What Are the Main Perspectives in the Study of Psychology Essay Example for Free

What Are the Main Perspectives in the Study of Psychology Essay What research methods are used to study these perspectives? Every topic in psychology can be looked at in a number of different ways and various different approaches can be adopted for each topic. These approaches are known as perspectives (i. e. view) that involve certain assumptions (i. e. beliefs) about human behaviour: the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an approach but they all share the above common assumptions. Different perspectives have different research methods. The â€Å"Gloria Tapes† of 1975 are a good example of how different perspectives are used to address the same problems in a client’s life, as they are looking at her problems from different viewpoints (http://www. metafilter. com, accessed February 2012). For the purpose of this essay, we will be looking at the five main psychological perspectives. These include the psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioural, biological and humanistic perspectives. A wide range of research methods are used in psychology. In its simplest terms, Martin Shuttleworth (2008) defines research as â€Å"In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge† Types of research methods include laboratory and field experiments, case studies, correlations, interviews, observations and questionnaires. These research methods fall into two basic categories: quantitive and qualitive. Qualitative research gathers research that is not in numerical form and is useful for studies at the individual level (i. e. client centred therapy). Quantitive research gathers data in numerical form, which can be put into categories, in order or measured in units of measurement. This type of data can be used to construct graphs and tables of raw data. Experiments typically yield quantitative data (McLeod, S. A. 2007). This essay will now go on to explain the main perspectives in more detail and what different research methods are used for each perspective. The essay will end in a conclusion based on what has been discussed. Sigmund Freud was undoubtedly the main founder of psychodynamics. In 1900 he published his paper â€Å"interpretation of dreams† (Gross, R. 2001 page 15). This marked the beginning of psychoanalytical thought. Other psychiatrists who also helped strongly with the psychodynamic movement include Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Melanie Klein. Freud’s psychoanalysis is the original psychodynamic theory and is based on the belief that events in our childhood can have a significant impact on our behaviour as adults. He believed that people had little free will to make choices in life (opposite to humanism) and instead, our behaviour is determined by the unconscious mind and childhood experiences. Freud explained the human mind like an iceberg, with only a small amount of it being visible (Gross, R. 001 page 15). Most of our thoughts and ideas are not accessible at that moment (pre – conscious) or are totally inaccessible (unconscious). He used techniques such as free association, dream analysis and transference to unlock the subconscious. Most of our subconscious has been made up through repression, whereby threatening, traumatic or unpleasant experiences are â€Å"forgotten† and â€Å"locked away†. This is a major form of â€Å"ego defence†. Repression is closely related to resistance, interpretation of which is another key technique in psychoanalysis. Freud believed that personality is made up of three components: the id, ego and superego. The id and superego (unconscious) are in constant conflict with the ego (conscious), which tries to resolve this discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we use defence mechanisms to reduce our anxiety. Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve their inner conflicts. The id also contains two instincts, eros (life and sex instinct) and thanatos (dream instinct). Thanatos has weaker energies than eros and is therefore channelled away from ourselves and into aggression towards others. One aspect of psychoanalysis is Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, which shows how early experiences affect adult personality. The most important stage is the phallic stage and during this stage boys experience the â€Å"Oedipus† complex and girls experience the â€Å"Electra complex† (Gross, R. 2001 page 15). These complexes result in children identifying with the same sex parent who enables them to learn sex appropriate behaviour and a moral code of conduct for their future life. However like lots of Freud’s work, it has been criticized for over emphasizing the importance of sexuality and under emphasizes the role and influence of social relationships. The types of research methods that are used to study the psychodynamic approach include case studies (i. . Anna O, Little Hans), experiments, hypnosis, slips of the tongue (paraplexes), projective tests (TAT, Rorschach) and dream analysis. Psychodynamic research methods are mostly unscientific and lack empirical support, in terms of analysing human behaviour. For this approach, we are more likely to see qualitative data collection (case studies) which are subjective and also unfalsifiable. The humanist approach believes this approach is too deterministic, leaving little room for personal agency although a great strength of psychodynamics is that it highlights the importance of the subconscious mind and defence mechanisms. Freud too criticizes other perspectives, especially behaviourism, as it doesn’t take into account the unconscious minds influence on behaviour (McLeod, S. A. 2007). Behavioural psychology is concerned with how outside environmental factors (stimuli) affect observable behaviour (response). It focuses on learned behaviour and how these behaviours are learned and reinforced. The underlying assumption is that psychology should be seen as scientific. Around this time Watson, who was the founder of behaviourism, became increasingly critical of introspection and was also starting to experiment on non – human animals. He believed the psychodynamic perspective was difficult to verify and was very subjective, the polar opposite of behaviourism which can be accurately measured. With his famous manifesto of 1913, Watson redefined psychology and launched the behavioural school of psychology (Gross, R. 2001 page 13). He believed people are born with a â€Å"blank slate† and that peoples (and animals) behaviour are controlled and taught from their specific environment, rather than internally (i. e. Freud, Jung). Freud completely rejects tabula rasa and believed people are born with â€Å"instincts†. Behaviourism is purely a â€Å"nurture approach† and how we are nurtured, determines behaviour. The two main processes whereby people (and animals) learn from their environment are namely classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by association. The Russian psychologist, Pavlov (1897) accidentally stumbled upon this condition after originally studying digestion in dogs (McLeod, S. A. 2007). He noticed the dogs salivating whenever he came into the room, even when he wasn’t bringing them food between experiments. He believed dogs didn’t learn to salivate when they saw food. This was â€Å"hardwired† in them as an unconditioned reflex. So why were they salivating when they saw him enter the room? He came to the conclusion the dogs learnt over time to â€Å"associate† him with food. From this knowledge he conducted experiments where he successfully conditioned dogs to salivate to the sound of just a bell through the repeated association of the sound of a bell and food. This proved his theory. Operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behaviour. B. F.  Skinner investigated this theory with controlled experiments and showed how rats learnt and changed their behaviour from punishment, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement with his â€Å"Skinner Box† experiments (McLeod, S. A. 2007). This and other human experiments explained some behaviour by a person’s (or animals) motive, therefore proving behaviour occurs for a reason. One other behavioural theory that should be mentioned is social learning theory. Albert Bandura (1977 page 38) states behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning (bobo doll experiment). He believed we learn indirectly, observing behaviours of others then imitating them. For a person to imitate another, the behaviour must be seen as rewarding in some way (reinforced) otherwise this wouldn’t happen. Memory is also involved in some way, and then the behaviour is carried out. Behaviourism is very scientific, using quantitative data. Its laboratory experiments and research with non-human animals is always supported by empirical data, obtained through careful, controlled observation and measurement. These measurements and data are also very accurate. There are limitations to this perspective, with regard to it being too deterministic and its experiments having low ecological value for some. Humanists also believe you cannot compare animals to humans. Behaviourism began to loosen its grip during the 1950’s and during the 1960’s, cognitive psychology started to take hold. Cognitive psychology is introspective and focuses on mental processes such as memory, thinking, problem solving, language and decision making. It has been greatly influenced by psychologists such as Piaget, Bandura and Tolman (1948). It’s a very scientific perspective, and revolves around the notion that if we want to know what makes people tick and behave in certain manners, then we need to know what processes are actually going on in their minds. Unlike behaviorism, which focuses only on observable behaviors, cognitive psychology is concerned with internal mental states. It explains behavior in terms of how the mind operates, often comparing it to a computer (Gross, R. 2001 page 21). Such internal processes include perception, memory, language and maladaptive thinking. These processes are viewed as mechanistic. Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It comes from the Latin word â€Å"perceptio† which means receiving, collecting and action of taking possession with the mind or senses. â€Å"Memory is the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use this information in the present† (Sternberg, 1999). Memory is essential to all our lives. Without a memory of the past, we cannot operate in the present or think about the future. Schemas are memory knowledge packages and can be defined as â€Å"a set of linked mental representations of the world, which we use both to understand and to respond to situations† Piaget, J. (1936). Born in 1896 Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget called the schema the basic building block of intelligent behaviour – a way of organising knowledge. All of us use schemas in our everyday life as well as stereotyping, which are â€Å"mental short cuts†. Stereotypes are often communicated through words i. e. hairman. Another area of cognitive behaviour is social cognition which is concerned with how people think about each other and different social groups i. e. class, minorities. It is suggested people have psychological problems due to maladaptive thinking and irrational thoughts. C. B. T. challenges these thoughts and behaviours to treat such disorders i. e. Depression or Anxiety. Research methods for cognitive behaviour are mostly in the form of laboratory experiments. Case studies though are sometimes used in situations where individuals are brain damaged. It’s extremely scientific using mainly quantitive data. Skinner criticizes the cognitive approach, as he believes that only external stimulus response behaviour should be studied, as this can be scientifically measured (McLeod, S. A. 2007). One of its strengths though is that this perspective has many empirical studies to support its theories. It’s easily measured which is why it’s included in the medical model and is currently used widely in the NHS. The cognitive approach though, does not always recognize physical factors in determining behaviour. The biological perspective studies such factors. The biological perspective is a way of looking at psychological topics, by studying the physical basis for animal and human behaviour. It is one of the major perspectives in psychology, and involves such things as studying the immune system, nervous system and genetics. This field of psychology is often referred to as biopsychology or physiological psychology. This perspective has grown significantly over the past few decades, especially with advances in our ability to explore and understand the human brain and nervous system. Eysenck (1980) believes peoples personality behaviour can be explained in terms of the kind of nervous system a person inherits and has also produced evidence ( Eysenck 1967) relating to biological differences between introverts and extroverts, believing behaviour can be governed by physiology and genetics (inheritance), (Gross, R. 2001 page 616). MRI scans and PET scans also allow researchers to look at the brain in different ways and can explain behaviours in neurological terms. This can sometimes explain abnormal behaviour in people. Biological psychologists believe that schizophrenia is affected by levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter), and a brain scan can show up these levels. Autism can also be treated by psychoactive drugs and low carbohydrate diets too (Gross, R. 2001 page 582). Those findings have also helped psychiatry and helped to relieve symptoms of mental illness through drugs. One limitation of this perspective is that Freudians would say the biological approach only treats the surface symptoms and not the underlying causes of the actual problem. This approach is very scientific, using laboratory and natural experiments for physiological studies. Brain function studies include invasive (Autopsy) and non- invasive (CAT scans) methods. Brain damaged individuals are also investigated through case studies. The biological approach has a strong counter argument against the nurture approach (behavioural) but humanists would argue against this perspective as being too deterministic. Two of the most influential theorists in humanistic psychology are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow (Hierarchy of Needs Model). Carl Ransom Rogers was born in 1902 in Oak Park Illinois and is the founder of â€Å"person centred† or non-directive therapy. It’s a form of talk psychotherapy and the goal of P. C. T is to develop a sense of self wherein the client can realize, how their attitudes, feelings and behaviour are being negatively affected and make an effort to find their true potential (Rogers, R C 1961 page 18). Clients are aided by the therapist to find their own solutions to their problems through self-awareness, finally leading to self-actualisation. In Rogers’s words â€Å"the organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualise, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism (Rogers, R C 1961, 487). He believes we can help ourselves through our own free will and personal agency, to self-actualise to become a fully functioning person once again. Humanistic psychologists empower their clients rather than have â€Å"power† or â€Å"authority over them like psychoanalysts or behaviourists do. They look at human behaviour not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. It’s based on the six core conditions needed for change. As humanists focus on the whole person (holism), they regard scientific measures (i. e. biological) inappropriate for studying behaviour, although their belief in free will is in opposition to the deterministic laws of science. The research uses qualitative data, using methods such as case studies and informal interviews. Qualitative data also gives genuine insight and more holistic information into behaviour. As we can conclude from the discussions on the various perspectives, each one focuses on their own unique conception of why humans behave as they do. Freud’s â€Å"tension reducing person†, Skinners â€Å"environmentally controlled person† and Rogers â€Å"growth motivated person† are all quite different from each other. This diversity of approaches and research methods reflect the complexity of this subject matter. However we’ve also noted some important similarities between different approaches, such as the deterministic nature of Freud’s and Skinners theories and the scientific nature of the behaviourist and biological approaches, which have no consideration for human free will. Each perspective has its own unique strengths and limitations and can even contradict each other’s theories. A scientific approach such as cognitive psychology tends to ignore the subjective (i. e. personal) experiences that people have. The humanistic approach accounts for this but largely at the expense of being non-scientific in its methods and ability to provide evidence. Each perspective though, has something of value to contribute to our understanding of ourselves and human behaviour. Without all these perspectives; our learning and understanding of human behaviour would indeed be more limited and therefore each perspective has its own unique place in psychology.

Features of conformity and obedience Essay Example for Free

Features of conformity and obedience Essay Describe the main features of conformity and obedience analyse two conformity and obedience studies and evaluate their application in the public services.  Conformity:  Debra Gray defines conformity as A change in behaviour in response to real or imagined group pressure when there is neither direct request to comply with the group nor any reason to justify the behaviour change. Conformity is the degree to which members of a group will change their behaviour, views and attitudes to fit the views of the group. The group can influence members via unconscious processes or via overt social pressure on individuals. Influence by peers: People have the need to fit in with the society not many people dare to be different. Psychologists have discovered that even the most independent-minded of us will conform to social pressure when we are with a group of people  Emphasis on importance: People see being accepted by others and the sense of belonging as something much more important than actually being right or wrong in a situation. It can sometimes be easier for somebody to be wrong but like everyone else than being right but different to others. I personally believe that this is wrong though, I would rather express my views on something regardless of the controversy they may cause. Regulates behaviour: The fact that people want to be alike and to be able to relate to others makes it easier for their personal views to be manipulated by the group norm, sometimes, a look of disapproval can be enough for someone to keep their viewpoints quiet and decide to agree with the majority. This is a worrying thought as if we loose our individuality we will never grow as much as we could as if we let our own thoughts be heard, we would end up in a very narrow minded society where a few people with stronger personalities and that dare to speak their mind will most probably gain control over us all, and society will follow this leader who may not necessarily be the most adequate like a flock of sheep would not questioning the situation or making a difference. Behaviour similarities to peers: Often with people within the same social section, such as of the same age, gender, race, or religion, tend to act like and behaviour by a member of these social groups that doesnt fit in with the tendencies it would be frowned upon within their social group.  Psychological need to be accepted: If someone persistently refuses to agree with the group, he or she is frequently rejected and ignored. Humans have the need to be in groups and have people to relate to, we all need some form or companionship, and for this reason most of us tend to tweak our attitudes slightly if these cause people to not want to be around us. Psychologists have been carrying out studies to investigate this since the 1930s to investigate how this occurs and what affects these behaviours.  Conformity:  The main experiment carried out to analyse the way in which people conform was the one carried out by Solomon Asch first carried out in 1951; this experiment was put in place to investigate how people follow the group norm even though they know that the group was obviously in the wrong this is how the experiment took place: The participants were given with an unmistakable task, a line judgement task. Participants were presented with two cards. One had on it a standard line: on the other were three comparison lines. They were asked to judge which of the comparison lines were equal in length to the standard line.  Below I have included the image they where presented.  This was done with a control group of 37 people, where the pressure to conform was removed. It was also done with an experimental group containing 6-8 confederates and 1 participant, who was second to last to answer. At first the confederates gave the correct answer, and then they changed to giving the same agreed wrong answer. The results where that, in the control group 35 of the participants made no errors, 1 made a single error. Only 0.7% of the judgements were incorrect.  In the experimental groups 37% of the judgements were incorrect. Of the 125 participants, only 25% gave the correct answer every time, compared to the 95% result from the control group.

Relationship Between Balance Of Payments And Exchange Rate Finance Essay

Relationship Between Balance Of Payments And Exchange Rate Finance Essay The accedence of developing countries such as China, Thailand, Vietnamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to the international trade give them the prosperous and economic growth; however the countries have faced many issues in managing their macro-economy to sustain the economic growth and development. Especially, in Vietnam, the government usually has serious difficulties in managing and operating the economic with the deficit in the Balance of Payments, the depreciation domestic currency and retraining the local inflation. The balance of payment is one of the most considerations of the governments when they formulate the national trade, fiscal and monetary policies, so it has the significant important role in governments policy decision-making. It also has an indispensable part to organizations (i.e. banks, companies, nongovernment organizations) and individuals that are directly or indirectly involved in international trade and finance (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). And the Balance of Payments is a significant indicator of the pressure on the exchange rate of a country (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). In the context of Vietnam, the surplus in the Balance of Payments encourages the governments allow the value of the domestic currency to increase. On the other hand, the significant deficit in Balance of Payments force the government to devalue the price of VND (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). Next, the theories of exchange rate determination that related to the inflation and the balance of payments are Purchasing Power Parity Approaches and Balance of Payments Approaches respectively. According to Purchasing Power Parity approaches, the determination of the equilibrium of exchange rate in long term is the ratio of domestic prices relative to foreign prices (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). And along with Balance of payments approaches, the exchange rate reflects the transactions in the current and financial accounts of the balance of payments (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). The exchange rate movements also produce the risk for firms, because they result in foreign exchange exposure, i.e. transaction risk, translation exposure and operating or economic exposure. The transaction risk refers to the exposure of the firms contractual transactions in foreign currencies (Jeff Madura, 2008). The translation expos ure refers to the exposure when the firms translate or consolidate their subsidiaries financial statements to the currency of the parent company (Jeff Madura, 2008). The economic exposure refers to the exposure of a firms present values, which are affected from the changes in operating cash flows, which are effected movements of exchange rate (David K. Eitman, Arthur I. Stonehill Michael H. Moeffett, 2010). Thus, the transaction exposure is the subfield of the economic exposure (Jeff Madura, 2008). In the context of Vietnam, USD is considered as a tool to invest; thus when the value of USD increase with respect to the value of VND, people and investor will exchange from VND to USD. There are two reasons behind that fact; first, they want to invest in USD; second, they afraid of the inflation and the devaluation in VND. Therefore, the movements of exchange rate will impact the inflation in Vietnam. And the inflation impacts everyone directly or indirectly. It impacts on savers and investors, people with fixed incomes (i.e. pension payment); for example, if the inflation rate goes up higher than the return on savings or investment, the received money will be worth less than it was when they deposited. However, the increase in the inflation may impact positively the people who owe money; they may generally get benefit from inflation if the value of the money they repay is less than that of the amount of their loans. On the other hand, the inflation may affects negatively the people who lend money, if the value of the money they lend to other people is worth than the value of money the borrowers repay them. To be noted, the inflation will influences business; the inflation will increase the costs, so the companies have to try to increase their incomes higher than the increase in inflation in order to c ompensate the increase in the costs (Gerson Antell and Walter Harris, 2005). The inflation also impacts the international trade of a country. In the circumstances of other things equal, if the inflation rate increases relative to that of the trade-partner countries, its current account will decrease. Because the people in that country will purchase more imports from foreign countries due to the higher local inflation, while the exports of that country will decline (Jeff Madura, 2008). That will impact the demand for and supply of the currencies of that currencies (Jeff Madura, 2008) Next, I would like to mention briefly about the three things the research is going to study. First, tn principle, the balance of payments is a summary statement which embraces all the transactions of the residents of a nation with the residents of all other nations, and they are recorded during a period of time. (Dominick Salvatore, 2011:434).Thus, it summarizes all transaction into some categories and only the net balance of each one is included and has time dimension. The transactions in the balance of payments are international, and are classified as credits or debits. The credit transactions refer to the receipts of payments from foreigners and they are noted with a positive sign. On the other hand, the debit transactions refer to the payments to foreigners and they are noted with a negative sign. (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). Next, an exchange rate is the price of one currency expressed in terms of another (Glen Arnold, 2008:965). There are two ways of quotation for exchange rate (i.e. direct quotation and indirect quotation). Within the direct quotation, the exchange rate between a domestic currency and foreign one is equal to the number of the domestic currency to purchase one unit of a foreign currency (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). The indirect quotation is vice versa. Next, the movements of the exchange rate refer to the terms depreciation and appreciation. The depreciation is increases in the price of the foreign currency with respect to the domestic currency; and the appreciation refers to decreases in the price of the foreign currency with respect to the domestic currency page (Dominick Salvatore, 2011). Thus, the depreciation in this study refers to the increases of the price of USD with respect to VND, and the appreciation refers to decreases in the price of USD with respect to VND. In Vietnam, USD is the most popular foreign currency and it has an significant important role in the economy in Vietnam. Moreover, the people in Vietnam invest so much in USD in order to earn interest or avoid the risk of inflation of VND. Therefore, the exchange rate that the study will collect and analyze is the exchange rate between USD and VND USDVND. The rate is quoted directly, that means the rate reflect how much domestic currency (i.e. VND) for one unit of foreign currency (i.e. USD) Next, I would like to mention about the inflation, the method to measure the inflation in this study and the inflation in Vietnam. According to Romer Inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money (2006: 497). The inflation is measured by many methods such as: consumer price index, producer price index, GDP inflation indices, etc. The CPI and PPI are fixed-weight measures; that means the same basket of goods and services is analyzed each month. Meanwhile, the GDP inflation indices are a variable-weight measure; within this method, the basket of goods and services being assessed depended on what was produced during a particular quarter (Evelina M. Tainer, 2006). Among those methods, CPI is the most popular method to measure inflation in the world because it has many advantages with respect to other methods. For example, the GDP inflation indices cover more items than CPI, but the GDP inflation indices are released only quarterly; meanwhile the mo nthly release of the CPI help people observe the inflation closely and constantly. Moreover, the PPI just embraces the price changes in wholesales business; it does not involve services which is the fastest-growing section in the world (Bernard Baumohl, 2005). Therefore, CPI is more relevant to the cost of living and the cost of doing business. Consumer price index refers how much consumers pay for goods and services, that influences individual and corporate investment, the cost of business and the quality of life (Bernard Baumohl, 2005). And CPI is an index number which expresses percentage changes from base year. Structure of literature review The literature review of this study will follow the format: The Balance of Payment The definition The constituents of the Balance of Payments. When the Balance of Payments is surplus and deficit. Their impact on inflation and exchange rate An overview about the Balance of Payments in Vietnam and its challenges The Inflation The definition How to measure the inflation The method applied in the context of Vietnam The influence of the inflation on the exchange rate and the Balance of Payments The overview about the inflation in Vietnam and its problems The exchange rate The definition Why the author choose the exchange rate between VND and USD to study. The impact of the movements of exchange rate on the Balance of Payments and the deficit The overview about the Vietnamese currency regime and the exchange rate between VND and USD in Vietnam The relationship or reciprocal among The exchange rate, the Balance of Payments and the Inflation in the context of developing countries that has the conditions and situations like Vietnam The issue and challenges that Vietnam is facing in the relationships among the exchange rate (USD/VND), the Balance of Payments and the Inflation Significance of the study This study will produce the reader an overview and help them understand more about the relationship or reciprocal among the Balance of Payments, the movements of exchange rate and the Inflation in Vietnam. So, the study will produce significant benefits: The government in Vietnam will have one more useful research paper in the governance of the macro-economy, especially about the control and manage the Inflation, the state of Balance of Payments when the exchange rate moves. The benefit of the study is helping the firms in Vietnam can understand and forecast the inflation and the exchange rate (USD/VND) in Vietnam better. That will help them hedge their incomes and payments in order to reduce the risks. As we know, Inflation causes instabilities and distorts economic decisions; however only unexpected inflation rates causes problems, not anticipated inflation rates. (Evelina M. Tainer, 2006) 3. Research questions and objectives 3.1 Research questions The study will try to answer the following questions in the context of Vietnam: 1. How the exchange rate moves when the state of Balance of Payment is deficit or surplus? 2. How the inflation responds to the movements of exchange rate between USD-VND? The research will not only analyze the movements of the three factors in the past form 1995 to 2010 but also try to produce the main reasons and causes behind the movements. Those will help the readers can have a deep and big view about the relationships between the Balance of Payments the exchange rate (USD-VND); and between the exchange rate (USD-VND) The inflation. 3.2 Research objectives There are two main objectives: 1. Finding common movements of the exchange rate when the Balance of Payments deficit and surplus; and the common respond of the inflation to the movements of the exchange rate. 2. Clarifying the main reasons and causes in those facts. In order to achieve the objective one, the author will collect date from 1995 to 2010; then the data will be examined by employing SPSS or Microsoft Office Excel Next, the second objectives will require more comprehensive academic reading and secondary researches or from some specialists and officers in the government to clarify the deep reasons behind the facts. 4. Research methodology Research design 4.1 research methodology This part will involve in the methodology or procedure to find out the relationship between the three factors in the context of Vietnam. The study will the method involved in secondary data collection, and there may be interviews with some specialists; then the analysis will be used to find the conclusions. 4.2 Research design The author proposes the questions and hypothesis; then the author collected quantitative data and information from secondary resources to analyze and find the answers. The questions and hypothesis come first and guide the process of gathering data. According to what I mention above, I can declare that the epistemology of this research is positivism. The data of this research is analyzed to test the hypotheses. The author is independent from what are being researched. 4.3 Data collection The research method of collecting data in this study is collecting data and information from secondary data sources. The author will collect data for exchange rates between VND and USD, the state of Balance of Payments and the Inflation in Vietnam, the balance of payments in Vietnam and the inflation in Vietnam from 1995 to 2010. The research will collect the date from 1995, because that is the time U.S abolished completely the trade embargo to Vietnam. That influenced international trade in Vietnam and created the relation between the balance of Payments and the exchange rate between USD-VND as well as the impact of the exchange rate on the inflation in Vietnam 5. Time scale This study is divided into four stages and the duration of each stage in particular and that of the study in general are predicted as follows: Stages Working Duration 1 Literature review 4 weeks 2 Collecting Data 6 weeks 3 Data analysis and presentation 4 weeks 4 Conclusion and recommendation 3 weeks It is flexible to change the duration of study subject due to unexpected problems occurring during the research process 6. Resources The research process will be involved in the following resources: A laptop computer to do the study Internet access to collect data and information Online library access to approach academic papers related to the study. The assistance from governments staff to access the date of exchange rates, the inflation index and the state of Balance of payments. Particular, the researcher needs the instructors guidance of how to use software to analyze data such as Microsoft Office Excel or SPSS, or others.

Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt Essay examples -- Arts o

Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt opened up a whole new concept for our class. The new term â€Å"contact zone† appeared and Pratt defined it as "social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today." The idea of the contact zone is intended in part to contrast with ideas of community that trigger much of the thinking about language, communication, and culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Pratt, the two distinctive phenomenon of the contact zone are autoethnographic text and transculturation. One of the characteristics of autoethnographic text is that it usually involves some extensive collaborating process by people of different social and intellectual classes. Writing classes might have some significance with the contact zone because of this group effort process. During this process every marginalized and hidden voice can be heard, not to mention every individual member can learn how to form and negotiate an opinion in the outbreak of all the conflicting opinions of group members of different cultural background. In addition, transculturation is defined as â€Å"processes whereby members of subordinated or marginal groups select and invent from materials transmitted by a dominated culture". An example would be that they adopt some characteri... Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt Essay examples -- Arts o Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt opened up a whole new concept for our class. The new term â€Å"contact zone† appeared and Pratt defined it as "social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today." The idea of the contact zone is intended in part to contrast with ideas of community that trigger much of the thinking about language, communication, and culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Pratt, the two distinctive phenomenon of the contact zone are autoethnographic text and transculturation. One of the characteristics of autoethnographic text is that it usually involves some extensive collaborating process by people of different social and intellectual classes. Writing classes might have some significance with the contact zone because of this group effort process. During this process every marginalized and hidden voice can be heard, not to mention every individual member can learn how to form and negotiate an opinion in the outbreak of all the conflicting opinions of group members of different cultural background. In addition, transculturation is defined as â€Å"processes whereby members of subordinated or marginal groups select and invent from materials transmitted by a dominated culture". An example would be that they adopt some characteri...

Character Analysis of The Wife of Bath of Chaucers Canterbury Tales Es

Character Analysis of The Wife of Bath of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucer's greatest and most memorable work. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses "a fictitious pilgrimage [to Canterbury] as a framing device for a number of stories" (Norton 79). In "The General Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes in detail the pilgrims he meets in the inn on their way to Canterbury. Chaucer is the author, but also a character and the narrator, and acts like a reporter to provide a detailed description of the pilgrims. Through his description, the reader is able to paint a picture of each of the characters. In "The General Prologue," he describes each character by giving a detailed description of the character's appearance, clothing, social status, beliefs, and other relevant details. However, Chaucer never condemns his characters: "What uniquely distinguishes Chaucer's prologue from conventional estates of satire, however, is the suppression in all but a few instances of overt moral judgement. . . . It is up to the reader to draw up the moral indictment from the evidence presented with such artlessness even while falling in with the easygoing mood of 'felaweship' that pervades Chaucer's prologue to the pilgrimage" (Norton 80-81). Chaucer is thus able to create a tension between the ideal and the real. He builds up the reader's expectations and then shatters them. Although The Canterbury Tales was probably written in the late fourteenth century, many of the pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales seem real and true to life even today. One of the most memorable pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales, as well as one of the most memorable women in literature, is the Wife of Bath. The "lusty and domineering"... ...urteenth century, her ideas, beliefs, and behavior are more like a woman of the twentieth century or possibly even the twenty-first century. She is truly a woman ahead of her time. Works Cited Abrams, M. H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1. Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, & Co. 1993. 76-144. Benson. Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. February 1997. October 24, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http: icg.harvard.edu/~eng115b/ Bobr, Janet. Welcome to Camelot. 1998. October 24, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http: www.csis.pace.edu/grendel/prjs3f/arthur1.htm Canterbury Tales. 1998. November 30, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http: userzweb.lightspeed.net/~cheezit/pilgrims/index.html Jokinen, Anniina. Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400). July 1996. October 24, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http: www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm

The Pros and Cons of Ethanol as a Renewable Source of Energy Essay exam

I. Introduction One of the most hotly contested debates in today’s realm of environmental concern is how to secure energy for the maintenance and improvement of quality of life in the future. To date, humanity has been blessed with plentiful reserves of cheap crude oil, which can be refined into a multitude of items that make the lives of many so convenient—gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, plastics, and fertilizers. In some parts of the world, these technologies merely facilitate survival. But concern over what happens when these supplies dwindle is universal. Science has revealed that oil will not last forever at the rate it is being consumed. Therefore, alternatives must be developed that can provide sustainable levels of energy well into humanity’s future. We are entering a world in which, energy-speaking, renewable is the name of the game. In addition to facilitating the weaning of humans from fossil fuels, renewable energy poses many environmental benefits because renewable means clean. Most scientists will argue that, though the degree to which we benefit might be speculative, human and environmental welfare will increase with tapping of renewable energy sources. If modern science is in any way accurate, using clean and renewable energy would result in better air quality, curbing of climate change and the Greenhouse Effect, and perhaps even the luxury of supplying most or all of our energy domestically. This means that countries like the U.S. would stand heavily resistant to both the ramifications of a global energy crisis and to international political tensions surrounding the trading of oil. Despite its being more expensive, there is much to be gained from renewable energy. ... ...erations, we must make the leap. Works Cited â€Å"Ethanol.† Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 4/15/2007. http://0-search.eb.com.tiger.coloradocollege.edu/eb/article-79648 â€Å"Gasoline.† Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 4/15/2007. http://0-search.eb.com.tiger.coloradocollege.edu/eb/article-9036148 Godoi AFL, Ravindra K, Godoi RHM, Andrade SJ, Santiago-Silva M, Vaeck LV, Grieken RN. 2004. â€Å"Fast chromatographic determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aerosol samples from sugar cane burning.† Journal of Chromatography A 1027:49-53. Hodge C. 2002. â€Å"Ethanol use in US gasoline should be banned, not expanded.† Oil and Gas Journal 100:20-27. Wackernagel M, Rees W. 1995. â€Å"Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth.† Gabriola Island (Canada): New Society.

Kitchen Best

Grade: 84/100 87/100 Challenges: 16/20 Causes: 16/20 PoA: 20/25. Be more specific Research: 20/20 Writing: 12/15. Work to organize your paper more concisely and coherently with more effective headings/subheadings/visual aides Grade update: I added 3 more points to make this section 15/15 based upon your re-draft.? Henry Chan, who is the CEO of Kitchen Best, has set some ambitious targets for the business in 2008. However, his plan suffered a setback when a series of crises happened in 2010.These incidents involved in serious management problems such as personal gains made at the expense of the company and kickbacks offered and accepted between Kitchen Best and its partners. Symptoms Deep rooted practices of kickbacks, bribing and corruption: Accepting kickbacks, bribing and corruption were common in business dealings of kitchen best. Chan dong, founder of kitchen best treated his employees as family, and turned blind eye on any such practices as long as they were helpful in business expansion.But later when Henry Chan took over the business, a series of incidents had led him to take a deeper look into the company and uncover serious instances of misconduct. Unethical means followed by kitchen best’s most trusted employee: The shago incident : Horatio Sze : Sze awarded the contract to a factory owned by his brother in law, for his personal gain. Knowing that the products were faulty, he hasn’t taken any remedial action or cancel the contract. Macy wei :Having known that the products showed faulty in the in-house testing and Sze’s negligence towards this for his personal gain, she hasn’t reported it to the higher management, considering the good relation between Sze and Li. Ignorance of Henry and Ma luk : Sze reported directly to Ma Luk. Neither Ma took the responsibility to enquire further on the issue, nor did Henry involve himself much in monitoring the decisions of sub-contracting made by Sze. Haus de metro :Henry Chan, after havin g learnt from an anonymous letter that a shipment for German retail chain HdM did not meet the company’s safety requirements, did not pursue the case any further for fear of losing the customer. Honghua appliances : Ma Luk: Ma has built good relations with Honghua’s general manager for greater china, through wining, entertainment, dining and offering kickbacks. But the changed management of Hanghua was strictly against these practices and reevaluated the competency of all its suppliers. So, kitchen best’s relations with Honghua were at risk.Also, Ma has misused the company expenses for his personal gain. Henry Chan: Henry Chan didn’t have much grip on the clients and relations with them. He was mostly dependent on the experience of the senior management, like Ma who were mainlanders, to build relations with the clients and customers and he saw such practices as inevitable part of Chinese business culture. Lack of well-designed financial policies: Kitchen best did not have any well-defined policies or guidelines to control the expenses for entertaining customers.Henry Chan’s Cultural barrier: Henry Chan found it difficult to deal with mainland customers due to his cultural barriers. He was born and brought up at Hong Kong, and had not much exposure to deal with the mainland customers. So he had difficulties to cope up with the business culture and dealings with mainlanders. He had to depend on senior management, hence had no proper grip on the business there. Causes: Unplanned/sudden shift in management: Kitchen best’s employees were not prepared for the sudden change in management from Chan dong to Henry Chan.Each of them had completely different managing styles. Chan followed a paternalistic managerial style, treating the employees as a family and maintaining good relations with them, while Henry followed the western style of management. This gave the employees a chance to misuse the liberty of taking decisions that w estern style invoked †¢ â€Å"In the west, the ideal boss is a â€Å"resourceful democrat†. He sets the vision and strategy for the business but empowers subordinates to execute. He encourages two-way communication with his employees and allows bottom-up input in decision-making. In China, the ideal boss is a â€Å"benevolent father†. He is like a parent (a Chinese parent, by the way) who supervises his children on everything that need to be done. He believes in discipline and attention to details and manages his people at a micro level. He also spends lots of time caring for the personal welfare of his employees and regards it as part of his job. † – reference; management style differences between china and U. S Author: Joy Huang Shift of focus on different set of customers: eastern and western management (business cultures)is for 95% the same and differs in every important aspect. †- Takeo Fujisawa (Honda) Kitchen best mostly focused on Asian market but Henry focused on extending the business to western customers. Till then the company had no experience with directly dealing with the customers of Europe and America, and hence has no grip over these regions. The dealings at mainland and decision making were completely left to trusted employees without Henry’s personal monitoring and they took advantage of it.Henry’s experience as compared to that of senior management: Henry’s experience was far less than most of the employees in senior management who have been working for the company from its very beginning. Employees like Ma, Sze were very much trusted by Chan dong and Henry couldn’t go completely against the practices they followed although they were unethical. Lack of control over decision making and financial management: Henry relied much on his senior management for decision-making. But unlike Chan, he did not involve himself much, in making important decisions in mainland business operat ions.Any other monitoring measures were not implemented in the company. Kitchen best did not have any well designed financial policies that checked the ineffective expenses like dining, wining or entertaining the clients. Employees faked invoices and used the expenses for their personal gains. This would have been controlled if there was frequent auditing. Henry’s cultural limitations: Henry was born and brought up in Hong Kong, studied at U. S. Although he had experience in marketing of electric and electronic appliances, it was the first time for him to work with kitchen best.He was not so familiar with the business culture of mainland nor did he have good relations with the mainland clients. He believed that some unethical practices were inevitable in Chinese business culture, so although determined to change these practices, he ignored some cases and hand not implemented strict measures to control them altogether. â€Å"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. cultural differences are nuicanse at best and often disaster† –Dr. Geert Hofstede Recommendations :A strong policy for internal contro l and financial management has to be designed and implemented. 2 months a strong policy †¢ to mitigate financial risks, continually asses new risks and minimize operational distractions to achieve the key results established in a commission's strategic plan †¢That should clearly and consistently maintain an internal control framework by developing a control policy and accompanying procedures that establish a commitment to reducing risk of loss and preserving commission resources.This document should briefly explain the objectives/goals of the commission, the ethical standard expected from employees, and the policies/procedures it is committed to adhering to in order to meet those objectives. Henry must first concentrate on getting a good grip on existing territory and then expansion of business to the west. Immediately 1-2 months †¢Henry Chan should start working more on the existing territory business operations, by involving himself in decision making, interacting directly with clients of mainland, rather than leaving it to Ma. Then strategically work on expanding direct business with the west, like getting to know the business culture and training a set of employees according to western business culture. Investigate and warn/ take disciplinary action Next one month †¢Ignoring the ethical breach of employees could lead to more corruption. Completing the investigation of cases and warning or taking disciplinary actions on employees responsible for it irrespective of their seniority could be substantial in reducing the corruption in business dealings.Set up a monitoring committee 15 days †¢Set up a monitoring committee that is headed by Henry, and includes legal , financial advisors of kitchen best, and auditing group. †¢This committee should constantly work on monitoring the activities, and flow of finance at different branches of the company Trial implementation of the policy made and make amendments if necessary 2 months †¢Implementing the designed policy for a period of two months and check for any loopholes, and make amendments if necessary. Managing the risk of fraud : The truth is you cannot defeat internal fraudsters if you are unfamiliar as to where and how they play their game of deceit and betrayal—you fail to know where your operation’s greatest risks and vulnerabilities are—or you fail to have enough knowledge to develop and implement a realistic anti-fraud action plan. † – reference book; business fraud – Jack L Hayes Ethics management : Keep the unique ethical climate of each market in mind when crafting your code of ethics to ensure that it is relevant to the international arena Apply standards equally in all markets, and among all subsidiaries.Stick to your standards, whatever they are. If yo u have a policy of following your home country's ethical standards around the world, be prepared to turn down opportunities in markets with unfavorable ethical climates. Make company-wide ethics training a regular activity, in addition to administering comprehensive ethics training programs for new hires. Use training sessions to highlight actual areas of concern in your organization, citing specific examples as often as possible. References Journal of Academic and Business Ethics: International Business Ethics †¢International Business Ethics Institute: Top Ten Mistakes References : http://www. f5ac. org/item. asp? id=3340 first five financial control guide; ch 6. Internal control http://www. slideshare. net/anandsubramaniam/cross-culture-east-west http://smallbusiness. chron. com/accounting-principles-general-financial-ethical-standards-36283. html http://www. copedia. com/internal_controls. html http://smallbusiness. chron. com/cultural-communication-barriers-workplace-13888. html