CAJ Abstract analysis

Well it seems that somehow my post about articles about my CAJ disappeared. I honestly don't know it it was deleted or if it didn't upload correctly.

To sum up, here is what I found.

http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=784743

An article from Kevin Warwick, a well known transhumanist and co-founder of this whole hype.

Honestly, I couldn't have wished for something better than this, as there is everything in there which has to be in an abstract.
He includes the Objective, the setting/range, the findings and a conclusion. He explains the methods as well, just in a larger scale, as it contains to much information to be compressed.

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Another paper related to my topic was this one, which i only could read the abstract as the entire book would cost around €35 .

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:ETIN.0000006870.65865.cf
"The era of the Cyborg is now upon us. This has enormous implications on ethical values for both humans and cyborgs. In this paper the state of play is discussed. Routes to cyborgisation are introduced and different types of Cyborg are considered. The author's own self-experimentation projects are described as central to the theme taken. The presentation involves ethical aspects of cyborgisation both as it stands now and those which need to be investigated in the near future as the effects of increased technological power have a more dramatic influence. An important feature is the potential for cyborgs to act against, rather than for, the interests of humanity."

This one lacks a little bit in conclusion and/or recommendations, but explains well why this topic is important, the objective and the methods used. 

Ciao,
Fabio

Shocking Implant Video

As I already have written about the insertion of magnets into one's finger to enhance one's senses, I recently stumbled over a video while browsing the web for information for my CAJ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRKqUqrkeR8

Generally people who did this post in forums that it is not a smart idea to do this operation alone at home, simply because of the reason that so much could go wrong. You could cut to deep, mess up the cut, get the wrong magnet coating and you will probably die from a heavy metal intoxication, you could mess up the stitches, you could get infected by bacteria getting into the wound. The dangers are endless. and while watching this video I realized why I could never work as a surgeon.
I had to pause watching this video as I could not see how this guy hollowed out the tip of his finger using nothing but nail scissors. And while I paused this video I am writing this post. To be honest, I am currently still baffled that people would actually do that.
Of course, this is only a small operation and apparently you could do it at home, but for bigger surgeries you should definitely go to a piercer who knows how to properly anesthetize the body part in which you would like to get the implant.

Abstract

WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!:!

MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF

ZOMBIE INFECTION! ! 

The aim of this abstract is to demonstrate the flexibility of mathematical modelling by showing it on the case of a pandemic zombie outbreak. The author admits that the scenarios are in fact fairly unrealistic, as no such modelling ever has been made, but wants to show nevertheless the most effective model. He demonstrates this by using the commonly known slow, stupid zombie as reference point while comparing five common models of zombie outbreaks, namely the Basic Model, Model with Latent Infection, Model with Quarantine, Model with Treatment and Impulsive Eradication. The results brought comparable results as all models showed that human-zombie co-existence cannot prevail as infection rates and death by zombification overwhelm humankind sooner or later, depending on the model. While model 1 and 2 state that the eradication of humanity is just a matter of several days, and model 3 and 4 state that due to the exponential increase of infected people humankind will be eradicated, simply with a bit of delay. The only model that proved successful for this kind of pandemic is the last model mentioned, the Impulsive Eradication, stating that as soon as the infection spreads, every person affected has to be neutralized. Using given equation the conflict of a zombie outbreak would be dealt with in only ten days, avoiding the extinction of humankind. Even though the scenario of a sudden zombie outbreak is purely fictional, the risk of a global disease is not. The only way to stop a pandemic is to act quickly and decisively. 

CAJ Abstract

Bio-Hacking

Body hacking and enhancing human bodies is becoming an increasingly important topic. This CAJ is to show why and to what extend a human body can be modified at in the early twentieth century. As this still is an underdeveloped field of research, there are mostly non-academical papers and online videos, which explain how the process of enhancing the body is carried out. Fact is, that up until now and aside from prosthesis, not many forms of body-enhancing objects exist, which is bound to change in the near future. The combination of human tissue and machines, or currently circuit boards will allow the human body to develop much faster than by natural evolution.

How to kill Hitler in 6 simple steps:

Step 1: First, you have to acquire a weapon of your choice. The simplicity of this task depends on your location and gun possession laws.

- Choose a weapon, which you are comfortable with, range or close combat, as both should do the job.

- Our recommendation is to chose a high-power long range rifle such as the Remington 700 or the Barrett .50 cal to guarantee an optimal outcome.

Step 2: Proceed to find a time machine. Depending on your preferences you can choose either a classical DeLorean with a flux capacitor modification or a “Tardis”, which is usually in the form of a blue police call box.

Step 3: Choose the point in time and space where you would like to kill Adolf Hitler.

- Here it is of utmost importance that you do your research about Hitler’s location very carefully, as you do not want to be caught teleporting in and finding no one except soldiers of the Wehrmacht.                                

Step 4: Conceal you loaded weapon and travel back in time.   

Step 5: Find and kill Hitler.

The difficulty of this task depends on your research and your weapon choice.

Final Step: Return to your time and see what has changed, while claiming your reward for saving millions of people’s lives.

Congratulations! You just killed your first dictator and changed history! Please keep in mind that your actions may interrupt the time-space continuum and that, depending on your timing, you may have just killed the most beloved dictator in the world.                                  

Disclaimer: The author of this instructional guide is not liable for any ruptures in the time-space continuum.

Petschatschka or as other people call it: Pecha Kucha.

One autumn evening Martin and I and the rest of the English SUK3 class sat together and listened to Frank's lecture. But that evening he expected us to chose a topic to work on, on our own!

Martin and I chose Similarities between Austria and the Czech Republic, simply because we thought it would be an awesome topic and that we could write loads of stuff due to the fact that there was a article just about this topic in the "Kleine Zeitung". In retrospect this wasn't the smartest of ideas. And not only did we start to late, but also did we mainly talk about the similarities in culture and not about the language. After Frank's honest, appreciated but also devastating critique we were forced to change the big part of our topic in more or less one day. We managed to do so, and the next feedback wasn't as bad as the previous one, but due to the fact that i had to work for 8 hours the following day, i was exhausted. As I came home from work, i wanted to power nap, but instead I had to review the changes Martin had made according to Frank's review. There was quite a lot of new stuff on my part so i had to internalize it as soon as possible. I managed to grasp a lot of the newly added stuff, but i wasn't completely secure. After then getting picked up by Martin and sweating like crazy in the car i kind of went calm while reaching the university. Apparently that was the calm before the storm. Just before my presentation, I nearly had a mental breakdown. I started to shake uncontrollably due to the lack of sleep and the stress caused by this presentation. I kept forgetting the words and i couldn't concentrate on the topics presented by the preceding groups. As it was then time to go out there and do my job I honestly do not know what helped me cope with this situation. I am pretty sure people heard my voice shaking, which was caused by my body, which was shaking entirely. After presenting my first part I was immensely relieved as Martin took over and i could prepare mentally for my next part. This one went smoother, and as Martin started with his fourth part slowly my coolness came back to me and i could feel my body stopping to shake.
I do not know what happened to me, I blame it on my sleep schedule and my exhausting work.
I think overall we did a thorough job, i had some minor screw-ups, but I think we kind of did well.
Nevertheless next time I am sure to pick a topic which is not entirely foreign to me to keep that from happening.

And maybe I'll start a little earlier to work on it.
We'll see.

That's it folks, hope you enjoyed and:

Ciao
Fabio

Why was joining the EU the best move France could make at the time?

Why joining the EU was the best move France ever made.

Fabio Nitsche, Martin Tieber, Chloé Cloison

First draft:

Why was joining the EU the best move France could make at the time?

Introduction

With the current Eurozone crisis, many member countries reflect on their reasons for joining the EU. Especially the nations gravely affected by the crisis are in doubt if staying in the Union would prove to be a wise decision. This thinking gave rise to many anti-European parties throughout the continent. Although economically and politically strong countries like France were also hit hard by the crisis, they are willing to spend billions in order to keep the Union together. To understand this move it is important to know the reasoning behind the creation of the European Union and the intentions of its “founding fathers”.

1. Reasons why France was one of the founders of the EU

The European Union was founded by France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux states in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. It was the successor of the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC). These organisations were created to prevent war between France and Germany and to strengthen the economic recuperation as well as the political relations in Europe. Being a founding member of all these organisations, France was rewarded with huge influence within the European Union and solid economic growth. With the end of the Second World War Europe had endured a century marked by conflicts, mainly between Germany and France, so French politicians sought a solution to prevent these two nations from ever confronting each other again. By including the Benelux states, France acquired the means to put pressure on Germany, should the need arise, due to a longer common border. Additionally the threat of the USSR expanding further to the west, as well as the possibility of another dictator rising should be diminished.

2. Benefits from 1951 to 2013

Although this seemed to be reason enough, France also benefitted from the Union. Faster restoration from the devastation brought about by WWII, less complicated trade between the member states. Throughout the second half of the 20th century their membership in the continuously growing European Union opened new markets for the French economy. This led to an immense rise in exports, resulting in the expansion of many nationally restricted French companies, such as Peugeot, Citroen and L’Oréal. Due to the economic upwind the political relations prospered. Facing the powerful Warsaw Pact, Western Europe’s several centuries lasting conflicts were resolved, in order to strengthen the European unification. This attitude became even stronger as Francois Mitterrand became president of France in 1981. Together with the Federal Republic of Germany’s chancellor Helmut Kohl, who was also a strong supporter of the idea of a unified Europe, he established the foundation for a common currency. It took another 20 years until this currency, the euro, was finally put into circulation. Using its influence in the last 30 years, France profited, more than most other EU-members, from the Union’s uninterrupted growth.

3. Future benefits

Although the still continuing financial crisis, which started in the US in 2007/08, spread to Europe, driving some European countries to the brink of bankruptcy, affected France only slightly. Unlike in Ireland, Spain or Italy, the French economy more or less recuperated within the next years, and in 2012/13 was strong enough to support the ESM, guaranteeing France even more political power in the future. Due to new countries joining the Eurozone or the Union itself, even stronger economic ties are created. As a result of international trade inside of the Union being continuously simplified, the French enterprises are often preferred over Northern American as well as Asian competitors. This is best shown by the memberlist of the G8, which was founded by 8 strongest national economies at the time. France still being one of the leading countries in terms of economy, could eventually be replaced by emerging countries like Brazil or India, but will due to its important role in the European Union always be a global player. Thanks to the pursuit of European expansion, France will be able to stand its ground in the future.

Conclusion

Since the Middle Ages, France has always been an essential part of Europe. Through its contribution as a founding member of the European Union, as well as being a strong supporter of the monetary union, the French assumed an even bigger role in Europe’s economic, cultural and political development in the second half of the 20th and the beginnings of the 21st century. After the loss of most of their territories abroad, the waning colonial power, managed to reestablish another sphere of influence in Europe. This sphere is going to further expand due to new members joining the Union and also as a result of France’s money lending policy, which force the receiving countries in partial dependence. Although some may argue that it was a faux-pas to create the EU, the bigger picture shows, especially on the example of France that it was the right thing to do.

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Feedback Summary:

The feedback was overall not bad, some comments were made correcting colloquial expressions. There were some phrases in our text, which were criticized, and several suggestions were made how to improve the text overall. 

We corrected most of our faults, which were mostly made due to time issues. Yet we had to argue with some suggestions, because our statement that the Benelux states would stand with France and not Germany was criticized. We were questioned why the Benelux states would do such a thing. Simply because they were overrun twice by the Germans. In both World Wars. And to prevent this of course they would stand with France.   

We included several corrections from the other group's text into our own. 

While looking through the questions ourselves, we saw that some of our key ideas got repeated in different paragraphs, but as the French's intentions remained the same, we had to mention some parts more than once. All unclear references have been cleared, assuming you have a basic knowledge of history.

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Corrected version: 

Why was joining the EU the best move France could make at the time?

Introduction

With the current Eurozone crisis, many member countries reflect on their reasons for joining the EU. Especially the nations gravely affected by the crisis are in doubt if staying in the Union would prove to be a wise decision. This thinking gave rise to many anti-European parties throughout the continent. Although economically and politically strong countries like France were also hit hard by the crisis, they are willing to spend billions in order to keep the Union together. To understand this move it is important to know the reasoning behind the creation of the European Union and the intentions of its “founding fathers”.

1. Reasons why France was one of the founders of the EU

The European Union was founded by France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux states in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. It was the successor of the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC). These organisations were created to prevent war between France and Germany and to strengthen the economic recuperation as well as the political relations in Europe. Being a founding member of all these organisations, France was rewarded with huge influence within the European Union and solid economic growth. The end of World War II marked the conclusion of a conflict-ridden time period, mainly between Germany and France. As a result French politicians sought a solution to prevent these two nations from ever waging war against each other. By including the Benelux states, France acquired the means to put pressure on Germany, should the need arise, due to a longer common border. Additionally the threat of the USSR expanding further to the west, as well as the possibility of another dictator rising should be diminished.

2. Benefits from 1951 to 2013

Although this seemed to be reason enough, France also benefitted from the Union. Faster restoration from the devastation brought about by WWII, less complicated trade between the member states. Throughout the second half of the 20th century their membership in the continuously growing European Union opened new markets for the French economy. This led to an immense rise in exports, resulting in the expansion of many nationally restricted French companies, such as Peugeot, Citroen and L’Oréal. Due to the economic upwind the political relations prospered. Facing the powerful Warsaw Pact, Western Europe’s several centuries lasting conflicts were resolved, in order to strengthen the European unification. This attitude became even stronger as Francois Mitterrand became president of France in 1981. Together with the Federal Republic of Germany’s chancellor Helmut Kohl, who was also a strong supporter of the idea of a unified Europe, he established the foundation for a common currency. It took another 20 years until this currency, the euro, was finally put into circulation. Using its influence in the last 30 years, France profited, more than most other EU-members, from the Union’s uninterrupted growth.

3. Future benefits

Although the still continuing financial crisis, which started in the US in 2007/08, spread to Europe, driving some European countries to the brink of bankruptcy, affected France only slightly. Unlike in Ireland, Spain or Italy, the French economy more or less recuperated within the next years, and in 2012/13 was strong enough to support the ESM (European Security Mechanism, created to save economically endangered countries), guaranteeing France even more political power in the future. Due to new countries joining the Eurozone or the Union itself, even stronger economic ties are created. As a result of international trade inside of the Union being continuously simplified, the French enterprises are often preferred over Northern American as well as Asian competitors. This is best shown by the memberlist of the G8, which was founded by 8 strongest national economies at the time. France still being one of the leading countries in terms of economy, could eventually be replaced by emerging countries like Brazil or India, but will due to its important role in the European Union always be a global player. Thanks to the pursuit of European expansion, France will be able to stand its ground in the future.

Conclusion

Since the Middle Ages, France has always been an essential part of Europe. Through its contribution as a founding member of the European Union, as well as being a strong supporter of the monetary union, the French assumed an even bigger role in Europe’s economic, cultural and political development in the second half of the 20th and the beginnings of the 21st century. After the loss of most of their territories abroad, the waning colonial power, managed to reestablish another sphere of influence in Europe. This sphere is going to further expand due to new members joining the Union and also as a result of France’s money lending policy, which force the receiving countries in partial dependence. Although some may argue that it was a faux-pas to create the EU, the bigger picture shows, especially on the example of France that it was the right thing to do.

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Corrected version of the essay:

Why was joining the EU the best move France could make at the time?

With the current Eurozone crisis, many member countries reflect on their reasons for joining the EU. Although every nation's economy experienced a period of enormous growth, nations gravely affected by the crisis are uncertain if staying in the Union would prove to be a wise decision. This thinking strengthens many nationalist parties and supports their anti-european opinions  throughout Europe. Nevertheless, economically and politically strong countries such as France are willing to spend billions in order to keep the Union together. To understand this course of action it is important to know the reasoning behind the creation of the European Union, the intentions of its “founding fathers” and why this was the best possible move at the time.

The European Union was founded by France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux states in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. It was the successor of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC). These organisations had been created to prevent yet another war between France and Germany and to strengthen economic recuperation as well as political relations in Europe. Being a founding member of all these organisations, France acquired enormous influence within the European Union and solid economic growth. Europe had endured a century marked by conflicts, mainly between Germany and France. Therefore, French politicians sought a solution to prevent these two nations from ever waging war against each other again. Additionally the threat of the USSR expanding further to the west, as well as the possibility of another dictator rising should be diminished. From the French perspective the foundation of the ECSC was a genuine move.

Although the aforementioned advantages seemed to be reason enough, France further benefited from the Union. Faster restoration from the devastation brought about by WWII, less complicated trade between the Member States and the opening of new markets in the continuously growing European Union. This led to an immense rise in exports, resulting in the international expansion of many French companies, such as Peugeot, Citroen and L’Oréal. Due to the economic boom and the powerful peace threatening Warsaw Pact, Western Europe’s several centuries lasting conflicts were resolved and political relations prospered. The unification movement became even stronger when Francois Mitterrand became president of France in 1981. Together with the Federal Republic of Germany’s chancellor, Helmut Kohl, who was also a strong supporter of the idea of a unified Europe, he established the foundation for a common currency. It took another 20 years until this currency, the euro, was finally put into circulation. Using its influence during the last 30 years, France had profited, more than most other EU Members, from the Union’s uninterrupted growth.

Although the still continuing financial crisis, which started in the US in 2007/08, spread to Europe, drove some European countries to the brink of bankruptcy, affected France only slightly. Unlike in Ireland, Spain or Italy, the French economy more or less recuperated within the following years, and in 2012/13 was strong enough to support the European Security Mechanism (ESM), guaranteeing France even more political power in the future. Due to new countries joining the Eurozone or the Union itself, even stronger economic bonds were strengthened. As a result of international trade inside of the Union being continuously simplified, French enterprises are often preferred over North American or Asian competitors. This is best shown by the memberlist of the G8, which was founded by the eight strongest national economies at the time. Though France is still one of the leading countries in terms of economy, it could eventually be replaced by emerging countries like Brazil or India, but will always be a global player, due to its important role in the European Union. Thanks to the pursuit of European expansion, France will be able to stand its ground in the future.

Since the Middle Ages, France has always been an fundamental part of Europe. Through their contribution as a founding member of the European Union, as well as being a strong supporter of the monetary union, the French assumed an even bigger role in Europe’s economic, cultural and political development in the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. After the loss of most of their territories abroad, the waning colonial power had managed to reestablish another sphere of influence in Europe. This sphere is going to expand further as new members join the Union and also as a result of France’s money lending policy, which forces the receiving countries into partial dependence. Although some may argue that it was a faux pas to create the EU, the bigger picture shows, especially by the example of France, that it was the right thing to do.

Martin Tieber:
http://martinmafntieber.blogspot.co.at/

Chloé Cloison:
Added as soon as we get the address.