Policy analysis about Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Policy analysis about Economics - Research Paper Example Due to the disparities of income between the high skilled and low skilled labors, the union advocates for rise in the minimum wages among the low skilled workers. These help to decrease the gap between the high income earners to the low income earners. Through this, they ensure equitable distribution of income in the society that ensures demand is relatively high hence economic growth (Duerrenberger, 2009). The unions usually lobby for strict immigration rules which limits labor supply within the United States economy especially the low skilled workers from abroad. Hence any labor supply from over-sees are highly qualified which is necessary for the general economy as it would ensure quality products that increase revenue to the country. Through these, they ensure higher incomes to the available labor (Duerrenberger, 2009). High wages results in increased consumption that raises demand hence higher productivity leading to economic growth. Unions have also supported the restriction of imported goods and services through the imposition of tariffs and quotas that discourages imports while promoting exports leading to increasing in demand of the domestic products. High demand results in increased productivity which raises the labor demand of the country (Duerrenberger, 2009).As a result, more units of output are produced, raising the sales revenue that increases income to the GDP of the nation hence high economic growth. However labor unions have various impacts on the economic operations of the country. They constantly bargains for increase in the minimum wage rate without an equivalent rise in the production capacity. Increasing wages by firms’ results into high operational cost in terms of salaries.This would otherwise reduce the productivity reducing output leading to decreased sales. As a result, the firms and business will incur loss and may be forced to lay off workers leading to high unemployment rate. High rates of unemployment affect

Results from the Job analysis method Essay Example for Free

Results from the Job analysis method Essay Observation method allows employers to watch and judge how employees perform in their specific jobs. Supervisors or managers would have a better understanding on how the employee performs. They can decide whether the performance from the employees would need to improve or if theyre satisfied with the current progress. However, employees may feel insecure as they are being watched. It can also be time consuming and results gathered may not be accurate as the employees may change their attitude or habits towards their work. Individual interview method is the most accurate and precise form of job analysis. Understanding the job would be clearer and easier. Questions and doubts can be answered and clarified. Information can be gathered quickly and are more likely to be accurate. Group interview method is when an interview takes place in groups of three to five candidates at a time. Like individual interview method, the interviewer and interviewee can interact face to face. Interviewer can get first hand information about the candidates attitude and character. However the disadvantages of group interview is that the interviewers choice maybe bias. Diary method is time consuming compared to the other six job analysis methods. This report focuses on observation, individual and group interview method. We have chosen them because this is the best way to interview them. A job description would give job-seekers and overall idea of what will they be doing, how the job should be done, the kind of conditions they would be working in and what steps are needed to be done in a specific job. It should accurately describe the contents and environment of the job, and the conditions of employment. Such details in a job description would be the job title or position, the essential duties and tasks that are to be performed, and the characteristics of the job, environmental conditions, the authorities and responsibilities of the job-seeker. Job specification specifies the minimum qualifications that the candidate must possess in order to attain the job successfully. Based on the information gathered from the job analysis, the job specification identifies the essential knowledge, skills, education, working experience, type of certification and the abilities needed to possess by the candidate. The applicants must have these basic requirements before they can apply for the position.

The Mask :: Creative Writing Essays

The Mask It had all begun when he was a little boy. One year a circus had come to town. In the morning a big parade was held in main street. He could see the clowns walking around making people laugh. He would watch the clowns` faces as they walked by. The big noses and the funny walks made him feel happy. It was poor times, and his father was out of work. His family couldn't afford any material benefits, but each year his father collected enough money so that he could take his son to the circus. Hand in hand they would walk to the circus, just a couple of blocks away. He would have a big smile on his face, because it was the only time he would feel better than his friends. For a whole year he would dream of the clowns in the circus ring. Imagine their grimace, funny walks and pranks on each other. The tight- rope walker and the elephants were amusing, but they weren't the highlight. He was certain; He would be a clown when he became older. After many years, he changed town and started on a career as an accountant in a big company. Nobody knew him better than by name, and nobody cared. He just sat there behind his desk, working, day after day, week after week. He was an  « every chief's dream. » But he was also a lonely man with no friends who would say; "How are we today?" His colleagues envied him, so they froze him out. He could see the guys meet in a corner. Whispering and giving him looks. He tried to be a pal, but they didn't want him to. He was the average guy, with average pay and an average apartment. But he wasn't miserable. Of course he'd like some friends and a girlfriend to talk with, but since he didn't have any, he thought it was the way it was supposed to be. His job was to earn money and sit behind his desk smiling to everybody. Since nobody cared, they didn't know about his hobby. For a few years ago, a dream of his had fulfilled when he got a week to prove his ability as a clown in the town's circus. He had been a great success in his evaluation period, and was hired at once. Each night he would become the clown "Baltasar". The salary was lousy, but he didn't do it for money. Just the looks on the children's faces was enough for him.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 21

Twenty-one Gabe and Theo â€Å"This is where I found the aberrant rats,† Gabe said as they pulled into the Fly Rod Trailer Court. â€Å"That's nice,† Theo said, not really paying attention. â€Å"Did I tell you I got the brain chemistry back from Stanford? It's interesting, but I'm not sure that it explains the behavior.† â€Å"Not now, Gabe, please.† Theo slammed on the brakes and the truck rocked to a stop. â€Å"What the hell?† There were no lights on in Molly Michon's trailer. In the empty lot next door, a dozen well-dressed adults stood in a circle, holding candles. â€Å"Prayer meeting?† Gabe ventured. â€Å"It's Sunday night.† â€Å"There was a trailer there last time I was here,† Theo said. â€Å"Just like the one on the ranch.† â€Å"I know. This is the lot where I found the rats with the low serotonin levels.† Theo shut off the truck, set the parking brake, and climbed out. Then he looked back at Gabe. â€Å"You found your rats right here?† â€Å"The six that I could find. But this is where the other ones that were last tracked disappeared as well. I can show you the graphic later.† â€Å"That would be good.† Theo pulled his flannel shirt over the guns in his waistband and approached the circle. Skinner jumped out of the truck and ran ahead. Gabe reluctantly followed. They did, indeed, seem to be praying. Their heads were bowed and a woman in a powder-blue dress and pillbox hat was leading the group. â€Å"Bless us, Lord, for we have felt the stirrings of your power within us and heeded your call to come to this holy place on the eve of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Skinner drove his nose into the woman's crotch, and she yipped like a bee-stung poodle. Everyone in the group looked up. â€Å"Excuse me,† Theo said. â€Å"I don't mean to interrupt, but what are you all doing here?† Several of the men looked irritated and stepped up behind the powder-blue woman to give support. The woman held Skinner's nose away from her dress while trying to keep the candle flame away from her hair spray. â€Å"Constable Crowe? Is that right?† â€Å"Yes, ma'am,† Theo said. The woman was younger than he was by at least five years and pretty in a Texas Big Hair sort of way, but her dress and manner of speaking made him feel as if he'd just been busted by his first-grade teacher for eating paste. â€Å"We've been called here, Constable,† the woman explained. She reached behind her, grabbed the shoulder of a woman who looked like her clone in pink, and pulled her forward. Skinner stamped the pink woman's dress with the Wet-Nose Inspection Seal. â€Å"Margie and I felt it first, but when we started talking about it after services this afternoon, all these other people said that they had felt drawn to this place as well. The Holy Spirit has moved us here.† â€Å"Ask them if they've seen any rats.† Gabe said. â€Å"Call your dog,† Theo tossed over his shoulder. Gabe called Skinner and the Labrador looked around. They smell fine to me, Food Guy. I say fuck 'em, Skinner thought. But he got no response except a minor scolding. â€Å"The Holy Spirit called you here?† Theo said. Everyone in the group nodded earnestly. â€Å"Did any of you happen to see the woman who lives in that trailer next door?† The pink lady chimed in, â€Å"Oh yes, she was the one to call our attention to this place two nights ago. We wondered about that at first, being as how she is and all, but then Katie pointed out† – she gestured to her friend – â€Å"that our Lord Jesus spent time with Mary Magdalene, and she, as I'm sure you know, was – well – she was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"A whore,† Theo offered. â€Å"Well. Yes. And so we thought, who are we to judge?† â€Å"Very charitable of you,† Theo said. â€Å"But have you seen Molly Michon tonight?† â€Å"No, not tonight.† Theo felt his energy reserves drain even more. â€Å"Look, folks, you shouldn't be here. I'm not sure it's safe. Some people have gone missing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, that poor boy,† Margie said. â€Å"Yes and maybe some others. I have to ask you all to take your meeting somewhere else, please.† The group looked disappointed. One of the men, a portly bald fellow in his fifties, puffed himself up and stepped forward. â€Å"Constable, we have the right to worship when and where we please.† â€Å"I'm just thinking of your safety,† Theo said. â€Å"This country was founded on the basis of religious freedom, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Theo stepped up to the man and loomed over him with all of his six-footsix frame, â€Å"Then start praying that I don't throw you in jail with the biggest, horniest sodomite the country jail has to offer, which is what I'm going to do if you all don't go home right now.† â€Å"Smooth,† Gabe said. Make him roll over and pee on himself, Skinner thought. The bald man made a harumph sound and turned to the group. â€Å"Let's meet at the church to discuss the removal of our local law enforcement official.† â€Å"Yeah, get in line,† Theo said. He watched as the group dispersed to their cars and drove away. When the last one pulled out, Gabe said, â€Å"Theories?† Theo shook his head. â€Å"Everyone in this town is nuts. I'm going to check Molly's trailer, but I doubt she's there. Do you want me to take you home to shower and change clothes before your date?† Gabe looked down at his stained work pants and safari shirt. â€Å"Do you think I should?† â€Å"Gabe, you're the only guy I know that makes me look suave.† â€Å"You're coming along, right?† â€Å"Casanova,† Theo said. â€Å"Compared to you, I feel like Casanova.† â€Å"What?† Gabe said. â€Å"It's fried chicken night at H.P.'s.† Steve Steve lay under a stand of cypress trees, his new lover snuggled up to his right foreleg, snoring softly. He let his tongue slide out and the tip just brushed her bare back. She moaned and nuzzled closer to his leg. She tasted pretty good. But he had eaten all those other warmbloods and he wasn't really hungry. When he had been a female, some fifty years ago, and going back another five thousand, he had become accustomed to eating his lovers after mating. That's just how it was done. But as a male, he wasn't sure. He hadn't mated with his own species since he'd become male, and so the instinct to become passive after mating was new to him. He just didn't feel like eating the warmblood. She had made him feel better, and for some reason, he could see the pictures of her thoughts instead of just sending his own sig-nals. He sensed no fear in her, and no need to send the signal to draw her to him. Strange for a warmblood. He lay his head down on the bed of cypress needles to sleep and let his wounds heal. He could eat her later. Somewhere in the back of his brain, as he fell asleep, a fear alarm went off. In five thousand years of life, he had never conceived of the concept of later or before, only now. His DNA had rechained itself many times, adapted to changes without waiting for the life cycles of generations – he was a unique organism in that way – but the concept of time, of memory beyond the cellular level, was a new adapt-ation. Through his contact with Molly he was evolving consciousness, and like the pragmatic mechanism that it is, nature was trying to warn him. The nightmare was about to have a nightmare. Val Is this a date? Val sat alone at a table in the back of H.P.'s Cafe. She'd ordered a glass of a local chardonnay and was trying to form an opinion about it that would reflect the appropriate disgust, but unfortunately, it was quite good. She was wearing light evening makeup and an understated raw silk suit in indigo with a single string of pearls so as not to clash too badly with her date, who she knew would be in jeans or cotton khaki. Her date? If this is a date, how far have I sunk? she asked herself. This tacky little cafe in this tacky little town, waiting for a man who had probably never worn a tux or a Rolex, and she was looking forward to it. No, it's not a date. It's just dinner. It's sustenance. It's, for once, not eating alone. Slumming in the land of the folksy and the neighborly, that's what it is. It's a satirical performance art experience; call it The Bourgeois Fried Chicken Follies. It was one thing to read her journals over coffee in the local cafe, but dinner? Gabe Fenton came through the front door and Val felt her pulse quicken. She smiled in spite of herself as she watched the waitress point to her table. Then Theo Crowe was following Gabe across the restaurant and a bolt of anxiety shot up her spine. This definitely isn't a date. Gabe smiled and the lines around his eyes crinkled as if he were about to burst out laughing. He extended his hand to her. â€Å"Hi, I hope you don't mind, I asked Theo to join us.† His hair was combed, as was his beard, and he was wearing a faded but clean chambray shirt. Not exactly dashing, but a pretty good-looking guy in a lumber-jack sort of way. â€Å"No, please,† Val said. â€Å"Sit down, Theo.† Theo nodded and pulled a chair up to the table, which had been set for two. The waitress breezed in with another place setting before they were seated. â€Å"I'm sorry to intrude,† Theo said, â€Å"but Gabe insisted.† â€Å"No, really, you're welcome, Constable.† â€Å"Theo, please.† â€Å"Theo then,† Val said. She forced a smile. What now? The last time she had talked to this man it had thrown her life for a loop. She found herself building a resentment for Gabe that was usually reserved for relationships that were years old. Theo cleared his throat. â€Å"Uh, can we go on the doctor-patient confidentiality plan again, Doctor?† Val nodded to Gabe, â€Å"That usually implies a session. Not dinner.† â€Å"Okay, then, don't say anything, but Joseph Leander killed his wife.† Val didn't say, â€Å"Wow.† Almost, but she didn't. â€Å"And you know this because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Because he told me so,† Theo said. â€Å"He gave her tea made from foxglove. Evidently, it can cause heart failure and is almost undetectable. Then he hung her in the dining room.† â€Å"So you've arrested him?† â€Å"No, I don't know where he is.† â€Å"But you've put a warrant out for his arrest or whatever it is that you do? â€Å"No, I'm not sure that I'm still the constable.† Gabe broke in. â€Å"We've been talking about it, Val. I say that Theo is an elected official, and therefore the only way he can lose his job is through impeachment, even if his immediate superior tries to kill him. What do you think?† â€Å"Kill him?† â€Å"Smooth,† Theo said, grinning at Gabe. â€Å"Oh, maybe you should tell her about the crank lab and stuff, Theo.† And so Theo explained, telling the story of his kidnapping, the drug lab, Joseph Leander's disappearance, and Molly Michon setting him free, but leaving out any theories he had about a giant creature. During the telling, they ordered (fried chicken for Theo and Gabe, a Greek salad for Val) and were halfway through dinner before Theo stopped talking. Val stared at her salad and silence washed over the table. If there was going to be a murder investigation, she could be found out. And if they found out what she had done to her patients, her career was over. She might even go to jail. It wasn't fair, she really had tried to do the right thing for once. She resisted the urge to blurt out a confession – to throw herself on the mercy of a court born of sheer paranoia. Instead she raised her eyes to Gabe, who took the signal to break the silence. Gabe said, â€Å"And I still don't know the significance of the low serotonin levels in the rats' brains.† â€Å"Huh?† said not only Val and Theo, but the waitress, Jenny, who had been eavesdropping from the next table and joined the confusion at Gabe's non sequitur. â€Å"Sorry,† Gabe said to Val. â€Å"I thought you might have a take on the brain chemistry of those rats I had tested. You said you were interested.† â€Å"And I am,† Val said, lying through her teeth, â€Å"but I'm a little overwhelmed by the news about Bess Leander.† â€Å"Right, anyway, the group of rats that didn't take part in the mass migration all had unusually low levels of serotonin. The brain chemistry of the larger group, the group that ran, was all in normal ranges. So I'm thinking that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"They were depressed,† Val said. â€Å"Pardon me?† Gabe said. â€Å"Of course they're depressed, they're rats,† Theo said. Gabe glared at him. â€Å"Well, imagine waking up to that every morning,† Theo continued. â€Å"‘Oh, it's a great day, crap, I'm still a rat. Never mind.'† â€Å"Well, I don't know about rats,† Val said, â€Å"but serotonin levels in humans affect a lot of different things, predominantly mood. Low levels of serotonin can indicate depression. That's how Prozac works. It basically keeps sero-tonin in the brain to keep the patient from getting depressed. So maybe Gabe's rats were too depressed to run.† Gabe stroked his beard. â€Å"I never thought of that. But it doesn't help that much. It doesn't tell me why the majority of the rats did run.† â€Å"Well, duh, Gabe,† Theo said. â€Å"It's the fucking monster.† â€Å"What?† Val said. â€Å"What?† said Jenny, who was lingering nearby. â€Å"Can we get some dessert menus?† Gabe asked, sending Jenny backing across the restaurant. â€Å"Monster?† Val said. â€Å"Maybe you'd better explain, Gabe,† Theo said. â€Å"I think your scientific skepticism will make it sound more credible.† Val's jaw dropped visibly as she listened to Gabe talk about the tracks at the ranch, the mutilated cattle, and Theo's theory for the disappearances of Joseph Leander, Mikey Plotznik, and perhaps Les from the hardware store. When Gabe brought up Molly Michon, Val stopped him. â€Å"You can't believe what she tells you. Molly is a very disturbed woman.† â€Å"She didn't tell me anything,† Theo said. â€Å"I just think she knows something about all this.† Val wanted to call up Theo's drug history to sweep the story aside, then she remembered what Estelle Boyet had told her in therapy. â€Å"I'm not going to say who, but one of my patients mentioned a sea monster in session.† Gabe asked. â€Å"Who?† â€Å"I can't say,† Val said. â€Å"Estelle Boyet,† Jenny said as she came up to get the dessert order. â€Å"Damn,† Val said. â€Å"I wasn't the one who told you,† she said to Theo. â€Å"Well, she was talking about it over breakfast with that Catfish guy,† Jenny added. â€Å"No dessert,† Val snapped at Jenny. â€Å"I'll bring the check.† â€Å"So Estelle has seen it?† Theo asked. â€Å"No, she says she's heard it. She's not the type to propagate a hoax, but I wouldn't put it past Molly Michon. Perhaps that's where the rumor started. I can ask Estelle.† â€Å"Do that,† Theo said. â€Å"But it's not a hoax. My car is smashed. That's evidence. I'm going to Molly's tonight and wait for her. The door was unlocked when I checked earlier and I can't go home.† â€Å"You think it's that dangerous?† Val asked. â€Å"I know it is.† Theo stood and started to pull some bills from his pocket. Gabe waved him off. Theo said, â€Å"Doctor, can you give Gabe a ride?† â€Å"Sure, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Thanks,† Theo said. â€Å"I'll call you, Gabe. Thanks for letting me join you, Doctor. I thought you'd want to know about Bess. I'm afraid I've ruined your date.† I'll say, Val thought as she watched Theo leave the restaurant. A sense of alert exhaustion washed over her like an espresso fog bank. â€Å"He just quit smoking pot,† Gabe said. â€Å"He's feeling the stress.† â€Å"He has a right to. You don't believe any of that stuff about a monster, do you?† â€Å"I have some theories.† â€Å"Would you like to come up to the house and explain them over a bottle of wine?† â€Å"Really? I mean, sure, that would be nice.† â€Å"Good,† Val said. â€Å"I think I need to get hammered and I'd like your company.† Had she used the term â€Å"hammered† since college? She didn't think so. â€Å"I'll get the check,† Gabe said. â€Å"Of course you will.† â€Å"I hope you don't mind having a dog in your car,† Gabe said. I'm not slumming, she thought. I've moved to the slums.

Robotics in Healthcare: Personalizing care and boosting

Robotics in Healthcare: Personalizing care and boosting the quality, access and efficiency of healthcare (Miss Madhu Hiremath) **Student, Department of Hospital Management, IIHMR, Bangalore Abstracts: Human life is evolving and so is technology. Healthcare, which is one of the major concerns in the 21stCentury, is entering a phase where technology Is becoming an enabler. In the near future, say technologists and doctors, robots will help us a great deal In bringing down the northbound costs of healthcare and Improving operational efficiency and quality of care.Robotics for Healthcare caters mainly six representative areas like Smart medical capsules, Robotized surgery, Intelligent prosthetics, Robotized motor coordination analysis and therapy, Robot-assisted mental, cognitive and social therapy, Robotized patient monitoring systems and many more innovations are expected by around the year 2025. Ethical and legal aspects are also likely to pose obstacles to the developments at some po int. It is a field of innovation that encompasses many Interesting leads, problems to be solved and challenges to e met.Robotic surgery is one of the most significant advances in healthcare in recent years. However like any other technological advance, It too comes with a heavy price tag. Aggressive marketing by the manufacturers and surgeons may lead to unethical practices. This article analyses the applicability of robotics to healthcare In India and as compare to North America and European countries. India too is not left behind In acquiring robots In their surgical departments like Nova spine care, Apollo, AllMS, KIMS, Medanta Hospitals etc.At present, the scope for robotics in India is limited because of cost considerations. However Robots aren't being designed to eliminate people. Instead, they can help reduce physical demands and workloads. Key Words: Robotics for Healthcare, Intelligent prosthetics, Robotized motor coordination analysis, Robotic surgery Reference: http://vwv w_Informationweek_corn/healthcare/clinlcal-informatlon-systems/ vmw. roboucsbuslnessrevlew. com/research/report/ outlook_for_health_care_robotics_for_2013 http://www. kineticconsulting. co. uk/ robots. html 1 OF2

Priming Of Social Attitudes The WritePass Journal

Priming Of Social Attitudes Abstract Priming Of Social Attitudes Abstract IntroductionMethodParticipantsMaterialsDesign Procedure ResultsDiscussion ReferencesRelated Abstract Previous research has indicated that social behaviour can be automatically activated when primed by traits (Higgins, Rholes Jones, 1977). The present study investigated whether participants are more like to interrupt an experimenter and unseen confederate when primed by words semantically associated with rudeness, compared with positive and neutral words. It represented a replication of the Bargh, Chen and Burrows experiment (1996) with one alteration; the total number of interruptions rather than time taken to interrupt was measured. 54 undergraduate students aged between 19 and 25 participated in a between-subjects experiment, and were randomly assigned to one of three experimental levels. Participants were asked to complete a Scrambled Sentence Task containing either rude, polite or neutral words. In order to indicate their completion, participants had to interrupt the conversation of the experimenter. As hypothesised, particpants allocated to the rude condition were significantl y more likely to interrupt the experimenter than those in the neutral or polite conditions. Introduction The extent to which one has intentional control over their own thoughts and behaviours has formed the basis of much research in the field of social psychology. During the 1970’s the distinction between automatic and conscious thought processes emerged, and has became the focus of much attention (Bargh, 1989). Research concentrating on social cognition and attitude formation has documented that many phenomena are unintentional or automatic in nature. Stereotypes, for example, can be automatically elicited merely by the presense of physical features commonly associated with the stereotyped group. Similarly, the presense of an ‘attitude object’ can automatically elicit an attitude, which in turn exerts influence on behaviour (Bargh, Chen Burrows, 1996). Both are examples of priming, which refers to the effect observed when exposure to a certain stimulus influences responses to a second stimulus. In social psychology, priming can be understood in terms of the tendenc y for recent information to influence subsequent thoughts. An early example of this came from Higgins, Rholes and Jones (1977). In this research, particpants read a passage involving a man attempting certain ambitious physical feats. Prior to this, particpants were told they were particpating in a memory task, and were given a list of attributes to read. Half of the particpants were ‘positvely primed’ and given words such as ‘adventurous’ and ‘brave’. The other half were ‘negatively primed’ and given words such as ‘foolish’ and ‘reckless’. After reading the passage, particpants were asked to give their impressions of the man in the story. Those who had been positively primed formed more positive impressions of the man in the passage than those who had been negatively primed. Forgas and Bower (1987) looked at the effect of priming on how people judge information about others. Participants were assigned to one of two conditions. In the first condition, participants were given information that primed a happy mood. In the second, particpants were given information to prime a sad mood. Participants in both conditions were then given identical person descriptions to read. They found that those who had been primed to experience a happy mood formed more positive impressions of the people in the person descriptions than those primed to experience a sad mood. An experiment by Bargh, Chen and Burrows (1996; exp2) demonstrated that priming influences behaviour, investigating the behavioural consequence of automatic stereotype activation based on the premise that a typical stereotypical view of the elderly concerns slowness. Participants were presented with scrambled sentences containing words that related to elderly stereotypes, or sentences containing neutral words. Importantly, the authors ensured that none of the words in the ‘elderly’ condition were directly related to slowness. This ensured that any observed behaviour change was attributable to the stereotype of elderly being activated (and the associated assumptions of slowness) rather than focusing attention on the single trait of being slow. Following this, particpants were asked to leave the room, and were timed walking down a hallway to return to the waiting area, to test whether priming participants with the concept of elderly would automatically and unconsciously ch ange their behaviour to emulate the elderly. As predicted, participants who were primed with the stereotypical information took longer to walk down the hallway than those who received the neutral information. Carver, Ganellen, Froming and Chambers (1983) demonstrated the priming effect of aggression on particpant’s subsequent behaviour. Participants were divided into two conditions and given scrambled sentences containing either aggressive or neutral concepts, diguised as part of a seemingly unrelated study. They were then asked to participate in an experiment of human learning where particpants were able to punish another participant (actually a confederate) by administering electric shocks for incorrect responses. Those in the aggressive condition administered stronger shocks than those in the control condition. The studies discussed thus far have indicated that priming can influence both perceptions and behaviour. From this premise, Bargh et al. (1996, exp 1) investigated whether this effect overrode the typical processes one uses in everyday life, such as social judgement. In this experiment, 34 participants were informed that they were taking part in a test of language ability, and presented with a scrambled sentence test. They were randomly assigned to one of three conditions priming conditions, rude, polite and neutral. Participants were asked to complete the task individually, then notify the experimenter in another room. When the participant entered the second room, they found the experimenter in conversation with a second participant (a confederate). The critical outcome measure of the study was the length of time the participant took to interupt the conversation between the experimenter and confederate. They found that those in the rude condition did interupt significantly faster th an those in the polite and neutral conditions. However, the results suffered from significant ceiling effects; 21 of the 34 participants did not interupt at all. The present study was a replication of Bargh et al.’s(1996) experiment and borrows heavily from their methodology, but with one critical difference. In an attempt to address the methodological issues caused by the strong ceiling effects observed by Bargh et al., the current experiment measured the total number of people to interupt in each condition, rather than the time taken to interupt. Based on the findings of Bargh et al., the experimental hypothesis predicted that significantly more particpants in the ‘rude’ condition would interupt the experimenter than those in the ‘polite’ and neutral conditions. Furthermore, it was predicted that there would be no significant difference in the number of participants in the polite and neutral conditons who interupted the experimenter. Method Participants A total of 54 undergraduate psychology students, 34 females and 19 males, aged between 19-25 (mean age 20.3), volunteered to participate in the experiment. Materials Each of the participants was presented with Scrambled Sentence Test which was presented as a test of language ability. Comprising 30 items, participants had to use listed words to form a grammatically correct four-word sentence as quickly as possible. There were three versions of the scrambled-sentence test: for the rude and polite conditions, 15 of the 30 items contained words that were associated with the trait in question. In the neutral condition, these 15 were replaced with neutral words. The remaining 15 items were idetical across the three conditions. Design ÃŽ ¤he design of the experiment was between subjects, and had three experimental conditions. Participants were randomly assigned to each condition. The independent variable was the condition that the participant was assigned to and had three levels;   rude, polite and neutral. The dependent variable was the number of participants who interupted the experimenter. Procedure Participants took part in the experiment one at a time. They were informed that they were to participate in a language ability study, and their consent to participate was obtained. Each participant received an envelope that contained 30 scrambled sentences, and were told the task was concerned with grammatical construction. They were asked to form a grammatically correct four-word sentence from a list of five-word scrambled sentences. Particpants were then given one of three versions of the test (rude, polite or neutral) of the scrambled-sentence test, and asked to complete it as quickly as possible. Upon completion, participants were asked to find the experimenter in a second room and notify them of their completion, in order to move on to the next experimental task. Participants was randomly assigned to each condition, to which the experimenter was blind. When the participant entered the second room, the experimenter appeared to be engaged with another unseen particpant (actually a confederate). The experimenter and confederate continued their discussion until interupted by the participant. The confederate noted which of the participants elected to interrupt. Results Table 1: Total number of participants who did/did not interrupt in each condition (polite, neutral, rude). Word Type Polite (n) Neutral (n) Rude (n) Did not interrupt 15 10 8 Interrupted 3 6 12 The dependent variable of the experiment was the total number of participants that interrupted the experimenter in each word type condition, and as can be seen from Table 1, participants in the rude condition interrupted most frequently (n = 12). Participants in the polite condition interrupted the least (n = 3). The propensity to interrupt increased across the levels of the independent variable; a higher number of participants in the neutral condition (n = 6) interrupted than in the polite group. A higher number again interrupted in the rude group. The results of this experiment were statistically analysed used a Chi-square goodness-of-fit test. This test was selected as the data was categorical, numerical and discrete. It produced a goodness-of-fit between the observed and expected values. If priming had no effect on interrupting behaviour, distribution across the conditions would be equal. The Chi-square test demonstrated whether the observed frequencies differed significantly from the expected frequencies. The result of the Chi-square was significant; participants in the rude condition were significantly more likely to interrupt the experimenter than participants in the neutral or positive condition, x2 (2, N = 54) = 7.50, p 0.5. Discussion This study examined whether priming traits (rudeness and politeness) could have an impact on social behaviour.   It was hypothesized that participants primed with rude traits would be more likely to interrupt an experimenter ostensibly engaged in a conversation with an unseen ‘participant’ than those who were primed with positive or neutral traits, and this hypothesis was fully supported by the results of the experiment. The study confirmed that people, when influenced by a rude prime condition, would demonstrate a negative impact on social behaviour, whilst the social behaviour of those who were influenced by a polite or neutral prime condition were unaffected. This finding supported the results of Bargh et al. (1996) despite the change to the dependent variable. This provides compelling evidence for their hypothesis regarding the automatic activation of social behaviours in the face of certain environmental features (in both cases, the rude primes). Not only does the replication confirm the original study findings, but the change in the dependent variable in the study under discussion improves on the methodological design flaw of the original. Interestingly, the present study also supported the original study finding of no significant difference in interrupting behaviour between the polite and neutral groups. This indicates that it is rude behaviour that is most likely to be automatically activated. Priming a participant with polite trait information does not appear to increase an individual’s politeness, or a significant difference between the neutral and polite levels would be observed. This is somewhat at odds with previous resea rch which indicated a bias towards increased postivity via priming (Higgins et al., 1977; Forgas Bower, 1987). However, these studies looked at the effect of priming on judgement, and not on behaviour. If the result of the present study is compared with Carver et al. (1983) study of negative priming and electric shock administration, both show an increased bias towards the propensity to prime negative behaviour. Although the change in the dependent variable from time to interrupt to presence of interrupting behaviour resolved the issue of ceiling effects described by Bargh et al. (1996), whilst producing a similar result, some detail was lost. Moving from a numerical scale (time) to a categorical measurement meant that the choice of statistical analysis available was limited. A future replication might involve measuring the total number of participants that interrupted, and the time taken among those that did. A second factor that should be considered is the possibility that those in the rude condition were simply a ruder group of participants and were more likely to interrupt despite the priming effect. To control for this possibility, a future replication could incorporate a personality questionnaire to control for propensity towards rude behaviour. The current study was a replication of Baugh et al.’s (1996) experiment 2. To resolve the original study’s problem of ceiling effects, a change was made to the dependent variable; instead of measuring the time taken to interrupt, the total number of those interrupting in each condition was measured. The results supported the finding of the original study, presentation of the rudeness trait primes subsequent rude behaviour; therefore social behaviour can be automatically triggered without conscious thought. References Bargh, J. A. (1989). Conditional automaticity: Varieties of automatic influence in social perception and cognition. In J. S. Uleman, J. A. Bargh (Eds.), Unintended Thought (pp. 3-51). New York: Guilford Press. Bargh, J.A., Chen, M., Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 230-244. Carver, C., Ganellen, R., Froming, W., Chambers, W. (1983). Modelling: an analysis in terms of c ategory accessibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 403–421. Forgas, J. P. Moylan, S. J. (1987). After the movies: The effects of transient mood states on social judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 478-489. Higgins, E. T., Rholes, W. S., Jones, C. R. (1977). Category accessibility and impression formation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,13, 141–154.

Lables shown in G.I. Jane essays

Lables shown in G.I. Jane essays The movie GI Jane is about a test to see if women are capable of becoming part of combat units in the United States military. It is a test of the capabilities of a woman (played by Demi Moore) and to see if she can complete Navy SEAL training. This is designed to see if the US policy on women in combat units (Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Marine Force Recon, etc.) is valid. Currently, the US military does not allow women in front line units such as the SEALs and they are not allowed in units that are designated combat arms such as infantry, armor, and artillery. The purpose of the policy is to keep women out of the front lines and the majority of the fighting when a battle is fought. Some people say that it is because women dont have the physical capability to keep up with men and they would be a hindrance to the unit. In the movie the Command Master Chief in charge of the SEAL training made a comment on the Israelis trying to put women in combat. He said that the Israeli troops mourned more over a fallen female soldier then they did a fellow man who had been killed. These emotions caused the men to be less effective in combat and cost additional lives. When Lieutenant ONeal was allowed into SEAL school she was labeled from the start as a female that would never be allowed to pass the training. From the moment she reported to her commanding officer she was treated differently. This type of treatment (regardless of how obvious it might be) is designed to single people out. In a situation like this being an individual is the easiest way to fail. This individualized treatment was designed to make this woman fail. Because she was labeled as a woman her instructors wanted to see her fail and her fellow trainees had no desire to help her succeed. If anything her fellow trainees wanted her to fail even more. Quotes such as No split tail ...

Confusing Passed with Past

Confusing Passed with Past Confusing Passed with Past Confusing Passed with Past By Maeve Maddox Reader Peggy Lanahan asks Is it correct to say, â€Å"how does the food always get passed the bib? or past the bib†? The frequent confusion between the words passed and past is understandable. They are pronounced alike and have similar meanings. Careful writers need to find some trick for remembering the difference. Both words derive from the same Latin noun: passus step, pace. From that noun came a Vulgar Latin verb passare to step or to walk. English took the word from Old French passer. The form passed is the past participle of the verb to pass. Pass can be used transitively: I passed the church on my way to the store. or intransitively: He passed through life without a care. Intransitive pass is also used as a euphemism for die, as in When did your father pass? The word past can be used as an adjective: Dont hold grudges for past offenses. as an adverb: I thought he would stop, but he just ran past. and as a preposition: How does the food always get past the bib? For more on Past vs Passed, read this post by Ali. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:English Grammar 101: All You Need to Know40 Synonyms for â€Å"Lie†12 Misunderstood and Misquoted Shakespearean Expressions

Financial accounting standards board Research Paper

Financial accounting standards board - Research Paper Example However, after the approval of the amendment, entities going through mergers and acquisitions are obliged by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to implement this change in their financial reporting. This is to ensure consistency in the application of these standards among the entities affected. Accounting for any combination taking place after the approval date must be in accordance with the provisions of this standards. In addition, full implementation must be observed, that is, once an entity decides to use these standards, it must be applied fully, ensuring compliance with every paragraph of the standard and not partial compliance (FASB, p14).The board may permit early application to implement the standard by entities undergoing combinations. They can simply apply to the board if they are certain about using the standard. The board may however choose to accept or reject such applications. When the board is sufficiently satisfied that the applicants can implement this standar d, it grants the permission for an early implementation. When such permission is granted, the applicant must comply with the requirements of each provision of the standard as partial compliance is prohibited. They must ensure recognition, measurement, and disclosure are as per the requirements of the standard (FASB, p18).The proposed amendment would result in more relevant information as compared to the current standard on disclosure of identifiable intangible assets. Firstly, this standard limits the separate recognition to non-cancelable contractual terms and other legal rights.

BANK OF AMERICA TECHNOLOGY (ATM, ONLINE BANKING, ALL TECHNOLOGY Essay

BANK OF AMERICA TECHNOLOGY (ATM, ONLINE BANKING, ALL TECHNOLOGY ASPECTS) - Essay Example (Frguson, 2000).Many banks are now spending huge amounts of money in technology .This money is being spent not only to update and maintain their IT infrastructure but also to keep ahead of the competition by being the first to provide the latest technologies. Some of the technologies provide ease and convenience to the customers and others help the banks to reduce their overheads and thus save money which was usually spent on physical infrastructure. Technology is also allowing small banks to compete with big established banks as they rely more on their virtual infrastructure than on their physical infrastructure to compete. IT has provided many custom made and off the shelf solutions to take care of their accounting and back office needs. IT has also helped in the development of new channels of reaching out to the customer such as auto teller machines, net banking, mobile banking and various other facilities. Some examples of technology products which are used by banks to provide se rvice to its customers are net banking , credit card online , mobile banking , electronic money transfer , online payment of taxes , mobile recharges , airline ticket booking etc. The list of services being provided by banks to its online customers is endless. Bank of America Corporation as a financial services company is the largest bank holding company in USA by assets and second largest by market capitalization. (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, 2009).It was founded in 1874 and was initially known as Nations bank .Its current name was assumed after the acquisition of a San-Francisco bank named as Bank of America. The need of information technology in Bank of America was felt due to another revolution that it has pioneered. It was one of the first banks to deploy branch offices of the parent bank in many locations all across the nation. But cashing a cheuque in a different location was a cumbersome process for the customers

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Human resource management - Essay Example ON-THE-JOB TRAINING: It takes place in a normal work environment using the actual projects, documents, tools and the work place as the training location. In this type the trainee is assigned to a supervisor or a senior employee and he/she observes their training in more like a one to one situation. The purpose of on-the-job training is a better work performance; the trainer can not only focus on his/her input in training, in fact the trainings must have its desired impacts. Although there are no specific ways applied in training because different situations, different assignments call for different methods but the many different types of on the job training are (Rapid Training Development 2010): JOB ROTATION: Job rotation is one of the commonly used methods in on-the-job trainings, this method involves the trainee to move from one job or assignment to another in order to gain experience. In this method the trainees are placed under each and every type of job from clerical job to assistant, cashier, manager for them to learn the importance and the manner to handle every job. COACHING: in this method the trainee is placed under the watchful eyes of a supervisor who acts as a coach and supervises him/her through different assignments. They offer their feedbacks regarding the trainees work and performance make suggestions and help them make improvements in their work quality. But there is only one limitation for the trainee that he/she cannot express their ideas so openly. JOB INSTRUCTION: this method is also known as â€Å"step-by-step training†, in which the trainer explains the different ways of doing jobs. He also gives him/her job knowledge, teaches them the method of doing it and allows him to do the job on their own but under their supervision. After the job is job the trainer appraises, provides feedback, and corrects the mistakes that are made. The

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Economic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic analysis - Essay Example In normal circumstances, keeping other things constant (ceteris paribus), as the demand rises (the supply is held constant), the price of the good also increases. This is because as the demand for a good rises, the willingness and the ability of the buyers to buy rises. As a result, buyers are willing to buy more, and hence the price of the good rises. This can be shown in the diagram that is drawn below. From Figure 2.1 it can be seen that as demand rises (due to some exogenous variable), the demand curve shifts to the right (from AB to CD). The supply is fixed and so the new equilibrium is F instead of E that was initially the equilibrium. Since the supply is fixed it can be seen that the prices have risen from P1 to P2, such that P1 In the article, Erica Olsen, the marketing specialist for North Dakota Wheat Commission states that the prices of durum throughout the year 2009 have not been changed. In fact they have remained in a range of $4 to $ 4.20, so that the average price is $ 4.10.2 She states that the demand for durum has increased worldwide and so has increased the exports of America. The estimated number of exports was reported as 838000 bushels in the year 2009.3 Normally, this increased number of exports may lead to a shortage of durum in the domestic country. Consequently, the prices may increase more as the supply falls to the left (there is a shortage). This phenomenon can be seen in the figure below. In the figure, the demand is already high. With an increase in exports the supply in the domestic market should fall. (The supply curve should shift from UX to YZ). The equilibrium should shift to G from E. Hence the price should increase more, this time to P3 where P3> P2. However this is not what was observed in

Starbucks ethics negative side Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Starbucks ethics negative side - Assignment Example Interest of the enterprises to follow and adopt business ethics as part of their functioning has fallen down during the recession period, with unethical practices indirectly leading to recession. (Purlys 711). Starbucks is under this ethical scanner for a long time, and now the global changes on how companies should function ethically, make it imperative on the part of Starbucks to be more ethically sound, but that is not the case, with Starbucks facing problems in organizing in the changing global environment. Although, Starbucks wants to establish itself as the most recognized and respected brand in the world, it is facing some ethical issues and it is negatively affecting its organizing efforts in the changing environment. Starbucks is facing criticism for unethical as well as controversial activities like not compulsorily providing Fair Trade Coffee in all its stores and because of the use of Bovine Growth Hormone milk in its coffees and ice-creams. Fair Trade Coffee is the term given to the coffee beans, which are purchased by Starbucks or other coffee makers through ethical means like providing fair and industry standard prices to the coffee growers in the Home country as well as in the Third World countries. Also, Fair Trade activities including Fair Trade Coffee support and intersect with other community development efforts, grounding and enhancing the resulting benefits (Raynolds, Murray and Taylor 1116). However, Starbucks is accused of not selling these Fair Trade coffees in all its stores compulsorily, instead selling only to the clients, who ask for it or demand it. This way, they still selling non-Fair Trade coffees and because of this unethical practice, they are giving very low prices to the farmers, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt, and also not doing enough community services for them. Although, Starbucks’ chairman, Howard Schultz mandated that coffee farmers from its major sources in the African countries

Economic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic analysis - Essay Example In normal circumstances, keeping other things constant (ceteris paribus), as the demand rises (the supply is held constant), the price of the good also increases. This is because as the demand for a good rises, the willingness and the ability of the buyers to buy rises. As a result, buyers are willing to buy more, and hence the price of the good rises. This can be shown in the diagram that is drawn below. From Figure 2.1 it can be seen that as demand rises (due to some exogenous variable), the demand curve shifts to the right (from AB to CD). The supply is fixed and so the new equilibrium is F instead of E that was initially the equilibrium. Since the supply is fixed it can be seen that the prices have risen from P1 to P2, such that P1 In the article, Erica Olsen, the marketing specialist for North Dakota Wheat Commission states that the prices of durum throughout the year 2009 have not been changed. In fact they have remained in a range of $4 to $ 4.20, so that the average price is $ 4.10.2 She states that the demand for durum has increased worldwide and so has increased the exports of America. The estimated number of exports was reported as 838000 bushels in the year 2009.3 Normally, this increased number of exports may lead to a shortage of durum in the domestic country. Consequently, the prices may increase more as the supply falls to the left (there is a shortage). This phenomenon can be seen in the figure below. In the figure, the demand is already high. With an increase in exports the supply in the domestic market should fall. (The supply curve should shift from UX to YZ). The equilibrium should shift to G from E. Hence the price should increase more, this time to P3 where P3> P2. However this is not what was observed in

Environmental economic--sustainable development Essay

Environmental economic--sustainable development - Essay Example It is in this context that this research is aimed at critically examining ANS within the empirical context of human survival that is anchored only on genuine sustainable development. Experts of development worldwide made a framework that seriously consider environment, as source of needed resources. WB focused on the relation of environment and sustainability as amongst the indicators of macro-economy (WB, 1997). Authorities perceived that ANS is a ‘green national account’ founded on the precept that generations of people are reliant on countrys asset base. This indicator covers natural resources, its utilization and the human resources. All these factors relate to a nation’s capacity to sustain growth over time (WB, 1997). Economist viewed ANS as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) (WB, 1997). The standard ANS is derivative of the standard national accounting measure of gross saving using four factors as adjustments (WB, 1997 & Bartelmus and Seifert, 2003). These are (a) consumption of fixed capital deducted to obtain net national saving; (b) current public expenditure on education as investment for human capital; (c) an accounting of the depleted natural resources deducted to reflect the utilization and maximization of asset in value due to extraction and depletion; (d) deductions due to pollutions and damages caused by carbon dioxide and emissions. This formula is showed, thus (WB, 1997 & Bartelmus and Seifert, 2003), Education cost means operating expenses in education, which include wages of teachers, expenses for enhancement of capacity but this does not include expenditures for infrastructures, facilities and materials necessary to education (WB, 1997& 2011). GS refer to are the differentiation between gross national income and public and private consumption with added net current transfers. Consumption of fixed capital symbolizes the alternate value of capital used up in the progression of production. Net savings means gross

Developmental Stage Theories Essay Example for Free

Developmental Stage Theories Essay Developmental psychology is the scientific study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infantsand children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire life span. This field examines change across a broad range of topics including motor skills and other psycho-physiological processes; cognitive development involving areas such as problem solving, moral understanding, and conceptual understanding; language acquisition; social, personality, and emotional development; and self-concept and identity formation. Developmental psychology includes issues such as the extent to which development occurs through the gradual accumulation of knowledge versus stage-like development, or the extent to which children are born with innate mental structures, versus learning through experience. Many researchers are interested in the interaction between personal characteristics, the individuals behavior, and environmental factors including social context, and their impact on development; others take a more narrowly-focused approach. Developmental psychology informs several applied fields, including: educational psychology, child psychopathology, and forensic developmental psychology. Developmental psychology complements several other basic research fields in psychology including social psychology, cognitive psychology, ecological psychology, and comparative psychology. Theories Attachment theory Attachment theory, theoretical frame work originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation protocol and the concept of the secure base. There are three types of attachment styles: secure, anxious-avoidant, and anxious-resistant. Secure attachment is a healthy attachment between the infant and the caregiver. It is characterized by trust. Anxious-avoidant is an insecure attachment between an infant and a caregiver. This is characterized by the infants indifference toward the caregiver. Anxious-resistant is an insecure attachment between the infant and the caregiver characterized by distress from the infant when separated and anger when reunited. [1] A child can be hindered in its natural tendency to form attachments. Some babies are raised without the stimulation and attention of a regular caregiver, or locked away under conditions of abuse or extreme neglect. The possible short-term effects of this deprivation are anger, despair, detachment, and temporary delay in intellectual development. Long-term effects include increased aggression, clinging behavior, detachment, psychosomatic disorders, and an increased risk of depression as an adult. [2][3] Constructivism Constructivism is a paradigm in psychology that characterizes learning as a process of actively constructing knowledge. Individuals create meaning for themselves or make sense of new information by selecting, organizing, and integrating information with other knowledge, often in the content of social interactions. There are two ways in which constructivism can occur: individual and social. Individual constructivism is when a person constructs knowledge through cognitive processes of their own experiences rather than by memorizing facts provided by others. Social constructivism is when individuals construct knowledge through an interaction between the knowledge they bring to a situation and social or cultural exchanges within that content. [4] Ecological systems theory The Ecological systems theory, originally formulated by Urie Bronfenbrenner specifies four types of nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems. The four systems are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development. The microsystem is the immediate environment surrounding and influencing the individual (example: school or the home setting). The mesosystem is the combination of two microsystems and how they influence each other (example: sibling relationships at home vs. peer relationships at school). The exosystem is the interaction among two or more settings that are indirectly linked (example: a fathers job requiring more overtime ends up influencing his aughters performance in school because he can no longer help with her homework). The macrosystem is broader taking into account social economic status, culture, beliefs, customs and morals (example: a child from a wealthier family sees a peer from a less wealthy family as inferior for that reason). Lastly, the chronosystem refers to the chronological nature of life events and how they interact and change the individual and their circumstances through transition (example: a mother losing her own mother to illness and no longer having that support in her life). Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenners major statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development[5] has had widespread influence on the way psychologists and others approach the study of human beings and their environments. As a result of this conceptualization of development, these environments—from the family to economic and political structures—have come to be viewed as part of the life course from childhood through adulthood. [6] Psychosexual development Sigmund Freud believed that we all had a conscious, preconscious, and unconscious level. In the conscious we are aware of our mental process. The preconscious involves information that though we are not currently thinking about can be brought into consciousness. Lastly, the unconscious includes those mental processes which we are unaware of. He believed that the conscious and unconscious had tension because the conscious would try and hold back what the unconscious was trying to express. To explain this he developed three structures of personality; the id, ego, and superego. The id, being the most primitive of the three functioned according to the pleasure principle. The pleasure principle states that the id’s motivation is to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Based on this he proposed five universal stages of development. The first is the oral stage which occurs from birth to 12 months of age, second is the anal stage which occurs from one to three years of age, third is the phallic stage which occurs from three to five years of age (most of a person’s personality is formed by this age), the fourth is called latency which occurs from age five until puberty, and lastly stage five is the genital stage which takes place from puberty until adulthood. 7] Stages of moral development Theories of morality that stem from Jean Piaget’s cognitive-developmental viewpoint emphasize shifts in the type of reasoning that individuals use in making moral decisions. Changes in the content of the decision they reach or the actions they take as a result does not occur. [dubious – discuss] Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on this issue specifically during adolescence. He suggested three levels of moral reasoning; preconventional moral reasoning, conventional moral reasoning, and postconventional moral reasoning. Preconventional moral reasoning is typical of children and is characterized by reasoning that is based on rewards and punishments associated with different courses of action. Conventional moral reason occurs during late childhood and early adolescence and is characterized by reasoning that is based on the rules and conventions of society. Lastly, postconventional moral reasoning is the stage during which society’s rules and conventions are seen as relative and subjective rather than as authoritative. [1] Stages of psychosocial development Erik Erikson became a child psychoanalyst like his mentor Anna Freud, Sigmond Freud’s daughter. He went on to reinterpret Freud’s psychosexual stages by incorporating the social aspects of it. He came up with eight stages, each of which has two crisis (a positive and a negative). Stage one is trust versus mistrust, which occurs during infancy. Stage two is autonomy versus shame and doubt which occurs during early childhood. Stage three is initiative versus guilt which occurs during play age. Stage four is industry versus inferiority which occurs during school age. Stage five is identity versus identity diffusion which occurs during adolescence. Stage six is intimacy versus isolation which occurs during young adulthood. Stage seven is generativity versus self-absorption which occurs during adulthood. Lastly, stage eight is integrity versus despair which occurs during old age. In each of these stages either one or the other crisis is developed. The ideal thing would be to have the positive crisis more developed than the negative crisis. [7] Theories of cognitive development Jean Piaget was a Swiss theorist who posited that children learn by actively constructing knowledge through hands-on experience. [8] He suggested that the adults role in helping the child learn was to provide appropriate materials or the child to interact and construct. He would use Socratic questioning to get the children to reflect on what they were doing. He would try to get them to see contradictions in their explanations. He also developed stages of development. His approach can be seen in how the curriculum is sequenced in schools, and in the pedagogy of preschool centers across the United States. Piaget believed that intellectual development took place through a series of stages which caused him to come up with his Theory on Cognitive Development. Each stage consisted of steps which the child had to master before moving on to the next step. He believe that these stages where not separate from one another but rather each stage built on the previous one, hence learning was continuous. His theory consisted of four stages; sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Though he did not believe these stages occurred at any given age, many studies have determine when these cognitive abilities should take place. [4] Zone of proximal development Lev Vygotsky was a Russian theorist from the Soviet era, who posited that children learn through hands-on experience and social interactions with members of his/her culture. 9] Unlike Piaget, he claimed that timely and sensitive intervention by adults when a child is on the edge of learning a new task (called the zone of proximal development) could help children learn new tasks. Martin Hill stated that The world of reality does not apply to the mind of a child. This technique is called scaffolding, because it builds upon knowledge children already have with new knowledge that adults can help the child learn. [10] Vygotsky was strongly focused on the role of culture in determining the childs pattern of development, arguing that development moves from the social level to the individual level. 10] In other words, Vygotsky claimed that psychology should focus on the progress of human consciousness through the relationship of an individual and their environment. [11]He felt that if scholars continued to disregard this connection, then this disregard would inhibit the full comprehension of the human consciousness Nature/nurture A significant issue in developmental psychology is the relationship between innateness and environmental influence in regard to any particular aspect of development. This is often referred to as nature versus nurture or nativism versus empiricism. A nativist account of development would argue that the processes in question are innate, that is, they are specified by the organisms genes. An empiricist perspective would argue that those processes are acquired in interaction with the environment. Today developmental psychologists rarely take such polarised positions with regard to most aspects of development; rather they investigate, among many other things, the relationship between innate and environmental influences. One of the ways in which this relationship has been explored in recent years is through the emerging field of evolutionary developmental psychology. One area where this innateness debate has been prominently portrayed is in research on language acquisition. A major question in this area is whether or not certain properties of human language are specified genetically or can be acquired through learning. The empiricist position on the issue of language acquisition suggests that the language input provides the necessary information required for learning the structure of language and that infants acquire language through a process of statistical learning. From this perspective, language can be acquired via general learning methods that also apply to other aspects of development, such as perceptual learning. The nativist position argues that the input from language is too impoverished for infants and children to acquire the structure of language. Linguist Noam Chomsky asserts that, evidenced by the lack of sufficient information in the language input, there is a universal grammar that applies to all human languages and is pre-specified. This has led to the idea that there is a special cognitivemodule suited for learning language, often called the language acquisition device. Chomskys critique of the behaviorist model of language acquisition is regarded by many as a key turning point in the decline in the prominence of the theory of behaviorism generally. [12] But Skinners conception of Verbal Behavior has not died, perhaps in part because it has generated successful practical applications. [12] Mechanisms of development Developmental psychology is concerned not only with describing the characteristics of psychological change over time, but also seeks to explain the principles and internal workings underlying these changes. Psychologists have attempted to better understand these factors by using models. Developmental models are sometimes computational, but they do not need to be. A model must simply account for the means by which a process takes place. This is sometimes done in reference to changes in the brain that may correspond to changes in behavior over the course of the development. Computational accounts of development often use either symbolic, connectionist (neural network), or dynamical systems models to explain the mechanisms of development. Research areas Cognitive development Cognitive development is primarily concerned with the ways in which infants and children acquire, develop, and use internal mental capabilities such as problem solving, memory, and language. Major topics in cognitive development are the study of language acquisition and the development of perceptual and motor skills. Piaget was one of the influential early psychologists to study the development of cognitive abilities. His theory suggests that development proceeds through a set of stages from infancy to adulthood and that there is an end point or goal. Other accounts, such as that of Lev Vygotsky, have suggested that development does not progress through stages, but rather that the developmental process that begins at birth and continues until death is too complex for such structure and finality. Rather, from this viewpoint, developmental processes proceed more continuously, thus development should be analyzed, instead of treated as a product to be obtained. K. Warner Schaie has expanded the study of cognitive development into adulthood. Rather than being stable from adolescence, Schaie sees adults as progressing in the application of their cognitive abilities. 13] Modern cognitive development has integrated the considerations of cognitive psychology and the psychology of individual differences into the interpretation and modeling of development. [14]Specifically, the neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development showed that the successive levels or stages of cognitive development are associated with increasing processing efficiency andworking memory capacity. In addition, children in higher-levels of cognitive development have been observed to have greater mathematical fluency in basic addition and subtraction problems. 15] These increases explain differences between stages, progression to higher stages, and individual differences of children who are the same-age and of the same grade-level. However, other theories have moved away from Piagetian stage theories, and are influenced by accounts of domain-specific information processing, which posit that development is guided by innate evolutionarily-specified and content-specific information processing mechanisms. Social and emotional development Developmental psychologists who are interested in social development examine how individuals develop social and emotional competencies. For example, they study how children form friendships, how they understand and deal with emotions, and how identity develops. Research in this area may involve study of the relationship between cognition or cognitive development and social behavior. Erik Erikson believed we undergo several stages to achieve social and emotional development. These stages were called the Erik Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development. The stages were trust vs. mistrust, attachment, parenting style, ego identity, role diffusion, generativity versus stagnation, midlife crisis, and ego integrity versus despair. Emotional regulation or ER refers to an individuals ability to modulate emotional responses across a variety of contexts. In young children, this modulation is in part controlled externally, by parents and other authority figures. As children develop, they take on more and more responsibility for their internal state. Studies have shown that the development of ER is affected by the emotional regulation children observe in parents and caretakers, the emotional climate in the home, and the reaction of parents and caretakers to the childs emotions. [16] Physical development Physical development concerns the physical maturation of an individuals body until it reaches the adult stature. Although physical growth is a highly regular process, all children differ tremendously in the timing of their growth spurts. [17] Studies are being done to analyze how the differences in these timings affect and are related to other variables of developmental psychology such as information processing speed. Traditional measures of physical maturity using x-rays are less in practice nowadays, compared to simple measurements of body parts such as height, weight, head circumference, and arm span. 17] A few other studies and practices with physical developmental psychology are the phonological abilities of mature 5- to 11-year-olds, and the controversial hypotheses of left-handers being maturationally delayed compared to right-handers. A study by Eaton, Chipperfield, Ritchot, and Kostiuk in 1996 found in three different samples that there was no difference between right- and left-handers. [17] Memory development Researchers interested in memory development look at the way our memory develops from childhood and onward. According to Fuzzy-trace theory, we have two separate memory processes: verbatim and gist. These two traces begin to develop at different times as well as at a different pace. Children as young as 4 years-old have verbatim memory, memory for surface information, which increases up to early adulthood, at which point it begins to decline. On the other hand, our capacity for gist memory, memory for semantic information, increases up to early adulthood, at which point it consistent through old age. Furthermore, our reliance on gist memory traces in reasoning increases as we age.

Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication

Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication People with diverse cultures are more than ever challenging when it comes to effective communication. Cultures vary with their ways of seeing hearing, interpreting the world, and thinking. Cultural differences can be depicting in a wide variety of behavior and beliefs that found in the daily living such as in the workplace. It often serves as a wall that makes it very in conducive for businesses to go about with their activities. Thus similar statement can perceive different meanings to group from varied cultures, despite of the same language that they talk. With this diverse languages and translation of statement has to be used to converse, the possible for misinterpreting or misunderstanding increases. Doing business in a global economy is a very typical in the multicultural workplace, whereas barriers to communication abound. There are other elements that confront people who are trying to exert effort with others of a various background. People coming from different parts of the country have a dissimilar foundations and upbringing orientation, and they may show emotions in a different way and exhibit different behaviors. This may implicate the barriers to cross-cultural communication and can impede the understanding of the individual’s point of view. According to the Putsch, R. W. (1985), language barrier prevent a communicants capacity to judge meanings of the intentions, reactions, and emotions and manage to create a condition of dependency on the person who rely the keys to the whole course of action- the interpreter. [1] It is the truth that efficient communication is the answer to success not only in personal but also to business relationships as well. Lack of proper communication among people, the message will not be in achieved with the desired interpretation. As Rampur, S. (2011) stated that cultural differences are always behind a reason why there is an existence of miscommunication between two people. A gap is already manifested between individuals with their respective different views and backgrounds as an effect of which the message to be perceived is not understood or misinterpreted.[2] Barriers of language are a very intricate thing, and communication among people talking diverse languages is hard as stated by Penn, S. She further explained that language is a method of looking at the shortcomings, and even expert interpreter can find it difficult to express multifaceted concepts and emotions, which can escort to misunderstandings. Often a time that when you always misunderstood by someone talking with your language, it is very hard to express the full meaning from a person with a diverse cultural background.[3] Most managers or clinical coordinator, when encountered with cultural variance, often have slight idea that the causal cause could be cultural, The Economist Intelligence Unit stated (2012). They are likely to imagine: ‘Why are you so distress? This is I usually act and people in my home office in no way get offend. What’s the matter with you?’ A manager has needs to be acquainted with the individual’s cultural background that powerfully influence the way they react.†[4] There are a lot of reasons why interpersonal interactions may be unsuccessful. Several communications, the message may not be established precisely the way the sender projected. It is, therefore, essential that the conversationalist seeks response to verify that their message is obviously perceived correctly. There are common barriers to effective communications in terms of Cultural perspective. Language Barriers, Hostile stereotypes, behavior differences, and emotional display are just the examples of common barriers to effective communication. With regards to language barriers, it has been observed that coming from different cultures may not be comfortable in communicating to other person because of unable to understand the accent nor the language that they possess. As for the hostile stereotypes, because of their negative perceptions towards certain circumstances, it might damage the relationship among people. Behavioral variances concerning employees of different cultures can roo t misinterpretations. In some values, looking someone in the eye while talking to you is measured rude, on the other hand in other cultures holding back from doing so is measured disrespectful. Cultural Norms and Patterns Cultural norms are the customary, pattern or model of a specific cultural, ethnic, race, social or religious group considers as classic. Cultural norms comprise behaviors, thoughts and customs, values, beliefs, institution and patterns of communication. We can study to collaborate and interact across cultural race as persons, clusters, and the social order. Frequently our own culture is imperceptible until it comes into commerce with another race. People are normally ethnocentric; they read other cultures within the outline of the understanding according to their personal view. [5] Effective communication with persons of diverse culture is expressly challenging. It takes furthermore awareness to overcome these shortcomings and converse efficiently across nations. Over the years, the world has experienced an alteration process in which it has convert a specific omnibus form of socially diverse cultures whether it is based on ethnicity, gender, age, race, physical abilities, religion, socio economic status or sexual orientation. Working with different cultures in their home aspect is more a substance of finesse, communication and diplomacy rather than the straight application of forcible power. Cultural study is all tackles of understanding one’s individual ethnic patterns and learning individual’s own cultural standards.[6] References Putsch, R. W. (1985). Cross cultural communication. The special case of interpreters in health care. The Journal of American Medical Association, 254 (23), 3344-3348. doi:10.1001/jama.1985.03360230076027. Rampur, S. (2011). Cultural barriers to effective communication. Health Promotion Agency. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cultural-barriers-to-effective-communication.html Penn, S. (2014). Cultural communication barriers in the workplace. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/cultural-communication-barriers-workplace-13888.htm Economist Intelligence Unit (2012). Retrieved from http://www.jku.at/zsp/content/e48784/e164612/Competing_across_borders.pdf Kiss, G. (2008).Tactics for removing cultural barriers: A practical approach to effective communication. 7(3), 425–433 Retrieved from http://www.konyvtar.zmne.hu/docs/Volume7/Issue3/pdf/03kiss.pdf [1]Putsch, R. W. (1985) Cross cultural communication. The special case of interpreters in health care. The Journal of American Medical Association, 254 (23),3344-3348. doi:10.1001/jama.1985.03360230076027. [2]Rampur, S. (2011) Cultural barriers to effective communication. Health Promotion Agency. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cultural-barriers-to-effective-communication.html [3]Penn, S. (2014) Cultural communication barriers in the workplace. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/cultural-communication-barriers-workplace-13888.html [4]Economist Intelligence Unit (2012) Retrieved from http://www.jku.at/zsp/content/e48784/e164612/Competing_across_borders.pdf [5]Kiss, G. (2008)Tactics for removing cultural barriers: A practical approach to effective communication. 7(3), 425–433 Retrieved from http://www.konyvtar.zmne.hu/docs/Volume7/Issue3/pdf/03kiss.pdf [6]Kiss, G. (2008)Tactics for removing cultural barriers: A practical approach to effective communication. 7(3), 425–433 Retrieved from http://www.konyvtar.zmne.hu/docs/Volume7/Issue3/pdf/03kiss.pdf

An Analysis of the Term Actually Incurred in Section 11(a) of Income Tax Action :: Accounting Education Finances Taxes Essays

An Analysis of the Term Actually Incurred in Section 11(a) of Income Tax Action Act No. 58 of 1962 1.SYNOPSIS Generally Accepted Accounting Practice includes statement AC000: Framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements. This sets out broad and definitive rules governing the recognition of liabilities and income and expenditure in financial statements. Specifically the following paragraphs need to be considered: Recognition of liabilities: 91. A liability is recognised in the balance sheet when it is probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will result from the settlement of a present obligation and the amount at which the settlement will take place can be measured reliably... Recognition of expenses: 94. Expenses are recognised in the income statement when a decrease in future economic benefits related to a decrease in an asset or an increase of a liability has arisen that can be measured reliably. This means in effect that recognition of expenses occurs simultaneously with the recognition of an increase or a decrease in assets 95. Expenses are recognised in the income statement on the basis of a direct association between the costs incurred and the and the earning of specific items of income. This process, commonly referred to as the matching of costs with revenues, involves the simultaneous or combined recognition of revenues and expenses that result directly and jointly from the same transaction or other events; The fisc takes little notice of these rules when it comes to the recognition of expenditure for the purposes of taxation. It is the part of these rules that govern the general deduction provision that this report will examine. Section 11(a) of the South African Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 (as amended) reads as follows: 11. General deductions allowed in the determination of taxable income.- For the purpose of determining the taxable income derived by any person from the carrying on of any trade within the Republic, there shall be allowed as deductions from the income of such person so derived- (a) expenditure and losses actually incurred in the Republic in the production of the income, provided such expenditure and losses are not of a capital nature. The section defines the conditions that must be met for expenditure and losses to be allowed as deductions from income. The expenditure or losses must have been: Actu ssme nt In the Republic of South Africa. In the production of the income. Such expenditure or losses must not be of a capital nature. The section has to be read together with s23(g) 23. Deductions not allowed in the determination of taxable income.- No deductions shall be made in respect of any moneys, claimed as a deduction from trade, to the extent to which such monies

The Making of Barack Obama: A Glance at the Persuasive Power of Media

Barack Obama, an African-American from a middle-class family, surprisingly won the U.S. presidential election last November 4, 2008 and swore to presidency on January 20, 2009. As the U.S. is one of the racist countries in the world, he surprised the world by becoming the first Black President.Most political critics argued that media agenda setting and Obama’s social media strategies significantly aided in his campaigns. Aside from traditional media (print and broadcast media), Obama used the Internet media to win the attention and the voting power of most of the U.S. citizens.Although Obama has been into politics and has served the public for almost half of his life, it has been identified that Obama’s publicity in those popular media contributed a lot for his success in presidential election.During presidential campaign, it has been observed that Obama is in every media. From news in print media such as newspaper and magazine to radio interviews and television shows. Most noticeably, Obama also invaded the Internet with â€Å"www.barackobama.com† and the YouTube, to name a few. His e-mail advocacy, on-line video, and text messaging strategy also caught the attention of the sensitive audience and consumers. As Monte Lutz put it:Barack Obama won the presidency in a landslide victory (by a margin of nearly 200 electoral votes and 8.5 million popular votes) by converting everyday people into engaged and empowered volunteers, donors and advocates through social networks, e-mail advocacy, text messaging and online video. The campaign’s proclivity to online advocacy is a major reason for his victory. (2)The Persuasive Power of Media and the PoliticiansMass media is known as the most powerful propaganda and persuasive tool. At first, media was only used in business to influence the buying behavior of most consumers. Most newspapers and magazines carry colorful and catchy advertisements, challenging the readers to try the product or service to see the difference.Radio and television commercials also continuously clog the audience while listening or viewing their favorite program, and before they know it, they are already heading their way to the grocery or department store to buy the product that has been advertised. Brand recall was found to be an effect of product and service advertisements. Even if the audience did not pay enough attention, part of their cognitive system is able to recall the name of the product or service being advertised.Seeing the effectiveness of media in influencing the buying behavior of consumers, this trend has been adapted to politics – from setting political agenda, creating public policy, advocating political issues, to packaging the political candidate buying for any electoral position.Politicians believe that if the media could influence the buying behavior of the consumers, then it could also influence the voting behavior of the public. The advantage of most politicians lies on the fact that the Internet is now accessible everywhere. Most households nowadays own a computer with Internet access; if not, they can access it at a nearby computer shop.

Heart Functions Essay

1.What do you notice about the sizes of the four chambers? Annotate the measurements you have recorded onto your drawing. The ventricles are much bigger than the atria and the left ventricle is bigger than the right ventricle. Left atrium wall: 0.4cm Left ventricle wall: 1.4 cm Right atrium wall: 0.2 cm Right ventricle wall: 0.6 cm 2.The left ventricle has a much thinker wall than the right ventricle; explain why this is. The left ventricle has a much thicker wall than the right ventricle because the left ventricle has to pump blood to the whole body while the right ventricle only has to pump blood to the lungs. 3.What is the function of the tendinous cords attached to the bicuspid and tricuspid valves? The tendinous cords attached to the bicuspid and tricuspid valves hold the valves in place and prevent them from turning inside out. 4.Explain how blood flow in the heart moves in one direction only and trace the movement of a single red blood cell through the heart. The valves in the heart prevent the back flow of blood on the heart because they close shut whenever the blood starts flowing in the wrong direction. A deoxygenated red blood cell coming from the body would enter the heart from the vena cava into the right atrium. It would then go into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. From the right ventricle, it would be pumped to the lungs through the pulmonary artery. The red blood cell would be oxygenated in the lungs and would return to the left atrium through the pulmonary vein. From the pulmonary vein, it would go through the bicuspid valves into the left ventricle and the left ventricle would pump it through the aorta to the rest of the body. 5.What is the function of the coronary arteries? The coronary arteries supply the cardiac muscle with the blood and in turn oxygen they need to contract.

Lord’s Prayer

Introduction Matthew 6:9-13 is commonly referred as the â€Å"Lord’s Prayer†. In this paragraph, Jesus presented a pattern of prayer to the disciples, thus suggesting the manner in which God should be addressed and the petition we are entitled to present to Him. What is it about this paper that intrigues so many people to dig into the meaning of it? It is interesting to see from the verses above that Jesus’ prayer puts God in the first place. The first half of the prayer focuses exclusively on God and His agenda as believers adore, worship, and submit to His will before they introduce their own personal petitions.The second half of the prayer focuses on how should disciple invite God to their daily life and live upon God’s continuous spiritual provision. Even with the second half where their wills are introduced, God still takes dominant position in the relationship. The discipleship of the followers thus is being presented through day-to-day prayers. Soci o-Historical Background To fully understand the meaning of the text, the first thing to do is to step back to examine the society where the text was written, back to the time where the incident happened, thus we can fully grasp the context of the paragraph.The Gospel of Matthew as we know it was almost certainly written before A. D 100. It is quoted by Ignatius (Smyrn. 1. 1), writing in approximately 110-115 A. D. , and probably referred to in the Didache, which may date to sometime in the late 90s. 2 External evidence helps us to confirm that Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish Christian congregation or congregations either on the verge of or just recovering from a substantial break from Judaism as a whole. 3 If Matthew depends on Mark, it must obviously be later than Mark, but the dating of Mark is equally uncertain.Most would place Mark under the Neronian persecution in the mid- to late-60s, but the evidence is highly inferential. 4 Various data within Matthew’s Gospel might also support an earlier dating. Why would only Matthew include references to the temple tax (17:24-27), offering (5:23-24) and ritual (23:16-22), or to Sabbath keeping in Judea (24:20) in an era (after 70) in which none of these was practiced any longer? Why would he stress Jesus’ antagonism against the Sadducees in an age in which they had died out? One answer is that these things happened that way during Jesus’ lifetime.But given the evangelists’ consistent pattern of selecting episodes from Jesus’ life that were theologically meaningful for their communities, one wonders if these data are not indirect pointers to a pre-70 date. The evidence is finely balanced, but it is believed there is a slight weight in favor of opting for a date in the 60s, sometime after the composition of Mark. The above surveys of the probable circumstances of its composition lead a majority today to conclude that the author was a Jewish Christian. 5 Strictly speaking, this Gos pel, like all four canonical Gospels, is anonymous.Canonical Matthew is written in relatively good Greek, better than Mark, but not as polished as that of the native Greek writer, Luke. Given the amount of Hellenization that had infiltrated Galilee by the first century, and given that regular contacts with Gentiles that a toll collector would have had, the apostle Matthew would have become reasonably cosmopolitan Jew, quite capable of this kind of writing. 6 Some have inferred from reference like 13:52 that Matthew himself was a scribe, either before or after becoming a Christian, and that he therefore could not  also have been a toll collector.7 In fact, if he were a Christian scribe or teacher, his previous experience with an occupation that required writing and record keeping might even have helped better prepare him for his later responsibilities. Without any ancient traditions to the contrary, Matthew remains the most plausible choice for author. This author, at least of an o riginal draft of this book, seems quite probably to have been the converted toll collector, also named Levi, who became one of Jesus’ Twelve apostles (cf.10:3; 9:9-13; Mark 2:14-17).Literary Context Suggestions for Matthew’s Gospel have always involved apologetic design to try to convince non-Christian Jews of the truth of the Gospel, encouragement to the church’s witness in a hostile world, and deepening Christian faith by supplying more details about Jesus’ words and works. 8 All of these proposals make good sense and may well form part of Matthew’s intention. To what kind of church under what circumstance would such a Gospel to be addressed?The text itself never says. It is usually assumed that all of the Gospels are first of all addressed to Christian communities, since from the earliest days of Christian testimony that is where these documents are read. Suggestions about the church to which Matthew presumably is writing usually try to relate t he circumstances of that body of believers to the large Jewish world. Most of the testimony states merely that Matthew wrote â€Å"to the Hebrews,† although occasionally a place in Palestine is suggested.Modern scholars have often suggested Syria, especially its central city of Antioch, 9 which was up to one-seventh Jewish and a center of early Christian missionary effort. More fruitful is discussion of the type of situation within Judaism that would have provoked this Gospel. Some have argued for Gentile audience, and interpreted Matthew’s Jewish emphasis as teaching Gentile Christians how to appropriate their Jewish heritage and Scriptures. Others have remained content just to label the community â€Å"mixed†.Most interpreters recognize Matthew’s audience as Jewish-Christian congregation or congregations either on the verge o or just recovering from a substantial break from Judaism as a whole. Graham Stanton suggests the concept of the church having bro ken from but still in debate with the synagogue. 10 Studies of â€Å"formative Judaism† point out how diverse Jewish thought and practice were before AD 70. After the destruction of the temple, however, only two primary branches emerged: rabbinic Judaism and Christian Judaism.The tension was quite high as each of these groups competed in the same communities to defend the claim that they alone were the true heirs to their religious heritage. 11 A situation like this can explain how Matthew could be so concerned to show Jesus as the fulfillment of all things Jewish and yet stress the rebellion of Israel’s leaders, comparable in Matthew’s mind to the hostility of the synagogue leadership in his day. Passage Analysis/Implication The paragraph selected is commonly known as the â€Å"Lord’s Prayer†. Versions of this prayer appear in both Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.â€Å"Pray then like this† is rendered similarly by most translation. Translato rs may have â€Å"When you pray, you should pray in this way,† â€Å"Your praying should be like this,† or â€Å"When you pray, this is the kind of prayer you should make. † The form of address in Matthew (Our Father who art in heaven) appears in Luke simply as â€Å"Father† (Luke 11:2). The modifier â€Å"Our† reminds us that no believer stands alone, while â€Å"in heaven† serves both to differentiate the heavenly Father from earthly fathers and at the same time to preserve the distant between God and man.The use of first-person plural pronouns through out the prayer reminds us that our praying ought to reflect the corporate unity, desires, and needs of the entire church. â€Å"Hallowed be thy name† is translated â€Å"may your name be honored† by Phps and â€Å"May your name be held in reverence† by Brc. With regard to the last part of this verse and the entirety of the following verse, it is observed that the three p etitions are parallel in thought, and both the passive form and the use of â€Å"name† reflect the attitude of reverence found in Jewish prayers. â€Å"Thy kingdom come† is parallel to the first petition.The reference is to the final establishment of God’s reign on earth. And the prayer requests that God establish his reign for us, not that we establish for him. The next petition, â€Å"Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven†, is not found in Luke’s presentation of the Lord’s prayer. This petition is an exact parallel to the first petition concerning the honoring of God’s name, and as such it also stands parallel with the second petition. The meaning of the petition may be expressed in a variety of ways: â€Å"May people obey you as you are obeyed in heaven† (MACL),â€Å"May you to obeyed all over the earth as your are obeyed in heaven† (INCL). â€Å"Thy will be done† is a passive and does not specify who i s to do God’s will. Many translations have to say â€Å"may people do what you will† or â€Å"the things you will, may people carry them out on earth, just as those in heaven do. † Some translations have understood the prayer to be asking that God’s will be done on earth and be done in heaven, whereas it is probably better to assume that his will is already done in heaven, and that the prayer is that people on earth carry out his will just as it is already carried out in heaven.The first half of the prayer thus focuses exclusively on God and his agenda as believers adore, worship, and submit to his will before they introduce their own personal petitions. â€Å"Give us this day our daily bread† is a short verse but difficult to interpret. The problem concerns the meaning of the word rendered â€Å"daily†. The word appears only in Christian literature, and its origin and meaning have never been explained to the satisfaction of all. Several sol utions have been offered and are summarized in the commentaries.One of the standard Greek lexicons presents them in the following order: (1) â€Å"Necessary for existence. † Some commentators say that this interpretation makes the petition less than spiritual, but Jesus and his followers took seriously the needs of the body. (2) â€Å"For the current day, for today. † This seems to be the interpretation favored by translations that render â€Å"daily†. (3) â€Å"For the following day. † This would refer to the daily ration of bread, given for the next day; therefore, â€Å"give us today our daily portion.†Mft translates â€Å"give us to-day our bread for tomorrow,† while Brc renders â€Å"Give us today our bread for the coming day. † There are several possibilities of meaning. If the prayer was said in the morning, the â€Å"coming day† would be the day in progress. If future reference would permit an eschatological interpretat ion as well, in which case the â€Å"coming day† could be the coming Messianic banquet. However, in this context such an interpretation is highly unlikely. (4) â€Å"Bread for the future. † This is discussed under (3). It is so called eschatological interpretation.The first two alternatives are similar to each other. The third alternative, if taken as a reference to the present day, comes to mean essentially the same as the first two possibilities. The fourth interpretation, though attractive, does not seem to be in focus in the present passage. Since an eschatological interpretation should be rejected, the translation of â€Å"this day† should not be â€Å"in these days† or â€Å"in this age†. It means simply â€Å"today†, although it can be â€Å"each day† or â€Å"day by day† in some constructions, depending on how â€Å"daily† is dealt with.The Greek word for â€Å"bread† is here used with the wider meaning of â€Å"food†. Some have wanted to take â€Å"bread† to mean more than â€Å"food†, feeling it represents all our needs, spiritual and physical. Most translators will follow the examples listed under the first two interpretations: â€Å"Give us each day the food we need. † â€Å"Forgive† has proved very difficult to translate. It can be expressed with some figure of speech such as â€Å"Forget the wrong,† â€Å"no longer see the wrong†. â€Å"Debts† represents a literal rendering of the Greek word.However, commentators note that the word is here sued figuratively for â€Å"sins†. Spiritual debts to God are first of all in view. Our plea for continued forgiveness as believers, requesting the restoration of fellowship with God following the alienation that sin produces, is predicated on our having forgiven those who have sinned against us. As verse 15 stressed, without this interpersonal reconciliation on the human level, n either can we be reconciled to God. In the clause â€Å"As we also have forgiven†, the pronoun â€Å"we† is emphatic.The verb â€Å"have forgiven† represents an aorist indicative in Greek. A number of translations give it a habitual or timeless force. Other specify that the action is past in reference to the petition for God to forgive. The word â€Å"as† is important. Some translators have taken it to mean â€Å"because† or â€Å"since†. But it is better to have â€Å"in the same way† or â€Å"just as†. That is, we ask God to forgive us in the same manner we forgive other. The final petition is especially difficult to interpret. The Greek word translated â€Å"temptation† may also means â€Å"trial, persecution.†The petition does not imply â€Å"don’t bring us to the place of temptation† or â€Å"don’t allow us to be tempted. † God’s spirit has already done both of these with Je sus (4:1). Nor does the clause imply â€Å"don’t tempt us† because God has promised never to do that anyway. Rather, in light of the probable Aramaic underlying Jesus’ prayer, these words seem best taken as â€Å"don’t let us succumb to temptation† or â€Å"don’t abandon us to temptation. †12 We do of course succumb to temptations every once in a while but never because we have no alternative (1 Corinthians 10:13).Thus when we give in, we have only ourselves to blame. The second clause translates a verb that may mean either â€Å"rescue from† or â€Å"protect against. † â€Å"Evil† translates a noun that may also mean â€Å"the evil one†. The New Testament scholars are divided on their judgment. Some are of the opinion that the word is a neuter, inasmuch as neither Hebrew nor Aramaic uses â€Å"the evil one† to denote Satan. Others, basing their judgment upon 13:19, believe that the phrase may refer to the Evil One, that is, the Devil. In either case, the power of evil is here spoken of as a reality.Numerous late manuscripts add various forms of a conclusion to Jesus’ prayer, probably based on 1 Chr 29:11-13, no doubt to give the prayer a proper doxology that otherwise lacked. This well-known conclusion appears in the NIV margin but almost certainly did not appear in Matthew’s original text. 13 14 Conclusion The â€Å"Lord’s Prayer† is in fact closer to a disciple’s prayer in its content. As the sinless One, Jesus cannot ask God to forgive his sin. However, Jesus sets up an example of prayer for us to follow.Only with the fulfillments of various petitions can we reconcile with God in unity. We are called to honor God’s name in our daily life. We are called to be used by God and obey Him in building His kingdom. We shall pray to God everyday for the needs of our body, and ask for forgiveness of our sin. Jesus is calling disciples to pray for deliverance from and protection in testing. We surely cannot avoid testing as such. God lets us to be tested by the evil one to confirm our faith in Him. When such testing comes, only God’s strength can see us through.We may note that the use of plural pronoun â€Å"our† reminds us that just as we approach God as our heavenly Father, we must remember God’s other children as our brothers and sisters. I must seek not only my daily bread but also the needs of my brothers and sisters in Christ. 15 Application This prayer is a great reminder for a highly individualized society we have. We pray for everything in our lives no matter big or small. There’s nothing wrong with praying all the time, but often times most of the prayers we say are about ourselves.We prayer for better grades, better health, more time, more patience, better lives, etc. It’s always about us. We often fail to realize that we are trying to take control of everything. We pray to God for His â€Å"help† instead of letting Him be in control of the situation. Through the studying of this prayer, I realize that only through God’s power can we stand against the storms in our lives, and through him can we find the true peace. Also, we must seek not only the provision for ourselves, but also those around us. Our own intimacy with God must lead to prayer for and active commitment to the needs of all his people.