Trurls Machine Essay Example for Free

Trurls Machine Essay â€Å"Trurl’s Machine† is the story an inventor who makes an eight-story thinking machine .The story is an attempt to portray the censorship of the people by a communist regime. Lem does this through the use of character, plot and symbolism. The characters in â€Å"Trurl’s Machine† have very different personalities. First, we meet Trurl, the constructor. He is a scientist and an inventor, but he has an artistic side. This he shows by giving the machine face. He has a quick temper and no patience for stupidity. He also is firm in his beliefs as he demonstrates at the end of the story when the machine is trying to get him to give in. â€Å"†Never!† roared Trurl, as if he no longer cared what happened, †¦ (Lem).† Klapaucius is Trurl’s friend and rival. He is also a constructor, but a much more light hearted one. He is always looking on the bright side and he never shies away from adventure. He also has a quick wit and is able to put a comical spin on most things. The machine is described by Klapaucius, â€Å"Not only is it sensitive, dense, and stubborn, but quick to take offense, and believe me, with such an abundance of qualities, there all sorts of things you might do (Lem)!† It, like Trurl, is quick to anger. Lem uses the plot of the story to get his message across. In the beginning, the machine declares that 2+2=7. When it meets resistance in the form of Trurl and Klapaucius, who mock it, the machine becomes angered and escapes its foundations in order to chase its tormentors. Here the tormentors become the oppressed. The machine goes on a rampage; it destroys the town that Klapaucius and Trurl hide in and continues to chase them up the mountain. In its anger, the machine causes too much collateral damage and ends up destroying itself. There is also much symbolism in this story. The machine is meant to symbolize the communist party. It tries to censor the opinions of Trurl and Klapaucius, mainly, that 2+2=4. Trurl and Klapaucius are the oppressed citizens suffering under the communist regime. They are persecuted for their beliefs. The landslide symbolizes the point at which a population can no longer stand their oppressors and must act. The oppressors go too far  and cause their own demise. â€Å"Trurl’s Machine successfully portrays the struggle of oppressed people against those who would censor their beliefs. Lem was able to use character, plot and symbolism to achieve this effect. The story shows that if the oppressed stand up to their oppressors, there is a great chance that they will prevail.

Genetic Manipulation :: Science Scientific Papers

Genetic Manipulation In David Brins science fiction novel called The Uplift War, the reader is presented with a world in which humans have not only become a space faring species and made contact with extraterrestrials, but also made an astounding achievement on their own world; they have made dolphins and chimpanzees into thinking, sentient creatures through a process called uplift. Uplift is a process of elevating animal species to full sapience through methods of breeding and genetic engineering. The uplifted species, known as clients, then serve their patrons, the species who uplifted them, until the patrons release them from indenture. Naturally, this causes many problems. Client species are often looked upon as inferior; this is partly due to strict regulation of activities such as breeding. Although uplift is still just Brins invention, we are rapidly gaining the techniques and knowledge to make uplift a reality. This is why we must carefully examine the ethics of genetic manipulation. First, the m ethods of genetic manipulation must be discussed. In Brins novel, a combination of selective mutation, breeding programs, and education were used to evolve the natural form into a conscious being. These methods, while hardly gentle, were not drastic and took place over hundreds of years, gradually eliminating the unwanted traits and encouraging admirable characteristics (Yep). Today, there are several methods of genetic manipulation, most of which involve various methods of inserting foreign DNA into an animal. They all share the same goal: to integrate and stabilize a desired DNA strand into the genome of an organism (Macer). The most widely used are retroviral infection, pronuclear microinjection, and nuclear transfer. Retroviral infection uses a virus, which contains the desired gene that will be incorporated into the organisms genome, to infect groups of embryos in culture in both prenatal and postnatal life. This method takes a lot of time and effort because the construction of the virus is quite complicated. Another effect of infection is that the information of the viruses may not always be incorporated into all the cultured cells, requiring out breeding of selected organisms to isolate those with the desired gene (Macer). Pronuclear microinjection is another method of genetic manipulation. Linear DNA fragments containing the desired gene are injected into the nucleus of a fertilized egg, where they will be incorporated at random locations. The desired gene will eventually be expressed in a percentage of resulting organisms. While relatively simple, there is still control over the expression rate of the genes or the disruption of genes vital to the organisms survival (Macer).

Reflection: Education and Reflective Practice Essay

The aim of this assignment is to give a reflective account on group presentation and the peer assessment process as well as the development of a personal action plan. It would involve using ‘The What? Model of Structured Reflection’ (Driscoll 2007) to analyse the experience of using a group designed assessment tool to assess my peers and the experience of being peer assessed. Additionally, experience of completing a group presentation would be reflected upon. A personal action plan which identifies areas for personal development and the designed assessment tool is attached as appendix 1 and 2 respectively. Reflection entails reviewing experience from practice so that it may be described, analysed, evaluated and consequently used to inform and change future practice in a positive way (Bulman and Schutz 2013, p6). Reflection could be (Oelofsen 2012, p4) in real time (reflection in action) or retrospectively (reflection on action). Several authors (Jay and Johnson 2002; Taylor 2006) have suggested the use of frameworks to guide students undertaking reflective writing. However, John (cited in Bulman and Schutz, 2013, p118) cautions that reflective frameworks are guides rather than a rigid prescriptive format. Jasper (2006) also warns that frameworks come with the author’s perspective and values base and leads reflectors in a specific direction. It is therefore imperative to be critical of the model of choice and adjust the framework to suit ones purposes so that it can be used effectively. Numerous frameworks for facilitating reflection are utilised in nursing (Doel and Shardlow 2009, p42) such as Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (1988) and John’s Model of Structured Reflection (1995). Following critical analysis, ‘The What? Model of Structured Reflection (Driscoll 2007) consisting of three simple questions; What?, So what? and Now what?, each with sub questions was chosen. The rationale for this choice is that this framework is comparatively simple (Howatson-Jones 2010), effective and very apt for novice practitioners but can equally be used at different levels (Jasper 2003, p99). Moreover, it can be used logically with any type of situation by using the cue questions which gives a deeper and meaningful reflective process hereby leading to the formulation of an action plan for the future. Furthermore, as opposed to Gibbs and John’s framework, it enables reflective activity to lead to action being taken rather than being proposed or tentative. The purpose of returning to this situation is to learn from the experience of using a devised assessment tool to assess my peers. Haven being divided into a group of four students based on our learning styles, each group was expected to design an assessment tool and carry out a presentation which is to be peer assessed. The group presentation involved presenting on one of the 3 future roles of a nurse: educator, manager or professional. Devising our assessment tool was very challenging as each member of the group brainstormed, shared views, and prioritised. Communication was done via emails, phone calls and meetings as agreed by all members. Effective team working was evident among all members. The assessment tool was amended based on feedback received from the lecturer. On the presentation day, majority of the students including myself were anxious as there was a misunderstanding of the date of presentation so were not prepared. Although, this affected the quality of our presentation as it was prepared under 20 minutes. However, students’ still proved that they could be innovative even under duress. The peer assessment process involved an individual assessment of each group’s presentation using our assessment tool and calculating the average to give the final grade. During this process, I realized how difficult it was assessing others and being assessed without being biased. It was particularly difficult to measure the criteria as our assessment tool was not explicit making it impossible to justify the marks awarded. It had too many separate components with inappropriate weighting which made it arduous and complicated in the averaging task. Although, the assessment tool appeared simple as it involved ticking boxes. However, it was diff icult to decide which boxes to tick because students demonstrated majority of the criteria but at different levels and this led to being over marked. It would have been more realistic to award marks to each criterion rather than ticking boxes. Hargreaves (2007) as well as Quinn and Hughes (2007, p270) propose that assessment tool should be both valid (assess what it claims to assess) and reliable (perform in a consistent and stable manner). It is of the opinion now following the assessment that our assessment tool cannot be considered valid and reliable for the following reasons. Learning outcome was not part of the criteria so it was impossible to make a judgement about the quality of the students’ presentation and thus could not be penalized. Hinchliff (1999) suggests that learning outcomes should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed (SMART). It should include an indication of the evidence required to demonstrate that learning has been achieved (Dix and Hughes, 2004), but Welsh and Swann (2002) caution that too many may create unreasonable expectations. Moreover, the ambiguity of the tool and individuals’ subjectivity in terms of attitudes, beliefs and values (the ‘halo’ eff ect) resulted in perceived bias which affected the reliability. Bias however, remains an issue to overcome and as such I felt the feedback received from my peers would not be accurate. Although the peer assessment process made us engage fully in the presentation and learn from the strengths and weaknesses of our peers, there is a need to develop the necessary skills and judgements to effectively manage peer assessments and this involves knowledge and experience (Oelofsen 2012, Somerville and Keeling, 2004). Furthermore, there is a need to be fully prepared and equipped, develop criteria that match the identified learning outcome, consider the issue of fairness particularly with disabled students and clearly communicate assessment criteria . The above reasons can be considered as areas for future development, an in depth analysis of this can be seen in the attached action plan (appendix 1). This process of reflection on action has proved successful as it brought about learning. Even though critics like Rolfe (2003) and Markham (2002) criticised reflective practice for lack of definition and unproven benefit. Taylor (2010) however argues that it is nevertheless worth the effort to bring about deeper insights and changes in practice and education. In conclusion, this essay has demonstrated an understanding of the peer assessment process by assessing the worth of our assessment tool on other students and the experience of being assessed by peers. Using a framework of choice, my experience was analysed and areas for further development identified and attached as appendix 1. Overall, this reflection has brought about deeper insights which identified strengths and weaknesses that would consequently enhance my professional development and result in changes in the future should the situation arise again.

The Importance Of Gender Stereotypes - 1208 Words

Gender stereotypes have been around for hundreds of years, and sometimes it seems like nothing is changing with them. To some, it may feel like instead of improving, they are just worsening. Gender stereotypes, even today, continue to encase both males and females in a false sense of ‘direction’ on how they should look, act, or feel. When girls are raised in households where the father does the same, or more, amount of chores, the National Post writes, they frequently migrate to better careers, such as jobs thought as ‘male-only’. Similar things happen if the mother brings in the income, yet another action defying these gender stereotypes (Nuwer). As children grow up, they begin to believe that men are smarter than women, even at the†¦show more content†¦This has resulted in people not doing what they want to do for fear of being shunned or looked down upon (Pocock). Even though women make up half the employees in large companies, they are not shown the proper credit when working in higher paying jobs such as college teacher, law, and medicine (NoBullying - Bullying CyberBullying Resources). Contrary to popular belief, there is no proven thing as ‘a female’ or ‘male’ brain (Blakemore). Females and males almost only have physical differences, and, while no two people are the same, it is perfectly acceptable for a man to have a more similar mind with a woman than with another man. Though many think that there are differences in the male and female brain, and some have studied it, no one has given reliable proof that there are different brains (Blakemore). Though people are not saying that it is wrong to protect these girls or encourage the boys to be adventurous, but these messages can become ‘straitjackets’ that will prevent them from doing what they want to, for fear of being not accepted (Panko). After a while, these young girls will start to believe that they cannot make decisions for themselves, and that they should rely on others to do stuff for them (Panko). Because of these beliefs, by the low age of ten, girls already are under the impression that what they are meant to do is be quiet and sit pretty (Panko). Britain’s advertising director has made a new ‘decree’ thatShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Gender Stereotypes1385 Words   |  6 PagesGender stereotypes are simplifications about the acts of adjectives. Gender roles are usually neither positive or negative. They are generally mistaken generalizations of the male and female aspects. Since each human being has contrasting ambitions, opinions, and spirits, disregarding their gender, these stereotypes are strangely condensed and do not all characterize the properties of every person of both genders. 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Though this topic can be tricky to study, due to the fact children in general can be tricky to observe, it is incredibly relevant due to the fact play in general has a huge effect on childrenRead MoreMedia s Effect On Gender Equality Essay1677 Words   |  7 Pagesnation make strides towards gender equality, however, if they fail, which is often the case, any advancements that we as a society have made can be negated leaving us with only a skewed view of gender roles and relations. Advertisements often inadvertently foster gender inequality by mainstreaming gender stereotypes that, although often false, are now widely accepted as truth. Females, like myself, are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of these gender stereotypes. These ads teach women from