Employment Laws and HRM Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employment Laws and HRM Strategy - Essay Example HRM strategy refers to a particular approach that is used in the management of human resources with the aim of providing a strategic framework to support short and long term strategies of an organization (Dessler, 2010). Employment law is one of the essential functional areas that provide organizations with the foundation for effective development of workforce that will support the organizational goals and objectives (Moran, 2007). In order to have a better understanding of the subject of employment laws and HRM strategy, this essay will apply the employment laws of the Virginia State to one of the HRM strategy problems. In particular, the essay will apply the employment laws of the Virginia State on the HRM strategy problem of introduction of new technology for employees who may experience physical limitations. The subject of physical limitations of employees is one of the most comprehensive in the employment laws in the United Constitution. This issue is covered under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), as well as under the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA) (Walsh, 2012). The ADA is designed to protect the rights of people with physical limitations including in the employment environment. This Act provides framework within which people with physical limitations can fully access and participate in all aspects of employment. It requires that employers should provide facilities and means through which employees with disability can access and participate in activities with as little difficulty as possible. The Act requires that the employer should do enough to remove the barriers that might deny people with disability with equal opportunity in accessing and using the facilities and services within an employment set up (Dessler, 2010). The provisions of the ADA are enforced by t he U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The employment laws related to this subject prohibits employers against discrimination of any kind to

Brief discussion of Western Civilization Essay Example for Free

Brief discussion of Western Civilization Essay A civilization is usually marked by a growth that can change the ways of the people in a specific time frame and the period after that. The said growth is perfectly exemplified in the western civilization. The Western culture is greatly affected by the highlights of the history. It is influenced by some ideas from the East. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians took part in the encounter of the Greeks and the Persian Empire. Hebrews formed the belief in a single god which is known as the Hebrew monotheism. Still, during the Classical Age of Greece, the Greeks nurtured the social, political and religions aspects of the West. Philosophers like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and Herodotus were among the few who formed the cornerstones of Greek literacy. Athens followed a democratic civilization while the state of Sparta was a disciplined one. The period was predated by the Hellenistic period in which Greeks and Macedonians built kingdoms after conquering the Persian Empire. During this era, women played roles in politics. The rise of science, culture and arts came into existence. By 8th Century B. C, Rome was brought about by Latin-speaking people. Octavian aided in transforming a government system of a republican institution. The Roman Empire grew became known as one of the largest in the world. Languages in Rome in the present time like French, Spanish, Latin and Portuguese were strongly based on Latin. The Roans concocted a rich culture in law, language and engineering as well. After 200 years, it came to a decline and paved way to the period of Early Middle Ages. The era gave birth to the widespread Religion of Christianity through the works of Paul of Tarsus. Germanic kingdoms also became apparent in the part of Western Europe. The Carolingian Empire was ruled by Charlemagne, a brood of a Germanic tribe who accepted Christianity. Traditions from the classical age, the Germanic tribes and Christianity merged to give identity to the new civilization of Europe. This was threatened by Vikings and Muslims. Fortunately, the civilization was kept intact. By the dawn of the 9th and 10th century, agricultural production was heightened. Trade was also established along with changes in the technology during the High Middle Ages. Cities and banks were also present. When the 14th Century came, the West was plagued by the Black Death. It caused the fall of trade and instigated the difference of the upper and lower classes. A war which ran for a hundred years between the English and the French rattled the political status of Europe. Papacy was also affected in Rome when conflicts between popes occurred. All these are reflected in the arts during the period. Soon after, the Renaissance period which is dubbed as the time for reconstruction created new ways for the West. It was made evident that the Catholic Church is a very important institution. The Western civilization faced rises and falls caused by wars, invaders and other factors. All the events contributed on what the West has in the present civilization today. References: A Review of Western Civilization. Retrieved August 14, 2010 from http://www. wadsworth. com/history_d/templates/student_resources/0534600085_spielvogel/VolumeIIto1550. html

Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Of China Sinopec Commerce Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Of China Sinopec Commerce Essay During last several decades, more and more pressure is received by international firms to persuade them to dedicate more and more resources in social responsibility. These pressures are always come from customers, governments, employees, suppliers, community groups. Also, there is increasing interest among managers of business especially those CEOs at multi-national or multi-divisional companies in the antecedents and consequences of CSR. These business leaders are realized the fact that nowadays the social standards for the business are not only restricted in the aspect of earning profits, the demand for CSR can vary substantially across the whole world on many issues. Nowadays, the demand for the social responsibility of large business is growing when the some important issues such as the global warming, poverty, scarce of resources which faces by those business firms. The definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility The definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not clear as a result of so many conflicting goals and objectives. Mcwilliams and Siegel(2011) argue that the CSR are measures taken by those business corporations for the benefits of the whole community, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law and some social pressures. Meanwhile, Corporate Social Responsibility involves achieving commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and respect people, communities, and the natural environment (Clark, 2006; Porter Kramer, 2006). And Ademosu(2008) claims that CSR is what an organization does to contribute to the development of the community in areas such as economy, the education and so on. The history of CSR is as long as the company. After Industrial Revolution some large business organizations are emerged and the owners of these business organizations have become the most powerful and richest man in this world and these rich businessman began to implant a kind of ideas called Social Darwinism which means the corporations should focus more on the development of their own business instead of caring more about the consequences caused by the big business organizations on the employees, the community, even the whole society. But at the beginning of the twentyish century the power against these ideas of those big corporations began to rise. In 1970s Milton Friedman argued that the only social responsibility of an enterprise is to increase profits within the scope of the business rules, profit maximization is only the second goal of corporations and the first goal is to ensure the survival of them. In order to achieve this point, they must bear some social responsibilities and the cost caused by them, they must protect the social welfare through the advertisements of them about no pollutions, no discriminations or something else. They must blend themselves into the community and fund more for the charity organizations in order to play a more active role in the society. From 1980s the movement of CSR began to rise in the western developed countries, it includes the contents of environment protecting, labor and human rights which leads to the concerns of customers changed from about only care about the quality of products to quality, environment, occupation health and so on. Meanwhile some governments, green peaces organizations and NGOs also continually called the business corporations to connect the trade to their social responsibilities. Under the increasing pressure and their own development needs. Many multinational companies in Europe and America are formulating to make commitments of social responsibility. Why business corporations should engage in CSR According to Ralph Hamann(2010) the evolving CSR agenda is driven by a global shift in the way the role of business is perceived. Under the circumstance of globalization and the challenges of sustainable development, the business firms are increasingly seen as an important element in the process of social transformation, for the benefit of society in general, as well as business itself. Customers and society have more exceptions for the corporations where the products they buy from. This sense has increased as results of recent corporate scandals, which reduced public trust of business corporations. And under the trend of globalization, the increasing influences of media can explode all the mistakes such as pollution, decimations of female workers, or something made by the corporations to the entire world. These force the business organizations to build a harmony relationship with the outside world Corporate social responsibility comes from its social power. Enterprises should be a two-way open system that is open to accept the information of society, and help public understanding its operation. Each activity, product and service of enterprises, must consider the social costs and benefits at the same time of considering cost-effectiveness because all the social costs linked to each activity, product and service should transfer to consumers ultimately. So the enterprises as legal persons should be the same as other individuals involved in resolving some of social problems beyond their normal range. The benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility To the business corporations, business ethics and social responsibility have became important factors to improve the competitiveness of enterprises, when the business leaders try to develop the company, they should not only focus on economic indicators such as revenues, turnover, profits but also the attentions to humanities index resources index and environmental indicators. Clark (2006) reports showed these companies which pay more attention to CSR have done better financially performance than all of the other companies. The CSR policy can enhance the reputation of a business corporation and improve the relationship between the community and them. The CSR programs can not only help a companys to earn a good reputation in the society, and improve revenues of their business actions (Afiya, 2005), CSR programs can actually improve the companys ability to achieve the goal of sustainable development. For example, if a company can use modern technology to achieve the goal of waste recycl ing, the operating cost may be reduced hugely(Clark, 2006). To the whole society, firstly, the business corporations fulfill their society responsibilities is good for solving the employment problems. Except through increasing investment to create more jobs, more importantly is to advocate the enterprises arrange labor force scientifically in order to avoid increasing the pressure of employment. The ISO8000 is an international authentication standard system which aims to ensure workers working conditions and environment, protecting their human rights. Many enterprises try get fulfill their social responsibilities to get to the standard of ISO8000 which help them to attract more labor resources. Secondly, to fulfill social responsibility help to protect natural resources and environment to achieve sustainable development. The enterprises as members of the society and the big consumers of the natural resources have unenviable responsibility for the sustainable development of the environment. By using technical innovations the enterprises can reduce the pollution caused by their production and decrease the consumption of the resources then save the resources. (Mele ´, D. 2008) Last by not the least, the CSR is a good method to ease the gap between the rich and poor. On the one hand, large and medium-sized enterprise could use their capital advantages, management advantages and human resource advantage of resources to invest in the poor area. The corporations can get new growth point of their business and help the poor area to solve the problems of poverty. On the other hand, the enterprises also can through charity to help the people of backward area in education, the development of social security and health care system The CSR practice of Sinopec group of China The Sinopec group of China is one of the largest state owned companies of China, functioning as a state-authorized investment organization in which the state holds the controlling share. Sinopecs business includes Sinopecs business includes oil and gas exploration, refining, and marketing; production and sales of petrochemicals, chemical fibers, chemical fertilizers, and other chemical products; storage and pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas; import, export and import/export agency business of crude oil, natural gas, refined oil products, petrochemicals, and other chemicals. Sinopec Group ranked the 7th in Fortune Global 500 in 2010.The Sinopec is considered as one of pillar enterprises of the Chinese national economy and a giant in the energy industry, so in the last several years, there are continuously pressure put on this company about how it is to carry out its social responsibilities as an state-owned and the most profitable company in China. In fact, the Sino pec group does implement some CSR initiatives to enhance its global image and reputation. Low-carbon development strategy The climate change is an urgent issue which is for all mankind today, how to protect the environment from human activities and pollution is especially important for those energy and petrochemical company. About the global issues of global warming Sinopec claims that they carry out low-carbon development by finding and using more low-carbon energy resources and promoting energy saving and consumption reduction. The Sinopec is both a large energy production firm and a large consumption firm. This company is active in developing low-carbon energy and improving the structure of the energy consumption. They have built up a comprehensive low-carbon business chain which covering RD, production and marketing. Meanwhile this company has taken planting trees to increase the carbon sink as a major way to fulfill its responsibility to protect the ecological environment and improving the conditions for the ordinary residents. Saving energy resourcrs is another immediate and effective way to reduce CO2 emission today. Because of great importance to energy saving, they try to develop into a resource-saving enterprise. During the last 5 years, while the production capacities kept growing, Sinopec got a good achievement in energy saving and consumption cut with more effective management, many modern and new technologies and equipments are used and more emphasis are put on energy saving in production process. According to reports in 2010, overall energy consumption of Sinopec went down by 3.8% and 0.8% respectively and saved 14.11 million tons of coals equivalent, equaling reducing 34.66 million tons of carbon dioxide emission. They also try efforts to spread information about the damages of climate change among workers, consumers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, calling for changes in mode of production, way of life and habit of consumption, and for stronger sense of social responsibility and keener awareness to protect the environment. When it comes to the issue of pollution, the energy producers like Sinopec are always accused for their pollution for the environment. They claim they have paid great efforts to making clean products and reducing the pollutant emission in consumption. Upgrading of gasoline and diesel quality is typically one of their efforts in this direction. From 2009 to 2010, Sinopec refining subsidiaries sped up development of gasoline upgrading plans and revamping of production facilities. By 1 May 2010, all automobile gasoline produced has met GB III standards or even higher. Given Sinopecs gasoline output in 2010, SO2 emission in consumption can be cut by 25,000 metric tons. But the waste in the energy industry is inevitable, they still need to pay more attention to the treatment of waste gas, waste water and industrial residue (three wastes), try their best to meet discharge standards of the government and mitigate their impact upon the environment to the minimum. By the end of 2010, they hav e completed desulfurization revamping of all 19 in-house power stations and 107 coal boilers. And we reduced SO2 emission by 204,000 metric tons, down by 35.7%. The circular is another important aspect, increasing resource efficiency and recycling, and promoting comprehensive utilization of byproducts, with the goal of low energy consumption, low emission and high efficiency. For example, flare gas recovering technology was applied. All flares were extinguished and more than 800,000 metric tons of gas can be recovered every year. Aid Those in Need, Help Those in Difficulty As one of the biggest company in China, the Sinopec still carry put some plans to help some poor areas in China. In 2010, they continue to follow the guidance of the central government about the development the rural poverty area, supporting the infrastructure construction, education development and industrial development in these areas, for example, Sinopec has invested RMB 100 million for poverty alleviation and disaster relief work in the four designated counties. During last several years, Sinopec has been paid great attention and engaged in constructing the Hope Schools which is a famous charity plan in China. It is aimed to help those poverty children have the chance to receive education in impoverished areas. Sinopec have have built 15 Hope Primary Schools in Anqing area which is in Anhui Province in the past four years. The total investment was about RMB 7.5 million. Care for employees The employees are the most important parts of a business organizations and care for the workers is an essential part of the CSR. By the end of 2010, Sinopec has 1.06 million employees in total, including 9,185 fresh university graduates joining Sinopec in 2010. They have a considerable number of employees who have worked for Sinopec for more than decades. Closely following the state labor policies, Sinopec signs labor contract with each employee, welcomes collective bargaining and offers stable and competitive salaries. Sinopec honors its legal obligations to maintain endowment insurance, health insurance, occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance, and maternity insurance and housing provident funds for all employees. In 2010, the Company launched corporate annuity plan, a valuable addition to the mandatory pension scheme. Through the CSR activities above, the Sinopec earn a good reputation in China and the whole world. Through the activities of saving energy, help poverty people, this company improve their global image and do become the top business giant in the world. The Chinese government even awards the Sinopec with the title of China Corporate Social Responsibility Research Base and the Sinopec also become the most popular employer among job seekers in China. The Sinopec benefits the whole society and itself by fulfill its social responsibility. But there are still many critics about the Social Responsibilities of Sinopec. For example, as a state-owned enterprise, there are many scandals about the corruption cases of the managers. Conclusion It has to admit that, although the practice of CSR is still debated among the world. Proponents argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others yet argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations. However everything has two sides. Though some people do not love the CSR policy, increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible because their most important stakeholders expect them to understand and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. I believe that the CSR policy will develop to everyones benefit.

Samuel Beckett and Waiting for Godot Essay -- Waiting for Godot Essays

Samuel Beckett and Waiting for Godot      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As much as any body of writing this century, the works of Samuel Beckett reflect an unflinching, even obsessive flirtation with universal void. His literary and dramatic accounts of skirmishes with nothingness portray human beings (generally beings, at least, beings more or less human and intact) situated in paradoxical, impossibly absurd circumstances.    Samuel Barclay Beckett was born in the comfortable Dublin suburb of Foxrock in 1906, on the 13th either of April, which was Good Friday that year, or else of May-he and his birth certificate always disagreed on this point. He was the second son of a fairly prosperous, middle-class, Protestant couple: his father was a contractor and his mother a former nurse. Beckett's education was conventional. When he was thirteen, his parents sent him to boarding school at the Portora Royal in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. He studied classics, and was also quite successful at cricket, rugby, and swimming. In 1923, he entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he read Modern Languages. He was honored for high scholastic achievement upon receiving his BA degree in December 1927.    In 1928 he began a literary career as a professor and critic. He tutored French for two terms at Campbell College, Belfast, and later that year he began a two-year exchange fellowship at the École Normal Supà ©rieure in Paris. While in Paris he met his mentor-to-be, James Joyce, and he began to write and publish criticism and poetry. He returned to Dublin, where between 1930 and 1932 he took his MA degree and lectured in French at Trinity College. For the next several years, he wrote and ... ..., Deirdre. Samuel Beckett: A Biography. New York: Summit, 1990. Beckett Festival: Dublin 1-20 October. Official program book of the Beckett Festival, in conjunction with the 1991 Dublin Theatre Festival. Dublin: Beckett Festival, 1991. Beckett, Samuel. The Complete Dramatic Works. London: Faber and Faber, 1986. Beckett, Samuel. "Three Dialogues," transition 49, 5 (December 1949), pp. 97-103. In Samuel Beckett, A Collection of Critical Essays, ed. Martin Esslin (New York: Prentice Hall, 1965), 16-22; also in Ruby Cohn, Disjecta (New York, 1984), 138-45. Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. New York: Vintage, 1955. Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd. New York: Anchor, 1969. Kennedy, Andrew K. Samuel Beckett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Lyons, Charles R. Samuel Beckett. New York: Grove, 1983.

Book Review: Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” Essay

In writing â€Å"Into the Wild,† Krakauer’s intention was to uncover the facts (or at least get as close to the facts as possible) surrounding Christopher McCandless’ journey â€Å"into the wild. † Krakauer discusses and presents theories and explanations about McCandless’ reasons for going off into a potentially fatal journey, and also presents investigations into how McCandless came to such a state in his life. Krakauer gives us some idea of the direct cause of McCandless’ death, and his reasons for doing what he did. Krakauer aims to give readers with invaluable insight into the mind of McCandless—how McCandless came about the idea of going to the Alaskan wilderness, what his motivations were, how he planned and managed to survive the grueling trek, and most importantly, â€Å"why? † The author seeks to understand what happened to McCandless in the wild, and to explain why someone so full of promise, who seems to have such an ideal life and much of all that he could ask for, could do what McCandless did. However, Krakauer does not presume to be certain about McCandless reasons, but he presents some very good explanations and allows us to understand McCandless’ mind even more. By revealing many things about the reasons behind McCandless’ death, Krakauer shows us that McCandless was far more than a simple and reckless fool who wasted his life. McCandless, who was an intelligent young man, went off into the Alaskan woods to â€Å"find himself† and to reunite with nature. He was heavily influenced by the literature he had read, to such an extent that he became, most of all, a man in search of himself and of a purpose in life. In order to really â€Å"find† himself, he felt it necessary to cut all ties from society, from his family, and reinvent himself as Alexander Supertramp, thus cutting his ties with his old identity. Whether or not he found what he was looking for in the wild is open to speculation, however Krakauer describes McCandless’s psychological terrain by including anecdotes and quotations from people who were in a similar state of mind as McCandless, as well as drawing parallels with his own life as a mountaineer and adventurer. Each chapter presents different tales from others who have been in the same road as McCandless, people who have also sought the solitude of the wild. Krakauer also interviewed people who have come in contact with McCandless during his journey. By the end of â€Å"Into the Wild,† the readers gains significant understanding of McCandless’ personality. Whether McCandless was brave or foolish, his journey of self-discovery is something that almost everyone can relate with and understand on some level. However, while the book is accessible to anyone who could have some interest in the controversial life and death of Christopher McCandless, it is most geared towards those who have sentiments similar to those that McCandless held regarding society, nature, and how to live. â€Å"Into the Wild† helps us understand McCandless’ character, although by the end of the book, it is still up to the reader to decide if McCandless was â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† in having done what he did – whether he was courageoeus or merely foolish.

Free Essays on Something So Unconventional

Something so Unconventional There are many reasons why someone would start a museum. Mr. Wilson’s reason, and his museum is a bit different than most. Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder is very unusual. He prides himself in finding things that most people would think of as odd, or not worth putting in a â€Å"normal† museum. As a man, Mr. Wilson is also a mystery. He almost seems to be able to disappear and reappear when he is in his museum. He never answers any questions with a straightforward answer, which might just be why so many people love to go visit Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder. The Museum is made up of many different bizarre exhibits. Normally when someone thinks of a museum they think of paintings, and famous sculptures, but in this case Mr. Wilson’s museum has rarities not found many other places in the whole world. One of the exhibits that sticks out in my mind was the Megaloponera foetens, otherwise known as the stink ant. It is said that they can ingest spores, and when inhaled by these ants the spore goes straight to the ant’s brain. After the spore is in the ant’s head changes in behavior of the ant are present. They climb a tree and wait to die while this spore grows in its brain until it bursts through the ant’s tiny head and an inch and a half spike grows from its head. This spike is unique also because it has a bright orange tip. (3-4). This is just one of the many different exhibits that you see at Mr. Wilson’s museum, but this shows you that his ways are a bit unconventional. Mr. Wilson himself started the museum because he wanted a place for people to learn about the more bizarre things in life. He looked all over the world to find unique things to put up in his museum, so that he would attract the interest of those who were yearning to learn about things almost unknown to man. Most of the exhibits in Mr. Wilson’s museum have not been studied by a lot of people, and most hav... Free Essays on Something So Unconventional Free Essays on Something So Unconventional Something so Unconventional There are many reasons why someone would start a museum. Mr. Wilson’s reason, and his museum is a bit different than most. Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder is very unusual. He prides himself in finding things that most people would think of as odd, or not worth putting in a â€Å"normal† museum. As a man, Mr. Wilson is also a mystery. He almost seems to be able to disappear and reappear when he is in his museum. He never answers any questions with a straightforward answer, which might just be why so many people love to go visit Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder. The Museum is made up of many different bizarre exhibits. Normally when someone thinks of a museum they think of paintings, and famous sculptures, but in this case Mr. Wilson’s museum has rarities not found many other places in the whole world. One of the exhibits that sticks out in my mind was the Megaloponera foetens, otherwise known as the stink ant. It is said that they can ingest spores, and when inhaled by these ants the spore goes straight to the ant’s brain. After the spore is in the ant’s head changes in behavior of the ant are present. They climb a tree and wait to die while this spore grows in its brain until it bursts through the ant’s tiny head and an inch and a half spike grows from its head. This spike is unique also because it has a bright orange tip. (3-4). This is just one of the many different exhibits that you see at Mr. Wilson’s museum, but this shows you that his ways are a bit unconventional. Mr. Wilson himself started the museum because he wanted a place for people to learn about the more bizarre things in life. He looked all over the world to find unique things to put up in his museum, so that he would attract the interest of those who were yearning to learn about things almost unknown to man. Most of the exhibits in Mr. Wilson’s museum have not been studied by a lot of people, and most hav...

The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Robotics

The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Robotics Free Online Research Papers Artificial intelligence and the advancement in robotics are some of the world’s leading scientific studies, including how the advancement will affect the world, how one would handle living with an advanced robotic world, and how scientists will create these machines. Any appliance or machine made to [simulate a human task] falls under the category of artificial intelligence. From a [Blackberry] to a robot that can perform the daily tasks of a human, artificial intelligence is widespread. Artificial intelligence is a whole new way to go about technology. [(American Association of Artificial Intelligence)] Because of movies and stories, most people believe artificial intelligence is just simulating humans. But actually, most of the machines made do not represent human behavior. [Today there are machines that can observe a human for an extended period of time and solve a problem that they may be experiencing. Certain people often question] whether scientists could create a machine that is exactly like a human. [(American Association of Artificial Intelligence)] In this case, the robot would have to be just as smart, talented, and be able to accomplish the daily tasks of a human. [(Critical Concepts)] [People also question how the effects of having smart robots would change society.] People would start to rely on the robots; and therefore, if something happened to the robots, people would be at a disadvantage because they had come to rely on them. After World War II, people started researching and experimenting with artificial intelligence. The first to study this category of science was Alan Turing. [Alan Turing was born in the year 1912, in Paddington, England. He attended Cambridge University for his undergraduate degree, and then obtained his PhD at Princeton University. One of his first machines was the German Enigma cipher machine. In 1952 he was accused of being a homosexual. He was unable to complete his studies. The next year he died from cyanide poisoning.] [(The Enigma)] He proposed that the best way to go about this science was to use computers not machines. By the late 1950s[,] the study of artificial intelligence was underway. [(What is Artificial Intelligence? )] [The superior goal of artificial intelligence is to create a robot that can solve problems and process like a human.] Scientists do not know when this goal will be reached. They hope that it will be within the next twenty years. Some researchers think that to achieve this goal of thinking just like a human, the mechanism will have to be compiled with a load of information in order to reach its standard. [(What is Artificial Intelligence? )] Artificial intelligence is researched in two different perspectives. One is the biological side and the other psychological. The biological side is the study that humans are smart. The psychological side also includes the physiological side of humans. These two sides represent the robot’s common sense and ability to achieve goals. Some scientists argue whether robots should have free will. Free will means being able to make one’s own choices. [(What is Artificial Intelligence? )] Some of the earliest examples of artificial intelligence translate as far back to the Greek gods. In one of the myths, gods created a machine named Talos. He was made of bronze and would throw rocks at the intruders on the beaches of Crete. He also picked up the intruders and gave them a burning squeeze. [(The Next Fifty Years)] The study of artificial intelligence was finally taken into careful consideration at Dartmouth College in 1956. Four scientists took the study into deep research. This includes John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Herman Simon, and Allen Newell. They built some of the first robots that could solve algebraic word problems. [These men made predictions that they could construct robots that could be smarter than humans within twenty years.] They were given over five billon dollars, but they failed to create such a machine in that period of time. Although the scientists did not make a human-smart machine, they made other advancements. Along with their mistakes they created other marvels such as industrial robots, language translators, the Google search engine, speech recognition, and data mining machines. [(What is Artificial Intelligence? )] [Artificial Intelligence is the technology used in many of todays machines, ranging from banking systems that detect attempted credit card fraud, to telephone systems that understand speech, to software systems that notice when youre having problems and offer appropriate advice.] [(Waltz)] [Despite the slow advancement of Artificial Intelligence over the years, there are still very many new machines being made today. Some of these are autonomous vehicles, Deep Blue, mathematical theorem proving, and Pegasus. These machines will help expand the study of artificial intelligence. ] [(Waltz)] [The autonomous vehicles were first tested by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). An on-board computer system from Carnegie Mellon University was able to drive the van for only 52 miles at an average speed of 63 miles per hour, rain or shine, day or night. The van was supposed to drive 2,849 miles from Washington, DC to San Diego, California. Deep Blue is an example of a machine that has been created to think like a human. In May 1997, Deep Blue, IBM’s computer, played chess against the world’s greatest chess player. The smart machine came out of the match with a victory. [(IBM)] Mathematical theorem-proving is a computer system at Argonne National Laboratories. Its accomplishment was being able to solve a long algebraic function that would be very hard for a human to solve. Pegasus is used by American Airlines. It is an online interface that sets reservations for flights all over the world. Also it allows users to check on flight information whenev er they like. Pegasus can be accessed through either internet or telephone. NASA has also recently created a machine that can classify a star from a faint galaxy by just faint signals. It is able to learn its information by reading different experts texts.] [(Waltz)] [Artificial Intelligence machines that we use today expand from one’s stock portfolio to drug researchers. When using a stock portfolio, it automatically modifies your market position and makes the smartest trades for you. There are cars that can drive for you in a sort of auto-pilot mode. Also, there are online systems that can automatically order one’s groceries based on previous purchases. There is now a system that can manage and pay bills just by memorizing pay patterns. Drug researchers can now use artificial intelligence for intensive bio-computational modeling in relation to the enormous amount of data from the human genome project to help find cures in ways never thought of by a human.] [(Moy)] Robotics made a dramatic leap from 1970 to 2007. In 1970 Shakey the robot could not even roll from one side of the room to the other in eight hours. But by 2007 the robots of the DARPA were crossing thousands of miles of desert. Although researchers have yet to create a robot that can function exactly like a human, artificial intelligence has come a very long way. In the next few years, the people of the United States could be working next to a robot. [(Critical Concepts)] Adam Wedding English IIIH/Period6 Mr. Martin 31 August, 2007 Science and Technology Research Paper History of Artificial Intelligence. American Association of Artificial Intelligence. 15 Sep 2007 . McCarthy, John. What is Artificial Intelligence? 1/9/2007. Stanford University. 15 Sep 2007 . The Next Fifty Years. Dartmouth College. 15 Sep 2007 . Chrisley, Ronald. Artificial Intelligence: Critical Concepts. United States: Routledge, 2000. Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing. 8 May 2006. Alan Turing: the Enigma.. 10 Nov 2007 . Deep Blue. IBM. IBM. 10 Nov 2007 . Waltz , David . Realizing the Ultimate Promises of Computing. Artificial Intelligence. 1996. 11 Nov 2007 . Sloman, Artificial Intelligence: In your Life Today . 5 August 2005 . 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