans in practical applications.  [9]   Network centric environment facilitates leveraging Artificial Intelligence to allow soldiers to access and share information throughout the entire network. Network centric environment provides coordination, where each node in the network helps provide a flawless, decentralized organization of intelligent resources. Maintenance Repair and Overhaul The fighting capability of the forces depends upon the serviceability and availability of the range of equipment held in its inventory. Most of the modern days equipments used for military application have certain defined life span. Also the demand of battlefield has ensured that highly sophisticated equipments should be made available for combat. This demands a system with quick fault diagnostic capability, easy maintainability and highly trained human resources along with modern ground facilities. Presently the expert systems are in use to analyze the faulty Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) of Radars or aircraft avionics using Automatic Test Equipments (ATE). Built-in Test systems are encouragingly being used with modern development of weapons. The techniques such as expert system and robotics are fairly in use in military application however has the potential to be exploited at much greater scale to expedite automation. Logistics Logistics is the life line in case of military operations. The various models of operations research have been employed in effective management of the logistics operation. The system of simulation has helped in optimizing the operation and AI has a great potential in assisting in planning and keeping the supply chain effective and efficient. Russell and Norvig highlighted that: During the Persian Gulf crisis of 1991, US forces deployed a Dynamic Analysis and Replanning Tool (DART) to do automated logistics planning and scheduling for transportation. This involved up to 50000 vehicles, cargo and people at a time and had to account for starting point, destinations, routes, and conflict resolution among all parameters. The AI planning techniques allowed a plan to be generated in hours that would have taken weeks with older methods. The Defence Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) stated that this single application more than paid back its 30 year inv

Comparing Dual-Self Characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and A Study in Scarlet and Sign of Four :: comparison compare contrast essays

Dual-Self Characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and A Study in Scarlet and Sign of Four The character, Jekyll/Hyde, from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Lewis Stevenson, and the characters Bartholomew and Thaddeus Sholto from A Study in Scarlet and Sign of Four, written by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, exhibit dual-self characteristics. The Jekyll/Hyde and Sholto twin characters have many strong similarities as well as distinct but related differences.   Interestingly, many of the areas of differences are ultimately the most vital aspects of the characters. The premise of the dual self quite probably has its roots in the waking field of science and the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species.   There was an upsurge in discoveries that made people of this time-period realize that there was a great deal they didn't know or understand.   Also adding to this anxiety was the prevalence of disease, an aging Monarchy, and the shifting hierarchy among the classes.   Changes in society and the fears that plague a society eventually find their way into literature, as witnessed in both of these texts. When Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll are first together in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson describes Dr. Jekyll as, "-a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast, perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness-- (12)."   We are also told that Dr. Jekyll has a handsome face (13).   Through the text, we learn that Dr. Jekyll was a hardworking, likable gentleman with a deep interest in science.   Unfortunately, Dr. Jekyll had a strong desire to "perfect" himself by splitting his good qualities from his bad by separating himself into two separate identities: It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both [. . .] If each, I told myself, could be but housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil.

Shall we Dance Essay -- essays research papers

Reflection paper regarding â€Å"Shall We Dance?† Dancing is regarded with suspicion in Japan because public display of affection and intimacy is considered indecent and outright scandalous. Even married couples had to restrain from temperate public display of affections, such as holding of hands, saying â€Å"I love you†, or even dancing, because it was thought to be â€Å"beyond embarrassing†. Thus it would be safe to say that dancing with someone else other than one’s wife is even more disreputable and appalling. To American audiences, dancing may seem like no big deal, but apparently in Japan, ballroom dancing is frowned upon as another vulgar, low-culture import from the West.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This mentality of the Japanese towards dancing and open display of affection was constantly reflected in this movie. The scenes of where Sugiyama had to hesitate before enrolling into dancing class, had to look around before going upstairs to make sure that no one sees him, had to keep this a total secret from family and co-workers all convey Sugiyama’s attitude, which here represents the Japanese culture’s attitude as a whole, on dancing. Apparently, he felt that his association with the art of dancing was deemed shameful, and he had a good reason to believe that. Not only did he hear from Donny, a close friend and co-worker of Sugiyama who had practiced the art of dancing for 5 years, that dancing is a â€Å"Dirty lecher†, he also saw the banter reactions of his co-workers when they f...

I Love Yous Are for White People Essay

In the book â€Å"I Love Yous Are for White People† Lac’s quest for acceptance takes him through an intense journey to acquire self love and acceptance. The author Lac Su navigates through his childhood and adolescence seeking an extraordinary desire for love, acceptance and belonging he has been deprived from by his family. During his journey, Lac attempts to gain acceptance by friends and family, no matter what the consequences are. Lac Su’s upbringing was without much love and nurturing. His father was abusive, physically and mentally. For seemingly menial issues Lac would get a beating, one of those examples would be when he would get homework answers wrong. His father would grab anything that he could get his hands on to beat him. Lac stated that his father would grab â€Å"the plastic rod from the mini blinds, a spatula, a rice bowl, a fishing rod, my notebook, a radio antenna, a wooden yard stick, and a broom handle before settling on an extension cord as his weapon of choice. † (p62). Lac clearly was beaten often; his home life did not include any love, rather physical assaults and degradation. The impact of the blows grow dull and impersonal; I feel less of each new layer he adds to the wounds. † (113) Due to the horrid amount of beatings Lac Su would have to endure, he created a surreal world when it came to his home life. He learned to cope with the pain and impersonalize it in order for him to make it through the mental and physical abuses. Lac really had no other way to cope with the abuse be sides impersonalizing it. He disassociated himself from his pain both physically and internally due to the psychological absence from his family. Being a human being and needing some sort of approval, he sought after the love and attention he desperately craved for outside of his home. Outside of his home, Lac was able to exercise his other faculties which eventually made him feel more human, more loved and accepted.. He compensated the lack of feeling numb; therefore, he took the necessary consequences to feel more alive. Trying to gain a friend was one way to fulfill Lac’s need for acceptance and love. Lac’s desperate desire for a friend had him take drastic measures such as stealing. He would steal money from his parents’ piggy bank even though he knew that they were financially struggling. He was isolated from his family and the real world; therefore, he attempted to buy his way into a relationship: â€Å"I think I’m almost there. Last week, Javi brought me over to his house to show me his basketball card collection. His mother even made me a bean burrito and homemade horchata. I’m also hanging out with him at school every day. Javi lets me cut in line at lunch, and he always picks me to be on his team when we play socco – and his team always wins. After a long cold winter of solitude it feels like things are warming up – it feels like I belong. † (108) The acceptance of Lac from Javi gave Lac a sense of belonging. He felt belonging when he would be picked by Javi to be on his team and also due to Javi hanging out with Lac at school. Before Javi, Lac had no friends at all to hang out with, he felt like a looser. Javi provided Lac with his friendship; however, this came at a price. Lac could care less. â€Å"When I have money, we’re playing Spy Hunter. I don’t mind because Javi’s reliance on my money gives the impression that we’re tight. (94) The sense of belonging even if it pertained to Lac’s money was much more than the lack of love and respect Lac was receiving at home. To Lac the only important thing was gaining a friend who somehow portrayed a sense love and belonging. In this case, Javi would hang out with Lac at school, take Lac to his house, pick him to be on his team al l in return for Lac’s funding of his games. Lac also made friends with a boy whose street name is Frog. Frogs older brothers are in a gang called the Kingsley Street Gang. The Kingsley Street Gang intimidates Lac; however, their acknowledgement of Lac makes him feel accepted. Despite my insecurity, nothing bad ever happens to me when I’m around them, except for the occasional racist jokes aimed in my direction. But even the teasing makes me feel accepted. † (85) Lac’s insecurities came from not being able to adapt with the American norms. His family did not help him to adapt; instead, they made him feel isolated by not being there for him. His father did not validate Lac which caused Lac to have to deal with his insecurities on his own. Lac knows that the Kingsley Street Gang boys are intimidating for numerous reasons. Their tattoos, their macho ttitude and outfits; however, even being around these people does not stop Lac to be friends with them due to their acknowledgement of Lac. Since Lac was unable to get the acceptance of his father, he finds a substitute in the Kingsley Street Boys. Their acknowledgement gives Lac a sense of acceptance, love and fulfills some of his desires. The reason he also likes hanging out with the Kingsley Street Gang is because of some form of protection Lac is trying to have. The Kingsley Street Gang is consisted of boys who look tough and act as if they are not scared of anything; they somewhat resemble Lac’s father. Lac could be seeking protection from these boys in the gang due to the physical and mental abuse he has to go through on a daily bases. In some ways these boys gave Lac the opportunity to feel accepted; however, Lac was never able to open up to these boys and have a close relationship with them. This was because they did not have many commonalities culturally. They did not understand where Lac was coming from, instead of being there for him; they would make racist jokes due to not understanding what Lac was really going through. â€Å"I can’t believe it; Dragon Head is actually talking to me. He is approaching me because of the one thing I’ve never done in public—speak Vietnamese. † (139) Dragon Head is a leader of a gang called the Street Ratz. Lac immediately bonded with Dragon Head due to their similarities. They both are Vietnamese, speak the language and have the same background. It was only natural that Lac would try to be a part of the Street Ratz due to the commonalities he had with them and for the acceptance he desperately was searching for. â€Å"The Street Ratz have treated me like family, even though I’m not a member of their graffiti gang. It’s comforting to have peers with the same interests. (156) The Street Ratz understood where Lac was coming from culturally; therefore, the way they interacted with Lac was more common to Lac and this made him fit in. In some ways they knew what his family life was like and they too sought after love and acceptance, and the way they found it was by from forming a gang and being there for each other. Due to their commonalities the bond Lac shared with boys especially with Dragon Head was very strong. â€Å"I don’t even know where to begin telling Dragon Head what keeps me up at night. But I sense he understands me anyways. (162) Both Dragon Head and Lac understood each other clearly, no words needed to be said. They both were going through similar issues. Through the Street Ratz Lac was able to escape his physical and mental abuse. He felt like that for once he truly fits in and that others understand where he is coming from. This also came at a price, the Street Ratz had bad reputations. For the acceptance, Lac was battling between being a part of the gang or doing the right thing and getting out. He was unable to escape from the love and acceptances the Street Ratz were providing him with. This was the reason Lac was involved in a few vile crimes which he was unable to get out of due to his emotional connection and acceptance from the Street Ratz. Not only did Lac try to seek acceptance outside of his home but also, he tried to be accepted by his father. â€Å"The real poverty is inside my house – where I go to bed hungry most nights, where I’m starved for affection, and where my father’s unpredictable anger has us walking on eggshells. † (81) The lack of affection from Lac’s father was making Lac crave it even more. He needed the assurance of his father, the love and affection from him; however, he never got it. Instead he would get beatings due to his father’s unstable stage of mind and his unawareness on how to be a father. â€Å"I don’t know quite what being smart is in his eyes, but I want to be that for him. †(62) Lac clearly tried to be exactly what his father wanted him to be. Being abused by his father clearly had nothing to do with what Lac was doing. He tried to be a good boy, he tried because he wanted to fulfill the emptiness he was feeling due to the lack of emotional connection he had with his father. Lacs father’s physical and mental abuse was the root cause of Lac’s low self esteem and for his desire to belong and to be accepted by others. If Lac would have received the affection he deserved as a child, his intense journey to acquire self love and acceptance would not have led him to befriend people who were bad influences in his life. Lac would have thrived in school and in life without having to make painful mistakes. Like many abused children, Lac Su may live his life always trying to please others for acceptance and love which he was lacking in his childhood.

Women in an Inferior position in China

The view of women in china may have changed over the years but they all have lived in a male dominated world. The past has been like many cultures, in the legal and cultural suppression of women. The culture of china's past has placed women as a far inferior position to men. In this environment gaining power and rights was extremely difficult. Despite this there are stories of important and powerful women in china's history. This is different than many cultures of the world where the suppression of women's rights was total through their history. The culture has become more open to women's rights over the years, allowing for more power and more control for them as they years went on. Education has slowly been allowed along with greater human rights. Modern women are allowed to travel, be educated, marry and be the sole wife. They commonly participate in politics, as well as all other fields of work. Women of modern times in china have greater possibilities and fewer limitations, but things are not perfect, there is still a social bias lingering from past inequality. The women of china's past lived in an intensely male dominated world. Men dominated china both in law and in culture. Legally women were in servitude to men in the forms of marriage polygamy was common practice for men. For the most part women did not ever participate in the governing of the country. There were Dynasties that were less conservative, women were allowed more power at times. This is evidenced by the rule of Empress Wu. She rose to power from the status of concubine to rule china. This was more exceptional rather than the rule. When the Sung dynasty took over, men dominated again. Any ability of women to gain political power was taken away. It is in the culture that the real domination can be seen. Without this the legal repression would not have happened. Many practices reinforced the view that women were inferior. From basic philosophy, Yin and Yang, equated, darkness to women and light to men. The beliefs of Confucianism said that women weren't meant to do outdoor work, thus construing them as weak and inferior. The idea of having them not do outdoor work was reinforced by the practice of foot binding. Again started in the Sung dynasty, this practice along with the other preferences on the appearance of women objectified them and put barriers on what women could do or be. Women were seen as property, as seen by the practice of concubines and polygamy those of high status had many women and having many sons was an even higher symbol of status. Despite these legal and cultural blocks on women, the domination was not total. There were many female figures that were looked up to and honored, both legendary and real women. At times the culture changed enough to allow women to participate in politics, and more rights were given to them. Powerful women of the past were looked up to and revered. The Queen Mother of the West was mixed with legend and history, but she was worship at times by men. Other legends indicate that women could be respected. Although Disney has probably distorted it a bit, the legend of Mulan even by being passed down shows a respect for women. Not only legends were respected. There were several times in the past that women have risen to power Empress Zhen (AD 182) was fought over and had power through her beauty and high status. Other women had even more power, Empress Wu, actually had power, and ruled china for a time. The culture of china's past has surpressed women, through it's culture and laws, with brief periods of cultural change, in which women gained rights and respect were brief and followed by periods which they were again taken away. These limitations on women, were reinforced by the isolation that china had, continuing into the twentieth century this isolation prevented women from leaving if they could not stand their situation. Despite the few legendary women the opportunities for advancement or power for women were few and difficult. Things have changed in recent times. Women are gaining power and rights in modern times. There are international groups protecting their rights as well. The first good example of this is in the ways of marriage. Arranged marriages, and those for money are no longer the norm. They are allowed to maintain their own names with marriage. Without this they are did not have as much of a separate identity. Also in modern times, women have gained the rights of inheritance from their families, equal to that of their brothers. Other aspects of women in marriage have changed. They are not as expected to bear children, and the culture is changing to give them a voice in this decision. In the areas of employment, there are opportunities as well. Women now make up 38 percent of the total workforce. In most major parts of the work force women play a part. Women even play a part in politics, representing a major part of their official government. These women are not legendary, or exceptional. It is just accepted and considered normal. Women have made advances in the field of education as well. Illiteracy among women has fallen as well and education is accepted. Women are allowed in universities and even given funding to continue education. These opportunities, encouraged by many international organizations are also backed by Chinese law. The law states: 1.Equal rights for men and women. The Constitution stipulates that â€Å"Women enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, political, economic, cultural and social, including family life†; 2.Protection of special rights and interests of women; and 3.Banning of any discrimination, maltreatment and persecution directed at women. In addition Other laws have been enacted concerning their rights. These explicitly state aspects of life that women are equal to men. For example equal, equal votes, and rights to political power, freedom, and protection. These laws being stated are the only thing that I can see evidencing that there are not equal opportunities for women. The fact that they have to be stated so explicitly probably indicates a problem. It is difficult to find out what the cultural views of women are from the outside, but it appears that they have all the major opportunities that men do and that their power is increasing. One thing that has really changed is in the area of the world. There is the opportunity to leave the country and go to another culture. Granted the rest of the world is still mostly male dominated in culture, but the opportunity to emigrate is still there. The only lingering restrictions are from tradition. Lingering views of women as being inferior are probably the only thing that could keep them back now. These things can be seen through the increasingly seldom seen practices of mail order brides and foot binding. In addition, I came across a large industry of pornography featuring Chinese women when searching for information. These things limit the respect that women have in society. The opportunities for women have grow through history. Starting from the possessive view of women, giving them no rights, and giving men utter control, has changed in recent history to the to allow women more power, rights and education. Women have had their limits striped away, partly with law and partly through changing culture. The physical limitations have gone as well. The opportunities for travel have grown as well, the world is more open, and the ability to find a place more accepting exists. With fewer limitations, opportunities for women are increasing.