The Effects Of Climate Change On Fossil Fuels - 1431 Words

The definition of climate change is â€Å"a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.† (Google Dictionary). Due to our dependence on fossil fuels as our main source for energy and our carbon dioxide emissions over decades, climate change has rapidly emerged on Earth. Yet, we still have those who deny any scientific evidence of the effect of the dependence on fossil fuels. Climate change is a threat one should not ignore but want to reverse with the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. An issue, which one should consider frightening today and for the future, is climate change. The growth of climate change has developed over decades due to human activity, and we have done substantially little to nothing when it comes to moving forward with clean energy as a nation. When we continue to use fossil fuels as our source to power our electricity, it exhausts and pollutes the planet’s natural resources, as well as environments and species. What happens when we pollute and waste all of our natural resources? The result is climate change, and in that, we all suffer from the destruction fossil fuel energy has on our planet and on humanity. When our human activity results in greenhouse gases that perpetuates the slightest rise in temperature that then cause ice caps to melt at an alarmingShow MoreRelatedFossil Fuels : An Essential Foundation1416 Words   |  6 Pagesthe dawn of the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels have become an essential foundation in the innovativ e endeavors of mankind. Not only has it supported human advancement, but it is virtually ubiquitous in its use and its versatility provides for a strong mechanical prospect. Yet, these prehistoric sources of energy have lately been identified to be a major source of an onset against the well-being of the Earth. Because of the adverse effects of fossil fuels, the effort placed into the solutionsRead MoreCompanies And Climate Change Case Study944 Words   |  4 PagesCompanies Impact on Climate Change According to Mindy S. Lubber president of Ceres, â€Å"many U.S. companies today are still downplaying the possible risks of climate change and its far-reaching business impacts.† Still using fossil fuels and releasing carbon dioxide in large amounts will have large effects on the Earth, if companies aren’t careful. The idea of global warming has been around in the United States for many years. In fact, climate change has had effects on people and the environment forRead MoreClimate Change Is A Change Of Weather Patterns That Lasts For A Long Duration Essay1372 Words   |  6 PagesClimate Change is a change of weather patterns that lasts for a long duration. Climate change can be caused by the ‘greenhouse effect’. Humans create greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, electricity production and more. These gases trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere and increase the earth’s overall temperature. This process is also called Global Warming which can cause more natural disasters like floods and droughts. Climate change is an existent global issue that started since 1880 whenRead MoreEarth Science : Critical Thinking Exercise Questions1702 Words   |  7 Pageswhy it is a conflict. The climate is changing and this comes with the result of temperatures rising, polar ice caps melting, and water levels rising. Furthermore, if these types effects continue without being checked the end result for human and animal life on earth could be catastrophic. With this in mind, there are several people that have argued that this change has occurred as of natural causes. The people from school of thought believe that the current climate change is a result of the naturalRead MoreGlobal Warming Is The Environmental And Social Changes Caused By Human Emissions1652 Words   |  7 Pagesenvironmental and social changes caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases. Human activities have been the primary cause of this significant change, resulting with extreme weather conditions, increasing sea level, and climate changes. In this paper I will compare and contrast natural versus anthropogenic climate changes of global warming, mitigation strategies, mitigation effectiveness, polic y implications, costs, and address some policy changes to help stabilize global climate and strict standardsRead MoreGlobal Warming Is The Environmental And Social Changes Caused By Emissions Of Greenhouse Gases1735 Words   |  7 Pagesand social changes caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. Human activities have been the primary cause of this significant change, resulting with extreme weather conditions, increasing sea levels, and climate changes. In this paper I will compare and contrast natural versus anthropogenic climate changes of global warming, mitigation strategies, mitigation effectiveness, policy implications, costs, and address some policy changes to help stabilize global climate. Natural Climate change The EarthRead MoreHuman Activity And Climate Change1141 Words   |  5 PagesAND CLIMATE CHANGE WILLIAM WRIGHT GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY In this paper I will discuss Human Activity and Climate Change. I will discuss different human activities that might affect climate change, things such as the burning of fossil fuels and how they might contribute to climate change. To begin I will discuss what the definition of climate change. Climate change is the change in the atmosphere by the amounts of carbon dioxide levels that come from using fossil fuels. ClimateRead MoreClimate Change Is The Change923 Words   |  4 PagesClimate change is the change in earth’s climate like temperature and precipitation over a particular region. Climate change has shown its affect all across the globe and is leading to all undesirable loses. Some of the reasons of radical climate changes are: †¢ Irresponsible activities of humans like misuse of fossil fuels, polluting water bodies and use of non-renewable sources †¢ Burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil are rising the levels of carbon dioxide in the air. Climate change is not onlyRead MoreThe Effects Of Global Warming On The Environment993 Words   |  4 Pages Global warming is part of earth. This meaning the air and the way the fossil fuels come into play. I want to start out talking about fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources. They can take up to thousands of years to produce. This is why they are non-renewable because it takes so long to make more. These fossil fuels are used to make gas and oil for people to drive their cars and oil for these big plants. The way that they are found is by digging deep in the groundRead MoreFossil Fuels and Climate Change Essay1208 Words   |  5 Pages In this paper, we focus on using fossil fuels causing climate change. Fossil fuels are fuels formed natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are the most widely used fuel and industrial chemicals in the world. Since industrial revolution, fossil fuels bring a very great quantity convenience and technological products. So we can use cars, planes and all modern products. But fossil fuels cause climate change at the same time. Greenhouse gas, nitrous oxides and a great deal

Definition of Auditing - 5714 Words

DEFINITION OF AUDITING Auditing is described as the independent examination of and expression of an opinion on the financial statements of an enterprise by an appointed auditor in pursuance of that appointment and in compliance with any relevant statutory obligation. Thus auditing of information systems can be defined as independent examination of and expression of an opinion on the development, documentation and controls of information systems of an enterprise by an appointed auditor in pursuance of that appointment and in compliance with any relevant company requirement. The purpose of an audit is not to provide additional information but rather it is intended to provide the users of the systems with assurance that the information†¦show more content†¦The auditor seeks to obtain some background information of the nature of the client’s business. * Planning the audit; the auditor prepares a planning memorandum that shows the general strategy in to be followed in conducting the audit. * Ascertaining and evaluating clients accounting systems and internal controls, use of flow charts and evaluating using key questions. * Carrying out tests of controls: This enables the auditor to determine the level of reliance to be placed on the internal control system and therefore reduce the level of substantive testing. * Planning the level of substantive testing and formulating the substantive tests to be carried out. * Carrying out substantive testing on the selecting account balances. * Carrying out the final analytical review and concluding whether the financial statements show a true and fair view. * Drafting the audit opinion and any other reports to be issued under the terms of engagement e.g. the management letter. RIGHTS OF AUDITORS 1. Rights of access at all time to accounting records of the company. This includes; a. Rights of access to statutory books of accounts e.g. shareholders register, memorandum of association and minutes of important meetings. b. Access to returns from branches and vouchers of the company. 2. To require from officers and employees ofShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Auditing And The Advantage And Disadvantages Of Auditing1578 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction This report explains what auditing means the purpose of auditing and the advantage and the disadvantages of auditing. Also explains what Expectation Gap means and how different people have different views on it, looking at what auditors consider their responsibilities are and what are the expectations. Also looking at the history of the expectation gap and the different definitions people came up with over the years. The Definition of Audit Auditor is an independent qualified accountantsRead MoreEssay on Internal Auditing and What It Entalis1137 Words   |  5 PagesTo answer this question we will have to first understand what is internal auditing and what does it entail and then answer why internal auditing is â€Å"eyes and ears† of management. Internal Auditing as defined in the IPPF Framework is â€Å"an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organisation’s operations. It helps an organisation accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness ofRead MoreAudit Expectations Gap1349 Words   |  6 Pagestremendous amounts could be done in order to close the gap down. In this essay I will discuss some of these issues and in particular the strategies to reduce the gap. Definitions Various definitions have been proposed for the audit expectation gap. Humphrey, Moizer and Turley (1992), suggest that the common element in the various definitions of the gap is that auditors are performing in a manner that is at variance with the beliefs and desires of others who are party to or interested in the audit. Read MoreThe World s Data Pool1349 Words   |  6 Pagesit here to stay, the opportunities and challenges associated with, its implications to the auditing profession, and how auditors could optimize their work through big data. Definition of big data A study by McKinsey in 2011, described big data as datasets whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage, and analyze. It is interesting to note that the definition is flexible in terms of defining how big a dataset should be to be considered big data. (Source:Read MoreClarified Statements On Auditing Standards1705 Words   |  7 PagesClarified statements on auditing standards (SAS) are issued by the Auditing Standards Board (ASB). SAS #122-127 were effective for audits ending on or after December 15, 2012. The ASB has completed the Clarity project with the issuance of SAS # 128 in February 2014, effective for audits of financial statement for period ending on or after December 15, 2014. The clarity project was designed to improve the auditing standards, to make them easier to read, understand and apply. It also converged theRead MoreAuditing And The Growing Use Of Financial Software1114 Words   |  5 PagesAUDITING AND THE GROWING USE OF FINANCIAL SOFTWARE Terms of reference The report is a part of an assessment for the auditing unit; the intended audience is the lecturer Mr Ade Otukoya. The report is written after a presentation done in class to reflect on your understanding and how to improve after getting your feedback. Table of contents †¢ Introduction (what is auditing) †¢ Auditing definitions †¢ Purpose of auditing †¢ An overview of framework for audit assignment †¢ Auditing terms and definitionsRead MoreDoes skepticism by the auditor would enhance audit quality1435 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The importance off skepticism in performing audits has been recognized from the time the very first auditing standard was implemented (Fullerton and Durtschi, 2012). The recent financial crises and audit failures have caused the profession to reassess and emphasise the importance of skepticism during an audit engagement, ensuring that auditors increase their level of skepticism (Fullerton and Durtschi, 2012). Auditors are now asked to expand their skeptical perspective to the levelRead MoreOperational Audit1064 Words   |  5 Pagesbusiness operations for the purpose of making recommendations about economic and efficient use of resource, effective achievement of business objectives and compliance with company policies. †¢ The term operational auditing is the most widely used today. †¢ Definition of terms o OPERATIONAL – implies a focus on operations, as opposed to financial position. o MANAGEMENT – implies that the information obtained in the audit process is useful to management decision making. Read More Aspects of Materiality: A Continuing Education Report Essay examples1477 Words   |  6 Pagesconcept to the field of auditing. Defining Materiality The utilization of the concept of materiality in auditing dates many years. Varying definitions of materiality during the preliminary stages of utilization prove that auditors recognized a need for this concept but did not have a standard for defining the term. The recognition by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) of the need for this concept prompted a decision to determine a universally recognized definition of materiality. InRead MoreAcct 3708 Lecture Pdf1701 Words   |  7 PagesUniversity of New South Wales School of Accounting Auditing and Assurance Services 2013 LECTURE 1 Introduction to the Audit Function Assurance Framework Australian Corporate Audits Auditing Standards Lecture Overview †¢ Announcements †¢ Overview course requirements †¢ Introduction to the course – Assurance – Auditing – Legal requirements – Auditing standards Announcements †¢ 1. Tutorial Allocation – Once classes are full no more will be admitted – No new classes will be scheduled

Undemocratic legislature Free Essays

In Alaska ;transportation bill, nearly $1 billion went to Alaska, 47th populous state just behind California and Illinois -ultimately eliminated for the bridges, but still got the funding Congress’s inability to pass significant legislation regarding issues about which the public Is worried -Congress Is unrepresentative, do not get equal say in government – not satisfied with the outcomes 1 . Ruthless partisan gerrymandering in the House, electoral districts drawn to maximize the probability that the party drawing lines will elect its candidates-? overbore selecting their electors, process reversed -Representatives need to only appeal to the â€Å"base† of their own parties rather than to â€Å"centrist† voters in the middle -Minority parties in gerrymandered districts are Irrelevant to representative 2. Bicameralism, and Veto Points -united States, strongly bicameral legislature: two legislative houses equal in power – Bicameralism Is not necessary to achieve Preamble e. We will write a custom essay sample on Undemocratic legislature or any similar topic only for you Order Now G. Western Europe -Argument for second house: subordination of strictly â€Å"majorities broader constituency base to support legislation Consensually, broad participation in overspent and broad agreement on polices -Defend for the upper house: longer terms allow a valuable corrective to the responsiveness of member of the lower house to the passions of the moment because of their fear of losing votes in imminent election Also greater population represented, decision is less parochial – But: harder to pass legislation, two bodies rather than one agree on legislation-? prevents bad and also good legislation 3. President Veto Power Trilateral system-?president has a constitutionally assigned veto power ;A threat forcing congress to modify legislation before it is presented to the president -More Han 95 percent of all presidential vetoes are successful -Some of bills may be passed with the hope of a veto, officials depend on other institutions to take the heat for blocking legislation supported by a local constituency -Original intention: president should veto those raised constitutional questions, but now Just veto on any grounds he sees fit e. . Ford, 75 percent veto ;Pocket veto power of the president: simply place a bill in the days immediately prior to its adjournment in his pocket, secure in the knowledge that it will not become law without his signature-?simply do nothing, still veto -President becomes a one-person hired legislative chamber -Argue: President represents the entire American people, single member takes a national perspective, but there are presidents not receiving popula r votes, not correlated with the capture of the congress by the political opposition 4. Illegitimate Senate Two senators from each state, each senator having one vote Seven smallest states have same power as seven largest states, excess of power-? unequal representation California seventy times less than Wyoming Impacts: -Senate can exercise a veto power on majorities legislation passed by the House hat is too costly to the interests of small states, which are overrepresented in the senate-?too many veto points can block the wishes of an energize majority – Government will systematically redistribute income from large states to small states – Racial minorities a voice in federal lawmaking process that is disproportionately small relative to their numbers Filibuster: 41 -senator minority to block legislation, the participants may disproportionately from small states -Small-state senators greater incentives to concentrate on a few issues central to constituents, tend to seek assignment to committees that help them obtain particularize benefits for their cons tituents. Also spend less time on constituency contact, less time raising campaign funds, more likely to become party leaders -Coalition leaders have incentives to seek out senators from less populous states to build winning coalitions -?small states advantage enjoying benefits, especially with guarantee that all states given a minimum of funds regardless of population -Steady redistribution of resources from large to small states E. G. Implementation voting power of the mentors: 52-48 confirmation of Clarence Thomas to become lifelong Justice of supreme court, voting against from state 52 percent of the population -Defeats the idea that the majority of the people rule-?68 years, notional â€Å"majority party’ in control of the senate was elected from states with less than a majority of the population -Framers did not expect the country expanded so fast, senators were expected as independent 5. Divided government: how separate do we want our institutions to be? Importance of political parties in our political system Modern political parties and the divided institutional structure of government has robbers Divided government: One party controlled the White House while the other party controlled at least one house, and quite possibly both houses of the congress Conduits: Constitution discourages effective government -Frequency of election of house impairs the achievement of a strong consensus among president, house and senate as to what the country wants -Many problems derived from presidential veto power, if not, disputes would solved within congress, veto power creates three institutions -Extending the terms in house to four years, presidential election years, fewer divided governments Ineligibility Clause: No person can serve in the executive and legislative branches at the same time-? safeguard against corruption of the legislature, legislators may create unnecessary offices for them to fill But: -Broaden the range of talent available to president when he assembles his administration -Authors of law invited to take responsibility for their execution 6. How to cite Undemocratic legislature, Papers

Balfour Beatty Case Study on Corporate Finance And Valuation

Questions: (a) As an investor, provide valuation and analysis of your assigned company using the shareholder value analysis (SVA) methodFirst of all, this part of the report requires you to critically evaluate the appropriateness of SVA model to value a company. Further, you need to perform the valuation of the company in numerical terms using SVA model and present the findings in a professional manner. As an investor, you are required to explain and justify the variables used in the valuation model. You also need to provide a sensitivity analysis to identify the critical variables influencing the valuation of the company. You should also compare the actual value of the company with the value estimated by SVA model and explain of any difference or similarity.(b) Identify and evaluate one issue that your company is facing with reference to the appropriate finance theories.This part of the report requires you to identify one specific issue that the company is currently facing or has faced in the last 5 years. For example, an issue in raising new finance may have implications to agency theory, the expected yield curve of interest rates, future projects pipeline, sources of finance, management influence and corporate reputation, risk and its management, etc. As an investor, you need to determine the context for your analysis. Another issue could be the impact of mergers and acquisitions on companys strategic position. This may be done by reading around the relevant theory and linking these to the issue concerned. An analysis which does not have appropriate in-depth theoretical input will not achieve high marks. Answers: Introduction Executive Summary This assignment is about the shareholder value analysis of Balfour Beatty, which is an infrastructure development company, which has its operations in UK, US, Middle East and South East Asia. The assignment is bifurcated in two parts. The first part is about the appropriateness of the shareholders value analysis method to value Balfour Beatty. Moreover, the first part requires the valuation of the company in numerical terms and explanation of the variables used in valuing the company. The sensitivity analysis is also to be conducted for the purpose of identifying the most critical variables of the company. Lastly, the comparison is to be made between the actual value of the company and the value derived from shareholders value analysis method. The second part of the assignment requires us to identify and evaluate any one critical issue that the company is facing now or any issue faced by the company in last five years about the appropriate finance theories. The issue could be any among the example given or any other new issue. Balfour Beatty is an infrastructure company that finances, builds, develops and maintains the infrastructure that is a basic need of the society. Its in operations with more than 100 years of experience. The key market sectors of the company are as follows. Commercial buildings Social Buildings Power, energy and water Transport facilities Infrastructure Above given is the basic information about Balfour Beatty. a. Shareholders value analysis method to value the business of the company. The valuation is made based on the returns the company gives to its shareholders. The SVA method like other theories also assumes that the aim of the management is to maximize the wealth of the shareholders of the company. The concept was developed by Alfred Rappaport in the year 1980. The analysis involves calculating the value of the business by discounting the free cash flows of the business at cost of capital of the company. Further, to find out shareholders value, marketable securities and other investments are required to be added, and the value of debt of the business is to be deducted. Free cash flows of the firm reflect the cash flow generated from the operations of the business without adjusting for the cash flows of the shares and debts like interest and dividend payments and other related cash flows. Free cash flows of the firm can be derived as follows. Operating Profits After Tax (OPAT)= Revenue-Operating Profit+ Depreciation-Tax on profit Free cash flows from the operations=OPAT-Investments in fixed capital-investment in working capital The above formula would provide us the free cash flows from the business. To derive the value of free cash flows of the firm accurately, the calculation of the free cash flows should be divided into two parts. One should be the free cash flows during the planning horizon and other is free cash flows after planning horizon, that is future years. Free cash flows can be derived as follows. Value of the firm=PV of free cash flows during planning horizon+ PV of free cash flows after planning the horizon The value of the free cash flow for each year during the planning horizon can be derived by using seven value drivers as follows. The value for each component should be calculated differently by using seven value drivers detailed below. The annual sales growth rate Operating profit margin rate Income tax rate Incremental capital investment rate Incremental working capital rate Planning horizon Cos of capital With the help of above information, we can achieve the value of free cash flow of the business during the planning horizon. The second part of the valuation is free cash flow of the operations after the planning horizon. The value of the infinite period after planning horizon is called terminal value. Most of the companies, do not earn much after the planning horizon who are working in the competitive environment. It is assumed therefore that the business will not earn anything more than capital invested in the business. Hence, the assumption would be that the free cash flow earned at the end of the planning horizon would continue to earn for rest of the years for an infinite period. This way, the shareholder value of the business is measured in numerical terms. One use of shareholder value analysis is to value the business of the company. Moreover, another effective use of shareholder value analysis is to analyse and evaluate the strategic decisions made by companies. The evaluation of strategic decisions by the SVA method is conducted by comparing the pre and post strategy value of the company. The sensitivity analysis can also be conducted with the seven key value drivers of the business. The only difficult part of the SVA method is to predict the variables used in the analysis. Justification of Variables used For the purpose of calculating shareholder value of Balfour Beatty, the first calculation made costs of capital of the company. WACC is calculated to use it as the cost of capital of the company. As the capital structure of the company consists of debt and equity, WACC is used as the cost of capital of the company. SVA first emphasize on calculating the value of the business by discounting the cash flows of the business during the planning horizon and then adding marketable securities into them and deducting the value of the debt. The basic concept of finance suggests that to calculate the value of equity for equity shareholders, the cost of equity only is taken as the cost of capital. However, the SVA method first calculates the value of the business by discounting the free cash flows of the firm during the planning horizon and then it makes other relevant adjustments to find out the shareholders value. For the purpose of calculating WACC, following are the factors considered. Tax rate, equity beta, risk-free rate, risk-free premium, cost of debt, market value of equity, market value of debt, total market value of equity and debt, the proportion of equity and debt and cost of equity as well as the cost of debt. VARIABLES Amount Tax Rate (T) 20% Equity Beta (Be) 0.481 Risk free rate (Rf) 2.10% Risk premium (Rm-Rf) 5.20% Cost of debt (Kd) 2.30% Market value of equity (MVe) 1,820.22 Market value of debt (MVd) 957.00 MV (MVe + MVd) 2,777.22 As percentages: Equity (E) 66% As percentages: Debt (D) 34% Cost of equity (Ke) 4.60% WACC (Ko) 3.65% The first factor considered here is the tax rate applicable to the company. The tax rate used to calculate WACC is 20%. The operations of the company are scattered across different countries like UK, US, Middle East and South East Asia. The operations carried out by the company are construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. Major activity carried on by the company is construction services, and it is located in UK, US, Middle East and South East Asia. Major revenue is earned from the construction activities. Major revenue is earned from the activities carried on in UK. (AR 2014, Page No. 106). The corporation tax rate in UK for the year ended 2014 was 21.5% and the tax rate for the year ended 2013 was 23.25%. Other countries tax rates were different. Hence, to coordinate with all the countries tax rates, the tax rate of 20% is assumed as the tax rate of UK is reduced to 20%. Beta is the value of the sensitivity or volatility of the portfolio. Here, beta is used to derive the value of the cost of equity. Equity beta is the riskiness attached to the ordinary shares of the company. There are different alternatives available to calculate the beta of the company. However, the beta of Balfour Beatty is taken 0.481 from The Financial Times. Risk-free rate of return for calculating WACC is taken as 2.10%. The risk-free rate of return is the minimum return that we receive from the government securities that are free from any kind of risks. The risk-free rate of return is always same for every company. The market return is the return that we earn from the securities we have invested in. It is a return that is earned from the market. It is based on the prices of the securities that are earned from market. The price of Securities keeps on changing, and the market rate also keeps on changing based on the reaction of the prices in the market. As the risk attached with the securities that are non-government is higher, the return earned on them is also higher compared to risk-free securities. The difference between the risk free rate of return and market return is called risk premium. It is a premium earned for higher risk and the risk attached with the securities invested in. The risk premium of the company is 5.20%. This risk premium is the premium earned on the securities the company has invested in. The cost of debt is the rate at which company is given debt by financial institutions. The cost of debt is the rate of interest charged by the financial institutions on the amount they have lent to the company. The cost of debt is taken in use after deducting the tax amount on it. The cost of date taken here is 2.30% after deducting the portion of a tax on the rate. (AR, Page No. 14) The market value of equity is 1820.22 million. The ordinary shares of the company are 690 million. The market value of shares on the last day of the financial year is used to calculate the market value of equity of the firm. The market value of a share is taken from The Financial Times. The market value of debt of the company is 957 million. (AR, Page NO. 92). The total value market value of the equity and debt is 2777.22 million. From the financial statements of the entity, we can derive the proportion of the debt and equity of the company that is 34% and 66%. The proportion of the debt and equity is used to calculate the WACC of the company. The method used to calculate the cost of equity is CAPM. The cost of equity of the firm is 4.6% by using the below-given model. Ke =Risk Free Rate+ Beta of equity*(Market Return-Risk Free Rate) WACC of the company is calculated by taking the weighted average of the cost of equity and cost of debt of the company in proportion to their weight in the capital structure of the company. WACC=Ke*(MVe/MVe+MVd)+Kd(MVd/MVe+MVd) The WACC of the capital of the company came to 3.65%. The WACC would be used as the cost of capital to discount the free cash flows of the company. The WACC rate would be used as the required rate of return of the company. The following data is used as a base to derive the free cash flows of the company during the planning horizon and for rest of the life of the company to find out the terminal value of the company. Particulars Amount Info. About variables Last sales 7,264 Million Sales growth 1.0% per year Op. Profit Margin 1.0% of sales Associate Cos profit 53 Tax rate 20% of op. Profit margin Inc. Cap. Inv. 50.0% of change in sales Inc. W. Cap. 50.0% of change in sales Planning Horizon 5 Years Required Rate of Return 3.65% Mkt Securities and cash 40 With the help of previous two years annual report of Balfour Beatty, the free cash flows of the company is calculated to find out shareholders value of the firm. Revenue for the year ended 2013 of the company was 7264 million. The value of revenue is taken from the annual report of the company for the year ended 2014. Sales growth of the company is estimated to be 1%. The growth rate of the company is derived from the following formula. Growth Rate= (Revenues2011-Revenues2010)/Revenues2013 Operating profit margin of the year is 1%. The profit margin % of the year is calculated using below-given formula. Operating profit margin= Operating profits2011/Revenues2011 Operating profit of the associate companies is 53 million. The value is derived from the annual report for the year ended 2014. Its the share of associates profit after tax in the profit of the whole group. The normal corporate tax rate of the company is assumed at 20% as explained above. The increase in the amount of capital investment is 50% of the change in sales. The % of the increase in capital investment of the company is calculated using below-given formula. The increase in capital investment= Change in FA/ change in revenue; FA = Intangible assets + property, plant and equipment The increase in working capital of the company is 50% of the change in sales. The increase in working capital is calculated using blow given formula. The increase in working capital= Change in WC/change in revenue; WC = Inventories + Trade and other receivables - Trade and other payables The planning horizon of the company is five years, and the required rate of return of the company is 3.65%. The marketable securities and cash of the company are 40 million. The marketable securities and cash of the company are calculated as below. = other fin assets(NCA)+other fin assets(CA)+cash and cash equivalent (CA) less other financial liabilities (CL) and (NCL) Employment of SVA model Year 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Actual Difference Sales 7,300 7,337 7,374 7,410 7,447 7,447 Profit 37 37 37 37 37 37 Associate profit 53 54 54 54 54 54 LessTax 7 7 7 7 7 7 Less ICI 18 18 18 18 19 0 Less IWC 18 18 18 18 19 0 Operating Cash Flow 46 46 47 47 47 84 117 32.65 PV of cash flows 45 43 42 41 39 1,927 2,675 747.91 NPV 2,136 2856.4 719.86 Add mkt secs 2,176 2896.4 719.86 Less debt 957 957 - Equity Value 1,219 1939.4 719.86 Actual Value 1,798 1798.4 - 68% 108% 40.00% In given example for year 1 operating profit is 40 which is calculated by deducting Tax @ 20% , Inc. in Capital Investments @ 50% of Sales, Inc. in working capital @ 50% of sales from profit so derived (i.e. sum of operating profit which is 0.5% of sales and Associate profit which is 0.5% of associate operating margin). Such an operating cash flow is then converted into present value by multiplying cash flow with required rate of return of 3.65% called as NPV i.e. Net Present Value. When debt id deducted from NPV Equity Portion is derived. Comparative Analysis The comparative study of the actual value and the value calculated as per SVA model shows that the actual shareholders value is 1798.4 million while as per SVA method the shareholders value is 1798.4 million. The value as per SVA model is 8% higher than the actual shareholders value. There could be many factors due to which there is a difference between the actual value and the value calculated as per SVA method. There could be the change in the beta value or the market rate of return of the company due to which there is a difference between the actual value and the value derived as per SVA. Moreover, there could be changes in the value of both the actual and the SVA value due to assumptions of the data used in the model. Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity analysis is the technique to analyse the sensitivity of the project. It is also known as the what if analysis. In case, the revenue of the business decreases by some amount of %, what would happen to the shareholders value or in another way, if the required rate of return of the company rises by some amount of %, what would happen to the shareholders value. This way, the sensitivity analysis of the project of the company is conducted. Here when sales growth rate and operating profit margin are changed (i.e. in decreasing order) then operating cash flow reduces as compare to actual cash flow. And when operating cash flow changes comparatively NPV too reduces as compare to actual cash flow. When operating margin and Profit margin reduces by 0.5%, then actual value reduces by 40% b. The chief executive of the group gave a report about the financial performance of the company. The financial performance of the company is declining since the year 2010. Revenue of the company is declining, and the company is making losses since many years. The most obvious and noticeable decline in the performance of the company was over the past 12 months. Many issues have caused the decline in the performance of the company as there are many operational issues with the business in UK. Moreover, another reason behind the decline in the performance of the company is the cost base of the group s also too high. There is a constant outflow in the working capital of the company since the year 2009. The chairman of the group gave an overview about the understanding of the problems of the company. After the major downturn in the construction industry, the UK business of the group due to industry downturn and many other factors resulted in an operating loss for the whole group. The overhead of the company was 1% higher this year than the industry averages. The company is making losses since last many years due to which there can be many issues with the company like raising of capital for the purpose of running the business of the company. Moreover, according to the report of the group executive of the company, there is constant outflow in the working capital of the company. Moreover, the company sold off the rail business of the Austria and Germany. Apart from the above-listed issues, in between a year, Carillion Plc with whom company dealt for the sale of one of the segments of the group called PB, withdrew their support despite of the public announcement made by the company. The directors of the Carillion gave an explanation about withdrawing the consent that the sale deal was not in the interest of the shareholders of the company. Another major issue was fall in the profitability of the company. The profitability of the UK construction business was materially impacted due to the issues happened with the UK construction business and the major downturn caused in the construction industry. Although, the year ended with the lower profitability, the receipt from the sale of PB benefited the company. The losses from the continuing business were higher than the losses made last year. The company made loss of 281 million in the year 2014 while company made a loss of 33 million in the year 2013. The loss per share of the company was eight paise compared to the earning of 21.5 paise in the year 2013. Total loss per share of the company was 8.6 paise. Even though, there were many cash outflows in the construction business of the company, the total cash flow of the c ompany was 219 million. Construction business in UK and US was the major source of revenue of the group. The company made the highest revenue from the construction business but in spite of making highest revenue from the business, the company ended up with the loss. The company is facing the major problem of the downturn of the construction industry in UK. The issue the company is facing since last five years is the downturn of the construction industry which is the major source of revenue of the company. The underlying loss from the operations for construction services was 209 million. However, in the year 2013, there was a profit of 18 million. The underlying loss from the UK construction business was 229 million which is included in this and in the year 2013, it was 20 million. The underlying revenue from the operations that are continuing is 6579 million which was 6594 million in the year 2013. Above cited problems can cause major problems with the financial position of the company. The company could face a problem with raising finance for the operations of the company as well as the share prices of the business could fluctuate with the information of the company. This could impact the image of the company on the shareholders of the company. The financial position of the company is weak since last many years, and that could affect a lot while issuing share capital or raising finance using other sources for operating the business of the company. If we look at the financial position of the company from the year 2010 to 2014, we can observe following things in the companys financial position. In the year 2010, the market conditions to conduct the business were stringent and very competitive compared to previous years. In spite of the above competitive market, the company performed very well in the year 2010. The company performed stronger than in the year 2009. The company started with a record order book in the year 2011. The record order book is a model to focus on the cost of the operations and the operational delivery of the business. The company is facing the UK and US market crisis since last many years. The annual report of the group concluded in the performance of the company that they did not expect a short-term recovery in the infrastructure markets of UK and US, but they truly expected a growth and progress in the operations and profitability of the company. In the annual report of the year 2010, it is stated that the company expected global market to be the growth market of the company. The financial performance of the company was better in the year 2010 compa red to 2009. The record order book was up to 8% at 15.2 billion which was only 14.1 billion in the year 2009. The pre-tax profit of the company was higher up to 3.2% while it was only 2.7% in the year 2009. The annual report of the company for the year ended 2011 showed good performance of the company. The order book revenue of the company was 7% higher than previous years revenue from order book. The revenue including joint ventures and associates were higher by 2% compared to previous year. The profit of the company before non-underlying items were higher by 2% compared to previous year. The above discussed operating review was of professional services. The company started making a loss from the construction services due to the downturn of the construction market in UK where the company had highest operations. The companys revenues declined by 8% compared to last year in order book. The annual report showed an increase in the revenue including JVs and associates by 5%. The company started making losses from the year 2011 as the profits before non-underlying items decreased by 16% compared to the year 2009. The operational performance of support services showed positive data compared to previous year. Even the infrastructure investment segment of the company performed well compared to previous year. The year 2012 was not so productive compared to previous year. The pre-tax profit of the company fell by 7% compared to previous year. In spite of low productivity, the dividends paid by the company were higher than the previous year. The underlying earnings per share of the company were 1% lower than the previous year. The performance of the company declined tremendously in the year 2013. The pre-tax profit of the year was 32% lower compared to the pre-tax profit of the year 2012. Moreover, the revenue of the group was just 1% higher compared to previous year. The underlying earnings per share were 37% lower compared to the year 2012. The dividend paid per share was same as it was paid in the year 2012. The chairman of the company said that 2013 was a challenging year of the company with 37% decline in the earnings per share of the company. The main issue the company is facing since last many years is the operating issues with the construction industry of the company in UK. As UK been the major operating area of the company, the company is facing challenges operating the business in UK. References ANON, N.D., Shareholder Value Analysis, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.financepractitioner.com/dictionary/shareholder-value-analysisgws_rd=crei=2d5_VtDrDoaXuATJ7oLACA ANON, N.D., Maximizing Shareholder Value, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/articles_cima_maximizing_shareholder_value.pdfgws_rd=crei=d-B_VvuRO5WpuwSB4LKABw ANON, N.D., Equity Beta, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.lse.co.uk/financeglossary.asp?searchTerm=Equity+BetaiArticleID=1688definition=equity_beta ANON, N.D., Annual Report 2013, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.balfourbeatty.com/media/29042/ar2013_interactive.pdf ANON, N.D., Annual Report 2012, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.balfourbeatty.com/media/29041/ar2012_interactive.pdf ANON, N.D., Annual Report 2014, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.balfourbeatty.com/media/1167/ar2014.pdf ANON, N.D., Annual Report 2011, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.balfourbeatty.com/media/29480/ar2011.pdf ANON, N.D., Annual Report 2010, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.balfourbeatty.com/media/29324/ar2010.pdf ANON, January. 2000., Shareholder Value Analysis, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.tomorrowsleaders.com/a5569d/icaew/content.nsf/documentlookup/icaewfin0106/$file/mq6+finance.pdf ANON, N.D., Shareholder Value Analysis, Accessed on 27th December, 2015, https://www.lse.co.uk/financeglossary.asp?searchTerm=iArticleID=952definition=shareholder_value_analysis

Conflicts Being a College Student Essay Example

Conflicts Being a College Student Essay Patrice Williams November 12, 2013 Conflicts of A College Student The daily life of a college student is filled with many conflicts. To begin with, students face everyday conflicts such as having transportation, family issues, financial problems, and also lack of focus and responsibility. In college if one is without a car or a reliable source of transportation every day, it can really affect them in school. One might could have a car but it is currently broke down or someone said they were willing to provide the transportation but possibly not showing up. For example, Nicole’s car has broken down over the weekend now she’s wondering how to get to school Monday morning. Nicole calls her friend Monica to give her a ride to school and then she’ll take the metro back home. This could cause Nicole stress and causing her to take focus off of school work. Second, college students also face family issues and crisis. One could have lost a family member that is causing a lot of stress or grief on their head while attending school. A student may have a family member or friend at home that causes them stress everyday also. We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicts Being a College Student specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicts Being a College Student specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicts Being a College Student specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer For instance, Mark lives at home with Mom, brother, and sister. Conflict may be between everyone at home that causes Mark stress everyday he comes to school. Next, many students come across financial problems during their college life. Some students may lose their job or simply just don’t always have the funds to get by every single day. A student may be on a payment plan every month to pay for school or a student loan. Having everyday issues such as these can cause stress on the mind of a student that he or she doesn’t need while attending college. Take Mya for example, she’s currently in college and is on a payment plan at school to pay her tuition every month, for this current semester. Mya just lost her job and is finding it hard to come up with the money for this coming month; with her also struggling the previous months when she did have a job. This situation is very stressful on Mya and causing her to jeopardize school such as being late, missing assignments, and sometimes not showing up at all. Financial issues can play a huge downfall in a life of a college student. Finally, having a lack of responsibility can cause conflict while attending college. Some students start college but aren’t fully prepared. College students would sometimes start off college as if they were in high school and not strongly aware of the transition. Students hang out and party all night with school being in the morning. They slack on their work and put in high school work ethic instead of College work. Having a lack of focus can also affect students. Conflicts such as all of these can pay a huge part daily in a student’s life.

Machiavellis View Of Human Nature Essays - Italian Politicians

Machiavelli's View Of Human Nature Essays - Italian Politicians Machiavelli's View Of Human Nature In The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli presents a view of governing a state that is drastically different from that of humanists of his time. Machiavelli believes the ruling Prince should be the sole authority determining every aspect of the state and put in effect a policy which would serve his best interests. These interests were gaining, maintaining, and expanding his political power.1 His understanding of human nature was a complete contradiction of what humanists believed and taught. Machiavelli strongly promoted a secular society and felt morality was not necessary but in fact stood in the way of an effectively governed principality.2 Though in come cases Machiavelli's suggestions seem harsh and immoral one must remember that these views were derived out of concern Italy's unstable political condition.3 Though humanists of Machiavelli's time believed that an individual had much to offer to the well being of the state, Machiavelli was quick to mock human nature. Humanists believed that An individual only 'grows to maturity- both intellectually and morally- through participation' in the life of the state.4 Machiavelli generally distrusted citizens, stating that ...in time of adversity, when the state is in need of it's citizens there are few to be found.5 Machiavelli further goes on to question the loyalty of the citizens and advises the Prince that ...because men a wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need keep your word to them.6 However, Machiavelli did not feel that a Prince should mistreat the citizens. This suggestion once again to serve the Prince's best interests. If a prince can not be both feared and loved, Machiavelli suggests, it would be better for him to be feared bey the citizens within his own principality. He makes the generalization that men are, ...ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well they are yours.7 He characterizes men as being self centered and not willing to act in the best interest of the state,[and when the prince] is in danger they turn against [him].8 Machiavelli reinforces the prince's need to be feared by stating: Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared. The bond of love is one which men, wretched creatures they are, break when it is to their advantage to do so; but fear is strengthened by a dread of punishment which is always effective.9 In order to win honor, Machaivelli suggests that a prince must be readily willing to deceive the citizens. One way is to ...show his esteem for talent actively encouraging the able and honouring those who excel in their professions...so that they can go peaceably about their business.10 By encouraging citizens to excel at their professions he would also be encouraging them to ...increase the prosperity of the their state.11 These measures, though carried out in deception, would bring the prince honor and trust amongst the citizens, especially those who were in the best positions to oppose him. Machiavelli postulates that a prince must also deceive those who attempt to flatter him. [In] choosing wise men for his government and allowing those the freedom to speak the truth to him, and then only concerning matters on which he asks their opinion, and nothing else. But he should also question them toughly and listen to what they say; then he should make up his own mind.12 Since each person will only advice the prince in accord to his own interests, the prince must act on his own accord. Machiavelli discourages action to taken otherwise ...since men will always do badly by [the prince] unless they are forced to be virtuous.13 Machiavelli actively promoted a secular form of politics. He laid aside the Medieval conception of the state as a necessary creation for humankinds spiritual, material, and social well-being.14 In such a state,[a] ruler was justified in his exercise of political power only if it contributed to the common good of the people he served, [and] the ethical side of a princes activity...ought to [be] based on Christian moral principles....15 Machiavelli believed a secular form of government to be a more realistic type. His views were to the benefit of the prince, in helping him maintain power rather than to serve to the well being of the citizens. Machiavelli promoted his belief by stating: The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among those who are not virtuous. Therefore, if a prince wants to maintain his rule he must learn not

History of Jazz and Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Jazz and Dance - Essay Example Traditional dance steps such as the Waltz and Foxtrot remained popular. Films produced during this era began to included the dance moves of actors such as Rudolph Valentino, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The popularity of dance and development of new steps continued through the Great Depression Era. Jazz music continued to change and evolve during this time, leading to the Cool Jazz and Funk of the 1950s. Jazz music initially came from New Orleans in the early 1920s, though it quickly spread to other cities such as Chicago and New York. Musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington began performing in New York City. New clubs such as the Cotton Club in 1923 and the Savoy Ballroom in 1926 opened in Harlem. Duke Ellington’s band Became the ‘house band’ of the Cotton Club. The Savoy featured Jazz artists like Bennie Goodman, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Most of the well known Jazz artists later introduced new styles of music such as Be-bop at the clubs. New York city was not the only place that began to celebrate Jazz music and the new dances of the time. Many artists also made their way north to Chicago. Some of the well known artists of the time like Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines actually recorded music in the Windy City, which helped to increase the popularity of Jazz. Many more local groups formed in smaller cities through the Midwest during the 1920s and 1930s. Kansas City is home to the Count Basie Orchestra. Along with the new form of musical expression which became so popular came new styles in dance and dress.

FEA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

FEA - Assignment Example The results are then used to undertake weight optimisation of the model. The limits of the redesigned model are the face bearing the load, strength of the load and the fixed points which are not alterable. The only changing variables are the geometry and materials used. The model was then analysed in the SimulationXpress Analysis Wizard. The first step in this process was to fix the position of the 4 holes where the bracket will be fastened to the body of the structure. This is carried out in the fixtures section and the faces assigned as fixed geometry as shown in figure 2. This fixes the lower section of the bracket to its location in the machine, structure or component where it will be employed. The external load on the geometry is a force of 1kN and is applied on the region of 750and 50mm from the upper section of the load bearing face. This force does not act on the whole region hence a sketch is created 50mm from the upper section and creating a split line to allow the force to applied on the hatched region of the load bearing face on the drawing. Figure 3 shows the model with the split line created. The simulation results are produced giving the stress, displacement, deformation and the safety factor. Determining the maximum displacement and stress is the key objective at this point. The maximum Von Misses stress is 737.96mPa while the yield stress is 620.422mPa. This shows that the stress experienced is higher than the yield stress and hence failure due to the 1KN load applied. This is shown in figure 5. The results from part A are used to carry out a redesign of the bracket which are then validated with Finite Element Analysis. The main objective of this redesign work is to reduce the weight of the bracket by at least 10% and the deflection should not be more than 10%. In this redesign work, the material was the main focus for reducing the weight of the bracket. The aim was to select a material similar to steel but is lighter in weight. Aluminium

Some recent instance where the mass media seems to have act an agenda Essay

Some recent instance where the mass media seems to have act an agenda for what public should think - Essay Example In a true democracy, the people are the masters. Consequently, they are entitled to complete information. The media is crucial for providing such information to the public, and it was provided with a number of privileges by the founding fathers of the US. In addition to this freedom the medial is duty bound to provide accurate and complete information. However, this has not always been realized and there were several instances where the media had failed to live up to this requirement. This was noticed with regard to health care legislation, wherein the media failed to provide proper details of the proposed bill (Does the mass media overstep its boundaries?). The reality in the US is that the media, in its totality, is subject to domination. The armed forces of this nation exert a tangible influence on the media and treat it like the other factors involved in national security operations. Thus, the populace is provided with information that has been scrutinized and suitably altered by those responsible for national security (Stanton, 2011). In the list of priorities provided to the Navy Seals, collecting information from the lair of Bin Laden was higher than eliminating him. Such information was anticipated to have considerable bearing on the global and domestic information environment.

The effect of background noise on free recall

The effect of background noise on free recall The effect of background noise upon free recall of visually presented words was investigated. A total of 60 participants were recruited for this psychological study. The experimental groups were the speech condition (N=20) and the whale sound condition (N=20) whereas the silent condition (N=20) accounted for the control condition. Participants were randomly assigned to each group. The speech, whale sound and silence accounted for the three levels of independent variable whereas the subjective free recall accounted for the dependent variable. This study formed two hypotheses. Hypothesis one proposed that more words will be recalled in the control condition than in the experimental conditions and hypothesis 2 proposed that fewer words will be recalled in the speech condition than both the whale sound and silent condition. The present investigation employed a between groups design. One way ANOVA showed that participants in the control condition (M = 12.85 SD = 2.97) significantly recall ed more words than the whale sound experimental (M= 9.05 SD =2.13) and the speech conditions (M= 9.65 SD= 3.49) (p= Key words: working memory, free recall, silence, whale sound, speech Investigation into background noise and participants free recall performance Background noise has been established to be among the most notable forms of interference in the in offices and educational settings causing stress and discomfort for workers and learners and affecting performance (Hugh Jones 2001). Background noise from aircraft, road traffic, and trains have all been shown to impair learning (Enmarker, Boman, Hygge 2006; Hygge, 2003; Wible, Nicol, Kraus, 2004 in McNeil). The working memory model proposed by Salame and Baddeley (1990) constitutes of the visuo-spatial system and phonological system, however, the memory system that is concerned with verbal visual and auditory presentation is the phonological store. The phonological store, together with the process of articulatory rehearsal constitutes what is unknown as the phonological loop (Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003). Prominent psychologists have investigated the phenomenon of background noise and its interference with the working memory processes and recall impairment. For example, Salame Baddeley (1982 in Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003) argued of the irrelevant speech effect which refers to a reduction in the immediate recall of lists of presented items when irrelevant auditory material is presented together with the items to be memorized (Gisselgard et al, 2003). Salame and Baddeley argued that irrelevant sound effect interferes with the temporary storage of verbal material within a phonological input store of limited capacity (Gisselgard, 2003). Jones (2004) also argues that auditory verbal stimuli have direct access to phonological system whereas visual verbal has indirect access whereas the visual verbal stimuli endeavour a process of sub vocalization before passing through the articulatory suppression system. (Jones, Macken Nicholls (2004: the phonological store of working memory). Other psychologists argue that the irrelevant speech will interfere with the representations of list items if and only they are being held within the phonological store. However, during the rehearsal process (articulatory suppression), the irrelevant sound effect may be abolished (Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003), therefore not impairing word recall. Beaman Jones (1998) acknowledge that one of the earliest explanations produced for the irrelevant sound effect was the acoustic primary memory masking hypothesis (Colle Welsh, 1976) which postulates that irrelevant auditory stimuli have the action of masking phonologically recoded visual stimuli in an acoustic primary memory store. According to this approach, the items lose their distinctiveness by being masked, making their retrieval difficult (Beaman Jones, 1998). Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones (2001), on the contrary, argue that as the memory task and irrelevant speech are presented in different sensory modalities, the effect cannot be attributed to some kind of interference (or masking) at sensory level as suggested by Colle and Welsh( 1976). Instead they argue that this disruption must be attributable to: A confluence of processing from the ear and the eye at some level beyond the sensory organs; this can be explained as a breakdown in attentional selectivity. Despite the intent of the person to concentrate on the memory task, the irrelevant sound intrudes therefore impairing recall. (Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones, 2001) Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones (2001) suggest that interference results from the similarity of events represented in memory, a phenomenon known as phonological similarity. One subtype proposes that the disruption is based on a conflict of content between what is seen and what is heard. This may be through similarity (phonological similarity) in the identity of the irrelevant sound to the items being rehearsed (Salame Baddely 1982 in Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones 2001) through shared temporal cues or through degree of overlap of modality-independent features in the irrelevant speech with the items in the visually presented to-be-recalled list (Neath, 2000 in Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones 2001). The phonological similarity is particularly relevant in this study as a back ground speech by Martin Luther King, in English will be employed and administered in the background. It is worthy of acknowledgement that irrelevant sound hypothesis has been predominately investigated for serial recall (Lecompte, 1994 Beaman Jones, 1998). The irrelevant speech effect has been found to effect and disrupt the learning of list of words in a sequential order and Salame and Baddeley (1990) did establish that background noise was disruptive. However, free recall has also found to be affected by the irrelevant sound (Beaman Jones 1998). In light of this, the present study will investigate the irrelevant sound hypothesis through assessing free recall of subjects. Moreover, Studies (Beaman Jones, 1998 have shown that the irrelevant sound effect does equally effect serial or free recall, without distinction. For example, in testing the free recall and the irrelevant speech effect, Lecompte (1994) study found that a) irrelevant speech inhibited free recall more than white noise. In addition Lecompte (1994) had found an effect on irrelevant sound on free recall in four cond itions (Lecompte, 1994). This is also supported and acknowledged by Beaman Jones (1998). The present study will be employing whale sound as one of the independent variables although animal sound with relation to memory recall impairment have been investigated by Neath Surprenant (2000) (the nature of remembering) In other studies, the irrelevant speech effect was not found in free recall (Salame Baddeley, 1990 in Lecompte, 1994). Although there is substantial research which has found that noise disrupts learning, there is however some other investigations which established that background noise had a facilitative effect on learning as oppose to a detrimental effect dependent upon the level and frequency of the noise and subjective ratings of levels for interference (Hughes Jones, 2001). It is noteworthy that although Salame and Baddeley (1989) used Japanese speech in the background which accounted for the irrelevant speech the present study will use English Martin Luther King speech. Use of English narrative as an independent variable has also been investigated. For example, Jones, Miles and Page (1990 in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) performed an investigation in which forward, reversed (English narrative) and Welsh (narrative) irrelevant speech were contrasted. Each produced a large and almost identical effect on the recall of consonant strings. In another study (in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) irrelevant Italian and English produced a similar degree of impairment (Morris, Jones Quayle., 1989 in ibid) the psychologists argue that the phonological similarity effect isnt the cause of poorer recall as Salame and Baddeley (1989 in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) have argued. The aforementioned mentioned study by Jones et al (1990) demonstrates that background speech which is similar to the language of the listener will be equally disruptive when compared to other languages such as Welsh. Oswald et al (2000 in Hughes Jones, 2001: the intrusiveness of sound) tested participants comprehension of sentences of meaningful speech, meaningless speech and in quiet. They found that performance was worse in both speech conditions relative to quiet, but most noticeably, meaningful speech was more disruptive than meaningless speech. This study therefore supports Salame and Baddeley (1990) similar phonological effect hypothesis with relation to interference and disruption, which will also form one of the hypothesis for the present study. Amidst the scope of studies already performed in the domains of irrelevant sound effect and its effect upon the phonological working memory, this present study too, aims to investigate whether or not the background speech and whale sound will impair recall for words presented visually. Method Participants A total of 60 participants were recruited for this psychological research. Each of the eight investigators for this study recruited eight participants. The control or silent condition comprised of 20 participants, the whale sound condition comprised on 20 participants and the Martin Luther King speech condition comprised of 20 participants. All these participants were randomly assigned to each of the eight investigators. All of the participants were over 18 and no other demographic variable such as specific age group or gender was considered in this present study. The participants were either related or associated with the investigators. Design variables A between subjects experiment design was employed. Participants were randomly allocated to each group. This study used one independent variable with three levels of background noise which were silent, speech, and whale sound. The silent condition was the control condition whereas the speech and whale sound were the experimental conditions. The dependent variable is the number of words correctly recalled by the groups. The noise level of the speech and whale sound was 66 -70 decibels. The present study employed the free recall methodology. Hypotheses Recall of words will be higher for the silent (control) condition than the whale sound and speech sound (experimental) conditions. This accounts for hypothesis 1. The recall of words will be lower in the speech sound condition compared to both the whale and silent conditions to investigate the phonological similarity effect and its effect of interference with information processing and recall. This therefore accounts for hypothesis 2. Stimuli and materials Martin Luther King speech (experimental condition 1); Whale sound (experimental condition2); Silence (Control condition); 20 words were selected from the Toronto Word Pool with neutral but similar levels of concreteness and imaginability. The lower level of imaginability and concreteness ranged from 1 to 3 and high ranged from 5 to 9 but the words selected were at level 4.font was Ariel size 12. The format of the words was a visual presentation of in a list form. Procedure Participants were briefed and informed consent was obtained prior to commencement of experimentation. In the silent (control) condition the participants were presented with the words. Participants learned the words for 3 minutes. Participants were then given a further 3 minutes to recall the words followed by debrief. In experimental (1) whale sound and experimental (2) speech conditions participants were presented with words and were allowed 3 minutes to learn the words accompanied with either background whale sound or speech. A further 3 minutes were given for the written free recall of words followed by debrief. In the brief the participants were informed of the whale and speech background noise, neither any approach to learn the words was mentioned. Other background interferences and auditory disruptions, other than the intended noise were kept to a minimum. Results The effect of background sound (silent, speech, whale sound) on recall of words was examined using one-way subjects ANOVA. It was expected that participants in the silent condition would recall more words than the participants in the speech and whale sound condition. The mean scores revealed that more words were recalled in the silent condition (12.85 SD = 2.97). There was almost equal number of words recalled in the whale sound (M= 9.05 SD=2.13) and the speech condition (M=9.65 SD=3.49). There was significant difference between the recall scores of the control and experimental conditions F (2, 57) = 9.748, p0.05). Participants in the speech condition recalled significantly less than the silent condition (Mean difference = -3.2 p=0.05). Therefore this experiment supports the hypothes1 and therefore the null hypothesis will be rejected. Lower recall in the speech condition compared to the silent but similar levels of recall compared to the whale sound condition partially supports hypo thesis 2. Condition Recall N Mean Standard Deviation Silent 20 12.85 2.97 Whale 20 9.05 2.13 Speech 20 9.65 3.49 Total 60 10.51 3.33 Table 1 shows the mean score for each group together with their standard deviations. The silent condition recalled the most number of words and the whale and speech conditions scoring the similar number of words. Sound Sound Mean Difference Sig. Alpha 0.05 Silent Whale 3.80 0.00 speech 3.20 0.00 whale Silent -3.8 0.00 Speech -.60 0.79 speech Silent -.32 0.03 whale .6 0.79 Table 2 Multiple comparisons showing the scores of each group, inclusive of mean difference and their significance. There is a significantly larger difference between Silent compared to whale and speech conditions. There is a significant difference between whale and silent condition but not with speech condition. There is a significant difference between speech and silent but not with the whale condition. This test supports hypothesis 1 expected the recall for words in the control condition to be higher than the experimental thus supporting the experimental hypothesis and rejecting the null hypothesis. However, there is not a significant difference between the speech and whale noise condition therefore as fewer words were recalled in the speech condition compared to the silent condition and assessing that there is not a significance recall difference when compared to the whale noise condition only partially supports hypothesis 2. Recall Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. ÃŽÂ ·p2 Between Groups 166.933 2 83.46 9.74 0.000 0.25 Within Groups 488.050 57 8.56 Total 654.983 59 Table 3 is showing the between and within groups mean scores and shows that the differences between the groups is significant (p= Discussion This present study attempted to investigate the effect of background sound on recall for words. The investigation manifested that overall the recall for the control (silent) condition was higher than the experimental (whale sound and speech) conditions. Therefore is supportive of the hypothesis 1 of this study and of the irrelevant sound hypothesis, and therefore rejecting the null hypothesis. The minor partial eta square effect is also noteworthy showing that the independent variables did not greatly affect the participants recall of words. In relation to the phonological similarity effect due to the administration of English words and English speech, it was found that articulatory suppression in the speech condition did not abolish the phonological similarity effect as well as the irrelevant speech effect which are known to impair the processing and retrieval of visually presented words. This is evident through lower production of words in the Speech condition. Therefore this study has supported the phonological similarity effect and its impairing effects upon processing visually similar verbal information. This investigation has shown that the practice of rehearsal or articulatory suppression did not abolish the both the phonological similarity effect and the irrelevant sound effect. The abolishment the phonological similarity hypothesis through articulatory suppression is well documented by Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar (2003). The findings of these results can therefore be extended to the wider world where people are reading verbal information and listening to verbal auditory concurrently, albeit individual differences can also be taken into consideration. It was acknowledged that hypothesis 2 was partially supported because even though significantly fewer words were recalled in the speech condition than the silent condition but the difference is not statistically significant when compared to the whale sound condition. This finding is therefore also interesting as animal whale noise had equal level of disruption than human verbal speech. Despite the interesting findings, this study however, does have some limitations. This present study didnt take into consideration other individual variables such as age, gender. Considering these variables could yield further complimentary or contradictory results which could be subjected to empirical analysis. In a study performed by Ellermeier Zimmer (1997) individual difference was found with relation to susceptibility to the irrelevant speech effect. One study demonstrated that males and females perform differently in the presence of music when undertaking different tasks and exercises (Miller Schyb, 1989). In future studies, demographic variables and specific sample can be considered to ensure more reliable and valid results. Moreover, this present study did not take vocal or instrumental music as an independent measure and variable, although these variables may also be critical. Therefore, in future studies the inclusion of music condition and how background music facilitate s and impairs learning can also be considered. Hillard and Tolin (1975), for example, showed that if the background music was well-known to the subject, they performed better on the given task than when unknown music was present. The domains of familiarity and unfamiliarity of music can therefore, also be explored. Moreover, in another study, the psychoacoustics found that music that contained speech had significant detrimental effects on the participants ability to perform tasks (Martin, Wogalter Forlano, 1988). Extensive studies can be performed in light of all of the aforementioned variables.

Literature Has Much More Value Than Television Essay -- Argumentative

Literature Has Much More Value Than Television It may go without saying that there are those who will never study, appreciate, or even perhaps consider literature as it is known in academic circles. There are those for whom the written word may have, at best, utilitarian purposes, and for whom any piece of writing beyond a technical manual should, at least, be a work of â€Å"non-fiction,† designed to impart a clearly stated morsel of information or worthy opinion. Part of the explanation for this may coincide with the same general reason that some people never consider religion: the proponents of literature – as is sometimes the case with the proponents of religion – sometimes themselves make their cause a used-up, weary, and trying thing, and may remove from it all the beauty and potential which it might, in the proper hands, convey. Arguably, much like religion, literature has a transcendent value, and fulfills an essentially universal need, in every human being. After all, even the most ardent opponent of the usage of literature in his or her own life embraces forms which complete virtually the same need within him; that is, myths, folklore, stories, movies, television, and even song, occupy essentially the same place and function as literature in the human person, albeit in a form often immeasurably more crude. And, as hotly debated as the following may be in the milieu of post-modern and relativist academic circles, the need to convey truths and explore the human person through story and myth may reach its most sophisticated form in literature. That, of course, raises the implied debate as to just exactly what constitutes literature. If poems and theater can be properly called â€Å"literature,† can not film, or popular s... ...evision, and now, following in their footsteps, much written â€Å"literature,† seek mostly to entertain, to lull viewers into a comfortable despondency and create a sense of need for consumption, all of which perpetuates the success of these mediums. The vacuous lack of effort required of the viewer by television points to the factor that may simultaneously be literature’s greatest value and its most daunting hurdle to many potential readers. That is, literature invites readers, at its best, to learn a new set of codes and means of digesting language and tales; it may require, as in (for example) opera, learning an entirely foreign collection of meanings, linguistic cues, symbols, and, in effect, a new kind of listening. But those who seem to most appreciate opera, much like those who seem to most appreciate literature, swear that the payoff is well worth the toil. Literature Has Much More Value Than Television Essay -- Argumentative Literature Has Much More Value Than Television It may go without saying that there are those who will never study, appreciate, or even perhaps consider literature as it is known in academic circles. There are those for whom the written word may have, at best, utilitarian purposes, and for whom any piece of writing beyond a technical manual should, at least, be a work of â€Å"non-fiction,† designed to impart a clearly stated morsel of information or worthy opinion. Part of the explanation for this may coincide with the same general reason that some people never consider religion: the proponents of literature – as is sometimes the case with the proponents of religion – sometimes themselves make their cause a used-up, weary, and trying thing, and may remove from it all the beauty and potential which it might, in the proper hands, convey. Arguably, much like religion, literature has a transcendent value, and fulfills an essentially universal need, in every human being. After all, even the most ardent opponent of the usage of literature in his or her own life embraces forms which complete virtually the same need within him; that is, myths, folklore, stories, movies, television, and even song, occupy essentially the same place and function as literature in the human person, albeit in a form often immeasurably more crude. And, as hotly debated as the following may be in the milieu of post-modern and relativist academic circles, the need to convey truths and explore the human person through story and myth may reach its most sophisticated form in literature. That, of course, raises the implied debate as to just exactly what constitutes literature. If poems and theater can be properly called â€Å"literature,† can not film, or popular s... ...evision, and now, following in their footsteps, much written â€Å"literature,† seek mostly to entertain, to lull viewers into a comfortable despondency and create a sense of need for consumption, all of which perpetuates the success of these mediums. The vacuous lack of effort required of the viewer by television points to the factor that may simultaneously be literature’s greatest value and its most daunting hurdle to many potential readers. That is, literature invites readers, at its best, to learn a new set of codes and means of digesting language and tales; it may require, as in (for example) opera, learning an entirely foreign collection of meanings, linguistic cues, symbols, and, in effect, a new kind of listening. But those who seem to most appreciate opera, much like those who seem to most appreciate literature, swear that the payoff is well worth the toil.

Leadership and Human Behavior Essay

As a leader, you need to interact with your followers, peers, seniors, and others; whose support you need in order to accomplish your goals. To gain their support, you must be able to understand and motivate them. To understand and motivate people, you must know human nature. Human nature is the common qualities of all human beings. People behave according to certain principles of human nature. Human needs are an important part of human nature. Values, beliefs, and customs differ from country to country and even within group to group, but in general, all people have a few basic needs. As a leader you must understand these needs because they can be powerful motivators. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Unlike others researchers in the earlier days of psychology, Abraham Maslow’s based his theory of human needs on creative people who used all their talents, potential, and capabilities (Bootzin, Loftus, Zajonc, Hall, 1983). His methodology differed from most other psychological researchers at the time in that these researchers mainly observed mentally unhealthy people. Maslow (1970) felt that human needs were arranged in a hierarchical order that could be divided into two major groups: basic needs and metaneeds (higher order needs): * Basic Needs are physiological, such as food, water, and sleep; and psychological, such as affection, security, and self-esteem. These basic needs are also called â€Å"deficiency needs† because if they are not met by an individual, then that person will strive to make up the deficiency. * Metaneeds or being needs (growth needs). These include justice, goodness, beauty, order, unity, etc. Basic needs normally take priority over these meta needs.

Political culture and change alters the nature and meaning of art essays

Political culture and change alters the nature and meaning of art essays Most history of art in ancient periods comprises relationships between the political condition of a nation and the manner artists create their works of art. Two instances of this in which the nature and meaning of art were influenced by the changes in political culture are the Baroque and The Baroque era was a period of wealth and grandiosity. It was the time when luxury, political victory, and improvements in trade transpired in Europe. This era was characterized by modern lifestyles among men and women. Such development and modernization inspired many artists. Hence, most of the art works of the time represents progress and grandiose lives. Buildings and architectural structures were intricate and emphasize rich decorations. One of the architectures that illustrates luxury and elegance of the Baroque style is the Palace of Versailles. An online source The fence is covered with a sheet of gold; every room is filled with intricate carvings and elegant figurines. Each room reflects a certain time or king by the change in furniture and styleThe palace is like a museum, which shows the progress of society using art and architecture Rembrandt, a celebrated painter of the Baroque style, transformed his classical style into new light elaborating Baroque characteristics. Similar to the Baroque era that influenced the characteristics and nature of art, the era of Romanticism influenced many artists in expressing themselves against the 18th century's Enlightenment crisis, dominating attitudes, and political conditions. The arts of Romanticism were characterized by individualism, imagination, free expression, intellectual social thoughts, and criticisms. One of the well-known Romantic poets was William Wordsworth. Wordsworth was known for his literary poems that express freedom. In Romantic paintings, on the other ...

Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication

Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication Introduction Successful communication is a desirable result of every person, who is participating in the discourse. In order to create favorable conditions for interaction, both interlocutors should be aware of how communication act emerges. First, the speaker is codifying the information, which is proceeded by sending the message to the listener. Further, the latter is decoding this message and perceives this information.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Successful communication occurs, when both the message encoded and decoded are of the similar content and force. For successful communication the English philosopher Paul Grice has outlined certain maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relation and Manner: Quantity: make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purpose of the exchange). Do not make your contribution more in formative than is required. Quality: Do not say what you believe to be false. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. Relation: Be relevant. Manner: Avoid obscurity of expression. Avoid ambiguity. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity). Be orderly. [Grice, 1989] These are the universal guidelines for acquiring interlocutors’ mutual comprehension. However, in order to achieve better understanding, both speaker and listener are to share common principals and rules in cases, when the intents of the utterance are not explicit. These rules and principles are unlikely to coincide with each other, when we are talking about cross-cultural communication. Everyday practice shows how often representatives of different nations fail to manage an appropriate interpretation of the message in a conversation. â€Å"It can cause misunderstandings or create offence when speakers can understand only the literal meaning of words and do not know the rules of use for interpreting th ose words† – state Rintell Mitchell. [cited from Darmayenti, 2010] Indeed, a considerable damage for conversation mostly appears neither in pronunciation errors, nor in grammar and syntax, but in pragmatic incompetence. The latter is the precursor to pragmatic failure, which, as Jenny Thomas defines, means â€Å"the inability to understand what is meant by what is said†. [Thomas, 1983] Pragmatic failure may constitute two subtypes, which are inextricably linked and sometimes cannot be considered separately. Thus, pragmatic failure includes pragmalinguistic and sociolinguistic failure. Pragmalinguistic failure By the definition of Thomas, â€Å"pragmalinguistic failure occurs when the pragmatic force mapped by S onto a given utterance is systematically different from the force most frequently assigned to it by native speakers of the target language, or when speech act strategies are inappropriately transferred from L1 to L2†. [Thomas, 1983]Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hence, pragmalinguistic failure is connected to the language itself, when it occurs that the words and expressions are transferred from native language to the target language without taking their pragmatic meaning into consideration. There are several types of pragmalinguistic failure, which consider inappropriate transfer of expressions, speech act strategies and target language expressions. [Darmayenti, 2010] The first instance conveys the fictitious translation of expression from the native language into the target language. Taking the conversation between an Englishman and a Russian as a demonstrative model, one may observe where the pragmalinguistic failure occurs. E: How do you do? (saying it in Russian) R: Frankly speaking, not very well. Some family problems are worsening conditions at work and†¦ it seems I have a bad luck. (answering in Russi an) Pragmatically competent people are aware of the fact that expression â€Å"How do you do?†, unlike the expression â€Å"How are you doing?†, does not demand the detailed response about how the listener feels etc. The â€Å"How do you do?† utterance is a manner of formal greeting between the acquaintances and traditional response to this expression would be the same â€Å"How do you do?† Obviously, the Englishman, intending to greet the Russian in a respective way, has simply translated the expression from the native language into the target language and did not consider the fact, that there is no actual expression to correspond to â€Å"How do you do† in Russian. Naturally, answering the question, the Russian started describing his life and the Englishman, in his turn, has been surprised to hear extensive information. The second instance of pragmalinguistic failure lies in inappropriate transfer of speech act strategies. The theory of speech ac ts, developed by J.Austin and J.Searle differentiates several groups of utterances that have communicative force (e.g. performative, expressive, directive expressions, etc). [Searle, 1976] The failure conveys incorrect application of these utterances, when some communicative norms and conventions from the native language are being automatically transferred to the speech in target language.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Situation: Somebody (a Russian) set on the Englishman’s foot. The Englishmen says â€Å"Excuse me†. The Russian is embarrassed. This elementary instance illustrates, that English politeness formulas, applied in the majority of situations even when the speaker is â€Å"a victim†, are not commonly used in Russian language. The last sample of pragmalinguistic failure one can observe in inappropriate use of target language expressions. This kind of failure occurs, when a speaker applies direct translation from native language into the target language, often applying the words-equivalents, which may or may not have the same semantic meaning. Let us consider the situation with the Russian- and English-speakers. R: You have bought a new dress!! E: Yes, just yesterday! R: Oh, you’re so extravagant!.. E: (offended)Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The pragmalinguistic failure occurs while using the word â€Å"extravagant† for this word exists both in Russian and English language and is confusing due to different semantics. In Russian this word has a positive connotation and means â€Å"exquisite, elegant†, while in English the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines it as â€Å"spending a lot more money or using a lot more of sth than you can afford or than is necessary†. Hence, these instances reinforce how ineffective and at times offensive communication may become due to pragmalinguistic failures, which is caused solely by pragmalinguistic incompetence. In order to succeed in cross-cultural communication, the speaker should be aware of at least elementary communicative conventions of the target language. The speaker should be competent in basic expressions in order not to induce misunderstandings or offences during conversation. Sociolinguistic failure In comparison with pragmalinguistic failure, so ciolinguistic one are directly connected to cultural peculiarities and, by Thomas’s definition, is described as â€Å"social conditions placed on language use’ being based on ‘†¦cross-culturally different perceptions of what constitutes appropriate linguistic behavior†. This conveys that the speaker is not familiar with social and cultural conventions of the target language speakers. [Thomas, 1995] Common English-Russian sociolinguistic failures rise upon the taboo topics, politeness conventions, and familiarity. Thus, the expressions used in Russian can be considered offensive, interfering within personal space, or simply impolite. It is widely common among Russian people to ask acquaintances about some private life details of the interlocutor, which, in their turn, the Englishmen would regard as lack of manners and the performance of familiarity quality. [Amaya, 2008] Naturally, the latter is closely linked to the mentality and worldview of each nat ion for the brought up from generation to generation concepts about people and environment bear considerable differences. For instance, in this paper I am analyzing some communicative conventions and problems, arising around them, of the two nationalities – English and Russian. Here the comparison is really topical, because the two languages belong to different language groups: English belongs to Germanic group and Russian – to Slavonic; as well as the nations are representatives of different roots, which makes the research substantial. Turning back to the topic of sociolinguistic failures, it is also reasonable to mention that some uncomfortable situations can be induced by the Englishmen’s extensive politeness. At times, the speech is so euphemistical that for a representative of other nation it is almost impossible to define communicative offence of the utterance. Moreover, the Englishmen consider their speech polite and corresponding to all etiquette standar ds for they have a tradition of modest response. On the expressions of gratitude, praise, and compliment Englishmen usually react very moderately and politely, undermining personal properties in order to sound appropriately. Further, Thomas differentiates that there also are â€Å"sociopragmatic† judgements, concerning the size of imposition, cost/benefit, social distance, and relative rights and obligations. [Thomas, 1995] Russian learners of English language may use certain communication strategies, not taking into consideration the social status of the interlocutor, conditions, in which the conversation is being realized, and time peculiarities. On all of these factors described above it is important to reflect for, disregarding them, the interlocutors may also face a pragmatic failure. Main Reasons for Pragmatic Failure As it has been already underlined, the main reason for unsuccessful communication is pragmatic incompetence of the interlocutors. Here, it is important to consider, that pragmatic knowledge is not easily acquired with grammar knowledge only. Pragmatic knowledge is a complex part of language learning and involves extensive explanations to the utterances of English, their usage peculiarities and broad cultural context. Exactly when applying the latter to language learning, a person may be sure of considerable achievements in pragmatic field. [Wierzbicka, 1991]  While teaching and learning, accordingly, it is reasonable to combine the acquisition of linguistic general information, rules, and norms with the cultural information that would be thoroughly combined together. In such a way students could gradually get some pragmatic knowledge while not forgetting about the structure and rules of the language itself.  Due to the necessity in knowledge about culture in order to gain some pragmatic competence, it is logical, that the second main reason for pragmatic failure occurrence is cultures differentiations. Chen Starosta define that â€Å"a culture is a complex set of shared beliefs, values and concepts which enables a group to make sense of its life and which provides it with directions for how to live.(1998, 54) [cited from Darmayenti, 2010]  Indeed, culture determines our viewpoint, sets our prejudices, and shapes our perception. It also largely determines our reaction towards different messages we receive. Cultures are different from nation to nation; sometimes they even differ within one nation and create special cultural subgroups. [Kasper, 1997]  Naturally, language, being one of the culture constituents, is largely depending on it, is facing the continuous change and transformation. Language, like culture, is dynamic, which explains its constant progress and modification according to the society, which operates it.  That is why, due to the fact that language and culture are inextricably linked, one may consider oneself the language speaker only with presence of cultural context, this is pragmatic knowledge about conventions, phenomena, and processes. Generally, the Russian culture may be characterized as the culture of collectivism, where majorly all Russians are the typical Russians. In comparison, the Englishmen are quite individualistic, while putting strong accent on self-separation from the whole society and finding the features of self-identity. Englishmen are strongly interested in personal achievements and self-realization as a person, and only than as a part of society, which also has its own obligations. [Trosborg, 1994] Undoubtedly, that a language learner should be aware of such general characteristics of a nation, whose language he or she is willing to acquire. The learner is welcome to get acquainted to the cultural peculiarities and accept them, broading his or her outlook. Naturally, this knowledge acquisition would occur only through the prism of own beliefs and conventions, already set by the native culture. However, it is important to be exposed to someth ing different and to learn to respect each custom of a particular culture for it was being shaped through time and obstacles and deserves understanding and consideration. Hence, it would be reasonable to point out again, that pragmatic competence while learning language and succeeding in communicating a message in this language is crucial factor. It is impossible to achieve appropriate language fluency without knowing cultural peculiarities of the nation, whose language you are learning. Because of the fact that language and culture cannot be separated, they should be learned in a composite way, through combining linguistic forms learning with some cultural realia. What is more, only being pluralistic and willing to accept and respect the existence of other cultures’ conventions can lead to true pragmatic competence, which would be able not only to make your communication effective, but also make you more open-minded and wise. Reference List Grice H.P. (1989). Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard University Press. Kasper, G. (1997). Linguistic etiquette. In F. Coulmas (Ed.), The handbook of sociolinguistics United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishers, 374-385. Leech, G.N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. New York: Longman Group Limited. Searle J.R. (1976). A Classification of Illocutionary Acts// Language in Society. –– Vol. 8, â„â€"1. Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 91-112. Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in interaction: An introduction to pragmatics. Essex: Longman Group Limited. Trosborg, A. (1994). Interlanguage pragmatics Requests, complaints and apologies. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Co. Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Cross-cultural pragmatics: The semantics of human interaction. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Co. Amaya L.F. (2008) Teaching Culture: Is It Possible to Avoid Pragmatic Failure? Web. Darmayenti, M. (2010, November 2). Failure in Intercultural Communication: Pragmatics Analysis. Web.