Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War Surgeon

Mary Edwards Walker was an unconventional woman. She was a proponent of womens rights and dress reform—especially the wearing of Bloomers which didnt enjoy wide currency until the  sport of bicycling  became popular. In 1855 she became one of the earliest female physicians upon graduation from Syracuse Medical College. She married Albert Miller, a fellow student, in a ceremony that did not include a promise to obey; she did not take his name, and to her wedding wore trousers and a dress-coat. Neither the marriage nor their joint medical practice lasted long. At the start of the Civil War, Dr. Mary E. Walker volunteered with the Union Army and adopted mens clothing. She was at first not allowed to work as a physician, but as a nurse and as a spy. She finally won a commission as an army surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland, 1862. While treating civilians, she was taken prisoner by the Confederates and was imprisoned for four months until she was released in a prisoner exchange. Her official service record reads: Dr. Mary E. Walker (1832 - 1919) Rank and organization: Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian), U. S. Army. Places and dates: Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861 Patent Office Hospital, Washington, D.C., October 1861 Following Battle of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Tennessee September 1863 Prisoner of War, Richmond, Virginia, April 10, 1864 - August 12, 1864 Battle of Atlanta, September 1864. Entered service at: Louisville, Kentucky Born: 26 November 1832, Oswego County, N.Y. In 1866, the London Anglo-American Times wrote this of her: Her strange adventures, thrilling experiences, important services and marvelous achievements exceed anything that modern romance or fiction has produced.... She has been one of the greatest benefactors of her sex and of the human race. After the Civil War, she worked primarily as a writer and lecturer, usually appearing dressed in a mans suit and top hat. Dr. Mary E. Walker was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for her Civil War service, in an order signed by President Andrew Johnson on November 11, 1865. When, in 1917, the government revoked 900 such medals, and asked for Walkers medal back, she refused to return it and wore it until her death two years later. In 1977 President Jimmy Carter restored her medal posthumously, making her the first woman to hold a Congressional Medal of Honor. Early Years Dr. Mary Walker was born in Oswego, New York. Her mother was Vesta Whitcom and her father was Alvah Walker, both originally from Massachusetts and descended from early Plymouth settlers who had first moved to Syracuse -- in a covered wagon -- and then to Oswego. Mary was the fifth of five daughters at her birth. and another sister and a brother would be born after her.  Alvah Walker was trained as a carpenter who, in Oswego, was settling into a farmers life. Oswego was a place where many became abolitionists -- including neighbor Gerrit Smith -- and supporters of womens rights. The womens rights convention of 1848 was held in upstate New York. The Walkers supported the growing abolitionism, and also such movements as health reform and temperance.   The agnostic speaker Robert Ingersoll was Vestas cousin.  Mary and her siblings were raised religiously, though rejecting the evangelism of the time and not associating with any sect. Everyone in the family worked hard on the farm, and were surrounded by many books which the children were encouraged to read. The Walker family helped to found a school on their property, and Marys older sisters were teachers at the school. Young Mary became involved with the growing womens rights movement. She may also have first met Frederick Douglass when he spoke in her home town. She also developed, from reading medical books which she read in her home, the idea that she could be a physician.   She studied for a year at Falley Seminary in Fulton, New York, a school which included courses in the sciences and health.  She moved to Minetto, New York, to take a position as a teacher, saving to enroll in medical school. Her family had also been involved in dress reform as one aspect of womens rights, avoiding the tight clothing for women that restricted movement, and instead advocating for more loose clothing.  As a teacher, she modified her own clothing to be looser in the waste, shorter in the skirt, and with pants underneath. In 1853 she enrolled in Syracuse Medical College, six years after  Elizabeth Blackwells medical education. This school was part of a movement towards eclectic medicine, another part of the health reform movement and conceived of as a more democratic approach to medicine than the traditional allopathic medical training.  Her education included traditional lectures and also interning with an experienced and licensed physician. She graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1855, qualified as both a medical doctor and as a surgeon. Marriage and Early Career She married a fellow student, Albert Miller, in 1955, after knowing him from their studies.  The abolitionist and Unitarian Rev. Samuel J. May performed the marriage, which excluded the word obey. The marriage was announced not only in local papers, but in  The Lily,  the dress reform periodical of Amelia Bloomer. Mary Walker and Albert Mmiller opened a medical practice together. By the late 1850s she became active in the womens rights movement, focusing on dress reform. Some key suffrage supporters including Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone adopted the new style including shorter skirts with pants worn underneath. But the attacks and ridicule about clothing from the press and public began to, in the opinion of some suffrage activists, distract from womens rights.  Many went back to traditional dress, but Mary Walker continued to advocate for more comfortable, safer clothing. Out of her activism, Mary Walker added first writing and then lecturing to her professional life. She wrote and spoke about delicate matters including abortion and pregnancy outside of marriage. She even wrote an article on women soldiers. Fighting for a Divorce In 1859, Mary Walker discovered that her husband was involved in an extramarital affair.  She asked for a divorce, he suggested that instead, she also find affairs outside their marriage. She pursued a divorce, which also meant that she worked to establish a medical career without him, despite the significant social stigma of divorce even among those women working for womens rights.  Divorce laws of the time made a divorce difficult without the consent of both parties. Adultery was grounds for a divorce, and Mary Walker had amassed evidence of multiple affairs including one that resulted in a child, and another where her husband had seduced a woman patient.  When she still could not get a divorce in New York after nine years, and knowing that even after the granting of a divorce there was a five year waiting period until it became final, she left her medical, writing, and lecture careers in New York and moved to Iowa, where divorce was not so difficult.   Iowa In Iowa, she was at first unable to convince people that she was, at the young age of 27, qualified as a physician or teacher.  After enrolling in school to study German, she discovered they did not have a German teacher. She participated in a debate, and was expelled for participating.  She discovered that New York state would not accept an out of state divorce, so she returned to that state. War When Mary Walker returned to New York in 1859, war was on the horizon. When the war broke out, she decided to go to war, but not as a nurse, which was the job the military was recruiting for, but as a physician. Known for:  among the earliest woman physicians; first woman to win the Medal of Honor; Civil War service including commission as an army surgeon; dressing in mens clothing Dates:  November 26, 1832 - February 21, 1919 Print Bibliography Harris, Sharon M.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Dr. Mary Walker, An American Radical, 1832 - 1919  . 2009.Synder, Charles McCool.  Dr. Mary Walker: The Little Lady in Pants.  1974.   More About Mary Walker: Profession:  PhysicianAlso known  as:  Dr. Mary Walker, Dr. Mary E. Walker, Mary E. Walker, Mary Edwards WalkerOrganizational Affiliations: Union ArmyPlaces: New York, United StatesPeriod: 19th century

Social Inequality Inequality And Inequality - 3119 Words

Core Assessment Paper Carrie Bailey Park University Social Inequality in My Life Social inequality is described by the presence of unequal opportunities and rewards for various social positions or statuses inside a society or group. It contains organized and repetitive examples of unequal distributions of goods, riches, opportunities, prizes, and disciplines. Racism, for instance, is comprehended to be a wonder whereby access to rights and resources is unreasonably disseminated crosswise over racial lines. With regards to the U.S., minorities ordinarily encounter racism, which benefits white individuals by presenting them with white privilege, which permits them more noteworthy access to rights and resources than†¦show more content†¦As a child, I grew up with three siblings and a single mother, in public housing. On welfare and food stamps, our household income was below the poverty line. My father was absent and had never finished high school and my mother had a high school diploma, however, she never attended college. Alth ough, I look Caucasian, my mother was of Mexican and Native American descent. Because I was raised by a single mother who was raised in the Mexican culture, I was also raised in the same way. In our home, what we lacked in finances, we made up for in love and affection. Multi-racial children often find it hard to â€Å"fit in† when they don’t really fit into the culture of one ethnicity over the other. Past studies had expected that if an individual had a multiracial heritage that he or she naturally identified with that heritage. However, Binning and his fellow researchers theorized that basically having a place with different racial groups did not ensure that a man would psychologically relate to those groups. We imagined that diving further into the multiracial classification to inspect how such people translated their racial character would help our comprehension of multiracial psychology, said Binning, a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford GSB and coauthor of The Interpretation of Multiracial Status and Its Relation to SocialShow MoreRelatedSocial Inequalities By Jonathan Kozal Essay1570 Words   |  7 Pagessimultaneously believe that schools are places where social inequalities should be equalized, where the advantages or disadvantages that children experience in their homes and families should not determine what happens to them in school-in essence, that school is a place where children should have equal chances to make the most of their potential.† (Inequality) The 1991 article Savage Inequalities written by Jonathan Kozal highlights the fact that every person is entitled to the right to receiveRead MoreEssay on Social Inequality Between Men and Women1102 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many forms of social inequality that can be analyzed in the study of anthropology. 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George Herberts Imagery free essay sample

Ashley Adams Instructor: Adam Helmintoller English section 241-40 16 November 2011 George Herbert’s Imagery The poem â€Å"Easter wings† by George Herbert is a poem that contains deep imagery which is shown not only in his words but also his visual structure. Herbert chooses the structure of a pair of wings for many different reasons. He also gives his poem a lot of imagery which should help the reader gain a different perspective to the poem. The poem explains Herbert’s desires to fly with Jesus after his resurrection. Herbert put himself deliberately in the poem by commonly using â€Å"I† and â€Å"me†. Herbert then addresses the audience in the first line with â€Å"Lord†, meaning Jesus Christ. Yet the confusion is of where the poem starts since it is split in two parts but having to be read sideways. This could be used to invoke visions of both wings, meaning that instead of looking at one large poem there is actually two smaller poems instead. We will write a custom essay sample on George Herberts Imagery or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Lord, who createth man in wealth and store† is the beginning of this poem, helping to immediately establish the audience in the first word (Greenblatt 1609). It also reveals the poem as a type of prayer towards God. Herbert uses the â€Å"winged† look in his poem to more or less catch the readers eye an relate to the imagery Herbert uses in the poem with his words. The beginning of the poem describes the fall of men from â€Å"wealth† into the â€Å"decaying† of life from sinful nature, â€Å"Lord, who createst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more Till he became Most poor:† the structure of the first few lines parallel the content, by having the lines â€Å"decaying† in length but also the imagery â€Å"decaying† with the fall of mankind (Greenblatt 1609). Herbert wanted his audience to see the parallelism between the shape and the actual meaning of the poem. Herbert wanted the reader to find the true meaning of the poem by connecting it with the shape. In the second part of the two poems is turning in emotion and finishing with the poet taking â€Å"flight† and completing the second wing: â€Å"With thee O let me rise As larks, harmoniously, And sing this day thy victories: Then shall the fall further the flight in me. † This stanza is rich in imagery (Greenblatt 1609). It seems like the second part of the first poem â€Å"beats its wing† against the decline of the first part in the first poem, showing how the â€Å"fall† of man â€Å"furthered the flight† in Herbert as it created the way for the crucifixion of Jesus. It was this action which redeemed man so they could have fellowship with God again. While in the first part you see Herbert using he and the word man, where as in the second part the poem becomes more personal to Herbert when he uses me. This part of the poem could be meant as the personal prayer to God thanking him for the death of his son and our salvation. Also of note is the use of â€Å"larks, harmoniously† to give a beautiful, resonate feel to the poem; opposite to that of words like â€Å"decaying† and â€Å"most poor† used in the first stanza. The first three lines of the second stanza, â€Å"With thee/ O let me rise/ As larks, harmoniously† tells us Herbert wants to be with Jesus during the resurrection (Greenblatt 1609). Herbert then uses the word harmoniously suggesting a group of voices and a group of people. And since Herbert is insinuating harmounisly as a group which is most commonly seen as three, this would support the idea of the trinity. The trinity which is specifically the trinity of Jesus as father, son, and Holy Spirit which Herbert wanted to relate to in his poem. If you look more closely to the second part of the poem it’s obvious that it’s just a continuous to the first part while addressing the same audience in the first part. As the first stanza spoke of the â€Å"fall† of man into sin, the third stanza becomes more personal to the poet: â€Å"My tender age in sorrow did begin: And still with sicknesses and shame Though didst so punish sin, That I became Most thin†, once again, this part decreases every line like that of the first (Greenblatt 1609). Following the beginning of the second part Herbert explains him not being innocent of sin with the comment of him being â€Å"most thin†. This ending should give the reader a feel of loss and unfinished ending. Ideally, our virtues and wisdom should grow with age; Herbert reveals that this is not necessarily the case. With the passing of time, the poet expresses that his only gain was that of guilt and sin. It is also somewhat impossible to live life without sin. Again the poet picks up from where he left off and begins the next stanza with words of rejuvenation. However, this stanza adds an element of connection: â€Å"With thee let me combine, And feel this day thy victory; For, if I imp my wing on thine, Affliction shall advance the flight in me† (Greenblatt 1609). Herbert then states his want for salvation to â€Å"combine† with Jesus and be grafted onto his wings. This would suggest he doesn’t want to be only â€Å"with† Jesus but grafted â€Å"onto† Jesus, which a much closer relationship would be made. Herbert did this appropriately to show how the course of man’s action, led to the affliction and fall of man. It is difficult to see how negatives such as â€Å"affliction† and â€Å"fall† could lead to glory but it is this resistance, much like that of a wing beating against the resistance of gravity and air, that furthers not only the flight of the poet but also that of mankind. apricotpie) After analyzing Herbert’s poem, the winged imagery can be seen throughout, and the reasoning for the shape and imagery. Herbert wanted to show people of his time and from then on many truths in the poem. . Not only does the shape and imagery have a great effect on the reader, but the emotional swing s and shifting play many â€Å"tricks† on the reader as we go through Herbert’s poem. Also Herbert’s original presentation is most unusual and confronts the reader with an awkward dilemma. In order to access the words of his poem the page must be turned sideways. This turning of the page could be Herbert’s way of changing our point of view. How man’s decline because of sin was defeated by the actions of the cross. So the point of Herbert’s work â€Å"Easter Wings† May not actually be understood with maybe just one reading but with multiple readings. . But Herbert did show us that using shape and imagery throughout his poem that many different meanings and points can be made within one poem. . He also helped us to understand his view of right and wrong, Herbert used imagery throughout his poem to give us a sense into his life and his value system. In doing so he gave the readers of his poems a chance to find all of the truths and meanings in his poem. Lastly in Herbert’s poem he wants us to be grateful of the gift that God has given to us, by allowing his only son to die for the salvation of our sins to wash us clean with grace, it is this action which allows all of mankind, and not just Herbert, to be grafted into Jesus’ wing to â€Å"further the flight† in us all. Herbert’s ideas all together try to make a positive feedback onto the reader, beginning with wanting to return with less sin and trying to â€Å"fly† with Jesus towards salvation.

Rome Italy Essays - Film, Rome, Ancient Roman Architecture

Rome Italy My Trip to Rome, Italy I had learned I was being sent to Italy in March of 2000 for a machine tool exhibition. I found out the happy news just before leaving work. Excitedly I jumped into my car and started my journey home. As I drove home down I-95 through all of the usual evening traffic I just kept thinking about ho I was going to tell my husband we were going to Italy. That night I continuously paced the floor looking out of my bedroom window to see if my husband was home from work yet. As he drove up in our driveway I ran outside to tell him the good news. I said, ?Nick guess where we are going in March Before he could even say where I yelled out ?Italy?! Italy, he said with a puzzled look on his face. I then explained the situation with work and said to him since if I have the opportunity to go I thought it would be a great idea for you to come along with me. I suggested scheduled some time before the show for the two of us to travel around Rome. Later that night it was settled we would schedule a co uple of days to tour Rome before the exhibition. It seemed like forever before we would finally be on our way, but then before I knew it we were on the airplane and the flight attendant is announcing fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing into Leonardo da Vinci airport. After arriving at the airport we had to transfer to a train that would take us to the city center. It was about a 30-minute train ride. Along the ride I was getting my first look at Rome, mostly the colorful countryside with the rows of sunflowers that were so splendid with bright yellow centers, and green leaves that were so full of life. Just pass the beautiful field of sunflowers was a small farmhouse made of stone. You could see the smoke coming out of the chimney and the farmers working their land. Upon arriving at the main train station, ?Stazione Termini? in Italian, the excitement was building I couldn't wait another minute to see all the sites of Rome. The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, and the Vatican were tops on my list, and with only a couple of days to site see there wasn't any time to waste. We stopped at our hotel the ?Hotel Bolivar? which was a small hotel with only 18 rooms. The hotel was off the main road surrounded by other buildings. The building was old maybe 100 years or more, but beautiful. The wooden shutters on the windows and the pale beige stone walls were breathtaking. We decided we would not take a guided tour, but opted to take a more exciting route and we would find our way around on foot. We left our hotel and started to travel down the Italian Street ?Via dei Fori Imperialli? and there before our very eyes was The Colosseum. It was amazing just like the pictures I have seen all my life. I found it strange however that it sat directly in the middle of the street where cars and mopeds or vespas as they're known in Italy wizzed around it like it was just another building. Walking closer to The Colosseum we began to see the stone remains and columns of the Roman Forum. In order for the stone remains of the now vanished temples to have some meaning we had to purchase a detailed map, but at night when the Forum is silent in the moonlight, it isn't hard to imagine that vestal virgins still guard the sacred temple fire. As we approached the Colosseum you could begin to see the shell of what was one the greatest architectural structures of ancient Rome. We toured the rest of the Colosseum that day, walking up the stone stairs where ancient Romans once walked 2000 years ago to view the combat between the gladiators and wild beasts. Many people believe that Christians were fed to the lions here, but most historians believe that this legend is untrue. The next morning we took a

Autonomy in an Neural Network †Pyschology Essay

Autonomy in an Neural Network – Pyschology Essay Free Online Research Papers Autonomy in an Neural Network Pyschology Essay The idea of creating artificial intelligent life is not a new concept but rather one that dates back to the end of the sixteenth century. Inventors fashioned mechanical constructs deemed â€Å"automata† for the purposes of entertaining the wealthy (Jones, n.d.). Many of these hydraulic devices were constructed to simulate human and animal behaviours with the ultimate goal of creating artificial people as in the story of Pinocchio. Although they succeeded in making the machines perform simple tasks such as writing a limited number of phrases, their science and technology were woefully underdeveloped for the task of creating something with the cognitive faculties of an animal, let alone a human being (Jones, n.d.). Skipping ahead to the 21st century finds scientists in a situation not far removed from their predecessors. Although there have been enormous strides in the field of human psychology, scientists are still quite a ways off from creating an autonomous agent that can think and learn for itself. The main goal of those working in the field of artificial intelligence is the simulation of an artificial brain. The â€Å"easiest† way to do this is to model one based on the human brain. After all, we know that it works, that it’s capabl e of learning, and that as part of a whole it results in a being that is self aware and intelligent. The first step in this task is to understand how the brain works. The human brain consists of 1012 neurons and which serve almost all the functions of the human brain (Reingold, n.d.). They are the information carriers and are responsible for all of our cognitive functions. They consist of a cell body called the soma and usually have two stem like extensions, the dendrites and the axon. Information is transmitted from the axon to the dendrite across the synaptic cleft whenever the neuron is excited to the point of firing, called an action potential (Klerfors, 1998) . These action potentials then propagate from neuron to neuron causing the neuron that they are connected to, to either excite or inhibit itself (Reingold, n.d.). In the case of excitation, a firing perceived from a connected neuron will cause it to make itself ready for an action potential of its own, while an inhibitory neuron will be less likely to fire (Reingold, n.d.). Action potentials are all or none and only convey the information that a specific neuron has fired. The grou pings and connections between neurons are what is referred to as a neural network. A neural network typically consists of three layers. The first layer is the â€Å"input layer† which is connected to the sensory organs, and which provides data for the next layer. Connected to these initial neurons are a multitude of neurons in what is called the â€Å"hidden layer†. The purpose of these neurons is to identify the input data and render it into meaningful information that the brain can understand, which is then passed to the â€Å"output layer† (Klerfors, 1998). There are three fundamental concepts necessary for understanding the relationships between neurons in a neural network. The first of these, connection strength, refers to how strongly one neuron influences those neurons connected to it. Because this connection strength can vary enormously it is thought that it is here that all information in the brain is stored. The second concept refers to the excitation/inhibition distinction between neurons. This refers to the whether a neuron will cause an excitatory or inhibitory response in a neighbouring neuron, and as a result the magnitude of the response will vary with the connection strength. The final component is the transfer function of the neuron. The transfer function describes how a neuron’s firing rate varies with the input it receives (Reingold, n.d.). It is from these three components that it will be determined how much of the activation value is passed on to the next node. Artificial neural nets were created based on the aforementioned principles and were constructed to simulate the brain as similarly as possible through software run on computers. Although neural nets are parallel processors the only way to get them to run is to create them on programs that run through serial computers. While this process sacrifices the speed of parallel processors, it still mimics the fundamental properties of the neural network. As with biological neurons, the data holders in artificial neural nets come from the connection strengths between individual neurons and are referred to as weights. These weights are located in the hidden layer of a network and are given a value between –1 and +1. These values refer to how much activity from a connecting neuron is required to trigger an artificial action potential. Each node sums the activation values it receives, arrives at its own activation value, and then passes that along to the next nodes in the network (a fter modifying its activation level according to its transfer function (Reingold, n.d.). The neurons in an artificial neural network work in the same way as biological ones with input coming in one end, passing through a middle computational layer, and then exiting through the output layer. The actual physical set up of the network was the simple part for scientists while difficulty came from harnessing its power. For a system to be fully autonomous it must be able to learn without outside support and be able to adapt to its environment. This type of learning is referred to as unsupervised learning (Klerfors, 1998). In unsupervised learning the weights in an artificial neural net start off randomized. What this means is that any data sent through the system will be outputted as randomized values. In order to produce meaningful information from this the system must teach itself to recognize the information, remember it and produce an appropriate response. Because the system is to be self sufficient it must do this on its own through the internal adjustment of its weights (Reingold, n.d.). As stated before, an artificial neural network begins in a randomized state where the values of the weights do not represent anything. As data is sent through the system the output layer sends the data back to input layer to rework the information into something a little more representational of the original info. This process that the artificial neural network goes through is not something that can be done in one, ten, or even a hundred runs, but rather can take up to as many as forty thousand runs to gen erate proper data. Looking at it from this perspective it is difficult to understand how anything can get done, but when one understands that information is passed from neuron to neuron at an average speed of 268mph it seems a little more feasible (Klerfors, 1998). Because an artificial neural network that learns through unsupervised learning begins as a randomized â€Å"clean slate† it requires two things to function properly. One of these is a large data set to learn from. In order to function properly it must teach itself and it does this by using old confirmed data sets. By using old data sets both the inputs and desired outputs are known so when the info given to the network it can learn for itself by putting in the old inputs and comparing and adjusting its own weights to bring its own outputs in line with those of the data set (Want to try Neural Nets?, n.d.). Again, this procedure does not occur through a few trials, but rather in trials numbering in the tens of thousands. The second, and most important, component necessary for an artificial neural network to function properly is its learning algorithm. This refers the mathematical software that runs in the hidden layer and dictates exactly how the weights should respond to a specific target input (Klerfors, 1998). Although there currently exist many differing kinds of algorithms most share in common one of a few different learning laws. The learning laws are the backbone of the algorithm and can be seen as its dna, as it gives instructions on how the mathematics should be performed. Although the learning laws themselves seem to be constructed in greater abundance by scientists, there are three main laws for unsupervised learning. One of the first ones constructed by Donald Hebb and consequently became know as Hebb’s rule. Heb’s rule states that if a neuron receives an input from another neuron, and if both are highly active (mathematically have the same sign), the weight between the neurons should be strengthened. This corresponds to the physiological findings in the brain that greater activation between connected neurons results in easier activations (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). Similar to Hebb’s rules i s Hopfields Law which distinguishes itself by specifying that magnitude of the strengthening and weakening in said neurons. It states that if the desired output and the input are both active or both inactive, increment the connection weight by the learning rate, otherwise decrement the weight by the learning rate (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). The third and final rule Kohonen’s learning law, developed by Teuvo Kohonen, was also inspired by learning in biological systems. In this procedure, the processing elements compete for the opportunity to learn, or update their weights. The processing element with the largest output is declared the winner and has the capability of inhibiting its competitors as well as exciting its neighbors. Only the winner is permitted an output, and only the winner plus its neighbors are allowed to adjust their connection weights (Artificial Neural Networks Technology, n.d.). Although there are many more learning laws out there, th ese three are considered to be the ones upon which the others are based. As with the learning laws there are a multitude of algorithms being developed. These algorithms, also known as seen as the genetic makeup, are constructed and based on the application they are to work with. Although many have been developed, the most successful ones include; Kohonen Self Organizing Features Maps, Grossberg’s Adaptive Resonance Theory, and Fukushima’s Neogcognitron. The basic premise of the Self Organizing Feature Map is that of a feature detector. It is based on competitive learning in a topology-preserving map that can be adjusted to represent the nature of the inputs (Self-Organizing Feature Maps, n.d.). In the SOFM, neurons located physically next to each other will respond to inputs that are also next to one another, which in turn allows for lateral inhibition and excitation. What this means is that if a target neuron is activated, all of its immediate neighbours will also become activated but to a lesser degree (Kaski, 1997). This provides a way to avoid totally unlearned neurons and it helps enhance certain topological property which should be preserved in the feature mapping. In every following cycle in which that same target neuron is still activated the size of the neighbourhood decreases, thereby precisely mapping the feature in question (Self-Organizing Feature Maps, n.d.). The Neocognitron is an algorithm developed by Fukushima in an attempt to construct a neural network architecture based explicitly on knowledge about real brains (Neocognitron, n.d.). It is considered to be the most complex neural network architecture ever developed, and is also the most limited in its capabilities. The Neocognitron was developed to recognize handwriting and convert it to digital signals (Neocognitron, n.d.). The reason for its complexity comes from the immense variation in various persons handwriting style, and as a result it was necessary to make to algorithm as robust as possible. The design of the Neocognitron came from extensive study of the human visual system. Neuropsychological studies have shown that there are relatively few cells that receive input directly from the retina and that they are limited in function. Studies have shown that the local relationships between input neurons in the retina are topologically preserved in the organization of the neural pathways (Neocognitron, n.d.). Although mathematically-free information on how the neocognitron actually works is sparse, it is assumed that when a handwriting sample is presented to the neural network it attempts to locate the boundaries of the individual letters and match the patterns to similar ones stored in memory. When the samples are not very similar to the target letters in the database the neural net must approximate the unconfirmed features to confirmed ones and then probabilistically determine a correct output. Unlike the previous two algorithms, Adaptive Resonance Theory was not developed for a specific task so much as it was developed to deal with a fundamental concern with artificial neural networks in general. Developed by Stephen Grossberg and Gail Carpenter, ART was designed to deal with the stability-plasticity dilemma (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The stability-plasticity dilemma was a learning instability problem suffered by neural networks whereby scientists and programmers were unsure as to how a neural network would know when to apply its existing knowledge in regards to new inputs, or when it would be required to actually learn and adopt the new inputs as â€Å"learning material† (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The weights which have captured some knowledge in the past continue to change as new knowledge comes in. There is therefore a danger of losing the old knowledge with time. The weights have to be flexible enough to accommodate the new knowledge but not so much so as to lose the old (Adaptive Resonance Theory, n.d.). The adaptive Resonance Theory deals with this problem by accepting input and classifying it into a category depending on the stored pattern it resembles most. Once the pattern is located, it is trained to resemble the input. If however the input does not match any stored pattern within a given range, then a new category is created by storing a new pattern similar to the input. Because of this, no stored pattern is ever modified unless it matches the input vector within a given fault range(Grossberg’s, n.d.). Because of this new method the ART has both stability, in that it can remember and recognize patterns, but it also has plasticity in that it can learn new material without forgetting the old. The original ART, known as ART1, only performed unsupervised learning in regards to binary input but the newly developed ART2 has been modified to handle both digital and analog (fuzzy) inputs (Grossbergâ€⠄¢s, n.d.). The emergence and continued development of unsupervised learning in Artificial Neural Networks is an important backbone to the development of true autonomous artificial intelligence. The human mind is itself the self contained seat of our consciousness and it is from its own evolutionary development that humans have reached the heights that they have. Because of this it makes complete sense that the easiest way to create and alien intelligence would be to understand our own physiology and then model it after ourselves. However, it is my belief that the current artificial neural networks that we have are but a child’s step towards our ultimate goal. It is difficult for me to believe that who we are is made up solely the firing of electronic impulses that travel from synapse to synapse. Although I don’t dispute that it is an integral part of our cognitive processes, it just seems too basic. What role then do our hormones and neurotransmitters play in regards to our cognitive faculties? I believe that in order for us to begin to learn about what makes us tick we need to have a larger crisper picture. The different topographic regions of the brain cater to various processing and cognitive functions, and it is the interaction between the different electrical and chemical action potentials and the various regions of the brain that gives us the ability to grow, learn, create, and think. Once we understand more of ourselves we will be in a better position to apply that knowledge and give birth to something in our likeness. References 1. Adaptive Resonance Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22nd, 2001, from maths.uwa.edu.au/~rkealley/ann_all/node170.html 2. Artificial Neural Networks. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from gc.ssr.upm.es/inves/neural/ann1/unsupmodels/unsupmodels.html 3. Artificial Neural Networks Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21st, 2001, from dacs.dtic.mil/techs/neural/neural5.html#RTFToC17 4. Grossbergs Adaptive Resonance Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from icsi.berkeley.edu/~jagota/NCS/VOL1/P3_html/node27.html 5. Jones, Stephen. Neural Networks and the Computational Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from culture.com.au/brain_proj/neur_net.htm 6. Kaski, S. Data exploration using self-organizing maps. (1997). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from cis.hut.fi/~sami/thesis/node18.html#SECTION00074000000000000000 7. Klerfors, Daniel. Artificial Neural Networks. (November 1998). Retrieved November 22nd, 2001, from http://hem.hj.se/~de96klda/NeuralNetworks.htm#2.2.3%20Learning 8. Neocognitron. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21st, 2001, from maths.uwa.edu.au/~rkealley/ann_all/node225.html 9. Reingold, Eyal, and Nightingale, Johnathan. Artificial Intelligence Tutorial Review. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19th, 2001, from http://psych.utoronto.ca/~reingold/courses/ai/ 10. Self-Organizing Feature Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20th, 2001, from nd.com/models/sofm.htm 11. Want to Try Neural Nets?. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23rd, from zsolutions.com/soyou.htm Research Papers on Autonomy in an Neural Network - Pyschology EssayBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfGenetic EngineeringIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperStandardized TestingThe Project Managment Office SystemThree Concepts of PsychodynamicHip-Hop is ArtThe Spring and AutumnCapital Punishment

America and Vietnam Essay Example for Free

America and Vietnam Essay Olsen and Roberts are both history professors who are fascinated with the ways by which the American government made the situation of the war with Vietnam a fearful yet victorious even for the reputation of the said country. The authors were then able to contribute their thoughts about the situation thus seeing the situation of the past wars a manifestation of the reputation of the American society in the world account of recognized countries of war and reconciliation. Their book â€Å"Where the Domino Fell† actually pictures the actual situations that happened during the American-Vietnamese war during the 1960’s and how the said history particularly affects the relationship of the two countries involved. About the Book [Content and Summary] The overall content of the book is highly recommended for reading and teaching as it gives a clear yet critical approach in assessing the US policy that controlled the Vietnam society from then until the present. Undeniably, the book of Olsen and Roberts is an awakening material that helps the human mind realize the importance of being diplomatic and lawful even when in the middle of distress. Surprisingly, the American society was able to steel a fine reputation out from all the oppression that they have already implicated upon the Vietnamese society during the war years. Through the critical assessment of the situation, the authors intended to give the readers a fine picture not only of what is or what has been obvious but also a glimpse of the truth behind the scenes of historical accounts written in books today. Implications of the Reading As it has been noted earlier, the reading gave a clear depiction of what has happened and why the said events happened during the American-Vietnamese war in the 1960’s. With the insightful informations that the authors posted through their book, they were able to help readers realize what the facts are and how they particularly affect the present relationship that exists between the said countries. Critique of the Writing Approach As for the writing approach of the authors, it is undeniable that the informations that they posted through the reading were carefully assessed thus giving out validated facts that support their explanations of the said historical event. The clarity of the implications of the reading has been strengthened by the documentations that the authors used to show the authenticity of the reading. The utilization of other researches that supported their claims and opinions made the book a must read not only for professors and students, but also for those individuals who endeavor reading books under the typical yet critical approach of understanding history and American politics. Within the context of the book lies a less-traveled path among the historians of the present times. Olsen and Roberts certainly made it clear that history is a human account needed to be understood and learned from through critical observation of the past. Reference: James S. Olson and Randy Roberts. (2006). Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 1945-2006 [ILLUSTRATED]. Blackwell Publishing Limited; 5 edition. America and Vietnam. (2017, May 10).

Rational Approaches to Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rational Approaches to Organizations - Essay Example It also highlights through examples how taking an open system or a natural systems approach could benefit managers. Rational Approaches to Organizations Rational approaches present a planned and systematic approach to decision making. Applying such an approach helps managers to maintain order and resoluteness in the decision-making process. Dyck (1997) observes that rational approaches generate reason and order through a sequence of steps starting with the discovery of an opportunity or a predicament and culminating with measures to be undertaken in regard to the decisions reached. Mintzberg (1990) argues that rational approaches are based on meticulousness of analysis and assessment of all probable courses of action. This may be appealing to managers considering the fact that future actions are predetermined at the strategy setting stage. Rational approaches to strategy formulation comprise environmental scanning, portfolio and industry analysis, all which are focused on establishin g the business opportunities and threats. Environmental scanning helps managers to determine the nature of the operating environment and to set strategies for utilizing emerging opportunities as well as dealing with potential threats (Robbins & Barnwell 2006). Portfolio analysis is the formal structured examination that encompasses decisions regarding the relative significance of the accessible business opportunities where a company can invest. It allows the management to devise strategies that can supplement the business portfolio in regard to emerging investment openings and products (Ferraro et al. 2005). Industry analysis helps managers to understand the nature of a particular market in which an organization presently sells its products or is planning to penetrate in future. Such rational approaches allow managers to determine the significance of the various strategic business units and prioritize the allocation of resources depending on market attractiveness (Williamson 2000). Strategy development through this process culminates in a well-detailed scheme with various courses of action that are meticulous with monetary aspects and resource affiliated data. This process is characteristic of the standard SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) analysis in strategy development. Mitzenberg (1990) developed a comparable approach to strategy development. His planning approach involves formulating a strategy with a time line, goals and objectives which are stated and formulated to help achieve the organizational objectives. A plan is a critical source of direction for the company since it contains clearly stated objectives. Planning is a continuous process as variables keep changing hence the need for management to be ready for changes through out the organization’s life cycle (Glueck 2009). Litzenberg's planning model is limited in the sense that it is suitable for static operating environments otherwise the management needs to continuously review plans in a constantly changing environment. Plans can also not be relied upon in the long run due to technological and infrastructural advancements. The rational approaches integrate an evaluation of the organization and its operating environment with the underlying assumption that changes in the business environment will seldom affect the plan.