Vocabulary and semantics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vocabulary and semantics - Essay Example Hence the phrase, flea market Today, the term is used to describe rent spaces for traders dealing in used goods that are of low quality and at low prices. Morphology Morphology is the study of word structure. Morphology is the process of identifying, analyzing and describing the structures of a language’s morphemes and other linguistic units, such as root words, parts of speech and intonation or stress. The term â€Å"flea market† is made up of two words; flea and market, which are the morphemes to this phrase. A morpheme is the smallest single unit in the grammar of a language and its study is called morphology. A morpheme may not be a word as a morpheme has to stand on its own. There are free and bound morphemes. A free morpheme is a single unit that stands on its own and has meaning, whereas a bound morpheme appear as only parts of words, always supported by the root or by another bound morpheme. The term â€Å"flea market† is made up of two free morphemes as the word â€Å"flea† can stand on its own and still have meaning and also the word â€Å"market† has meaning on its own. ... The phrase â€Å"flea market† can also be thought to be a place inhabited by dirty traders. A collocation is a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance (Durkin, 2009). A collocation can be said to be two or more words that often go together, and may sound correct to a native speaker but be unnatural and sound wrong. The term â€Å"flea market† sounds correct to a native speaker but may be very disturbing to a person, who is just learning the language, as that a person can loosely interpret it to be a place where fleas are sold. Semantic relationships Semantics is the study of meanings; the phrase â€Å"flea market† can be taken literally to mean a place where fleas are sold, or we can take the meaning where it denotes a place where second-hand items are sold. There are different semantic relationship types, and they include; Synonyms Synonyms are words that mean exactly the same. According to the Macmillan dictionary, t he term â€Å"flea† is synonymous to aphid, beetle and black widow, as all are types of insects (Hurford, 1996). The term â€Å"market† is synonymous to shop, as both are places where goods are traded. The phrase â€Å"flea market† is synonymous to yard sale. Antonyms Antonyms are words pairs whose meanings are opposite and lie in a continuous spectrum. The term â€Å"flea† has no antonym as there are so many things and animals that are opposites of insects. The term â€Å"market† is also broad as it involved buying and selling which are opposites of each other. As a modern place of trade dealing in mostly new items, a mall can be used as an antonym to a flea market. Pragmatic usage Pragmatics is a minor field of linguistics and studies ways how context contributes to the

The Issues For Building Resilient Communities Environmental Sciences Essay

The Issues For Building Resilient Communities Environmental Sciences Essay Hazards are found everywhere and so the onus is always upon the communities involved to find ways to deal with such hazards (Benini et al 2008), some of which may have serious consequences while others may be less serious. Harzards which are posed by disasters may however, have far reaching effects on the local communities and in most cases there may not be adequate ways of tackling these and the communities must learn to live with such hazards. This essay will make an attempt to evaluate the nature of harzards their effects that call upon certain measures of resilience to be affected to deal with the same. It is the view of this essay that in areas where disasters are prone, there may be more hazards and hence also, more resilience responses by the members of the communities than in areas where such disasters and hence harzards are less (Garg et al 2007). But this view is only limited to the extent where natural disasters are common and not necessarily in areas where other disasters might occur, because, while natural hazards may be common place in certain areas for instance flooding and cyclone in Bangladesh due to its geographical position, fire hazards may occur in any country irrespective of its geographical location and hence the scope of this discussion will be limited to the kind of hazard that will be used (Berkes, Colding, Folke 2003, Zhou H., et al 2008). Disasters which often lead to hazards may be defined as those occurrences that are unplanned and are sudden or even anticipated and whose effects are often widespread (Benini et al 2008). Disasters have over the years struck different parts of the world and as much as they are not anticipated, there is never a guarantee that they have stopped. The essay will also present ways in which resilience communities might be build to deal with several hazards, which might arise in such a way that when such hazards arise the effects may not be too great to bear. According to Hollings (2004) and Hewitt (2004) resilience is important when dealing with hazards fro a number of ways; First, it creates a holistic approach to dealing with hazards on the basis of common notion or scientific suggestions, second, it provides the community with a multi-hazard response approach where the society will always know how to approach a hazardous situation from different perspective and lastly, being a forward looking approach, it can help a society to build response policy for dealing with hazards as and when they occur. Vulnerability of communities When a community is faced by disasters, there may either be resilience or vulnerability. In the view of this paper, resilience is the ability of the society to deal with such disasters and to overcome with little or not casually whatsoever, while vulnerability is the situation where the society is resigned to the harm caused by the disasters and the occurrence of the same will often come with devastating effects (Berkes, Colding, Folke 2003). Hazards, which are often a result of disasters, must hence be deal with using systematic or had-oc mechanisms (Islam , Deegan 2008). According to Backoff (2001), the people who live in stressed conditions are often more predisposed to cope that those in other conditions, and in the view of this report and according to (Jordan 2009), the levels of coping with such conditions may often change due to changes in the intensity of the conditions (Garg et al 2007). Different communities hence have different ways for dealing with hazards as they arise and while some may have a holistic approach to dealing with hazards for instance, tackling all hazards in the same way, others might have specific approach to dealing with the same (Zuberi 1988). There may hence be a debate as to which approach is the best. The nature of intervention build by a community may hence be viewed as a matter of tradition and culture than as a matter of snap policy. The Coast of Bangladesh This area of Bangladesh is considered the most hazardous due to the problems that are posed by environmental hazards to the residents each year (Islam , Deegan 2008). When the cyclone roars, it causes with it death and unimaginable injuries to the people living in these areas . What often happens here is that when the anti-clockwise cyclone starts offshore as a result of low atmospheric pressure, it increases the height of the water to a few meters and with a wind of about 190km/ hour, when such water is pushed to the land, it causes massive destruction (Garg et al 2007). Official figures showing the history of such disasters in Bangladesh indicates that this cyclone killed 0.5 million in 1970, and it was known as the great cyclone. Also, this coastal area is not strange to tornadoes and between 1877 and 1987, Bangladesh suffered a total of 19 serious cyclones with such tornadoes often carrying properties and depositing them tens of kilometres away and in the course of doing so, leaves masses of people, dead, injured or homeless (Salman 2009). The government records indicate that in 1987, 1988, 1998, 2004 and 2007, several floods have raved Bangladesh leading to serous deaths. In 2004, 40% of the capital city was affected, the experts have warned that the effects of global warming will become the cause of hazard in the recent times, and that Bangladesh must be ready to face it or deal with it (Salman 2009, Islam, Deegan 2008). Hazards and Vulnerabilities Bangladesh faces many problems occasioned by disasters which are both natural and man-made (Zuberi 1988), including flooding, silent but rampant spread of HIV-AIDS, Child Malnutrition and of course poverty. With relations to flooding, which will form our main subject matter, there are many contributory factors that have made this country and especially the coastal region to be most vulnerable to disasters (Kumar, Reddy 2007), first, as stated earlier, the country sits on the path of hot air and cold air meeting points making it vulnerable to cyclones and torrential rains which often cause havoc to the people in the region, Bangladesh is geographically placed on an estuary where the sea curves into the masses of land on either side at the bay of Bengal (appendix 1) and when the moist air from the sea meets with dry air on the land then the results is heavy rainfall, that may be up to several millimetres higher in a day that most places get in a several days (Salman , 2009), secondly, Bangladesh has probably the highest concentration of river estuaries within a small mass of land, than any other country, making it vulnerable to flooding when the rivers break their banks, thirdly, Banglade sh also has one of the highest population densities in the world with a density of 1045 per square kilometre (AsiaInfo 2010). With such a high population density, (Salman 2009, Malone 2009), noted that any occurrence in hazard will definitely have devastating effect on the masses. This explains why whenever there is flooding in this county, the number of deaths will always running to several hundreds if not thousands. Fourth, this country has one of the highest poverty levels in the world and certainly one of the poorest in South East Asia region (Medical News 2008, Jordan 2009), with dowry payment that often runs to more that hundreds of times of average daily wages, being blamed for such levels since families try to save a lot of money in a lifetime and luxury or even mere subsistence is non existence (Mahmud , Amin 2006, Garg et al 2007). With such levels of poverty, it is the view of this report that the government does not also have any resources to provide for its population, indeed if there are no provisions to support the population in normal times, then, such may not be available when hazards strike. Fifth, the levels of ignorance in this area and especially at the coastal regions is extremely high that the population has not ideal whatsoever about issues of climate change, or weather conditions (Martin et al 2006, Berkes 2007), and this has led to late reaction when floods are developing since people go about their businesses as if nothing is happening and by the time they begin to react, it is often very late. According to (Hudson 2008), when a society does not appreciate the issues surrounding their safety, especially when such issues are caused by natural catastrophes, then the results are often catastrophic as such societies are often well placed on the time-bomb of prolonged danger and destruction. But, lack of awareness is often related to the levels of poverty in the society and this can hence be attributed as a secondary issue of vulnerabilit y in this region of Bangladesh, since it is a result of general levels of poverty, but not necessarily of ignorance, as the people in the cities are often more informed than those in the rural areas (Martin et al 2006). But (Zuberi 1988), argued that disasters have not subjective effects, and levels of ignorance have never spared or saved a society when disasters are about to strike, however, these views are subjective, since, the nature of destruction and hazards posed by disasters largely depend on the kind of hazards in question (Malone 2009). Building resilience In an area where flooding hazard is an issue that has continued to affect the society for decades, resilience is crucial. According to (Berkes 2007) , it is important to build good resilience to ensure that the hazards are reduced and their effected minimised. Resilience, provides a society with ways of avoiding suffering not only for the present but also for the future (Kumar, Reddy 2007). However, this has to be carried out systematically, lest it fails. There is a need to ensure that there is greater acceptability of the resilience mechanism by the society in such a way that programs being given immediately take off with general consensus of the masses (Hudson 2008). It should however be noted that for issues affecting cultural practices, it is important to tread carefully, and ensure that local community heads are put on the forefront of the program. Such activities may include; the local government representatives and religious reasons. From the information presented above, it can be seen that the coastal region of Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to flood hazard dating back to past decades. One of the noticeable but simple and less effective ways that the people in the coastal regions of Bangladesh have been doing is to build elevated wooden structures (Zhou H., et al 2008). Of course the choice of material has nothing to do with building defences but everything to do with subjection to poverty, since, in the view of this essay, stronger housing, are necessary for creating some level of defences against flooding, but, wooden structures do not provide such resilience (Bennett et al 2010). In this region, people have also adapted to creating sandbags from soil and placing them around the vulnerable areas near the river as a way of having a sustained defence against flooding caused by overflow rivers (Malone 2009) , but these methods are carried out at micro level and there is no way they can be judged as effective. According to (Zhou H., et al 2008), the government must priorities its response mechanism and involve the local community in the process. This essay holds the view that, in order to create resilience, the following must be considered; first, the government need to start long term empowerment programs where people will be empowered economically, in Bangladesh, the United Nations bodies have continued to engage the local population in empowerment programs (Swalheim, Dodman 2008), but this has been short term and aimed at putting food on the table, rather than creating long term propensity to purchase. There is a need to ensure that self-sustaining economic activities are encouraged and this can be done through the provision of facilities for cottage industry, subsidies, tax holidays and fetching for markets for the products (Garg et al 2007). Cottage industries are preferred than agriculture which the people have for so long relied on, but without tangible success, secondly, there is a need to create a nationwide awareness for cultural change where people will be encouraged to change their attitude towards marriage and d owry (Mahmud , Amin 2006, Garg et al 2007). This will obviously be very hard to achieve, but it can be made to be part of the long-term strategy to making people to spend their money, this will result in increment in the general levels of riches in the region. Third, there is a need to ensure that the population in the coastal region avoids practices that put the environment in jeopardy and instead, engage in such practices as will lead to environmental sustenance, including, responsible disposal of non-biodegradable materials, some of which are used to make the makeshift houses, and afforestation. The premise here is that, due to higher levels of rainfall every year, it is possible to plant trees in millions in the whole region and especially by the river areas. The trees to be planted should initially be such that have a faster growth pattern, which will grow fast and act as barriers to erosion and windbreakers (Garg et al 2007). This is a sure long-term defence that will transform the region forever, and guarantee life for posterity. When the forest cover is developed, it is possible to embark on agriculture and this will develop the area further as famine will be a thing of the past, and the society, which will have also developed cottage industry will be in a good position not only to provide for their food but also housing. The view held by this essay is that afforestation and development of cottage industry are crucial in building resilience. On particular importance is afforestation, which will control climate change as Bangladesh still sits on the path of the wrath of climate change. Rampant flooding, which causes with it deaths, sicknesses, destruction of property and other problems will continue to affect this area if nothing is done to develop a long term solution (Bennett et al 2010, Garg et al 2007). Bangladesh will remain on the Bay of Bengal and if irrigation continues in India and silt is deposited in Bangladesh along river Ganges, then nothing can be done from the side of India, then activities for conservation must be undertaken in Bangladesh, and everyone should participate. Discussion and Conclusion This essay has managed to highlight the historical issues that have put Bangladesh on the path of flood and hazards. Hazards have had devastating effects on a people and their property and when it is perennial, the effects may lead to a cycle of poverty that may not come to an end. The need for resilience in the societies is therefore vital and as seen in the case of coastal areas of Bangladesh, geographical disposition of the country makes it very vulnerable and especially the coastal regions which (Garg et al 2007). The people of this country are also very poor and that translates to governments inability to provide for emergency, leaving the people exposed to floods and cyclones. In this area most people, have erected elevated houses to stay above the flood lines but when such houses are built on cardboards and polythene and even wooded materials, the defence created are very much minimised and instead, lack of sanitation and these materials, cause further problems to the environment (Garg et al 2007). As much as there are issues that can be viewed as being taboos, it is important to ensure that such taboos are gradually but surely dealt with. Most notable was the issue of dowry and issues of HIV AIDS which are also contributory to disasters in this country . What needs to be done, is to create a level of higher purchasing power and this can be done through engaging the community in cottage industries than agriculture, which can be encouraged by the government who should get the market for the people and technology too (Swalheim, Dodman 2008), along with this, there may be more acceptance to embark on tree planting activities and if the government sets targets for a certain number of trees to be planted, then this will provide impetus to the people to do the same, but they must be taught about the importance of environmental conservation (Garg et al 2007, Martin et al 2006). Later on, as economic conditions improve, and when the trees have developed, people can then be taken through responsible agricultural training. The government should work with and encourage community-based organisations to mobilise and encourage the local communities to undertake such projects. By creating an enabling economic environment in the region, most people will be willing to undertake any other conservation programs that will crate long term resilience to the hazards that have continued to affect this region (Swalheim, Dodman 2008, Berkes 2007). Bangladesh, by virtue of its location, needs long-term resilience mechanism as a country to deal with hazards that are evolving. The need to understand that the problems facing this country will increase as climate change is also becomes more serious. The local population will not, on their own develop resilience unless the government leads with its resources. References AsiaInfo (2010) Bangladesh country information [Online] available from < http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/bangladesh/bangladesh.htm> accessed on 25th May, 2010. Bennett et al (2010) Exploring the meaning of health security for disaster resilience through peoples perspectives in Bangladesh. Elsevier Ltd. Newcastle upon Tyne. Benini et al (2008) Resilience and Vulnerability in Long-Term NGO Clients. Findings from an RDRS Bangladesh Panel survey. Bangladesh; Berkes F., (2007) Understanding uncertainness and reducing vulnerability: lessons from resilience thinking. Vol 41., Number 2. Netherlands. Berkes F., Colding J., Folke C., (2003) Navigating social-ecological systems: building resilience for complexity and change. Cambridge University Press. Fiona R., (2010) Social Networking and adaptation in rural Bangladesh. Vol 2. Number 1. Garg et al (2007) From Vulnerability to Resilience: The Challenge of Adaptation to Climate Change. Case studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Korea. Hewitt K. (2004) A synthesis of the symposium and reflection on reducing risk through partnerships. Winnipeg. Hollilngs C., (2004) From Complex regions to complex Worlds. Ecology and Sociology. Hudson R., (2008) International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. Vol 3. Number 3/4 . Durham University. Islam A., Deegan C., (2008) Motivations for an organisation within a developing country to report social responsibility information: Evidence from Bangladesh. Vol 21. Issues 6. Jordan J., (2009) Rethinking community resilience to climate change: does a social capital lens help?. Belfast. Kumar, P., Reddy S., (2007) Ecology and human well-being. Sage Publications. Mahmud S., Amin S. (2006) Girls Schooling and Marriage in rural Bangladesh. Research in the sociology of Education. Vol 15. Malone E., (2009) Resilience, Climate Change, and security: Modelling the Connections. Baltimore. Martin et al (2006) Vulnerability and Risk Reduction through a community based system for flood monitoring and forecasting. Medical News (2008) Major Cause of Poverty in Bangladesh is Marriage Dowry. [Online] available from < http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/127710.php> accessed on 26th May, 2010. Salman A., (2009) Bangladeshs economy: surrounded by deadly threats. International Journal of Social Economics. Vol 36. Issue  ½. Swalheim S., Dodman D., (2008) Building resilience: how the urban poor can drive climate adaptation. Zhou H., et al (2008) Resilience to natural hazards: a geographic Perspective. Vol 53. Number 1. Netherlands. Zuberi M., (1988) Environmental, Socio-Cultural and development linkages in a South Asia set-up. Vol 25. issue 6-8.

geothermal energy :: essays research papers

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY Geothermal energy is one of the oldest sources of energy. It is simply using and reusing (reusable energy) heat from the inside of the earth. Most of the geothermal energy comes from magma, molten or partially molten rock. Which is why most geothermal resources come from regions where there are active volcanoes. Hot springs, geysers, pools of boiling mud, and fumaroles are the most easily exploited sources. The ancient Romans used hot springs to heat baths and homes, and similar uses are still found in Iceland, Turkey, and Japan. The true source of geothermal energy is believed to come from radioactive decay occurring deep within the earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Electricity is one of the biggest outputs of geothermal energy. It was first recorded to produce electricity in 1904 in Italy. There are now geothermal power plants in operation in New Zealand, Japan, Iceland, the US and elsewhere.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the generation of electricity, hot water, at temperatures ranging from about 700 degrees F, is brought from the underground reservoir to the surface through production wells, and is flashed to steam in special vessels by release of pressure. The steam is separated from the liquid and fed to a turbine engine, which turns a generator. In turn, the generator produces electricity. Spent geothermal fluid is injected back into peripheral parts of the reservoir to help maintain reservoir pressure. If the reservoir is to be used for direct-heat application, the geothermal water is usually fed to a heat exchanger before being injected back into the earth. Heated domestic water from the output side of the heat exchanger is used for home heating, greenhouse heating, vegetable drying and a wide variety of other uses. Hot water and steam exist at many subsurface locations in the western U.S.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These resources can be classified as low temperature (less than 194 degrees F), moderate temperature (194 – 302 degrees F), and also high temperature (greater than 302 degrees F). The uses to which these resources are applied are also influenced by temperature. If the reservoir is to be used for direct-heat application, the geothermal water is usually fed to a heat exchanger before being injected back into the earth. Heated domestic water from the output side of the heat exchanger is used for home heating, greenhouse heating, vegetable drying and a wide variety of other uses. Hot water and steam exist at many subsurface locations in the western U.

Leibniz And Spinoza As Applied To Baseball :: essays research papers

Essay 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First we will consider the assigned baseball scenario under Leibniz’s system of metaphysics. In the baseball scenario, the aggregate of the player, bat, pitch, swing and all the other substances in the universe are one and all contingent. There are other possible things, to be sure; but there are also other possible universes that could have existed but did not. The totality of contingent things, the bat, the player, etc., themselves do not explain themselves. Here Leibniz involves the principle of reason; â€Å"there can be found no fact that is true or existent, or any true proposition, without there being a sufficient reason for its being so and not otherwise.† There must be, Leibniz insists, something outside the totality of contingent things (baseball games) which explains them, something which is itself necessary and therefore requires no explanation other than itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This forms Leibniz’s proof for the existence of God; a version of Aquinas’s cosmological arguments. God, then, is the necessary being which constitutes the explanation of contingent being, why the universe is this way rather than any other. Not only is God the explanation of the baseball scenario but he is also the source of the intelligibility of such concepts as bat, swing and pitch. Leibniz goes further to prove the omniscience of God. If God is the explanation of the intelligibility of the universe, then God must have ‘access’ to that intelligibility, such that God could be said to know what it is that being allowed to exist---that is, God must have the ability to grasp complete concepts. Not only does God constitute the contingent baseball game but he also knows what will take place before it happens. The pitch, swing and hit all take place not because God creates them but because he allows them. There is only one constraint on what God allows to happen, it must not violate Leibniz’s other basic principle---non-contradiction. God could not allow it to happen that the batter hit the ball and the pitcher got a strike. God chooses the universe that is most perfect, therefore the hitter hitting the ball out of he park was the most perfect of all possibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leibniz uses the word ‘Monad’ to mean that which is one, has no parts and is therefore indivisible. These are the fundamental existing things. A monad contains within itself all the predicates that are true of the subject of which it is the concept, and these predicates are related by sufficient reason into a vast single network of explanation.

Kip Kinkel Essay

Kip Kinkel was a high school student at Thurston High who was incarcerated for killing his parents, 5 students, and injuring over 20 other kids at school. Kip had a lot of psychological problems due to the biological and social aspects of his life, that maybe if had been treated properly, would not have made him feel the need to commit the crimes that he did. To begin, Kip Kinkel had many biological problems that may have kick started his problems from a young age. He had dyslexia, so he could not read and write very well. This caused him to fall behind in class and have to be held back a year. Biological psychologists would say that he had this problem due to his brain structure and chemicals and his brain that were dysfunctional and it caused him to have learning problems. He was also too small for his age, this made him get bullied by other boys at school. Psychoanalytic psychologists would say that because he had bed experience as a child, he probably would become bitter and feel like an outcast later in life as well. His mother was older than the recommended age to have babies and still be healthy, biological psychologists would say that this may have caused some abnormalities in his body and brain, such as the small body for his age, and dyslexia. Kip Kinkel had a terrible social life at home and at school. He got bullied in school because of his small body image; according to humanistic psychologists, this would lead him to low self esteem. He also had a lack of friends because growing up, he only had one friend, who was a girl, because he lived in a house that was kind of secluded in the woods, so there weren’t many kids around. He also got held back a year while all of his friends went on to the next grade. This would make him feel lonely and isolated according to the humanistic approach. Kip had a bad relationship with his family as well. He did not live up to his parents standards, and he did not really have anything to bond with his father over, except guns. This probably made him insecure about himself, always trying to be better than he was to please his parents. According to the psychoanalytic theory, security and parental relationships are major influences on personality. Kip also had many psychological issues that may have pushed him over the edge. He was diagnosed with depression, and given Prozac. However, shortly after he was starting to feel okay, the doctors took him off of it. This made him depressed again, but nobody realized it. He was also believed to be a schizophrenic because he would talk about â€Å"the voices in my head†, however he was never diagnosed and never treated for it. The combination of depression and schizophrenia lead him to maladaptive behaviors, according to the cognitive perspective, such as exploding homemade bombs and shooting things to take out his anger and relieve stress. Incarceration may not have been the been conclusion for the crimes that Kip committed. All of the things he did were because of his of his psychological problems that were caused from the social and biological aspects of his life growing up, and that were mistreated. If Kip had been better treated medically, the shootings may have not happened. Kip Kinkel is just the severe victim of his disorders, not just a cold hearted killer.

Psychological Testing

Psychological testing – is a field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to assess psychological construct(s), such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a given individual. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics. By samples of behavior, one means observations of an individual performing tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand, which often means scores on a test. These responses are often compiled into statistical tables that allow the evaluator to compare the behavior of the individual being tested to the responses of a norm group. 2 Angry Men Manuel Paniagua Correa 12 Angry Men The communication process depicted on the movie was certainly effective. The 12 jurors’ decision involved the life of a young man. Even when the communication barriers sometimes froze the process of communication, the persistence of one of the jurors, juror 8, was key in keeping the men involved in the decision proc ess. Juror 8 was unlike the other jurors, he had the ability to keep the men engaged in the discussion that lead to the conclusion of the movie.Even though it was not easy, the main objective of providing a fair and unanimous decision was accomplished at the end of the film. During the jury decision process, communication barriers were present. All of the members that were involved in the jury had different backgrounds and culture. Many of the juries expressed anger, frustration and stubbornness regarding their respective positions. These jurors frequently interrupted one another and proved to be very disrespectful within the group.Communication barriers where present when they did not pay attention to each other. These barriers were evident when the jurors were centered only on their personal opinions and not willing to listen to their peers. Formal communication started when juror number 8 stated his disagreement and concern for the boy’s future. When juror #8 started expre ssing he’s uncertainty with the boy being guilty, he encouraged the other jurors or team members to critically think before passing judgment.The movie offered many instances where non-verbal communication expressed the group’s dissatisfaction with the current discussion. At certain times, during the process, the jurors coughed implying disapproval. They often times played simulated board games in order to keep themselves occupied while a team member speaking. Facial gestures was also evident, this expressed the member’s frustration and disapproval of the information that was being communicated. There were communication..

Fair Value accounting Essay

The squabble on the issue of what accounting measurements will be used as the standard for financial instruments had caused the on-going debate with various proponents of accounting standard; even today, proponents of every side argues on the basis of their advantages over the others. Among these contending parties are the proponents of the fair value accounting and those who favored accounting standard based on the historical costs. Hitz (2007, p. 324) pointed out the increasing importance of fair value as an accounting measurement attributes. Hitz stated that today, the â€Å"cost and transaction-based reporting model is in decline and a new market value and event-based model is on the rise† (Hitz, p. 324). Citing the significance of fair value accounting, Hitz mentioned that starting out as a specific remedy for the iniquities of the reporting model for certain financial instruments â€Å"fair value has manifested it self as a dominant measurement paradigm for financial instruments and, more recently, has increasingly been implemented for measurements of non-financial items† (Hitz, 324) such as investment property. On the other hand, while Hitz adhere to the tenets of fair value accounting, he recognized the views of the opponents of fair value accounting particularly the criticism regarding the questionable reliability of fair value measures notably for model-based estimates relying on management’s expectation and projections. However, Hitz asserts that results on empirical research regarding value measurement â€Å"support the incremental value relevance of fair value disclosure for securities (Petroni and Wahlen, 1995; Barth et al., 1996 as cited by Hitz). The Australian accounting standards Board (AASB) though recognizes other accounting standards it recognizes fair value accounting as the main financial instruments which applies in various financial processes and transaction within AASB. The AASB defines Fair value as â€Å"the amount for which an asset could be exchanged or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arms length transaction† (p. 21) Fair value has been the standards in evaluating and managing the performances of a group financial assets or financial liabilities. In the ASSB 7, paragraph 9 to 11 and B 4 the ASSB require the entity to provide disclosures about financial assets and financial liabilities it has designated at fair value through profit or loss including how it satisfied these conditions (ASSB, p. 17). This clearly indicate that fair value accounting as a financial standard instrument have been effectively use and provide significant contribution to the financial situation. This is clearly reflected in the following statement from the ASSB as follows: â€Å"investment in equity instrument that do not have a quoted market price in an active market, and whose fair value cannot be reliably measured shall not be designated as at fair value through profit or loss† (p. 18). The Fair value of any investment plays an important in determining market condition as the fair value of a particular financial instrument is based on the following factors a. the time value of money, b. the credit risk, c. foreign currency exchange prices, d. commodity prices, e. equity prices, f. volatility, and g. payment risk. Regardless of the accounting standard used, accounting plays an important role in financial reporting. While M. J. Milne’s discussion focus on the importance of accounting in financial management including accounting standards that lead to increases in reported earnings,   citing the arguments of Watt and Zimmerman Milne (2002) puts it â€Å"Managers have greater incentives to choose accounting standards which lower earnings thereby increasing cash flows, firm value, and their welfare, due to tax political, and regulatory considerations than to choose accounting standards which reports higher earnings and, thereby increase their incentive compensation† (p. 372). Obviously, accounting standards contributes to the financial situation not only of the firm that uses such standards but the entire financial realm. In this case, Milne partly hinted as to why trillions of dollars went off the global financial market balance sheets and why asset values experience decline. Milne seem to mean that managers choose accounting standards that reported lower earning yet, it increase the firm’s cash flows, the firm value, and their welfare, due to higher tax and political pressures. In this case the real market value as well as the real earnings were reassigned to somewhere else or as Milne suggest, to cash flows and their value. Given this accounting standard, it is no wonder that management will lobby financial instrument that reduce reported earnings to avoid taxes, regulatory procedures, and all other costs. As Milne stressed, â€Å"ordinarily, managers are predicted to have greater incentives to lobby for accounting standards that lead to increase in reported earnings and thereby management wealth. However, since changes in cash flows and stock prices can also be affected by taxes, regulatory procedures, information costs and political costs, managers also have to consider the effects of reported earnings might have on the likelihood that such costs could be imposed on the firm† (p. 372). The trillions of dollars that were written off the global financial market balance sheets and the massive decline of asset values can therefore be attributed to these factors accompanying this accounting standard, and the commentators were partly right in their opinion regarding this massive decline of asset values. However, this does suggest that that money going to taxes, regulatory procedures, political costs, and information costs are lost money and that regulatory procedure should be viewed as negative for business activities. Regulatory procedures should be viewed in even broader terms that include all forms of social control and influence. Michael Greiffin emphasized that this should also include â€Å"not only the corporations legislative requirement but also other rules and directions, such as professional accounting standards and stock exchange requirements† (p. 2 par. 3). Graffikin pointed out that regulation is considered desirable â€Å"where there windfall profits† – where through some fortuitous event is able to make above â€Å"normal† profits. Regulations should be seen as necessary in the rationalization and coordination of economic activity so as to organize behaviour of industries in an efficient manner (graffikin, p. 3).