Emerging Technology and Its Implications Essay Example for Free

Emerging Technology and Its Implications Essay With the increasing attention being accorded to climate change in the mainstream media these days, there is also an increased attention being given to technological solutions to assist in combating the problem. While such solutions are admirable in that they go above and beyond the usual calls for recycling and the purchase of ‘green’ products – which have been proven to be of trivial impact upon the large scale flaws in systems of production and consumption that characterize industrial modernity – not all of them should embraced uncritically. It is only by subjecting every proposal to save the planet to scrutiny that we can determine a truly sustainable future. One of the ideas that has been receiving increasing currency in environmentalist discussions are large scale planetary ‘technofixes’ collectively referred to as geo-engineering or planetary engineering. These include mirrors in space designed to reflect excess amount of sunlight, artificial trees designed to suck carbon out of the atmosphere, and managed release of sulfates into the atmosphere, and many, many other epic plans to manipulate the ecological fabric of our planet.   Here’s the rub: The term geo engineering is a rather questionable one, as it implies that it has the same kind of empirical or mathematical certainty as engineering when it doesn’t. It smoothens over many of the bumps and curves that characterize our problems and demand creative solutions. In effect, planetary salvation becomes as easy as building a tunnel into a hill or a bridge across a river, when in fact our collective understanding of the systemic impacts is far less than the geo engineering promoters would have us believe. One might as well call it ‘planetary experimentation.’ While the potential benefits proposed are of an epic magnitude, this magnitude would also apply to the potential consequences. Take for example a proposal to suck carbon dioxide into the planet’s oceans by seeding it with iron deposits. Many, including the Scientific Steering Committee of the Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) have observed that this has the potential to worsen ocean acidification and lead to catastrophic results for marine ecology: The oceans are complex, dynamic, unpredictable and already vulnerable †¦ We need   [to] build their resilience, not undermine it [not] quick fixes to this global problem that may [cause far more long-term harm] than good. (Gjerde) Additionally, the historical track record of large scale intervention in the name of environmental concern has never been very good to begin with, asserts Alex Steffen of Worldchanging: â€Å"From damming rivers to fighting forest fires to eliminating pests †¦ efforts have †¦ in hindsight [been] so overrun with unintended consequences as to become full-blown disasters, often †¦ worse than the original problems . [And the] cost of errors [increase] with the magnitude of the attempted solution.† (Steffen) Geo engineering is essentially a ‘silver bullet’ solution, one which reduces the political will to creatively retrofit our present lifestyles in such a manner as to be sustainable and environmentally sound, while still being able to enjoy the luxuries of post-industrial advancements. In essence, the tools for a greener world are already here and their downsides are negligible in the face of overwhelming benefits both environmental and societal. In any case, discussion over geo engineering merely provides a distraction from mustering the political will necessary to effect true change. It provides climate change skeptics a justification for political indifference to redressing our present way of life: Why opt for better designed cities, fuel efficient vehicles and profound infrastructural rethinking when we can merely ‘erase’ the effects of our problematic systems? One’s stance on geo engineering is not a question of whether you are a techno utopian or a complete Luddite. However, there is a major distinction to be made between technology that is transparent in agenda, collaborative in nature, and egalitarian in application as well as easy to remedy and technology that is centralized, expensive and difficult to reverse. Between â€Å"Star Wars†    a missile defense system saddled with so much corruption that does nothing to provide for homeland security and nuclear power – a promise of perpetual source of energy whose failures wreaked massive consequences – we ought to regard geo engineering with suspicion: dangerous until proven safe. Geo engineering is unnecessary. â€Å"Fixing† the planet in such a manner is turning a blind eye to the way we live: it shows a lack of innovation and political courage that is necessary to the bright green future.   Works Cited Stiles, Lori. â€Å"Space Sunshade Might Be Feasible In Global Warming Emergency.† NASA Earth Observatory. 3 November 2006. Retrieved July 8, 2008 from: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2006/2006110323537.html Bentley, Molly. â€Å"Guns and sunshades to rescue climate.† BBC News. 2 March 2006. Retrieved July 8, 2008 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4762720.stm Gjerde, Kristina. â€Å"Hold back the geo-engineering tide.† BBC News. 11 December 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2008 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7133619.stm Romm, Joseph. â€Å"Rule three of offsets: No geo-engineering.† Grist Magazine Online. 27 July 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2008 from:   http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/27/144848/844

Essay --

Daniel Nitinthorn Professor John Ganim English 020A December 13, 2013 Progress of Literature Language and experimental form define the Modern period as ideas that were originally forbidden began to surface and writers especially began to express new notions of humanity through these developments. In William Butler Yeats’ â€Å"The Second Coming,† the reader gets glimpses of the combinations of religions and how they represent a cultural language that is on a different spectrum than writing in the Victorian era. Ulysses by James Joyce begins to experiment with form and surfaces ideas so novel that they are too vulgar to show to the general public. There is a change in the culture during this era that is shown through the the experimentation of writing and the topics being written about. â€Å"The Second Coming,† with its christian title refers to the British culture and how it will relate to the rest of the world. It is a poem that talks about the second coming of the savior who will only come after the beast of the apocalypse, or the antichrist. There is a notable change in the language as Yeats refers to this antichrist as looking like an Egyptian sphinx but relates both Egyptian culture and a Christian, British culture. While the Victorian era was heavily influenced by the idea of â€Å"otherness,† the Modern period began to see connections between all of the world’s cultures and how it relates to their own. One of these mixing of cultures comes when Yeats says, â€Å"The Second Coming! †¦A shape with a lion body and the head of a man† (2482). He shows â€Å"The Second Coming,† which is a Christian idea and then brings in the Egyptian sphinx. The mixing of these images presents a language that would not have been heard ear lier as this now relates two... ...ses, as it relates to â€Å"The Second Coming,† is a play on form of literature to help express new ideas that needed to be presented in this new era of culture The experimentation of language and form are focal points in the Modern period. As this new era was forming, there was a call for a new form of literature especially to fill the new literate classes that rose due to an increase in those who had access to education. This new form helped express new ideas of the era that would not have the same effect with earlier language. Ulysses is the major change in form that helped show human consciousness by spilling out the thoughts of the characters. New ideas about culture and humanity rose from â€Å"The Second Coming† due to the improvements in the English language. The experimentation of form and language allow literature to present emerging ideas in a newly formed era.

Essay About Politics

In Regeneration Pat Barker utilises the character of Burns as a way of presenting the extent to which the society have managed to damage the young soldiers. Burns is a fictional character used as an extreme case in Craiglockhart Hospital that presents the emotional destruction that all soldiers feel and further enhances the strain from society on Burns individually shown in the actions he uses to demonstrate a severe deterioration.It is clear that the war is continuously playing on the mind of Burns in this extract by the militaristic imagery he uses when describing, what to other members of society, would be simply a normal walk around. On the bus journey first of all he describes the rattle of branches on the bus windows as sounding like ‘machine-gun fire’, which depicts the constant reminder he faces of the front line. The reaction of Burns trying not to be caught ‘crying out’ having heard these sounds suggests just how stressful being reminded of war in any way can be.Throughout this extract Burns also shows the discontent he feels and the struggle he faces to do the simplest of tasks such as walking up a hill. Barker refers to Burns’ struggle as ‘climbing the hill between trees’. The clever use of ‘climbing’ suggests the physical struggle he faces but also draws parallel with the feeling of climbing in and out of trenches on the western front that he formally faced, therefore hints at the idea that being reintegrated into British society was as much a â€Å"war† as it was when fighting on the western front.Again Pat Barker manages to show Burns facing the mirrored difficulties of war when he is ‘slipping and stumbling’ in ‘his mud-encumbered boots’ just like if he was in the harsh conditions of war. However we know that actually the ‘ploughed field’ he was walking through was nowhere near as difficult to travel through as in the western front which high lights how he has got far worse since returning which could possibly be due to the added pressure of society that he has been unable to adapt to life back home.Another key indicator that displays the pressure that has affected the character of Burns is the physical strains he faces. He depicts the discomfort with human contact so he ‘tensed, not liking the contact’ which indicates the disconnection he feels from society. Barker also further illustrates the dissatisfaction with life in general with his very pessimistic reflection on the day at the beginning. Looking at his room window he envisaged a ‘blurred landscape’ and the ‘sky and hills’ dissolved ‘together in a wash of grey’.The ‘grey’ and ‘blurred’ landscape that would have realistically have held much greater detail in rural Scotland- where Craiglockhart was located- shows the insignificance of the surrounding world for these struggling soldiers. Th ese dull adjectives simply underline the feeling of being fed up that Burn would have felt having being withdrawn from war and now has understood that he no longer has much meaning in life due to the societal pressure forced upon him.The feeling of being fed up that Burns portrays is seen through his dislike for spending time with others in the ‘common room’. He describes the talk as ‘facetious tones’ describing how he does not care what people have to say as it does not wish to spend time socialising with others due to the domino effect that he feels alienated from society. The men appear to sit around the ‘common room’ and talk about ‘the war, the war, the war’ showing how annoyed he is that this is all people talk about.The repetition of ‘the’ shows that this was the single most important thing of the time and this has left Burns feeling annoyed that he would rather just disconnect himself from everyone instead of f eel pigeonholed to only talk about such a distressful topic. As Billy Prior mentions later on in the novel this club ‘will be the club to end all clubs’ whereas Burns clearly does not comply with this. Physical strain on him. Paranoid- everything is against him. Possibly signs of disconnection from society leaving him emotionless. Conclusion. Print bibliography and photocopy extract.

Love And Disguise In The Twelfth Night Essay

The art of love suggests that this complex emotion cannot be easily defined; it must instead be conceptualized within the confines of language and images.   One writer that mastered this presentation of love is William Shakespeare. Through his sonnets and plays, he immortalized the concept of love for readers of all generations.   His comedy Twelfth Night in particular presents love as an elusive object which throws out many tricks along its path.   Through the artful use of language and disguise, this play presents love as a comic yet sentimental quest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first words in this play are spoken by a man in love – â€Å"If music be the food of love, play on:/Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, /The appetite may sicken and so die† (I,i,1-3).   Duke Orsino is lovesick for Lady Olivia, who, unfortunately, has gone to great lengths to avoid his pursuit.   He uses a metaphor comparing himself to a hart hunted by love’s â€Å"cruel hounds† (I, i,   22).   This use of negatively connoted language reveals to the reader how much pain and suffering the Duke feels due to this unrequited love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The plot becomes ironic when the shipwrecked Viola chooses to disguise herself as a eunuch, a serving boy, in the house of Orsino in order to quietly pass the time until she can find out if her twin brother has survived the same disaster at sea.   In doing so, she finds that she has fallen in love with him but cannot express it because she is masquerading as a man.   Her job is to woo Olivia, who is continuing to disguise herself in her mourning garb to thwart Orsino, which creates a further complication in that Olivia herself falls for the man that she thinks Viola is – Cesario.   Thus, a triangle forms:   Viola loves Orsino who loves Olivia who loves Viola (as Cesario).   Clearly the point that love is confusing is well-taken.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yet, this play has more to say about the complexities of love.   Olivia marvels at the quick onset of her feelings: â€Å"How now!/Even so quickly may one catch the plague?† (I, v, 206-207).   Again, love is presented here as an illness to be avoided.   TO make matters worse, Malvolio, Olivia’s grumpy servant, carries a secret love for his mistress.   When Olivia’s uncle and his friend, who also loves Olivia, find out, they set him up for embarrassment.   The love letter he ‘finds’ compels him to make romantic gestures toward Olivia, who has him banished for madness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The further irony is that the choices of love interests in this play defy reason.   Orsino emphatically asserts that nothing and nobody can â€Å"bide the beating of so strong a passion/ as love doth give my heart;† (II, iv, 72-73) for a woman that has constantly spurned him.   Olivia, on the other hand, has fallen in love with a disguised woman: â€Å"I love thee so, that maugre all thy pride,/Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide/† (III, i, 121-122).   Viola, disguised as a man, loves a man, and Malvolio has made the unfortunate mistake of loving a woman out of his class.   Of course Andrew has been convinced to love Olivia as well, out of Toby’s malevolent and usurious needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role that disguises play in the love situations above cannot be ignored.   With the possible exception of the Duke, nobody is who they seem to be on the outside.   Typically, Olivia would not fall for another female, but the traits in the person she perceives to be a male jive with her own desire for independence and autonomy.   Likewise, Viola knows that she cannot formally announce her love for the Duke because she is disguised as a male.   However, he is drawn to her because he must somehow sense her femininity.    Olivia is pretending to still be in mourning for her brother’s death by hiding herself under a veil, though the period for mourning has long since passed.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Further, when Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother enters the picture, Olivia naturally gravitates to him, resulting in hilarious results.   Oddly, he accepts her proposal of marriage only minutes after coming in contact with her. This just goes to show that the characters in this play are not serious about love while they are disguised.   It is characterized as a painful, cancerous emotion, yet they still seek it.   When the characters finally are able to express their emotions as their true selves, the love seems more substantial. The marriage of Sebastian and Olivia is false until she realize that she hasn’t married Cesario, but really Sebastian.   Likewise, the moment that the Duke discovers that Cesario is really the woman Viola, he offers his hand to her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What appears to be a happy ending is itself disguised.   The reader must wonder what has compelled these individuals to profess their undying love then change their minds so quickly.   If love is as painful as they might suggest, why pursue it in the first place?  Ã‚   The idea of the happy ending is shadowed in the forced marriage by bet of Toby and Maria, and the angry outburst of the wronged Malvolio.   The marriages of the play are reduced to a farce, which the clown can only sum up with a song. Reference Shakespeare, William.   Twelfth Night.   Mineola, NY:   Dover, 1996.

Getting Traction for Your Books †by Justin Mares

Getting Traction for Your Books - by Justin Mares Getting "Traction" for Your Books - Interviewing Justin Mares â€Å"Most startups don't fail at building a product. Most startups fail at getting traction.† - Traction BookThe same can be said of books. Most authors don’t fail at writing a book, they fail at finding their readers and selling the book to them. This is why we’ve always stressed how authors and startups are similar, and how, when it comes to marketing, authors can learn al lot from startups.So today, we decided to bring some of the best startup marketing advice to the Reedsy blog: Justin Mares is the co-author of the Traction book, a bestseller and true reference work for early-stage startups planning their marketing strategy. As usual, the transcript of the most important points of the interview is provided below Hi Justin, it’s really amazing to have you on our Reedsy podcast. You’re the co-author of the Traction Book, which I think is one of the very best marketing books for startups. For our listeners who don’t know about it yet, could you quickly give us the pitch?Sure! So Traction is a book that is there to help startups with the hard part of â€Å"what do you do once you have a product?† The book approaches how to go about setting up a growth process, how to figure out what channels are good for your business, and then has a chapter on each one of the 19 â€Å"channels† that we have identified as ways for a business to acquire customers.And you’re now releasing the second edition. What’s interesting is that you self-published the first one, and then got picked up by Penguin, how’s the experience been?Interesting†¦ Yes, it’s been interesting. Like anything, there are positives and negatives. On the positive side, the sec ond edition is in bookstores, it has been professionally edited, it is a lot crisper, we did a bunch more iterations and stuff like that, so it’s a really good book.On the negative side, things move a lot more slowly, and you lose some of the creative control that you have when you’re self-publishing a book.So on balance, I think it was the right decision, we’re really happy with Portfolio (Penguin), it’s been a great experience working with them, but there certainly are some positives and negatives.That’s really interesting, and I can definitely understand why, coming from a startup and tech background, you would find traditional publishing slow. Now, on another note, I like to think that authors are a little bit like startups, and that they should approach marketing in the same way we do. Would you agree with that?Definitely. And that’s something we mention in our book: if you approach things in a systematic way - that we talk about in our book- you are far more likely to have things work out. And we found that applying that process we describe in the book to our own marketing of the book had the same impact and allowed us to do really well.And that’s why I usually recommend authors to read the Traction book and use the approach you describe. Now, just quickly for our readers, could you sum up that approach?Sure! So what we talk about is basically: look at the potential channels (ways) you could market the book, and then figure out, if you want to sell, say, 5000 copies, which of these channels is going to allow you to sell that number of copies. [Read more about the â€Å"bullseye† approach here] Look at the potential ways you could market your book and test the ones that make most sense. So in our case we looked and we said: â€Å"ok, we think email marketing is going to work well, we think doing blog guest posts is going to work well, and we think podcasts will work well†. Once we figure that out, we ran small tests on each of these three channels. We measured them and saw that podcasts and email marketing far outperformed guest posting.So then we thought: great, let’s get on every potential podcast we can, get on every potential newsletter that has a relevant email list, and let’s just focus on those instead of doing all three of them in the hope that one will work (which is what a lot of people sadly do when it comes to marketing).This makes sense. And it’s interesting because, as you say, a lot of authors try to do everything at one time (social media, newsletter, advertising, blog tours, etc.) and when you do that, you lose focus and waste time and resources.Exactly. I mean, there are so many things you can do as an author, as a marke ter or as a business person to market your stuff. The possibilities are effectively limitless, so what you have to do is figure out what the best use of your time is, and spend as much time doing that as possible. That’s what our approach effectively tries to help people with: if you’re trying to sell your book, or grow your company, focus only on the things that really matter, and ignore everything else. That makes sense. The one thing that makes it a bit trickier for authors, is that often they sell their books through platforms like Amazon, iBooks or Kobo, which they don’t control. So how do you do the tracking in a case like this, how can you know which â€Å"channels† are bringing you which sales?Great question. This is something that is certainly a challenge, it’s not easy. But we found a couple of things you can do. For one, we could look at our rough sales rank and see, if we launch a certain campaign today, see what our sales rank does.The other thing you can do is set up Amazon affiliate links so that if someone promotes your book, you can give them a unique affiliate link that allows you then to see how many people clicked on the link and how many made a purchase as a result of it.That way we were able to track the number of people who bought through email promotions, through guest posts, through podcasts, etc.Yes, we’d heard the affiliate link t actic before (from Mark Dawson), so I’m glad you mentioned it. Now, you had this non-fiction book that you marketed very well. If you had to put yourself in the shoes of a fiction author, which channels would you test first?Hmm, it’s a hard one. I think basic marketing principles can apply here, and you’ve got to ask yourself the right questions.First, who are the people who are most likely to enjoy or resonate with your book, and where are they hanging out? Then, how are these people finding out about new fiction books today? What are the bestselling indie authors in your genre and how did they do their early-stage marketing?I would look at all these things and see what you can replicate and what you can’t.I think that one thing that is really powerful in driving book discoverability today is still word-of-mouth. Would you agree with that?Oh definitely, I’ve got 150 books on my reading list that have been recommended to me†¦So as an author, w hat can you do to help encourage or kickstart word-of-mouth?The biggest one is to write literally the best book that you could ever think of writing. One reason why I think Traction has done really well is that if you are someone who is working on a startup, I can legitimately recommend that book to you - even if I wasn’t one of the authors.I had coffee with someone four hours ago and he told me â€Å"oh yeah, my friend is running growth at this one company and he said that Traction was a really good book, so he gave it to me and now I’m meeting with you†. And that only happens when you write a really good book that becomes one of the reference works in its category.I think that’s the #1 thing you can do for word-of-mouth. Otherwise, things that we’ve done is we’ve inserted little bonuses where after reading the book, you can go get bonus material on the website and once you’re signed up to our mailing list we have referral systems li ke â€Å"forward this to a friend and we’ll give you another bonus†. 'To drive word of mouth, just write the best book you could ever think of writing.' @jwmares Thanks for the insights, Justin! And again, I really recommend the Traction book to both startup people and authors because it offers a good approach and a good breakdown of all the channels you can use to sell your books.Follow Justin Mares and Reedsy on Twitter: @jwmares and @ReedsyHQWhat channels have worked for you in your book marketing activities? How do you track your efforts and measure your results? Leave us your thoughts, or any questions for Justin, in the comments below!

8 Steps to Landing a Job By Graduation

8 Steps to Landing a Job By Graduation Graduation can be terrifying, especially if you haven’t yet set up a job. But there are a few sure fire things that you can absolutely do to set yourself up to be employed right out of college. Follow these steps and you’ll set yourself up very well. 1. Network, Network, NetworkYou know it’s all about who you know. And the more people you know the better. If you haven’t built your massive web of connections yet, don’t panic. It’s never too late to start. Start shaking hands, dusting off your LinkedIn page, tweeting, joining professional organizations, getting mentored. Play the student card while you have it. Hit up your alumni database and milk your college career department for everything you can. Then just water your contacts and watch them grow!2. Hone Your Soft SkillsYour resume may be maxed out to the gills with valuable skills and experiences, but there are a few things you can’t necessarily acquire in the same fashion. People s kills, emotional intelligence, self-awareness†¦. these are things you can dig deep to work on gradually, but will serve you immensely in the end.3. Focus on Your PassionHiring managers can tell if you’re not really all that keen to work at a certain company. The best way to project the kind of positive attitude you need is to make sure you’re focusing on interviewing for the jobs that make you most excited. This will also help you make sure you’re well prepared for every interview. Remember: interviewers will be reviewing your application and every inch of your online presence they can find. You should expect to do the same. Do your homework, get the job.4. Hone Your Hard SkillsNo matter how well you’ve prepared for your first job market during your college years, there will be some holes in your resume that you wish you could fill to land your top jobs. Take a course, or a series of webinars, and start developing those skills you’ll need to g et where you most want to be.5. Sell YourselfYou’re not merchandise, but as far as landing a job goes, you sort of are. Embrace the shameless self-promotion now. It’s a lesson you have to learn early in your career if you want to have one. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to snuff, build yourself a web site, and take your resume and business cards with you- everywhere. Push your comfort zone and build yourself a reputation that will get you hired.6. DiversifyDon’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread your net a little wider. Seek out a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to learn. See what you like while you have time to make a go at anything.7. Be EntrepreneurialMaybe you don’t have to be the goody-goody with five internships under your belt. You could be the college kid that started her own business and so wowed the interviewer that you got the job over the candidates who looked better on paper. Show that you’re gutsy and a self -starter and that can go a very long way.8. Sharpen Your Job SearchLearn the tricks of job searching early. Figure out what kind of company you want to work for, do your research, get your foot in the door. Seek out people who have worked there for intel, or mentorship. And keep an eye out for the really cool opportunities.

Reality Show Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reality Show - Personal Statement Example From acting to production, from camera-handling to costumes, the television industry is on the swell, attracting numerous individuals with employment opportunities. And who would not love to be a part of the whole glitz and glamour! Of course, I am no exception to this. If given the opportunity to become part of the television industry and conceptualize my own television reality show, I would ensure that my show contains all the ingredients required for a super hit show. Reality shows are television shows that usually involve hosts, judges and participants. The show evolves by the participation and judgment of the participants' abilities that are tested during the event of the show, by the judges. The participants could be the general public or even celebrities. The host is usually a well-spoken, attentive and interactive person, who knows how to make the participants feel at home, while also talking about their talents and capabilities. He acts as the link between the participants and judges, as also between the viewers and the people on the show! The