Advantages Of Digital Technology

Advantages Of Digital Technology Development of information systems and technology has evolved a number of changes in current trends and patterns of technology. Development of technology has evolved with development of digital technologies and smart phones in current market scenario. The following project is a study of digital technology as a new innovation in the information technology sector. The above part is well explained with the help of various examples defining the above statement as there is tremendous growth in development of various smart phones. The analysis has been drawn after researching from various books, websites and scholarly articles and critical analysis is being provided for the same. Digital Technologies: Over-view (Source:   [1]  www.hypersounds.es) Digital describes electronic technology that generates, stores, and processes data in terms of two states: positive and non-positive. Positive is expressed or represented by the number 1 and non-positive by the number 0. Thus, data transmitted or stored with digital technology is expressed as a string of 0s and 1s. Each of these state digits is referred to as a bit (and a string of bits that a computer can address individually as a group is a byte). (www.searchcio  [2]  midmarket.techtarget.com) ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY We will understand some of the advantages of the digital technology in brief which will help to understand the concept in clear. Quality Advantage: The storage of digital as well visual information remains constant with the digital quality. Whereas the analog gets corrupted or duplicated if the signal is lost. Even in terms of digital quality it does not suffer from problems like analog signals or transmission of data. Editing Advantage: Non-linear editing allow taking piece of digital information along with re-arranging them at without any loss of quality. Splice of tape is moreover difficult and damages the original data. It also helps to combine the multiple sources of data into a single source. Portable: Digital technologies provide portability to the devices of any kind of nature. It gives the device high amount of portability and flexibility to the device. Storage and portability of data is very easy and not complex in nature. This is the most important feature of portable devices. (Laudon Laudon, 2007) Literature Review Digital technologies are basically put into use with a variety of physical form of communication like satellites or fiber optic transmission devices. According to Laudon and Laudon (2007) digital signals transfers the information in the form of wave with the help of satellites which has helped todays communication to survive and grow fast. On the basis of various studies made from different sources smart phones will make more competitive advantage through introducing different digital technological with technological advancement. Digital information is transformed with the help of a modem in the computer to analog signals and then analog phone signals are converted into digital information of a computer device or any other device. Even the technological advancement, engineering, re-construction and technological transfer have made smart phones the renowned innovation in this earth. SMART PHONES: A DEVICE OF UNLIMITED EXPECTATIONS (www.editorsweblog.org  [3]  ) The term Smartphone is sometimes used to characterize a wireless telephone set with special computer-enabled features not previously associated with telephones (www.searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com  [4]  ) The smart phones are a result of constant development of digital technology in todays market. There are number of companies which make use of digital technology and have come up with a variety of smart phones. The leading companies are Apple Industries, Research in Motion, Nokia, HTC and many more. All these companies have come up with the best possible smart phones which have an unbelievable features and advantages. Smart phones are usually possess a number of features like Wireless Internet Services, Personal Information Management, Online Banking facility, Personal Organizer, Digital Camera with Photoshop and much more. ADVANTAGES OF SMARTPHONES: The smart phones are already built in with smart applications as well as loaded with immense features which help to make the smart phones different from other devices. Keeps Organized: Smartphones are loaded with applications like personal organizer along with various applications for reminders, calendars as well as task-to-do list and much more which makes an individual organized with information on finger tips Makes Work Easy:- It is to notice that with the help of smart phone, any person can make notes, review their various files and contact on the phone itself making the work more easy and simple. Availability of Information:- Smart phones are the devices which can provide almost any kind of information and services at any point of time. Information regarding maps and weather report or current news of the market and much more can be easily accessible through a smart phone. Always in-touch: These days most of the smart phones are being built specially to support social networking sites applications like facebook, twitter, and g-talk messenger. A person can stay in touch with all their people at all the time without any problem. Even it includes business man as these kinds of features are much required in their day-to-day working. (Chaffey, 2009) Information Sharing: With the use of smart phones more data can be sent and received with the help of email with big attachments can be shared instantly with the help of these smart phones. These features are being analyzed by businessmen as they need such applications in their phones for their daily work. Faster Communication:-Smart phones are the carrier of faster communication. They are built in to support web services which make communication the best. Phones like iphones and Blackberry have this facility where the web services is like a carrier and it is always in use which makes the phone different from other devices. Functionality: Many models offer built-in digital cameras with immediate snap and send functionality, so remote workers or offsite staff can instantly photograph and send images or videos of anything from suppliers goods to site inspections or damaged warehouse machinery. (  [5]  Source: www.is4profit.com) A REAL DEBATE ON SMART PHONES TO BE THE NEXT GENERATION DEVICE According to the various markets survey and current trends prove that the smart phones are presently the best possible digital device available in the market. Understanding the current scenario is quite clear that even presently smart phones are the best available digital device. But certainly some changes and development has to be made. Smart phones are the devices which are useful to different kinds of people irrespective of the profession or position. It makes work easy with faster means of communication in all purposes. According to the current marker share Overall, smart phone vendors shipped 54.7 million units in the first quarter, up 56.7 percent from a year ago. Smartphones accounted for 18.8 percent of all mobile phones in the first quarter, up from 14.4 percent in 2009. (Source www.zdnet.com  [6]  ) This proves by itself that there is a very high amount of competition between companies manufacturing smart phones as in the time to come smart phones would be the most important available device to use for an individual. Part B E-Commerce (Source: www.makemoneyideas.in)  [7]   As per (Fox, 2009) e-commerce simply means that an individual or a group of people are conducting their business with the help of electronic medium. This method of doing business is getting very much popular nowadays and that is because of the increasing importance of internet and also customer are getting net savvy or to be more precise, this is the new way of doing any business to get more appeal and customers are getting something new to experience. This is the way due to which, they can get more information regarding the products by sitting at their home, and also at the same time they might have their stores at the high streets but for something more to offer to the final consumers they might be doing their business online. The other example of E Commerce is eBay and Amazon. This is the organizations, which do their business completely online and they do not have their stores running on the high streets. (Fitzsimmons, 2007) Types of Ecommerce: Business-to-consumer: This is the type of business where they interact directly with the consumers. The best example is Dixons. Business-to-business: This is the type of business where they need to interact and trade with other businesses. For examples, Tesco by using information communication technology manage its all aspects of supply chain such as to supports patterns of repeat orders, delivery and payments between the company and its major suppliers. Consumer-to-consumer: This type of ecommerce occurs between individuals which involves forms of cash commerce normally for low cost goods or services. The classic example of C2C ecommerce is Ebay. Mobile commerce: Mobile commerce is the ability to conduct or operate the commerce using a mobile device such as smartphones personal digital assistant and other emerging mobile devices. Mobile commerce represents small fraction of total e-commerce transactions. Web 2.0 Technologies: (Source: www.xtreamtechnologies.com)  [8]   Web 2.0 is mainly linked with the application related to the web that would actually facilitate sharing of information, design that is user centre in nature and also include partnership with World Wide Web. It includes RSS feeds, social bookmarking, weblogs, folksonomies and wikis. Literature Review As per Fox (2009) it can be described as the new tools in the internet that actually creates the idea that all of the people would use the internet media and also at the same time would use the web should not just use it as and when it is required by them but instead they need to contribute actively that would actually help to customize technology and media to fulfill their needs and also for their society. It is said that new technology is being developed which is very useful for the existing and new business to flourish. It mostly promises to help and prove to be very much productive to those firm that are not focused on the profits but instead they help to improve the standard of living. Importance of e-commerce and web 2.0 technologies for online business: It is quite common that internet is the thing that drives business in its true sense. Also apart from this, there are many other things that would help the organization to stay competitive in the market and so there is more and more need for better use of the internet so that they are able to achieve their organizational goals and objectives within a short span of time and to make it fundamentally strong. Web 2.0 is the element that would add or is referred as the trend is the very much developing in todays business world. It mainly facilitates and increases their creativity, sharing of their information, and also at the same time, it is easy form tem for effectively communicating. If the business can use it successfully, it can prove to be very much productive for the organization. (Mc Leod, 2007) Role of e-commerce web 2.0 technologies: Case study of eBay The most important feature of ecommerce is its utility in whole global market scenario. Because of its online facility consumers or manufacturers need not face any major trade barriers. The other main part of the business is they can do the trading all round the clock and without any sort of disturbance to both the parties. The other thing that they need to do is, eBay has actually taken full advantage of the ecommerce and they had come about with the new products with detailed overview and presentation in the right format so that, so that more sales can be done in a short span of time. Apart from this, eBay was able to cater to any market in any geographical location due to better use of the internet as and when it is required by the business. There was also a low amount operational cost involved. There was also no special need for physical company that needs to set up by every customer. (Spencer, 2006) Customers were getting chance that they can select any given product at any given point of time. They were able to cater to local market specially. EBay started with the business that was easy to start with and also at the same time, was easy to manage. Role of e-commerce web 2.0 technologies: Case study of Amazon Amazon is also one of the biggest online business organization which focuses is selling the product online or with the help of ecommerce. Ecommerce is the only way by which they have been successful in the current market place and they have developed their business at a huge space after a dotcom bubble. Amazon also uses web 2.0 technologies to serve their customer in a much better way. As per (Nilson, 2010) it is the way by which, they have been able to attract number of consumers and also to market their products in a smarter way. With the help of web 2.0 technologies it was possible for them to use the video to show the demo of their product. This is very much useful when the customers are from different place and would like to see how the product looks like and how does it actually work. So this was possible only with the help of the web technology. Tagging is also one of the ways which Amazon is very much successful in using it due to which the customers are able to find the product in a quick manner and without writing any sort of major descriptions. It would also make it possible that a customer can actually compare between two different products. This would give them an additional service and also at the same time, clients can make use of the best alternative product. Amazon was successful after implementing the technology. (Fitzsimmons, 2007) CONCLUSION As it is the world of digital technology and e-commerce, digital signals help for the transmission of information as per needed and required. The rapid technological advancement, transfer, changes and specification has made the world a unit home. The latest development in terms of technology or development of smart phones will make it easier to do quality activities with high security, obligation, co-relation, justice. Radical changes have been noticed after the implementation of such technologies, as is the case in success of eBay and Amazon making it possible to instantly buy or sell online and boost the business. The possibility of better performance and business by organisations like eBay and Amazon due to development of web 2.0 technologies and e-commerce is sure to widen and achieve more competitive advantage in coming days. Similarly, as already proven by current trends smart phones will achieve wider sophisticated market in the world of business competition. Overall technological innovation like web 2.0 and smarts phones are sure to extend far beyond in the ever increasing world of tough completion. References: Christopher M. Spencer, (2006), The eBay entrepreneur, published by Kaplan Publishing, USA. Chaffey, D. (2009), E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, (4th Edition) Harlow/FT Prentice Hall. Fitzsimmons, J.A Fitzsimmons, M.J. (2007), Service Management: Operations Strategy, Information Technology, (6th Edition) Singapore, McGraw Hill International Edition. Kevin Nilson, (2010), Web 2.0 Fundamentals for Developers, (1st Edition), Published by Jones and Barlett, Sudbury, UK. Laudon, K and Laudon, J (2007). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, (10th Edition) Pearson Education Mc Leod, R. (2007) Management Information Systems, (10th Edition), Prentice Hall Publishing. Scott C. Fox, (2009), E-riches 2.0 next generation marketing strategies for making millions online, Published by Amacom Books, New York. http://makemoneyideas.in/Ecommerce.php, [Assessed on 04 December 2010] http://xtreamtechnologies.com/Web_Development.html, [Assessed on 05 December 2010] http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci211948,00.html [Assessed on 01 December 2010] http://www.hypersounds.es/index_en.html [Assessed on 01 December 2010] http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/smartphone [Assessed on 02 December 2010] http://www.is4profit.com/business-advice/it-telecoms/smartphones/the-benefits-of-smartphones.html [Assessed on 01 December 2010] http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/apple-iphone-smartphone-market-share-surges-rim-slips/34181 [Assessed on 3 December 2010] http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/02/smartphone_sales_soar_in_2009.php [Assessed on 3 December 2010]

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The Many Faces of Evil :: Free Essay Writer

The Many Faces of Evil in To Kill A Mockingbird "Our greatest evils flow from ourselves" (Tripp 192). This statement, by Rousseau, epitomizes many points of evil that are discussed in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. In our world, we constantly come face to face with evil. Evil presents itself in many forms, including prejudice, alcoholism, drug abuse, irresponsibility, and violence against others. The most prevalent faces of evil in To Kill A Mockingbird are prejudice, alcoholism, and gossip. Dispersed throughout To Kill A Mockingbird are numerous illustrations of racism. Statements such as "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (Lee 108) are common throughout the entire novel. The use of racist statements such as these seemed to bother many people who were then driven to ban Lee's book from their schools. If we look back to the times when the book was written, we can understand the use of the word "nigger." During the early twentieth century, the word "nigger" was used as commonly as many people today use the word "black." The general public either didn't realize or didn't care about how demeaning the word "nigger" was. Eventually, some African-Americans became so used to hearing it that they no longer paid any attention to it. Atticus Finch, Scout's father, however, had a different way of thinking. Although Atticus was Caucasian, he realized that the word "nigger" was wrong to say. He did not use that word and he instructed his ch ildren not to use that word either. This courtesy did not catch on. People continued to refer to African-Americans as "niggers" and called anyone who was kind to "niggers" a "nigger-lover." Scout realized this and, as she matured, she came to understand how wrong the use of the word "nigger" actually was. Jean Louise, Scout, was subjected to more evil than racism. Robert Ewell, a violent alcoholic, attempted to murder Scout and Jem in a drunken rage. Mr. Ewell appeared in many places throughout the book, and it was his daughter, Mayella Ewell, who pressed false charges against Tom Robinson for the offense of rape and battery. Almost every time Ewell was mentioned, he was portrayed as either violent or totally inebriated. He used the welfare checks that he received, not to purchase food for the family, but to buy booze for his personal consumption.

Prosocial Behaviour Essay

Prosocial behaviors are voluntary behaviors made with the intention of benefiting others (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). This definition carefully circumvents the potential benefits to the person performing the prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior is often accompanied with psychological and social rewards for its performer. In the long run, individuals can benefit from living in a society where prosociality is common (which, in evolutionary terms, increases reproductive potential). It has therefore been difficult for researchers to identify purely altruistic behaviors, benefiting only the recipient and not the performer. Nevertheless, behaviors benefiting others, but whose main goal is self-advantageous (e.g. cooperative behaviors intended to obtain a common resource), typically are not considered prosocial. Typical examples include: volunteering; sharing toys, treats, or food with friends; instrumental help (e.g., helping a peer with school assignments); costly help (e.g. risking oneâ €™s own life to save others); and emotionally supporting others in distress (e.g., comforting a peer following a disappointing experience or caring for a person who is ill). DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES Prosocial behavior has roots in human evolutionary history as de Waal’s comparison with other species shows. Nevertheless, Fehr and Fischbacher note that humans are unique in their degree of prosociality. Hoffman’s theory proposes that prosocial behavior becomes increasingly other-oriented as children mature. Infants feel self-distress in reaction to the distress of others because they are incapable of differentiating their own experiences from those of others. Gradually, self-distress is replaced by other-oriented concern, requiring some understanding of others’ mental states (Hoffman, 2000). Zahn-Waxler, Robinson, and Emde show that by age 4, many children can react empathically to others, including offering help to those in distress. The 1998 Eisenberg and Fabes meta-analysis found that prosocial behavior increases with age, although increases varied in size, depending on the methodological aspects of each study. In one study by Benenson, Pascoe, and Radmore, about 60 percent of 4-year old children donated at least one of 10 stickers they received to a peer, and about 85 percent did so at age 9. This increase was markedly elevated for higher-SES children compared to lower-SES children. From childhood to adolescence further increases are found in sharing, but not in helping or providing emotional support (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). The boost in prosocial behavior with age is attributed to developmental increases in cognitive abilities associated with detecting others’ needs and determining ways to help, in empathy-related responding, and in the moral understanding of the importance of helping others (Eisenberg et al., 2006). CONTEXTUAL AND INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCES Many contextual factors are associated with prosocial behavior. For example, Cole and colleagues report short-term success for television programs designed to increase children’s prosociality. Social psychological experiments consistently show that recognizing a situation as requiring assistance, involving personal responsibility, and enabling oneself to help, all increase helping behavior (Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin, & Schroeder, 2005). Individuals are more likely to provide support in situations that promote personal psychological and material rewards, or where the costs (e.g., guilt) associated with not helping are prominent. Finally, individuals are more likely to behave prosocially towards similar or likable others (Penner et al., 2005), and towards others considered to be close, especially kin (Graziano et al., 2007). This pattern may reflect an ultimate evolutionary goal of kin selection as described by Hamilton, although de Waal notes that helpers’ psychological goals may be quite different. Genetic relatedness aside, prosocial behavior towards family members probably involves a sense of duty, reciprocity, and affective relationships. Rushton describes moderate consistency in individuals’ prosocial behavior across varying situations and contexts, demonstrating both stable individual differences in prosociality and the importance of contextual factors. Research following children from early childhood to adulthood supports the existence of the long-debated altruistic or prosocial personality (Eisenberg et al., 1999). Individual differences in prosociality are linked to sociability, low shyness, extroversion, and agreeableness, although specific prosocial behaviors may require a combination of additional traits, such as perceived self-efficacy in the case of helping (Penner et al., 2005). Researchers Bardi and Schwartz highlight the importance of individuals’ specific prosocial values, including emphasizing the importance of the welfare of others, as an additional variable likely to influence prosocial behavior. Personality and contextual variables are likely to interact in determining prosocial behavio r. For example, agreeable individuals were more likely to help an outgroup member than low-agreeableness individuals, but agreeableness was not associated with helping an ingroup member (Graziano et al., 2007). Environmental factors linked to individual differences in children’s prosociality include parental modeling of helping behavior and use of inductive discipline (e.g., explaining to children the consequences of their behavior) as opposed to power-assertive discipline (e.g., punishment) (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). Beyond parental influence, siblings, peers, and schools also may affect prosociality. For example, as Wentzel, McNamara, and Caldwell point out, children’s prosociality may be influenced by close friends. Furthermore, the better the affective quality of the friendship, the more influential friends are to each other’s prosociality. Genetics also contribute to individual variation in prosociality. Research on adults finds that prosociality is substan tially heritable. Research on young children shows lower heritability, demonstrated by one longitudinal twin study showing increases in the heritability of parent-rated prosociality, from 30 percent at age 2 to 60 percent at age 7 (Knafo & Plomin, 2006). Genetic and environmental effects are often intertwined. For example, parental reasoning may be more effective with highly attentive children, while external rewards may work better for other children. These geneenvironment interactions, in which children’s genetically influenced tendencies interact with environmental influences in determining behavior, are highly likely. Further investigation is necessary of gene-environment interactions with regard to prosociality. Gene-environment correlations can also shape individual differences in prosociality. For example, children’s low prosociality is related to parents’ use of negative discipline and affection. This relationship can be traced back to children’s genetic tendencies, implying that the genetically influenced low prosociality can initiate a negative reaction from parents (Knafo & Plomin, 2006). Gender and culture are additional predictors of prosocial behavior. A meta-analysis found small differences favoring girls in prosocial behavior, smaller than expected based on gender stereotypes and lower for instrumental help than for other prosocial behaviors (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). Some evidence suggests that children in Western societies are less prosocial than children in other cultures, but some studies find no differences along these lines (see review by Eisenberg et al., 2006). A field study by Levine, Norenzayan, and Philbrick found large cultural differences in spont aneously helping strangers. For example, the proportion of individuals helping a stranger with a hurt leg pick up dropped magazines ranged from 22 percent to 95 percent across 23 cultures. Although national wealth was negatively associated with helping rates, the closely related cultural value of individualism-collectivism (individualism is on average higher in richer countries) was not related. A compelling cultural explanation for cross-national differences in prosocial behavior was still needed as of 2008. Perhaps, cultures differ substantially in what each promotes as prosocial behavior (Eisenberg et al., 2006). RELATION TO OTHER ASPECTS OF SCHOOL FUNCTIONING Clark and Ladd find that prosocial children are relatively well adjusted and have better peer relationships than less prosocial children. Highly prosocial children have more friends and report a better quality of friendship, relative to less prosocial children. Caprara and colleagues find positive relationships between children’s early prosocial behavior and later academic achievement, and positive peer relations (statistically controlling for earlier achievement). The exact nature of these relationships has yet to be determined. Possibly, prosocial children’s superior social skills enable them to work better with peers and to get along better with teachers. Alternatively, earlier prosociality represents self-regulation abilities needed for later achievement. Similarly, a finding by Johnson and colleagues that volunteering adolescents have higher grade point averages and intrinsic motivation toward schoolwork may indicate that volunteering increases academic self-esteem. Furthermore, adolescents who volunteer may receive preferential treatment from teachers, increasing their achievement. HOW TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS CAN PROMOTE PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR Although observational studies suggest that preschool teachers usually do little to encourage prosocial behavior, teachers’ behavior and school policies can promote pro-sociality. Positive, warm, and secure teacher-student relationships are associated with children’s prosociality (Eisenberg et al., 2006). To overrule the possibility that highly adjusted children are both prosocial and elicit positive reactions from teachers, intervention studies are essential. A five-year longitudinal study by Solomon and colleagues finds that training teachers to promote children’s prosociality and developmental discipline increases children’s prosocial values and behaviors. The program provided children with an opportunity to work collaboratively in small groups and participate in activities designed to promote social understanding. It emphasized prosocial values through the use of relevant media and highlighting children’s positive behaviors and provided opportun ities for active helping such as a buddy program that assigned older children to help younger peers. In another school intervention reported by Fraser and colleagues, children received training designed to teach social problem-solving skills and to reduce peer rejection. Simultaneously, parents participated in home lessons designed to improve parenting skills (e.g., child development, parent-child communication, problem-solving, and discipline). Intervention children increased in prosocial behavior in comparison to the control group. Another experimental school program reported by Flan-nery and colleagues shows longitudinal gains in children’s prosocial behavior by altering school climate by teaching students and staff five simple rules and activities: (a) praise people, (b) avoid put-downs, (c) seek wise people as advisers and friends, (d) notice and correct hurts one causes, and (e) right wrongs. McMahon and Washburn point out that effective interventions often work to addr ess students’ empathy and problem-solving skills and are often tailored to the cultural, developmental, and behavioral characteristics of students. Research by Kazdin, Bass, Siegel, and Thomas reveals the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in increasing prosociality in children with severe antisocial behavior. Another violence prevention program reported by DeCarlo and Hockman improves male urban African American students’ prosocial skills through analysis of relevant RAP music lyrics. Furthermore, Lakes and Hoyt show the effectiveness of tae-kwon-do training at primary school to improve self-regulation and prosocial behavior among boys and, to a lesser extent, girls. Attention/play interventions by school psychologists with highly aggressive boys (modeling, role-playing, coaching, feedback, and discussion of play strategies), by Dubow and colleagues longitudinally decrease aggression and increase prosocial behavior. These studies demonstrate the usefulness of non-preaching approaches to prosocial development. See also:Moral Development, Social Skills BIBLIOGRAPHY Bardi, A., & Schwartz, S.H. (2000). Values and behavior: Strength and structure of relations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(10),1207–1220. Benenson, J. F., Pascoe, J., & Radmore, N. (2007). Children’s altruistic behavior in the dictator game. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 168–175. Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Pastorelli, C., Bandura, A., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2000). Prosocial foundations of children’s academic achievement. Psychological Science, 11(4), 302–306. Clark, K. E., & Ladd, G. W. (2000). Connectedness and autonomy support in parent-child relationships: Links to children’s socioemotional orientation and peer relationships. Developmental Psychology, 36, 485–498. Cole, C. F., Arafat, C., Tidhar, C., Tafesh, W. Z., Fox, N. A., et al. (2003). The educational impact of Rechov Sumsum/Shara’a Simsim: A Sesame Street television series to promote respect and understanding among children living in Israel, th e West Bank and Gaza. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 409–422. DeCarlo, A., & Hockman, E. (2003). RAP therapy: A group work intervention method for urban adolescents. Social Work with Groups, 26(3), 45–59. De Waal, F. B. M. (2007). Putting the altruism back into altruism: The evolution of empathy. Annual Review of Psychology, 59(4), 4.1–4.22. Dubow, E. F., Huesmann, L. R., & Eron, L. D. (1987). Mitigating aggression and promoting prosocial behavior in aggressive elementary schoolboys. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 25(6), 527–531. Eisenberg, N., & Fabes, R.A.(1998). Prosocial Development. In W. Damon, (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development (Vol. 3, pp. 701–778). New York: Wiley. Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., & Spinrad, T. L. (2006). Prosocial development. In N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Series Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development (Vol. 3, pp. 646–718). New York: Wiley. Eisenberg, N., Guthrie, B., Murphy, C., Shepard, S. A., Cumberland, A., & Carlo, G. (1999). Consistency and development of prosocial dispositions: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 70(6), 1360–1372. Fehr, E., & Fischbacher, U. (2003). The nature of human altruism.Nature, 425(6960), 785–791. Flannery, D. J., Liau, A. K., Powell, K. E., Vesterdal, W., Vazsonyi, A.T., Guo, S., et al. (2003). Initial behavior outcomes for the peacebuilders universal school-based violence prevention program.Developmental Psychology, 39, 292–308. Fraser, M. W., Day, S. H., Galinsky, M. J., Hodges, V. G., & Smokowski, P. R. (2004). Conduct problems and peer rejection in childhood: A randomized trial of the making choices and strong families programs. Research on Social Work Practice, 14, 313–324. Graziano, W. G., Habashi, M. M., Sheese, B. E., & Tobin, R. M. (2007). Agreeableness, empathy, and helping: A person X situation perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(4), 583–59. Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour I and II. Journal of Theoretical Biology 7, 1–52. Hoffman, M. L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. New York: Cambridge University Press. Johnson, M. K., Beebe, T., Mortimer, J. T., & Snyder, M. (1998). Volunteerism in adolescence: A process perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8(3), 309–332. Kazdin, A. E., Bass, D., Siegel, T., & Thomas, C. (1989). Cognitive-behavioral therapy and relationship therapy in the treatment of children referred for antisocial behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(4), 522–535. Knafo, A., & Plomin, R. (2006). Parental discipline and affection and children’s prosocial behavior: Genetic and environmental links.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 147–164. Lakes, K. D., & Hoyt, W. T. (2004). Promoting self-regulation through school-based martial arts training. Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 283–302. Levine, R. V., Norenzayan, A., & Philbrick, K. (2001). Cross-cultural differences in helping strangers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 543–560. McMahon, S. D., & Washburn, J. J. (2003). Violence prevention: An evaluation of program effects with urban African American students. Journal of Primary Prevention, 24(1), 43–62. Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., & Schroeder, D. A. (2005). Prosocial behavior: multilevel perspectives. Annual Reviews of Psychology, 56, 365–392. Rushton, J. P. (1984). The altruistic personality: Evidence from laboratory, naturalistic, and self-report perspectives. In E. Staub, D. Bar-Tal, J. Karylowski, & J. Reykowski (Eds.), The Development and Maintenance of Prosocial Behavior: International Perspectives on Positive Development (pp. 271–290). New York: Plenum. Solomon, D., Watson, M. S., Delucchi, K. L., Scraps, E., & Battistich, V. (1988). Enhancing children’s prosocial behavior in the classroom. 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The Definition of an Essay Including Writing Resources

Essays are brief, non-fiction compositions that describe, clarify, argue, or analyze a subject. Students might encounter essay assignments in any school subject and at any level of school, from a personal experience vacation essay in middle school to a complex analysis of a scientific process in graduate school. Components of an essay include an introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion. Writing an Introduction The beginning of an essay can seem daunting. Sometimes, writers can start their essay in the middle or at the end, rather than at the beginning, and work backward. The process depends on each individual and takes practice to figure out what works best for them. Regardless of where students start, it is recommended that the introduction begins with an attention grabber or an example that hooks the reader in within the very first sentence. The introduction should accomplish a few written sentences that leads the reader into the main point or argument of the essay, also known as a thesis statement. Typically, the thesis statement is the very last sentence of an introduction, but this is not a rule set in stone, despite it wrapping things up nicely. Before moving on from the introduction, readers should have a good idea of what is to follow in the essay, and they should not be confused as to what the essay is about. Finally, the length of an introduction varies and can be anywhere from one to several paragraphs depending on the size of the essay as a whole. Creating a Thesis Statement A thesis statement is a sentence that states the main idea of the essay. The function of a thesis statement is to help manage the ideas within the essay. Different from a mere topic, the thesis statement is an argument, option, or judgment that the author of the essay makes about the topic of the essay. A good thesis statement combines several ideas into just one or two sentences. It also includes the topic of the essay and makes clear what the authors position is in regard to the topic.  Typically found at the beginning of a paper, the thesis statement is often placed in the introduction, toward the end of the first paragraph or so. Developing a thesis statement means deciding on the point of view within the topic, and stating this argument clearly becomes part of the sentence which forms it.  Writing a strong thesis statement should summarize the topic and bring clarity to the reader. For informative essays, an informative thesis should be declared. In an argumentative or narrative essay, a persuasive thesis, or opinion, should be determined. For instance, the difference looks like this: Informative Thesis Example:  To create a great essay, the writer must form a solid introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion.Persuasive Thesis Example:  Essays surrounded around opinions and arguments are so much more fun than informative essays because they are more dynamic, fluid, and teach you a lot about the author. Developing Body Paragraphs The body paragraphs of an essay include a group of sentences that relate to a specific topic or idea around the main point of the essay. It is important to write and organize two to three full body paragraphs to properly develop it. Before writing, authors may choose to outline the two to three main arguments that will support their thesis statement. For each of those main ideas, there will be supporting points to drive them home. Elaborating on the ideas and supporting specific points will develop a full body paragraph.  A good paragraph describes the main point, is full of meaning, and has crystal clear sentences that avoid universal statements. Ending an Essay With a Conclusion A conclusion is an end or finish of an essay. Often, the conclusion includes a judgment or decision that is reached through the reasoning described throughout the essay.  The conclusion is an opportunity to wrap up the essay by reviewing the main points discussed that drives home the point or argument stated in the thesis statement. The conclusion may also include a takeaway for the reader, such as a question or thought to take with them after reading. A good conclusion may also invoke a vivid image, include a quotation, or have a call to action for readers.