David Humes Theory of Causality Essay - 2072 Words

What Came First: The Chicken or the Egg? David Hume moves through a logical progression of the ideas behind cause and effect. He critically analyzes the reasons behind those generally accepted ideas. Though the relation of cause and effect seems to be completely logical and based on common sense, he discusses our impressions and ideas and why they are believed. Hume’s progression, starting with his initial definition of cause, to his final conclusion in his doctrine on causality. As a result, it proves how Hume’s argument on causality follows the same path as his epistemology, with the two ideas complimenting each other so that it is rationally impossible to accept the epistemology and not accept his argument on causality. Hume starts by†¦show more content†¦That argument contradicts itself, because it uses itself as a cause for existence in its premise, when it is proving the concept of cause being a necessity. Therefore, it begs the question to prove cause an d effect by relying on the conclusion to prove the premise. The ideas of cause and effect cannot vary too far from actual impressions of the mind or ideas from the memory. We must first establish the existence of causes before we can infer effects from them. We have only two ways of doing that, either by an immediate perception of our memory or senses, called impressions, or, by an inference from other causes, called thoughts. For example, â€Å"A man finding a watch or any other machine in a desert island would conclude that there had once been men in that island† (160). Regardless of the source of the impression, the imagination and perceptions of the senses are the foundation for the reasoning that traces the relation of cause and effect. The inference that we draw from cause to effect does not come from a dependence on the two concepts to each other or from a rational objective look at the two. One object does not imply the existence of any other. All distinct ideas are s eparable, as are the ideas of cause and effect. The only way that we can infer the existence of one object from another is through experience. Contiguity and succession are not sufficient to make us pronounce any two objects to be cause and effect, unless weShow MoreRelatedDavid Hume ´s Philosophy Essay875 Words   |  4 Pages Hume’s Epistemology David Hume was a Scottish philosopher known for his ideas of skepticism and empiricism. Hume strived to better develop John Locke’s idea of empiricism by using a scientific study of our own human nature. We cannot lean on common sense to exemplify human conduct without offering any clarification to the subject. In other words, Hume says that since human beings do, as a matter of fact, live and function in this world, observation of how humans do so is imminent. The primaryRead MoreDavid Hume s Theory Of Cognitive Structure1415 Words   |  6 Pagesthese philosophers is David Hume who is his book An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, claims that reasoning cannot demonstrate that things in the world exist therefore, all we can really know are our sense perceptions. An obvious flaw that is seen with Hume’s philosophy is that he reduces all knowledge to sense perceptions gained from experience. As Hume’s theory is limited to sense perception, another philosoph er by the name of Bernard Lonergan demonstrates how Hume’s theory is inadequate andRead MoreComparative Essay David Hume vs. John Locke1050 Words   |  5 PagesComparing John Locke against David Hume : Empiricism John Locke and David Hume, both great empiricist philosophers who radically changed the way people view ideas and how they come about. Although similar in their beliefs, the two have some quite key differences in the way they view empiricism. Locke believed in causality, and used the example of the mental observation of thinking to raise your arm, and then your arm raising, whereas Hume believed that causality is not something that can be knownRead MoreDescartes v Hume Essay1542 Words   |  7 Pagesconcept makes distinct one entity from another. Rationalism is the theory that truth can be derived through use of reason alone. Empiricism, a rival theory, asserts that truth must be established by sensual experience: touch, taste, smell, et al. Rene Descartes, a philosopher and rationalist concluded that one self was merely a continuous awareness of one’s own existence; one’s substance was one’s ability to think. On the other hand, David Hume, an empiricist refuted Descartes conclusion and claimed thatRead MoreEssay on David Humes Theory of Knowledge858 Words   |  4 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Knowledge is gained only through experience, and experiences only exist in the mind as individual units of thought. This theory of knowledge belonged to David Hume, a Scottish philosopher. Hume was born on April 26, 1711, as his family’s second son. His father died when he was an infant and left his mother to care for him, his older brother, and his sister. David Hume passed through ordinary classes with great success, and found an early love for literature. He lived on his family’s estateRead MoreEssay on Critique of Humes Analysis of Causality3316 Words   |  14 PagesCritique of Humes Analysis of Causality Humes analyses of human apprehension and of causality were the most penetrating up to his time and continue to have great influence. Contemporary Spanish philosopher Xavier Zubiri (1893-1983) has examined both and identified three underlying errors: (1) the failure to recognize that there are three stages of human intellection, and especially that the first, primordial apprehension, has quite unique characteristics; (2) the attempt to place an excessiveRead MoreDavid Hume s Theory Of Free Will1559 Words   |  7 PagesAre you choosing to read this essay? Or are you just constrained by the laws of nature? David Hume describes The Problem of Free Will as ‘the most contentious question of metaphysics’. Initial exploration into this school of thought gave rise to several philosophical viewpoints supported by modern thinkers. Hard determinism bases its viewpoint on the strict theory of causality, rejecting the idea of free will. On the contrary, Libertarianism opposes this, supporting the concept of free will and denyingRead MoreAnalysis Of John Locke, George Berkeley And David Hume1657 Words   |  7 Pagesarises originally from sense-experiences. John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume are most notably known for the branch of empirical philosophy. Philosopher David Hume discusses what he believes are â€Å"bundles of perception.† He argues that we can never experience the objective world and alternatively only observe patterns. According to Hume, there are two methods used to detect these patterns, unit and continuity and causality. Casualty is defined as a relationship between ideas that allows you toRead More Metaphysics as Addressed by Kant and Hume Essay1387 Words   |  6 PagesMetaphysics as Addressed by Kant and Hume In the Prolegomena, Kant states that reading David Hume, awakened him from his dogmatic slumber. It was Humes An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding that made Kant aware of issues and prejudices in his life that he had previously been unaware of. This further prompted Kant to respond to Hume with his own analysis on the theory of metaphysics. Kant did not feel that Hume dealt with these matters adequately and resolved to pick up where Hume hadRead MoreEssay on Inconsistencies in Humes Empirical Thought2264 Words   |  10 PagesInconsistencies in Humes Empirical Thought    In his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume attempts to uncover the ultimate truth about where our knowledge comes from.   This leads him to suggest that all our ideas and knowledge arise from outward experiences and sensations.   He attempts to prove this by solving the problem of induction.   I disagree with Humes ideas, and in this essay I will explain why.   I shall begin by explaining the problem of induction, and the sceptical

Unit Final Free Essays

In the interest of thoroughness, footprints should be preserved even if they do not show any details. Although the size and shape of the shoe or pattern in the heel or sole is of lesser evidential value, a representative print should nonetheless be preserved for its value as an investigative lead. (Fisher, Barry A. We will write a custom essay sample on Unit Final or any similar topic only for you Order Now J. , Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, pegs 226-227). A footwear print may be a foot Impression or a footprint (dust print). Foot impressions occur when the foot treads In some moldable material such as earth, sand, clay, snow, etc. Footprints are formed on a hard base when the foot or the sole and heel of a shoe are contaminated with some foreign matter such as road dirt, gust, flour, blood, or moisture. Footprints may also be latent when naked or stocking- covered feet on a smooth surface have formed them. Footwear impression evidence and information from the gait pattern may indicate that the subject was walking or running, had sustained an injury or walked with a limp, was possibly intoxicated, had a tendency to walk toe-in or toe-out, or was carrying a heavy object. (Fisher, Barry A. J. , Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, pegs 226-227). Foot Impressions are generally found outdoors; the first precautionary measure Is Hereford to protect the Impression from alteration or destruction, preferably by covering It with a box or cordoning off the area. Impressions In thawing snow are especially troublesome, so a box covered with snow to prevent thawing should protect them. If a foot impression is in such a position that it is possible for it to gradually fill up or be damaged by running water, it must be surrounded by a wall of earth, sand, or snow; alternatively, a hole may be dug close to the impression and the water drained toward the hole. However, these protective measures are only tops and the actual preservation should be undertaken as soon as possible. Preservation should be done by photographing and casting or, in the case of dust prints, should be lifted. (Fisher, Barry A. J. , Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, pegs 231-232). When photographing the Impressions the camera should be placed vertically above the Impression on a tripod with a scale placed next to the impression. The film plane should be parallel to the Impression so as not to cause distortion In the photograph. It is good practice to place two scales in the photograph at right angles ND a second perpendicular to the first, in the region adjacent to the heel. If the bottom of the impression is appreciably deeper than the surface of the ground or snow, the scale should be brought down to the same level. Before photographing, any material that may have fallen into the impression should be cleaned away immediately. If it is not possible to carry this out without damaging the impression, it should be omitted. Because the details in foot impressions are three dimensional, the photograph should be made under illumination that will bring out those details o the best advantage. Direct sunlight enhances the details by creating highlights and shadows. When the sky is cloudy and the daylight diffuse and practically without shadow, artificial light must be used; foothold or flash illumination is suitable. (Fisher, Barry A. J. , Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, pegs 232-233). Dental stone is a type of gypsum or calcium sulfate that can be used to cast shoe impressions. At one time, plaster of Paris was more widely used for this purpose; however, dental stone is superior and readily available from dental supply companies. Dental stone can be used for casting most impressions; even snow. Foot impressions in loose, dry sand and earth can be taken without any special preparation. Some literature suggests removing loose twigs and leaves, but this practice can damage the impression and is highly discouraged. Fisher, Barry A. J. , Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, peg 233). In lifting firearms, great care must be taken not to destroy evidence. The best way to lift a pistol or revolver is to hold it with two fingers on the checkered part of the butt, or possibly by the ring on the butt. Shotguns may conveniently be held around the checkered part of the neck of the butt; if necessary the weapon can be lifted by a steady grip with the fingers on the trigger guard. It is undesirable to lift a weapon such as a revolver or pistol, because the weapon may be cocked and a shot may be fired if the trigger happens to be touched. It should be taken as a general rule never to lift a weapon found at the scene of a crime before first making sure that no one is in the direction in which the muzzle is pointing; of course one should not risk being hit if the weapon fires while being lifted. The weapon may actually be cocked so that even the slightest movement could cause a shot to be fired. The procedure for lifting up a gun by putting a pencil or stick in the barrel is absolutely wrong. This may destroy valuable clues in the barrel that might possibly have been of use in elucidating the case. In a contact shot (I. E. , when the muzzle is in contact with a body), which is common with suicide, it often happens that blood, grease, fragments of fabric, and textile fibers are blown into the barrel of the gun by the violence of gas pressure and the splash of tissue and blood in all directions. How to cite Unit Final, Papers

Banking Essay Example For Students

Banking Essay BankingSo Much for That Plan More than 70% of commercial bank assets are held by organizations that aresupervised by at least two federal agencies; almost half attract the attentionof three or four. Banks devote on average about 14% of their non-interestexpense to complying with rules (Anonymous 88). A fool can see thatgovernment waste has struck again. This tangled mess of regulation, amongother things, increases costs and diffuses accountability for policy actionsgone awry. The most effective remedy to correct this problem would be toconsolidate most of the supervisory responsibilities of the regulatory agenciesinto one agency. This would reduce costs to both the government and thebanks, and would allow the parts of the agencies not consolidated toconcentrate on their primary tasks. One such plan was introduced byTreasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in March of 1994. The plan called forfolding, into a new independent federal agency (called the BankingCommission), the regulatory portion s of the Office of the Comptroller of theCurrency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). This planwould save the government $150 to $200 million a year. This would also allowthe FDIC to concentrate on deposit insurance and the Fed to concentrate onmonetary policy (Anonymous 88). Of course this is Washington, not TheLand of Oz, so everyone cant be satisfied with this plan. Fed Chairman AlanGreenspan and FDIC Chairman Ricki R. Tigert have been vocal opponents ofthe plan. Greenspan has four major complaints about the plan. First, divorcedfrom the banks, the Fed would find it harder to forestall and deal withfinancial crises. Second, monetary policy would suffer because the Fed wouldhave less access to review the banks. Thirdly, a supervisor with nomacroeconomic concerns might be too inclined to discourage banks fromtaking risks, slowing the economy down. Lastly, creating a single regulatorwould do a way with important checks and balances, in the process damagingstate bank regulation (Anonymous 88). To answer these criticisms it isnecessary to make clear what the Feds job is. The Fed has three mainresponsibilities: to ensure financial stability, to implement monetary policy, andto oversee a smoothly functioning payments system (delivering checks andtransferring funds) (Syron 3). The responsibilities of the Fed are linked to thebanking system. For the Fed to carry out its job it must have detailedknowledge of the working of banks and financial markets. Central banksknow from the experience of financial crises that regulatory and monetarypolicy directly influence each other. For example, a banking crises can disturbmonetary policy, discouraging lending and destroying consumer confidence,they can also disrupt the ability to make or receive payments by check or totransfer funds. It is for these reasons that it is argued that the Fed mustmaintain a regulatory role with banks. The Tre asury plan would leave the Fedsome access to the review of banks. The Fed, which lends through itsdiscount window and operates an interbank money transfer system, wouldhave full access to bank examination data. Because regulatory policy affectsmonetary policy and systemic risk, it is necessary that the Fed have at leastsome jurisdiction. The Fed must be able to effectively deal with current policyconcerns. The Banking Commission would be mainly concerned with thesafety and stability of the banks. This would encourage conservativeregulations, and could inhibit economic growth. The Fed clearly has a handson knowledge of the banking system. The common indicators of monetarypolicy the monetary aggregates, the federal funds rate, and the growth ofloans are all influenced by bank behavior and bank regulation. .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 , .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .postImageUrl , .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 , .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:hover , .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:visited , .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:active { border:0!important; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 { 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; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:active , .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .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; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305 .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ueb28bff2f50a80574964639c5e6a8305:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Women Who Changed The World: Rosa Parks Essay We will write a custom essay on Banking specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Understanding changes and taking action in a timely fashion can be achievedonly by maintaining contact with examiners who are directly monitoringbanks (Syron 7). The banking system is what ultimately determines monetarypolicy. It is only common sense to have personnel in the Fed that have abetter understanding of the system other than just through financialstatements and examination reports. The Fed also needs the authority tochange bank behavior that is inconsistent with its established monetary policyand with financial stability. This requires both the responsibility for writing theregulations and the responsibility for enforcing those regulations through banksupervision. State banking charters have already started to be affected. Under the proposed plan, state chartered banks would be subject to tworegulators. While the federal bank would have only one. Thus, making thestate bank charter less attractive. However, an increasing number of banksare opting for state supervision. It turns out that many banks are afraid oflosing existing freedoms, or of failing to gain new ones, if supervision iscentralized. State regulators have given their banks more freedom thanfederal ones: 17 now permit banks to sell insurance (and five to underwrite it,23 allow them to operate discount stockbrokers and a handful even let themrun estate agencies (Anonymous 91). The FDIC has two main criticisms ofthe Treasurys plan. First, FDIC Chairman Tigert believes that it is veryimportant that there be checks and balances in the system going forward(Cocheo 43). Second, Tigert believes that, since the FDIC is the one whowrites the checks for bank failures, the FDIC should be allowed to keep itsindependence. It is necessary to maintain the c hecks and balances ofdifferent agencies. This separation is necessary because of the differences inexaminations of the different regulatory agencies with respect to the sameinstitutions. It is important that the independent deposit insurer have accessto information thats available not only through reporting requirements, butalso through on-site examinations (Cocheo 43). Tigert explains that the FDICmust keep backup examination authority. As well as maintain the ability toconduct on-site examinations of all institutions it insures, not just thestate-chartered nonmember banks it supervises directly. She agrees withthose who say there is no need for duplicative examinations, but insists FDICmust be able to look at institutions whose condition or activities have changeddrastically enough to be of concern to the insurer. While consolidation of thebank supervisory process is overdue, issues of bank supervision andregulation affect the entire economy. There is no way to tell what is in sto refor banking regulation in the future. It is known, however, that we mustbeware that all the regulatory agencies in place now, are in place for areason. Careful thought and debate must be undertaken before any reform ismade. In the end, Americans seem no more inclined to tolerate concentrationamong regulators than they are among banks. BibliographyAnonymous. American Bank Regulation: Four Into One Can Go. TheEconomist 330 (March 5, 1994): 88-91. Cocheo, Steve. Declaration of Independence. ABA Banking Journal 87(February 1995): 43-48. Syron, Richard F. The Fed Must Continue to Supervise Banks. NewEngland Economic Review (January/February 1994): 3-8. Works ConsultedAnonymous. Banking Bill Spells Regulatory Relief. Savings CommunityBanker 3 (September 1994): 8-9. Broaddus, J. Alfred Jr. Choices in Banking Policy. Economic Quarterly(Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) 80 (Spring 1994): 1-9. Reinicke, Wolfgang H. Consolidation of Federal Bank Regulation?Challenge 37 (May/June 1994): 23-29.

Velazquezs The Toilet of Venus Essay Example

Velazquezs The Toilet of Venus Paper One of the most stunning paintings in the National Gallery is The Toilet of Venus, which is also known as The Rokeby Venus because it was part of the Morritt Collection in Rokeby Hall in Yorkshire before being added to the Gallerys permanent collection. There are many spectacular things to note about this painting, beginning with its creator.Painted by Diego Vel;zquez, it is one of the most note-worthy of his works. Vel;zquez was the leading painter of the Spanish school. Born in Seville in 1599 his works fall into the Baroque period of art.From the young age of 11, Vel;zquez acted an apprentice. His earliest teachings were from Francisco de Herrera the elder, whom he soon left for the studio of Pacheco, where he remained for five years. This training is reflected in his works, especially early on, where there is a strong naturalistic quality. After marrying Pachecos daughter, he moved to Madrid.He remained there under the protection of the cond; de Olivares. He soon became a court p ainter.When famous baroque painter Rubens visited the Spanish court near the end of 1629, Vel;zquez was influenced to travel to Italy to observe and work. He returned to the Spanish court two years later, and entered into what is considered the second stage of his professional artistic life. Over the next two decades his work was a tribute to the Spanish school. He traveled to Italy for the King, of whom he was a personal friend, purchasing works for the royal collection. He is credited with significantly enriching the collection.This second trip to Italy led to his painting of The Rokeby Venus, his only surviving nude. The Rokeby Venusisfirst recorded in June 1651 as part of the collection of the Marqu;s del Carpio, son of the First Minister of Spain.Most likely, the painting was commissioned by the Marqu;s, and then displayed privately. That fact saved Vel;zquez from being targe

What to Do if Youre Charged With Plagiarism in College

What to Do if You're Charged With Plagiarism in College Plagiarism- the act of passing off someone elses work as your own, no matter where you found it- is pretty common on college campuses. If one of your professors or an administrator realizes what youve done, you may be charged with plagiarism and put through some kind of campus judicial system. Figure out the Process Do you have a hearing? Are you supposed to write a letter explaining your side of the story? Does your professor simply want to see you? Or could you be placed on academic probation? Figure out what youre supposed to do and by when and then make sure it gets done. Make Sure You Understand the Charges You may have received a strongly worded letter accusing you of plagiarism, and yet youre not totally clear on what exactly it is youre being accused of. Talk with whoever sent you the letter or your professor about the specifics of your case. Either way, make sure you are crystal clear on what youre being charged with and what your options are. Understand the Consequences In your mind, you may have been up late, writing your paper, and absentmindedly cut and pasted something from your research that you forgot to cite. In your professors mind, however, you may have not taken the assignment very seriously, showed disrespect to him or her and your fellow classmates, and acted in a way that is unacceptable at the college level. What is not very serious to you may indeed be very serious to someone else. Make sure you understand what the consequence are, therefore, before you are unpleasantly surprised at how your sticky situation just got a lot worse. Respect and Participate in the Process You may not think the plagiarism charge is a big deal, so you toss the letter aside and forget about it. Unfortunately, however, plagiarism charges can be serious business. Respect and participate in the process so that you can explain your situation and reach a resolution. Figure Out What Youve Learned so It Doesnt Happen Again Plagiarism charges in college can be dealt with lightly (essay rewrite) or severely (expulsion). Consequently, learn from your mistake so that you can prevent getting yourself into a similar situation again. Having a misunderstanding about plagiarism, after all, can only happen once. The next time you receive a letter, folks are much less likely to be understanding since youve already been through the system. Learn what you can and move forward toward your ultimate goal: your diploma (earned by you and your own work, of course!).

A Crash Course in the Branches of Linguistics

A Crash Course in the Branches of Linguistics Dont confuse a linguist with a polyglot (someone whos able to speak many different languages) or with a language maven or SNOOT (a self-appointed authority on usage). A linguist is a specialist in the field of linguistics. So then, what is linguistics? Simply defined, linguistics is the scientific study of language. Though various types of language studies (including grammar and rhetoric) can be traced back over 2,500 years, the era of modern linguistics is barely two centuries old. Kicked off by the late-18th-century discovery that many European and Asian languages descended from a common tongue (Proto-Indo-European), modern linguistics was reshaped, first, by Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) and more recently by Noam Chomsky (born 1928) and others. But theres a bit more to it than that. Multiple Perspectives on Linguistics Lets consider a few expanded definitions of linguistics. Everyone will agree that linguistics is concerned with the lexical and grammatical categories of individual languages, with differences between one type of language and another, and with historical relations within families of languages.(Peter Matthews, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford University Press, 2005)Linguistics can be defined as the systematic inquiry into human language- into its structures and uses and the relationship between them, as well as into its development through history and its acquisition by children and adults. The scope of linguistics includes both language structure (and its underlying grammatical competence) and language use (and its underlying communicative competence).(Edward Finegan, Language: Its Structure and Use, 6th ed. Wadsworth, 2012)Linguistics is concerned with human language as a universal and recognizable part of the human behaviour and of the human faculties, perhaps one of the most essential to human life as we know it, and one of the most far-reaching of human capabilities in relation to the whole span of mankind’s achievements.(Robert Henry Robins, General Linguistics: An Introductory Survey, 4th ed. Longmans, 1989) There is often considerable tension in linguistics departments between those who study linguistic knowledge as an abstract computational system, ultimately embedded in the human brain, and those who are more concerned with language as a social system played out in human interactional patterns and networks of beliefs. . . . Although most theoretical linguists are reasonable types, they are sometimes accused of seeing human language as purely a formal, abstract system, and of marginalizing the importance of sociolinguistic research.(Christopher J. Hall, An Introduction to Language and Linguistics: Breaking the Language Spell. Continuum, 2005) The tension that Hall refers to in this last passage is reflected, in part, by the many different types of linguistic studies that exist today. Branches of Linguistics Like most academic disciplines, linguistics has been divided into numerous overlapping subfields- a stew of alien and undigestible terms, as Randy Allen Harris characterized them in his 1993 book The Linguistics Wars (Oxford University Press). Using the sentence Fideau chased the cat as an example, Allen offered this crash course in the major branches of linguistics. (Follow the links to learn more about these subfields.) Phonetics concerns the acoustic waveform itself, the systematic disruptions of air molecules that occur whenever someone utters the expression.Phonology concerns the elements of that waveform which recognizably punctuate the sonic flow- consonants, vowels, and syllables, represented on this page by letters.Morphology concerns the words and meaningful subwords constructed out of the phonological elements- that Fideau is a noun, naming some mongrel, that chase is a verb signifying a specific action which calls for both a chaser and a chasee, that -ed is a suffix indicating past action, and so on.Syntax concerns the arrangement of those morphological elements into phrases and sentences- that chased the cat is a verb phrase, that the cat is its noun phrase (the chasee), that Fideau is another noun phrase (the chaser), that the whole thing is a sentence.Semantics concerns the proposition expressed by that sentence- in particular, that it is true if and only if some mutt named Fideau has c hased some definite cat. Though handy, Harriss list of linguistic subfields is far from comprehensive. In fact, some of the most innovative work in contemporary language studies is being carried out in even more specialized branches, some of which hardly existed 30 or 40 years ago. Here, without the assistance of Fideau, is a sample of those specialized branches: applied linguistics, cognitive linguistics, contact linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, forensic linguistics, graphology, historical linguistics, language acquisition, lexicology, linguistic anthropology, neurolinguistics, paralinguistics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and stylistics. Is That All There Is? Certainly not. For both the scholar and the general reader, many fine books on linguistics and its subfields are available. But if asked to recommend a single text that is at once knowledgeable, accessible, and thoroughly enjoyable, plump for The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, 3rd ed., by David Crystal (Cambridge University Press, 2010). Just be warned: Crystals book may turn you into a budding linguist.

Construction op analysis R5 (reading articles) Article

Construction op analysis R5 (reading articles) - Article Example The same standards of data collection procedures must be maintained for both primary and secondary methods of data collection. A compromise on the standards will lead to misleading data and hence data should not be †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦worshipped or taken to be perfectly true. Answer: Data is essential for validity of research. Primary, secondary, and good data are all sources of data used in research and considered to be true. The challenge of the data collected depends on the procedures of data collection. The procedures affect the course of research regardless of the influence of the researchers on the data. The same standards of data collection procedures must be maintained for both primary and secondary methods of data collection. A compromise on the standards will lead to misleading data and hence data should not be taken to be perfectly true. Garza Jesus, Pinero, Juan and Ozbek, Mehmet. Sampling Procedure for Performance-Based Road Maintenance Evaluations. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2044. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington D.C. 2008. Print. Pp. 11-18. Redman, Thomas. Data: An Unfolding Quality Disaster, DM Review Magazine, Data Management Review and Source Media Inc., Aug. 2004. Web. 17 Feb.

Tata Coffee, Starbucks Near Deal for Stores Essay

Tata Coffee, Starbucks Near Deal for Stores - Essay Example This is the fundamental concept of Supply and Demand Paradox (Fisher, 2007, p. 8). Today’s market is largely influenced by technology advances, globalization and rigorous competition between suppliers and therefore companies are seeking for an effective strategy that can help it stay competitive. Discovering new market and newer opportunity will be far effective way than identifying the existing demands and satisfying consumer wants accordingly. This piece of research paper reviews the literatures regarding factors affecting demand and supply and explain what is price as well as income elasticity in relation to the recent attempt of Starbuck to come in alliance with Tata Coffee. This paper also explains how discovering new market would be a better economic strategy to foster demands from the example of Starbucks’s attempt to deal with Tata Coffee. Economic perspectives of Demand and Supply Demand and supply are perhaps the names of the most important models in all of ec onomics and these two are normally used for providing insights on the movements in price and output. The basic underlying concept of economics assumes that there is a market, where sellers and buyers contact for trade. Sellers are expected to bring goods or services to the market wherefrom consumers are assumed to bring money to it to buy the goods or services they demand (Guell, 2008, p. 20). From the economic point of view, demand is a schedule or curve or any other graphical presentation of the various amounts of a product that consumers are willing and able to purchase at each of the series of possible prices during a specific period of time (McConnell and Brue, 2004, p. 40). Demand is the quantity of a product or service that will be purchased at different possible prices when other things stay unchanged. Quantity demanded shows how much consumers are willing and able to buy the goods or services at a particular price during a specific period of time (Guell, 2008, p. 22). Accor ding to the law of demand, price and quantity demanded are inversely related and therefore an individual’s demand schedule will be downwardly sloping in its curve, as depicted in the graph. As price falls, the quantity demanded rises and as price rises, quantity demanded falls. When other market variables are remaining constant, consumers will be tended to buy more of a product as its price declines. Quantity supplied is the maximum quantity that sellers want to sell at a given price. The law of supply states that the quantity supplied will increase when the price rises and will decrease when the price falls, because a supplier will be able to produce and supply more when he expects to gain more profits or other advantages due to price hike (Wessels, 2006, p. 37). As shown in the figure, producers will be producing more of the product or services when price of the same increases in the market. Most of the Economics literatures (Wessels, 2006, McEachern, 2011, Lipsey and Chrys tal, 2007 etc) explained that producers are tended to supply more when they expect an extra earning from the price hike or from any other factors that may lead to the same. When it comes to the case of Starbuck’s attempt to work in alliance with Tata Coffee in India, as Ahmed (Oct, 2011) wrote in Wall

The Nexus Between Social Psychology and Psychoanalytic Family Therapy Essay Example for Free

The Nexus Between Social Psychology and Psychoanalytic Family Therapy Essay This paper addresses the connection between self and collectivism concepts of social psychology and psychoanalytic family therapy. It is revealed in the discussion in the paper that the link between the two psychology elements is very strong and thus the need for family therapy to solve some of the problems accruing from self and collectivism.   In essence the paper looks at the nexus by bringing out real life examples emanating from these socio psychology concepts. In essence there is affirmation that the two psychology disciplines are interrelated and one helps to improve the problems that are created from the other. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social psychology is the bit of psychology that deals with how the thoughts, feeling, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or indirect presence of others.   It can therefore be insinuated that social psychology not only studies an individual but the whole society. In the study of social psychology therefore an individual is looked at a part of a society and not a unique entity. Thus in essence, an individual can affect others or be affected by others. On the other hand psychoanalytic family therapy studies an individual with the focus that, he or she emanates from a family unit. Basically the psychoanalytic family therapy focuses on the basic wants and fears that keep individuals from interacting in a mature way. Family therapists find profound truths about system interactions and how they affect individuals in the family- in this case a family is a system unit. The nexus that come along this with the social psychology concept can be concluded to be that, studying a family is the beginning of studying the first interactive social unit and thus a strong bond is created between social psychology and psychoanalytic family therapy. Psychoanalytic family therapy aims to free family members of unconscious constraints so that they interact with each other as healthy individuals. In essence, the bottom line is that psychoanalytic family therapists aim at changing an individual’s personality rather than the entire family. When individual character traits are changed in the society, then eventually the whole society is shaped towards a designated direction. Concept of Self and Psychoanalytic Family Therapy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of self can be realized to advocate the underlying reality that every human being longs to be appreciated. This might be internalized at an early age when parents tend to appreciate their children. As a matter of fact, this shows a direct link with the concept of self and the psychoanalytic family therapy. The concept of self was studied by social psychologists in pretext or disguise of self awareness, self consciousness and self esteem.   On the other hand the internalized behaviors as a result of appreciating parents are like self confidence- this comes as a result of appreciative parents. This shows the bond between the concept of self and psychoanalytic family therapy since it is the realization of an individual’s self confidence for example that enables him/her to interact with others as a healthy individual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The concept of self is a controversial one such that psychologists have failed to agree on what self entails. It cannot be distinguished if self is what you are, something you want to be or something you were or something you aspire to be. Selfhood can be said to have two facets; that is its uniqueness and its innate tendency to preserve its integrity. There is a sociological self that can be identified by others owing to its distinctive attributes- this points at the social psychology direction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Family therapy involves the study of social relationships. This shows that as much as an individual is a self-being they relate to others on the basis of expectations formed by early experience probably gotten from the family as a social unit. This can be depicted by the fact that an individual learns the wrongs and the rights from the family. Therefore when the relationships in a family are in crisis the therapists come in to change the self that appears to be the source of the crisis so that they can harmonize the interaction in that family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of self is perceived by Freud that an infant conceives itself as all encompassing and with time sees itself as distinctive and unique. In psychoanalysis individuals and their deepest motives are studied (Kohut 1971).   While family therapy studies social relationships, there is a relation that comes up with the expectations formed by early experiences. The result of the past relationships is the internalized objects – mental images of self and others developed from the previous experiences and expectations.   Example of this can be seem in racial prejudices- where an individual can have an internal feeling that he/she is inferior to another or a certain race is inferior to theirs or vice versa, this is by virtue of the experience they had in their previous life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of self can be perceived with the development of language that comes with the boundary between one’s body self and one’s symbolic self. It is indispensable at this juncture to de-link the nexus between social psychology concept of self and family therapy since psychoanalytic family therapy endeavors to study social interaction and language is the vehicle in which this is done thus its development is crucial.   The broadening contacts with secondary (friends) and primary (family) groups and strangers develop increasingly defined boundary between self and groups or others thus showing the link between social psychology and psychoanalytical family therapy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of self can be considered when an adolescent brings increasing differentiation between self and parents featuring battles for privacy and rights for distinctive as individuals make to break from parents. This is a scenario when the self ego creates a crisis. This in essence causes disharmony in the interaction within the family set up. Thus the need for family therapy to harmonize interactions in this family becomes essential.   This shows a very common crisis between young people and parents and the link between the concept of self in social psychology and psychoanalytic family therapy. On the other hand, adulthood features maintain boundaries between one’s public and private selves, such as those of one’s work and family roles. It is common for adults to keep family roles distinct from their work, for instance men are known to keep their business deals private even from their wives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is the notion of participants in social interaction tending to take the role of each other. This enables individuals to know how they are coming across to others and allows them to guide their social behavior so that it has desired effect. It is a situation when an infant tries to emulate the object that it appreciates. For young children therefore, parents offer models for idealization. In this case parents are selfobjects experienced as part of the self (Kohut 1971. 1977). Therefore, the believe and trust to the parent give the child the base of self-esteem. So there will be the need for psychoanalytic family therapy if the concept of self is not attained. This hence shows the bond between social psychology and family therapy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Socially, the concept of self can be distributed such that socio- historical settings can give rise to a prevalence of a given self type in the society- a situation where we have a certain character in a society- and how in turn this can affect the society’s collective. This can affect the society collectively in terms of its attitude to religion, political and economic orders. This denotes that new social arrangements leads to new action or ways of doing things thus to new personality of people in the society. This re-emphasizes the link between the self concept of social psychology and psychoanalytic family therapy since the latter tend to reshape individual’s personality in aim of facilitating societal integration. Though when identifying individual, people tend to peg them to their sociological setting, but still some types of self like the Machiavellians, authoritarians, high self monitors and introverts can be expected to act distinctly regardless of the setting or the environment they are in. Therefore it can be insinuated from this that there is an overriding concept of self in these characters, thus the need for psychoanalytic therapy that will see them may be change their personalities. Concept of collectivism and psychoanalytic family therapy      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Collectivism is a concept is a social psychological idea that focuses on groups engaging in struggle for scarce resources of some sort. For instance, an individual is supposedly to be a self willed determine but the case of racism is which emanates from either deterministic external environmental forces or equally deterministic internal psychological forces does not give a provision for the latter. For example a child acquires racism attitudes and believes by observing those that are surrounding him/her -that is the media, parents and peers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of collectivism is perceived in that it has characteristics of personal to the collective good i.e. to the societal betterment.   There is an assumption that individuals are members of a collective group. Thus, the family is the smallest unit of this collective group. As a child joins school they join another social group, regardless of the learned personalities from home they form other personalities. Therefore this concept of social psychology links to family therapy such that if the unwanted characteristic traits are not treated in the family unit, they will be transferred to another collective unit and this is a class (group of students)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Collectivism values similarity and conformity rather than uniqueness and independence. Collectivism in this case gives a perception that individuals are grouped as per their similarity and conform to the standards set up by the setting they live in. There is no provision for uniqueness according to the concept of collectivism.   Thus the psychoanalytic family therapists can be linked to this social psychology concept of collectivism by changing the family set up in the effort of correcting a crisis, for instance if a family has members who are violent then this will be a time for family therapy to step in to curb the social psychological collective trait of violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  When cultures are more collectivistic, conformity tend to be higher and identification of groups also influences the amount of conformity. When people identify highly with a group they show more conformity than the low identifiers. When social identity is most important the norms attached to these identities guides the group members’ behaviors.   People from a collectivistic culture who identified highly with their group were less individualistic than low identifiers (Jetten, Postmes, and McAuliffe 2002). The social psychological concept of collectivism thus becomes linked to psychoanalytic family therapy since the latter can be used in addressing the critical and controversial cultures at the family level. For example the family therapists can be used to correct stereotypic cultures like female genital mutilation by helping the individuals in the society practicing this act by changing their attitude towards this act. Also the perception of individuals on the basis of their race can be addressed using psychoanalytical family therapy. It is therefore an open secret that, using the above mentioned examples, there is a link between social psychology concept of collectivism and psychoanalytic family therapy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another case where collective concept of social psychology applies is in suicide terrorism. This can be realized when suicide terrorism which is a function of culture martyrdom where an organization   establish social contracts of identity – as a living martyrdom- thus gaining prestige in the society. This can be addressed by applying psychoanalytic family therapy at the family level which will see the recruits retreating after learning the negatives of the actions. This in essence is a case where social psychology concept of collectivism can be resolved by the link it has with psychoanalytic family therapists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The two concepts of social psychology discussed in the paper (self and collectivism) provide ways in how the problems emanating from the concepts can be addressed using analytical family therapy. This depicts the bond that is found between the two and if used in the right way can be used to prevent some of the problems that are in the contemporary world like terrorism and suicide among the youth. The bond between social psychology and analytical family therapy comes by the fact that family therapy convenes families to help go one another- by improving the trait of an individual by allowing them to be independent; at the same time ensuring that people are related in the society. It is to this effect that the nexus between the two is indispensable. References Freud, S. Group Psychology and Analysis of Ego. Edition 17. London: Hogarth press, 1955. Jetten, J â€Å"We are all individuals.†Ã‚   Group norms of individualism and collectivism, levels of identification, and identification threat.   European Journal of Social psychology, 32, 189-207    Justin, J Group domination and inequality in context: evidence of the unstable meanings social and dominance and authoritarianism (p 704-724)   Kevin, A. Theory Models of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Barnes: Psychology press, 2004.   Marc, M. Psychology and its Allied Disciplines. Chicago: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1984. Shapiro, R. Family Dynamics and Object Relation theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Comparison of Macbeth and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All people have probably considered that immortality would be an extremely joyous experience. William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, tells of the quality of life and how man exerts it; this is in direct comparison with Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, written by Kurt Vaunnegut. Where as he also writes of the quality of life with the implication of immortality by drinking the miracle drink, Anti-Geresone. The insignificance of man from Shakespeare along with the concept of living forever from Vaunegut, draws the question of why would someone not want to die if life was so worthless. Both authors question the quality of life and as a result they express their concern in their writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In their work, each express different concepts on the same common scenario; Life not being very pleasant, â€Å" Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time.† Which explains how all the days keep on coming and coming and yet man already is looking ahead to the next. In T&T&T (Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow); Everything has been experienced over a Quadrillion times, which has in turn lead to life being predictable and somewhat pointless; just as in Shakespeare. Merely waiting for the next thing to happen as if it already has. The people want to live forever, but why, if Shakespeare’s analysis is correct in saying life is so insignificant, â€Å"Out, out brief candle.† Suggesting that this life is useless and should end. When in contrast in Vaunegut’s story death is the insignificance. Why die if one could live on? Truly William Shakespeare feels that the way man i s living is unacceptable and the man should feel the same or die; â€Å"It’s a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.† Rather in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the nothing William is speaking of is everything to them. Furniture, possessions, and such are important, but the lack of these provides space, which, in turn is their most precious commodity.

Sous Vide a Breif History

Alex Schwichtenberg Wed/Thursday Kramer Sous Vide The technique sous vied was discovered by the Americans and French during the1960s and developed into an industrial food preservation method. The same one was then adopted by Georges Pralus in 1974 for the Troisgros in Roanne, France. He discovered that when foie gras was cooked in this manner it kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat and had better texture.Another pioneer in sous-vide is Bruno Goussault, who further researched the effects of temperature on various foods and became well known for training top chefs in the method. As chief scientist of Alexandria, Virginia-based food manufacturer Cuisine Solutions, Goussault developed the parameters of cooking times and temperatures for various foods. As well as in traditional poaching, sealing the food in plastic bags keeps in juices and aroma that would normally be lost. Also you can read about  History of the Culinary Arts.By placing food in a water bath set to temperature set at the desired final cooking, thus eliminating possibility of over cooking. In conventional cooking, such as oven roasting or grilling, the food is exposed to higher levels of heat then final internal cooking temperature; the food then needs to be removed from the high heat prior to its reaching the desired cooking temperature. If the food can be removed from the heat too late and too early, undercooking and overcooking can be results. As a result of precise temperature control of the bath, very precise control of cooking can be achieved.Thus cooking, can be very even throughout the food in sous vide cooking, even with irregularly shaped or very thick items, given enough time. The use of temperatures much lower than for conventional cooking is an equally essential feature of sous vide, resulting higher succulence and tenderness: at these lower temperatures, cell walls in the food do not burst. In the case of meat cooking, tough collagen in connective tissue can be hydrolyzed into gelatin, without heating the meat toughens and moisture is wrung out.With the cooking of vegetables, when extreme mushiness is seen as undesirably overcooked, sous vide cooks vegetables at a temperature below the boiling point of water allowing the vegetables to be thoroughly cooked while keeping a firm or crisp texture. From the culinary view exclusion of air is secondary, but it has importance, it allows cooked food to be stored, still sealed and refrigerated, for considerable times, which is especially useful for the catering industry. Without oxygen from food that requires long cooking and is susceptible to oxidation, e. g. fat on meat, which may become rancid with prolonged exposure to air. The classic sous vide process involves two steps: Step One is vacuum sealing the food in bags. The term, â€Å"sous vide,† or â€Å"under vacuum,† though applied to the e ntire process, arose from just the vacuum seal method of just this first step. Step Two is the actual cooking for a prolonged time. A few sous vide foods are only subjected to Step One, a few are only subjected to Step Two, and many sous vide foods are never subjected to vacuum at all. Sous vide cookers can also step into the role of a bain-marie.It sometimes can be desirable to have the food come in contact with the cooking liquid, as it can be an ingredient. At Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, their lobster tail are cooked into a sous vide cooker filled with Beurre monte as their heating medium. For steps One ; Two No Vac: Foods with liquids can be prepared for sous vide cooking in a normal water bath by placing them in zippered freezer bags, closing them most of the way, then gently evacuating the air until the liquid touches the zipper before completing the seal.Food thus sealed is just as well prepared for sous vide cooking as that placed under a vacuum. Sous vide is becomin g more popular with chefs today because foods can be cooked before service and heated to order. Works cited Ruhlman,Michel â€Å"Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide †Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen, November 17th, 2008 Zumromski,Walter â€Å"sous vide† The other cooking method, June 11th ,2012

Changes in the environment Essay

The changes in environment that people in space experience also mean changes in significant cues. For example, there is the absence of a fixed horizon that is expected to reduce the efficiency of a person’s perceptions of shape, distance, location and motion (Man-Systems Integration Standards, 2006). The noise aspect is also considered as a human factor particularly in the design of habitat (Special Issue on the International Workshop on Human Factors in Space, 2000). One of the critical requirements in space is the ability of people to communicate with each other. There are noise exposure limits that are established because outside Earth, even low levels, especially when it is intermittent noise, can affect the communication system and human performance especially in complex tasks. Noise also causes fatigue, distraction, irritation and aggressiveness which are already under the scope of psychology but nonetheless, far from what are needed by the people in space (Man-Systems Integration Standards, 2006). The humans must be able to acclimatize themselves to changes in pressure associated with space travel. Because humans are used to atmosphere with 21% oxygen at sea level, equipment and traveling environment are adjusted to maintain an equivalent partial pressure that would sustain life. Pressure values vary from person to person depending on his or her degree of acclimatization to altitude. As a rule, people who are accustomed to higher altitude require less total pressure compared to people who are not accustomed to higher altitude. The partial pressure for normal people who work in space are usually maintained above 152 mm Hg while those who are not accustomed to such environment must maintain a total pressure above 417 mm Hg (Man-Systems Integration Standards, 2006). Psychology The management of human’s psychological state in space is indeed a part of NASA’s standards. â€Å"Human factors research and technology will also ensure that interpersonal interactions are planned maintain a healthy and constructive attitude, thus enhancing productivity and mission success among an international culturally-diverse crew (Man-Systems Integration Standards, 2006). † This implies an assumption that metal and psychological performance and human interactions could have a very significant role in the success of an exploration. Conclusion With the advent of space age, the human factors research contributes significantly especially to the present knowledge in flight, which involves the participation of humans. Success in space missions would be doubtful without consideration of the human factors to which any mission’s success or failure depends. References Brown, D. L. , DeVilbiss, C. A. , Ercoline, W. R. , and Yauch, D.W. (2000). Post-roll Effects on Attitude Perception: The Gillingham Illusion. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 71, 489-495. Bungo, M. W. , & Johnson, P. C. (1983). Cardiovascular Eexaminations and Oobservations of Deconditioning Dduring the Space Shuttle Orbital Flight Test Program. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 54, 1001-1004. Davis J. R. (1999). Medical Issues for a Mission to Mars. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 70, 162-168. Ercoline, W. R. , Freeman, J. E. , Gillingham, K. K. , and Lyons, T. J. (1994). Classification Problems of US Air Force Spatial Disorientation Accidents, 1989-91. † Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, Vol 65, 147-152. Gander P. H, Myhre G, Graeber R. C, Andersen H. T, and Lauber J. K. (1989). Adjustment of Sleep and the Circadian Temperature Rhythm After Flights Across Nnine Time Zones. † Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine. Vol. 60 (8), 733 ¬-743. Human factors. (2007). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12 April 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Human_factors&oldid=121814170. Man-Systems Integration Standards (2006). NASA, Vol. 1. Retrieved 9 April 2007 from http://msis. jsc. nasa. gov/sections/section01. htm. Miller (n. d. ). Physical Deconditioning During Prolonged Space Flight. School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base: Texas. Partners in Space. (2005). European Commission. Retrieved 08 April 2007 from http://ec. europa. eu/research/conferences/2005/esw/conference/partners/article_2004_en. htm. Patton JF, Duggan A. (1987). An evaluation of tests of anaerobic power. Aviation Space Environ Med. Vol. 58, 237-42. President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program. (2004). The White House: Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved 8 April 2007 from http://www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040114-3. html. Sacknoff, S. (2005). State of the Space Industry. International Space Business Council, 1-887022-15-5, 56. Sinha. (2002). â€Å"The effect of a 5-day space flight on the immature rat spine. † The Spine Journal, Vol. 2 (4), 239-243. Special Issue on the International Workshop on Human Factors in Space. (2000). Aviation, Space & Environmental Medicine Journal. 71: Section II. Stern, R. M. , Hu, S. , Anderson, R. B. , Leibowitz, H. W. and Koch, K. L. (1990). â€Å"The effects of fixation and restricted visual field on vection-induced motion sickness. † Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 61 (8), 712-715. The Human Advantage. (2003). NASA. Retrieved 8 April 2007 from http://liftoff. msfc. nasa. gov/news/2003/news-human. asp. Vogel, J. M. , & Whittle, M. W. (1976). Bone mineral changes: The second manned Skylab mission. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine. Vol. 47, 396-400.

Biography of Charles Manson, Mass Murderer

Biography of Charles Manson, Mass Murderer Charles Manson (November 12, 1934–November 19, 2017) was a mass murderer who founded a desert cult known as The Family in the 1960s and manipulated its members into brutally killing people on his behalf, including the pregnant actress Sharon Tate and other Hollywood residents. The crimes inspired Helter Skelter, a best-selling book  released in 1974, and an Emmy-nominated TV miniseries by the same name released in 1976. Fast Facts: Charles Manson Known For: Manipulating his cult to commit mass murderAlso Known As: Charles Milles MaddoxBorn: Nov. 12, 1934 in  Cincinnati,  OhioMother: Kathleen MaddoxDied: Nov. 19, 2017 in Kern County, CaliforniaSpouses: Rosalie Willis, Leona StevensChildren: Charles Manson Jr., Charles Luther MansonNotable Quote: â€Å"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybodys crazy.† Early Life Charles Manson was born Charles Milles Maddox on Nov. 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to 16-year-old Kathleen Maddox, who had run away from home at age 15. Shortly after Charles birth, she married William Manson. Despite their brief marriage, her son took his name and was known as Charles Manson for the rest of his life. His mother was known to drink heavily and spent periods in jail, including time for a strong-arm robbery conviction in 1940. According to Manson, she had little interest in being a mother: Mom was in a cafe one afternoon with me on her lap. The waitress, a would-be mother without a child of her own, jokingly told my Mom shed buy me from her. Mom replied, A pitcher of beer and hes yours. The waitress set up the beer, Mom stuck around long enough to finish it off and left the place without me. Several days later my uncle had to search the town for the waitress and take me home. Since his mother couldnt take care of him, Manson spent his youth with various relatives, which werent good experiences for the young boy. His grandmother was a religious fanatic, and one uncle ridiculed the boy for being feminine. Another uncle, while Manson was in his care, committed suicide after he learned that his land was being seized by authorities. After an unsuccessful reunion with his mother, Manson began to steal at age 9. Three years later he was sent to Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, Indiana, which wouldnt be his last experience in reform school. Before long he added burglary and auto theft to his repertoire. He would escape a reform school, steal, get caught, and be sent back to reform school, again and again. When he was 17, Manson drove a stolen car across state lines, earning his first stint in federal prison. During his first year there, he racked up eight assault charges before being transferred to another facility. Marriage In 1954, at age 19, Manson was released on parole after an unusual period of good behavior. The next year, he married a 17-year-old waitress named Rosalie Willis, and the two took off for California in a stolen car. Before long Rosalie became pregnant, which was good for Manson because it helped him get probation rather than prison time for stealing a car. His luck would not last, though. In March 1956, Rosalie gave birth to Charles Manson Jr., one month before his father was sent to prison after his probation was revoked. The sentence this time was three years in Terminal Island Prison in San Pedro, California. After one year, Mansons wife found someone new, left town, and divorced him in June 1957. Second Imprisonment In 1958, Manson was released from prison. While he was out, he began pimping in Hollywood. He conned a young woman out of her money and in 1959 received a 10-year suspended sentence for  stealing checks from mailboxes. Manson married again, this time to a prostitute named Candy Stevens (real name Leona), and fathered a second son, Charles Luther Manson. She divorced him in 1963. On June 1, 1960, Manson was arrested again and charged with crossing state lines with the intent of prostitution. His parole was revoked and he received a seven-year sentence to be served at McNeil Island Penitentiary in Puget Sound, off the Washington state coast. During this term, Manson began studying Scientology and music, and he became obsessed with performing. He practiced his music all the time, wrote dozens of songs, and started singing. He believed that when he got out of prison, he could become a famous musician. The Family On March 21, 1967, Manson was released again from prison. This time he headed to San Francisco, Californias Haight-Ashbury district, where, with a guitar and drugs, he began to develop a following. Mary Brunner was one of the first to fall for Manson. The U.C. Berkeley librarian invited him to move in with her. Before long she started doing drugs and quit her job to follow Manson. Brunner helped entice others to join what would eventually be called the  Manson Family. Lynette Fromme  soon joined Brunner and Manson. In San Francisco, they found many young people who were lost and searching for purpose. Mansons prophesies and strange songs created a reputation that he had a sixth sense. He relished his position as a mentor, and the manipulation skills he had honed in childhood and prison fueled the attraction of the vulnerable to him. His followers saw Manson as a guru and a prophet. In 1968, Manson  and several followers drove to Southern California. Spahn Ranch In the late 1960s, Manson was still hoping for a music career. Through an acquaintance, music teacher Gary Hinman, he met Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, who recorded one of Mansons songs under the title Never Learn Not to Love. Through Wilson, Manson met record producer Terry Melcher, actress Doris Days son, whom Manson believed would advance his music career. When nothing happened, Manson was upset. He and some of his followers moved to Spahn Ranch, which was northwest of the San Fernando Valley. The ranch had been a popular film location for westerns in the 1940s and 1950s. Once Manson and his followers moved in, it became a cult compound for The Family. Helter Skelter Despite his skill at manipulating people, Manson suffered from delusions. When The Beatles released their White Album in 1968, Manson believed their song Helter Skelter predicted an upcoming race war, which he referred to as Helter Skelter. He thought it would occur in the summer of 1969 and that blacks would rise up and slaughter white America. He told his followers that they would be saved because they would hide in an underground city of gold in Death Valley. When the Armageddon that Manson had predicted didnt occur, he said he and his followers would have to show blacks how to do it. In their first known murder, they killed Hinman on July 25, 1969. The Family staged the scene to look as if the Black Panthers had done it by leaving one of their symbols, a paw print. Tate and LaBianca Murders On Aug. 9, Manson ordered  four of his followers to go to 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles and kill the people inside. The house  had belonged to Melcher, who had spurned Mansons dreams of a music career, but actress Sharon Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski, were leasing it. Charles Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian brutally murdered Tate, her unborn baby, and four others who were visiting her (Polanski was working in Europe). The following night, Mansons followers brutally killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home. Trial It took police several months to determine who was responsible for the brutal slayings. In December 1969, Manson and several of his followers were arrested. The trial for the Tate and LaBianca murders began on July 24, 1970. On Jan. 25, Manson was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Two months later, he was sentenced to death. Death Manson was saved from execution when the California Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty in 1972. During his decades in the California State Prison  in  Corcoran, Manson received more mail than any other prisoner in the U.S. He was denied parole a dozen times and died, apparently of natural causes, on Nov. 19, 2017. He was 83. Legacy Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School who followed high-profile cases, described Manson in 2009 as the worst of the worst: If youre going to be evil, you have to be off-the-charts evil, and Charlie Manson was off-the-charts evil, Levenson told CNN. Despite the vicious brutality of the murders he committed or ordered, however, Manson became an icon of sorts to the more radical elements of the counterculture movement. His image is still seen on posters and T-shirts. To others, he was an object of morbid curiosity. In addition to the best-selling Helter Skelter, which was written by Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, and the TV movie released two years later, many other books and movies related to the Manson story have been released. Sources Charles Manson: American Criminal and Cult Leader. Encyclopaedia Britannica.Charles Manson  Biography. Biography.com.Charles Manson, leader of murderous 60s cult, dead at 83. CNN.

Irrealis Were - Definition and Examples

Irrealis 'Were' s Definition In English grammar, irrealis involves the  use of were with a  subject  in the  first-person  singular or third-person singular  to  refer to an unreal or hypothetical condition or eventone thats not true or that hasnt occurred (e.g., If I  were  you, Id go home). In contrast to the more common use of were as a past-tense form (e.g., They were lost), irrealis were is a nontensed mood form, similar to the subjunctive. Irrealis  were  is sometimes called the were-subjunctive or (somewhat misleadingly) the past subjective. As Huddleston and Pullum point out, Irrealis were does not refer to past time, and there is no synchronic reason to analyse it as a past tense form (The Cambridge Grammar Of The English Language, 2002). Defined more broadly, irrealis refers to an event that hasnt occurred (or at least hasnt yet occurred), while realis refers to an event that has occurred. Examples and Observations I was telling Grant that  if I were an  alien and I came down to earth from some far-off planet, there are a few things I would notice about people, and the first thing I would notice is the way they looked, that is, if people looked different on my planet.(Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz. Thomas Nelson, 2003)Roxanne stood talking to him with one long-nailed hand on his shoulder, the other at her hip as  if she were a  model at a trade show trying to sell him the grill.(Kate Milliken, The Whole World.  If Id Known You Were Coming. The University of Iowa Press, 2013)They took to looking at him as  if he were  on the other side of a dirty window.(Kate Milliken, Inheritance.If Id Known You Were Coming. The University of Iowa Press, 2013) If I werent  so broke and unsettled, Id adopt a dog tomorrow.(Andrea Meyer, Room for Love. St. Martins Griffin, 2007) Moodiness: The Subjunctive and the Irrealis Were Traditional grammarians get tripped up by the verb be because they have to squeeze two different forms, be and were (as in If I were free), into a single slot called subjunctive. Sometimes they call be the present subjunctive and were the past subjunctive, but in reality theres no difference in tense between them. Rather, the two belong to different moods: whether he be rich or poor is subjunctive; If I were a rich man is irrealis (not real). . . . In English [the irrealis] exists only in the form were, where it conveys factual remoteness: an irrealis proposition is not just hypothetical (the speaker does not know whether it is true or false) but counterfactual (the speaker believes its false). Tevye the Milkman [in the musical Fiddler on the Roof] was emphatically not a rich man, nor were Tim Hardin, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, or Robert Plant (all of whom sang If I Were a Carpenter) in any doubt as to whether they were carpenters. Counterfactual, by the way, need not mean outlandisho ne can say If she were half an inch taller, that dress would be perfectit just means known to be not the case. (Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style. Viking, 2014) An Exceptional Form This use of were is highly exceptional: there is no other verb in the language where the modal remoteness meaning is expressed by a different inflectional form from the past time meaning. The irrealis mood form is unique to be, and limited to the 1st and 3rd person singular. It is an untidy relic of an earlier system, and some speakers usually, if not always, use preterite was instead. (Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum,  A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2005) AlsoSee Past SubjunctiveSubjunctive Mood

Changing Women Body Standards According to Culture Research Paper

Changing Women Body Standards According to Culture - Research Paper Example The 1910s saw the ideal woman’s body depicted from the creation of Charles Gibson with the body type being referred to as â€Å"Gibson girl.† The ideal body, in this case, was tall and slender with a thin waist (London, 2015). The girl had to have a large bust and wide hips. They had to fit perfectly in a super cinched corset, which brought the big bust and narrow waist effect upon the women at this era. â€Å"Her physique was tall and slender but with a buxom bosom and large hips; essentially an 'S' shaped body achieved by wearing a super-cinched corset† (London, 2015). The women at this point were in physically good shape as they were physically active. The 1920s saw the ideal woman’s body referred to as â€Å"flapper.† With the rejection of the Victorian style, the women had minimal breasts (those with large breasts wore tight bras to flatten them some more), appeared more boyish and revealed uncovered arms (Eco, 2010). Their behavior of rebellio n saw them become scandalous, irresponsible and even undisciplined. The 1930s saw the return of the â€Å"curves† and the femininity figure and behavior. The women became more voluptuous with bare shoulders (Bahadur, 2014). The women during this era were much more nourished and this contributed largely to their increase in size. The celebrities were also not slender and they, in turn, embraced the curves giving the regular women reasons to maintain their increasingly curvy figures.

Compare the spread of Christianity to the spread of Islam in Africa Essay - 7

Compare the spread of Christianity to the spread of Islam in Africa south of the Sahara - Essay Example Muslims will vote for a politician who shares their religious belief and who will expect that those in power should open the door to those in need. The Pentecostal Christianity spreading in South Africa has been labeled the â€Å"religion of prosperity,† promising financial success by virtue of becoming a Christian—without having to hike to the nearest emir and beg for one’s cause.The Muslim community held a different power over non-Muslims, who were also non-Christians, in more remote regions. The Muslim community traditionally forced them into slavery. The alternative was to join up with one religion or the other. Pentecostalism represents most of the Christian conversion because it is spirit-based and their ecstatic form of worship is easily embraced by South Africans. Initially, jihad in southern Africa took the form of infighting between Muslim communities, at issue over whose religion was the purer. Likewise, the Pentecostal churches frequently split and er ect new churches. As new churches crop up, it appears that Christianity is spreading and eradicating the Muslim community. This creates fear, and reprisal, between Muslims and Christians over an illusion.

Coerced Plea Bargian Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coerced Plea Bargian - Research Paper Example The protection of the fundamental human right is regarded very useful because it non-discriminatory and puts all people equal before the law. It is like saying that if the president of the nation deserves to live, the laborer at the presidential palace also deserves the same amount of right to live. Born out of the protection of the fundamental human rights of all people is the plea bargain that is basically concerned with giving a guilty person some room to plead for mercy. But in what ways have this right being abused? The essence of this essay is review coerced plea bargain and take a stand on it. What is Plea Bargain? According to the Encyclopedia of Everyday Law (2009), plea bargain â€Å"usually involves the defendant's pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for the graver charge†. Alschuler gives a similar definition or the term as he states that plea bargain is a situation where by â€Å"prosecutors and trail judges offer defendants concessions in exchange for their plea.† The basic idea therefore lies in the fact that in plea bargains, defendants admit their charges without or with very minimal pressure from the jury and in exchange of their ‘frankness’, receive lesser or lighter sentences. ... s; a voluntary waiver; and a factual basis to support the charges to which the defendant is pleading guilty.† If plea bargains occur under these components, we say the plea bargain is valid. Forms of Negotiating Plea Bargain For a plea bargain to be possible, there are certain legal negotiations that must go on. Koduah (2001) mentions some of these negotiations as Charge Bargaining, Sentence Bargaining and Fact Bargaining. Explaining further, the Encyclopedia of Everyday Law (2009) states that in charge bargaining, â€Å"in return for a plea of "guilty" to a lesser charge, a prosecutor will dismiss the higher or other charge(s) or counts.† This means that the defendant gets a ‘reward’ of a squashed higher charge because of admitting guilt for a smaller offense. Further on, the encyclopedia writes that with sentence bargaining, there is an â€Å"agreement to a plea of guilty (for the stated charge rather than a reduced charge) in return for a lighter sentenc e.† In this case therefore, trial goes on for the prosecution whiles the defendant hopes for a lighter sentence. Finally, fact bargaining â€Å"involves an admission to certain facts "stipulating" to the truth and existence of provable facts, thereby eliminating the need for the prosecutor to have to prove them. As in the case of all plea bargain, the defendant is given something in return, which is that there is â€Å"an agreement not to introduce certain other facts into EVIDENCE† (Encyclopedia of Everyday Law, 2009). Under what condition does a Plea Bargain become Coerced? Risinger (2007) explains that under any circumstance where plea bargain is forced on a defendant constitutes coerced plea bargain. In some cases also, attorneys of defendants do not force their defendants into negotiating for plea bargain but

Digital Convergence Processing and Transferring Data

Digital Convergence Processing and Transferring Data Introduction Digital convergence (DC) is the proliferation of information in digitized form (bits) and the efficient flow of information in the digital network. Digital convergence is the various ways in which digitized data are processed and transferred [1]. The Knowledge economy is driven by DC where digital systems are embedded ubiquitously in the business processes that help the users to exchange information, store and access data, collaborate, communicate, learn and trade in real time. The digital information can also be accessed from and stored in a remote location which supports workers that are mobile and/or located in distant locations. DC is facilitated by internet, access networks (like 3G,4G, wireless LAN, wireless broadband) and high network connectivity ; leading a surge in virtualization of computing and storage functions of digitized data [2]. Easy communication, information exchange and collaboration made possible over the global digital network with the aid of Digital Convergenc e has caused a surge in Cloud Computing; which is where digitized data, computational platform and infrastructure to compute enabled by the digital platform is stored in the cloud outside the walled premises of the organization on a sharable platform [2]. Digital Convergence is the current trend in Pervasive Computing which follows the mantra of access to information anywhere, anytime. Gartner Research states that worldwide cloud services revenue enabled by digitized data is estimated to exceed $56.3 billion in 2009, which is a jump of 21.3 percent from the $46.4 billion spent on the cloud last year [3]. Furthermore, Gartner analyst predicts by the year 2013, the Cloud service revenue will reach $150.1 billion[4]. Hence, Digital convergence (DC) is an important paradigm in information technology. Theory of digital options suggests that IT indirectly supports agility by offering firms with digital options [5], which are described as a set of IT-enabled capabilities in the form of digitized work processes and knowledge systems. This theory emphasizes that IT enhances the reach and richness of a firms knowledge and it is processed to help the firm improve its agility i.e. its ability to sense and respond to environment change. The term digital options denote that a firm may apply its IT-enabled capabilities in the form of digitized work processes to emerging opportunities, or they may remain unused depending on the dynamic capabilities of a firm [6]. In a dynamic environment; competitive advantage is short lived; hence firms continuously generate competitive actions to achieve series of short term competitive advantage and firms with greater number and variety of competitive actions achieve competitive position [7-9]. Attempts have been made to identify the factors that lead to competitiveness but there are no formal empirical study so far that investigates the link between Digital Convergence and competitive advantage. Research justification and research questions Dynamic capabilities of a firm are composed of Adaptive, Absorptive and Innovative capability[10]. Prior research has shown that Knowledge sharing and absorptive capability of the firm (ability and motivation of the firms employees to utilize knowledge) improves innovation capability of the firm[11]. Review of the previous IS research suggests that continuously generating competitive actions , Knowledge Management and Agility is important in achieving competitive position but there has been no formal empirical study that examines the role of innovation capability in improving firms business process agility and the role of Digital Convergence in leveraging innovation capability in competitive actions. There have been several calls for research to examine relationship between Organizational capabilities, Agility, digital systems and competitive actions. The specific research problems include examining the relationship between digital systems and competitive actions and Firm and network capabilities for leveraging digital systems in competitive actions[12] and examining what IT capabilities are vital to business success in contemporary digital environment? [13].There has been call for research to study the next wave of nomadic computing including Digital Convergence that enables organizations to: mobilize information, share the information, develop new forms of organizational structure, capability, and agility [1]. In response to these calls this study proposes to study the following research questions and the research model is illustrated in Fig 1. 1. Does Innovation capability of the firm help in making a firm more Agile? 2. What role does digital convergence play in influencing the strength of the proposed relationship between Innovation capability and Agility? 3. Does Digital Convergence help in developing the digital collaboration (both external and internal)? 4. What role does location of the partner play in building the innovation alliance network or in other words Digital collaborators of a firm are more locally dispersed / more globally dispersed / are they somewhat equally dispersed between local and global locations? Digital Convergence inhibits or facilitates Digital collaboration between partners that are local and global? 5. Does Digital Collaboration (like between competitors) have any role in shaping business process agility? 6. Improving the business process agility of the firm makes the firm more competitive? 7. Which type of digital collaboration is perceived to be the most valuable for enterprises innovation activities? Literature Review Digital convergence Prevalence of digitized data has resulted in Digital Convergence (DC) [14]. The Digital network today is connected with IP phone, IP camera, IP TV, Point of sale systems, digital learning devices, portable medical and other technologies that provide unified communication and collaboration tools even to those workers who are mobile. When all media is digitalBits co-mingle effortlessly. They start to get mixed up and can be used and re-used separately or together.[15] or in other words DC makes use and reuse of information easier. The definition of digital convergence (DC) has evolved over time. The assimilation of concepts on Digital Convergence from the review of literature is outlined below. In the year 1977, Japans NEC Corporation first defined DC as communications merging with computers. Digital convergence requires ubiquitous and powerful computers that can handle communications with digitized content[16, 17]. DC is the convergence of content ( character, sound, text, motion, picture into a bit stream ) and convergence of transmission ( bits can be managed and transmitted quickly and efficiently and in large volumes) enabled by distributed computing and internetworking [18]. DC can also be classified as Network convergence: Fixed to mobile convergence (FMC) is the seamless distribution of digitized content over mobile and fixed technologies enabling the collapse of boundary between fixed network operator and mobile network operators. It provides access to the digitized service irrespective of location and device. FMC means that a single device can connect and be switched between wired and wireless networks. [19]. Digital convergence can also be viewed as Business Process convergence or integration: It is the ability to represent audio, video, text and other media in digital form, manage this rich digital content and tie it to transactional capability and interactive services [20].For e.g. In a doctors office the patient signature can be captured digitally, all the business transactions like patient scheduling, recording of the information about the procedure performed and the rate for the services performed, payment collection, processing for insurance claim, patient medical records can be managed digitally and later those records can be accessed by management to track the performance of the clinic efficiently. Also the business process convergence can help business provide personalized interactive products for the consumers. DC is the ability to integrate and converge enterprise wide business process with single point of access to it, 247, where digitized data are stored in a shared repository and managed by enterprise wide software like the Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. DC is Device convergence where same digital device can be used for multiple forms of digital content used for complementary services like mobile phone can be used as video player, music player, and sound recorder, GPS, email and web search[16]. It is defined as the convergence of computing, communication and consumer electronics [21] In the current scenario, future digital convergence means producing digital environments that are aware, receptive and adaptive to humans connected in a network. The interacting computational devices connected to such pervasive, human-centered computing network are able to commu nicate with each other [22]. Digital convergence can help working from home, conduct live meeting without travelling using video conferencing. Based on Past research, Digital convergence can be summarized as convergence of: a) digital content, b) network/transmission, c) business process/service, d) digital devices and e) infrastructure supporting pervasive computing. Innovation Capability Past research on Innovation capability of a firm has concluded that it includes the ability of the firm to have product innovation capability, process innovation capability and market innovation capability which are summarized below. The role of environmental innovation capability and organizational innovation capability in shaping firm agility has not been studied so far. Product Innovation capability: Innovation capability is the ability to develop new products or services [23-25], ability to be first mover in the market [26] and ability to introduce more new products than other firms [26]. Process Innovation capability: This is the ability of the firm to develop new methods of production [23-25], develop new organizational forms[23], seek new and novel solutions to problems[23] and to discover new methods and sources of supply[23]. Market Innovativeness: This is the ability to identify new markets[23]. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is headquartered in Paris and administers Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The Community Innovation Survey (CIS) was updated recently in the year 2008 and it lists Organizational Innovation Capability and Environment Innovation Capability as new measures for innovativeness [27]. Innovation surveys were first experimented with in several Western European countries but have since been conducted in many other countries including Canada, all EU countries, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa and most Latin American countries. Organizational Innovation Capability As per the CIS 2008 [27], organizational innovation capability is the ability of the firm to have new organizational method in the business practice. The new methods includes new business practices for organising work or procedures (i.e. supply chain management, business re-engineering, lean production, quality management, education/training systems, etc), new knowledge management systems to better use or exchange information, knowledge and skills within and outside the enterprise, New methods of workplace organisation for distributing responsibilities and decision making (i.e. first use of a new system of employee responsibilities, team work, decentralisation, integration or de-integration of departments, etc) and New methods of organising external relations with other firms or public institutions (i.e. first use of partnerships, outsourcing, alliances or sub-contracting, etc.) Environmental innovation capability: As per the CIS 2008 [27], this is the ability to produce new or signi ficantly improved product (good or service), process, organizational method or marketing method that generates environmental advantage compared to alternatives. CIS 2008 also suggests that firm marketing innovation capability of a firm includes ability to make significant changes to product design or packaging, ability to develop new media or techniques for product promotion, develop new sales channel and develop new methods of pricing goods. Product Innovation capability also includes the ability of the firm to develop products adaptive to the needs of the customer. Process innovation capability includes ability to develop new or improved supporting activities for business processes and ability to provide new method of providing staff welfare (employees are provided incentives and encouraged to behave in novel and original ways) and key executives are encouraged to take new risks [27]. Competition: Knowledge Management (KM) theory and the Science of competitiveness suggests that KM improves competitive position by improving productivity, agility, innovation and/or reputation PAIR [28, 29]. In dynamic markets knowledge assets become critical as a source of competition [30]. Along with KM , greater Agility will breed superior organizational performance [31].Entrepreneurial agility (the ability to anticipate and proactively take competitive actions) and Adaptive agility (the ability to sense and react to change) are both significant predictors of sustainable competitive advantage[32]. There is also significant relationship between sustainable competitive advantage and profitability [32]. Dynamic capabilities: In fast evolving markets, competition is a moving target and firms should have dynamic capabilities to gain competitive advantage [6]. Drawing on previous research findings, Dynamic capability is composed of adaptive capability, absorptive capability and innovative capabilit y[10]. Review of literature has defined Competitive action [and response] as externally directed, specific, and observable competitive move initiated by a firm to enhance its relative competitive position[33]. Previous research has concluded that Knowledge Assets, Agility, Dynamic capability are important for being competitive but the key question that this study investigates the relationship of digital convergence with Innovation capability, building innovation co-operation, Business Process agility and competitive advantage. Agility The different types of Agility identified in the literature are : Operational (internally focused initiative), Partnering (Supply chain initiative) and Customer (demand side initiative) [5], Entrepreneurial and Adaptive[32], Strategic[34], Business-Process [35]. Operational agility has been defined in the literature as the ability to sense and seize business opportunities quickly, accurately, and cost-efficiently. Customer agility is the ability to adapt to customers, identify new business opportunities and implement these opportunities with customers; and the role of IT in customer agility is to facilitate the development of virtual customer communities for designing new product, feedback and testing. Partnership agility: is the ability to leverage partners knowledge, competencies, and assets in order to identify and implement new business opportunities. Individual firms do not have all the resources required to effectively compete and value creation for the firm can be leveraged be tter through pooling of assets between partners. The role of IT in partnering agility is to support Inter organizational networks for collaboration, communication and integration of business processes. Organizational agility is important for business success [36]. Agility of an organization is significantly determined by the operational ability of the organization. Greater agility is achieved when the Inter-organizational system used has a task and strategic fit, has been assimilated into the organization and the system is adopted network wide [31]. Organizations that are agile i.e. to be able to take competitive actions continuously perform better than organizations that dont [37]. Business-processes agility can be classified as : process-level agility, which is how quickly an organization can add new capabilities into its standard processes (E.g. how quickly a company can acquire AJAX capability into its ordering process) ; and transaction-level agility, which measures the how good the organization is in customizing capabilities for individual customer transactions (For example, how well a company can customize AJAX ordering capability to include bar-code label on the box, an RFI D tag on a certain type of container, and paper invoice with bulk billing based on the individual transaction with a customer)[38]. Theory and Propositions Resource based view (RBV) of the firm [39, 40] suggests that valuable, rare, inimitable and non substitutable (VRIN) resources and capabilities as the source of competitive advantage. The extension to this is the theory of Dynamic capabilities. This theory emphasizes that development of organizational capabilities over the time and their constant renewal by management influences can be a source of competitive advantage. In contrast to the earlier view that IT infrastructure and IT investment provides the source of competitive advantage, dynamic capabilities theory emphasizes that consistent development of the capability to apply IT , allows firms to be flexible and innovate continuously, looking put for emerging opportunities, and countervailing threats from competitors to help shape a superior firm [41]. Theory of capability state competition lists Dynamic capabilities, core competencies and resources as a basis for superior performance of a firm [42] According to the Dynamic capabi lities theory it is not just the availability of resources that matter, but also the high performance routines operating inside the firm and embedded in the firms processes that utilizes them [43]. The theory proposes that a firms IT application can be imitable across firms but the firms capability to apply IT strategically can be inimitable [44]. Based on this theory the innovation capability of a firm cannot be easily replicated by other firms and will help the firm achieve competitive advantage. Innovation was described by Schumpeter (1934) as development of new products, new methods of production, new sources of supply, opening of new markets and new ways of organizing businesses. As per OECDs CIS 2008 survey innovation ability is the ability to implement new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organisational method, or a new environmentally friendly product or process in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations. It has been suggested that firms radical or incremental innovation drives the firm to respond to market changes and opportunities[45]. This study investigates this empirically by proposing the following. Proposition 1: Innovation capability will be related to Organizational Agility. Digital systems are pervasive and can make knowledge accessible through intranets, digital knowledge repositories and databases and can make the knowledge richer by video conferencing and digital collaborative facilities. Digitization offers firms significant opportunities to achieve greater agility [46]. Digital convergence allows for transfer of digitized information in different ways. Information theory provides completely rational explanations for competitive action: those who have the information will be most aware, motivated and capable of responding. ICT use on Multifactor productivity (MFP growth) are typically linked to firms experience in innovation [47]. It has been suggested that several firm capabilities like the firms digital platform is an important enabler of agility [5]. Thus this study proposes that Innovation Capability will drive agility more for firms that have Digital convergence than for firms that do not. Proposition 2: Relationship between Innovation capability and organizational Agility will be moderated by digital convergence Firms that have digitized their process have digital options that can help create new channels to access customers, build real-time integration within supply chain network , gain efficiencies in internal operations and offering new digital products or services [48]. This study proposes that firms that have digitized their processes will have digital convergence that can help digital collaboration with customers, other members in the supply chain network, other firms in the industry, competitors and other firms within the enterprise; both locally and globally. Proposition 4: Digital convergence will promote both local and international innovation partnership. It has been suggested that Digital collaborations will result in Co-evolution among businesses which implies flexibility in the asset mix , capabilities and knowledge resulting in Agility [49]. Knowledge management is related to organizational agility [50] and conducting knowledge management leads to five types of knowledge manipulation activities: knowledge acquisition, selection, generation, assimilation, and emission[28]. Proposition 5: Digital Collaboration for Innovation has a direct relationship with Agility. Proposition 6: Organizational Agility will be related to a higher level of competitive position/competitive advantage. Research Design Data Sample The proposed research model will be empirically tested using a data gathered from managers of companies. The target respondent list will be compiled from the Dun Bradstreet database consisting of large organizations both public and private operating in North America that has a certain level of market uncertainty and competition. As per OECDs definition there are two types of innovation intensive industries comprising of a) High tech industrial companies like Manufacturing and b) companies that provide knowledge intensive services like IT consultancy, Telecom services, Banking and Financial, Retail, Insurance, Health Care, Education etc . The diverse sample from both the public and the private sector will help increase the generalizability of the results from this study. The focus of this study is digital convergence. Although the surge in digital convergence with variable strength is seen across all industry sectors and all size firms; this study focuses on medium to large companies with large number of employees. The reason being, for large size companies the availability of finance makes it easier to invest in digital systems. Methodology A pilot study with IS academics and graduate students will be conducted for the preliminary assessment of the proposed scale for each construct and to identify ambiguous questions and instructions. Cronbachs alpha (a) coefficient will be computed for each multi item scale to test for reliability. Alpha greater than 0.7 is generally considered to be acceptable reliability[51]. It is important to assess the biases that results from using a single method, a mail survey administered at a single point in time, to measure the constructs proposed in this study due to Common Method Variance (CMV). The Harmons one factor test will be used to assess CMV[52]. Measures are being taken to elicit information about all the variables that are being studied. Whatever possible existing scales will be used but new scale to measure digital convergence will be developed. A seven point likert scale (1= very Weak, 7=Very strong) was used to measure the constructs. This study adapts the previously validated scales used in the past to measure organizational innovation capability [25-27, 53]. The adapted scale in the study consists of : Product innovation which has 3 questions, Process Innovation has 4,organizational innovation has 4,Marketing innovation has 4 and Environmental innovation has 2 questions as shown in the Appendix. Digital Collaboration for innovation is active participation with other enterprises or non-commercial institutions on innovation activities using a digital platform. This type of collaboration does not require for the collaborator to benefit commercially. Pure contracting out of work with no active co-operation is excluded in defining digital collaboration for innovation. The measure is adapted from the OECD community innovation survey, 2008. It consists of selecting the different types of collaborators and their location as shown in Appendix. Eight measures of business process agility was used from a previously validated instrument [35] which was developed based on conceptual framework provided by prior research [5, 54]. These items measure how quickly and well the firms can undertake key business actions such as responding to changes in aggregate demand, customizing a product to a specific customer or market, reaction to new product or service launches by competitors, change prices or product mix, move into or retrench from markets, adopt new process and redesign the supply chain. Little empirical work has been done on Digital Convergence and this proposal synthesizes concepts from the current IS literature on Digital Convergence to help develop the operationalization of the Digital convergence Construct. This study proposes breaking down DC into 6 first order constructs consisting of content convergence, transmission convergence, Network convergence, Business Process convergence or integration, Device convergence and Pervasive digital environment; which will be easier to operationalize . The Next step will be operationalize these variables, transform the propositions into formal hypotheses for the purpose of empirical testing. This study proposes to measure competitive position of a company based on performance of their company relative to their major competitors using a seven-point Likert scale( 1-significantly decreased, 7= significantly increased) in terms of : Market share, Sales volume and Customer Satisfaction. The results from the self reported will be validated by calculating correlation with the results from accounting related measures available from Financial Reports. Previous literature supports the use of accounting measures such as Return on Sales (ROS), Return on Assets (ROA) often used as proxy for efficiency, operation income to measure a companys position to compete Data Analysis This study proposes to use PLS to estimate the research model as it is common in behavioral literature to use multiple item measures for latent constructs. Path model using PLS will be used for interpreting the main results of this study because this study uses perceptual measures coming from one respondent for constructs that require multiple item indicators. Significance of this research Innovation and Agility are seen as being important across many industries, especially those operating in a dynamic and globally competitive environment. The impact of Digital Convergence upon a firms ability to compete in such an environment has important implications for managers. The relationship between Innovation capability and Business Process Agility has not been studied empirically in context with competitive advantage. The results from this proposed study can provide guidance to managers to answer questions like: Should managers develop environmental innovation capability, organizational and marketing innovation capability to gain more Agility? Should Managers invest in digital convergence for building digital collaboration for innovation? Is there any gain in collaboration for innovation (even with competitors) in improving firm agility? Does business process agility provide competitive advantage for large companies? Will the benefit in developing innovation capability increase by investment in Digital Convergence? This proposed study is important to researchers as it adds to the growing body of literature linking a Firms capability and Agility. It draws from resource-based view of the firm and dynamic capability theory to explain the relationship between firms innovation capability and its competitive performance. This study provides an empirical test of relationship between business process agility and competitiveness. The study also provides identification of Digital Convergence. Finally, the results of this proposed study is important to respondents as it answers if the leverage of innovation capability for competitive advantage is contingent on investment in Digital Convergence.