Implementation of Wireless Receiver Algorithms

Implementation of Wireless Receiver Algorithms Figure 1 System Specifications (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 2 Message format (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 3 Non-coherent receiver (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 4 Coherent receiver (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 5 Receiver Front-End (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 6 Frequency response of a passband filter (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 7 Band-pass filter response Figure 8 Band-pass filter input/output Figure 9 Implemented DPSK demodulator (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 10 Low-pass filter input/output Figure 11 Optima sample time diagram Figure 12 Symbol with 40 samples (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 13 Early-Late sample at an arbitrary point (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 14 Early-Late sample at the maximum point of power (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 15 Early-Late symbol synchronization input/output Figure 16 Result of non-coherent receiver detection Figure 17 IQ Downconverter (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 18 Sine and cosine table graphs Figure 19 Index control flow (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 20 Filter comparison (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 21 Down-conversion: x3I vs. x3Q counter clockwise Figure 22 Down-conversion: x4I vs. x4Q counter clockwise Figure 23 x6I vs. x6Q Figure 24 Averaging approach to overcome the jitter (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 25 Code to solve the jitter Figure 26 Principle of the differential detector (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 27 Constellation without Phase Offset (dI Vs dQ) Figure 28 Result of coherent receiver detection using differential coherent demodulator Figure 29 BPSK and DPSK BER comparison (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 30 Costas Loop algorithm (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 31 Costas loop: yQ vs. yI Figure 32 Message obtained using Costas loop Figure 33 BER comparison of different modulation schemes and techniques (Sklar, 1983) This project is focused on implementing and coupling several functional blocks that will allow us to detect, extract and decode a wireless message that is being broadcasted in the Merz lab of computers. In the following sections, we will find the implementations of coherent and non-coherent receivers. In the section 1 we define the basic background knowledge that will be commonly used in the posterior phases of the report. We define the basic structure and features of the transmitter as well as the message format that the system is intended to detect. Finally, we define what is a coherent and a non-coherent system and provide a classification about the different techniques. In the section 2 we will analyse the non-coherent receiver implementation from the message acquisition, going to the filter section, signal scaling and refinement, using a DPSK demodulator to define the probable symbols represented, then establishing a synchronization for the symbol and finally presenting the message obtained. The section 3 will focus in the realization of a coherent receiver, considering two possible variations on this type of implementation: the first will be developed using a differential coherent demodulator, in this technique we will not recover the carrier signal. The second implementation of this receiver, will be done using a carrier recovery technique, which is in this case a Costas Loop Algorithm. Some common blocks are done in all the possible implementations that were carried out during this project: the first is the receiver front-end which is the responsible to acquire and prepare the signal for the posterior processing. To recover the symbol synchronization, we use a technique called early-late gate, this will let us know what is the most convenient instant of the time to sample the signal. For the case of coherent signal, we must adapt this technique to apply it separately for the signal I (in-phase) and Q (quadrature). The section 4 contains analysis, conclusions and discussions of the results obtained during the realization of the phases. The last sections of the report detail the references used for further explanations and the different programs used for implementing each block. In each section, we include little further explanations that could be referred to understand the steps and details that have been done in the corresponding section. 1. Background knowledge 1.1. Aims and objectives The focus of this project is to demonstrate the implementation and the behaviour of data links using Radio Frequency as media and different techniques. Basically, we use two techniques: coherent and non-coherent implementations. A further explanation of these techniques will be done in the following sections. A second implementation of a coherent receiver will be carried out by using a phase recovery technique with the Costas Loop and coupling the posterior phase to this block. The specifications of the system to be implemented could be defined as a set of blocks connected as follows: Figure 1 System Specifications (Tsimenidis, 2016) Where the transmitter has been already implemented, therefore the work will be carried out in the receiver algorithm to obtain the final data, which of course must be in a human readable format. We also must consider that the format of the message that is being broadcasted wirelessly in the Merz lab has the following format: Figure 2 Message format (Tsimenidis, 2016) 1.2. Digital modulation The digital modulation process refers to a technique in which the digital representation of the information is embedded in a signal, a carrier typically a sinusoidal signal, in such a way that this information will modify an established parameter of the signal. We can define a sinusoidal carrier in a general way as a signal that will correspond to the equation: Where the information could be embedded in this will be called amplitude modulation, if the parameter this will be called frequency modulation and finally the phase modulation will be obtained if we embed the data in the expression. Regard to the symbol this is called the angular frequency, it is measured in radians per second, this is related to the frequency (f) expressed in Hertz by the expression. 1.3. Coherent and non-coherent detection Considering the receiver side, we can classify the demodulation or detection based on the use of the carriers phase information in the process of information recovery. In the case that the receiver uses this information to detect the signals it will be called coherent detection, and non-coherent detection otherwise. This are also called synchronous and asynchronous detection, respectively. Coherent Non-Coherent Phase Shift Keying (PSK) Diferential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) Frecuency Shift Keying (FSK) Frecuency Shift Keying (FSK) Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) Continuous Phase Modulation (CPM) Continuous Phase Modulation (CPM) Figure 3 Non-coherent receiver (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 4 Coherent receiver (Tsimenidis, 2016) 2. Non-coherent receiver 2.1. Receiver Front-End This segment of the non-coherent receiver will consist of the first two blocks, which are common for both coherent and non-coherent implementations. Figure 5 Receiver Front-End (Tsimenidis, 2016) The first block is the responsible to take a sampled input expressed as bits, represent it as a float number and then normalise it to a range +/- 1.0. The second stage applies a bandpass filter to the signal, this will attenuate the parasites components of frequency that could contaminate the signal that we received. Figure 6 Frequency response of a passband filter (Tsimenidis, 2016) To design the passband filter we must consider the following information: let = 4800 Hz, data rate = 2400 bps and sampling frequency = 48000 Hz. These assumptions, led us to the following results: Lower passband cut-off frequency: = = 3600 Hz Upper passband cut-off frequency: = + = 6000 Hz Lower stopband cut-off frequency: = = 1200 Hz Upper stopband cut-off frequency: = + = 8400 Hz The implementation of the filter will be done using the sptool command of Matlab, using the above defined values as parameters for the filter. The following figure shows the result obtained in the realization of the lab, considering the number of filter coefficients of 101. Figure 7 Band-pass filter response Figure 8 Band-pass filter input/output 2.2. DPSK demodulator To implement the non-coherent detection, we are going to use a DPSK demodulator, which was previously categorized as a non-coherent technique. The DPSK demodulator will take advantage of two basic operation that occur on the transmitter: the first is the differential encoding, and the second is the phase-shift keying. In the transmitter, the signal will be advanced in phase, with respect to the current signal, if the symbol to be sent is 0, and the phase will be preserved if the bit corresponds to 1. In the side of the receiver, we have memory that will be able to compare the phase of two successive bit intervals, i.e. it determines the relative difference in phase of these two, determining the correspondent symbols without the need of having information about the phase of the signal in the transmitter. Figure 9 Implemented DPSK demodulator (Tsimenidis, 2016) The FIR matched filter block will correspond to a low-pass filter, this is required because the demodulation process, as it is a multiplication between two sinusoidal signals, will generate a low-band signal and a high-band signal, where the second one should be filtered. 2.3. Symbol synchronisation The symbol synchronisation, also called symbol timing, is a critical process that consists in the continuous estimation and update of information of the symbol related to its data transition epochs. This is a critical process that must be conducted to keep the communication accuracy in acceptable levels. Broadly speaking, the synchronization techniques could be classified in two groups: open-loop and closed-loop. The chosen technique for this project corresponds to the Early-Late Symbol Synchronization which is a closed-loop type. The most popular technique is the closed-loop synchronization because Open-loop synchronizer has an unavoidable nonzero average tracking error (though small for large SNR, it cannot be made zero), a closed-loop symbol synchronizer circumvents this problem.(Nguyen Shwedyk, 2009) The corresponding results of the output of the demodulator are the following figures, these corresponds to the signals before and after the signal is filtered with the FIR low-pass filter. Notes: The curve in blue corresponds to the signal containing the high-frequency parasite component, and the curve in red shows the result of filtering the high frequency component, i.e. this is the output signal of the filter. The symbol correspondence is: symbol 0 for positive numbers, and symbol 1 for negative magnitudes. Figure 10 Low-pass filter input/output 2.3.1. Early-late Symbol Synchronization (Reed, 2002) The algorithm Early-late used for synchronization is supported by the idea that the sample of a symbol must be taken in the time where the energy is maximum, this will warranty a minimum error probability. This algorithm exploits the symmetry of the signal, neglecting the distortion and noise. Considering the following figure, we can see that the optimal time to take the sample, identified as T, should be in the halfway between two points T0 + d and T0 d, if the power in the T0 + d and T0 d is, ideally, the same. Figure 11 Optima sample time diagram Suppose the following figure shows a symbol, we can notice that if we take an arbitrary sample, e.g. n=3 and depending on the thresholds, could be wrongly interpreted as 0, however the most appropriated value is 1. Figure 12 Symbol with 40 samples (Tsimenidis, 2016) With a buffer size of 20 registers, we can notice that in the following figure the power levels of the signal for n=0 and n=19 are different, then we need to move the whole buffer one space to the right. Figure 13 Early-Late sample at an arbitrary point (Tsimenidis, 2016) If we continue with the iteration and we follow the rules described in the flow diagram, we will converge in a finite number of iterations, where we can see that the result is located as expected, this could be seen in the following figure. Figure 14 Early-Late sample at the maximum point of power (Tsimenidis, 2016) The results of the application of this algorithm for our case are shown in the following figure: Note: The signal in red is the input of the early-late symbol synchronization block and the signal in blue is the value of Em that will finally determine the value that the symbol is representing, in each case. Figure 15 Early-Late symbol synchronization input/output 2.4. Frame synchronisation As was stated in the in the background section, the message frame will begin with the characters ++++ and the message has 72 bytes encoding the message using a ASCII characters. Therefore, this section will deal with two tasks: (1) Detect the message preamble and (2) Decode byte per byte of the data contained in the payload. After the preamble section, we will detect 576 bits, corresponding to the 72 bytes that correspond to the ASCII characters. These characters will be dumped into an executable file that will then show the message that has been detected and decoded. The specific implementation of the algorithm is attached in the appendix section of this report. 2.5. Results and evaluation The result of applying the steps described in the sections from 2.1 to 2.4, we obtain the message, getting the result showed in the next figure: Figure 16 Result of non-coherent receiver detection 3. Coherent receiver The coherent receiver, also called synchronous receiver, implies certain degree of agreement or knowledge about parameters used in the transmitter side. For the case of the project, we have a signal of type DPSK, i.e. the codification is contained in the variation of the phase of the signal. 3.1. IQ Down-converter The aim of this component is to decompose a complex signal in terms of its in-phase and quadrature elements. To achieve this decomposition, we are going to perform the implementation using lookup-table oscillators, i.e. that for a given signal in-phase and quadrature components will be obtained by using the definitions given by: Figure 17 IQ Downconverter (Tsimenidis, 2016) Upon these definitions, the components that we obtain could be represented in two separated graphs, each one of them representing a different component table. Figure 18 Sine and cosine table graphs As for the index control of look-up table, we decide to use for loop to generate x2I[n] and x2Q[n], storing and transporting data to corresponding files as x2I.h and x2Q.h. These files will be used later to perform the conversion of values. Figure 19 Index control flow (Tsimenidis, 2016) After understanding the principle, we defined all of variables and initialized them to zero inside the main, and select the appropriate value of some variables such as state_mf, coeffs_mf and N_mf.Same as the picture over, the original data from bandpass output is also separated into two filters: Matched Filter I and Matched Filter Q, and the coefficients of the filters are the same with the original one. The benefit of using the lookup-table oscillators (setting x2 into x2I and x2Q) is to decrease the time of simulation because of the lower required sampling rate.ÂÂ   We can use via lookup table method to call them from x2I.h and x2Q.h, so that we can use it more efficiently in Matlab instead of shifting itself. And then, we multiplied x1 to x2I[n] and x2Q[n] one by one by using another for loop and got x3I and x3Q.Besides,the code of matched filter had been given by tutors and got x4I and x4Q. {x4I=fir(x3I,coeff_mf,state_mf_I,N_mf);ÂÂ   //match filter I } {x4Q=fir(x3I,coeff_mf,state_mf_Q,N_mf);ÂÂ   //match filter I } Figure 20 Filter comparison (Tsimenidis, 2016) We monitored and recorded x3I and x3Q in PicoScope and print screen. The wave of them spinning fixed at the origin point so three of these blows were selected to describe this wave batter. Figure 21 Down-conversion: x3I vs. x3Q counter clockwise After this, we can visualize the outputs of each one of the filters, now we are going to plot in the figure x4I and x4Q, obtaining: Figure 22 Down-conversion: x4I vs. x4Q counter clockwise 3.2. Symbol synchronization After IQ down-converter, the next stage is symbol synchronization. To achieve this, we create x5I[n] and x5Q[n] and sent x4I, x4Q one sample at the time. The procedure that we should do in this section is similar to the one seen in the non-coherent detection, however we must consider two buffers instead of one, one for I and other for Q parts. The sum of the above established energies will correspond to the energy that can be seen as the total energy of the signal, which is similar to lab of the symbol synchronization for the non-coherent receiver. The corresponding calculations to obtain the signals after the symbol synchronization process are defined as: Then, plotting the results obtained, we see the following figure: Figure 23 x6I vs. x6Q Due to synchronization problems, we threated the jitter that was causing these inconsistences using the averaging approach, as described in the follows: Figure 24 Averaging approach to overcome the jitter (Tsimenidis, 2016) Figure 25 Code to solve the jitter 3.3. Differential coherent demodulator In this section, we will implement a differential detector, also called a differential coherent demodulator. Figure 26 Principle of the differential detector (Tsimenidis, 2016) At first, we declare and initialize appropriately the required variables and define .In this differential detector, need to multiply ,1 symbol delay by . N N=1 N=2 N=3 After this, we defined x6I_prev and x6Q_prev to deal with this problem and let x6I_prev and x6Q_prev denote the values of x6I and x6Q from the previous symbol. It is very important to initialize them to zero at the declaration because we know . (Tsimenidis, 2016) x6I_prev=x6I; x6Q_prev=x6Q On the same time, dI contains the first two terms which stand for the In-phase part and dQ which contains the last two terms which stand for the Quadrature part. Hard decision is then achieved by deciding whether the dI value is positive or negative, with a negative value indicating that a logic 1 was transmitted which might be used in the next step that is frame synchronization and message detection. Now we obtain the plot showi

Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Essay -- Workplace Health and Safety

Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Health and safety in the workplace is not only the responsibility of the designated Health and Safety Officer, it is the duty of all members of staff to be responsible for the safety of everyone they may have to deal with during the working day; both their colleagues and members of the public. The Health and Safety Executive are a body whose role is to promote safety in the workplace; both by providing information to employers and their employees, and also by ensuring that rules and guidelines are adhered to in everyday practice. According to the Health and Safety Executive (or H&SE), the employer has a responsibility under law to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the employee's health, safety and welfare at work. The employer's duties include: - Making the workplace safe and without risks to health - Ensuring that plant and machinery are safe and that safe systems of work are set and are followed - Ensuring articles and substances are moved, stored and used safely - Providing adequate welfare facilities - Giving the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary for health and safety It is the duty of the employer to assess the risks to the health and safety of his/her staff. This will often necessitate a vigorous and thorough inspection of the workplace, paying particular attention to any piece of equipment or plant and any working practice that may be hazardous to the safety of staff. If there are 5 or more employees, any findings of the risk assessment must be recorded. Plant and machinery must be regularly inspected to ensure that it is... ...struction-phase health and safety plan. This must be done before any construction work begins. - The client must be reasonably satisfied that all those who are appointed are competent to carry out all their health and safety responsibilities. - The client must ensure that the health and safety file that was compiled during the construction process is kept readily available for inspection by anyone who may want to conduct any further construction work on the site in the future. The client may choose to appoint an agent to act on their behalf. In these circumstances the client must ensure that any person appointed in this capacity is fully competent and qualified to carry out their health and safety responsibilities. The Health and Safety Executive must be informed of any such appointment before work commences.

Peculiar Institutions Reconfiguring Notions of Political Participation Through the Narratives of Hannah Crafts and Harriet Jacobs :: Essays on Politics

Peculiar Institutions Reconfiguring Notions of Political Participation Through the Narratives of Hannah Crafts and Harriet Jacobs In her narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs says, â€Å"If the secret memoirs of many members of Congress should be published, curious details would be unfolded† (142). Jacobs here, and throughout her narrative, reveals herself as a political outsider in all possible senses. She does not, herself, know what stories are told in the so-called â€Å"secret memoirs† of white, male, empowered politicians. She can only surmise what frightful and disturbing events and attitudes they must describe. In sharp contrast, Hannah Crafts, author of The Bondwoman’s Narrative, is and presents herself as the most intimate kind of political insider. She is for all intents and purposes – throughout her own story – writing the diary, the secret memoir, of her master, Mr. John Hill Wheeler. A focus on this point of intersection between the two women’s texts takes on a new and uncanny significance when one considers that the actual diary kept by the historical Congressman John Wheeler has been a major tool used in the authentication of the Crafts narrative. This important political figure kept a written record of virtually every day of his adult life. Records reveal, among other things, that at age twenty-one Wheeler became the youngest member ever elected to the North Carolina House of Commons. By his early forties, he would become a permanent presence on Capitol Hill, serving as close counselor and friend to Presidents Pierce, Jackson, Van Buren, Buchanan, and Johnson. He would also later serve as the American Minister to Nicaragua, then a Central American stronghold, where he would try to single-handedly claim the land and institute slavery, inadvertently ruining his political career in the process. That Hannah Crafts lives in and reproduces for the readers’ eyes the most intricate details of those secret political records and relationships ultimately has an enormous impact upon the connections she perceiv es herself as having to other slave women, to white Northern women, and to men of either race. Crafts’ recognition and narration of her unique personal position also subtly but profoundly alters the opportunities for political participation that she conceives as possible. The Bondwoman’s Narrative, written by Hannah Crafts, self-described as â€Å"a fugitive slave, recently escaped from North Carolina,† was uncovered in 2001 and published in 2002 under the auspices of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Othello’s Copious Imagery Essay -- Othello essays

Othello’s Copious Imagery  Ã‚        Ã‚   Let’s look into Shakespeare’s drama Othello and admire the proliferation of imagery with which the playwright has decorated the play.    In the Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello: The Harbrace Theatre Edition, John Russell Brown describes some â€Å"splendid images† in the play:    The elaborate soliloquy spoken by Othello as he approaches his sleeping wife (V.ii.1-22) contains some splendid images, such as â€Å"chaste stars,† â€Å"monumental alabaster,† â€Å"flaming minister,† and â€Å"Promethean heat,† but its key words are simple and used repeatedly: cause, soul, blood, die, light, love, and weep. In his last sustained speech (V.ii.338-56), the images are fewer and approached through the simplest words (â€Å"Speak of me as I am†) and most blatant antitheses (â€Å"loved not wisely, but too well†). (xiv)    H. S. Wilson in his book of literary criticism, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, discusses the influence of the imagery:    It has indeed been suggested that the logic of events in the play and of Othello’s relation to them implies Othello’s damnation, and that the implication is pressed home with particular power in the imagery. This last amounts to interpreting the suggestions of the imagery as a means of comment by the author – the analogy would be the choruses of Greek tragedy. (66)    The vulgar imagery of Othello’s ancient dominates the opening of the play. Standing outside the senator’s home late at night, Iago uses imagery within a lie to arouse the occupant: â€Å" Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves! / Look to your house, your daughter and your bags!† When the senator appears at the window, the ancient continues with coarse imagery of animal lust: â€Å"... ...ore Evans. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974.    Kernan, Alvin. â€Å"Othello: and Introduction.† Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Ed. Alfred Harbage. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1964.    Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Spurgeon, Caroline. â€Å"Shakespeare’s Imagery and What it Tells Us.† Shakespearean Tragedy. Ed. D. F. Bratchell. New York: Routledge, 1990.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.      

Explain the role of effective communication Essay

A common form of communication is texting. This electronic form is used every day and can be used as a replacement for voice utilized conversation if the communicator is unable to speak. Another form of communication is drama. Drama is an expressive art and is often used as a way to allow people to express themselves emotionally in meaningful ways or to relay a message. Sign language is an important form of communication as it aids communication with individuals who are unable to hear or speak. It consists of the use of the hands forming different shapes, movements or symbols to represent a word or phrase and it becoming increasingly popular. In health and social care, effective communication is essential and significant as it ensures that workers are doing their jobs correctly and patients are in good care. This means that workers need to communicate with a wide range of people such as colleagues, professionals, workers from different agencies and patients. When communicating with colleagues, health and social worker need to make sure they are being polite and respectful as not only does this build a strong working relationship, but it is also a way of practicing how to speak to patients and others who use the services. Having a strong working relationship with colleagues ensures that health and social workers are able to listen effectively which is highly important as they will need to know and remember important information about their job and patients. It also helps to build trust as, like with patients, workers must try to keep and respect the confidentiality of others. People who work in professions often have ‘language communities’. A ‘language community’ is a professions individual form of communication that contains unique words and phrases that are particular to that profession. When health and social workers are communicating with people from different professions it is easy for them to misunderstand each other, there for it is important for the workers to listen carefully and check to ensure that they understood correctly to avoid and problems later on. Likewise, health and social workers also need to make sure that when they are communicating with patients and others who use the services that they are explaining themselves properly and not using their community language so the patients will understand. Also, when  communicating with professionals from different agencies, it is important for health and social workers to be aware that not everyone is from the same language community so it is necessary to take extra care and communicate in a way that everyone will understand. There are two types of interpersonal interaction; verbal and non-verbal. Verbal communication most often refers to speech. People from different areas, backgrounds and professions often have different variations of speech depending on the words and phrases that they use; this is known as a ‘language community’. Although this brings people together, it can also shut them out and make people feel excluded. An example of this would be that health and social workers are all part of a language community however this could be a barrier to those who are not such as patients for example. In speech many people use their mother tongue or first language which is the language that they grew up knowing and speaking. However, some people are open to a second language that they may have learnt later on. Although this has its advantages, it is said that people who use their second language as opposed to those who use their first, cannot communicate their thoughts as effectively. Non-verbal communication can take many forms such as a person’s posture and body language, the gestures they use, their facial expressions and their ability to listen. Through non-verbal communication, people can often tell how others are feeling, for example happy, sad or even tense. A person’s body language can include their posture, proximity and movement which all send out messages. Sitting up straight can often mean a person is listening and they are attentive where as if a person was to slouch it would send out the message that they are bored or not paying attention. This is similar to other movements such as nodding your head. The way a person moves also conveys messages such as walking quickly may be recognised as stress or a lack of posture may mean a person is tired. The proximity between two people when they communicate also reveals information. If two people who are socially distant or do not have a close relationship are talking, they may stand further apart as to be polite and not get into each other space however if two people are very close they may feel they can close the distance and be a little more intimate.

Bad Drivers

Please note that the drivers used in this rant are full driving license and know the ‘Do's and Don't of driving! What is a bad driver? A bad driver is the moron who lacks the brain capacity to drive like a normal person. Instead of looking at a situation and thinking about it logically, the driver chugs along In their own little world blissfully unaware of the world around them. It Isn't that they don't want to care about the others around them, the problem Is that their brains are actually so tiny that they are enable to comprehend more than one thing at a time.This Is why you will often spot a bad driver stopping in the middle of the road. What has happened, Is that In the middle of attempting a maneuver that requires them to think about multiple things at the same time, their brain and body has suffered a complete overload and shut Itself down. A few weeks ago I suffered a mentally disturbing experience. As usual I was running late for my football class, so I decided to ask my parents If I can go by car. Surprisingly they agreed.After a fairly peaceful Journey, possibly the worst possible outcome occurred. It was a minor road and 2 cars have met. What should have happened is either one of the drivers reverse into an opening to clear the way, saving everyone loads of time; however neither one of the drivers had the decency to clear the way and soon enough a 2 car roadblock became a bundle of cars all mindlessly honking at each other. What have we become? Human Being†¦ Seriously, is there some kind of driving epidemic going on that I haven't heard about?

Psychology and Language: Research Proposal Essay

The relationship between psychology and language is a moot point among some scholars. However, when the two disciplines are taken into account in terms of their contrast and comparison, it merges jarringly clear that a relation exists between them. The two are either inextricably bound, or one of the discipline is overly dependent on the on the other. This study is aimed at unveiling the relations that exist between the two. And for this to be realized, the opinion of various targeted respondents will have to be solicited through interviews. Besides, scholarly opinion will also be collected and collated from publications, both recent and past. Their review will therefore assist to come up with a condensed conclusion about the study. In essence, this research will bring to the connection between the two disciplines, how one influences the development of another. Literature Review The relationship between language and psychology can hardly be gainsaid. Various scholars have delved into this discourse, offering their varied opinion supported by their informed arguments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to some theories, language do exists as a system of signs, the meaning and implications of which are entirely dependent on their relation to other signs of the system, and of the structure of linguistic expressions in which they occur. Other theories have it that language is a system of syntactic forms which come ready made in the mind of the speaker from birth, and which gives speakers the competence to generate and understand infinitely many different propositions. And this is independent of the experience and knowledge that speakers have of that which they speak or of the context in which the propositions are generated and understood. (Paetorius, 98)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The study of languages, otherwise termed as linguistics can sometimes be a technical discipline with a reality and a vocabulary of its own. This best explains why psychologists have often waited for linguists to offer them education on the meaning of language.   This meaning helps the psychologists in the quest to further study its comprehension, processing and acquisition. (Tomasello, 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Grammar of Autobiography, Quigley aptly relates the two disciplines by arguing that psychology operates in an unstable, developing world that is open to change as a consequence of our communicative activity, rather than in the independent knowable reality of cognitive psychology. He adds that linking psychology with our social world is hardly a new phenomenon. Instead, proposing language as the mediator between the two is novel. (6) Currently, language isn’t only representative but also formative. It does functions to construct situations as they are, instead of just to reporting them. He argues that our thoughts aren’t just the source of our talk; they are constituted and/or formulated in our talk. Since psychology is the science of the mind, then the objects of psychology is not individuals but what goes on in the space between them. While studying the relation between words and world, it is not cognition but language that gives us the world. (6) In Language as Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use, another scholar, Holtgraves, point out that language use is interpersonal in many ways. For one, it is a rich source of identity- relevant information. This is because many aspects of language use, for instance accent, speech rate and politeness level, provide crucial information that can be used by others in forming impressions of people. (6) Besides, many of these variables can be changed strategically as means of managing the impressions that people convey to others. Holtgraves therefore concludes that the use of language plays a significant role in both person perceptions; how people perceive one another and impression management: how people vary their talks strategically to achieve particular effects. (6) From the above discourse we can infer that the correlation between psychology and language is best demonstrated by the fact that words, which are the predominant tools of human communication bear meaning which are not independent from the though process of individuals. Michael Forrester argues in Psychology of Language: A Critical Introduction, that there has always existed a link between psychology and philosophy which has been close and occasionally complementary. And this is particularly the case within psychology of language, especially when the question of meaning arises. Therefore it is hard, even impossible to discuss to discuss language as such without looking into the nature of meaning. This makes it difficult o consider key topics in language for instance, communication, language acquisition and comprehension, without the understanding of what is at issue when people use the word ‘meaning’. (56) Forrester adds that the use of a word or a phrase in appropriate way makes one immediately accountable for whatever they say. As a result, we assume that people mean what they say and also intend others will understand the acceptable meaning of the utterance and act accordingly. Therefore, language without meaning is not language at all. This overview study of meaning, otherwise termed as semantics, makes it clear that although there are particular gains in adopting approaches where appropriate, any consideration of what language user mean when they make an utterance in context imputes us to go beyond truth-conditional semantics. In sum, the contemporary study of semantics can hardly be taken without due consideration of the function of language. (56) One universal design feature of language is that their meaning bearing form is that they are divided into two different subsystems: the open class otherwise known as the lexical and the closed class otherwise refereed to as the grammatical. The difference between the two is that open classes do have many members and can easily add many more. These include nouns, verbs and adjectives. On the other hand, closed classes have relatively few members and are hard difficult to augment. They consist of such bound forms as inflections as found in verbs and such free forms as prepositions, conjunction and determinants. The meaning that open-class forms do express are virtually unrestricted, whereas those of closed-class forms are highly constrained both as the conceptual category they can refer to and as to the particular member notions within any such category. (Tomassello, 15) In essence language has a more profound implication s fro our social existence. It plays a role in virtually every aspect of our dealings with others.   Therefore understanding what we are doing when we use language can help us to understand what it means to be a social being. (Holtgrave, 8)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Possibilities have been explored for studying language at its functional roots as well as its structural realization. This is in the sense that human speech may be formed by general adaptive semantics at the limbic core of the brain as it is then articulated within specific sensory and motor routines of the neocortical shell. (Givon and Malle, 71) This argument can be made on anatomical grounds, interpreting function through the density of connections. It can also be made on psychological grounds, interpreting the excitability of limbic-cortical connections as reflective of the process of memory consolidation. (Givon and Malle, 71)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Research Hypothesis The conduction of this research will involve both the independent and dependent variables. The independent variables in this study are language as a tool that facilitates communication and psychology as the science of the mind. On the other hand the dependent variables are language speakers, communication and psychologists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The independent variable in this study are related to the dependent variable in that, it is from the language speakers that the in-depth meaning of words is unveiled, further revealing the underlying intentions behind the spoken words. This relations goes ahead to shed additional light on how the mind is the source of words. Therefore, the spoken word does betray the intention of the mind. The other independent variable, in this case the psychologists, through their informed opinions help to shape the realism and surrealism of the link between psychology and language. Research Methods Research Design The relevant data that will facilitate the comprehensive conclusion of this study will be gathered by the use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. In essence, both primary and secondary data will be whereas probability and non-probability methods of sampling will be employed in selecting the representative sample of the population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Target Population. The study will be conducted nation-wide amongst language students (those learning a new language), language teachers, linguists and psychologists. The targeted respondents will fall within the age bracket of 16 and 60 years of age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Data Collection Instruments For constructive findings to be reached, this study will warrant that various instruments of data collection be employed. For one, quantitative data will be collected by the use of structured interviews: questionnaires will be served to the targeted populations, with questions bearing some slight differences according to the specific ages or occupation of the respondents. Other quantitative data will be gathered by the use of service statistics, which will compare the results of a particular previous relevant studies conducted nationwide. Secondary data sources from books, magazines, journals and legal documents will also offer quantitative data. On the other hand, qualitative data will be gathered through unstructured interviews, whereby experts in law and sociology will be interviewed. Qualitative data will also be gathered from focus group discussions, direct observation in the court proceedings and juvenile jail routine, and content analysis of published material.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Expected Results This study will likely reach the following results: It is anticipated that most respondents will concur with the fact that there is a relation between language and psychology; this response is likely to come from linguists, language scholars and psychologists, who through in-depth study have come into access of this relation. The relationship between language and psychology can easily escape the knowledge of many. This is expected to be the confession of many language speakers who have never had the opportunity through study to both consider how the two disciplines differ and compare. They of course will confess their ignorance about the subtle technical similarities and difference between the two disciplines. However, given a chance to muse over it, the above respondents will readily agree that there is a relation between the two disciplines. This will come easily since they can visualize the link between their thoughts and words. The literature from which the secondary data in this study will be gathered will likely demonstrate views of the correlation between the two disciplines. Some scholars will definitely beg to differ with this argument, though they are not going to outnumber those who support the argument that indeed a relationship exists between the two. Reference Michael Tomassello, The New Psychology of Language: Cognitive and Functional Approaches   to Languages   Structure, 1. Nini Praetorius, (2003) Principles of Cognition, Language and Action, 98.   Thomas M. Holtgraves (200) Language as Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use,   6, 8. Givon and Bertram F. Malle (2002) The Evolution of Language out of Pre-Language, 71. Jean Quigley, The Grammar of Autobiography, 6. Michael A. Forrester, (1996) Psychology of Language: A Critical Introduction, 56.