Experimentation in social psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Experimentation in social psychology - Essay Example Typically, social psychology aims to explain human behavior as a resultant of the interaction of an individual's current mental state and the situational context. The ways in which individuals react in different situational context vary based on several factors. These factors include prior learning as well as genetics. This essay will examine the utility of experimentation in the field of social psychology and will focus on the cognitive social and discursive perspectives. In order to delineate the differences between the utility of experimentation in cognitive social psychology and discursive psychological perspective, it is prudent that we offer operational definitions for each discipline and delineate their use of experimentation. In the case of cognitive social psychology, there are many features that distinguish this perspective from the other perspectives. They include a strong cognitive and social-interpersonal focus as well as the belief in human agency and free will. The general goal of cognitive social psychology is to conduct empirical research with the purpose of advancing the theoretical knowledge pool as it relates to the antecedents as well as the consequences of human behavior within a social construct. This knowledge should also provide a foundation on which a true understanding of the inextricable link between behavior and the social context can be built and advanced. In general, the ultimate goal of cognitive social psychology resea rch is to impact behavioral changes by establishing an empirically-based testing ground for theoretical ideas. The experimental studies within this field typically originate with a real-life and testable phenomena such as obedience, discrimination and prejudice. One of the most the most poignant studies within the field is the obedience studies conducted by Stanley Milgram. This study is controversial in that its utilization of deception raised ethical concerns and it was responsible for the establishment of new standards with regards to the treatment of human subjects. Milgram asked each of the student participants to fulfill "teaching" duties in a learning task. The participants were commanded to carry out an authority's orders, and were led to believe they were delivering an electric shock each time the "learner" made a mistake. In the standard baseline condition, no one quit before 300 volts, and 65% of participants continued to obey the experimenter to the highest level available, 450 volts. Unlike research involving hypothetical authority situations, Milgram's behavioral studies indicated that adults from civilian groups could indeed be induced to comply with noxious demands of authority. Discursive social psychology in contrast to cognitive social psychology examines how people make sense of their world through their mutual engagement with each other. In so doing, it develops its methodology from the philosophy of language and the utility of common psychological sense in order to understand mainstream topics in both social and cognitive psychology. Essentially, discursive psychology has been utilized to explore the ways in which reality is constructed within the society. The topics of study which prove to be applicable for discursive methods include the study of memory, attribution and attitudes. Most recently discursive psycho

Semantics and Theories of Semantics Essay Example for Free

Semantics and Theories of Semantics Essay Semantics is the study of meaning in language. We know that language is used to express meanings which can be understood by others. But meanings exist in our minds and we can express what is in our minds through the spoken and written forms of language (as well as through gestures, action etc. ). The sound patterns of language are studied at the level of phonology and the organisation of words and sentences is studied at the level of morphology and syntax. These are in turn organised in such a way that we can convey meaningful messages or receive and understand messages. ‘How is language organised in order to be meaningful? ’ This is the question we ask and attempt to answer at the level of semantics. Semantics is that level of linguistic analysis where meaning is analysed. It is the most abstract level of linguistic analysis, since we cannot see or observe meaning as we can observe and record sounds. Meaning is related very closely to the human capacity to think logically and to understand. So when we try to analyse meaning, we are trying to analyse our own capacity to think and understand, our own ability to create meaning. Semantics concerns itself with ‘giving a systematic account of the nature of meaning’ (Leech). Difficulties in the Study of Meaning The problem of ‘meaning’ is quite difficult, it is because of its toughness that some linguists went on to the extent of excluding semantics from linguistics. A well-known structuralist made the astonishing statement that ‘linguistic system of a languagedoes not include the semantics. The system is abstract, it is a signaling system, and as soon as we study semantics we are no longer studying language but the semantic system associated with language. The structralists were of the opinion that it is only the form of language which can be studied, and not the abstract functions. Both these are misconceptions. Recently a serious interest has been taken in the various problems of semantics. And semantics is being studied not only by the linguists but also by philosophers, psychologists, scientists, anthropologists and sociologists. Scholars have long puzzled over what words mean or what they represent, or how they are related to reality. They have at times wondered whether words are more real than objects, and they have striven to find the essential meanings of words. It may be interesting to ask whether words do have essential meaning. For example, difficulties may arise in finding out the essential meaning of the word table in water table, dining table, table amendment, and the table of 9. An abstract word like good creates even more problems. Nobody can exactly tell what good really means, and how a speaker of English ever learns to use the word correctly. So the main difficulty is to account facts about essential meanings, multiple meanings, and word conditions. The connotating use of words adds further complications to any theorizations about meaning, particularly their uses in metaphor and poetic language. Above all is the question : where does meaning exist: in the speaker or the listener or in both, or in the context or situation ? Words are in general convenient units to state meaning. But words have meanings by virtue of their employment in sentences, most of which contain more than one word. The meaning of a sentence, though largely dependent on the meaning of its component words taken individually, is also affected by prosodic features. The question whether word may be semantically described or in isolation, is more a matter of degree than of a simple answer yes or no. It is impossible to describe meaning adequately any other way except by saying how words are typically used as part of longer sentences and how these sentences are used. The meanings of sentences and their components are better dealt with in linguistics in turns of how they function than exclusively in terms of what they refer to. Words are tools; they become important by the function they perform, the job they do, the way they are used in certain sentences. In addition to reference and function, scholars have also attached import talkie to popular historical considerations, especially etymology, while studying word-meanings. Undobtedly the meaning of any word is casually the product of continuous changes in its antecedent meanings or uses, and in many cases it is the collective product of generations of cultural history. Dictionaries often deal with this sort of information if it is available, but in so ding they are passing beyond the bounds of synchronic statement to the separate linguistic realm of historical explanation. Different answers have been given to the questions related to meaning. Psychologists have tried to assess the availability of certain kinds of responses to objects, to experiences, and to words themselves. Philosophers have proposed a variety of systems and theories to account for the data that interest them. Communication scientists have developed information theory so that they can use mathematical models to explain exactly what is predictable and what is not predictable when messages are channeled through various kinds of communication networks. From approaches like these a complex array of conceptions of meaning emerges. Lexical and Grammatical Meaning When we talk about meaning, we are talking about the ability of human beings to understand one another when they speak. This ability is to some extent connected with grammar. No one could understand: hat one the but red green on bought tried Rameez. while Rameez tried on the red had but bought the green one causes no difficulties. Yet there are numerous sentences which are perfectly grammatical, but meaningless. The most famous example is Chomsky’s sentence â€Å"Colourless green ideas sleep furiously†. Similar other examples are: * The tree ate the elephant. * The pregnant bachelor gave birth to six girls tomorrow. * The table sneezed. In a sentence such as Did you understand the fundamentals of linguistics? A linguist has to take into account at least two different types of meaning: lexical meaning and grammatical meaning. Full words have some kind of intrinsic meaning. They refer to objects, actions and qualities that can be identified in the external world, such as table, banana, sleep, eat, red. Such words are said to have lexical meaning. Empty words have little or no intrinsic meaning. They exist because of their grammatical function in the sentence. For example, and is used to join items, or indicates alternative, of sometimes indicates possession. These words have grammatical meaning. Grammatical meaning refers mainly to the meaning of grammatical items as did, which, ed. Grammatical meaning may also cover notions such as ‘subject’ and ‘object’, sentence types as ’interrogative’, ‘imperative’ etc. Because of its complexity, grammatical meaning is extremely difficult to study. As yet, no theory of semantics has been able to handle it portly. But the study of lexical items is more manageable. What is Meaning? Philosophers have puzzled over this question for over 2000 years. Their thinking begins from the question of the relationship between words and the objects which words represent. For example, we may ask: What is the meaning of the word ‘cow’? One answer would be that it refers to an animal who has certain properties, that distinguish it from other animals, who are called by other names. Where do these names come from and why does the word ‘cow’ mean only that particular animal and none other? Some thinkers say that there is no essential connection between the word ‘cow’ and the animal indicated by the word, but we have established this connection by convention and thus it continues to be so. Others would say that there are some essential attributes of that animal which we perceive in our minds and our concept of that animal is created for which we create a corresponding word. According to this idea, there is an essential correspondence between the sounds of words and their meanings, e. g. , the word ‘buzz’ reproduces ‘the sound made by a bee’. It is easy to understand this, but not so easy to understand how ‘cow’ can mean’ a four-legged bovine’—there is nothing in the sound of the word ‘cow’ to indicate that, (Children often invent words that illustrate the correspondence between sound and meaning: they may call a cow ‘moo-moo’ because they hear it making that kind of sound. ) The above idea that words in a language correspond to or stand for the actual objects in the world is found in Plato’s dialogue CratyIus. However, it applies only to some words and not to others, for example, words that do not refer to objects, e. g. ‘love’, ‘hate’. This fact gives rise to the view held by later thinkers, that the meaning of a word is not the object it refers to, but the concept of the object that exists in the mind. Moreover, as de Saussure pointed out, the relation between the word (signifier) and the concept (signified) is an arbitrary one, i.e. the word does not resemble the concept. Also, when we try to define the meaning of a word we do so by using other words. So, if We try to explain the meaning of ‘table’ we need to use other words such as ‘four’, ‘legs’, and ‘wood’ and these words in turn can be explained only by means of other words. In their book, The Meaning of Meaning, L. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards made an attempt to define meaning. When we use the word ‘mean’, we use it in different ways. ‘I mean to do this’ is a way of expressing our intention. ‘The red signal means stop’ is a way of indicating what the red signal signifies. Since all language consists of signs, we can say that every word is a sign indicating something—usually a sign indicates other signs. Ogden and Richards give the following list of some definitions of ‘meaning’. Meaning can be any of the following: 1. An intrinsic property of some thing 2. Other words related to that word in a dictionary 3. The connotations of a word (that is discussed below) 4. The thing to which the speaker of that word refers 5. The thing to which the speaker of that word should refer  6. The thing to which the speaker of that word believes himself to be referring 7. The thing to which the hearer of that word believes is being referred to. These definitions refer to many different ways in which meaning is understood. One reason for the range of definitions of meaning is that words (or signs) in a language are of different types. Some signs indicate meaning in a direct manner, e. g. an arrow (?  ®) indicates direction. Some signs are representative of the thing indicated, e. g. onomatopoeic wards such as ‘buzz’. ‘tinkle’ ‘ring’; even ‘cough’. ‘slam’, ‘rustle have onomatopoeic qualities. Some signs do not have any resemblance to the thing they refer to, but as they stand for that thins, they are symbolic. Taking up some of the above definitions of meaning, we can discuss the different aspects of meaning o a word as follows: (i) The logical or denotative meaning. This is the literal meaning of a word indicating the idea or concept to which it refers. concept is a minimal unit of meaning which could be called a ‘sememe’ in the same way as the unit of sound is called a ‘phoneme’ and is like the ‘morpheme h Is structure and organisation. Just as the phoneme /b/ may be defined as a bilatial + voiced + plosive, the word ‘man’ may be defined as a concept consisting of a structure of meaning ‘human + male + adult’ expressed through the basic morphological unit ‘m + ? + n’. All the three qualities are logical attributes of which the concept ‘man’ is made. They are the minimal qualities that the concept must possess in order to be a distinguishable concept, e. g. if any of these changes, the concept too changes. So ‘human + female + adult’ would not be the concept referred to by the word ‘man’, since it is a different concept. (ii) The connotative meaning. This is the additional meaning that a concept carries. It is defined as ‘the communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to over and above its purely conceptual content’ (Leech, 1981). That is, apart from its logical or essential attributes, there is a further meaning attached to a word, which comes from its reference to other things in the real world. In the real world, such a word may be associated with some other features or attributes. For example, the logical or denotative meaning of the word ‘woman’ is the concept, ‘human + female + adult’. To it may be added the concept of ‘weaker sex’ or ‘frailty’. These were the connotations or values associated with the concept of ‘woman’. Thus connotative meaning consists of the attributes associated with a concept. As we know, these associations come into use over a period of time in a particular culture and can change with change in time. While denotative meaning remains stable since it defines the essential attributes of a concept, connotative meaning changes as it is based on associations made to the concept; these associations may change. (iii) The social meaning: This is the meaning that a word or a phrase conveys about the circumstances of its use. That is, the meaning of a word is understood according to the different style and situation in which the word is used, e. g. though the words ‘domicile’, ‘residence’, ‘abode’, ‘home’ all refer to the same thing (i. e. their denotative meaning is the same), each word belongs to a particular situation of use—’domicile’ is used in an official context, ‘residence’ in a formal context, ‘abode’ is a poetic use and ‘home’ is an ordinary use. Where one is used, the other is not seen as appropriate. Social meaning derives from an awareness of the style in which something is written and spoken and of the relationship between speaker and hearer—whether that relationship is formal, official, casual, polite, or friendly. (iv) The thematic meaning: This is the meaning which is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organises the message in terms of ordering, focus and emphasis. It is often felt, for example, that an active sentence has a different meaning from its passive equivalent although its conceptual meaning seems to be the same. In the sentences: Mrs. Smith donated the first prize The first prize was donated by Mrs. Smith the thematic meaning is different. In the first sentence it appears that we know who Mrs. Smith is, so the new information on which the emphasis is laid is ‘the first prize’. In the second sentence, however, the emphasis is laid on ‘Mrs. Smith’. It is sometimes difficult to demarcate all these categories of meaning. For example, it may be difficult to distinguish between conceptual meaning and social meaning in the following sentences: He stuck the key in his pocket. He put the key in his pocket. We could argue that these two sentences are conceptually alike, but different in social meaning––the first one adopts a casual or informal style, the second adopts a neutral style. However, we could also say that the two verbs are conceptually different: ‘stuck’ meaning ‘put carelessly and quickly’, which is a more precise meaning than simply ‘put’. Of course, it is a matter of choice which word the speaker wishes to use, a more precise one or a neutral one. Some Terms and Distinctions in Semantics (a) Lexical and grammatical meaning Lexical or word meaning is the meaning of individual lexical items. These are of two types: the open class lexical items, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and the close class items such as prepositions, conjunctions and deter-miners. The open class items have independent meanings, which are defined in the dictionary. The closed class items have meaning only in relation to other words in a sentence; this is called grammatical meaning, which can be understood from a consideration of the structure of the sentence and its relation with other sentences. For example, in the sentence The tiger killed the elephant’, there are three open class items: tiger, kill, elephant. Out of these, two are nouns and one is a verb. There is one closed class tern— ’the’—which occurs before each noun. It has no independent reference of its own and can have meaning only when placed before the nouns. This distinction may help in understanding ambiguity. Thus, if there is ambiguity in a sentence, this can be a lexical ambiguity or a grammatical ambiguity. For example, in the sentence: I saw him near the bank, there is lexical ambiguity, since the item ‘bank’ can mean (a) the financial institution or (b) the bank of a river. However, in the case of: ‘The parents of the bride and the groom were waiting’ there is grammatical ambiguity as the sentence structure can be interpreted in two ways: (a) the two separate noun phrases being ‘the parents of the bride’, and ‘the groom’; or (b) the single noun phrase ‘the parents’ within which there is the prepositional phrase ‘of the bride and the groom’ containing two nouns. The first type of coordination gives us the meaning that the people who were waiting were the parents of the bride and the groom himself. The second type of coordination gives us the meaning that the people who were waiting were the parents of the bride and the parents of the groom. The meaning of a sentence is the product of both lexical and grammatical meanings. This becomes clear if we compare a pair of sentences such as the following: The dog bit the postman. The postman bit the dog. These two sentences differ in meaning. But the difference in meaning is not due to the difference in the meaning of the lexical items ‘postman’ and ‘dog’, but in the grammatical relationship between the two. In one case  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœdog’ is the subject and ‘postman’ is the object, in the other case the grammatical roles are reversed. There is also the relationship of these nouns with the verb ‘bit’. In the first sentence, the action is performed by the dog, which conforms to our knowledge about dogs, but in the second sentence, the action is performed by the postman which does not match with our knowledge about what postmen do, so there is a sense of incongruity about the second sentence. Only in some exceptional circumstance could we expect it to be comprehensible. (b) Sense and Reference. It has been explained earlier that signs refer to concepts as well as to other signs. A sign is a symbol that indicates a concept. This concept is the reference, which refers in turn to some object in the real world, called the referent. The relationship between linguistic items (e. g. words, sentences) and the non-linguistic world of experience is a relationship of reference. It can be understood by the following diagram given by Ogden and Richards: The objects in the real world are referents, the concept which we have of them in our minds is the reference and the symbol we use to refer to them is the word, or linguistic item. As we have seen, we can explain the meaning of a linguistic item by using other words. The relation of a word with another word is a sense-relation. Therefore, sense is the complex system of relationships that holds between the linguistic items themselves. Sense is concerned with the intra-linguistic relations, i. e. relations within the system of the language itself, such as similarity between words, opposition, inclusion, and pre-supposition. Sense relations include homonymy, polysemy, synonymy and antonymy. Homonyms are different items (lexical items or structure words) with the same phonetic form. They differ only in meaning, e. g. the item ‘ear’ meaning ‘organ of hearing’ is a homonym of the item ‘ear’ meaning ‘a stem of wheat’. Homonymy may be classified as: (a) Homography: a phenomenon of two or more words having the same spellings but different pronunciation or meaning, e. g. lead /led/ = metal; lead/li:d/ = verb. (b) Homophony: a phenomenon of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings or spellings, e. g.sea/see, knew/new, some/ sum, sun/son. It is difficult to distinguish between homonymy and polysemy as in polysemy, the ‘same’ lexical item has different meanings, e. g. ‘bank*’, ‘face*’: Two lexical items can be considered as synonyms if they have the same denotative, connotative and social meaning and can replace each other in all contexts of occurrence. Only then can they be absolutely synonymous. For example, ‘radio’ and ‘wireless’ co-existed for a while as synonyms, being used as alternatives by speakers of British English. But now, ‘wireless’ is not used frequently. What we consider as synonyms in a language are usually near-equivalent items, or descriptive items. For example, ‘lavatory’, ‘toilet’, ‘WC’, ‘washroom’ are descriptive or near-equivalent synonyms in English. Antonyms are lexical items which are different both in form as well as meaning. An antonym of a lexical item conveys the opposite sense, e. g. single-married, good-bad. But this gives rise to questions of what is an opposite or contrasted meaning. For example, the opposite of ‘woman’ could be ‘man’ or girl’ since the denotation of both is different from that of ‘woman’. Thus we need to modify our definition of antonymy. We can say that some items are less compatible than other items. There can be nearness of contrast or remoteness of contrast. Thus ‘man’ or ‘girl’ is contrasted to ‘woman’ but less contrasted than ‘woman’ and ‘tree’. In this sense, ‘woman’ and ‘man’ are related, just as ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ are related, in spite of being contrasted. Other meaning-relations of a similar nature are: mare/stallion, cow/bull, ram/ewe etc. , all based on gender distinctions. Another set of meaning relations can be of age and family relationship: father/son, uncle/nephew, aunt/ niece. In this, too, there are differences in the structures of different languages. In Urdu, for instance, gender distinction or contrast may be marked by a change in the ending of the noun (e. g. /gho:? a:/gho:? i:/ for ‘horse’ and ‘mare’ respectively) or, in some cases, by a different word (e. g. /ga:e/bael/ for ‘cow’ and ‘bull’ respectively). In English, there are usually different words to mark contrast in gender except in a few cases (e. g. elephant, giraffe). The evolution of a complex system of sense relations is dependent on the way in which the objects of the world and the environment are perceived and conceptualized by the people who make that language. For example, Eskimos have many words related in meaning to ‘snow’ because snow in different forms is a part o their environment. In English, there are only two ‘snow’ and ‘ice’, while in Urdu there is only one: ‘baraf’. This reflects the importance that a particular object or phenomena may have for a certain community. Another kind of sense-relationship is hyponymy. Hyponymy is the relation that holds between a more general and more specific lexical item. For example, ‘flower’ is a more general item, and ‘rose’, ‘lily’, etc. are more specific. The more specific item is considered a hyponym of the more general item—’rose’ is a hyponym of ‘flower’. The specific item includes the meaning of the general. When we say ‘rose’, the meaning of ‘flower’ is included in its meaning. ‘Rose’ is also hyponymous to ‘plant’ and ‘living thing’ as these are the most general categories. The combination of words to produce a single unit of meaning is also a part of sense-relations in a language. Compounds are made, which often do not mean the same as the separate words which they consist of. Thus, while ‘black bird’ can be understood to mean ‘a bird which is black’, ‘strawberry’ cannot be understood to mean ‘a berry made of straw’. Similarly, ‘fighter’ can be considered to be a noun made up of the morphemes ‘fight’ + ‘er’, but ‘hammer’ cannot be considered as made up of ‘ham’ + ‘er’. Phrasal verbs and idioms are also a case of such sense relations. The verbs ‘face up to’, ‘see through’, ‘look upon’, etc. have a composite meaning. Collocations such as ‘heavy smoker’ and ‘good singer’ are not mere combinations of heavy + smoker meaning ‘the smoker is heavy’ or ‘good + singer’. They mean ‘one who smokes heavily’ or ‘one who sings well’. The collocated unit has a meaning which is a composite of both that is why we cannot say ‘good smoker’ and ‘heavy singer’. All these sense-relations are peculiar to a language and every language develops its own system of sense-relations. (c) Sentence-meaning and Utterance-meaning A distinction may be drawn between, sentence-meaning and utterance-meaning. This is because a speaker may use a sentence to mean something other than what is normally stated in the sentence itself. As discussed earlier, sentence meaning is a combination of lexical and grammatical meaning. In addition to this, intonation may also affect sentence meaning. For example, ‘I don’t like COFFEE’ means that the speaker does not like coffee, but may like some other drink; ‘I don’t like coffee’ means that the speaker doesn’t like coffee but someone else does. Speakers can use intonation to change the emphasis and thus the meaning of the sentence. Further, a sentence may be used by a speaker to perform some act, such as the act of questioning, warning, promising, threatening, etc. Thus, a sentence such as ‘Its cold in here’ could be used as an order or request to someone to shut the window, even though it is a declarative sentence. Similarly, an interrogative sentence such as ‘Could you shut the door? ’ can be used to perform the act of requesting or commanding rather than that of questioning (The speaker is not asking whether the hearer is able to shut the door, but is requesting the hearer to actually do the action). Usually such use of sentences is so conventional that we do not stop to think of the literal sentence meaning, we respond to the speaker’s act of requesting, etc., which is the utterance meaning. This is the meaning that a sentence has when a speaker utters it to perform some act, in particular appropriate circumstances. (d) Entailment and Presupposition One sentence may entail other sentence—that is, include the meaning of other sentence in its meaning, just as hyponymy includes the meaning of other word. For example, the sentence ‘The earth goes round the sun’ entails (includes) the meaning ‘The earth moves’. A sentence may presuppose other sentences, e. g. the sentence ‘Shamim’s son is named Rahat’ presupposes the sentence ‘Shamim has a son’. Presupposition is the previously known meaning which is implied in the sentence. While entailment is a logical meaning inherent in the sentence, presupposition may depend on the knowledge of the facts, shared by the speaker and the hearer. Theories of Semantics a) Traditional Approach: We have noted earlier that meaning was always a central concern with thinkers. This has been the root of much divergent opinions and definitions of meaning. However, there was little doubt that there are two sides of the issue : symbolic realization, whether in utterance or in writing, and the thing symbolised. Plato’s Cratylus clearly lays down that word is the signifier (in the language) and the signified is the object (in the world). Words are, therefore, names, labels that denote or stand for. Initially, a child learns to know his world, and his language in this manner. He is pointed out the objects and people; names are given to them, and in his mind link or association between the names and the external world is established. Children have always been taught their language in this manner. This is also perhaps the way the earliest thinkers tried to understand the world through linguistic medium. That could be the reason why William Labov was prompted to say, ‘In many ways, the child is a perfect historian of the language’. This simple view of the relationship between name and things is diagrammatically shown below. However, this is an extremely simplistic theory and it would be wrong to say the child simply learns the names of things. Gradually, and simultaneously, he learns to ‘handle the complexities of experience along with the complexities of language’. b) Analytical/Referential Approach: Between the symbol and the object/thing there is an intervening phenomenon which is recognized as ‘the mediation of concepts of the mind’. De Saussure and I. A. Richards and C. K. Ogden are the best-known scholars to hold this view. The Swiss linguist de Saussure postulated the link, a psychological associative bond, between the sound image and the concept. Ogden and Richards viewed this in the shape of a triangle. The linguistic symbol or image, realized as a word or sentence and the referent, the external entities are mediated by thought or reference. There is no direct relation between the sign and the object but ‘our interpretation of any sign is our psychological reaction to it’ (Ogden). The meaning of a word in the most important sense of the word is that part of a total reaction to the word which constitutes the thought about what the word is intended for and what it symbolizes. Thus thought (the reference) constitutes the symbolic or referential meaning of a word (YevgenyBasin : 32-33). Linguistics, in the opinion of de Saussure, operates on the borderland where the elements of sound and thought combine : their combination produces a form, not a substance. When we see an object, a bird, for example, we call it referent; its recollection is its image. It is through this image that the sign is linked to the referent. The symbol is manifested in the phonetic form and the reference is the information the hearer is conveyed. This process thus established, makes meaning a ‘reciprocal’ and reversible relation between name and sense. One can start with the name and arrive at the meaning or one can start with the meaning and arrive at the name/s. The referential or ‘analytical’ approach, as it is also known, tries to avoid the functional domain of language, and seeks rather to understand meaning by identifying its primary components. This approach is the descendant of the ancient philosophical world-view, and carries its limitations. It ignores the relatively different positions at which the speaker and the hearer are situated. Their positions make a reciprocal and reversible relationship between name and sense (Ullmann). This approach also overlooks other psychological, non-physical processes which donot depend upon the linguistic symbol, the reception of the sound waves for recognising the meaning of the object/thing. A word usually has multiple meaning and is also associated with other words. Which of the meanings will be received depends upon the situations. (c) Functional Approach In the year 1953 L. Wittgenstein’s work Philosophical Investigation was published. Around this time Malinowski and J. R. Firth were working to formulate the ‘operational character of scientific concepts like ‘length’, ‘time’ or ‘energy’; they tried to grasp the meaning of a word by observing the uses to which it is put instead of what is said about it. They approached the problem by including all that is relevant in establishing the meaning – the hearers, their commonly shared knowledge and information, external objecs, and events, the contexts of earlier exchange and so on, and not by excluding them. This approach can directly be linked to the concept of the Context of situation being developed by the London group which viewed social processes as significant factor in explaining a speech event. While the referential approach took an idealist position, dealing, as someone said, with ‘meaning in language’, the functional theory or the operational theory took a realistic stand, taking ‘speech’ as it actually occurred. Words are considered tools and whole utterances are considered. Meaning is thus seen to involve a ‘set of multiple and various relations between the utterances’ and its segments and the relevant components of environment’ (Robins). In placing special emphasis on language as a form of behaviour – as something that we perform, the functional approach shares a lot with systemic linguistics. Language is a form a behaviour which is functional, ‘something that we do with a purpose, or more often, in fact, with more than one purpose. It is viewed as a form of functional behaviour which is related to the social situation in which it occurs as something that we do purposefully in a particular social setting’ (Margaret Berry). The systemic organization of a language is sought to be understood through its relations with the social situations of language. According to this theory, meaning is classified into two broad categories, Contextual Meaning and Formal Meaning. Contextual meaning relates a formal item or pattern to an element of situation.

Mr. Deeds Review :: essays research papers

â€Å"Sandler’s Mr. Deeds: Mis-Deeds†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With a prestigious resume’ of successful blockbuster comedies, Adam Sandler certainly fails with Mr. Deeds, his most recent attempt to duplicate his past successes. The quick-wit, unexpected, laugh-out-loud jokes are a forte’ of Sandler’s which go back to his days of being a young comedian on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Sandler’s comedy is the only thing that will keep you in your seat for an hour and a half. Fortunately for this movie, Sandler's large adolescent audience awaited the premier on June 28th. It’s hard to find the direction of this film. However, it does include criteria consisting of, or the lack-there-of, an unoriginal theme for Sandler, an unforeseen love between characters, an unrealistic storyline, the minuscule co-star involvement, and flat lackadaisical humor, is the proof behind this movie’s pudding; it defines the word lousy. However, Sandler’s newest flick will most likely enjoy box-off ice success from the strong fan base that follow every movie he makes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The screenwriter Tim Herlihy and the director Steven Brill appear to use the same old, similar storyline from past Sandler films: Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998), The Waterboy (1998), and Big Daddy (1999). Sandler plays a similar role of a guy that has a big heart with good intentions but is sometimes misunderstood until the â€Å"true person† comes out for the doubters to see. A key thing to remember here is that all of the previously mentioned films were successful and in their own way, very original. Mr. Deeds fails to be included on this list. Sandler plays the role of Longfellow Deeds, a small-town native of Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire. He is a pizza delivery boy/greeting card writer that inherits $40 billion dollars from an uncle he never knew. Deeds is a character that exemplifies a so-called â€Å"regular† American. He loves his friends; he loves to make others laugh and enjoys life in general. When his uncle suddenly dies, without a will, Deeds is overwhelmed by conniving executives Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher) and his tobacco-smoking partner Cecil (Erick Avari). The New York City high rollers arrive in Mandrake Falls to inform Deeds of his new income and then take him down to N.Y.C. via private helicopter, to sign over his shares to his dead uncle's vast corporation. Cedar eagerly wishes to take over the corporation and sell all of its shares for an enormous amount of money. Mr. Deeds Review :: essays research papers â€Å"Sandler’s Mr. Deeds: Mis-Deeds†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With a prestigious resume’ of successful blockbuster comedies, Adam Sandler certainly fails with Mr. Deeds, his most recent attempt to duplicate his past successes. The quick-wit, unexpected, laugh-out-loud jokes are a forte’ of Sandler’s which go back to his days of being a young comedian on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Sandler’s comedy is the only thing that will keep you in your seat for an hour and a half. Fortunately for this movie, Sandler's large adolescent audience awaited the premier on June 28th. It’s hard to find the direction of this film. However, it does include criteria consisting of, or the lack-there-of, an unoriginal theme for Sandler, an unforeseen love between characters, an unrealistic storyline, the minuscule co-star involvement, and flat lackadaisical humor, is the proof behind this movie’s pudding; it defines the word lousy. However, Sandler’s newest flick will most likely enjoy box-off ice success from the strong fan base that follow every movie he makes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The screenwriter Tim Herlihy and the director Steven Brill appear to use the same old, similar storyline from past Sandler films: Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998), The Waterboy (1998), and Big Daddy (1999). Sandler plays a similar role of a guy that has a big heart with good intentions but is sometimes misunderstood until the â€Å"true person† comes out for the doubters to see. A key thing to remember here is that all of the previously mentioned films were successful and in their own way, very original. Mr. Deeds fails to be included on this list. Sandler plays the role of Longfellow Deeds, a small-town native of Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire. He is a pizza delivery boy/greeting card writer that inherits $40 billion dollars from an uncle he never knew. Deeds is a character that exemplifies a so-called â€Å"regular† American. He loves his friends; he loves to make others laugh and enjoys life in general. When his uncle suddenly dies, without a will, Deeds is overwhelmed by conniving executives Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher) and his tobacco-smoking partner Cecil (Erick Avari). The New York City high rollers arrive in Mandrake Falls to inform Deeds of his new income and then take him down to N.Y.C. via private helicopter, to sign over his shares to his dead uncle's vast corporation. Cedar eagerly wishes to take over the corporation and sell all of its shares for an enormous amount of money.

Open Market Operations

Open Market Operations – Macroeconomics – Ari Davis Open market operations (in short) are the process of implementing monetary policy. This occurs due to a central bank which controls the short term interest rate and the supply of base money in an economy, and as a result ultimately the total money supply. This involves meeting the demand of base money at the target interest rate by buying and selling government securities. The Fed conducts open market operations when it buys or sells government bonds.When there is an increased demand for base money the Fed takes the necessary action to increase the base supply of money. In order to increase the money supply the Fed instructs its bond traders in New York to buy back bonds from the public in the bond markets. Because the Fed is paying for these bonds there is an increase in the number of dollars in the economy. Some of this new money is held as currency (the owner literally holds onto the money in their ‘handâ€⠄¢). This means that for every dollar the money supply increases by exactly one dollar.Whereas the new money that is deposited into banks increase the money supply by more than a dollar (for every new dollar) because of the money multiplier effect. The money multiplier is the amount of money the banking system generates with each dollar of reserves. Therefore the fractional reserve banking system is the facet that dramatically increases the money supply. On the other hand, if the Fed wish’s to reduce the money supply they will sell government bonds to the public through the bond markets.The public pays for these bonds (which goes to the Feds) and thus money is withdrawn from the economy and the money supply is decreased. People will often withdraw money from banks in order to purchase government bonds. Thus the money that is withdrawn leaves the banks with fewer reserves and thus the banks must reduce the amount of money they lend out. Nowadays most money is in the form of el ectronic records rather than cash. Therefore open market operations are conducted simply by electronically increasing or decreasing (‘crediting' or ‘debiting') the amount of base oney that the bank has in its reserve account at the central bank. As a result, Open Market operations do not literally require new currency. However, this will increase the central bank's requirement to print currency when the member bank demands banknotes, in exchange for a decrease in its electronic balance. In The USA, the Fed sets an interest rate target for the Fed funds market. When the Fed funds rate is higher than the target, the Reserve Bank will most probably increase the money supply. When the actual Fed funds rate is lower than its target, the central Bank will usually decrease the money supply.Monetary targets such as inflation, interest rates or exchange rates are used to guide this implementation. I believe Open Market Operations are a good system because they are easy to conduct and they help keep the money supply at a manageable level. The Fed has complete control and therefore they are usually conducted in the hands of professionals (who know what is best for the economy). Open market operations are flexible, easily reversed and can be implemented quickly. With the state of trading and the modern markets today, Open Market Operations are a necessity in order to keep the economy strong.

Studying chromosome 11 of the human genome

In this paper I will be studying chromosome 11 of the human genome. Specifically, I will be researching some of the diseases that occur when there are mutations in the genes on chromosome 11. Five specific diseases will be looked at and studied in detail: the Sickle Cell Anemia gene, the MLL gene which causes Trisomy 11, the H19 gene which causes Beckwith-Weideman Syndrome, the WT1 and PAX6 genes which causes Wilm's Tumor syndrome, and finally, the work being done on the genes of Chromosome 11q22-q24 regarding cervical carcinoma. The following research was all acquired from the NCBI online database. Read this Ch. 22 Respiratory System The HBB gene which causes Sickle Cell Anemia, is found on chromosome 11p15. 4. This gene causes an inherited blood disorder, mainly effecting people from the African continent (1/500), but also people from the Mediterranean and South Asian countries. (NCBI Online, 24 June 2003) Approximately 8% of the African American population are carriers; often, this gene is associated with malaria occurrence, as carriers are somewhat protected against malaria. (NCBI Online, 24 June 2003) Sickle cell anemia is an autosomal (not sex related) recessive disease caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin beta gene. When a mutation occurs, the HBB gene produces a structurally abnormal hemoglobin (Hb), called HbS. (NCBI Online, 24 June 2003) Hb is a protein which carries oxygen and gives red blood cells their distinctive color. In individuals who are homozygous for HbS, the abnormal HbS can bunch together, distorting the red blood cells into sickled shapes [as shown in Figure 1]. These clusters can only occur if the HbS is placed under certain circumstances or conditions, such as high hemoglobin concentrations or low oxygen levels. NCBI Online, 24 June 2003) When the mutated and rigid red blood cells become trapped within small blood vessels, they block the vessels causing pain and eventual damage to the organs in the body. (NCBI Online, 24 June 2003) Although a cure has not yet been found, medical advancements have allowed for the treatment of symptoms and complications associated with Sickle Cell Anermia. Hydroxyurea, an antitumor drug, has been used to induce the formation of fetal Hb (HbF), which is normally found in the fetus or newborn. When fetal Hb is present in persons with Sickle Cell Anemia, Hydrozyurea can prevent sickling from occuring. NCBI Online, 24 June 2003) The MLL gene which causes Trisomy 11 is located on chromosome 11q23. A mutation in this gene is a â€Å"very rare chromosomal disorder caused by a duplication (trisomy) of the end (distal) portion of the long arm of chromosome 11. † (Genetic Information and Patient Services, November 2003) This disorder is most often noticeable at birth; some characteristic features of the disorder are â€Å"delayed mental and physical development, retarded growth of the fetus during pregnancy and of the child after birth, an unusually small brain (microencephaly), and/or distinctive facial features. (Genetic Information and Patient Services, November 2003) The MLL gene can produce a type of leukemia which effects both sexes and mainly adults at an average age of 60. (Dessen & Huret, 2002) In general terms, trisomy refers to â€Å"the condition of having three copies of a given chromosome in each somatic cell rather than the normal number of two. † (Dictionary. com) The leukemia is specifically acute myeloid leukemia or AML. This syndrome is caused by only a partial tandem duplication of the MLL gene on chromosome 11. Dessen & Huret, 2002) A recent study has shown that â€Å"MLL tandem duplications are less common than previously reported. † (Schnittger, October 2003) Also, the MLL tandem duplications â€Å"are preferentially observed in AML with normal karyotypes, but can also be found in the presence of chromosome alterations. † (Schnittger, October 2003) Two scientists, Cheryl Shuman and Rosanna Weksberg studied the Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, also referred to as BWS syndrome. The information for BWS syndrome is from their reports on their studies. Their studies show that â€Å"chromosome abnormalities involving 11p15 are found in 1% or less of cases. † (Shuman, 10 April 2003) This syndrome can occur with mutations of many different genes on chromosome 11: mutations in genes IGF2 and H195, 5-10% of sporadic cases and 40% of familial cases had mutations in the CDKNIC gene, 50% of cases had a loss of methylation at the KCNQIOT1 gene, and in 10-20% of patients, â€Å"paternal uniparental disomy for chromosome 11p15 [was] observed. † (Shuman, 10 April 2003) In diagnosing BWS, two major and one minor characteristic must be obvious out of a list of possible criteria. Some major criteria include: history of BWS in the family, macrosomia, abnormal earlobe pits or creases, an embryonal tumor in childhood, Hemihyperplasia (an asymmetric overgrowth of a area/areas of the body), and possibly a cleft palate. (Shuman, 10 April 2003) Some minor criteria include: premature birth, Neonatal hypoglycemia, advanced bone aging, and monozygotic twinning (usually in the females). (Shuman, 10 April 2003) If one parent has uniparental disomy (UPD), then prenatal testing is done to test for BWS syndrome in the fetus. Shuman, 10 April 2003) Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome is found in approximately 1 out of 13, 700 cases across the world. However, this number is probably slightly low as there are many milder cases that often go undiagnosed. In children born with BWS, there is a 20% mortality rate due to premature birth. Often, children born with BWS develop Wilms Tumor or other tumors. (Shuman, 10 April 2003) Dr. Alan Gandy summarizes Wilms tumor as an â€Å"embryonal renal neoplasm which is characterized usually by an abdominal mass. (Gandy, 1 March 1995) Wilms tumour is caused by the deletion of the gene WT2-1 on chromosome 11p13. Proper function of this gene is to encode a DNA-binding protein that is most often found in the fetal kidney â€Å"and in tissue that gives rise to the genitourinary system. † (Gandy, 1 March 1995) The DNA-binding protein is expected to be a â€Å"Kruppel-like zinc-finger protein. † (Gandy, 1 March 1995) However, the inactivation of WT2-1 causes the Wilms Figure 2: Wilms Tumor tumor. (Gandy, 1 March 1995) This tumor is prevalent in 1/12 000 live births and is the second most common extra cranial solid tumor in children. The tumor appears in the kidney soon after birth (6 months-10 years)[as shown in Figure 3] and is related to other cancers. (Gandy, 1 March 1995) Wilms tumor is frequently a symptom of other gene mutations, such as BWS and WAGR syndrome. (Gandy, 1 March 1995) Features of the Primary Wilms tumor include abdominal mass [as shown in Figure 2], abdominal pain, hypertension, and anemia etc. Metastases occurs in the lungs, lymph nodes, liver, brain and other areas to a lesser extent. (Gandy, 1 March 1995) Depending on the stage of the tumor, different actions can be taken to cure the tumor. Surgery (removal of the kidney and lymph nodes) and chemotherapy are both used as ways to manage the tumor. However, as the stages progress, likelihood of a cure is reduced. (Gandy, 1 March 1995) Studies done by G. M. Hampton et al. show that there are genes or a gene on chromosome 11 that has the ability to â€Å"[suppress] tumorigenicity in cell lines derived from different histopathological types of cervical carcinoma, suggesting that aberration of this gene(s) may represent at least one of the additional changes required for tumorigenic progression. ( Hampton, 19 July 1994) The suppressor gene specified is between 11q22 and q24. A study was performed on 32 patients with cervical carcinoma to conclude which genes were required for tumorigenic progression. â€Å"Of the 32 patients examined, 14(44%) demonstrated clonal genetic alterations resulting in loss of heterzygosity for one or more markers. Seven of the clonal genetic alterations on chromosome 11 were specific to the long arm, and the overlap between these and other allelic deletions suggest that a suppressor gene(s) relevant to cervical carcinoma maps to chromosome 11q22-q24. â€Å"( Hampton, 19 July 1994) In conclusion, Chromosome 11 of the Human genome contains over 1000 genes. Of the many, this essay looks at 5 specifically in order to gather information on the genes of this chromosome. Through the closes study of Sickle Cell Anemia, Trisomy 11, Beckwith-Weideman Syndrome, Wilm's Tumor syndrome, and the genes of Chromosome 11q22-q24 regarding cervical carcinoma, one can gather a better understanding of the genes on chromosome 11, and the type of mutations that occur. Although the Humane Genome Project is relatively new, there is already much information that has been revealed and still much more to be discovered.

Free Essays on Anthony Van Dyck

Anthony Van Dyck’s â€Å"Andromeda Chained to the Rock† Anthony Van Dyck is a brilliant and tremendously influential portrait painter who was also a religious and narrative artist, a consummate draughtsman and etcher and a charming occasional landscape watercolorist. The seventh of twelve children born to a wealthy silk merchant in Belgium, Anthony van Dyck began to paint at an early age. By the age of nineteen, he had become a teacher in Antwerp. In his early twenties, van Dyck went to Italy, where he studied the paintings of Titian and Paolo Veronese and worked as a successful portrait painter for the Italian nobility. In 1621 Anthony van Dyck left Antwerp and his position as chief assistant to Peter Paul Rubens. He spent the next six years in Italy, conceiving a obsessive admiration for Titian and developing a mature painting style. He lived in England from 1632 to his death, becoming a fashionable portrait artist and court painter to King Charles I. The piece that really stands out of all Van Dyck’s work is Andromeda Chained to the Rock. Van Dyck's cultural environment and pictorial style come forward in this painting of Andromeda, the beautiful Ethiopian princess whose sacrifice was required to calm a sea monster ravaging the kingdom. Van Dyck depicts her chained in a rocky cave awaiting her fate, while the monster approaches through the waves. Perseus, her rescuer, moves quickly along through the skies on Pegasus. Andromeda stands firmly, full-length, and life-sized, looking up in anguish. Andromeda has a solid physical presence, which may also come from the fact that Van Dyck used his mistress Margaret Lemon for the model of this painting. The woman’s lively eyes, detailed facial features, and fine modeling of flesh tones show the Van Dyck’s concern for texture and pattern. His brush strokes vary to soften the background and... Free Essays on Anthony Van Dyck Free Essays on Anthony Van Dyck Anthony Van Dyck’s â€Å"Andromeda Chained to the Rock† Anthony Van Dyck is a brilliant and tremendously influential portrait painter who was also a religious and narrative artist, a consummate draughtsman and etcher and a charming occasional landscape watercolorist. The seventh of twelve children born to a wealthy silk merchant in Belgium, Anthony van Dyck began to paint at an early age. By the age of nineteen, he had become a teacher in Antwerp. In his early twenties, van Dyck went to Italy, where he studied the paintings of Titian and Paolo Veronese and worked as a successful portrait painter for the Italian nobility. In 1621 Anthony van Dyck left Antwerp and his position as chief assistant to Peter Paul Rubens. He spent the next six years in Italy, conceiving a obsessive admiration for Titian and developing a mature painting style. He lived in England from 1632 to his death, becoming a fashionable portrait artist and court painter to King Charles I. The piece that really stands out of all Van Dyck’s work is Andromeda Chained to the Rock. Van Dyck's cultural environment and pictorial style come forward in this painting of Andromeda, the beautiful Ethiopian princess whose sacrifice was required to calm a sea monster ravaging the kingdom. Van Dyck depicts her chained in a rocky cave awaiting her fate, while the monster approaches through the waves. Perseus, her rescuer, moves quickly along through the skies on Pegasus. Andromeda stands firmly, full-length, and life-sized, looking up in anguish. Andromeda has a solid physical presence, which may also come from the fact that Van Dyck used his mistress Margaret Lemon for the model of this painting. The woman’s lively eyes, detailed facial features, and fine modeling of flesh tones show the Van Dyck’s concern for texture and pattern. His brush strokes vary to soften the background and...

Reading test for six-year-olds to include made-up words - Emphasis

Reading test for six-year-olds to include made-up words Reading test for six-year-olds to include made-up words The latest plan to boost childrens literacy levels involves a reading test for six-year-olds, which includes made-up words like mip, fack, zort, koob and glimp. The Government scheme is intended to provide a light touch phonics-based check, to either reassure parents of their childs ability, or to identify the pupils falling behind. It would entail reading back a list of both real and made-up words, to ensure that none was just recited by rote. Some of the words may be nonsensical, but the idea may not be quite as crazy as it sounds. Teaching with phonics where words are deduced by recognising the sounds associated with letters or groups of letters has been shown to help with individual word identification and spelling. Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools, quotes academic research from Australia and the US that points to synthetic phonics being the most effective method for teaching literacy for all children, especially those aged five to seven. And one can hardly fault the Government on their stated goals. Too many children leave primary school unable to read and write properly, says Gibb. We are determined to raise standards and the new phonics-based reading check for six-year-olds will ensure that children who need extra help are given it before it is too late. But it is the prospect of a test based solely on phonics that is causing consternation among education and literacy experts in the UK. Many think it is more likely to actually put kids off reading, by isolating the act from its own rewards: understanding and enjoyment. The test is trying to control all the different variables so that things like meaning dont get in the way, says president of the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), David Reedy. We think this seems a bit bonkers when the whole purpose of reading is to understand words. And children cannot learn through phonics alone: There is the context, the sentence itself, and whether they have that word in their spoken lexicon, Reedy points out. Professor Greg Brooks, from the University of Sheffield, has also questioned the term light-touch, saying the exam will inevitably become high-stakes, with all the educational deformations that are known to attend high-stakes tests, including teaching to the test and needless anxiety for children. And, if the UKLA are to be believed, it would be needless. They assert that the results wouldnt be a good indicator of how well pupils would read connected text, or pick up meaning. Perhaps the theory is sound enough, but the test itself is just a case of too much, too early. Most children at that age are not ready to learn phonics, never mind be tested on them, says Professor Janet Moyles, an early years and play consultant from Anglia Ruskin University. Children do not have formal teaching of reading in Scandinavian countries, for example, until they are six to seven years of age and do much better than our children in formal testing later.