The Destructive Cross-Examination of Socrates

Socrates spent most of his life in Athens. During his life he witnessed the rise and glory of Athens and the rapid decline of Athens during the Peloponnesian war. Socrates met and talked with a variety of people such as politicians, statesmen, sophists, poets, architects, and ordinary citizens. He taught philosophy to the youth of Athens, devoted friends, and pupils like Crito. Plato was one of Socrates’ students, and he is considered to be most brilliant student of Socrates. In fact, Plato is the major source of knowledge about Socrates’ life.Socrates questioned and cross-examined Athenians about their moral, religious, and political beliefs. People found it difficult to understand him. His habits were strange, and his arguments were hard to understand. Socrates created a revolution in Greek philosophy. Plato portrayed this revolution in Defence of Socrates, Euthyphro, and Crito. Socratic Method is characterized by asking questions. When Socrates talks, he asks the que stions all the time. He teaches and refutes with questions. He talks to people with questions.The central element that upset the Athenians was the destructive cross-examination of the principles and beliefs that Athenians lived by, which consequently led to Socrates’ death because his contemporaries did not want to admit their own ignorance. Socrates was searching for the meaning of things; he wanted proof of what was defined which would give logical reason for itself. The fact that really hurt Athenians was the attack of the most fundamental principles of Athenian life. Socrates did not recruit people to follow him; rather he went out and asked them their views.His lectures were not characterized by forcing his ideas onto other people. The individuals brought their point of views on particular subject in dialogues set up by Socrates. Socrates’ way of testing or challenging a belief is by seeing what believer is committed to. A man, who makes a statement, especially in debate with Socrates, must be careful what he claims to know. One of the examples is a dialogue between Euthyphro and Socrates. They both have pending lawsuits. Socrates is accused of impiety, and Euthyphro is going to prosecute his own father.Euthyphro’s father is charged with killing a day-laborer. According to Euthyphro his actions to prosecute his father is a model for piety. It doesn’t matter if the guilty one is a relative or a stranger, murder is murder. Euthyphro justified his actions by saying that he knows what holy or unholy is. Socrates wants to know what is holy or unholy since he was accused of impiety, and it seems that Euthyphro has exact knowledge of religion. The discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro illustrate an alternative approach to answer.Euthyphro’s answer to what is holy is in a form that lists individual actions. Socrates presents the questions that are mutually exclusive. For example,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦is the holy loved by the gods be cause it is holy? Or is it holy because it is loved? † He asks plenty of questions like that. Euthyphro (the respondent) has to make a choice between the alternatives presented. Socrates accepts what is a false answer to his question. The dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro demonstrated the untruth. The definition of holy was not discovered. This cross examination made Euthyphro very uncomfortable.As Socrates demonstrated, Euthyphro did not have exact knowledge of religion and what holy or unholy is. If Euthyphro, who is professionally devoted to religion, cannot produce an adequate answer or some valid criterion of holy, it is hardly to be expected that Athenian citizens will provide intelligent answers to such questions. Socrates was charged with irreligion, impiety, and corruption of youth. The Defence of Socrates is divided into three speeches. The opening is the criticism of the peroration in the court, and Socrates is carried away by the speeches of his accusers. His defense is based on the word â€Å"truth. At the beginning of the speech he makes it clear that he is interested only in truth: â€Å"†¦ my accusers have said little or nothing true; whereas from me you shall hear the whole truth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The speeches in court generally have no relation to truth. The speakers aim to persuade others in believing what the speaker is saying. Socrates is compelled to make speech in court to defend himself. Socrates replaces the speech that is common in Athenian courts and exercises his own kind of cross-examination, whenever law permits him to do so. He proceeds according to his method of examining by questions and answers.Also, he wishes to converse with judges for more than one day and perhaps convince them that his accusers are wrong. Socrates acquired a bad reputation because he has some special wisdom as his accusers are saying. This is based on the account of Chaerephon, Socrates’ friend. Chaerephon asked the Delphic oracle who is the wisest. The oracle’s answer was that Socrates is the wisest. When Socrates heard the story, he was perplexed how this possibly could be the truth. Socrates went and questioned poets, craftsman, and politicians. He made enemies for himself during his quest for wisdom. Socrates realized and †¦formed opinion that, although the man thought to be wise by many other people, and especially himself, yet in reality he was not. † Through this process Socrates came to conclusion that only god is truly wise, and Socrates’ wisdom is worth nothing. With this confession Socrates sets up tension against the absurd charge of impiety. For Socrates, piety refers to his mission based on the conviction that he and others are ignorant. Socrates exposed through examination the ignorance of others. They claimed they knew something, when in fact they did not know anything. Socrates made people think and find the truth.Once they were exposed to Socrates questioning, they real ized they were ignorant and no truth was found. Because Athenians had a reputation to protect, they brought absurd charges against him. Next, the whole populations of Athens, the judges, the members of the Assembly are claiming to be educators, except Socrates. This absurd exaggeration expresses the sophistic relativism and is ironic, since Socrates is accused of being a sophist. We must make a clear distinction between the two. First, sophists charged fees for their services, next sophists in Athens were not citizens and they traveled throughout the Greek world.Finally, the sophist would use or find the argument that worked the best and did not care whether they uncovered the truth. Socrates did not charge fees, was an Athenian citizen, and believed in uncovering the truth. Additionally, there is another absurdity concealed in Socrates’ indictment. Socrates asks Meletos if he is corrupting youth intentionally or unintentionally. Meletos replies without hesitation-intentional ly. Socrates said that his wrongdoing is impossible. If Socrates is so stupid that he does not realize that he harms other, then he must do it unintentionally.Also, Socrates makes a clever remark towards Meletus: â€Å"Are you so much smarter at your age than mine as to realize that the bad have a harmful impact upon their closest companions at any given time, whereas the good have a beneficial effect? † Socrates explains that if he is corrupting youth he must do it unintentionally, and according to the law he should not be brought to court based on such a mistake. To add, he explains other reasons why alleged corruption of youth might be happening. Since all others are teachers of the youth, they should teach the youth justice and what is right.Evidently, they failed to do so, since Socrates has so many loyal followers. Finally, there is Socrates’ defense against the charge that he does not honor gods. According to Socrates, this charge is too vague. He asked his accu ser to make the point more precisely and explain it. Socrates begins to ask Meletos a series of questions. One of the Meletus’ charges is that Socrates does not acknowledge gods and claims that the sun and the moon are made of rocks. Socrates exclaims that this is mistaken identity. It is Anaxagoras of Clazomenae who made such a claim in his books which you can get anywhere for a cheap price.Socrates makes another clever remark that he does not believe that members of jury are illiterate and therefore they should know that Meletus’ charge is absurd. Furthermore, Socrates questioned Meletus and came to conclusion that according to Meletus, Socrates believes in some sort of spiritual being. Socrates ends with the question: â€Å" How could you possibly persuade anyone with even slightest intelligence that someone who accepts spiritual beings does not also accepts divine ones, and again that the same person also accepts neither spirits nor gods nor heroes? Socrates refut ed the charge of impiety by showing through questioning, that he could not be a despiser of gods since he believes in spiritual beings and descendants of gods. Socrates exposed Meletos self-contradiction, ignorance, and ignorance of the judges and jury, since they allowed charges to be brought to the court. In addition, Socrates takes unmistakable delight in the process of uncovering one’s ignorance. Following the custom, Socrates must propose the proper penalty for himself. Socrates considers a variety of punishments. He examined his own life.He believed that he fulfilled the duty towards the whole community by examining others and himself and did not wrong anybody. The exile would not be appropriate punishment. Socrates proposes that his penalty should be free meals, since he is doing a good thing in Athens. Socrates stands his ground as is portrayed in the third part of his speech. He accepts his death penalty, but also he warns his executioners that putting people to deat h will not prevent anyone from living unjustly and in ignorance. Socrates is convinced that his philosophical life of examining his own and other Athenians beliefs and actions is his duty.He does not fear death. He does not know if death is good or bad. Socrates warns Athenians not to value wealth, power, and prestige more than moral excellence. The moral excellence is the best possible state of one’s soul. Socrates commitment to reasoned argument is evident in Crito. There, in conversation with Crito, Socrates justifies his decision to remain in prison. Crito listed the reasons why Socrates should escape. First, Crito does not want to lose a friend, next what will other think that Crito doesn’t want to make sacrifice for his friend.Socrates begins with the reply that he must follow the logic: â€Å"I cannot reject the very principle that I previously adopted, just because this fate has overtaken me; rather they appeared to me much the same as ever, and I respect and honor the same ones that I did before. † This principle is within him and appears to be the best, regardless of situation. Additionally, Socrates examined his own morality. For Socrates, the greatest good is to be prudent and evil is to be imprudent. Prudence is the ability to act by use of reason and allows to distinguish when acts are reckless, cowardly or courageous.Socrates, also examined other of his principles such as not to do injustice, not to do bad things to other human beings, obey the laws of Athens, which he voluntary accepted. Yet again through the questioning of his own principles and in dialogue with Crito, Socrates comes to conclusion, that one shouldn’t care what other people think, but think what is just or unjust. If Socrates would escape, he would violate the sacred laws of Athens. The escape would be unjust. Socrates reasoned that if he would escape, the life time of his work would be destroyed.He dedicated his life to justice, to the state, and th e law. Socrates must confirm his teachings trough his actions. On the whole, Socrates during his lifetime pursued the truth. For Socrates, the truth was the only moral anchor in uncertain world. His method was direct. He asked questions in dialogues with anyone who would engage in conversation. This dialectic process was a purifying process. Similar to water filter, removing all the scum and sediment until results were pure. Socrates revealed through this process what is untruth.For Socrates, the inner truth is covered by the layers of untruth, and he tried to peel them away. This method is also known as negative method-eliminate what leads to contradiction. Socrates forced his contemporaries to re-evaluate, reflect and reconsider their beliefs. He did this in the ways that left people with uncertainty, in the state of unease, and realization of their own ignorance (but not admitting to it) as Plato portrayed in Euthyphro, Crito and Defence of Socrates. Furthermore, the Oracle of De lphi response to Chaerephon, who is the wisest man, provided Socrates with insights to education.The most powerful motivation to learning is acknowledgment of own ignorance. Next, Socratic Method seeks to find universal definition. Socrates believed that all things have something essential within them which can be uncovered by reason. The essential properties can be summarized in definition. For example, he seeks to find the definition what is holy or unholy in Euthyphro. The results of Socrates enquires in search for truth, knowledge, and wisdom through cross-examination, led to his death, because his contemporaries did not to want admit their own ignorance.

How much aggressive behaviour is shown on television? Essay

The average American child sees 32,000 murders, 40,000 attempted murders, and 25,000 acts of violence on television before the age of 18 (Ahmed, 1998). Gerbner’s studies of violence on American television (Gerbner, 1972; Gerbner & Gross, 1976; Gerbner et al. , 1980, 1986) Defining violence as: ‘†¦ the overt expression of physical force against others or self, or the compelling of an action against one’s will on pain of being hurt or killed’, Gerbner’s team have found that since 1967 the percentage of television shows containing violent episodes has remained about the same, but the number of violent episodes per show has gradually increased. In 1986, there was an average of around five violent acts per hour on prime-time television. On children’s weekend shows, mostly consisting of cartoons, about 20 violent acts per hour occurred. British research by Halloran & Croll (1972) and the BBC’s Audience Research Department were both based around Gerbner’s analysis. Both studies found that violence was a common feature of programming, although it was not as prevalent on British as on American television. Cumberbatch (1987), commissioned by the BBC, analysed all programmes broadcast on the (then) four terrestrial channels in four separate weeks between May and September 1986. The main findings from Cumberbatch’s (1987) study: Cumberbatch found that 30% of programmes contained some violence, the overall frequency being 1. 14 violent acts per programme and 1. 68 violent acts per hour. Each act lasted around 25 seconds, so violence occupied just over 1% of total television time. These figures were lower if boxing and wrestling were excluded, but higher (at 1. 96 violent acts per hour) if verbal threats were included. Death resulted from violent acts in 26% of cases, but in 61% of acts no injuries were shown, and the victim was portrayed as being in pain or stunned. In 83% of cases, no blood was shown as a result of a violent act, and considerable blood and gore occurred in only 0. 2% of cases. Perpetrators of violent acts were much more likely to be portrayed as ‘baddies’ than ‘goodies’, and violence occurred twice as frequently in law-breaking than in law-upholding contexts. Cumberbatch argued that whilst violence, and concerns about it, had increased in society in the decade up to 1987, this was not reflected by a proportional increase on television, even in news broadcasts. He concluded that: ‘While broadcasters may take some comfort from our data on trends in television violence, they must expect to be continually reminded of their responsibilities in this area and be obliged to acknowledge that a significant minority of people will remain concerned about what’s on the box’. More recently, the BBC and ITV commissioned Gunter & Harrison (1998) to look at the frequency of violence on terrestrial and satellite channels. Some findings from Gunter & Harrison’s (1998) analysis of violence on British television: The researchers monitored 2084 programmes on eight channels over four weeks in October 1994 and January/February 1995. The findings include: On BBC 1 and 2, ITV and Channel 4, 28% of programmes contained violent acts, compared with 52% on Sky One, UK Gold, SKY Movies and the Movie Channel.   Violence occupied 0. 61% of time on the terrestrial channels and 1. 53% on the satellite stations.   The greatest proportions of violent acts (70%) occurred in dramas and films; 19% occurred in children’s programmes. Most violent acts occurred in contemporary settings in inner-city locations. The majority of perpetrators were young, white males. One per cent of programmes contained 19% of all violent acts. Double Impact, shown on the Movie Channel, for example, contained 105 violent acts, as against on average 9. 7. The United States was the most common location for violence (47%), followed by the United Kingdom (12%). The third most likely location was a cartoon setting (7%), and then science fiction locations (4%). On the basis of the finding that violent acts account for 1% of programme content on terrestrial channels and less than 2% on some satellite stations, and the fact that 1% of programmes contained 19% of all violent acts, Gunter and Harrison concluded that: ‘The picture that emerges is not one of a television system permeated by violence, but rather one in which violence represents only a tiny part of the output and where it tends to be concentrated principally in a relatively small number of programmes’ (cited in Frean, 1995). An almost identical conclusion was reached by the American Academy of Paediatrics (Murray & Whitworth, 1999). As well as television, violent behaviour can also be seen at the cinema or on video (and what is shown may or may not be subsequently screened on television). Evidence indicates that a large percentage of 9-11 year olds have watched 18-rated videos, including particularly violent Nightmare on Elm Street, The silence of the lambs, and Pulp Fiction (Ball & Nuki, 1996; Wark & Ball, 1996). The effects of television on Children’s behaviour: Research into the effects of television on Children’s behaviour began in America in the 1960’s, following the publication of the results of Bandura et al’s ‘Bobo doll experiments’. These ‘first generation’ (or ‘Phase one’: Baron, 1977) studies involved filmed or symbolic) models. Essentially, Bandura et al. showed that children can acquire new aggressive responses not previously in their behavioural repertoire merely through exposure to a filmed or televised model. If children could learn new ways of harming others through such experiences, then the implication was that media portrayals of violence might be contributing to increased levels of violence in society (Baron, 1977). However, Bandura (1965) warned against such an interpretation in the light of his new findings that the learning of aggressive responses does not necessarily mean that they will be displayed in a child’s behaviour. Nevertheless, the possibility that such effects could occur was sufficient to focus considerable public attention on Bandura et al. ‘s research.

Accounting – Concepts and Conventions

NATURE OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT The data exhibited by financial statements are affected by a)Recorded facts b)Accounting Concepts, Conventions & Principles c)Personal Judgment 1)Recorded Facts: The term recorded facts means the data used for preparing financial statements are taken from accounting record which are facts. i. e. Cash in Hand: Actual cash is recorded Amount due from debtor: Actual to be recorded Amount due to creditor: Actual to be recorded Thus the financial statement do not disclose such facts which may be reality, which are not recorded. For ex. : L/Bldg. urchased are shown at cost price in the Accounting Books But market value which in reality may be different is not stated because it is not recorded in Books of A/c. 2)Accounting concepts & conventions & principle: The Dictionary meaning is â€Å"Fundamental truth implying uniformity of Applicability everywhere. † However when applied in Financial Statement Analysis, it gives different meaning in different conc epts & so it is rarely used as a fundamental accounting truth. Accounting Principles are those rules of Action which are adopted by the Accountant universally in recording transaction.Different professional bodies like Australian Society of Account (i. e. Institute of Chartered Accountant in Australia) The Institute of Chartered Accountant in England & Wales. The American Institute of certified public accountant have made recommendation on accounting principles in the recent year. Accounting principles have been developed over the years from experience, usage & necessity. They are judged on the General Acceptability rather than Universal Acceptability to the user of financial statement hence they are called as General Accepted Accounting Principles (G. A. A. P. )According principles can be broadly classified into two categories: A. Accounting concepts B. Accounting Conventions Accounting Principles Accounting conceptsAccounting Conventions a)Entity Concepta)Disclosure b)Going Concer n Conceptb)Materiality c)Accounting period conceptc)Consistency d)Money Measurement Conceptd)Conservatism e)Cost Concept f)Cost Attach Concept g)Dual Aspect Concept h)Accrual concept i)Periodic Matching of cost and Revenue Concept j)Realisation Concept k)Verifiable Objective Evidence Concept ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS: They are the necessary assumptions or conditions upon which accounting is based.Accounting concepts are postulates, assumptions or conditions upon which accounting is based. They are developed to convey the same meaning to all people. Some of the important concept are given as follows: 1. Entity Concept: For accounting purposes- the ‘business’ is treated as a separate entity from the proprietor (s). It may sound to be absurd that one sell goods to himself, but all transactions are recorded in the books of the business as per this point of view. This concept helps in keeping private affairs of the proprietor away from the business affairs. Thus if a proprietor in vests Rs. ,00,000/- in the business, it is deemed that the proprietor has given Rs. 1,00,000/- to the ‘business’ and it is shown as a ‘liability’ in the books of business. (because business has to ultimately repay it to the proprietor). Similarly, if the proprietor withdraws Rs. 10,000/- from the business, it is charged to him. This concept is applicable to all forms of business organizations. Although in the eyes of Law a Sole trader and his business or the partner and their business are one and the same, for accounting purposes they are regarded as separate entities. It is the ‘business’ with which we are concerned. . Going Concern Concept (Continuity of Activity): It is assumed that the business concern will continue for a fairly long time, unless and until it has entered into a state of liquidation. 3. Accounting Period Concept: Although the ‘going concern’ concept stresses the continuing nature of the business enterprise, it i s customary to divide its life into chapters known as ‘Accounting Periods. ’ An accounting period is the interval of time at the end of which the income statement and financial position statement (balance sheet) are prepared to know the result and resources of the business.Although shorter periods are frequently adopted for purposes of comparative studies, the normal accounting period is twelve months. This is because though the life of the business is considered to be indefinite, the measurement of income and studying the financial position of the business after a very long period would not help in taking timely corrective steps or to enable periodic distributions of income to proprietor (s) with reasonable safety. Therefore, it is necessary for the concern to ‘stop’ at regular intervals and ‘see back’ how it is faring. 4.Money Measurement Concept : In accounting everything is recorded in terms of money. Events or transaction which cannot be e xpressed in terms of money are not recorded in the books of accounts, even if they are very important or useful for the business. Purchase and sale of goods, payment of expenses and receipt of income are monetary transactions which find place in accounting etc. Death of an executive, resignation of a manager are the events which cannot be expressed in money and so are not to be recorded in Book’s of A/c. 5. Cost Concept (Objectivity Concept): As per cost concept: )an asset is ordinarily recorded at the price paid to acquire it i. e. at its cost, and b)this cost is the basis for all subsequent accounting for the asset. For example, if a plot of land is purchased for Rs. 1,00,000/- it is recorded in the books of at Rs. 1,00,000/- and even if its market value at the time of preparation of final accounts is Rs. 2,00,000/- or Rs. 60,000/- it will not be considered. Thus the balance sheet on a particular date does not ordinarily indicate what the asset could be sold for. The cost c oncept does not mean that the asset will always be shown at cost.It only means that cost becomes the basis for all subsequent accounting for the asset. Thus the assets recorded by the process of depreciation. Cost concept brings objectivity in the preparation and presentation of financial statements. It implies that the figures shown in the accounting records should be based on objective evidence and not on the subjective views of a person. 6. Cost-attach Concept: This concept is also known as ‘cost-merge’ concept. In order to produce an article it is necessary to purchase raw-material, process it and convert into finished article.This calls for the services of other factors of production and therefore, there are several other costs like labour cost, power and other overhead expenses. These cost have a capacity to ‘merge’ or ‘attach’ when they are brought together. Thus the proportionate raw-material costs, labour costs, and other overheads are added together to obtain product cost so as to increase the utility of cost data. 7. Dual Aspect Concept: This is the basic concept of accounting. As per this concept, every business transaction has a dual effect. 8.Accrual Concept: The accrual concept implies recording of revenues and expenses of a particular accounting period, whether they are received / paid in cash or not. Under cash system of accounting, the revenues and expenses are recorded only if they are actually received / paid in cash irrespective of the accounting period to which they belong. But under accrual method, the revenues and expenses relating to that particular accounting period only are considered. 9. Periodic Matching of Cost and Revenue Concept : This concept is based on the accounting period concept.Making profit is the most important objective that keeps the proprietor engaged in business activities. That is why most of the accountant’s time is spent in evolving techniques for measuring the profit /profitability of the concern. To ascertain the profit made during a period, it is necessary to match ‘revenues’ of the period with the ‘expenses’ of that period. Income (profit) earned by the business during a period can be measured only when the revenue earned during the period is compared with the expenditure incurred to earn that revenue. The question when the payment was made / received is irrelevant.Therefore, as per this concept adjustments are made for all outstanding expenses, prepaid expenses, accrued incomes, unearned incomes etc. 10. Realisation Concept : According to this concept profit should be accounted for only when it is actually realized. Revenue is recognized only when sale is effected or the services are rendered. Sale is considered to be made when the property in goods passes to the buyer and he is legally liable to pay. However, in order to recognize revenue, receipt of cash is not essential. Even credit sale results in realization as it creates a efinite asset called ‘Account Receivable’. However, there are certain exceptions to the concept: like in case of contract accounts, hire purchase etc. Similarly incomes like commission, interest, rent etc. are shown in Profit and Loss Account on accrual basis though they may not be realised in cash on the date of preparing accounts. 11. Verifiable Objective Evidence Concept : According to this concept all accounting transactions should be evidenced and supported by objective documents. These documents include invoices, contracts, correspondence, vouchers, bill, pass books, cheque books etc. uch supporting documents provide the basis for making accounting entries and for verification by the auditors later on. This concept also has its limitations. for example, it is difficult to verify internal allocation of costs to accounting periods. 2. ACCOUNTING CONVENTIONS: Conventions are the customs or traditions or usage which guide of accounting statements. They a re adapted to make financial statements clear and meaningful. 1. Convention of Disclosure: This means that the accounts must be honestly prepared and they must disclose all material information.The accounting reports should disclose full and fair information to the proprietors, creditors, investors and others. This conventions is specially significant in case of big business like Joint Stock Company where there is divorce between the owners and the managers. However, it does not mean that all information or information of any kind is to be included in accounting statements. The term ‘disclosure’ only implies that there must be a sufficient disclosure of informations which is of material interest to proprietors, present and potential creditors and investors. 2.Conventions of Materiality: The accountant should attach importance to material details and ignore insignificant details. If this is not done accounts will be overburdened with minute details. As per the American A ccounting Association, â€Å"an item should be regarded as material, if there is a reason to believe that knowledge of it would influence the decision of informed investor. † Therefore, keeping the convention of materiality in view, unimportant items are either left out or merged with other items. Some items are shown as foot notes like, contingent liabilities, market value of investment etc.However, an item may be material for one purpose but immaterial for another, material for one concern but immaterial for another, or material for one year but immaterial for next year. 3. Convention of Consistency: The comparison of one accounting period with the other is possible only when the convention of consistency is followed. It means accounting from one accounting period to another. For example, a company may adopt straight line method, written down value method, or any other method of providing depreciation on fixed assets. But it is expected that the company follows a particular method of depreciation consistently.Similarly, if stock is valued at ‘cost or market price whichever is less,’ this principle should be followed every year. Any change from one method to another would lead to inconsistency. However, consistency does not mean non-flexibility. It should permit introduction of improved techniques of accounting. 4. Convention of Conservatism: It refers to the policy of ‘playing safe. ’ As per this convention all prospective losses are taken into consideration but not all prospective profits. In other words ‘anticipate no profit but provide for all possible losses’.However, this convention is being criticized on the ground that it goes not only against the convention of full disclosure but also against the concept of matching costs and revenues. It encourages creation of secret reserves by making excess provision for depreciation, bad and doubtful debts etc. The Income statement shows a lower net income and the Bal ance sheet overstates the liabilities and understates the assets. The convention of conservatism should be applied cautiously so that the results reported are not distorted. Some degree of conservatism is inevitable where objective data is not available.Following are the examples of application of conservatism: a)Making provision for doubtful debts and discount on debtors. b)Not providing for discount on creditors. c)Valuing stock in trade at cost or market price whichever is less. d)Creating provision against fluctuations in the price of investments. e)Showing Joint Life Policy at surrender value and not at the paid up amount. f)Amortization of intangible asset like goodwill which has indefinite life. ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF FINANCIAL STATMENTS As stated earlier, the basic objective of financial statement is to provide information useful to the users of these statements.Different users like shareholders, investors, financial institutions, workers etc. are interested in financial sta tements with varying objectives. Generally, it is not possible for a firm to prepare these statements in such a form that may suit every interested user. However, such statements should possess at least the following essential qualities. 1. Relevance : Only these information should be disclosed in financial statements which are relevant to the objectives of the firm. The information is said to be relevant only when it influences decision of the users, while evaluating any event or correcting past evaluation.The conclusions drawn on the basis of irrelevant information would be misleading of no use. Therefore, the information irrelevant to the statements be avoided, otherwise it would be difficult to make a distinction between relevant and irrelevant information. 2. Understandability : The main objective of financial statements is to provide necessary information about the firm’s resources and performance. To fulfill this objectives, the information contained in these statement s should be clear, simple and lucid so that a person who is not well versed with the accounting terminology shall be able to understand without much difficulty.Hence, as far as possible, the form of financial statements should not be complex, and the terms used in these statements should be simple, in common language and non-technical. 3. Reliability and Accuracy : The information incorporated in financial statements should be reliable. Information has the quality of reliability when it is free from material error and bias and can be depended upon by users. Reliability charges with the nature of information contained in the subject matter. Therefore, such information should be provided whose reliability can be verified. Reliability of financial statements also depends on the accuracy of accounts.Hence, to arrive at right conclusions, accuracy of the accounts is an essential quality. To be reliable*, information must (i) carry faithful representation of transactions, (ii) should be p resented in accordance with the substance and economic reality, and (iii) must be neutral, prudent and complete. 4. Comparability : Comparison is the essence of financial statement analysis. Comparable information will reveal relatively strong and weak point. Financial statement should be prepared in such a way that current year’s progress can be compared with that of previous year and inter-firm comparison is possible.To facilitate comparison, it would be more useful to provide with the financial statement of 5 to 10 years summary of important terms such as production in quantity, net sales, net profits, dividend paid, working capital etc. 5. Completeness : The information contained in the financial statements should be complete in al respects. It must be ensured that there is no possibility of any information being incomplete or doubtful. Therefore, full disclosure should be made of all significant information in a manner that is understandable and does not mislead creditor s, investors and others users. . Timeliness : Financial statements are prepared for a definite period of time. At the end of this period, they should be ready and submit to the parties concerned. If the statements are not prepared in time, they can not be properly used and the firm cannot formulate plans for future developments. In addition to the aforesaid qualities, financial statements be prepared easily, attention of the reader is automatically drawn and directed to most significant items and required data for the calculation of different ratios are also essential qualities.As American Accounting Association, has described, â€Å"every corporate statement should be based on accounting principles which are sufficiently uniform, objective and understood to justify opinions to the condition and progress of the business enterprise behind it. † LIMITATIONS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The summary of accounts maintained by a business firm is presented in the form of financial statem ents. The amounts expressed in these statements are based on vouchers and accounting records.Hence, decisions based on these information are more true and logical. However, the conclusions drawn on the basis of these information cannot be treated as final and accurate, because there are certain limitations to the financial statements. One must, therefore, keep in view these limitations while studying the profit and loss account and balance sheet of the firm. Important and impact bearing limitations of financial statements are identified as below : 1. Lack of Precision 2. Lack of Exactness 3. Incomplete Information 4. Interim Reports . Hiding of Real Position or Window Dressing 6. Lack of Comparability 7. Historical Costs Analysis – To Analyse – to cut into pieces But only analyse – No – It means also Interpretation. Thus Financial Statement Analysis means â€Å"Analysis, comparisons and interpretation of Financial data to achieve the desired result† TOOLS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS 1. Comparative Statements 2. Common Size Statements The Essential Requirement is 3. Trend AnalysisVertical Financial Statement. 4. Ratio Analysis 5. Fund Flow Statement 6. Cash Flow Statement

Georges Bizet's Carmen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Georges Bizet's Carmen - Essay Example The other player in this ill-fated triangle is a celebrity matador named Escamillo, for whom Carmen discards the ruined Don Jos. The opera reaches its climax outside the arena where Escamillo is to challenge a bull. There, Don Jos confronts Carmen, begging for her to return to him, but she cruelly refuses. In his misery and loss, Don Jos stabs her to death. The opera ends as Escamillo, victorious from the ring, discovers the lifeless body of Carmen with a bloodied Don Jos sobbing over her. Several years ago, I attended a production of Carmen and, though it was sung in English, I had a great deal of difficulty following the story. In addition, I remember thinking that the English text sounded forced and contrived-almost humorous in places. In preparation for this assignment, and as a review of the opera, I viewed the Metropolitan Opera's 1987 production starring Agnes Baltsa in the title role. The opera was sung in French with English subtitles provided. What first struck me about the Met's production was how well the text and music seemed to mesh. Though I am by no means fluent in French, it was immediately apparent that the musical themes were much more intimately joined with the French text than was the case with the English version I had attended previously. One other surprise was the fact that the solos, particularly the better-known arias, are simply more lyrical when sung in French. As I mentioned, Carmen was my first foray into the world of opera, and while reviewing it, I was surprised at how much of the music I remembered. The opening bars of the Overture-the brisk, march-like theme heard again at the opening of Act IV-are unmistakable and remind me more of a Sousa march than an operatic overture. As well, I recognized the Act I aria sung by Carmen outside the cigarette factory (I have since learned that this piece is called Habanera) during which Don Jos first glimpses Carmen and falls in love with her. (The Metropolitan Opera 1) I suppose my opinions about opera in general have been that the music is overly dramatic, the women overly large, and the plot lines overly romanticized. I was surprised to find, while viewing the Met's production, that Carmen reversed these opinions. Agnes Baltsa as Carmen was beautiful, seductive and captivating. Her rich mezzo-soprano was remarkably agile, particularly in the Habanera. Jos Carreras, as Don Jos, was handsome and masculine. Bizet scored this role for a tenor, but Carreras' voice seemed to me more of a high baritone, as his tone was rich and full, even in the upper register. His portrayal of the poor discredited and discarded corporal was compelling, and I was drawn into his tragedy to the point that, by the final act, I was ready to "do in" Carmen myself. The Metropolitan Opera production of 1987 was lavish in its costuming and staging-more so certainly than the live production I had attended. The trade-off, of course, is that the scope of the stage production was much greater, even if the costuming, sets, etc. were not. The plot and stage action of Carmen are fast-paced. There are a great many people moving across the stage-villagers, children, soldiers, smugglers, bull

Vital Signs and Nursing Procedures in Postoperative Period of Cardio Essay

Vital Signs and Nursing Procedures in Postoperative Period of Cardio Surgery - Essay Example This discussion stresses that  the abstract of the article presents a structured approach to the entire article as it presents a detailed explanation of section-by-section of the article. The article incorporates the various elements accordingly, revealing the relevant information to the reader as expected. This abstract, for instance, has the objective, in which it directly states the objective of the article as to develop a comparative analysis of the vital signs of patients after cardiac surgery, as well as, the nursing procedures. Further, the abstract follows with the method, outlining the procedures taken in the study, describing the study design and participants, data collection process and methods of analyzing and presenting the findings.This paper outlines that  in the introductory description of the study, the authors present a background of the study accordingly. They reflect on existing concern on the subject of concern, presenting the establishments from these relati onal past findings. Further, they proceed accordingly to present a justification for their study through identifying the gaps in the existing resources on the topic. Thus, from this observation, the authors evaluate the relevant basis of the study, creating the entire purpose of the study clearly. Additionally, the authors project their study through noting the existing problem, which is the existence of aspects of patient exposure after cardiac surgery.

Answer ONE of the following questions Assignment

Answer ONE of the following questions - Assignment Example The following paper consists of authentic journal articles and books which highlight differing perspectives on religion. Where some of the theorists and historians believed that the society was stabilized with the help of the existence of religion. On the contrary others emphasize that conflicts with in society is due to the surfacing of the concept of religion. The latter, believes that it does not stabilize society rather it instils hatred in the heart of believers in directly that becomes the reason for the conflict eventually, within a society. In the sands of time, lies the supporting evidence which suggests that religion has always attracted the west as a form intuition that has provided solace to those who are lost and oppressed. Western historians have always pinpointed that religion that can act as a source for revival for those who are in trouble or are in search of hope, and seemingly the religious institutions have never failed to provide hope and courage in the face of d ifficulties. Nevertheless, Steve Bruce argues that modernization and surfacing individualism has re-shaped the concept of religion altogether. The religious beliefs and practices, as well as the standing and position of religion have been altered in the western society (Bruce, 1996). Bruce mentions that in the Middle Ages, religion was straightforward that taught if a certain act was not followed than the hell awaits the individual. Moreover, religion was explained to the masses in Latin which everyone was not aware of, those who professed religion would deliver sermons in the church in Latin and individuals were expected to listen to it and act morally. Saints exerted power for women to get rid of their husbands, while other Saints possessed the power to fight the evil and save the crops and the men. Church back then set the state laws decided among the priests. Therefore, it can be put in to words by saying that back then religion and cult were parallels (Bruce, 1996). However, th e new age of religion surfaced with the entrance of Martin Luther. With his arrival church was changed by introducing different languages. Individuals could now understand what was delivered as sermon in the church, Hymns were sung in folk melodies, and an individualistic approach to God was developed. This approach took a new turn and meaning. People did what they felt was right not what was told to them was right. This introduction of individualism brought with it differing sects, church denominations became secondary, new religions in its wake raised heads. Thus, Bruce emphasizes that freedom in religion is what one could refer to as cult, which will further define religion in the 21st century (Bruce, 1996). Nevertheless, Marx’s Conflict Theory emphasizes the view that in order to control the society there are certain classes that develop tools. These classes have developed the lust to stay in power and in control of those under them. Therefore, in order to maintain the po sition and status quo, tools such as values, norms, and religion are manufactured; including ideology and coercion ideology in order to maintain their position. To Marx religion served as the one of those tools of the Elite class, he emphasized that religion was an ideology that indirectly or directly justified the control and rule of the upper-class. Therefore, it will not be wrong in saying that for Marx the conflict was between the classes and the rat race of staying ahead was the focal point

How the Canadian Banking System Survives the Subprime Meltdown Essay

How the Canadian Banking System Survives the Subprime Meltdown - Essay Example High interest rates in mortgage had increased the lending operations of the commercial banks. The quality of credit started to fall drastically. This had resulted in the collapse of many financial institutions. However, the Canadian banking system had managed to survive these critical conditions. Thus, it is highly rational to realize the underlying cases for this success. The following essay would consider the background, methodology and analysis regarding the topic of discussion (Brender & Pisani, 2010). The goals of the essay are as follows: To understand the nature of Canadian Banking System. To interpret empirical data explaining the various types of banking economic indicators. To analyze the models or the policies those were used by the banking institutions of Canada to protect their economy from the impending danger. To conclude on the overall performance of the Canadian banks in the context of the matter of discussion. Background It was found that during the subprime meltdow n, the nation of Canada did not encounter an absolute collapse of its financial institutions. The five commercial banks in Canada had experienced profit during the financial crisis in the money markets of other economies. ... There are three characteristics of the monetary authorities in Canada: The different monetary policies which are undertaken by the commercial banks in Canada are introduced by the Bank of Canada. This banking organization is owned by the government of the country and is highly interlinked with the Federal government. However, it should be observed that the federal government is not allowed to interfere in the monetary affairs of the country. The rates of interests charged on different assets in Canada are the same for similar assets in the other regions of the country. The Bank of Canada is the primary organization that engages in the function of issuing money to the economy. There is only a single policy instrument that is adopted by the Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada often charges the overnight interest rates for the country. By changing the level of overnight interest rates, the bank introduces various changes in the different interest rates in the market. Reasons for the Succ ess Many analysts and economists believe that the strong regulations which are implemented by the commercial banks of Canada were responsible for their successful performance even at the critical situations. Moreover, the commercial banks in Canada were highly united with each other, which in turn had helped them to coordinate and take business decisions jointly. In Canada, if the commercial banks had offered credit to the individuals on 80% of the value of a house loan, then they ensured that the debtor had insurance for the mortgage. The banks only issued loans to those individuals, with a worth of 80% (mortgage value), who could offer the mortgage insurance against the loan. Moreover, the commercial banks also

Civil Right Act Of 1968 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil Right Act Of 1968 - Essay Example Before the civil rights era, the situations regarding the racial discrimination were very worse. White race was considered supreme and white Americans have the power to consider the black (Afro-Americans) as the underprivileged race. There was no equal education of the Black Americans, no equal employment, no equal housing. Black people were unable to buy a home even if they have the money to buy it. For this reason, black Americans demanded equal rights as that of the White Americans. Fair housing act was one of the demands that were debated and signed in 1968.Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts was the first African-American ever elected to Senate. He was unable to buy a home due to his race. After that issue, the fair housing act was debated in the Senate strongly. Senate Leader, â€Å"Everett Dirksen†, strongly supported the bill in the senate. It was thought at the earlier stage that the House of Representative would not gain a higher ratio of votes. However, the House of Representatives passed the bill due to urban unrest and militancy of African Americans movements.On 4th April 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and African Americans movements played part in riots, burning and looting in most cities. President Lyndon B. Johnson emphasized to pass the new civil rights bill to cool down the African Americans movements. On April 10, the fair housing act was passed and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to become a law the very next day.

Information Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information Engineering - Essay Example cus, it was soon found out by the White brothers that they had a winning business formula and were able to expand their business through acquiring new premises at different locations in the United Kingdom. By the end of 2008, White & White Theatre Group became an established cinema group with five cinemas in London, two in Brighton, and one in Portsmouth. At present, White & White Theatre Group is one of the leading cinema groups in the United Kingdom. The time when the White brothers launched their first cinema at Great Portland Street, they did not feel any need of using information technology in their newly established business. As a result, all the management and operational tasks were carried out using manual systems. As the White brothers expanded their business by increasing the number of cinemas, they knew there was a need to improve reporting but considering the high profits in the eighties, they did not show enough enthusiasm to really address improvements. Each cinema was run as a separate small business, with the cinema site manager being responsible for all operations on their site. Tickets for each show were sold using ticket books. As a result of significant advancements in information technology and an increase in use of personal computers in the 1990’s, it became unavoidable for the White brothers to run their business using information technology. Electronic Cash Registers were launched in all cinemas in the nineties, and in the late nineties, personal computers were introduced for word processing and spreadsheets. The company also gained capability of internet presence but only for advertising purposes rather than tickets sales which were done through telephone or in person. With the rapid growth of competition from other cinema chains, especially from multiplex cinemas showing the similar types of films found in White & White Theater Group programmes, nowadays the profits are falling day by day. At present, the top management is deeply

Life-Based Leadership Principles from Jack Welch Essay Example for Free

Life-Based Leadership Principles from Jack Welch Essay During the hundreds of millions of years of natural evolution on this planet, survival has always been a continuous challenge for living creatures. It has recently to come into light that in the past four million years, there have been scores of human species on the earth, besides us homo sapiens. However, all of these various human-like beings including the Neanderthal man perished in the course of evolution; we humans have outlived all of them. We have emerged as the true survivors. We are the last â€Å"man† standing. However, in the whole history of the world, survival could have never been as tough as it is in today’s world of big business. It is an ever-changing, dizzingly fast-paced, intensely competitive and danger-saturated environment out there. There are many survivors and many winners in this arena, of course. Of all such exceptional people in the recent decades, there is one man who stands out as a celebrated icon of leadership and business success. And it is none other than Jack Welch of GE, arguably the finest CEO in the latter half of the twentieth century. Speaking from a broad perspective, he is not just an exemplary business leader, but a hero, a survivor, a symbol of the triumph of man. Jack Welch is a man who believed that each individual should control his or her own destiny. Welch sums up his conviction thus: â€Å"Today, I see winning as people defining their objectives and fulfilling them, not being a victim. You define where you want to go, and then you go for it ([emailprotected]) And from the depth of this belief perhaps sprang the secret of his greatness. Starting from the early Eighties, Jack Welch, CEO of the General Electric Corporation, has led his company through one of the most revolutionary and far-reaching changes ever witnessed in modern business history. Having taken GE with a market capitalization of about $12 billion, Jack Welch turned it into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world, with a market value of about $500 billion, when he stepped down as its CEO 20 years later, in 2000. Although Jack Welch was the legendary leader of a global manufacturing giant noted for its technological might and superiority, he has utilized a very human process to drive change through GEs vast organization. He honoured the individual above all, and the humanity of the individual. To him, the individual was the pivotal force in bringing about organizational change. And for the major part of his immensely successful career at the helm of GE he relentlessly embraced change. It was change that made GE businesses leaders in their markets, added profitable, productive businesses to GEs family, and tapped the brains of knowledgeable employees. Welch worked for change, and change worked for him. Jack Welch of course knew how difficult change could be. Nevertheless he viewed change as his only real chance to transform GE into the kind of top-notch competitive enterprise that he wanted it to be. Only through continuously undergoing massive changes, GE could win, and Jack Welch firmly believed in winning. He wanted to be a winner. And winners were not afraid to make changes. However, pursuit of change, empowerment of individuals, and such principles are only part of a broder human-centric principles of successful leadership in which Jack Welch passionately believed in. Welch’s original approach to management and leadership, which proved so successful in transforming GE could be summed up unders six heads: Control your destiny, or someone else will. Welchs first maxim became the title of a semi-autobiographic bestseller that described the revolution at GE. The basic approach that Welch followed to carry out a dramatic revolution at GE was to trust the individual and let him or her believe in their own desitiny. Welsh believed in delegating authority freely, fairly and responsibly, within the company. In a general context, however, while no mere human being can have absolute control over his or her destiny, the point is to take total personal responsibility for one’s own life and actions, and assume intelligent control of the course of things. 2. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were. Facing reality is tough. Facing reality means looking directly into suffering, failure, inadequacy of ourselves, others, and the world, something which we human beings are programmed to avoid. When corporations do not face simple realities, however, such as their products costing more to produce and being worthless than those of their competitors, market share and profits drop, the company and its employees suffer. Welch saw all these things happening at GE. Only when we are ready to honestly examine ourselves and acknowledge our shortcomings, will we be able to do anything about them. Acceptance can lead to transformation. 3. Be candid with everyone. Traditional wisdom says that honesty is the best policy. This home-spun truth has great relevance in today’s hyper-modern corporate settings. Welch strove to create an atmosphere at GE where people could effortlessly speak up to somebody in authority, who could then do something about their problems. It is an atmosphere, it is in the air of GE. Welch himself regularly spoke with front-line employees on the plant floor. Welch was equally open to hear both the good and bad things about GE. Honesty, sincerity and candor: they have their own rewards. In a bureaucracy, people are afraid to speak out. This type of environment slows you down, and it doesnt improve the workplace, says Jack Welch. He therefore calls for promoting a corporate culture that appreciates and rewards honest feedback. You reinforce the behaviors that you reward. If you reward candor, youll get it. 4. Dont manage, lead. Welch abhorred a strictly hierarchical type of management built on the concept of control. To Welch, managers should become leaders who show the way to other people by inpsiring and motivating them. Instead of controlling and exploiting workers, leaders should liberate and empower them. Do not push and pull your employees at every opportunity, gently guide them towards greater possibility. Welch’s leadership philosophy continues to be very simple: empower others, ask questions, tap into the potential of all of your associates, choose integrity and candor over charts, graphs, and politics, and spend more time in action instead of planning and posturing budgets. 5. Change before you have to. That is to say, proactivity. One has to be able to look ahead and predict changes that future is going to necessitate. In the context of a business organization, it is far better to change early those things in a company that need to be changed to stay competitive, when there is still plenty of time, rather than forcibly having to change them later when an adverse reality in form of failure and loss thrusts itself in the face of the organization. Welch was fond of yelling across the table at meetings, Change, before its too late! 6. If you dont have a competitive advantage, dont compete. Welch often quoted his business maxim that every division at GE had to be number one or number two or get out of that specific business. In the 1980s, Welch was convinced that inflation would soon become rampant thereby slowing down economic growth. The elimination of the old-line businesses was not going to be an easy job in terms of loss of jobs and lowering of morale that it implied. But Welch had to do what he had to do. The Number 1 or number 2 philosophy – as ruthless as it sounds – had been critical for GE to grow and survive in the modern world.

Construction Of The Questionnaire And Interview Schedule Marketing Essay

Construction Of The Questionnaire And Interview Schedule Marketing Essay Setting up a research has different approaches. In order to have a structured research paper, the methods and processes have to be clarified before starting the research. Different research styles and traditions are explained in the book of Finn, Elliott-Whit, Walton (2000). In this Bachlor Thesis, the survey method as research style and the positivistic approach as research traditions have been chosen. The lead questions will be answerd in the Descussion of the Results. The results are measurable, and the presentation of new ideas are based on the empirical data from the survey. In the quantitative research, a descriptive data analysis has been done, as it has a deductive approach. Figure 1: Generall Research Approach Theory Hypothesis Data collection Data analysis Research findings Accept or reject hypothesis Procedure and Approach The procedure and approach that was applied for this work will be explained in this subchapter. In the table below there is an overview of the approaches used: Table 1: Research Procedure and Approach Literature Review Internet, computer database, reports, articles, books have been used Methodology Deduction = The lead question will be tested Research Paradigm A positivistic approach was used Research Designs Qualitative approach Survey Method Online Survey with the program Surveymonkey External sources Regular contact with the Advisor and the external partner Hilke Patzwall (VAUDE) Data Analysis The online program Surveymonkey helped to evaluate the survey and to develop figures and graphs. (Source: Own illustration)Setting up a Research Question In February 2010 the aim of this paper was introduced in the first meeting with Mr. Luthe. With the external advisor Ms. Patzwall, there was a continuous Email contact. The lead questions and research problems were defined and set up. The lead question is: Are customers ready to buy recycled products and would they participate in a recycling program? Wurde diese Frage beantwortet?In Discussion of the results Information Search In the meantime, useful primary and secondary data was collected. The link of the survey was sent to 4500 addresses through a newsletter of VAUDE. Approximately 50 surveys were completed. This is a return rate of 1.1%. A circular mail was sent to over 500 Email addresses, which were gained through the internet. These addresses were all somehow related to the outdoor industry. More answers were gained thanks to an outdoor blog, www.outdoor-blog.com, and through a twitter account with 165 outdoor followers. The rest of the responses were received at the OutDoor Exhibition in Friedrichshafen, where the author gained 30 Email addresses. Stages in Survey Research The effects and causes through statistical analysis are shown thanks to the emphasis of Finn, Elliott-Whit, Walton (2000). A survey research is proposed with different stages. Subsequent stages are considered in the survey development; it is a modified version based on Finn, Elliott-Whit, Walton ( 2000,p. 87): 1. Appropriate conceptualization and structuring of the research problem 2. Derivation of appropriate measures of the key concepts 3. Determination of the sampling strategy 4. Construction of the questionnaire and interview schedule 5. Pre-testing the survey 6. Refining and modifying 7. Administration of the questionnaire 8. Data coding and processing 9. Data analysis and evaluation 10. Report writing All these steps combined help to get a better output, as they support the use of multiple methods. (Finn, Elliott-Whit, Walton, 2000) Pretest Set Data for Survey A pre-test was done with 112 participants. Based on the results of the pre-test, some adjustments were made. First of all, some answer options were added and also some questions were removed and formulated differently. The following big adjustments were made: Answer options added: Question 3: Which products do you separate from the usual domestic waste? Medicinal products Question 4: What do you do with your clothes which you do not wear anymore? Donate them to a charitable organisation and throw them away. Question 6: What are the reasons for the disposal of your clothes? Clothes are shabby or damaged Question 9: Why do you purchase a new outdoor jacket? Damaged Question 10: What do you do with the old outdoor jackets, which you dont wear anymore? Throw them away Question that were reorganised/relocated: Question 14 (Are you ready now, with the new knowledge gained, to participate in a recycling program for outdoor jackets?) moved to question 22. As there are more questions between the first time asked, people taking the survey really had the opportunity to gain new knowledge. Questions 15, 16, 17 and 18. (Are you ready to return your outdoor jacket to a specialist shop for a shopping voucher of 5 Euro?) The amount of money was too high. The lowest amount of vouchers giving back is 5 Euro to the highest with 20. Internet Survey The survey is on the basis of opinion survey. The needs, beliefs and behaviour are needed for my bachelor thesis. The interview form is very structured and done online. It is filled out by the consumer of outdoor equipment. As an incentive, VAUDE provides a bag which is made of recycled PET bottles to participants. The first question (Which outdoor sport activities do you follow regularly?) was to identify what kind of outdoor sports participants do. The second question was connected with the first. The aim of this question was to get a deeper look into the regularity of the outdoor sport done. To introduce the issue of recycling, the third question was about the separation of used products form usual domestic waste. Question number four had the aim to gain a deeper look at how clothes have been disposed until now. This question can be compared with question number ten, as it is the same question but instead of clothes disposal, it is about the disposal of outdoor jackets. How often the clothes disposal is done, is the next question, which helps to gain a deeper view into the habits surrounding clothes disposal. Question number six has the same aim. The first question about outdoor jackets is number seven, which shows the kind of outdoor jackets the survey takers own. The following question shows how often a new outdoor jacket will be purchased. The aim of this question is to understand why a new outdoor jacket is needed, so a connection can be made with purchase frequency. After four introducing questions about the outdoor jacket, the following recycling question is asked: Are you ready to recycle your outdoor jacket? This question is asked again at the end of the survey, question 22. There are nine questions between the first time and the second time asked. This is done because it will show whether they vary their beliefs about recycling their outdoor jackets. In question number twelve the willingness to purchase a recycled outdoor jacket is inquired about, to get information about customers interest. The next question is about the willingness to recycle, with the information, that recycling saves resources. That should show how the survey taker reacts given more information, as well as having the idea to do something good with the recycling of old outdoor jackets. Question number 14 points out the cooperation possibilities in the recycling program, it discloses the preferences. A rating system was introduced, and the respondent had the choice between three answers: ready, not sure or not ready. Four questions are about the amount of a store credit if the outdoor jacket is brought back to the store. It was chosen to ask a separate question for each amount. The idea behind this is that the participants are not prejudiced by the different amounts. The answers here are also a rating system with the same three different responses. The first question has the amount of 5 Euro, second of 10 Euro, third of 15 Euro and the last one of 20 Euro. These four questions will be analyzed and compared to gain the highest return of the outdoor jackets. Another question is to gain information about the willingness to pay a fixed recycling fee, which is paid as an extra charge on the normal price of an outdoor jacket. A following question is how high the fixed recycling fee should be, that the customer of a new recycling jacket would pay this fee. At the end of the survey demographic questions are asked, like sex, age, monthly net income per person in Euro, residence, the profession and the highest education complete. Survey Data and Evaluation When the number of surveys needed was reached, the link was closed and the evaluation of the surveys could be started. Graphs and figures were created and interpreted. The result of each question is shown fist, afterwards the six most important questions are analysed by socio-demographic data. These socio-demographic factors are: age, sex and education. They were selected as the most participants filled out these three questions in the survey. A differentiation between age and sex shows the aspects of women and men as well as those of different age groups. Another reason for selecting education was that the LOHAS differentiate from the other Lifestyles through education. The result of this analysis can be seen in chapter five. It has to be said that the work is not representative, as there are not the same amount of people in each social factor group. It should have been measured with the help of the population structure. In this short time it is not possible to do a representative s urvey as would be needed for a dissertation. This survey shows tendency and gives some further inputs. It needs to be mentioned that for the questions asked in this survey, often there is a limitation in interpreting the questions. This limitation is known as the intention-behaviour gap. It is a big gap between having an intention to do so and the actual behavior. This theory was introduced by Martin Fishbein in 1975. Aizen said a behavior is a function of compatible intentions and perceptions of behavioral control in that perceived behavioral control is expected to moderate the effect of intention on behavior, such that a favorable intention produces the behavior only when perceived behavioral control is strong. (Aizen, n.d.) For this reason the results in this survey need to be considered with care. Sadly a big gap remains between the percentage of people which have an awareness of the problem and those who take action to solve it. A study at Yale University showed that 92% are aware about the problem of global warming but it has a low priority relative to other issues. (Tan, 2008) Hypothesis In this thesis there are tree hypotheses formulated, which are proved or disproved in the subchapter 5.7, where the discussion will be presented. The willingness of a customer to recycle old outdoor equipment rises if he has a monetary benefit; either through getting back the recycling fee paid at the time of purchase or through receiving a store credit. The awareness of saving resources when purchasing a recycled outdoor jacket and when taking part in a recycling program is higher in customers above 35 than in customers under 35. Men purchase outdoor jackets more frequently as they do so when new technologies arise in the market, whereas women purchase outdoor jackets less frequently as for them the function is essential. Survey Results The survey had 202 participants but only 185 people finished all the obligatory questions. The analysis of the survey was done with the 185 complete survey responses. The personal questions were not obligatory, so there are fewer responses. Each chart which has fewer responses than 185 has a mark with the number of participants. First of all we begin with the personal information, followed by the activities. The third subchapter shows a closer look at the outdoor jackets and in the fourth subchapter, the recycling habits are presented. In subchapter 5.5 the six main questions have been analyzed with the socio-demographic factors. Socio-Demographic Data The survey was mainly sent to outdoor consumers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, which can be seen form the chart of the country derivation of the participants. 175 people of 185 answered this question. Figure 2: Living Country (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 3: Age (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study)The survey was mostly answerd by people between 26 to 35 with 69 answers. Followed by the age range of 46 to 55. With 15 answers, the age above 55 had the lowest participation. This question was answerd by 180 people. The sex of the participants is balanced: 90 male to 90 female. Figure 4: Education(Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 5: Main Activities (Profession)As it can be seen from the graph above, the education level is high. The people have at least an apprenticeship, only five participants have just a basic education. 45 survey takers have a diploma followed by 34 with a Masters degreeand 33 with a school leaving examination. 28 participants have a Bachelors degree and 25 have an apprenticeship. Moreover, eight participants have a Ph.D. and seven have completed the examination for the master craftsmans diploma. The high educational level is also reflected in the main activity (profession) of the participants in the next chart. Most of the survey takers, with 134 out of 185, are employed. 34 students took the survey, followed by 24 participants who are self employed. Three people are unemployed. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) The monthly net income shows the differences between a LOHAS curve and this surveys curve. This curve shows that over 29% have less or up to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1500, which can be explained by the high student participation rate. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1501 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2500 is the next high point. The statistics of the federal office in Germany show that the average monthly net income is about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1300 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2500. This matches the high level of a low net income, as in this survey 43% are from Germany. The second peak of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3501 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4500 can be related to the higher net income in Switzerland and to the large number of highly educated survey takers. Only 11 participants have a net income of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 4500. 111 anwers to this question were collected. Figure 6: Monthly Net Income (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 7: Monthly Net Income (LOHAS Survey 2007) This monthly net income curve is not typical for followers of LOHAS. This fact is proofed by a survey of Burda Research Development. The LOHAS net income curve is the opposite of the survey graph. This big difference indicates that a very high number of students participated in the survey made for this thesis. Also, the weak status of the current economy could have had an effect on the net income distribution of the participants. On the other hand Wenzel, Rauch Kirig (2007) affirmed that LOHAS cannot be fixed to a social stratum, which confirms the survey of this thesis. (Wenzel, Rauch, Kirig, 2007) (Source: Own illustration based on Schmidt, Littek, Nickel, 2007) Frequency of Sports Activities Figure 8: Regularly Engaged Outdoor Sport Activities As it can be seen, in the summer and autumn, hiking is very popular. With 137 participants who execute this sport, mountain biking follows in popularity. 85 people from a total of 185 ski in the winter; this is the most popular winter sport, followed by snowboarding and ski touring. The aim of this question was to have an introduction to the outdoor section. The sequent graphs show results based on the findings of 185 questionnaires. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 9: Frequency of the Engaged Activities Above The graph below shows the frequency of engagement in the activities listed above. 52% stated that they engage in sport less than once in four weeks, while 49.7% do it once a week. More than 50% of all men do sport each week, whereas 60% of all women engage in the activity less than once in four weeks. After every second week, hiking is the most engaged-in sport activity. Jogging is the most popular sport to be engaged in once a week, followed by mountain biking. This graph shows that the majority who responded to this survey do not engage in sport every day. For this question, multiple answers were permitted. Recycling Habits The subsequent graphs are based on the findings of 185 questionnaires. Each question is related to recycling. Figure 10: Product SeparationFirst graph, the habit of consumers to recycle products of everyday use is revealed. As it can be seen, outdoor consumers are well informed about the recycling process and also take part in this process. 39 out of 185 people recycle all the products listed. From this number, 22 live in Germany, 9 in Switzerland, 2 in Austria, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Finland and 1 in Italy. While 23 of those surveyed are males, just 13 are females. Three other people did not share where they live. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Glass and paper/carton are the most frequently recycled materials, whereas aluminum is the lowest recycled material with 62.2%, as it can be seen on the graph. 87.6% of 185 respondents separate clothes from the domestic waste. This initial question was needed to introduce survey takers to clothing recycling habits. For this question, multiple answers were allowed. Figure 11: Frequency of Clothes Disposal (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study)The second question was to find out the frequency of the clothes disposal. Once a year is time to put away old clothes for 35% of 185 people. 29% dispose of clothes twice a year. 27% of those surveyed clear out the cupboard less than once a year. Additionally, 6% dispose of clothes three times a year, and 3% do so more than three times a year. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 12: Reasons for the Clothes Disposal The most selected reason to dispose clothes, with 76.2%, is that the clothes have not been worn for a long time, followed by the reason of damaged clothes with 66.5%. For 42.7%, the size does not fit anymore, while no more place in the cupboard follows behind with 35.1%. Purchasing new clothes is the reason for 33.5% of the participants to disposal the clothes. 31% of those surveyed select their clothes for fashion reasons. For this question, multiple answers were allowed. Figure 13: Disposal Habits Disposal habits of old clothes Disposal habits of old outdoor jackets(Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) The aim of these two pie charts is to compare the recycling habits of old clothes and of old outdoor jackets. It can be seen that nearly a third in both pies are putting their old clothes and outdoor jackets in recycling bins. Clothes as well as outdoor jackets are likely to be given away to friends. While 20% of old clothes go to charitable organizations, 0% of outdoor jackets do. Instead, 2% reuse their old outdoor jackets for gardening. Another difference can be seen in keeping the clothes/jackets in the cupboard. 14% of outdoor jacket owners keep their old jackets in the cupboard, whereas just 6% keep their old clothes in the cupboard. These questions also had multiple response options. Closer look at outdoor jackets Figure 14: Assets of Outdoor Jacket This pie chart shows that all three types of outdoor jackets are fairly evenly distributed between the 185 participants. The aim of this question is to know which jacket is most represented. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Multiple responses were possible for this question as well. 107 survey takers own all three jackets. 32 participants have just a hard-shell jacket, and soft-shell jackets are owned by 47. An isolation jacket is owned by 53 participants. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 15: Frequency of Purchase a New Outdoor Jacket Most of the customers do not intend to buy a new outdoor jacket each year. 33.5% of 185 participants buy a new outdoor jacket fewer than every third year, followed by 27.6% with Every second year and 18.4% with Every third year. Only 18.4% purchase a new outdoor jacket each year, and even fewer, 5.9% do so twice a year. Only 1.6% buy a new outdoor jacket more than twice a year. Figure 16: Purchase Reasons of New Outdoor Jackets (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Most people purchase a new jacket because their current jacket is damaged or has lost its function. New fashion and new technology are nearly on the same level, and for the majority, they are not a main reason for buying a new outdoor jacket. The following questions, in which the willingness of the customer is asked, the reader needs to be aware of the intention-behavior gap. There is a difference between the intention some have and the behavior they exhibit. In this survey, the intention was found out. For more information about the intention-behavior gap, refer to subchapter 4.1.6. Figure 17: Purchase a Recycled Outdoor Jacket (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) The aim of this question is to gain an insight into the willingness of buying a recycled outdoor jacket. In terms of purchasing a recycled outdoor jacket, more than 80% agreed to do so. 16% are undecided and nearly 3% are not willing to buy a recycled outdoor jacket. Figure 18: Participation in a Recycling Program (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) The question was formulated to communicate briefly to the participant that if they recycle outdoor jackets, they help to save the environment. 75% stated that they are ready to take part in a recycling program. 19.4% are unsure about taking part and 4.8% are not ready to recycle their outdoor jackets. Recycling Possibilities In this subchapter the answers to the different recycling possibilities will be shown. Also, it was asked which return system the customer would most appreciate. Finally, there will be an overview about the willingness to take part in a recycling for outdoor jackets. Figure 19: Return MethodIn terms of popularity, the way to return the outdoor jacket is by a recycling bin with 42%, closely followed by giving the jacket back to the selling point with 39%. While 14% of all respondents would appreciate a return system by post, 5% do not want any of these returning systems. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) A first method of trying to convince the customer to participate in the recycling program is with an incentive. The survey found out that with an incentive of 5 Euro, 67%, 10 Euro, 70%, 15 Euro, 74%, and 20 Euro, 80% of all respondents would be disposed to give back their outdoor jacket in a specialist shop. Figure 20: Store Credit (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) Figure 21: Fixed Recycling Fee Figure 22: Height of Fixed Recycling FeeThe second method is that customers pay a fixed recycling fee. This fee has to be paid when the customer buys the outdoor jacket. The fee is additional to the normal price and will be paid pack if the customer brings the outdoor jacket back. 63% stated that they are ready to pay the fixed recycling fee. While more than 11% do not accept the recycling fee, more than 25% are unsecure about it. (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) This graph shows the sum the customer would be ready to pay as a recycling fee. Most of those surveyed expect to pay not more than 10 Euro. In second place is 20 Euro. In third place is 0 Euro, followed by 5 Euro in fourth. Some people would not mind paying a higher amount. 11 paricipants see 50 Euro as acceptable. Figure 23: Participation in Outdoor Jacket Recycling Ready to recycel outdoor jacket at the end of the questionair Ready to recycel outdoor jacket at the beginning of the questionair (Source: Own illustration based on survey results of this study) The first question was posed before the participants had any information about the recycling of outdoor equipment. As it can be seen, 91% were willing to participate in a recycling program. Interestingly, 12% changed their minds from ready to unready after they had received more information from the survey. This is a surprising result, as after the questionnaire, fewer people are willing to participate than before. Some comments are made, which will be disussed in the next subchapter.

Is a Metatheoretical Psychologist a ‘Cowboy Builder’?

Is a Metatheoretical Psychologist a ‘Cowboy Builder’? Abstract Personally, I feel that Metatheoretical psychologist are not a â€Å"cowboy builder†, as I uses the progression of behaviourism as an example and further elaborated how the approach leads to the discoveries and progression of the theories, using explanation of russian physiologist known as Ivan Pavlov, followed by American Psychologist called John B. Watson and Edward Thorndike, and lastly, another fellow American Psychologist, B.F. Skinner. Ivan Pavlov, who started the earliest toward the study of behaviourism, he discovered classical conditioning which demostrated how behaviours can be learned via through classical associations. John B. Watson, who further defined behaviourism through â€Å"little albert† experiment and lastly, B.F. Skinner, who further explains behaviourism using his concept of operant conditioning, illustrating behaviour through punishment and reinforcement. These three examples have rejected the idea that of a ‘cowboy builder’ as these experimentalist using each and individual experiment to reinforce and further build up understanding of behaviourism and its importance and definition. Is a Metatheoretical Psychologist just a ‘Cowboy Builder’? Psychology is not simply definable, and be even characterised easily. Even till today if one were to define or characterised, it will end up render the effort indequately the very next day. Psychology is what the philsopher and the scientists of various persuasion have come out with to try fulfilling the needs towards understanding of humans’ mind and behaviour from the most primitive to complex level (Reber, Allen, Reber, 2009). From a philosophical point of view, The term ‘psychology’ took its to another level of problems concerning the mind, will and knowledge, where it has been defined as the ‘science of mind’ ,’the science of mental life’, these definitions reflected the prejudices of the definer more than the actual nature of field (Reber et al., 2009). Metatheory, in this case defined by Reber et al. (2009), a term which used to cover the theoretical discussions about the construction of scientific theories, hence, the role of a metatheoretical psychologist is to perform metatheoretical research, which includes sorting of theories, analysing of literatures, they played an important role in search of a set of interlocking principles in which are acceptable or not for the theories (Rozeboom, 2005; Wallis, 2010). An experimentalist stated that metatheoretical are like ‘cowboy builders’ where they are able to identify and breakdown mistakes and problems of works done by others, but they are not able to give opinions to help strength that particular approach in psychology. However, I disagree what the experimentalist mentioned, as I believe that metatheoretical psychologist, no doubt , they are the ones who are capable of developing and combining of theories, and looking at aspects of applying and analysing of the theorems to unveil the underlying assumptions about theory and the process of theorizing with reinforcement of empirical evidences (Wallis, 2010). Hence, the aim of this essay is to furthe r elaborate my points of in which that metatheoretical psychologists is not a ‘cowboy builder’, using a psychological approach in which leads to a numbers of theories which is able to support my views towards this statement. To strongly prove my point on metatheoretical psychologists not being a ‘cowboy builders’, I would like to start off with first example right before the birth of behaviourism. It is understandable that in 1913, John B. Watson pioneered new psychology approach known as ‘Behaviourism’ (Watson J. B., 1994). where Behaviourism is defined as a natural science that takes the whole field of human adjustments as its own. It is the business of behavioristics psychology to predict and control human activity.Behavioristics psychology has as its goal to be able, given the stimulus, to predict the response or, seeing the reaction. (Watson Kimble, 1997). However, this discovery and understanding of behaviourism would not have happen without work of an American psychologist, Edward Thorndike. Thorndike shows how behaviours could be modified by its consequences by doing an experimental work on hungry domestic animals, as they were placed individually in the puzzle boxes, a nd if the animal exhibit any escaping behaviours to the door of the puzzle box, it would then be opened allowed the animal to gain freedom. This experiment allow Thorndike to conclude that while the animal exploring the box, the animal exhibited the first instance of an appropriate behaviour unit by chance and that, across trials, escape latencies would decrease systematically as it is able to learned that pressing the latch will allow it to escape. (Gewirtz, 2001). Therefore through this experiment, he looks at the connection of stimulus and response in the experiment, which eventually created a concept of the law of effect, which he explained that greater the satisfaction, the greater the strengthening, and the greater the dissatisfaction, the greater the weakening, of the bond (Gewirtz, 2001).This work of Thorndike allowed a Russian Physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, to continue his work on physiology of digestion (Gewirtz, 2001; Clark, 2004). Pavlov, who have won the Nobel Prize in 1904 , credited Thorndike for being the first researcher to show accurate approach to the immense task of objective research on animal learning (Gewirtz, 2001). He did an experiment in his chamber which the dog is presented with the food, at the same time, saliva is collected through a tube implanted into the salivary gland of the dog, enabling him to study the saliva’s role in digestive process, which his prediction is that the dog salivate when food is placed in the mouth which is a discovery he deemed that its importance in the study of digestion, known as salivary reflex (Windholz, 1997). Overtime, this lead to him realising that the even right before the food comes, the dog will salivate in the presence of the food attendant and the sound of the door (Windholz, 1997). He carried on with the experiment by pairing the bell and the food, and after several tries, he successfully uses the bell alone to create a salivary response from the dog. This discovery can be explained in whi ch the bell, a neutral stimulus which trigger no natural response in the dog (salivation) is paired with food which is the unconditional response. This pairing causes the response to the unconditioned stimulus (food), the unconditioned response (salivation), to transfer to the neutral stimulus (bell). Hence, in order for response to occur again, only the bell is need, food may no longer have its importance. Pavlov realised that the response is a learned but unnatural, hence it is a conditioned response and neutral stimulus will transformed into conditioned stimulus. The bell tone in Pavlovs experiment is the neutral stimulus which is paired the unconditioned stimulus of food. The unconditioned response of salivation became a conditioned response to the newly conditioned stimulus of the tone (Beecroft, 1966; Windholz, 1997; Bitterman, 2006). This phenomone is known as classical conditioning. As we can see this is one of few classic examples which demolish the experimentalist view on psychologists, this research has just show us not only it is a psychological endeavour but it also influence a lot of students known as the pavlovians-graduate students to continue this study of salivary reflex conditioning. (Windholz, 1997). Ivan Pavlov is able to conduct and build up an experiment, and bringing it up to the next level, not only looking at the digestion process which is a physiological, but at the same time, discovered a psychological aspect which is the salivary reflex and subsequently build up to theory of classical conditioning. The progression of Ivan Pavlov’s experiment was done by an American psychologist known as John B Watson where he further elaborated and adopted Ivan Pavlov’s work and claims that classical conditioning in animals is important as it is able to explain all human aspect of psychology (Watson J. B., 1994; Rilling, 2000). Watson uses the measurement and analytical techniques of Pavlov’s experiment and applied them to the humans in terms of adaptive forms of behaviour, so he and his assistant (Moore, 2011), an experiment known as â€Å"little Albert†, he simply transfer the same concept of Pavlov’s work, while Pavlov conduct his experiment using food and animal, Watson uses a baby known as little albert, and inflict of fear to it in order to demonstrate classical conditioning in humans (Watson Rayner , Conditioned emotional reactions, 1920). Using white rat as Neutral Stimulus, before the start of the experimental trials, the rat is shown to little Alber t, but little Albert does not show concern about the rats. Watson’s aim for this experiment is inflict an anxiety response to little albert using the rat. So the Unconditioned Stimulus in the experiment is the used of an iron bar and a hammer to create a loud noise just behind little Albert, which he find annoyed about (Watson Rayner , Conditioned emotional reactions, 1920). During the experiment, the noise is created as the rat is presented to Albert. After subsequent experiments, without the noise when the rat was presented, Albert would started crying. This produced a conditioned reflex similar to Pavlov’s dog able to associate a neutral stimulus with Unconditioned Stimulus (Rilling, 2000). Further experiments on Albert, has shown that rats are not only the one that give Albert the similar response, it also start to generalised to other while furry objects which look similar to the white rats (Watson Rayner , Conditioned emotional reactions, 1920). This example of the â€Å"little Albert† experiment, shows that how behaviourist like Watson, able to work on and progress through using Pavlov’s physiological theory of salivary reflex and extract the psychological elements, which is the theory of classical conditioning in an animal, and show that even humans can learn through conditioning, and initiated the study of behaviourism (Moore, 2011). Therefore, as what we can see above that Watson improvised Pavlov’s experiment, which he applied to the humans and which he end up discover a higher order of condition, where generalization took place in the little Albert experiment, this second example shows that how the rise of the behaviourism were strengthen by theory like classical conditioning, which build up to another level, where the use of different test subject will lead to a different and new outcome of understand of behaviourism, which I feel that Watson in his experiment has shown us simply that they isn’t a cowboy builder who simply just agreed upon thing without doing their research. However, Rilling (2000) stated that Watson rejected Thorndike’s law of effect in the midst of working on classical conditioning theory, he felt sceptical about Thorndike’s assumption and explanation of the trial and error learning where Thorndike stated that successful act is pleasant and unsuccessful act is unpleasant (Watson ,1914; Rilling, 2000) and so the Thorndike’s experiment inspired Watson, he conducted an empirical test for the study of learning in animal, simply to test Thorndike’s law of effect. The purpose is to prove that if Thorndike is correct about his theory then pleasure from immediate reward would be greater than dissatisfaction from delayed reward. The experiment was conducted with rats and sawdust boxes, and Watson (1916a) compared the learning curves for one group of rats getting the immediate reward and the other with delayed rewards. The result is puzzling as two group of learning curves were nearly similar (Rilling, 2000) which thi s data cause classic behaviourist to be sceptical about Thorndike’s law of effect. The attack on Thorndike by Watson seems to be rhetoric. Never the less, it does not mean that one rejected all have to reject it, as Moore (2011) stated that Watson’s behaviourism proved inadequate and many of the researchers took another approach which analysed by B.F. Skinner (Moore, 2011). Skinner proved his own definition by studying on Thorndike’s law of effect which provided him the basis of operant learning theory (Schwartz Lacey, 1982). He conducted an experiment which resemble Thorndike’s puzzle box and an input of a lever, which he want to find out how the rats learned to press the lever. The difference between the two experiment done, is based on the determiner on frequency of the experiment, which Thorndike is based on the experimenter and Skinner is based on the rats themselves (Iversen, 1992). Each time, the rats press the lever, the food will immediately be released. This resulted in the learning of the rat to press the lever to receive rewards. However, when Skinner replaced the food with shocks, the frequency of the lever being depressed leads to an immediate stop of the action due to punishing consequences (Iversen, 1992). He concluded from the result that the behaviour influenced by the law of effect is known as operant conditioning due to the behavioural change or operated of the organism on the environment. In the experiment, there is no environmental stimuli that create a response from an organism as compared to organism in classical conditioning experiment done by Pavlov. Mischel (1993) stated that skinner also concluded that Operant conditioning consists of two important key components, the operant and the consequence. If the consequence is a positive reinforcement, then the likelihood of another similar response is more as compare to if the consequence is punishment. Similar results were produced by accidental when the pellet dispenser had jammed, it stops the positive reinforcement of food altogether in a process called extinction, this situation was noticed when the r at continue pressing the lever even though no food were received, at the start the behaviour becomes rapid than usual, then slowly the frequency worn off but the operant conditioned response decreased at a much slower rate than when punishment was used (Iversen, 1992). Similarly, operant conditioning like this also appear in child, when either rewarding or punishing with disciplinary actions. This kind of operant conditioning occurs in the rewarding or punishing discipline action taken towards a child (Schwartz Lacey, 1982). As we can see from all of these example above, how behaviourism can lead to two theories of learning, as Watson hypothesized that â€Å"behavioristics psychology has as its goal to be able, given the stimulus, to predict the response or, seeing the reaction take place to state what the stimulus is that has called out the reaction† (Iversen, 1992), However this stimulus–response psychology was soon to be overthrown by Skinners work (Iversen, 1992). Even though he called his lever pressing action as an investigatory reflex and referred it to eliciting stimuli which is measured due to the influences of the work of Pavlov’s and Watson’s (Iversen, 1992). In the later part of his research, Skinner later moved away from the Stimuli and response tradition as he discovered operant conditioning with the aid of Edward Thorndike, and commented that the result that happen immediately after the response is more important than incident happen right before, and the extinction that he accidentally found out indicated that there is no role in eliciting stimuli for that behaviour to happen. Lastly, the final form of the conditioned response is deem as the most important as it did not even exist prior to the conditioning, therefore no elicitation is involved. This successful method of shaping help in generating behaviours that have not been seen previously in range of behaviours in the experimental subject. Which Iversen (1992) sta ted that skinner’s work in the early stage completely contradict Watsons â€Å"no stimulus, no response† rule. So all in all. We can see that the build-up progression of behaviourism and the two learning theories, are not of a style of a cowboy builder. Instead the build ups of the theories, not only involves criticism of theories, to improve another, for example, Watson rejected Thorndike’s law of effect, place more work in Pavlov theory, to improve the theory of classical conditioning through empirical evidence, and also involves influences of theories, just like how skinner inspired by Thorndike’s law of effect, created similar experiment, and initially followed Pavlov and Watson’s work, and realised issues and rejected it to form its own learning theory, operate learning theory. These examples resulted that and prove to these experimentalist that once again, Metatheoretical psychologist are not a â€Å"cowboy builder†. References Bitterman, M. E. (2006). Classical Conditioning Since Pavlov. Review of General Psychology, Issue: Volume 10(4), p 365–376. Clark, R. E. (2004). The classical origins of Pavlovs conditioning. The Official Journal Of The Pavlovian Society, 39(4), 279-294. Gang, J. (2011). Behaviorism and the Beginnings of Close Reading. The Johns Hopkins University Press, ELH 78(1), 1-25. Gewirtz, J. L. (2001). J. B. Watsons Approach to Learning: Why Pavlov? Why Not Thorndike? Behavioral Development Bulletin, Issue: Volume 10(1), p 23–25. Henriques, G. R. (2004). Psychology Defined. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. 60(12), 1207–1221. Iversen, I. H. (1992). Skinners Early Research: From Reflexology to Operant Conditioning. American Psychologist, Issue: Volume 47(11), p 1318–1328. Moore, J. (2011). BEHAVIORISM. The Psychological Record, 449-463. Reber, A. S., Allen, R., Reber, E. S. (2009). The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology: Fourth Edition. New York: Penguin. Rilling, M. (2000). How the Challenge of Explaining Learning Influenced the Origins and Development of John B. Watsons Behaviorism. The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 113, No. 2, pp. 275-301. Rozeboom, W. W. (2005). Meehl on metatheory. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Volume 61, Issue 10, pages 1317–1354. Schwartz, B., Lacey, H. (1982). Behaviorism, science, and human nature. New York: Norton. Wallis, S. E. (2010). Toward a Science of Metatheory. INTEGRAL REVIEW, Vol. 6, No. 3. Watson, J. B. (1914). Behavior: An introduction to comparative psychology. New York: Holt. Watson, J. B. (1916a). The place of the conditoned reflex in psychology. Psychological Review, 23, 89-108. Watson, J. B. (1994). Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It. American Psychological Association, Issue: Volume 101(2), p 248–253. Watson, J. B., Kimble, G. A. (1997). John B. Watsons Behaviorism: A Retrospective Review. American Psychological Association, Volume 42(1), p 23–28. Watson, J. B., Rayner , R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1–14. Windholz, G. (1997). Ivan P. Pavlov: An Overview of His Life and Psychological Work. American Psychological Association, Issue: Volume 52(9), p 941–946.