cold war :: essays research papers

In 1949 the cold war spread from Europe to Asia, affecting everyone in its path. China, Japan, and Vietnam were three countries affected by the Cold War. Out of these three countries China was the countries that was affected the most.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason why China was affected the most is because its government, economy, and society were all affected by the Cold War. Chinas government was effected because it changed from a Nationalist government, that was supported by the United States, to a communist government, know as the Peoples Republic Of China. Thanks to the help of the Soviet Union China was able to expand its economy to take advantage of the countries natural rescores. China nationalized all industry and set up a five-year plan to increase the output of coal and steel. To help increase agriculture China took control of land out of the hands of landlords and into the hands of peasants, the Chinese government also encouraged peasants to join their land and form cooperatives. Probably the biggest effect of the Cold War was equal rights for women, this meant that women were expected to work alongside men, the country even went as far as to set up nurseries to take care of the children who were now without an stay at home mother. The Japanese government also gave equality to women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1950’s Japan and the United States of America became not enemies, but allies. Japan actually flourished during the period of time, which it was occupied by the USA; during this time period Japan modernized an enormous amount. The main way that Japan became more modern was the fact that the USA helped Japan build modern manufacturing plants. Since these plants were extremely modern they were able to out produce the factories of the west. In Japan women were also give legal equality. Legal equality is different than actual equality because in Japan women were often in charge of the family finances but very few ever got a collage education or high-level jobs.

Effects of Biological and Chemical Warfare Essay examples -- Biologica

â€Å"The gas instantly caused severe burning in their throats and lung. The men clutched their chests, coughed, and gasped for breath. Attempts to shield themselves from the gas were largely futile. Many tried to burrow their noses and mouths or to cover them with cloth, but the moist, dense poison penetrated everything† (Taylor 17). Those were the effects of chlorine quoted by an eyewitness. The gases and biological agents used against people in war are very cruel. They cause lots of deaths in short periods of time, leaving lasting effects wherever they are unleashed. These weapons are very volatile and in small doses can cause mass destruction worldwide. No matter how they are used, they still leave a lasting effect on the planet and the inhabitants of it. Over the course of time, biological and chemical weapons have been used to take over the battlefield, but the future effects of these have not been considered. Biological weapons are pathogenic microbes including viruses, bacteria, rickettsia, toxins, and any other living agent that is harmful to living things (McCarthy 1). The major difference between chemical and biological weapons is that chemicals injure directly, and biological agents injure indirectly through disease (McCarthy 1). Pathogens are categorized by how they are delivered (McCarthy 1). The majority of pathogens can be carried by any agricultural pest, insect, tick, rodent, or flea (McCarthy 1). Contact diseases include Ebola, dengue fever, smallpox, yellow fever, and plague (McCarthy 1). Water and food borne diseases include dysentery, E coli, Salmonella, cholera, and typhoid (Hutchinson 237). Viral pathogens include smallpox, equine, dengue fever, yellow fever, and psittacosis (Hutchinson 238). Ebola is passed... ...gents, each with the ability to cause disease that spreads throughout the world, killing many people, and only stoppable with certain antibiotics or vaccines. There are numerous chemical agents used during the past wars of the world, some so deadly that they were disapproved, and some were even so inhumane that the people who used them rebelled against using them. As these weapons become more used, the less it seems that people care about the effects that they cause, and many people could therefore suffer greatly at the moment or in the future because of someone’s mistake. There are weapons of these being built that significantly surpass the protection levels in the world currently, and one little slip could be disastrous for all. Perhaps someday everyone will realize the dangers of these weapons, or they will keep using them, dooming all people to a horrid death.

Treatment Methods for Patients Diagnosed with Hepatitis C Virus Essay

Looking at treatment methods for patient diagnosed with Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Grogan and Timmons performed a quantitative study to look at patients’ experiences with a clinical specialist (2010). In reviewing this article, further discussion will include the study’s research design, participant assignment, data collection, and results. Focus Question Grogan and Timmons’ article state that their main focus â€Å"is to explore patients’ perceptions of the support they received from the nurse specialist in a HCV outpatient clinic of a National Hepatology Centre† (2010, p. 2871). Three main objectives or outcomes are then clarified, including â€Å"to identify the demographic profile of the study group†¦ to explore patients’ level of satisfaction with information and psychological support received†¦ [and] to determine if demographic variables impact† (2010, p. 2871). This study looked at â€Å"106 patients with a diagnosis of HCV attending a HCV outpatient clinic† (2010, p. 2869) with no intervention identified being that the study’s design format was of a descriptive nature. Research Design As the HCV study performed by Grogan and Timmins was of a quantitative descriptive design, randomized controlled trial was not carried out. The descriptive approach seems appropriate in nature for the aim and objectives being sought out. This study searches to find how patients view a nurse specialist and the treatments received at an outpatient clinic, for which a questionnaire regarding HCV treatment and satisfaction levels seems fitting (Grogan & Timmins, 2010). Repeating research on this topic could help to determine optimal treatment methods for those diagnosed with HCV. Further research could also have the potential to provide insigh... ...acological treatment therapy of HCV patients has been shown to provide psychological support as well as offer a sounding board for questions through the study conducted by Grogan and Timmins (2010). Clinical specialists aid in the patients ease of gaining knowledge such as the disease process itself, prevention on spreading the disease, and ways to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. Repeated studies need to be conducted to increase validity and reliability of the results provided by Grogan and Timmins, but this study provides a solid base for which to form other studies on HCV and various treatment opportunities. Works Cited Grogan, A., & Timmins, F. (2010). Patients' perceptions of information and support received from the nurse specialist during HCV treatment. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(19/20), 2869-2878. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03239

Quiz Essay Questions Economics

CHAPTER 12 Fiscal Policy A. Short-Answer, Essays, and Problems 1. Give a brief definition of fiscal policy? What are its economic goals? 2. What is the Council of Economic Advisers? 3. â€Å"The Employment Act of 1946 is no more than a vague and ill-defined commitment by the Federal government to assist in the achievement of full employment. † Do you agree? Explain. 4. Explain the effect of a discretionary cut in taxes of $40 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75.By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? How does this discretionary fiscal policy differ from a discretionary increase in government spending of $40 billion? 5. Explain the effect of a discretionary increase in government spending of $50 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75. By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? . Explain the aspects of expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy. During which phases of the business cycle would each be appropriate? 7. Differentiate between discretionary fiscal policy and nondiscretionary or built-in stabilization policy. 8. Describe two ways the Federal government can finance a deficit and explain which would have the more expansionary effect. 9. Describe two ways the Federal government could retire debt in the event of a budget surplus and explain which would have the most contractionary impact. 10. What is the anti-inflationary or contractionary effect of a budget surplus? 11.Explain how a small budget surplus could actually be somewhat expansionary rather than contractionary. 197 Chapter 12 New 12. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Increasing government spending is preferred to a cut in taxes when the U. S. government seeks to fight a recession. † 13. Explain what is meant by a built-in stabilizer and give two examples. 14. â€Å"The more progressive a tax system, the greater is the economy’s built-in stability. † Explain this statement for both recessionary and peak phases of the business cycle. 15. Explain how the below graph illustrates the built-in stability of a progressive tax structure. 6. In Year 1, the full-employment budget showed a deficit of about $100 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion one year. In Year 2, the full employment budget showed a deficit of about $125 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion. Based on these data, what can be concluded about the direction of fiscal policy? 17. What is the difference between the actual deficit, the full-employment deficit, and the cyclical deficit? 18. What does the â€Å"full-employment budget† measure and of what significance is this co ncept? 19.Complete the table below by stating whether the direction of discretionary fiscal policy was contractionary (C), expansionary (E), or neither (N), given the hypothetical budget data for an economy. 198 Fiscal Policy (2) (3) Actual budget deficit (–) or Full-employment budget Yearsurplus (+)deficit (–) or surplus (+) fiscal policy 1 2 3 4 5 6 – 3. 9% – 4. 5 – 4. 7 – 3. 9 – 2. 9 – 2. 2 – 2. 1% – 2. 6 – 3. 0 – 2. 6 – 2. 0 – 1. 9 (1) (4) Direction of _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 20. In what fundamental way do the spending-taxation decisions of government differ from the consumption-saving plans of households?Why is this difference significant? New 21. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Discretionary fiscal policy offers an ideal approach to dealing with the nation’s economic problems. It is without problems, criticisms, or complications. † New 22. Explain the six probl ems, criticisms, or complications that arise in the implementation of fiscal policy. New 23. Explain the problems giving rise to this statement: â€Å"You would think the government would want to do something to improve economic conditions when the economy is in trouble, but the government is slow to act. New 24. How do expectations about the future by households and businesses affect the effectiveness of fiscal policy? Cite examples. 25. â€Å"If economic forecasting was a more exact science, the business cycle could be entirely corrected by fiscal measures. † Do you agree? 26. Explain the crowding-out effect. 27. Using the below graph, illustrate the possible impact of a crowding-out effect of a fiscal policy by drawing in the relevant aggregate demand shifts. Label and explain any shifts in the demand curve shown. 199 Chapter 12 28.Explain how the net-export effect would reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy. New 29. What fiscal policy is most likely to be invoked dur ing a period of recession and high unemployment? A period of rapid inflation? What political, investment, and international problems might the U. S. Congress encounter in enacting these policies and putting them into effect? 30. (Last Word) What is the purpose of the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators? 31. (Last Word) Why is the index of leading economic indicators a composite index of ten economic statistics and not just one? 00 Fiscal Policy B. Answers to Short-Answer, Essays, and Problems 1. Give a brief definition of fiscal policy? What are its economic goals? Fiscal policy is the use of the federal budget to achieve full employment, control inflation, and stimulate economic growth. The changes to the federal budget can be made through increases or decreases in government spending or through increases or decreases in tax revenues. [text: E p. 214; MA p. 214]. 2. What is the Council of Economic Advisers?The Council of Economic Advisors is responsible f or assisting and advising the president on economic affairs. One of its principal responsibilities is to prepare an annual report for the president that is submitted to Congress that describes the state of the economy and recommends economic policies to achieve full employment, control inflation, and encourage economic growth. [text: E pp. 214-215; MA pp. 214-215]. 3. â€Å"The Employment Act of 1946 is no more than a vague and ill-defined commitment by the Federal government to assist in the achievement of full employment. Do you agree? Explain. To agree with this statement does not diminish the importance of the Employment Act of 1946. The Constitution has also been called vague and ill-defined, but that does not diminish its importance. This act committed the Federal government to following policies which would attempt to stabilize prices and promote full employment and established the CEA and JEC to assist in this task. While specific policies were not outlined, the intention o f the act is clear it is a responsibility of the Federal government to assist in this effort.That had not been an explicit on-going policy before 1946. [text: E p. 214; MA p. 214] 4. Explain the effect of a discretionary cut in taxes of $40 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75. By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? How does this discretionary fiscal policy differ from a discretionary increase in government spending of $40 billion? If MPC is . 75, the multiplier is 4.A tax cut of $40 billion will result in initial increase in consumption of $30 billion (. 75 ? $40 billion). This initial increase in spending will ultimately result in an increase in consumption spending of $120 billion because of the multiplier process. In contrast, an initial increase in government spending of $40 billion will ultima tely increase consumer spending by $160 billion (4 ? $40) because none of the initial increase is siphoned off as savings as would be the case with a $40 billion tax cut. [text: E pp. 215-216; MA pp. 215-216] 5.Explain the effect of a discretionary increase in government spending of $50 billion on the economy when the economy’s marginal propensity to consume is . 75. By how much is output likely to expand if the economy is operating in the horizontal range of its aggregate supply curve and there are no complications to this fiscal policy? If MPC is . 75, the multiplier is 4. An initial increase of $50 billion government spending will result in a total increase in output of $200 billion. [text: E pp. 215-216; MA pp. 215-216] 6. Explain the aspects of expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy.During which phases of the business cycle would each be appropriate? 201 Chapter 12 Expansionary fiscal policy refers to increases in government spending or decreases in taxes or both, so that the net effect on aggregate demand is an increase in net government spending. Contractionary fiscal policy is the opposite: an increase in taxes or decrease in government spending or both, so that the net effect on aggregate demand is a decrease in net government spending. Expansionary policy would most likely be used during a recession (or trough) phase.A contractionary policy would most likely be employed near the peak of the business cycle as the economy reaches full-employment GDP and the potential for inflation accelerates. [text: E pp. 215-217; MA pp. 215-217] 7. Differentiate between discretionary fiscal policy and nondiscretionary or built-in stabilization policy. Discretionary fiscal policy is the deliberate manipulation of taxes and government spending by the Congress to alter real domestic output and employment, to control inflation, and to stimulate economic growth during a particular period of time.Nondiscretionary fiscal policy, on the other hand, is the chang e in government expenditures or taxes which occurs automatically as a result of existing laws. In particular, personal income taxes have progressive rates and will slow spending and inflation as GDP expands; when GDP declines, taxes will decrease by a more than proportionate amount allowing incomes and spending to decline at a slower rate than GDP. There are also many transfer payment programs which become effective when incomes decline or unemployment occurs to reduce the decline in disposable income.Conversely, these programs automatically are reduced when the economy expands and unemployment declines and spending increases. [text: E pp. 215, 219-220; MA pp. 215, 219-220] 8. Describe two ways the Federal government can finance a deficit and explain which would have the more expansionary effect. The government can borrow money from the private sector in which case it will be competing with private business borrowers for funds. If planned investment spending is â€Å"crowded out,â €  the impact of expansionary deficits will be offset by the decline in investment spending.The government can also finance a deficit by issuing new money which essentially means that the Federal Reserve has financed the deficit. This type of financing would be more expansionary than borrowing from the private sector. [text: E pp. 217-218; MA pp. 217-218] 9. Describe two ways the Federal government could retire debt in the event of a budget surplus and explain which would have the most contractionary impact. The government could use a budget surplus to pay off existing debt which would â€Å"recycle† funds back into the economy and potentially offset the decline in government spending.Alternatively, the government could impound the surplus funds, or allow them to stand idle, which means these funds are not injected into the economy and would have a more contractionary effect than the first alternative. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] 10. What is the anti-inflationary or contra ctionary effect of a budget surplus? The anti-inflation effect of a budget surplus depends on what the government does with the surplus. The budget surpluses may be used for debt reduction. In this case, bonds 202 Fiscal Policy are bought back by the government and money is pumped back into the economy.Interest rate will tend to fall, and this may increase consumer and investment spending, thus offsetting some of the contractionary effect of the budget surplus. The government may also impound funds (not spend them). This action will be more contractionary because it actually removes spending from the economy that would have been spent otherwise. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] 11. Explain how a small budget surplus could actually be somewhat expansionary rather than contractionary. This could be the unlikely result of what the government decides to do with the surplus.If it is used to retire existing debt, then the surplus is pumped right back into the economy and with the multiplier ef fect this additional liquid wealth in the hands of individuals could lead to an increase in aggregate demand and GDP. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] New 12. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Increasing government spending is preferred to a cut in taxes when the U. S. government seeks to fight a recession. † The statement is a normative one. Either action, increased government spending or taxation, can be use to fight a recession. The policy choice will depend on the preferences of the individual.Those individuals who want to fight a recession with an increase in government spending may want to preserve the size of government in the economy and have specific government programs they would like to see funded. Those individuals who prefer a tax cut may want to reduce the size of government and give people more money and the freedom to spend it as they chose. [text: E p. 218; MA p. 218] 13. Explain what is meant by a built-in stabilizer and give two examples. Built-in stabilizers are changes in tax revenues or government spending which occur automatically during different phases of the business cycle.For example, the progressive income tax will dampen any expansion of aggregate demand in the recovery peak phases; and will dampen any decline in income and aggregate demand during a recession as taxes are automatically reduced by a greater proportion than the decline in personal income. There are also government spending programs which increase during recessionary periods automatically as incomes decline or are lost. The so-called â€Å"safety net† programs include unemployment compensation, welfare programs, and food stamp spending.These spending programs are automatically reduced during a recovery peak phase which would dampen aggregate demand and inflationary pressures automatically. [text: E pp. 218-219; MA pp. 218-219] 14. â€Å"The more progressive a tax system, the greater is the economy’s built-in stability. † Explain this statement for both recessionary and peak phases of the business cycle. A progressive tax would take a progressively greater proportion of rising incomes during the peak phase of the business cycle which means it would dampen spending increases and aggregate demand which, in turn, reduces inflationary pressures.On the other hand, a progressive tax would take proportionately less away from declining incomes during a recessionary phase allowing disposable income to fall less rapidly than real GDP. Therefore, aggregate demand would decline less rapidly than GDP and the magnitude of the spending decline that might occur in the absence of the tax would be reduced. [text: E pp. 219-220; MA pp. 219-220] 203 Chapter 12 15. Explain how the below graph illustrates the built-in stability of a progressive tax structure. The graph illustrates how net taxes are negative as GDP declines which will add to aggregate demand.When GDP expands, tax revenues increase which dampens aggregate demand. [text: E pp. 219-22 0; MA pp. 219-220] 16. In Year 1, the full-employment budget showed a deficit of about $100 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion one year. In Year 2, the full employment budget showed a deficit of about $125 billion and the actual budget showed a deficit of $150 billion. Based on these data, what can be concluded about the direction of fiscal policy? Fiscal policy was expansionary because the full-employment budget deficit increased from one year to the next.The actual deficit is composed of the full-employment portion and the cyclical portion. The full-employment portion of the actual budget deficit rose from $100 to $150 billion. The cyclical portion is determined by taking the actual deficit and subtracting the cyclical portion from it. The cyclical portion of the actual deficit fell from $50 billion to $25 billion. The actual budget deficit did not change, but it does not provide a good indication of the direction of fiscal policy. Only the full-employm ent budget tells the direction of fiscal policy. text: E pp. 220-221; MA pp. 220-221] 17. What is the difference between the actual deficit, the full-employment deficit, and the cyclical deficit? The actual budget deficit for any year consists of the full-employment and the cyclical deficit. The full-employment deficit is the difference between government expenditures and tax collections which would occur if there were full employment output. The cyclical deficit is the portion of the actual deficit that arises because the economy is in recession and is produced by this downturn in the business cycle.During a recession, a cyclical deficit often occurs because tax revenues fall as incomes fall and government expenditures increase as more is spent for government transfer payments and other programs. The cyclical deficit occurs because of the operation of these automatic stabilizers. [text: E pp. 221-222; MA pp. 221-222] 18. What does the â€Å"full-employment budget† measure an d of what significance is this concept? The full-employment budget refers to the budget deficit or surplus that would result with existing tax and spending programs if the economy were operating at full-employment.In other words, tax revenues and government spending are estimated at the level that would result if full employment existed. 204 Fiscal Policy Some economists believe that the full-employment budgetary deficit or surplus is what should determine the expansionary or contractionary nature of fiscal policy rather than the actual budgetary deficit or surplus. If the full-employment budget is not in deficit, then expansionary fiscal policy is not being followed according to this view even if the actual budget is in deficit. text: E pp. 221-222; MA pp. 221-222] 19. Complete the table below by stating whether the direction of discretionary fiscal policy was contractionary (C), expansionary (E), or neither (N), given the hypothetical budget data for an economy. (2) (3) Actual bud get deficit (–) or Full-employment budget Yearsurplus (+)deficit (–) or surplus (+) fiscal policy 1 2 3 4 5 6 – 3. 9% – 4. 5 – 4. 7 – 3. 9 – 2. 9 – 2. 2 – 2. 1% – 2. 6 – 3. 0 – 2. 6 – 2. 0 – 1. 9 (1) (4) Direction of E E C C C [text: E pp. 221-222; MA pp. 221-222] 20.In what fundamental way do the spending-taxation decisions of government differ from the consumption-saving plans of households? Why is this difference significant? The spending-taxation decisions of government are made in a political environment in which the majority must be satisfied, or satisfied enough to continue to vote for its elected representatives. Furthermore, since the government does not have a limited lifespan and always has the ability to tax, deficit-spending and debt do not have the same significance to governments that they do to individual households.Households face a much more uncertain future with regar d to their power to raise revenue (income) and therefore must plan their spending and saving to coincide with their lifetime earnings expectations. The difference is significant because so many people try to draw an analogy between government spending policies and household spending plans when it is usually not appropriate to do so. [text: E pp. 223-224; MA pp. 223-224] New 21. Comment on the statement: â€Å"Discretionary fiscal policy offers an ideal approach to dealing with the nation’s economic problems. It is without problems, criticisms, or complications. Discretionary fiscal policy does offer government policymakers potential tools (changing taxes or government spending) to use for stimulating the economy during a recession or for contracting the economy during a period of high inflation. Fiscal policy, however, is not without its problems, criticisms, or complications. First, there are timing problems in getting it implemented at the right time so it will be effectiv e. Second, there are political problems in getting it accepted because it takes time to get the actions passed through Congress and signed by the President.Third, there are expectations problems because policies may be reversed in the future. Fourth, the taxing and spending decisions of the Federal government may be partially offset by the taxing and spending decisions of state and local governments. Fifth, some economists are concerned that expansionary fiscal policy that requires the Federal government to borrow money will raise interest rates and crowd out investment spending, thus reducing 205 Chapter 12 the expansionary effect of the fiscal policy. Sixth, there are complications arising from the connection of the domestic economy to the world economy.Aggregate demand shocks from abroad or a net export effect may increase or decrease the effectiveness of a given fiscal policy. [text: E pp. 223-225; MA pp. 223-225] New 22. Explain the six problems, criticisms, or complications th at arise in the implementation of fiscal policy. First there is a timing problem. Three lags are identified under the â€Å"timing problem† category. There is a lag in recognizing the phase of the business cycle; there is an administrative lag in deciding which policies to follow; there is an operational lag in terms of the impact of the policy once it is implemented.Second, there are political considerations in the adoption of fiscal policy. There is some evidence of a political business cycle where particular expansionary policies are followed in election years whether or not economic conditions merit them. Third, there is an expectations complication. If businesses and households expect that the fiscal policy will be reversed in the future, they may not change their behavior in the way that would be expected if the fiscal policy was permanent.Fourth, the taxing and spending decisions of state and local governments may counteract or reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy decisions at the federal level. The U. S. government may enact an expansionary fiscal policy by increasing its budget deficit, but state and local governments often have to balance a budget and economic conditions may force them to adopt a contractionary policy that partially offset what the federal government is seeking to achieve.Fifth, there is concern about possible offsetting effects of government borrowing crowding out private spending that would occur in the absence of the government deficit; and an offsetting net export effect which partly counteracts expansionary policy or contractionary policy. Sixth, there are complications to domestic fiscal policy from the national economy’s connection to the world economy. Economic shock from abroad can have an effect on the nation’s imports and exports. The net export effect can reduce the intended effects of fiscal policy. text: E pp. 223-226; MA pp. 223-226] New 23. Explain the problems giving rise to this statement: â€Å"You would think the government would want to do something to improve economic conditions when the economy is in trouble, but the government is slow to act. † Fiscal policy is subject to timing problems. There are three timing lags that limit the speed with which fiscal policy can be enacted and effective. First, there is a lag in recognizing the phase of the business cycle to determine when the government might want to provide help.Second, there is an administrative lag in decision-making that involves deciding which specific policies should be adopted. Third, there is an operational lag because the adoption of policies takes time to have an effect on output and employment. [text: E p. 223; MA p. 223] New 24. How do expectations about the future by households and businesses affect the effectiveness of fiscal policy? Cite examples. If households or businesses expect that the fiscal policy changes are only temporary, they may not change their behavior in the expected way. For example, if tax cuts are enacted to stimulate consumer spending, some consumers may not change their 206 Fiscal Policy spending habits if they think the tax change is only temporary. In the future, they will have to pay more in taxes, so they might increase their saving. Similarly, businesses may not invest in new plants and equipment if they get a tax cut, if they expect taxes in the future to rise or the fiscal policy to be ineffective. [text: E pp. 223-224; MA pp. 223-224] 25. â€Å"If economic forecasting was a more exact science, the business cycle could be entirely corrected by fiscal measures. Do you agree? Exact forecasting, if possible, would still not solve all of the problems encountered in trying to correct the business cycle. There is also the problem of timing the enactment and application of fiscal policy, not to mention the coordination of monetary policy and international economic policies, or reduced private spending (â€Å"crowding out†). [text: E pp. 223-225; MA pp. 223-225] 26. Explain the crowding-out effect. The crowding-out effect is the notion that government borrowing to finance a deficit may crowd out or reduce private borrowing.To the extent that this occurs, the expansionary impact of fiscal policy is reduced because increased demand by the government is partially offset by reduced demand in private investment. [text: E pp. 224-225; MA pp. 224-225] 27. Using the below graph, illustrate the possible impact of a crowding-out effect of a fiscal policy by drawing in the relevant aggregate demand shifts. Label and explain any shifts in the demand curve shown. Expansionary fiscal policy increases demand from AD1 to AD2, but this crowds out some private investment spending that offsets the increase to some extent causing AD2 to decrease to AD3.See graph below. [text: E pp. 224-225; MA pp. 224-225] 28. Explain how the net-export effect would reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy. 207 Chapter 12 If an expansionary fiscal pol icy brings with it higher interest rates, this could increase the demand for American dollars by foreign investors seeking to earn the higher U. S. returns. This appreciation of the dollar makes U. S. goods and services more expensive to foreigners and foreign imports less expensive to Americans. The net export category of ggregate demand will be reduced which would reduce the impact of expansionary fiscal policy. A contractionary fiscal policy could have the opposite effect causing net exports to increase that again reduces the desired effect of the contractionary fiscal policy. [text: E pp. 225-226; MA pp. 225-226] New 29. What fiscal policy is most likely to be invoked during a period of recession and high unemployment? A period of rapid inflation? What political, investment, and international problems might the U. S. Congress encounter in enacting these policies and putting them into effect?During recession and high unemployment, the government would most likely initiate an expa nsionary fiscal policy. A contractionary fiscal policy would most likely be called for during a period of rapid inflation, especially if it seems to be demand-pull inflation. Several problems are likely to arise in enacting either of these policies. Timing lags in recognition, implementation, and impact are one concern. Another has to do with political realities. A contractionary policy has many unpopular aspects to it because it calls for raising taxes and for cutting government spending.There are also unique problems associated with expansionary policy: crowding out is one potential result that would reduce the expansionary effect of the policy. In both cases, the net-export part of aggregate demand is likely to move in a direction that would tend to offset the policy. [text: E pp. 223-226; MA pp. 223-226] 30. (Last Word) What is the purpose of the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators? The index of leading indicators is a monthly index of economic statist ics that are used to forecast the direction of real GDP.Changes in the index provide an indication of the future direction of the economy and are useful to policy makers in developing responses to deteriorating conditions in the economy. The rule of thumb is that three successive decreases or increases in the index indicate a change of direction in the economy. [text: E p. 227; MA p. 227] 31. (Last Word) Why is the index of leading economic indicators a composite index of ten economic statistics and not just one? Each of the economic statistics used to prepare the index may increase or decrease in any month and thus give false or contradictory signals about the direction of the economy.It is less likely that all these economic indicators, taken together, will give as many false signals about the direction of the economy as one indicator will. Thus the composite index is more reliable than any one indicator. The composite index, however, is not infallible and can also give false indi cations about the direction of the economy because of changes in the structure of the economy or developments that are not covered by the indicators that make up the index. [text: E p. 227; MA p. 227] 208

Latin American Politics Essay

Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias is the current president of Venezuela and was born on 28th July, 1954. He is a leader who advocates for democratic socialism in his country and for Latin American Integration. He openly attacks the policy of globalization, neo-liberalism and opposes most of the foreign policies of the United States. The president is very popular and respected at home for he is able to keep the promises he made to his people for example to fight poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and other related social ills that affected citizens. His personality and policies evoke a mixed reaction from different nations some in the Latin American region and others from abroad. Some support his ideologies while others criticize them and a good example is the United States government which refer him as a threat to the Latin America’s democracy. The reason behind this is that he tries to implement some modalities that would promote regional integration and cooperation among the Latin American nations and especially the Latin’s poor nations. This essay is going to look at how Venezuela’s foreign policies under the directions of Hugo Chavez have changed overtime. The paper will also give a brief overview of the life of Hugo Chavez and then proceed to discuss how his policies have benefited the Venezuelans back at home and affected other nations. The paper will be concluded with a recap of the key points that have been discussed. The last page of this paper is a list of the references that have been consulted, properly formatted in accordance with MLA style. After Chavez won in 2004’s referendum, he promised to uplift the living standards of his people under a program that was dubbed as â€Å"Bolivian missions† something that proved to be successful because it was favoured by the increase in oil prices. Through this, he was able to gather billion of dollars as foreign exchange which he used to boost his country’s economy which reached 9. 3 in 2005. (Painter) Venezuela’s economy mostly depends on the oil it produces. Since 1920 up to the present day, the profit that is accrued from oil exports has led to the growth and development of this nation more than one would have imagined for example the size of Caracas city doubled in the 1920-1936 period and tripled in 1940s. Despite the fact that the country exports a lot of oil to other nations, half of the population are very poor and live in slums and that is why Chavez has dedicated his efforts to eradicate poverty in his nation and to reduce the high rate of inequality that has continued to affect citizens. Currently half of the Venezuela’s population live in urban cities while the other half is in rural slums where they live in abject poverty (Mora and Hey 78) Chavez has always been trying to boost relations with other Latin Americans in a bid to achieve regional integration in fact this is one of his key foreign policies, a goal that he started to pursue after the 1997’s Summit of the Americas. Venezuela has been very vocal in advocating for the lifting of sanctions that have been imposed on Cuba and other ‘Multi polar’ ties that are imposed on other developing countries. Although Venezuela has not been enjoying warm relationship with United States, it has never experienced the military, political and economic sanctions that are imposed on other nation perhaps because of its oil producing capacity. (Painter J. ) Venezuela occupies a strategic position as far as the superpowers’ interests are concerned and the reason for this is that is supplies oil to these countries in large quantities something that made it to be ranked among the biggest oil producers in the world. Despite the fact that it was one of the primary oil suppliers to US and a role model to other Latin American nations US has never recognised the role it plays partly because of its aggressive foreign policies. Although U. S and Venezuela have not been good very friends, Venezuela continues to export oil to United States. Their relationship is from time to time affected by other factors and adding salt to the injury was the 2002’s attempted coup that led to the temporarily removal of Chavez from office with an assistance from US government something that US government denied. (Isbell) The reason why US sponsored this coup was that the Latin American oil producing countries were extending their business relations to Cuba contrary to what US would have liked. US wanted the sanctions it had imposed on Cuba to remain but its efforts were undermined by Chavez’s move to sell oil to Cuba in a bid to maximize his capital. For this reason US wanted Chavez to be removed and replaced with another one who would not interfere with the sanctions that had been imposed. Venezuela apart from starting business relations with Cuba it signed a business deal with it to increase its oil sale to Cuba something led US to deny Hugo Chavez a visa to go to its country. (Elliott) Venezuela in reaction to this started to openly oppose US policies especially after the 200’s coup attempt for example, Venezuela voted against US’ claims in the United Nations meeting that there were human rights violations in Iraq, Libya and Cuba. It also opposed the sanctions that were intended to be imposed on Peru in 2002 by the United States in respect to the agreement that was reached in Quebec’s summit. As if this was not enough, Venezuela criticised and opposed what US referred to as ‘Plan Colombia’ designed to fight the sale of narcotics in the region. The plan was to allow free antinarcotics over flights in the Latin American region, a move that was opposed because of its US military nature which was likely to cause regional conflict. (Mora and Hey 159) The US relations with Venezuela reached its worst point after the 2001 New York bombings. The US government had vowed that it would fight terrorism completely and war was waged against Afghanistan. The Venezuelan government criticised this move arguing that terrorism cannot be fought with terrorism. They shown pictures of young children who had been killed by US bombs. As their relations continued to worsen, the US government was trying to improve this relationship. The US even denied having participated in the 2002’s attempts to swap Chavez with Pedro Carmona. The only motivating factor for the United States to do this was to ensure that there was continued flow of the commodity they heavily relied on, the oil and that their power would be felt in the Latin America and especially by Fidel Castro. (Mora and Hey 155) Chavez was also been vibrant in rescuing the oil prices especially when they were on the decline in 1998. He liaised with other OPEC members and held a crisis meeting to solve the problem of the decline in oil prices. His efforts were duly paid because after this meeting the price per barrel shot up something that made his power to felt in the world. (Lotta) Although there is lot hegemony from the US government, Chavez has never allowed US government to take control over his country. He visited the OPEC countries in 1999 and specifically the Libyan and Iraq leaders Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein respectively in his trial to his business ties. In 2001 Chavez visited the Asian countries to share his support on communism both in Russia and China but this was not all that he wanted because for was trying to look for new business partners. Although he was doing this he never failed to acknowledge that though his country was at verbal war with US, it was its key oil supplier. It acknowledged this especially after it stopped to give oil subsidy to the Cuban government. (Elliot et al) In his move to improve and extend his country’s foreign policies to Asian and European countries, he killed the democracy that was enjoyed at home by Venezuela’s institutions. At the same time as democratic institutions declined, the warm relationship that had existed between other regional Latin countries was lost. His aggressive pursuance of foreign policies was counter productive as it made him forget the issues that needed immediate address back at home, â€Å"foreign policy did not contribute to the provision of adequate responses to the most urgent domestic economic and social needs† (Mora and Hey 160) Although he is criticised and demonized by many people, the way he has impacted this nation is much more than what other leaders had done. He is accused of perpetrating corruption but all in all, he is different from others in that his foreign policies have led to the increase in oil prices and to the improvement in living standards. He channelled more dollars on the fund that is used to help the less privileged in the society. Many argue that were it not for his ability to make oil prices rise he would not be in power. The argument is that Chavez can only remain in power if will be able to ensure that the price of oil will remain high. At the moment, Hugo Chavez is trying to look for new market for his oil in the Asian and western countries. This move is meant to expand Venezuela’s business relations while at the same time punishing US for pursuing aggressive goals towards it. Chavez according to Lotta R. (2007), â€Å"the third track of the oil program is to restructure Venezuela’s external trade relations away from dependence on the US as a market and source of investment capital and technical expertise. † Venezuela alone exports about 12% of petrol to United States and thus it contributes to the power that US exerts to the world. It is said that this is about half of its production and that is why it is looking for other buyers. Already the country is holding talks with Chinese and Russia governments to sell oil to them. It is also planning to sell oil to India but the problem is that Venezuela does not have its own port and is thus required to put a pipeline to pass through Columbia to china. Another problem is that China does not have money that is needed to refine Venezuela’s sulphur rich oil unlike in US where are special refineries meant for refining Venezuelan oil. Though most of foreign policies are economically focused, in 2005 he stopped buying arms from United States and looked for alternative sources, he started to buy them from Brazil Russia, Spain and China something that added strain to the relationship that had existed between Venezuela and US. He also asked all the US military personnel who were active in the service to move out Venezuela. Since he took power, the price of oil per barrel has risen from 10 US dollars to 78 US dollars. This figure would be more than this were it not for the fact that Venezuela’s oil is sold a bit cheaper due to its high percentage of sulphur impurities however, its oil has remained as competitive as that of other OPEC countries. The sharp increase in oil prices could largely be attributed to his success in politics for example, he was able to win the majority’s support. Chavez is trying to establish market for his oil in countries that are not in good relations with United States such as Iran, Russia and Belarus, â€Å"Chavez used every opportunity to disparage the United States and seek to forge solidarity with a number of states at odds with Washington† (Hanson). Political experts argue that unless Chavez devise new ways of maintaining high oil prices then his regime will soon come to an end. It is for this reason that he is trying to establish new markets. Experts see this move as a threat to the survival of US as a world power but this might not necessarily be true. These experts have mixed views on this for example, John Hopkins, a professor dismisses Chavez’s rhetoric as something insignificant while others warn that his move should not be underestimated as he has widespread support in Venezuela. In reality, Chavez is not a threat to US but all he wants is to widen his economic base and that is why he is having many trips across the world so that he would broker more economic cooperation among other oil producers. He is also trying to secure himself a seat in the United Nations Security Council a move that is vehemently opposed by the United States. In response, the US imposed some sanctions against Venezuela especially on arms importation citing the reason that Venezuela was not supportive on terrorism war. (Kozloff, 98) It is argued that if Venezuela would stop selling oil to US, oil price would shot up almost with at least 11 dollars per barrel. Some are underestimating his potential to become a world power but they should consider how the rise in oil prices in the last few months has made him popular both in his country and world wide. He used that money to foster his programs, to forge and to booster commercial ties with other nations. At the moment he (Chavez) is threatening that he would stop supplying U S with oil. (Kozloff, 99) In his foreign relations, Chavez advised other OPEC members to cut their supply so that the price of oil would increase. Although international flights to US were banned, he decided to drive from Iran to Iraq and as a result of this; the price of oil reached $25 per barrel in 2004 something different from how it was prior to this period and all this was happening when he was the president of OPEC. The upsurge in prices was also as a result of his efforts to look for other oil consumers and especially in the developed nations such as china, India and even Japan. These nations use a lot of oil leading to its shortage. To counter this move, the US government is referring him as a â€Å"negative force† and is even trying to urge Chavez neighbours to isolate him. (Elliot et al 26) The foreign policies of Hugo Chavez have greatly impacted on Venezuelans and the country at large. Chavez using the money that is got from increased oil prices to fulfil the promises that he made to his people under the mission he dubbed as Bolivian Mission. He has significantly improved the living standards of his people for example he reduced poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. His foreign policies have been widely criticised by the western nations and more specifically the US particularly due to its move to extend its business relations to the Asian countries such as China and India and other Latin American nations that are not in good terms with US. Work Cited: Elliott, K. Ann, Hufbauer, G. C. and Schott. Economic Sanctions Reconsidered Peterson Institute, 2007 Kozloff N. Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U. S. Palgrave Macmillan. 2006. Kelly de Escobar, J. , Kelly, J. and Romero, C. A. The United States and Venezuela: Rethinking a Relationship. Routledge, 2002 Isbell, P. Hugo Chavez and the Future of Venezuelan Oil: The Resurgence of Energy Nationalism (ARI) 2007. Available at http://www. realinstitutoelcano. org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng/Content? WCM_GLO BAL_CONTEXT=/Elcano_in/Zonas_in/International+Economy/ARI+14-2007 Lotta, R. Hugo Chavez Has an Oil Strategy†¦ But Can This Lead to Liberation? 2007. Available at http://revcom. us/a/094/chavez-en. html Painter J. Is Venezuela’s oil boom set to bust? 2008. Available at http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/americas/7694757. stm Mora, F. O. and. Hey, Jeanne A. Latin American and Caribbean Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2003

Cognitive linguistics Essay

The cognitive linguistics enterprise is characterized by two fundamental commitments (Lakoff 1990). These underlie both the orientation and approach adopted by practicing cognitive linguists, and the assumptions and methodologies employed in the two main branches of the cognitive linguistics enterprise: cognitive semantics, and cognitive approaches to grammar, discussed in further detail in later sections. The first key commitment is the Generalization Commitment (Lakoff 1990). It represents a dedication to characterizing general principles that apply to all aspects of human language. This goal is just a special subcase of the standard commitment in science to seek the broadest generalizations possible. In contrast to the cognitive linguistics approach, other approaches to the study of language often separate the language faculty into distinct areas such as phonology (sound), semantics (word and sentence meaning), pragmatics (meaning in discourse context), morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure), and so on. As a consequence, there is often little basis for generalization across these aspects of language, or for study of their interrelations. This is particularly true of formal linguistics. Formal linguistics attempts to model language by positing explicit mechanical devices or procedures operating on theoretical primitives in order to produce all the possible grammatical sentences of a given language. Such approaches typically attempt precise formulations by adopting formalisms inspired by computer science, mathematics and logic. Formal linguistics is embodied most notably by the work of Noam Chomsky and the paradigm of Generative Grammar, as well as the tradition known as Formal Semantics, inspired by philosopher of language Richard Montague. Within formal linguistics it is usually argued that areas such as phonology, semantics and syntax concern significantly different kinds of structuring principles operating over different kinds of primitives. For instance, a syntax ‘module’ is an area in the mind concerned with structuring words into sentences, whereas a phonology ‘module’ is concerned with structuring sounds into patterns permitted by the rules of any given language, and by human language in general. This modular view of mind reinforces the idea that modern linguistics is justified in separating the study of language into distinct sub-disciplines, not only on grounds of practicality, but because the components of language are wholly distinct, and, in terms of organization, incommensurable. Cognitive linguists acknowledge that it may often be useful to treat areas such as syntax, semantics and phonology as being notionally distinct. However, given the Generalization Commitment, cognitive linguists do not start with the assumption that the ‘modules’ or ‘subsystems’ of language are organized in significantly divergent ways, or indeed that wholly distinct modules even exist. Thus, the Generalization Commitment represents a commitment to openly investigating how the various aspects of linguistic knowledge emerge from a common set of human cognitive abilities upon which they draw, rather than assuming that they are produced in encapsulated modules of the mind. The Generalization Commitment has concrete consequences for studies of language. First, cognitive linguistic studies focus on what is common among aspects of language, seeking to re-use successful methods and explanations across these aspects. For instance, just as word meaning displays prototype effects – there are better and worse examples of referents of given words, related in particular ways – so various studies have applied the same principles to the organization of morphology (e.g., Taylor, 2003), syntax (e.g., Goldberg, 1995), and phonology (e.g., Jaeger & Ohala, 1984). Generalizing successful explanations across domains of language isn’t just a good scientific practice – it is also the way biology works; reusing existing structures for new purposes, both on evolutionary and developmental timescales. Second, cognitive linguistic approaches often take a ‘vertical’, rather than a ‘horizontal’ strategy to the study of language. Language can be seen as composed of a set of distinct layers of organisation – the sound structure, the set of words composed by these sounds, the syntactic structures these words are constitutive of, and so on. If we array these layers one on top of the next as they unroll over time (like layers of a cake), then modular approaches are horizontal, in the sense that they take one layer and study it internally – just as a horizontal slice of cake. Vertical approaches get a richer view of language by taking a vertical slice of language, which includes phonology, morphology, syntax, and of course a healthy dollop of semantics on top. A vertical slice of language is necessarily more complex in some ways than a horizontal one – it is more varied and textured – but at the same time it affords possible explanations that are simply unavailable from a horizontal, modular perspective. The second commitment is termed the Cognitive Commitment (Lakoff 1990). It represents a commitment to providing a characterization of the general principles for language that accord with what is known about the mind and brain from other disciplines. It is this commitment that makes cognitive linguistics cognitive, and thus an approach which is fundamentally interdisciplinary in nature. Just as the Generalization Commitment leads to the search for principles of language structure that hold across all aspects of language, in a related manner, the Cognitive Commitment represents the view that principles of linguistic structure should reflect what is known about human cognition from the other cognitive and brain sciences, particularly psychology, artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, and philosophy. In other words, the Cognitive Commitment asserts that models of language and linguistic organization proposed should reflect what is known about the human mind, rather than purely aesthetic dictates such as the use of particular kinds of formalisms or economy of representation (see Croft 1998 for discussion of this last point). The Cognitive Commitment has a number of concrete ramifications. First, linguistic theories cannot include structures or processes that violate known properties of the human cognitive system. For instance, if sequential derivation of syntactic structures violates time constraints provided by actual human language processing, then it must be jettisoned. Second, models that use known, existing properties of human cognition to explain language phenomena are more parsimonious than those that are built from a priori simplicity metrics. For example, quite a lot is known about human categorization, and a theory that reduces word meaning to the same mechanisms responsible for categorization in other cognitive domains is simpler than one that hypothesizes a separate system for capturing lexical semantics. Finally, it is incumbent upon the cognitive linguistic researcher to find convergent evidence for the cognitive reality of components of any proffered model or explanation. Having briefly set out the two key commitments of the cognitive linguistics enterprise, we now briefly map out the two, hitherto, best developed areas of the field. Cognitive linguistics practice can be roughly divided into two main areas o research: cognitive semantics and cognitive (approaches to) grammar. The area of study known as cognitive semantics is concerned with investigating the relationship between experience, the conceptual system, and the semantic structure encoded by language. In specific terms, scholars working in cognitive semantics investigate knowledge representation (conceptual structure), and meaning construction (conceptualization). Cognitive semanticists have employed language as the lens through which these cognitive phenomena can be investigated. Consequently, research in cognitive semantics tends to be interested in modelling the human mind as much as it is concerned with investigating linguistic semantics. A cognitive approach to grammar is concerned with modelling the language system (the mental ‘grammar’), than the nature of mind per se. However, it does so by taking as its starting points the conclusions of work in cognitive semantics. This follows as meaning is central to cognitive approaches to grammar.4 It is critical to note that although the study of cognitive semantics and cognitive approaches to grammar are occasionally separate in practice, this by no means implies that their domains of inquiry are anything but tightly linked –most work in cognitive linguistics finds it necessary to investigate both lexical semantics and grammatical organization jointly. As with research in cognitive semantics, cognitive approaches to grammar have also typically adopted one of two foci. Scholars such as Ronald Langacker have emphasized the study of the cognitive principles that give rise to linguistic organization. In his theory of Cognitive Grammar, Langacker has attempted to delineate the principles that structure a grammar, and to relate these to aspects of general cognition. The second avenue of investigation, pursued by researchers including Fillmore and Kay, Lakoff),Goldberg and more recently Bergen and Chang (2005) and Croft (2002), aims to provide a more descriptively and formally detailed account of the linguistic units that comprise a particular language. These researchers attempt to provide a broad-ranging inventory of the units of language, from morphemes to words, idioms, and phrasal patterns, and seek accounts of their structure, compositional possibilities, and relations. Researchers who have pursued this line of investigation are developing a set of theories that are collectively known as construction grammars. This general approach takes its name from the view in cognitive linguistics that the basic unit of language is a form-meaning pairing known as a symbolic assembly, or a construction. Cognitive semantics, like the larger enterprise of which it is a part, is not a unified framework. Those researchers who identify themselves as cognitive semanticists typically have a diverse set of foci and interests. However, there are a number of guiding principles that collectively characterize a cognitive approach to semantics. In this section we identify these guiding principles (as we see them). In section 5 we explore some of the major theories and research areas which have emerged under the ‘banner’ of cognitive semantics. The four guiding principles of cognitive semantics are as follows: i) Conceptual structure is embodied (the ‘embodied cognition thesis’) ii) Semantic structure is conceptual structure iii) Meaning representation is encyclopaedic iv) Meaning construction is conceptualization Conceptual structure is embodied Due to the nature of our bodies, including our neuro-anatomical architecture, we have a species-specific view of the world. In other words, our construal of ‘reality’ is mediated, in large measure, by the nature of our embodiment. One example of the way in which embodiment affects the nature of experience is in the realm of color. While the human visual system has three kinds of photoreceptors (i.e., color channels), other organisms often have a different number. For instance, the visual system of squirrels, rabbits and possibly cats, makes use of two color channels, while other organisms, including goldfish and pigeons, have four color channels. Having a different range of color channels affects our experience of color in terms of the range of colors accessible to us along the color spectrum. Some organisms can see in the infrared range, such as rattlesnakes, which hunt prey at night and can visually detect the heat given off by other organisms. Humans are unable to see in this range. The nature of our visual apparatus – one aspect of our embodiment – determines the nature and range of our visual experience. The nature of the relation between embodied cognition and linguistic meaning is contentious. It is evident that embodiment underspecifies which color terms a particular language will have, and whether the speakers of a given language will be interested in ‘color’ in the first place (Saunders, 1995; Wierzbicka, 1996). However, the interest in understanding this relation is an important aspect of the view in cognitive linguistics that the study of linguistic meaning construction needs to be reintegrated with the contemporary study of human nature. The fact that our experience is embodied – that is, structured in part by the nature of the bodies we have and by our neurological organization – has consequences for cognition. In other words, the concepts we have access to and the nature of the ‘reality’ we think and talk about are a function of our embodiment. We can only talk about what we can perceive and conceive, and the things that we can perceive and conceive derive from embodied experience. From this point of view, the human mind must bear the imprint of embodied experience. This thesis, central to cognitive semantics, is known as the thesis of embodied cognition. This position holds that conceptual structure (the nature of human concepts) is a consequence of the nature of our embodiment and thus is embodied. Semantic structure is conceptual structure The second guiding principle asserts that language refers to concepts in the mind of the speaker rather than, directly, to entities which inhere in an objectively real external world. In other words, semantic structure (the meanings conventionally associated with words and other linguistic units) can be equated with conceptual structure (i.e., concepts). This ‘representational’ view is directly at odds with the ‘denotational’ perspective of what cognitive semanticists sometimes refer to as objectivist semantics, as exemplified by some formal approaches to semantics. However, the claim that semantic structure can be equated with conceptual structure does not mean that the two are identical. Instead, cognitive semanticists claim that the meanings associated with linguistic units such as words, for example, form only a subset of possible concepts. After all, we have many more thoughts, ideas and feelings than we can conventionally encode in language. For example, as Langacker (1987) observes, we have a concept for the place on our faces below our nose and above our mouth where moustaches go. We must have a concept for this part of the face in order to understand that the hair that grows there is called a moustache. However, there is no English word that conventionally encodes this concept (at least not in the non-specialist vocabulary of everyday language). It follows that the set of lexical concepts, the semantic units conventionally associated with linguistic units such as words is only a subset of the full set of concepts in the minds of speaker-hearers.

Global Communications Worksheet Essay

Your supervisor wants to send a brief e-mail message, welcoming employees recently transferred to your department from different regions across the company, which are Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Create a clear and concise welcome message that would be appropriate for these groups of employees. Research the communication style of each of the following countries: Brazil Russia India China Transcribe the following welcome message for the employees from each country: I wanted to welcome you ASAP to our little family here in the States. It’s high time we shook hands in person and not just across the sea. I’m pleased as punch about getting to know you all, and I for one will do my level best to sell you on America. Complete the table below with your transcribed welcome messages. Also indicate whether each of the countries are more individualistic or relationship focused, and whether they are direct or indirect in their communication. Country Transcribe Welcome Message Relationship or Individualistic? Direct or Indirect? Brazil