Budgeting Memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Budgeting Memo - Assignment Example Upon questioning, I learned that people in charge of budgeting and procurement have to spend all of their budgets for fear of losing it the next year. Perhaps you got that idea from government spending which has a totally different setting with a non-government agency such as ours. It is widely known that most government agencies are under pressure to fully expend budgets that are set to expire (Boris Angelov, 2014) I am not happy with this situation because you have the wrong notion of budgeting. The rush of spending at the end of the fiscal year is only costing the organization unnecessary expenditures and wasteful. Budget is supposed to be an allocation to ensure that there are enough resources to accomplish set of goals. It is defined as an estimation of revenue and expenses over a period of specified time (Investopedia). For instance, if you have budgeted, $30,000 for training of personnel, and at close of the fiscal year, you have spent only $20,000 for the actual training; this does not mean you have to think of ways to spend the balance of the budget. Necessarily, it should be treated as a savings and be returned to the Treasury. An approved budget does not mean that you have to spend it to zero. We should form the practice of returning balances because as you contribute to our fund balances, you are adding to the health of our company. From now on, the practice of spend all will not be tolerated. Each manager has to explain why there are balances/deficits from the budgeted amount, and if there is a balance, the need to spend it should be rightly justified. Please be informed that I will not approve expenses not tied up with our goals but will commend managers who are efficient in their surpluses. If you fear of losing your budget for next year, I will propose to our Board of Directors to use Zero budgeting wherein every expenditure is justified, or each spending starts with an assumed value of 0 (Accounting Tools, 2014).

Goup Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Goup Communication - Essay Example e individual communication as well as group communication include greeting, having one’s stance on the subject of discussion, respecting others’ views and expressing one’s own without offending others, avoiding unnecessary argumentation and dysfunctional conflicts, and maintaining a balance between listening and speaking. Disagreement over a matter during discussion may lead to conflict. The main way to resolve such conflicts is to conduct a dialogue without using indecent or offensive language. The dialogue may not necessarily lead to a conclusion. In case there is a judge, the matter should be referred to him/her for decision. If there is no third party acting as a judge, it is better to change the topic of discussion. The aforesaid strategies of group communication can best be used with practicing more. For a manager to use these strategies while addressing a group, his/her communication style should be tailored towards the group’s needs (Mitchell, 2012). Effective communication in a group requires use of emotional intelligence. One also has to be a bit articulate to conduct group

Impact of British Colonialisation on Indian Culture Essay Example for Free

Impact of British Colonialisation on Indian Culture Essay Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony, and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by colonizers from the metropole. Colonialism is a set of unequal relationships between the metropole and the colony and between the colonists and the indigenous population. The colonial period normally refers to the late 15th to the 20th century, when European states established colonies on other continents. During this time, the justifications for colonialism included various factors such as Christian missionary work, the profits to be made, the expansion of the power of the metropole and various religious and political beliefs. WHY COLONISE INDIA? Britain discovered the Indian sub-continent when it was looking to expand its vast empire. The East India Company was formed and came to recognize that India was a hub of trade and home to many natural resources. This situation made India an attractive colony to Britain as it seemed unquestionable that Britain would benefit from the situation. Britain did benefit from the situation; however, notwithstanding the obvious injustices associated with colonization, India also experienced positive impacts that continued even once India gained independence from Britain in 1947. It is important to note that although India gained independence all ties with the British nation were not cut. Britishers earmarked that no person in India was beggar. The country is of high wealth, high moral values, and people of caliber and thought to break the backbone of the nation i.e. cultural and spiritual heritage and therefore they proposed to replace old and ancient education system, for if the Indians thin k that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will become what britishers want them, a truly dominated nation. IMPACT OF COLONIALISATION The impacts of colonization are immense and pervasive. Various effects, both immediate and protracted, include the spread of virulent diseases, the establishment of unequal social relations, exploitation, enslavement, medical advances, the creation of new institutions, and technological progress. Colonial practices also spur the spread of languages, literature and cultural institutions. The native cultures of the colonized peoples can also have a powerful influence on the imperial country. Impact of British rule in India had been widespread throughout the country and affected the cultural, technological, religious, social, political and economic state of India. India had persistently tolerated the British rule for 200 prolonged years, with their everlasting impression been forever etched upon the succeeding Indian citizens. Impact of British rule in India, in this context, is one that had perhaps emerged forth right from the 16th century, when British missionaries had sailed to easte rn soil to spread Christianity, much before the British East India Company. The negative impact of British rule in India was mostly visible in the economic aspect which occurred as a result of de-industrialization and destruction of rural economy. Initial Impact of British Rule in India British invasion on India was not the first of its kind; India has prior to British arrival, been host to pellets of ruthless foreign invasions. The British, in this regard, were the last to arrive in India. However, when it came to the power game, it undoubtedly was the British and the British East India Company, who completely captured Indian power and people. They covertly and efficiently expanded their empire with the competent aid of Indian soldiers. Indians had joined the East India Company army solely for the reason that they received salary on the first day of every month, very much unlike the Indian emperors and their system of reign. As such, impact of British rule in India already had begun to do its work, with the very first Christian missionaries arriving to India, with the intention to turn a majority of population into Christians. They tried to cast Christianity in the light of a better religion and with economic inducements convinced the poor Indians into Christianity . POSITIVE IMPACT 1. Modernization and industrialization During British occupation, India was modernized and industrialized. British industrialists invested huge amounts of capital in the region. The British East India Company built the worlds third-largest railroad network, which connected regions and enabled the country to develop a modern economy. Western culture also improved Indian culture with the development of a road network, telephone and telegraph lines, many dams and bridges and irrigation canals. During British occupation, these developed systems of transportation and communication benefited the British, rather than Indians. But they were put in place for Indian culture to take advantage of when the country finally achieved its independence. 2. Education Indian culture benefited from Western culture in the area of education. During British occupation, many schools and colleges were built throughout India. Literacy increased and, for the first time, the poorest classes of society had access to knowledge. 3. Employment The presence of Western traders in India increased the demand for goods and services in India. As a result of the British living in India, Indian artisans, weavers and craftsmen were steadily employed. Although they were deprived of the full profits of their labors, these artisans and craftsman grew in numbers, and the Indian labor force became more skilled and handy. By the time the British left the subcontinent, a greater percentage of Indians had acquired skills to make a living. 4. Establishment of churches gave importance to port cities The very foremost impact of British rule on India was the religious impact, as was established by the missionaries and their establishment of churches in every possible corner of the country. In this regard, the port cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai gained enough importance, due to their accessibility for navigational purposes. They were later turned into the 3 cardinal presidency towns. The keen attempt of British Christians to turn several bunches of Indians into a complete unfamiliar religion was successful, though only in parts. Some had gladly accepted it, in fear of inviting the rage of the company, while others had turned hostile, in turn giving rise to collisions and difference of opinion. 5. Socio-Cultural Impact of British Rule in India The socio-cultural impact of British rule upon India was also another intense impression that had lasted throughout their rule, never for once losing their significant status. From every field of living, be it in education, art, architecture, painting, literature, poetry, drama, novels or even Indian religion and philosophy, the whole Indian set-up had suffered a gradual change. The conventional and simple society, prevalent in India, respected and dreaded the British rulers. British aristocrats travelled throughout India in separate Europeans Only First-Class Railway Carriages. They had for themselves separate waiting rooms in most of the major railway stations. They also came to set up elite schools for their children. In most of the theatre halls, the balcony was earmarked for the whites and the local maharaja. Their significant passionate pastime, during late 19th and early 20th centuries, appeared to be hunting animals and birds in Indian jungles. As such, the population of tige rs, lions and elephants slumped down because of indiscriminate hunting. 6. Creating Unity One of the first impacts that colonisation had in India was the development of unity. When Britain first acquired India as a colony the country was divided. The British imposed system impacted India by bringing more equality to the country as the caste system which outlined social hierarchy was adapted. It is also significant that Britain accepted all of the religions of India which also allowed unity to prosper. 7. Leading Towards Democracy India has also experienced positive impacts from the institution established and then left behind by the colonizers. The institutions established by the British Raj and then inherited by India helped lead to democracy in modern day India. The assistance of these institutions assisted India in becoming the world’s largest democracy today. It is also of note that Britain first introduced India to early capitalism through colonization. Britain transformed India into an agricultural based capitalist economy and established forms of private ownership. These actions led India into creating free trade and competitive business. 8. Sports Another positive impact of colonisation can be seen in sport in India. During the colonial period Britain brought the sport of cricket to India. Cricket today brings enthusiasm to millions of Indians and is celebrated around the country. India as a nation has also emerged as a prominent team in cricket tournaments as India has successfully beaten many other countries. Cricket also serves to connect much of the Indian population as the sport is celebrated nationally. 9. Setting up of railways The British had introduced the system of Railways in a chain method, with the whole of the country staying witness to placing of railways tracks, railway platforms and railway carriages. Indeed India railways, postal services, legal and judicial systems and other government-based services have all been derived primarily from the British administration. British rule virtually had helped unify India, which till then was quite fragmentary. The in-built inferiority complex was the characteristic trademark of the mass of the native population, till Mahatma Gandhi. 10. Introduction of English language Introduction of English language which was infact intended to create a class of people appreciative of English culture and life style indirectly helped Indians to acquire a link language. Although introduction of helped in developing an efficient bureaucracy for the british government, it gave Indians an opportunity to know western concept of rights and freedom and the extent of discrimination practiced against them by British. Exchange of ideas among Indians speaking variety of languages became possible. 11. Other positive effects * Stamping out of infanticide * Stamping out of ritual burning of widows (Sati) * Abolishment of slavery * Elimination of dacoits from highways * Legalization of remarriage of widows * Introduction of penal code for equality NEGATIVE IMPACT 1. Development of constitution Development of our constitutional framework is to a great extent based on the legacies of the British colonial rule. Our constitution was formed in protest to britishers because at that time India was under the slavery of British raj otherwise the picture of our constitution would have been different. 2. Slaves and indentured servants The labour shortage that resulted inspired European colonizers to develop a new source of labour, using a system of indentured servitude. Indentured servants consented to a contract with the European colonizers. Under their contract, the servant would work for an employer for a term of at least a year, while the employer agreed to pay for the servants voyage to the colony, possibly pay for the return to the country of origin, and pay the employee a wage as well. The employee was indentured to the employer because they owed a debt back to the employer for their travel expense to the colony, which they were expected to pay through their wages. In practice, indentured servants were exploited through terrible working conditions and burdensome debts created by the employers, with whom the servants had no means of negotiating the debt once they arrived in the colony. 3. Impact on health Encounters between explorers and populations in the rest of the world often introduced new diseases, which sometimes caused local epidemics of extraordinary virulence. For example, smallpox, measles, malaria, yellow fever, and others were unknown in pre-Columbian America. 4. Economic Impact of British Rule in India Impact of British rule in India however was not restricted only to these spheres; the economic impact was yet another domain which practically had drained out the native populace, creating a forever draught in 1947. The chief aim of these settlers was to make India an agrarian country that would supply an industrialised England. As such, the Indian farmers suffered with their land revenue, most of which were ruthlessly being seized by the hyperbolic Zamindar class. Each passing year further tightened the economy, making Indians go insane to the nerve; Indian local-manufactured products were sold in tremendously cheap rates in Britain, making the native money-making policy even harder. The world-over societal degradation also had spilled in India, like the World War I or the Great Depression of the 1930s. The situation had become so very dreadful that there could not be found any out of such an entangled mess. 5. Constructive Impact of British Rule in India Amidst all these alarming states and conditions, the imperial rule were compassionate enough to introduce European education in India. This ground-breaking impact of British rule in India truly has benefited India in the long run, carving out a prestigious position of India in the world map. Knowledge of English was essential to earn a job in the British bureaucracy, in the British trading firms and of course in the British Army in the officer level. Many dignified concepts like parliamentary democracy, the European scientific ideas, industrialization and liberal human philosophy permeated into the Indian brain. 6. Resource Drain One of the primary goals of colonialism was the establishment of a resource-generating system through which natural resources from colonized regions were gathered and traded by the colonizing nation. This process reduced the availability of natural resources in the colonized nations, leading to times of hunger, poverty and need. Some colonies were heavily farmed, with food stores shipped to feed populations elsewhere while locals survived on less. Further, this created a system where a colonized country could be farmed for its natural wealth, but receive no monetary benefits. 7. Dismissal of Hinduism Religion provided the needed rationale for this cruel plunder. All native Hindus were dismissed as heathens or pagans despicable creatures who dont have to be treated like human beings till they take their fateful decision to embrace Christianity. According to the missionaries who came to India to play second fiddle to the British Imperial rulers, Christianity was the only true religion. Jesus Christ was the only true God. All other religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and many other traditional faiths and religions in India had to be eliminated to save the souls of India and Indians. All facets and all aspects of Hindu religion and Hindu society were dismissed as idolatry and superstition, in order to advance the noble Christian pursuit of salvation for the barbarous heathens of India. Along with Christian religion came the rest of British or Western culture, thought and customs and the gradual end of traditional ways of life. Thus our traditional religions and cult ures were gradually subverted or eliminated. CONCLUSION Today India is the largest provider of services in the world in large part due to colonisation; however, it is uncertain if without colonisation this would be possible. The Indian population is able to compete in the service sector due to the positive impact of the English language being left behind post British rule. When colonisation was occurring in India schools were established which taught and offered instruction in English. It is also of note that the East India Company had a positive impact by establishing some services such as rail throughout the country. The British rule introduced the railways, the press, and the western system of education, clubs and associations all of which shook the prevalent socio-economic order. But the processes of exploitation unleashed by them destroyed the possibilities of development of industries and a modern economic system in India. The British rule rather systematically destroyed the native industries of India for the benefit of the industries in Britain and their market in India. Even though it sought to tie down the people it ruled to colonial backwardness, it released new historical forces within the Indian fold by throwing the traditional economic system and socio-cultural order out of gear. It gave birth to the desire of material advancement and better amenities and living conditions of individuals. Also it gave birth to a spirit of inquiry in the minds of Indian intellectuals who came in contact with western education. Both the social reformists and the conservatives took a fresh and critical look at their own society and culture as a reaction to western interpretation of the same. REFERENCES: * Positive Negative Effects of Colonialism | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8505011_positive-negative-effects-colonialism.html#ixzz1pZTzR700 * nos.org/317courseE/L-35%20COLONIALISM%20IN%20INDIA.pdfSimilar * www.kwintessential.co.uk//india/Impact-of-Colonisation-in-India/Cached * en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_colonialism * Government of India, Report of the Education Commission 1964-66, Delhi, 1966. * D. Warriner, Land Reform in Principle and Practice, Oxford University Press, 1969 * Maddison, â€Å"The Historical Origins of Indian Poverty†

Study on the A Not B Error

Study on the A Not B Error After being discovered by Jean Piaget in 1954 perseveration tasks became one of the main means of investigation in cognitive development psychology, initially in children and later also in non-human animals. The most known of these is the, so called, A-not-B task, which even after many years of research still elicits debates about its underlying mechanisms. This paper aims to provide a review of existing empirical data in order to answer questions of who and why makes the A-not-B error. The first section of the review will give a theoretical background by describing the classic task used by Piaget, the importance of such experiments. This will provide a clear picture of what the A-not-B error is. The two following parts will focus on the questions of who makes the error and why, by an analysis of a set of classic experiments. Each study will be analyzed in terms of its goals, results, and what the impact of these findings is. The last part will include general conclusions based on st udies analyses from previous parts. In order to answer the questions stated in the review title, what is the A-not-B error, who makes it, and why?, classic data will be analyzed in order to determine what the best candidates for explanation of the mechanisms responsible for the error are (in the classic A-not-B task). The most convincing hypothesis will be chosen based on its explanatory power (can it explain most of the existing data?) and its relation to other approaches (can it incorporate other ideas?). Publication of the book The Construction of Reality in the Child in 1954 marks the beginning of research on perseverative tasks in infants. The author, Jean Piaget, described many hide and seek games, invented in order to investigate the understanding of permanence of objects in infants and its changes in time. One of these games became one of the most widely used to explore infant cognition, the A-not-B task. The classic example of its procedure involved a 9 and a half month old child called Laurent. Piaget placed him on a sofa and presented him with two hiding covers, one on the right, and one on the left. Then, he placed his watch under the cover A, and observed Laurent lift the cover to retrieve the watch. After this hiding and seeking was repeated several times, Piaget hid his watch under the cover B. Laurent watched this action attentively, but when given a choice searched back at the location A. As the author put it, at the moment the watch has disappeared under the garment B, he [Laurent] turns back toward coverlet A, and searches for the object under the screen. From this wrong choice, Piaget concluded that Laurent did not understand the independence of objects from his own actions on them. Since these initial results, the A-not-B error has been continuously studied and proven to be a strong and universal phenomenon in human infancy. However, the underlying mechanisms are still being debated, why the error happens and what it means. What is clearer, are the crucial elements of the task to produce the A-not-B error (Smith, 1999). In the original procedure an infant sits in front of two hiding locations that are highly similar and separated by a small distance. While the infant watches, an attractive object (for example a toy) is hidden in one of the locations, described as A. After a delay (which can vary), the infant is allowed to search for the object by reaching to one of the two hiding locations. This hiding and seeking is repeated several times, af ter which the object is hidden again, but this time in location B. Again, after a delay the infant searches for the object. In this traditional method, 8 to 10 month old infants keep reaching back to the initial location A, thus making the A-not-B error. More recent data suggests that there might be also other important elements of the experiment, including posture of an infant, social context, or who the person interacting with subjects is. Before proceeding to a more detailed analysis of existing A-not-B task data, the significance of such research will be briefly described. Investigations of A-not-B task are important for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it provides a clear paradigm to explore the development of infant cognition, how it changes in time. More specifically, it allows investigation how different processes involved in finding the object interact (such as looking, discriminating locations, posture control, and motor planning). Secondly, it also allows comparative experiments when the task is administered to nonhuman animals. Such research allow comparisons of cognitive abilities of different species and how these abilities might have evolved from common ancestors. However, after many years of research there is still no consensus on what is the meaning of the error and what its developmental importance is. The question of what the A-not-B error is has already been answered. The next question is about who makes the error. An answer to this question will be approached by analyzing a selection of studies on the A-not-B tasks which investigated human infants (Homo sapiens), rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). The predominant group of participants checked on the A-not-B task are human infants of different ages. Diamond and Goldman-Rakic (1989) investigated extensively how the age of infants and the length of delay between observing and searching influences the commitment rate of the error. The experimental procedure was based on the original task, designed by Piaget. However, several differences were also introduced. Instead of sitting freely, infants were held sitting on their parents lap, prevented from turning or looking at the hiding location during the delay. Care was taken to ensure that the infant was observing the whole hiding process. In order to prevent visual fixation on correct hiding location, the infants were distracted by the experimenter calling them and counting aloud. Correct reaches were rewarded by gaining the hidden object (an attractive toy). In a case of an incorrect reach, the experimenter showed the right choice by uncovering the object, but did not allow the infan t to reach for it. Testing for A-not-B began immediately after the infant first uncovered a hidden toy from one of the hiding places. Different lengths of delays between hiding and searching were introduced to the procedure to check what the crucial time to commit the error was. The first introduced delay was a 2 second one. Most infants below 8-8.5 months of age made the A-not-B error at these or smaller delays, whereas only one infant above 11 months did so. The second delay was 5 seconds. By 8.5 months only half of infants made the error at delays of 5 +/- 2 seconds. By 9.5 months half of the infants required delays greater than 5 seconds for the error to appear. The last experimental delay was 10 seconds, where no infant below 8.5 months had passed, whereas by 12 months the average delay needed to be longer than 10 seconds. An interesting observation from this experiment is that infants who maintained visual fixation on the correct hiding location also reached correctly, while t hose who shifted their gaze, failed to do so (performed at chance levels). Another interesting fact is that infants tried to correct themselves when they made the A-not-B error (but not in the youngest ages). To sum up, the A-not-B error occurs in human infants at delays of 2-5 seconds at 7.5-9 months, and at delays greater than 10 seconds after one year. These findings also are consistent with studies conducted by Gratch and Landers (1971) and Fox et al. (1979) which both found that infants of 8 months made the error at a delay of 3 seconds, as well as with a study by Millar and Watson (1979) which showed that infants of 6-8 months could avoid the error when there was no delay, but committed it with delays as brief as 3 seconds. This last finding corresponds closely with Diamond and Goldman-Rakic who found that infants of 8 months will succeed on A-not-B task if there is no delay, but that they will also fail at delays of 3 seconds. Diamond and Goldman-Rakic used the same procedure to investigate ten rhesus monkeys with prefrontal lesions in comparison to monkeys with different brain lesions (parential), and ones with brains intact. Only animals with the prefrontal lesions committed the A-not-B errors at different delay lengths. There was no significant difference in performance between unoperated and parentially lesioned monkeys. Their age ranged from 2 to 6 years. At the delay of 2 seconds, all monkeys with prefrontal lesions committed the error. At the delay level of 5 second results were similar, all monkeys with prefrontal lesions committed the error. At the delay of 10 seconds the performance of prefrontal animals did not meet criteria for the error (such as at least one error in the reversed trial, the error at least once repeated during the same trial), exactly like human infants below 9 months. Behaviour of prefrontally damaged monkeys was noted to be very similar to that of human infants described befo re. The last research analyzed in order to provide an answer to the question of who commits the A-not-B error was conducted by Topà ¡l et al. (2009) on dogs, wolves, and human infants. In a series of experiments a behavioural analogy between human infants and dogs was found. The goal of the research was to investigate the functional nature of dogs sensitivity to communicative cues in a comparative framework, by the use of the A-not-B task. In one of the experiments dogs were shown to be influenced by the communicative context in their perseverative erroneous searches for hidden objects at a previously repeatedly baited (with a toy) location A, even when they observed the object being hidden at a different location (B). Such results are highly similar to those found in human infants. The task involved looking for a hidden object that the dogs saw being hidden behind one of two identical screens. The first phase consisted of the dog being allowed to repeatedly fetch the object (toy) from behind of the screens (location A). In the test phase, the experimenter hid the toy behind the alternative screen B. Dogs managed to fetch the hidden object correctly in all screen A trials. The main result from the test phase is that dogs in the social-communicative trial (the hider attracted the dogs attention) committed the A-not-B error more often than animals in the non-communicative (hiding with experimenters back turned toward the dog) or non-social (experimenter stayed still while the object was moved between screen by another experimenter, not visible to the dog) version. Additionally, animals in the non-social condition were significantly more successful than chance during the test phases. To sum up, the error was eliminated when the hiding events were not accompanied by communicative signals from experimenters. Dogs were shown to be influenced by the communicative context in their perseverative erroneous searches for hidden objects at the previously repeatedly baited loca tion A, even when they observed the object being hidden at a different location B. Such results are highly similar to those found in human infants. Thus, the A-not-B error was proven to also exist in dogs. Naturally this analysis does not exhaust all existing research on perseverative tasks. However, the aim of this review is to focus on A-not-B error only, in its classic version designed by Piaget. Other species, investigated in different variants of perseverative error tasks, included chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), cotton-top tamarin monkeys (Saguinus oedipus) (Hauser, 1999), as well as magpies (Pica pica) (Gà ³mez, 2005). After the data of who makes the A-not-B error was summarized, an analysis of the underlying mechanisms should follow, to answer the question of why the error is made. In literature different hypotheses are present. Principal of these include areas such as object permanence, memory deficits, information bias, immaturity of prefrontal cortex, and action oriented responses (reaching). The first explanation was provided by the author of the A-not-B task himself, based on his initial research on perseverative errors. Piaget attributed this error to a lack of conception of object permanence in human infants. In his view infants commit the error because they do not understand that an object continues to exist even when out of sight. Their reach back to location A is therefore seen as an attempt to bring that object back to existence. This is the first, historical explanation, which has been disproved by various studies. For example, Baillargeon (1987) has shown that some young infants (3.5-4.5 months) might have some understanding of object permanence. When watching possible (a screen rotating and stopping at a box behind it) and impossible events (a screen rotating as though there was no box behind it), infants looked longer at the impossible ones, which can be understood that they were not expecting them to happen. Similar results were also reported by Ahmed and Ruf fman (1998), where infants who made the A-not-B error in search tasks looked significantly longer at impossible events than possible ones in a non-search version of the task. Such behaviours required a comprehension that when objects are out of sight, they continue to exist. Infants did not expect the object to be retrieved from a wrong place and therefore they had to understand in some sense where the object was actually located. Such results call into question Piagets claims about the age at which object permanence emerges. An alternative explanation focused on memory as a factor responsible for the error occurrence. In her research, Diamond (1985) found that different delay lengths between hiding and object searching affected the rate of the error. Thus the conclusion was that the recall memory was causing the A-not-B error. However, such view was challenged by Butterworth (1977), who found that use of transparent covers in hiding locations does not decrease the error rates, which is inconsistent with the recall hypothesis. Seeing an object underneath a cover should create no need of using the recall memory and lead to the error not being committed, which did not happen. This study also can be used to argue against the hypothesis that competition between different kinds of memory is responsible for the error. Harris (1989; after: Ahmed Ruffman, 1998) proposed that infants make the A-not-B error because of two memory traces in combination with poor attention. In this view, information about the object at location A is held in the long-term memory, whereas information about the object at new location B is kept in a weaker short-term memory. However, the fact that infants continue to make the error even when provided with clear cues of the object location (transparent covers), suggests that the underlying cause is not related to memory issues. Another classic explanation placed the difficulty on the encoding of information. Bjork and Cummings (1984) suggested that encoding at new location B requires more processing (is more complex) than encoding repeated location A because B must be distinguished from A. Sophian and Wellman (1983) also referred to information selection, where prior information was mistakenly selected over the new information about location B because infants forgot current information (which relates strongly to the short-term memory limitations) or because infants did not know that current information should take over. These findings again can be debated in light of the transparent covers study by Butterworth (1977) and the violation-of-expectations study by Ahmed and Ruffman (1998). With the use of transparent covers, encoding new information does not pose major cognitive challenge since the desired object is visible all the time. The proposition of infants not knowing which information should precede is enough ambiguous in itself (what know means in this context, do adults know which information from their environment should be the most valid one?) and is additionally contradicted by the findings that infants look longer at unexpected retrieval of objects from old locations. Therefore, they behave as though they know where the object is currently hidden. All of the hitherto presented hypotheses have met their nemesis data. At this point, two major explanations of the A-not-B error will be presented that yielded wider acceptance. One of them, supported by neuropsychological literature, is the importance of the prefrontal cortex, especially its relation with perseveration and inhibition. The prefrontal cortex is an anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain, which is often associated with planning behaviours, decision making, and moderating social behaviour. As Hauser (1999) states it, the act of perseveration (a repeated production of particular action or thought) often represents the consequence of a particular cognitive problem, related to inhibition. In order to prevent perseveration such mechanism is required to reject some alternatives while favouring others, which may involve activation of the prefrontal cortex (Kimberg et al., 1997). Infants, therefore, are highly susceptible to the commitment of the A-not-B error because of their immature prefrontal cortex. The research by Diamond and Goldman-Rakic (1989) provided the first evidence that A-not-B performance depends upon the integrity of the prefrontal cortex and that maturation of this region underlies improvements in the task performance in human infants between 7.5 and 12 months of age. Further support comes from other groups of subjects of this study. Monkeys with lesions in the prefrontal cortex also committed the error, whereas monkeys with brains left intact, managed to choose the correct location B. As the authors noticed, the A-not-B task performance of operated monkeys and 7.5-9 month old human infants was highly comparable (both groups made errors at delays of 2-5 seconds). This significance of the prefrontal cortex can be explained by analyzing two main abilities required for the error to occur, which depend upon the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: temporal separation and inhibition of dominant response (Diamond Goldman-Rakic, 1989). The A-not-B task requires subjects to relate two temporally separate events: hiding cue and searching action. With no delay between hiding and searching even 7.5-9 month old human infants and prefrontally operated monkeys can manage to choose the correct location B. However, even when a brief delay (2-5 seconds) is introduced, they start to fail in object searching. Therefore, the aspect of delay plays a crucial role in committing the A-not-B error. This disadvantage can be overcome when subjects are allowed to maintain visual fixation or body orientation towards the new location during the delay. A similar effect is created by a visible cue which consistently indicates the correct choice (for example a mark on one of the locations). Those two findings indicate a possible involvement of short and long-term memory in the process of committing the error. In the case of fixation on the correct choice, a representation of this choice does not have to be held in short-term memory, and in th e case of learning an association between a landmark and a reward, the long-term memory is activated, guiding reaching behaviour accordingly. This brings back the argument about the role of memory in explaining the A-not-B error. The second ability stemming from the prefrontal cortex, the inhibition of dominant response, is mostly related to the act of reaching for the hidden object. In the A-not-B task subjects are first repeatedly awarded for reaching to location A, which leads to strengthening of this response. However, such conditioned tendency to reach to A must be inhibited in the test trial if the subject is to succeed and reach correctly to new location B. The fact that subjects reach back to location A even when they appear to know where the object is hidden (by looking there) or should know where the object is placed (transparent covers with visible toys), adds validity to the notion that inhibiting the conditioned response is difficult and that memory might not play a maj or role in explaining the error (the problem is not simply forgetting location of an object). Even when the object is hidden, human infants and operated monkeys will often immediately correct themselves if their initial reach was incorrect. It appears therefore that subjects know the object is hidden in location B but still cannot inhibit the initial response of reaching to the previously rewarded location A. However, human infants often look in the direction of the correct hiding place, even when simultaneously reaching to the wrong one. It seems that the act of reaching itself might cause troubles, which relates to the next major explanation of the A-not-B error. Smith et al. (1999) advocated a change in theoretical debates on possible explanations of the A-not-B error. Their explanation focuses on performance and behaviour during the task, which is described as reaching to successive locations in visual space. Errors are made by returning to an original location when the goal location had changed. Reaching to a place consists of a series of ordered steps, beginning with cognition (perceiving the target, forming a goal) and ending with action (selecting a motor pattern, forming a trajectory of the reach). The proposition states that the A-not-B error is mainly a reaching error, emerging from a directional bias to location A created by previous looking and reaching, and because the visual input available to guide the reaching hand is insufficient to overcome the bias (similar covers close to each other, not fully developed reaching skills of 8 to 10 month old infants). Crucial to this hypothesis is the idea of a continuous interaction between looking, reaching, and memory of previous reaches. In other words, it is important that there are two similar potential reaching targets and that infants have a history of repeatedly reaching to one of the locations. Results from experiments by Smith et al. experiments indicated that goal-directed reaches of infants stem from complex interactions of visual input, direction of gaze, posture, and memory (therefore indicating strong context effects). Such a system is inclined towards perseveration since it creates the reach based on current visual input and memories of recent reaches. This bias will prevail whenever the new information input is highly similar to previous reach information or whenever the systems memory of previous reaches is strong. Such an effect could be described as a version of a previously analyzed information bias. These general processes of goal-directed reaching are not specific to a particular moment in development, which suggests that older children and even adults are prone to commit the A-not-B error if placed in the appropriate situation. For example, when no visual cues are given, like in the case of hiding objects in sand (Spencer et al., 1997; after: Smith et al., 1999). However, if these processes are not specific to a certain age, why then a decline in making the error is observed? Authors point to two developmental changes that can contribute to an answer: increasing infants ability to discriminate among visually similar locations, and increasing skill in reaching. Although Smith et al. state that there is no discrepancy between their results and data from investigations of the role of the prefrontal cortex, they do not agree with the explanation placing emphasis on inhibition failure in this region of the brain. In such a view, infants reach successfully to the correct location not because a dominant habit to reach to A was inhibited, but because the current visual information biasing the system in the B direction is stronger than the previously conditioned action towards A. Therefore, direction of the infants reach depends on internal and external dynamics shaping the goal-directed action (outside stimuli and previous experience). The goal of this review was to answer the questions of what the classic A-not-B error is, who makes it, and for what reasons. The answer to the first two is a straightforward one. In order to determine who makes the error, it is enough to administer the original procedure devised by Piaget to various subjects (with slight modifications if used with nonhuman animals). The question of why the error is committed has a more complex nature. A range of proposed explanations have been presented, along with an analysis of how valid these hypotheses are in light of existing empirical data. Due to limitations of space, the review has focused on presenting a summary of the main hypotheses: object permanence, memory deficits, information bias, immaturity of prefrontal cortex, and goal-oriented reaching. The two latter possess the largest explanatory power, as they incorporate or explain elements of other approaches. The most important difference between them is present in the definition of who c an commit the error. In the neuropsychological approach only subjects with immature or a damaged neocortex will make the error, whereas in the reaching approach this error is not so limited. Another main difference concerns the concept of inhibition. Described as a main element of the influence of the neocortex on choosing the right location, it is removed completely from the reaching approach. However, certain similarities are also present, since the neuropsychological hypothesis includes the aspect of programming a goal-oriented reach. Considering these characteristics together, as the best candidate for an explanation of the A-not-B task the immaturity of the neocortex will be chosen. It can provide sufficient explanation for why human infants with immature prefrontal cortex, prefrontally damaged monkeys, and dogs make the error. In the case of the latter, the inhibition process might play the major part. Dogs committed the error mostly in the communicative experimental conditio n, which might suggest that overcoming a bias created that way is too difficult, inhibition in the prefrontal cortex (which is often assumed to organize social behaviour) is too weak. Of possible importance is the domestication process, during which dogs were selected to respond to human communicative signals. In terms of Marrs levels of explanation (Humpreys et at., 1994), the prefrontal cortex could be described as planning behaviours in order to act appropriately in the world (computational level), by the use of inhibition processes (algorithmic level) on the neuronal networks (implementional level). Additional empirical data, obtained in order to validate the prefrontal cortex hypothesis, should include studies on infant rhesus monkeys and other infant species, as well as autistic human children (due to their lack of social skills which could be attributed to malfunctioning prefrontal cortex). A set of such data would allow comparisons with existing findings. Naturally, new rese arch might bring a change of focus in mechanisms underlying the A-not-B error, as the issue of perseverative errors is a complex one and requires further investigation.

Morality Essay example -- Moral Ethics Philosophy essays

Morality   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moral philosophy is very important to the success of an individual. But, before I tell you why moral philosophy is so important, and how it has helped me in my life, let me give you a little background knowledge. Rational knowledge has two components. These components are material and formal. Formal knowledge is not object oriented, and is based on reason. Formal knowledge is logic, or the laws of thought. Material knowledge is object oriented, and has two components. These two components are natural and moral. Natural law is physics. It determines what is the case, and how things behave in nature. On the other hand, moral law determines what things ought to be. Morality is something humans think about, and is not based on physiological factors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now that we have a little background of knowledge and moral law, let me tell you why you should lead a moral life. Even though morality is not imposed upon you, it is about humanity. And, while it may not seem fair, in reality, morality is judged by humans. So, if you are immoral, other people will be the ones that notice that you are immoral, and that can hurt personal relationships. One way that I have succeeded throughout my career is by knowing and being friends with a lot of people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The practical side of life is based on interpersonal relationships. Whether it be social or business, communicating with people is the only way to get things done. There is no way that you can go through life in today's society without getting along with people. If people think that you are immoral, than they will not respect you, or be willing to work with you. Again, it may seem like it is not fair because you know that no one is one hundred percent moral, and if someone doesn't respect you because you are immoral, than they are hypocritical. But, when it comes to moral issues, the reality of the world is that people are hypocritical. They feel it is okay for them to do it, but not okay for anyone else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Think about it, how many times have you said, "I can't believe that he did that; he's a jerk." Knowing the entire time that you have done the same thing. You may say, "Who cares!" I'm here to tell you that one day you might care. Let me give you and example. After I completed a business venture that made me over one million dollars, I learned that the only reaso... ...Moral law has helped me be successful in everything that I do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a 65 year old man, I have seen a lot. I know the value of moral philosophy. Moral philosophy has helped me be successful in every thing that I have done. You may ask, "How has it helped you be successful?" Well, I have told you a couple of aspects of moral philosophy, and all of these aspects have helped me keep things in perspective. Financial success will come with morality, but if it doesn't, then you will still be better off because you have led a moral life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have been times in my life when I have succumb to selfish inclination, and the results were immediately good. But ultimately, if I had been labeled as an immoral person, and was not able to do certain things because people didn't like me, than I definitely wouldn't have been the one invited to give this talk to you. By the way, I am getting paid an awful lot of money for this talk. So there is another way that morality has helped me. Happiness is not a grounding for morality, because some immoral people are happy. But, morality can lead to ultimate happiness and greater success in whatever you attempt to do in life.

Essay --

INT. CLASS ROOM 303 EXT. ALFRED NEW YORK - AFTERNOON ENTER FRAME, DANIEL STANDs BY A WHITE BOARD POINTING TO THE LIGHT POSITIONS, EACH TURNING ON AS HE POINTS TO IT. A VOICE OVER IS HEARD. VOICEOVER HELLO EVERYONE, THIS VIDEO WILL HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF PRODUCTION WITH US TODAY WE HAVE DANIEL. HI DANIEL THE THREE COMPONENTS TO 3 POINT LIGHTING ARE... YOUR KEY LIGHT; WHICH IS THE MAIN ILLUMINATOR IN THE SCENE AND CAUSE THE STRONGEST SHADOWS... NEXT IS YOUR FILL LIGHT, THE FILL LIGHT IS FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE AND IS USUALLY A LITTLE LOWER, ITS MAIN PURPOSE IS TO ILLUMINATE THE DARKER SHADOWS CASTED FROM THE KEY LIGHT... LASTLY IS THE BACKLIGHT, THE BACKLIGHT HIGH LIGHTS THE CONTOURS OF THE SUBJECT AND GIVES A SENCE OF DEPTH. CUT TO: TWO X MARKS ARE PLACED ON THE FLOOR SIGNIFYING WERE DANIEL AND RANDY WILL WALK TO. AFTER ARIVEING AT THERE DESIGNATED SPOT THE TWO WILL LOOK TO BE HAVING A CONVERSATION AS A VOICE OVER IS USED. VOICEOVER NOW WE WILL TALK ABOUT BLOCKING BLOCKING IS THE PLAN OF ACTION MADE BY THE DIRECTOR FOR WHICH THE ACTORS WILL FOLLOW AS CAN BE SEEN, THE "X" ... Essay -- INT. CLASS ROOM 303 EXT. ALFRED NEW YORK - AFTERNOON ENTER FRAME, DANIEL STANDs BY A WHITE BOARD POINTING TO THE LIGHT POSITIONS, EACH TURNING ON AS HE POINTS TO IT. A VOICE OVER IS HEARD. VOICEOVER HELLO EVERYONE, THIS VIDEO WILL HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF PRODUCTION WITH US TODAY WE HAVE DANIEL. HI DANIEL THE THREE COMPONENTS TO 3 POINT LIGHTING ARE... YOUR KEY LIGHT; WHICH IS THE MAIN ILLUMINATOR IN THE SCENE AND CAUSE THE STRONGEST SHADOWS... NEXT IS YOUR FILL LIGHT, THE FILL LIGHT IS FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE AND IS USUALLY A LITTLE LOWER, ITS MAIN PURPOSE IS TO ILLUMINATE THE DARKER SHADOWS CASTED FROM THE KEY LIGHT... LASTLY IS THE BACKLIGHT, THE BACKLIGHT HIGH LIGHTS THE CONTOURS OF THE SUBJECT AND GIVES A SENCE OF DEPTH. CUT TO: TWO X MARKS ARE PLACED ON THE FLOOR SIGNIFYING WERE DANIEL AND RANDY WILL WALK TO. AFTER ARIVEING AT THERE DESIGNATED SPOT THE TWO WILL LOOK TO BE HAVING A CONVERSATION AS A VOICE OVER IS USED. VOICEOVER NOW WE WILL TALK ABOUT BLOCKING BLOCKING IS THE PLAN OF ACTION MADE BY THE DIRECTOR FOR WHICH THE ACTORS WILL FOLLOW AS CAN BE SEEN, THE "X" ...

Definitions Of Different Types Or Warefare History Essay

Three types of warfare preponderate in civil wars: a ) irregular warfare among unsymmetrically strong officeholders and weak insurrectionists[ 2 ], such as the Algerian civil war and the first stage of the Greek civil war. Contrary to rationally well-founded claims[ 3 ], irregular warfare is non married to inflexibly definite causes ( i.e. radical people ‘s war ) . Asymmetry besides is consistent with another type of force, terrorist act[ 4 ]. B ) regular warfare among symmetrically powerful officeholders and robust insurrectionists[ 5 ], such as the Spanish, American or Greek ( in the 2nd stage ) civil wars. External intercession for the insurrectionists may transform irregular into regular warfare, as in Vietnam war ‘s last stage. degree Celsius ) guerrilla warfare ( symmetric non-conventional[ 6 ]) among symmetrically dynamic officeholders and insurrectionists, such as the Liberian civil war, represented as condemnable or pre-modern type of warfare[ 7 ]. Empirically, frontlines ( e.g. urban roadblocks ) among contending groups distinguish this type of warfare from irregular warfare[ 8 ]. By and large, conventional-type civil wars result preponderantly from putschs d'etat ( i.e. Spanish civil war ) or secessionist motions against federal authoritiess ( i.e. American civil war ) ; irregular-type civil wars originate preponderantly from rural-type insurgences[ 9 ]( i.e. first stage of Chinese civil war ) ; symmetric non-conventional-type civil wars derive from authorities prostration ( i.e. Somali civil war )[ 10 ]. However, these three types of warfare might happen in same civil war in different stages. The heterogeneousness of semantic footings for irregular/guerrilla warfare denotes the repeating predicament for placing a typical class of war[ 11 ]. In fact, guerilla warfare exhibits about 38 nomenclature discrepancies[ 12 ]. No overarchingly precise definition of guerilla warfare has been elaborated in the literature about irregular/guerrilla warfare because this construct is embedded intellectually in a tradition of strategic thought and pattern, non a uniformly thorough definition[ 13 ]. The term â€Å" little war † in the seventeenth century designated civil war[ 14 ], â€Å" la petite guerre † in the eighteenth century denoted particular operations undertaken by particular forces incorporated in regular armed forces-destitute of ideological connotations- whose leaders ‘ names ( â€Å" zealots † ) labelled the groups ‘ members[ 15 ]. During the American Civil War and the Napoleonic Wars, â€Å" partizan warfare † blended crucially with political orientation ; in the Peninsular War, the â€Å" guerilla † signified transformationally non the â€Å" little war † but the Rebels in this â€Å" little war †[ 16 ]. In late nineteenth century, guerrilla/partisan warfare supplemented battles for national release or political revolution, whereas â€Å" little wars † marked the history of colonialism[ 17 ]. The Second World and Cold Wars buttressed a connexion between left-of-center motions and â€Å" radical people ‘s war † owing to communist relief in endeavoring against the Axis and Western colonial powers either for national release or proletarian revolution[ 18 ]. The Cold War ‘s terminal presaged the recession of â€Å" radical people ‘s wars † and the support of â€Å" insurgences † or â€Å" low strength struggles †[ 19 ]. The thorough survey of guerilla warfare is entangled by speculations that need disproval. First, although identified uniformly as the indispensable method of war of the â€Å" weak †[ 20 ], guerilla warfare belongs to the armory of the â€Å" strong † as the interventional usage of Contras against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua by Washington groundss. Second, guerrilla/irregular warfare encompasses non-state dissenters against province suspects, and province against province rivals[ 21 ]as the tactic of the Viet Cong to Hanoi ‘s benefit against Saigon demonstrates. Third, guerrilla/irregular warfare signifies a perennial -yet non paramount- trait of intrastate war[ 22 ]that manifests in guerrilla, conventional and symmetric non-conventional signifiers. Therefore, any antagonist can use guerrilla/irregular warfare in any type of war in chase of political aims[ 23 ]. What is insurgence and counter-insurgency? The U.S. Field Manual 3-24 Counterinsurgency determines insurgence in connexion to pacification as â€Å" †¦ an organized motion aimed at the overthrow of a established authorities through the usage of corruption and armed struggle ( JP 1-02 ) †¦ an insurgence is an organized, protracted politico-military battle designed to weaken the control and legitimacy of an constituted authorities, busying power, or other political authorization while increasing seditious control. Counterinsurgency is military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions taken by a authorities to get the better of insurgence ( JP 1- 02 ) †¦ insurgence and COIN are included within a wide class of struggle known as irregular warfare. Political power is the cardinal issue in insurgences and pacifications ; each side aims to acquire the people to accept its administration or authorization as legitimate †[ 24 ]. Sir Robert Thompson, a British counter-insurgency theoretician and practician, determined the insurgence ‘s correlativity with political aims within a civil war â€Å" †¦ an insurgence, as a type of war, may take to and be portion of a big conventional struggle, revolution, or civil war. Insurgency, as a method of war, implies the effort to utilize force and irregular signifiers of warfare against a peculiar fraction ( s ) for the express intent of political-military addition, which may subsequently take to inclusion with, or the overthrow of, bing governments. †[ 25 ] David Galula, a Gallic counter-insurgency theoretician and practician, enunciated in similar footings that â€Å" An insurgence is a civil war. †[ 26 ] â€Å" The aim being the population itself, the operations designed to win it over ( for the insurrectionist ) or to maintain it submissive ( for the counterinsurgent ) are basically of a political nature†¦ political action remains first throughout the war †[ 27 ].