Business Ethics And Cross Cultural Management Commerce Essay

Business Ethics And Cross Cultural Management Commerce Essay Ethics, or more accurately, the lack of ethics, on the part of business and government leaders has lately received significant attention in the mass media and has been a topic of discussion among the public, as well as the different organizations in the world (Peppas 2002). Business ethics has gained the attention of many scholars and executives in both private and public sectors because of many unethical practices that are being reported. This includes the cases of large multinational organizations including Enron (Rashid Ibrahim 2007). This is the reason why many studies about cultural differences and business ethics have been implemented in the past years. This literature review is conducted in order to analyze and evaluate the arguments regarding the different aspects that are related with business ethics and differences in cultures. Implications of Business Ethics The concept about ethics is considered as a complex matter because it is predicated on an interchange of views regarding the belief systems of individual among the citizens of any culture (Svensson Wood 2003). The study of business ethics and its connection for the stakeholders of organizations have experienced fast growth in the past few decades. The literature about business ethics is divided on its views regarding the motivation and the cause for organizations to have their ethical dimension. The study of Harrison (2001) showed that there are two main schools of thoughts first are those who suggest that firms are operating in order to generate profit, therefore, business ethics is considered as another means of attracting the customers, while the second are those who supported some corporate conscience as well as inherent motivation for the implementation of business ethics. On the other hand, Paul (2001) considered business ethics are very subjective in nature because it is a function of time and culture therefore, the business ethics have changed, together with the cultural values and norms motivated the business ethics in the national and regional boundaries. The study of Hofstede (1983) is considered as one of the most important studies which show the differences of countries or nations in terms of cultures and values. The study showed that there are 4 vital indicators which include individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity which shows great differences in the culture among different nations. The study of Vinten (1991) divided the issues of business ethics in different degree, which include international business, domestic business and professional ethics. Each level constitute for different level of some unethical activities perform by organizations and businesses. Even though, there are many studies which show importance of ethics, and even though it is being followed by different organizations, there are still many reasons and disapproval of adoption of ethics in the world of business. This is connected to the study of Stemberg (1994) which focuses on the case of rejected relativism. It stated that ethics is seen as excessively theoretical, at the same time, contradict the primary reason of any business and it is also lacking of direction in terms of harmony across the different cultures. Business Ethics and Cultural Differences One of the challenges that business ethics is facing is the impact of globalization. As a result, it is common nowadays, for business managers and employees to work with and for people from different nations and races which represents many different cultural values. It is important to consider that culture affects virtually all of the aspects of the business relationship. This is because one aspect, that of business ethics, can cause huge conflict and gross misunderstanding between individuals who do not share the same backgrounds (Sims 2006). With this, the attitudes of individual towards the business ethics may be different greatly even within one culture that trying to come to an agreement across cultures can become nearly impossible. Thus, it may be that an agreement on ethics across cultures is not even recommended (Donaldson Dunfee 1999). Furthermore, in culturally homogenous groups, there is a greater possibility that values of individual members of the team will match. Howev er, because the because of the growing number of cross-cultural organizations, it is important to focus on this subject. Business ethics can be seen as a function of culture because the evolution of culture in the environment of the business will surely affect the acceptable and unacceptable actions inside and outside the organization. Different studies across cultures have been performed in the literature of ethics on the international level such as: Jakubowski et al., 2002; Fisher et al., 2001; Seitz, 2001; and Singhapakdi et al., 1999; and the national level which include Peppas Peppas, 2000; and Fernandez-Fernandez et al., 1999 (Svensson Wood 2003). The study of Singhapakdi Rawwas (1999) shows that the business ethics are considered as essential in the international business, because the culture of individual affect their ethical decisions. It presented that there are some vital differences between the countries, thus it is important to focus on those in order to ensure success of organizations. In connection, Vinten (1998) argues that business ethics has the possibility to become a vital factor of corporate strategy and culture, thus it must be considered in internal and external ethical audit. On the other hand, the study of Hood and Longsdon (2002) showed the similarities and differences of cultural values of managers in three countries. The result showed that one of the vital components of culture is ethics. Therefore, this factor of culture survives as a possible strong influence towards the success of the organizations in the entire marketplace. Bucar Glas (2002) expand a conceptual framework for the evaluation of the cross-cultural differences in the ethical attitudes of business people that are based on the theory of social contract. The result of the study showed that prognostic of the degree of the ethical attitudes among the societies and they focus on the more delicate influence of many social institutions on the ethical attitudes of different groups within the society. On the other hand, according to Sen (1997), in the concept of the role of cultures in the m otivating norms of the behavior of business, it is important to be familiar with the compound structures of principles of business, at the same time, focuses on the wide-ranging contact of sentiments. Business Ethics Theory and Practice Gap The article of Stark (1993) presented the gap between the theory and practice in business ethics. According to Stark (1993) academic researches about business ethics failed to present useful guidance towards the managerial decision-making regarding the different ethical issues. Particularly, this applies on the added urgency that some of the most complex ethical issues which happen in the international arena. This was supported by Dean (1998) who stated that the field of business ethics must also include a service aspect if it is to be considered as the profession of business ethics. This focuses on the qualification of business ethics as profession. Thus, the question lies on the capability of the business ethics as the leading or conducting behavior in the business world, thus, it pertains on whom the field of business ethics is focusing. In addition, the international business ethics can only be deemed a profession based on its tangible and existing advantage towards the actual or real-world risks and threats. Conclusion Business ethics is a vital aspect in any organization and business. This is because it enables them to focus on planning and implementing rules and regulations, standards and policies that will be beneficial to everyone by applying what is right and what is with accordance to the law. However, because of globalization, business ethics is facing different criticism and possible problem. This is because of the fact that culture affects how an individual or group perceives one thing or situation as good or bad. Therefore, it is important to focus on the different cultural factors in order to ensure future success of business world. Annotated Bibliography Morgan, E 1998, Navigating Cross-Cultural Ethics: What Global Managers Do Right To Keep From Going Wrong, Butterworth-Heinemann. This is a textbook which shows the personal stories of managers who are running global business. It focuses on analyzing the different dilemmas that global managers are facing in terms of ethical leadership in international business. Svensson, G Wood, G 2003, The Dynamics of Business Ethics: a Function of Time and Culture Case and Models, Management Decision, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 350 361. This is a journal which examines the construct of ethics as a whole and of the business ethics in specific manner. Furthermore, it also offers a theoretical discussion of the dynamics of ethics in the society and in the marketplace. Gannon, M Newman, K 2002, The Blackwell Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management, Wiley-Blackwell. This textbook offer an overview of the different major research perspectives about cross-cultural management and ethics, it includes theories about ethics and cultures, together with how it can be applied in the real-world. Ferrell, O C, Fraedrich, J Ferrell, L 2006, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, Cengage Learning. This textbook presents complex environment where in the managers face different ethical decision making. This include how cultural differences can affect how managers and members of the company perceive changes and decisions inside the company. Weiss, J 2008, Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach, Cengage Learning. This textbook presented the different issues that are related with the business ethics. This includes information about the impact of differences in cultures among different nations working in the business environment. Katsioloudes, M Hadjidakis, S 2007, International Business: A Global Perspective, Butterworth-Heinemann. This textbook enables to present the different theories and changes going on in the business environment in international arena. This will be helpful in order to locate information which pertains on the different challenges which global managers will be facing in terms of decision-making.

What motivates employees

What motivates employees Gaining the knowledge of what motivates employees and how they were motivated was the focus of many researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). The literature review on this research intends to discover the current theories and issues in relations to work motivation throughout the literature sources. It is important to understand what motivation actually is, and more specially the term work motivation. The literature review will look at four major motivational theories. They are:- Maslows need-hierarchy theory, Herzbergs two- factor theory, Adams equity theory and Vrooms expectancy theory. They are Maslows need-hierarchy theory, and Herzbergs two- factor theory are needs based motivational theory, commonly known as content theories. These theories explain that human needs change with time. People have certain needs and desires to achieve and those needs and desires change over a period of time. Adams equity theory and Vrooms expectancy theory are collectively known as cognitive theories. These theories will examine the employees behaviour in terms of performance and compare their performance and rewards with others. According to Maslow, employees needs have five levels (Maslow, 1943). It is based on the hypothesis that human needs are capable of being exhaustible. Satisfactory achievement of the first level of needs leads to the next level. Once a particular need has been satisfied, that need will no longer be a driving force of motivation. Herzbergs considered motivation into two factors: motivators and hygiene (Herzberg, Mausner, Snyderman, 1959). According to this theory people are influenced by two factors. These factors are Motivators and hygiene. Achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth were included in the motivation factors and dissatisfying factors largely from non-job related factors such as company policies, salary, co-worker relations and supervisory styles (Steers and Porter 2001). These theories will help to understand the various factors which influence the employees of the organisation. Adams equity theory focuses on peoples reactions to the fairness of outcome they receive in relations to their perception of the inputs they provide, especially when compared to the perceived outcomes/inputs that others receive. (Porter et al., 2001). According to Adams theory equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965). This theory will provide more understanding towards motivational difference between permanent and temporary staff of the organisation. Vrooms theory supports that employee effort will lead to performance and performance will lead to rewards (Vroom, 1964). The rewards can be either positive or negative, but the more positive reward will lead the employee to work more motivated and conversely, the more negative the reward the less likely the employee will be motivated. In MS money call centre (MS), permanent and temporary staffs are performing the same duties, expected to meet the same target and trained to perfume the duties in the same way, reword system is different in terms of bonus, pension, company discount card and other non monetary rewards. By taking this into consideration and applying the selected four theories in this environment. Both groups employees must show a difference in motivation in line with Adams equity theory and also will be on different stages in relations to Maslows need-hierarchy theory. The research will also explain what they expect as a permanent / temporary employee working for MS in line with Vrooms expectancy theory. Two factor theory will explain how much influence each motivation factor have on all the employees. 3.3.1. References: Adair, J. (1990) Understanding Motivation. London: The Talbot Adair Press. Adams, J. S. (1965) Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz. Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press. Arkin, A. (1997) People Management, Call Centre Stress, Vol 3 Issues 6, 22-27 Arnold, J., Cooper, C., Robertson, I.T. (1998) Work Psychology, Understanding human behaviour in the workplace, third edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited Collis, J. Hussey, R (1997) Business research: a practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students, second edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Fisher, C. (2004) Researching and writing a dissertation: A guidebook for business students, second edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Fletcher, C. (1993) Appraisal: Routes to improved performance, second edition. London: IPD House. Gillham, B. (2000) Developing a questionnaire: Real world research, second edition. New York: Contimuum International Publishing group Hertzberg, F. (1968) One More Time: How do you motive employees? Harvard Business review, 53-62 Hertzberg, F., Manunser, B. and Synderman B (1959), The Motivation in Work. New York: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Snyderman, B, B. (1959) The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley Sons. Holman, D.J. (2002) Human Resource Management Journal, Employees well being in call centres, Vol 7 Jones, F., Burke, R. J., Westman, M. (2006) Work-Life balance: psychological perspective. Sussex: Psychology press. Katzell, Yankelovich (1975) Compensation Benefits Review, Pay vs Work Motivation and Job Satisfaction, Vol 8, 54-66 Kruger, D.J. (2003) The Community Psychologist, Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in community research, Vol 36, 18-19 Lindner, J, R. (1998) Understanding Employee Motivation. Vol 36, issue 3, June. Luthans, F. (1998) Organisational Behaviour 8th edition. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill Marshall, C,. Rossman, G. (1999) Designing Qualitative Research third edition. London: Sage Publication Ltd Maslow, A.H. (1954) Motivation and Personality. Harper and Row Publishers, New York: New York Miguel, A,. Quinones Ehrenstein, A. (1996) Training for a rapidly changing workplace: application of psychological research. Washington: American psychology association. Mullins, L. J. (2002) Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th Edition. London: Prentice Hall. Myers, M.D. (2002) Qualitative Research in Business Management. London: Sage Publications. Porter, L. W., Bigley, G.A., Steers R, M. (1975) Motivation and work behaviour. New York: Irwin McGraw-Hill Porter, L.W., Lawler, E.E. (1968) Managerial attitudes and performance. Homewood II: Irwin Rose, E. (2002) The Journal of Industrial Relations, The labour process and union commitments within a banking services call centre, Vol 44, Issue 1, 40-61 Rose, Ed. (2001 Employment relations, second edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited Saunders, Lewis Thornhill (2007) Research methods for business students, third edition, Essex: Pearson Education Limited Smith, K. Toddd, M. Waldman, J (2009) Doing your undergraduate social science dissertation. Oxon: Routledge Terpstra, D. E. (1979) Theories of motivation: borrowing the best. Personnel Journal, 58. 376. Vroom, V. (1992) Management motivation. second edition. London: penguin books ltd Vroom, V. H. (1964) Work and motivation. New York: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. 5. Outline Methodology: After the literature review and background study of the call centre environment, a positivist approach has been adapted to the research. Even though, motivation is considered as a subjective factor, the background study of the call centre environment is compared and addressed similar to battery- farming condition (Arkin 1997) with characteristic of tailorism. The most important reason for selecting positivist approach is, that this research is testing the four theories of motivation mentioned in literature review in call centre in permanent and temporary employees, which falls in line with Myers, M.D (2002) argument that positivist generally attempt to test theory. The research method used to collect primary data is a semi structured questionnaire with open and closed questions. Secondary data will be gathered from organisation through human resource department on recruitment statistics and also from survey results previously conducted by the organisation. The questionnaire includes open and closed questions, both categorical and quantifiable. All the questions are statistically analysed by using codes and excel spreadsheet and will be presentable through bar charts/pie charts. The positivist approach of testing theory and using quantifiable data collecting methods falls into the deductive approach which falls in line with positivism (Saunders et al. 2007)

African American Slang Essay -- Communication Language Essays

African American Slang African American Slang has had many other names: Ebonics, Jive, Black English, and more. The Oxford English Dictionary defines slang (in reference to language) in three different ways: 1) the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type 2) the special vocabulary or phraseology of a particular calling or profession; the cant or jargon of a certain class or period 3) language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense. Whatever one’s perspective on slang, it is a natural and inevitable part of language. In this paper I will discuss examples of current slang being used that some people may not understand. The African influence of American English can be found as far back as the Seventeenth century. Although its influence may have began that far back, the influence of African American slang has arguably reached its peak (so far) in the last half on the 20th century. Evidence of this can be seen in magazines, music, television, and films. Perhaps more importantly, evidence can be seen in the way that people of ethnic groups, other than African American, have changed their speech due to this influence. The Equal Rights Movement lead to a paradigm shift in African American linguistic consciousness due to Black intellectuals, scholars, activists, artists, and writers deliberately engaging in a search for a way to express Black identity and the particular circumstances of African American life. Although there had been strides in Black pride in the past, this was the first one to call for linguistic Black p... ...at this is a desired result. Ebonics is a fun variation on the standard, and as stated in the beginning of this paper, Ebonics has an influence; many would say a positive one, on the mainstream dialect. Works Cited Green, Jonathon. The Cassell Dictionary of Slang. London: Cassell, 1998. Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language.Volume 1 A-K. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1966. Major, Clarence. Dictionary of Afro-American Slang. New York: International Publishers, 1970. New York - - -. Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African American Slang. London: Penguin Books, 2000. Oxford English Dictionary Online. 2nd ed. May 2001. http://www.oed.com Scotti, Anna and Paul Young. Buzz Words New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. Smitherman, Geneva. Black Talk. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

A Selection from Perpetual Masquerade: Marriage,Sexuality and Suicide in Madame Bovary :: Research Papers

A Selection from Perpetual Masquerade: Marriage,Sexuality and Suicide in Madame Bovary Introduction: the Heroine’s Dilemma The essence of the happenings of ordinary contemporary life seemed to Flaubert to consist not in tempestuous actions and passions, not in demonic men and forces, but in the prolonged chronic state whose surface movement is mere empty bustle, while underneath it there is another movement, almost imperceptible but universal and unceasing, so that the political, economic, and social subsoil appears comparatively stable and at the same time intolerably charged with tension.1 The high incidence of suicide among women who people nineteenth-century fiction and drama, as illustrated in Flaubert’s Madame Bovary and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, among others, often is viewed as the heroine’s quick and relatively easy way of escaping from her problems and from the complexities of life. The shock of suicide, especially as it is presented in Madame Bovary, brings to the fore the seriousness writers like Flaubert and Ibsen attached to the power society wields in molding a woman’s life and character into the model it deems appropriate. Their fictions show how dire the consequences may become should a woman’s needs lie dormant or fail to be fully realized. Among the needs that go unfulfilled in the women of these literary works are their sexual ones, which is why so many of these novels and plays center on sexual awakening and on the dissatisfactions of marriages of a conventional kind. The amount of research done and material written on this topic speaks to its significance when considering the issue of sexuality both for the characters in the aforementioned novels and for women in general. In This Sex Which is Not One, for instance, Luce Irigaray says that â€Å"Woman derives pleasure from what is so near that she cannot have it nor have herself. She herself enters into a ceaseless exchange of herself with the other without any possibility of identifying either† (31). Indeed, as we can see in these literary works, the oft overlooked (or merely misunderstood) subject of female sexuality, if even granted its own status, remains a threat to male control in such androcentric societies. Particularly prominent in the discussion of the place of and entitlements for female sexuality is Flaubert’s protagonist. Emma, because of her resistance to women’s pre-mandated roles and because she eventually succumbs to suicide, stands as a fitting example of a culpable character for those readers alarmed by the willful or independent woman. In this analysis, sexual and personal latitude, Emma’s case certainly suggests, breeds destruction of what most nineteenth-century bourgeois considered the core of existence: strict adherence to the social and moral codes maintaining a proper and

The Canterbury Tales: Applying Chaucers Criticism to Modern Society :: Sociology

The Canterbury Tales: Applying Chaucer's Criticism to Modern Society It is not hard to apply Chaucer's description of the greedy doctor to today's medical system, nor is it difficult to find modern-day people with equivalent personalities to those of many of Chaucer's other characters. However, it is the institutions of his time as well as their flaws and hypocrisies that Chaucer is most critical of; he uses the personalities of his characters primarily to highlight those flaws. The two institutions that he is most critical of have lost much, if not all, of their influence; in many instances, the Church has only slight hold on the lives and attitudes of the people as a whole, and the strict feudal system has entirely disappeared. Few institutions today are as clearly visible and universally influential as those two forces were in the Middle Ages, so, if Chaucer were writing his tales today, he would most likely turn to the hypocritical attitudes of the general populace and the idiosyncracies of our daily lives. He gives some emphasis to these in the Tales (for example, he mentions the prioress's ladylike compassion for even the smallest creature in the Prologue, but has her tell an anti-Semitic tale later), but, in today's American culture, he would be most likely to criticize businessmen, middle-class parents, and the demand formust instantaneous gratification. One of the things Chaucer would be most likely to point out about many big- businessmen would be the hypocrisy of their supposed love of sports. To truly love sports implies a similar love of sportsmanship, fairness, and equality competition. In a marketplace where one technology company takes another's product, reverse-engineers it (to avoid infringing on copyrights and patents), then sells it as its own, where is the sportsmanship? When that second company is already larger and has wider market contacts and greater marketing budgets, there is also no fairness. As for equality in the workplace and job-market, with age, gender and racial discrimination, that is difficult to find, too. The reason Chaucer would criticize the businessmen on the top as well as the institution itself would be because, since they are in positions of power, they can change things. Some try to; others more often don't. Another case is that of the middle-class parent who protests the deterioration of school standards, decries the loss of national morals, and ironically neglects his or her own child.

Koyal – a Multi-Purpose Expert System – Md-Cob-Coa Knowledge Representation Using Prolog in J2Se

Koyal – A Multi-purpose Expert System – MD-CoB-CoA Knowledge Representation Using PROLOG in J2SE Prof. Sreedhar Babu Department of Electrical Engineering Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham Amritapuri, Kerala [email  protected] com Archana, Vineeth & Veena Department of Computer Science & Applications Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham Amritapuri, Kerala [email  protected] com Abstract— Expert systems are AI? s greatest commercial success. It is a research-oriented application area of AI. An expert system uses knowledge specific to a problem domain to provide â€Å"expert quality† performance. Predicate logic is being used for knowledge representation which is further programmed using PROLOG inference engine for deriving intelligent conclusions. The current research paper introduces a rule-based expert system that provides a medical diagnosis for determining the health problems and classification of birds and animals. The user has to have some knowledge about these topics so that he can query the system. Three knowledge bases are provided for each domain. The specialized computer language PROLOG embedded into J2SE is used to develop this system. Keywords-component: Expert System; Knowledge-base; Medical Diagnosis, Rule-based ES, Knowledge representation PROLOG; J2SE. 1. INTRODUCTION : THE KOYAL EXPERT SYSTEM The current paper of Koyal has mainly two modules: 1. 1. Knowledge Base 1. 2. User Interface 1. 1 Knowledge Base [1 & 2] Mainly, three knowledge bases are required for the system. They are bird? s knowledge base for identifying a bird, animal knowledge base for identifying an animal and a disease knowledge base for medical diagnose. The system uses this knowledge base for finding solutions. Knowledge is represented in rule-based format. The rule of the system is in the form of: IF first premise and second premise, and †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. THEN conclusion This is semantically same as a Prolog rule: conclusion:first_ premise, second_ premise, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Premises are written as attribute-value pair. The attribute is represented as a predicate and the value as the argument to the predicate. Each knowledge base will have to have a high-level goal, which calls the sub goals to be satisfied. When all the premises are satisfied, then the final conclusion is obtained. . 2. User Interface The user interface is the Prolog interpreter? s interface, and the input data is stored directly in the program. It is implemented in Java by loading the prolog inference engine into the java program. The prolog program itself will provide a user interface. The predicate ask and menuask will provide these functions. The ask is responsible is for getting the information from t he user and remembering the user? s response. The ask predicate will have to determine from the user whether or not a given attribute-value pair is true. The ask prompts the user with the requested attribute and value and seeks confirmation or denial of the proposed information. The ask is represented as object-attribute-value triples where the attribute values are tied to various objects in the system. The menuask will further improve the user interface by adding a menu capability which gives the user a list of possible values for an attribute. The main precondition of our Koyal System is that a common user who has no knowledge about the specialized „domain? annot interact with the system and in such a situation the output accuracy will depend on the user inputs. 2. Description of the System Flow The system flow chart represented in the figure 2 displays the flow of the information from one process to another . We can say that it is a detailed representation of the structured chart in the Fig. 2. 1. 2. 1. User The user will enter the text and this text is passed to the inference engine. 2. 2. Inference Engine A rule-based syste m requires some kind of program to manipulate the rules – for example to decide which ones are ready to fire. (i. . which ones have conditions that match the contents of working memory). The program that does this is called an inference engine, because in many rule-based systems, the task of the system is to infer something from knowledge base. This inference engine will prove or disprove the goal/rules in the knowledge base and used to derive conclusions. e. g. a diagnosis, from the data using the rules. 2. 3. Knowledge base The knowledge base contains rules which describe general knowledge about a particular problem domain. 2. 4. User Interface The User Interface will interact with the user i. e. it will query the user for getting information to satisfy goals inside knowledge base. The predicates ask and menuask works here to gather information from user. 2. 5. Working Memory The working memory of a rule-based system is a store of information used by the system to decide wh ich of the condition-action rules in the knowledge base is able to be fire. It might be used to store intermediate conclusions i. e. the satisfied goals and any other information inferred by the system from the data (using the condition-action rules). Finally the inference engine will infer the working memory more solution. . Knowledge Representation Using PL [4 & 5] Since Predicate Logic is one of the oldest and most important logistical approach for reasoning, primarily developed and used in the area of mathematics by logicians as a means of formal reasoning and now it is vastly being used by the programmers for expert systems for its flexibility of accurate natural language representation, this paper also includes the various methods of knowledge representation supported by Predicate Logic that can be conveniently programmed with the PROLOG programming language. The major predicates that are being used in the paper include: The following symbols will be used for logical connectives. ~ not or negation & and or conjunction V or or disjunction ? if †¦ then or implication ? If and only if or double implication Valid statements or sentences in PL are determined according to the rules of propositional syntax. For the estimated validity of uncertainties, heuristics based on either fuzzy or neural network or neuro-fuzzy can be implemented. Let the predicate function B(X) be a bird with a particular name X, then the composite predicate B(X) which needs various functional variables to be satisfied type of family, color, head, voice, flight type, throat, type of food it eats, country, region, tail, size etc. †¦ Fig. 3. 1 represents the associate network for the classification of birds. For X = albatross, the functional variables are family type, color, size etc. are indicated, i. e. , if N1(F), N3(C) and N9(S) are the predicate functions with variables, family type, color and size of birds etc. , then the w. f. f. (well-formed formulae) can be written as follows, E1: ? X BIRD(X) E2: B (N1(F) & N2(O) & N4(N) & N5 (L) & N6(Bi) & N9(S) & N10(W) & N3(C) ) E3: B (N1 (albatross) & N2 (tubenose) & N4 (external_tubular) & N5(at_sea) & N6(hooked) & N9(large) & N10(long_narrow) & N3(white) ) E1 > E2 The various predicates for E2 are defined in E3 ? X B(X) > E3 resulting in X = laysan_albatross The various functional predicates of the composite predicate expression E1 specified in E2 as B (N1(F) & N2(O) & N4(N) & N5 (L) & N6(Bi) & N9(S) & N10(W) & N3(C) ) where F indicated family, O indicates order, N indicates nostrils, L indicates live at, Bi indicates bill, S indicates size, W indicates wings, C indicates color . . Working of the System: [6] †¢ User enters the problem which he wants to know about the particular domain. †¢ The entered query is analyzed and a keyword is extracted depending on the â€Å"domains†. †¢ The keyword is passed to the inference engine. †¢ The inference engine will call the high level goal of the knowledge base that starts the program. †¢ ask/2 and menuask/3 predicate will poses questions to the users and get enough information which is used to satisfy the sub-goals. †¢ Known/3 predicate is used to remember the answer entered by the user. The built-in predicate „asserta? stores the satisfied goals dynamically in the working memory. †¢ Another built-in predicate retractall/1 is used to delete clauses dynamically from the prolog internal database during the execution of a goal thus backtracking can be avoided. †¢ Finally the inference engine will retrieve the final goal from the working memory and provide solution to the user problem. Fig 4. 2 describes the various major predicate functions implemented in Koyal J2SE with PROLOG as supportive declarative language. 5. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING [3 & 7] 5. Introduction to System Implementation Implementation is the stage of project. When the theoretical design is turned into a working system. At this stage the main work load, the greatest upheaval and the major impact on the existing practices shifts to the user department. Prolog files include knowledge base and user interface. The size of the knowledge depends on the awareness of the creator about the domain. By referring theses knowledge base the system will derive solution for the problems. Knowledge base is one factor which determines the expertness of a system. It defines a common vocabulary for researchers who need to share information about the domain. It includes machine-interpretable definitions of basic concepts in the domain and relationship among them. 5. 3 TESTING Testing methodologies are adopted in the course of any system development. Any systems performance is based on testing that it follows. Some of the most prominent methods are: †¢ White Box †¢ Black Box 5. 3. 1 White Box Under white box testing the modules were tested individually and all the bugs were eliminated. This testing method has been of little influence to the whole project since most of the modules have to be integrated for well functioning. 5. 3. 2 Black Box The core testing was undertaken under this testing. Once all the modules were integrated the whole system was tested to ensure that it matches with the specification. 6. THE CONSTRAINTS OF KOYAL EXPERT SYSTEM: 1. The knowledge of the Koyal expert system is domain specific. 2 . Identification of the keyword is critical 3. The user should have some knowledge about the domain otherwise the system will respond with less accuracy. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We humbly express our gratitude to Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, the Chancellor of Amrita Visva Vidya Peettam and the fellow faculty and student members of computer science for the successful completion in the prototype design and implementation phases. REFERENCES Websites: ? ? ? ? http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Expert_system http://www. wtec. org/loyola/kb/c1_s1. htm http://www. aaai. org/aitopics/pmwiki/pmwiki. php/AIT opics/ExpertSystems http://www. paine. org/students/lectures/lect3/node7. ht ml Fig. 5. is the architectural flow diagram of Koyal for the classification of birds, animals and the medical diagnosis. If the implementation stage is not carefully planned and controlled, it can cause chaos. Implementation involves careful planning, investigation of the current system and its constraints on implementation, design of methods to achieve the changeover, training of staff in the changeover procedure and evaluation of changeover methods. This phase of implementation has allowed us to integrate various cutting edge technologies in the project which involves the implementation of Prolog and Java. Testing phase included white box testing and black box testing thought most of the testing was performed as system testing. 5. 2 IMPLEMENTATION The implementation phase of software development is concerned with the translation of the structural design specification into source code. The primary goal is to write source code and internal documentation. Testing, Debugging and modification are performed in this phase also. The first step in developing an expert system has been the creation of a Prototype model of the actual system on the basis of the reference model available. In case of an expert system each system? s knowledge is domain specific so every system has its own advantage and disadvantage. We cannot consider the system as expert in every aspect. This will require time and much effort to develop such a spool proof system. After testing the prototype further modification were incorporated in it by including extra features and implementing the knowledge base part of our system. The prototype is then tested. After the user is satisfied with the function of the prototype the actual system is developed. JPL is a library using the SWI-Prolog foreign interface and the Java jni interface providing a bidirectional interface between Java and Prolog that can be used to embed Prolog in Java as well as for embedding Java in Prolog. In both setups it provides a reentrant bidirectional interface. jpl allows the loading of prolog engine to Java. Thereby we can load the prolog files which contain knowledge regarding the domains. ? Books: http://www. primenet. com/pcai/New_Home_Page/ai_in fo/expert_systems. html A Guide to Expert Systems by Donald A. Waterman Ist Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. [2] Russell, S. and P. Norvig, 2002. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Prentice Hall, Second Edition. [3] Analysis and design of information systems by V. Rajaraman, 5th print, PH [1] Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems by Dan W. Patternson, PHI Pvt. Limited, Eighth Reprint 2000. [5] Expert Systems Theoty and Practices by Jean-Louis Ermine, PHp Publications, 2007 [6] Introduction to Expert Systems by Peter Jackson, Addison-Wesley, Pearson Education Asia ltd. , Reprint 2000 [7] Foundation of Artificial Intelligences and Expert Systems† by V S Janakiraman, K Sarukesi, P Gopalakrishnan, Macmillan Series in Computed Science, Reprint 2001. [4]

God and Man in Dracula Essay

The cycle of films produced at Universal Studios in the early 1930s represents, in important ways, the advent and elaboration of the twentieth century horror genre. Among the many themes introduced in films such as Dracula (1930), The Mummy (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) is that of God and Man. In this paper, I intend to explore this theme by closely investigating the creation of the bride that takes place near the end of Bride of Frankenstein. Although a variety of narrative codes operating in this scene illuminate the film’s meaning, it is the fine line between God and Man that deserves critical scrutiny. The creation of the bride scene opens up with the kites being released into the oncoming storm in hope of catching the electricity from a lightening bolt. We then cut to a low angle shot of Frankenstein running down the stairs towards the laboratory. After reaching the bottom, he runs to a giant electrical machine, the view tilted so as to give the feeling of anticipation as he holds the switch and bites his lip. Dr. Pretorius is shown from a low angle, with light splayed across his face and dark machines looming in the background giving him an almost god-like status. The next shot is a high-angle shot of Dr. Frankenstein, making it seem like he’s cowering in submission, a slave to Dr. Pretorius. With various close-ups of machines crackling and sparking with electricity, we again come upon Frankenstein, looking around, waiting to throw the switch that would begin the process to start life in the dead. By this time he has fully accepted the fact that he is a part of this great misdeed. We then come to an extreme close-up of Frankenstein’s face, underlighting of his face, a serious look on his face like he knows he is meddling with the work of God. Dr. Pretorius then runs to the four large switches and dramatically clicks them on in a shower of sparks (a close-up of the switches hitting their connectors reveals a shower of sparks). A close-up of his face disappears when an electric explosion occurs right behind his head, illuminating the screen. His face reappears looking down upon the creation, wanting it to come alive, disregarding the fact that he is going against God and nature in his actions. Machines crackling and sparks flying from various angles, briefly looking at Dr. Frankenstein’s face again. A tilted shot of Dr. Frankenstein gives the impression that he’s lying down on the machine, trying eagerly to look at the reaction of the body. Cut to a close-up looking up at Dr. Pretorius, then back to Dr. Frankenstein with a top-view, going back to the master/slave relationship between the two. Explosions rock the laboratory, smoke rising to the roof in showers of spark. An eye-level full shot of the laboratory reveals arcing electric bolts and sparks showering the tables with fire. We then have a low-angle view of Dr. Frankenstein which then changes to a high-angle view as he yells upwards, â€Å"it’s coming up! † His gloves and white jacket, coupled with the pale make-up and dark lips gives him an almost sinister look. The body then ascends the wall of the laboratory, the camera placed about halfway up the wall and follows it all the way till it passes by and reaches the top. After seeing part of the contraption disappear through the roof, we cut to a extremely long shot of the whole tower with the machine rising above the roof, after which the camera cuts to a full shot of the body being hooked up to various wires by Dr. Pretorius’ workers. The most critical arrangement of shots then occurs the moment before life is given to the body. The camera cuts back to the lab with an aerial close-up of Dr. Frankenstein who has shadows cast across his face from underlighhting. The same for Dr. Pretorius as we cut back and forth between the two. As the shots go back and forth, the lighting on their faces gets gradually brighter making their eyes seem to sink back into their heads and disappear, leaving only empty sockets. This plays into the theme that they are no longer controlled by God or nature, but by evil. The section ends with Frankenstein appearing on the roof after awakening from his slumber.