Influences of Language on Meaning and Perception

Language is the main communication tool which influences meaning and perception. Language can be verbal (sounds, words) and non-verbal (signs, gestures, mimic, facial expression, behavior, and physical setting, etc). Interpersonal communication includes any behavior that another person perceives and interprets. As such, it is one person's understanding of what another person means. Behavior itself is a form of communication. Interpersonal communication occurs through symbols and signs decoded by the sender and encoded by the receiver. Using language (verbal), people name and describe objects, events and processes. Clarity and precision of presentation have a great impact on meaning and perception processes. The main problem is that the receiver can ‘encode’ the information differently which influences his perception and meaning of the message (Wood, 2003). So although it is true that names must precede descriptions in the sense that they provide the atomic terms of a description, it is also true that some (possibly holophrastic) ostensive assertions must be primitive in all category naming (Guerrero 1999). Verbal communication means sending messages to another person to inform about something, to persuade people to do something, to develop positive attitudes, and to cause other changes in people's thinking and behavior. Following Russell (2000) one interpretation of perception: â€Å"focuses on attending and concentrates on surveying the environment. Another focuses on interpretation and concentrates on language and mental activity after initial contact with stimuli. Viewing perception as an attending process and as an outcome of attending can both serve well† (4) The speech sounds of a language vary in many ways. Only some of these differences signal a difference in meaning in the language. These are called â€Å"phonemic† differences. The rest of the differences are â€Å"phonetic† differences that are less salient, less readily perceived, and less easily produced than the phonemic differences. In this case, if a person has poor articulation or speech defects the receiver can encode information is a wrong way and misinterpret the meaning. It is important that every person remember that specific words may not have the same meaning and significance for different people. The choice of words and vocabulary is one type of symbol that possesses emotional and psychological properties. It is possible to say that language shapes the meaning and allows the receiver to perceive its meaning. A unique pattern of language comes to be regarded as equivalent to a unique pattern in the receiver mind. Meaning and perception depends upon experience and views of the receiver and differs in what is perceived and how information is stored, and because the nature of the mapping may differ for â€Å"different types of cross-modal linkages† (Guerrero 1999, p. 56). I suppose that my language is clearly understood because I carefully chose vocabulary and meaning of words. Active listening helps me to learn new words and understand their usage correctly. So, it is possible to say that if a person wishes to communicate effectively with other people (verbally or non-verbally), he must somehow put themselves in each other's shoes. Effective interpersonal communication requires that people have a common set of meanings and definitions. Such a common set of meanings derives not only from the language, but refers more broadly to the pattern of beliefs, codes, and feelings on the basis of which people learn to live with their environment. To enlarge my vocabulary I read a lot of printed matters: books, magazines, scientific article, etc, and use new words and phrases in practice. For instance, non-fiction writing has ideas followed by arguments, by examples, before returning to a second argument. Seeing the structure of paragraphs is to see the pattern of the argument. This technique will help me to create a clear message and communicate with different people. One more important fact is that mass media is intended to be an example of language norms: vocabulary and grammar. References 1.Guerrero, L. K. et al. (1999). The Nonverbal Communication Reader: Classic and Conteporary Readings. Waveland Press. 2.Russell, Ch. (2000). CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND BEHAVIOR: Perception. A Review of General Semantics, 57, 4. 3.Wood, J.T. (2003). Interpersonal Communications. Wadsworth Publishing.                     

Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Essay

Abstract PharmaCARE is on of the world’s most successful pharmaceutical companies. This paper will take a look at Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the work place and the world and how PharmaCare provided insight to their stakeholders CompCare and who takes on the overall ethical and social responsibilities of the organization. The importances of the decisions made by management are discussed as well as the ability to make changes to support a more ethical work environment. The ability to improve operations and turn a profit are explained by discussing management’s requirements to abide by regulations governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Federal Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Equal Employment Opportunity , Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act and other regulatory policies Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in the Workplace and the World Introduction Introduction This paper will examine PharmaCare’s ethical and social responsibility around its operations, products, and obligation to stakeholders. PharmaCare, a renowned fortune 500 pharmaceutical company listed on the NASDAQ is one of the companies that have all these initiatives in place. It is considered one of the most ethical and social responsible companies in the world due to many initiatives it takes to commit to its responsibility to protect the environment and enhance the quality of life for millions around the world. In recent years, many companies have managed to become a benefit corporation (B-corporation). This legal form of corporation is to provide legal protection to management that want to both maximize shareholder income and pursue a social or environmental agenda (Andre, 2012). This paradigm shift is due to consumer’s awareness, global warming and globalization in the business world. All global companies have developed ethical, environmental and sustainability policies for their employees, suppliers, contractors and other stakeholders to follow. Key characteristics of Stakeholders within the PharmaCARE scenario PharmaCare has a legal obligation to all of these stakeholders. The Company needs the employees to carry out its day-to-day operation in so doing; they may offer many incentives to keep the best employees. The suppliers are one of the main factors to this chain because they have to provide the machinery or raw material because employees can produce a product. The shareholders, investors and creditors are the parties providing funding for PharmaCare to operate. Human rights issues of the Colberia’s population versus that of its Executives Several firms have faced legal suits due to the manner in which they have treated the public, workers, consumers, and the environment during their business activities. For instance, the competition bureau of Canada found Azko Nobel Chemicals BV guilty and they were charged in the federal court of Canada on August 18, 2003. The company had taken part in a conspiracy to fix market prices for a crucial food additive that was an essential ingredient for an important animal feed and a chemical use that was in several commercial and consumer products. The company was fined $2.9 million by the court (American Bar Association, 2002). Many consumers as well as social interest groups believe that firms should not only aim at maximizing their profits but they also put into focus the social implications of their business activities. Social responsibility has been defined as acting with concern and sensitivity and the awareness of the  impact of your actions on others, particularly the disadvantaged (Entrepreneur, 2014). Some of the very basic ethical and social responsibility issues have been put within the contact of laws and regulations that will encourage business organizations to be in conformity to societal standards, values, and attitudes. The minimum expectation for business managers is that they should abide to and uphold these rules and regulations (Griseri & Seppala, 2010). The majority of the legal and ethical issues that arise are as a result of choices that are deemed unethical, irresponsible, or otherwise acceptable by the society. It is however worth noting that not all actions that the society deems unethical may not necessarily be illegal since both legal and ethical issues are dynamic (Hines, 2000). In this case, the manner in which PharmaCARE has treated Colberia’s indigenous population falls within the definition of unethical practices as well as unacceptable corporate behavior. To start with the company has unfair compensation policies that pay huge salaries to executives and exploit the rank-to-file workers. These workers receive poor salaries and are exposed to harsh and unsafe working conditions. In addition, the company subjects the workers to unsafe working conditions. Recommend at least three (3) changes PharmaCARE can make to be more ethical going forward. Make stronger the connection among the rank-and-file personnel and management. This will allow the corporation to come up with good tactical plan which will boost the company in realizing its missions and goals. Contribute in various corporate social activities. This is though hiring Colberians and compensating them well. They should also work hard to improve Colberians’ standards of living. Follow the laid US laws to the letter, for instance, environmental laws as well as intellectual property la Assessing PharmaCARE’s environmental initiative against the backdrop of its anti-environmental lobbying efforts and Colberian activities. PharmaCARE exposes its workers to unhealthy working conditions. Many of the employees have been falling sick as a result of inhaling toxic substances arising from the company’s laboratories. Even with full knowledge of the situation, the management has refused to take any remedial action and the workers continue to suffer. Further, the company has been accused of supplying an unsafe drug  to the market that has been associated with many cardiac deaths. As a result of these happenings, the company’s purported environmental stewardship initiative will be rendered ineffective especially in the wake of the lobbying efforts against the company†™s operations in Colberia. The company has engaged in acts that may be considered unethical and socially unacceptable. PharmaCARE therefore lacks the moral authority to spearhead environmental matters since its reputation in the public has been seriously damaged. In addition, the company’s alleged mistreatment of its workers subjects it to sabotage of its environmental efforts especially when the workers’ health continue to deteriorate because of the company’s negligence. Would PharmaCARE’s actions be ethical with respect to the indigenous people of Colberia in accordance with the following ethical theories. Utilitarianism- PharmaCare’s uses Colberian intellectual property because it does maximize resources, but does not promote happiness. People in Colberian work so hard but still live in harsh conditions. They have no pleasure and endure pain, which is a clear depiction of unhappiness. In addition, the workers who are members of the Colberian population suffer due to poor working conditions. PharmaCare’s actions were unethical. Deontology – the compa ny has an â€Å"obligation† to be morally responsible as well as provide healthy working conditions to the employees. The company had been informed of the dangers surrounding the drug production but failed to act accordingly to assist in reducing the risk. PharmaCare’s actions were unethical. Virtue ethics- Virtue ethics is person, rather than action based: it looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the consequences of particular actions (BBC, 2009). Though PharmaCare was justified by intellectual property right to go ahead and carry out its duties, the activities were wrong and unethical since the character of company officials was negative. PharmaCare’s actions were unethical. Ethics of care- by analyzing the company’s actions based on ethics of care, the company’s activities emerge as unethical. As an ethic grounded in voice and relationships, in the importance of everyone having a voice, being listened to carefully and heard with respect. An ethics of care directs our attention to the need for responsiveness in relationships and to the costs of losing connection with oneself or with others (Gilligan, 2011). Since the Colberian people’s response was negative by their complaining,  the entire company’s project was unethical. Your own moral / ethical compass- from a personal point of view, PhamaCare activities were unethical because it had the responsibility of carrying out thorough research before administering any drugs, providing decent working conditions to its employees and educating patients about the negative effects of the drug. Therefore, the fact that the company neglected its duties and received negative responses to activities carried out shows that it was unethical. PharmaCARE’s actions with those of at least one (1) real-world company, whose corporate  activities led to ethical, environmental, or workplace safety issues and financial loss. There are many examples of corporations that have been call out by the public on questions of ethics, environmental responsibility, workplace safety an d financial loss. There are six areas in particular where ethical issues arise in the organizations: compensation; conflicts of interest; publications and solicitation; financial integrity; investment policies; and accountability and strategic management (Rhode & Packet, 2009). Some examples of outrageous unethical behavior by corporation the compare to PharmaCare’s actions: References Andre, R. (2012). Assessing the accountability of the benefit corporation: Will this new gray sector organization enhance corporate social responsibility?. Journal of Business Ethics , 110(1), 13-150. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-012- 1254-1 Arenson, K. (1995, June 23). ex-united way leader gets 7 years for embezzlement. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/23/us/ex-united-way-leader- gets-7-years-for-embezzlement.html BBC. (2009). Ethics guide. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/virtue.shtml Entrepreneur, A. (2014, August). Social responsibility. Entrpreneur, 8(19), Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/social-responsibility Fitzgerald, J. (2009, January 28). Treasury gets tough: Eyes financial bailout abuse. Boston Herald. Retrieved from http://bostonherald.com/ Gilligan, C. (2011, June 11). ethics of care. Retrieved from http://ethicsofcare.org/interviews/carol-gilligan//virtue.shtml Griseri, P., & Seppala, N. (2010). Business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Hines, C. (2001, ). Localisation: a global manifesto. Retrieved from http://www.trabal.org/courses/pdf/localization.pdf Panjabikesan, R. (2010). Stakeholders – characteristics and types. Retrieved from http://toostep.com/insight/stakeholders—characteristics-and-types Rhode, D. & Packet, A. (2009, June). Ethics and nonprofits. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 11, Retrieved from http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ethics_and_nonprofits Sims, R., & Brinkmann, J. (2003). Enron ethics (or culture matters more than codes). Journal of Business Ethics, 45(3), 243,252. Retrieved from http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ethics_and_nonprofits

Two Theories of Literacy Development

In this task I am going to identify 2 different theories of language development I am going to be doing, Naom Chomsky and Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget According to Piaget, language development is related to cognitive development, that is, the development of the child’s thinking determines when the child can learn to speak and what the child can say. For example, before a child can say, â€Å"This teddy is smaller than that one†, she/he must have developed the ability to judge differences in size.In Piaget’s view, children learn to talk ‘naturally’ when they are ‘ready’ without any deliberate teaching by adults he thinks children pick up language by repeated behavior. From doing his research into children’s language and how they think, Piaget put his theory on the idea that children do not think like adults he thought that they learnt through schemas which is repeatable behaviour which you see in children as they play and then Piaget t hought that through their play and interactions with their surroundings children build up their own understanding of the world.And Piaget thinks language development comes from logical thinking and reasoning skills. Schemas Schemas are patterns of repeatable behaviour which you might see children do everyday through play and on placements I have seen children do things on placements. Schema: Transporting I have seen most children when I’ve been at placement doing this e. g. when they carry blocks from one place to another either in a bag or trolley or when they take sane from the sand tray to the sensory area this is transporting. Rotation this is when children are fascinated by things spinning e. . the washing machine or anything with wheels they like rolling things down a hill and children enjoy spinning around or being swung around. An example of how children could learn language though schemas could be, if a chid is rolling or pushing a toy car along the floor. And it goe s under the sofa they will say something like ‘oh or its gone’ only as they do it more and more and they have influence through the environment they will become more advance in there language and later on the child will be ale to identify that its gone under the sofa.Piaget thinks children pass through 4 distinct stages: sensory motor, pre-operational; concrete operational; formal operational. Sensory-Motor Period According to Piaget’s theory he thinks children are born with basic ‘action schemas’ such as sucking and grasping. The sensory-motor period starts from birth to 2 years. This is when the children are doing their basic action schemas to take in information about the world. Piaget describes two functions of children's language: the â€Å"egocentric† and the â€Å"socialized. During the sensory-motor period, children's language is â€Å"egocentric†: they talk either for themselves or â€Å"for the pleasure of associating anyone who happens to be there with the activity of the moment. † This stage involves the use of motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge is limited in this stage, because it is based on physical interactions and experiences. Infants cannot predict reaction, and therefore must constantly experiment and learn through trial and error. Such exploration might include shaking a rattle or putting objects in the mouth. As they become more mobile, infants' ability to develop cognitively increases.Early language development begins during this stage. Children show that they know objects are still the when they can’t see them at 7-9 months, demonstrating that memory is developing. Infants realize that an object exists after it can no longer be seen. The pre-operational stage usually occurs between toddlerhood (18-24months) and early childhood (7 years). During this stage children begin to use language; memory and imagination also develop. In the pre-operational stage, childr en engage in make believe and can understand and express relationships between the past and the future.More complex concepts, such as cause and effect relationships, have not been learned. Intelligence is egocentric and spontaneous, not logical. The Concrete Operations Stage, this stage was believed to have affected children aged between seven and eleven to twelve years old. During this stage, the thought process becomes more rational, mature and ‘adult like', or more ‘operational', although this process most often continues well into the teenage years. Piaget claims that before the beginning of this stage, children's ideas about different objects, are ormed and dominated by the appearance of the object. For example, there appears to be more blocks when they are spread out, than when they are in a small pile. During the Concrete Operational Stage, children gradually develop the ability to ‘conserve', or learn that objects are not always the way that they appear to be. This occurs when children are able to take in many different aspects of an object, simply through looking at it. Children are able to begin to imagine different scenarios, or ‘what if' something was to happen. This is because they now have more ‘operational' thought.Children are generally first able to conserve ideas about objects with which they are most comfortable. Once children have learnt to conserve, they learn about ‘reversibility'. This means that they learn that if things are changed, they will still be the same as they used to be. For example, they learn that if they spread out the pile of blocks, there are still as many there as before, even though it looks different! Formal Operations Stage (11yrs-16yrs) Finally, in the formal operational stage of adolescence, When faced with a complex problem, the adolescent things about all possible solutions before trying them out in the real world.So when the child has passed through these stages Piaget thinks t hey are ready for the world and they will be able to sort things out throughout their life. Noam Chomsky Chomsky believes that children are born with an inherited ability to learn any human language. He claims that certain language structures which children use so accurately must be already engraved on the child’s mind. Chomsky believes that every child has a ‘language acquisition device’ or LAD which stores children’s language and structures for them to use and expand using their growing vocabulary.Chomsky points out that a child could not possibly learn a language through imitation alone because the language spoken around them is highly irregular – adult’s speech is often broken up and even sometimes ungrammatical. Chomsky’s theory applies to all languages as they all contain nouns, verbs, consonants and vowels and children appear to be ‘hard-wired’ to acquire the grammar. Every language is extremely complex, often with subtle distinctions which even native speakers are unaware of.However, all children, regardless of their intellectual ability, become fluent in their native language within five or six years. Chomsky thinks children learn language quickly and easily, and he thinks language is natural. All babies babble the same sounds, deaf babble. I’ve notice children at my placement make grammar mistakes and example would be, a child fell over in the playground and they said ‘I fellded down’ instead of saying ‘I feel down’ so Chomsky thinks children learn this themselves and we influence it as they get older because they listen to what we say and then we would say ‘oh have a fell down’.So by use saying it the correct way were hoping that the child them remembers this. Evaluation: Both Piaget and Chomsky believe that language is just something that children are born with and that it’s not through nurturing them but they believe that nurturing wil l help bring on their language and support it. Piaget thinks language development is related to cognitive development, that is, the development of the child’s thinking controls when the child can learn to speak and what the child can say.For example, before a child can say, â€Å"This teddy is smaller than that one†, she/he must have developed the ability to judge differences in size. Whereas Chomsky just thinks children will pick up the language but he believe it’s get influenced but people around but he think vocabulary has to be learned and that grammar is influenced by interaction. Chomsky he thinks children are born with all that is needed to produce language, but Piaget thinks parents and carers reinforce and therefore shape children’s language.

Kappe House and Stahl House Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Kappe House and Stahl House - Research Paper Example There is a lot of similarities between these houses, ranging from the environment in which they are built to the materials and designs used to construct them. The application of sophisticated designs, which places the two as floating on space, coupled with their suitable integration with the natural environment, makes these Kappe and Stahl houses the icons they are today. However, there are still a lot of differences that can be indentified between these houses. For example, while the Kappe house is mostly constructed from glass and wood, the Stahl house has glass and steel as its major construction materials. Kappe house was constructed between 1965 and 1967, by architect Raymond Kappe on a hillside with many trees, as his own residence (Raymond, 17). Considering that the land on which the house is constructed is a steep hill, then, designing a structure that would well be accommodated by such land topography was a challenging task. The house was constructed using glass and wood, bu t there had to be established firm support for the house, due to the steepness of its location. This being the case, Kappe build six concrete towers to support the house and ensure it would withstand all forces while remaining more stable (Kevin, 4). The size of the house is 370 square meters, raised on decks to avoid the effects of underground springs, such as busting of such springs and carrying away the floor or bringing the whole house down altogether. The unique thing about this construction is the use of natural materials. The house is mainly constructed out of wood, which is cut in form of beams, to enhance its strength and ensure that the wood can support the weight of the house, which is constructed floating on the space. Steel is yet another material used in the construction of this house, since as a natural metal, it is very strong, and thus can withstand the tension caused by the weight of the floating house. Additionally, the choice for steel as the metal to use in the house construction was informed by its ability to withstand rusting. The house has a sophisticated geometric form, which consists of vertical and horizontal structures, constructed in tires and then joined to other outer structures and an extended roof, all of which floats on space, supported by the concrete and steel structures (McCoy, 7). This geographic form effectively combines the traditional architectural designs with aspects of modernism, giving the structure an aesthetic touch that remains an attraction to present day (Dylan, A2). Due to its attractiveness, the house has attracted many advertisements, using the house as the backdrop. The most significant of this house is its design, which blends well the human construction with the natural environment, thus effectively fit well as an icon of integrated natural environment and built environment. There are two key challenges that were presented by the nature of the environment in which the house is constructed. The land on whi ch the house is constructed is sloppy. As a result, a strong support system was required to support the house on such a land topography, which necessitated Kappe to design and use six concrete towe

Is the world more or less stable after the end the cold war Essay - 1

Is the world more or less stable after the end the cold war - Essay Example Particularly, both Russia and United States broke underlying war tensions that they suffered for over four decades. Shortly after World War II, the Cold War became inevitable as both Eastern and Western blocs expressed their bid to become superpowers. Massive investments in this respect crippled social, economic, and political developments around the world. As a result, rival countries focused on their enemies at the expense of the local population. After the Cold War, concerns and interests for local populations heightened. An economically crippled Russia had to strategize on social and economic growth as financial crisis loomed in the country. On the other hand, United States and her NATO allies mobilized resources for both domestic and international progress. These domestic interests and subsequent bids for global economic and political transformation changed international relations in diverse and dynamic ways. An end to the Cold War came with the dissolution of the Soviet Union (Hogan, 1992). This marked the start of a long process of diplomatic relationships among global countries. For the United States, it was time to influence global political developments as the only standing superpower. To do this, United States installed military alliances and posted troops in different countries around the world. In so doing, United States pushed for a more stable world in the post-Cold War era. The presence of U.S military in foreign states carried no war-like threats or intimidation. Rather, foreign nations welcomed the move because it favoured global peace and coherence. Critical to note, however, is that such a move was not expected to be plausible to every state that hosted U.S military personnel. The successful installation of military alliances and posting of military personnel in foreign countries was not without challenges. Amid critical underlying challenges, the presence of U.S troops around the

The Italians in Italy and the United States Research Paper

The Italians in Italy and the United States - Research Paper Example Many Italian immigrants and Italian Americans made contributions in various fields such as science, entertainment and the military. While the number of people immigrating to the United States from Italy has decreased in recent years immigrants that come are inspired by the opportunities offered. The population of Italy is expected to decrease dramatically due to the declining birth rate. This combined with the unstable economy of Italy may contribute to a loss of its identity. Many Italian American organizations fear that future generations will not know about the positive aspects of their heritage due to the negative stereotypes of Italians perpetuated by the media. The Italians in Italy and the United States The Italians in Italy and in the United States brought a rich heritage to both nations. In Italy and in America Italians made contributions in various aspects of society throughout history. However factors such as a slow population growth in Italy, a decrease in immigration fro m Italy to the United States, an unstable economy and negative stereotypes of this ethnic group threaten that heritage. Italians in Italy and in America are threatened with the loss of their identity and uniqueness. Italians are no longer the predominant immigrant group in the United States. The future of Italy is imperiled by its stagnant growth. The paper will discuss current and past immigration trends of Italians, contributions made by Italians in Italy and the U.S, the current state of Italy as well as negative stereotypes of Italians. In the 1880’s massive economic decline and an overpopulated nation resulted in a dramatic increase in Italian immigration to the United States. ... Some early Italian migrants were young men who wanted to work for brief periods and then return to Italy. Others would settle in America in predominantly Italian areas. The men mostly did physical labor which included building the communication infrastructure. â€Å"The Italian contribution to the refining of America also derives from the immigrant labor used to build reservoirs, streetcar lines, subways, railroads and buildings to pave streets and to install and repair sewage lines.† (Scarpaci & Mormino p.12) Italian immigrants brought with them an agrarian, family oriented culture that placed emphasis on hard work as a means to succeed and survive. They felt that during troubled times, they can always trust in family. Throughout most of the 20th century there was a gradually increasing influx of immigrants from Italy who would settle in America. During the 1920s most Americans were leading prosperous lives and many Italian American colonies received infusions of capital deri ved as a result of breaking Prohibition laws. Most Italian Americans were adversely affected by the Great Depression. As a result they became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Democratic coalition. From World War 2 to the 1950s and 1960s more Italian Americans were middle class due to ample employment opportunities. By the mid-1970s Italian American young people were attending college at the national average. According to Census Bureau data, Italian Americans have an average high school graduation rate, and a higher rate of college and post graduate degrees compared to the national average. (Scarpaci & Mormino, 2008)From 1998 to 2002 many college students throughout the United States took classes to learn Italian. It is the fourth most commonly taught foreign language in U.S.

Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Time - Essay Example There is truth in what other people say that there seems to be a lump inside one’s chest which is heavy and burdensome and one slowly awaits for this heavy load to be lifted. If this moment would be expressed visually in artwork, one could foresee an interplay of artistic elements that would effectively capture one’s situation to include effective use of colors, shadows, hues, as well as creative style that utilizes applications of space and distance. For instance, since the environment or background is oblivious to the subject, there would be predominance in hues of grey or dark and matte colors. At the focal point would be the subject being interpreted in a challenging and trying scenario, seen visually in contoured image or through clear facial expression of exemplifying worry, anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear. At the same token, the visual design could include an element of hope in a far distant corner, which therefore needs effective use of distance and space, through shading and including a bright yellow or gold color to depict seeing resolution to the problem somewhere in the near

Career and Technical Education Challenges in the 21st Century Research Paper

Career and Technical Education Challenges in the 21st Century - Research Paper Example The career of a person is interdependent upon the field and area of the technical education he or she opts to select and get higher education. High schools play an essential and vital role for the career guidance of the students. In addition, they have developed into central body of interest and awareness for the improvement and development of the learning of the students (Sunal &Â  Mutua, pp. 1-9). The potential expectations of providing of career and technical education at the advanced level in the schools have come under many grave arguments and discussions on regional, and country levels. However, several countries and government are becoming conscious and aware about the tasks and job that a high school performs in the development of the career and technical education for a student, therefore, the program of study are coming under reformation as a part of the curriculum. The focus and emphasis by the high schools are on to the broad range of professional occupations that are in high-demand in the industry and that are high-earning careers. In addition, many of the advanced level schools are provide the students with the opportunity of exposure to these wide ranged professions existing in the world of commerce (Kazis &Â  Jobs for the Future, Inc & Aspen Institute, pp. 10-15). It can come under adequate conclusion that the tendency and ability of attainment, accomplishments and achievements augments for those students who receive career and technical education and learning in their schools of advanced level. In addition, as they pass out with better grades in contrast to the students who do not get the opportunities to have such teaching (Kazis &Â  Jobs for the Future, Inc & Aspen Institute, 23-30). As discrimination especially with the immigrants and minorities is one of the major factors that come under the experience in the professional world, but with the career and technical training offered and obtainable to them will lead to

Managing change - case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing change - case study analysis - Essay Example This essay stresses that according to Lewin's model, the restraining force is the management hierarchy which delays the decision-making process. The management thought that the situation will change as there will be â€Å"ups and down† in every industry.But the price decline continued for a long period. Sensing the deterioration of the company profitability and assets the management has opened for the thought of revamping the administrative structure to suit the current requirements and decrease the decision making process time. The driving force was the change in the management thought that the decision making authority should vest with few to enhance the decision-making rate. As the change was forced the CEO with a team of seven others formed an apex committee to speed up the decision-making process. The management team has focused on the identified need to deal with a possible long-term decline in commodity prices, set the achievable goal of simplifying the management struc ture to foster accountability and communication. In conclusion, communication is the key to implement the ideologies of the management. There should be a smooth and distinctive flow of information right from the managers to the ground staff down the line who form the core of the employee group. The discrepancy in the information will elevate the decisions in the other way and could change the trajectory of the desired results. The right form of information will guide the person to the desired output.

APT- Arbitrage Pricing Theory and CAPM-Capital Asset Pricing Model Research Paper - 1

APT- Arbitrage Pricing Theory and CAPM-Capital Asset Pricing Model - Research Paper Example Therefore, if beta equals 1 this stock is equally risky with the market if it is 2 the same stock is twice risky in comparison to the market. While on the other hand, APT utilizes individual factors in place of beta. Also APT does not apply the market return rate and thus considered to be more particular to a given stock in focus. CAPM’s data is objective while APT applies data from a single stock. Thus, CAPM is recommendable to an investor who is relatively dormant as compared to APT, which if correctly applied is better placed to assess projects. (Grover, 2010) Some authors have applied APT and compared the resultant estimates with those of CAPM. Patterson notes one of the cases where such has been done is the electric utility’s, written by Ross and Roll in their 1983 book. According to Patterson the end results of APT were credible in comparison to those of CAPM. But, this was without enough justification for the results. (Patterson, 1995 p151) Besides the first two, there are methods of assessment like the Dividend Growth Model and Modern Portfolio Theory. The Dividend Growth Model shows the value of ordinary shares in a present value of the prospected future flows of cash which has been invested by an investor. The receivable cash inflows are taken as dividends as well as the expected price in future while the stock will be disposed of. An ordinary share usually does not possess the maturity and thus, it is held for numerous years. Therefore, a general ordinary shares’ valuation introduced by Gordon would be as below; Just to mention, the other model investment assessment is known as MPT- Modern Portfolio Theory. This is a theory applied by investors who are risk averse and at the same time, they want to achieve maximum or optimum level of expected return which is based on the market risk level. It emphasizes that risk is inherent in the process of getting the rewards associated with it.  Ã‚  

Social iSolation Prompted by Technology & Social Media Research Paper

Social iSolation Prompted by Technology & Social Media - Research Paper Example Today people hardly find time to speak to their neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Instead, they make relations with unknown people around the world through social media. Evidently this situation leads to social isolation, a potential issue affecting the social development process. According to Cacioppo and Hawkley, â€Å"social isolation is defined as the absence of contact with other people and lack of integration to society and includes the perceived feeling of being isolated from others† (as cited in Uribe, 2007, p. 3). Studies indicate that social isolation can cause depression and other long term psychological impacts on the victims. This paper will explore to what extent the obsessive use of technology and social media promote social isolation. It is assumed that the current trend in the use of social media and technology would drastically affect the social lives of individuals, and hence this issue should not be taken lightly. The primary audience of this paper will be anyone who uses social media and similar technologies to connect with family and friends. The secondary audience includes my professor and fellow classmates. Evidently social media and technology are increasingly used by children and young adults as compared to others, and hence they are highly exposed to its negative impacts. As reported by Lenhart, Purcell, Smith and Zickuhr (2010), nearly 72% online young adults extensively used social networking websites on a daily basis as of 2013. The major social media websites used by youngsters include Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. Today teens and young adults consider social media as a vital part of their life, but they do not recognize the detrimental effects of such social websites on their social skills and personal interactivity. Generally formation of basic social skills including

The role of music and other sound Essay Example for Free

The role of music and other sound Essay Often when in convocation with another person a generally meaningless comment can have a profound ability to offend someone more than a deliberately vulgar outburst; this is due to the tone in which the person delivers his remake. Tone as described in the Oxford Dictionary is the sound of a persons voice, expressing a feeling or mood, and is an essential tool in the way people communicate with each other to express there feelings and experiences. In author Tennessee Williams A Street Car Named desire a play about two sisters from the south living out there separate lives, meet again in New Orleans during a pivotal moment in each of there journeys; tone is a vital tool in expressing there emotional trials and tribulations within the book. As while reading the book it is not possible to hear the tones in which the characters use to express themselves, it is done through the stage directions. Thought the stage directions do not only evoke the tones of the play, they also foreshadow events ahead through describing symbolic happenings such as music and sound effects. Tennessee Williams use of stage directions is one of the many keys to the great success of this play; even the first paragraph is a tribute to that. The first paragraph describes a peaceful image, Two women, one white the other coloured talking, which for its time would have seen as being taboo in most areas of the country. The passage continues to describe a peaceful setting where summer seems to be creeping slowly and how people of different colours mingle amongst each other. This sense of tranquility is suddenly halted by the playing of a blue Piano simultaneously as the men come back for there bowling match. This indicates that the blue piano is a foreshadow to trouble in the future and when ever it plays it symbolizes a problematic situation arising. This is confirmed further on within the act as when ever the piano is described, a conflict emerges. Whilst Stella and Blanche are reacquainting they start to talk about what happened to there old home the Belle Reve, when the blue piano starts playing again. In this situation the piano indicate the emotional climax of this scene, when Blanche vividly describes what trials and tribulations she has suffered whilst her sister has been away, and how badly she has come off from them. The tone of the speech is very much linked to the colour of the piano, intending the speech to portray a time of sorrow of Blanches life. The last and probably the most symbolic aspect the image of the blue piano withholds is the forthcoming of Stella and Stanleys new baby. The arrival of the baby mentioned in unison with the play of the blue piano foreshadows that the birth or even just the babies being with strike up conflict within the characters in the book and may lead to a rift in there relationships. Another musical effect portraying tone is the song of the Polka. The song features at the end scene one during a conversation where Blanche and Stanly were flirting. The polka song is meant to symbolize the death of Blanches husband; ambiguously the line The music of the polka rises up, faint in the distance refers to her husband in a literal sense, as to Blanche, her husbands memory is faint in the distance, from a time long past, but still it faintly lives on within her. The reminder of her husband through song is a reaction of the guilt she feels, guilt for flirting with another man, i. e. her sisters husband Stanly. This guilt uncovers her underlying feelings still for her husband and how she is still trying to grasp hold to her life that she had before her life went into turmoil. The song also foreshadows the starting of a relationship with Stanly will only lead to a negative end for Blanche and potentially suffering a similar downfall as when her husband died. The final effect of sound used to disclose tone is laughter. Regularly in plays laughter would be used by the author to denote a light hearted or humors moment within the performance; however the appearance of laughter in A Streetcar Named Desire marks a moment or presence of tension between characters. Not the first occurrence of laughter used to break tension but probably the most prominent is when Stanley first offers Blanche a drink and uses a sexual metaphor to refer to her drinking. This not only reveals Stanleys nature as a womanizer but exposes sexual tension between Blanche and her brother in law. The laugh therefore predicts a sexual entwinement between the two characters later on in the book ensuring conflicts to follow. The second important period where a laugh emoting tension occurs is during convocation between Stanly and Stella when they are arguing over whether Blanche is telling the truth about Belle Reve. This is a pivotal moment within the opening scenes for it reveals three things. Firstly that Stella is uncomfortable with her husbands over eagerness to pursue issues that do not relate to him. This makes her insecure for it means she is unable to with hold her own secrets, for if Stanly new she held them he would interrogate her until she told him or worse. The is related to the first, in that Stella feels she has no control over her life for she is forced to do what Stanly wants, which is portrayed in that he does not listen to what Stella want and interrogates Blanche; which against Stella wishes. Thirdly Stella feels Stanly is far to curious of Blanche and feels slightly threatened by her sister as she feels Blanche may steal Stanley away from her. A Streetcar Named Desire is a play driven upon an emotional rollercoaster colliding with opposing personalities ensuring for furious confrontations. Tennessee Williams use of stage directions to provoke the tone of the characters allows for vivid imagery and powerfully tense moments.

EU Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance

EU Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance Regional Development INTRODUCTION Cohesion Policy of the European Union aims to reduce economic and social differences between the Member States of the Union by supporting and encouraging regional development. The Treaty of Rome and the Single European Act promote decreasing differences in the regional development while regional policy provides investments for necessary restructuring in the less developed regions and support for infrastructure development, increase of employment, and stimulation of industry. To finance projects that contribute to the regional development cohesion and structural funds are used, which account for a third of the common budget of the European Union (Chalmers Dellmuth, 2014). The key objectives of regional development are regional competitiveness and employment, and european territorial cooperation (European Commission). The effort are focused on facilitating increased growth and convergence of the least developed member states and regions with the goal of increasing the regional competitiveness and thus improving cooperation with other European regions. In order to promote regional development, the European Union has secured additional financial assistance for member states through various funds. Cohesion Fund is intended for countries which need to meet the convergence criteria. The European Regional Development Fund, as one of the main financial instruments of the EUs cohesion policy, and European Social Fund, Europes main tool for promoting employment and social inclusion, are called structural funds and are aimed at strengthening economic and social cohesion in the European Union and at the reduction of differences in development between the regions. Kyriacou and Rocca-Sagales (2011) found that the Structural Funds reduced regional disparities in the period from 1995 to 2006. Beugelsdijk and Eijffinger (2005) and Ederveen (2006) also confirmed positive impact of structural funds on consumption and growth of GDP per capita, but only in countries with developed institutions. Effect of the use of structural funds to decrease regional differences is potentially reversed if transfers are above a certain limit (about 1.6% of gross domestic product). This has implications on the desirable allocation of resources in future, especially since, in the last programming period (2007-20113), transmissions to all new member states except Cyprus and Malta exceeded the given threshold. Popa (2012) points out that although there are examples of good practice of the use of EU funds, they often represent more a financial burden then they truly serve as a mean of reducing regional disparities, which is their goal. Reforms of funding in the new programming period 2014-2020 have the potential to improve the efficiency of the use of the funds, but significant effects of their use cannot be expected in the absence of structural reforms, given the constraints in monitoring the use of funds in different countries and the difficulties in establishing irregularities and potential illegal use of funds (Chalmers Dellmuth, 2014). Most authors agree that after 20 years of implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy its effectiveness remains questionable (Bachtler et al., 2015). In fact, in theory, the allocation of EU funds needs to be designed so to ensure that the poorer regions receive more funds. In practice, the allocation and the distribution of funds was under the influence of lobbying, the unwillingness of regional authorities to absorb funds, as well as of the lack of resources and incentives for the European Union to question the political motives for the selection of projects at the local level (Dellmuth Stoffel, 2012). 1. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING European Regional Policy was adopted by the European Commission in 1965, followed by the creation of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy in 1968. In 1972, Regional Policy was recognized as an essential factor in strengthening the Community (European Commission).Regional policy has focused from its very start on promoting balanced regional development. The resources from the cohesion and structural funds are to be used primarily to minimize the differences in development between regions of the European Union as well as differences in the standard of living of citizens of these regions. Among the main objectives of the regional policy in the programming period from 2000 to 2006 were the development and structural adjustment of those regions whose GDP per capita was lower than 75% of the EU average, the economic and social conversion of areas facing structural difficulties and adjustment and modernization of the national policies and educational systems, as well as training and employment. For the financing of the regional development policy the European Commission established the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), whose objective is the elimination of regional disparities and promotion of a stable and sustainable development, the European Social Fund (ESF), aimed at developing human resources and employment, financial instrument for Fisheries guidance (Financial instrument for Fisheries guidance FIFG), whose goal is a balanced water resources management and development of the competitive infrastructure, and European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), whose goal is to support the Common agricultural policy and the improvement of agricultural structures and rural development. From 2007 to 2013, the number of funds was reduced to three (ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund), and the emphasis was placed on the less developed regions, to achieve greater growth and higher employment rate. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union. European Social Fund (ESF) aims to increase employment and increase opportunities for finding a job in the European Union. The Cohesion Fund is intended for Member States whose gross national product per capita is less than 90% of the Unions and aims to support economic and social development, and helps to bring stability to the economic system of the less developed countries. Given that the three main objectives of EU regional policy are convergence, regional competitiveness and employment and European territorial cooperation, Cohesion Fund primarily supports convergence and, although it is the subject to the same rules of programming, management and monitoring as well as the structural funds and plays a similar role, the Fund has been primarily used to provide means for adjusting the national economies of the countries which had decided to introduce a common currency, and to relieve national budgets of the poorer member states. Investments in the areas of transport, environmental protection, achieving energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources are usually financed from the Cohesion Fund. For example, through the four national programs for Croatia, 10.74 billion Euro from the European structural and investment funds has been allocated in the period from 2014 to 2020. Croatia has a total budget of 12.67 billion Euro for investments into research and innovation, employment, education and training of employees, as well as for social inclusion projects, project in the public administration and civil society, as well as infrastructure projects and projects related to the protection of the environment Protection (http: / /ec.europa.eu, 2016). The management of the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund is based on the principles of programming, concentration, co-financing and partnership. Programming is the process of allocation of structural funds in accordance with the defined objectives and criteria over a certain period of time. Concentration involves directing funds to where they are most needed. Co-financing means that part of the investment has to be obtained from domestic sources, while partnership implies close cooperation between Member States and the European Commission. Since the implementation of the Cohesion policy requires developed institutional framework, each state chooses one of three approaches for the implementation of the Cohesion policy differential approach, which is characterized by the separating the structures for the implementation of cohesion policy from the regular government bodies (for example, The Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom), the unique approach, whereby the funds are directed through the national, or regional ministries and agencies (for example Austria, Spain, parts of Germany and most new Member States) and the combined approach, which represents a combination of the previous two approaches (for example Finland, France and Italy). The choice depends on the existing administrative arrangements and levels of funding. 2. INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance ( IPA) is the program for the countries which are in the process of accession to the Union. Pre-accession funds are intended to facilitate the economic and social transformation, which are included in the conditions for the admission to the Union. From 2000 to 2006, countries in the process of accession to the EU had access to financial instruments called PHARE (Pologne et Hongrie Aide à ¡ Restructuration Economique), ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for pre-Accession), SAPARD (Special pre-accession assistance for Agriculture and Rural Development), and CARDS (Community assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation). From 2007 to 2013 total IPA budget amounted to 11.468 billion Euro (narr.gov.rs). Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance consists of five components (narr.gov.rs): Transition Assistance and Institution Building. The first component of the IPA aims to provide support in the process of accession to the European Union, especially in meeting the criteria and standards imposed by the accession, transposition of the legislation and, in particular, the strengthening of the institutional capacity. Cross-border cooperation. The objective of this component is to promote good neighborly relations and regional cooperation between traditionally less developed regions in the countries which engage in the joint cross border projects; Regional Development. The third IPA component aims to improve economic and social cohesion through the development of the transport infrastructure, particularly the development of national transport networks and trans-European networks, protection of the environment including policies such as waste management, management of water supply and waste water, as well as the monitoring of air quality, the rehabilitation of polluted areas, achievement of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and the development of regional competitiveness by fostering entrepreneurship and employment. The development of human resources. This component aims to contribute to economic and social cohesion and to achieving the priorities of the European Employment Strategy in the areas of employment, education, training and social inclusion. Rural Development. This component provides support for sustainable agricultural and rural development by improving market efficiency and facilitating the adoption of the EU standards, provides support for the establishment of producer groups and investments in the processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products, as well as the implementation of best practices in the field of environmental protection and improvement in agriculture and development of rural infrastructure. All five components of IPA can be used by the country with the status of candidate country and which has implemented decentralized system of management of EU funds (Decentralized Implementation System DIS), while the potential candidate countries and those candidate countries which have not yet accredited DIS have access to funds from the first and second components of IPA (narr.gov.rs). Management of EU funds under Decentralized Implementation System is approved after meeting criteria and conditions defined by the European Commission. The first component of the Instrument for Pre-accession assistance is related to the transition assistance and the development of institutions, and it decreases as the countrys economy develops and gets closer to the European standards, practices and the membership of the Union. The second component of the IPA is related to Cross-Border Cooperation. Third IPA Component is a predecessor of the Cohesion Fund, while the fourth and fifth IPA components are precursors of the todays structural funds. IPA funds are not used exclusively for the implementation of institutional projects, but are also used for the preparation of the country for the accession through the implementation of prescribed objectives, principles. IPA beneficiary countries are divided into two categories (ec.europa.eu): Candidate countries for EU (Turkey, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) are eligible for all five components of IPA; Potential candidate countries in the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo under UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99) are eligible only for the first two components. Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance IPA II 2014-2020 was established by the European Parliament and the Council Regulation no. 231/2014 of 11 March 2014 and applied retroactively from January 1, 2014. IPA II is the successor of the IPA for the period 2014-2020 and has a budget of 11.7 billion. Users of IPA II are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey (http://ec.europa.eu). IPA II Regulation determines that the European Commission and the beneficiary of IPA II are to conclude general agreements on the implementation of the aid, which defines the rules for the implementation of the Unions financial assistance under the IPA II, primarily in relation to the management of IPA II, including the rules of programming, implementation, financial management, monitoring, control and audit, reporting and protection of financial interests. One of the major changes in the structure of the IPA II, which, instead of the 5 components comprising the IPA I, is the introduction of the policy areas. Policy areas within the IPA II are (PejoviĆ¡ et al., 2014): Reforms as part of preparations for EU membership and institutional and capacity building; Socio-economic and regional development; Employment, social policy, education, promotion of gender equality and human resource development; Agriculture and rural development; Regional and territorial cooperation. The most important innovation in the IPA II is its strategic focus. Each country should prepare a specific strategic planning document for the period of 7 years, which will enable faster integration, reform and development programs, and ensures a focus on the priorities in terms of regional cooperation. IPA II aims to facilitate the reforms in the context of pre-defined sectors. These sectors include areas closely related to the enlargement strategy, as well as democracy and governance, the rule of law, growth and competitiveness. This approach promotes structural reforms that are expected to help the governments to transform the given sectors and to successfully conduct harmonization with EU standards. In this way, the European Commission wishes to ensure the efficiency of the fund, sustainability and their focus on results. IPA II focuses on measuring the effects and monitoring the realization of expected results. IPA II aims at achieve four specific objectives. The overall objective is to support the beneficiary countries in adopting and implementing the political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms that are required from them in order to conform with the values of the European Union and to ensure gradual alignment with the rules, standards, policies and practices for achieving full membership in the EU. The specific objectives of IPA II are (PejoviĆ¡ et al., 2014): Support for political reform: strengthening democracy and the rule of law, including an independent and efficient judiciary; promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the rights of minorities, including LGBT people, promoting gender equality, prohibition of discrimination and fostering tolerance, and freedom of the media and cultural diversity; regional cooperation and good neighborly relations; the promotion of reconciliation and confidence building measures; the fight against corruption and organized crime; strengthening public administration and good governance at all levels; capacity building measures to improve law enforcement, border management and implementation of migration policies; the development of civil society; improving social dialogue and strengthening the capacity of the social partners. Support the economic, social and territorial development with focus on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth: reaching the EU standards in the economy, including a functioning market economy and fiscal and economic governance. Economic reforms are necessary in order to face competitive pressure and market forces within the EU, and which at the same time contribute to the achievement of objectives in the field of social rights and environmental protection; promotion of employment, mobility of workers and the development of human capital; improving social and economic inclusion, in particular of minorities and vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, refugees and displaced persons; fostering an inclusive and integrated education system and the protection and restoration of cultural heritage; development of physical capital, including infrastructure improvements and connecting with the networks of the EU and the region; strengthening research, technological development a nd innovation capacity. Strengthening the capacity of recipient countries at all levels to fulfill the obligations arising from the membership in the EU by supporting progressive alignment with the EU acquis and their adoption and implementation, including preparation for managing structural and cohesion funds as well as funds intended for agriculture and rural development. Strengthening of regional and territorial cooperation to help beneficiary countries. 3. EFFECTS OF FINANCING During the programming period 2007- 2013, over 80% of the budget of the Cohesion Fund was allocated in the 100 poorest regions, with about 170 million people or one third of the EU population. The remaining 18.5% of the money is distributed to other regions in the Union (http://www.euractiv.com, 2012). According to the European Commission, in the next programming period 2014-2020 less than 70 regions will automatically qualify for the funds that are used to finance the convergence, as they have GDP per capita below 75% of the EU average. Regions in transition those who have a GDP per capita between 75% and 90% of the EU average will get less funds, but still can count on continued support from the Structural Funds (http://www.euractiv.com, 2012 ).   Ã‚   Figure 1: Regions by the development level in the programming periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. Source: Chalmers Dellmuth, 2014 In the 2014-2020 programming period it is expected that 25% of structural funds will be allocated in less developed regions (red in Figure 1), 40% in regions in transition (yellow in Figure 1), and 52% in the developed regions (blue in Figure 1. ). As for the Cohesion Fund, the funds from it will continue to support the development of member countries with GDP per capita of less than 90% of the EU-27 average, but will primarily be allocated to support investments in projects related to environmental protection and the development of transport. Part of the funds from the Cohesion Fund will focus on the financing of transport networks in Europe. Given that the capacity to absorb depends on the institutional factors, both in the EU and in the Member States (Georgescu, 2010; Voinea, et al, 2010), but also on the ability of regional authorities to co-finance projects and provide administrative support (Zaman and Georgescu, 2009), the possible effects of the use of structural funds are difficult to predict. According to the research, structural funds can boost GDP growth in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe from 0.1. to 0.7% per annum (Zaman Georgescu, 2009). Analyses of the effects of the use of the funds in the programming period 2000-2006 show that there has been some reduction in the differences between countries in GDP per capita, while in some regions growth was recorded. Zaman and Georgescu (2009) found that the structural funds boost export growth, and that in some cases, like in Romania, they led to economic growth, despite relatively low absorption capacity. Positive impact was also made in Austria, Belgium and France. However, according to Becker (2012), countries with low levels of education, weak institutions and poor governance did not make equally successful use of the funds. Thus, receiving more support from the Structural Funds does not necessarily mean development. For example, Pisani-Ferry et al (2011) found that inadequate institutional framework in Greece to be a reason for the inability of its government to efficiently use the funds assigned to it. CONCLUSION Theoretically, objectives of the regional policy of the European Union necessitate the existence of the financial support for the less developed regions to achieve the desired growth. However, in practice, during the distribution and the use of the funds many problems were encountered. Access to funds for underdeveloped regions did not lead to the desired growth, primarily because of the inability of the governments to use the allocated funds due to weakness of the institutions and low capacity. In more developed regions, the effects of the funds were much more significant. Changes in the programming period 2014-2020 are expected to solve part of the problems identified in the previous periods. However, declining return on invested funds and high dependence of a large number of the regions from external funding sources continue to threaten the achievement of the basic objectives that these funds are meant to support. Although raw data show that the Structural Funds have not always been successful in fighting the problems at all levels and in all countries. However, as many people are still unemployed in the EU, and there are full member countries whose GDP is still well below the EU average, the Structural Funds are necessary. The same goes for the Cohesion Fund, as it ensures faster accession of the candidate countries. These funds were designed to reduce the inequalities in the regional developments, and although they might not have been efficient in all cases, they certainly supported the growth in some regions, provide incentives for other regions to improve their capacity to access the funds and accelerate the growth. REFERENCES   Ã‚   Bachtler, J., Begg, I., Charles, D., Polverari, L. (2015) THE LONG TERM ACHIEVEMENTS OF EU COHESION POLICY, 1989-2012. Challanges for he new cohesion policy 2014-2020. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union Becker, S.O.(2012) EU Structural Funds: Do They Generate More Growth? dostupno na: https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/Research/International%20Economics/1212bp_becker.pdf Beugelsdijk, M., Eijffinger, S. (2005), The Effectiveness of Structural Policy in the European Union: an Empirical Analysis for the EU-15 in 1995-2001, Journal of Common Market Studies 43: 37-51. Chalmers, A.W., Dellmuth, L.M. (2014). Whz Europes new cohesion policy is unlikely to enhance effectiveness of EU structural and investments funds. Dostupno na: http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/critcom/why-europes-new-cohesion-policy-is-unlikely-to-enhance-the-effectiveness-of-eu-structural-and-investment-funds/ Dellmuth, L.M., Stoffel, M.F. (2012) Distrinutive Politics and intergovernmental transfers: the local allocation of European Union Structural Funds. European Union Politics, 13 (3): 413-433 ec.europa.eu, dostupno na: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/ipa/ preuzeto 3.3.2016. Ederveen, S., de Groot, H. , Nahuis, R. (2006) Fertile Soil for Structural Funds? A Panel Data Analysis of the Conditional Effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy, Kyklos 59: 17-42. European Commission (2012), EU Cohesion Funding Key Statistics, http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/funding/index_en.cfm European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/archive/policy/object/index_en.htm Georgescu, G. (2010). Determinants of increasing EU funds absorption capacity in Romania, Oeconomica Universitatea 1 Decembrie 1918 Alba Iulia (2010) : 16. http://ec.europa.eu, 2016, dostupno na: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/publications/factsheets/2016/european-structural-and-investment-funds-country-factsheet-croatia http://ec.europa.eu, dostupno na: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/instruments/overview/index_en.htm, preuzeto 3.3.2016. KPMG (2014). PUBLIC SECTOR EU Funds in Central and Eastern Europe Progress Report 2007-2013. dostupno na: https://www.kpmg.com/SI/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/EU-Funds-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe.pdf Kyriacou, P.A., Rocca-Sagales, O. (2011) The Impact of EU Structural Funds on Regional Disparities within Member States. Environmental Planning C Government and Policy April 2012 vol. 30 no. 2.267-281. Liargovas, P., Petropoulos, S., Tzifakis, N., Huliaras, A. (2016) BEYOND ABSORPTION THE IMPACT OF EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS ON GREECE. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Greece narr.gov.rs, dostupno na: http://narr.gov.rs/index.php/O-regionalnom-razvoju/EU-politika-regionalnog-razvoja/Instrument-za-predpristupnu-pomoc-IPA, preuzeto 3.3.2016. PejoviĆ¡, A., LazoviĆ¡, M., MiriĆ¡, O., KneÃ…Â ¾eviĆ¡, I. (2014) VodiĆ¡ kroz IPA, Beograd. Pisani-Ferry, J., Marzinotto, B. , Wolff, G. B. (2011), How European Funds can Help Greece Grow, Financial Times, 28 July. Popa, A. (2012). The Impact of the Structural Funds in the Transformation Process of the New EU Member States, LEurope en Formation 2012/2 (n ° 364), p. 161-179. Voinea, L.A., Busuioc, A., Popovici, V. (2010). Reindustrializarea Romaniei: politici si strategii.Asociatia pentru Studii si Prognoze Economico-Sociale, 113. Zaman, G. and Cristea, A., (2011) EU Structural Funds Absorption in Romania: Obstacles and Issues, 2011, Romanian Journal of Economy, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 60-77. Zaman, G., Georgescu,G. (2009) Structural fund adsorption: a new challenge for Romania? Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting 1 (2009): 136.

The Global Industry Of Festivals And Events Tourism Essay

The Global Industry Of Festivals And Events Tourism Essay A global industry of festivals and events has grown and expanded since the 90s. Nowadays, festivals are recognized as one of the top growing types of leisure- and tourism related phenomena (Dimmock and Tiyce, 2001). As Mintel International Group (2006) suggests, festivals are forecasted to grow a total of 106% in the next five years period. South Australian Tourism Commission (1997, p. 2) suggests an easily understandable meaning of festival :Festivals are celebrations of something the local community wishes to share and which involves the public as participants in the experience. Festivals must have as a prime objective a maximum amount of people participation, which must be an experience that is different from, or broader than day to day living. Festivals, and more specifically, music Festival Organizations are increasing in number every year worldwide. According to Frey (1994), the provision of music festivals has developed based on a stable increase in disposable incomes, accomp anied by an increased amount of time offered for holidays. Furthermore, another feature that makes music Festivals so popular, is the fact that music Festivals form events which include a variety of activities associated with the music (Bowen and Daniels, 2005), unlike concerts which provide mainly live music performances, rather than various event attractions. One of the most popular music Festivals in Greece for the last six years is the Synch Festival. The Synch Festival was born in 2004 at Lavrio Technological Cultural Park, an ex industrial area of unique beauty, aimed at bringing the Greek and international audience, in touch with contemporary sounds and images. Music, arts and new technologies coexist in a two day festival. Keeping the pace with modernity Synch offers its audience the possibility to meet with some of the most interesting aspects of global culture. Synchs main course is music but despite its focus on the various aspects of the contemporary electronic scene Sy nch denies all kinds of borders and separations that lead to limiting or rigidifying musical expression. The musicians participating in the festival originate from different backgrounds and currents to share their ideas discouraging easy categorization creating musical hybrids that constantly evolve. An uncommonly open-minded curatorial sensibility, tapping everything from experiemental microsound to minimal house and banging techno to local outfits using rock, jazz, regional music and electronic elements. The Wire Its got the perfect balance of industrial setting, a diverse multimedia programm, cutting edge electronic acts and classic live acts. One to watch! Time Out London Falassi (1987) argues that the collective role of a festival is directly connected to values that a community looks upon as vital to its ideology, such as social identity, historical continuity, and physical survival. Additionally, according to Arcodia and Robb (2000), a festival develops around the marking of unique occasions and around the festivity of important events. Thus, according to Usyal, Gahan and Martin (1993) a festival may be considered as the cultural resources of an area that make realizable the successful hosting of festival attendees. The phenomenal growth, coupled with increased consumer awareness and choice, requires the industry to manage the sector effectively and efficiently to ensure sustained development and growth in the future (Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-knight , 2004, p. xix). Therefore, according to Arcodia and Whitford (2010) festivals are expanding worldwide as an increasing and lively sector of the tourism and leisure industry, which have major economic, so cio-cultural, and political impacts on the destination and on the host groups, if managed properly. All the way through history, festivals have taken the forms of cultural traditions or have marked religious or historical occasions linked to the community staging the festival (Arcodia Robb, 2000). According to Earls (1993) historically, the way festivals celebrated special occasions was through art, ritual, and festivity; they were seen as public meetings that make peoples joint wishes and dreams reality and offer a significant event for a unique experience in their lives. The basic origins of this type of communal celebration which has cultural importance to the host population (Pardy, 1991), can be traced back to the carnival of Europe. ( Arcodia, Whitford, 2010) The defining characteristic of a special event or festival is its transience (Gilbert and Lizotte , 1998, pp. 73). This suggests that it would be difficult to encourage and maintain the same sense of occasion and enthusiasm, if such an event was to be held more often. Goldblatt (1997) defines a festival as a special eve nt that recognizes a unique moment in time with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs(Goldblatt, 1997, pp.33).According to Yeoman et al. (2004) the word festival derives from feast and means a time of celebration. Yeoman, et al. (2004) argue that the features of festivals and events are unique, thus no common model of management fits them all. These characteristics include intangibility , production, often taking place at the same time as consumption, and perishability (Yeoman et al., 2004, pp.xx). Festivals and events have diverse levels of operating costs and they fall into both the not- for -profit and profit- making categories. They can range from small-scale , locally based events, to large international festivals (Yeoman, et al, 2004). Previous studies on festival motivation(Uysal et al,1996, Nicholson and Pearce, 2001, Crompton and McKay, 1997) jointly demonstrate that the type of the festival is a significant predictor of motives. As a result, further exploration on various types of festivals should be conducted, in order to improve our understanding of the relationship between the kind of the festival and the visitor motives. A significant characteristic of a festival is the sense of community, belonging and celebration engendered by an event, which is a communal and free social meeting including a variety of media such as arts, performances and shows (Goldblatt, 1997). Cultural consumption is an intangible pleasure-seeking experience. The consumer experience in cultural products appears to have as its main elements the multisensorial, fantastic and emotional aspects of any consumer experience (Bourdeau, Paradis and Nyeck, 1997; Bourdeau, Decoster, Paradis; Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). In other words, it can be perceived as a self-gratifying consumer experience with an experiential perspective (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). The intangible characteristics of attendance at a cultural festival make the event a consumer facility. According to Bourdeau et al.( ) more generally, it is a hedonistic experience in which consumers use their senses. It is only after this hedonistic experience, when they leave the festival site, that they develop feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction ( pp.1, in Bourdaeu, De coster Paradis,2001). Managers of a cultural scheme must supply an intangible, hedonistic experience but one that includes not only the basic service but peripheral services as well (Eiglier and Langeard, 1987). The basic service is the principal reason for attending. In the case of a music festival, it is the content of the event the live shows. Peripheral services are those surrounding the event such as festival information services. The intangible, hedonistic nature of a festival visit makes it difficult for managers to determine satisfaction levels among consumers. Swan and Combs (1976) have demonstrated empirically that when performance does not meet the consumers expectations, dissatisfaction results, and when performance does meet expectations, satisfaction results. Generally, the variance between expectations and performance correlates positively with feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Howard (1977, p. 57) defines satisf action, from an expectancy theory perspective, as the consumers mental state of being adequately or inadequately rewarded for the sacrifice he or she has undergone. The degree of adequacy results from comparing actual past experience with the reward that was expected from the brand in terms of its potential to satisfy motives served by its product class.} (Bourdeau, De Coster, Paradis, 2001) terasties allages One of the original service quality theories is that customers are satisfied when their judgment of the service they have received (perception) equals or exceeds what they expected: Customer Satisfaction (CS)= Perceptions(P) =Expectations. This is known as the gap analysis theory (Zeithalm et al., 1990) or Olivers expectancy disconfirmation(Oliver, 1997). Zeithaml et al. considered that the factors that influence customers formulation of their expectations are word of mouth , personal needs, external communications, and past experience. Johnson and Mathews (1997) noted that the expectations of a frequent user of a facility would rely more on the influence of past experiences than other sources of information(eg. Advertisements). Researchers have no way of knowing what a first-time users expectations are based upon. Dale (1994a) suggests that world class experiences are used to formulate expectations. Parasuraman et al. (1988) tried to set customer expectations in context by suggesting that they are what an organization should offer. (Williams and Buswell, , pp.63-64) (table , pp. 67) MOTIVATIONS : The success of a festival is heavily dependent on the implementation of a strategic marketing plan; an understanding of the relationship between a destination event and its visitors and the identification of target markets are critical factors in the process (Thomson and Schoefield, 2009). Festival organizers are likely to contend that their primary goal is to provide high quality, satisfying experiences that visitors perceive to be good value in order to increase the probability that the visitors will return in the future and/or recommend the festival to others in their social circle (Lee, Petrick and Crompton, 2007). Since competition among festivals and destinations is increasing, the need for information on festivals, specifically analysis of motivations for attending festivals and events (Getz, 1993), has become crucial. Actual attendance itself may be attributed to multiple motives or just a single motive. In order for the event organizers to manage to deliver a great experience, the event product definition is a vital step. The event product is a unique blend of activities, which are the tools for achieving the overall event aims and satisfying customer needs. Event design should be customer orientated , and event organizers should create a mix that satisfies the largest number of potential customers na to allaksw ( Salem, Jones, Morgan, 2004, in Yeoman). Getz in 1997 pointed out the importance of the definition of the event product , by arguing that (oxi quote na to allaksw) many events suffer from a product orientation that is , they try to sell their event with little or no regard for what potential customers need , want, and will pay for. Hall in 1992 identifies three important objectives of event marketing: (oxi quotes, na to allaksw) read their customer needs and motivations , develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication program which express the events pur pose and objectives. Individuals, participating as audience at a festival or special event wish to satisfy their curiosity about place and people. Often they want to do what locals do and hope the festival experience will give them entrà ©e to the ways of life of a particular place(Yeoman, 2004,pp.38). Participants wish to emerge from the event with experiences and stories to talk about back home. These people want to avoid unsafe situations , discomfort, doubts, worries, embarrassment, making too many complex decisions , or being treated as computer number and being made to feel a nuisance. It is a marketing truism that people do not buy products or services , they buy the expectation of benefits that satisfy a need. (oli I paragrafos Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-Knight, 2004) giauto na to allaksw) No matter what the reason is for hosting a festival or event , there is a wide range of customers , each with different expectations , and this will impact on the management processes considered for each individual festival or event. (Yeoman, et al.,2004, pp. xx) According to Grainger-Jones (1999, p.53) leisure is defined as the application of disposable time to an activity which is perceived by the individual as either beneficial or enjoyable. Motivations are a hypothetical construct to define the driving forces of human behavior (Kroeber et al, 2003) and explain why people do what they do instead of choosing an alternative option. . The personal motivational drives of individuals are filtered and redirected by the social circles of workmates, family and friends (Burch, 1969). Therefore, the motives to attend a festival could vary from entertainment, socialization or excitement, to escape , or even relaxation . Needless to say, event organizers might have misconception of their customers motivation. Wicks and Fesenmaier (1993) examined the perceptual gap on customer expectations between visitor and vendors, identifying those areas of the event that need improvement. The same analogy also has applicability to the identification of the motivation gap that may exist between attendees and festival and event providers. {As Fodness (1994) points out, the motivation represents the major driving power in explaining human behavior, although it is not the exclusive factor.}(fODNESS, 1994)na to allaksw. Lee and Lee (2001) concluded that segmenting festival markets through motivations enables event managers to identify the strengths and opportunities of each market and helps guarantee their satisfaction. In most situations where festival visitors are heterogeneous, segmenting these visitor groups and understanding their characteristics based on festival motivations will be a powerful marketing tool, that enables event managers to enhance and promote event features preferred and valued by target segments (Formica Uysal, 1996, 1998). Crompton and McKay (1997) contend that event managers should strive to better understand the motives of festival attendance in order to design better products and services for them and because motives are a precursor of satisfaction and a factor in decision making, this in turn can lead to greater attendance. Crompton and McKay (1997) studied visitor motivation within the festival content for the following reasons: (1) it allows matching the festivals program to visitors needs; (2) it helps safeguard visitor satisfaction by increasing the chance of meeting the visitors diverse needs; and (3) it warrants repeat visitation, which is essential for the viability of the festival. Oakes( 2003) further contends that information regarding motivations can also be used to lure sponsors who are key to event funding. Schoefield and Thomson (2007) also agree It is critically important to identify festival visitor motivations and to measure the performance of festivals from the consumer perspective. They suggest that from a planning and management perspective it is vital to determine visitor satisfaction and behavioral intention with respect to repeat visits and to help identify the factors which affect visitor motivation and their experiential outcomes. (apo Gelder, Robinson, 2009,) Bowen and Daniels (2005) state that understanding why people go to music festivals can help planners align their marketing efforts to emphasize the attributes that best reflect the mission and goals of each event . Nicholson and Pearce (2001) believe that these factors will become increasingly important as the growing number and diversity of events, especial ly festivals, lead to heightened competition , in particular when events are initiated or expanded to encourage tourism and thus boost local economies (Daniels, 2004). Apo Glastonbury pdf Getz (1993) also emphasized the importance of analyzing visitors motives for attending festivals and events. Identifying such motivations is a prerequisite for planning event programs effectively and marketing them to visitors (Crompton McKay, 1997). Analysis of festival motivations also helps event managers to better position their festivals (Scott, 1996). PURPOSES OF THE STUDY By understanding what drives and motivates participation, the festival management could probably gain better insight into a strategy to maintain attendees and to drew new ones to the festival (Van Zyl, 2006). The primary aim of the present research is therefore to fill the gap in previous research by determining what motivational factors push and pull visitors to attend the Synch Festival, held in Athens, Greece, and participate in it, and what are their expectations. Comparisons will also be made with the point of view of the manager of the organizing company. By understanding attendees motivations you can give the opportunity to the event organizers to tailor promotions and develop desired services. The research objectives are : To explore and review the literature relevant to the motivation and expectations of people attending leisure events, with particular emphasis on music festivals. To investigate what motivates people to attend the Synch Festival and their expectations of the event. To explore and review the ways in which the Synch Festival is managed and organized, and in particular , the degree to which (if at all) customer expectation and motivation is considered. To report the findings of my research and, where appropriate, make recommendations and suggestions to the event organizers , as well as fill the literature gap as far as the exploration of festival motivations at a national level, is concerned. To achieve this, the article is structured as follows: the literature review is followed by a description of the method of research, then a discussion of the results, a discussion of the findings and their implications and, finally, concluding remarks.

Education Through The Television :: Technology, TV, Informative

Education Through The Television "TV is justly called `the boob tube'." I disagree, in my opinion, television has many positive and informational uses. Television is now being used more in school because it is proven that students remember and comprehend better than from a regular class lecture. Television has always been good for spreading the news of current world events but it is now being used for more educational and informational documentaries. Television is becoming more and more an educational essential for children. Before they start school, children learn many basic and fundamental tools from television. Most kids learn the alphabet and how to count from shows like Sesame Street and Barney. As children get older there are many story-telling shows that either feature stories with good morals or they tell masterpiece stories like Hercules, Hunchback of Notre Dame, etc.. Some of these stories are now a part of our culture and children know and understand them because of television. As people grow older, television, at least for recent generations, plays a large role in socialization. On many sitcoms and talk shows one can learn of problems of today like teenage pregnancy, poverty, drugs, etc.. Television also seems to support somewhat decent morals, a very religious person may not think so but television still follows the good guy-hero, bad guy-loser theme. From certain shows on TV one can learn what sort of things are socially acceptable for instance fashion, behavior and hobbies. Television features many "how-to" shows like gardening, painting, cooking, etc.. It also has many documentaries on foreign lands and

Service Learning Helped My Career Decision :: Community Service, Volunteer Work

My community service experience was great! I learned many new things that I can use not only in the workplace but also in life. The people I had the opportunity to work with were very generous with their time and talents. They helped me to gain insight into what I want to do with my life. During high school, I was indecisive on what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to work either as a firefighter or an engineer. I performed my community service at the City Utilities Company. I worked with people who were water engineers and they gave me great advice on becoming an engineer. I was told that there were many different types of engineers. I didn’t even know which type of engineer I wanted to be. Then I told him that I was thinking about being a firefighter as well. That’s when I learned his son was a firefighter and loved being one. When I heard about how his son loved the job, I knew then that’s what I wanted to do. I was their secretary for the week from 8am to 5pm. I had to pick up the phone and take messages when they were out of the office, I had to organize some of their paperwork, and talk to the people who walked in looking for information of for one of the other workers. I had learned the responsibility of being on time and following directions. This experience helped me be more comfortable around people I didn’t know and able to interact with them. That came in handy in my job now, I work at American Eagle and I have to interact with people every day but I’m already comfortable doing so. It helped me in life because I’ve been able to meet new people around the college because I’m comfortable talking to complete strangers. The chance I had to work with these people was amazing. I always had the feeling of me being welcome there. In the time I was there I received many gifts from them but not for volunteering for them but because I was a friend. They let me take home leftover candy and popcorn home to my family, even though my mom and sister never knew because I ate it before I got home.

Attribution Theory

Discuss the types of attribution someone makes when they appraise a person’s behaviour. How may bias occur in their reasoning particularly if they have a very different background to the person they observe? Attribution theory focuses on ways in which we gather and process information in order to come up with judgements and explanations for people’s behaviours and personalities or as explained by Fiske & Taylor (1991) â€Å"how the social perceiver uses information to arrive at casual explanations for events.It examines what information is gathered and how it’s combined to form casual judgements†. There have been many studies aimed at explaining the main errors people make when making inferences about people’s behaviour and whether culture has an effect on how we make attributions. There are two types of attributions, internal attributions, also known as dispositional attributions, are when we attribute behaviour to person’s disposition (ment al state, personality, emotions, characteristics, etc. ).External attributions (also known as situational attributions) can be explained as attributing behaviour to the situation or the environment in which the behaviour took place. Correspondent inference (Jones & Davis, 1965) can be explained as when the observer infers that the actor’s behaviour corresponds with their motives (an internal attribution). A correspondence bias is when the observer over-attributes the cause of behaviour to dispositional factors at the expense of situational antecedents.This can also be explained as the fundamental attribution error (Lee Ross, 1977). Another believed to be error in attribution is suppressing dispositional inferences during social judgement, which leads to the dispositional rebound (Geeraert & Yzerbyt, 2007), meaning relying on dispositional inferences in subsequent judgements. It is believed that a judgement begins with a dispositional bias and situational information is to cor rect the initial judgement (Quattrone, 1992), this is called situational correction.Geeraert & Yzerbyt state that the observer must suppress dispositional judgements during the correctional stage and deal with the dispositional rebound in subsequent stages. Furthermore, a cause of the FAE (fundamental attribution error) could potentially be the fact that the observer may not see much to gain in making the effort to analyse the situational causes of a certain behaviour and too cognitively demanding (Andrews, 2001).However, due to the fact that they have greater incentives to predict and influence behaviour, people who tend to depend on others are less likely to make erroneous attributions, which explains why people from more interdependent cultures (such as East Asians) tend to avoid the FAE (Choi et al, 1999) in contrast with people from more independent cultures (such as Europeans or Americans).To further elaborate on this point, numerous psychologists believe that culture may have a determining effect on whether the observer is prone to excessively relying on dispositional judgements. This is shown in Choi & Nisbett’s 1998 study, which was in line with Snyder & Jones’ 1974 study, where a group of Korean and American participants were given the task of writing an essay with a designated position.They were then asked to judge a forced writer (a writer which wrote a piece as a forced task, whether or not what they were writing reflected their own beliefs). In contrast with the previous study, the Americans’ judgements were not affected, however, the Koreans no longer displayed correspondence bias when the situational forces were made salient. Kitayama and Miyamoto carries out a similar study, including Japanese and American students and as predicted, the Americans displayed correspondence bias, while the Japanese students did not.Moreover, with the aim of discovering whether the dispositional rebound occurs amongst people of East Asian back ground and using the dispositional rebound as a tool to study the process of attribution, a study was carried out which participants consisting of 105 students from Hogeschool Gent, Belgium and 128 students from Kasestart University in Bangkok, Thailand, were given the task of judging a free or forced writer in the attitude attribution paradigm. The diagnosticity of the essays were manipulated in order to have participants also judge the essays based on whether they were diagnostic or not.Thai students were more sensitive to the manipulation of the diagnosticity of the essays, whilst the Belgian participants showed no sensitivity at all. Both ethnic groups displayed symptoms of the dispositional rebound when judging a diagnostic forced essay, however, Belgian participants were the only ones to display the dispositional rebound when judging a non-diagnostic essay. Subsequently, participants were asked to judge a series of pictorially represented behaviours. Both Belgian and Thai part icipants displayed the dispositional rebound when the situational information was hidden.However, Thai participants no longer displayed the dispositional rebound when the situational information was made salient (also discovered by Choir & Nisbett in their 1998 study and Miyanoto & Kitayama in their 2002 study). A further explanation of the dispositional rebound could be that it is the ironic consequence of suppression and correction of an initial dispositional judgment as a result of cognitive fatigue due to the fact that the judgment of a constrained target demands a larger amount of cognitive effort which due to the reduction of cognitive resources, leaves some observers to rely on less demanding abstract language.Furthermore, several other studies which have directly focused on the universality of the correspondence bias (Choi & Nisbett, 1998; Kashima, Siegal, Tanaka, & Kashima, 1992; Krull et al. , 1999; Van Boven, Kamada, & Gilovich, 1999) have shown that people from interdepe ndent cultures aren’t immune to erroneous attributions .In these studies, both East Asians and Americans were given the task of judging a constrained target in the context of the attitude attribution paradigm (this requires participants to read an essay which either favours or opposes a particular issue under the conditions that participants are told whether or not the writer had a choice in selecting the viewpoint which the essay reflects), the perceiver induced constraint paradigm (this requires participants to ask a target to read out a pre-written attitudinal statement, then comply observe the target and then try to figure out the target’s true attitude) and the quiz paradigm.The results showed that regardless of culture, all participants displayed correspondence bias. These findings may suggest that culture may not determine whether an observer is prone to erroneous attributions. In conclusion, it seems that the most erroneous method in our ways of making social j udgments is our tendency to rely excessively on dispositional information when doing so and ironically suppressing our dispositional inferences which instinct seems to enforce the occurrence of, seems to cause a rebound effect in subsequent social judgments.But, it also seems that being raised in a society where it is the norm to be dependent on one another, tends to make one naturally more sensitive to informational information when it is there to be sensed and therefore more able to make accurate inferences about behaviour and mental states.