Human Growth & Development Essay

The environment plays a crucial role in development from the newborn to the adolescence. The environmental view according to Sameroff is that a person’s IQ is largely influenced by culture and the surroundings in which the person is raised. Poor diet and lifestyle for example, taking alcohol during pregnancy can result in brain damage and hence low IQ in a child. Some research has shown that people from some social background tend to have low IQ e. g. blacks due to varied factors including stimulation and diet. Their research also found out that when children are exposed to extreme stress such as domestic violence, their neurocognitive development is affected and thus lower intelligence. In this case when children are stressed their brains are harmed drastically. It is documented that babies require a lot of fat in the first 12 months of life to build stronger and healthy brains. Stimulated children score on IQ tests than the unstimulated. This implies that need adult attention and play to do better on IQ tests. In this case inventories such as computer will be a lot helpful. Moreover, some music can improve a child’s IQ, for example the Mozart. However, it is possible that children with low levels of personal resources can reach the same level of achievement like that of the ones from highly advantaged social cadre. According to Caldwell and Bradley (1984), the HOME inventory is an index that depicts the quantity and quality of cognitive and emotional stimulation in the home environment. On visiting my neighbor’s home, I found that there were three children ranging from age 6-12. They were actively involved in computer games. Their parents occasionally joined them in playing the games. It was clear that there was mutual understanding between the family members. On rating the intellectual environment I gave a â€Å"high†. Work Cited 1. Caldwell, Bradley. â€Å"HOME inventory† New York: John Wiley. 1984:79 2. Sameroff AJ, Seifer R, Zax M. † Early development of children at risk for emotional disorder†. Child Dev. 1982;47. Serial no. 199 3. Sameroff AJ, Seifer R, Baldwin A, Baldwin C. â€Å"Stability of intelligence from preschool to adolescence: the influence of social and family risk factors†. Child Dev. 1993; 64:80-97

Art essay Essay

Does art imitate life – or is it the other way around? Traditionally, we have believed that art imitates life. The painter represents what he or she sees by producing a scene on a canvas. The sculptor does the same with bronze or stone. A photographer or film maker does it even more directly. A writer describes life in his or her books. This simple concept is known as mimesis. But some have questioned the one-way nature of mimesis by arguing that art also changes the way we view the world, and in fact, life sometimes imitates art rather than the other way around. The person who first articulated this belief effectively was Oscar Wilde. Speaking about the foggy conditions in London in the late 19th century, he wrote that the way we perceive them changed because of art. Referring to the â€Å"wonderful brown fogs that come creeping down our streets, blurring the gas lamps and turning houses into shadows† he argued that â€Å"poets and painters have taught [people] the loveliness of such effects†. According to Wilde, â€Å"They did not exist till Art had invented them. † [pic] And you don’t have to look too far to see anti-mimesis in our lives. To what extent is our outlook on life altered by ideas we read in books? The portrayal of people in films? The styles we see in fashion photography? One great example of this is the TV series The Sopranos, and how it affected both the Mafia in the USA and the FBI. Art’s influence on society: propaganda and censorship Throughout history, it has always been the case that art has the power to change society, especially when new media are used to express an idea. During the First World War, for example, movie cameras were used for the first time to record trench warfare – when the film was shown in cinemas in Britain, audiences ran out screaming. This led to the government censoring further such use of such a powerful medium. And in government censorship, and use of art as propaganda, we see how seriously governments take the effect of art. All of the major dictators of the C20th understood the power of art to influence the population. In Nazi Germany, Hitler set up the Ministry of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. It was headed by Goebbels, who made sure that nothing was published, performed, or exhibited without his approval. [pic]When this happens, you know there isn’t going to be a happy ending And what Goebbels approved, of course, only fit in with Nazi ideology and ideas. In terms of art, this meant no modern and abstract art, certainly nothing hostile to the regime, and nothing that featured images other than the stereotypical blonde-haired, blue eyed set in idyllic pastoral scenes of blissful happiness. [pic] [pic] In Stalinist Russia, there was also a keen understanding of the power of art. Art portrayed contented peasants, industrious workers, and Stalin himself. In fact, Stalin was shown god-like in many paintings, a phenomenon known as the Cult of Stalin. Just as in Germany, gigantic architectural projects expressed the power of the state. [pic] [pic] However, there is no doubt that in Russia there were greater artistic achievements than in Nazi Germany. Composers worked with fewer hindrances – as seen in the works by Prokoviev and Shostakovich, and film-makers such as Eisenstein emerged. Art’s influence on society: the trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover But even under less oppressive governments, the artistic expression of certain ideas can be subject to control. One great example is the book ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ by DH Lawrence, which was deemed offensive on many levels. In this book, Constance Reid, a woman from a progressive liberal middle class family marries a minor member of the aristocracy, Lord Clifford Chatterley, and takes the title ‘Lady Chatterley’. But her husband is injured in the First World War, confined to a wheelchair, and left impotent. Despite this, he becomes a successful writer and businessman. It is more his obsession with financial success and fame rather than any physical difficulties which come between him and his wife, and she begins an affair with their gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. The largely aristocratic ‘establishment’ of Britain at the time – the book was published in Italy in 1928 – were shocked by many aspects of the book. First, there was the fact that the book was ‘obscene’, in the way it went into explicit detail the affair that took place (see below). Second, there was the fact that a women was breaking her marriage vows, something considered far worse than a man behaving in the same way. Finally, it represented an intimate relationship between a member of the ‘lower’ classes (although it emerges during the story that Mellors is actually well-educated, and became an officer in the army during the First World War) and the ‘upper’ classes, a concept that was totally taboo in Britain at that time. The book was duly banned. [pic] But the book was republished by Penguin books in 1960. The attorney general, Reginald Manningham-Buller (dubbed ‘Bullying-Manners’ by the journalist and author Bernard Levin) had to read only four chapters to decide to prosecute Penguin books for publishing it. What annoyed him was not just the content, but the fact that the price of the book meant it was affordable to women and members of the lower classes (remember that only few women worked at this time, and husbands were generally in charge of family finances). The trial was a disaster for Manningham-Buller and the prosecution. They had failed to find any experts to support their case, in stark contrast to Penguin’s defence team, which had brought in authors, journalists, academics, and even members of the clergy to defend the book. Manningham-Buller and his team had very little idea of what Lawrence had been trying to express in his book, regularly being caught out by the superior insight of the witnesses they were trying to catch out. And although they tried to shock the jury – in his opening speech, Manningham-Buller announced: â€Å"The word ‘fuck’ or ‘fucking’ appears no less than 30 times . . . ‘Cunt’ 14 times; ‘balls’ 13 times; ‘shit’ and ‘arse’ six times apiece; ‘cock’ four times; ‘piss’ three times, and so on. † – they were unable to prove that the book would have a negative influence on the readers it was aimed at. According to the Guardian: No other jury verdict in British history has had such a deep social impact. Over the next three months Penguin sold 3m copies of the book – an example of what many years later was described as â€Å"the Spycatcher effect†, by which the attempt to suppress a book through unsuccessful litigation serves only to promote huge sales. The jury – that iconic representative of democratic society – had given its imprimatur to ending the taboo on sexual discussion in art and entertainment. Within a few years the stifling censorship of the theatre by the lord chamberlain had been abolished, and a gritty realism emerged in British cinema and drama. (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning came out at the same time as the unexpurgated Lady Chatterley, and very soon Peter Finch was commenting on Glenda Jackson’s â€Å"tired old tits† in Sunday Bloody Sunday and Ken Tynan said the first â€Å"fuck† on the BBC. ) Homosexuality was decriminalised, abortions were available on reasonable demand, and in order to obtain a divorce it was unnecessary to prove that a spouse had committed the â€Å"matrimonial crime† of adultery. Judges no longer put on black caps to sentence prisoners to hang by the neck until dead. Can we say, though, that it was art in this case that changed society, or was it an interaction between human sciences (ie, the law) and the arts (the book) that led to change? This is from the same Guardian article: †¦the message of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, half a century after the trial, is that literature in itself does no harm at all. The damage that gets attributed to books – and to plays and movies and cartoons – is caused by the actions of people who try to suppress them. See: â€Å"The trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover† The effect of art: presentation [pic] What other piece of art has profoundly changed the way we view the world? And was it the art that did it, or the way it was used that made the impact? Use the link below to help you introduce to us an influential piece of art. Think about the type of change it wrought, for example, ethical, social, metaphysical, etc.

Introduction Floyd

Defines communication competence as communicating in means that are effective and appropriate in a given situation. Practitioners of competent communication can be observed to share several common characteristics. I will attempt to surface 4 of these characteristics, with specific references made to Mr. Ian Low, flogger of The Silver Chef. Self-Awareness Self-awareness is defined as the awareness of how an individual's behavior affects others (Floyd, 2010).An effective communicator must be aware of his individuality and behavior and how others may be affected by his behavior, more specifically, whether it fits within the situation as well as social setting. Emotional intelligence would therefore be key and would allow an Individual to better comprehend the social behaviors and emotions of others, and In turn, translate Into competent communication. The Silver Chef blob was started in 2010 whereas 2 of the blobs he listed in his post, started a year after that in 2011.Despite being a more established food flogger, he demonstrates self-awareness in his posts and refrains from harboring on this fact. If he had, readers may not find his opinions to be credible. Adaptability This trait is defined as one's ability to modify one's own behavior to better suit a changing situation. A competent communicator must be able to adapt to changes in social settings and modify his own behavior appropriately. With reference to the blob, Mr. Low had previously posted a Top 5 Singapore Food Blob when he first started out as a food flogger.However, after 3 years of blobbing and galling more experience within the food community, Mr. Low Is adaptable enough to make a similar post, demonstrating adaptability as a communicator. Cognitive Complexity Being able to understand a given situation in multiple ways defines cognitive complexity (Floyd, 2010). To better understand what Is occurring In a specific situation, It Is Important for an Individual to be aware of the different perspective s. This would prevent him from misjudging what is going on in the said situation, leading to inappropriate responses.In his post, Mr. Low highlighted several aspects of The Dirty Stall such as short descriptions, simple cooking and infrequent blob posts. It would be easy to misconceive these facts and describe â€Å"alkaline† as lazy but Mr. Low demonstrates s a flogger who priorities quality over quantity. Ethics Floyd (2010) defines ethics as a set of ideas that guides us in deciding what is right or wrong. Fair treatment of others and honest communication are examples of ethical communication but cultural plurality may complicate one's understanding of ethical communication due to cultural differences.In his blob, Mr. Low demonstrated this when he admitted to not having met flogger â€Å"alkaline† in person before and that â€Å"alkaline† does not blob as often. It would have been easy to omit these facts to lend more credibility to his post but instead, he c ited to mention this fact. 494 words Question 2 The communication process possesses several key characteristics that would define it as being dynamic in nature. Apart from being irreversible, multi-dimensional and inevitable, communication is also transactional.Transactional communication involves simultaneous initiation and interpretation of messages by communicators (Dobbin & Pace, 2006). When an individual initiates a message, the initiator will look for feedback from other communicators. The initiator will then adapt his messages to the changing situation. This implies that communication can be a continuously changing process and that people may modify their behavior and messages throughout the process.With reference to the article, â€Å"1 in 2 Singapore residents do not have a close friend from another race: survey', I will attempt to provide examples to show how messages are coded and decoded effectively, or otherwise, to help me better understand the news reported in the ar ticle. Encoding and decoding of messages In the process of communication, encoding and decoding are two processes that enable communicators to initiate and interpret messages (Dobbin & Pace, 2006).Encoding is further defined as the initiation and creation of messages that enables a communicator to translate feelings, ideas and thoughts into symbols. Decoding refers to the interpretation of messages by deciphering symbols into comprehensible and meaningful feelings, ideas and thoughts by communicators. Effective coding and decoding Ideally, when messages are interpreted in the way they were meant to be conveyed, coding and decoding leads to shared meaning by communicators. This results in successful communication as the symbols would be meaningful and recognizable byExample 1 (Effective coding of article) Within the article, sub-headlines such as â€Å"No inter-racial and religious tension in Singapore† effectively summarizes the following paragraph into an easy-to- comprehend sentence. Effective coding of the article such as this, contributes to the effective decoding of the article by readers. Example 2 (Effective coding and decoding of postings) User Karl commented â€Å"the Divide and Conquer tactics deployed sure works, isn't it? Who is behind all this thing? † in reply to a post by another user Suffering Singapore.In reply User Suffering Singapore posted I was having that in mind and wanted to add to my posting but I thought that I should hear from others posters who share the same thoughts YES the divisive policies in the name of ethnic integration have created the reverse effect. What do you think? † In this example, Karl had effectively encoded his opinion that a â€Å"Divide and Conquer† strategy had been implemented leading to the problem previously highlighted by Suffering Singapore. This was then effectively decoded by Suffering Singapore, leading to shared meaning of the topic they were both discussing.Ineffective coding and decoding When messages are ineffectively coded and/or decoded, this could lead to the miscommunication as messages are misinterpreted. Example 1 (Ineffective encoding of article) When decoding the article's headline, communicators might misinterpret the article as focusing on an existing racial divide in Singapore. In trying to sensationalist the article to boost readership, the writer may not have effectively encoded the actual content of the article, which highlights several positives found in the survey. A reader may Jump to conclusions, assume the worst and let his opinions and feelings known n a post.Example 2 (Ineffective decoding of article) The article features a survey carried out with Singapore Residents on the state of racial and religious harmony in Singapore and focuses on several indicators such as inter-racial tension, discrimination and openness to embracing diversity. Several users have misinterpreted this article and user â€Å"BRB† in particular, comme nted the article as being racist in nature. The user posted â€Å"Wow.. This article is Just racist.. Why will my bestrides need to be of community something we never really thought much of or cared!.. â€Å"

This is a discussion question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

This is a discussion question - Essay Example A is much higher which is 1.89 years than Project B which is 3.75 years but an investor would give least attention to this and would consider Net present value and will go for Project B which is $114.409 which in comparison to Project A ( $56.922 ) is much higher than Project A. If an investor is keen to go through the details except than just considering payback period so investor will look at the internal rate of return of both the project to decide further which should be greater than given interest rate. In this case, internal rate of return of both projects is greater than the given interest rate of 12%. Considering specifically, Project A have a higher percentage which is 26.72%, whereas Project Bs is 19.74%. But investor would again justify Project B because it is widely known in business market that big investment at low percentage has a higher turnover than a small investment at 100% profit return for example $1 at 100% profit will return $2, whereas $100,000 at 80% will return $180,000. This shows that low rate of return is better on huge investment which is again justifying project B with an investment of

The transformation that took place in the book Always Running By Luis Essay

The transformation that took place in the book Always Running By Luis J. Rodriguez - Essay Example ‘Always Running’ presents a powerful narrative account of Luis life. This story begins with Luis remembering his childhood. It relays conflicts his mother and father had regarding whether to stay in the United States or return to Mexico. The narrative then goes on to explore Luis’ childhood and education. It indicates that because of his language barrier he had difficulty in school. These challenges led him to eventually join a gang to achieve a sense of belonging and protection. Luis progressed along this negative path for a period of his life, before becoming involved in a community center. Through the community center he was given a chance to renew his life. He soon becomes involved with painting murals and getting away from his gang life. This account of Luis life is moving for its demonstration of his transformation. This essay considers the nature of this transformation in more depth. The novel begins by demonstrating the factors that led to Luis becoming in volved in a gang. The reasons behind Luis’ development are highly complex, so the novel approaches them from a number of perspectives. One of the most recurring reasons is the troubled nature of Luis’ home-life. Luis mother and father experienced a number of arguments regarding whether to say in the country. ... The text states, â€Å"But on those days the perils came out too - you could see it in the faces of the street warriors, in the play of children, too innocent to know what lurked about, but often the first to fall during a gang war or family scuffle† (Rodriguez, pg. 29). This indicates that Luis daily existence growing up held many of the components that would later become indicative of his later life in a gang. After Luis joins the gang the text spends a considerable amount of time considering his actions and daily life therein. Luis’ life in the gang is relayed in the novel through stories about his criminal activities. While Luis involvement with the gang started out small, it eventually became more intense. Similarly, the types of activities the gang participates in become progressively more intense as the novel progresses. At one point, Luis states, â€Å"Shit, I thought, they want to firebomb a house. This mean somebody's mother, little sister or brother could be hurt or killed. But this is how things had gotten by then. Everyone was fair game in barrio wars; people's families were being hit all the time† (Rodriguez, pg. 118). This quote is speaking about the barrio wars that had overtaken Luis’ neighborhood. The quote also demonstrates Luis’ partial alienation from the activities the gang is participating in. While it’s difficult to precisely pinpoint the instant Luis made the change from a negative to positive existence, it’s clear that the seeds of his change were rooted in the alienation he began to develop at these gang activities. As the text progresses, Luis eventually becomes alienated from his gang life. The pivotal element in Luis transformation occurs when he becomes involved in the local community center. Here he comes into contact

Advanced Criminalistics - Document Examination Assignment

Advanced Criminalistics - Document Examination - Assignment Example Spacing, inks, dates, pen pressure, and numerals used are some of the subtleties that make handwritten transactions unique. Handwriting also helps investigators determine the date the transaction or any changes made after writing the paper. For instances, if the identity thief erased or made some content obscure, a forensic investigator may be able to notice through handwriting. Handwriting can denote numerous aspects of the paper transaction that range from simple records to whole contracts. Handwriting is the aspect of the identity criminal that makes distinguishes and offers the likelihood of detection as irrespective of how proficient they are at stealing identities. Often, a subtlety of handwriting gives the identity thief away. A second advantage of using paper for transactions is protection by state laws. State laws secure individuals and organizations against crimes committed by an identity thief who uses paper documents such as stolen or falsified checks. Although federal laws apply to identify theft carried out electronically, state laws apply to electronic transactions that the state considered paper. States allow this double application when investigators are unsure of the kind of paper transaction the identity criminal used to carry out the offense. Forgery is a means of committing identity theft, which occurs when the perpetrator forms or uses any counterfeit information identifying an unreal person or a real individual without his or her consent. Owing to such information is enough evidence for a conviction by the court if the individual means to apply the information illegally. In such a case, the person commits identity theft. In terms of document falsification, the identity thief changes modify or adjusts a document with the aim of misleading another individual.

Sheikh Zayed AlNahyan biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sheikh Zayed AlNahyan biography - Essay Example However, presently, his rule has come under scrutiny. There is great debt being accrued and little solutions to resolve it as yet. This is how the Sheik’s decadence and spending, which contributed to so many improvements, also, had some negative side effects, as well, particularly debt. In order to understand the man better it is best to start at the beginning. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was born on July 15th 1949 in Dubai, into a family with a long line of rulers. Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai since 1833. They are descended from the Al Bu Falasah, a part of the Bani Yas, which was a highly respected and dominant tribal â€Å"federation† made of those who would become the present UAE, founded in the 1970s. The Present Sheikh is not the first member of his family to take a great interest in attempting to stabilize, improve, and change the conditions of Dubai, as a whole, throughout history, many rulers before him have tried. Since the family took power in the 19th century they have all worked to improve Dubai situation and reputations, transforming it into a popular tourist locale and potential business location (Government of Dubai). The young Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan was privately tutored as a child, but would later, in 1966, attend Bell School of Languages at Cambridge University. In 1979 he married the first of his w ives, and therefore senior wife, Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, and his youngest and newest wife Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein is the daughter of the Hussein of Jordan. In his lifetime he has welcomed 16 children into the world (The Biography Channel 1). It was in 1995, at the age of 46, he was named Crowned Prince of Dubai and in his new position he eagerly began fulfilling his vision of Dubai becoming a lush and popular place, no longer just a tiny piece of desert. After he

Requirements for Admissible Statements Analysis Case Study - 1

Requirements for Admissible Statements Analysis - Case Study Example Illinois', Danny Escobedo, a 22 year-old young man, was accused for the murder of his brother-in-law. The incident happened at the night of 19th January, 1960 when the victim was fatally shot. After few hours Escobedo was arrested without a warrant and taken to custody for interrogation. Escobedo made no statements to police and he was released in the afternoon when his lawyer pursued writ of habeas corpus to the state court with the appeal of releasing his client as according to him there were no sufficient evidences against his client. But Escobedo was again arrested along with his sister on January 30, on the basis of the statement of Benedict DiGerlando who was another suspect of the murder. Benedict DiGerlando stated to police that Escobedo shot his brother-in-law causing his death. Police handcuffed Escobedo while taking him to police station and threatened him by saying that they have enough proof of his crime and it will be better for him to confess. According to the Fifth Am endment of the United States Constitution, nobody can be forced to be witness against himself in any criminal case but this rule was violated in case of Escobedo. Even, when Escobedo requested to consult with his attorney, his request was rejected. The attempt from Escobedo's attorney to see his client was also rejected by police. Again it was the violation of Sixth Amendment of U.S. Constitution as it states that, the suspected person has the right to enjoy legal assistance in all criminal prosecution. Finally, Escobedo confessed the crime and based on that he was found guilty of the murder. He appealed in the Illinois Supreme Court to reconsider his conviction. But it was rejected and then he approached to the U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court's decision went with Escobedo and his conviction was overturned by declaring his confession statement as inadmissible. In the second case 'Miranda v. Arizona', Ernesto Arturo Miranda, was accused in two cases one is robbery and the other is attempt to rape. He was arrested on March, 1963. In the attempt to rape case, the victim identified Miranda as the attacker. He also confessed the fact during police interrogation. The court appointed attorney of Miranda, John J. Flynn, tried to defend the accused by highlighting two points. First point was the instability in the story stated by the victim in the attempt to rape case and the second point was the confession of Miranda during police interrogation without any legal advice from any lawyer. But the Arizona Supreme Court convicted Miranda a 20-30 years imprisonment for the punishment of both cases by overruling all objections of his lawyer. But an appeal to the U.S. S

Unemployment Rate or GDP OR CPI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unemployment Rate or GDP OR CPI - Research Paper Example Thus, since GDP is a full representation of economic growth and production, it has a relatively large impact on nearly every aspect in the economy. When a certain economy is considered healthy, there are a number of related characteristics; low rate of unemployment and an increase in the level of wages as many businesses demand more labor in order to cater for the ever growing economy (Brezina, 20). Any slight change in the level of GDP is significant to a given economy since it affects the entire stock market. Economists have always argued that any bad economy is always associated with lower profits which implies that there are lower prices o stock in the markets. Thus, many investors in any economy will ever worry about the negative growth of GDP as it is a sole factor used to determine if an economy is on recession or not. A recession is associated with declining revenues in businesses, unemployment and layoffs (Lochner, 3). Moreover, when the growth rate of GDP is relatively fast, most Federal Reserve raise the rates of interest in order to stem inflation or rather the increasing prices in an economy. This could imply that the loans which are meant for homes and cars will become more expensive and thus businesses will experience high cost of borrowing. GDP is an extremely important measure in any country’s economy. Despite the fact that GDP cannot be easily determined, its value represents so many aspects in any given economy. This measure is significant to overall spending of a nation since depressions and recessions of a particular country are largely caused by the overall rate of spending. Furthermore, GDP is a measure of confidence since when the government, companies and individuals spend; it is a likely indication of a growing economy. However, when no one is spending, it is a likely indication of a contracting economy. Therefore, this

Identity and Belonging Essay Example for Free

Identity and Belonging Essay This expository piece draws upon the context ‘Identity and Belonging’ in conjunction with personal memoirs from Alice Pung’s ‘Growing up Asian in Australia’. The purpose of this piece is to explore and invite my audience to experience what it is like to be the subject of isolation due to differences in appearance, language and culture and to point out the internal struggles people have while trying to discover their true identity whilst in the presence of others. I have referred to a number of stories from Alice Pung’s novel such as Towards manhood, a call to arms and sticks and stones and such like; all of which outline the issue of not being able to express oneself in the presence of others. The language used in this feature article is that of a formal and serious tone that reflects hardship of migrants and people who struggle to discover their true identity and a sense of belonging Essay In a diverse world where there is no conventional group to which we all belong it can be hard to find a concrete group where we can feel a sense of belonging and confidence to express ones true identity. The presence of others whether it is family or friends effects the way we act in certain situations and groups and causes us to reluctantly have several identities. However they may not always be our true identity but put-on in order to satisfy others and act in accordance to what they expect of us. We can create a new identity by changing our appearance, clothes and position in a group however in the process we may lose sight and become confused about who we really are and what identity is appropriate for different groups. It is not always easy to be our self in the presence of peers and family and living up to their expectations when you are confused about you own identity and sexuality. In the story ‘Towards Manhood’ the main character Benjamin found it challenging to be himself in the company of other because of his sexuality and not being able to conform to other’s expectations. He used his Asian appearance and identity to hide the fact that he was gay and he pretended to like a girl so his peers wouldn’t think he was â€Å"a comprised failure of a man†. However when he confesses his sexuality to his mother, who surprisingly acknowledges that her son was gay and that â€Å"something went wrong in the womb† he begins to accept and come to terms with who he is. It is through the acceptance of other that are closest to you that you get a sense of belonging and security and for Benjamin this was his family and his boyfriend Scott. It is also difficult to be ourselves in the company of others when your physical appearance and culture are dissimilar. Having a robust ethnic background can act upon the ability to fit into a foreign culture and way of life, but also it can affect the way others perceive us. In the story ‘A call to Arms’ Michelle found it hard to fit in because of the constant strain between Chinese heritage and Australian upbringing. Michelle felt a great deal of isolation because the Australian people weren’t accustomed to her appearance and her culture, â€Å"M y life seemed so incredibly abnormal compared to everyone else I knew† which often left her victimised by her peers. Michelle began to be ashamed of her culture around the presence of her peers and she began to lose her sense of identity and belonging. However on her trip to Hong Kong she â€Å"felt something she had never experienced before, and something I certainly never consciously been seeking: acceptance†. Everything that wasn’t accepted back in Australia â€Å"no longer incited automatic embarrassment† and she was able to express her culture without being looked down upon. It wasn’t until she tried to communicate to other in Chinese that she realised that only her appearance fitted in and finally acknowledges that both cultures shaped her identity. Our heritage and upbringing can place a great deal of stress when trying to conform to others and discover our own identity. It can leave us feeling isolated when around people that are different and not immune to your culture however sometimes people create a new identity in order to down play their culture and ethnic origins. Having a strong ethnic heritage can sometimes urge people to create a new identity in order to feel a sense of connection and belonging with the societies around them. In the memoir ‘Sticks and stones and such like’ Sunil attempts to create an identity that is accepted by the Australian culture and does this by changing his name to one that is easily pronounced by his fellow peers and is considered to be an Anglo- white majority name. Sunil creates multiple identities in order to fit into a Majority Australian- white school and along the way sacrifices and betrays his culture. After changing his name Sunil feels a sense of acceptance and anonymity among his white peers. However when Sunil’s mother finds out, she is dismayed that her son would give up his culture in order to feel a sense of belonging amongst his friends. After finding out about the origins of his name and why his mother treasured it so much, Sunil begins to rediscover his ethnic identity and finally accepts his own name and finds a sense of belonging. By having a different name that is unfamiliar to the people around you can sometimes give a sense of isolation and highlight the culture barriers between people. Often many ethnic people change their name in order to conform and make it easier to pronounce for the people that are unaccustomed to their language and culture and by taking on another name, they also create a new identity and clear any stereotypes of that race. We cannot always be our self in the company of others and that urges us to take on another identity. People often create a false identity on social networking sites in order to create a person that is desired by peers and also random people. People who are discriminated against or behold a sense of isolation because of differences in appearance and culture often create a profile online of how they want to appear to others and by creating a false identity that they can hide behind can give them a sense of belonging to a group and acceptance. We cannot always be ourselves in the company of others which often leads to false identities being created and a sense of not fitting in. The presence of other determines the identities in which we take on or want to be perceived as however this can also lead to a misinterpretation of their real identity and also sacrifices of heritage and culture.

Stewardship versus economic decision making in financial reporting

Stewardship versus economic decision making in financial reporting The main objective of financial reporting according to the IASBs Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements framework is that of providing adequate information in order to enable shareholders conduct economic decision making. This brought the debate of whether such objective neglected the importance of the stewardship assessment by the part of shareholders. In the past decade the IASB and the US FASB have been working on a joint project to develop a conceptual framework for financial reporting. Such conceptual framework has the aim of providing a base for developing harmonised, future accounting standards. In 2008, the boards issued an exposure draft of chapter one and chapter two of the conceptual framework with chapter one tackling the objectives of financial reporting. In the exposure draft that has been lately issued by the two boards, it was identified that the objective of financial reporting should be that of catering for all the decisions that capital providers make, including both resource allocation decisions and decisions made to protect and enhance their investments. Furthermore on the underlying exposure draft there is stated that information about the stewardship of an entitys economic resources should be considered as decision-useful information. Hence in this exposure draft it is clear that the two boards shifted from focusing solely on economic decision making, to general decision making, with stewardship being included in such broader definition. Although this move to focus on decision usefulness rather than specifically on economic decision making was a means to subsume stewardship in the objective of financial reporting, authors such as Andrew Lennard still argue that stewardship and decision usefulness should be recognised as separate objectives. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦stewardship contributes an important dimension to financial reporting, which should be reflected by specific acknowledgement in the objectives of financial reporting.  [1]   The majority of the authors who recognise stewardship as a fundamental objective in financial reporting, claim that financial statements should be prepared on the basis of historical costs. This ensures in providing a clear, factual account of the transactions that occurred during the year, over which management had control. Thus reporting on historical cost can aid shareholders accomplish their stewardship assessment needs better. On the other hand, to cater for decision usefulness, especially in terms of economic decision making, financial reporting would focus more on the forecasting of future cash flows. Such objective would be better addressed with valuations based on market values, since they better reflect the timing and certainty of future cash flows. This is leading to the emergence of valuation techniques based on current values, such as fair value. The adoption of fair value accounting is perhaps one of the most controversial issues currently being faced by the accountancy world. Both the IASB and the FASB have been working on this issue for the last couple years. Traditionally, financial reporting has been exclusively based on historical costs. The use of current values, such as fair value reporting emerged relatively recently, and was applied to only few selected areas. One of the areas where fair value had a major influence is in the measurement of financial instrument. Using market values to value Financial Instruments is deemed to be reliable (since markets in these items are well developed) and relevant (because the values of financial instruments can experience large fluctuations, thus historical costs depicts a very poor picture of current values). However, in the nearby future, fair value measurement is likely to be extended to other assets, especially in the light of the fact of the IASBs and FASBs perceived preferenc e for fair value measurement even where the market is not well developed. The IASB believes that fair value measurement under IFRS and GAAP is already consistent. Also, the IASB and the FASB will continue to work together to ensure that applying fair value in an inactive market is accounted for consistently  [2]  . Shareholders are divided into two main categories, private individuals and institutional investors. Although financial reporting is designed to cater for the needs of capital providers, due to the lack of knowledge commonly found within private individual shareholders, concerns may arise on what such private individual shareholders identify as useful, for their decision making. Need for the study: The dissertations objective is to identify the current needs of private shareholders and what they identify as valuable information. The dissertation shall then examine to what extent the focus on decision usefulness and the forecasting of future cash flows through fair value accounting shall aid private shareholders in satisfying their requirements. Research Methodology: The dissertation will be of a qualitative nature. The aim of such dissertation is to achieve a deep understanding of what local private shareholders value as relevant information, and to examine whether the emerging concept of fair value accounting will be providing such users more relevant accounting information. The aim of the study is not to generalise findings but to obtain rich description on the underlying topic. The method being taken into consideration to gather the qualitative data is the setting up of focus groups with shareholders. Such group discussions provide direct evidence about similarities and differences in participants opinions. Participants are not required to answer for every question enabling them to build on one anothers response. Furthermore by acting as a moderator I can ensure that the discussion is always kept on track. Finally, focus groups can be considered as a more plausible solution when compared to open ended interviews with shareholders. The response rate of shareholders to a focus group is likely to be greater when compared to a personal one on one interview, since the latter is perceived as more intrusive. The main limitation of using focus groups is perhaps the risk that people influence each others response. As a result the response of participants can be different than the response that would have been generated from a private one on one interview. Shareholders from two local, listed companies are going to be considered as the population sample. These companies are Bank of Valletta and HSBC. The choice fell on these companies because due to the recent changes to IAS 39 and IFRS 7, fair value measurement had a considerable impact on the banking sector. Thereby, due to such fact shareholders can be even more concerned and affected with the underlying subject. Two focus groups are planned to be set, one with BOV shareholders and one with HSBC shareholders, with groups ranging from six to twelve members. Shareholders list can be obtained from the Malta Financial Services Authority. The sampled population will exclude overseas shareholders, trusts and investment companies, thus focusing solely on local private shareholders. Chapters Overview: Introduction: firstly the stewardship versus economic decision making debate will be tackled, and its effects on valuation on financial reporting will be analysed. The dissertation shall then focus on the emergence of fair value as a measurement tool and its prospective usage. Furthermore fair value will be compared and contrasted with cost based valuation. The introduction will also include an examination of how each valuation method caters for the individual private shareholders requirements. Literature Review: literature review can be focused on two aspects being the debate of fair value measurement versus cost based measurement, and the debate of whether private shareholders use accounting information mostly for economic decision making, or to assess stewardship. Research Methodology: in this section I shall describe how the results were achieved, explaining how the data was collected and analyzed. This section shall contain the weaknesses and limitations of the research methods and methodology used. In the methodology I shall also include any problems that I anticipated and explain any steps taken to prevent them from occurring. Findings: this part of dissertation will contain the information generated from the focus groups. Results will be presented, interpreted and discussed in this section. Conclusion: this part will provide concluding insights on the research, and recommendations of other research questions that can be tackled to improve the research on the area. The main questions to be answered in this section are: what has been learnt from the results? How can this knowledge be used? What are the shortcomings of the research? Bibliography: Accounting Standards Board. (2007). STEWARDSHIP/ACCOUNTABILITY AS AN OBJECTIVE OF FINANCIAL REPORTING A comment on the IASB/FASB Conceptual Framework Project. UK: Accounting Standards Board. Alan Bryman, E. B. (2007). Business Research Methods 2 edition. UK: Oxford University Press. Doron Nissim, S. P. (2007). ON THE APPLICATION OF FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING. Columbia Univesity. Lennard, A. (2008). Stewardship and the objectives of financial statements: a comment on IASBs Preliminary Views on an improved Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. UK: Accounting Standards Board. RONEN, J. (2008). To Fair Value or Not to Fair Value: A Broader Perspective. Accounting Foundation , Sydney. Schmidt, S. (2004). Fair Value Accounting. US: Governors of Federal Reserve System. Whittington, G. (2008). Fair Value and the IASB/FASB Conceptual Framework Project: An Alternative View . Cambridge: University of Cambridge.