Arguing against software patents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arguing against software patents - Essay Example Software should not be patented, they say? (Anthypophora) Yes, it is only right that software should not be patented since it would not make sense to grant one person the right to a single innovation thereby making it impossible for any other person to come up with the same or even better piece of innovation. In many instances, software patent lay is shrouded by assumptions and myths (Bird and Jain 56). When one reads the arguments presented online about the criticisms of software patents, it is hard to miss the frequent misunderstanding, unnecessary exaggeration, considerable conspiracy theory and even misdirected equivocation which render these most of these arguments null and without substance (accumulatio). In other words, these arguments are baseless and should not be taken seriously. A good example of an argument that does not hold water at all is based on claims that software patents are used as schemes by greedy copyright lawyers who are out to make an extra buck by destroying patent protection (Stobbs 45). Despite such arguments as the one mentioned here (concession), there are many rock solid (metaphor) arguments against software patentability which make sense. One argument that carries a lot of weight, and one that has been frequently mentioned in many respectable circles is th at the patents can potentially encourage the creation and development of what are commonly referred to as patent thickets. In the world of technology, according to Stobbs (52) patent thickest are those numerous patents that are interconnected and researchers normally have a hard time navigating through them when they want to develop new technologies. There are two major types of thickets which can arise from software patent. The first type is the one that is characterized by a single innovation and it can be protected by more than one patent holder. This means that any individual interested in the development of certain software can obtain different licenses from several owners. The other type of thicket is one which allows for a product to be covered under many different patents as opposed to just one. The presence of these thickets in the software industry may cause the cost of innovation to rise and inefficiency in terms of growth. Some people argue that software patents have eco nomic value. However this value is usually undermined by the lack of a clear way of searching the software for patenting purposes (concession). This results from the fact that software patents are rarely indexed in any way that can make sense. This makes keyword searches on the software in question very hard and ineffective. There is also the question of legislation. In most cases, one cannot conduct patent libraries in the public domain due to stringent legal obstacles (Burgunder 26). The economic benefits of software patents are thus undermined since they normally depend on technical disclosures as well as patent claims which can only be found in the public domain. If an individual was to hire a patent lawyer to conduct a clearance search, it would not be

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time review Essay Example for Free

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time review Essay Plot: Christopher Boone lives with his father in a village. His mother died when he was younger from a heart-attack and the dad was left alone with the challenge of upbringing an autistic child who does not respond like a normal child would. The father has limited money and mental stimulants for the child and does his best to hold back his frustration. However, the reader soon learns that Chris has not been told the complete truth and perhaps that the people he loves have a hidden past. He then begins to understand what has happened and Mark Haddon portrays the challenges he is faced with without the constant safeguarding he needs to feel secure. My Thoughts: I understand that this book is renowned and took the book sales by storm; managing to pick up â€Å"Best novel† and â€Å"Book of the Year† at the Whitbread book awards in 2003, but I do not find it at all appealing. I find myself unable to sympathise with Chris despite Haddon’s brilliant depiction of the mind of a child with autism, as Haddon does writes convincingly through the eyes of an autistic child. I do not think that this is a book that revolves around Asbergers; but instead about being different in general and Haddon is trying to make us see the world through a different lens. He just uses Asbergers as a means of conveying this. Furthermore, as Chris is very rational yet unemotional, there is no depth of character in the novel as Chris is only able to see the world through one plane and cannot build up good character depth, which most popular books have, eg. â€Å"Harry Potter† and â€Å"The Lord of the Rings†. This direct approach also means that there is no humour apart from the main reoccurring joke of how Chris responds to things which lands im in all sorts of faux pas, (and the novelty of this soon wears off). However, this does not mean to say that I do not understand why it is so popular; it just isn’t something that really enraptured me, and to be honest, it seemed like a waste for a storyline that had the potential to be so rich in dramatic emphasis to be written in such a simplistic style. I have given it two stars but the average for this book is a four/five. Recommendations: If you liked this book I would strongly recommend these as they are both written in a diary style and are about people who do not necessarily fit the norm. The Diary of Adrian Mole (4/5) Molesworth (5/5)

Approach to Persuasion Essay -- Psychology

Embracing an individual’s point of view by means of reasoning, argument or entreaty is an act of persuasion. An individual is regularly confronted by persuasion throughout their everyday life. It takes place in various situations that are categorized in three sections, the appeal to emotion, the appeal to reason, and the appeal to one’s character. Furthermore, this leads to an influential aspect. It is from one’s characteristic to be influenced by persuasion, thus, to be overlooked by outside sources. This is not only found as a human speaks, but persuasion is the aim of advertisements, and political candidates who are trying to sway voters to vote for them. Since Ancient times, persuasive techniques have been observed and studied but due to its importance, physiologists formally began to study of persuasive techniques in the 20th century. The focus of persuasion is to awaken a belief by the appeal to reason, and the use of emotional appeals, and the appeals to one’s character. According to Aristotle and others who tend to echo his belief, these are three these "artistic" or "intrinsic" proofs. Aristotle calls them Ethos, Pathos and Logos. The appeals to reason - Logos is the use logical arguments, logic, rhetoric, the scientific method and proof to persuade. In contrary, the appeal to emotion - Pathos, is the use of advertising, faith, presentation and imagination, propaganda, seduction, tradition and pity for persuasion. Furthermore, Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology (Reynolds). Usually the appeals to reason, and the appeal to emotion, are applied together for more efficient and faster persuasion. These methods ta... ...can be defined as "...a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice." Aristotle describes persuasion in three different forms: Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ethos is the persuasive appeal of ones character, Pathos is the appeal to emotion and Logos is the appeal to reason. A persuader should use these forms of persuasion, moreover, motivate them and satisfy them by introducing that what is being convinced fulfills a need. Works Cited Reynolds, Nedra. â€Å"Ethos as Location: New sites for Understanding Discursive Authority.† Rhetoric Review. 11.22 (1993): 235-338. Print. Shell, Moussa, and Mario G. Richard. The Art of Woo: Using strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas. New York: Penguin Group, 2007. 2-163. Print

Times Roman and D. Williamson

Case Study 1: Prioritizing Projects at D. D. Williamson Due Week 3 and worth 240 points Read the case titled: â€Å"Prioritizing Projects at D. D. Williamson† found in Chapter 2. Write a 3-5 page paper in which you: 1. Critique the prioritizing process at D. D. Williamson. 2. Suggest at least one (1) recommendation to improve the prioritizing process. 3. Create a scenario where the implemented process at D. D. Williamson would not work. 4. Project five (5) years ahead and speculate whether or not D. D. Williamson will be using the same process.Justify your answer. 5. Use at least four (4) resources in this assignment. Your assignment must: ? Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. ? Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s na me, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: ? Assess organizational strategies that contribute to effective project management of human resources. ? Use technology and information resources to research issues in managing human resource projects. ? Write clearly and concisely about managing human resource projects using proper writing mechanics. Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Groups Act

The signs and symptoms which people can recognize physical abuse is series of unexplained falls or major injuries. Injuries and bruises at different stages of leaning On adults' body such as having bruising in unusual sites- inner arms, thighs. Seeing fingerprints, abrasions on the head or face deliberately several times. When someone in shy, insecure but didn't used to be but may be a sign of physical abuse. Neglect- Neglect is one of the most common abuses.It is when person failures to provide necessary care, assistance, guidance or attention to the helpless, defenseless adult that can cause or is reasonable likely to cause the person physical, mental and emotional harm or substantial damage and or loss of assets. Financial abuse- This is when a person involves stealing money of people, not allowing a victim to take part in any financial decisions, preventing the victim from having a job. The form of abuse tends to happen in relationships. Sexual abuse: This abuse can range from ra pe to inappropriate touching of the body.Happens when someone is forcing someone to do something sexual that they may not want to engage in but are forced to otherwise there will be consequences. Emotional or psychological abuse: Often happens when a person who is being abused may also be threatened n order to keep them silent as if there not they could tell others and be found out. The victim may be told it's ‘our little secret' or that they will lose their accommodation if they tell anyone what has happened as it is often not a good thing happening to them.Victims often have continuous put-downs and name-calling in front of others, which often causes humiliation and loss of self-respect and pride in themselves as they often start to believe them. Such actions can lead to horrible things happening such as mental health; self harm, suicide. (UP) explain factors that may lead to abusive situations There are a range of factors that could lead to abusive situations. People who ar e abused are people who have something different about them to other people as some people may not view this as normal.Most commonly this could be something like skin color or where you are from, there culture or religion but really anyone who is different from what is seen as ‘normal'. A physical or mental disability or health problems can make someone vulnerable as they may think its k to happen to them. For example a person with a mental disability may not be capable of making responsible decisions or themselves and may make things easier to be abused in some way.Elderly people are vulnerable to from being fraud form people who want money and are often the targets Of telemarketing scams and other crimes. Young people and children can be easily lead with social media etc, a child could meet a ‘friend' online and not realist that they are really a bad person such as a photocopied posing as a child and go to meet this ‘friend' and get sexually abused in that way. B ullying is when someone keeps doing or saying things to have power over another person.Some of the ways they bully other people are by: calling them names, saying or writing nasty things about them, leaving them out of activities, not talking to them, threatening them, making them feel uncomfortable or scared, taking or damaging their things, hitting or kicking them, or making them do things they don ‘t want to do. People who are a different culture, color, background, religion etc can be discriminated against them, this can often lead to bullying and psychologically abuse the victim by insulting, tormenting, excluding them because of there well being.This can lead the victim to self-abuse or it can end up with the abuser hectically abusing them to gain more power over them and feel bigger and better than them by hitting, slapping and beating their victims. Another thing about abuse is gender, gender is also a factor that could lead to abuse. Typically women are seen to be the weaker sex and can generally be overpowered by a man meaning they are vulnerable and a bigger target for abuse. Sexual Abuse in any age is when a person has sexual contact between an adult or older teen and a child.This type behavior, is often wrong but is used to gain power over the child, person etc. There are many types of sexual buses, some include physical contact or touching offenses. MI) assess the likely immediate effects of two different forms of abuse on the health and well-being of adults Effects of sexual abuse: If an adult is still in a relationship with someone and are being sexually abuse by someone else may then cause friction between them as they may not believe what's happening.They may also find it difficult watching sexual scenes on the television or in movies and may freak out at this because of what happened and may not know how to explain it. A woman may also feel signal pain due to forced sexual intercourse, this could last for quite a while and can be very uncomfortable for the woman as they may not want to face up to what's happened. For a man being abused outside a relationship they might find erections problems.When being touched they might feel guilt, fear, anger, disgust or other negative feelings as they may feel that its going to happen again. .Ã'Å¡Ã'Å¡Effects of Bullying: CLC The experience of being bullied can end up causing lasting damage to victims. And this isn't often seen on the outside but inside the person. The person isn't have to be physical abused but even Words and gestures are quite enough to have a long lasting effect. People often will start to view themselves as a less than desirable, incapable individual.The first things also is that it becomes more likely that a person will become increasingly susceptible to becoming depressed and/or angry and/or bitter. Being bullied teaches you that you are undesirable, that you are not safe in the world, and (that you are relatively powerless to defend yourself because peo ple may start to believe it. DEL]Some people who are being or have been bullied may tart to self-harm and may have suicidal thoughts and feelings because of how it makes them feel.The person may be so fed up with the bullying and feel so worthless that they do not see the point in living anymore. Self- harming may be away of the person releasing their anger and pain. In the long-term they may find it difficult interacting with other people in the fear of something hurtful being said to them and will find it difficult trusting other people as previous people haven't trusted them. They may also have an increased tendency of wanting to be alone as they may feel that they are at sees risk of being bullied by others around them.UP) outline key legislation and regulations which govern safeguarding adult work The Disability Discrimination Act- 1995 but was later updated in 2005- This act tired to aim to put an end to disability discrimination which is aimed at the disabled in any different situations they may face in every day life and defined what disability may be- physical and mental The Mental Capacity Act 2005- The main aim of this act is to try and give help and empowerment to the vulnerable people who are unable to make any decisions by themselves thou people helping them for many reasons such as they may be suffering from a mental illness.Within the act it states who is able to make the decisions for them and it also allows people to people to plan ahead if one day in the future they would lose the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. The people who are able to make their decisions on their behalf are family, doctors and social workers.CLIP C]The Human Rights Act- This Act applies to everyone and the law requires everyone to be able to have each Of the different rights within the act some are; the right to life, the redeem from slavery and forced labor, the right to a fair trial, the right to respect for private and family life, the freedom to ex press yourself, the right not to be discriminated against in respected of these rights and freedoms, the right to vote when over a certain age, the right to have an education and to be able to challenge public bodies over discrimination.The Health and Social Care Act 2008- This act aims to make the public health and social care system better by providing mesas re's that will try shrinking the amount of diseases that gets bread around and control it if there is an out break of disease Download this essay Print Save L]Safe Guarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006- C]This act was set up for people who work with children/ young people and also come into care with vulnerable individuals that need to be registered so they can have the care they require.DC The independent safeguarding authority to be able for deciding who shouldn't be allowed to be working with people that are vulnerable. Act applies to employed people and volunteers Candy there are lists to be taken out for those working with hillier and adults and checks must take place before an individual can work with the vulnerable as they may make them worse. AS: Outline working strategies and procedures used in Health and Social Care to reduce the risk of abuse.Recruitment of staff-Adults Barred List: This lists aimed at people who are banned from working with vulnerable adults for a number of reasons but the list is there to protect them. It then subdivides them into two categories- those who are automatically barred because they offer a ‘risk of threat' to the adults and those who offer a ‘very rabble risk of harm' and shouldn't be allowed near them. Employers and providers of services must check a person's status before employing them.This can be done by doing a CAR check of the person and making sure they provide the correct information about them. Organizational policies: This is Guidelines that are able to provide the basis on which organizations can develop their own policies to sort the type of company and people they are working with. It is important that the local and regional frameworks within the policies, strategies and procedures can be developed between agencies, so the protection of vulnerable adults is the best that it can be.Codes of practice for nursing and social: Professional codes for any types of practice require professionals to work to high standards in order for things to work the best that they can, and to be able to respect people using services as individuals and minimize the risk to them and harm that could promotional happen. The Nursing and Midwifery Council and the British Association of Social Workers produce such codes for their members, as does the regulatory body-the General Social Care Council.

Two Gallants are Callous Men essays

Two Gallants are Callous Men essays Try not to let the title fool you. Two Gallants, written by James Joyce, is a short story centered around two callous men. One, Corley, is an older man of some rudeness and has a taste for womanizing. The other is a self-conscience, older man of some weight, named Lenehan. The story begins with a light approach, description of the evening weather and the illumined pearl lamps of the street. All of Joyces stories found in the work, The Dubliners, have a poetic quality that makes the simplest of remarks, beautiful. This story in particular has the evident use of eloquent and flowing language but, in keeping with Joyces style, is used to mask the perverse subject matter. Underneath the language and examining the adolescent drives in two grown, callous men, is where the real story lies. As told by Joyce, Corley is an entertaining man who gives the reader pause as pertaining to his adolescent treatment of women. As read by a careful eye, Corley seeks the company of well-to-do girls as a prize and pay off. Through the beginning of the story, he tells his companion, Lenehan, about his latest encounter and his eminent one as well. Often referred to, is the question, as Lenehan puts it, Corley I suppose youll be able to pull it off alright?(31), this referring to Corleys congress with the girl. Lenehans interest stretches to the point where he wishes permission to see the girl up close, by walking by the two as a stranger, and even follow the two. This voyeurism displays as evidence of perverse subject matter in the piece. The title is meant as an obvious joke because the two characters are as far from gallants as horses are from dogs. This show of cynicism reflects throughout the story not only the conversations between the main characters but also in Joyces prose. Corley begins his journey as a night walk with his girl, depart ...

Pros and Cons of Massive Open Online Courses

Pros and Cons of Massive Open Online Courses Post-secondary schools of all kinds- expensive, elite colleges, state universities, and community colleges- are flirting with the idea of MOOCs, massive open online courses, where tens of thousands of students can take the same class simultaneously. Is this the future of college? Nathan Heller wrote about the phenomenon in the May 20, 2013, issue of The New Yorker in Laptop U. I recommend you find a copy or subscribe online for the full article, but Ill share with you here what I gleaned as the pros and cons of MOOCs from Hellers article. What Is a MOOC? The short answer is that a MOOC is an online video of a college lecture. The M stands for massive because there is no limit to the number of students who can enroll from anywhere in the world. Anant Agarwal is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, and president of edX, a non-profit MOOC company owned jointly MIT and Harvard. In 2011, he launched a forerunner called MITx (Open Courseware), hoping to get 10 times the usual number of classroom students in his spring-semester circuits-and-electronics course, about 1,500. In the first few hours of posting the course, he told Heller, he had 10,000 students sign up from all over the world. The ultimate enrollment was 150,000. Massive. The Pros MOOCs are controversial. Some say they are the future of higher education. Others see them as the eventual downfall of it. Here are the pros Heller found in his research. MOOCs: Are free. Right now, most MOOCs are free or nearly free, a definite plus for the student. This is likely to change as universities look for ways to defray the high cost of creating MOOCs.Provide a solution to overcrowding. According to Heller, 85% of Californias community colleges have course waiting lists. A bill in the California Senate seeks to require the state’s public colleges to give credit for approved online courses.Force professors to improve lectures. Because the best MOOCs are short, usually an hour at the most, addressing a single topic, professors are forced to examine every bit of material as well as their teaching methods.Create a dynamic archive. Thats what Gregory Nagy, professor of classical Greek literature at Harvard, calls it. Actors, musicians, and standup comedians record their best performances for broadcast and posterity, Heller writes; why shouldnt college teachers do the same? He cites Vladimir Nabokov as once suggesting that his lessons at Cornell be recorded and played each term, freeing him for other activities. Are designed to ensure that students keep up. MOOCs are real college courses, complete with tests and grades. They are filled with multiple choice questions and discussions that test comprehension. Nagy sees these questions as almost as good as essays because, as Heller writes, the online testing mechanism explains the right response when students miss an answer, and it lets them see the reasoning behind the correct choice when theyre right.The online testing process helped Nagy redesign his classroom course. He told Heller, Our ambition is actually to make the Harvard experience now closer to the MOOC experience.Bring people together from all over the world. Heller quotes Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard president, regarding her thoughts on a new MOOC, Science Cooking, that teaches chemistry and physics in the kitchen, I just have the vision in my mind of people cooking all over the globe together. It’s kind of nice.Allow teachers to make the most of classroom time in blended clas ses. In what is called a flipped classroom, teachers send students home with assignments to listen to or watch a recorded lecture, or read it, and return to the classroom for more valuable discussion time or other interactive learning. Offer interesting business opportunities. Several new MOOC companies launched in 2012: edX  by Harvard and MIT; Coursera, a Standford company; and Udacity, which focuses on science and tech. The Cons The controversy surrounding MOOCs includes some pretty strong concerns about how they will shape the future of higher education. Here are some of the cons from Hellers research. MOOCs: Could cause teachers to become nothing more than glorified teaching assistants. Heller writes that Michael J. Sandel, a Harvard justice professor, wrote in a letter of protest, The thought of the exact same social justice course being taught in various philosophy departments across the country is downright scary.Make discussion a challenge. It’s impossible to facilitate meaningful conversation in a classroom with 150,000 students. There are electronic alternatives: message boards, forums, chat rooms, etc., but the intimacy of face-to-face communication is lost, emotions often misunderstood. This is a particular challenge for humanities courses. Heller writes, When three great scholars teach a poem in three ways, it isnt inefficiency. It is the premise on which all humanistic inquiry is based.Grading papers is impossible. Even with the help of graduate students, grading tens of thousands of essays or research papers is daunting, to say the least. Heller reports that edX is deve loping software to grade papers, software that gives students immediate feedback, allowing them to make revisions. Harvards Faust isnt completely on board. Heller quotes her as saying, I think they are ill-equipped to consider irony, elegance, and†¦I don’t know how you get a computer to decide if there’s something there it hasn’t been programmed to see. Make it easier for students to drop out. Heller reports that when MOOCs are strictly online, not a blended experience with some classroom time, dropout rates are typically more than 90%.Intellectual property and financial details are issues. Who owns an online course when the professor who creates it moves to another university? Who gets paid for teaching and/or creating online courses? These are issues that MOOC companies will need to work out in the upcoming years.Miss the magic. Peter J. Burgard is a professor of German at Harvard. He has decided not to participate in online courses because he believes the college experience comes from sitting in preferably small groups having genuine human interactions, really digging into and exploring a knotty topic- a difficult image, a fascinating text, whatever. Thats exciting. There’s a chemistry to it that simply cannot be replicated online.Will shrink faculties, eventually eliminating them. Heller writes that Burgard sees MOOCs as destroyers of traditional higher education. Who needs professors when a school can hire an adjunct to manage a MOOC class? Fewer professors will mean fewer Ph.D.s granted, smaller graduate programs, fewer fields, and subfields taught, the eventual death of entire bodies of knowledge. David W. Wills, professor of religious history at Amherst, agrees with Burgard. Heller writes that Wills worries about academia falling under hierarchical thrall to a few star professors. He quotes Wills, Its like higher education has discovered the megachurch. MOOCs will most definitely be the source of many conversations and debates in the near future. Watch for related articles coming soon.