Tribes in India Essay Example for Free

Tribes in India Essay India is the home to large number of indigenous people, who are still untouched by the lifestyle of the modern world. With more than 84.4 million, India has the largest population of the tribal people in the world. These tribal people also known as the adivasis are the poorest in the country, who are still dependent on haunting , agriculture and fishing. Some of the major tribal groups in India include Gonds, Santhals, Khasis, Angamis, Bhils, Bhutias and Great Andamanese. All these tribal people have their own culture, tradition, language and lifestyle. This enables the tourist to get an insight into many different cultures at the same time on the tribal tour to India. Santhal tribes Santhals are the third largest tribe in India. They are mostly found in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam. They belong to the pre- Aryan period and have been the great fighters from the time of Britishers. Munda Munda tribe mainly inhabit in the region of Jharkhand, although they are well spread in the states of West Bengal, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Bihar. Munda generally means headman of the village. Hunting is the main occupation of the Mundas tribe. Khasi Khasi tribe is mainly found in the Khasi Jaintia hills in Meghalaya and in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. They forms the large part of the population in the state of Meghalaya Angami Angami tribe belongs to the extreme north eastern part of the country, in the state of Nagaland. The total population of the Angamis is around 12 million. They are quite popular their woodcraft and artwork. Sekrenyi is the main festival celebrated among the Angamis in Nagaland. Bhils Bhils are popularly known as the bow men of Rajasthan. They are the most widely distributed tribal groups in India. They forms the largest tribe of the whole South Asia. Bhils are mainly divided into two main groups the  central or pure bills and eastern or Rajput Bhils. Bhutia Bhutia tribes are of the Tibetan origin. They migrated to Sikkim around 16th century. In the northern part of the Sikkim they are known as the Lachenpas and Lachungpas. Bhutias forms 14% of the total population of Sikkim. Losar and Losoong are the main festivals celebrated tribe.

Case study: Facial Recognition

Case study: Facial Recognition Facial Recognition is the process where the brain recognizes, understands and interprets the human face (Face Recognition, n.d.). The face is essential for the identification of others and expresses significant social information. The face reveals significant social information, like intention, attentiveness, and communication. Goldstein (1983) (as cited in Chung Thomson, 1995) stated that, The face is the most important visual stimulus in our lives probably from the first few hours after birth, definitely after the first few weeks. The loss of the ability to recognize faces, like those who have prosopagnosia, greatly affects the individuals life. The primary focus of this review is to provide an overview of the development of facial recognition, gender and age differences, facial identity and expression, memory, prosopagnosia, and hemispheric advantages in facial recognition. It is also my intention to review past and contemporary theories of development and understanding of facial recognition. The Birth of Facial Recognition The human face has sparked interest in various disciplines within the arts and sciences for centuries (Darwin, 1872 as cited in Nelson, 2001). This fascination of the human face may reflect the psychological significance of the face and the recognition of other faces. Cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists and developmental psychologists are interested in facial recognition due to evidence that faces are somehow perceived differently than other patterned objects, the ability is controlled by a distinct neural circuit, and that faces provide an early means of communication between infants and caretakers. Regardless of the wide-ranged and continued interest in the subject matter, it still remains unclear how facial recognition becomes specialized, and what neurological systems are involved in the development process (Nelson, 2001). The number of research with faces used as stimuli has increased dramatically over the past decades (Chung Thomson, 1995). This may be a result of a change in the cognitive studies from fragmented verbal materials to more meaningful nonverbal memory. It is also noteworthy that the majority of the research on facial recognition has been focused on infants and adults, giving little attention to the developmental changes during childhood (two through five years of age). Studies of Development Studies in Newborns In the early stages of facial recognition (1960s) there were contrasting results as to whether newborns had any preference towards faces over other patterned stimuli. Over the next few decades of research, the view that newborns are capable of recognizing faces and discriminating between their mothers and unfamiliar faces was supported by researchers (Nelson, 2001). Although the findings that newborns can distinguish between faces and may show preferences, evidence for ability to recognize faces earlier than 1 to 2 months of age is extremely weak and not regularly supported. Newborns possess poor visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and cannot determine the high spatial frequencies that make up the fine details of faces (de Schonen and Mathivet, 1990; Simion et al., 1998 as cited in Nelson, 2001 ). Another criticism of newborn studies is that they have used schematized stimuli (having eye sockets and opening for a mouth and nose used as a model of a real face), questioning the validi ty of the stimuli used to serve as a real face. In more current literature by Gava, Valenza, Turati and de Schonen (2008), they found evidence that newborns may have the ability to detect and recognize partially occluded faces. They believe their findings highlight the importance the eyes play in newborns facial detection and recognition. Newborns detected faces even if some low-information portions were missing from the face. The only exception was the eyes-once the eyes were removed, detection and recognition of the stimuli was impaired. This is found in both newborns and adults. The findings of the study were in line with Morton and Johnsons structural hypothesis (Gava, Valenza, Turati and de Schonen, 2008) that states, faces are special for newborns because human infants possess a device that contains structural information concerning the visual characteristics of conspecifics-hiding the eyes implies that the typical face pattern (three high contrast blobs in the correct positions of the eyes and the mouth) would be disrupted. There are two hypotheses offered by Gava, Valenza, Turati and de Schonen (2008) explaining how newborns recognize the difference between the non-obstructed and obstructed faces. The first hypothesis states, Newborns might have filled in the partly hidden surface, thus perceiving the obstructed stimulus as connected behind the obstructers, or might have simply perceived only what is immediately visible of the obstructed face. The second hypothesis suggests that newborns might have perceived the similarities between the non-obstructed and the obstructed face, perceiving only what is immediately visible of the obstructed face. The results found do not explain the perceptual operations of the ability of the newborns to detect and recognize occluded faces. Nonetheless, it demonstrates that the degree of salience highly affects the competence of the obstructed information. Both past and present literature shows a difference in opinions when it comes to newborns and facial recognition. In recent literature the main consensus is that newborns can certainly recognize faces, but the perceptual operations of the newborns ability to detect and recognize are still yet unknown. Studies in Infants In 1972, Fagan (as cited in Nelson, 2001) demonstrated that infants around 4 months old have excellent recognition of upright faces in comparison to upside down faces. This finding suggests that infants around the age of 4 months have developed a face schema and view faces as a special class of stimuli (Nelson, 2001). Infants between the ages of 3 to 7 months can identify their mothers from strangers and recognize faces by gender and facial expression. These findings demonstrate the development over the first 6 months in facial recognition, where infants not only identify but also discriminate faces. Carlsson, Lagercrantz, Olson, Printz Bartocci (2008) measured the cortical response in the right fronto-temporal and right occipital areas of healthy 6 to 9 month old children by showing an image of their mothers faces compared to that of an unknown face. A double-channel NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy) device monitored concentration changes of oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin. The mother was asked not to talk to their children during the trials. The children were exposed to four types of visual stimuli: a grey background, a photograph of the mother, a second grey background and a photo of the unknown female face. Eight children (Group A) were presented with a picture of their mother before that of the unknown female face. In Group B, 11 children were presented in the reversed order. Each stimulus lasted a period of 15 seconds. The results showed that Group A (the mother image first) elicited an increase in the right fronto-temporal area, which is statistical different from responses to the unknown image. In Group B, (the unknown females face first) there was an insignificant increase in cortical response in the right fronto-temporal area when shown the unknown female and then spiked when the maternal facial image was presented. The findings in this study show that there was a greater increase in the right fronto-temporal region when the picture of the mother was shown in comparison with the unknown female photo. The effect of this hemoglobin change is most likely due to a discriminatory and recognition process. In addition to the right fronto-temporal region they also illuminated the right occipitotemporal pathway, part of the right prefrontal cortex, the right medial temporal lobe and the right fusiform area. These have been identified as specific target areas involved in face recognition. By looking at the mothers, the facial image is suspected to be an accurate result of the activation in the right occipitotemporal pathway. Difficulties in face recognition among infants born prematurely may be caused by a change or delay in the development of this pathway. The results show that the connectivity between the occipital cortex and the right prefrontal area are present and functional at the age of 6 to 9 months. These findings are extremely valuable to understanding the developmental mechanisms in infant social adaptation. Studies in Children It is highly likely that as we age, ones level of accuracy for facial recognition increases, but the evidence for the underlying processes of age differences is less certain. One of the techniques used was showing inversed pictures of faces to both adults and children. It was found that inversion disproportionately impairs the recognition of faces more so than other objects (Tanaka, Kay, Grinnell, Stansfield Szechter, 1998). Evidence by Carey and Diamond (1977) revealed that children at the ages of 8 and 10 years recognized a face with better accuracy if it was in the upright position in comparison to inverted position, like adults. However, children at age 6 recognized the inverted faces equally as well as the upright faces. These findings led to the hypothesis that children at the age 6 use a featural encoding strategy for processing faces. This is called the encoding switch hypothesis, where children 6 and under encode upright faces according to features such as the nose, mouth a nd eyes, and around the age of about 8 to 10 years, they begin to process faces holistically. In a second experiment when testing their encoding hypothesis, Carey and Diamond (1977) found that 6 year olds were misled more by changes in clothing, hairstyle, eyeglasses and facial expressions than 8 and 10 year olds. These results suggest that children at younger ages process faces according to their parts until they are about the age of 10, where they switch to a holistic approach. Carey and Diamond received criticism by a researcher named Flin, who believed their results were due the level of difficulty used in the task for 6 year olds and that their poor performance might have obscured the possible inversion effects. Flin (1985) (as cited in Tanaka, Kay, Grinnell, Stansfield Szechter, 1998) found that the 6 year olds recognition was below the older age group as an overall. He argued that there is little evidence to support the encoding switch hypothesis when taking age related performance differences into account. In more recent research, Tanaka, Kay, Grinnell, Stansfield Szechter (1998) stated that although face inversions may reveal performance difference, they provide little insight into the cognitive operations attributable to these differences. Tanka reasoned that if upright faces are encoded holistically, the whole-face test item should serve as a better retrieval cue than isolated-part test items, and if inverted faces are encoded only in terms of their parts, there should be no difference in the isolated part and whole face test conditions. Over a series of three experiments, their findings failed to support Carey and Diamonds (1977) predictions of the encoding switch hypothesis. If young children rely on featural information to encode faces, one would expect differences in their parts and whole performances than older children, which were not found. Their results suggest that by the age of 6 years old, children use a holistic approach to facial recognition and that the holistic appro ach remains relatively stable from ages 6 to 10. Recent research by Baenninger (1994) and Carey Diamond (1994) (as cited in Tanaka, Kay, Grinnell, Stansfield Szechter, 1998) also supports the idea that children do not encode faces based on features and then switch to a more configural encoding strategy, but instead encode normal faces holistically from the beginning. In fact, Carey and Diamond (1994) suggest that the Age X Inversion interaction may be attributed to a norm-based coding scheme (relational properties of the face that is encoded relative to the norm face in the population), which may explain experimental factors in changing the absolute levels of holistic processing. The norm-based coding model predicts that as one ages, facial recognition improves, whereas facial recognition should remain constant. The inversion task used by Carey and Diamond (1977, 1994) eliminated capability advantages by blocking norm-based encoding of relational properties, which could attribute to the lack of evidence for the holistic model. Th e single process that configural and featural information are encoded together supports the holistic approach to face recognition (Tanaka, Kay, Grinnell, Stansfield Szechter, 1998). Prosopagnosia A large amount of facial recognition research comes from the assessment of patients with prosopagnosia. Prosopagnosia is [a] visual agnosias that is largely restricted to a face recognition, but leaves intact recognition of personal identity from other identifying cues, such as voices and names (Calder Young, 2005). Regardless of who they are looking at, face recognition can be severely impaired. Patients typically recognize people by paraphernalia (voice or distinct features, such as a mole). Patients often cannot distinguish men from women, but hair length is a good retrieval cue for recognition. Areas related to prosopagnosia have been found the left frontal lobe, bilateral occipital lobes, bilateral parieto-occipital regions, and in the parieto-temporo-occipital junction (Ellis, 1975). It is possible to have several areas of damage for the specific function, but most occur in the right hemisphere. Gloning et al. (1970) (as cited in Ellis, 1975) found it is common for patients to exhibit symptoms of other agnosias. Such as foods looking the same, difficulty identifying animals, and inability to locate themselves in space and time. Some other, typically uncommon defects include visual field defects, constructional apraxia, dyspraxia for dressing, and metamorphosia (Ellis, 1975). The symptoms attributed with identifying faces are described as overall blurring, difficulties in interpreting shades and forms, and the inability to infer emotions in the face. Gloning et al. (1966) (as cited in Ellis, 1975) reports some patients have the most difficulty with the eye regions and others found the eyes the easiest to recognize. Regardless of the symptoms, an interesting aspect of prosopagnosia is that patients can always detect a face, but are unable to recognize it. This suggests that there is a two-part process in facial recognition. First, faces are detected, and then undergo further analysis where information such as age and sex are analyzed and compared in long-term memory. In comparing left posterior hemisphere to the right posterior hemisphere, Yin (1970) (as cited in Ellis, 1975) found that those with damage on the right side were poorer at face memory tasks than those with left side damage. They found that visual categories may all be difficult to recognize because they all have a high degree of inter-item similarity. De Renzi Spinnler (1966) (as cited in Young, 2001) found similar evidence, showing that patients with right-hemisphere damage were worse at recognizing faces, and other abstract figures than those with left hemisphere damage. These significant findings led them to believe that those with right-hemisphere damage are limited in high level integration of visual data. It also led to the hypothesis that prosopagnosia patients have lost the ability to recognize the individual members of categories with items of similar appearance (Young, 2001). The finding of covert recognition (Bauer, 1984 as cited in Ellis, Lewis, Moselhy Young, 2000) helped the cases of prosopagnosia as a domain-specific impairment of facial memory, showing parallels to priming effects. Bauer tested his patient LF by measuring his skin conductance while he viewed a familiar face and listened to a list of five names. Skin conductance was shown to be greater when the name belonged to the face LF was looking at. However, when asked to choose the correct name of the face, LF was unable to do so. These results showed a significant difference between the inability to overtly identify the face and the higher levels of skin conductance in the covert recognition. Bauer believed that there were two routes in the recognition of faces that both began in the visual cortex and ends in the limbic system, but each taking a different pathway (Bauer, 1984 as cited in Ellis, Lewis, Moselhy Young, 2000). Although Bauers neurological hypothesis was dismissed shortly after, his psychological hypothesis of a separation between overt recognition and orienting responses has been generally accepted (Ellis, Lewis, Moselhy Young, 2000). Models of Facial Recognition Bruce Young Functional Model Bruce and Young (1986) have proposed a functional model suggesting that the structural codes for faces are stored in memory and then connected with the identity and name of the matching face. The model mainly supports how individuals recognize familiar faces. This is one of the better models for face recognition. Their model is outlined in a box and arrow format, where face recognition is completed in stages. In the first stage, structural encoding, individuals encode visual information from a face into information that can be used by the other stages of the face recognition system. Within the structural encoding are two separate processes, view-centred description, and expression-independent descriptions. These two are in a serial position where expression-independent descriptions take input information from the view-centred descriptions process. These allow for identification of facial features when viewed from various angles. The next few stages are part of a series of parallel processes after the structural encoding stage. The expression analysis stage takes its input from the view-centred descriptions processes, allowing facial expression to be analyzed. The next stage is facial speech analysis. The last branch is directed visual processing, which targets more general facial processing such as distinguishing between faces. These sets of parallel processes take input from both structural encoding processes. All of these four links of parallel face processing feed into the general cognitive system, where all are bidirectional links receiving some input back from the cognitive system (Bruce Young, 1986). The last three stages of Bruce and Youngs (1986) model are the recognition, identification and naming stages. The recognition stage involves face recognition units, also known as FRUs. They are individual nodes associated with familiar faces. When facial features are detected, nodes are activated and fed into the FRU system. Whichever node reaches the threshold activation level is the one that corresponds to the face being observed, and is then recognized. The face recognition units interact with person identity nodes, also known as PINs. PINs and FRUs bidirectionally share input information, with a two-way interaction. Activation of the PIN for a person can create some activation in the FRU, allowing recognition time for the face to be faster. Last is the name generation process. Both the PINs and name retrieval interact with the cognitive system. However, only the PINs have a two-way interaction, whereas name retrieval process solely sends input information to the cognitive system. IAC Model Burton, Bruce and Johnstons (1990) adaptation of McClellands Interactive Activation and Competition model of concept learning is an extremely basic form of a connectionist model, consisting from pools of simple processing units. The goal of the model is to explain repetitive priming, associative priming, distinctiveness and face naming. All of the units within a pool inhibit each other. There are excitatory links connecting individual units across different pools, where activation passes between these links (all links are bidirectional). Each FRU is paired to a known face and any form of recognition will activate the appropriate FRU. The second level of classification occurs at the Person Identity Nodes (PIN), where one unit is paired to each known person. Familiarity is signaled when any PIN reaches a common activation threshold. This implies that there is one decision mechanism used for all person familiarity judgments, regardless if they are faces or other kinds of information. The third level of classification is the pool labeled Semantic Information Units (SIUs), where information about known individuals are coded in the form of a link between the persons PIN and SIU. The fourth level of classification is a pool of units labeled lexical output, which capture the first stage of processes involved in speech and other output modalities. The fifth and final stage is a pool of units labeled WRUs (Word Recognition Units), where code names link directly to a pool of Name Recognition Units (NRUs). Finally, all Word Recognition Units are connected directly to the lexical output units, in which the model contains the elements of a dual route model of reading. The IAC Model is different from the Functional model because FRUs signal face familiarity, pins are modality-free gateways to semantic information, and that the details and spread of activity are more clarified. This model has had success in simulating phenomena such as relative timing of familiarity, repetition, semantic and cross modal semantic priming. Both the Bruce Young (1986) and Burton, Bruce and Johnston (1990) models show how activation levels are used in recognition processes. These two models help us theorize exactly what is happening in the mind as we analyze and recognize facial features and faces as a whole. The main idea of the model is the idea that facial identity and expression are recognized by functionally and neurologically independent systems. These models have started great advances in the research of facial recognition. Memory Load on Facial Recognition Memory in facial recognition has had limited research, which is surprising considering its importance to understanding facial recognition and how it could impact research. Goldstein and Chance (1981) (as cited in Lamont, Williams Podd, 2005) found two critical variables that have received little attention when reviewing laboratory settings: memory load and delay. Memory load is defined as the number of faces shown in the study phase and delay is defined as the delay between study and recognition phase. Researchers have found that increasing age is associated with a decline in facial recognition ability. However, the variables interacting with age are still unknown. Nevertheless, mixed evidence on the question of whether face age has any impact on elderly participants is still debated. Evidence by Shapiro Penrod (1986) (as cited in Lamont, Williams Podd, 2005) reveals that as memory load increases, face recognition performance decreases. Due to the limited research on the subject matter, Podd (1990) wanted to inquire about the possible effects that it has on the field of research for facial recognition. Podd tested subjects in small groups, where they were asked to look carefully at a series of faces that the subjects were asked to identify at a later time. Subject had to discriminate between faces that they had seen previously and those that had yet to be seen in the recognition phase. The results showed that an increase in both memory load and delay correlate to a decrease in recognition accuracy. Podd believes this could be contingent on the fact that increased memory load decreases accuracy by decreasing the portion of targets correctly identified, while delay decreases accuracy by increasing the likelihood that a distractor will be called a target. Depending on how similar the target is from the distractor, there will be fewer attributes to use to differentiate between the targets. In more current literature, Lamont, Williams Podd (2005) have tested both aging effects and memory load on face recognition. They looked at two interacting variables: the age of the target face and memory load. They were curious in finding out if memory load had a greater impact in the elderly than in younger individuals. Another variable they looked at was recognition load, the total number of target and distractor faces seen in the recognition phase. The main objective was to see if they could determine whether the effects of memory load could be teased out from recognition load. In the results they found that, as expected, older age was correlated with a decrease in accuracy of facial recognition. Surprisingly, older people had a decrease in accuracy for younger faces but not in older faces. The results of the study were not consistent with past research, which found that recognition accuracy in the younger groups was higher with younger faces than with older faces. The current study showed the exact opposite results. One possibility of these results is that with increasing age, features of the face fade more quickly. Also, with increasing retention intervals, there is more time for peoples memories of the target to fade, where the least salient feature fades the fastest (Podd, 1990). They believe that the elderly have fewer distinctive facial features available in memory to make the judgment, meaning an increase in judgment time. It is also noteworthy to say these findings are consistent with Podds earlier work, (1990) showing that increased memory load is associated with a reliable decrease in performance in recognition accuracy. The findings show that recognition load produced the decrease, which is independent of age. Another important finding is that recognition load is the true source of the association between increased memory load and decreased face recognition. Lamont, Williams Podd (2005) state that, [f]ew studies dealing with memory load have taken account of this potential confound, and our results challenges the interpretation of all such research. Crook Larrabee (1992) (as cited in Lamont, Williams Podd, 2005) suggest that the present studies implications are of considerable value to future research, since some authors do not report age of their target faces. Therefore, the results are crucial for proper interpretation of facial recognition research. Sex Differences Hemispheric Advantages in Facial Processing Extensive research has been completed on facial recognitions hemispheric advantages. Unfortunately, little has been concluded due to contradicting evidence. Patterson and Bradshaw (1975) (as cited in Turkewitz Ross, 1984) found that when drawings of faces varied by only one feature, participants showed an advantage in the left hemisphere; however, when all features varied, there was an advantage in the right hemisphere. Prior studies have shown that advantages in both hemispheres are contingent on the conditions being used, which produces different results. Even when the conditions are held constant, conflicting results emerge, resulting in individuals showing both right and left hemisphere advantages. Ross and Turkewitz (1981) (as cited in Turkewitz and Ross, 1984) found hemispheric advantages were associated with the nature of the information process strategy being used by the participant. Those with a right-hemisphere advantage showed signs of decline when inversion of faces was being tested, whereas those with left hemisphere advantages showed a decline while omission of selected facial features were tested. They suggest that these results show that those with a right-hemisphere advantage recognize faces based on gestalt qualities (whole) and those with left hemisphere recognize faces based on a more individual and distinctive features. Turkewitz and Ross (1984) were interested in researching age-related changes in hemispheric advantages in recognition of presented faces and determining whether a dual-mode of right hemisphere processing exists and if it associates with differences of age and gender. The participants were students ages 8, 11 and 13 years old. Participants were seated in a chair in front of a screen, where facial stimuli were presented. The objective was to point to the face presented in the response sheet for each trial. The data found suggest that there are age- and gender-related differences in the nature of hemispheric advantages shown when confronted with the task of identifying unfamiliar faces. The findings also support the hypothesis of processing stages, where different hemispheric advantages are associated with the stages. Both adults and older girls exhibited a right-hemisphere advantage, suggesting an age-related shift, responding to the undifferentiated and global characteristics of the faces. Younger girls showed no advantage which suggests they use right and left hemisphere strategies equally well. This suggests that girls are using more advanced and integrated right hemisphere modes of functioning, which tends to be more effective when engaging in facial recognition. Everhart, Shucard, Quatrin Shucard (2001) tested 35 prepubertal children in facial recognition and facial affect processing. They were trying to find similar results to those found in the previous literature stating that males show higher levels of activation in the right hemisphere, where females tend to show higher levels in the left. They were also looking to see if this change developed before puberty, similar to those of adults, and to see if gender-related differences would be present in cortical processing during the performance of face recognition. Auditory probes were used to gather ERPs during a Facial Recognition Memory task. They used a facial identification task to gather data on matching and recognition of facial affect, reaction time and accuracy. Their results showed that boys show greater levels of ERP amplitude in the right hemisphere, where girls showed greater levels of activation in the left hemisphere. The findings also showed that boys might process faces at a global level, which is in the right hemisphere, and girls might process faces at a more local level, in the left hemisphere. This study states that its findings have potential clinical implications. Due to the finding that boys use more resources in their right hemisphere and girls use more in their left, then sex related differences will be evident following lesions to the right hemisphere, suggesting that males may be more at risk to have prosopagnosia. Conclusion Facial recognition has interested humans for centuries. Although all evidence out there on the subject matter is useful and important, I selected the findings I believe to be the most important. Based on the research in the development of facial recognition we can conclude that, humans, from newborn age through adulthood, can identify faces. By the age of 6 months, people can discriminate between faces. It has also been found that children do not encode faces based on features and then switch to a more configural model, but rather encode faces on a more holistic level. Other aspects looked at were prosopagnosia and different models of face recognition. Some of the most important research on facial recognition comes from comparing prosopagnosia patients to normal adults. The last two topics examined in this review were memory load and hemispheric advantages. Both help us understand where we process facial information and also how our memory works to store faces. The location of facial recognition has been narrowed down to specific areas of the brain and pathways, further research must be done to get a better idea

The Plague of Cheating and Internet Plagiarism :: Journalistic Essays

Internet Essays - The Plague of Internet Plagiarism Not all thieves lurk in dark alleys and parks. Some sit with their faces lit by the glow of their computer monitors, copying, pasting, and printing. It may seem like just another helpful source of information, but the Internet has taken the theft of "intellectual property" to a new level. Part of the problem is that most students don't really know the exact definition of plagiarism or its consequences. Some say that using someone else's ideas without attributing them is a form of theft, but most people don't think of it as a serious crime. For teachers, Internet plagiarism has been especially problematic compared to "theft" from other sources. This is because it is so difficult to locate the origin of Internet material. To counter student plagiarism, Internet services designed to detect copied material have emerged to aid teachers. One Internet company, TurnItIn.com, has developed a system for detecting material plagiarized from the Internet. Teachers can upload student works onto the site, which searches for similarities to material from all over the Web. The teachers receive an "originality report" within a few days. To utilize this new technology, a few teachers at this high school are having students submit their papers on disk as well as on paper. "The threat of using [these programs] will stop a lot of students. They will be afraid they'll be caught. Unfortunately, fear is what works," English teacher Judy Grear said. English teacher Barbara Swovelin said, "With all the info that's on the Internet, it's understandable that we go to it to get information. It's understandable that people would use it as a resource. The legal and moral issues come in when students use it improperly." A main concern is not only the use of a few plagiarized sentences, but of entire papers. "Paper mills" like SchoolSucks.com and Evil House of Cheat are some of the most popular sources for pirated papers. Sites like these, which have achieved fame and notoriety among slackers everywhere, were the motivation for TurnItIn.com and similar sites. In addition to such blatant "cut and paste" plagiarism, most teachers agree that students must be wary of the theft of ideas. One plagiarism-detection program, Word Check, asserts through their Web site, "Whether you agree or disagree on how information should be used or reused in digital form, one thing is clear: protecting intellectual property from theft and infringement is the number one security issue.

Fishing for Words Essay -- Essays Papers

Fishing for Words â€Å"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; you have fed him for a lifetime† (http://www.amatecon.com/fish.html). This quote can be applied to illiteracy in America; basically someone illiterate cannot live on their own until they have been taught the basics, reading and writing. According to Kozol’s essay The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society the government, administration, and people of high power live by the beginning of the quote (Kozol, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society). They help someone illiterate make a living until the person is out of their control. Yet the government, administrations, and society maintain control through illiteracy. Illiteracy is spreading like a plague through modern society. It affects part of our lives in one way or another. The illiteracy rate per capita is alarming especially to see that the numbers are on the rise. Thirteen percent of Colorado adults are illiterate (www.nces.ed.gov). Approximately 4,420,000 people live in Colorado, and if thirteen percent are illiterate, then 54,600 people are illiterate (www.census.gov). Almost one out of every 85 people is illiterate. An illiterate is stereotypically defined as a middle-aged adult who wears scruffy clothes. Yet in reality most illiterate look like every other person wearing jeans and a t-shirt walking down the street. The hardest roadblock for an illiterate is the ability to read. Since an illiterate cannot read or write then the person cannot work. In order to compensate our government has it in their heads that if they give welfare money to someone who is illiterate then they will go and try to learn to read and write. Why is the government’s head on backwards? The only thing that... ...enerations. As it stands, people who are literate in America live by Darwin’s theory of â€Å"Survival of the Fittest.† The strong prey on the weak, just as someone who is literate preys on the illiterate. With the proposed solutions there will be a greater chance of equality amongst the American society. So if America just took one moment to teach the man to fish, there would be an end to illiteracy in America. Works Cited - Give a Man a Fish†¦.Ross Nordeen. June 3, 1999 http://www.amatecon.com/fish.html> - Kozol, Jonathan. â€Å"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society.† Reading Critically, Writing Well: A Reader and Guide. Axelrod and Cooper. 6th ed. Bedford/ St. Martin’s. 2002. 346-352. - National Center for Educational Statistics. www.nces.ed.gov> - United States Census Bureau. < www.census.gov>

Psychosexual Theory

Evaluate the extent to which Freud’s theory of psychosexual development can help us to understand a client’s presenting issue? | Psychosexual Development Theory The meaning of the psychosexual theory has nothing to do with sexuality or sex in terms of reproduction, but is referred to in meaning as anything that gives pleasure to the body such as a hug, taste, food, this is according to Freud. Freud believed that early childhood has an effect on the future life of person there are five stages he believed that a person went through physiologically and psychologically.The physiology is based on human instinct to survive, the psychology is the emotional/mental interpretation of the act and the pleasure that it provides. This was the birth of psychodynamics the link between physiology and psychology, the motivation behind the behavioural action. Freud’s psychosexual theory is based on child development from birth through to adult hood. The idea is the association betw een the physiological developments being linked to the psychological development in early childhood.The first stage is set at birth to 18 months, it is the oral stage, this area is based on the mouth and the need to eat to survive also coupled with the pleasure that follows through with taste, this is instigated by breasting feeding. Babies enjoy breasting feeding it is soothing, it feels good and it tastes good, this is the first pleasure that babies have. This stage focuses on the mouth as babies learn through taste; they put things in their mouths to learn. It is at this stage that a child learns that the mouth gives instant pleasure through taste and that food gives pleasure.Following the oral stage is the anal stage which is based on the anus; this stage normally occurs around 18 months to three years old. This stage is based on control, this is the control of the bowels being able to control when and where to excrete. The pleasure principle here is based around potty training, the emphasis placed on the child to control when they need to release themselves and the parent displaying expectation on the suitability and necessity of having control over the bowels and taking ownership of actions based around potty training.Depending on how this is executed the developing child will learn the control factor and get pleasure for being able to exercise their control over this. Stage three is the phallic stage this is from ages 3-5, at this stage the child starts to realise that there is a difference between boys and girls; it is here that the developing child sees a difference in their genitals relating to the parent from the opposite sex. Females start to become aware that they don’t have a penis and sense there is a difference in terms of strength between men and women.Males start to become aware that they are strong and have a sense of protection regarding their mother. This can be understood in terms that girls seek protection from their fathers and s ee their mother as a rival and this follows in reverse regarding sons and mothers. Stage four from ages 5 to adolescence is latency it is the lull stage where nothing further happens in terms of development in the psychosexual theory. Stage five genital stage this is the adult sexual phase, this is where the developing person experiences sex, romance, love, crushes and friendships.The relationship of the five stages manifested through to adulthood is as follows. During the oral stage should there be a disruption such as feeding was unsuccessful or issues to do with health pertaining to the oral area then it would manifest through the individuals behaviour resulting in direct issues regarding the mouth. The conflict here is weaning the child off the breast towards solid foods, if this process is handled in a less satisfying way towards the developing child, the outcome can be an anxiety lead habitual acts.This could result in chewing pencils, thumb sucking, gum chewing, smoking, over eating, not necessarily in an order but the idea is if an individual becomes fixated in the oral stage they may have some anxiety that would be displayed in one of the above actions. This stems from the idea that the individual was not breast feed enough or there was a disruption of some kind relating to feeding or weaning was unsuccessful and caused issues with feeding, due to this need not being met as an infant the need manifests itself in some other behavioural type.The anal stage relates to control and is the stage where the concept of potty training was either successful or not, resulting in the individual being either â€Å"anal retentive† meaning up tight and rigid when it comes to neatness and organisation. This is the idea that the individual enjoyed their potty training. On the other hand depending on how the training was administered. For if the child was not forth coming in their potty training or the training was not handled ppropriately or was very easy going and care free, the idea is that the individual would be disorganised, messy and have possible anxiety with anything to do with passing bowel movements. The phallic stage relates to relationships with the opposite sex through the understanding of the relationship between the individual and the parent of the opposite sex. This is the origins for the Oedipus and Electra complex stage. Boys tend to want to protect their mothers and come into conflict with their fathers as a means to assert themselves. Girls seek the protection of their fathers while they rival with their mothers for his attention.The child suspects that the same sex parent knows about their attraction towards the opposite sex and hates them for it. The latency stage is the stage of pure childish playfulness, there is no pleasure factor here but child growth such as school, play, fun and basic child features. The focus is on interacting and taking in their surroundings. This is based on repression driving from the stage prior to this one, because of the awareness but the lack of knowledge about the differences between male and females, the child tends to repress any thoughts feelings or concerns and so begins the latency stage.The genital stage is the sexuality process and the discovery of pleasure through the genitals, at this stage boys begin to masturbate and for some this can be uncontrollable. It is not uncommon for parents to reprimand a child for being caught too often with their hands down their pants. And the threats of castration are common to try and deter the boy from such impulsive acts. For girls the suspicion is based on their sexual development in terms of their physical being, breasts grow and the female form takes shape.In this way, and for such reason, the child’s feelings on the subject of his relationship with his parents, and their attitude towards his body and its future, may become divided. What Freud Really Said: An Introduction to His Life and Thought: 1965 David St afford-Clark: Hachette Digital: Location 1254 This theory is Freud’s theory and although it has come into must dispute and criticism it is a theory that may not necessarily be utilised to its fullness however not completely disregarded. The ID the Ego and the Superego These stages are portioned and governed by three powers of the mind that Freud believed to be within everyone.The ID described as the self, instinctual and primitive, the Ego understood as the mediator, intelligent and sensible, and the Super Ego acts as the conscience it is institutional and ensures ethical actions. The ID which is known as the pleasure principle the, I want, I need is the driving factor towards getting our needs met, this is the selfish mode which informs us that we are hungry, lonely, sick. This factor has no relevance in the how are these needs to be met, but rather in the fact that these needs are present and need to be fulfilled.The Ego facilitates the needs of the ID ensuring that it is i n line with reality and acceptable to fulfil those needs that the ID manifests, the ID creates the desire and the Ego works out how to get the desires met in balance with society and appropriateness. The Super Ego is the conscience the moral side of the mind, it ensures that the morality is in place throughout the drive from the ID’s desire to the Ego’s will to get the desires met in accordance to appropriateness, the Super Ego balances the morality and acts as a reminder that behaviour should be managed in a moral standing.This is the Freud analogy of the human mind and how it is motivated and managed by the individual. The oral stage is governed by the ID as this is the immediate survival stage such as feeding, then the Ego which develops during the oral stage which leads on to the next stage. By the anal stage the superego has develop hence the control over bowel movements and the potty training by a parent who may install certain values as to why big boys and girls use the toilet. By this stage the personality has now come into form.The main criticism of these theories are that it has never been experimented or deemed true by means of observation, it is all Freud’s ideas and thoughts on how the human psyche works, there is no evidence to prove it right or otherwise. The link between the psychosexual theory and adult neurotic behaviour Freud believed that any sign of neuroses stemmed from childhood, of which would indicate that there was a disruption or conflict during one of the five psychosexual stages.This basically links the idea that there was an issue of some kind during childhood and this issue has caused a lasting unwelcome effect on the future wellbeing of an individual. The disruption would take the form of some kind of conflict, during one or more of the psychosexual stages, which could lead to a behavioural transference neuroses or narcissistic neuroses. Due to Freud’s theory on the ID Ego and Superego the relationshi p between the three mind concepts is crucial to how the disruption or conflict was handled during the development of the psychosexual stages.Due to this concept Freud based his belief on neuroses being related to a particular trauma suffered during childhood. The psychosexual stages are guides to pinpoint the particular issue giving it a shape and a link to assist in understanding certain behaviours and the possible reasons behind them. Applying the Psychosexual theory to the presenting issue The idea is to link the presenting physiological behaviour to childhood growth of where there would have been a possible disruption or conflict.So a client with abandonment issues who has a tendency to over eat to the point where it is damaging to both their physical and mental health. The psychosexual link would lead towards their oral stage, suggesting that from birth to 18 months the transitioning from breast feeding to solid food was unsuccessful or held some form of conflict or disruption. The idea is that because the client has an eating disorder coupled with feelings of abandonment suggests that they are fixated within the oral stage. This would be a basis to first understand the client and their issue from an open point of view.Freud’s psychosexual theories have never been tested so to apply it in full would be irresponsible to say the least. Ethically the use of the psychosexual theory is not always recommended for it holds a lot of emphasis on a sexual related basis. However because it holds a possible understanding for which to build rapport and get to a level of understanding with a client, it should not be totally ruled out. The psychosexual theory can be used to understand a client but to the extent that it offers an understanding towards the presenting issue, however this could not be the case with every client.As Freud’s theories were limited to certain classes and groups of people, the ramifications may be similar in respect to other classes and groups of people but they may differ completely. Due to cultural difference and ethnic origin coupled with tradition and religion from the vast amounts of different people in the world. The childhood growth from one individual to another could be very different, whereas culturally in some areas of the world breastfeeding can last up until a child is 5 years old. How at this point is the psychosexual theory to be employed? How his form of childhood transitioning could be applied in any way to the psychosexual stages? The fact remains that due to its limitations of experimentation; it cannot be applied to everybody but instead used as a tool to better understand a client’s presenting issues. Issues such as OCD, over eating, anorexia, IBS, anxiety, phobias, grief, habits and addictions can all be linked to the past events or experiences of a client’s life. It may not necessarily be linked through the psychosexual theory but the link may very well be in the past holdi ng a strong relevance in some form to a past experience.For this reason alone the psychosexual theory can be used as an avenue to understand the client and the relationship between their presenting issue and their past. Here is where the psychodynamics of the clients frame work are interpreted and understood and possibly confronted and dealt with in order for the client and therapist to progress with some resolution. Criticisms of Freud The main areas of criticisms on the psychosexual theory and many other Freudian theories are that it has not been tested.All of Freud’s theories were based on his ideologies and internal beliefs, so it has no scientific creditability. No prognostic worth as to place the Oedipus and Electra complex on an individual that had an absent parent or was raised with same sex parents or in another less conventional family setting, how is their future behaviour to be determined. Freud based his analysis on the patients he had access to, this was not a w ide variety of individuals and many of them were middleclass wives suffering from hysteria. This is just a few of the many controversial views on Freudian theory.However along with these criticisms Freud claimed much recognition for his contributions to psychology. Before Freud there was no understanding of the mind and how it could possibly work, Freud opened the understanding to undertake that the human mind can operate on different levels. Freud gave birth to the importance of child psychological development and that children do have sexual feelings. Freud set the motion for the direction of psychology and the many areas of which can be explored, without Freud’s theories there was no basis for psychology and its possibilities.Freud gave direction and a starting point for many practitioners to base their understandings. Presenting issues and the psychosexual development theory The psychosexual development theory can prove useful in understanding a client’s presenting issue, but only as a tool to base an understanding. This theory gives a platform to further develop the client and therapist relationship, it holds not scientific value and is far too controversial to rely upon as a workable useable theory for practice. But it does allow for understanding and gives light to uncovering an issue using psychodynamic therapy.

Management and Co-ordination

Coordination Definition of Coordination Co-ordination is the unification, integration, synchronization of the efforts of group members so as to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common goals. It is a hidden force which binds all the other functions of management. According to Mooney and Reelay, â€Å"Co-ordination is orderly arrangement of group efforts to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common goals†. According to Charles Worth, â€Å"Co-ordination is the integration of several parts into an orderly hole to achieve the purpose of understanding†. Management seeks to achieve co-ordination through its basic functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. That is why, co-ordination is not a separate function of management because achieving of harmony between individuals efforts towards achievement of group goals is a key to success of management. Co-ordination is the essence of management and is implicit and inherent in all functions of management. Ingredient of all the Managerial Functions A manager can be compared to an orchestra conductor since both of them have to create rhythm and unity in the activities of group members. Co-ordination is an integral element or ingredient of all the managerial functions as discussed below: – 1. Co-ordination through Planning – Planning facilitates co-ordination by integrating the various plans through mutual discussion, exchange of ideas. e. g. – co-ordination between finance budget and purchases budget. 2. Co-ordination through Organizing – Mooney considers co-ordination as the very essence of organizing. In fact when a manager groups and assigns various activities to subordinates, and when he creates department’s co-ordination uppermost in his mind. . Co-ordination through Staffing – A manager should bear in mind that the right no. of personnel in various positions with right type of education and skills are taken which will ensure right men on the right job. 4. Co-ordination through Directing – The purpose of giving orders, instructions & guidance to the subordinates is served only when there is a harmony between sup eriors & subordinates. 5. Co-ordination through Controlling – Manager ensures that there should be co-ordination between actual performance & standard performance to achieve organizational goals. Differences between Co-ordination and Co-operation |Basis |Co-ordination |Co-operation | |Meaning |It is an orderly arrangement of group efforts in |It means mutual help willingly. | | |pursuit of common goals. | | |Scope |It is broader than co-operation which includes as well|It is termed as a part of co-ordination. | |because it harmonizes the group efforts. | | |Process |The function of co-ordination is performed by top |The functions of co-operation are prepared by persons at | | |management. |any level. | |Requirements |Co-ordination is required by employees and departments|Co-operation is emotional in nature because it depends on | | |at work irrespective of their work. |the willingness of people working together. |Relationship |It establishes formal and informal relationships. |It establishes informal relationship. | |Freedom |It is planned and entrusted by the central authority &|It depends upon the sweet will of the individuals and | | |it is essential. |therefore it is not necessary. | |Support |It seeks wholehearted support from various people |Co-operation without co-ordination is fruitless & | | |working at various levels. therefore it may lead to unbalanced developments. | Therefore, existence of co-operation may prove to be effective condition or requisite for co-ordination. But it does not mean that co-ordination originates automatically from the voluntary efforts of the group of members. It has to be achieved through conscious & deliberate efforts of managers, therefore to conclude we can say that co-operation without co-ordination has no fruit and co-ordination without co-operation has no root.

Nature of Accounting and the Accounting Standard

Nature of Accounting and the Accounting Standard Background Accounting is an important part for business and it is dubbed â€Å"language† of business activities conducted by firms. People think it is used to communicate business transactions per se to all stakeholders. However, some people argue that the functions of accounting are not that easy. Except the communication tool, accounting acts as many other difference roles in business. When doing accounting, different standard may be used. There are many issues about accounting standard nowadays.To getting a subjective view of accounting, it is necessary to understand how accounting is worked. This essay will analyze the application of accounting in the various situations to reach a conclusion. It will give some perspective for accounting also. Firm as an accounting object As we know, accounting was widely used in the firm. In accounting, firm means some business entity aiming at earning economic profit. In general, there are three types of firms: proprietorship, partnership and corporation. Firms are classified by the types of ownership, limitation of liability and so on.According to Scott Besley (2007), a proprietorship and partnership is an unincorporated business. Proprietorship firm owned by one individual while partnership owned by two or more people. A corporation is â€Å"a legal entity by a state†. The owners and managers may not be the same person. Corporation have unlimited life and enjoin limited liability. Owners have no responsibility for liabilities of the corporation. However, for proprietorship and partnership, owners must payback all liability of creditor. Although there are various classifications for firm, its object is quite same.The general object of a commerce firm is earning profit. However, firms cannot just focus on the financial income. There are many other aspects must consider. The firm which is just care about financial achievement will suffer form ethic dilemma. Dobs on (1997) defined the behavior that firm just consider about self-interest individualistic and opportunistic as â€Å"finance paradigm†. He criticized that it would cause another lost for people. To be an ethic firm, it should select object carefully to maximize the benefit for all relevant people.Rather than running business individually, people do commerce via firm. Firms exist because it can provide a more efficiency operation environment for people. However, even if firms can offer a better way for people doing business, we shouldn’t ignore the troubles arising from it. Accounting and transaction Transaction plays a special role in firm’s daily operation. In general meaning, transaction is exchange of goods or services between entities, as well as other events that have an economic impact on a business.It is a business’s economic record by accounting (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2011). It should be clarify that not all events generated in business proc ess can be record. Accounting must considers about what transaction should record and how it is record. There are two major assumptions about whether transaction should be record. The first one is monetary unit assumption. In accounting, we just record the transaction data which can be express in money term (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2011). Another assumption is economic entity assumption.Accountant must just account the transaction relevant to certain firm. The active of its owner or other economic entity should not be record in the firm’s account (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2011). In addition, such action must affect the component of accounting equation dually. That means it should affect assts, liability or equity. Measurement method in accounting As it mentioned before, the major object of account is identify, record and communicate the transaction. In real life, the environment for accounting is changing continuously.So, accountant should know how to record and measure transaction properly. To facing price changing, there are two major approaches to record and measure transaction: historical cost principle and fair value principle. When using historical cost principle, companies record assets as its cost (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2011). That means if the value of goods in such transaction is changing, it will keep the original record of such goods. However, we should update the record of assets value according to the market price in fair value principle.When managers decide which standard should be used, there are various factors need to be consider. Inflation is necessary for measurement method decision. Alhashim & Arpan (1992) claimed that when price is stable, the historical cost principle could provide an objective view for company’s performance. Managers may prefer this method to measure transaction. However, study also show that when it is high inflation, using historical cost principle will provide some useless information. If the price is changing frequently, the historical cost principle will not suitable.For example, in British, because it was suffer from high inflation rate in the history, the accounting standard in this country select fair-value principle. (Alhashim & Arpan, 1992) Cost measurement is an important part in accounting. Since the component of cost for business is complex, it will select material cost for example. There are two common principles for material cost evaluation. One is average value method, another is FIFO method. Company’s objective should be considered when choosing those approaches of cost measurement.When using average cost method, company’s income statement will show lower income so that company will enjoin lower tax. However, when firm choosing FIFO method, they will pay higher tax because of the high income present by income statement. When company wants to reduce tax cost, they may choose average cost method. Otherwise, they will choose FIFO method to attrac t investment by showing well performance. Except form pervious example discussed, there are many other factors could affect the measurement method.For example, David Solomons (1970) think that feasibility like objective, low cost of implementation and ease of understanding for users will affect the judgment for measurement method. In different condition, managers will choose different principle. So, it is difficult to say which principle is better. Conclusion By analyze relevant item of accounting, the perspective of accounting is more clearly now. Transaction is a vital component of accounting and there are various principles about it. However, accounting is related to other aspects also. Merely defined accounting as analyzing transaction per se is not false but not objectively.Communication is also a vital part of account. It is properly to descript accounting as a â€Å"language† of business. As mention before, there are many communicating methods and standards for account ing. Different regions may have different accounting â€Å"language† (Alhashim & Arpan, 1992). It is a challenge for current international company. To solve this problem, it is necessary to build and spread a unified standard for international accounting right now. Reference Alhashim, D. D. , & Arpan, J. S. (1992). International dimensions of accounting. Boston: PWS-KENT publishing company.Dobson, J. (1997). Finance ethics: the rationality of virtue. Cummor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ, England: Lanham [u. a. ] : Rowman & Littlefield. Scott Besley, E. F. (2007). Essentials of Managerial Finance. Natorp Boulevasr, Mason OH: South Westren College. Solomons, D. (1970). Assets valuation and income determination: appraising the alternative. In R. R. Sterling, Assets valuation and income determination (p. 105). 4431 Mt. Vernon, Houston, Texas: Scholar Book Co. Weygandt, J. J. , Kimmel, P. D. , & Kieso, D. E. (2011). Financial Accounting. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.