The United States Vs. The European Union: An Ethical Analysis of Software Patents :: Patents Compare Contrast Essays

The United States Vs. The European Union: An Ethical Analysis of Software Patents Introduction Patents have become a major part of technology in our society. The overall purpose of patents is to promote the disclosure of innovations so that others may make improvements based on those new technologies, while at the same time rewarding those who came up with the invention. They give the inventor of an innovation a monopoly of their innovation for a limited amount of time. After the time period has expired, anyone is free to use the innovation as they wish. Patents have worked well over the past century, enabling innovators to make technological improvements that would have been impossible without the help of prior inventions. Software Engineering is an engineering field that is very new relative to the other areas of science and engineering. Software Engineering is very different from any other kind of engineering. Ethically it is unreasonable to be able to apply the old patent laws to this new field of Software Engineering, without making any modifications to the laws. Software patents are not wrong entirely, in that it is still good to provide rewards to those who innovate. According the United States patent system, ideas are not patentable, while innovations are patentable. Software engineering blurs the line between ideas and innovation, in that software can be viewed as both an idea in the sense that it is a series of mathematical expressions, or it can be viewed as an innovation in that it can be delivered as an executable product. If patents are to be issued for software, a different system of laws governing software innovations needs to be established. The discrepancy on how to treat patents in software is illustrated by the opposing stances of the United States (who issues software patents) and the European Union (who does not issue software patents). History of Patents The main idea behind patents is to promote technological innovations. For there to be technological innovation for society as a whole, two things must happen. First, people must be able to study other people's innovations in order to further technology in society, because they can use the ideas of others to make even greater innovations. Second, people must have incentive to innovate. The most obvious solution to the first idea would be to make all innovations public, so that as soon as someone invents something, others are free to build off of it to further technology.

The Palette of Narmer

The Palette of Narmer: Historical archives or political propaganda The Palette of Narmer The Palette of Namer is an Ancient Egyptian artefact, pre-dating the Early Dynastic period. This clay tablet depicts the legacy of King Namer, but due to its mysterious nature, it is still unknown if these depictions are a historical record or a tool of political propaganda. Based on its size, shape and detailed images it is apparent that this palette was not used for daily purposes or historical archives.With further inspection of the images on the palette, it is clear that the chief purpose of the piece was not to record the historical ventures of King Narmer but to assert his kingship and dominance over Ancient Egypt. Political propaganda is a form of communication, usually visual, that has a main purpose of influencing people towards a cause or position by showing only one side of the argument. This persuasion technique is used in the detailed depictions on the Palette of Narmer to promote hi s dominate power over his subjects.King Narmer is shown as a large, god-like figure who towers over those around him, all other characters on the palette are shown following or being overpowered by Narmer. The other figures on the palette have the appearance of fear as Narmer rules over them with an iron fist. This applies fear and seeks to build support by installing anxieties into his subjects, enemies and all who gaze upon the palette. Through these techniques we can see that the main intension of the artefact was to show Narmer as Egypt’s ultimate authority figure.Throughout the panels of the palette we see Narmer asserting his dominance over many different people. On the top panel of the front side of the pallet, Narmer is depicted inspecting ten decapitated enemies slain in battle, once again in attempt to install fear. He again is drawn much larger than those around him, and is holding a mace in his left hand and a flail in his right, which is a traditional symbol of k ingship. In the next panel we see the taming of two wild animals; these mystical creatures have often been interpreted as a metaphor for the unification of Upper and LowerEgypt under King Narmers command. This unification of Egypt’s regions was seen as a major victory for Narmer, which plays another role of propaganda; people naturally desire to be on the winning side, showing Narmer’s victory is a technique to convince people that his leadership is effective and again reassures his power. The scene on the bottom panel of the front of the palette portrays a bull conquering his foe and attacking the walls of a city with its horns.In this image the bull is to be interpreted as King Narmer, showing his strength and power as he defeats and kills his enemy. The wall can be thought of as Lower Egypt as he conquers it and unifies Egypt. The reverse side of the palette is mostly taken up by a large and detailed image of a man, undoubtedly Narmer, striking down upon an enemy. N armer has his opponent by the hair, bagging for mercy on his knees, showing Narmers pure ferocity and god like stature. These images can be interpreted as Narmers conquest of Lower Egypt. This again plays on the fear associated with propaganda.On the very bottom panel of the reverse side of the palette, two fallen enemies under the feet of Narmer. These conquered foes are representations of towns that Narmer has vanquished. Each panel on the palette is a celebration of King Narmer, and his brave conquests; showing him as an almighty and feared leader, successfully using propaganda to build his reputation, gain supporters and strike fear into his enemies. Weaved throughout the palettes details are several subtle symbols that help project King Narmer personal propaganda to help him secure his kingship.These hieroglyphs can be interpreted to have different meanings, but are very similar and all point to the depiction of the sheer power of Narmer. A reoccurring symbol of the bovine, a s ign of strength and force, surround the Kings name (in serekh) on both sides of the palette, referring to his bull-like vigour and power. A falcon is shown on the back side of palette, the falcons head was commonly associated with Narmers name, and represents his rule. These animals are used as representations asserting King Narmers virtue and endowment.The theme of higher archery is apparent on the palette; the treatment of the others is degrading, making Narmer appear supreme. The enemies are made evident on the palette, all represent with as smaller man, naked, and cowering at the mercy of Narmer. The King is dressed in the traditional short skirt, with an animal’s tail and a crown upon his head, demonstrating his royalty. This illustrates the different side of the spectrum, follower and leader; allowing Narmer to again place himself above everyone else.On both sides of the palette, a man standing behind the king is depicted holding Narmers sandals in his left hand and a b asket in his right, the fact that the king is shown barefooted, suggests that this man is a servant to the king; this illustrates the king’s superiority. There are two actual images of King Narmer on the palette; on the front side he is shown wearing the Red Crown, which is associated to Lower Egypt, while on the reverse side he is shown wearing the White Crown, a representation on Upper Egypt. Having equal representation of both Upper and Lower Egypt by, the association of their unification is made.Each symbol, large or small, has an effect on the subconscious, making you see the argument in favor of Narmer. These symbols attribute to the appearance of Narmer, helping him gain respect and support through the use of propaganda. The exact details of the palette cannot be fully proven as historical facts, but with the common propaganda techniques present on the tablet, it discredits the validity of the events. It is still unknown if the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt occu rred under the control of Narmer.The Palette of Narmer has created scholarly debate among the historical community, whether it proves the unification of the Egyptian regions or was used only for self-promotion. The answer to the question hinges on the images within the palette inscription, the sheer nature of the depictions suggests that the palette does not prove that King Narmer unified Egypt in the Pre-Dynastic Period. The exact use of the palette is undiscovered to this day, but based on its size and the images on its surface it is apparent that it was used for the sole purpose of personal propaganda through subconscious control by King Narmer.References: Kinnaer, Jacques, â€Å"The Ancient Egypt Site. † The Ancient Egypt Site. 30 June 2011. (8 October 2012) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Kinnaer, Jacques, â€Å"The Ancient Egypt Site. † The Ancient Egypt Site. 30 June 2011. [ 2 ]. Kinnaer, Jacques, â€Å"The Ancient Egypt Site. † The Ancient Egypt Site. 30 June 2011 [ 3 ]. Kinnaer, Jacques, â€Å"The Ancient Egypt Site. † The Ancient Egypt Site. 30 June 2011.

Journalism Inform, Entertain and Brainwash Essay

Journalism: Inform, Entertain and Brainwash As a journalist, the first thing we learn is what are the major functions of the media. In Chapter Four of Print and Broadcast Journalism: A Critical Examination by Ed Applegate, according to William L. Rivers, Wilbur Schramm, and Clifford G.Christians, authors of Responsibility in Mass Communication, the three major functions of the media are to inform, entertain and persuade. However, current articles in the media, especially magazines, have me questioning whether or not these functions actually do exist. The three major functions of the media as stated are to inform, entertain and to persuade. But what exactly is news? According to Thomas Berry, First, news is any printable story†¦show more content†¦In order for news to be true, you must have information to back up your statement, such as evidence or an eyewitness account. Mr. Berry also states that news is also at least a set of facts that have been presented to the reporter as truth. This idea can be somewhat presumptuous also because just because somebody said something is true, it doesn’t mean that it is. The only way you can prove a witness is telling the truth or that evidence is accurate is to RESEARCH and INVESTIGATE your story completely and thoroughly. If you don’t, then your story will look like a piece of swiss cheese. I agree on the last three counts: proximity is necessary when getting to your target audience, recency (or timeliness) is an important element because news should be current and up t o date at all times (unless the piece is over a certain time span; then sometimes timeliness isn’t an important factor), and finally the element of unusualness: this will make the story more interesting to the reader. Mr. Applegate states that for instance, most, if not all, stories that are written follow a particular formula. Other constraints include deadlines and even sources. Also, information seems to be getting more complicated because of jargon, technical terms, and government gobledegook: thus, reporters sometimes have to interpret the news for readers. According to Curtis D. MacDougall, To interpret the news it is necessary to understand it, and understanding means more than