Instant Messaging Essays -- Essays Papers

Instant Messaging Instant messaging is a tool used by a vast majority of Internet users. This new tools has some advantages and some disadvantages. IM is used a lot of the time in education. It’s used for recruiting and admissions, student-faculty communications, library consultations, group projects, and immediate feedback, and discussions during lectures. Businesses are also finding instant messaging useful, as well as the deaf community. Some of the disadvantages are that teachers don’t feel comfortable using IM, instant messaging might interfere with students work, and viruses can be passed via instant messaging through links. Instant messaging seems to have a more positive side than negative. Instant messaging has many benefits and that’s why so many people use it today. Instant messaging can happen instantly. One doesn’t have to sit around and wait for a response like with e-mail. Someone stated that, â€Å"You can check to see if a pal is online and available, key in a â€Å"Wassup?† and you’re chatting away† (Reid, 2004). Also, IM has a big impact on students. With instant messaging they’re able to, â€Å"create, join, leave, and rejoin at will what the Pew Internet group calls â€Å"virtual study groups† (Woods, 2002). There are always some communication delays because of dinner interruptions or a favorite television show may be on. A high school girl stated that, â€Å"Not only do I research online, but I also use it for chatting with people for school. If I forget an assignment or need assistance on a concept I cannot grasp, the Internet is an easy way for me to get in touch with a peer who might be an aid to me† (2002). If a student has a teacher’s screen name than he or she can get imm... ... American Life Project. Retrieved March 25, 2004 from Ebsco Host: http://web10.epnet.com/citation.asp?tb=1&_ug=dbs+f5h%2Ceric+sid+8DCA235D%2DE69. Reid, Goldsborough. (2001). Instant Messaging for Instant Communications. Black Issues in Higher Education, 18. Retrieved March 25, 2004 from Ebsco Host: http://web10.epnet.com/citation.asp?tb=1&_ug=dbs+f5h%2Ceric+sid+8DCA235D%2DE69. Robinson, Stacey. (2001). Morris Library serves students with instant messaging system. Retrieved March 22, 2004 from http://www.dailyegyptian.com/btc01/seca/im.html. Woods, Bob. (2002). Digital Divide between Students and Educators? Retrieved March 24, 2004 from http://www.instantmessagingplanet.com/public/print.php/10817_1447791. Yared, Diala. (2002). Instant Messaging. Retrieved March 28, 2004 from mason.gmu.edu/~dyared/NCLC348/Instantmessaging/competencies/diala.htm.

Perceptual Process

Perceptual Process The perceptual process is the sequence of psychological steps that a person uses to organize and interpret information from the outside world. The steps are: * Objects are present in the world. * A person observes. * The person uses  perception  to select objects. * The person organizes the perception of objects. * The person interprets the perceptions. * The person responds. The selection, organization, and interpretation of perceptions can differ among different people (Figure 0).Therefore, when people react differently in a situation, part of their behavior can be explained by examining their perceptual process, and how their perceptions are leading to their responses. Perceptual Selection Perceptual selection is driven by internal and external  factors. Internal factors include: * Personality – Personality traits influence how a person selects perceptions. For instance, conscientious people tend to select details and external stimuli to a greater d egree. Motivation – People will select perceptions according to what they need in the moment. They will favor selections that they think will help them with their current needs, and be more likely to ignore what is irrelevant to their needs. * Experience – The patterns of occurrences or associations one has learned in the past affect current perceptions. The person will select perceptions in a way that fits with what they found in the past. External factors include: * Size – A larger size makes it more likely an object will be selected. Intensity – Greater intensity, in brightness, for example, also increases perceptual selection. * Contrast – When a perception stands clearly out against a background, there is a greater likelihood of selection. * Motion – A moving perception is more likely to be selected. * Repetition – Repetition increases perceptual selection. * Novelty and familiarity – Both of these increase selection. When a perception is new, it stands out in a person's experience. When it is familiar, it is likely to be selected because of this familiarity. Perceptual OrganizationAfter certain perceptions are selected, they can be organized differently. The following factors are those that determine perceptual organization: * Figure-ground – Once perceived, objects stand out against their background. This can mean, for instance, that perceptions of something as new can stand out against the background of everything of the same type that is old. * Perceptual grouping – Grouping is when perceptions are brought together into a pattern. * Closure – This is the tendency to try to create wholes out of perceived parts.Sometimes this can result in error, though, when the perceiver fills in unperceived information to complete the whole. * Proximity – Perceptions that are physically close to each other are easier to organize into a pattern or whole. * Similarity – Similarit y between perceptions promotes a tendency to group them together. * Perceptual Constancy – This means that if an object is perceived always to be or act a certain way, the person will tend to infer that it actually is always that way. Perceptual Context – People will tend to organize perceptions in relation to other pertinent perceptions, and create a context out of those connections. Each of these factors influence how the person perceives their environment, so responses to their environment can be understood by taking the perceptual process into account. ANOTHER DEFINITION Perception is a process consisting of several sub-processes. We can take an input-throughput-output approach to understand the dynamics of the perceptual process.This approach emphasizes that there is input, which is processed and gives output. The stimuli in the environment – subjects, events, or people –   can be considered as the perceptual inputs. The actual transformation of th ese inputs through the perceptual mechanisms of selection, organization, and interpretation can be treated as the throughputs , and the resultant opinions, feelings, attitudes, etc, which ultimately influence our behavior, can be viewed as the perceptual outputs.

How to Use phpMyAdmin for Your Database

Abhilash writes I am using phpMyAdmin†¦ so how can I interact with the database? Hi Abhilash! phpMyAdmin is a great way to interact with your database. It allows you the flexibility of using the interface, or simply using SQL commands directly. Lets take a closer look at how to use it! First navigate to your phpMyAdmin login page. Enter your username and password to access your database. Now that you have logged in, you will see a screen that has all of your databases basic information. From here there are several things you can do. Lets say you want to run a bit of SQL script. On the left hand side of the screen, there are some small buttons. The first button is a home button, then an exit button, and the third is a button that reads SQL. Click on this button. This should prompt a popup window. Now, if you wish to run your code you have two options. Option one is to type or paste in the SQL code directly. The second option is to choose the Import Files tab. From here you can import files full of SQL code. Often when you download software they will include files like this to help you install it. Another thing you can do in phpMyAdmin is browse your database. Click on the database name in the left hand column. It should expand to show you a list of tables within your database. You can then click on any of the tables it contains. There are several tabs of options on the top of the right page now. The first option is Browse. If you select browse, you can view all of the entries in that table of the database. You can edit, or delete entries from this area of phpMyAdmin. It is best not to change data here if you arent exactly sure what its doing. Only edit what you understand because once deleted it is irreversible. The next tab is the Structure tab. From this table you can view all of the fields within the database table. You can remove or edit the fields from this area too. You can also change the data types here. The third table is the SQL tab. This is similar to the pop up SQL window that we discussed earlier in this article. The difference is that when you access it from this tab, it already has some SQL pre-filled in the box pertaining to the table from which you accessed it. The forth tab is the Search tab. As its name implies this is used to search your database, or more particularly the table form which you accessed the tab. If you access the search feature from the main phpMyAdmin screen you can search all of the tables and entries for your entire database. This is a very useful feature, that could be completed using only SQL but for many programmers as well as non-programmers its nice to have the simple to use interface. The next tab is Insert which allows you to add information to your database. It is followed by the Import and Export buttons. As they imply they are used to import or export data from your database. The Export option is particularly useful, as it allows you to make a backup of your database from which you can restore if you ever have an issue. It is a good idea to backup data often! Empty and Drop are both potentially dangerous tabs, so please use them with caution. Many a novice has clicked through these tabs only to have their database disappear into the great unknown. Never delete unless you are absolutely sure it wont break things! Hopefully that gives you some basic ideas of how you can use phpMyAdmin to work with the database on your website.