Saturday, January 25, 2020

Computer mediated communication

Computer mediated communication 1. Introduction: Social network sites (SNSs) have become some of the most popular online destinations in recent years (comScore, 2007a, 2007b). Academic researchers have started studying the use of SNSs, with questions ranging from their role in identity construction and expression (boyd Heer, 2006) to the building and maintenance of social capital (e.g., Ellison, Steinfeld, Lampe, 2007) and concerns about privacy (e.g., Gross Acquisti, 2005; Hodge, 2006). While these areas of inquiry are all important and worthy of exploration, a significant antecedent question has been largely raised: Are there systematic interconnection between the level at which users show online with their friends and offline with their counterparts, and are people equally likely to act in a similar or different way comparing their online and offline life? This article sets out to address this question. 2. Literature Review 2.1Online Offline: A Distinction Online offline distinction have been generalized from computing and telecommunication into the field of human interpersonal relationships. The distinction between what is considered online and what is considered offline has become a subject of study in the field of computer mediated communication. The distinction between online offline is conventionally seen as the distinction between computer mediated communication and face to face communication respectively. Online is virtuality and offline is reality. Slater D. (2002:533) states that the distinction is so far too simple. To support his argument that the distinction in relationships are more complex than a simple online offline dichotomy, he observes that some people draw no distinctions between an online relationship such as including in cybersex, and offline relationship such as being pen pals. Slater also asserts that there are legal and regulatory pressures to reduce the distinction between online and offline with a â€Å"general tendency to assimilate online to offline and erase the distinction†, stressing that this does not mean online relationships are being reduced to pre-existing offline relationships. He also conjectures that an online/offline distinction may be seen by people as â€Å"rather quaint and not quite comprehensible† within 10 years. Individuals online activity also depends on his/her online identity or internet persona. This online identity or internet persona is a social identity that an internet user establishes in online communities or websites. Although some people prefer to use their real names online, most internet users prefer to be anonymous, identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information. 2.2Friendship In addition to differences in social cues in online and offline environments, friendship is defined differently on social networking sites than it is in offline relationships. MySpace defines Friendship as any kind of mutual relationship among its members. Adding a friend to a list of contacts is not necessarily an indication of feelings for that person. Rather, it is seen as an expansion of ones social network. In an ethnographic study of teenage users, boyd (2006a) distinguishes friendship from Friendship: the former refers to a close relationship between two people and the latter refers to an online tie that connects people on social network sites. boyd (2006a) distinguishes between several types of online Friends including close offline friends and acquaintances, family members, work and school mates, admired people and strangers. boyds (2006a) and Dwyers (2007) work suggests that most users do not take online friendships seriously and consider most of them to be superficial. boyd explains that some of the relative superficiality can be attributed to social pressures associated with â€Å"Friending† (adding friends to list of contacts) online. Some users, as according to boyd, (2006a:25): â€Å"prefer to accept Friendships with someone they barely know rather than going through the socially awkward process of rejecting them while others hope that Friending a celebrity will make them look cool.† Bigge (2006) suggests that users accumulate friends to increase their social capital. The element of status associated with accumulating friends may explain the large number of friends that most users have linked to their profiles. According to Rosens (2006) study, MySpace users link an average of 200 friends to their profile, many of whom they have never met face-to-face. This clarifies to some extent on the way most users perception attitude towards online and offline friends. 2.3Purpose of being Online Despite the alleged superficiality of relationships, users participate in social networking sites to develop new relationships, maintain older friendships, and expand their social networks (Dwyer, 2007; Gallant, et al., 2007; boyd, 2006a; boyd, 2007). Participants in Dwyers 2007 study indicated that they use networking sites because they provide an inexpensive, easy and convenient way of managing social relationships. Gallant, et al. (2007:21) conclude from their content analysis of focus groups of MySpace and Facebook users that participants access network sites for â€Å"staying in touch with friends, making social plans, communicating with others and finding out about them, and dating.† In other studies, users report the usefulness of social networking sites as a means of establishing contact with old friends and people they do not see regularly (Dwyer, 2007). Online social interactions are informed by different rules and contexts than offline relationships. Dwyer (2007) explains that computer-mediated communication on social network sites can reduce and delay the transmission and perception of social context cues. Social context cues elicit cognitive interpretations of a given situation which shapes peoples communication. Dwyer explains: â€Å"When social context cues are strongly perceived, behavior becomes more otherfocused and carefully managed. Conversely, with communication of these cues is weak and cues are not perceived, feelings of anonymity result in more self-centered and unregulated behavior†. boyd (2007:8) suggests that online forums (as an example MySpace) provide spaces for teens to â€Å"do identity work† online. boyd argues that networking sites such as MySpace facilitate aspects of life central to teen identity formation, including exploration of social and cultural identities, social relations, and performances of the self. boyd (2006c) suggests that the dynamics of identity production online include a considerable emphasis on the construction of â€Å"cool.† Most of todays teens prefer to demonstrate ‘cool or to be called as so. Comments on sites such as MySpace serve as validation from peers and, boyd (2006c: para. 18)argues, as â€Å"a form of cultural currency.† Validation as well as negative feedback online can influence users self-esteem. Valkenburg, et al. (2006) found in a study of 881 Dutch teenage users of a social network site similar to MySpace that the publicly visible feedback they received on their profiles affected their social self-esteem and well-being. Positive feedback, which nearly 80 percent of the participants received, enhanced their self-esteem, whereas negative feedback, which seven percent of the individuals surveyed received, lowered their self-esteem (Valkenburg, et al. 2006). This shows that the behavior of users possessing themselves online relate to their lives to some degree. On networking sites, users social networks may overlap. For instance, users may be linked to close friends, acquaintances, co-workers and family members through the same profile. The identity the user establishes online may be appropriate for friends but not for relatives or co-workers (boyd, 2006a, Snyder, et al., 2006; Bigge, 2006). Due to this, some users change their profile name or display name other than the real one to be limited within their friends circle. 2.4Disclosure of users Information Users employ text and images in their profiles and blogs to describe who they are, what they like, and what they do. Through their posts, users send greetings, exchange messages, make plans, flirt, and maintain contact. These features of social networking sites allow users to reveal information about themselves and their lives. Stutzman (2006) suggests that while disclosing this information is optional, many users include it in their profiles. Stutzman (2006:1) attributes the high level of disclosure of personal information online to the â€Å"inherent sociality† of social network communities. Though many users share personal information, its validity is unproven. Some users intentionally mask their offline identities by using pseudonyms or remaining anonymous for fear of consequences related to disclosing sensitive or socially undesirable personal characteristics. Although these strategies may mitigate users privacy concerns, unintended audiences might still be able to find them through friends profiles (boyd, 2007). Unintended audiences such as employers, educational institutions, law enforcement officials, and marketing companies can access and use private information that users make public online. Employers can monitor current and potential employees through social networking sites (Bigge, 2006; Snyder, et al., 2006). Some colleges and schools keep track of their students posts on networking sites and issue offline punishments for socially undesirable or illegal activities disclosed online (Barnes, 2006). Prosecutors and police officers could potentially use online data to investigate interactions between suspects and victims (Schesser, 20 06). Bigge (2006) and Barnes (2006: para 3) criticize the fact that social network sites: â€Å"coordinate the interpersonal exchanges between American teens and global brands.† For Snyder, et al. (2006), who analyze the ‘terms of use document of MySpace, these unintended audiences violate the ‘social contract of networking sites because they use the sites for information seeking rather than for networking with others. Parents and lawmakers are concerned about the behavior of teens and children online. Through legislation such as the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) and the 2006 Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), lawmakers try to protect young teenagers from social network sites by requiring public libraries and schools to install Internet filters (boyd and Jenkins, 2006). Librarians and academics expressed worries in response to these acts, citing concern for the development of a new digital divide in which users who rely on public access would be deprived of socializing online (Miller, 2006; boyd and Jenkins, 2006). Many parents express concerns about their childrens use of social networking sites. In a survey of 267 pairs of adolescent MySpace users and their parents, Rosen (2006) found that 63 percent of parents think that sexual predators use MySpace; 81 percent of them were concerned about teens meeting online friends in offline locations; and, 88 percent of them were worried about the posting of sexual photos. Despite their expressed concerns, many parents are not involved in their childrens use of social networking sites (Rosen, 2006; Rogers, et al., 2007). In Rosens (2006) study, one third of the parents did not know what kind of personal information their children were disclosing online; 43 percent of them did not know how much time their children spent on social networking websites; and, 62 percent of them had never talked to their children about such sites. Moreover, parents imposed little restrictions on their childrens use of these websites. Fifty percent of the teenagers surveyed in Rosens study were allowed to have computer in their bedroom and less than half of the parents set limits to their childrens computer use and the use of online sites. This is consistent with Rogers et al.s (2007) study in which only 15 percent of the adolescent participants reported having limits on their use of these Web sites. 3.Analysis: Online intimate friendship relationship is a rare phenomenon and so could be summed up in some cases only in terms of lying and deception, they would not be so common. For many of those who have known someone intimately through the internet, the relationships have proven to be positive, if not life-changing experiences. Lies and misrepresentations have been brought to explain some of these tendencies but they only begin to constitute a fuller theoretical mechanism. Research in this area often address what seems to be a working paradox in online dating sites: the connection between a pragmatic, consumerist tool for meeting others wrapped up in romantic and magical discourses. Individual, social and mediatized conceptions about love, and connecting gave us new sights into an activity whose popularity calls for reference to a broad social context. When individual engage in online communication/conversation, the spectacle in turn enhance a regime of communication that could be described as spectral, its quality being a confessional transparency. As noticed, users will tend to describe their inner feelings in detail, opening their soul in a manner that is in part imputable to the physical absence of their interlocutors. Imagination will play a crucial role, and conceptions of love, past experiences, stereotypes and phantasms will be used along with the acted information gained from the communication to construct an image of the potential partner and the story of their meeting. Online daters will tend to shorten this period, in their desire to avoid deception after having imagined someone incorrectly or having faced its own deformed or incomplete projection. Problem is that the interpretation of a persons mediated representation does not always accord with the actual in-real-life presentation of that person. On other occasions, the cause of the mismatch is not misrepresentation, but simply lies. According to Albright, ‘perhaps the lowered accountability levels of online interactions and the inability to pinpoint an online personal to a solid offline identity might foster such facades and lower peoples inhibitions about lying. It is more difficult, though, to assert that playing on online places which of course happens a lot in discussion groups, social networks and online dating sites can lead to long lasting relationships ( particularly if they go face to face). Indeed what could be considered as playing in an overtly playful space seems to be related more to lying and concealing in other spaces, such as online dating sites, where false information about physical appearance and occupational status abound. As an example, woman is prepared to meet a six feet tall lawyer could be surprised to be faced with a rather a short programmer or even a child. Flirting and playing go together, but the lack of physical proximity between dyadic partners opens the door to misrepresentation. But as a matter of fact, playing with ones body, personality and social status can also lead to sexual dysfunctions, cheating and criminal deviance such as harassment, rape or pedophilia. Playing is ok as long as every participant actually knows that he/she is in playing frame, which is not always the case online. There exist online places such as second life where playing with gender, physical characteristics and personality is the norm. Flirting and intimate relationships abound there as well but the rules are clear: this is game and you can play as such. Whitty et,al (2001:624) say: â€Å"Even if people are not engaging in cybersex or exchanging photos, we cannot disregard the importance of body or physical attraction. This is because- even in absence of photographs- bodies are reconstructed through users imaginations. Moreover, imaginations can give fantasized vision of the self and the others†. Whitty et al, (2001) use notions such as play potential space, transitional objects and splitting to construct a probing psychoanalytical lecture about online romance. Psychoanalytic approach that Whitty Carr (2001:623) say: ‘Play is all about illusion †¦, such illusion can only be sustained provided play can be kept within a frame work of its own- a frame which seeks to separate it from ordinary life. The objective of online dating sites is to change online connection rapidly in the hope of developing intimate relationships (Casual sex or Cybersex). In discussion groups or SNSs, the point is to allow perspective couples to meet online, then may be offline, in the hope of finding people who will understand each others feelings, share their own and eventually (in some situations) become more intimate. The very sense of a body attached to personal information could be considered to be more important in dating sites than in discussion groups, since the goals- which may still be the same for some users- are not dealt with in the same way. As a matter of fact, leaving an online profile with no photographs is giving oneself no chance of being contacted. In an online community, people get to know each other based on shared interests, not with perceived physical attractiveness of the participants. In theory, this works, but in fact, online flirting happens everywhere, even where it is not assumed to. How users who experience online romance define romance and love at large prior to and during their online explorations has not been thoroughly discussed by internet researchers as such. Before reading profiles on an online dating sites or being interested in the person behind certain online discussion posting on a community sites, a user hold wealth of personal conception about what he/she is/isnt, likes/dislikes, loves/hates and so on. This conception may change in the course of ones online intimate experience that could provide critical insight into the individual social integration of online connection. However, according to Anderson (2005), people who experience online romance do it in various online places but one thing they share is that they can conceive of finding love by using the internets online connection. In terms of finding love online, for many of us, it is not an easy thing. Working long hours, some of them alone, others at remote places, feeling caught in an improper relationship, being tired of a series of dreams with no tomorrows, lacking the confidence to face interesting prospects or just wanting to try something that supposedly works well, millions of people have been drawn to the internet over last few years, looking for individuals with whom to communicate and to bond. That is probably why many online researchers have observed that online intimacy is constituted and maintained mainly by trust, commitment and high level of self disclosure. It is difficult to theoretical framework that fully describes what is going on and when (two or) more people are flirting on the web or not. If individuals are to successfully develop a romantic relationship from an online dating site, they need to present a balance between an attractive and a real self on their profiles. Observing that online daters tend to meet each other fece to face more quickly than do participation in other kinds of online based relationships, Whitty(2001) suggests, in doing so, they can and want to avoid the frequent lies and embellishments associated with personal profiles. Also she holds that it shuts up the potential presence of a ‘true self (referring to what someone would like to be, but is not yet able to be), which, in theory, emerges slowly, coupled with high self-disclosure, trust and commitment. On another side, as she observed in her research, at the same time a seeking out authentic and genuine profiles, individuals were also looking for the more attractive and appealing profiles. Engaging on an online conversation, knowing friends friends on any SNSs, or putting a profile on an online dating agency is easy and banal in itself. But it can lead to profound changes in ones life. Over recent years, many researchers have addressed romantic relationships initiated on the internet. 4. Overview on Hypothesis: The hypothesis set out in this paper includes the change in the perception due to shift of online relations to offline relation and vice-versa, advantages and disadvantages of doing it with regards to the use of SNSs through the internet. To establish and get into the hypothesis set out in here, individual interviews have been employed in order to fully get into the subject. Except the individual short interviews, content analysis of the papers related to the use of SNSs as well as the survey questionnaires were also designed and disseminated to 55 international students of the two universities in Cyprus; University of Nicosia The European University Cyprus. As we are facing the world of fast-changing pace, it is hard to generalize the finding from the study of such a small group of people. However, the results obtained so far will give genuine insights to further research in the same area. Bringing offline relations to online seems very easy provided that the users real life friends or relatives are facilitated through the use of the internet or else they have not been regarded as the victims caused by the so called digital divide. On the other hand, bringing online relations to offline may result to both advantages and disadvantages. The term ‘trust has more to play the role in it. Because some people show their trust to the people met online that the information provided by them online are factual and true, whereas some do not find any trust in those information. It requires a sort of experience or say, the psychological knowledge to understand the motive of the strangers met online to decide whether or not he/she should meet hi m/her offline. In this regard, a genuine person who always flows true and factual information through the internet and holds decent desire of friending through online process may be the victim of some who do not trust online friends any more. The current fears of internet fraud, identity theft and the fakesters have constantly loosened in the extent of trust among the moderate internet users. Spam, junk mail and many other unknown mails coming everyday into the inbox are also the cause in declining the trust in the internet. Bringing offline relations to online seems the everyday routine of most of the internet users. The use of internet and its know-how is growing rapidly throughout the world. Today, many rely on the internet and cannot even think of their lives without being into it. Internet users even tend to see their offline friends online with the motive of being able to contact at any time, and also know how they are up to though they are physically very far. With regards to strangers online meeting them in real life situations seem unpredictable for everyone. For some, it is like a game as well as an interesting part of their life. Doing so, many get engaged for long time relationships, some as business partners and so on. 5.Methods: To accomplish the objective of the paper, three methodologies have been incorporated: Interviews Survey Content Analysis 5.1Interviews: Interviews conducted is the semi-structured consisting of 12 individuals who have their profiles on social networking sites; many of them being on facebook and Hi5. Interview questions (see Apendix) ranges from their demographics information, perceptions and understanding of online communications, involvement in SNSs, chatting preferences, time spent on the internet as well as the views on friends online/offline. Only the information obtain from individual semi-structured interviews were insufficient to come answer the proposal question raised in the paper. Hence other methods of research have also been carried out. Interview took place in different physical locations in Cyprus and around 6 individuals were interviewed online through facebook. 5.2Survey: A set of questionnaire was designed and disseminated to 55 international students of the two universities (University of Nicosia European University Cyprus) in Cyprus. The set of questionnaire consists of questionnaire that consists of 33 questions splitting them in three sections (see Appendix). The first section (section A) consists of 6 questions and collects the participants demographic information such as A/S/L, marital status, occupation, country of origin parental education. Inclusion of parental education in the demographic information is aimed to find whether participants parental education level is linked with their online offline perceptions or behaviors. 21 questions on the next section (Section B) address on the participants involvement with the internet, its use. More use or the less use of the internet and the time spent on any social network sites by any individual can be the basis to reveal the participants behaviors and perceptions regarding online/offline friends and connections. Last section of the questionnaire (Section C) is an attempt to explore the users online and offline behaviors, expectations, language used and the priority among online or offline friends. This section includes 6 questions all of which address how users intend to establish connections to their online friends (strangers and not strangers) and offline friends in their real life situations. 5.3Content Analysis: Many studies have been carried out on the issues of social network sites and their use. Distinguishing the users and non-users of social networks sites has also been studied. Stutzmans.(2006) â€Å"An evaluation of identity-sharing behavior in social network communities† has addressed a bit of online and offline behaviours of the internet users being focused on social network sites. Danah m boyd has been continually contributing to the social network sites and their use through her study. More and more sequential research made by boyd regarding the use of internet especially focusing teenagers have given more insights for accomplishing this paper. These two researchers are the basis to ground the theoretical aspects ranging from the meaning of SNSs to their use, internet persona as well as identity construction online. Hence, this paper also uses the content analysis approach of the study carried out by these two researchers in the field of social network sites and their use, but in a brief. 6.Results Discussion on Findings: Demographics: The study sample of international students taken from the two universities in Cyprus is skewed towards more male around 71.7%, female users being only 28.3% of total 55 students, 55.7% were Nepalese whereas the rest (36.3%) were Indian background. Regarding the parental education of the participants, fathers of 30% participants were postgraduates and none of the participants father were illiterate. 15 % of the participants reported that their mothers are illiterate. The age of the sample size of this study ranges from 18-30 years. With reference to the marital status, 54.5% were single and 45.5% were married. None of the participants were reported to be in a relationship or divorced. Results obtained from 12 individual semi-structure interviews are more consistent with the results obtained from the survey and hence the following results and discussion does not fully mention the interviews due to the space problem in this paper. However, the interviews have been the basis to carry out the study and bring it to the final readable form. Internets Use Regarding the average use of internet per week (see table 2), no female participants use internet for more than 15 hours a week. Majority of male (30.9%) were reported to use internet up to 15 hours a week whereas only 16.3% female do so, the study shows. The first task of the users while connecting to the internet, 27% said they check mails (46% female and 20% male), 18% open messenger (26 % female 15% male), 18% browse for news (25 % male) and around 37% open social network sites (26% female 40% male). The term ‘Social network Sites was not known to any of the participants in the sample. When it first appeared in the questionnaire, participants raised the question to the real indication of SNS. Participants were then asked whether they have known or heard of SNSs. 100 % participants said that it is a complete unknown term for them. When they are clarified with the term SNSs, 100% reported that they have their profiles in at least one or more SNSs. Of many SNSs around the wo rld available to everyone in the internet, sample said that they know only 7 SNSs of 16 SNSs mentioned in the questionnaire. Facebook, Hi5 and Bebo are the three social network sites that all participants have heard of and also have their profiles. The table 1 below is the illustration of knowing of SNSs reported by the sample of the study. Social networking sites respondents profile SNSs Respondents Total Male Female Orkut 52% 38% 53% Windows Live Space 36% 26.6% 29% LinkedIn 14.5% 15% 13.3% Bebo 100% 100% 100% MySpace 34% 37.5% 26.6% Facebook 100% 100% 100% Hi5 100% 100% 100% Table 1 As the sample recorded that the participants have their profile at least in one or more SNSs. It is now vital to get the data on how real are the information placed on their profiles taking into serious considerations on names, gender, age, location etc. 80% said

Friday, January 17, 2020

English language

II. In his 1946 essay, Politics and Language, George Orwell addresses the stagnation and misuse of the modern English language. In particular, Orwell addresses but does not limit his discussion to the use of language in the political spectrum. Increasingly, Orwell attempts to demonstrate, written language has become unnecessarily complicated and many times insensible. In describing particular offenses such as â€Å"dying metaphors,† â€Å"operators or verbal false limbs,† â€Å"pretentious diction,† and â€Å"meaningless words† Orwell shows how the meaning of ideas and the language itself is sometimes lost in the over-the-top prose of the writer.Orwell calls for a simpler turn to language, which doesn’t seek to necessarily eliminate particular turns of phrase or vocabulary but rather increases the precision of the words and to this extent the ideas. Instead of losing their ideas in convoluted sentences that say little and mean even less, Orwell call s on writers and politicians to express themselves with clarity and a familiarity with the language they choose to employ. III. Orwell addresses the misuse and overuse of language in political and general writing.He shows how writing or speaking in a manner that is seeks more to impress than express, modern writing increasing lacks imagination and coherence with the message frequently being lost in the words rather than being expressed by them. 2. Orwell’s conclusion is not to eliminate the language that is misused but instead to educate the writer in the misuse and to promote clarity in writing. 3. Orwell’s reasoning behind both his argument and his conclusion appear to be a love of language.While he admonishes overused metaphors, he presents several of his own throughout the text. He is not asking for perfect writing but rather an appreciation and an understanding of language and the ideas it is used to express. 4. N/A 5. N/A 6. Orwell presents several fallacies in h is argument, chief among them being the generalization of the five examples he presents at the beginning of the essay as indicative of modern writing. Also present is a faulty causal argument that connects the insincerity of politics and ideas with this kind of writing.However, it’s important to note that while simplifies this issue in this manner, Orwell also addresses these fallacies within his argument. He makes it clear that by dramatizing the prevalence of this type of language, he is simply attempting to better employ language to clearly express his ideas. 7. Orwell’s argument is largely based upon personal observation. There is the distinct feeling that while Orwell has support in this idea, especially when he notes the popular distaste among journalist for worn-out and uninspired metaphors.However, Orwell’s own observations of the over-done quality of academic and political writing. 8. Arguments could be made against Orwell’s claims on language, p articularly in his attacks on literary/art criticism or political literature. Literary and art critics coming from a particular school of thought could make the argument that in addressing their topics they must seek a new language to express their distinct interpretations. Politicians would make an argument against Orwell’s claims to their insincerity which they attempt to cover with language a lack of ideals or actual stance.N/A 10. There is much information omitted from Orwell’s argument, especially the writers who have not fallen to abusing and misusing language. However, as with the fallacies of his argument, Orwell is clear in noting that he is not speaking of all but rather drawing attention through a handful of examples to a growing trend. 11. Overall, Orwell presents a strong though admittedly biased argument. That it is Orwell himself who admits to this bias, illustrates the presence of his own ideals of clarity as beauty in language as a basis for the essay. My value assumption allows that there is a major basis of truth in Orwell’s argument and that the commonality of the types of language he rails against are as prevalent now as it was in 1946. 13. While the personal edge to Orwell’s argument could be seen as a drawback, I believe it instead highlights the very personal nature of language and how it is meant to express rather than suppress ideas. In his essay, Orwell is advocating for this expression and a strengthening of language through proper use and clear understanding. 14. Orwell’s essay remains as valuable today as it was in 1946.He could not have predicted and would likely be disheartened that despite his call to lingual arms that society and politicians continue to use â€Å"dying metaphors,† â€Å"operators or verbal false limbs,† â€Å"pretentious diction,† and â€Å"meaningless words. † However, his lessons of clear, simplistically beautiful prose is as needed to today as it was 60 years ago. Politicians and regular people alike still hide behind overblown and misunderstood language, failing to understand their own words and creating ignorance as the rest of the world struggle to understand as well.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Essay about Genetic Testing and Reproductive Freedom

To many people today, the journey to personhood begins in the process of In Vitro Fertilization –IVF. The dramatic advances in this field has led to the ability for genetic alterations associated with diseases and other inherited characteristics. These two independent fields of genetic testing and IVF each present some issues that are technically, legally and ethnically complicated. Genetic testing allows for parents to choose which embryos to implant in a woman based on the genetic tests results. This has brought up a lot of new scientific, social and ethical predicaments. Many people have began to consider not just the implications of these new genetic diagnostic tool but whether core ethical and practical concerns surrounding IVF are†¦show more content†¦The major question is whether the people with physical impairments disabled or are they just different from the rest. This statement captures the current debate in the field of deafness- is deafness a disability or is it a condition of linguistic minority status? Impairment becomes an in-ability due to how the society is constructed but it is not a disability. A major distinction between deafness and disability is that at least among culturally deaf people, deafness is not considered a disability. In this regard deaf people may welcome the birth of a deaf child (Devlieger, Rusch Pfeiffer 2003). It has been an assumption of many people that, at the very least, we may use our reproductive freedom to avoid bringing into existence disabled people, giving the lower quality of life they can be expected to have. Some maintain that we have a duty to avoid bearing disabled people into existence. On this view, any moral right to reproduction freedom does not include a right to knowingly or negligently to bring into existence a seriously diseased or disabled person. 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Most people are again st reproductive cloning, where DNA from one parent is inserted into a cell to create a twin of that parent. There are softer views on therapeutic cloning, where DNA is inserted into cells to grow a certain body part, for example an ACL. There are many argumentsRead MoreHuman Cloning Is Not More Difficult Than Cloning921 Words   |  4 PagesHuman cloning involves removing the nucleus of a human egg and replacing it with the nucleus of an existing person (Glannon, p. 89). It is the genetic duplication of an existing person (CGS). Identical twins are a naturally occurring cloning (Science Daily). Several countries worldwide have bans on human cloning (Kilner). The U.S. government has cut funding for cloning research (Kilner). Arguments in favor of human cloning point out the benefits of advancing technology, while those against questionRead MoreNew World Or Gattaca Style Dystopic Future Development Of Effective Prevention And Treatment Strategies For A Great3494 Words   |  14 Pag esThe last 150 years have seen the origin of—and rapid expansion in—human knowledge involving the nature and mechanisms of trait and disease inheritance in human beings. Advances in genetic research hold great promise for the future development of effective prevention and treatment strategies for a great many, often devastating, heritable conditions. However, these advances also raise a series of policy, legal and fundamentally ethical questions concerning what we should and should not do with theRead MorePrenatal Genetic Testing Should Be Allowed1569 Words   |  7 Pagesinnovative genetic testing and manipulation. Prenatal genetic testing is becoming more readily available to expectant parents, many who currently appreciate the option of amniocentesis, a procedure performed in the second trimester to test for Down syndrome, among other prenatal tests (Lippman 383). However, technology has advanced to the point where doctors will be able to test fetuses and embryos f or potential defects, and this point of contention has led to a debate on whether prenatal genetic testingRead MoreEssay on Sex Selection and Pre-selection are Unethical1428 Words   |  6 Pagesbaby. Sex selection and/or pre-selection, despite ones preference of gender, is a scientifically unethical and unnecessary technique due to its accustomed procedures and questionable results. Sex selection can take place by genetically testing, or by taking ultrasound images of the developing fetus, resulting in abortion due to an undesired gender. The practice of sex selection can also take place after the birth of the child, [.] when one or both parents kill their baby (Dixon), alsoRead MoreThe Ethics Of Human Cloning918 Words   |  4 Pages for example, by sterilization, genetic modification for health or physical enhancement, and human cloning. The idea of human cloning is most interesting because it is most mysterious and very complex. The topic of human cloning inclusively brings up issues also raised in the mentioned technologies. Human cloning is of two types: therapeutic and reproductive. Therapeutic cloning aims to produce tissues or organs from cells of a cloned embryo, whereas reproductive cloning aims to further developRead MoreThe Benefits of Human Genetic Engineering Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesPre-implantation genetic diagnosis is a revolutionary procedure that utilizes in vitro fertilization to implant a healthy egg cell into the mother’s uterus after it is screened for mutations or other abnormalities. That way, only healthy eggs can develop to term and become beautiful, bouncing boys or girls. Designer babies have a bright future in the face of science because they are genetically engineered to be: disease free; viable donors for a sibling or parent; and with optional eliminationRead MoreThe Ethical Implications Of Cloning997 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"destroys†, testing can be done on anything else except for humans and that’s a problem because no other organism can be used for testing that is like us humans. There are similarities between some, but nothing that can be for sure without the use of humans. Religious, societal, and the destroying of human embryos are some of the ethical standpoint of cloning, reproductive cloning is highly against moral code but hasn’t even been proven to have been used. Yet there is actually a field of genetic cloning

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Essay on The Power of the Atomic Bomb in Shaping the...

The Power of the Atomic Bomb in Shaping the Post-War World There were few men in Washington who understood the role the atomic bomb could play in ending World War II and shaping the peace. Military planning focused on two options, conventional bombing accompanied by a blockade or an invasion of the Japanese home islands. Both options were so problematic politically and militarily that policymakers who were familiar with the Manhattan Project found it difficult to oppose the bomb’s use. There were also few men who knew the role the bomb could play in winning the peace. President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson saw the bomb as a way to shape the post-war world in the American†¦show more content†¦It had the benefit of speed. Since the Casablanca conference, achieving Japanese surrender as early as possible following the capitulation of Germany had been the strategic objective in the Pacific. However, on May 25th, 1945 Truman had stated a new objective of economizing Ame rican lives to the greatest extent possible. The Army plan for invading Kyushu was the most costly option in terms of lives, but it was the quickest. It was based on a directive to end the war in the Pacific within 12 months of V-E Day. Casualty estimates for the first thirty days of operations against Kyushu ranged from 30,000 to 50, 000. The Army plan was grossly handicapped by its reliance on Soviet entry into the Pacific War. General Douglas MacArthur considered a Soviet attack in Manchuria a prerequisite for invasion. Considering the Polish crisis of April 1945 and growing tensions over Soviet behavior in occupied Europe, Soviet involvement in East Asia was less than desirable. The best recommendation of the Navy was a plan that offered no reasonable prediction of when Japan would be defeated. The Army plan for invasion, which the JCS approved over the Navy plan, required Soviet entry into the war to ensure success. Their entry would allow them to consolidate their Yalta conces sions in Manchuria and possibly allow them to exert influence over China. In addition to this diplomatic problem, the invasion plan was the more costly in terms of casualties. TrumanShow MoreRelatedThe Rise Of World War II Essay1478 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War II is usually associated with genocide, atomic bombs, and Hitler. Often times the positive outcomes that came from such a deadly war between nations is forgotten in the musk of death and power. The instability in Europe created by World War I, set stage for the rise of Hitler. Germany at the time was economically and politically unstable. Due to them being blamed for the first World War and the harsh consequences enforced by the Treaty of Versailles, it made it easier for Hitler to riseRead MoreTaking a Look at the Cold War1676 Words   |  7 PagesThe Cold War was a very scary and very horrible time between two countries after post war and each side was a very strong and had a lot of power:the USA and the USSA .At that t ime when everything was in tense there were some things,which they wanted to increase pulses between both the East and West but none of them where affect weapons of mass distractions was involved. In most tense moments of the Cold War was time when were due to the associate nuclear weapons.The fears of the new nuclear weaponsRead MoreThe Earth s Journey With Energy1448 Words   |  6 Pagesthousands of years humans, as engineers, have been harnessing and manipulating many forms of energy. As humanity gained knowledge, they became better able to manipulate energy into a productive force. The harnessing of fire, steam, oil and nuclear power have all greatly influenced humanity. The first monumental leap in mankind’s journey with energy, was when early hominids mastered fire around 350 000 years ago.[1] The knowledge of fire making largely attributed to the evolution of humans. This isRead More Truman, the Atomic Bomb, and the Shaping of the Postwar World6419 Words   |  26 PagesTruman, the Atomic Bomb, and the Shaping of the Postwar World ABSTRACT Historians have questioned the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Evidence shows that President Truman weighed not only military information in his decision to use the bomb, but also considered postwar politics and foreign policy when he considered dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. An analysis of his personal papers offers a different reasoning for using the bomb than what was commonly known at the time. TheRead MoreThe European Dimension Of The Cold War1458 Words   |  6 PagesThe Cold War between two rival super powers – the young United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – was an inevitable one. The relationship between the former war allies had begun to dissolve during the Second World War and eventually came to blows in 1947. First, it’s important to note that the Cold War was something that was only between the USA and the USSR is a fallacy. David Reynolds’ piece titled The European Dimension to the Cold War is a historiographical pieceRead More America’s Foreign Policy and the Cold War Essay1187 Words   |  5 PagesAmerica’s Foreign Policy and the Cold War The role of America at the end of World War II was where the origins of policing the world originate. America had been engaged in a very costly war in terms of dollars as well as lives. But, despite the expense the United States came out of World War II better than any other nation that was involved. The Second World War was a battle between the Allied and Axis Powers. The Allied Powers consisted of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet UnionRead MoreThe s Capacity And Failure1809 Words   |  8 Pages exaggerated feelings, outrage, presumption and desire for power saw the world dive into a chronicled calamity, World War Two. The ubiquitous wave of bloodletting, carnage and death floated over the globe with millions of people harmed, detained, starved, and subjected to forced labor. The war was fought with unparalleled velocity used weapons of unseen destructiveness in unsurpassed numbers summited with an atomic bomb. First World War acrimony, harsh treaty terms and sanctions , the upsurge of totalitarianismRead MoreNuclear Weapons And The Nuclear Crisis1471 Words   |  6 PagesUnited States of America used them end to prematurely end it’s war with Japan in 1945. Despite this, in recent times numerous countries have successfully sought to ascertain and develop nuclear offensive capabilities however no nuclear program has received as much international scrutiny as that of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Diamond, 2012: 3). The international community and Iran have been in stalemate for years, in short, due to world powers suspecting that there is a possible military dimension toRead More American Anticommunism and the Cold War Essay2217 Words   |  9 Pagesfrom Moscow after the war. The Soviet spy threat- although real during WWII, was only marginally successful and was rendered virtually non-existent postwar. In addition, its members were not all subscribers of the popularized hardliner- Soviet Communist paradigm. The majority of the escalation of the Cold War can be seen as a direct effect of the actions of the United States political parties feuding, feeding off public fears, and dealing with the reality of another atomic-equipped superpower, opposedRead MoreEssay on Global Politics After World War II1813 Words   |  8 Pagesglobal politics after the Second World War, is the concept of European Integration. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Europe found itself in a state of economic devastation and with various problems to solve. Besides, the continent was soon to be divided into two major spheres of influence by the beginning of the Cold War. The Cold War was a constant state of political and military tension amongst powers in the Western Bloc (the United States) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union