Examining The Objective Of Industrial Training Information Technology Essay

Examining The Objective Of Industrial Training Information Technology Essay Industrial Training (OMT 330) course is compulsory to all students that taken a Diploma in Office Management and Technology program under Mara University of Technology. During the course duration, students need to follow practical training for 15 weeks that as many 4 hour credit. The objective of Industrial Training is to allow practical students to the opportunity to apply the theoretical part of knowledge obtained in academic programs to a practical work experienced. The major purpose for Office Management students is to go through this course so they can gain experiences in administration and management in the organization. An additional objective of this course is to present exposure to the OM114 trainers about the preparation, adding knowledge and to move up their skills in their workplace, along with raising their self-confidence for going into the real world of employment. Beside that, OM114 students also obtained their experiences about the agencies and how the staff in the agencies administrated efficiently. We was able to understand a movement of the duty or the job that given. We also found that each section of agencies always needs cooperation with each other. The purpose of this report is as the evidence that I was done a practical and for my reference in the future. Then, it also requires 30% from the overall grade. Lastly, the most important of the existence of this course, a student will be able to learn and know everything about an agency which I havent know before this. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND UiTM is Malaysias premier institution of higher learning that has experienced an extraordinary growth since its establishment in 1956. The university has expanded nationwide with 3 satellite campuses, 12 branch campuses, 6 city campuses, 25 franchise colleges and a smart campus for the future. Its formation is based on a vision of outstanding scholarship and academic excellence that is capable of providing leadership in all fields of internationally recognized professional study. This serves as channel for greater strides in the development of the university and the nation. During these years of growth, UiTM has built on the educational infrastructure placed by its founders to a level comparable to many international universities. Today, it draws strength from the initiatives of these leaders to aspire to be world-class in all its activities to explore the frontiers of knowledge, to master new technologies and harvest the abundant riches of diverse cultures, markets and new industries. THE HISTORY OF UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA Dewan Latihan Rida (Rida Training Center) 1956 1965 RIDA Training Center was the inspiration of Dato Onn Jaafar, the founder and former president of United Malays National Organization (UMNO). The idea was conceived as a result of a study visit of Sri Lankas rural development programmed in 1951. A working paper of the visit outlined the establishment of RIDA and its objectives of rebuilding the rural society, as well as improving its economy. There were two centers under the auspices of the Rural and Industrial Development Authority: Taman Asuhan RIDA (Kuala Lumpur) and Dewan Latihan RIDA (Petaling Jaya). Dewan Latihan RIDA began operations in November 1956 under its first principal, Tuan Syed Alwi bin Syed Sheikh Alhadi. It was officially opened by Dr. Ismail bin Dato Abdul Rahman, the Minister for Trade and Industry on 14 February 1957. In 1964, Dewan Latehan RIDA held its first convocation and 50 graduates were awarded certificates by Tun Abdul Razak, the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. Maktab Mara (Mara College) 1965 1967 Dewan Latihan RIDA become known as Maktab MARA or MARA College in June 1965.The name change also meant that the college no longer operated under RIDA and instead become the most important unit of the MARA Training Division. Institut Teknologi Mara (Mara Institute Of Technology) 1967 1999 MARA College was officially renamed Institut Teknologi MARA on 14 October 1967. Its establishment came as a response to a crucial need in the country for trained manpower in the professional and semi-professional levels, especially among Bumiputeras. ITMs rapid development during those years came about with the expansion of its educational programmes, which was in line with the requirements of an increasingly demanding job market. Many courses were internationally affiliated and the institute had advanced diploma courses, which were equivalent to a degree. ITMs development is the best seen in three phases that span a period of 32 years in total. The first phase (1967 1976) came with the declaration of the institute as an autonomous body with its own 300-acre campus in Shah Alam and was placed under the Ministry of Rural Development. The second phase (1976 1996) saw ITM rapidly harnessing its potentials as an institution of higher learning. It led to the passing of the ITM Act of 1976 that placed the institute directly under the Ministry Of Education. Universiti Teknologi Mara (August 26, 1999) In August 1999, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad announced the change of name of ITM to Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). With this acknowledgement from the government, a major restructuring exercise was carried out in order to consolidate the Universitys resources for optimum productivity. UITM PAHANG BRANCH HISTORY Founded in January 1985, UiTM Pahang began operations in a temporary campus in Kuantan. The Pahang state Government allocated 1,000 acres of land in Bandar Jengka. Constructions started in year 1988 and the campus moved from Kuantan to Bandar Jengka in May 1993. The first phase was to accommodate 2,500 students. The existence of UiTM Pahang in the Jengka region acts as a catalyst towards the development of Bandar Jengka. The former campus in Kuantan is maintained as a campus conducting flexible learning and off-campus programs. In year 2002, the Pahang campus has a total enrolment of 5,131 students, with 4,002 in Bandar Jengka campus, and 993 in Bukit Sekilau campus and 136 in the city campus of Raub. Beginning the next intake, the educational study plan will change and the campus will absorb degrees courses and the new students are lucky. UiTM mission; enhancing the knowledge and expertise of Bumiputeras in all fields of study through professional programs, research work, and community service based on moral values and professional ethics. It is important to know the vision of this institution, with phrases and act to establish UiTM as premier university of outstanding scholarship and academic excellence capable of providing leadership to Bumiputera`s dynamic involvement in all professional fields of world-class standards in order to produce globally. Every members of UiTM should be pleased to achieve these mission, vision, and objectives. COMPANYS MISSION, VISSION AND OBJECTIVE UiTM MISSION: To establish UiTM as a premier university founded on the tenets of scholarship and academic excellent capable of promoting Bumiputeras dynamism in all profession field of world-class standard and producing ethical and globally competitive graduate. UiTM VISION: To enhance knowledge and expertise of Bumiputeras in all fields of study through professional programmers, research work and community services founded on moral values and professionals ethics. UiTM OBJECTIVE: To provide maximum opportunities for bumiputeras to persue professionally-recognized programmer of study in science, industry, technology, business, arts and humanities. To provided quality and innovations of study relevant to current market needs and customer demands and in line with the policies of national development. To establish a university-wide human resource development programmed for instilling sound value system within the university community. To ensure that UiTM graduates are adequately prepared to join the local as well as the international workforce. To establish UiTM as a centre of excellence that ensures the sound and effective management of its human resource, and finances and assets. FACULTY OF OFFICE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY The faculty of Office Management Technology has been located at Jengka Branch since 1993. The programs offered by the Faculty are Bachelor in Office System Management (Hons.) and Diploma in Office Management Technology. The Head of Program OM114 (diploma level) is Mrs. Norlaili binti Harun while Mr. Azmi bin Salim is the Head of Program OM 221 (degree level). These programs focus on the office administration of any organization, with emphasis on the office procedures, office management, office automation, office competencies, communication, personality development and second as well as third languages. The main objective is to enhance the backbone operations in any organization. The total number of academic staff is 25 and currently the Faculty has 800 students at Jengka branch. The faculty always makes continuous efforts to ensure that all staff are highly qualified and dedicated in their profession. Students enrolling in the program would have a great learning experience since they will be trained and guided in a friendly environment. The program has been given recognition from various industries since it was first offered. As such, besides offering the program on a full- time basis, the Faculty is also offering the program on a part-time basis. The syllabus that has been covered in diploma level is including administrative management, office competencies, business laws, communication and etc. Students graduating from the program would have promising careers in any organization. Organization chart Name of lectures those not in the picture: Cik Noorsuraya bt Mohd Mokhtar Cik Zuria Akmal bt Saad USE OF OFFICE TECHNOLOGY Office technology is technology of office equipment that being used in completing the office tasks and at the same time it will help our organization to produce a good quality performance. Nowadays, many companies provide the latest technology in the office to help their employees enhance their productivity in order to achieve company goals. In UiTM Pahang, the entire departments including Faculty Office Management and Technology use the basic operation software for the daily tasks. (A) Word Processing Package Word processing package is the most vital method for us to ensure our daily tasks run smoothly. Word processing package that use by our division are including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point, Microsoft Front Page, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Publisher. During my External Industrial Training, I usually use Microsoft Word Processing in daily routine. It includes the preparation of correspondence such as memos, letters, flyers, newsletter, manual, offer letters and other types of printed communication. For me, it is a simple job task and it is easy to be done because I had learned this software through a document processing subject. Through Microsoft Word Processing, we are able to adjust the format of the letter whether it is a left bound or in a right bound format. Beside that, this software enable us to check our spelling and grammatical errors. During my practical, I have been given responsible to prepare letters for invitation speaker in Program Motivasi and Pemantapan Akademik Pelajar, Pelantikan sebagai Pelaras Khusus and others. All of the letter that has been produce by UiTM must have a letterhead, and it is compulsory to state the UiTM Motto. Sometimes, I also need to draft and type a memorandum using a correct format. Normally, Puan Norlaili bt Hj Harun asked me to prepare a memorandum to inform OM114 students about a latest information related to their Academic such as validation date and intersession program. Before that, I have problems in handling a Microsoft Excel Package. But, after been ask by my supervisor to complete a task that uses the software, I gain new knowledge and skills. I have responsible to key in the data including name of the Diplomas students and also all the information about lecturers Faculty of Office Management and Technology. Using a Microsoft Excel, it really teach me to be patient person because it so complicated to adjust the format, layout, and etc. When I am facing a problem in handling this package, Puan Norlaili bt Harun will help me. She willing to spend time to teach me on how to delete cells, edits, and adds cells and so on. I am very grateful for her guidance. (B) On The Job Training During my practical training, I had no problem with any unfamiliar package that was offered to me. For the software that I am not very familiar such as Adobe, I was trained to use the package by my supervisor through guidelines and instructions. (C) Others Office Equipment Computer During my External Industrial Training, I use my own computer because they not provided a computer for trainee. Its maybe because of insufficient budget. Actually, it is compulsory to provide a computer for each staff. Nowadays, computer becomes more vital and the purpose of providing computer is to help the entire task run smoothly. Basically, 90% of our daily task is using the computer. Through an email, the staff will communicate each other and sending the important information faster. Printer Normally computer will links with the printer. The function of the printer is to produce the output that has been process by a computer. I have been exposing in using a printer which is HP Laser Jet Printer. This printer can receive, transmit, store, print and copy any data. It also can produce copies sources such as computer file, graphic scanners, or even pictures. It uses a narrow beam of light to form images on paper. It produces beautiful printed originals with great speed. This printer also will produce an output in graphics or produce in color. Normally, I will used a printer to print an application letter, memorandum, budget, question paper, forms for external practical and also booklet. Photocopy Machine Photocopy machine produces copies directly from an original document. The original can be handwritten, printed or drawn. This machine is used to make copies of any documents. Photocopy will be made in black color or full color. One more thing that I dislike in handling a photocopy machine is when the paper has jammed or stacked. I need to check the tray one by one and put out the paper that has jammed. I have use a photocopy machine to print a letter, receipt, questions paper, brochure, monthly report, minutes of meeting and also certificates. The purpose of copying any documents is for future reference and as a backup file. Usually, the maximum number of copy is 30 copies and if it is more than that, we will riso that document. Photocopying is now widely available and is a fairly economical way to print a small number of books. Facsimiles Machine Sometimes, I need to fax a document such as a letters, proposals, syllabus courses, and forms to outside of the organization. At UiTM Pahang, facsimiles machine only provided at Examination Units and HEA (Academic Affairs Department). Before this, I think that facsimiles machine is complicated to use but later, I notice that my perception is totally wrong. Facsimiles machine is an output device that scan image and sent it electronically over the phone line to be receive by fax machine which print the signal or image the text or photo and recreate it on paper. The types of facsimiles machine that use by the organization is multifunction which is combine an impressive arrangement of office tool. A facsimile automatically reports transmission of a facsimile message upon transmitting the facsimile message. For reporting the message transmission, facsimile numbers of called parties are stored in a memory together with their corresponding telephone numbers. Then, the facsimile message is transmitted to a section called facsimile corresponding to any one of the facsimile numbers receiver. Thereafter, the facsimile immediately dials the corresponding telephone number to transmit a transmission reporting voice message. At one times, I failed to fax an important document to UiTM Shah Alam because the line is so busy. I need to try and waiting for a long time to make sure this document is successfully being sent. TELEPHONE TECHNIQUES Todays telephone technologies play a role key in the demand for worldwide communications. As a worker, we required to use a variety of technologies as well as the telephone for daily communications. These technologies will continue to evolve the organizations search for ways to increase productivity, efficiency and the quality of customer services. Telephone calls are often less time-consuming than a memo, letters or even e-mail. The telephone techniques that used in this company are really consistent with what I have taught in Office Administration II course. Because the telephone is such an important communications tool, I must use proper telephone techniques while answering incoming and making outgoing calls. To create a positive image for the organization, I do my best to develop good communication skills. The voice, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as my attitude, are important in making a good impression when communicate via telephone. During telephone conversation, I have to convey the pleasure and willingness to help, alertness and courtesy. The ensure that my voice sounds friendly; I put a smile on my face before answering the phone. In addition, I put aside any personal matter while handle any business calls. Besides that, I may request to screen calls, give information or take messages. I was instructed to use the telephone system by my supervisor. Usually, my supervisor instruct me to answer the incoming calls, setting any appointments, seeking information, making confirmation, and etc. My supervisor also taught me how to handle the callers. For all outgoing calls, the numbers begin with 9 and followed by contact number. For example, 9 0123456789 for mobile phone and 9 094602022 for any business contact. But if we want to make inside calls, we just use an extension number especially to connect with Head of Programs, lecturers or other divisions. For example, 2323 is extension number to Puan Norlaili Haji Harun, while 2020 is extension number to Financial Department, and so on and so forth. Usually, my supervisor instruct me to answer the incoming calls, setting any appointments, seeking information, making confirmation, and etc. There are several techniques that we can practice in our daily tasks while answering telephone calls: Listen carefully to the caller and try to avoid other interruption. Try to answer the telephone call within the three rings. First step, when answering a phone call is your should greet the caller, identify the caller, offering help and speaking clearly. Focus on the caller. Let the caller satisfied with your services and feel that you are really give a full attention to his/her message. Prepare yourself. Always have a pen, note book and list of the telephone extension, be ready to answer any of the questions from a caller and give accurate information for them. During telephone conversation, I have to convey the pleasure and willingness to help, alertness and courtesy. Transferring calls if necessary. Ask a few information if the caller want to leave a message. Take a message carefully and with the details information such as the caller name, company name, telephone number; date and time of the calls, message, action required and also for whom message need to be transfer. Thank the caller by using the callers name and let the caller hang first. As a trainee, I always practice myself to end the conversation with a positive tone. So, that the caller will know that we are appreciating them. RECORD MANAGEMENT Filling (Records Management) Records management is a vital component of an agencys which have wider management and information systems. The life-cycle concept, as what have been taught in record management can be seen in the three phases of the life of the record are seen as the equivalent of the three biological ages; current, semi-current and non-current records. Filing is the process of storing office records in an orderly manner within an organized system. A records management filing system is a set of procedures used to organize, store, retrieve, remove and dispose or records. The main purpose of records management systems is to ensure records are available when needed so that the organization can operates efficiently. Such a system fulfills this purpose in several ways by: using storage media, providing proper storage equipment and supplier or outlining procedures for filing. Record can be arranged more accurately by numbers because numbers are easier to read and arrange than alphabet letters. A consecutive numeric system expands quickly and easily because new numbered files can be added at the end of the system of drawers or shelves. The UiTM management, also have decided a specific number to file different types of documents such as: 100: Administrative 200: Building Assets 300: Office Equipment 400: Financial 500: Position 600: Main Function/Specific As a trainee, I have responsible to manage variety types of file and usually it happen every day. This is important to make sure all of the relevant information is updated. If the file has been full with documents, then the file need to be closed. The new file will be created and labeled with a specific code. Normally, there are five steps in managing records which is: creation, distribution, use, maintenance, and disposition. The Record Cycle: Creation Created through dictation, handwritten drafts, voice mail, electronic mail, or using computers and word processors. Created outside the business and received through e-mail, personal delivery, fax machine, voice mail and other communication delivery system. Distribution Records must be distributed to persons requiring the data. It may be sent to users within the company or outside the company. Use Used to make and documenting decisions for answering questions, references, or fax. Records used most often shortly after they created. The older records, the less used. Maintenance Filing and retrieving records occur during the maintenance phase. Organization selects filing method and design filing system for efficient retrieval records. Finding records after they have been filed is the goal of filing system. Disposition Disposition will move rarely used records and provide space for new records. During my External Industrial Training, I learned lots of valuable information and it can be concluded as the procedure that has been use in handling a record in our organization is similar with that I have learned in the syllabus of Record Management Course (Part II). COMMUNICATION Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages, whether through exchanging e-mail, giving a formal presentation, or chatting with co-workers around the espresso machine. Communication can be verbal, printed, recorded and so on. However communication is considered effective only when others understand your message correctly and respond to it the way you want them to. Effective communication will help us manage work flow, improves business relationships, enhances professionals image and also provide a variety of other important benefit. In office, Bahasa Malaysia is one of the medium and important language when communicates with each others. As a trainee, I will practiced a good communication skills when try to communicate among the staff at UiTM Pahang especially with the Director, Executive, Head of Programs/Lectures, Guards, Official Clerks and also maintenance staffs. They also give a positive feedback and willing to cooperation with me when handling specific tasks. I will often be called on to communicate across differences in gender, ethnic background, age, profession and so on. So, to make my message effective, I will use concrete language, specific detail and information that is clear, convincing, accurate and ethical. Basically, there are two types of communication which is internal communication and external communication. When we exchange information with people inside in the organization it is called as internal communication and when the information and ideas is exchanges with outside organization, is called external communication. External communication flows into and out of the organization along formal lines (carefully prepared letters, announcement, e-mail, face to face meeting and so on. Preparation of Correspondence One of my major duties is preparing letters. Most of the letters wrote have to be signed by my supervisor. Letter is one of the documents that can be used to exchange the information. When sending written communication to inside or outside of the organization, familiarize yourself with their written communication preferences and adapt your approach, style and tone to meet their expectations. Usually, I will practice a simple technique when preparing a correspondence (letters) which is: Use simple, clear language. Use precise words that do not have the potential to convey multiple meanings. For instance, the word rich has at least half a dozen different meanings, whereas wealthy has exactly one, leaving no room for ambiguity. Be brief. Use simple sentences and short paragraphs, breaking information into paragraph that are easier for your reader to understand and translate. Use transitional elements. Help readers follow your train of thought by using transitional words and phrases. Precede related points with expressions such as in additional, and first, and so on. Address correspondence properly. Use a correct address and simple salutations. During my External Industrial Training, there are three steps, which I used when preparing any letters. After identify the main points (content) that my supervisor has told, I will draft and then typing the letter according the usual format. On this step, I used my own ideas and words to complete the sentences of the letters. After print out the letters, my supervisor will check it to ensure there is no mistake and standardize. Besides that, I also responsible to wrote a memorandum. Memos are used for the routine, day-to-day exchange of information within an organization. Because of their open construction and informal method of delivery (e-mail or interoffice mail), memos are less private than letters. Normally, I will wrote a memos to inform the students about the simple briefing, to booked a laboratories for presentation and also produce memos to appreciate a certain divisions. There are several advantages when using a written media as a medium to communicate. It will allow the users to plan and control the message, offer a permanent, verifiable record and they minimize the distortion that can accompany oral messages and it can be used to avoid immediate interactions. Telecommunication Technology Used Nowadays, telecommunication technology are widely use such as switchboard, facsimile machines, teleconferencing, voice mail, e-mail, telephone and etc. At UiTM Pahang, we were using the Lotus Note (e-mail) to send or receive any information. E-mail offers speed, low cost, increased access to other employees, portability and convenience (not just overcoming time-zone problems but reaching many receivers at once). Its best for brief, noncomplex information that is time sensitive. With such a quick turnaround time, e-mail tends to be more conversational than traditional media. However, e-mail ease and speed can contribute to poorly conceived, confusing messages that waste more time than they save. When my supervisor asked me to send the information for the students or lectures, I will choose an e-mail and telephone as a medium to communicate. We can converse through e-mail and telephone if they confused, they will asked me some questions. Eventually, we should perform good communication skills because every day we will be dealing with the public. I also use facsimile machine to fax document outside the organization. Besides, in UiTM Pahang also use teleconferencing. For example teleconferencing with Vice Counselor UiTM, Dato Shahol bin Hamid. All lecture and staff need to hear the amanat from him who at UiTM Shah Alam. Travel Arrangement Travel arrangements are made in accordance with organization policy. Large firms may have a travel department for this purpose. However, smaller firms may rely on the services of a travel agency or an office worker has to make the travel arrangement for his or her boses. To prepare the travel arrangement, the officer should schedule meetings and appointments to be held during the trip. Shortly, before the trip, contact each individual with whom they plan to meet to confirm the appointment date, time, and meeting place. I had experience this task where I need to make a travel arrangement for my supervisor because she had a meeting at UiTM Shah Alam for two days. I was take to printed form from Administration division and submit it back after fill all the information required in the form. Next, the manager will check the travel management. After it has been approved, the preparation and the groundwork will be arranged. While preparing travel arrangements, usually I use telephone in making reservation in order to fulfill their needs such as accommodation, transportation and food. HUMAN RELATIONS IN THE OFFICE The term human relations in its broadest sense cover all types of interactions among people-their conflicts, cooperative efforts and group relationships. Many organization include UiTM Pahang, are organizing their workers into teams in which each employee plays a part. Organization eager to improve quality, improve job satisfaction, increase worker participation in decision making and problem solving and improve customer service is turning to teams. When working in teams, it can achieve a higher level of performance than individuals because of the combined intelligence and energy of the group. For example, OMSA (Office Management Students Association), KIK (Creative Innovative Group), PSKK (Sport Association), and also the management at UiTM Pahang are already worked in team. They will interact each other and try to resolve a problem together during a meeting. Besides that, they also will organize a program to improve a relationship among the staff, lecture and also students. I had experiences in team activities such as OPKIM (Operasi Khidmat Masyarakat) organize by Faculty of Office Management and Technology which held at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Tahan, Jerantut. Through these activities, all of the staff can be familiar with each other and it will create a friendly environment in the office. Experiences When Dealing With Supervisor It is my responsibility to follow all instruction given fro

The Kite Runner Essay -- Literary Analysis, Khaled Hosseini

As implied by the title, kites play a major role in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. They appear numerous times within the text and prove to be surprisingly versatile in their literary function. They provide common ground for characters whose interests do not normally intersect. They are also present as a very powerful symbol, which adds an extra dimension to this already literary rich novel. Reversing the roles transcending generations, it shows itself to be a multifaceted medium. This novel presents two almost irreconcilable individuals. The main character, Amir, was raised without a mother; therefore, Amir was left with his father, Baba, to please as he grew up. Early on in his life, it became obvious that pleasing Baba would prove to be problematic. They simply did not have similar interests as a consequence of Baba â€Å"fathering a son who preferred burying his face in poetry books to hunting† (Hosseini 19). Baba was described as a very dominating figuring standing at a monstrous six feet five inches tall who often enjoyed hunting and ran his own business. Amir, on the other hand, was of insignificant stature even for his young age and often was found reading poetry and stories with his friend and servant, Hassan, who, although being a year younger than Amir, often beats Amir in the area of athletic prowess such as throwing rocks when â€Å"Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I [Amir] managed was five,† (Hosseini 14) or even si mply running when Amir said, â€Å"Hassan ran faster than I [Amir] did, and I was falling behind,† (Hosseini 53). The son was simply not very sportive. Inversely, The athletic father also greatly enjoyed playing soccer as a child and later enjoyed being a spectator of this sport; consequ... ...r image had occurred from the past with the reversal it entails. The kite is important in this situation because the reversal could not have taken place in any other scenario. Sohrab would not interact with the world nearly at all at this point, and the only way it could have paralleled would be with a kite battle. Amir had traded places with Hassan through Sohrab with the use of the kite. Wholly proving to be a very dynamic object in this novel, it functions on multiple levels. It provides a connection between two characters that reside in totally different spheres of interests. It acts on the symbolic level as a symbol of freedom for the characters within. It also provides a medium for the reversal of roles between two characters in this novel. Kites prove to be quite potent in their presence and function in the novel, The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini.

Coat of Arms :: Essays Papers

Coat of Arms Most people believe a coat of arms to be a shield of some sort that knights used in the middle ages to protect themselves in battle. In reality, a coat of arms consists of more than just a shield. There are actually five elements in a coat of arms: the shield, the crest, the helm, the wreath and the mantle or mantling. Each of these elements creates what is know as a coat of arms. While it is true that knights did indeed wear coats of arms during battle, the emblem was not only found on the armor used for protection in battle but also appeared on flags and clothing. GRAFICA There exists some debate as to the history and the creation of the coat of arms. The most wide spread theory is that coats of arms were needed as a means of identifying knights in battle. The idea was that since the knights were masked by helmets during tournaments or fights, the only way to identify their allegiance was by looking at his coat of arms. Therefore when two kingdoms fought each other, the purveyor could and would take the arms of the victim and hoist it as a trophy and as a sign of victory. Aside from winning coats of arms in battle there were several other means of acquiring a coat of arms. Another way is to inherit from the family. THis brings about the idea of heraldry and genealogy, two concepts closely tied to coats of arms. Royal families were not the only ones to commission coats of arms, hence many families possessed such emblems that could symbolize family wealth, stature and standing. A common novelty today is to genealogically trace the family name and discover the history of it. For various prices ranging from $49.95 and up, you can be the proud owner of an authentic coat of arms of your family. For a little more money, you too could be like the knights and carry the coat on a flag, or maybe wear it on a T-shirt or drink out of a coffee mug with it embossed.

Slain :: English Literature Essays

Slain The monster roared, its fury sparked a thousand tongues of fire from its hide. With one almighty sweep it sent Ryanna’s father flying over the top of the volcano, the wind ceased, the spell failed, and the monster drew itself to its full one hundred feet once again. â€Å"NOOOOOOOO!† Ryanna’s mother screamed in agony and despair, and with a snarl that sounded more like a wolf than a woman, she dashed forwards, a shower of electricity falling around her. With a thrust of her arm and a word, she hurled a massive bolt of thunder at the monster. It was knocked off its feet and landed with an earth shattering crash. Ryanna’s mother, however, had performed a spell that was beyond her power and endurance. She fell and landed on her back, blood flowing from her nose, ears, eyes and mouth at the same time. She remained there motionlessly until little six–year–old Ryanna toddled over. To her, it was just all a magic show that her parents put on for her, as they always did. Her mother looked at her through her bloody eyes while she smiled delightedly and clapped the tiny little hands. Her mother smiled back weakly, and with tremendous effort, she pulled out a small, silver, beautifully decorated pendant. Ryanna’s big, emerald, green eyes opened wide as she slipped it around her neck. â€Å"Guard this well, my child,† she said, and they were the last words she ever spoke. Ryanna waited patiently for her mother to speak again. When she didn’t, Ryanna bent over and gently stroke her stone cold, once beautiful face. Still there was no response, and Ryanna began to panic. She squeezed her mother’s arm as hard as her small hands could, and pulled on her hair. Ryanna began to scream. â€Å"MOTHER!† she cried in between sobs. The dead woman did not answer, but there was a loud, deep grunt. Ryanna turned to see the monster rise, now so angry that its eyes turned livid red. With a stamp of its feet, the monster split the mountainside and Ryanna had just enough time to dodge as her mother’s lifeless body disappeared into a bubbling lake of lava. The monster turned on her, red eyes flashing, and with an ear–splitting roar, it shot a huge jet of flames at the child. As the hot, burning mass came at her, something clicked inside Ryanna, it was a terrible rage, and a thirst for vengeance.

Psychological Portraiture Essay

Another distingished legacy that Halsman left behind was essentially a product of a probing psychologist in him who could treat his subjects with a deep insight and empathy and could make them reveal their characters in profound and extraordinary shades, which he eventually employed superbly in his works of photography. Also, with courteous manners, sauve witticism and stylish European accents, Halsman could establish an immediate connect with his American subjects (who, incidentally, dealt with psychology with an amused cynicism, of sorts) which greatly facilitated him to extricate the very best out of his subjects with rare aplomb and liveliness. In fact, he employed an extremely innovative technique, when he worked on a photography session with Marilyn Monroe, on an important assignment from Life. He made her stand in a corner and took around 40 –50 snapshots, as encircled by few admiring men, Monroe could put her spontaneous and effortless best as she ‘smiled, flirted, giggled and wriggled with delight† and enjoyed herself superbly, there-by, almost unknowingly, giving a large number of photo-opportunities to Halsman, who utilised the same to rare perfection. (Jones, 2001) While Halsman could craftily avoid any livid or lurid references of any â€Å"physical assests† of his character (an off-shoot of his somewhat traditional disposition? ), he was a modernist enough in his approach to employ all his subtle finery and sophistication to provoke his subjects into actually emoting the best reactions which, in effect, constituted the very staple of his subject of portraiture photography, bringing him world-wide recognition and acclaim.

Nature Nurture

The psychological debate of nature vs. nurture is one that has been deliberated and refuted for many years. This debate is so controversial because although it is fact that genetic makeup does play a major role in developing a person, the nurture and environment in which a person is brought up in is also an important factor. The nature vs. nurture issue dates back to Ancient Greeks, through the times of Aristotle and John Locke, with each philosopher projecting their own individual thoughts on the matter.Although nature depicts the development of a person in terms of their appearance and certain personality traits, nature and the setting and situations in which a person grows up is more important in explaining the development of a person because ultimately a person is an overall reflection of the environment of which they were brought up in. Psychologists are quick to support the nature debate because it deals with the genetic make-up of a person and biological psychology, which is f act. First of all, a person’s physical traits, such as eye color and blood type are genetically determined, even though there are certain ways to alter your look.Personality is proven to be heritable to an extent. Studies have proven that biological siblings are more similar in personality that adoptive siblings. In addition, a person’s genes can determine whether a person is predisposed to a disease or illness, such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s (Davies). A person who is affected with those types of diseases shows how nature can directly effect the development of an individual. A new technique called developmental genetic analysis is a procedure that examines the effects of genes throughout a person’s life.The technique concluded that a person’s intelligence is due about 50% to the genes they are born with (Huang). Furthermore, the nature debate is credible because of the genetic factors that support how people’s personalities and appearance develops, yet the nurture of a person ultimately overshadows the nature debate because environmental factors better influence the development of a person Each person comes from different backgrounds, religions, and environments, which are all external factors that play a large role in the development of an individual.Diet, stress, prenatal nutrition, peer pressure, and television are just some of the more specific environmental factors that can affect a person. Clearly, there are many more aspects of the nurture debate that contribute to the argument that a person’s upbringing is what will influence their development. For example, NBC reported that in a study where teenagers played violent video games and non violent video games, the violent video games were proven to enhance emotion in the amygdale, or the center for fear and aggression (Kalning).In this case the emotional effect from the video games supports the nurture debate because normal teenagers with non violent behav iors and tendencies were affected by an outside force that has the potential of affecting the teenager’s personalities. Nurture is more important in developing a person because despite a person’s genetic coding, the parents and the adults that a child is subjected to will play a greater role in the child’s development. Research shows that parents who talk to their children and spend time helping them interact ultimately raise more socially developed and intellectually stimulated children (Dewar).Even if a child born had genius parents, the environment and the early stages of development are crucial for the later stages of life. People are also highly influenced by their peers, and in the case of preschoolers who typically dislike a certain food will eat that particular food if children around them are eating it, showing that because it is the way of the human to want to fit and be liked, nurture has the greater impact and influence over a person (Harris).Further more, nurture is more important in shaping a human being because there are multiple factors that can influence a person differently, even if they have the same genetic background. Even though the nature vs. nurture debate is likely to always be challenged and discussed, it is possible that there may never be a right answer. The reason for this is that many situations and conditions factor in both the nature and nurture debate and there is reasoning in both cases to support either one as a reliable source.Overall, the biological traits and genes of a person enable individuals to learn and adapt to their surroundings, thus showing the debate is so closely related that it is difficult to determine which one more effectively contributes to the development of a person. However, the nurture issue states that a person is affected of the environment that they are brought up in, which is a more reliable source of the development of a person because there are more factors that influence envir onment than the biological aspects of the nature debate.Nature versus nurture. This has been a topic of debate for centuries. Years have passe still not been found regarding this issue. This is an argumentation of the utmost significance, not only because of its anthropological meaning, that will help us understand where we come from and how our personality is formed, but also because of the moral, political, ethical, educational, social, and statistical issues that it discusses. The nature side of the polemic says that humans behave as they do according to heredity, or even animal instincts.The nurture side believes that people think and behave certain ways because they are taught to do so. Neither of the above is the correct answer to the question, â€Å"Why do we behave like that? â€Å" The accurate answer is that heredity, meaning nature, is a true fact, but it has a role of â€Å"basis†, in the building of our mind and personality. The biggest impact in our developmen t is the environment in which we live and grow up: the nurture side. Therefore, nature is mostly influenced by nurture. Many scientists and authors have been arguing for the correct side, between nature and nurture.For example, William Golding, the English writer who wrote the book, Lord Of The Flies, states generally that every man has a capacity to be â€Å"evil† from the beginning of his life. This statement shows that from the point of view of Golding, every person has an inherited characteristic, which would basically mean he is on the nature side of the debate. Another notable person that agreed with the nature side of the polemic was the scientist, Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist.Galton was the man who first started the debate between hereditarians, a group of people who believe that heredity determinates our human nature, and environmentalists, people who believe that our environment has the biggest impact on our development. In 1865, h e began to study heredity, basically the idea of nature. This was partly influenced by reading Darwin's publication, Origin of Species. This â€Å"thirst† for knowledge led him to do very significant and important studies, the twin studies, hoping to find the different contributions of nature and nurture.His huge contribution to the debate, especially to the nature side, proves that he agreed with the theory of heredity. As mentioned earlier, Galton had a cousin named Charles Darwin. He was a British naturalist and big defender of the nature side of the debate. According to the Indian University Archives, without Darwin there would be no nature vs. nurture debate. Darwin wrote various pages on his autobiography about his family’s contributions to his intelligence. However, he attributed his intellectual success on nature, not nurture. Proof is provided by, this sentence that he wrote about his brother: †¦I do not think that I owe much to him intellectually-nor to my four sisters†¦I am inclined to agree with Francis Galton in believing that education and environment produce only a small effect on the mind of any one, and that most of our qualities are innate â€Å"(Darwin, 43). Darwin believed that intelligent behavior came from the instincts of our previous, nonhuman ancestors. This proves that Charles Darwin, one of the brightest minds of the 19th century believed in the nature part of the argumentation. The point clearly stated through these three examples is that, the genetic predisposition (heredity) is real.Genetic predisposition may be a fact, but it isn’t the reason why we behave the way we do. Heredity is only the basis. The formation of ourselves is due to the environment in which we grow up. An example of this theory is shown, Lord of the Flies. In the book, a group of kids find themselves all alone on an island. In this group we find different characters with diverse personalities and manners. Also, as previously ment ioned, Golding, the author of the book, believed that everybody has the capacity of being evil. The kids in the story start developing that initial evil due to the new environment in which they live.A hostile, unknown, scary and dangerous environment; leads to the development of an aggressive and violent comportment. In the book, we see that in the first chapters, Jack is a born leader with self-control. Generally he appears as a normal kid. But, as the story progresses, and the kids find new problems on the island, he starts developing â€Å"his evil†. At the end, he becomes a belligerent and confrontational leader of a violent mob. The new environment in which he lives causes this enormous change in his personality. Another example situated in the book is the case of Ralph.He is also a born leader, a boy who listens to reason and logic, and someone who always finds solutions to his problems. But, in this new environment, as the kids around him start being â€Å"evil† , he starts losing his self-control, and develops a new character, where he is not the boy that he was before. This change occurs when Ralph joins Jack’s mob and starts dancing with them: â€Å"Piggy and Ralph under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secured society â€Å"(Golding, 152) . The last example is the case of Piggy. He is a tormented kid, a victim of bullying, but deep down he is a smart boy.In the book he finds himself being insulted by Jack all the time. For instance when Jack says: â€Å"Better call you Piggy than Fatty â€Å" (Golding, 26 ) . The results of this bullying are that he can’t say his opinion or ideas when he is around of Jack, opinions that could be very helpful sometimes. But later in the story, when Jack leaves the group, and the environment of their small society becomes more friendly and calm, he feels more free and happy and he finally express his opinion and shows his intellige nt ideas to everybody, so basically the change of environment change him too.The point I want to make with my examples, is that, we may all have, a â€Å"groundwork† , our initial nature that we inherited from our parents, but the biggest impact in the development of our personality is the environment in which we grow up, which can completely change us, like the characters in Lord Of The Flies†¦ Supporting my theory, Judith Rich Harris, the author of the book : The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do . She generally says in her book that she challenges the idea that the personality of adults is determined chiefly by the way they were raised by their parents.She also says that the role of genetics in personality has long been accepted in psychological research, however, even identical twins, which share the same genes, are not exactly alike, so inheritance is not all. Another example that proves the theory that nurture has the most impact in our pers onality is the case of Genie. Genie was a girl who spent nearly all her childhood inside a bedroom. She was a victim of one of the most severe cases of social isolation in American history (ABCnews). The police discovered her in 1970 after spending all her life tide to a chair.The result of this loneliness, was that she was unable to speak, walk, socialize, and generally being normal after being rescued. We can see, that due to the fact that she was in an isolated and lonely environment her attitude and personality weren’t usual, so this proves that the environment in which somebody lives has a direct connection with his/hers development, even if she inherited a bright and regular attitude from her family. To finish ill say that heredity is a well known, scientifically proved, theory. A fact.But without the help of nurture, it isn’t accurate. We become who we are, and we act the way we do because we are taught to do so. That’s how we learned . It doesn’t matter how our genes are, and what we inherited from our parents. The environment in which we live in will define us. â€Å"Genetic predisposition is not destiny â€Å" David Kranzler WHEN THE BRITISH EDUCATOR Richard Mulcaster wrote in 1582 that †Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward,† he gave the world a euphonious name for an opposition that has been debated ever since.People's beliefs about the roles of heredity and environment affect their opinions on an astonishing range of topics. Do adolescents engage in violence and substance abuse because of the way their parents treated them as toddlers? Are people inherently selfish and aggressive, which would justify a market economy and a strong police, or could they become peaceable and cooperative, allowing the state to wither and a spontaneous socialism to blossom? Is there a universal aesthetic that allows great art to transcend time and place, or are people's tastes determined by their era and culture ?With so much at stake, it is no surprise that debates over nature and nurture evoke such strong feelings. Much of the heat comes from framing the issues as all-or-none dichotomies, and some of it can be transformed into light with a little nuance. Humans, of course, are not exclusively selfish or generous (or nasty or noble); they are driven by competing motives elicited in different circumstances. Although no aspect of the mind is unaffected by learning, the brain has to come equipped with complex neural circuitry to make that learning possible.And if genes affect behavior, it is not by pulling the strings of the muscles directly, but via their intricate effects on a growing brain. By now most thinking people have come to distrust any radical who would seem to say that the mind is a blank slate that is filled entirely by its environment, or that genes control our behavior like a player piano. Many scientists, particularly those who don't study humans, have gone further and express ed the hope that the nature-nurture debate will simply go away.Surely, they say, all behavior emerges from an inextricable interaction between heredity and environment during development. Trying to distinguish them can only stifle productive research and lead to sterile polemics. But moderation, like all things, can be taken to extremes. The belief that it's simplistic to distinguish nature and nurture is itself simplistic. The contributions of this opposition to our understanding of mind and society are far from obvious, and many supposedly reasonable compromises turn out, under closer scrutiny, to be anything but.Let's consider some of the †reasonable† beliefs of the radical moderates. ‘Reasonable† Belief No. 1: No one believes in the extreme †nurture† position that the mind is a blank slate. Certainly few people today endorse the blank slate in so many words, and I suspect that even fewer believe it in their heart of hearts. But many people sti ll tacitly assume that nurture is everything when they write opinion pieces, conduct research, and translate the research into policy. Most parenting advice, for example, is inspired by studies that find a correlation between parents and children.Loving parents have confident children, authoritative parents (neither too permissive nor too punitive) have well-behaved children, parents who talk to their children have children with better language skills, and so on. Everyone concludes that to rear the best children, parents must be loving, authoritative, and talkative, and if children don't turn out well, it must be the parents' fault. But there is a basic problem with this reasoning, and it comes from the tacit assumption that children are blank slates. Parents, remember, provide their children with genes, not just a home environment.The correlations between parents and children may be telling us only that the same genes that make adults loving, authoritative, and talkative make their children self-confident, well behaved, and articulate. Until the studies are redone with adopted children (who get only their environment, not their genes, from their parents), the data are compatible with the possibility that genes make all the difference, the possibility that parenting makes all the difference, or anything in between. Yet in almost every instance, the most extreme position – that parents are everything – is the only one researchers entertain.Another example: To a biologist the first question to ask in understanding conflict between organisms of the same species is †How are they related? † In all social species, relatives are more likely to help each other, and nonrelatives are more likely to hurt each other. (That is because relatives share genes, so any gene that biases an organism to help a close relative will also, some of the time, be helping a copy of itself, and will thereby increase its own chances of prevailing over evolutionary time. But when the psychologists Martin Daly and Margo Wilson checked the literature on child abuse to see whether stepparents were more likely to abuse their children than biological parents, they discovered not only that no one had ever tested the possibility, but that most statistics on child abuse did not even record the information – stepparents and biological parents were lumped together, as if the difference couldn't possibly matter. When Daly and Wilson did track down the relevant statistics, their hunch was confirmed: Having a stepparent is the largest risk factor for child abuse ever examined.The finding was by no means banal: Many parenting experts insist that the hostile stepparent is a myth originating in Cinderella stories, and that parenting is a †role† that anyone can take on. For agencies that monitor and seek to prevent child abuse the finding of a greater risk with stepparents could be critical information. But because of the refusal to entertai n the idea that human emotions are products of evolution, no one had ever thought to check. †Reasonable† Belief No. 2: For every question about nature and nurture, the correct answer is †Some of each. † Not so.Take the question, †Why do people in England speak English, and people in Japan Japanese? † The †reasonable compromise† would be that the Japanese have genes that make it easier for them to learn Japanese (and vice versa for the English), but both groups must be exposed to the language to acquire it fully. This compromise, of course, is not reasonable at all; it's false. Immigrant children acquire the language of their adopted home perfectly, showing that people are not predisposed to learn the language of their ancestors (though they may be predisposed to learn language in general).The explanation for why people in different countries speak different languages is 100 percent environmental. And sometimes the answer goes the other way. Autism, for example, used to be blamed on †refrigerator mothers† who did not emotionally engage with their children. Schizophrenia was thought to be caused by mothers who put their children in †double binds† (such as the Jewish mother who gave her son two shirts for his birthday, and when he turned up wearing one of them, said, †The other one you didn't like? †).Today we know that autism and schizophrenia are highly heritable, and though they are not completely determined by genes, the other likely contributors (toxins, pathogens, chance events in brain development) have nothing to do with parenting. Mothers don't deserve †some† of the blame if their children have these disorders, as a nature-nurture compromise would imply; they deserve none of it. †Reasonable† Belief No. 3: Disentangling nature and nurture is a hopeless task, so we shouldn't even try. On the contrary, perhaps the most unexpected and provocative disco very in 0th-century psychology came from an effort to distinguish nature and nurture in human development. For a long time, psychologists have studied individual differences in intellect and personality. They have assessed cognitive abilities using IQ tests, statistics on performance in school and on the job, and measurements of brain activity. They have assessed people's personalities using questionnaires, ratings by other people who know them well, and tallies of actual behavior such as divorces and brushes with the law. The measures suggest that our personalities differ in five major ways.We are to varying degrees introverted or extroverted, neurotic or stable, incurious or open to experience, agreeable or antagonistic, and conscientious or undirected. Where do these differences come from? Recall those flawed studies that test for the effects of parenting but forget to control for genetic relatedness. Behavioral geneticists have done studies that remedy those flaws and have disco vered that intelligence, personality, overall happiness, and many other traits are partly (though never completely) heritable.That is, some of the variation in the traits among people in a given culture can be attributed to differences in their genes. The conclusion comes from three different kinds of research, each teasing apart genes and environment in a different way. First, identical twins reared apart (who share their genes but not their family environment) are far more similar to each other than randomly selected pairs of people. Second, identical twins reared together (who share their environment and all their genes) are more similar than fraternal twins reared together (who share their environment but only half their genes).Third, biological siblings reared together (who share their environment and half their genes) are more similar than adoptive siblings (who share their environment but none of their genes). In each comparison, the more genes a pair of people share (holding environment more or less constant), the more similar they are. These studies have been replicated in large samples from many countries, and have ruled out the alternative explanations that have been proposed. Of course, concrete traits that patently depend on content provided by the home or culture are not heritable at all, such as the language you speak, the eligion you worship in, and the political party you belong to. But the underlying talents and temperaments are heritable: how proficient with language you are, how receptive to religion, how hidebound or open to change. So genes play a role in making us different from our neighbors, and our environments play an equally important role. At this point most people leap to the following conclusion: We are shaped both by our genes and by our family upbringing: how our parents treated us and what kind of home we grew up in.Not so fast. †The environment† and †our parents and home† are not the same thing. Behavi oral genetics allows us to distinguish two very different ways in which our environments might affect us. The shared environment is what impinges on us and our siblings alike: our parents, our home life, and our neighborhood (as compared with other parents and neighborhoods). The unique environment is everything else: anything that happens to us over the course of our lives that does not necessarily happen to our siblings.Remarkably, study after study has failed to turn up appreciable effects of the shared environment – often to the shock and dismay of the researchers themselves, who started out convinced that the nongenetic variation in personality had to come from the family. First, they've found, adult siblings are equally similar whether they grew up together or apart. Second, adoptive siblings are no more similar than two people plucked off the street at random. And third, identical twins who grew up in the same home are no more similar than one would expect from the eff ects of their shared genes.Whatever experiences siblings share by growing up in the same home in a given culture makes little or no difference in the kind of people they turn out to be. The implications, drawn out most clearly by Judith Rich Harris in her 1998 book †The Nurture Assumption,† are mind-boggling. According to a popular saying, †as the twig is bent, so grows the branch. † Patients in traditional forms of psychotherapy while away their 50 minutes reliving childhood conflicts and learning to blame their unhappiness on how their parents treated them.Many biographies scavenge through the subject's childhood for the roots of the grown-up's tragedies and triumphs. †Parenting experts† make women feel like ogres if they slip out of the house to work or skip a reading of †Goodnight Moon. † All these deeply held beliefs will have to be rethought. It's not that parents don't matter at all. Extreme cases of abuse and neglect can leave permanent scars. Skills like reading and playing a musical instrument can be imparted by parents.And parents affect their children's happiness in the home, their memories of how they were treated, and the quality of the lifelong relationship between parent and child. But parents don't seem to mold their children's intellects, personalities, or overall happiness for the rest of their lives. The implications for science are profound as well. Here is a puzzle: Identical twins growing up together have the same genes, family environments, and peer groups, but the correlations in their traits are only around 50 percent.Ergo, neither genes nor families nor peer groups, nor the interactions among these factors, can explain what makes them different. Researchers have hunted for other possible causes, such as sibling rivalry or differential treatment by parents, but none has panned out. As with Bob Dylan's Mister Jones, something is happening here but we don't know what it is. My own hunch is that the differences come largely from chance events in development. One twin lies one way in the womb and stakes out her share of the placenta, the other has to squeeze around her.A cosmic ray mutates a stretch of DNA, a neurotransmitter zigs instead of zags, the growth cone of an axon goes left instead of right, and one person's brain might gel into a slightly different configuration from another's, regardless of their genes. If chance in development is to explain the less-than-perfect similarity of identical twins, it says something interesting about development in general. One can imagine a developmental process in which millions of small chance events cancel one another out, leaving no difference in the end product.One can imagine a different process in which a chance event could derail development entirely, or send it on a chaotic path resulting in a freak or a monster. Neither of these results occurs with a pair of identical twins. They are distinct enough that our instrumen ts can pick up the differences, yet both are healthy instances of that staggeringly improbable, exquisitely engineered system we call a human being. The development of organisms must use complex feedback loops rather than prespecified blueprints.Random events can divert the trajectory of growth, but the trajectories are confined within an envelope of functioning designs for the species. These profound questions are not about nature vs. nurture. They are about nurture vs. nurture: about what, exactly, are the nongenetic causes of personality and intelligence. But the questions would never have come to light if researchers had not first taken measures to factor out the influence of nature, by showing that correlations between parents and children cannot glibly be attributed to parenting but might be attributable to shared genes.That was the first step that led them to measure the possible effects of parenting empirically, rather than simply assuming that those effects had to be all-po werful. The human brain has been called the most complex object in the known universe. No doubt many hypotheses that pit nature against nurture as a dichotomy, or that fail to distinguish the ways in which they might interact, will turn out to be simplistic or wrong.But that complexity does not mean we should fuzz up the issues by saying that it's all just too complicated to think about, or that some hypotheses should be treated a priori as necessarily true, necessarily false, or too dangerous to mention. As with other complex phenomena like inflation, cancer, and global warming, when it comes to the development of a human being we have no choice but to try to disentangle the causes. Steven Pinker is Peter de Florez Professor of Psychology at MIT and author of †The Language Instinct,† and †How the Mind Works. † This essay is adapted in part from his latest book, †The Blank Slate

Reducing Minimum Legal Drinking Age to Decrease Alcohol Related Consequences Among Youth

Angel Gallegos Source Analysis Essay Rhet 104 Drinking Age At 18? How do we react when young adults are acting obnoxious and completely out of control due to extreme alcoholic consumption? Over the years tensions and arguments have risen to many peoples understanding about whether or not the minimum drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18 years old. This major topic has popped up in the heads of many U. S citizens over the years due to the facts that have popped up by many science based and informational research programs. Where has most of the illegal age drinking been taking place?According to the two authors of the scholarly reviewed article, â€Å"Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking And Related Consequences Among Youths? † Henry Wechsler and Toben F. Nelson, they state that in college is where most young adults take on the role of binge-drinkers and take a major advantage of their ability to consume alco hol illegally. The real question here is, â€Å"should the drinking age be lowered? And why? † and we will see the methodology of both authors in their opinions on towards lowering the drinking age.Both authors’ main argument in the reviewed article is obviously to lower the drinking age. To lower the drinking age would mean so much to the nation in their opinion because of the facts that have been showing up in the U. S. According to the authors based on research that has been made, alcohol tops the list of causes for deaths and injuries in young adults. It is sad to see that this information is very true up to this day and both authors prove it very well by showing images of the information they are stating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System.This image in the article seems credible because its coming from a administration in which they strictly focus on the fatalities caused by underage drinking over the past 20 -30 years and it is clearly visible that back when the drinking age was set at 18 years there were fewer deaths then when it was raised to 21 years and so since then only assumptions and arguments have been made to why those facts pop up. This evidence is effective to us the readers because if we were really interested in the topic we would be able to see the facts on the image shown on the article and be able to argue the age differences in the drinking ages.The authors give information on how in college is where the heavy binge drinking takes place for most of young adults. Based on a national survey, stated by the authors, found out that 1 out of every 10 students that consumed alcohol illegally underage reported experiencing any bad consequences for breaking the liquor/alcohol policies given at their respected schools. I believe that this is ineffective in a way because if the government is imposing the drinking age to be at 21 then why aren’t they acting upon all the und erage drinkers.It’s not like they don’t know how much alcohol consumption takes place at colleges. This is where their next argument arose and gave the knowledge about the â€Å"The Amethyst Initiative Argument†. They give reference to this petition, which involves presidents and chancellors of over 135 colleges in the signing of lowering the drinking age to 18 years of age due to various college drinking experiences. I find this petition to be really interesting to me because of the way they use their words to argue that the drinking age should be lowered.The authors use words like â€Å"not working† to target the fact that the drinking age at 21 is not â€Å"preventing† young adults from consuming alcohol illegally. The credibility in everything they say can be easily accounted for but overall there could be some authorial bias coming from the presidents and chancellors of these colleges because of the fact that it is hard to reasonably support t he overall position of drinking but overall it does not seem to carry over the authors themselves because they are simply stating the information given by the presidents and chancellors.In this petition they state that 18 year old through the age of 20 year olds have driven underage drinking underground in unmonitored areas and it is bad to for the nation because only the underage drinkers are aware of what is going on but in reality they really don’t know what can be the outcome of the night because they have as much access to as much liquor they would please. They argue how the government wants to reduce fatalities in the nation and underage drinking so why not lower the drinking age to 18 and let young dults do wise decisions on their own while still being able to come out to the bars and drink responsibly in a more protected and controlled environment as oppose of their unmonitored areas. Lastly in the petition they say a sentence that caught my attention over all in whic h I believe they could evaluate more as authors to the article and this sentence basically showed the comparison of Western Europe’s young adults ranging from 18-20 year olds drink more responsibly and they make that assumption because the drinking age in Europe is lower then the drinking age here at the United States.I feel that both authors could’ve made an effort to support this assumption better by going to other resources and getting information in where they show some type of facts that can be used to argue this statement against the drinking age and not only in comparison to Europe but to all the other countries as well, but other then that the authors have cited and backed up their information well even though a bias point of view can be seen because maybe other people view the idea of consuming alcohol completely different. In reflection to the article I believe I stand with the opinion or views of those who want to lower the drinking age.Not because I am unde rage and just view it as I want to legally buy drinks faster but I see it as a completely different way. I think that if the United States government is able to give drivers licenses to young adults, why not be able to give them the choice to drink as well. Driving is a big responsibility in which any person has to take on and I believe that if they trust a young adult by making a choice to drive a vehicle and place their life in danger every day they do it then why not give them the trust to drink responsibly as well.I feel that given that right it will ultimately lower binge drinking because they wont be doing it illegally. I support the views of the authors as well because even though it might come in a bias way at the end of it, it really does not because we see that they will never be able control alcohol related problems but there are always ways to try and prevent more from breaking out. http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=4&sid=8db21b3f-0745-49b5-b020-7285e730bd01%4 0sessionmgr114&hid=128&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=50616981