Hip Hop in the African American culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hip Hop in the African American culture - Essay Example These four elements include rap music, turntablism, breaking, and graffiti art. African America people find unity in this artifact, which was born in a violent and poverty historical context despite the contrasting method that they use to execute this artifact. This artifact was used to provide a reactionary outlet form the hardships of the African American in the urban. Its main objective was to reflect on the expressions and proclaim an alternative, which would change the mood of poverty and violent environment. The four elements have enabled the hip hop artifact to remain coherent and stable to the African America culture, thus allowing this artifact to nurture globally in a thriving multitude of different style. The Hip hop artifact was established in South Bronx, New York, City in 1973 by a Jamaican-born Kool DJ Herc. By use of an innovative turntable technique Herc stretched a song drum break by playing the breaking portion of two identical records consecutively at a Halloween dance party, which was organized by her younger sister (Chang, 2005). Out of this break portion of identical songs was the realization of a new style; ‘break dancing’, which was a style for the Hip hop culture. Extended drum breaks by other DJs in at New York dance parties facilitated the hip hop culture an America. Other seminal turntables DJ dominated the Hip hop scene in New York by mid-1970s. These DJs are DJ Flash, DJ Grandmaster, DJ Afrika Bambaataa, and Herc. The first Hip hop commercially successful hit way ‘Rapper’s Delight’ by the rappers of Sugarhill Gang in 1979. It is very wrong to insinuate that Hip hop is not a unique and complete African and African American tradition. A majority, if not all, of the African American truly love this art. In the beginning, only the Blacks enjoyed this artifact, but as time goes by, almost all races have embraced this culture by enjoying, buying, and writing of Hip hop music. The rap music is an African oral poetry, which has been traced through jazz, rock, the gospel, and the blues, which originated form West Africa. A majority of the slaves who worked in America were kidnapped from West Africa. These slaves were those who took the knowledge of jazz, rock, Gospel, and blues, which later gave birth to hip hop. Therefore, it is wrong to say that hip hop is not of an African cultural origin. This is similar as trying to say that jazz, blues, rock, and gospel have nothing to do with black culture. The hip hop godfathers were African American, and thus it is right when one says that Black African masses created this artifact. The pains and struggles that the African Americans went through was one reason this culture was created. The hip hop music was soulful expression from the hearts of Zulu nations; mostly Black (Anderson, 2003). When they spoke their thoughts the other human races who have ever been subjected to pain would be conscious of their misery through hip hop music. On the o ther hand, a majority of the breaking moves that commonly used in hip hop come from African-Brazilian art of Capoeria. It is also important to note that graffiti finds its roots from the oldest burners in the world, the Egyptian Hieroglyphics. The turn table techniques were stated by the African American DJs. For example, Kool Herc had Jamaican roots. Therefore, Hip hop is solely of an African origin and thus Hip hop is Black. Hip hop has turned out to become a massive reality, which has

Reviewing and evaluating financial management processes Essay

Reviewing and evaluating financial management processes - Essay Example The manager takes effective measures in controlling the budgets of the organization so that the cost does not exceed the estimated budget. The allowable cost helps in determining the allowability, reasonableness and allocability of costs for the managers. Cash management and compliance of the organization are supervised under the surveillance of the manager of the organization for better performance.Matching available resources to planned activities.The four main financial records are the trading account, the profit and loss account or the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement of a company.   These financial records provide accountability, reliability and can even be used as legal evidence while taking decisions regarding the concerned organization. The financial records are tool which can constrain the individuals from engaging in corrupt practices. Conversely, the financial records can protect an innocent of false accusations. Implementation of the recor ds management control is a must for the effective financial management process of the organization. The purpose of preparing financial performance report for the organization is to bring forth the core information which would otherwise be obscured, highlighting of significant items and relationships between them, enhancing comparability and improving the understandability of the financials of the organization.The timing of the financial report is as important to the organization as that of the financial information.... Conversely, the financial records can protect an innocent of false accusations. Implementation of the records management control is a must for the effective financial management process of the organisation.2 Answer 3 The purpose of preparing financial performance report for the organisation is to bring forth the core information which would otherwise be obscured, highlighting of significant items and relation between them, enhancing comparability and improving the understandability of the financials of the organisation. Even the stability and the riskiness of the organisation can well be determined from the financial performance report of the organisation.3 Answer 4 A person can verify the accuracy of the financial management report by4: Reviewing the financial documents in a comprehensible manner Monitor the preparation of budget of the organisation Calculate realistic funding needs and identify the appropriate sources Matching available resources to planned activities Establishing a centralized database of information Ensure that all data are consistently reported amongst subsidiaries Making executives accountable for the financial reports by personally verifying their accuracy. For example: The audited financial report of a company projected in the company’s annual report portrays the present financial condition of the company. This annual report is issued for all the stakeholders of the company who takes the decision of investment after going through the financial report of the company audited by some external auditor. Answer 5 The timing of the financial report is as important to the organisation as that of the financial information. Timing has great influence in the financial reporting of an entity which constraint the official information

"story of an hour "response Assignment

"story of an hour "response - Assignment Example Mallard who is free of her. The story ends with her death in a shock, seeing her living husband standing in the doorway (Chopin, Kate and Chopin 10). In the story, the writer employs specific structural techniques to heighten the drama. As the title suggests, the story is short. The structure used fits the subject matter quite well. The short story is made up of short paragraphs, consisting of two to three sentences. The story only covers an hour in the life of the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard. The time coverage runs from when she learns of her husband’s death and the time the husband unexpectedly returns home. The story makes a great impact, and one can quickly read it. The message is direct. The short story gives Louise an intense hour that she spends contemplating her independence. We immerse ourselves in her wild thoughts. The ‘heart disease’ echoed at the end of the story refers to the ‘heart trouble’ introduced at the beginning of the story. The structure intensifies the twist ending of the story (Chopin, Kate, and Chopin 9). The writer brings out the theme of the forbidden joy of independence. After Richards and Josephine shared the news of Bentleys death, Mrs. Mallard frequently grieves, although her reaction is more violent than other women. She realizes that she is an independent woman now that the husband had left her alone. The realization excites and enlivens her. Though, these are her private thoughts; she tries to squelch the feeling of joy she had. The word â€Å"free† escaped her lips. She sees her new independence as the center of her being. She even turns to prayers in hoping for a longer life to enjoy the freedom. The return of Bentley unwillingly yanks her independence to a level of killing her (Chopin, Kate, and Chopin 15). Another theme we find in the story is the inherent oppressiveness of marriage. The writer identifies that all marriages are

Assess the idea that globalisation leads Essay Example for Free

Assess the idea that globalisation leads Essay Globalisation leads to transnational organisations such as the European Union and the United Nations. Also transnational companies such as Nike. Globalisation also leads to the developments in new technologies such as internet, fibre optics, and jet planes, this means there can be an instant link between one person searching on the internet about one specific culture and finding out everything they need to know whereas before this was not possible. This leads to the relativity of truth, the decline in Meta narratives and also mass tourism. These transnational companies such as Nike, Ford, Enron etc all cause developments around the world due to the fact that they can move around freely around the globe. This is called industrial migration. Big companies such as these move to places where labour is cheap and they build big, new developments such as city centres with big industrial buildings, and mines where they can exploit the local cultures. An example of this would be the kayapo, where they found that a gold mine was situated on their land and so they group was therefore split in two as one group wanted to sell the gold to the big corporations and get wealth for it, whereas the other half did not want to sell their land to the foreigners and so the culture of the kayapo was destroyed and the industrial companies exploited the native kayapos for their surplus value. These developments also spread to places such as conservation parks such as in Peru where the sacred ground of the michu pichu was made into a world heritage site and so the michu pichus could not afford the entry price and so could not worship or pay their respect, even on a Sunday when the entry prices are taken away there is no silence and so they cannot pray still. Therefore this meant that the culture of the michu pichus has broken down and the main beliefs of their culture have been taken away from them and so leading to the slow eradication of that culture. A similar thing has happened in the safari parks in Botswana where bushmen where pushed off their lands unfairly to make room for rich upper class tourists who want to hunt ‘big game’. So the Bushmen who lived in peace with the animals were forced to work for the safari park as rangers and guides for the tourists who pushed the natives off their land changing their culture from hunter gatherers to capitalistic workers. A similar thing has happened to ayers rock in Australia where for sixty thousand years the native aborigines paid their respect to the rock, where they believed that it is where the souls of their ancestors go after they die and the rock has been turned into another world heritage area where many tourists come to see and disrespect the rock by climbing all over it. This has made it increasingly difficult for the aborigine people to pay their respect to their ancestors as there are many people around all the time and disrespecting it often. The masaai Mara where hired by the mayers to perform their native dances for the mayers regular guests. The Mayers founded the group to show the masaai in their traditional culture, houses, and dress ware, but were severely exploited by the Mayers for their surplus value as they were not paid properly instead were given food and told that the food that they eat and the fact that they live in the Mayers residence was payment enough. The Mayers hired the masaai as the western tourists wanted to see firsthand the cultural beliefs, and also rituals in a traditional manner, even when it was their ancestors who had intentionally destroyed the culture of the masaai. The Mayers residence was closed down as the government thought that the Mayers were exploiting the masaai far too badly and so closed them down. The exploitation of the masaai is imperialism as the masaai people were hired as pretty much slaves and made to work for the people who had taken away their culture in the first place but made the masaai men and women show their traditional dances and lifestyle.

School Readiness: Literature Review

School Readiness: Literature Review School Readiness The heart and core of this paper is the increased emphasis on School Readiness. The paper would define the integration, Cognition and Emotion with conceptualization of Childrens functioning at School level Entry. The character of work and society in the United States is changing. The technological nature of the information-based economy is placing increased emphasis on the active role of the individual in seeking out and applying knowledge in diverse ways. The workplace and the classroom increasingly require ready access to information and analytical and creative thinking skills that allow for self-regulated learning through goal setting, strategy use, and self-monitoring. Indeed, some see the ability of our educational institutions to enhance thinking skills and produce self-regulated learners as having broad implications for the future role of the United States in the global economy and the ongoing viability of the democratic process (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 1999; Presidents Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, 1997). PART I Problem Statement From the standpoint of research on learning, the growing emphasis on thinking skills and self-regulation signals the need for increased understanding of the ways in which young children become active seekers and appliers of knowledge (Lambert McCombs, 1998). High levels of motivation and self-regulation are clearly associated with academic achievement independent of measured intelligence (Gottfried, 1990; Skinner, Zimmer-Gembeck, Connell, 1998). The developmental origins of motivation and engaged learning during early childhood, however, are less well known. Parents involvement, peer-group influences, and school characteristics have all been shown to influence motivation and engagement (e.g., Eccles, Wigfield, Schiefele, 1998; Grolnick Ryan, 1989; Ryan, 2000). But childrens characteristics associated with engagement in learning, particularly those related to brain development, have been less well studied. Part II Analysis of Policy Approaches Recent advances in developmental neuroscience indicate the rapid growth and modification in infancy and early childhood of brain areas that subserve self-regulation, including emotion, memory, and attention (Nelson Luciana, 2001). An important next scientific step in the study of self-regulation and engaged learning is the examination of implications of this rapid change and its determinants for functional outcomes, such as the adjustment to school (Byrnes Fox, 1998). To this end, I detail a central role for emotionality and emotion-related functioning in neurological development and childrens adjustment to school. I conclude by suggesting that influences on emotionality can influence the development of neurological interconnections among structures underlying emotion and higher order cognition. As such, these influences on emotionality are particularly relevant to the design and implementation of early compensatory educational programs to promote childrens school readiness (see Nelson, 2000b) and can assist in the ongoing construction of an empirical foundation on which to erect social policy designed to meet Americas foremost educational goal: ensuring that all children enter school ready to learn (Lewit Baker, 1995; Zigler, 1998). However, although my focus is on the development of self-regulation abilities as an aspect of school readiness, only by keeping in mind that readiness is a multidimensional construct involving family, peer, school, a nd community levels of influence will the value of the neurodevelopmental perspective on self-regulation become apparent. Ecologically minded thinkers on readiness focus on transactional, systemic models of influences and seek to define processes at multiple levels (S. L. Kagan, 1990, 1992; Meisels, 1996; Pianta Walsh, 1996). Within this developmental transactional approach, the study of emotionality provides an excellent framework for arraying multiple influences on readiness. Part III- (Recent Legislation) Whether defined as the regulation of emotion in appropriate social responding or the regulation of attention and selective strategy use in the execution of cognitive tasks, self-regulatory skills underlie many of the behaviors and attributes that are associated with successful school adjustment. Researchers have long considered intelligence to be a key predictor of success in school. Indicators of self-regulation ability, however, are independent and perhaps equally powerful predictors of school adjustment. Much of the literature on school readiness points to the importance of self-regulation (Grolnick Slowiaczek, 1994; Normandeau Guay, 1998; Wentzel, Weinberger, Ford, Feldman, 1990). Clear relations between achievement and the percentage of time that students are engaged in academic activities have been demonstrated both in elementary and in preschool regular and special education classrooms (Carta, Greenwood, Robinson, 1987; Greenwood, 1991). Emotionality and regulatory aspects of measures of temperament have also been implicated in school achievement in both regular and special education classrooms. Children who are temperamentally less distractible and exhibit more positively valenced and moderate levels of emotional intensity are rated by their teachers as being more teachable and achieve at higher levels academically than do children without these characteristics (Keogh, 1992; Martin, Drew, Gaddis, Moseley, 1988; Palinsin, 1986). As well, aspects of social and cognitive self-regulation, such as those implicated in friendship and social interaction skills (Ladd, Birch, Buhs, 1999) and in perceived control over learning (Skinner et al., 1998), point to a key role for childrens self-regulatory ability in the transition to school. Further, data from the National Center for Education Statistics survey of kindergarten teachers ratings of child characteristics considered to be essential or very important to being ready to start kindergarten indicate teachers predominant concern for regulatory aspects of childrens behavior (Lewit Baker, 1995). In particular, it is noteworthy that 84% of teachers endorsed that children need to be able to communicate wants, needs, and thoughts verbally, 76% endorsed the idea that children need to be enthusiastic and curious, and 60% endorsed that children need to be able to follow directions, not be disruptive of the class, and be sensitive to other childrens feelings. In contrast, only 21% of teachers endorsed the need for children to be able to use a pencil or paintbrush, and only 10% and 7%, respectively, endorsed knowing several letters of the alphabet and being able to count to 20 as being essential or very important to being ready to start kindergarten. In addition, in a survey conducted by the National Center for Early Development and Learning, 46% of a nationally representative sample of kindergarten teachers indicated that over half the children in their class lacked the kinds of abilities and experiences that would enable them to function productively in the kindergarten classroom (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, Cox, 2000). This suggests that many children are arriving at school without effective self-regulation skills. Overall, the results of these teacher surveys clearly indicate that kindergarten teachers are concerned with childrens regulatory readiness for school activities rather than with more strictly cognitive and academic aspects of readiness. The surveys suggest that teachers are concerned with being able to teach; that is, they are concerned with the capacity of each child to be attentive and responsive and to become engaged in the classroom. Development of Regulation Despite growing interest in self-regulation and evidence for its direct relevance to school readiness, individual differences in self-regulation and the relation of these individual differences to functional outcomes, such as the adjustment to school, have not been studied. The developing cognitive skills that, in part, form the basis for self-regulated learning are generally referred to as executive or metacognitive skills. Executive function is a construct that unites working memory, attention, and inhibitory control for the purposes of planning and executing goal-directed activity (Bell, 1998; Lyon Krasnegor, 1996; Zelazo, Carter, Reznick, Frye, 1997). That is, the construct combines basic cognitive processes within a goal-directed executive that marshals resources toward a desired end state. Normative developmental study of executive function, usually in cross-sectional designs with a battery of neuropsychological assessments, indicates an age-related maturational developmental course for the construct and its component processes (Krikorian Bartok, 1998; Luciana Nelson, 1998; Welsh, Pennington, Groisser, 1991). These findings support the idea that the emergence of behaviors indicative of cognitive processes involved in executive function are dependent to some extent on the development of the prefrontal cortex at ages approximately congruent with school entry (Gerstadt, Hong, Diamond, 1994; Luciana Nelson, 1998). As well, the finding that executive ability and general intelligence are only moderately correlated (Krikorian Bartok, 1998; Welsh et al., 1991) further underscores that executive regulatory skill is an independent contributor to the school-adjustment process. Clinical examination of frontal lobe damage has indicated that frontal dysfunction, depending on t he exact location of the deficit, leaves specific cognitive abilities and general intelligence largely intact but greatly impairs planning, self-monitoring, attention, and responsiveness to impending reward or punishment (Damasio, 1994; Eslinger, Biddle, Pennington, Page, 1999; Tranel Eslinger, 2000). A longitudinal study of the development of one aspect of executive cognition, referred to as effortful or inhibitory control has demonstrated it to be an antecedent of the internalization of norms of conduct in young children (Kochanska, Murray, Coy, 1997). When examined by a multimethod measure defined as the ability to inhibit a predominant response when instructed to engage in a subdominant response (i.e., to be told to wait to eat a cookie or to unwrap a present), effortful control has been shown to increase with age, to be stable, and to become increasingly coherent. As well, several characteristics of children and parents have been associated with the construct of effortful control. Childrens capacity for focused attention in infancy and maternal responsiveness to children, as well as parental personality characteristics such as dependability, prudence, and self-control, have been associated with variation in effortful control (Kochanska, Murray, Harlan, 2000). Similarly, maternal responsiveness in infancy, as assessed by a measure of the affective synchrony of the mother and child in face-to-face interaction, has been identified as a precursor of effortful control at age 24 months. Most notably, however, the interaction of mother–child affective synchrony with child negative emotionality appears to be a highly salient predictor of self-regulation. In particular, the impact of affective synchrony in mother–infant interaction on the development of effortful control is large for children exhibiting high negative emotionality in infa ncy. The effect of affective synchrony on effortful control for infants not characterized by negative emotionality is substantially smaller (Feldman, Greenbaum, Yirmiya, 1999). The role of negative emotionality in early intervention to prevent grade retention is of strong interest. Grade retention appears to be a well-intentioned educational practice that frequently has deleterious consequences for childrens academic and social success in school (Shepard Smith, 1989). In spite of evidence indicating adverse outcomes associated with its use, the practice persists, and effective programs to prevent its occurrence are needed. The continued use of grade retention as a remedial strategy seems to reflect the lack of alternative solutions when teachers have concerns about the academic progress, maturity, and general school readiness of individual children. To the extent to which grade retention is dependent on interrelations among childrens social, emotional, and cognitive adaptation to school, it may be that early compensatory education interventions that specifically address social and emotional functioning can prevent its occurrence. Future Directions Examination of emotionality within early intervention to promote school readiness and prevent grade retention provides a useful model for evaluating the role that programs to enhance social and emotional competence might play in preschool education. The study of emotionality suggests that a particularly promising direction for early intervention efforts may be the implementation in preschool and early elementary school of programs that combine interventions focusing on social and emotional competence with early compensatory education. Such programs would provide an exceptionally strong model for the promotion of school readiness and school success. As noted above, several early compensatory education interventions have demonstrated cognitive benefits to program recipients. Several school-based programs to enhance social and emotional competence have also demonstrated benefits to childrens social competence (see Eisenberg, Wentzel, Harris, 1998, for a review). An interesting area in which programs focusing on social competence interface with more cognitively oriented programs is problem solving related to the development of executive cognitive functioning. A particular example of the executive cognitive problem-solving approach to the promotion of prosocial behavior and social competence is the Promoting Alternative Thinking Skills (PATHS) curriculum, an intervention curriculum with demonstrated benefits to young childrens social competence, emotion regulation, and problem-solving skills in the early elementary grades (Greenberg, Kusche, Cook, Quamma, 1995). The neurobiological approach to early childhood education and school readiness is premised on the idea that the school classroom represents a distinct context within which specific regulatory demands are made of children. Children are expected to adapt to a socially defined role for which they may or may not have been previously socialized. Differences among children in the capacity for regulation within this environment, as well as differences in supports for childrens self-regulatory attempts both within and without this environment, are important to conceptualizations of readiness that view the transition to school within an ecological framework (Meisels, 1996; Pianta, Rimm-Kaufman, Cox, 1999). From the foregoing, it can be seen that a focus on childrens characteristics in the development of readiness does not preclude study of the influences of parents, schools, and communities. On the contrary, when viewed from the ecological contextual perspective that drives much of the resea rch on child development, it necessitates their inclusion. Researchers concerned with readiness over the past two decades have rightly moved from static child-focused conceptions of readiness embodied in academically oriented standardized tests of ability or aptitude. An exclusive focus on childrens cognitive skills and abilities in the assessment of readiness has proved to be of limited benefit (Pianta Walsh, 1996). This fact has rightly led researchers to seek alternative definitions for and determinants of readiness. This recognition of readiness as a socially constructed phenomenon has led to a broadening of the research base to include a focus on schools and teachers and the development of educational policies geared toward maximizing childrens potential for success in school (Graue, 1993; NAEYC, 1990; Willer Bredekamp, 1990). Continued efforts to foster readiness with an eye toward the neurobiology and psychophysology of childrens emotionality and regulation may be particularly likely to yield long-term benefits. In this, measures of biologically based processes can serve as both predictors and outcomes in the evaluation of programs to promote readiness and success in school. Programs to foster regulation can use physiological and neurocognitive measures to identify individuals at high risk for poor school outcome because of negative emotional reactivity. Treatment Ãâ€" Risk interactions can be specified that can increase the precision with which intervention effects on outcomes are estimated. Although-brain imaging techniques are perhaps not currently usable with children younger than seven years of age because of features of the assessment, magnetic resonance imaging and perhaps, under certain conditions, positron emission tomography could be used, along with physiological and neurocognitive assessments, as outcome measures of the efficacy of preschool interventions. Programs could demonstrate efficacy through assessments of behavioral outcomes and underlying neurobiology and physiology. As in the studies by Fox et al. (2001) and Davidson and Rickman (1999), which indicated change over time in emotional reactivity and EEG measures of frontal asymmetry, intervention studies might demonstrate change in frontal asymmetry and emotionality in response to curricula designed to reduce stress, foster emotional competence, and enhance attention, working memory, and other components of cognitive self-regulation. As noted by Nelson (1999), neuroscientific measurement techniques and knowledge of neural plasticity and human development are now sufficiently advanced to inform the conceptualization and evaluation of interventions to promote competence and foster resilience. PART IV Conclusion In conclusion, the neurobiological approach to the study of readiness can now supplant nativist or idealist conceptions of readiness that focus exclusively on maturation. The maturational view, primarily associated with Arnold Gessell (1925), posited that readiness comes about through the gradual development of abilities that facilitate learning: being able to sit quietly, to focus on work, to attend, and to follow directions. Certainly, there is some maturational component to the neurodevelopmental view of readiness; however, the traditional maturational view has been fully supplanted by an epigenetic conception of relations between nature and nurture (Elman et al., 1996). Indeed, the ideas that fostered the replacement of the traditional maturational view with an epigenetic conception of development were clearly in place in Gesells time, most notably in the work of Myrtle McGraw (1946/1995). Although any explicitly maturational view is and always has been unsuitable as a theoretical basis for child study, the child characteristics important for readiness that such a view purports to explain remain vital to the construct. In their modern form, however, these characteristics are now tethered to a comprehensive and ecologically sensitive framework relating neurobiological and behavioral research. Behavioral scientists, educators, and policymakers studying readiness and school adjustment should be aware of this. To this end, I have attempted to propose a conception of readiness that maintains a focus on relevant aspects of child functioning in a way that is theoretically and empirically well established and that has demonstrated or demonstrable links to family, peer, classroom, school, and community influences on readiness and school achievement.

The Technological Need for Holographic Data Storage :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Technological Need for Holographic Data Storage Digital technology has become the latest byword in entertainment and computers. Records and analog cassette tapes have been supplanted with Compact Discs, and now VCRs are being challenged by Digital Video Discs. Multimedia applications such as these consume enormous amounts of storage space, and are challenging the limits of today's storage devices. Many solutions are being put forth in an attempt to keep pace with the growth in demand for digital data storage. Some are evolutionary changes in existing media, which can incrementally increase speed and capacity, while others attempt to circumvent the limitations of present media by using new methods, and promise to leapfrog over conventional technology. Holographic data storage is one of these attempts at creating a new type of high density storage device. However, scientists have been trying to develop a holographic storage device for the past 30 years, when the idea was first proposed. There have been few commercial holographic sto rage devices released since then, but recent developments in the field and the inertia behind the search for solutions promise to eventually make holographic storage a commercially viable reality. Holograms have been around for quite a while. Denis Gabor, a British Physicist, pioneered holographic technology in the 1940s (Glanz 736). In his research, he discovered that, "when a beam of coherent light scatters off an object and intersects with another coherent beam, the interference pattern created where the beams cross harbors a three dimensional image of the object . . . . The image will reappear when this 'hologram' is probed with a third beam of coherent light" (Glanz 736). Thus began the field of holography. Scientists first conceived of using Gabor's holograms to store data over thirty years ago. In 1962, IBM instructed Glenn Sincerbox to research using holograms to store data (Glanz 736). The scientists at the time felt, "The novel technology [holograms] promised devices that could pack information 10 times more densely and fetch it 100 times more quickly than could any magnetic disk or tape drive" (Gibbs 128). The idea of using holograms to store digital data has been around for many years, and its promises have long been apparent. Holograms are recorded by intersecting an image bearing laser beam with a reference beam. The intersection of these beams records the image into the medium which is being recorded on, and the image can then be read later by shining a reference beam at the laser, which then "reproduces the original image-bearing wavefront" (Heanue, Bashaw, and Hesselink 749).

Psychology and Personality Essay

The study of personality has a broad and varied history in psychology with an abundance of theoretical traditions. The major theories include dispositional trait perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviorist, and social learning perspective. However, many researchers and psychologists do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and instead take an eclectic approach. Research in this area is empirically driven, such as dimensional models, based on multivariate statistics, such as factor analysis, or emphasizes theory development, such as that of the psychodynamic theory. There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal psychology or clinical psychology. Personality Paper Personality is connected with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. It generally explains why there are personality differences between individuals.[ Schacter, Daniel; Gilbert, Daniel; Wegner, Daniel (2011).] Personality also refers to the pattern of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments, and behaviors consistently exhibited over time that strongly influences one’s expectations, self-perceptions, values, and attitudes. It also predicts human reactions to other people, problems, and stress.[ Winnie, J.F. & Gittinger, J.W. (1973)][ Krauskopf, C.J. & Saunders, D.R, (1994)] There is still no universal consensus on the definition of â€Å"personality† in psychology. Gordon Allport described two major ways to study personality: the nomothetic and the idiographic. Nomothetic psychology seeks general laws that can be applied to many different people, such as the principle of self-actualization or the trait of extraversion. Idiographic psychology is an attempt to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual. The study of personality has a broad and varied history in psychology with an abundance of theoretical traditions. The major theories include dispositional trait perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviorist, and social learning perspective. However, many researchers and psychologists do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and instead take an eclectic approach. Research in this area is empirically driven, such as dimensional models, based on multivariate statistics, such as factor analysis, or emphasizes theory development, such as that of the psychodynamic theory. There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal psychology or clinical psychology. Perspectives of Personality Many of the ideas developed by historical and modern personality theorists stem from the basic philosophical assumptions they hold. The study of personality is not a purely empirical discipline, as it brings in elements of art, science, and philosophy to draw general conclusions. Freedom versus determinism This idea seeks to answer whether humans have control over their own behavior and understand the motives behind it or our behavior is causally determined by forces beyond our control. Behavior is categorized as being unconscious, environmental, or biological by various theories. [Engler, Barbara (2008)]. Heredity versus environment Personality is thought to be determined largely by genetics and biology, by environment and experiences, or by some combination resulting thereof. Contemporary research suggests that most personality traits are based on the joint influence of genetics and environment. One of the forerunners in this arena is C. Robert Cloninger, who pioneered the Temperament and Character model.[ Engler, Barbara (2008).] Uniqueness versus universality This is the argument discussing the extent of each human’s individuality Uniqueness or similarity in nature Universality. Gordon Allport, Abraham Maslow, and Carl Rogers were all advocates of the uniqueness of individuals. Behaviorists and cognitive theorists, in contrast, emphasize the importance of universal principles, such as reinforcement and self-efficacy.[ Engler, Barbara (2008).] Optimistic versus pessimistic Personality theories differ with regard to whether humans are integral in the changing of their own personalities. Theories that place a great deal of emphasis on learning are often more optimistic than those that do not. [Engler, Barbara (2008)]. Three Theories of Personality Development The study of personality is based on the essential insight that all people are similar in some ways, yet different in others.[ Phares, E.J.; Chaplin, W.F. (1997).] There have been many different definitions of personality proposed. However, many contemporary psychologists agree on the following definition: Personality is that pattern of characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguishes one person from another and that persists over time and situations. [Phares, E.J.; Chaplin, W.F. (1997)]. Trait theories According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, personality traits are â€Å"enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts.† Theorists generally assume that a) traits are relatively stable over time, b) traits differ among individuals, and c) traits influence behavior. They consistently are used in order to help define people as a whole. Traits are relatively constant; they do not usually change. Traits are also bipolar; they vary along a continuum between one extreme and the other (e.g. friendly vs. unfriendly).[ Feist, Jess Feist, Gregory J. (2009).] Behaviorist theories Behaviorists explain personality in terms of the effects external stimuli have on behavior. The approaches used to analyze the behavioral aspect of personality are known as behavioral theories or learning-conditioning theories. These approaches were a radical shift away from Freudian philosophy. One of the major tenets of this concentration of personality psychology is a strong emphasis on scientific thinking and experimentation. Humanistic theories Humanistic psychology emphasizes that people have free will and that this plays an active role in determining how they behave. Humanistic therapy typically relies on the client for information of the past and its effect on the present, therefore the client dictates the type of guidance the therapist may initiate. This allows for an individualized approach to therapy. Personality Tests There are two major types of personality tests, projective and objective. Projective tests assume personality is primarily unconscious and assess an individual by how he or she responds to an ambiguous stimulus, such as an ink blot. Projective tests have been in use for about 60 years and continue to be used today. Objective tests assume personality is consciously accessible and measure it by self-report questionnaires. Research on psychological assessment has generally found objective tests are more valid and reliable than projective tests. Critics have pointed to the Forer effect to suggest some of these appear to be more accurate and discriminating than they really are. Issues within Testing Issues with these tests include, false reporting because there is no way to tell if an individual is answering a question honestly or accurately. Conclusion There are many theories on how a person develops a certain type of personality. A person’s personality is what defines them in all aspects of their life. People believe that you are molded into what you are today, but theories have proven that some people lead by example and some learn by example. If anyone is curious as to what type of personality they have, there are my types of assessments available to take that can tell you.