Inspirational Leaders Essay Example for Free

Inspirational Leaders Essay In 1994, the internet was fresh in the market, and it did not incorporate commerce in its operations. As a result, he saw an opportunity for a new business network, and after doing research, he made a decision of creating a space in the internet where books could be viewed by the public. This led to the creation of Amazon in 1995. Today, Amazon is widely successful and has had a great impact on the organizational culture of internet business. Jeff Bezos is considered to be the founder of e-commerce, remains a pioneer in the industry (Inc, 2009). This paper will discuss how the culture of Amazon has changed as a result of Jeff Bezos presence; today, among many things, the public can view full book lists on Amazon, a mission that was impossible before the early 1990s. Organizational Culture Organizational culture can be related to how an organization organizes itself based on its rules and beliefs; therefore, culture gives an organization an identity. The behavioral patterns of an organization are represented in their norms; according to Kratschmer (2011, p. 2), organizational culture includes values that are shared among the members of an organization. Needless to say, organizational culture can be changed. Kratschmer (2011, p. 3) adds that, organizational culture can be changed and lead to success, only if well managed. In addition, resistance to change is expected in any organization mainly because the employees are already attached to the existing culture; hence, they may resist change for fear of the unknown. Needless to say, changes in organizational culture can be of great benefit, for instance, it may contribute to new knowledge and skills for the employees, and productivity is achieved through motivating employees. Finally, as employees adapt to change, flexibility is achieved, which leads to improvement. However, for organizational culture to be successful, effective leaders must be in place. Culture is very important, as it promotes healthy competition at the place of work, hence motivating employees to perform. A healthy culture promotes employees’ interaction at the place of work, therefore uniting them despite their different backgrounds. Providing employees with a favorable working place increases their productivity. Schein (2010, p. 80) adds that, the shared values and beliefs in an organization are important, as they determine how goals are met. Moreover, a strong culture retains talents, engages employees, creates energy, changes how work is viewed, and contributes towards cooperation at the place of work. Jeff Bezos is one of the few inspirational leaders who have contributed to change of culture in Amazon, leading to the success of the business. Amazon and change in organizational culture When Jeff Bezos discovered the potential of the internet in 1994, nothing held him back from introducing commerce in the system; he abandoned a well-paying job and concentrated on Amazon. Today, amazon. com is one of the internet giants, fostering online retail and an e-reader. Indeed, he is among the founders of e-commerce (Inc, 2009). Within 30 days, he had sold books in all the American states and in 45 countries, with sales worth $20,000 weekly. Since then, the growth of Amazon continuously accelerated, but it 1997, he announced that the company would be unprofitable for some time. However, in 2003, Amazon made its first annual profit, contributing to revenue of $4billion by 2008 (Inc, 2009). The company has embraced e-commerce, and Bezos’ will to start an online bookstore has yielded to a diverse selection of books. Today, he is the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon. com. According to Katzenbach (2008, p. 6), Jeff Bezos insists on fostering positive motivation, which does not involve money. Employees are likely to be motivated to performing their tasks if they are committed and disciplined. Ensuring that respect is fostered among employees will help in maintaining a positive working environment. Amazon. com recognizes employees’ effort by giving a specific employee an award on monthly basis for the capability of making significant savings. Amazon’s culture includes an informal, but effective environment, one that involves fun; this company is obsessed with customers. Therefore, it continuously improves its website and its systems with an aim of serving customers quickly and reliably. It also strives to maintain its culture, which includes talented personnel, who are creative and innovative in finding solutions to challenges (Lussier, 2011, p. 56). Therefore, it is evident that a strong culture is influenced by effective leadership. According to Dubrin (2011, p. 291), the strong organizational culture fosters quality, productivity and morale; such a culture values human dignity, and therefore, it fosters job satisfaction and increases employee motivation. Jeff Bezos has noted that a culture that involves experimentation is crucial in the continuously changing world. Invention may lead one to paths that are considered weird by the world (Dubrin, 2011, p. 291). Before the existence of Amazon, click shopping did not exist; these are some of the changes brought about by Amazon. The company also deals with online shopping for electronics, computers movies, games, music, as well as books. Amazon, being one of the web giants, implies that an effective leader must be diverse, being behind such a company that started very small and transformed into a giant. Bezos is regarded as visionary, but he is keen that his employees meet the demanding schedules; weekly management meetings are set with his managers. In addition, he encourages his employees to be innovative, and a reward program has been implemented that rewards innovative employees (Zakomurnaya, 2007). Moreover, the company hires intelligent and innovative personnel; indeed, Bezos would rather not hire anyone rather than hire the wrong person. Bezos is also approachable and easy -going, which makes him an effective leader. In 2007, Amazon introduced a hand-held electronic book reader, which uses E-ink to bring out a print-like appearance and has no strain on the eyes. In addition, the introduction of I-pad to the world was seen as direct competition for Amazon, therefore, Jeff introduced Kindle Fire, which shares many of the same features as I-pad, but is much cheaper. The Amazon kindle fire is an e-book reader, which is a small hand-held device; this is as a result of technological advances. Nevertheless, these e-book devices are expensive, but advantageous compared to paper copy; indeed, technology has changed in the digital reading world. Another advantage is that these e-readers can be borrowed from libraries. According to Mc Graw Hill (N. d, p. 3), kindle fire is competitive compared to other e-book readers. In 2007, Amazon. com created a successful e-bookstore that allowed client access from any computer or from e-book reader model. Amazon has therefore made book reading easier, and the kindle e-book can be referred to as published. Amazon. com offers a collection of above two million free e-books with titles; therefore, Amazon has succeeded in improving the digital world by providing e-book readers, which assist online clients in accessing digital e-books. For instance, the kindle e-Book reader has a rechargeable battery, which is built in and has a wide internal storage that can fit 1000 full-length books (Mc Graw Hill, N. d, p. 5). Another advantage of owning kindle fire e-book reader is that, the kindler-formatted e-books are easily accessed. In addition, kindle fire can be used as a form of an entertainment device, which allows one to surf the web, send, and receive emails, among other functions. Therefore, Amazon’s Kindle fire is a device of many functions, which is a competition for I-pad among other devices. Amazon prime is a membership program, which enables individuals to receive unlimited fast shipping. Members enjoy a variety of services, which include unlimited and instant streaming of above 10,000 movies and television shows. Amazon prime offers a wide variety of kindle books through the kindle lending library; members who own kindle devices benefit more from reading and borrowing books for free. In addition, members of Amazon prime enjoy free shipping for orders that are above $25, a relatively good deal for customers. Moreover, Amazon prime enables one to try free shipping for one month, and ensures that customers save by spending less, and save time by guaranteeing two day shipping. It also provides unlimited deliveries, hence guaranteeing convenience. Big online shoppers benefit the most, and this is because of the unlimited deliveries that guarantee quality of members’ money. With a range of affordable entertainment, free movies, free kindle e- books, and a two-day shipping for only $75, Amazon prime is a friendly program. Therefore, Jeff Bezos’ intervention has led to a variety of services and products that blow the clients’ minds away. It is this transformation from a small enterprise to an internet giant that has led to a change in culture at Amazon. Conclusion Jeff Bezos, the founder and the chief executive officer of Amazon. com is a visionary, and has contributed to the success of this company through motivating employees with rewards, as well as ensuring that customers’ demands are met. He is an inspiring leader, and despite the fact that he does not value communication, he believes in the â€Å"just-do-it† aspect that motivates employees to perform. Jeff is not limited to only e-books, he has also engages in online retailing of music, movies, clothes, and streaming television shows. The unveiling of kindle fire in 2007 is among his achievements; Amazon prime has also been a competitive advantage for the company and has attracted many members. A strong organization culture requires an effective leader; Amazon is one successful company that has been influenced by an inspirational leader. Indeed, Jeff has contributed to various changes in the organization, which have contributed to successful culture in the organization.

Transformational leadership Essay Example for Free

Transformational leadership Essay Does Academic Leaders influence Staffs’ Commitment to Service Quality in Malaysia? This paper discussed the relationship between leadership style of transformational and the commitment to service quality among academic staffs in public and private Malaysian Universities. It has been argued that excellent service quality performance is one of the key factors in building niche and having competitive edge that separates one from its competitors nationally and globally. Total useable questionnaires were 387 with a response rate of 36 percent. The result revealed that there is a significant relationship between transformational leadership style and commitment to service quality among academic staff at the Malaysian universities. This study implies to the policy makers and academic leaders at the universities that they should focus in developing their academic staff, by tapping their potentials, inspiring them, promoting collaboration, motivating and reinforcing positive attitudes towards commitment to service quality. Future study should consider alternative modes of enquires such as employing the longitudinal method of data collection design and a nationwide survey covering samples from the whole population of the higher institutions of learning in Malaysia that would be more significant in making generalizations . Keywords: Service quality, Transformational Leadership, Commitment to Service Quality, Malaysia 1. Introduction Existing literature on education indicates a motion towards â€Å"educational excellence† which is about world class branding, marketable academic programmes, research activities and facilities in attracting and retaining foreign and local students (Isahak, 2007), but how does one compete to be different?Governing bodies, in Malaysia such as the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) provide accreditation to quality programmes that fulfill certain standards. But how do Malaysian Universities attempt to remain competitive and maintain a sustainable growth in this volatile environment where programmes seen to be globally homogeneous in nature, competitive in terms of pricing, and significant in location and branding? Hudson et al. (2004) argued that excellent service quality performance is one of the key factors in building market niche and a competitive edge that separates one from its competitors. Sim and Idrus (2004), Jusoh et al. (2004), and Sahney et al, (2008) concurred and uphold the notion that commitment from the academic staff in the education sector to the overall organizational goal such as in the delivery of high service quality is a better strategy as in the case of customer retention and satisfaction. Unfortunately, not much attention has been given to the issue of commitment to service quality among the academic staff in the higher education sector. There is an increasing thought supporting the idea that students‟ evaluation of service quality in the Malaysian universities is to a large extent influenced by the way they are treated by the customer contact employee notably the academic staff (Hasan et al., 2008; Ismail Abiddin, 2009). Past researches have also suggested that some universities in Malaysia were losing students because their standard of service quality was not up to the expectation of the students (Jain et al., 2004; Firdaus, 2006; Latif et al., 2009). It was reported that the level of service quality in the Malaysian universities was just mediocre (Jusoh et al. 2004; Sim Idrus, 2004; Hasan et al., 2008, Ismail Abiddin, 2009). This arises concern in the way the students‟ are being treated or handled. The implication of these students‟ withdrawals may not only be costly to the students‟ potential success in their career but also to the universities‟ reputation, operational and manpower costs (Curry, 2001). But  the greatest loss of all will be in terms of potential knowledge workers to the nation. Studies on „commitment to service quality‟ are important and necessary but unfortunately there is still little progress in research in this area. Embracing commitment to service quality is mainly to bring about financial growth and an image of sustainability to service organisations. Many questions about what really motivates commitment to service quality among academic staff remains unanswered, particularly in the context of education. Past leadership literatures have associated transformational leaders to organizational commitment, such as to service quality delivery (Jabnoun Rasasi, 2005); building relationships with customers (Liao Chuang, 2007); students engagement with schools (Leithwood Jantzi,1999) and towards school reforms (Geijsel et al., 2003). Nevertheless, empirical research on transformational leadership and commitment of academic staff to service quality is not extensive and in most past studies, their focus was on management or based on the analysis of the customer level. Individual focus, specifically on the study of academic staff is limited in developing countries, such as Malaysia. Therefore, the objective of this research was to examine the relationship between transformational leadership style and the academic staff‟s commitment to service quality at Malaysian Universities. Based on the findings of this research, it is hope that it would also provide some information and understanding that will assist the leaders and policy makers of the Malaysian Universities as employers to realize the contributions of their academic staff in securing profitability and wealth through the commitment of good service quality. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Commitment to Service Quality Studies on the commitment to service quality in education literatures follow the same footpath as the general definition of affective commitment. Affective commitment is defined by Meyer and Allen (1991) as â€Å"an employee‟s emotional attachment to, identification with and involvement in the organization†. Commitment to service quality is defined and understood as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"conformity to a specification† (Martin 1986; Witt Steward, 1996; O‟Neil Palmer, 2004) and in achieving â€Å"excellence† (Peters Waterman, 1982). Clark et al. (2009) defined commitment to service quality as the â€Å"dedication of employees to render service quality and the willingness to go beyond what is expected of them†. Past findings have also established that employees who are committed to the organization will remain loyal and are inversely related to turnover (Hartline et al., 2000; Elmadag et al., 2008). In such conditions, employees were known to spend more time and energy in assisting the organization realize its goals and they also put their own self interest aside (Porter et al., 1973; Tsai, 2008; Sohail Shaikh, 2004; Yiing Ahmad, 2008). O‟Neil (2000) in his study in higher education concurred on the importance of internal customer commitment to service quality as a means of gaining competitive advantage. Satisfied external customers, for example the students, were reported to spread by â€Å"word of mouth recommendations†, which is a powerful tool in marketing (Cuthbert, 1996). 2.2. Transformational Leadership Leaderships can be of many facets and visages. They differ in effectiveness in terms of consequences of their actions towards internal and external stakeholders. Since organizations today are facing many challenges, there is a need for leaders in organizations to contribute not only in terms of knowledge or ideas but also in making right the decisions and responding to the changes (Horner, 1997; Christie, 2002). According to Bass and Avolio (1990), transformational leaders will focus on developing their followers by tapping them of their potentials, inspiring them, promoting collaboration, motivating them and by reinforcing positive behaviours. Bass (1990) argues that transformational leaders are pertinent especially during turbulent times when rapid changes and globalization takes place. Barnett et al. (2001), Antonakis et al., (2003) and Kirkbride (2006) preferred to delineate transformational leadership based on five factors. They have adopted from Bass and Avolio‟s (1995, 1997) studies. The five components as suggested by Barnett et al. (2001), Antonakis et al. (2003) and Kirkbride (2006) are: individualized considerations, intellectual stimulation, inspirational  motivation, idealized influence (attributes) and idealized influence (behavior). Table 1 below presents the five components. Table 1: Five components of Transformational Leadership Variables Individualized considerations Characteristics Leaders who recognize their followers‟ individual differences and will treat them individually. Intellectual stimulation Leaders, who encourage problem solving abilities and risks taking. They also encourage their followers to re-examine any problem first and not making assumptions unbeneficial to the organization. Inspirational motivation Leaders, who have the ability to inspire and stimulate followers to perform well in accordance to their ability by giving them some sense of purpose. Leaders, who display attributes of charismatic and competence. They are confident in facing and solving problems and showing their powers for positive benefits. Idealized Influence (attributes) Idealize Leaders, who exhibit charismatic behavior that comes with a high sense of morality. They are trustworthy, honest, high integrity and are set to Influence achieve their mission and purpose (behavior) Source: Barnett et al. (2001), Antonakis et al. (2003) and Kirkbride (2006) In Malaysia, the study on transformational leadership styles is dominated in various business settings and in relation to diverse predictors such as job satisfaction ( Yusof Shah, 2008) and organizational commitment (Azman, Al-Banna, Zaidi, Hamran Hanim,2011). Yet, there is a lack of research done in exploring on the issue in relation to employee‟s commitment to service quality in education setting. In related studies by Lo, Ramayah and Min (2009) in manufacturing industry, they reported of a strong and positive relationship between transformational leadership style and employees‟ continuance organizational commitment. This view was further supported by Boon and Arumugam (2006) in their study in semiconductor setting in Malaysia. They studied the influence of corporate culture on organizational commitment and found that in a corporate culture that placed emphasis in teamwork, communication, training and development and rewards, employees in return have indicated a significantly higher commitment to the organization goals. Past study by Kasim (2010) had attempted to explore the relationship of transformational leadership on the issue of gender among the deans, deputy deans and heads of department at the higher institutions in Malaysia. It was found that there was no significant relationship between gender and leadership style of transformational. However, in this turbulent and ever changing environment, transformational leaders are much needed, especially when the educational leaders were experiencing threats of mergers or a total collapse and thus there in need of drastic changes in order to survive. 3. Research Model and Hypothesis The proposed research model is depicted in Figure 3.1 below. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT TO SERVICE QUALITY Figure 3.1 : Conceptual Framework The hypothesized relationship between the dependent and independent variables is developed in the following paragraph. Due to their charismatic and visionary nature, transformational leaders tend to foster strong feelings of emotional attachments to the organization, team mates and superior‟s so much so that they are willing to â€Å"transcend their own self interest† for the organization and become partners (Narimawati, 2007). Employees who were under transformational leaders were also seen to exhibit a high sense of commitment in service organization (Emery Barker; 2007; Nguni et al.; 2006; McGuire Kennerly, 2006; Chen, 2004). As a result, the likelihood that transformational leadership styles would prompt high commitments especially when followers are made to realize that commitment to service quality will give their organization the competitive edge over other competitors and meet their customers‟ satisfaction. Based on this assumption, the following hypothesis is postulated: H1a: There is a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership style and the academic staff‟s commitment to service quality 4. Methodology and Research Design 4.1 Research Design This study was designed to investigate the relationship between independent variable of transformational leadership styles and dependent variable of commitment to service. The relevant units of analysis in this study focused on the academic staff in selected universities in Malaysia. Their perception of their immediate superiors such as the deans or heads of department or heads of schools were closely studied to identify their commitment to service quality. A quantitative cross sectional survey research was employed in this study. The survey was conducted on both public and private universities in Malaysia. Approximately 1076 questionnaires were sent out with a total of 387 responses. Overall the response rate was 36 percent which was slightly better than what was reported generally in the Malaysian context (Othman et al., 2001). To ensure similarity in characteristics, the  sample of respondent chosen was based on the following: i) a minimum academic staff‟s population of more than 150; and ii) the minimum number of ten (10) years of operation. Basically, universities were chosen due to geographical convenience for accessibility to the respondents. Past researches in the education context for examples: Arokiasamy et al. (2007), Noordin and Jusoff (2009) and Santhapparaj and Alam (2005) have also drawn most of their samples on the same basis and therefore have supported in terms of external validity of generalization of the findings (Ariffin,2006, Sakeran, 2005). 4.2 Survey Instrument The questionnaire for the study consists of three (3) sections meant to capture the variables related to the leadership style, commitment to service quality and also the demographic section related to the academic staff. Transformational leadership was measured by using 20 items adapted from a later version of MLQ instrument commonly known as MLQ 5x-short-forms. Although the factors that measure transformational leadership styles were distinctive, in this study a single dimensional construct for transformational style was adopted. This is in line with past empirical studies by Walumbwa et al. (2004, 2005) on transformational leadership construct. A recent modified version by Clark et al. (2009) was adapted in this study. A slight modification was made in order to complement the study context for measures for commitment to service quality items. Nine (9) items to measure the variable were selected. The items for both scale were measured on a 5-Point Likert-type scale, anchored by 1, â€Å"strongly disagree† through to 5, â€Å"strongly agree. To assess the reliability of the measurement items of all the variables, the researcher undertook Cronbach‟s Alpha coefficient analysis to test the reliability of the instruments. The instrument was tested for internal reliability and the following Table 2 demonstrates the scales generated. Table 2: Overall Internal Reliability Variables Transformational Leadership Style Commitment to service quality Reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) 0.916 0.841 The reliability tests indicate an excellent reliability for all its components with a coefficient alpha of above 0.7 exceeding the minimum acceptable level as suggested by Nunnally and Berstein (1994). In order to ascertain that all the measurements in this study exhibits some degree of validity, content validity was conducted (Davis Consenza, 1988) in the pre-tested stage by soliciting the expert opinions of two professors from a university. After necessary modifications, the scale was also pre-tested to a set of respondents similar to the population as suggested by Davis and Consenza (1988). 5. Findings/ Discussion. Tables 3 below summarize the demographic profiles of the respondents. The sample also indicates that female respondents represented a slightly higher percentage of total samples (59%) when compared to the male respondents (41%). The majority of the respondents possessed Master degrees or others of similar level (71%) while 29 percent had completed their doctorate degree. Majority of the respondents were middle age of between 30 to 40 years of age (43%) followed by those between 40 to 50 years old (25%). About 18 percent of the academicians were younger of age of between 20-30 years. With reference to their experience in teaching, the sample showed a balance between those who had teaching experience of between 1 to 5 years (33%) and 5 to 10 years (28%).More than 47 percent of the respondents were from business faculty followed by faculty of information technology (12%). Table 3: Summary of Respondents’ Profile Variables Gender Frequency Percent Doctorate 113 29.20 274 70.80 20 30 Years 69 17.83 168 43.41 97 25.07 50 and above 53 13.69 1

Arguments on Artificial Intelligence

Arguments on Artificial Intelligence We live in an extraordinary time. Improvements in technology seem to be accelerating at an unbelievable rate. Every time they think Moores Law has reached its limits, tech companies come up with a new level of capability. No less is the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). Our every day lives are already deeply immersed in AI, and we dont even know it. It controls much of the financial markets, performs law enforcement tasks, and makes our internet searches more useful. Most AI today is weak AI, designed to perform a very specific task (Tegmark, n.d.). But the goal of all research and corporate investment is always more; what else can we know or do? Often, these entities are creating things in a vacuum, with limited moral, ethical, or legal boundaries. When is it too much? The driving force that makes us want to always explore further is what makes the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) a risky course of action. Why is this a risky course of action? Because giving control of systems to artificial intelligence could have seriously negative results. Take, for example, researchers working with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In this case, they develop a neural network that returns suggestions for treatment of pneumonia patients. Using a historical database with the solutions and results of methods of treatment, the AI is supposed to provide suggested solutions to treat patients. In one solution, it recommended that certain high risk patients be sent home (Bornstein, 2016). This solution had high probability of resulting in death. When working with and complex task, accomplished by human or machine, the law of unintended consequences must always be considered. No matter how well someone thinks they have thought a system through, it is nearly impossible to consider every possible outcome. Certainly, unintended consequences are not all bad, many drugs have side effects that are beneficial and completely not what the drugs was designed to do. On the other hand, many drugs have very negative side effects. Certainly, they are not intended to cause any adverse symptoms, but many have severe unintended consequences, including death. Some would argue, AI is currently in use and benefits everyone with no negative effects. Singularity cannot happen. While we certainly use some types of AI currently and have had minimal negative effects. It is also true we have not reached singularity. It is the height of hubris to believe that we have total control over anything or that we have considered all possibilities. Consider Fukishima or Chernobyl, all possibilities were not covered and resulted in huge disasters. Even NASA, the standard for careful scrutiny of complex systems and procedures has had some catastrophic failures in the form of space shuttle crashes due to hubris of the organization and/or individuals. How many people died on the Titanic? A ship that was unsinkable was sunk by a simple iceberg, or was it hubris? The shoddy steel used in the construction of the hull, the poorly designed bulkheads that didnt reach to the top deck, and the pressure to go as fast as it could are what sunk the ship. And not enough life boats on the unsinkable ship killed the passengers. Hubris lead them down the path to destruction. We are at the point that we have the capability to combine AI to create autonomous military machines. Some are even in the testing phase of development. Machines that make decisions of life and death on their own (Russell, 2015). Absent human intervention, what is to keep one of these machines from deciding the wrong person is a target. A machine knows no morality, no ethical code, only its programming, its goal or reason to exist. Given a powerful enough computational system, it could decide to use everything at its disposal to achieve its goals (Anderson, 2017). Things like taking control of infrastructure, or even humans. So, what do we do? Is there risk? Even captains of industry and experts like Gates, Musk, and Hawking suggest there is (Holley, 2015). It is clear we are already on the path to creating ever more complex and capable AI. We must recognize that we all make mistakes and constantly be on guard against mistakes and, more importantly, hubris. Most expansion of knowledge has risk. When confronted with a discipline that has catastrophic possibilities, we must fight the desire to run forward as fast as we can with no concern for the consequences. Methodical deliberation is the only course. We must consider the ramifications of each step and ensure safeguards are in place should we need to terminate or isolate any AI that develops goals counter to those of humans. If we manage to be conscientious enough and adhere to ethical principles, we might, just might, keep from developing the instrument of our own demise. References Anderson, J. (2017, February 16). Googles artificial intelligence getting greedy, and aggressive. Activist Post. Retrieved from http://www.activistpost.com/2017/02/googles-artificial-intelligence-getting-greedy-and-aggressive/ Artificial Intelligence. (2015). In Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/apps/doc/PC3010999273/OVIC?u=embryxid=415989d5 Bornstein, A. (2016, September 1). Is artificial intelligence permanently inscrutable? Holley, P. (2015, January 29). Bill Gates on the dangers of artificial intelligence: I dont understand why some people are not concerned. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/01/28/bill-gates-on-dangers-of-artificial-intelligence-dont-understand-why-some-people-are-not-concerned/ Russell, S. (2015, May 28). Take a stand on AI weapons. Nature, 521 (7553), 415-416.

Athol Fugards drama, Master Harold :: Athol Fugard Master Harold Essays

Athol Fugard's drama, "Master Harold" . . . And The Boys, was written during a time of great conflict in South Africa, where he was raised. Fugard was torn between his mother, who was "Afrikaaner," (1291) and his father, who was "of English decent" (1291). These differing influences caused Fugard to use the discussions between Sam and Hally to demonstrate the religious, racial, and political tensions of his lifetime in South Africa. The discussion between Sam and Hally about who was "a man of magnitude" (1300) represents the religious tensions of Fugard's lifetime in South Africa between the growing belief in evolution and Jesus Christ's teaching of Creation. Hally says that Charles Darwin was "a man of magnitude," (1300) because he was "somebody who benefited all mankind" (1301). He admires Darwin "for his Theory of Evolution" (1301), which according to Hally, proves "where we come from and what it all means" (1301). Sam totally disagrees with Darwin's "Theory of Evolution" (1301) because evolution is in contrast to the Bible's teaching on Creationism, and he says that just because it is in a book it "does not mean [he's] got to believe it" (1301). Sam believes that "Jesus Christ" (1302) was "a man of magnitude" (1300). Hally is obviously against Sam's suggestion of Jesus Christ, because Hally makes it clear that he is "an atheist" (1303). This disagreement between Sam and Hally is really just an example of the religious tensions in South Africa during Fugard's lifetime between the "Theory of Evolution," (1301) which was becoming more accepted, and Christianity, which was taught by Jesus Christ. A second discussion between Sam and Hally that occurs after Hally learns that his father has gone home demonstrates the racial tensions of Fugard's lifetime in South Africa. When Sam starts lecturing Hally about how he treats his father, Hally becomes angry and tells Sam that he is "treading on dangerous ground" (1321). Hally also tells Sam that his "mother is right"(1322) about "warning [him] about allowing you to get to familiar" (1322). The climax of the argument is when Hally tells Sam that he is "only a servant" (1322). This is the first noticeable statement that Hally makes that demonstrates the racial tensions experienced in South Africa. The next racial statement Hally makes is when he tells Sam that his father is his boss because "he's a white man and that's good enough for [him]" (1322).

Quest For Love in J.D. Salingers The Catcher In the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

The Quest For Love in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In the Rye In many novels written by J.D. Salinger, there is a recurring theme of love that arises and that indicates the character of the individual in the novel. Salinger uses love in the context of being a device that is used to protect and to care for people who need protecting and caring. In Salinger's novel, Catcher in the Rye, love is used by a character, Holden Caulfield, who struggles desperately to find a certain somebody or anyone to allocate his love to, but realizes finally, that this love is not necessarily expressed through saving " the children in the rye" from the time of trial, but actually caring for them and being their friends, during the time of trial.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The quest of finding the true love of people is an ongoing dilemma in the lives of many people all throughout the world. The constant need for love is overwhelming, and the tragedy of this great world is the fact that some people do not find the proper love that they deserve. Holden Caulfield is a perfect example of the striving to acquire a love sought all throughout his life. According to this quote, "He is simply expressing an innocence incapable of genuine hatred. Holden does not suffer from the inability to love, but does despair of finding a place to bestow his love" (Heiserman and Miller 30), Holden Caulfield has the need for allocating his cornucopia of love for people. His quest is very simple. He wants to do good. As compared to tragic heroes in the past,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Holden seeks Virtue second to Love. He wants to be good. When   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the little children are playing in the rye-field on the cliff   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   top, Holden wants to be the one who catches them before they   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   fall off the cliff.   He is not driven toward honor or courage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He is not driven toward the love of woman. Holden is driven   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   toward love of his fellowman...." (Heiserman and Miller 25).   In other words, he is not a tragic hero, but rather a misfortuned hero that struggles to find a person to give his love to. There is nothing tragic about his life.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Holden also seeks circularity in his life.

Cloning and Bioethics :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Cloning and Bioethics Bioethics, which is the study of value judgments pertaining to human conduct in the area of biology and includes those related to the practice of medicine, has been an important aspect of all areas in the scientific field (Bernstein, Maurice, M.D.).   It is one of the factors that says whether or not specific scientific research can go on, and if it can, by which rules, regulations and guidelines it must abide by.    One of the most recent and controversial issues facing our society today is the concept of cloning.   On February 23, 1997, Ian Wilmut, a Scottish scientist, along with his colleagues at the Roslin Institute and PPL Therapeutics, announced to the world that they had cloned a lamb, which they named Dolly, after Dolly Parton, from an adult sheep (Mario,Christopher).   The two share the same nucleic DNA, but differ in terms of their mitochondrial DNA, which is vitally important for the regulation of the cell.   The media and the press ignored this fact, and thus claimed that Dolly and her 'mother' were genetically identical, which sparked a fury of outcry all around the world.   The technique of transferring a nucleus from a somatic cell into an egg cell of which the nucleus had been removed, called nuclear transplantation, is an extension of research that had been ongoing for over 40 years. Up until now, scientists thought that adult cells could not be "reprogrammed" to behave like a fertilized egg and create an embryo, but the evidence obtained by Dolly's success prove otherwise.   The issues of cloning have been around for a long time, starting with the publication of Joshua Lederberg's 1966 article on cloning in the American Naturalist.   The public's interest has been perked by many sci-fi books, films, and movies including Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel "Brave New World," 1973's "Sleeper," the 1978 film "The Boys from Brazil".   Most recently, the movie "Multiplicity" dealt with replicating Billy Crystal over and over (Mario, Christopher).   The ethical, legal, and moral issues aroused by cloning have been raised by previous projects, and are now simply emerging again, with its focus on three major points: the shift from sexual reproduction with that of asexual replication of existing genes; the ability to predetermine the genes of a child; and the ability to c reate many genetically identical children (Report/Recommendations of the NBAC). The public responded to Dolly with a mixture of fear and excitement, questioning the benefits and the disasters that could happen in the future if research was to continue. Cloning and Bioethics :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics Cloning and Bioethics Bioethics, which is the study of value judgments pertaining to human conduct in the area of biology and includes those related to the practice of medicine, has been an important aspect of all areas in the scientific field (Bernstein, Maurice, M.D.).   It is one of the factors that says whether or not specific scientific research can go on, and if it can, by which rules, regulations and guidelines it must abide by.    One of the most recent and controversial issues facing our society today is the concept of cloning.   On February 23, 1997, Ian Wilmut, a Scottish scientist, along with his colleagues at the Roslin Institute and PPL Therapeutics, announced to the world that they had cloned a lamb, which they named Dolly, after Dolly Parton, from an adult sheep (Mario,Christopher).   The two share the same nucleic DNA, but differ in terms of their mitochondrial DNA, which is vitally important for the regulation of the cell.   The media and the press ignored this fact, and thus claimed that Dolly and her 'mother' were genetically identical, which sparked a fury of outcry all around the world.   The technique of transferring a nucleus from a somatic cell into an egg cell of which the nucleus had been removed, called nuclear transplantation, is an extension of research that had been ongoing for over 40 years. Up until now, scientists thought that adult cells could not be "reprogrammed" to behave like a fertilized egg and create an embryo, but the evidence obtained by Dolly's success prove otherwise.   The issues of cloning have been around for a long time, starting with the publication of Joshua Lederberg's 1966 article on cloning in the American Naturalist.   The public's interest has been perked by many sci-fi books, films, and movies including Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel "Brave New World," 1973's "Sleeper," the 1978 film "The Boys from Brazil".   Most recently, the movie "Multiplicity" dealt with replicating Billy Crystal over and over (Mario, Christopher).   The ethical, legal, and moral issues aroused by cloning have been raised by previous projects, and are now simply emerging again, with its focus on three major points: the shift from sexual reproduction with that of asexual replication of existing genes; the ability to predetermine the genes of a child; and the ability to c reate many genetically identical children (Report/Recommendations of the NBAC). The public responded to Dolly with a mixture of fear and excitement, questioning the benefits and the disasters that could happen in the future if research was to continue.

Critical Analysis of Langston Hughes’ “I, Too” Essay

Langston Hughes wrote the poem, â€Å"I, Too† in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of Black American history which brought to light unique views of the world through the eyes of a people who were often subjugated and downtrodden. Issues of racial prejudice were prevalent during the Harlem Renaissance and segregation a fact of life. In the poem, â€Å"I,Too,† Hughes brings attention to this subjugation by portraying the life of a black male servant. He puts forth his views of the treatment other people of his race have long had to endure through the masterful use of symbolism, irony and simple diction. There are many examples of symbolism in the poem, â€Å"I, Too†. America is used as a symbol to portray the concepts of equality, diversity, and perseverance. By reminding readers that the country allowed and condoned segregation of his race, Hughes points out that although this was a form subjugation, it could be overcome. Even though America was at fault, the country still provided opportunities for those who would dare to try harder, to grow stronger, to push past the embarrassment of being labeled differently. America could still hold hope for people of any race. As well, the use of the word â€Å"I† in both the poem’s title and throughout the verses, is a symbol. Hughes uses himself as the quintessential example of his Black American heritage in a way that provokes the reader to think about he, and his race, are perceived. In using the title, â€Å"I, Too†, Langston Hughes portrays himself as yet another symbol of a portion of the American population. Repetitive use of the word â€Å"they† refers to his employers, who are presumably White, and therefore symbolize the rest of American society (Hughes, in Madden, page #). Their treatment of him, such as making him eat in the kitchen, becomes the representation of the way Black Americans, in general, are treated. By using these personal terms, Hughes has managed to employ symbolism in a way that also connects him to others. Hughes also states â€Å"I, too, sing America† and here he is using irony, as such a thing is not really possible. The irony is that he praises America and its values while at the same time drawing attention to the way he is seen as somehow inferior to others because of the color of his skin. The ending lines, which include the phrase â€Å"they’ll†¦be ashamed† are also ironic (Hughes, in Madden, page #). The poem was written to highlight the fact that Black Americans have been treated as something to be ashamed of and Hughes denounces this fact, creating irony by stating the obvious. Read Also:  Critical Essay Topic Ideas This use of irony portrays Hughes’ condemnation of certain aspects of society. The easy diction of the poem belies its deeper meaning. Through the use of simple vocabulary and rather unusual syntax, Hughes delivers a powerful message in a manner that even a casual reader can understand. Short phrases easily roll of the tongue while breaking some of them up into odd lines makes the reader think about their meaning in a different, but directed, way. By adding breaks between such passages as â€Å"tomorrow† and â€Å"I’ll be at the table†, Hughes creatively draws attention to the fact that he, and his race, will be stronger, and richer, and more respected when the White people of America least expect it (Hughes, in Madden, page #). In this way, too, does Hughes bring the tense of the poem from present to future. Hughes is adept at using diction to define the tone and deepen the understanding of underlying themes in his poetry. Langston Hughes’ reputation as an important poet and author was based on works such as â€Å"I, Too† which state a profound issue in simple terms. By analyzing the usage of symbolism, irony, and the diction Hughes employs, the more important, underlying, concepts come to light. Hughes does this by reiterating the fundamental pride and love he retains for the country of America while subtly pointing out the way Black Americans are treated as hypocritical and unfair. America is a land founded on freedoms, and equality, diversity, and perseverance are the qualities which will allow all citizens, regardless of skin color, to reach their goals and realize their dreams.