Organization behavior Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organization behavior - Case Study Example This is caused by the fact that people have different attitudes and different motivations in their endeavors. For instance, in this case, it can be argued that the two managers have different attitudes towards people. There are many learning theories such as behaviorism and humanism. Behaviorism for instance argues that people learn based on stimuli. If a person knows that his actions will cost them, they are likely to refrain from these actions. Other theories of learning articulate that individuals learn as a way of making their own knowledge. In the above case, it seems that Susan is a behaviorist and believes that if Don is made to suffer from his actions, he will change his bad behavior. On the other hand, Bob seems to subscribe to humanism as a theory of learning. As such, he believes that if given the right resources, Don will learn in order to meet his needs. Employees expect to be rewarded for their hard work and their contribution to the firm. Sometimes employees can contribute more to the firm than is required by their employment agreement. This is what Jackie has been doing because she has been going beyond her expected outcomes. However, in most cases, when the employees do this, they also expect the employer to go beyond his formal responsibilities when rewarding them. This passive agreement between the employer and the employee is called psychological contract and if one side breaches it, the other will feel demotivated. In this case, Steelfab Corp has failed to honor its side of the psychological contract with Jackie. To remedy this, Steelfab Corp must be able to meet its side of the psychological contract by rewarding her more for the work she is doing. This can be achieved by having a performance-based work environment where employees will be rewarded not based on how close they are to the seniors but in accordance to their con tribution to the firm. Amy should have assigned her a job description with proper roles. This could have

Social Performance and Social Influence Essay Example for Free

Social Performance and Social Influence Essay Social psychologist, Dr. Robert Cialdini has researched basic principles that govern how one person may influence another. You will read about these six principles in his 2002 article The Science and Practice of Persuasion. Social Performance Aristotle first called humans social animals. People tend to gather, play, and work in groups. Groups fulfill a variety of functions such as satisfying the need to belong, providing support and intimacy, and assisting in accomplishing tasks that individuals could not accomplish alone, etc. In Chapter 13 of the textbook, groups will be defined as two or more people working together on a task in which the outcome is quantifiable. This discussion will focus on two major areas that have been researched since the end of the 19th century: social facilitation and social loafing. Social Facilitation At first glance, these terms seem to be opposing behaviors: social facilitation refers to the fact that people work harder in groups, whereas social loafing describes their tendency reduce their efforts when in groups. The difference, it appears, is how people view the individuals in their groups–whether they perceive those in the group as being with them us or against them. If group members are against them, they perceive them as competitors, evaluators, or sources of comparison, which is likely to increase or facilitate their efforts. If they are with them, sharing in the demands of the task and evaluation, they are likely to loaf or reduce our efforts. These findings appear counterintuitive. Research on social facilitation began with Triplett (1989) who observed that cyclists pedaled faster, or performed better, when others were present than when performing alone. He argued that the other biker was a stimulus, arousing a competitive instinct in the cyclist. He tested his theory by asking children to wind fishing reels either alone or beside other children. The majority of the children turned the wheel faster when working alongside another child than when reeling alone. Allport (1924) termed this effect social facilitation. Still, it seemed that many disagreed about whether the presence of others increased or decreased performance on tasks. Zajonc (1965) renewed interest in social facilitation, and suggested that the presence of others enhanced a dominant response–which is the most probable response on a given task. If the task is simple and well-learned, the dominant response will be facilitated. For example, if you were a skilled concert pianist, performing in front of others would increase your proficiency on the task; you would play beautifully. Since you are not skilled at this art, being observed by others would no doubt cause anxiety and would result in quite the opposite effect, inhibiting your performance. Zajonc was suggesting that the presence of others increases drive. Others were still arguing that it was the evaluation or the competition associated with others being present that produced the drive. Whether it was mere presence or evaluation apprehension that increased the drive, the drive theory remained the dominant thought of the time. Alternative approaches to social-facilitation effects fall into three classes: The first was the continued thought that the presence of others increases drive by evaluation apprehension. The second thought suggested that the situation places demands on the individual to behave in a particular way; individuals are engaged in self-presentation and self-awareness. The third idea argued that the presence of others affects focus and attention to the task, meaning that the task becomes cognitive. Hence, the controversy over whether it is the mere presence of others or evaluation that causes social facilitation is unresolved. Social Loafing Social facilitation research demonstrates that the presence of others sometimes enhances performance, yet at times reduces it. But, how does working with others affect motivation? Many would argue that groups should energize and motivate. The tendency for individuals to work less hard on a collective task than on an individual task is called social loafing. For example, those group projects at work or school where a few individuals did the majority of the work–social loafing. Research in this area has been conducted in a way that makes individuals believe that they are either working alone or working with others–then measures efforts toward the task. For example, Ringelmann (Kravitz Martin, 1986) had volunteers pull on a rope as hard as they could in groups of varying sizes. Their efforts decreased as group sizes increased. This was explained in two ways: their motivation decreased as groups size increased or maybe the larger groups were not able to coordinate their efforts efficiently. Researchers sought to tease apart these two factors, focusing on motivation. You can imagine that it was difficult to devise methods that lead participants to believe they were either working alone (when they were not) or with others (when they were working alone), which lends to the difficulty of studying social loafing. However, over 100 studies (Steiner, 1972; Griffith, Fichman, Moreland, 1989; Jackson Williams, 1985; Henningsen et al. , 2000) have tested the effects of groups on motivation, and social loafing has been replicated in most of these studies. Other theories have attempted to explain social loafing. Social impact theory states that when a group is working together, the expectation is that the effort should be diffused across all participants, resulting in diminished effort. Arousal reduction postulates that the presence of others should increase drive only when they are observers and reduce our efforts when they are coworkers. Evaluation potential suggests that social loafing occurs because individual efforts are so difficult to identify during a collective task; one can easily hide in the crowd or may feel they will not be acknowledged for their hard work. Dispensability of effort argues that individuals may feel their efforts are unnecessary or dispensable. The group simply does not need them. An integrative theory: the collective effort model states that individuals will work hard on a task only to the degree to which they believe their efforts will be instrumental in leading to outcomes they value, personally. Hence, the value they place on the task (and their efforts) depends on their personal beliefs, task meaningfulness, favorable interactions with the group, the nature of the rewards, and the extent to which their future goals are impacted by the task. Social loafing can be moderated, or reduced, when individuals efforts can be identified or evaluated, when individuals are working on a task they deem as important or of personal relevance, or when individuals are working with cohesive groups or close friends. Individual differences or characteristics also influence who engages in social loafing less because they value collective outcomes. For example, a need for affiliation, a hard work ethic, or high self-monitoring can influence effort. It should be clear that the mere presence of others is arousing. It appears that if others are competitors or evaluators they facilitate motivation to work harder. If individuals see others as a part of themselves, they can hide behind them or their efforts can get lost in the efforts of others. Further research in this area can help us determine how our view of others affects our motivation and performance. Social Influence Processes of Control and Change Social influence is one of the primary research areas in social psychology and refers to the ways in which opinions and attitudes influence the opinions and attitudes of others. Two types of social influence can be identified in groups: influence aimed at maintaining group norms (social control) or changing group norms (social change). The most common form of social control is conformity, where an individual complies with or accepts the groups views. Since the influence is typically within a context of a group of people influencing an individual, it is referred to as majority influence. Another type of social control is obedience, where individuals obey an authority figure, often against their will. For group norms to change, a small subset of the group must resist the majority view, which is termed minority influence. If minorities never resisted, group opinions would persist, fashions would never change, innovations would not come about, etc. It must be clear that the term majority refers to the larger group of people who hold the normative view and has power over others. Minority groups tend to be small, hold nonnormative positions, and wield very little power. This study textbook is concerned with two influence processes: processes that ensure that others adhere to the groups position (social control; conformity and obedience) or processes that aim to change the groups position (social change: innovation and active minorities). Social influence has studied how individuals conform to the majority, often by giving an obvious erroneous response to a question. According to Festinger (1950, 1954), this occurs because there are social pressures for groups to reach consensus, especially when there is a group goal. Individuals seek social approval and seek others to verify their opinions. Deutsch and Gerard (1955) distinguish between normative social influence (conforming to expectations of others) and informational social influence (accepting information from the group as reality). Another view is that people conform over concerns for positive self-evaluations, to have good relationships with others, and to better understand a situation by reducing uncertainty. Social influence also addresses why people comply with acts that clearly cause harm to another. The study of obedience is intimately tied to one social psychologist–Stanley Milgram (1963). His post-WWII research aimed to understand why people willingly engaged in the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis. People probably preferred to believe these were evil, disturbed men who were intrinsically evil? However, many of them claimed they were not responsible for their behavior. After all, they were simply following orders. In Milgrams (1963) classic study, he led participants (who were assigned to be teachers) to believe they were administering harmful shocks to the learners each time they made an error on a task. The experimenter (the authority figure) demanded they increase the level of shock for each incorrect response. As shocks increased, the receiver (the learner, who was out of the sight of the teacher) responded with distressed reactions. However, the teacher was encouraged, even demanded, to continue the experiment, even though he believed the learner was experiencing extreme distress. The question was, to what extent normal people would obey the instructions of the authority figure and administer harmful levels of shock to harm another individual. Milgrams results showed that a full 65% of all participants administered every level of shock, surpassing levels believed to do fatal harm to subjects. Milgrams findings have been replicated with consistent results. Why did they obey? Milgram offered the following explanations: (a) they had entered into a contract with the experimenter and did not wish to spoil the experiment; (b) they were absorbed in the experiment and lost sight of the implications of their actions; (c) the participants are acting for the experimenter; they may be pushing the buttons, but they are not responsible, the experimenter is. Notice these are all situational explanations; participants were put into a powerful role relationship with the experimenter. However, when the experimenter was not visible, or another participant played the role of the experimenter, obedience rates decreased, but did not fall to zero, indicating the role relationship did not fully account for their obedience. Milgrams research remains some of the most intriguing and influential in social psychology. Minority Influence Moscovicis (1976) book Social Influence and Social Change, he argues that minorities can create conflict by offering a different perspective, thereby challenging the dominant or majority view. Moscovici claims that people trying to avoid conflict may dismiss the minority position, and possibly denigrate it. However, when the minority demonstrates commitment to their position, the majority may consider the minority view as a viable alternative. He called this the minoritys behavioral style–meaning the way the message is organized and communicated. By standing up to the majority, the minority demonstrates that it is certain, confident, committed, and not easily persuaded. Researchers have compared majority and minority influence. Conversion theory is the dominant perspective and argues that all forms of influence, whether minority or majority, create conflict that individuals are motivated to reduce. However, people employ different processes depending on whether the conflict is the result of majority influence or minority influence. Comparison process suggests that people focus attention on fitting in, or complying with what others say. Their goal is to identify with the group and comply with the majority position, often times without examining the majoritys arguments in detail. Social comparison can drive majority influence, but cannot motivate minority influence, according to Moscovici (1976), because people desire to disassociate themselves with undesirable groups. Because minority groups tend to be distinctive, they stand out, and this encourages a validation process where some examine the judgments in order to confirm or validate them–to see what it is the minority saw or to understand the minoritys view. This process can lead to increased message processing which results in an attitude change on an indirect, latent, or private level. Convergent-divergent theory is proposed by Nemeth (1986) and simply states that people expect to share the same attitude as the majority and to differ from the minority (the false-consensus heuristic). Stress is the result of realizing that the majority has a different perspective than oneself, especially if one is in the physical presence of the majority. Stress narrows ones attention and majority influence, and then leads to convergent thinking. Minorities, on the other hand, do not cause high levels of stress, since they hold different views, which allows for less restricted focus of attention and leads to a greater consideration of alternatives that may not have been considered without the influence of the minority view. This results in creative and original solutions. Other theories that integrate minority and majority influence include mathematical models, objective-consensus models, conflict-elaboration theory, context/comparison model, and self-categorization theory. More contemporary models include social-cognitive responses with an emphasis on information-processing such as the elaboration likelihood model and the heuristic systematic model we discussed in an earlier chapter. New research continues to develop. Conclusion This module reviewed social psychological research that has made great contributions to the understanding of human behavior. Early research (e. g. , Triplett, 1898; Zajonc, 1965) led to the beginning of the relatively new field of social psychology.

Two Social Reformers In India History Essay

Two Social Reformers In India History Essay As a result of the expansion of British imperialism to Asia, Sri Lanka and India became British colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries respectively .Subsequently due to the mode of administration introduced by the British, many significant changes were caused in political, social, economic, cultural and religious spheres. Most of these transformations were not beneficial for the people of both these countries as they rather conformed to the British way of life. Mostly affected by these were the ordinary people while a section of the middle class society in both countries acquired the English education and were actively supporting the British another section of the same class who was also nurtured by English education worked with dedication to safeguard the indigenous identity. This section further formed the necessary background for liberating their countries from British imperialism by initiating social reforms. Raja Ram Mohan Roy of India and Anagarika Dharmapala of Sri Lanka coul d be shown as two significant personalities among those who contributed towards such social reforms. They first brought about a religious revival and subsequently contributed towards achieving economic, political and cultural awakening. These two leaders expected to awaken the masses through this and to finally uproot the British imperialism from the two countries. Raja Rammohan Roy As no any aspect of western political history can be spoken without mentioning Aristotle, the most revered name of Raja Rarnmohan Roy is engraved in the political history of modern India. It was Aristotle is political thoughts that inspired the Western world after twenty-three centuries. Similarly there was a need for a movement in modem India to go back to the ideal of Raja, who is regarded as the pioneer of many fields in the social and religious movements. Raja is well known throughout the world as the pioneer of the school of comparative religion. This great Vedantist, opposed the influence of the Christian missionaries, while laying the foundation of monotheistic revival in India. He is the most famous advocate of the social reformation on the logical principles, and one of the pioneers of Western education in this country for the understanding of the political thought of modern India. (Sharma 1996) It is essential to have a very deep understanding of the political ideas of this great reformer. Raja was essentially a philosopher. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle were the pioneers of the western political field. India did not have a shortage of philosophers in the middle ages, but none of the philosophers from Sankaracharya of the eighth century to Valadeva Vidyabhushan of the eighteenth century were interested in the political field. Politics had no appeal to anybody when there was guarantee of independence, or enlightened public opinion. Politics was thought to be a concern of the princes alone. That was the situation of India in the middle ages, under the Rajputs and the Mohammedans. Responsibility of the government to the people of India was being slowly but gradually awakened. He set out the vernacular journal, Sambad Kaumudi in 1821 to make the political thoughts of the people of Bengal improve and it was the earliest favourable opportunity that helped the spreading of political ideas in Bengal (Samuelson,1889). Security of life and property had been ensured in Calcutta. If not, the English language might have been picked up by a small number of wealthy citizens, and their ideas might be broadened and liberalized with their connections of the English merchants and officials in Calcutta. A selected band of devoted followers had gathered round him with a determination to spread English education and to reawaken the country by means of social and religious reforms. We find Raja R. Roy fighting vigorously against the corrupt practices in the Hindu religion, against the superstitions and inhuman customs of the Hindu society and against the narrow parochial outlook of Indian mind. But a letter of Raja says that all his ideas of social and religious reforms were based on the ideal of bringing about the political regeneration of India. Raja said in 1828, I regret to say that the present systems of religion adhered to by the Hindus is not well-calculated to promote their political interest.(Bimanbihari 1967) Of these the names of Dw arkanath Tagore, Ramanath Tagore, Kaleenath Roy, Uoykontonath Roy, Ram. Chunder Bidyabagish, Hurehuricler Ghose, Gowrechurun Bonnerjee, Shibchandra Dcv and Tarachand Ghuckcrvcrty were associated with Raja in his social, religious, educational and political activities, and in demanding elementary political rights for the people of India. He did not have to see the establishment of a free press in India, but neither the European nor the Indian citizens of Calcutta forgot that it was the effort of Raja which secured for them the freedom of the press in 1835.Raja was acknowledged and respected not only in India but also in England as the pioneer of the political movement in this country. In the Free Press Dinner given to Sir Charles Metcalf in the Town hall on the 9th February, 1838, Mr. Leith proposed a toast to the memory of Ramrnohan Roy, and Prasannacoomar Tagore rose as a friend of the late Roy to thank the liberator of the Press. (Chunder 1901) Rammohan was deeply attached to the right of expressing ones opinion freely. His memorandum to the Supreme Court and appeal to the King in Council regarding the freedom of the press are regarded as the Areopagltica of Indian History. He drew upon history as well as the broad principles of political science to show that freedom of the press is beneficial to the government. Raminohan shows that whatever is of highest excellence in government, or of greatest virtue and social conscience, it can be secured only by the freedom of the Press; while licensing and tyranny of opinion have always gone hand in hand with bad government. He claimed that the Indian people had enjoyed the liberty of the press for so many years since the establishment of the British Rule. (Bimanbihari 1967) A free press means to be the very best channel of information to the supreme authorities in England. Roy did not claim clear liberty for the Indian press. He brought it to the attention of the King in Council that in the past high offices had been open to the people. The freedom of the press had a significant effect to change the thought of the people. The principle of economic activities of Roy was based on the very important practical matters in the country, rather than on the theoretical and philosophical matters. He was strictly attached to the institution of individual property. He deeply believed that the benefits of permanent settlement should be extended to the cultivators, the farmers and labourers in every part of the country. He did not want to see the direct management of land by the Government. Roy believed that every man is entitled by law and must be allowed to enjoy the fruits of his honest labour and good management. (Dutta 1944) He was in favour of the existing prosperous middle class in the country. Roy strongly thought that the duty of the government must be to protect the poor cultivators from the powerful Zamindars. Also the Hindu females must be protected from the oppression of their male relatives. But no legal protection was afforded to the cultivators by the Government.'(Poonam 1990) Raja was moved deeply on seeing the poor condition of the peasantry. Raja suggested three methods for this. The first was the taxation on luxuries which are not necessities for life. The second was the reduction of expenses of the revenue establishment. He proposed that respectable Indians might be appointed collectors on a salary of about three or four hundred rupees per month, instead of European collectors getting a salary of a thousand or one thousand five hundred rupees per month. He wanted to help the over-burdened peasants through reform. And also he wanted to make the higher class of Indians contented and efficient. For the reduction of the cost of administration another reform of far-reaching consequence was suggested. (Tagore 1981) He maintained that permanent settlement with the cultivators would make them attach to the British Government. The question of the drain of Indian wealth was discussed for the first time in the periodical Press. To check such a large drain of Indian wealth, he propos ed that the European capital earned in India should be encouraged to settle in India. Then the wealth might not go out of the country. That is what he believed. Roy opposed the ordinary labourers of England to come and cultivate the land. He expected to welcome only European skill and capital but not labour. He hoped that Europeans would introduce better methods of agriculture and effect improvements on the mechanical side. He knew, however, that it was futile to make a prophecy about the course which History might take in future. (Tagore1981) He wanted to help the Government in improving the moral, social, cultural and political condition of India. He insisted on the moral obligation of the Government to protect the cultivators. He demanded that the Government should promote a more liberal and enlightened system of instruction, embracing Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and Anatomy, with other useful Sciences. He was the earliest pioneer of the rights of women. In 1822 he wrote a book Brief Remarks regarding Modern Encroachments on the ancient rights of females according to the Hindu Law of Inheritance. He pleaded here for the rejection of the modem doctrine limiting womens rights in favour of the older and more liberal views. (New Delhi Publications 1977) By citing texts from ancient law- givers he showed that daughters were entitled to one-fourth part of the portion which a son could inherit. He regretted that the Government had not taken any step to regulate the custom of taking a second wife during the life time of the first. He wrote Had a Magistrate or other public officer been authorized by the rulers of the empire to receive applications for his sanction to a second marriage during the life of the first wife, and to grant his consent only on such accusations as the foregoing being substantiated, the above law might have been rendered effectual, and the distress of the female sex in Bengal and the number of suicides would have been necessarily very much reduced, (Chunder 1901) Roy, the first great thinker, suggested a plan for breaking down the barriers of caste system by introducing inter-caste marriage. (Nag 1972) In this matter, he took the help of the permission given in one of the scriptures In the Mahanirvana Tamtra the Saiva form of marriage is described: There is no discrimination of age, caste or race in the Saiva marrege. As enjoyed by Siva, one should marry a woman without husband and who is not Sapindaie, who is not within the prohibited degree of marriage. (Barua, ed. 1988) He wanted to make this form of marriage more widely prevalent in Hindu society. Had his plan been acceptable to the people, widow-remarriage, inter-caste and interracial marriage would probably have become valid without any fresh legislation. R.R. Roy refused that women were inferior to men in understanding and firmness of character. In his Persian weekly journal, entitled Mirat- ul- Akkhbar, Rammohan wrote an article in April, 1822 on the principles of the English Constitution. He explained the basic objectives of Government as follows, It is not concealed from rational men, that in order to preserve mens lives and properties from the attacks of their fellow-citizens, and to form friendly relations with neighbouring states, and resist the aggressions of nations who aim at aggrandizing themselves on the ruin of others-it is absolutely necessary that every nation should have some kind of government. (Collet 1913) To conquer other peoples territories had been a time-honoured custom of the state in ancient and medieval India. Following the traditional classification of the forms of Government, Roy said, There are three species of Government that may be deduced from reason namely, first every individual of a nation may have an actual share in the executive government; or secondly, the reins of government may be commi tted to a single person ; or thirdly, the affairs of the nation may be entrusted to a portion of the higher class or of the lower class of the people. (Bimanbihari 1967) He did not like to have the rule of a monarch with unlimited power for the best of men are not supposed to be free from passion, and immoderate desires which very often overcome the dictates of reason; or exempted from those errors and vices which belong to human natureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Having thus shown the defects of all the three categories, of Government Rammohan supports the cause of limited or constitutional monarchy in the following words As it is absolutely necessary to have some form of Government, the executive power should be committed to a single individual on condition that he does not infringe the laws established by the nation; which has been experienced to be the best of all forms of Government, since in this case the subjects have the power, of watching the proceedings of the executive Government; w hich is thus obliged to court the goodwill of its subjects. (Bimanbihari1967) Raja Rammohan Roy was one of the earliest champions of the noble ideal of international cooperation. The prayer he made to the Supreme Being was May God render religion destructive of differences and dislike between man and man, and conducive to the peace and union of mankind. Rammohan, the strong thread of the universal brotherhood, suggested various means by which the union between India and Great Britain might become strong and permanent. He thought that the complete security of property, equality before the eye of law, enjoyment of all the civil rights, appointment to high offices according to merit, and consultation of public opinion, if allowed by the Government, would make the Indians firmly attached to the present system of Government, so that it may become consolidated, and maintain itself by the influence of the intelligent and respectable classes of the inhabitants, and by the general good-will of the people, and not any longer stand isolated in the midst of its people, supporting itself merely by the exertion of superior force. (New Delhi Publications 1977) But Raja was no doctrinaire and did not believe in political prophecy. He knew perfectly that in spite of all he had said about the means of securing the permanence of Brit ish rule in India, a time might come for India to become independent of England. He expected that the separation should be a peaceful one and that India with the help of the Christian powers of Europe should take up the task of enlightening and civilizing the surrounding nations of Asia. Anagarika Dharmapala One who was to be born in1864 fathered by a businessman called Don Carolis Hewavitharana, was named as Don David. His parents had to name him so because a Christian name had to be given to a child born during this period. Don Carolis Hewawitharana was one of the most cordial and the closest helpers and the followers of Henry Olcott. Don David was educated in English at Saint Benadict College and at Saint Thomas college and finally at Royal college. Then he had to learn Christianity. In the meanwhile he was taught Buddhism at home by his parents. Colonel Henry Olcott came to Sri Lanka with his wife and were warmly welcomed. In 1880 he joined the Anti-Alcoholic Movement (Amadyapa viyaparaya) and became a fulltime activist. In 1883, the attack on the procession at Kotahena was witnessed by him and he determined to devote his time and energy for the improvement of the standard of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka. In 1884 with Madam Blawtski-the wife of Henry, he went to India. In 1886 he was t he interpreter of Sir Olcotts speeches at his journey of reformation of Buddhism and the Buddhists and for this duty he decided to resign from his government job. Then onwards he devoted his full time and energy for the securing of the Buddhism and the Buddhists. In 1886-1890 he was appointed as the General Manager of the School of Idealism. In 1888 he changed his name given to him in his birth certificate and came to be named as Dharmapala. In 1895 he left his lay- life or the household life andbecame as a monk. In1890 he went to India and experienced the destructive situation of the temples in India and started a reconstruction campaign. He established the Maha Boddhi Society (The Great Buddhist Association) and brought all those temples and their administration under the control of the above association. In the establishment of the G.B.A, he was helped by Ven..Hikkaduve Sumangala, Colonel Olcott, G.P.Weerakkodiand Charles Batuwantudawe. In 1893 at the World Religious Conference i n Chicago he worked and appeared for the Theravada Buddhism. At this conference his speech brought him an invitation to England made by Sir Edwin Arnold. He was on the religious diplomatic service of Buddhism in countries like Japan, Burma, Englandand Switzerland. He became a very famous figure at the judicial trial made in 1895 at Buddhagaya. After this trial Buddhagaya was brought under a Buddhist administration. As a result Dharmapala became a prominent figure among the Buddhists and was recognized as a hero for securing the Buddhagaya. (Sangharakshita 1983)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Around the 1890s ,his an article arousing the patriotic feelings among the Sinhalese Buddhists through the Sarasavi Sadaresa newspaper, became a very crucial matter of his career as a national hero. He wrote, By studying the stone scriptures and stone structures in Anuradhapura it is very clear that the incomparable, invaluable and skilful works of talented ancient Sinhalese but he wrote on today the white men are addressed as Sir by all Sinhalese and they must not be slaves to them at any cost.(Sarasavi Sandarasa 1881) His devotion on the upliftment of Buddhism and the Buddhists made him a very popular figure among the people of the country. In 1911 he came to Sri Lanka after a long of journey on religious services. In 1906 he started a Sinhala Buddhist newspaper called Sinhala Bauddhaya and it was the main means to unite the Sinhala Buddhists. (Karunarathna 2002) In 1903 he started a project to protect the holy places of ancient value in Anuradhapura.(Jayawardene 2004) He started an Anti-alcoholic Movement under the slogan of Alcoholic addict is an outcast. (Jayawardene 2004) He had many lectures against the use of alcohol by the Sinhalese. He was strictly against the slaughtering of cattle for flesh eating. Dont drink toddy and dont be a toddy cat were the words which came out of his lips seeing the mad addiction of people on alcohol. He voiced out saying Dont do any menial services to the whites. (Karunarathna 2002) Around 1911 he became a pioneer social reformer. He was a patriot and made speeches arousing the patriotic feeling of the people. He wanted to keep the younger generation stand against the whites and to make them stand erect with the real Sinhalese backbone. The speeches made by him resulted in motivating the self-confidence in the heart of the nation. He attacked verbally to the Westernized well to do class in Sri Lanka very seriously. He made them aware of the need of their full cooperation in the case of the development of the Sr i Lankan nation. (karunarathna 200) Dharmapala said that while Tamils and Muslims were keenly participating in business the Sinhalese Buddhists never attempted to develop themselves. He blamed the Sinhalese at point blank for their weak points and asked them to think and start practising the skills they had for the benefit of themselves and for the country. Whatever the wealth the Sinhalese had, he said that they only followed the life of the white and were their followers. He had seen that the resources we had, werent utilized by the majority of the Sinhalese instead what they did,   according to him, was copying the Western life ,culture and spending money only on that.(Nawarathna 2007) He expected a self-developed, self dependant and an independent economic system in the country based on the exemplary plans of Japan. During 1860-1905 Japan could overcome all the difficulties caused by the war and she became an industrialized nation and it was more prominent during the Russian-Japan war. In this situation it was Japan which exhibited that Asians could win the goal of industrialization better than Europeans. Above were the ideas Dharmapala motivated to go ahead of fighting for an independent self confident and self-developed nation. Once he described how Japan reached the goal of self- prosperity like this In 1870 Europeans knew nothing of Japanese. In the same year some nobles of Japan left for America, England, France, Germany and Russia on an educational tour. There they could examine the cultural environment and the skilfulness of their technical methods. Coming back to their mother country they planned their own way of teaching these aspects to the Japanese youn ger generation. More than fifty students were sent to such developed countries and they were given a thorough knowledge of the relevant fields. They came back to Japan and started their duties and responsibilities to develop the country in an indigenous way securing their local culture and customs. Then only they were able to produce high standard industrial productions instead of importing them from European countries. He further explained that without producing anything and waiting for the goods to come from other countries agape the rich class in Sri Lanka tried to earn money from unnecessary sources. He criticized this practice very gravely and the oppressing of common people by the haves was also critically rejected by Ven.Dharmapala. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1911) He had a great expectation to secure the development through harmonizing the working people and the businessmen and achieving the industrial knowledge for the development process. He was a great believer in developing the local economy based on local resources. Once he said that there is no other stupid nation in the level of as Sri Lanka. He wrote to Sinhala Bauddhaya, Every basic need is expected to come from the ship. The richest in my country are the best fools in the world. The other nations in other countries collect wealth through businesses. Some are producing many goods and earn enough money. But the richest in my country do nothing but only kill cattle, eat their rotten flesh, establish taverns and bars or distil arrack. They enjoy life by drinking alcohol and enwrapping the westernized cultural cloth around their fleshy naked body. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1911) The common Sinhalese were very fond of listening to his speeches and he was very popular among them. He was a prominent leader among the common folk. His speeches depicted the urgent necessity of reawakening of Sinhalese into the self prospering future. He expressed that Sinhalese are fools with no abilities of handicrafts but only have the abilities of begetting children. He seriously opposed and rejected the way of addressing the whites by our Sinhalese. He didnt like to hear them being addressed as Sir. He understood that the whites will never develop the country but they wanted only to earn money here and destroy the Sinhalese nation. (Karunarathna2002) He said that only 10 Sinhalese youth who knew the crafts would be enough to develop the country. He strongly believed in the self governing system. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1912) It was the experience of Japanese. He requested the local wealthy class to come forward and be the leaders of the development process of the country. On the ot her hand, he was a racist. He believed that by rousing the thoughts of Sinhalese racism the awakening of Buddhism and economic development could be gained. For this he invited the rich to take the lead. To enjoy the self- government and the Buddhist cultural environment he stressed the need of racism. He made an invitation to three groups in society. They were the working class, crafts men farmers and businessmen and the educated lot such as Sir Obeysekara, Sir James Peries, Paul Peries, Simon Silva, Richard Silva, John Silva, Donald Obeysekara, Jayawardhana, Hulugalle Adhikaram and the authors of the press. From the business class the figures like M. Don Karolis and sons H.Fernando, D.D. Pediris, W.E.Bestian, etc were among them. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1912) Anagarika Darmapala strongly objected to the taking over of the lands under the Barren Lands Act. He did not like to see the Sinhalese landowners to become labourers of their own lands under the whites. (Bandara 2007) The Colonial authorities paid their keen attention to the continuation of Dharmapalas bitter criticism of their regime. Dharmapala wanted to have an organization of the people to work against the English rulers in the country. On the 20th of September in 1911 he wrote an article to the press speaking of the need of self government of Sinhalese for the Sinhalese land. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1912) Dharmapala was reported to be an extremist by the Colonial Secretary to the then Governor. As a result it was decided to bring him before the court for acting against the Crown. (Guruge1965) But Attorney General said that there was no clue to have any law suit against him. But the Governor didnt accept it. Further, Attorney General wrote that, after a long period of investigation w ith the help of the police, on his work, there was no evidence to sue him. (Bandar 2007) The saddest thing was that some Sinhalese who were the followers of English rulers went against his ideas. Such a one was the author of Lakmini Pahana Reginold Fernando. He wrote a letter to the Colonial Secretary dated 17th October in 1912 (Guruge1965) requesting to take legal action against the patriot Anagarika Dharmapala for being a real local hero for fighting for the independence of the nation. However, the Government couldnt take action against Dharmapala and instead the author of the paper was taken into custody and was sent to prison for 3 months. (Guruge1965) Whatever the struggle he made for the protection and the establishment of Buddhism and the benefits of the Buddhists and the freedom of the country Anagarika Dharmapala didnt have any vision of a political movement. Among the business society and the educated class he was not welcomed as they were afraid of him to be their closest friend. This is because his ideas were against the British rulers. He was accused of being against the working class. He wrote to the Governor saying that he only opposed the ways the officials worked and it was a truth that he worked against them but not against the British Crown. He firmly said that he was a strong believer in the Crown and he was much trustworthy of the Crown. (Guruge1965) He insisted that his only aim was to work for the sake of Buddhism and the people of the country and for the ethics, customs and the cultural values of the people but not for the British government. (Siri Sumedha 1999) But the rulers did pay careful attention to his wo rk. As the things went on like this he started a campaign for making the people of the values of enjoying the self economical development and Buddhist based self-sufficiency with the process of self government. He made a scholarship scheme to Japan and educated the able students for establishment of a systematical industrial economic situation in the country with the improvement of handicraft abilities of the youth. As a result in 1913 at Rajagiriya, Hewawitharana Weaving School was started with the patronage of Hewawitharana family. (Dinamina 1915, Sinhala Bauddhaya 1922)   Finally, he invited the educatedand other well to do groups in the country to take the leadership of building a Buddhist cultural and economic country based on racism. However, his addressing focused only on the well to do Sinhalese Buddhist figures in society. Those who benefited from the rulers of the Crown didnt pay any attention to Dharmapalas propaganda. Tamils, Muslims and Europeans were not addressed by him for the progress in the country. In 1915 Sinhalese and Muslim conflict made him a prisoner in India for about 5 years. (Jayawardene 200) But except a very few, others didnt speak for him because of his racist thoughts. Though he was a Sinhalese Buddhist racist, if there was a Buddhists leader who worked for the benefit of the Buddhist people it was none other than Anagarika Dharmapala. Conclusion Raja Rammohan Roy and Anagarika Dharmapala could be recognized as two great personalities who fulfilled a special role in the social reform activities of their respective countries. Both of them had a good English education and learned various facts from books and newspapers as well as through social contacts about the freedom enjoyed in other countries of the world. Therefore they very well realized the miserable situation of the masses in their countries caused by the British hegemony. To rectify this and to supply the needs of the suffering masses they introduced social reforms. These were introduced along political, social, cultural, economic and religious lines and a national identity was formed through this. Therefore Roy and Dharmapala should indisputably be accepted as pioneer social reformists who paved theway for the national freedom urgently needed by the people of both countries.

Grandma and Grandpa - I Miss You :: Personal Narrative Profile

I miss you Grandpa I remember spending summers in Kansas with Grandpa. I grew up in the suburbs - spending summers in Kansas was a bit of culture shock. I remember waking up early and sitting around the kitchen table and listening while Grandpa and my mom sipped coffee and talked. The Hutch paper was always spread across the table, and inevitably, the conversation would turn to me. "He probably fails all his classes, don't he?" Grandpa would ask. A slow smile would spread across his aging face as his gaze shifted from my mom to me. "I don't think so, Grandpa," I'd respond, partially knowing he was joking, and partially wanting to prove myself. Then he'd lean back in his chair and look up at the ceiling. "No, you're a good kid. You're a good kid." He'd say quietly. He'd comment on a story I'd written, the one about spies and a nuclear power plant in Libya. I was in fourth grade at the time. "That was a good story you wrote. You got that from your great-great-grandfather's brother..." He'd go on telling me about my distant relative the author, and how that's where my writing came from. Later in the morning I'd climb into the rusty pickup with Grandpa and the sandy colored dog, Cherie. We'd drive the quarter mile through Raymond to the tiny post office to get the mail, Grandpa's callused hand hanging out the window. Sometimes I'd wait in the truck, watching farmers come and go through town, wondering why it took so long to get the mail. Sometimes I followed Grandpa in. "Hi Les," the woman behind the counter would say as we walked in. "Who's the handsome young man?" "Who, him? That ugly kid? Hell, I dunno," Grandpa would respond, rubbing his chin and looking at me. "Oh, Les," the woman said. "He's my grandson." "Kerry's boy?" she'd ask. "Yep." "I could tell, he looks a lot like him." "Yeah, him and his brother are visitin' from De-troit. I gotta entertain the little turds for a couple of weeks." That was Grandpa. Later we'd end up at Ike's Windmill and Farm Supply. Grandpa would drink more coffee, smoke a Marlboro, and joke with Geno and Ike, and whoever happened to come through the door. I remember trips to the Fish Gas Station, when Grandpa would treat my brother and I to a candy bar and a pop.

Developments in 3 Dimensional Art in 20th Century Essay

Three dimensional art works went through a heavy period of transition through the 20th century. At the start, sculpture could be summed up in Johann Gottfreid von Herder’s consideration of sculpture as â€Å"a harsh reality. † Unlike painting and the other traditional media, sculpture was being redefined, both formally and technically. Painting, despite the many innovations and explorations that occurred in the 20th century, was still oil and pigment put on a flat surface. But sculpture, rather 3 dimensional arts, became so much more dynamic and expansive. There was no requisite to make 3 dimensional artworks to be made of traditional materials like stone, bronze or wood; but instead, they could-and were-made of anything. One major development was installation art. Installation art was three dimensional works that was meant to engage and transform the exhibition space or whatever is in proximity to the work itself. Land art is the outdoor equivalent of this phenomenon. Installation can be considered coming into real prominence during the 1970’s, but has its roots all the way back with Marcel Duchamp’s readymade sculptures The genre can include traditional and everyday materials, as well as new media such as video, audio, and performance. Before the nomenclature of installation was coined, these types of works were also called environments, project art, and temporary art. Its primary focus is to have the work of art exceed traditional media through the escaping of flat, square frames, and pedestals with isolated objects. Instead, it attempts to immerse the viewer, the environment, and all its other adjunct factors in as a part of the art. For this reason, most installations are considered to have no definite specific media. Instead, it is said that time and space are the only persistent elements of this type of work. The overwhelming element of installations developed from Richard Wagner’s revival of Gesamkunstwerk in his operas. He incorporated every element of art to completely overwhelm the viewer. This is the intent of the installation artist. In another vein, three dimensional arts, particularly the more traditional genre of sculpture, the element and philosophy of minimalism became dominant with the vanguard of David Smith. David Smith is a primary example of this. His sculptures were some of the most original and simplistic sculptures at the time. Among the greatest American sculptors of the twentieth century, David Smith was the first to work with welded metal. He wove a rich mythology around this rugged work, often talking of the formative experiences he had in his youth while working in a car body workshop. Yet this only disguised a brilliant mind that fruitfully combined a range of influences from European modernism including Cubism, Surrealism, and Constructivism. It also concealed the motivations of a somewhat private man whose art was marked by expressions of trauma. Smith was close to painters such as Robert Motherwell, and in many respects he translated the painterly concerns of the Abstract Expressionists into sculpture. But far from being a follower, his achievement in sculpture was distinctive and influential. He brought qualities of industrial manufacturing into the language of art and proved to be an important influence on Minimalism. Collage was an important influence on Smith, and it shaped his work in various ways. It inspired him to see that a sculpture, just like a paper collage, could be made up of various existing elements. It also encouraged him to combine found objects like tools into his sculptures; it later influenced the way he contrasted figurative motifs and informed the way he assembled the large-scale geometric abstract sculptures of his last days. One of Smith’s most important formal innovations was to abandon the idea of a â€Å"core† in sculpture. This notion was pervasive in modern sculpture, fostering an approach that saw sculptural form springing from a center that was almost imagined to be organic and alive. But Smith replaced it with the idea of â€Å"drawing in space. † He would use thin wire to produce linear, transparent sculptures with figurative motifs at their edges. Later he would use large geometric forms to create structures reminiscent of the vigorous gestures of the Abstract Expressionists. One of the means by which Smith sought to keep the viewer at a distance from his sculptures – emotionally and intellectually – was to devise innovative approaches to composition. These were aimed at making it difficult for the viewer to perceive or imagine the entirety of the object at once, forcing us to consider it part by part. One method he used was to disperse pictorial motifs around the edge of the sculpture, so that our eyes have to move from one element to another. Another was to make the sculptures look and seem very different from the front than they do from the side. He completely redefined the construction methods of sculpture, using a blow torch to weld instead of casting—the normal way to make sculpture. As a result, much of his work is highly original, and it is considered that he has a strong relation to painters. The method he uses is, in fact, more closely related to painting than the typical act of sculpture. He adds separate pieces of scrap metal and welds them together. He also pushed the boundaries subjectively in sculpture, producing some subjects that were never produced in three dimensional arts before. Later on, he also began using a sander—which helped define the texture found on his cubi series. It was through this man that American sculpture was defined. Minimalism was his main influence in these later designs, in which he stripped forms of all their excess elements to give it the bare minimum representation. David Smith’s career encompasses a range of styles, from the figurative expressionism of his early relief sculptures, to the organic abstraction of his Surrealist-influenced work, to the geometric constructions of his later years. In this respect, he drew on many of the same European modernist influences as his peers, the Abstract Expressionists. And, like them, one of his most important advances lay in adapting the language Even with David smith and the minimalist movement, there were still more stylistic developments in the 20th century. There was also a resurgence of figurative art during this period. IN 1960, art critic Pierre Restrany wrote a manifesto for a group who called themselves the new realists, and called for a new way of perceiving the real. The term nouveau realisme, or new realism, has long been tied to the specific claims made by the critic Pierre Restany about the Paris-based art group he promoted. Restany convinced Arman, Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, Daniel Spoerri, Martial Raysse, Jacques de la Villegle, Raymond Hains, and Francois Dufrene to sign on initially, and then added Cesar, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Gerard Deschamps, Mimmo Rotella, and Christo. His 1960 manifesto characterized their art as affirmatively summoning â€Å"the whole of sociological reality, the common good of human activity, the large republic of our social exchanges, of our commerce in society. This movement led to a newfound interest in the human figure, which seemingly disappeared during the popularity of abstract expressionism and minimalism. To this group any image could be incorporated into the art of the new realists. They had a similar goal as the makers of installations—to bring the world of art closer and more applicable to real life. Therefore they tended toward realistic artwork. In the field of figurative art, they often focused on outside objects of the figure for identification, in an attempt to avoid the â€Å"traps of figurative art:† petty bourgeois and Stalinist social realism. These artists also began a more collective attitude towards art, sometimes making works in collaboration with each other, with the intent of displaying the works anonymously. This massive new development in three dimensional work is partially due to the photograph making the realistic image somewhat obsolete, and thus at the beginning of the century an urgency of abstracted and eventually non representative work began to develop. Later on, abstract expressionism pushed boundaries even further to challenge the process of making art. By the time the sixties come around, artists are on the edge of these two frontiers, and some manage to push the boundaries even further, exploring the process more through building installations out of anything and making sculpture from scrap. Others, however, feel a drought in the art world and call for a new, innovative way to display the real. All in all, disinterest in realistic images and a thirst for exploration are what mark the midcentury three dimensional art scenes.

Brain Structures involved in Risk-Taking

Evolutionarily speaking, humans, as a species, may long have possessed a risk-taking personality (Zuckerman, 2000). Being risk-takers, our ancestors have been able to survive and pass on their genes to their offspring. Their primary means of survival, which is hunting for wild animals for food, and also their means for propagating their genes, mating, are examples of risky behaviors manifested by humans of centuries ago. However, despite our innate nature of being risk-takers, individuals differ in their levels of risk-taking trait, believed to be a function of heredity.According to Zuckerman (2000), the sensation-seeking trait which encapsulates the risk-taking behaviors, is 60% genetic –higher than the average, which points to 30% to 50%. But aside from genetics, he also mentioned that other factors which might affect a person’s level of risk-taking are the biochemistry of neurotransmitter systems and the structure and function of the brain. Brain structures There has been a significant amount of research covering the relationship of various areas of the brain with risk-taking behavior.Most of them have identified particular brain structures as being connected with the persistence of risky behavior in humans. The primary structures that have been identified are located in the Frontal and Parietal lobes, suggesting the involvement of working memory and imagery in the selection process, respectively. Risks were found to produce higher activation than certain alternatives in both of these lobes (Gonzalez et. al. , 2005). This indicates that considerably more cognitive effort is involved in the selection of a risky gain than that of a guaranteed one.In particular, structures such as the: (1) inferior pre-frontal cortex (Paulus et al. , 2001), (2) nucleus accumbens, (3) orbital frontal cortex, (4) the insula (Critchley et al. , 2001), (5) the ventrolateral and ventromedial frontal cortices (Elliott et al. , 1999; Rogers et al. , 1999; Elliott et al. , 2000), (6) the amygdala (Trepel, et al. , 2005), (6) the anterior cingulate cortex (Elliott et al. , 2000), and the (6) parietal cortex (Paulus et al. , 2001) have been reported to be activated in studies on risk-taking.The pre-frontal cortex, located in the frontal lobe, was found to affect the estimation of future outcomes and appraisal of risky choices. Significant prefrontal activation was observed in many other risk-taking studies (Ernst et al. , 2002; Paulus et al. , 2003; Krain et al. , 2006; Van Leijenhorst et al. , 2006). The dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex, in particular, was found to be responsible for a person’s ability to plan for future actions –a required step in a decision-making task under a risky situation. On the other hand, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex has another specific function in decision-making under risk.This area of the brain is activated when the person faced with a risky decision-making task anticipates losses in the said task (Tre pel, et al. , 2005). However, this area may be less influential than another area identified, the nucleus accumbens (located in the brainstem), in terms of evaluating reward (Galvan et. al. , 2006). This area of the brain was found to be correlated with subsequent risk-taking behaviors since the activation of the nucleus accumbens is consistent with the idea that risk-taking behavior may be reinforcing.This is due to the findings that anticipation of risky outcomes activates reward-related systems (Kuhnen & Knutson, 2005). The amygdala, on the other hand, is also responsible for emotion and learning (Trepel, et al. , 2005). It is one of the areas that influence reward processing in risk-taking tasks (Steinberg, 2007). According to Trepel (2005), people who have lesions in this structure are more prone to choose the option which entails more risk.This is because the amygdala is shown to be an essential structure in the anticipation of losses in a risky decision-making situation. The right insula was observed to have significantly stronger activation in subjects who selected a risky response in a risky-gains task. In addition, the degree of activation of the insula was correlated to the probability of selecting a safe response after a punished response. The degree of harm avoidance and neuroticism of the subjects’ affected the activation of the insula as well (Paulus et. al. , 2003). Objectives of the StudyThis research study aims to demonstrate the differences in activation in the brain structures of people from different developmental stages and genders while perceiving or engaging in a risky behavior using an fMRI imaging technique. Also, the participants’ risk-taking behaviors will be assessed through a scale and the results will then be compared with those of the results of the fMRI scan. The researchers would also like to determine if there are certain brain structures that have developed further because of individuals heightened tendency to engage in risky decision-making.It is hypothesized that results of this experiment will be similar to the findings of the previous researches, that the prefrontal cortex and other associated regions would be the areas responsible for risky decision-making. Also, it is assumed that there would be differences based on the participants’ ages, when it comes to risk-taking trait and that these differences would also manifest in the development of the certain brain parts responsible for their behavior. For the people assessed as risk-takers, those areas that are responsible for their increase in risk-taking behavior are more developed than the other parts of the brain.METHODOLOGY Participants A total of 18 participants will take part in this experiment. This will comprise of six adolescents (age 7-11), six young adults (age 21-29) and six middle-aged adults (age 38-50). Each group will be further composed of three males and three females. Adolescents are defined as participants age d 7 to 11, while adults are those aged 23-29. Subjects would be screened to make sure that they have no history of neurological or psychiatric disorder. Adolescent participants will be volunteers from the Psych 101 subject pool while the adult participants will be volunteers from internet advertisements sent by the researchers.Participants below 18 years old would be required to have their parents’ consent before participating. Materials Cognitive Appraisals of Risky Events Scale (CARE). The CARE is a 30-item self-report measure that consists of six factor-analytically derived scales that represent six categories of risk-taking behavior (Fromme, Katz, & Rivet, 1997; Appendix B). Its scales involve (1) Illicit Drug Use, (2) Aggressive/Illegal Behaviors, (3) Risky Sexual Activities, (4) Heavy Drinking, (5) High Risk Sports, and (6) Academic/Work Behaviors.The CARE uses a seven point Likert scale (1=not at all likely; 7=extremely likely) to rate three types of outcome expectanci es: (1) Expected Risk (ER) or likelihood of a negative consequence, (2) Expected Benefit (EB) or likelihood of a positive consequence, and (3) Expected Involvement (EI) or the likelihood of engaging in the activity in the next six months. The CARE has also been used to assess participation in prior risk-taking behavior (Katz et al. , 2000). Risk Perception Questionnaire.The risk perception questionnaire will measure the risk perception or the perceived adverse consequence and risk preference which describes whether one believes the benefits inherent in an activity outweigh the costs, or vice versa (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). Along with the CARE, participants will be asked to rate the risk involved in engaging to these behaviors. For each scenario, the participants will be asked to provide a rating from 1 to 7: (1) If you did this activity, how scary are the things that could happen?(1 = Risks are not scary at all; 7 = Risks are very scary); (2) If you did this activity, how much ar e you at risk for something bad happening? (1 = I would be very much at risk; 7 = I would not be at risk); (3) How would you compare the benefits (or pleasures) of this activity with the risks (1 = Risks much greater than the benefits; 4 = Risks equal the benefits; 7 = Benefits are much greater than the risks); (4) If something bad happened because of this activity, how serious would it be? (1 = Not at all serious; 7 = Very serious).The higher the ratings for each scenario would mean higher risk and risk perception for the behavior to elicit. Procedure – Pretest The aim of the pretest is to come up with one highly representative scenario for each of the six domains of risky behaviors used in the study of Fromme, et al (1997). After consolidating as much scenarios possible of risk taking in coordination with the domains from literature, the researchers will administer a pretest mechanism to figure out which scenario to use for the fMRI part of the experiment.A very brief prete st form will be given to the participants asking the scenarios that come to mind when they imagine each of the six domains. The question for the preliminary form will be very direct and open-ended in questioning. This pretest sheet will be administered to at least 50 adolescents, 30 young adults, and 30 middle-aged adults – different from the pool that the researchers will use for the fMRI part. Once all data are consolidated, the researchers will determine the central themes that are used to depict any of the six domains.The central themes that come up will be used as the scenarios that will be read aloud for the participant when they become asked to appraise different risk-taking situation during the fMRI task. Procedure – Experiment A brief introduction to the research will be given to the participants. The participants will then be asked to fill up a written consent form. The participants will be asked to be tested in the Clinical Neuropsychology Research. They wil l be led to a private room and, after giving out informed consent and completing a demographic questionnaire.When the participant enters the experiment area, he or she will be asked to complete the Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events Scale (CARE) (Fromme, Katz & Rivet, 1997) with the Risk Perception Questionnaire. The participants will be asked to rate the following factors: Risky Sexual Behavior, Heavy Drinking, Illicit Drug Use, Aggressive and Illegal Behaviors, Irresponsible Academic/Work Behaviors and High Risk Sports in terms of expected risk, expected benefit and expected frequency of behavior. After the pen and paper part of the experiment, the participants will then be asked to schedule an fMRI.They will be asked their contact numbers so that the researches can remind them of the schedule for their interviews. The researchers will ensure that confidentiality and anonymity will be granted for the participants of the experiment. During the fMRI session proper, the researchers will explain thoroughly the process that they will go under. Each participant will be asked to take off all metal accessories that they may have because it might disrupt the data that will be collected by the machine, both seen at the Appendix at the end of this proposal.They will also be asked to wear a hospital gown when they go under the fMRI machine. They will be instructed that they must avoid movement because it might also disrupt the data that would be collected. Once inside the fMRI machine, the researchers along with licensed medical practitioners will give instructions to the participant via microphone in an adjacent room filled with the controls for the machine. The researchers will narrate the scenarios which were found to be most fitting according to the pretest and then ask the participants to think of what they will do in those situations.So that the researchers are assured that the participants will really appraise the tasks, they will be told that they must know the ir answers fully after being inside the machine because they will be asked to explain them to a panel. They will also be given two minutes for each situation to think about what they will do. Six situations will be presented, each will reflect the domains of risk-taking as provided by literature. During the time given for them to think, the machine will take images of their brain.As what research claims as optimal (Horwitz, 2000), images will be taken 2-3 mm apart for every 5-7 seconds to maximize spatial and temporal resolution respectively. This aims to see which brain areas are used when thinking about what they would do in risky situations. After the images of brain activation are taken using the fMRI, the participants will be briefed fully on the nature of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, the data from both the questionnaire and the fMRI images will then be assessed for analysis.The researchers will try to determine whether the results from the self-report translat e to the activation of certain brain parts that have been found to take part in the decision making process of risk taking and appraisal. The areas that the researchers will look out for are orbito-frontal cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens. The insula, the ventrolateral and ventromedial frontal cortices, the anterior cingulated cortex and the parietal cortex. Supporting structures like the calcarine sulcus, precuneus, thalamus, cingulated gyrus and superior temporal gyrus will also be closely observed for activation in the brain image.The data will then be compared to the responses of the participants in the CARE scale and the Risk Perception Questionnaire. The cumulative score of each participant should correspond to the brain areas that are hypothesized to be related to the decision making processes involved in risk taking behaviors like the prefrontal cortex (for estimation of future outcome), the nucleus accumbens (for the activation of reward-related system d uring risky-gains situation), the right insula (for harm avoidance and risk appraisal).