Abstract This paper discusses the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project and its search for extraterrestriallife via the capture and analysis of radio signals and use of cutting edge technology.
From the Paper "Ever since ancient times, man has wondered about the existence of intelligent life on other planets. Speculation about what that life might be like has fueled the entire science fiction literary genre as well as a substantial number of movies, some of them excellent. Now, in the 21st Century, the search for extraterrestrial life has moved from the realm of science fiction into the realm of real science. New discoveries, new tools and cutting edge technologies have made the search for extraterrestrial life systematic, scholarly,..."
Tags:extraterrestrial, SETI, radio telescope, interferometry, radio signals, SETI@Home
Abstract The paper explains that stars are set up to have planets circling around them and it is on those planets that scientists search to locate other life forms that may exist. The paper reveals that a growing body of scientists believe that there is/was life on Mars. The paper discusses how, with the advances in technology, it may not be long until we find a planet with living beings.
Outline:
Introduction
Stars
The Search For Life Conclusion
From the Paper "Man has been working on science since the beginning of time. As the human race continues to evolve, technology become more advanced and the ability to answer questions accurately grows stronger. One of the questions that has continued to stump mankind since the beginning of time is whether or not there is life out there. Songs are written about it, movies depicting aliens abound and books convey the belief that there is life on other planets and in other solar systems, however, to date no scientific evidence has been found that can support that belief. The technological advances that have occurred in recent history have allowed man to provide a more structured research setting to answer the questions about life bearing planets and alien life."
Abstract This paper explains that the search for life beyond this planet must be built on a solid understanding of how life managed to emerge on Earth. The author examines the development of extraterrestrial theories about the origins of life by beginning with an examination of previous theories of origin. The paper then presents current research and the empirical basis for current theories with implications for the search for extraterrestriallife. The author also offers some possible avenues of future research and examination, which could help refine the understanding of the origins of life in the universe.
From the Paper "In fact, the presence of a liquid like water seems to be the only major prerequisite for the development of life. Without a liquid, the complex chemical reactions required for the emergence of life are presumed impossible. But, that's not to say that the liquid in question must be water. Many researchers are exploring the possibility of life developing in more unorthodox liquids, such as methane, ammonia, or even sulfuric acid. Life on earth may have simply developed to take advantage of the very abundant liquid water; water's presence may have only been happenstance."
Abstract This paper discusses what cultural aspects and other consequences would be of detecting extraterrestrial intelligent life. This paper will analyze the roles of the media, the government and the academic establishment that might be or should be played. The effect of sociology, politics and religion will be addressed.
Abstract This paper examines the Big Bang theory, and how the planet Earth is thought to have come about. The author discusses how if life on Earth was created via the Big Bang, could not humans expect to find intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, created in the same manner? The paper looks at whether humans have the technology to discover possible extraterrestriallife.
From the Paper "Should we as humans expect to find intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? There are many reasons for and against this concept, but first we should trace just how our terrestrial life started. The beginning of time and the universe began with the Big Bang. This was an explosion that started the expansion of the universe. In the most basic sense, the standard model is simply the idea that every bit of the matter and energy in the universe was once compressed to an unimaginable density. In the big bang, the material exploded outward into the formation of matter that we see today."
Abstract Various governments and scientific institutions for over forty years have funded the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Continued public funding is currently under debate. This paper outlines the theoretical paradigm of SETI and current SETI research. It concludes by assessing the current state of the field and concludes that, while there is no evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence (ETI), there is also no evidence against it. Therefore, it concludes, SETI research is an incredibly important and legitimate field of scientific inquiry that must be funded and pursued.
Abstract This paper exames the possibility that life does exist in other star systems in this galaxy and argues that it is very likely.
From the Paper "A helpful tool used to estimate the number of technological civilizations that might exist among the stars was developed in 1961 by Dr. Frank Drake. Called the Drake Equation, it identifies specific factors thought to play a role in the development of such civilizations. Some of the things taken into consideration is the rate of formation of suitable stars on which life might exist, the fractions of those stars with planets, the fraction of planets where life develops, and other such things (The Drake Equation)."
Tags: alien, drake, equation, extraterrestrial, galaxy, life, mars
Abstract This paper discusses the book written by psychiatrist Victor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning". The paper explains how he personally came to grips with the conflict of the meaning of life by developing a new form of psychotherapy to rival Sigmund Freud's. The paper claims that Frankl was first moved to question his life's meaning and impetus after he was imprisoned, first in Auschwitz and then in other concentration camps for the duration of over five years, during World War II. He had to struggle within himself to find plausible reasons to live, to fight on against his persecutors in the face of overwhelming odds. The result of this struggle was the psychotherapeutic method Frankl eventually came to call logo-therapy.
From the Paper "Victor Frankl was first moved to question his life's meaning and impetus after he was imprisoned, first in Auschwitz and then in other concentration camps for the duration of over five years, during World War II. Over and over again, in the face of tremendous suffering and guilt because his own continued survival when so many other people he had known before the war's beginning had died, he had to struggle within himself to find plausible reasons to live, to fight on against his persecutors in the face of overwhelming odds."
Abstract The paper examines the drama "Six Character in Search of an Author", written by Luigi Pirandello, which is play within a play. The paper shows Pirandello's theme throughout the play that life is a script with people fixed to patterns that are evident in everyday workings of life and through the history of previous lives.
From the Paper "The drama Six Characters in Search of an Author, written by Luigi Pirandello, is a play within a play, full of reality philosophizing, which shows how people are real in the same way that characters are. These two themes are highly reflective on what it means to be a play, by comparing it to life, and what it means to be a person, by comparing what it means to be a character. The drama is an assemblage of a play, put together on the spot, when six characters enter another play's rehearsal in search of an author who will manifest their roles by writing a script to their drama. This is their one bent purpose in life, to live on the stage, in their world in which they are real. Though they seem alive, as they are in their search, they are not fulfilling the purpose of filling their roles. They need to tell their stories, they desire reaffirmation of existence and for this they need their fixed reality, the stage. Their script is this means of existence and acting the script out is a means of living or being real. People in the same way are doomed to be scripted; identical to characters, they live only within their fixed play, that which acts itself out from birth to death."
A comparison of the lives of women depicted in "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez and "Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina" by Rita Arditti.
Abstract Many times the element that makes a book a classic is the fact that the human element become involved and therefore the reader gets attached to the story and the characters that are in it. This paper reviews "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez and "Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina" by Rita Arditti and shows how the authors draw the readers in until they become attached to the ladies of the stories. It examines how the commonalty of the stories is the fact that the protagonists have a serious life filled with struggles because of their presidents and how the struggle of one person against something as strong and powerful as a president is a story that can draw out the most maternal and paternal instincts in the most stoic reader.
From the Paper "In Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza De Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina by Rita Arditti the reader has a different approach all together. Instead of getting attached one by one the reader only has to get attached to the cause. It is a noble cause however and the grandmother's search for their grandbabies is heartbreaking to say the least. Each of the books provides an accurate accounting of the way the lives were for the protagonists and the readers are drawn to the plight of all involved. However there are different levels of concerns with each story. In the Butterfly story the sisters are portrayed as those who actually plan to overthrow the government while the story in Searching For Life is about grandmothers challenging the dictatorship."
A study of the Latin America book by Rita Arditti, "Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina."
Abstract This paper examines the fascist history of Latin American countries during the 1970s and 80s. It investigates the telling non-fiction book by Rita Arditti, "Searching for Life: The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children of Argentina," which follows the plight of the families of missing persons during the dictator's rule. It also describes the courageous political career of the author Arditti.
From the Paper "If we thought that dictatorship and related horrifying stories were a thing of the distant past and that something of that sort was impossible in the 20th century, we must brace ourselves for the shocking truth. The decades of 1970s and 80s weren?t exactly that distant a past but it was precisely this time when all our fears regarding dictatorship and fascist governments came alive in one part of Latin America. Argentina was that unfortunate miserable part of the world where fascist regime during 1970s and 80s kidnapped, tortured and killed tens of thousands of so-called "subversives"."
Describes the Western Washington University Periodic Search Agent for Protein Database Information or WWU Search Agent, a research project developed under the guidance of one of Western Washington University's biosciences professor.
Abstract This paper describes a recent initiative of the The National Center for Biotechnology Information, which is a national resource for molecular biology information. The project is known as Western Washington University Periodic Search Agent for Protein Database Information or WWU Search Agent. This web-based search engine browses and does periodic searches of the protein databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool or BLAST. The writer describes the benefits of this project, which include its interfacing with the NCBI BLAST and the continuous updates and enhancements done by NCBI on the system.
Includes Charts:
Chart - Content of Protein Sequence Databases
Fig. 1 - General Subsequence and Database Input Area
Figure 2 - Options for Advanced BLASTing Input Area
Figure 3 - Format input area for report outputs
From the Paper "The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) finds regions of local similarity between sequences. The program compares nucleotide or protein sequences to sequence databases and calculates the statistical significance of matches. BLAST can be used to infer functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences as well as help identify members of gene families. The summary of the Content of Protein Sequence Databases with the sequences they contain are as follows: (NCBI, 2006)"
Abstract This paper provides a very brief overview of police searches and seizures in the form of a literature review of some of the most important issues that have been addressed in this area. It examines the arena of search and seizure from a legal point of view, because it is part of the law enforcement agency. It details the latitude that police and other law enforcement agents are allowed to carry out searches and seizures, and if they are rightfully carries out. It details jurisdiction of prevailing local political and judicial thinking and the considerable variance in the amount of protection given to the individual rights of the accused person because of local custom in different regions of the United States.
From the Paper "The subject of police searches and seizures is both complex and wide-ranging and has been for a number of years one of the most important concerns in American policing and judicial circles. This paper provides a very brief overview of the topic in the form of a literature review of some of the most important issues that have been addressed in this area.The arena of search and seizure covers all those practices engaged in by law enforcement officers to gain sufficient evidence to ensure the arrest and conviction of an offender (Polyvios, 1982, p. 18). The latitude allowed police and other law enforcement agents to carry out searches and seizures varies considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction due to prevailing local political and judicial thinking and there is considerable variance in the amount of protection given to the individual rights of the accused person because of local custom (Rossow &Stefkovich, 1996, p. 38)." It gives examples of several cases where police searches were wrongfully carried out and details their rulings."
Abstract This paper discusses the history and constitutional development of the "Automobile Exception" to the search warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment which originated in 1924. The automobile exception allows police officers to search and seize a vehicle without a search warrant. It cites several relevant cases such as New York vs.Belton, California vs. Camey and their legal precedents.
From the Paper "A woman and a man are sitting on a park bench chatting. A police officer approaches and notices a syringe in the man's shirt pocket. The officer asks the man why he has a syringe, and the man replies that he uses it to take drugs. The officer seizes a handbag that is close to the woman; he proceeds to search the handbag and removes the contents including her wallet and identification. Under the current law, this search would violate the Fourth Amendment since the officer did not first obtain a search warrant. However, in Wyoming v. Houghton', the United States Supreme Court held that a similar search was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The only difference was that the man and woman were in an automobile, and the search fell under an exception to the Fourth Amendment, commonly called the automobile exception", which was created in 1924 in the case Carroll vs. The United States. The automobile exception is an exception to the Fourth Amendment which eliminates the need for a search warrant when there is probable cause to believe that an automobile contains contraband or instruments/evidence of criminal activity. This paper will examine the history of the automobile exception and important cases that have involved and shaped this constitutional exception."
Abstract This paper discusses the enterprise track and genomics track, two tracks that are the subject for analysis. The paper explains the purpose of the enterprise track is to study enterprise search, which means satisfying a user who is searching the data of an organization to complete some task. The purpose of the genomics track is to study retrieval tasks in a specific domain, specifically where the domain of interest is genomics data which is broadly construed to include not just gene sequences but also supporting documentation such as research papers, lab reports, etc.
