Debord, Rutherford and Giroux Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Debord, Rutherford and Giroux - Essay Example Nothing, not even an essay into the general nature of meaning of things, should be viewed out of its context. Thus, at the very onset, this essay admits that its purpose in being is to examine the political nature of the present age through the light of communication media. Probably the most emblemic symbol of the present age of international development is the media - electronic and otherwise. This is because the media sells things - goods, services, ideas, opinions, etc - all that is necessary to sustain this present generation of enhanced civilization in the present day and well into the future. Whether it is a commercial enterprise selling biscuits for profit or a politician selling him- or herself for self-aggrandizement the media is there to help do the job. Thus, it is necessary to know how the media views the nature of things and influences it so that it can be better understood how the media's pervasive influence on life in the 21st century moulds its modes of epistemology. This shall be done so now with the views of three European thinkers - Debord, Rutherford and Giroux - on how the individual consciousness thrives or languishes amid the greater world at large. The essay shall begin on the following very germane note - Hegemony, the rule of the dominant, in the individual consciousness is the subjectivity that the hegemony itself has instilled psychologically in it. This is so according to Louis Althusser (Lecture Notes 2) and quite in line with what Gramsci thought of it as the subjected class accepting the values and mores of the dominant class as 'common sense' and 'natural' to sustain hegemony - Gramsci's definition of the rule of the dominant class over the subjected one (Lecture Notes 2). The hegemonistic rule is thus natural and second nature in the subject, who may have been subjected to its influence right from birth, though it may not stand in his or her stead.DeBord and the 'Spectacle' To understand DeBord better it is necessary to understand his conception of what he terms as the 'spectacle' better - "The spectacle is not a collection of images; rather it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images". And, - "The spectacle cannot be understood as either a deliberate distortion of the visual world or as a product of the technology of the mass dissemination of images. It is much better viewed as a Weltanschauung that has been actualized, translated into the material realm - a world view translated into an objective force". (Lecture Notes 2) So what do these two statement signify In terms of mass communications DeBord can be correlated with Gramsci in the following sense - The spectacle is the otherness that is imposed around the individual consciousness, the being-in-itself, that it must acknowledge all

Vs of Big Data

Vs of Big Data Big data based on the word itself means data which is big but how much big is considered as big? For a small business, big data might be few gig while Facebook processes 100s of Tb data every day [6]. So, the definition of big data will slightly differ from organization to organization. Few years back big data meant the huge size of data which is beyond the ability of normal software to process and handle it. Big data was defined using the 3 Vs : Volume, Velocity and Variety but now that has changed and now four more Vs were added which consists of [1] : Variability: This means the data does not have same meaning every day and is constantly changing Veracity: Making sure the data we have is accurate Visualization: Visualizing the data so it can be easily interpreted by readers Value: The final goal is to get some value out of data University of California, Berkley asked forty thought leaders in data science field about the definition of Big Data. John Akred the founder and CTO of Silicon Valley Data Science described big data as, Big Data refers to a combination of an approach to informing decision making with analytical insight derived from data, and a set of enabling technologies that enable that insight to be economically derived from at times very large, diverse sources of data [5].While David Leonhardt who is an editor for The New York Times defines big data as, Big Data is nothing more than a tool for capturing reality just as newspaper reporting, photography and long-form journalism are [5].ÂÂ   As we can see different people from different industry has different definition of Big Data but one thing in common is that it follows the basic three Vs defined before and the end product is different. Microsoft defines big data as patterns which can be used with proven practices for predictable results. Further they defined big data as Data often produced at fire hose rate, that you do not know how to analyze at the moment but may provide valuable information in future [4]. Then they ask the readers if they know what the visitors to their website are really thinking? Or if they are business owners and if they know what the customers think of their products? They ask these questions and then tell them that the answer is hidden in the pile of data which is hidden away and if you can find it still it might be difficult to process it and get meaningful insights out of it. Microsoft then further defines big data as Big data typically refers to collections of datasets that, due to size and complexity, are difficult to store, query, and manage using existing data management tools or data processing applications. We notice here that they are trying to focus on the difficulty of storing, querying and managing data and can expect a solution or product for it. So basically, Microsoft is trying to connect with their readers by asking them if they have a big data problem and then providing an example of what techniques data analysts and business managers are following and how Microsoft can help them. Then they describe Big Data with the text book definition using the three Vs and links the readers to their product called HDInsight [4]. HDInsight is a Hadoop- based solution which Microsoft offers. It is an all in one solution which can store data, process data and executing data analysis. Tableau is one of the biggest company and provider of visualization techniques which can help companies visualize data from any source. They define big data as structured or unstructured, petabytes or terabytes, millions or billions of rows, you can turn data into big ideas[1]. They try to focus on the visualization part as Tableau is used discover and understand their data. So, if we compare it to Microsoft definition they are missing the part about storing the data, retrieving it and the problems behinds it.ÂÂ   While explaining the meaning of big data tableau keeps pointing out the importance of visualizing the data regardless of the size of data and how organizations can leverage this to their benefit. They also iterate that storing, preparing and iterating data is costly and Tableaus vision is to help companies apply best practices to get the most out of their data. SAS uses the three Vs of big data (Volume, Velocity and Variety) to define it and say its not the amount of data that is important but what to do with it and how to use it to make better decisions. SAS adds two more dimensions Variability and Complexity to its definition of big data. They define variability as inconsistency in the amount of data that flows which cannot be controlled [3]. Complexity is defined as different types of data coming from different sources and connecting and combining it to get meaningful insights out of it. When we compare, the definitions provided by these companies it is obvious the core definition of big data remains the same but then these companies tailor tit according to the products they offer. Microsoft which provides end to end solution for big data talks about storing of data which is skipped by Tableau as it provides solution for visualizing the data and not storing. So, we can conclude that there is no authority on the exact meaning of Big Data and its solutions. Works Cited [1] Understanding Big Data: The Seven Vs. Dataconomy. July 23, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2017. http://dataconomy.com/2014/05/seven-vs-big-data/. [2] Big Data. Tableau Software. Accessed January 30, 2017. https://www.tableau.com/stories/topic/big-data. [3] What is Big Data and why it matters. What Is Big Data? | SAS US. Accessed January 30, 2017. http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html. [4] What is big data? Accessed January 30, 2017. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn749868.aspx. [5] What Is Big Data? What Is Big Data? Blog. September 03, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2017. https://datascience.berkeley.edu/what-is-big-data/. [6] Data size estimates. Follow the Data. June 24, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2017. https://followthedata.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/data-size-estimates/.

The Effects of Creatine on Athletes Bodies Essay -- Drugs Steroids Sp

The Effects of Creatine on Athletes' Bodies From a very early age sports are introduced upon both young boys and girls. Although it begins with sportsmanship and teamwork, it begins to evolve into new objectives when these young athletes enter high school. In fact, high school sports are vastly different. Your mind is trained to obliterate the opponent and win at all costs. This mentality can often lead many young athletes to turn to supplements to assist in muscle building. The most common supplement in use currently is Creatine. While athletic departments and sports nutrition stores claim that it is harmless, why do so many high school athletes end up with severe muscular and pulmonary damage? The answer has yet to be clearly defined, but we do know of some side effects which can lead to both positive and negative results in the continued use of this supplement. In order to understand what effects could result of creatine use, we must first explore what exactly creatine does in our body. Creatine is an amino acid which acts as a building block in the construction of proteins in the body. Muscle cells take the creatine and store it as energy for future use in the body. During intense exercise, phosphocreatine is broken down to creatine and phosphate, which is used to regenerate ATP. The remaining creatine in storage in the muscle cells may also increase the regeneration rate of energy after intense exercise. This serves as an extra boost of energy for young athletes. Currently, scientific studies indicate that creatine will boost an athletes maximum performance level by 5-8%. There is also evidence that leads sports nutritionists to believe that creatine can boost total energy output by 5-15%. At this point, it seems... ...ct, but I have yet to hear of any drug that can add almost forty pounds of muscle in a month without posing severe health risks. Currently, there are not any proven clinical studies that show side effects as drastic as what I have personally witnessed. According to the American College Of Sports Science, the only proven side effect of creatine is future weight gain of a substantial amount after an athlete has stopped using the supplement. Unfortunately, the true negative effects will not be fully understood until many years on down the road. In the meantime, parents and athletes alike need to take a stance against the use of dietary supplements at the high school level. Sources 1. Kreider, Richard P. (PhD), Creatine, the next ergogenic supplement? www.sportsci.org 2. American College Of Sports Medicine, Summary on Creatine supplement. www.iahsaa.org

B. F. Skinner and Behavior Conditioning

Behavior conditioning is viewed as a significant psychopathological influence that extends beyond the concept of psychoanalysis and sexual psychology. Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) considers the concept of conditioning as comprehensive type of learning wherein behavioral changes are manipulated rather than intrinsically stimulated. According to the article of Moore (2002), behavior conditioning of Skinner gives rise to two primary components: (1) the biological foundation of behavior manipulation through hormonal systems and other physiologic relations (e. g. neurologic functioning, genetic relationships, etc.), and (2) the occurrence of the behavioral event. Behavior conditioning is the indirect manipulation of activities in order to elicit a behavioral response or behavioral pattern. B. F. Skinner’s idea of behavior conditioning revolves in his concept of Operant Conditioning, which is a type of learning process wherein stimulation of behaviors illicit behavioral modi fications. According to the article of O’Donohue and Plaud (1994), Skinner’s behavioral conditioning involves a mutual relationship between the strengthening and weakening effects rendered by environmental consequences.The mutual relationship between (1) reinforcement and (2) punishment is directed by a stimulus control. According to B. F. Skinner, â€Å"human behavior is not a simple machine-like product of a stimulus, but is something dynamic, changing and in flux, as the environment is in influx†. Behavior conditioning of B. F. Skinner, indeed, constitutes environmental reinforcements and punishments that set the behavioral trends of a human being. Discussion Behavioral ConditioningThe psychological activities fostering behavior in an individual are said to be dynamic, ever changing and mutually linked with the external forces of the human environment. Skinner has observed early on that a large part of our behavior is not automatically elicited by an uncondit ioned stimulus. According to Moore (2002), the concept of behavioral conditioning is associated to the process of survival wherein a human being is directed to a specific pattern of behavior in order to foster adaptation towards the changing environment.Skinner’s operant conditioning can be viewed as a diverse behavioral process that evolves and influences the individual's survival during its lifetime by facilitating the adaptation towards the environment (Moore, 2002). The consequence behavior is the result of the individual’s way of adaptation towards the environment. In the process of the individual’s adaptation, the â€Å"environment in turn acts back on the behavior and on the individual: both are changed as a result of reciprocal behavior-environment interchange (Skinner, 1953)†.According to Burgess (1997), Skinner’s idea of behavior conditioning comprises of three perceivable components that explain to the process of behavioral modification. These elements are (1) the inner activities of behavior, (2) nature of inner behavior, and (3) the role of the environment. Inner activities include the cognitive processes and activities (e. g. thinking, problem solving, decision-making, etc. ) that an individual performs prior to the adaptation of behavior.Meanwhile, the nature of inner behavior is assessed whether the individual’s behavioral change is due to the evolution of society or external environment (phylogenetic) or genetically acquired (ontogenetic). Lastly, the environment facilitates the learning atmosphere that reinforces the permanent change of behavior in the individual (Burgess, 1997). In application of this theoretical proposition, the behavioral transformation of 12-year old that initiates a bullying behavior at school is first established by an inner assessment of self and environment.The child analyzes the capacity of his strength over the others in the class, and then further internalizes the nature of his preferred action. Reinforcers of this behavior can either be other classmates influencing him to bully others or his intrinsic psychological desire to bully others. In a well-appropriate environment where the subject is regarded as the strongest, the chance of producing a bullying behavior to 12-year old boy is more likely (Burgess, 1997; O’ Donohue and Plaud 1994).As for the analysis above, behavior conditioning is therefore affected by three major components, namely (1) the inner self, (2) the environment and (3) the process of behavioral adaptation. However, according to Moore (2002), another contributing factor to consider is the biological foundation of behavior. In Moore’s (2002) argument derived from Skinner’s behavioral conditioning, the influence of hormonal and genetic compositions is another perspective of behavior modifications.â€Å"The science of behavior is concerned with behavior directly selected according to phylogenic contingencies, via inherited genetic mechanisms (Moore 2002)†. The contributions of genetics to causal behavioral events are said to be due to the sensitivity of nervous function to environmental stimulation. Skinner suggests that some behaviors dominating in an individual are not externally fostered, rather elicited only by the environment or other forms of reinforcements (Moore 2002). Components of Behavior Conditioning B. F.Skinner’s view of behavioral conditioning comprises of diverse factors, specifically (1) the material environment during the lifetime of the individual organism (Moore 2002), (2) inner activities and nature of a behavior – phylogenetic (Moore 2002; Burgess 1997), (3) the Gene-Behavior relationship (Moore 2002), and (4) the reciprocal behavior-environment interchange (O’ Donohue and Plaud 1994). In these four contributing factors of behavior conditioning, Skinner, in his operant conditioning, has proposed two essential balancing components: (1) positive reinforcements (rewards), and (2) negative reinforcements (punishments).Operant conditioning involves the functional relationships between behavior events and environmental events. Consequent behaviors can be demonstrated by systematic and controlled changes in the environment. To Skinner, â€Å"there are three-term contingency that exemplifies the relationship among antecedents, behavior and consequences. † Most activities that human beings perform socially provide the context for other people to react according to these activities in one way or another; thereby, initiating consequences of behavior.Such principle is also true in terms of physical environment through the presence of reinforcements, specifically reward systems and punishments. According to Skinner, â€Å"behavior is governed to some degree by reinforcement, which can be organized in endless variety of ways according to reinforcements and punishments. † In addition by Moore (2002), reinforcements largel y depend on the environmental settings and the behavioral nature present in the individual. Negative and positive reinforcements act as the behavior leverages that manipulates an individual’s behavior.According to O’ Donohue and Plaud (1994), behavior conditioning and the basic elements of reinforcements and punishments are defined as the Law of Effect responsible for manipulating both desired and undesired behavioral practices. The main emphasis of behavior modification is to reinforce behaviors that are valuable, and negate those behavioral patterns that are not appropriate. In operant conditioning, the individual’s behavior operates on the environment and determines the occurrence of reinforcements as contingent to the behavioral conditioning.According to Moore (2002), reinforcements are interrelated to the individual’s survival and adaptation. â€Å"Operant conditioning occurs when the probability of a response in the presence of an antecedent stimul us increases because of the prior consequences of the response in the presence of the stimulus in question (Moore 2002)†. Skinner’s view of behavioral conditioning identifies covert, implicit or private events as contributing factors to the mutual relationship between stimuli and the influence on behavior response. Conclusion In conclusion of the study, B.F. Skinner in his idea of behavioral conditioning emphasizes behavior as a consequence of the relationship between environment and behavioral events. Conditioning behaviors is facilitated by manipulating the external reinforcements, specifically reward systems and/or punishments, derived from the different contributing factors. Behavior conditioning revolves in various contributing factors, namely (1) the inner and nature of behavior, (2) physical environment, (3) biochemical processes of behavior, and (4) reciprocal behavior-environment interchange.Consequent behaviors are product of the individual’s adaptation in his environment as a form of survival mechanism. References Jensen, R. , & Burgess, H. (1997). Mythmaking: how introductory psychology texts present B. F. Skinner's analysis of cognition. Journal of Psychological Record, 47, 221-227. Moore, J. (2002). Some Thoughts on the Relation between Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Neuroscience. Journal of Psychological Record, 52, 261-266. O'Donohue, W. , & Plaud, J. (1994). The Conditioning of Human Sexual Arousal. Journal of Sexual Behavior, 23, 221-228.

Kant and Descartes Essay

â€Å"Idealism is the assertion there are none but thinking thing beings. All other things, which we believe are perceived in intuitions, are nothing but presentations in the thinking things, to which no object external to them in fact corresponds. Everything we see is just a construction of the mind. † (Prolegomena). Idealism maintains that there are no objects in the world, only minds. According to idealism, the existence of outer objects is uncertain and ambiguous. Idealism is the group of philosophies asserting that actuality is fundamentally mental, or otherwise intangible. Kant holds the belief that objects only exist as perceptions is fundamentally idealist. The argument begins by making the point: our senses never enable us to experience things in themselves, but only know their appearances. This idea depicts space and time as empty forums to determine how things appear. Kant discusses how math consists of synthetic a priori cognitions, or the ability to provide new information that is necessarily true, and its relation to geometry. Kant believes there is some form of pure intuition innate within us. This innate intuition is what allows us to identify different notions without reference to sense experience. In the opinion of Kant, the possibility of mathematics rests upon the possibility of â€Å"synthetic propositions a priori†. (Prolegomena). There is a priori certainty of geometry. A priori knowledge or justification is independent of all experience. A priori judgments are based upon reason alone, independently of all sensory experience, and therefore are applicable with universality. According to Kant, â€Å"Geometry is based upon the pure intuition of space. † (Prolegomena). We cannot have any perceptions of objects if not in space and time. Kant declares, â€Å"it must first exhibit its concepts in intuition, and do so a priori, in an intuition that is not empirical, but pure. † (Prolegomena). Geometry, as the innate intuition of space, derives from the sequential moments of our innate intuition of time. If space were not built into of our innate composition, two things with all of the same properties would be in every way identical. Space and time are not properties of the objects in things themselves, but rather, qualities of our knowledge of the things. Space and time are referred by Kant as the â€Å"modes of representation†, or â€Å"forms of sensibility†, of objects. (Prolegomena). Kant believes inner experience is all that we can be certain of and that the e? ects can only conclude the existence of the external world has on us. If space and time are subjective, then everything in space and time are subjective. If space and time were things in themselves that we could only understand by reference to experience, geometry and math would not have the a priori certainty that makes them reliable. If space and time do not belong to the things themselves, and we cannot know anything in space and time, then we don’t know the things in themselves. As a result of this, Kant says that appearances are â€Å"That is pure space is not at all a quality of things in themselves but a form of our sensuous faculty of representation, and that furthermore all objects in space are mere appearances†. (Prolegomena). This declaration regarding things being tangible reveals Kant’s view of transcendental idealism, faces the issue of things existing at all, directly. Immanuel Kant’s most influential contribution to philosophy is transcendental idealism. Transcendental idealism is fundamentally a doctrine about space and time. The idea is we cannot perceive things in and of themselves directly; what we perceive must first be interpreted by our senses, then by our sensibility and understanding. Though Kant has argued that we cannot perceive things in themselves, but only appearances of things, Kant believes intuition, and the senses control our perception. And anything, which we may perceive, is made up entirely of appearances. Kant argues, subsequently, things themselves in some way cause these appearances. Kant maintains that things in themselves, independent of our perception, exist, and that they are the source of what we do perceive. All other things, which we think are perceived in intuition, being nothing but representations in the thinking beings, to which no object external to them corresponds in fact. Representations of our sensibility can be said to be reflections of our mind. Kant makes this claim stating, â€Å"The understanding intuits nothing but only reflects. † (Prolegomena). This proposes the question regarding idealism, because something cannot be fully understood, does it still exist? Unlike Idealism, which generally manifests skepticism, the existence of things is crucial to Kant’s philosophy. However, Kant insists we cannot know anything about these things purely through their appearance. Kant asserts: â€Å"which is unknown to us but is not therefore less real. † (Prolegomena). Kant is claiming this ideal is contrary to idealism. Descartes decided that he could throw all things into doubt except that he was thinking and doubting. This supports the concept of idealism because it emphasizes the centrality or importance of the mind. Descartes, like Plato and Augustine divided his world into two areas. For Descartes the two areas were the cogito and the Deity. Rationalists, like Descartes, aim to escape the confines of the mind by constructing knowledge of the external world, the self, the soul, God, ethics, and science out of the simplest, indubitable ideas possessed innately by the mind. Descartes argued that knowledge came from the mind, or idealism. It was Descartes’s idealism that would force him to his separation of the mind and body. Descartes believes in the ability to deny the existence of the physical world. Kant’s major disagreement with Descartes would be in postulating an existential reality outside of the mind. An object does not depend on a mind perceiving it for it to exist though the mind does depend on the transcendental categories to perceive of those objects in a meaningful way. â€Å".. Desire this idealism of mine to be called critical. But if it be really an objectionable idealism to convert actual things into mere representations†. (Prolegomena) Kant expresses his impulse to change transcendental idealism to critical idealism at the end of this section.