patel monica n. – ENG 281.05 Fall 16

Above is the story board for the Neonatal Abstinence Virtual Reality.

Neonatal Abstinence Proposal

David Grant

Monica Patel

Lauren Lloyd

Gregory Leonard

Andrea Ventura

Introduction:

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is a group of problems that occur in a newborn who was exposed to addictive opiate drugs while in the mother’s womb (medlineplus). As a result, nurses must be trained in order to have skills that prepare them for this certain task. Virtual Reality can not only train nurses, in an advanced timing. In addition, the nurses are able to experience a real life situation in caring for not only an infant but also the mother when dealing with NAS. The genre of this virtual reality program is realistic fiction, and educational, so that individuals can observe the reality of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. The purpose of this virtual reality program is to educate about the dangers of drug use on babies via the simulation of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

Commitment:

As a Virtual reality company, we are committed to researching and implementing the latest VR technologies into our products and developing the best quality experiences. Our prototype technology will be implemented into learning hospitals to optimize the learning methods used by nurses. The success of the product will lead to the more permanent application of the learning technology into more hospitals across the country and eventually globally. As technology expands and becomes more advanced, we will adapt our current technologies to become improved and up to date with the latest applications of VR.

We are determined to making VR a reality in the teaching world. It has been shown that basic skills learned and practiced using VR have been successfully integrated into the real working medical field. As we start to integrate this one learning experience into the teaching world we will use our research to come out with more learning opportunities and different VR experiences that will continue to help the education of Nurses around the world.

Our company is initially applying this technology for the learning purpose of nursing students. This is a great first step, however; we realize that the medical field is not just limited to nurses. It is our hope that in the years to come, our technology will expand and we will be able to apply our VR experience to more learning areas in the medical field.

Long Term Vision:

Technology is forever evolving and is constantly being incorporated into our daily lives. The long-term goal of our project is to incorporate this VR program into the fast-paced and sensitive work environment of hospitals. Our society has lost touch of empathy and sympathy towards others. Nurses that take care of such patients need the skills to properly handle these sensitive situations without judgment towards the patient. Starting small with local clinics is the first step to positive change on the world.

Our project’s vision is to train new nurses and caretakers to see what it is like from the standpoint of a mother with a drug addiction. Ginger L. Arrowood wrote a journal explaining her experience at a hospital where she overheard a mother crying helplessly as her child would not stop crying. Arrowood also has a son and compare her experience stating “Our newborns are so similar – they’re both boys, with similar weights…Mine was just irritable but he is suffering from exposure to maternal drug use in utero.”. This amount of compassion does not exist in many nurses so when treating mothers with addiction, nurses can be harsh and judgemental. In Delaware, the amount of substance abuse mothers is increasing. Our VR program will ultimately be informative to the public by teaching mothers the risks and ways to prevent neonatal births. Secondly, it is our mission to pass this VR experience first hand to nurses across the country creating a more empathetic environment for these mothers.

In Conclusion, the long term objective of our project is to create a better environment for patients/mothers who are trying to keep their newborn healthy and ensure that nurses that are attending to these patients have the proper training in response to the addiction of pregnant mothers. With the help of this grant, we can be one step closer to helping millions of mothers who need help.

Implementation Strategy:

Virtual Reality for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome requires an excessive amount of project planning. Within this planning, there are potential barriers such as cost that could either improve the project or result in failure. Making sure that the project is maintained within the budget is key in making sure that this simulation is successful. In addition, there are other barriers such as technical constraints. Using modern technology for an advanced project could delay the timing of the implementation of the project. There is also existing technology which would present as competition for VR that is focused on Neonatal syndrome. Examples of existing VR used in the medical field is Second Life which can be used for all medical students such as nurses, surgeon, physician, etc. However, regarding all the barriers there are solutions to make sure that this VR is successful. Making sure that Project Planning, management, and communication, is kept up to date so that this project does not fail.

The attached Chart demonstrates the Budget for this Virtual Reality. The Budget is $7 million, as illustrated the team is well within the budget. This will result in the success of this virtual reality simulation.

Engagement – Interface:

Like most medical simulations/educational games, the interface for our VR prototype is entirely animated. This makes the prototype more interactive and allows for more development of research on the subject continues. As opposed to going back and re-filming the entire video in VR when something changes, all we have to do is go in and edit a couple of lines of code. Animation also allows for the production of the prototype to be cheaper and safer than a video.

It is important to note that the animation for this project will be as realistic as possible. There is still a certain stigma surrounding video games, often calling to mind a Super Mario game or something along those lines; rest assured that this is not the model for our game. There have been significant advances in animation technology in the last few years, and we are confident in the available resources and their ability to be used as a tool to create the best simulation possible.

In terms of controls, our prototype is fairly straightforward. Rather than follow the model of educational games like Inmind, which requires the rapid jerking of the head in a way that would likely be unsustainable for a period of time longer than about 6 minutes, our prototype would require less movement. Fitting, seeing as our simulation is largely decision-based.

This simulation can be used as a supplement for non-traditional, online nursing students that are juggling between home, work and other important commitments. As well as help improve the in-classroom experience, reducing its costs and limitations. Students that use our VR model should also be able to reinforce and strengthen concepts and knowledge learned about the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Specifically for nursing students, it should be able to augment their set of skills in regards to successfully taking care of a baby with this type of syndrome.

Engagement- User Experience

The VR experience is going to not only enhance the classroom experience for a nursing student but also become an engaging tool that will heighten learning and skills needed to properly take care of a mother and baby who suffer from the neonatal abstinence syndrome. For this purpose, our VR experience will have two general options to choose from an “In Class” and an “In Mother/Infant Unit”.

If choosing the “In Class” option, the user will be able to attend class, like a regular student. By customizing an avatar that looks like them, they will go inside a room with chairs, a board, and their teacher in front of the classroom. They will be able to not only listen to the lecture but will be able to ask questions to their teacher and make comments to their classmates through a texting option available. The teacher will be able to address those questions without having to interrupt the lecture and every user attending the class will be able to see them. We want to satisfy the gamer through the learning experience not only by throwing new terms at them but allowing them to develop the course through a social environment, just like attending class in person. We will help them achieve this by allowing realistic-looking human avatars and interactions with not only the teacher but with other attendees (Johnson, 2009).

The “In Mother/Infant Unit” option is the other platform on which we are looking to develop a learning experience that is motivating and entertaining. The user will be able to immerse in the video game with their avatar, creating an identity and triggering a commitment to pursue the challenges of the game. As well, the gamer will be able to have interactions not only with the patient but also with other users of this platform, just like in the “In Class” option. We want the gamer to be able to experience real-world challenges, so information learned in the game can be applied to their nursing careers (Johnson, 2009). Thanks to the realistic-looking avatars, the user will be able to empathize and connect with the people he or she is working with and for. The decisions they make are going to influence how the game progresses, inspiring them to pursue and explore the various different ways it could go right or wrong. With the use of different levels, going from easier to expert, the gamer will not only be able to increase abilities of how to handle the neonatal abstinence syndrome but be more willing to take risks and learn the do’s and dont’s and experience first hand its consequences without hurting any real person. The game will allow single and multiplayer options, allowing the user to adventure themselves for an episode of the syndrome alone or with other users. As regular entertaining video games out there, this VR experience will also allow the gamer to not only customize their avatar but their whole nursing adventure as well (Gee, 2007). Language, skill level and length of the pregnancy in a certain level, are some examples of customization options.

The different levels found in the VR game will each target a different unit that correlates with what is being currently taught in the “In Class” platform. This means that it will follow a sense of easier, basic terms up to more complex and harder skills, terms and knowledge. Whatever is found on a certain level will be used not only to pass that level but as the game progresses, that same knowledge will have to come in handy again to solve even more complex problems found with the patient or patients (Gee, 2007). This way through engagement, repetition, identity and experience, the user will not only find the VR game entertaining but also highly educational.

Conclusion:

In conclusion in order to keep up with the changes in time, and technology you recognize that there is a need to have an alternate way of being able to educate nurses on NAS. This key benefit of this simulation is experiencing real-life scenarios in order to prepare individuals. Our VR simulation will not only help advance nurses skills but also make sure that they are able to handle any situations with mothers/infants that are dealing with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

Integrity Statement: “I pledge on my honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this assignment/exam.

Work Cited:

Arrowood, Ginger L. “Eyes of a Mother.” Science Direct. Cross Mark, 2016. Web. 5 Dec. 2016. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nwh.2016.08.003>.

Barthell, Jane E., and Jeanne D. Mrozek. “Neonatal Drug Withdrawl.” Clinical and Health Affair (2013): 48-50. Minnesota Medicine. Minnesota Medicine. Web. <http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?sid=aed8c500-60ca-4b3c-bef1-b47b38b6d01f@sessionmgr107&vid=0&hid=103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#AN=23930471&db=mnh>.

Gee, James Paul. “GOOD VIDEO GAMES AND GOOD LEARNING.” (2007): 1-13. Web.

Johnson. “Journal For Virtual Worlds Research.” Virtual Worlds in Health Care Higher Education | Johnson | Journal For Virtual Worlds Research. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. <https://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/index.php/jvwr/article/view/699/498>.

MK, Savin, and Paul DA. “Opioid Exposed Mothers.” Public Health, Apr. 2016. Web. <https://ezproxy.stevenson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=27263243&site=eds-live&scope=site>.

“Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016. <https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007313.htm>.

Embodied Virtuality

Embodied virtuality is the idea that the mind and body are separated. Katherine Hayles went into further detail discussing this topic in her essay titled “Toward Embodied Virtuality”. The author described how there are many factors, that can separate the mind and the body. Individuals should put this concept into consideration, so that they can avoid the negative effects. One of the negative results are; becoming a Posthuman. There are two examples in which the media represents this concept. One being an episode from a television series Black Mirror. The second example is a film titled Stepford Wives. These two films represent how the mind and body can be separated, and be used for harm rather than good.

The first example is the Black Mirror series. Here is a clear description of the episode. A couple has decided to move into a home together. The character Ash, has died (it is not told to the audience how he has died). The woman names Martha becomes depressed. In the episode she later realizes that she is pregnant. Unable to cope with the loss of her lover Martha decides to sign up for a program that create a virtual embodiment of Ash. How this works is every text message, email, social media that Ash has used has been saved. The computer program then uses the recent words that Ash has used to talk to Martha. Martha then becomes obsessed with this technology. With her baby on the way Martha wants her boyfriend to be there, so she takes the next step, and orders a robot version of Ash. The robot not only looks like Ash, but has studied every word/phrase Ash has ever said/written. Ash best represents the concept of what it means to be Posthuman. From Katherine Hayles essay she described what a Posthuman is “It is important to recognize that the construction of the posthuman does not require the subject to be a literal cyborg. Whether or not interventions have been made on the body, new models of subjectivity emerging from such fields as cognitive science and artificial life imply that even a biologically unaltered Homo sapiens counts as posthuman.” This concept applies to Ash, since before he died, he was always glued to his technology. Examples include: In the car, when Martha was getting coffee. Or on the couch when he was on twitter. In a way his phone was a part of him, he could not go a day without out it. This makes him posthuman, how he needs access to technology at all times. Since he was always on his phone, this allowed an opportunity for humans to create a computer version of Ash. This is also what the author Katherine Hayles worries, that technology will be used for the wrong purposes. Now-a-days everyone can be considered a posthuman. Children, teens, adults always have their phones on them at all times, and this is considered “normal”. In a way we all are cyborgs because we need this technology to survive. The argument to this is, could be: Are these programs that create a robot version of an individual be all bad? Some individuals, are unable to move on with their lives when someone has died. Some go to extreme measures such as suicide, because they are unable to cope with their loss. Would it be a bad thing if an individual who had just lost a family member, wanted to have one last conversation with them?

The second example is the film Stepford Wives. This film is about a group of men who have total control of a small town. In result, the wives plan to start their own clubs, and businesses. Suddenly one-by-one all of them decided its best that they do the housework instead. The wives even look, and sound different. The main character Joanna Eberhart tries to find a reason to why all these women have suddenly change. The more Joanna investigates the more she realized that the women have not only changed their appearances, but also their hobbies. An example could be; one of the women who was excellent in tennis, had suddenly given up. Claiming that her priority is to make sure, her husband is pleased. Towards the end of the film Joanna finds out that, the husbands have killed all of the wives, and replace them with robots. These robots look, and sound just like the wives. However, there is a clear distinguishing between the wives, and cyborgs personality. Katherine Hayles mentioned in her essay,“Human essence is freedom from the wills of others, the posthuman is ‘post’ not because it is necessarily unfree but because there is no priori way to identify a self-will that can be clearly distinguished from an other-will.” My interpretation of this is that, we as humans have our own-will, but there could be other people, or elements such as faith that destroy that freedom. This applies to Stepford wives, because the husband’s took their wives freedom. The wives can no longer play tennis, paint, bake, or take photographs, because the husbands to that away from.

In conclusion, both films show how embodied virtuality could be applied, in reality. In my opinion, both films do display wonderful examples, of dualism. I however would never agree on the fact that we should record everyone’s social media in order to “recreate” them. Even though this could help someone cope with the loss of a loved one, I believe that things that are natural should stay natural. This phrase also refers to Stepford Wives, how robots who look exactly like humans should never be created. The mind and body are separate, and shouldn’t be tainted by science.

Midterm Essay- Who has the status of being Morally Superior? By: Monica Patel |English 281| 10/11/16

Midterm Essay- Who has the status of being Morally Superior?

By: Monica Patel |English 281| 10/11/16

Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep is about a world that is ruled by cyborgs that are almost duplicates to humanity. In the novel, character’s wealth, and morals are defined by owning an animal, specifically farm animals who hold the highest rank. In today’s society, being extremely wealthy means that an individual has an enormous platform that offers endless opportunities to do well in the world. So, that raises the question: Is wealth the proof of an individual being morally superior?

We can understand the meaning of wealth better, by reading Philip K. Dick Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. So, let’s start from the beginning, in the second chapter of the novel, there is a passage that reads “First, strangely, the owls had died…Medieval plagues had manifested themselves in a similar way, in the form of many dead rats” (Dick 16). It is revealed to the reader that after the World War Terminus, the animals have become endangered, so it’s considered “respectable” for someone to own an animal.

Now, in the beginning of the novel the main character Rick is considered “inferior” because he owns an electric sheep (a fake animal, which is made out of wires). “After an interval Barbour said, ‘you poor guy. Has it always been this way?’ (Dick 11) After Rick explains to his neighbor how his sheep is a machine, his neighbor feels sorry for him. Later in the story Rick’s ultimate goal is to make enough money to get a real animal. Some readers may ask themselves; why does an animal prove our wealth? The answer is simple: because animals are extinct, you are considered morally righteous for helping a species who are unable to care for themselves. In addition, due to the fact that animals are extinct, large organizations increase the prices on animals. Individuals with well-paying jobs are able to afford one.

Anyone can argue that this topic can relate in reality today. In the article “Are Rich people more Ethical?” By Neil Wagner, the article describes experiments done by the University of California, Berkley, where individuals with upper class backgrounds were less moral when it came to ethical situations. An example would be: one of the experiments where the volunteers were shown a jar of candy. They were told that the candy was for the children who are ill in the hospitals, and that the volunteers were more than welcome to take more than one piece of candy. Those who came from an upper class backgrounds took more than two pieces of candy, versus those with lower class backgrounds who either took one piece, or no pieces of candy. Another example, stated in the article was; “The fifth experiment placed the volunteers in the role of job interviewer of candidates seeking long-term employment…. Upper-class volunteers were much less likely to inform the candidate that the job was going to be a much shorter one than anticipated.” (theatlantic) This article does give an insight on what kind of character an individual who is financially successful, possess. In another article titled “Are the wealthy less ethical?” By Adriene Hill, where she has an interview with Paul Piff who is a Ph.D candidate at the psychology department at Berkeley. The whole gist of the interview is: yes in a way the rich are less ethical, because of greed. According to the interview, the upper class individuals thought they needed to put themselves first, before anyone else in the world.

This reasoning can be true for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Did Rick let his greed get in the way of doing what is right? Let me explain; Rick needed to earn more money to purchase a decent animal, to achieve this goal his job was to kill as many androids as possible. The only problem was, androids in this novel were almost identical to humans, to the point that androids didn’t even know if they themselves were human or not. In the novel technology, and science is so advanced that the scientist was able to insert “fake memories” in an androids mind. This will completely diminish the line of differentiating between humans, and robot. “He had never thought of it before, had never felt any empathy on his own part toward the androids he killed” (Dick 141). This is when Rick had to kill the android Luft, who was an opera singer. After he heard her perform, he questioned if this was the right thing to do. What makes Luft different from a female entertainer? This is the first part of the book where Rick’s greed didn’t get in the way of his choices, where he questioned the lack of principles in his job.

In “Reading books and watching films makes you kinder in real life” by Lea Surugue the article explains how fiction helps individual better understand empathy. “Some studies have shown that fiction can even make you feel empathy for people who live very different lives than you” (Surgugue) so could fiction be the solution for the wealthy to be more moral? So that they could use that power for people who actually understand what it means to have values that aren’t selfish. The same question arises from the article Reading literary fiction improves empathy, study finds by Liz Bury. “Testing people’s ability to read faces is a bit odd. The thing about novels is that they give you a view of an inner world that’s not on show. Often what you learn from novels is to be a bit baffled … a novel tells you not to judge,” Davies said.” (Liz Bury) This is similar to the Voit Kampff test, in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, with empathy anyone can fake facial expressions, or even verbal responses, and we never know what’s going on in the mind of that person.

Based on the article this raises the next question; Are people who are considered poor whether it’s in reality or in the novel more morally righteous? According to the article “5 Ways the Poor Are More Ethical than the Rich”, by Paul Buchheit, Yes. Reasons being the poor are more generous, they are most grateful, and giving, and the rich focus more on themselves. “Research has shown that low-income Americans spend a much higher percentage of their income on charitable giving. Results from three studies average out to 4.5% from low-income people, 2.7% from those with high incomes. With respect to helping people in need, the rich give even less.” (alternet) This article can also be applied in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. For example John Isidore another character from the novel, who does not own an animal but he is truly kind and tries to help out anyone he meets, he is the only character in the novel who truly understands the concept of Mercer (the only religion that is followed). Based on the sole fact that he doesn’t own an animal make him less human than Rick or Iran? Another Article titled: “Are poor people more moral than the rich?” States “Paul Piff, a doctoral student of psychology at UC Berkeley – which was founded in 1868 – stated: “The increased unethical tendencies of upper class individuals are driven, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed. “The research has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Mr.Piff claimed the findings are helping to shed light on the inequality that is serving to shape selfishness and other conducts relating to ethics.” (bps.org.uk) Does this article, along with the other articles included in the essay, answer the question: If the rich are morally righteous?

The argument in defense of the wealthy is; if anyone wants to succeed in life, then you have to put yourself first in order to be successful. Isn’t this a humane way of thinking, one of the basic principles of success? If so, why the rich should be looked down upon on their mindset if they just want to be the best and ensure survival. In a way, we are all doing the same, making sure that “I” or “you” succeed in life. “Greed is good, because it is the most important incentive for people to work hard, get a good education, start a business, or invest in a company. This makes people productive and contributing members of society. And in return, people are paid a salary, become more educated, and (hopefully) build wealth so that they can in return live a prosperous, more comfortable, and full life.” This quote is from another article titled “Greed is Good and Bad. This passage from the article is proof that greed shouldn’t be considered unethical, that the rich aren’t unprincipled, they are just hard working. Also one question that may arise, do the middle or lower class take responsibility on some of the problems society faces (such as the increase of poverty in certain areas of the world)? No, only because not everyone, especially those who have families to take care, loans to pay off can even afford to donate some money. Then it can be debated if the responsibility lies on the wealthy. Isn’t the ability to help others in need what makes us human? After all it is emphasized in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

In the article “Americans see growing gap between rich and poor” by Bruce Drake, provides charts to demonstrate the difference in perception of rich people vs. the poor. The first chart demonstrates how the wealthy are perceived. The article gave a clear description of the results of the first table, “More than half (55%) saw the rich as more likely to be greedy compared with 9% who said less likely, and 36% who took neither side.” (pewresearch) This type of research does show that the rich does hold that reputation of being greedy. There is a reason for this, possibly because it is true. The second chart described how the poor were perceived. Now there was a description for the second table in the article, “Democrats said poor people work but do not earn enough money. But only about half (53%) of moderate and liberal Republicans agreed. Conservative Republicans were evenly divided: 43% said the poor do in fact work but cannot earn enough while 40% said most poor people do not work.” (pewresearch) Does the poor hold responsibility to why they do not earn enough? Not entirely, for example some individuals could not afford an education, or there are youths who need to work instead of learn in order to put food on the table. This last chart demonstrates that there is an overall difference between the rich and the poor. There is not only an income gap between the two classes, but in addition there is a gap between ethics. The poor realistically have less power, they cannot help change the imperative issues that face society today. Issues such as; finding cures for rare diseases, or contributing in advanced technology. Only the wealthy, have not only the money, but time to help solve majority of world’s problems.

In my opinion I feel like because the wealthy have so many responsibilities, and standards that must be met, of course they should be morally righteous. But in reality that’s not always the case. Being wealthy or poor does not determine one’s moral superiority. The definition of moral is: concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character. I believe that we all have this concern, but we do express it in different ways. There is not one person on this earth who doesn’t understand the fundamental basics of what is right, and what is wrong. It’s the values, and beliefs that makes that person morally righteous, not the status. I personally found it humorous in Philip K. Dicks novel how embarrassing it was to not own an authentic animal. It shouldn’t be embarrassing, because just like in the real world, not everyone can afford those necessities that are sometimes impossible to achieve.

Sources:

“America’s Worst Charities.” America’s Worst Charities. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. <http://www.tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities/>.

“Are Poor People More Moral than the Rich?” BPS. The British Psychological Society, 3 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. <http://www.bps.org.uk/news/are-poor-people-more-moral-rich>.

Bury, Liz. “Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy, Study Finds.” Web log post. Hypothes. The Guardian, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. <https://via.hypothes.is/https:/www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/oct/08/literary-fiction-improves-empathy-study#annotations:qfVLslp1Eead4qeiMoDrfg>.

Drake, Bruce. “Americans See Growing Gap between Rich and Poor.” Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/05/americans-see-growing-gap-between-rich-and-poor/>.

Humanity, Phil For. “Greed Is Good and Bad.” Phil for Humanity. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. <http://www.philforhumanity.com/Greed_is_Good_and_Bad.html>.

Images, PATRICK LIN/AFP/Getty. “Are the Wealthy Less Ethical?” Are the Wealthy Less Ethical? Market Place, 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.

L Buchheit / AlterNet, Paul. “5 Ways the Poor Are More Ethical Than the Rich.” Alternet. N.p., 18 May 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. <http://www.alternet.org/economy/5-ways-poor-are-more-ethical-rich>.

Stanger, Melissa. “The 50 Richest People on Earth.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. <http://www.businessinsider.com/50-richest-people-on-earth-2016-1>.

Surugue, Léa. “Reading Books and Watching Films Makes You Kinder in Real Life.” Web log post. Hypothes. International Business Times, 19 July 2016. Web. <https://via.hypothes.is/http:/www.ibtimes.co.uk/reading-books-watching-films-makes-you-kinder-real-life-1571434#annotations:_MOsQlpyEeaiesf9ed4wVw>.

Penfield, Good or Bad?

In the First chapter of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick the reader is aware that in the future individuals are able to control their emotions using a device called the Penfield. Basically Penfield is a machine where the user “sets” their emotion to a specific degree. For example; if the user wants to feel joyful they would set the nob to the mode that will allow them to feel that emotion. “My schedule for today lists a six – hour self-accusatory depression,’ Iran said…..It defeated the whole purpose of the mood organ.” (Dick 5) In this chapter Iran has set her mood to be in depression her reasoning being “I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing the absence of life, not just building but everywhere………they call it ‘absence of appropriate affect.” (Dick 5) To her this machine does not seem normal, everyone should have a natural reaction to every situation, not a planned one.

If the device were to exist in reality in my opinion the Penfield program be used for evil instead of good. Instead of helping people with severe depression, there could be a possibility that individuals would lose their sense of empathy, and this would lead to bad decision making. If there was a chance that the device would be used for bad, should the Penfield device be strictly reserved for individuals with severe mental illnesses, and no one else? Or should the mood organ be available for everyone just at a higher price, and if so does this then dehumanizes everyone?

Author: patel monica n.

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Proposal