Science Research Paper

Science Research Paper For years consciousness was not researched in the scientific community. The scientific community is very objective and saw the internal mental processes of consciousness as being too subjective to study. Just recently, scientists, philosophers, and psychologists have been rejecting the idea than consciousness is too hard to study and have been attempting to try to understand its true meaning. Consciousness is one of many mysteries in the scientific world that social scientists and neuroscientists presently can’t agree on. Consciousness has been at the center of many discussions in articles and books involving neuroscientists and psychologists. They have been debating over what field will constitute consciousness, psychology or neuroscience. Neuroscience is considered a â€Å"hard science† and Psychology is considered a â€Å"social science.† What do I mean by â€Å"hard science† and â€Å"social science?† A hard science is a science that is completely objective in its research and doesn’t speculate or determine the subjectivity of the area in which it is studying. A social science is a science that deals with the subjectivity of an area of study. Psychology is the science of the human soul. It is the scientific knowledge of the activities and functions of the human soul relating to the brain and consciousness experience. It is concerned with the facts and is objective to a point, but tends to speculate more than a hard science and also develops theories that are not necessarily able to be proven true. Because Psychology uses theories to tie the physical aspects to the psychological ones, it will have a greater role in the near future in explaining the mysteries of consciousness. What is consciousness? Many have tried to define consciousness but none presently have developed a definition that is acceptable to all scientists. Francis Crick, a Professor at Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, defines consciousness as, â€Å"attention and short term memory† (99). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines consciousness as â€Å"immediate knowledge or perception of the presence of any object, state, or sensation or a special awareness or sensitivity.† (174). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language has a more vivid definition of consciousness but neither fully explain all the elements involved in consciousness. Supporters of neuroscience believe that the mystery of consciousness can be solved using technology, and there is no need for social scientists to speculate over why the brain functions in the way it does. They believe in the future they will have the technology to understand all the functi ons of the brain. Psychologists on the other hand believe that technology can’t possibly answer the questions concerning how the brain interprets the things we perceive and what gives rise to subjective experience. David J. Chalmers, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, categorizes the questions in consciousness into two types of categories. The â€Å"hard problems† and the â€Å"easy problems† (98). The â€Å"easy problems† are concerned with interpreting how the brain’s functions work. They are very objective questions and will probably be answered by neuroscience in the future. An example of an â€Å"easy problem† would be, how do different neurons in different sectors come together at a precise moment and form a picture in our brain? The â€Å"hard problems† deal with the â€Å"why† questions. They ask how the brain’s processes work to bring us a subjective experience. An example of a hard problem would be, why do we b ecome sad when a certain song is played? Other hard problems are how our eyes perceive things and why these neural pathways are connected to the brain. These questions are all questions that cannot possibly be explained by neuroscience, they may however be able to be explained by theories developed by psychologists. So far only the â€Å"easy questions† about consciousness have been addressed by scientists and neuroscientists, and there hasn’t been a theory devised by either neuroscientists or psychologists completely explaining what consciousness is. David J. Chalmers classifies the views of consciousness into two groups, mysterianism and reductionism (97). The reductionists believe that one day consciousness will be fully explained by the methods used only by the hard sciences. There are two key figures in the area of neuroscience that are considered reductionists. Francis Crick of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in San Diego and Christof Koch of the California Institute of Technology, propose that â€Å"consciousness comes from certain oscillations in the cerebral cortex that fire neurons that are precisely synchronized with different parts of the brain† (99). In this way two pieces of information in the brain come together to make a whole picture. This hypothesis might in time answer one of the easy questions of consciousness but it doesn’t answer the hard question of why these oscillations give us a conscious experience. This explanation of consciousness and many others like it explain how the functions of the brain carry out functions but don’t touch on why the performance of these functions accompany a conscious experience. David J. Chalmers describes mysterians as â€Å"believing that consciousness will never be explained by either psychology or neuroscience† (97). He believes consciousness is very difficult to understand fully, but in time may be resolved by a new theory from the Psychological world. Such a theory would have to envelop physical laws that tell us about behavior in the physical systems of the brain. The new theory would also have to encompass psychological laws that tell us how those systems are associated with conscious experiences. If these two components are combined they will explain all there is to know about consciousness. This theory will not be conclusively testable because there will be a lot of speculation involved, but if the theory coincides with the data gathered from the physical research in experiments done, then it will be considered a good theory. Consciousness will always be a mystery to the â€Å"hard sciencesâ€Å" and the â€Å"social sciences.† Technology will not advance enough to fully explain consciousness in the near future. It will take a huge breakthrough in neuroscience to even begin to explain all the elements that give rise to a conscious experience. The only way consciousness will be explained presently is by a psychological theory that can tie physical aspects into psychological aspects. To accomplish this, one must do some speculation, and if one has to speculate, his theory will not be acceptable to the hard sciences because it isn’t backed by hard facts. There is no plausible way neuroscience can explain all the elements related to consciousness because its technological resources are so limited. Psychology can theorize about why the brain’s functions operate the way they do, but they will ultimately have no way of proving their theories. Both areas of science have their weaknesses, bu t psychology is much closer to explaining the â€Å"why† questions about consciousness than is neuroscience. Neither Neuroscience nor psychology may ever understand consciousness, but psychology is our best bet in our quest to understand the functions of the brain that make us aware, or conscious.

10 Modes of Modifiers

10 Modes of Modifiers 10 Modes of Modifiers 10 Modes of Modifiers By Mark Nichol A modifier is a sentence element a word or a phrase that provides details. Three types of modifiers exist: those that qualify by answering the question of how or under what conditions something occurs, those that set conditions or explain circumstances by answering the question of who, what, when, where, and why, and those that provide reasons or conclusions. Modifiers can also be classified into these categories: 1. Initial dependent clause: â€Å"Even though I was tired, I went for a walk.† 2. Initial infinitive phrase: â€Å"To calm down, I went for a walk.† 3. Initial adverb: â€Å"Immediately, I went for a walk.† 4. Initial participial phrase: â€Å"Trying to distract myself, I went for a walk.† 5. Mid-sentence appositive: â€Å"I, in an effort to calm down, went for a walk.† 6. Mid-sentence participial phrase: â€Å"I, trying to distract myself, went for a walk.† 7. Terminal present participial phrase: â€Å"I went for a walk, hoping to distract myself.† 8. Terminal past participial phrase: â€Å"I went for a walk, soothed by the breeze.† 9. Terminal resumptive phrase: â€Å"I went for a walk a walk that did me good.† 10. Terminal summative phrase: â€Å"I went for a walk, an activity that calmed me down and distracted me from my troubles.† And, for a bonus, employ a combination of phrases: â€Å"Even though I was tired, I, in an effort to distract myself, went for a walk, soothed by the breeze.† Thanks to this variety of ways to modify a sentence, writers need not be concerned about producing pedestrian prose. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†What's a Male Mistress?Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

Teaching and presentation skills FOR NURSING AND SOCIAL WORK SKILLS Assignment

Teaching and presentation skills FOR NURSING AND SOCIAL WORK SKILLS - Assignment Example I will evaluate and analyse my teaching practice using SWOT analysis in order to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of my teaching practice. The first stage of Gibbs Model is description which requires me to describe the situation or event I dealt with. I was required to deliver a lesson using teaching and presentation skills. The lesson I selected for this purpose was on Direct Payments. The aim of my lesson was to enable the students to explore the idea of Direct Payments and to provide them a guideline about how payments are arranged and supported within councils. The experience of teaching was quite new to me yet I decided to work hard. To build up confidence for the task I studied extensively and prepared attractive teaching aids. I studied all the important aspects of Direct Payments and prepared my notes for the lesson. Using these notes I made some colourful slides containing all the important points of the lesson and some diagrams showing the direct payment procedures. In order to make my teaching effective I also prepared the case study notes and handouts. I presented well to my peers, but I was very nervous due to stage fright. The first two minutes of the presentation were really hard since I was feeling anxiety. I was conscious about the facial expressions of my students who were in reality my peers. However, to hide my nervousness I kept my voice a bit loud and held my hands on the dais in order to appear calm and confident. In the beginning I was not quite sure about how the students and my evaluators felt about my lesson but with the passage of time I became more confident and delivered the whole lesson within the prescribed time. The response of my peers or students was quite encouraging which was evident from their high level of interest and good class participation. Their positive response made me feel more confident and self-assured. The third stage in Gibbs (1988) model of reflection is evaluation in which I am

Artist Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Artist Research - Essay Example The two images, the mother/daughter, and the Rites of Passage show tensions coming up as the digital representation connects with both the photographic or analogue view. Both images are created using a video digitizer and then superimposed on a live video image. The final images are as photographs from the computer monitor. Joan Truckenbrod uses various phenomena in her work in trying to make an impression in the eye. Both of these works are envisioned into the natural world that at many times is invisible from the naked eye. She uses phenomena such as wind currents reshaping material in their path and electrical vibration with electrons theatrically playing. Her algorithmic images extended into color and transformative patterns (Renee Diane Klaas, 2) The invisible phenomena in motion are represented by patterns from sequential series and finally they are transferred on fabric by used of xerography. As a digital artist, Joan Truckenbrod’s work is truly a masterpiece. To start with the images are truly eye catching and only then does an artist realize the energy and effort put in making the images a reality is just incredible. She is a pioneer in the digital arts being a professor in Art and Technology Department at The School of Art Institute in Chicago. She is among the first artists to exhibit digital images in the 70’s. Art is a story and Joan can tell her stories and express what she sees in her world in a very creative manner. The use of various phenomena in the production of her digital images is just remarkable (Renee Diane Klaas, 2).Any artist viewing her work can realize that digital production goes beyond algorithmic images but the artist has to put in a lot of creativity in balancing the different phenomena so that the final product is remarkable. Both her works show the deep inspiration of an artist expressing herself to the world. Works of art should not only be by impulse or the desire of an artist to be busy.

The Gun- Control Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Gun- Control Debate - Essay Example A person feels a lot safe when he is in custody of a small weapon for his personal protection. These people accused the other side of politicizing this shooting issue. Therefore, there is an ongoing heated debate around the country. The proponents of gun control point out to the consequences of lax measures, whereas the opponents of gun control point to the constitutional right of possessing arms and ammunition. The Dishonest Gun- Control Debate Kevin Williamson in â€Å"The Dishonest Gun- Control Debate† has appealed to both the judgment and the emotions of the American people. The goal of this author is to convince the audience that the gun control debate is unfair and corrupt. Williamson states several rational arguments to put forward his point of view that the debate is deceitful. He argues that there is no connection between guns and crime rate and puts down several facts and figures as well as comparisons between countries. Statistics show that there is no correlation b etween guns and crime committed. There are places in the world where there are huge stockpiles of guns but no crimes, others where there are fewer guns and still less crime. Likewise, he mentions a research study by Zack Beauchamp to point out the tactics used by the politicians to manipulate the gun violence statistics. Through this, he has tried to appeal to the better sense of the American people. The writer has made an excellent use of some of the rhetoric devices to persuade the audience to his point of view. When the writer states, â€Å"We hear a lot about â€Å"gun deaths† in the United States, but we hear less often the fact that the great majority of those deaths are suicides,† he made effective use of antanagoge- criticizing and complimenting together to lessen the impact of the point. The writer has made an impressive use of epithet- a describing adjective- to appeal to the audiences’ emotions. Similarly, Williamson has mentioned an anecdote from his personal life to provide his perspective on the debate. He states that he lived years in one of the most voiced crime riddled area of New York; however, he never became a victim despite travelling late at nights. The author has made use a vibrant tone in his article. He has used some of the authoritative words and phrases to illustrate the grim of the debate. At the same time, the author has maintained an eloquent structure of writing where opinions, facts and illustrations are presented in a coherent manner. Nonetheless, Williamson has lacked in the effective usage of pathos and clearly failed to appeal to the emotions of the people. However, Williamson has, overall, made an effective use of the rhetoric devices to appeal to the sense of the people. The Gun Debate is a Cultural Debate Trevor Burrus in â€Å"The Gun Control Debate is a Cultural Debate† argues that the gun issue has always been a cultural issue. One culture argues that gun possession leads to violence while t he other follows that gun possession promotes safety. Therefore, the author in this article has tried to convince the people about the presence of cultural divide on this issue through logical reasoning as well as appealing to the community beliefs and attitudes. The writer has tried to make effective use of anecdote, epithet, appositive, apostrophe and logos to persuade the audience to his point of view. However, the logical reasoning

Difference between rationalism and empiricism Essay

Difference between rationalism and empiricism - Essay Example Rationalist believe that truth exists and rational and logic can grasp truth. Empiricism Empiricism is a Greek Philosophy Empiricism is a philosophy which bases on experience for knowledge This philosophy establishes that sensory experience is the sole way to gain knowledge Empiricism is related to the material world and phenomenon of universe. Empiricism is related to posteriori knowledge which means knowledge need experience. Empiricism explains that all human ideas are based on some outward experience Empiricsim is a psychological thought. Empiricism is philosophical theory which believe on intelligent assessment of things in universe Empiricist believe that knowledge is gained though experience and not by innate ideas. Plausibility of the theories Rationalism -Rationalism is a theory which is based on logic or rational. It is right that logic is predisposed with us who give us the ability to understand between right and wrong. If a person does not have logic then it is not possib le for him to evaluate experience or gain knowledge. However, logic itself cannot give knowledge, as human being is social beings some kind of experience can complete our knowledge level. The strength of this philosophy is universal and eternal which means that if one person can think then all others can as well. Rationalism makes us independent because we don’t need experience from outside to increase our knowledge. This philosophy believes in innate ideas and hence is natural and pure. The weakness of this philosophy is that only by thinking one cannot gain knowledge. For example ;We can imagine of a strawberry of how it would look like but we can never think of it taste. This is because our brain does not have the faculty to give sense of taste of aching which we never... Rationalism -Rationalism is a theory which is based on logic or rational. It is right that logic is predisposed with us who give us the ability to understand between right and wrong. If a person does not have logic then it is not possible for him to evaluate experience or gain knowledge. However, logic itself cannot give knowledge, as a human being is social beings some kind of experience can complete our knowledge level. The strength of this philosophy is universal and eternal which means that if one person can think then all others can as well. Rationalism makes us independent because we don’t need experience from outside to increase our knowledge. This philosophy believes in innate ideas and hence is natural and pure. The weakness of this philosophy is that only by thinking one cannot gain knowledge. For example, We can imagine of a strawberry of how it would look like but we can never think of its taste. This is because our brain does not have the faculty to give a sense o f taste of aching which we never experienced.Empiricism -The main strength of empiricism is that it believes that knowledge can come only through experience which is obtained through sensory organs. We learn from scientific methods and experiments and gain knowledge more and more. According to this philosophy, the best way to understand things is to see with the eyes. The second strength of empiricism is that it gives experimental reasoning. Here the past experience and observation contribute to the gaining of knowledge.

Research into the Software Required to support a True Distributed Essay

Research into the Software Required to support a True Distributed Computer System - Essay Example and Lau, F., 1999. Special issue on software support for distributed computing. Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing - Special issue on software support for distributed computing, 59(2), pp.101-06. 19 Introduction Ever-increasing competition and quick developments in information and communication systems, technologies, and a great deal of proliferation of low-cost workstations and PCs have offered a broad avenue for distributed computing to develop into a conventional computing structure and arrangement. At present, distributed computing is no longer limited to literature and advanced research laboratories; however, it is now easily in reach of a huge community of technology producers and clients. In fact, the transformation of status would not have been possible if there were not considerable endeavours that technology and communication researchers have offered for the development of essential supporting application, distributed OS, remote procedure calls, network file syst ems, OO (object oriented) middleware and message passing interfaces (Ahmad and Lau, 1999). In addition, the arrival of the WWW (World Wide Web) and high speed broadband Internet connections have as well put fuel to such kind of technology transformation. Presently, the Internet has turned out to be one of the biggest distributed systems. Currently, it is being utilized by the majority of people to resolve very complicated and challenging issues such as â€Å"search† to discover the biggest prime number, intended for space intelligence, and to break the RC5 block encrypted cipher, etc. In this scenario, a lot of huge and worldwide distributed systems are in progress to develop a huge â€Å"Globe system.† This Global system will offer an excellent support for resolving global issues (Ahmad and Lau, 1999). This essay discusses the software required to support a true distributed computer system. This research will provide a detailed overview of true distributed computing e nvironment that is a necessity to develop and use appropriate co-operating subsystems. Distributed Computing Environment: An overview The distributed environment is in some sense overcoming the limitations of traditional computing offering independence from the Personal Computers (PCs) to the golden or dark period of the mainframe. In the past, computers were single user machines with minimum storage capacities. Hence, the appearance of time-sharing machines and operating systems provided excellent opportunities to people all around the world. In fact, it allowed them to make use of the same hardware framework to support several people working simultaneously or cooperating with each other. Additionally, with the arrival of wide area networks (WANs), this cooperation further extended across the world and up till now simply needs a few central points of integrity control and management (Trireme, 2004; Nemeth and Sunderam, 2002). In addition, the arrival of the workstations took the pe ople right back to single user machi