Friday, December 27, 2019
The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin - 881 Words
ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hour written by Kate Chopin is one of the most popular short story in literature. This story is somewhere reflected on real life of Kate Chopin, where she had to raise six children by herself after her husbandââ¬â¢s death and other struggles in society. Kate Chopin used her literature knowledge to show womanââ¬â¢s freedom and other role of woman in society back in 1900th century. ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠is also related to womanââ¬â¢s role in society, the story talks about the wife and husbandââ¬â¢s relationship, and freedom for a woman. One of the main characters in the story named Mrs. Mallard, who seems unhappy with her marriage life with Brently, and has some health issues. This leads to success of this story with a surprising and unexpected ending. The surprise ending of ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hour written by Kate Chopin is successful due to her use of symbolism, foreshowing, and irony. First of all, Kate Chopin demonstrates her literately knowledge vie symbolism in her short story. She uses the symbol of freedom for a woman in society during that period of time, which leads to her story to surprise ending. One of the symbol she uses is an open window, when she mentions ââ¬Å"She [Mrs. Mallard] could see wonderful blue shy, top of the trees which were aquiver with new begging, the exquisite breath of rain in the air from her open windowâ⬠(Chopin 180). The open window and the view indicate new life and better future for herself with freedom, also other occasions that are waitingShow MoreRelatedThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1241 Words à |à 5 Pagesââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠by Kate Chopin is a wonderful short story bursting with many peculiar twists and turns. Written in 1894, the author tells a tale of a woman who learns of her husbandââ¬â¢s death, but comes to find pleasure in it. Many of the elements Kate Chopin writes about in this story symbolize something more than just the surface meaning. Through this short story, told in less than one thousand one hundred words, Kate Chopin illustrates a deeper meaning of Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s marriage with herRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin855 Words à |à 4 PagesThe Story of an Hour In the ââ¬Å"Story of an Hourâ⬠by Kate Chopin, is about pleasure of freedom and the oppression of marriage. Just like in Kate Chopinââ¬â¢s story, inside most marriages, even the ones that seem to be the happiest, one can be oppressed. Even though, one might seem to be happy deep inside they miss the pleasure of freedom and living life to the fullest. Just like, in this story Mrs. Mallard feels trapped and when she hears about her husbandââ¬â¢s death she first feels distraught, but ultimatelyRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1457 Words à |à 6 PagesEmotions and Death Everyone who reads a story will interpret things slightly different than the person who reads it before or after him or her. This idea plays out with most every story, book, song, and movie. These interpretations create conflict and allow people to discuss different ideas and opinions. Without this conflict of thought there is no one devoting time to debate the true meaning of a text. Kate Chopinââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠tells about a woman who is informed of her husbands deathRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin987 Words à |à 4 PagesIn Kate Chopinââ¬â¢s short story, ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠readerââ¬â¢s see a potentially long story put into a few pages filled with rising action, climax and even death. In the beginning of the story, character Louise Mallard, who has a heart condition, is told of the death of her husband by her sister and one of her husbandââ¬â¢s friends. Afterwards Mrs. Mallard is filled with emptiness and then joy of freedom. This joy of freedom is actually what consequently leads to her death in the end when she discoversRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1061 Words à |à 5 PagesThroughout the short story, ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠, readers are introduced to characters whose lives change drastically in the course of this writing. Through Kate Chopinââ¬â¢s story we can identify many different themes and examples of symbolism in her writing. Chopinââ¬â¢s choice of themes in this writing are no surprise due to the time frame of which this story was written. Chopin often wrote stories with of womenââ¬â¢s rights, and is noted as one of Americaââ¬â¢s first open feminists. As this story of an ill, helplessRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin972 Words à |à 4 Pagesââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠by Kate Chopin expresses Ms. Mallardââ¬â¢s feelings towards her husbandââ¬â¢s death in an appalling train accident. Due to her bad heart, her sister Josep hine had to be the bearer of bad news and approach his death gently to her. According to the quote, ââ¬Å" But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thoughtâ⬠, it lets us know thatRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin998 Words à |à 4 Pagesââ¬Å"The story of an hourâ⬠by Kate Chopin was a story that was ironical yet profoundly deep. As a student I have been asked to read ââ¬Å"a story of an hourâ⬠many times, and every time Iââ¬â¢m surprised by how I enjoy it. People can read thousands of stories in their life times and only a handful will every stand out to them, stories that can draw out an emotion or spark a thought are the ones that will standout more. For me and ââ¬Å"a story of an hourâ⬠the thought of freedom is what draws me the most as a teenageRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kat e Chopin1542 Words à |à 7 PagesIn the short story, ââ¬Å"Story of an Hourâ⬠, Kate Chopin writes about a woman with heart trouble, Mrs. Mallard, who, in finding out about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard, experiences some initial feelings of sadness which quickly transition into the exhilarating discovery of the idea of a newfound freedom lying in front of her. When it is later revealed that her husband is not actually dead, she realizes she will not get to taste that freedom. The devastation kills her. What Mrs. Mallard goes throughRead MoreThe Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin596 Words à |à 2 PagesIn ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hour,â⬠Kate Chopin focuses on the idea of freedom throughout the story. Mrs. Mallard is a lonely wife who suffers from heart trouble. She is told by her sister Josephine and her husbandââ¬â¢s friend Richards that her husband has passed away in a train accident. She locks herself in a room expecting to be devastated, but instead feels freedom. Later, she exits her room and her husband walks through the door, causing her to die of a heart attack. Chopin uses this story to demonstrateRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin886 Words à |à 4 Pages In Kate Chopin ââ¬Å"The Story of an Hourâ⬠, the reader is presented with the theme of prohibited independence. In Kate Chopin ââ¬Å"The Stormâ⬠, the scenery in this story builds the perfect atmosphere for an adulterous affair. The importance of these stories is to understand the era they occurred. Kate Chopin wrote stories with exceptional openness about sexual desires. In ââ¬Å"The Stormâ⬠, a short story written by Kate Chopin in a time when women were expected to act a certain way and sexual cravings was considered
Thursday, December 19, 2019
PTSD and Hurricane Katrina Essay - 1112 Words
In times of emergency, life and death, and tragic despair, people often are reminded of the umbrella of stress that hangs over us. With such a world people live in today, at times its common to be caught up in the minor details of life; rather than enjoying the beauty of it all. Almost everyday, we live in a sheltered life, hidden away in our communities, just trying to skate by. But there are sometimes moments that occur in a lifetime, where that sheltered routine, that is so ingrained in our minds, is taken upon differently. August 29, 2005, day one of hurricane Katrina; this date, is one that is permanently ingrained in thousands of citizens of New Orleans. On this day, people have seen family members drown, houses destroyed, as well asâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦According to the journal of urban health, they stated, ââ¬Å"The prevalence of symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of PTSD was 19.2%â⬠(145 DeSalvo). The trauma for these victims did not stop there. Looking over to Marilyn Elias from USA TODAY, she states that, ââ¬Å"The big surprise: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which typically goes away in a year for most disaster survivors, has increased: 21%â⬠(16). But the true question is why is this happening? Why is the average among hurricane Katrina victims going through post-traumatic stress disorder increasing? When analyzing the actual causes of PTSD one must understand that, ââ¬Å"Ordinarily, memories of particular events are remembered as stories that change and deteriorate over time... in PTSD the past is relived with an immediate sensory and emotional intensityâ⬠(Van der Kolk (quote within a quote)). Looking upon Van Der Kolkââ¬â¢s words, although Katrina victimââ¬â¢s endure most of their psychological stress through the memory of the incident, the increase diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder relating to victims after hurricane Katrina could be linked back to the inability to leave the city. Ultimately , for those who stayed during hurricane Katrina, they feel as if New Orleans is their only home. But because of this ignorance to flee the city, not only is post-traumatic stress disorder a common occurrence among victims, but it is increasing solely due to the fact that victims are reliving such a tragic memory in the locationShow MoreRelatedThe Severity Of People s Ptsd Symptoms Following The Hurricane967 Words à |à 4 Pagespeople s PTSD symptoms following the hurricane was overtly connected to the amount of television coverage they watched of the damage which included the looting of New Orleans, rescue efforts, and evacuations in and around the Superdome and the Convention Center in New Orleans. People fared better in terms of PTSD symptoms if they watched less television coverage overall, especially of the looting. They also benefitted from using prayer as a way of coping with the stress of the hurricane. A naturalRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay1259 Words à |à 6 Pagesstress disorder (PTSD) affects many individuals in the United States. This paper focuses on individuals who survived hurricane Ike and Katrina and as a result, suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. PTSD can affect an individual for a couple of weeks to a few years after the exposure. People who suffer from PTSD can also suffer from depression and substance use (Odonnell Forbes, 2016). The period after a natural disaster can also feed the negative feelings that come with PTSD, depression, andRead MoreThe Effects Of Hurricane Katrina On The United States824 Words à |à 4 Pageshistory was being created. This moment has come to be known as Hurricane Katrina. Her high wind speeds and three days of endless rain led to numerous deaths and astronomical amounts of damages for the residents of Louisiana and Mississippi. Although her terror only lasted for three taunting days, just like the residue she left behind, she also left residents with emotional, physical, and psycho social scars. The onset of Hurricane Katrina proved to be the very element that separated the economicallyRead MoreThe Effects Of Hurricane Katrina And Its Impact On The Mental Health2127 Words à |à 9 Pages PTSD, Psychological Effects of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the Mental Health By definition, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is the â⬠¦ It was not until the 1980ââ¬â¢s that the diagnosis of PTSD as we know it today came to be. However, throughout history people have recognized that exposure to combat situations can have profound negative impact on the mind s and bodies of individuals in these situations. But there are other catastrophic events that can have such profound impact on peopleRead MoreRisks And Consequences Of Hurricane Katrinas Four Years After Katrina1029 Words à |à 5 PagesFour years after Katrina, a mix of progress and inertia. USA Today, 28 Aug. 2009, p. 06A. Global Issues in Context, ezp.gvltec.edu:2048/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A206816088/GIC?u=gvltec_mainxid=a646acc3. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017.Summary: In this article it puts into perspective the risk of living near the coast. That is the reason insurance near the coast is so expensive. This is because in the event of a hurricane you could lose your house. The insurance companies will be moreRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hurricane Kat rina Essay1599 Words à |à 7 Pagescranny of the world. No matter the severity, they all appear to have a similar effect: deterioration of mental health stability among those involved. Children and adults alike possess the risk of suffering from mental disorders, such as depression and PTSD, following exposure to a traumatic event. However, the circumstances of these events differ, simply because not all mass tragedies are the same. No matter what type of event occurs, a mass tragedy can mentally scar those involved, putting a populationââ¬â¢sRead MoreThe Population Of Hurricane Katrina Essay1437 Words à |à 6 Pagesstate, and local levels of government do this in an effort to help reduce injury and property damage as well as ensure the overall safety of the general population. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season saw the costliest and one of the deadliest storms in United States history. This storm was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina displaced of an estimated 645,000 Louisiana citizens (Cepeda, Valdez, Kaplan, Hill, 2010). This paper will examineâ⬠¦ This storm took a grave toll on the city of New Orleans. TheRead MoreZeitoun Fight or Flight795 Words à |à 3 Pagesprotect your belongings and property when a Category 5 hurricane is barreling towards your city? Is it right to disregard reports about a storm because in past experiences the news has been wrong? In Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, a man named Zeitoun decides to let his family evacuate New Orleans without him so that he can stay behind and protect his several homes, business, and personal belongings from Category 5 hurricane Katrina. Once the hurricane passes, and he survives, the city turns into chaos. TheRead MoreZeitoun Essay example2192 Words à |à 9 Pagesfor someone or something to blame, but in reality there was nothing to blame? Well, a natural disaster can be blamed on no one, but in times like that emotions run wild and blame can be put on someone who fits a certain profile. Racism and Hurricane Katrina were two forces that clashed together to create an even big ger problem for the victims. This is caused by an insecurity of the situation at hand. In the book Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, racism and racial profiling is the underlying themes in theRead MoreCrisis Management Essay1103 Words à |à 5 PagesSystem Encyclopedia (2008) in the year 2007, there were 2,022 children ages 0-15 and 5,338 teens ages 16-20 who died in fatal car accident. Other crises include disasters. Since 2003 there have been 4 hurricanes (hurricanes Isabel, Ivan, Katrina, and Ophelia) in the United States. Hurricane Katrina displaced over 372,000 school-aged children (Dickenson, 2008). In the September 11 attack, there were 3,051 children who lost a parent (New York Media, 2008). Earthquakes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Lead Management Team Effectiveness Process-Myaasignmenthelp.Com
Question: Discuss about the Lead Management Team Effectiveness Process. Answer: Introduction My Aged Care is an organization dedicated to the welfare of older generation. It works for the assistance of aged people and provides online and telephonic service to get information regarding the number and range of services dedicated to the welfare of the senior citizens. The company provides information regarding all the services that can assist a person as he gets older, eligibility of a person to obtain aged care, and communicating and establishing communication regarding aged care. In the company, the primary role of the team is to consult the senior citizens and adults regarding the range of services that is provided to the senior citizens. Many times, the senior citizens do not know what services are available to them and what their requirements are, My Aged Care supports these people. It also provides services regarding maintenance of web portal for the clients, assessors (they asses thee requirements of the senior citizens) and the service providers to maintain the record a nd the assessment information. The service provider of Home Care Packages, Transition Care Program, and Respite Care Program also access the information from the companys database (My Aged Care, 2016). The team wherein I work provides response to the telephonic and internet query of the clients. There are twenty members in the team and their main role is to address the queries and issues of the senior citizens. Additionally, they also listen to the problems of the clients and identify their main needs and propose a solution accordingly. Skills and Consultation The primary role of the team is to provide services to the clients in accordance to their requirements. In this role, the primary skills required are empathy and patience, adaptability, clear and effective communication and knowledge. The foremost quality in addressing the requirements of the senior citizens is having empathy. It means the ability to feel and understand the feelings of someone else and what happiness means to them. It is also important to connect with the customers at an emotional level so that the customers can share their problem without any hesitation and the professional executives can understand them. The empathy is also essential in the providing solutions to the problems (Topchik, 2007). Along with it, adaptability is required to handle different kind of clients and customers. The service providers should be able to sense the customers mood and adapt in accordance. The executives should also be able to communicate with their customers effectively and complete each enquiry of the customer till he is satisfied. In order to provide solutions to the customers, the executives should have knowledge regarding most of the enquiries and problems that the customer faces. They should also have knowledge regarding where to turn, if the enquiries become too detailed. In order to perform effectively as a team, the team members should have effective communication skills, accountability and cooperation (Jones, 2004) Tuckman proposed a model of group development wherein four phases were defined, namely, forming, storming, norming and performing. These phases are essential to tackle challenges, problems and find solutions and work collaboratively. In the forming phase, the team meets and connect with other new members. At this early stage, the group members remain uninformed regarding the other team members and the team objectives. It is important to build an environment at this stage so that the members can easily connect with each other. The second stage is of storming wherein the team members form opinion about their team members and responsibilities. In this stage, due to bias and opinion forming, disagreement might occur between the members. In the third stage, norming occurs wherein the above clashes and disagreement are solved and a cooperating team spirit occurs. It is the last stage of the model. In this stage, the group members have established goals and responsibilities and achieve succ ess with them. The accountability skills are essential for the identification of the responsibilities and completing them. The collaboration skills are essential for the team to work collaboratively. The communication skills are essential for the team to communicate with each other and express their issues and problems (Nelson and Quick, 2010). Consultation is important for building a team and communicating the team members regarding the teams goals and objectives and the defining the individual responsibility of each team member. Consultation can assist the team development in articulating the mission, vision, role clarification, team building developing trustworthy relationships and decision-making. With consultation, the team manager can easily define and communicate the goals and the expected outcomes of each team members. After the team formation, consultation can assist in implementation of action plans, conflict management, and evaluation of the team performance and accountability of the actions. In personal experience, it has been observed that consultation assist in the resolving the issues and conflicts with the team members. It also assists in developing the efficiency of the team members by developing trust worthy relationships (Lussier, 2008). Performance Plan A performance plan is a document that outlines the expected outcome of each team member, how to achieve it and clear methods of its evaluation. Performance plan is important to measure the performance of each employees and the team as a whole (Rampersad, 2003). Team Performance Plan Objective: At present, the team is dedicated in solving the queries and the issues of the customers and the clients. However, several issues are encountered due to lack of cooperation between the team members. The organization does not have a system of team building and the people once hired works without any team Induction. It results in lack of trustworthy relationships and communication among the team members. The objectives of the present performance plan it to build relationship between different team members. Actions Timeline Responsibilities Resources Review dates Team Induction During team building Team leader will have key responsibilities in arranging the induction session of the new employees. Team induction is the training provided to the newly selected team members The team induction is the training process given to new employees and team members. The newly appointed members are given training regarding the operations and functionalities of the complete organization. Therefore, the employee will be given training through various means such as video, peer training and employee mentoring. All these methods will require finances and time from the senior employees. After every three months or joining of new candidates. Regular team meetings At certain intervals In the team meetings, all the team members will have responsibilities to show their progress regarding their individual goals. The personal goals are inspired by the collective goals of the organization. In order to conduct successful team meetings, participation and commitment from all the employees is required. The team manager should be able to obtain commitment and assurance from all the team members for regular participation and active membership. Although it will require time from all the team members, these team meetings will be beneficial in the evaluating the progress of the team. After every three months Get to know each other session after inclusion of each team member At specific intervals It is the responsibility of the team members to welcome the new member and make him comfortable in the new organization. The team leader can organize sessions so that a new team member can know about the previous embers of the team. These sessions are important for the team member as to enhance collaboration and cooperation. These sessions do not require any additional resources; however, they can enhance the productivity of the team as a whole. After every six months Regular team outings and fun At specific intervals The team leaders can organize team outings on weekends and holidays so that the team members will create friendly relations which will be further essential in the development of team spirit and enhance the productivity and efficiency of the team members. The team members will also be able to effectively communicate with their peers regarding any problems or issues. These activities require financial resources. Team outings and fun are important to inculcate the feeling of collaboration and support. Once an year Indicators or measures of success: Employees resistive towards such activities, skepticism and reluctance for additional work or financial resources. Potential barriers: Negative response of the management regarding organization of such activities Dependencies: The dependencies will be on the management and the members of the team d) Team Member e) Determined Outcomes f) Agreed responsibilities g) Standard to be achieved h) How the task will be measured i) 1 Leader j) Setting targets and developing performance plan for all the team members k) Making the new members of the team comfortable by initiating induction program and team meetings l) There should be reduction in the employee turnover in the team and the performance of the team should improve Every three months, the team will be evaluated for the performance, employee turnover and every employee will have to do fill an exit interview with the reasons for which he is leaving the team. 2 Coordinator m) Arranging team activities n) Making the time schedule for the regular meetings and team activities o) Induction programs should be conducted during the inclusion of each and every member p) A three months evaluation method will be used. With this method, the number of activities organized each month will be evaluated. The response of every employee will be obtained regarding the activities and its organization. q) 3 Negotiator r) Resolving issues and queries related to each team member Negotiator works for the resolution of any issues or friction between the team members. It is the primary responsibility of the negotiator to look if there is any disagreement between the team members There should be a written report regarding each conflict between the team member and the conflicting parties should be consulted regarding it (Davis and Davis, 2008). It is mandatory for the negotiator to report and document all the conflicts and the actions taken to mitigate them. These reports will be evaluated for examining the performance of the negotiator. Supporting the team members In a business organization, developing and growing teams is essential for the performance of the team. The organization can use coaching for inspiring the team members to perform and setting expectations. With coaching can team members can be easily communicated regarding what the company expects of them and how to accomplish these goals. After creating expectations, it is important for the team manager or coach to provide regular and honest feedback to the team members regarding their progress. It is also important to support the team members after the feedback on their performance (Hawkins, 2014). A mentoring program is focused to provide new insight and advice to fresh employees regarding their job functions. Mentoring programs are accomplished with the help of experienced employees who guide new recruits about the job process. It is also an effective way to maintain the organization culture and train the new staffers. There are several business mentoring programs such as one-to-one mentoring, resource-based mentoring, group mentoring, training based mentoring and executive mentoring. On-to-one mentoring is the most dedicated mentoring program as it dedicates one mentor to each mentoree. In this mentoring program, personal connection is developed between the mentor and the mentoree. The mentoree also gets personalized support from the senior employees. However, the primary issue of this mentorship is the limitation of mentors. This program can be made more flexible by providing choice related to mentors and mentorees (Clutterbuck, 2011). Develop strategies to encourage input from the team members In the present business world, the leaders all over the world are encouraging active participation of employees and team members to increase productivity and better strategic decisions. Encourage team members to provide input and solutions to organization problem (Ephraim, 2013). Be clear about organization and share information with the employees liberally. The team leader can also ask directly other members for input and active participation in decision-making (Zarate, 2008). References Clutterbuck, D. (2011). Coaching the Team at Work. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Davis, D. and Davis, W.R. (2008). Team Performance Inventory: A Guide for Assessing and Building High-Performing Teams, Participant Workbook. John Wiley Sons. Ephraim, N. (2013). Collaborative Communication Processes and Decision Making in Organizations. IGI Global. Hawkins, P. (2014). Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leadership. Kogan Page Publishers. Jones, R. (2004). Oxford Textbook of Primary Medical Care. Oxford University Press. Lussier, R. (2008). Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development. Cengage Learning. My Aged Care. (2016). Getting started. [Online]. Available at: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/getting-started [Accessed on 21 December 2016]. Nelson, D.L. and Quick, J.C. (2010). Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real World, and You: Cengage Learning. Rampersad, H.K. (2003). Total Performance Scorecard: Redefining Management to Achieve Performance with Integrity. London: Routledge. Topchik, G.S. (2007). The First-time Manager's Guide to Team Building. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Zarate, P. (2008). Collaborative Decision Making: Perspectives and Challenges. IOS Press.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Upon examining issues of mind and thought, the que Essay Example For Students
Upon examining issues of mind and thought, the que Essay stions of artificial intelligence and its capabilities become important considerations for answering the ultimate question of what thought truly is. Computerized calculation is one of the few events that is somewhat analogous to human cognitive thought, so the extension of this current technology to more advanced future applications makes it a very interesting testing area for questions into consciousness. If one concludes that the advancement from cash registers to present day computers is a step closer to human thought, then we must concede that progressing technology will bring us closer and perhaps to the very point of true cognitive skills. The dilemma left to us philosophers and scientists is to determine when a machine has reached the point of thought, or at least to create a rough guideline. A.M. Turing proposed a test to solve this problem. Named, appropriately enough, the Turing test, it contains a controversial method of testing called the imitation game. The idea is to pu t one man and one woman in two rooms and have them questioned by an interrogator in a third room. The man would try to answer questions in a way which would suggest he is a woman. The woman attempts to answer in a way to reveal the truth of the matter. If the man fools the interrogator, it is said that he can think like a woman, or, at the very least, mimic a womans responses. This game can also be played with a computer in the male slot, trying to convince the interrogator that it is human. It would follow reason that if a computer could pass this test, it could think like a human, or at least mimic one. Perhaps the abilities showcased in the test alone would not be sufficient, but Daniel C. Dennett claims that the assumption Turing was prepared to make was that nothing could possibly pass the Turing test by winning the Imitation Game without being able to perform indefinitely many other clearly intelligent actions (Dennett 93). One often cited criticism of this notion is the idea of mimicry. Imagine a program that stored an almost infinite amount of information regarding sentences and grammar and was able to spit out contextualy appropriate sentences to a wide variety of inquiries. The computer has no knowledge of what the information means; it is acting much as a parrot does. Luckily for Turing, there is no shortage of responses for this claim. First of all, as Douglas Hofstadter points outs, the number of sentences youd need to store to be able to respond in a normal way to all possible sentences in a conversation is astronomical, really unimaginable (Hofstadter 92). The computer would also have to contain a complex microprocessor to keep up with conversation in a timely and manageable fashion. It would have to be so advanced indeed that such a microprocessor might be considered a small scale brain, sorting through symbols and their meanings to form contextually valid responses. Accordingly, if such a machine existed, it would pass the Turing test and vali date the method of testing at the same time. If a machine was capable of mastering the context-sensitive language we use, it may very well have a claim to true thought. At the very least, the computer would surpass mimicry and be labeled a simulation. Human thought is so complicated and demanding that any device that attempts to duplicate it with any success would have to be a highly sensitive simulation. Any machine that passes the Turing test must have a rudimentary knowledge of the information it is using and therefore is more than parrot . Assuming this is true, we must then ask hard questions about the value of simulation. The critical claim is that any simulation is just a simulation and not a real example of what it is simulating. Hofstadter finds this fallacious, as do I. First, any simulation can reasonable defined in this context as the recreation of a natural event by an agent other than nature. This view brings up the idea of levels in simulation. A good example is Denne tts simulated hurricane in Brainstorms. From the programmers vantage point, the God spot, of course the simulation can be easily identified as such. On the level of the simulation, however, no such preordained order can be seen. Perhaps if we all had the vantage point of nature, we would see the entire physical universe as a large simulation created by natural forces. Ultimately, it would seem unfair to discriminate between two like events on the basis of what agent set them into motion. We are still left with the largest concern, however. What does the Imitation Game really prove? As far as I can tell, the Imitation Game proves nothing at all, yet it does not have to. As pointed out as the beginning of this investigation, the job of the philosopher/scientist is to create a guideline for judging the relative intelligence of machines. Some critics say that the Imitation Game played with humans lends no insight into how the male thinks. They say that the test will never prove the man can think like a woman. Even if this is true, it does not invalidate the test as applied to machines. The cognitive abilities of men and women are so close in nature that the test may indeed lend no valuable information. With a machine, however, the cognitive differences from a human can be seen easily. The Turing test may not lay down a definite line for thought, but it is valuable for relative evaluations. For example, if one machine performs almost perfectly on the test, and another performs badly, one could conclude that the first machine is closer to human thought than its failing counterpart. What the test cannot do, however, it tell us how close the better machine is to thought. The identity of the computer as conscious cannot be proved. Kishan Ballal points out that we intuitively feel that personal identity is the paradigm for all other judgments of identity, even though personal identity cannot be justified through purely rational means (Ballal 86). The sad truth is that a t present there is no way to establish conscious identity other than asking the entity and hope it doesnt lie. G.W.F. Hegel supports this theory of conscious identity, commenting that the self-contained and self-sufficient reality which is at once aware of being actual in the form of consciousness and presents itself to itself, is Spirit (Hegel 637). In the Hegelian view, the computer is the only one with the correct insight to determine if it is conscious. Could this possibly suggest that the only accurate Turing test is one a computer runs on itself? Through self-inspection, or self-interrogation if you will, the computer may be able to draw conclusions on its own condition. Now while Hegel never saw the computer in any form, even he realized the limits of a test like Turings. From Hegels point of view, there is not even a test to determine if a human is thinking or merely simulating conscious existence. Personal conscious identity is an assumption. Like other elements which form our bedrock of assumptions, Ballal says, personal identity is without proof (Ballal 86). Normally, this is not a problem. The knowledge of self-existence is clearly a priori analytic. It is a self-supporting truth, exempt from the attacks of epistemological skeptics. We can then deduce that any similar being that shares the basic physiological structure probably shares the same conscious existence. These assumptions are rarely challenged except by the highly fallacious solipsism of young children. When we examine a computer, however, the same assumptions cannot be applied. Therefore, the Turing test can only go so far, for the assumptions it rests on are small in number. We must keep in mind that the Turing test is only a tool, not a proof. The test was not designed to tell if machines can think. After all, Turing himself says that question is too meaningless to deserve discussion (Turing 57). The test is a yardstick with no predetermined end. There is no prefect score for the test; the most current machine defines the best result. As machines continue to advance, the best result will constantly grow better, stopping only when technology advances to its peak. Thus the Turning test can only answer the question Can machines think? in two ways: No if technology stops advancing, or We dont know yet if it has not stopped. Ultimately, the Turing test does have flaws and limitations, but that should not sharply downgrade its usefulness as a tool for measuring a computers cognitive abilities. As science grows in scope, more tests may be devised to gauge these abilities, but for current use, the Turing test clearly accomplishes what it was set out to do. Perhaps it does not offer a comprehensive proof, but it does lend insight into areas of science which were previously .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 , .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .postImageUrl , .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 , .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:hover , .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:visited , .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:active { border:0!important; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:active , .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9 .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc8bc8b85f9c8e27d373396939bce1ed9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Why I Want to Be a Doctor Essay We will write a custom essay on Upon examining issues of mind and thought, the que specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now
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