Lies, damned lies and statistics - Emphasis

Lies, damned lies and statistics Lies, damned lies and statistics There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. So said Benjamin Disraeli (and later Mark Twain, who was quoting him). Yet the public (and thats all of us, at one time or another) continues to be sucked in by reports based on spurious logic and facts of dubious provenance. If youve ever wondered why, you should read Risk, by Dan Gardner. Its a fascinating explanation of why we fall for sensationalist writing every time. The link between the MMR triple vaccine and autism is one of the latest examples of the triumph of hype over reality. Reports of a link were based on a study involving just a handful of children. And countless subsequent and much bigger studies failed to confirm it. So the UK Government issued a statement saying that there was no link. And thats when it all kicked off probably helped by the Governments denial. (After all, if the Governments denying it, then it must be true, right?) The newspapers began filling up with studies of children whod received the triple jab and then went on to develop the condition. Queues formed at clinics offering measles, mumps and rubella vaccination in three separate injections (a method that unlike the triple jab had never been tested on a large scale for either safety or efficacy). More and more people sought alternatives, such as homoeopathic vaccination. And crucially vaccination rates plummeted, to way below that required to produce herd immunity. Now, years later, measles infection rates have climbed dramatically more than 1300 last year in the UK alone, compared with just 56 ten years ago. The World Health Organization has abandoned its hope of eradicating the disease in the short term. And all because of a dubious, almost certainly unrepresentative study. So why did we fall for it? It would be tempting to say that most people lack the technical knowledge to assess statistics properly. That may be true, but theres more to it than that. Psychology plays a huge part. Our emotions are produced in the parts of the brain that evolved long before the parts that enable us to reason. And we make judgements usually subconsciously based on emotion (or gut feel) long before we use logic to work out if our gut feeling is right. Then theres innumeracy. According to French neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene, were slower to compute 4+5 than 2+3. In fact, humans innate skill with numbers isnt much better than that of rats and dolphins. Its just that weve learned how to overcome it with a lot of effort. (When polled, 45 per cent of Canadians didnt know how many millions there are in a billion, for example.) So instead, people rely on gut feel: autism is a Bad Thing, so MMR must be bad. Logic never really gets a look in. Risk explains in a clear and compelling way why our lives are dominated by irrational fears (as well as why we dont worry about the things we should worry about). Its the perfect antidote to the current epidemic of negative news. And if you dont want to read that, heres another statistic for you, this time from the late comedian George Carlin: Think about how stupid the average person is; now realise half of them are dumber than that.

The Knot in Susan Glaspell's Trifles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Knot in Susan Glaspell's Trifles - Essay Example Wright for not keeping her house in order, Mrs. Hale defends her through reminding the men of their multiple burdens as women: â€Å"There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm† (Glaspell, 1916). For her, men fail to appreciate the work they do to support their families. Mrs. Hale expresses the poor attention given to women’s contribution in society: â€Å"Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be† (Glaspell, 1916). This statement has double meaning because it indicates that men should not charge women as irresponsible, when they make their lives so physically and emotionally taxing. Contradictory to the opinionated Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters serves as her foil; she represents the traditional submissive woman. At first, Mrs. Peters defends her husband and the men doing the investigation. For her, they are only doing their â€Å"duty† (Glaspell, 1916). She also resists talking about the culpability of Mrs. Wright. She is ada mant that â€Å"the law is the law† (Glaspell, 1916). When Mrs. Peters realizes, however, that Mrs. Wright lost her identity during their marriage, she remembers that she knows â€Å"what stillness is† (Glaspell, 1916). She understands that it is not right for any woman to stay still for a man all her life. Thus, in the end, Mrs. Peters asserts that she does not see herself as being married to the law, just because she is the sheriff’s wife. ... PART 2 A psychoanalytic reading: The knot in Glaspell’s Trifles Several female writers such as Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell contested the idea of a woman’s place under her husband. They questioned gender norms and practices that served male interests, while eradicating the rights of women to speech and self-determination. In the short play Trifles, Glaspell (1916) used the setting of the kitchen to demonstrate the differences between women’s and men’s investigatory skills and processes. Her female and male characters, especially in how they speak with their fellow gender and the opposite sex, reveal the uneven gender relations of the early twentieth century. A psychoanalytic reading that focuses on Mrs. Wright helps uncover her innermost emotions as a woman. The symbolism of the knot and the gender conflict in the play revealed that Mrs. Wright killed her husband because of her repressed feelings of anxiety against her domineering husband and the patriar chal culture of her times. The knot stands for how marriage knots or ties women to their husbands. Marriage is represented as a knot around women’s necks because they are imprisoned in the confines of their homes. Trifles describes the burdens of domestic drudgery, and yet society does not appreciate women’s contributions to it. The County Attorney judges Mrs. Wright’s character as an unfit homemaker, for instance, because her towels are â€Å"dirty† (Glaspell, 1916). His attitude signifies his belief that the only right place for women is in the house, and that the house is their only source of identity. Furthermore, the knot represents the idea that men can tighten it around women as they please. The men criticize Mrs. Wright for not keeping the kitchen immaculately clean. For these men,

Infrastructure and Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Infrastructure and Security - Essay Example Network infrastructure consists of single networked computers, cables, routers, wireless access points, network access methodologies, switches, network protocols, bridges and backbones among other devices. In the case of our organization, a closed architecture would be favourable. It is very important to have proper infrastructure in place so that future problems can be avoided. For instance, end user devices should in no way be used to perform any networking functions and conversely it is not a good practice for network devices to deal with functions at Layer 7. The right networking devices should be used in a network so that network instability can be avoided. Mixing of network and application functions can be quite expensive in the event of bug fixes and upgrading and might even bring the whole network to a halt (Stilwell et al, 2006). The arrangement of different network items is referred to as network topology. Network topologies are classified into physical and logical network topologies. Physical topology deals with the interconnection of devices while logical topologies are concerned with how data flows across the network. The company will need a physical star topology layout with a logical bus topology. Star topology is easier to upgrade since it requires upgrading the devices without necessarily changing the cabling. The star topology uses a switch which sends traffic where it is required to go (Stilwell et al, 2006). The figure below shows a logical and physical topographical layout of the current and planned network in an organization Different LAN segments in different floors can be interconnected using a collapsed backbone architecture which is a type of LAN architecture. The LAN backbone is collapsed using Ethernet switch of layer 2. A Fast Ethernet switch with a speed of 1 Gps will be the central device where each LAN segment links to the central Fast Ethernet switch, through two Fast Ethernet connections of fiber optic to each switch. Spanning Tree protocol configures the two switches which acts as backup while the other acts as a primary switch. In case of failure by one switch, the other switch takes over (Stilwell et al, 2006). Laying down the infrastructure layout is half job; network security measures have to be considered. There are specific threats that may target poorly managed network infrastructure security. Some of these risks include loss of data privacy, data integrity may also be lost, denial of service and system compromise. Therefore, better practices are implemented to ensure systems and sensitive information is housed (Stilwell et al, 2006). The main principles regarding network security are better design practices which may be expressed in five ways. The first one is to ensure a secured manner of configuring and accessing network devices. The second one is that network communications should use secure protocols. The third one is appropriate separation of external and internal facing networks, by use of control devices like router access control lists or securely configured firewalls and demilitarized zones (DMZs). Finally, there should be secure management of accessibility of internal networks remotely. Lastly, configuring of internal networks to detect or prevent running of untrusting traffic or

The Fairer Sex Video Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Fairer Sex Video - Assignment Example On the contrary, when Chris came for the same car, he was told it cost 9200 hundred dollars. Surprisingly, when he asked for the road test, the car dealer did not hesitate but gave him the car to drive by himself. The final price for the car had depreciated to 8900 hundred dollars. It is evident that gender bias has taken central position in certain businesses, and women are the ones mostly falling victims. At the golf club, Julie was denied a chance to book for a convenient time to play golf. She was being persuaded to book during odd hours; whereas, Chris was able to get two bookings reservation at convenient hours even after coming late. Income inequity is also influenced by gender bias. This is evident based on the research whereby ladies are offered low position jobs and charged highly for services. For instance, when Julie went for the job interview, she was intimidated with questions about her boyfriend instead of keeping the conversation professional. In addition, she was offered a secretary job, instead of the managerial work she had applied. The second instance is when Julie went to buy a motor vehicle. The shop attendant named a hefty price just because the customer was a lady. When Chris went for the same car, he was offered a much lower price. This evidently shows how women are charged highly for certain services. Discrimination can be eliminated through enactment of laws that majorly aim at protecting victims. This can be seconded by encouraging/educating people not to tolerate or entertain gender bias. It will be worthwhile for the managers to make gender biasness a business issue. The qualified women should be considered over men with less qualification. The hiring systems should also be changed. Qualifications come with ambition and dedication to the work. Most women are often ambitious because they have what it

Vatican II Marriage and Family (Catholic Religion) Essay

Vatican II Marriage and Family (Catholic Religion) - Essay Example The second reason was the mutual help both partners could give each other in the relationship. The third reason was that it provided legal cover for the couple to indulge in sex and release their carnal cravings. The husband was considered the head of the family, while the wife was looked upon as the nucleus, or heart of the family (Hill et al.). Pope Pius XI instigated a more personalized approach to marriage by the Church when in 1930 he wrote that the love shared between a husband and wife should occupy the greatest position in a marriage. Some European theologians added weight to the subject by proposing a more individualistic approach to marriage that stressed on human worthiness and the crucial importance of love in it. These developments laid the groundwork for the Second Vatican Council’s historical announcement (Hill et al.). The opening statement of the Second Vatican Council’s decree, â€Å"the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well,† confirms the Church’s dedication to the people of the world and its determination to serve their needs. This statement is followed by a reference to the family, noting that nurturing healthy marriages and families is crucial to achieving personal and social well being (Hill et al.). The Second Vatican Council’s most dramatic proclamation was the Church as the â€Å"People of God.† Given the fact that the Church was earlier not identified with the laity but associated solely with the clergy and men and women religious, the proclamation departed from the traditional practice of viewing marriage as being a state of life for those who did not have vocations, admitting instead that married life was a genuine vocation in its own right. Vatican II added emphasis on the worthiness and respect of marriage by

Principles of Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Principles of Economics - Essay Example For example, this figure is equivalent to 9% of the German and 8% of the United States’ per capita GDP. Furthermore, in terms of nature of resources, China has somewhat a small holds of resources based on per capita criteria, which is not even comparable to a developed country of a modest character. These facts reveal the extent of the economic gap between China and the developed countries, which sets it trailing behind (Wolf, 2005). To sustain the country on an economic growth path, the Chinese Government has the responsibility of making significant policy adjustments. These policies should be aimed at transitioning the country from middle-income to high-income status. This includes finding measures to address the social and environment imbalances, improving the access to healthcare and education, setting targets to reduce pollution, expanding social protection, and increasing the country’s energy efficiency (Wolf, 2005). The government should also make efforts to disc over a new road to industrialization, and modify the approach of economic development by developing a circular economy, changing the industrial structure, improving the traditional industries and supporting the strategic and emerging industries. The government of China should also promote use of information technology to support industrialization, which in turn can spur the country’s competitive advantage especially in respect to its expansive manufacturing industry. It would also be extremely important for the government of China to continue focusing on its regional development strategies, including turning around the tendency of widening regional economic gap such as supporting the development of the western regions. The idea of supporting development on certain priority zones can be achieved by setting the national spatial development in an orderly and coordinated manner, which should also include coordinating between urban and rural areas development (Sun, 2003). Question 2 When we say that we are engaged in a ‘global economy’, we mean that we are engaged in economic activities that are beyond a particular country’s borders. This includes a situation where international corporations stop relying on production within the mother country and extend their activities to many countries around the world. The global economy is concerned with globalization of production in areas such as finance, markets, labor force and communications (Ernst & Ozawa, 2002). When we talk of free trade, we are referring to a situation where the government of a certain nation eliminates all the artificial barriers to trade, which are usually established to protect the domestic producers from competition from the international market, particularly originating from the trading nations. Free trade is known to increase production because nations are given an opportunity to concentrate in production of those products that they have a competitive advantage. This e nables countries to enjoy efficiencies that come from increased output and economies of scale. Free trade also promotes the efficiency of resource allocation hence spurring production efficiency. This is because individual countries are able to exercise efficient use of resources, which potentially results to higher output (Ernst & Ozawa, 2002). On the other hand, despite the many benefits, there a number of disadvantages associated with free trade. This includes creation of structural unemployment as a result of removal of trade

Study case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case Study Example Question on firm’s use of the services would help her to identify firms with opportunities for her proposed ventures while questions on who makes final decisions, criteria for selection of service provider, and evaluation criteria are important to identifying the most viable opportunities for Donna’s proposed enterprise. The research indicates that a majority of the studied firms, and by generalization, a majority of firms in the area, does not use consulting services. For those that use the services, the CEO, general manager, or the manager are the most influential decision makers. In addition, the firms have not been using consultancy services for marketing purposes and reputation, experience, and prices are the major decision making criteria. Further, large consulting organizations are preferred and performance is evaluated based on people’s acceptance of the rendered services. For the firms that had not used external consultancy services, they cited no need for such services. I were in Donna’s position, I would proceed with the intention to establish the marketing consultancy firm. I would target the companies that have not been using the services and awareness creation on the need for the services would be my marketing strategy. This would be my short-term strategy as the organization grows, as I would also be trying to capture large firms. I would also strive to develop professional relations with firm’s top executives such as CEOs, general managers and managers to understand their tastes and preferences for service providers and services. My actions would aim at entry into the market and expansion of market