Modern video gaming consoles Essay Example for Free

Modern video gaming consoles Essay Abstract: There are many ways for entertainment, sometimes these activities are very expensive for all people to offer these activities, as solution for this in the 1970s a new entertainment method has been introduced in the market place, and this new method was popularly known as video games [1]. Video games created large impact among the game lovers. Time to time, people who develop video games, introduces different consoles using advance technologies. Today the leading competitors using very advance technologies to market their consoles to the consumers. Among that Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS are some of the high end video gaming consoles which are available in the present arena. These consoles equipped with very advance hardware structure like high powered processors, vast capacity of media and storage, user friendly user interface with multiple options, advanced video output, and controllers with advance technologies. On the other hand another set of video gaming consoles has been dominating in the present world which is motion control based consoles. The top motion control console PlayStaion move and xBox Kinect took the gamers to a different track from the traditional gaming consoles. These type of motion based game consoles provide real time game play to the gamers. Today video gaming industry has become one of the most revenue making business, and the evolution of this device is quite interesting, from the most basic models to today’s very complicate play station gaming devices, the demand for the product grown very rapidly. And further international cyber gaming event have made a great impact among individual who are fond of this aspect. 1. 0 Introduction to modern video gaming consoles The technological development in the area of video gaming is an amazing evolution in the world of digital gaming, the history of the gaming industry runs down to the 1970,s, since then the industry has seen a huge development, which were beyond the imagination of human mind at the time of its discovery. The development in this field can be seen from the change that has occurred to the basic gaming device, in the initial stage this mechanism had only used simple joysticks, but today they have developed in to more complicated joystick and move device with more function, because this equipments come wireless they are convenient to handle. Going beyond the gaming arena, you can use the device in various ways, this technology can be used in other sectors as well, and as steering wills are available we can use this kind of devices in training drive and pilots which can save immense cost to the respective institutions. Further looking far beyond the above we can use this technology in the process of developing war strategies which would eventually save not of money and resource, when handling terrorism. More over by using gaming devices we observe the effectiveness and the efficiency of the human brain, and as per the above discussed this industry has potential to grow in the future. Leading competitors of the video gaming industry such as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft used their own technological approach to enhance their quality of the product. Time to time they have come up with different products and draw the gamers to a different path. A popular game development company Nintendo announces their new product Nintendo Wii U at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 last year [2]. This most advance console of Nintendo, which built up with amazing features than their previous releases. Nintendo Wii U will be ship with Wii remote an upgraded version, Wii remote plus and the Wii Balance Board. Electronic tycoon Sony introducing their PlayStaion VITA this year, targeting its portable video console customer base [3]. PSVITA will be available on the market from the third quarter of this year; will be carrying lot of feature than the PSP. Sony introduce NVG card, new format of flashcard to store games and enable 3G to connect through internet to access PSN (PlayStation Network) for online gaming experience. GPS, Multi-Touch Touch screen, built-in microphone, two analog sticks, rear Touch Pad, Cross Play support (play online games WITH PS3 users), SIXAXIS motion controls, and front and rear Cameras that allow for AR Games are some of the new features from its original PSP. Section 2 provides an overview about the video gaming consoles. Section 3 is critically reviewed on categories and major developments of the devices. Section 4 describes the technologies involved in modern video gaming consoles, section 5 provides future directions of video gaming consoles, Section 6 discuss about Threats to modern video gaming consoles section 7 explains a discussion about the area. 2. 0 Overview of the modern gaming consoles Over the decades, video gaming culture becomes more popular among the individual who are fond of this aspect. Hence a higher task is assigned for the video game industry to provide the output according to the user requirements. As s result of these different products from different manufactures came to the market in a large scale. In the early 1950’s smaller researches carried on to develop video games and the researches last until the late 1960’s. The golden era of video gaming begins from the early 1970’s and the growth is massive. 1985 Nintendo came up with their new device Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), a separate device which is designed for video gaming. Similar consoles like Sega Master System III, Atari XEGS, Action Max, Commodore 64GS, RDI Halcyon were introduced to the gamers with different technologies. Video gaming consoles industry has been rehabilitee with the entry of Sony Corporation. In the year 1994 Sony introduced an advanced gaming device called PlayStation [4]. While Sony dominating throughout the decade other consoles like Atari Jaguar II, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Nintendo 64DD, Game Boy Color, Playdia were also available in the market. Another notable incident took place in the year of 2001 with the present of Microsoft to the industry. Microsoft makes their present with a remarkable console xBox, which is a big competitor to Sony’s PlayStation 2. Portable devices and Handheld gaming consoles also played a vital role in the video gaming console industry. Motion controller based console is another popular device in today’s gaming field. Motion control based devices came to the market with the present on Nintendo Wii and later Sony and Microsoft introduces their controllers Move and Kinect in late 2000s [5]. The functionality and the efficiency of modern gaming consoles are excellent. At the present there is a high competition between Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s xBox 360, while Nintendo dominates the motion control console market. Meanwhile the expectations of eighth generation video gaming consoles are very high. The announcement for PSVITA, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Razer Switchblade, EVO2 were already made and gamers expecting their arrivals. It is expected that Motion control based consoles will dominate the eighth generation video consoles. These eighth generation consoles are expected to have a centralized online system, which is similar to xBox Live and Apple’s game centre. Ported games will be differentiated on platforms via DLC and it facilitates the player to download the game for different platforms. The controller of these consoles will be Controllers will be motion-capable, which comes through an evolution from the SIXAXIS where the motion could be detected by six degree. These consoles will be fully fledged media centers. They are mostly equipped with media streaming, video streaming playback videos through Netflix and adding online video banks like YouTube and Justin. tv. 3. 0 Categories and major developments of modern gaming consoles There are different types of consoles widely available in the market. They can be categorized as motion based console, Controller based consoles, handheld consoles etc. Among that motion based consoles are the very famous one which is popularly used by the gamers. 3. 1 Motion based Consoles These are the most advanced consoles that are available in the market. Japan’s popular game development firm Nintendo introduced their first motion based console Nintendo Wii back in 2005. A big amount of research and development carried out throughout the past and finally Sony Corporation and Microsoft came up with their products. Sony launched their motion controllers Move for their PS3, while Microsoft releases Kinect for xBox. Mean while Nintendo announces their next generation motion based gaming console Nintendo Wii U, which will be built up with advanced technologies than their previous version. These consoles have been built up with massive technologies. 3. 1. 1 PlayStaion Move PS Move bundle contains with a sensor camera and the controller. The controller in the user hand will be detected by the camera and that particular controller will be synchronized with the video game. Once the player moves with the controller, the character in the video game also moves to the direction. FIGURE I: PLAYSTATION MOVE CONNECTED TO A DISPLAY The camera, called Eye is capable of using edge detection, facial recognition, and basic motion tracking to map a room. The glowing Orbs plays an important role to detect the controller by the camera. PS3 Move uses LED tracking and edge detection to determine the controllers distance from the screen. By measuring the size of the orb in relation to the incoming video feed allows the system to calculate the precise distance of the controller from the camera. The color change of the Orbs helps the PS3 eye to differentiate the controllers from other objects that can be captured by the camera and from one another in a multi-controller setup. While determining distance is the primary purpose for the orb design, the orbs also assist in pointer detection. The tilt, rotation, velocity, and orientation of the controller is determine by an array of inertial sensors. Three kinds of sensors have been used in the motion controllers which are accelerometer, a magnetometer, and angular rate sensor. Accelerometer is used to detect the upward orientation of the controller as well as to determine the tilt. Magnetometers are typically used to determine the magnetic field and it helps the system in establishing the directional orientation of the controller. The angular rate sensor is used to measure the velocity of the move controller’s motion. This allows the system to accurately determine the actual speed of how fast the player moves or swings the controller. Motion controllers can be connected to the main console both wired and wireless. Wireless connectivity is based up on Bluetooth, which creates a firm bridge between the console and the Motion controller [6]. 3. 1. 2 Microsoft Kinect for xBox 360 Kinect has been introduced by Microsoft in the year 2010 for their primary gaming console xBox 360. A record making sales occurred world wild after it debuts the market. Kinect use a slightly different technology from PS Move and Nintendo Wii. Kinect only built with a sensor camera, which allows the player to interact with the console without any handheld controller. FIGURE II: PRIME SENSE THAT HAVE BEEN USED IN KINECT Kinect uses Prime Sense’s sensing technology which can maps thousands of points, and can accurately read body movements, complex gestures and even verbal cues [7]. In order to adapt to varying room layouts and sensor positioning, Kinect is capable of automatically adjusting its orientation with a motorized swivel and tilt mechanism built into the base, While the tilt mechanism is pretty solid, it can be damaged by improper care or attempting to manually adjust the sensor. The sensor connects to the Xbox 360 via either the auxiliary port built into the new Xbox 360 S or USB on previous models. The new Xbox 360s auxiliary port is an all-in-one solution that both powers and communicates with the sensor, whereas older systems will have to use an included AC power adapter to power the device. Setting up and calibrating the Kinect can be simple or a bit of a hassle, depending on the type of playing environment. Not only is there an extensive on-screen setup process, but players must physically prepare a room for Kinect. In order to play with Kinect user must choose a clear large space at least 6 feet between the player and the sensor and any object that are intermediate should be moved. Kinect is recommended players play in rooms with bright, even lighting, though our experience showed that just about any lighting environment produces reasonable result. 3. 2 Handheld video gaming console 3. 2. 1 Nintendo Wii U Wii U is the upcoming gaming console of Nintendo, expecting to launch next year. Wii will carry with lot of advance feature from their previous product Nintendo Wii. This console is compatible with Wii peripherals such as Wii control and Wii balance board. Wii U’s Hardware architecture and the design have been completely enhanced with comparing Wii U is Approximately 1. 8 inches tall, 6. 8 inches wide and 10. 5 inches long. An IBM Power Architecture-based multi-core 45 nm microprocessor based on the POWER7 will be use as the CPU, while the GPU will be a custom designed AMD RADEON similar to the R770 chip. FIGURE III: CONTROLS OF WII U AND THE COMPONENT ARCHITECHTURE The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive. It will also build up with 12cm proprietary high-density optical discs and 12cm Wii optical disc. Will U will be launched with an amazing port and peripheral functionalities including SD memory card slot (supports SDHC cards), USB 2. 0 ports (2 at front of console, 2 at rear), Sensor Bar power port, AV Multi Out port and HDMI 1. 4 out port. Video output will be sync with 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible displays over HDMI, composite, component and S-Video while Audio output will be use AV Multi Out connector with Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI. Wii U. A brand new controller with a complete new design will be shipping along with Nintendo Wii U Approximately, which is 5. 3 inches high, 0. 9 inches deep (not including buttons and other projections) and 9. 0 inches long. The new controller designed with a 16:9, 6. 2 inch touch LED display which contains all the traditional button controls and along with new two analog Circle Pads. The interesting is the potential for the two screens (controller display and the giant display) to work in direct tandem, an extension of ideas tested on DS. A touch screen interface enables play types that have escaped buttons and analogue sticks. Likewise, inbuilt gyroscopes and accelerometers act as a third set of analogue control inputs, allowing gamers to physically move the device to adjust their aim or orientation on screen. Nintendo Wii U is the Nintendo’s sixth home console and the very first console with 1080p high-definition graphics, and features a new controller with an embedded touch screen. This touch screen enables the player to continue the come if the television display turned off [8]. 3. 2. 2 PlayStation VITA Sony Corporation’s upcoming handheld video gaming console, which is expecting to be available in the market from the end of this year. PS Vita will have a 5-inch OLED capacitive touch-screen(960 x 544) capable of multi-touch, 512MB of RAM, 128MB of VRAM, powered by an ARM Cortex Quad-Core A9 chip and a PowerVR SGX GPU. There will be two VGA cameras (front and rear) capable of capturing images at 60 fps. Additional features include 802. 11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2. 1+EDR, 3G radio(optional), ports for game cards, memory cards, SIM cards (only 3G-equipped models), and a multi-use port that can support DC power input, USB, audio input and serial data. PSVITA facilitates it users to voice chat (‘Party Mode’) during the game play. A ‘Live Area’ will be created for the players to receive announcements from the developers and another option called ‘Activity Feed’ is designed to leave the feedback, check player’s recent activity, achievements, rank and the trophies of the friends. PSVITA also allows the players to exchange contents without starting the device which is similar to Nintendo’s 3DS Sreetpass. PSVITA contains a ARM Cortex A9 core (4 core) CPU and a SGX543MP4+ GPU. An advance 5 inches screens with ratio 960 x 544 (16:9) and approx. 16 million colors support will increase the game play. PS VITA also been built with an advanced OLED Multi touch screen. Ps VITA builds with two different memories of 512MB RAM and a VRAM with 128MB. Ps VITA will have two cameras Front with [emailprotected]? 240 (QVGA) and rear with [emailprotected]? 480 (VGA) FIGURE IV: CONTROLS AND THE COMPONENT ARCHITECHTURE OF PLAYSTATION VITA On the wireless side, the system ships with 802. 11 b/g/n wireless networking, Bluetooth 2. 1+EDR (which supports headsets and Bluetooth stereo), and an optional 3G radio, which will be sold as part of a separate model. There will also be ports for game cards, memory cards, SIM cards (on the 3G-equipped models), and a ‘multi-use’ port supporting DC power input, USB, audio input and serial data. On the multimedia area PSVITA supports music formats like MP3 MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer 3, MP4 (MPEG-4 AAC), WAVE (Linear PCM) video format like MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC), H. 264/MPEG-4 AVC High/Main/Baseline Profile (AAC) and image format like JPEG (Exif 2. 2. 1), TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG. Ps VITA introduces Always on feature to connect with friends and colleagues anywhere, anytime with Wi-Fi or always-on 3G [9]. It will be ships with Newly designed Dual analog sticks which will enhance the intensity of First Person Shooters games. Another advance option of PS3 integration will be available in Ps VITA. Gamers can play games between PS3 and PlayStation3 continuous and uninterrupted. Multi touch Display will be embedded with Nintendo Wii U which enables many more advance features from their earlier Wii. Augmented Reality games will be supported with Ps VITA which merge the real world and the game world with front and rear camera enabled augmented reality. Present of PlayStaion VITA will be definitely drag the attention of the Hand Held video gaming consoles lover as well as the other people who is addicted to this aspect area of gaming world. 4. 0 Technologies involved in modern video gaming consoles Modern video gaming consoles are equipped with very advance technologies. Gesture recognition, Motion detecting, Image sensoring are some of the popular technologies which have been popularly used by today’s gaming consoles. 4. 1 Gesture recognition This technology Interface with computers using gestures of the human body, typically hand movements. In gesture recognition technology, a camera reads the movements of the human body and communicates the data to a computer that uses the gestures as input to control devices or applications. Nintendo Wii introduced this technology to the gaming console and later Ps Move and xBox Kinect featured with the technology. Nintendo Wii controllers are the very popular devices which use gesture recognition efficiently. This device that serves as the wireless input for the Nintendo Wii gaming console. The Wi i remote can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions through the use of accelerometer technology. Separating the controller from the gaming console, the accelerometer data can be used as input for gesture recognition. FIGURE IV THE Wii CONTROLLER (Wiimote) 4. 2 Motion detecting Another advanced technology widely used in modern gaming consoles. Sony’s PlayStation Move combines a video camera with a physical controller packed with motion-sensing electronics, making it the technological cross between Kinect and the Nintendo Wii. The Move Motion Controller, or wand, combines a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetic sensor (a sort of digital compass that uses the Earths magnetic field to determine the controllers orientation) to track the controller in three dimensions, while the glowing ball at the end gives the PlayStation Eye camera a visual reference for handling aiming, cursor movement, and other motion. Like Kinect, PlayStation Move requires room to function; Sony recommends 5 to 9 feet between the player and the Play station Eye, but you can play anywhere from 2 to 10 feet of the camera. In Nintendo Wii, all the motion-control magic is in the remote. An accelerometer tracks movement, while an IR sensor monitors the positioning of lights emitted by the sensor bar. Its motion-sensing abilities werent so great at first; initially, your movements with the Wiimote were reflected only approximately in games with gestures and broad motions. The addition of Wii MotionPlus, an accessory that gives the Wiimote a gyroscope sensor to complement the accelerometer, improves the motion detection greatly. Nintendo recently began to sell the Wii Remote Plus, a Wiimote with built-in MotionPlus sensors, removing the need for a separate accessory. The Wiis biggest weakness is its graphics; unlike the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the Wii doesnt display high-definition content. FIGURE V THE PS3 MOVE xBox Kinect using totally different motion detecting techniques from Ps Move and Nintendo Wii. Camera plays an important role in detecting the motion of the player older software programs used differences in color and texture to distinguish objects from their backgrounds. PrimeSense, the company whose tech powers Kinect and recent Microsoft acquisition Canesta use a different model. The camera transmits invisible near-infrared light and measures its â€Å"time of flight† after it reflect off the objects. Time-of-flight works like sonar also been used to detecting the motion If you know how long the light takes to return, you know how far away an object is. Cast a big field, with lots of pings going back and forth at the speed of light, and you can know how far away a lot of objects are. Using an infrared generator also partially solves the problem of ambient light. Since the sensor isn’t designed to register visible light, it doesn’t get quite as many false positives. PrimeSense and Kinect go one step further and encode information in the near-IR light. As that information is returned, some of it is deformed — which in turn can help generate a finer image of those objects’ 3-D texture, not just their depth. FIGURE VI HOW KINECT DETECT THE MOTION OF THE PLAYER These types of advanced technologies providing a new dimension to video gaming industry. Developments with these new technologies are carrying out very rapidly and new invents are introducing time to time by the competitors. 5. 0 Future directions of video gaming consoles A very high demand for video gaming consoles have been created over the decade and expectation for future gaming consoles are very high. Almost predictions about Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s xBox 720 have been raised, though the two companies are not reveling about their future product [10]. With the new 3d technology and realistic HD displays console are surely becoming truly powerful multimedia machines. With the combination of features and ease of use, the future consoles will definitely be a worthy competitor against powerful desktop gaming computers which was not possible before. Future gaming consoles will be consider on enhancing features like Media Storage, Hardware Features, Hardware Processing Power, Controllers, Online Networks etc [11]. Also invention of new technology will be boosting the video gaming industry. 6. 0 Threats to modern video gaming consoles Domination of the multimedia based gaming devices has been increased over the decades, and different devices introduced to the market in different forms. Among that Smart phones and tablet PC has been consider as strong competition to the video gaming consoles. Highly portability, multiple purpose usage, high end gaming experience, less expensive, are some of the significant features of the Smart phones. Modern and future gaming console should take these threats as a serious issue. 7. 0 Discussion Although various types of video gaming consoles developed over the years, using different technologies there are some common advance features of the prevailing video gaming consoles. * Advance Graphics: High end multimedia graphics and video output of 1080p in High Definition with 3D enabled . * Hardware Processing Power: enhanced CPU with capable of multi processing. * Social networking: Share the achievements with social networks website like twitter and facebook. * Online Gaming: Enable players to experience the online gaming * Media Storages: Highly capacity media storage to store as many games as possible Acknowledgement I would like to thank my project supervisor Dr. L. Ranathunga who gave me advices throughout the paper and lot of insight on how to properly set this paper up. Also I would like to thank video gaming console manufactures who gave me this wonderful opportunity to review about their modern gaming consoles. References [1] Tech, S. , Video Game Consoles (1970 Present), http://techyshit. com/45-video-game-consoles-1970-present/, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [2] Saenz, A. , Nintendo’s New Wii U Wows at E3, and Changes gaming forever Again, http://singularityhub. com/2011/06/07/nintendos-new-wii-u-wows-at-e3-and-changes-gaming-forever-again/, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [3] Associated Press, Sony: PS Vita to miss 2011 release in US and Europe, http://www. computerandvideogames. com/314207/playstation-vita-release-date-is-2011-in-japan-2012-in-us-and-europe/, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011. [4] Sony corporation, Business development/Japan (1994~2004), http://www. scei. co. jp/corporate/data/bizdatajpn2004_e. html, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [5] Chen, J. , Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect Launches November 4, http://m. gizmodo. com/5563148/microsoft-xbox-360-kinect-launches-november-4, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [6] Lowe, S. , A rundown of the components powering Sonys motion controller, http://ps3. ign. com/articles/112/1121742p1. html, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [7] Schramm, M. , Kinect. The company behind the tech explains how it works, http://www. joystiq.com/2010/06/19/kinect-how-it-works-from-the-company-behind-the-tech/, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [8] Nintendo, Wii U, http://e3. nintendo. com/hw/#/introduction, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [9] Sony Corporation, PlayStation VITA, http://us. playstation. com/psvita/ , Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [10] Bostwick, B. , The future generation of video game consoles, http://www. helium. com/items/993554-the-future-generation-of-games-consoles, Date of Access: 10. 10. 2011 [11] Gilbert, B. , Inafune envisions a future where portable gaming consoles and Smartphone coexist.

Functionalism A Viable Materialist Philosophy Essay

Functionalism A Viable Materialist Philosophy Essay In evaluating the validity of Functionalism as a theory of mind, one must first understand the philosophy of Functionalism itself, and its roots. Functionalism has divided philosophers, and presented below are three of the main arguments against the validity of Functionalism, and these will demonstrate that as a theory of mind, although compelling and thought provoking, Functionalism is ultimately not viable. Functionalist theory has evolved from other philosophical theories of the mind, including Identity Theory of Mind, which in its simplest form states that mental states can be said to be exactly identical to brain states, and some forms of Behaviourist Theory, which suggested, amongst other things, that behaviour can be explained or justified without putting any emphasis on the mind as an instigator, and so behaviour can be rationalised by saying that the sources are not internal, but external. Functionalism can be said to be both and extension and a criticism to these theories. It is something of a middle ground between them. Similar to Behaviourist theory, Functionalism classifies mental states using a behavioural structure, but differs from this theory by suggesting that mental states originate internally. In terms of similarity to the Identity Theory of Mind, both agree that the process of producing a mental begins internally, but Functionalism differs in that it differentiates between the definitions of mental states and brain states. In its basic form, Functionalism can be defined as suggesting that mental states are characterised by their causal properties. In other words, instead of defining a mental state by its features, Functionalism suggests that it should be defined by what it does, or by its function. Expanding on this, Functionalism suggests that two thoughts can be considered identical if all relevant inputs, both those garnered internally and externally, can achieve the same eventual output. One of the first forms of Functionalism was created by Hilary Putnam, who, using the Turing Test, demonstrated his theory of Machine State Functionalism. The Turing Test was a proposal by Alan Turing to discover whether machines can imitate human behaviour in a manner satisfactorily enough that they appear to be able to think, and furthermore, Turing suggested that his test might, with more technological advancement, be able to determine if a machine is in fact able to think. Using the Turing Test, Putnam suggesting that any being possessing a mind could be said to be a Turing machine, and could be controlled using a set of instructions for its operation. Furthermore, early Functionalist theories suggested that a person or machine could be controlled by the input of instructions based on the probability of an outcome, and thus the behaviour would be modified according to the most likely outcome. From this, Putnam created his idea of Functionalism which suggested that sentient beings differ from non sentient beings not because of their physical make up, but because of the way that the internal mental states relate to one another causally to form outputs. However, Putnam later rejected his earlier proposals for Functionalism, citing his Twin Earth thought experiment as justification, and, being that he was instrumental in the formation of Functionalist theory, this gives weight to the argument that Functionalism as a philosophy of mind is not viable. The Twin Earth experiment is based around the idea of two identical worlds, except for one thing, that water is has a different name on the twinned earth. As Yemina Ben-Menahem writes in Hilary Putnam, the two people involved, Oscar and Toscar refer to the liquid water as what is familiar to them in their respective environments. Yet the liquidsare in fact very different. (p.236, ll.23-24). What this thought experiment is suggesting therefore, is that Oscar and Toscars thoughts about water are based on their knowledge of it. By extension, this suggests that for a person to have thoughts about water, they must have experienced it, since the brain itself has no such knowledge of water. Thus , some form of external stimulus must have created the knowledge of water in order for the brain to process it. This refutes the idea in Functionalism that mental states are created internally. A criticism of Functionalism, and indeed of all materialist theories, is that it does not account for the complexities of human emotion and feeling. For example, what is missing in the theory of Functionalism is the allowance for subjective, conscious emotion, or qualia. The argument for the existence of qualia is rooted in the idea that some emotions, namely pleasure and pain, cannot be analysed in an objective manner. If the example of pain is taken from a Functionalist standpoint, its only property is that it creates the appropriate output, such as flinching. However, it is difficult to imagine that this is the only component of pain. From the point of view of a Functionalist, pain is not defined in terms of how it makes a person feel, or what it is made of, but rather only in terms of what is input to create the relevant mental state, and what the output of that is. The problem with using qualia as an argument against the validity of Functionalism as theory of mind is that not all philosophers believe that qualia exists. However, if one agrees to the possibility of the existence of qualia, then this argument is valuable. As Edmund Leo Wright argues in The Case for Qualia, human experience can support the existence of qualiaqualia realism should be our default position. (p.286, ll.11-13). Using this standpoint as a basis, two arguments can be levelled against Functionalism and its validity. The first argument builds on Putnams own objection to his theory of Functionalism, and the relationship between cognitive function and experience. The example of colours can be used to illustrate this point. If a person sees red and calls it red, and another person sees it as green but calls it red, the function is identical, but the personal experience is not. Jaegwon Kim demonstrates this in his book, Physicalism or Something Near Enough, where he writes tha t what a colour looks like to a person should make no difference to the primary cognitive function of [their] visual system, (p173, ll. 2-4). In other words, Kim is arguing that the Functionalist approach does not allow for the variety of subjective experience. He goes on to qualify this: Intrinsic qualities of qualia are not functionalisable and therefore are irreducible, and hence causally impotent. (p.173, ll.9-10) If the existence of qualia cannot be reconciled with the theory of Functionalism, as Kim suggests, then the two must be mutually exclusive. If one assumes that qualia exists, as suggested by Wright, then Functionalism is not a viable theory of mind. Clearly, for this argument to be valid, one must first accept the existence of qualia. As such the argument from a qualia standpoint is not sufficient by itself to invalidate Functionalism if the existence of qualia is not proven. Indeed, the theory of Functionalism can be used as an argument against the existence of qualia , and no explanation for either theory has been issued which does not rely upon unknown factors and speculation. Arguing the case for Functionalisms shortfalls in terms of consciousness, Ned Block proposed a thought experiment in which a functioning mind could be created out of an entire Chinese nation. The point of this thought experiment was to illustrate that the theory of Functionalism fails to directly address the issue of consciousness as a condition of a mental state or functioning mind. As explained by Eric S. Chelstrom in Social Phenomenology: Husserl, Intersubjectivity and Collective Intentionality, If consciousness could be defined in only strictly functional terms, it would be possible for the population of China as a whole to realise the functionality of consciousness. (p.55, ll.17-19). If one were to take the Functionalist view on this matter, then this thought experiment should seem entirely plausible, since in keeping with Functionalist views, it does not matter what the mind is made up of, it matters only that functional roles are realised by different parts, as would occur in the Chinese nation scenario. There should be no need, Functionalism would argue, for the mind to be made up of anything specific. Indeed, providing the roles were carried out, it could be made of anything imaginable. As Ned Block points out, the idea of the Chinese nation as a whole having a collective consciousness, and by extension, the suggestion that a conscious mind could be made up of number of functioning parts of any description, although not necessarily impossible, seems absurd to most people, and as such demonstrates a flaw in the argument for Functionalism as a viable theory of mind. As established previously, there are a number of arguments against Functionalism as a viable theory of mind, and these must be taken into account when weighing up whether one agrees or disagrees with them. However, the basis of the theory of Functionalism, that mental states are only defined by their function, is one that is not easily reconcilable with the wealth of human experience. In fact, the idea that human experience is secondary to functioning mental states is somewhat abhorrent, since it is in human nature to want to believe that consciousness is a meaningful phenomenon and not an illusion created by causal functions. Furthermore, in accepting Functionalism in its entirety, one must also accept that that the machine function model suggested by Putnam could also be viable, and furthermore, that conscious beings are not unique and extraordinary, but can be created with any components, provide the equation of input and output is valid. This is a somewhat undesirable situation, and seems ridiculous as it is based in speculation of unknown factors. Ultimately, it can be said that Functionalism is not a viable theory of mind since it requires a suspension of ones experience of behaviour the knowledge of ones own consciousness, and is based almost completely on conjecture. Matravers, D (2011) Mind (A222 Book 5), Milton Keynes, The Open University Ben-Menahem, Y (2005) Hilary Putnam, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Wright, E (2008) The Case for Qualia, Massachusetts, MIT Press Chelstrom, E (2012) Social Phenomenology: Husserl, Intersubjectivity and Collective Intentionality, Maryland, Lexington Books

cold :: essays research papers

Kelley - guitar Scooter - vocals/guitar Jeremy - bass Sam - drums Terry - guitar After the dawn of Alternative Rock, dozens of bands began focusing their negative energy to create spiteful songs that resonated with crashing guitars and howling, pain-stricken vocals. Depression and frustration became the emotional conditions of the hour, and the music scene became glutted with groups that either feigned despair, or were so bleak they became inextricably tangled in their own gloom. Today, in an era where angst and volume have become passe, there are still a handful of bands that choose to internalize anguish and regurgitate it as a visceral, deeply moving melody. One of those is Jacksonville, Florida's Cold, but Cold aren't your average self-immolating neo-grunge outfit. While numerous heavy riffing alternative bands wallow in their pain, Cold revel in the dark, celebrating its tense, inviting grip and embracing its all-consuming energy. "I'm happy with the darkness," says frontman Scoot Ward. "I've had a negative outlook for so long. And the way I see stuff has always been bleak, so I've learned to make that good. I just like to write songs that express how I feel." Cold's self-titled album voices the band's nihilistic outlook with lumbering beats, twisting guitar lines, surging rhythms and rough, raspy vocals. But while the group is certainly in touch with its inner hostility, the members are also aware that beauty and ugliness need to co-exist in order to present a balanced equation. "We're influenced by lots of different stuff, not just heavy music," says Ward. "We like Tool and Black Sabbath, but we also love Radiohead and even Sarah McLachlan. I was really into the Cure and Depeche Mode when I was growing up, and Sam was really into Kiss and Sabbath. Our stuff is just a mixture of all the things we like. There's nothing wrong with melody as long as it's still got emotion in it." You can accuse Cold of being cynical or negative, but no one could possibly call them shallow or unfeeling. Their debut disc shudders with emotional revelations as cathartic as primal scream therapy. From the disoriented fury of Kelley Hayes' guitar lines to the heartfelt hopelessness of Ward's ravaged howls, Cold is a band that's not afraid to expose its true voice. The first single "Go Away," which builds from a deep, bopping groove to a churning wall of despondency, is a rant against the selfish and ungrateful.

Essay --

By now, R.K Narayan took a turn from his usual way of writing. Moving away from writing books, which were more or less auto-biographical, his exposure to foreign lands would have inspired him to move beyond his world and hone his creativity. Starting right from ‘Mr. Sampath’ (1948) to ‘The Vendor of Sweets’ (1967), this trend was seen in all books written in this period. ‘The Guide’ and ‘The Man-Eater of Malgudi’ is analyzed here, in this context. ‘The Guide’ is R.K. Narayan’s best and most famous work. A 1958 novel, it won the SahityaAkademi Award for English in 1960. It was made even more famous and popular by the on-screen immortalization by DevAnand and WaheedaRahman in the 1965 movie of the same name. Tracing the story of Raju, commonly called ‘Railway Raju’, the novel delineates his transformation from being a railway shopkeeper’s son to a sought after tour guide to later on become the country’s most famous saint. Raju, who took over his father’s shop after his death realized that taking people around the city of Malgudi as a tour guide is his forte. His life witnesses an upheaval when he is attracted to one of his customers, Rosie, a married woman who is neglected by her workaholic husband, Marco. Rosie’s potential to become a successful dancer, which is overlooked and ignored by her husband is spotted by Raju who encourages her to dance more. Following this, Rosie separates from her husband and rises to fame as a Bharatnatyam dancer with Raju’s help. A mistake by Raju, later on earns him a two-year prison sentence. On his release from prison, Raju is mistaken to be a saint. Following a series of interesting events, Raju takes on h imself a 12 day hunger-fast to pray for rains in the drought-stricken area. The story ends ... ...t manner in ‘The Man-Eater of Malgudi’. The underlying essence of the novel is based on the age-old saying which says that a man’s deed leads him to his destination. Inspiration from the Bhasmasura’s myth is also seen in the book. Vasu is compared to being a ‘rakshas’ (demon) who causes his own downfall himself. The 1954 KumbhMela stampede, which killed about 800 people seems to have affected Narayan as he mentions deaths due to stampedes in his book. While Nataraj is attempting to persuade Vasu not to create a ruckus during the procession, Vasu talks about how ‘melas’ are held to manage the population of the nation and to keep it under control. Population explosion of the 1950’s and 1960’s would have been the source of inspiration for this mention, which is taken up again in ‘The Painter of Signs’ where the female lead works on the issue of population control.

the false consensus effect :: essays research papers

Research Demonstration: The False Consensus Effect In science, we emphasize systematic, careful observation as a key to overcoming the limits of other methods of acquiring knowledge. That is, we trust systematic observation more than we trust our own intuition. We can actually investigate this issue. The following description provides you with the details necessary to conduct a simple study to investigate the accuracy of human intuitions. We often believe that others are more like ourselves than they really are. Thus, our predictions about others' beliefs or behaviors, based on casual observation, are very likely to err in the direction of our own beliefs or behavior. For example, college students who preferred brown bread estimated that over 50% of all other college students preferred brown bread, while white-bread eaters estimated more accurately that 37% showed brown bread preference (Ross, Greene, & House, 1977). This is known as the false consensus effect (Ross et al., 1977; Mullen, Atkins, Champion, Edwards, Hardy, Story, & Vanderlok, 1985). The false consensus effect provides the basis for the following demonstration, which emphasizes the need for systematic rather than casual observation. You can use the set of six questions, below, to investigate this. Before describing the false consensus effect, have friends, roommates or classmates (other classes, not PSY250) answer the questions listed below. Next, have students predict the UB undergraduate mean for each question. Keep a record of the responses for each person who participates. According to the false consensus effect, students' predictions about the UB mean should be influenced by their own positions. Consequently, a student whose position is below the UB mean is likely to make a prediction that will be below the UB mean as well. There are ethical constraints on the use of human participants that you must follow if you wish to try this with people. 1. Do not collect any identifying information on your participants. The answers to these questions should be anonymous. Even though you may know the person, do NOT record any identifying information. 2. When you ask someone to participate, explain the basic nature of the study. You want to ask people how often they do certain things, like laundry, and how often they think other UB undergrads do these same things. You are doing this as part of a class on learning the scientific method. If they participate, they will be asked to answer six questions about themselves and other UB undergraduates. They can choose not to answer any question. Tell your prospective participant that all answers are anonymous and no information identifying them is being recorded. 3.

Barriers To Communication Essay

A † communication barrier† or â€Å"a barrier to communication† is anything that interferes with the transfer of intended information from a sender to a receiver. This can include anything from static on a radio, preventing the listener from hearing the program, to a third party interfering in a conversation between two people.Barriers to communication can retard or distort the message and intention of the message being conveyed which may result in failure of the communication process or an effect that is undesirable. These include filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotions, language, silence, communication apprehension, gender differences and political correctness This also includes a lack of expressing â€Å"knowledge-appropriate† communication, which occurs when a person uses ambiguous or complex legal words, medical jargon, or descriptions of a situation or environment that is not understood by the recipient. Psychological Barriers The psychological state of the receiver will influence how the message is received. For example, if someone has personal worries and is stressed, they may be preoccupied by personal concerns and not as receptive to the message as if they were not stressed. Anger is another example of a psychological barrier to communication, when we are angry it is easy to say things that we may later regret and also to misinterpret what others are saying. Psychological barriers to communication include. Emotional Perceptual Selectivity Emotions Emotional barriers is the feelings that prevent you to communicate effectively. liking and disliking are included in Emotional Barrier. Both the encoder and decoder affected in emotional barrier.To communicate effectively, you must clearly convey thoughts and emotions both verbally and nonverbally. Many times, emotional barriers on your part or the part of the person you are speaking with may inhibit your ability to communicate on an effective level. Your emotional state may influence your capacity to make yourself understood and hamper your understanding of others. For example you might be emotionally blocked if you are announcing a new policy, giving the first major presentation on job or in a class, writing someone you dislike. People may feel indifferent toward you or your subject or show anger against you and your subject. Perceptual Perception is a subjective process. When senses deliver their information to the reception centers of the cortex, they are associated with past perceptions, memories, feelings, thoughts, values, needs, drives, attitudes and other things going on in the brain that are totally unique. The result is a highly individualized way of looking at things. Perception is understanding of the world around us. Each one perceives the world in his own unique way and interprets what has been perceived in yet another unique way and interprets what has been perceived in yet another unique way. When we strongly disagree, we simply say â€Å"I am sorry, our perceptions appear to be different†. For example imagine every one in a company receiving a copy of the annual report. An accountant may concentrate only on one footnote in the financial statement, a sales person may look at marketing charts, and a public relations officer may respond only to the quality of the brochure itself each reader received the same data each reader perceived the differently. Another example of perception is your boss ask you to turn in a report right away you work late that night because you assume he means as soon as possible in fact he meant before the end of the week in this case you filled in information. Selectivity The audience is not able to absorb all the information coming from a variety of sources; so the audience pick up information on selectively. The selectivity is affected by timing, context, and the degree of uniqueness of information.

Capitalism Racism And Patriarchy

A specific targeted attack Is needed to dismantle septets of oppression. Marxism alone cannot adequately address inequalities of race and gender because it ignores the historical impacts of race and gender As such critical problems will persist Patriarchy Is not Just a superstructure It is an independent oppressive system which must also be dismantled before true revolution can occur Patriarchal norms will persist In the home (home Is a reflection of society) Marxist revolution alone is not sufficient for gender and race equalityPatriarchy and Capitalism and Racism all oppress women as allied but independent systems Therefore the revolution that Marx envisioned, a society that would operate under equality for all would need to address them as such and challenge them through a combined attack Marx believed that economic change would lead to cultural change and all other forms of oppression would eventually ceases For Marx and Angels women were seen as a the men's proletariat They conc luded that childcare and housework needed to be socialized Assumed that production shapes human consciousness and societyClass takes precedence – class based revolution rather than race and gender based movements Is women's integration into production enough to make patriarchy fall? Considers the liberation of women and minorities only within the context of a gender-blind, color-blind, class-based society emancipation of those oppressed by class Critics of Marx Marx theory focuses only on work as a means of oppression Minimizes Patriarchy and Racist's influence by using Communism as a blanketed one size fits all approach to eliminating all forms of oppressionArgue that the dynamics between Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Racism as independent but mutually supportive systems that must be overthrown together Destruction of Capitalism alone will not guarantee that these other systems will be abolished Oppression can continue in the home Creates a double day for women Does not addres s issues of occupational segregation Which continue to keep women in subjugated positions Creates the risk that the oppressions of women and minorities will be considered a non-integral part of the transition to CommunismSince such oppressions are viewed as superstructures and therefore secondary to economic issues Under this logic Patriarchy and Racism will be allowed to survive which highlights the need for a triangulated approach. Failure to address them as such may lead prevent initiatives to eliminate them from being taken seriously (strictly enforced) Patriarchy and Racism are culturally ingrained It is necessary to disarm the weapons of capitalism in order to neutralize their effects on those that they target.By allowing these struggles to be viewed as secondary (or simply ignored) The establishment of policies that will address these oppressions will only be dependent on the â€Å"whims† of revolutionary leadership Will benefit women and minorities only when there int erests align with those of the revolution. Interest convergence) Strong cultural ideals restricting women to the home will continue to discourage them from participating in the workforce Not everything that supports the revolution will necessarily eliminate patriarchy and racism More likely it will lead to half measures which will in turn produce only half successes (gender assigned occupational segregation) Even colonization will continue to perpetuate gaps in workforce participation Revolution alone will not achieve the full scale equality that Marx presumed would follow as a result of the end of Capitalism A society where women and minorities can become full economic partners REQUIRES a re-envisioning of the household so as to professionalism and collective the tasks traditionally performed by each woman in her individual home.However women are still left with the majority of responsibility for the home and hillier and this only perpetuates patriarchal values about women and men' s places in society Whether commitment to gender and racial liberation is real or mere rhetoric How can we trust a system birthed within oppression of women and racism to truly emancipate either group? All the services provided for women are disproportionately provided by women for example childcare services and even after a revolution they are likely to stay the same since Marxist theory ignores how these systems have manifested : occupational segregation for example. Even if laws are created to address these systems it will be difficult to enforce them within a society that has been conditioned by these racist and patriarchal beliefs and as such will most likely fail to have any meaningful impact Culturally women are Just assumed to take on domestic duties.That the majority of childcare, nursing, housekeeping are still predominately occupied by women only serves to highlight the cultural significance of patriarchy which Marxism ignores. Even under Marxism this suggests that societ y would be hesitant to abandon the rotational role of women as the homemaker and therefore ignore how this dynamic would result in women being subjected to a disproportionate burden within society. Which Marxism inherently ignores. As such Marxism fails to address racist and patriarchal institutions which on the surface appear to be race and gender neutral. Racism and Patriarchy are not merely Just cultural ideologies Roles of women and minorities in high leadership positions continue to be lacking.