The Paradox of the Software Essay Example for Free

The Paradox of the Software Essay When believing in a certain god, people become biased towards justifying and asserting the greatness of their god. Naturally, a person like Thomas Aquinas would not have been dubbed a Saint if he did not have an immense faith towards his god, so therefore he would have a way to justify his god against this paradox, just as critics can find faults and inconsistencies to argue his reasoning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to him, divine omnipotence is not merely being able to do anything any everything conceivable or inconceivable, but rather being able to do everything that is a logical possibility; the compatibility of the predicate to its subject. An effect can only be deemed possible if it has a logical cause. However, god’s omnipotence or what is logically possible for a divine being like him cannot be measured in terms of what is humanly possible. It would be very hard for someone with such devotion to god as that of a saint to accept that his omnipotence can be diminished by something as mundane as a computer software. Therefore, for a person like him, god, without question will always be omnipotent. To back that claim, saint Aquinas would argue that god being beaten by a software in chess is illogical, a predicate that is not compatible with its subject, and inconceivable, therefore, god’s omnipotence cannot be challenged by whether he could be beaten by a software or whether he could create such a software. There is a saying that a teacher’s greatness can be measured if he can be surpassed by his student. It would mean that the student has learned everything he could from the teacher and even more than the teacher could teach him. That could also apply to a creator; a creator’s greatness can be measured if he can be surpassed by his creation. It will always be possible for a creator for create something greater than him, because he would know his own limitations, therefore he could improve those in his creation. The only question is whether he would allow himself to be surpassed by something that came from him or if he will deliberately limit the capabilities of his creation thus maintaining his superiority over it. As I had mentioned earlier, people will always find ways to defend what they believe in; such as the case of Saint Aquinas’ philosophies regarding his god. The way he agued god’s omnipotence seems as if he just asserts gods divinity and that his greatness cannot be questioned or diminished. Given the earlier argument regarding the creator and his creation, it only seems that there is an omnipotent god because god himself may only be limiting the capabilities of his creations to a level lower than that of his to maintain his power over them. References Martin, C. J. F. (1997). Thomas Aquinas: God and Explanations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press. Paterson, C. Pugh, M. S. (2006.), Analytical Thomism: Traditions in Dialogue. Ashgate. Selman, F. (2007). Aquinas 101:A Basic Introduction to the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Age Discrimination in Employment Essay -- Public Policy

There has always been some â€Å"ism† that social movements have fought against throughout America’s history, and the issue of â€Å"ageism† was finally addressed in The Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Ageism can be defined as prejudiced beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors pertaining to older adults. To understand the ADEA fully, a brief history of age discrimination is useful to comprehend the Structural Level of this bill. Discrimination based on age was not a large issue until the beginning of the 20th century, mainly because it was a tacit form of discrimination. For the most part, people worked until they were at an age where they did not feel useful, and for the rest of their lives their families would take care of them. Industrialization brought in a new era which introduced unions, and new guidelines were created as to how long someone should stay in a position. Over time, age discrimination became an integrated feature of the modern industrial economy; ageism was even associated with the progress of American capitalism. The issue of age based discrimination received some attention in the early part of the 20th Century, but was not recognized as a social problem until around World War II. The wartime economy considerably increased the demand for labor, and the number of men aged 65 and older in the workforce jumped by 75% (U.S. Census, 1975). The increased need for workers helped merge women into the workplace, and proved that older adults were proficient and agreeable to modern employment. Policy makers became concerned about the presence and pervasiveness of age centered discrimination because of the large amount of older workers employed at this time in history which made the problem more obvious. The United States emerged... ...tion in Employment Act and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act: A Proposed Consolidation." Labor Law Journal 31.1 (1980): 13-26. Print. Mitchell, Charles. "Retaliation Lawsuits Held Applicable For Federal Employees under The Age Discrimination In Employment Act: A Victory For Older Federal Workers The Supreme Court's Decision In Gomez-Perez V. Potter, Postmaster General." Review of Public Personnel Administration 29.1 (2009): 89-94. Print. Rothenberg, Jessica, and Gardner, Daniel. "Protecting Older Workers: The Failure Of The Age Discrimination In Employment Act Of 1967." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 38.1 2011: 9-30. Print. Werner, Herbert D., and Martha W. Dewhurst. "The Age Discrimination In Employment Act Amendments Of 1978 And Their Effect On Collective Bargaining." Labor Law Journal 30.8 (1979): 477-482. Business Source Premier. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.

How does Thomas Hardy create and maintain Essay

How does Thomas Hardy create and maintain a sense of mystery and malignant, uncontrollable forces in â€Å"The withered arm† Thomas Hardy creates and maintains mystery and malignant, underlying forces by using symbolic descriptions of the setting, the atmosphere and the strange unguessable plot. Thomas Hardy sets the story in the fictional village of Holmstoke. Holm means home and stoke means fire. This gives two impressions, one of a nice cosy warm story, but it also gives the impression that fire is also connected with bad things like Hell and witchcraft. This makes you start to wonder what the story will be like. Thomas Hardy uses natural settings to contrast with unnatural events or behaviour. The heath is used a lot because of this. He also uses the heath because it helps create atmosphere and because it is outside he also uses the weather to reflect the characters mood. An example of this is when Rhoda and Gertrude cross the heath to see Conjuror Trendle and Rhoda does not want to and â€Å"would have done anything to escape this enquiry†, the weather and the atmosphere reflect her dread of what will happen. â€Å"The thick clouds made the atmosphere dark† and it was only early after noon and â€Å"the wind howled dismally†. Hardy also uses the weather to help him describe the changing of time like at the beginning of a paragraph. All the gossip was going on in â€Å"winter† and by the end of the paragraph it’s â€Å"in the spring† I think Hardy also uses the changing of the seasons as a sort of metaphor to symbolize the changing of the characters. An example is when Gertrude changes from a very beautiful, perfect, kind and caring girl to a scarred â€Å"irritable superstitious woman†. Hardy also has such large gap in time so the changes in Gertrude are more noticeable. Thomas Hardy also uses characters to help him create mystery and underlying forces especially Rhoda Brook. Rhoda is an outsider and she lives out of the village by herself with her son. She’s a little weird because she never mixes with people. People don’t really mix with her because of her sleeping with Lodge and having a baby. People think she is a witch. I think this is because people associate her with Trendle. When Gertrude needed to find Trendle the villagers told her to ask Rhoda and she realized that they thought â€Å"a sorceress would know the whereabouts of the exorcist†. But the mystery really begins when she has her vision and next day Gertrude shows her the mark from the vision which is on her arm. The vision is an important part of the story as it is the start of everything and caused everything. Rhoda can not control what is happening to so it helps maintain the uncontrollable forces which are all through this book. Thomas Hardy uses Conjuror Trendle a lot to help create mystery and uncontrollable forces. Just the fact that conjuror Trendle lives on the heath starts to make the reader feel a sense of mystery because the heath represents the weirdness or the story. Trendle also helps create mystery by doing magic in secret and not openly â€Å"He did not profess his remedial practises openly† and it also helps that he was in disguise. He was disguised as a dealer in furze , turf sharp sand and other local products†. He had to be disguised because people in that time were very superstitious. I think Thomas Hardy uses Gertrude to help create a sense of uncontrollable forces, this is because things are happening to her mentally and physically which she has no control over. Also because the things that are happening to her are unexplainable, it helps create and maintain malignant uncontrollable forces. Hardy illustrates this physically when her incredible beauty is which is described as â€Å"the light under a heap of rose petals† becomes ruined and scarred by her withered arm; and mentally when she turns from a very nice person to an â€Å"irritable, superstitious woman† Farmer Lodge is not in the story much but none the less is a very important character, because he is the main reason the whole story happens. He is the center of the love triangle of him Rhoda and Gertrude which is why everything happens. As we don’t see him much in the story this makes him more important as it helps add to the mystery. Hardy uses imagery to help the reader mentally see what’s happening and also to symbolise things. An example of this at the beginning of the booking â€Å"the lorn milkmaid† Hardy paint us the picture of a lot of milkmaids all sitting together gossiping. This gives the impression that the village is quite a close knit place and that one Rhoda Brooke is all by herself on the side not joining in this gossiping. This gives the impression that she is a sort of outsider which no one wants to be friends with which adds to the mystery. A very important image in the story is the withered arm. It creates mystery because the reader will wonder how it happened and malignant uncontrollable forces because the reader will wonder if Rhoda really is a witch. The main themes of the story are witch craft and passion. The passion is in the love triangle between Farmer Lodge, Gertrude and Rhoda. The witch craft is in the vision Rhoda sees and the physical and mental change in Gertrude. Passion and witch craft are the uncontrollable forces in the withered arm. I think one of the things Hardy is trying to say in this book is that life can’t always be explained. Thomas Hardy uses many different languages effects. He uses similes and metaphors, to describe Gertrude â€Å"her face as comely as a live doll’s† and her face â€Å"like the light under a heap of rose petals†. Hardy also uses extended imagery when he uses the river outside the executioner’s house to link him to the village, â€Å"it stood close to the same stream†. He also uses personification in describing the river â€Å"the waters of which emitted a steady roar†. Thomas Hardy shows us which characters are â€Å"common† and which aren’t by having the â€Å"common† ones use dialect. The only person not to use dialect is Gertrude. Another important factor in creating and maintaining a sense of mystery and malignant uncontrollable forces was the plot. The vision coming true and Rhoda beginning to doubt herself really draws the reader in to the story. I think it was a very effective ending giving no clear answers like yes, Rhoda was a witch or not or no, it was all a coincidence and leaving it up to the reader. That really helps maintain mystery In conclusion I think that by using the characters, settings and a strange plot, Thomas Hardy successfully creates and maintains mystery and malignant forces in the withered arm.

Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups - 6903 Words

80 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW By now, most executives have accepted that emotional intelligence is as critical as IQ to an individual s effectiveness. But much of the important work in organizations is done in teams. New research uncovers what emotional intelligence at the group level looks like-and how to achieve it Building the Emotioncil Intelligence of Groups W by Vanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff HEN MANAGERS EIRST STARTED HEARING ABOUT the concept of emotional intelligence in the 1990s, scales fell from their eyes. The basic message, that effectiveness in organizations is at least as much about EQ as IQ, resonated deeply; it was something that people knew in their guts but that had never before been so well†¦show more content†¦In this article, we ll explore how emotional incompetence at any of these levels can cause dysfunction. We ll also show how establishing specific group norms that create awareness and regulation of emotion at these three levels can lead to better outcomes. First, we ll focus on the individual level-how emotionally intelligent groups work with their individual members emotions. Next, we ll focus on the group level. Andfinally,we ll look at the cross-boimdary level. Working with Individuals Emotions /(†¢// Kasper, head ofher company s customer service department, is naturally tapped tojoin a new cross-functional team focused on enhancing the customer experience: she has extensive experience in and a real passion for customer service. But her teammatesfind she brings little more than a bad attitude to the table. At an early brainstorming session, Jill sits silent, arms crossed, rolling her eyes. Whenever the team starts to get energized about an idea, she launches into a detailed account of how a similar idea went nowhere in the past. The group is confused: this is the customer service star they ve been hearing about? Little do they realize shefeels insulted by the very formation of the team. To her, it implies she hasn t done her job well enough. Three Levels of Emotional Interaction Make no mistake: a team with emotionally intelligent members does notShow MoreRelatedCompare And Contrast Leadership Theories1225 Words   |  5 PagesI. Introduction of theories: Emotional Intelligence, Servant Leadership, Social Identity Theory, and Trait Theory II. Leadership Theories A. Emotional Intelligence 1. Emotional intelligence defined 2. Importance and application of emotional intelligence B. Servant Leadership 1. Who are servant leaders 2. How to be a servant leader C. Social Identity Theory 1. Concept of Social Identity Theory 2. 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These two researchers began by looking at intelligence quotients (IQ) and creating a hypothesisRead MoreSocial And Emotional Intelligence Quotient1195 Words   |  5 PagesSocial and emotional intelligence refers to the quotient of competency one possesses in the areas of self-awareness and social awareness. With the ability to be crafted throughout the course of one’s life, SEI is a learned skill or cognitive skill. Thus, one can alter his/her social and emotional intelligence quotient (SEIQ), making it subject to either improvement or decline. SEI is divided into two separate categories of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal. The Intrapersonal category relates to one’sRead MoreThe Impact Of Emotional Intelligence On Leadership999 Words   |  4 PagesThe Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership and Leadership development in the non-profit sector. Gone are the days of intelligence relating only to academia and the testing of the intelligence quotient (IQ). 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