CME Hosting Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

CME Hosting Company - Case Study Example Additionally, the data and information stored in databases is extremely confidential and should not be offered for public view. On the other hand, a lot of businesses are completely dependent upon information stored in computers systems. For instance, they use databases to store staff details, personal data, salaries, clients’ information, marketing, sales information, bank account details and so on. Moreover, in absence of such database system, it would be very hard for a company to work properly. Thus, there is a dire need for implementing an effective information security procedure to secure this data and information (Crystal, 2012; Nash, 2000). Furthermore, effective data and information security systems integrate a variety of strategies for better security products, skills and events. In addition, software applications such as firewalls and virus scanners are not sufficient on their own to secure this precious data and information. ... This report is aimed at analyzing present status of information security at the corporate. This report will offer an insight into the security arrangements presently available at ACME Co. as well as some new technologies needed to be deployed for the effective management of information security at in different corporate areas. Part I Threat Assessment In this section I will conduct a detailed analysis of some of the important threats at ACME Co. regarding provision of new web services for Citizens Wellness (CW) application by large health care company named Well-Health Inc. The basic aim of this analysis is to discover those major threats which currently exist in web services of ACME Co. as well as how these threats can damage or create issues for the information and data privacy for Citizens Wellness (CW) application. In this scenario, one of the primary risks is regarding staff related security risk. For instance, any bad staff person can hack or damage the business database or sys tems working. In addition, there is no proper way for staff recruitment. As well, there is no process for assessing background of staff members. The next main issue that I have assessed is regarding dissimilarity of operating systems’ versions and patches. In case of such misbalance among these versions and patches, there is no single and identical way to deal with security management of the business. Moreover, one of the biggest threats that can create an alarming situation for the business is the absence of anti-virus software on ACME servers. I have assessed that work stations of organization’s employees/contractors still do not have any protection procedure against malwares. There is another issue regarding network services of ACME which is the absence of internal

BUSINESS LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

BUSINESS LAW - Essay Example The difference between them is that the former pre-qualify on the basis of â€Å"good citizenship† working on a part-time basis while the latter are lawyers who sit as full time judges. The former sits in threes with the aid of a legally qualified clerk whilst the latter sits alone (Kelly et al 2005 p. 51; Whincup 2006 p. 7). The Crown Court is part of the Supreme Court together with the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It is a single court which sits in 90 centres unlike the magistrates’ court which is a local court. A Crown Court centre is divided into three tiers: the first tier deals with both civil and criminal cases; the second tier hears criminal cases, and; the third tier hears criminal cases presided by circuit judges and recorders (Kelly et al 2005 p. 52). The Crown Court has a two-fold jurisdiction: original criminal indictable cases, and; appeal cases from summary convictions in the magistrates’ courts. If the accused enters a plea of not guilty, the Crown Court judge hears the case with a jury of twelve. The Court also hears either way-offences (Kelly et al 2005 p. 52). The Magistrates’ Courts, aside from having jurisdiction over criminal cases as stated earlier, have also civil jurisdiction. This civil jurisdiction is largely confined to domestic issues like adoption, affiliation, guardianship and the maintenance and separation issues in separation and divorce proceedings between husbands and wives (Whincup 2007 p. 7).. The County Court is part of the national system and hears minor civil disputes, claims for contract breaches and torts up to  £50,000. A lone judge sits, sometimes joined by a jury. It also hears small claims (below  £5000) although the task is relegated to a registrar who is the court’s administrative officer and follows a less stringent procedural method (Whincup 2007 p. 7). The High Court deals with the most important civil cases with its approximately 100 judges appointed so by the Lord Chancellor. It has

The relationship between double dissociations and cognitive processes

The relationship between double dissociations and cognitive processes A relationship implies the way things interconnect and includes ways these groups regard and behave towards one another. Double Dissociations (DDs), modularity and connectionist modeling (CM) will be introduced. Discussions about their strengths and weaknesses, how advances in technology have added value to existing data and possible theoretical models will follow. Research community opinions will be explored as these factors impact the extent to which these processes uphold one another. Prior to 1960 the brain was primarily understood in terms of behaviorism where human behavior was thought of in actions of stimuli and response rather than through structure and organizational process (Cohen, 2000). Computer technology and cognitive psychology seemed to be a natural match as cognitive psychologists frequently used computers for analogies to explain the human brain. Armed with philosophies concerning modularity scientists started to explore ways in which computer technology could model actions of the human brain (Parkin, 1997). Cognitive neuropsychology leans on the theoretical framework provided by cognitive psychologists and detailed observation of brain behaviors and is noted for comparing differences between how an intact system works and what happens when it becomes damaged. Parkin (1997) shares an example of the difference between determining function for individual modules of an intact television set. He points out that observing modular failures in the set may be more informative than separating out the multiple components and how they contribute to media transmission. Even if one is ignorant of the workings of a television, by observing consistent mechanical failures it can be noted that it is possible for a television to lose sound and retain a picture or to retain the picture and lose the sound. By this it could be assumed that the components are independent of one another. The same principles can be applied to mechanical failure in a car or in the human brain where these observations can be foun d in the form of Double Dissociation (DDs) (Parkin, 1997). Dissociation is the process of identifying the neural substrate of a specific area of brain function. DD was a term originally used in statistics where 2 independent variables (IV) have different effects on two dependent variables (DV) where one IV affects DV1 but not DV2 and the second IV affects DV2 but not DV1 (Tauber,1955). In neuropsychology 2 independent brain areas are functionally dissociated by 2 cognitive tests. DDs are seen as the result of traumatic damage, disease or congenital deformities and offer a window into processes that normally operate in symbiotic ways such as the ability to understand and communicate with language (Parkin, 1997). DDs are sometimes criticised as reductionist however they can be vital signposts for estimating functional perimeters. DDs are useful for showing what happens when functional impairment occurs in one area of the brain leaving another area intact, while in other individuals the opposite functional pattern emerges (Shallice, 1988). It is challenging to find DDs where there are no mitigating factors or co-morbid conditions and some researchers recommend a classification system to rate DD extent and quality (Shallice, 1988; Parkin, 1997). DF is an individual with a single dissociation. She sustained Visual Form Agnosia when her ventral stream, the area responsible for the conscious identification of visual objects became impaired. Visual areas in the dorsal stream needed to identify color and texture remained intact so she could identify fruits and vegetables but was unable to identify a card, even though she was able to push it through a slot. She could draw on long term memory to draw objects but later when asked to identify them could not (Milner and Goodale cited in Datta, 2004). D.B. another person was found to have unconscious/covert visual function, allowing her to do better than chance on forced choice experiments which tests knowledge of areas she claimed not to see (Stoerig Cowey, 1992). DDs are noted in the contrast between deep dyslexia and surface dyslexia. The term dyslexia describes disorders of language concerning reading and spelling and can be acquired as the result of trauma or can be present at birth).Deep dyslexics have semantic, visual and reading errors (Plaut Shallice, 1993), they fail to name pseudo words but can name some exception words indicating the non lexical or visual route remains impaired but the phonological/lexical route was intact. Surface dyslexics can accurately name the pseudo words but demonstrate difficulty when pronouncing exception words such as pint which they pronounce as though it rhymed with lint. This indicates the non lexical/ visual route is intact but the lexical/phonological is impaired (Naish, 2000). Connectionist modeling (CM) is the process of using the computer to model various components of brain function so the patterns of how they work together can be observed. CMs, like the brain are layered for sequential tasks. The influence of the neuron is based on the strength of its connection and learning or recognition is achieved by altering the strengths of connections between learning. In models this is accomplished by assigning weights and connections that are determined by predetermined rules (McLeod, Plunkett Rolls, 1998) Modeling relies on gaining understanding of cognition through rule-guided transformation of mental representations. Hinton Shallice (1991) designed a connectionist model and used this to replicate co-occurrences of semantic and visual errors. After training the model to map from orthography to semantics it was lesioned. Three common network properties were identified to reproduce deep dyslexia, distributed orthographic/ semantic representations, gradient descent learning and attractors for word meanings. A fourth factor proved valuable which consisted of increasing the ratio of concrete to abstract semantics. The network replication proved useful for studying deep dyslexic patterns however may not be an accurate representation of how the brain learns (Plaut Shallice, 1993). DD and connectionist modelling have worked together to explore prosopagnosia, (face blindness). Face recognition has been traced to the fusiform area of the brain and because it is domain specific and information encapsulated there are characteristic of modularity present (Carlson, 2007). In Prosopagnasia it is common for face perception to show impairment, while object recognition remains intact (Cohen, 2000). Within prosopagnosia some people retain covert recognition without overt recognition. (De Haan, Young, Newcombe, 1987) explored this, utilizing behavioural techniques with PH, who sustained trauma related prosopagnosia. PH was only able to recognize two out of multiple faces he was tested on, moreover he was unable to discern famous from common faces above the level of chance, yet he retained the ability for covert recognition which was identified by the use of galvanic skin response testing and forced word choice testing where he did better than would be possible by chance. CM to study prosopagnosia was adapted to investigate whether recognition was sequential and temporally driven and how the information was linked to determine comprehension. (Cohen et al, 2000). It was found significance in the first process is unnecessary for successful execution of the adjacent process and this observation was later strengthened by FMRI findings (Cohen et al, 2000). Adjustments to face recognition CM were the result of what was already known through DDs about overt and covert recognition. The model allowed repetition of the patterns and the ability to alter parameters to resolve questions about timing versus modular involvement. Hidden layers in the network work to average error across the network and the covert learning is seen in the model. It learns by minimizing error to produce responses for information not directly inputted to the model (Cohen, Johnston Plunkett, 2000) LaVoi Naish, (2009) urge that the simplicity of available cognitive models cant mirror the complexity of the human brain and that at best the networks are useful for modeling small tasks. Cognitive neuroscience was originally dominated by case studies, cognitive modelling in the form of neural networks and carefully developed neuropsychological testing tools. DDs were critical tools for discovery (Parkin, 1997). Modularity was observed through behaviour and confirmed at post mortem or through animal studies. Technology lacked capacity to ethically observe structural brain changes in living participants. The brain was dissected and stained after dearth so changes could be observed. Differences in function were more readily seen by brains that were damaged (Parkin, 1997). DDs provided and continue to contribute valuable information in living patients and in lesioned laboratory animals. Brain impairments can also be explored and charted through case studies of cognitive dysfunction in humans and animals. There is considerable research done with animal models due to ethical and financial constraints. One added advantage of animal studies is that multiple generations can be studied in fewer years than it takes a human to reach maturity (Carlson, 2007). Recently Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) technology has been used to approximate a lesioned condition however TMS is temporary and fails to show results of long-term impairments. Hubel and Wiesel used kittens to demonstrate extended light deprivation during critical periods in development can cause permanent visual impairment. When light was restricted to one eye, the seeing eye took over function; however the kittens failed to develop binocular vision. Research delivered insight for ocular dominance and childhood cataracts (Goldstein, 2001). They contributed to visual neurophysiology by demonstrating how signals from the eye are processed by the brain where they generate detection of motion, edges, color and depth perception (Carlson, 2007). The research supports cortical plasticity studies by revealing plasticity can be developmentally triggered as well as domain specific. Similar activity occurs in hearing and motor domains (Ramachandran, Altschuler, 2009). The brain is dynamic and adapts in impairment which has implications for modularity assumptions and consequent rehabilitation (Purves, 2008). A 1949 manuscript cited by Scoville and Milner (1957) reveals findings of significant memory loss in two patients with medial temporal lobe surgery (MTLS including the hippocampus. In 1957 Scoville and Milner warned other surgeons not to overlook the role of the hippocampus which brings us to the study of HM. HM was one of Scovilles patients in 1953 and a victim of MTLS. HMs difficulty began with a bike accident at age seven, initially recovery seemed normal but three years later HM sustained intractable seizures. At age 27, HM underwent experimental surgery in hope of limiting seizure activity. The bilateral medial temporal lobe MTLS reduced seizure activity but also impaired HMs ability to learn new information, mental processing speed, and episodic explicit memory, resulted in language impairment and erased long term memory (Scoville and Milner, 1957; Corkin, 1984; Sagar et al., 1985). He remained a case study from age seven until after his death at age eighty three. Ironically one of the few individuals he continued to recognize was Dr. Scoville who remained involved with his care until his death. There is no evidence of Scoville blaming others or shirking responsibility for his surgical actions. After HMs death at his request and with the guidance of his guardian, HMs brain was donated to science to help others. HMs brain was dissected and the procedure broadcast online (Science Blogs, 2009) HMs cognitive impairments spanned memory, visual, and language domains providing a long term picture of how network involvement and developmental changes may follow the removal of domain specific anatomy. These impairments were more clearly defined by recent advances in imaging technology such as high definition functional magnetic resonance imaging available in HMs later years however some of the impairments may have been present from the onset of his epilepsy. Deficits on tests of executive functions and hippocampal involvement are common unusual in epilepsy patients, pre and post surgery. They can be prone to perseveration as well as language and motor skill impairments (Hermann et al., 1988; Horner et al., 1996; Martin et al., 2000; Trenerry and Jack, 1994). H.M.s neurological examination in 2005 reveals his medications still included prescribed anti seizure medications, Tegretol, Paxil, and Tegretol-X. Additionally in 2002-4 when HMs brain was re-scanned extensive white matter damage and corpus callosum fiber and cortical thinning beyond that considered normal for his age group was discovered in addition to the original damage from the resection. This may indicate modular damage can impair the networks and other modules that interface with it. Initially there was resistance in the medical community to naming the hippocampus as the seat of memory because animal models did not demonstrate the same degree of disruption as HM (Barr, Goldberg, 2003). This cultural mindset and lack of information may have been a factor in Scovilles failure to recognize the earlier warning signs about memory retention and hippocampal involvement. The hippocampus was gradually accepted by the medical community as a structure having domain specific function that was critical to information encapsulation. More recently it has been noted that memory may have significant network features mediated by paths in the frontal lobes rather than an exclusively domain specific module (Barr, Goldberg, 2003). Case studies such as HM (Henry Molaison) are valuable to cognitive neuroscience as they can show the transition of theory over time and how views on what constitute modularity are subject to change. There are similar findings where severe childhood brain injury led to widespread long term negative effects on white matter architecture and restricted the potential for brain growth. Damage patterns in the hippocampus indicate the white matter injury may come from the lesions restricting long term cerebral blood flow (Tasker, 2006). Neural network architecture could possibly model patterns of learning but would lack the capacity to predict developmental cascades in organic brain matter (Shallice, 1988). Scientists such as Broca who identified the segment of brain mainly responsible for language understanding and Wernicke who found areas relative to speech production are examples of how DDs increase understanding of localist function. Broca and Wernicke both researched aphasia post-mortem at the same time period in history and compared cases (Purves, 2008). Wernicke identified the area of the brain responsible for language comprehension and named it Wernickes area. Carl Wernicke was the scientist who discerned there was a regional difference between patients with aphasia dividing those with expressive aphasia (produce language) and those who sustained receptive aphasia (understand language) Wernicke located impaired language patients whose left frontal lobe was intact. These patients experienced language impairments in the area of comprehension and even though their speech was well formed it made little sense. Wernicke found that the area of the brain damaged in these patients was a small area in the left parietal cortex. Wernickes area is considered responsible for accessing words and decoding them for speech, whereas Brocas patients could understand language but could not transform them into understandable speech (Purves, 2008). Broca found speech accuracy impairment in expressive aphasia was due to the brains inability to produce language rather than the mouth failing to produce words. (Purves, 2008) Brocas patients included Leborgne who could only repeat the word tan and Lelong whose vocabulary consisted of only five words. Both patients were found to have lesions in the left frontal lobe an area later named as Brocas area. These patients led Broca to assume speech was region specific in the brain. Brocas area is presumed to be the syntax module and Wernickes area the semantics module (Purves, 2008). Wernicke and Brocas areas until recently appeared to fill some of Fodors (2000) conditions for modularity including domain specificity, autonomy and information encapsulation. The extent of this modularity is being examined in the light of more recent findings incorporating high tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Additional damaged areas are now identified as contributing to speech disruption. It was found that although Brocas area specific lesions can cause speech disruption, they are unlikely the source of complete and permanent speech impairment (Dronkers, Plaisant, Iba-Zizen, Cabanis E (2007). Additional evidence that Brocas area can be largely destroyed and language can remain intact was presented in a case study involving a computer engineer who had a tumor in Brocas region. The tumor and Brocas area were destroyed but he was able to function with minimal language problems and return to his work 3 months post surgery (Grodzinsky Santi 2002). Ongoing problems included an inability to create complex sentences, or relay reported speech. The problems were reported as working memory deficits and his recovery was explained by neural plasticity of the surrounding cortical area and a shift of some function to the right hemisphere (Grodzinsky Santi 2002). It seems unlikely that working memory could be the causation factor as the occupation he returned to is one highly dependent on working memory access. There is no report of auditory working memory in this individual differing from his visual working memory so it may be that Brocas area is not so easily dismissed (Grodzinsky Santi 2002). Figure 1 Broca and Wernicke areas NIH publication 97-4257, http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/aphasia.asp (accessed 17/04/2010) Evidence from children who learn to read after a TBI indicate those who relearn reading or recover language may not be as fluent as they were previously (Ewing-cobb, Barnes, 2002). The adverse effects of diffuse axonal injury extend to linguistic development in the areas of discourse processing, lexical development and reading. An analogy could be the functional capacity deficit experienced when one injures the writing hand and has to adjust to using the alternate one. It appears the older and more expert a child reader is at the time of injury the better chance they have of functional recovery in the area of language (Ewing-cobb, Barnes, 2002). The areas of working memory and speed of processing for mediating recovery were acknowledged by Ewing-cobb and Barnes as an area for further research. Functional MRI (FMRI) reveals more explicit localization in the way language is used than that proposed by Broca and Wernicke as evidenced by (Lyons, Mattarella-micke, Cieslak, et al, 2009) who maintain language activates domains and networks beyond the areas commonly ascribed to language processing and that the expanded process influences the language experience. Gonzà ¡lez, Barros-Loscertales, Pulvermà ¼ller, Meseguer, Sanjuà ¡n, Belloch, et al. (2006) found that neural areas which access word meaning can include related sensory systems. For instance accessing the meaning of the word vanilla may activate the olfaction and gustatory systems. Action language can activate motor regions used to complete these actions (Lyons et al, 2009). One example (figure 5) shows left dorsal premotor cortex activity. This area is considered central to selection of higher level action plans and contributes to increased comprehension of sport specific and signals increase in strength in accordance with levels of expert learning (Beilock et al., 2008). This is much like the trend cited by Posner, (2004) in regards to the fusiform area being more than face specific with expert learners. Hickok Poeppel, 2007; Vigneau, Beaucousin, Herve, Duffau, Crivello, 2006) found left dorsal premotor cortex activity is modulated by personal experience when category specific action related language is used (figure 5) Figure 2 Shows brain activation differences between expert and novice hockey players when category specific language is introduced indicating language is also accessed via motor pathways (Lyons, Mattarella-micke, Cieslak, et al, 2009) This may have profound implications for cognitive rehabilitation when Brocas or Wernickes area are damaged however it is important to note that in spite of the coordination of other networks these areas are still largely domain specific for functional capacity. Cognitive models can be supportive in logging where, and to what extent cognitive functioning is systematically impaired or spared. They can offer some insight as to whether the function in question is mainly modular or if it is distributed like a network (Cohen et al, 2000, McLeod, Plunkett, and Rolls, 1998: Parkin, 1993). Present cognitive models lack the processing power to model complex modules and the inclusion of multi sensory network architecture (|Naish, 2000) The modularity assumption is ascribed to philosopher Fodor who conceptualizes the brain as having modular characteristics and goes on to define modularity as domain specific, autonomous, innately specified, hardwired (neuronal path specific), informationally encapsulated, and not assembled (Coltheart,1999). Multiple areas of the brain are considered to have modular characteristics but do not meet all the criteria for Fodors model by (Cohen, Johnson Plunkett, 2000). Fodor insists he has never maintained the brain is modular but only that it contains modular characteristics which he goes on to describe. Fodor (1983) does not believe the mind is massively modular explainable by computational or excessively modular models, instead his emphasis is on the function of a mental state rather than its biology and he maintains modularity can be by degrees rather than on an all or nothing basis (Fodor,2000). Fodor (1983) gave his model (figure 2) three components. The transducers act like perception whose task is to convert precepts or stimuli into signals for neurons. The input systems he envisions interpret the information within mainly modular platforms. The central system operates as an executive system Fodor suggests basic aspects of vision, and language have modular characteristics and Fodor describes the central system as responsible for reasoning, problem solving analysis and making choices as network mediated (Fodor, 2000). The diagram below shows a limitation of this model in that it is feed forward only without feedback networks. Figure 3 Fodor, J.A. (1983) the Modularity of Mind, MIT Press/Bradford Books Scientists such as Posner, 2003; Gordon, Arns Paul, 2008 and Williams, Brown,, Palmer, Liddell, Kemp, Olivieri, et al. 2006) have credited neural network models as learning tools from which they have derived theoretical models of how the brain learns (Posner Carr, 1992) Two of these models will be briefly described to demonstrate that neural networks contribute to the understanding of the functional patterns of the brain. Rennie, (2001) a physicist, models the large-scale electrical activity of the brain and mapped the neuronal activity from temporal and localist assumptions. His model has contributed to the development of the integrate theory model where conceptual knowledge of cognition, biology, modelling, physics and even psychiatry are combined to propose how the brain integrates cognitive and emotional feedback(Gordon, Arns , Paul,2008 ). The integrate model could allow for cognitive function based on fight/flight mechanisms and internal/external motivators while still retaining the modular aspects. Although the integrate model was conceptualized by information accessed by observing Rennies cognitive modelling of the brain, contributions of genomics, neuropsychology, psychiatry, case studies, neuro-imaging and meta analysis are in use to further develop the model (Gordon, Arns , Paul,2008 ). This model explores age and temperament stimulus processing changes, and possibilities for personalized psycho-active drug formulation. Fight /flight response is represented in how emotion is processed and its affect on language response. In this model there is feedback and feed forward mechanisms at all levels (Williams, Brown, Palmer, Liddell, Kemp, Olivieri, et al. (2006). Figure 4 Integrate Model http://brainNET.net (accessed 11/04/2010 Posner employed cognitive modelling networks investigating patterns for attention which informed his theory on executive attention networks and assisted the design of attentional network training for children (Posner Rothbart, 2007). This computer training module used in his research demonstrates functional neural plasticity in that long-term gains in attention, language skills, working memory, visual perception and executive functioning are observed (Thorell, Lindqvist, Nutley, Bohlin, Klingberg, T. 2009). The advantages extend to near and far transfer tasks such as language acquisition, working memory and cognitive load capacity. Posner describes the brain as a network but does not deny domain specificity plays a role in identifying localization. His emphasis is on mental states, a position similar to Fodor, (Posner Rothbart, 2005). Posner refers findings which favour localized mental operations as an opportunity to explore neural plasticity and uses elements of face processing to support his position. Posner references the common activation that occurs in the fusiform area when experts think about a domain of expertise rather than an exclusive face recognition task. He maintains that if we see localizations in the form of mental operations it would be natural for to share operations in common (Posner, 2004). In fact (Corbetta Shulman, 2002) show localization of separate mental operations within the parietal lobe which merge with a larger network to align attention to specific targets (McCandliss, Cohen, Dehaene, 2003) Posner and Tang (2009) have recently explored attention state models and how they influe nce learning and communication. See a diagram of Posners conceptual model below: Posner model of localization of aspects of executive attention states www.dana.org/NEWS/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=23206 accessed (14/04/2010) The relationship between DDs and the modularity of cognitive processes in conjunction with the role CMs play is informed by ongoing research. Ellis and Young (1988) indicate unearthing a double dissociation, is only a starting point as processes and the aspects they mediate in common need careful identification. Crowder (1972) comments investigating the necessity of a two process theory may be more informative than the properties of individual processes (Plaut, 2003). DDs and CMs may oversimplify functional processes leading to distorted perceptions of neuroanatomical systems. Dividing executive function and episodic memory may undermine mutual network connections to temporal lobe systems, (Barr, Goldberg, 2003) DDs are useful for showing what happens when functional impairment occurs in one area of the brain leaving another area intact, while in other individuals the opposite functional pattern emerges (Parkin, 1997). The correlations can act as a reference in a similar way to a labelled fuse box which points the way to the specific appliance that caused an overload malfunction in the system. Fuses can be individually tested for function and the electrical impairment can be isolated for further review. CM simulates to some extent how patterns can develop in response to stimuli and injury. CMs work on an input in/out basis and as a result are unable to account for the complexities of phenotype variations influencing cognition (Naish, 2000). The patterns themselves are more concrete than abstract concepts and this may lead to insights about how specific cognitive processes work. FMRI, TMS, Galvanic skin response, single cell electrical recording, Magneto-encephalography, Quantitative encephalography, Positive electron tomography, Single photon emission computed tomography methods all allow neuro-anatomical functional observations with living individuals/animals. This informs understanding about modularity and the interaction of adjacent structures. It is important to note that each technology has limitations, MRI with temporal resolution, MEG and QEEG with spatial resolutions. With TMS artificial lesions can be created without harm to living participants by means of magnetic stimulation however, this process is time limited and can produce artefacts. These methods add to the foundation laid by early cognitive neuroscience and in some cases lead to confirmation or disputes about the original findings (Carlson, 2007). Bowers (2009, 2010) for instance notes single cell recordings may be consistent with localist coding rather than a distributed model based on the fact that neurons in the hippocampus and certain areas of the cortex may selectively respond to one stimulus out of many. His assumption is that because the IA word identification model uses single units to code for specific units it is not distributed. Parallel Distributed Processing networks (PDP)s rely on graded constraints and interactivity to determine actions that are consistent with the systems knowledge as determined by connection weights between units. However, (Plaut and McClelland, 2010) claim PDP neural network could learn localist grandmother cells in training specific learning conditions. The CMs are built from mathematical formulas using incomplete knowledge, they can be useful for showing patterns however it is illogical to expect them to uphold something they were only created to simulate and this thinking leads to unintentional error in interpretation. Statistically constructed mathematical computer models are built by the National Institute of Highway Safety to assess levels of diffuse axonal brain injury using squid axons (IIHS, 2007). These axons are electrical synaptic models rather than the chemical synaptic structure commonly found in human brains. Chemical synapses are less robust and more vulnerable to secondary cell death than the electrical synaptic structure (Roberts, 2005). Myelination damage cannot be measured by squid axon models. The resulting inaccuracies prejudice compensation claims for diffuse axonal injury survivors who often sustain language and vision impairments as the squid axon model can survive higher impact without brain damage. (Price, 2007) Cohen reports being disturbed by the ad hoc tinkering of connectionists trying to make the model work. Naish retorts that if connectionists tinker it is only to appear to model what neuro-physiologists claim to have found. He notes the complexity of the brain and notes this leave cases open for contamination by extraneous variables (Naish, 2009). Parkin (1997) states DDs may contain co-morbidities and research will reflect this. Literature tends to report simple conditions because they are easier to understand (Naish, 2009). Rebuttals can include neuro-psychologists calling connectionists tinkerers and connectionists accusing neuro-psychologists of cherry picking cases. This may reflect frustrations of research demands in a rapidly evolving field. Hinton reports CMs require labelled training data and most data learning relevant data is not constrained by labels. The signals CMs attempt to replicate require different equations than biological neural signals creating comparative discrepancies (Hinton, 2010). The brain processes data for 10^14 labels @ 10^9 per second, well beyond what computers presen

Uncle Toms Cabin :: Uncle Toms Cabin Literature Papers

Uncle Tom's Cabin Methodological Introduction In writing this essay, I was specifically interested in discovering what was behind the genre protest against Uncle Tom's Cabin. Consequently, the brunt of my research has been historical -- seeking out criticisms of the novel, written immediately or shortly after its publication, that deal with the issue of genre. Although this study is by no means comprehensive, I have attempted to do a general analysis of the specific protests themselves, and then use this analysis as a means to demonstrate the shortcomings and advantages of fiction, specifically as seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and how Stowe exploited them to her own purposes. The major limitation of this essay is a lack of comprehensive historical research. The research I was able to do within the limited scope of this project is only a scratching of the surface. That is why I term my analysis "general." As well, I have been fairly 'free' in my application of this analysis as indicative of Stowe exploitation the genre of fiction. T his has helped me appreciate the power of the novel more deeply, but may be more undergraduate conjecture than solid academic analysis. Essay: 'The Little Lady Dost Protest Too Much, Methinks' Fiction has enormous power. It can inspire those who read it to acts of great courage. Or it can incite them to destructive hatred. There are countless examples of the power of narrative. Jesus often told parables -- pithy, fable-like stories -- to illustrate his teaching. According to St. Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus told the "Parable of the Vineyard" the chief priests and Pharisees "perceived he was speaking of them" and "sought to lay hands of him" (21.45-46). Apparently the religious leaders understood the point directed against them by the fictional narrative and did not appreciate its meaning. When Harriet Beecher Stowe published her anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, in 1852, Southerners naturally took offense. Indeed, they were outraged. After all, the novel attacked the basis of their whole way of life. Slave-run plantations were an essential part of Southern culture. Uncle Tom's Cabin created a furor of controversy and even violent responses. The Southern Literary Messenger warned its readers that Stowe speaks for a large and dangerous faction that must be put down by the pen, else "we may be compelled one day (God grant that the day may never come!) to repel them [them] with the bayonet" (Duvall 163).

French Revolution, Cause and Effect 1789

The pivotal event of European history in the eighteenth century was the French Revolution. From its outbreak in 1789, the Revolution touched and transformed social values and political systems in France, in Europe, and eventually throughout the world. France's revolutionary regime conquered much of Western Europe with its arms and with its ideology. But not without considerable opposition at home and abroad. Its ideals defined the essential aspirations of modern liberal society, while its bloody conflicts posed the brutal dilemma of means versus ends. The revolutionaries advocated individual liberty, rejecting all forms of arbitrary constraint: monopolies on commerce, feudal charges laid upon the land, vestiges of servitude such as serfdom, and even (in 1794) black slavery overseas. They held that political legitimacy required constitutional government, elections, and legislative supremacy. They demanded civil equality for all, denying the claims of privileged groups, localities, or religions to special treatment and requiring the equality of all citizens before the law. A final revolutionary goal was expressed by the concept of fraternity, which meant that all citizens regardless of social class, region, or religion shared a common fate in society, and that the well-being of the nation sometimes superseded the interests of individuals. The resounding slogan of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity expressed social ideals to which most contemporary citizens of the Western world would still subscribe. I. Origins Those who made the Revolution believed they were rising against tyrannical government, in which the people had no voice, and against inequality in the way obligations such as taxes were imposed and benefits distributed. Yet the government of France at that time was no more tyrannical or unjust than it had been in the past. On the contrary, a gradual process of reform had long been underway. What, then, set off the revolutionary upheaval? What had changed? An easy answer would be to point to the incompetence of King Louis XVI 1774-1792) and his queen, Marie Antoinette. Good-natured but weak and indecisive, Louis was a man of limited intelligence who lacked self-confidence. Worse yet, his young queen, a Hapsburg princess, was frivolous, meddlesome, and tactless. But even the most capable ruler could not have escaped challenge and crisis in the late eighteenth century. The roots of that crisis, not its mismanagement, claim the principal interest of historians. The philosophes In eightee nth-century France, as we have seen, intellectual ferment preceded political revolt. For decades the philosophes had bombarded traditional beliefs, institutions, and prejudices with devastating salvos. They undermined the confidence that traditional ways were the best ways. Yet the philosophes were anything but revolutionaries. Nor did they question the fact that elites should rule society, but wished only that the elites should be more enlightened and more open. Indeed, the Enlightenment had become respectable by the 1780s, a kind of intellectual establishment. Diderot's Encyclopedia, banned in the 1750s, was reprinted in a less expensive format with government approval in the 1770s. Most of France's 30 provincial academies_learned societies of educated citizens in the larger towns had by that time been won over to the critical spirit and reformism of the Enlightenment, though not to its sometimes extreme secularism. Among the younger generation, the great cultural hero was Rousseau (see picture), whose Confessions (published posthumously in 1781) caused a sensation. Here Rousseau attacked the hypocrisy, conformity, cynicism, and corruption of high society's salons and aristocratic ways. Though he had not exemplified this in his personal life, Rousseau came across in his novels and autobiography as the apostle of a simple, wholesome family life; of conscience, purity, and virtue. As such, he was the great inspiration to the future generation of revolutionaries, but the word â€Å"revolution† never flowed from his pen. Underground literature More subversive perhaps than the writings of the â€Å"high enlightenment† was the underground literature that commanded a wide audience in France. The onarchy's censorship tried vainly to stop these â€Å"bad books,† which poured in across the border through networks of clandestine publishers, smugglers, and distributors. What was this fare that the reading public eagerly devoured? Alongside a few banned works by the philosophes, there was a mass of gossip sheets, pulp novels, libels, and pornography under such titles as Scandalous Chronicles and The Private Life of Louis XV. Much of this material focused on the supposed goings-on in the fashionable world of Paris and Versailles. Emphasizing scandal and character assassination, this literature had no specific political content or ideology. But indirectly, it portrayed the French aristocracy as decadent and the French monarchy as a ridiculous despotism. II. Fiscal Crisis When he took the throne in 1774, Louis XVI tried to conciliate elite opinion by recalling the Parlements or sovereign law courts that his father had abolished in 1770. This concession to France's traditional â€Å"unwritten constitution† backfired, however, since the Parlements resumed their defense of privilege in opposition to reforms proposed by Jacques Turgot, Louis, new controller general of finances. Turgot, a disciple of the philosophes and an experienced administrator, hoped to encourage economic growth by the policy of nonintervention or laissez-faire. When agitation against him mounted at Versailles and in the Paris Parlement, Louis took the easy way out and dismissed his troublesome minister. The king then turned to a Protestant banker from Geneva with a reputation for financial wizardry, Jacques Necker. A shrewd man with a strong sense of public relations, Necker gained wide popularity. To finance the heavy costs of France's aid to the rebellious British colonies in North America, Necker avoided new taxes and instead floated a series of large loans at exorbitant interest rates as high as 10 percent. Short of a complete overhaul of the tax system, little improvement in royal revenues could be expected, and the public would bitterly resist any additional tax burdens that the monarchy simply imposed. Facing bankruptcy and unable to float any new loans in this atmosphere, the king recalled the Parlements, reappointed Necker, after tarying several other ministers, and agreed to convene the Estates General in May 1789. III. Estates General to National Assembly The calling of the Estates General created extraordinary excitement across the land. When the king invited his subjects to express their opinions about this great event, hundreds did so in the form of pamphlets, and here the liberal or â€Å"patriot† ideology of 1789 first began to take shape. The Third Estate While the king accorded the Third Estate twice as many delegates as the two higher orders, he refused to promise that the delegates would vote together (â€Å"by head†) rather than separately in three chambers (â€Å"by order†). A vote by order meant that the two upper chambers would outweigh the Third Estate no matter how many deputies it had. It did not matter that the nobility had led the fight against absolutism. Even if they endorsed new, constitutional checks on absolutism and accepted equality in the allocation of taxes, nobles would hold vastly disproportionate powers if the Estates General voted by order. In the most influential of these pamphlets, Abbe Emmanuel Joseph Sieye posed the question, â€Å"What is the Third Estate? † and answered flatly, â€Å"Everything. † The enemy was no longer simply absolutism but privilege as well. Unlike reformers in England, or the Belgian rebels against Joseph II, or even the American revolutionaries of 1776, the French patriots did not look back to historical traditions of liberty that had been violated. Rather they contemplated a complete break with a discredited past. As a basis for reform, they would substitute reason for tradition. Cahiers For the moment, however, the patriots were far in advance of opinion at the grass roots. The king had invited citizens across the land to meet in their parishes to elect delegates to district electoral assemblies, and to draft grievance petitions (cahiers) setting forth their views. Highly traditional in tone, the great majority of rural cahiers complained only of particular local ills and expressed confidence that the king would redress them. Only a few cahiers from Iarger cities, including Paris, alluded to the concepts of natural rights or popular sovereignty that were appearing in patriot pamphlets. Very few demanded that France must have a written constitution, that sovereignty belonged to the nation, or that feudalism and regional privileges should be abolished. Elections Virtually every adult male taxpayer was eligible to vote for electors, who, in turn, chose deputies for the Third Estate. The electoral assemblies were a kind of political seminar, where articulate local leaders emerged to be sent by their fellow citizens as deputies to Versailles. These deputies were a remarkable collection of men, though scarcely representative of the mass of the Third Estate. Dominated by lawyers and officials, there was not a single worker or peasant among them. In the elections for the First Estate, meanwhile, democratic procedures assured that parish priests rather than Church notables would form a majority of the delegates. And in the elections to the Second Estate, about one third of the delegates could be described as liberal nobles or patriots. â€Å"National Assembly† Popular expectation that the monarchy would provide leadership in reform proved to be ill-founded. When the deputies met on May 5, Necker and Louis XVI spoke to them only in generalities, and left unsettled whether the estates would vote by order or by head. The upper two estates proceeded to organize their own chambers, but the deputies of the Third Estate balked. Inviting the others to join them, on June 17 the Third Estate took a decisive revolutionary step by proclaiming its conversion into a â€Å"National Assembly. † A few days later 150 clergymen from the First Estate joined them. The king, who finally decided to cast his lot with the nobility, locked the Third Estate out of its meeting hall until a session could be arranged in which he would state his will. But the deputies moved to an indoor tennis court, and there swore that they would not separate until they had given France a constitution. Ignoring this act of defiance, the king addressed the delegates of all three orders on June 23. He promised equality in taxation, civil liberties, and regular meetings of the Estates General at which, however, voting would be by order. France would be provided with a constitution, he pledged, â€Å"but the ancient distinction of the three orders will be conserved in its entirety. † He then ordered the three orders to retire to their individual meeting halls. This, the Third Estate refused. When the royal chamberlain repeated his monarch's demand, the deputies, spokesman dramatically responded: â€Å"The assembled nation cannot receive orders. Startled by the determination of the patriots, the king backed down. For the time being, he recognized the National Assembly and ordered deputies from all three estates to join it. Thus the French Revolution began as a nonviolent, â€Å"legal† Revolution. IV. The Convergence of Revolutions The political struggle at Versailles was not occurring in isolation. Simultaneously, the mass of French citizens, already aroused by elec tions to the Estates General, were mobilizing over subsistence issues. The winter and spring of 1788-1789 had brought severe economic difficulties, as crop failures and grain shortages almost doubled the price of flour and bread on which the population depended for subsistence. Unemployed vagrants and beggars filled the roads, grain convoys and marketplaces were stormed by angry consumers, and relations between town and country were strained. This anxiety merged with rage over the behavior of â€Å"aristocrats† in Versailles. Parisians believed that food shortages and royal troops would be used to intimidate the people into submission. They feared an â€Å"aristocratic plot† against the Third Estate and the patriot cause. Bastille When the king dismissed the still-popular Necker on July 11, Parisians correctly assumed that the counter-revolution was about to begin. Instead of submitting, they revolted. Protesting before royal troops (some of whom defected to the insurgents), burning the hated toll barriers that surrounded the capital, and seizing grain supplies, Parisian crowds then began a search for weapons. On the morning of July 14 they invaded the military hospital of the Invalides where they seized thousands of rifles without incident. Then they laid siege to the Bastille, an old fortress that had once been a major royal prison, where gunpowder was stored. There the small garrison did resist and a ferocious firefight erupted. Dozens of citizens were hit providing the first martyrs of the Revolution, but the garrison soon capitulated. As they left, several were massacred by the infuriated crowd. Meanwhile, patriot electors ousted royal officials of the Paris city government, replaced them with a revolutionary municipality, and organized a citizens militia or national guard to patrol the city. Similar municipal revolutions occurred in 26 of the 30 largest French cities, thus assuring that the capital's defiance would not be an isolated act. The Parisian insurrection of July 14 not only saved the National Assembly from annihilation but also altered the course of the Revolution by giving it a far more active, popular dimension. Again the king capitulated. Removing most of the troops around Paris, he traveled to the capital on July 17 and, to please the people, donned a cockade bearing the colors of white for the monarchy and blue and red for the city of Paris. This tricolor was to become the flag of the new France. The Great Fear These events did not pacify the anxious and hungry people of the countryside, however. The sources of peasant dissatisfaction were many and long standing. Population growth and the parceling of holdings were reducing the margin of subsistence for many families, while the purchase of land by rich townspeople exerted further pressure. Seigneurial dues and church tithes weighed heavily upon most peasants. Now, in addition, suspicions were rampant that nobles were hoarding grain in order to stymie the patriotic cause. In July peasants in several regions sacked the castles of the nobles and burned the documents that recorded their feudal obligations. This peasant insurgency eventually blended into a vast movement known as the Great Fear. Rumors abounded that the vagrants who swarmed through the countryside were actually â€Å"brigands† in the pay of nobles who were marching on villages to destroy the new harvest and cow the peasants into submission. The fear was baseless, but it stirred up hatred and suspicion of the nobles, prompted a mass recourse to arms in the villages, and set off new attacks on chEteaus and feudal documents. Peasant revolts and the Great Fear showed that the royal government was confronting a truly nationwide and popular revolution. The night of August 4 Peasant insurgency worried the deputies of the National Assembly, but they decided to appease the peasants rather than simply denounce their violence. On the night of August 4, representatives of the nobility and clergy vied with one another in renouncing their ancient privileges. This set the stage for the Assembly to decree â€Å"the abolition of feudalism† as well as the tithe, venality of office, regional privilege, and social privilege. Rights of Man and Citizen By sweeping away the old web of privileges, the August 4th decree permitted the Assembly to construct a new regime. Since it would take months to draft a constitution, the Assembly drew up a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen to indicate the outline of its intentions. A rallying point for the future, the Declaration also stood as the death certificate of the old regime. It began with a ringing affirmation of equality: â€Å"Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on common utility. The Declaration went on to proclaim the sovereignty of the nation as against the king or any other group, and the supreme authority of legitimate law. Most of its articles concerned liberty, defined as â€Å"the ability to do whatever does not harm another . . . whose limits can only be determined by law†; they specified freedom from arbitrary arrest; freedom of expression and of religion; and the need for represent ative government. The Declaration's concept of natural rights meant that the Revolution would be based on reason rather than history or tradition.

Dollar General Case

Dollar General: Case Study #1 Timothy Mayer Professor Perreira 02/01/2010 Executive Summary: Dollar General Corporation is a leader in the discount retail industry, but clearly could use new information systems to further establish its presence and dominate the industry. The ability of Dollar General to set up new stores quickly, at a low cost, and efficiently has enabled them to maximize their revenue, while keeping costs minimal. Dollar General is very dependent on the ability of the management they place in charge of each store opening, known as the setter, to coordinate the process and make sure the opening runs as smoothly as possible. The setter must be able to train the store manager to run the Dollar General store to the exact specifications presented by the upper management of the company. Dollar General does depend on some information systems to help open and establish its stores. They have contracts with companies, like IBM and Spacenet, which set up most of the technological requirements for their stores. These relationships allow for Dollar General to monitor and accelerate the creation of new stores in a way that is familiar and comfortable for them. However, once the stores are up and running information systems are not utilized to their fullest extent. This has lead to numerous inventory and employee issues that are costing the stores and company money. With the economy in the USA at one of the lowest points it has been in history, Dollar General is in a perfect position to increase sales and establish a greater industry presence. They must adapt and embrace though technology that can help establish this growth in order to continue to be successful. Case Study Dollar General’s use of information systems is a far from perfect system. They have the technology in place for the most part, but do not fully utilize its potential. They clearly do not fully embrace technology. They use a satellite system over a higher speed options and do not use networks to enhance their operations. Their reasoning for this is to keep the overhead costs down, but this increasing the overall deficiencies of their business. The main process that suffers from the lack of information systems s their inventory process. When inventory arrives at a store, it is not scanned nor is the amount of goods verified or noted. This had lead to the shrink rate, the amount of loses in sales a store writes off, to increase and develop a distrust between corporate management and the employees at the stores. Dollar General uses inventory information systems at their distribution centers already. By adapting this technology on the store level, Dollar General will be able to sol ve one of the biggest problems they face. Dollar General clearly has found a niche in their industry that has worked for them for years. In order to keep their status and grow further they need to increase the budget they provide to each store for technology systems. The economy of the United States is at a perfect place for discount stores to flourish. The limitations and issues created by the lack of advanced systems will eventually catch up to them and cause more losses of revenue. The initial costs might be greater, but over the long term Dollar General will position itself in a better place.