Wednesday, October 30, 2019

FEEDBACK ON AUTOBIOGRAPHY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

FEEDBACK ON AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Essay Example In the theoretical discourse, you bring forward the positive aspects of your chosen leader and put light on her lifelong struggle and sacrifice to bring forward a strong personality. Thus, with your autobiography, it is clearly observable that Christine Caine produces a strong sense of motivation for you. Due to this reason, you formulate different points to bring into light the parallels between you and your chosen personality. You also show all the qualities that you admire. The clarity of expression and well developed approach are reflections of your passion about your chosen leader. It seems that the framework you have developed based on your vision and criteria will further transform your thoughts in the days to come. The life events have played a great role in the development of your autobiography. You have paid great attention to the theory and integrated theory as well as events in the best possible manner in your autobiography. For example when you tell that, â€Å"Leaders know who they are, where they came from, where they are going, and are not afraid of stand for their values, convictions and what is right instead of conforming to what others say.† Of course, this can be seen throughout your autobiography especially at times when you were in Paris and London. As you mentioned that the people over there asked you to realize the fact that you could do so many things. This was the time when you dare to rise against your insecurities. So, your descriptive, focused and analytical approach can be seen throughout your autobiography which is a plus point of the writing. You paid great attention to the contribution of the life events in directing you towards a purposeful life. For example, t he standing of your mother as a role model offers you new spirit in facing the odds of life. In a nutshell, it can be well said that the autobiography is well developed and the events are well integrated throughout the writing. The description

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence began in the 1960s, the first attempts were game playing (checkers), theory proving a few simple theories and general problem solving. General problem solving was much more difficult than originally anticipated. Researchers were unable to tackle problems routinely handled by human experts. Artificial Intelligence can be defined in many ways as it depends from which point of view you look at it from. From the intelligence point of view artificial intelligence is to make machines intelligent thus making them act as we people would act. However artificial intelligence from a research perspective is how to make machines do things people are currently doing better in other words making machines do what we humans can do. Now from a business point of view artificial intelligence is a combination of powerful tools, and methods for using those tools to solve business problems. As for the programming point of view artificial intelligence is the study of symbolic programming, search and problem solving. Expert Systems: Expert systems are defined on bases functional and structural. Expert systems from a functional perspective are defined based on what the system does rather than how it does it. A computer program that behaves like a human expert in some useful ways. (Winston Prendergast, 1984) Nevertheless we can define expert systems on the bases of their structure in many ways depending on which angle we look at it from Problem area â€Å"Solve problems efficiently and effectively in a narrow problem area. (Waterman, 1986) typically, pertains to problems that can be symbolically represented (Liebowitz, 1988) Problem difficulty apply expert knowledge to difficult real world problems (Waterman, 1986) solve problems that are difficult enough to require significant human expertise for their solution (Edward Feigenbaum in Harmon King, 1985) â€Å"Address problems normally thought to require human specialists for their solution (Michaelsen et al, 1985). Performance requirement the ability to perform at the level of an expert (Liebowitz, 1988) â€Å"Programs that mimic the advice-giving capabilities of human experts. (Brule, 1986, p.6) â€Å"Matches a competent level of human expertise in a particular field. (Bishop, 1986, p.38) â€Å"Can offer intelligent advice or make an intelligent decision about a processing function. (British Computer Societys Specialist Group in Forsyth, 1984, pp.9-10) â€Å"Allows a user to access this expertise in a way similar to that in which he might consult a human expert, with a similar result. (Edwards and Connell, 1989, p.3) Explain reasoning â€Å"The capability of the system, on demand, to justify its own line of reasoning in a manner directly intelligible to the enquirer. (British Computer Societys Specialist Group in Forsyth, 1984, p.9-10) incorporation of explanation processes (Liebowitz, 1988) Expert Systems from a structural perspective are defined on the bases of how the system functions. â€Å"Using the programming techniques of artificial intelligence, especially those techniques developed for problem solving (Dictionary of Computing, 1986) However we can define expert systems on the bases of their structure in many ways depending on which angle we look at it from Use AI techniques using the programming techniques of artificial intelligence, especially those techniques developed for problem solving (Dictionary of Computing, 1986) Knowledge component the embodiment within a computer of a knowledge-based component, from an expert skill (British Computer Societys Specialist Group in Forsyth, 1984) a computer based system in which representations of expertise are stored (Edwards and Connell, 1989) The knowledge of an expert system consists of facts and heuristics. The facts constitute a body of information that is widely shared, publicly available, and generally agreed upon by experts in the field. (Edward Feigenbaum in Harmon King, 1985) Expert systems are sophisticated computer programs that manipulate knowledge to solve problems (Waterman, 1986) Separate knowledge and control â€Å"Make domain knowledge explicit and separate from the rest of the system (Waterman, 1986). Use inference procedures an intelligent computer program that uses knowledge and inference procedures (Edward Feigenbaum in Harmon King, 1985) The style adopted to attain these characteristics is a rule-based programming style. (British Computer Societys Specialist Group in Forsyth, 1984) Exhibit intelligent behavior by skillful application of heuristics. (Waterman, 1986). The heuristics are mostly private, little rules of good judgment (rules of plausible reasoning, rules of good guessing) that characterize expert-level decision making in the field. (Edward Feigenbaum in Harmon King, 1985) incorporation of ways of handling uncertainty(Liebowitz, 1988) Model human expert â€Å"Can be thought of as a model of the expertise of the best practitioners of the field. (Edward Feigenbaum in Harmon King, 1985) representation of domain-specific knowledge in the manner in which the expert thinks (Liebowitz, 1988) â€Å"Involving the use of appropriate information acquired previously from human experts. (Dictionary of Computing, 1986) Components of an Expert System An expert system consists of 4 main components which are listed below: Knowledge base a representation of the expertise and is usually inputted in IF THEN rules, and are usually put into a database for easy access by the system. Working storage Data which is specific to a problem being solved by the expert system. Inference engine the code at the core of the system which derives recommendations from the knowledge base and problem-specific data in working storage. User interface the code that controls the dialog between the user and the system. People and they consist of: Domain experts the individual or individuals who currently are experts in solving the problems the system is intended to solve. Knowledge engineers the individuals who encode the experts knowledge in a declarative form that can be used by the expert system. Users the individuals who will be consulting with the system to get advice which would have been provided by the expert. Furthermore there are some other optional components that might be added to the system as sub systems and which try to make the expert system more efficient thus making it more powerful and they are. Explanation sub system is used to explain the logic or reason of recommending a solution. Justifier is another name of explanation sub system. Justifier also explains why a solution is recommended or not recommended. Knowledge refining sub system is used to refine the knowledge in the knowledgebase after working every time over a problem. It works exactly like human beings who analyze their actions and learn from their mistakes to perform better in the future. Programming Languages Used to Develop Expert Systems Here are some of the programming languages used to develop expert systems. 1. LISP, developed in the 1950s, is the early programming language strongly associated with AI. LISP is a functional programming language with procedural extensions. LISP (LISt Processor) was specifically designed for processing heterogeneous lists which is a list of symbols. Features of LISP that made it attractive to AI researchers included Run- time type checking. Higher order functions (functions that have other functions as parameters). Automatic memory management (garbage collection) and an interactive environment. 2. The second language strongly associated with AI is PROLOG. PROLOG was developed in the 1970s. PROLOG is based on first order logic. PROLOG is declarative in nature and has facilities for explicitly limiting the search space. 3. Object-oriented languages are a class of languages more recently used for AI programming. Important features of object-oriented languages include: concepts of objects and messages objects bundle data and methods for manipulating the data sender specifies what is to be done receiver decides how to do it inheritance (object hierarchy where objects inherit the attributes of the more general class of objects) Examples of object-oriented languages are Smalltalk, Objective C, C++. Object oriented extensions to LISP (CLOS Common LISP Object System) and PROLOG (LO Logic Objects) are also used. The Difference between these programming languages and procedural programming languages. According to an article in the Information and Software Technology journal by Alexander Chatzigeorgiou of the Department of Applied Informatics, at the University of Macedonia, the object-oriented approach is known to introduce a significant performance penalty compared to classical procedural programming. For instance, profiling results for embedded applications indicate that C++ programs, apart from being slower than their corresponding C versions, consume significantly more energy (mainly due to the increased instruction count, larger code size and increased number of accesses to the data memory for the object-oriented versions). Example of an Expert System One of the most recognized expert systems used today by the general public is the online doctor due to the fact that many people use it daily. In brief this expert system is used to diagnose people by asking them what the problem is and then suggesting the actions that they should take which sounds very similar to an expert system where the illness is the problem the recommended actions are the solutions. In this example the website that was studied is www.yourdiagnosis.com In this expert system there are main components of the expert system and they are: The people The people are separated into three categories and they are: The domain experts who are actually the doctors who provide the data for the system. The knowledge engineers are the engineers who enter this system in a rule based input for example giving multiple choice questions to diagnose a cold. Do you feel cold.[ ] Do you feel hot? [ ]. Do you feel normal? [ ] System engineer who is the person in charge assembling and managing the system. The user who is the person asking for the diagnoses. The user interface The user interface is the website used by the user to find the diagnoses. Example: The inherence engine The inherence engine which in this case is made by the engineer using a web based programming language like ASP or PHP in the website from the last example we see that the programming language used is ASP and we can see that from the address bar. http://www.yourdiagnosis.com/yourdiagnosis/Yourdiagnosis.ASP?WCI=WorldMapHTMWCE=ClickWCU The knowledge base The knowledge base in this case is where all the rules that the knowledge engineer inputted them in this case the engineer used Microsoft SQL SERVER 2008. The knowledge in this case is the medical knowledge given by the doctors. The working storage The working storage in this case is a storage area on the server where each users data is stored in a relational database The benefits of using artificial intelligence The main benefits of using artificial intelligence are: Provide answers for decisions, processes and tasks that are repetitive Hold huge amounts of information Minimize employee training costs Centralize the decision making process Make things more efficient by reducing the time needed to solve problems Combine various human expertises. Reduce the number of errors caused by humans. Provide strategic and comparative advantages that may create problems for competitors Look over transactions that human experts may not think of Even though the benefits of artificial intelligence is more than the above we find that the main advantage to using artificial intelligence is to maximize the efficiency of a business thus giving the business the edge it needs to over throw its competitors. Why Artificial intelligence is hard to include in information systems The difficulties in including artificial intelligence in information systems are due to many facts one of which is the expense. Furthermore there are multiple factors why its so difficult to include artificial intelligence in information systems from which is the human acceptance to Artificial intelligence especially in the older groups another factor is that domain experts will be threatened by the fact that they are giving their expertise to a company and the fear of being redundant. From the technical point of view the implementation of artificial intelligence is quite hard due to the if rule conversion of the expertise. And the integration with old systems will require an effort especially for established companies with legacy hardware and software. Which brings us to the expense part of the problem? There is no doubt that artificial intelligence is an expensive approach as it is time consuming as it requires a lot of time and human resources. Furthermore developing artificial intelligence relies heavily on having the correct expert information and having something wrong in the knowledge base might cause damages which will lead to costly error and problems. Reference Anonymous. Dictionary of Computing, 1986, New York: Oxford University Press. Bishop, Peter. Fifth Generation Computers Concepts, Implementations Uses, 1986, Chichester, England: Ellis Horwood Ltd. Brule, James F. Artificial Intelligence: Theory, Logic and Application, 1986, Blue Ridge Summit, PA: TAB Books. Edwards, Alex and Connell, N.A.D. Expert Systems in Accounting, 1989, Herfordshire, UK: Prentice Hall International (UK) Ltd. Forsyth, Richard, Expert Systems: Principles and Case Studies, 1984, London: Chapman and Hall Computing. Harmon, Paul and King, David. Expert Systems: Artificial Intelligence in Business. 1985, New York: Wiley. Liebowitz, Jay, Introduction to Expert Systems, 1988, Santa Cruz, CA: Mitchell Publishing, Inc. Michaelsen, Robert H.; Michie, Donald and Boulanger, Albert. The Technology of Expert Systems Byte; April 1985 Rich, Elaine and Knight, Kevin. Artificial Intelligence Second Edition. 1991, New York: McGraw-Hill. Waterman, Donald A. A Guide to Expert Systems, 1986, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Winston, Patrick H. and Prendergast, Karen A. (Editors). The AI Business: Commercial Use of Artificial Intelligence, 1984, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Ruth A. Palmquist, Asst. Professor, AI and Expert Systems, 1996, http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/ai96.htm Dan E. OLeary, University of Southern California, 1994, http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aies/www.bus.orst.edu/faculty/brownc/es_tutor/bus_ai.htm Robert S. Engelmore, May 1993; WTEC Hyper-Librarian, http://www.wtec.org/loyola/kb/c1_s1.htm Carol E. Brown, Oregon State University, Dan E. OLeary, University of Southern California, 1995, http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aies/www.bus.orst.edu/faculty/brownc/es_tutor/es_tutor.htm#1-AI

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart :: essays research papers

'The Black Cat'; and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' Poe was a literary master with the emotions of his readers. He could make a reader feel anything he wanted to with just a few sentences. Through the stories 'The Black Cat'; and 'The Tell-Tale Heart';, he takes the reader through the emotions of his characters using writing methods that draw the reader in. His use of sentence structure and writing style allows the reader to become intimate with the character. Poe knew how the get a reader deep into the story; he could make them believe as thought they went through the deeds with the character. It is how Poe accomplishes this feat that is very interesting topic. Poe makes his characters more human than human. This allows many readers to become interested simply because they can identify with how the characters feel. Poe uses very basic human emotions like fear, hatred, anxiety and guilt to draw in audience's interests. The main character in The Tell-Tale Heart had an unnatural hatred for a physical characteristic on a friend. He 'thinks it was his eye! yes, it was [that]! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture, a pale blue eye, with a film over it';, his blood ran cold whenever it fell upon him (106). This is something many people can identify with as many have experienced a hatred for a physical characteristic on someone they know. Just as the character did not understand the hatred but just saw this body part, far out of the control of the old man, as something to be vanquished. The simple emotions of fear and hatred put forth to the reader come through clearly Poe's writing technique. In the Black Cat, Poe's mechanism for the reader becoming intimate with the protagonist is the use of an alcohol driven rage. Many readers now and in Poe's

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Strength of Hitler

This question concerns the extent and strength of Hitler’s power and refers to the controversy concerning the efficiency of the Nazi regime; the debate between intentionalist and structuralist viewpoints. S stracturalist: To further these opinions stracturalist historians would refer to Hitler’s reliance on the power of the Gauleiter, as shown when he could not support Frick in trying to subordinate them. In 1934 the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich meant Frick tried to put the newly created Reich Governors under his control as head of the Ministry of the Interior; thereby centralising control.It did not work because most of the governors were also Gauleiter with large local power bases. In the end Hitler agreed to place them nominally under Frick’s control but in reality they could appeal directly to the Fuhrer. On top of that, The setting up of rival agencies to that of the traditional state which created political chaos and the use of Fuhrer orders whic h were often contradictory. The latter was notably the case when in 1935 both Hess and an official from the Ministry of the Interior were given contradictory orders with regards to whether it would be best for the Jews to be allowed to stay in Germany.HOWEVER To accept the evidence of Stewart-stracturalist -in supporting the viewpoint of a lack of power would be to show a misunderstanding of Hitler’s role and significance. His absorption of the powers of Chancellor and President combined with the army’s oath, both in 1934, gave unassailable power. This then allowed Hitler to be presented as a demigod who was worshipped by the German people, most notably in the Triumph of the Will which portrayed the Nuremburg Rally.In short Hitler’s dictatorship was so powerful that he could distance himself from the detail of government and furthermore this helped maintain power as blame for any unpopular measures would be directed to subordinates and not as an attack against t he Fuhrer himself. Thus the bohemian lifestyle and competing agencies that were left behind do not show weakness in power but completely the opposite. Fuhrer’s will’ Hitler’s power as head of party, state and military was unassailable.The ‘Triumph of the Will’ showed him as a demigod worshipped by the German people and it was this propaganda that distanced him from the need to be involved in day to day decisions. The crucial peacetime decisions were made by Hitler; most notably the Night of the Long Knives. However this chaos does not show a lack of comprehensive power as within this vacuum the agencies were competing to ‘interpret the Fuhrer’s will’. In fact a situation where all were trying to find the right method to achieve an element of the world view at the right time shows a much higher level of power.This viewpoint can clearly be supported by analysing how the policy towards the Jews was formulated. Frick’s ‘ Aryan Clause’, Wagner’s speech leading to the Nuremburg laws, the street violence following Anschluss, the 1938 legislation to isolate the Jews and Goebbels’ green light for Kristallnacht were all methods and legislation formed by those ‘working towards the Fuhrer’; trying to come up with the right method at the right time. Instead it was Hitler’s hand off approach that allowed a much higher level of power to develop.By distancing himself from government Hitler left a vacuum that was filled by competing agencies and ministries all trying to form a method that fully interpreted his world view. Kershaw is correct to adopt this viewpoint as this style of government did create chaos but it was this competing chaos to please and gain influence from Hitler, supported by the representation of Hitler as a mystical religion in propaganda, that show the true totality and comprehensiveness of the Fuhrer’s power. Revision:Hitler – Weak Dict ator or Master of the Third Reich TSR Wiki  >  Study Help  >  Subjects and Revision  >  Revision Notes  >  History  >  Hitler – Weak Dictator or Master of the Third Reich Two main historical interpretations of the relationship between Hitler and the Nazis. Contents  [hide] * 1  Weak Dictator * 2  Master of the Third Reich * 3  The Middle Way * 4  Notes on ‘Hitler and Nazism’ by Jane Jenkins * 5  Comments| ————————————————- Weak Dictator * Structuralists; emphasis ‘intuitional anarchy’ of Nazi regime and ‘leadership chaos' * Argue Hitler was merely a puppet, a figurehead Polycratic chaotic government consequence of Hitler’s inability to effectively direct government * Social Darwinist ‘divide and rule’ (a term coined by ‘intentionalists') strategy resulted in time-wasting and bu reaucracy * Argue that whilst Hitler’s ideas were central to Nazism, they were empowered and enforced by others * Argue that under Hitler, Germany suffered * Blame Hitler’s inaccessibility, reluctance to give policy directives or even to document his ideas * Structural limitations to Hitler’s power, as argued by Bracher. Many measures can be seen as responsive to pressure of events, and not the result of long-term planning; Hitler reacted to events, rather then creating them * Night of the Long Knives was a response to pressure from business and the army, not a predetermined strategy. * Idea that Hitler was an ‘all-powerful dictator’ is straight out of Nazi propaganda * Hans Mommsen: â€Å"Hitler was just one extreme element of the extensive malevolence that was the Nazi system† * â€Å"Several powerful empires ran underneath Hitler† * Preoccupied with self-image â€Å"Hitler Myth†, Kershaw – was the great vision of Hitle r reality or simply myth * Built on fear * Ultimately weak in that he relied on, albeit a very powerful, propaganda machine, run by Goebbels, to provide a facade, a myth† * Rosenthal: â€Å"Without Goebbels, there was no Hitler† ————————————————- Master of the Third Reich * Intentionalists; stress centrality of Nazi regime; importance of Hitler’s personality, ideas and strength * Alan Bullock â€Å"National Socialism can be called Hitlerism† * Argue that Nazi policies predetermined by Hitler Key to power was access to Hitler; which explains the influence and control of the three ‘lieutenants’; Goring, Goebbels and Himmler * Party organisation based on the ‘Fuhrerprinzip’ – the principle of leadership – whereby authority remained with Hitler, at all levels. The same term is used by ‘structuralists' to mean a different thing. * Hitler removed himself from daily life to retain his prestigious image, not out of weakness * Truly charismatic speaker, could hold people’s attention for up to 6 hours Alan Bullock: â€Å"It’s not what Hitler said, it’s the way he said it† * Corkery: â€Å"Hitler had the unique ability to persuade people† * â€Å"Hitler uber Deutschland† 1931 * Norman Rich: â€Å"Hitler had a fixed plan from the Beer Hall Putsch to death in his bunker in 1945† * Jackel: â€Å"the essential political decisions were taken by a single individual, by Hitler† * Williams: â€Å"There was no effective institution which could depose him† ————————————————- The Middle Way Kershaw: â€Å"Hitler’s force in Nazi politics was as such that calling him â€Å"weak† is difficult to accept†; there a re no examples of major policy decisions by Hitler being successfully opposed by subordinates or the Party * Kershaw: â€Å"Nevertheless, his distant style of leadership and hesitancy regarding critical decisions make it equally difficult to see him as a â€Å"master† of Nazi Germany† * To some extent, Hitler was a prisoner within the Nazi hierarchy, with more active Nazi players interpreting Hitler’s will and anticipating his desires.Kershaw calls this relationship â€Å"working towards the Fuhrer†. ————————————————- Notes on ‘Hitler and Nazism’ by Jane Jenkins Foreign cartoonists ridiculed Hitler as an absurd little man * Yet many accepted his ‘dictatorship’ and remained loyal to the end * Germany appeared to be, on the surface, a one-party state under Hitler’s sole rule * His dictatorship was underpinned by an effective political apparatus * Goebbels’ propaganda aimed at creating a Hitler myth, emphasising his political genius, generating great support and fortifying Hitler’s position as all-powerful Fuhrer * Hitler has been portrayed as a leader who dictated events and who established ascendancy over all who came into contact with him. He was egarded as the master of the Third Reich * However, some historians disagree with this image, emphasising a man who was remote from public affairs * Hans Mommsen, 1971: â€Å"Hitler was unwilling to take decisions, frequently uncertain, exclusively concerned with upholding his prestige and personal authority, influenced in the strongest fashion by his current entourage, in some respects a weak dictator† * Hitler did not actively intervene in government and his withdrawal made the machinery of government slower and more chaotic, as the important decisions were not taken * Government disintegrated into competing personal empires; Goring, Himmler and Goebbels * Hitler became dispensable in this personal system; he rarely issued written orders; fuelling the view that he was an inactive leader There are two approaches to viewing Hitler’s role in Nazi Germany; the Intentionalist and the Structuralist * Intentionalists stress that the essential political decisions were taken by Hitler. He was the prime force in domestic and foreign policy. So important was the leadership principle that they equate Nazism with Hitlerism. * Intentionalist historians: Hugh Trevor-Roper, Alan Bullock, Jane Jenkins, Bracher, Hildebrand, Jackel * They stress the centrality of Hitler’s personality, ideas and strengths. * Regard Hitler as having predetermined goals, especially in foreign policy * Saw hostility between rival groups as being resolved solely by the Fuhrer * Hitler as central to foreign and racial policy Structuralists stress the limitations on Hitler’s freedom of action as a result of forces operating within the State. They argue that, under Hitler, Nazi Germany suffered a leadership crisis. From the mid 1930s Hitler abandoned the normal business of government. He resorted to extreme working methods and lifestyles, a development which was commented upon by contemporaries. * Structuralist historians: Hans Mommsen, Martin Brozat * Saw Hitler as ‘weak’, failing to give clear planning and consistent direction, leading to the collapse of ordered government and self-destruction * Emphasise ‘institutional’ anarchy and leadership chaos. Power was distributed among many. Hitler’s own authority was only one important element Hitler ruled through his trusted henchman but could not ignore his dependence on the traditional elites * A radical purge of the civil service would jeopardise this relationship * The government cabinet did not operate, so the Reich Chancellery co-ordinated events, although Hitler only made decisions when absolutely necessary * Hitlerâ €™s government can be described as ‘polycratic’, where his authority was only one element * However, Hitler still expected total loyalty and that all power rested with him * There are no examples of major policy decisions by Hitler being successfully opposed by subordinates or the Party * It would be misleading to view Hitler as a weak dictator * Only about 12 people had easy access to Hitler at all times * This ‘kitchen cabinet’ changed over the years but always included; Goring, Himmler, Goebbels, Hess and Bormann. Hitler organised the Party, created its main ideology and masterminded its campaign for power * He was the dominant focal point and others accepted his dictatorship; he demanded absolute obedience * He also ensured his supremacy and unchallenged leadership by fostering an anarchy of rivalries amongst leading Nazis * Such rivalries enhanced Hitler’s own position as supreme arbiter * Intentionalists argue that the government’s c haotic structure was merely a result of Hitler’s ‘divide and rule’ strategy * Even the top Nazis of the ‘inner guard’ were not immune; Goring was denied access to Hitler and ignored in policy discussions after 1941 and Heydrich was sent to Prague when they became too powerful * Hess was assigned ‘deputy to the Fuhrer’ because he represented no danger to Hitler * Hitler’s purge of Rohm, leader of the SA, is the best example of how top Nazi leaders, even ‘friends’, could be removed from power if posing a threat * Between 1933 and 1941 Hitler was central to the regime and certain developments would not have happened without his authority; the SS would not have developed on the large scale that it did and Germany would not have one to war, as war was unpopular with the Army and top Nazis such as Goring * Ian Kershaw argues that Hitler had three main functions: â€Å"to integrate the many different and antagonistic groups , to mobilise the actions of his subordinates and to legalise many of the barbaric actions taken by subordinates† * Hitler seized the opportunity in the 1930s as European diplomacy collapsed. Hitler exploited the weakness of Europe and was central to the collapse of international order * Hitler’s non-interventionist style of leadership, born out of Social Darwinist theories, has been misinterpreted as weak leadership * The Nazi state would have collapsed if Hitler had died or been removed, as he integrated the divergent Nazi groups * The succession would ultimately have passed to the Army elites, who, more Conservative in their ways, would have most likely began de-Nazifying Germany

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Kevin Carter Essay

Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph made by Kevin Carter in 1993 I decided to describe the story behind this photograph, because of two reasons. The first one is a book I am reading now: ‘The Bang – Bang Club’. Kevin Carter – the author of this photograph belonged to this four-member club of South African photographers. The second reason is that this is an important moment in documentary photograhy. This photograph was taken during the Sudan Famine in 1993. The picture depicts a hunger stricken child crawling towards a United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away. The child is dying and he won’t make it to the camp. In the background a vulture is waiting for the child to die so it can eat him. The photographer waited for the vulture to spread its wings over the child, but it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, this picture shocked the whole world in 1993. As it turned out, it also took another death-toll – three months after taking the shot Kevin Carter, aged 33, committed suicide due to depression. The photograph first appeared in New York Times on March 26, 1993 and was reproduced in many other newspapers around the world. After the publication lots of people contacted the Times to ask about the fate of the boy. His fate was unknown, but it was almost impossible for him to have reached the feeding center. In 1994, the photograph won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. It wasn’t the most shocking scene in Carter’s career, as he had been working ear- lier for â€Å"The Johannesburg Star†, being exposed to the real brutality of Apartheid. The publication caused rapid reactions. Carter was bombarded with questions about why he had not helped the child, and only used him to take a picture. He was accused by another newspaper: â€Å"The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of his suffering, might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene. † In most cases photojournalists say that showing the whole world in its drama is more important that helping starving children at a particular moment, for they will die anyway. It may sound cynical but I believe this is the right thing for them to do. Carter’s photograph started a discussion about the moral aspects of photojournalism. But the author appeared to be its victim. After his death, Carter’s daughter Megan responded: â€Å"I see my dad as the suffering child. And the rest of the world is the vulture. † Photojournalism is a tough profession. Only one member of Carter’s â€Å"Bang – Bang Club† has survived. Others were killed while working or committed suicides, due to stress and depression. The world should have a bit more respect for photojournalists who have been showing us the most important events in the 20th century. Not longer then a week ago the ‘Chicago Sun-Times’ fired all its staff photographers and decided to give reporters some Iphone training†¦ It wasn’t the most shocking scene in Carter career, as he was working earlier for â€Å"Johanesburg Star† being exposed to the real brutality of apartheid.