Consumption of the us Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Consumption of the us - Research Paper Example It is important to understand the impacts caused by United States top leadership in the country’s economy. This is of importance knowing the current economical position of US where fears of recession are evidently delayed often. The result will adopt an econometric approach. This entails description of all the estimation techniques used, the data set and the regression model. Later the results got will be used to reject or support the hypothesis that the political relationship of United States president tend to have on their country’s GDP. Finally, several independent tests will be conducted to determine the strength of the model, within which a conclusion of the regression success will be made. Gross Domestic Product is the measure and determinant of national income and output for a given country’s economy over a certain period. It is measure on the total market value of all final services and goods produced in a country over a given period of time (A financial year). The evaluation process of GDP includes the sum of value added at every intermediate stage of all goods and services produced within a country in a given period monetarily. First, it is important to specify that this study use time series data and ordinary least square regression method of data estimation. Through excel a set of parameters will be evaluated, from which a line of best fit will be obtained. The regression model is developed using figures from 2004 to 2013, which contains enough information of the number of president who have been in office and it has also been the time of global and United States years of Financial crisis. Both the democrats and republicans have shared a time in the presidential seat during this period. This offers an even basis of analysis. Y is the dependent variable, which for the intention of this paper is the going to the growth rate in US GDP over the chosen period (2004 to 2013). The data used was obtained from Economic report of the president,

Planning System in Germany

Planning System in Germany A Brief Overview of the Planning System in Germany The federalist principle of the German state is divided between the Federation and the federal states. The federal states have their own state authoritys laws. This fact characterizes Germany as a decentralized state. The federalist structure contains three central levels which are the Federation, the federal states and the municipalities. They each have their own regulations but they are closely linked. At the federal level is the Ministry for Transport, Building and Housing, responsible for spatial planning. At present the predominant departmental assignment model is an independent ministry for planning and environment. Raumordnung is a term provides a classic model of the combined planning of land uses, preservation of heritage. The planning law in the Federal Republic of Germany consists of the Law of Raumordnung and of the Public Building Law. The outstanding feature of the decentralised German planning system is the fact that the Federation itself has no comprehensive and legal binding spatial planning instrument. So Germany has no national plan at its disposal, but in its place the established by the Federation principles of the Raumordnung which are the fundamental guidelines for the whole spatial planning and spatial policy in Germany. Legal planning instruments are reserved for the federal states. Only the federal states are obliged to draw up comprehensive plans and to determine objectives of the Raumordnung which are binding for all subordinate planning authorities (municipalities and sectoral planning authorities). On the level of the Raumordnung und Landesplanung there is no public participation up to now. The procedure for giving the Raumordnungsplaene a binding character is legally the most important act, and it serves to make the objectives of the Raumordnung binding for public planning authorities. This is achieved by means of †¢ passing of laws†¢ decisions taken by the governments of the federal states†¢ official approval/declaration of binding effects/approval by the planning authorities of the federal states. The comprehensive plans of the federal states (Raumordnungsplaene) and their regions (Regionalplaene) are legally binding for all authorities of the Federation, the federal states and the municipalities. This refers to the real contents of these plans, the objectives of the Raumordnung, which have to be observed by public planning authorities in all spatially significant planning procedures and measures. As a general rule of the German planning law, the undeveloped outlying areas should not be built on with the exception of â€Å"privileged developments (e.g. developments serving agricultural activities, specific public infrastructure projects). Those projects must be permitted in rural areas (without a legally binding land-use plan) in compliance with the FBC if public interests do not oppose and ample public infrastructure provision can be guaranteed. Other development projects may be permitted in compliance with the FBC as exceptional cases, provided that their execution and use do not conflict with any public interests and public infrastructure provision can be guaranteed.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses :: essays research papers

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a complex and disturbing portrayal of the noble class in pre-revolutionary France. Set in the late eighteenth century during the latter part of the Ancien Regime, Les Liaisons weaves a web of cold, calculated betrayal of the most immoral kind. The story unfolds in the form of letters written between the principal characters, giving it a unique literary texture. By using this style, de Laclos is able to give the reader a shockingly intimate look at these people as they divulge their most intimate secrets and bring to fruition their sinister plans. The protagonists, The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, consider it their life’s ambition to sadistically control and dominate those around them through sexual intrigue. These two villains are indeed locked in psychological combat to see who can actually ‘out-do’ the other in stalking, capturing and destroying the souls of others. Taking absolute pleasure in ripping any virtue from the hearts of their prey, Merteuil and Valmont wave their accomplishments in front of each other like spoils of war. The less the chance of surrender, the more relentless is the pursuit. The story begins with the Marquise de Merteuil corresponding with Vicomte de Valmont regarding a luscious new act of ‘revenge’, as she describes it, against the Comte de Gercourt. The young Cecile de Volanges has just come home from the convent and her marriage to Gercourt has been arranged. However, before he can wed the innocent child, Merteuil proposes Valmont ‘educate’ her, thus spoiling Gercourt’s fancy for untarnished convent girls. Valmont is uninterested in such an easy seduction and is far more aroused by the thought of lulling The Presidente’ de Tourvel, the very epitome of virtue, into submission. And so the tale unfolds. Valmont eventually beds the virgin Cecile in order to humor Merteuil, however, the conquest of Madam de Tourvel is his passion and he indulges in this pursuit until he reaches the intended conclusion. Although, it would be a mistake to depict Valmont as anything but the monster that he is, there seems to be a small measure of actual ‘affection’ for Tourvel, however short-lived. Once Valmont shares this strange and unexpected interest in Madame de Tourvel, The Marquise de Merteuil is enraged, considering it an appalling sign of weakness. In order to save face, Valmont returns to his ruthless ways, thus completing the destruction of Madame de Tourvel, who had ultimately fallen madly in love with Valmont.

Day of the Locust

Chris Phillips Professor Kirkpatrick English 1C March 31, 2010 Hollywood Illusions In The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West, illusion verse reality is one of the main themes of the novel. Hollywood is known for it’s acting, but the town and everyone that inhibit it seem to get carried away with trying to be something they aren’t. Nothing is really indigenous in Hollywood and everything is borrowed from another place. The houses have been designed to look like Irish cottages, Spanish villas, or Southern plantations while the characters often imagine themselves as someone other than who they really are. Tod states, â€Å"The fat lady in the yachting cap was going shopping, not boating; the man in the Norfolk jacket and Tyrolean hat was returning, not from a mountain, but an insurance office; and the girl in slacks and sneaks with a bandana around her head had just left a switchboard, not a tennis court† (60). West shows us that Hollywood is filled with fantasies and dreams rather than reality, which can best be seen through characters such as Harry and Faye Greener. Harry acts as if he has had a long and successful career as a star, when in reality he is just a washed up clown. Harry’s clowning act is used to sell his shoe polish. Harry knows that no one really wants to buy his shoe polish but he thinks that he is still a great actor and also realizes that people won't go out of their way to punish a clown. But clowning becomes compulsive because he acts in his everyday life. Harry is so caught up in his illusion that it ends up killing him. He becomes really sick but can only think and respond in terms of performance. While playing faint, he shockingly discovers that he really is faint. Having role-played so much, he can no longer tell when he is acting pain and feeling pain, pretending suffering and really suffering. Though Harry's illness is real, he continues to put on his act. After offering Harry some water Tod states, â€Å"Harry framed the word ‘no’ with his lips, then groaned skillfully. It was a second-act curtain groan, so phony that Tod had to hide a smile. And yet the old man's pallor hadn't come from a box† (119). The only way Harry knows to express suffering is by exaggeratedly pretending it. Tod was often at the Greener’s house to help the sick man, but it was hard to distinguish how in pain the old man really was. It seemed like another one of his clown acts, where being in pain is what made the act so funny. Even as Harry is dying, he wonders to himself whether he was acting or actually sick. Like her dad Faye is caught up in the dreams and fantasies of Hollywood. Faye thinks she’s a big time movie star when in fact she has only been an extra with a short part in a movie. She even believes she is too good for guys like Tod and can only be with someone who is rich and handsome. Faye is the center of obsessional sexual fantasies of all the males in the novel. She is an unloving woman and provides Tod with many sexual and violent fantasies. Tod begins to realize that Faye’s main goal is to lead men on with her performances. Faye’s sexual gestures became more of a formal greeting that she used very often. Her secret smiles and the way she acted were used to get whatever she wanted. She never fooled anyone though, but it was alright with them. West writes, â€Å"His interest in her grew despite the things she said and he continued to find her very exciting. Had any other girl been so affected, he would have thought her intolerable. Faye’s affectations, however, were so completely artificial that he found them charming. Being with her was like being backstage during an amateurish, ridiculous play† (103). They were perfectly content watching what seemed like an amateur show, just by being with her. Even when Harry dies, Faye, who has been treating him meanly, decides to act like the devoted daughter. She provides a proper funeral and decides to become a call girl for Mrs. Jenning's in order to pay for it. Everything from the people to the town itself seems to be fake and not what everyone expects when they think of Hollywood. West’s theme of illusion verse reality is shown with Faye always bouncing free to continue in her fantasies, or Harry not knowing what he feels because clownishly playing his disguised self, the Greeners show that for compulsive masqueraders little authentic life is possible. Faye and Harry make the audience sympathetic for them. They just seem so pathetic at times that it’s hard to not feel bad for them. Tod, Homer and many of Faye’s other suitors, went along with her poor acting because she was beautiful yet pathetic. West says, â€Å"Raging at him, she was still beautiful. That was because her beauty was structural like a tree's, not a quality of her mind or heart† (126). They all loved her for what they saw on the outside, not her stuck up ways and wild stories. For all of the characters in West’s novel, they are acting on an every day basis without even realizing it. Harry acts in pain to get attention. He pretends to need help from sympathetic people and then he tells them the crazy stories of when he was â€Å"famous. † His illusions are then backed up by his strong beliefs that he really was a good actor. If we look at Faye we see how she also has a very strong and misconstrued idea of reality. She believes she will one day be famous and in her everyday life, she acts like she already is. She bosses the men around, has to be the center of attention, and uses people to pay for her and get her ahead. Her daily acting and stage acting has become almost the same, as she makes everything dramatic. All of Hollywood is her stage as she acts out her life. Faye does a little better then her father when it comes to acting because she uses her beauty to get ahead. Her beauty helps the men forget how delusional she is when she speaks. Harry has nothing to use to his advantage except being old, and being Faye’s father, which gives him the company of Faye’s suitors. Faye’s suitors help Harry and listen to his nonsense just so they can be close to Faye. The Greener’s are so confused in their ideas of illusion versus reality that they will never get anywhere close to their dreams. Harry died the clown he always was, while Faye ended up stuck in her fantasies. Neither got what they wanted or expected from Hollywood. The city that was supposed to make all their dreams come true failed. The Greener’s showed us very clearly the line between illusion and reality. Throughout the novel we saw Harry and Faye act their way through their life. Everyone around them was just a part of the play. Tod and Homer had front and center seats to see the Greeners perform. The performance was sad but amusing for the audience. In the end, the play didn’t have a happy ending for anyone but the ride along the way proved to be full of surprises, pain, disappointment, and challenges. Faye and Harry although unsuccessful during their time in Hollywood showed everyone the problems with never facing reality. The truth of reality would have hurt them. If they saw just as everyone else did, that they were the â€Å"have-nots† in society, they might have changed. Instead Tod was the only one in the novel who changed. His change can be attributed to the Greeners and their acting. Through them, Tod finally felt sympathy and became a better person. Faye and Harry were constant throughout The Day of the Locust, which led them to despair. The Greener’s constant masquerading eventually became the fall of them, leading to reality. Work Cited West, Nathanael. Miss Lonelyhearts & the Day of the Locust. New York: New Directions Book, 2009. Print.

Assess the view that we are now living in a secular society Essay

Secularization is described by Bryan Wilson as, ‘the process whereby religious thinking, practice and institutions lose social significance’. Contemporary sociologists argue that society is becoming more secular due to science and rationality, the decline of traditional values and the specialized division of labour. This appears to be confirmed by statistics, who claim that church attendance has fallen from 1,200,000 in 1980 to 850,000 in 2001. However, David Barrett has documented the emergence of some 6,300 New Religious Movements since the 1960s and the number of UK Muslims has increased from 40,000 to 1,400,000 which suggest that religion is developing to meet the needs of people in a modern society rather than decreasing altogether. On an international level Gilles Kepel states that there is little evidence of a general trend towards secularization and that in fact there is much evidence, such as the popularity of the Christian New Right in the US, Islamatization movements in Algeria and the Jewish political group Lubavitch in Israel, to suggest a religious revival. Item A agrees with the views of Gilles Kepel and is critical of the secularization thesis. It cites the popularity of churchgoing in the USA (40% of US adults attend church on a Sunday compared to 10% in England), New Age Movements in Western Europe, the growth in fundamentalist movements and the evangelical revival in Latin America as examples of ‘religious health and vitality’. It also mentions the ‘upsurge of ethno-religious conflict in international affairs’, with all recent conflicts such as the Jews and Arabs in the Middle East, the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and the Muslims, Serbs and Croats in Bosnia all being based on religion. Islamic terrorism has also ensured that religion is consistently at the forefront of current affairs. However, many sociologists have found that religion is incompatible with modern society. Weber predicted desacrilization in his idea of disenchantment, whereby magic and myth would be less important in modern society. Bryan Wilson felt that the rational organisation of society and greater knowledge of the social and physical world have encouraged the development of a rational view, and that due to this religion is difficult to accept as it cannot be quantified, tested or proven. Steve Bruce agreed, claiming that scientific beliefs undermine religion and that technological advances reduce the number of things that need to be explained in religious terms. Bruce also claims that religion has become less important in society as the majority of its previous functions, such as education, health, social welfare and social control have been taken over by other, non-religious, institutions. Bryan Wilson partially supports this view in terms of the loss of the social welfare and control functions, stating that due to societalization the church is no longer a focal point, people no longer rely upon the local priest for advice and cannot decide what to believe due to cultural diversity. David Matin blames disengagement for society allegedly becoming more secular, saying that the wealth, influence and prestige of the church has declined, it is no longer a major employer (one in thirty adults were employed by the church in previous times) and its ideological power has decreased. Functionalist Talcott Parsons disagrees, arguing that although the church may have lost its functions and become disengaged from the state and politics, religion can still be significant in everyday life and encourages shared values in society. However, Bruce did admit that religion is still used as a last resort when all rational and scientific options have been exhausted, stating that, ‘when we have tried every cure for cancer, we pray†¦ ‘. Postmodernists suggest that society has begun to move beyond the scientific rationality of modernity as they have started to mistrust science, due to its failures and negative effects such as disease and global warming. This suggests that the society we are living in is not secular, and will not become so. However, it is difficult to determine the extent to which society has become more secular. Although statistics suggest that this is the case, with church attendance decreasing from 40% in 1850 to 8% in 2000 and the amount of Christians in the world decreasing by one million between 1970 and 2005, they are unreliable. For example, church attendance is measured in different ways (varying from telephone polls to counting the amount of cars in car parks) and churches have motives to over or underestimate the congregation (for example, the Roman Catholic Church reduce their number to lessen capitation fees). Furthermore, different sociologists have different meanings for the concepts of religiosity and secularization, with those defining religion in terms of the structure and content of people’s beliefs (substantive definitions) being more likely to agree to the secularization thesis that those who consider the functions performed by religion for individuals and society (functional definitions). Glock and Stark believe that in order to measure the degree of religiosity in society (essential for determining whether or not society is secular) the five dimensions of religion must be applied. These are the essential beliefs of society, the acts of worship and ritual, the substantive feelings of being associated with a higher power or being, the depth of understanding of religious teachings and beliefs and the impact of being religious on daily activities. However, these dimensions further illustrate the difficulties of measuring religiosity, such as what needs to be taken into account, whether religion has to satisfy all of these dimensions, and which is the most important. To conclude, the secularization process cannot be proved or disproved, with the term ‘secularization’ being used in many different ways by sociologists. As Glock and Stark pointed out, as we have not adequately defined religion or religiosity, one cannot accurately test the secularization thesis and many sociologists also agree that religion varies according to national, regional, ethnic and class differences and so it is difficult to relate the secularization thesis to the whole of society. Therefore how secular contemporary society has become cannot be determined. However, society is not entirely secular, and with the emergence of New Religious Movements and New Age Movements religion appears to be developing and changing rather than declining altogether.

Free Essays on The Jungle By Upton Sinclair

The Jungle By Upton Sinclair "The Jungle" portrays the lower ranks of the industrial world as the scene of a naked struggle for survival. Where workers not only are forced to compete with each other but, if they falter, are hard pressed to keep starvation from their door and a roof over their heads. With unions weak and cheap labor plentiful, a social Darwinist state of "the survival of the fittest" exists. The real story revolves around the integration and eventual disintegration of Jurgis Rudkis and his family, Lithuanian immigrants who move to the Chicago stockyards in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, their hopes quickly disintegrate; like thousands of other unskilled immigrants at the turn of the century, financial necessity forces them into virtual slave labor in order to survive. For Jurgis and his family, the slave master is the ruthless and greedy meat packing industry, whose leaders value their workers no more than the animals they slaughter. "The Jungle" shows the rel ationship between the animals that were being slaughtered and the workers who were slaughtering them, from very early in the novel. It compares the workers to the animals who are penned up and killed every day in the stockyards, which are moved along on conveyer belts by machinery that cares nothing for their individual desires. In the monotonous killing of each of the hogs, "They had done nothing to deserve it; and it was adding insult to injury, as the thing was done here, swinging them up in this cold blooded, impersonal way, without a pretense of apology without the homage of a tear."(Pg. 35) The key comparison is the condition of the workingmen; as cold, efficient machinery assimilates them, a blind fate swallows them up. A few of the men are even swallowed up literally when they would fall into huge vats and emerges as "Durham’s Pure Leaf Lard". (Pg. 99) "The Jungle" also shows precisely how wounded, diseased, and pregnant animals are turned into foo... Free Essays on The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Free Essays on The Jungle By Upton Sinclair The Jungle By Upton Sinclair "The Jungle" portrays the lower ranks of the industrial world as the scene of a naked struggle for survival. Where workers not only are forced to compete with each other but, if they falter, are hard pressed to keep starvation from their door and a roof over their heads. With unions weak and cheap labor plentiful, a social Darwinist state of "the survival of the fittest" exists. The real story revolves around the integration and eventual disintegration of Jurgis Rudkis and his family, Lithuanian immigrants who move to the Chicago stockyards in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, their hopes quickly disintegrate; like thousands of other unskilled immigrants at the turn of the century, financial necessity forces them into virtual slave labor in order to survive. For Jurgis and his family, the slave master is the ruthless and greedy meat packing industry, whose leaders value their workers no more than the animals they slaughter. "The Jungle" shows the rel ationship between the animals that were being slaughtered and the workers who were slaughtering them, from very early in the novel. It compares the workers to the animals who are penned up and killed every day in the stockyards, which are moved along on conveyer belts by machinery that cares nothing for their individual desires. In the monotonous killing of each of the hogs, "They had done nothing to deserve it; and it was adding insult to injury, as the thing was done here, swinging them up in this cold blooded, impersonal way, without a pretense of apology without the homage of a tear."(Pg. 35) The key comparison is the condition of the workingmen; as cold, efficient machinery assimilates them, a blind fate swallows them up. A few of the men are even swallowed up literally when they would fall into huge vats and emerges as "Durham’s Pure Leaf Lard". (Pg. 99) "The Jungle" also shows precisely how wounded, diseased, and pregnant animals are turned into foo...

Pragmatics Application

Pragmatics Application Introduction Over the years that man has been in existence, he has found a unique way to pass message to the other members of his community. He has achieved this through the process of talking. This is very essential as he has been able to communicate what he feels, what he thinks and what he wants. This has made the manner in which he performs his activities to be effective and efficient as compared to other creatures.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Pragmatics Application specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is due to the high level of understanding that exists between the individual who is sending the information and the one who is receiving it (Stalnaker, 1970). This mutual understanding is what has assisted us to achieve all the developments and advancements that are currently present in the world. However, the process of communication has changed with time. This can be mainly attributed to the level of so cial interactions among individuals. As a result of the relationship that individuals have with one another, they have changed the literal meaning of words to mean something that is totally different. This is advantageous to the individuals who understand this sort of communication. However, misunderstandings may arise especially on those individuals who do not understand the contextual meaning of these words. This form of alteration is known as pragmatics. Pragmatics is the altering of words to give a different meaning as compared to its semantic meaning (DAndrade, 2002). For an individual to understand the meaning of a pragmatic phrase, one has to interpret it in accordance to the context in which the phrase was communicated. In most instances, high levels of confusion always arise. As a result, many individuals are against pragmatics. This is due to the high level of misinterpretation that may arise once the literal meaning of the phrase is used. This paper will therefore focus o n pragmatics and the problems that may arise due to the plain interaction of words, sentences or phrases. To achieve this, the essay will focus on the application of pragmatics on everyday conversation, the effects it has on language and the possible problems that may arise. Finally, possible solutions to the problem shall be discussed.Advertising Looking for coursework on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Pragmatics in Everyday Language Pragmatics is the process though which language is explained with the use of its context (Masuda, 2008). The meaning of such words cannot make sense if the plain interpretation of the words is applied with the use of semantics. Due to the different interpretation of words, a lot of confusion normally occurs in the everyday use of words, phrases and sentences. For example, the phrase, you have the green light, is frequently used in language. Several interpretations can be a rrived at with the use of semantics. For instance, the phrase can mean that one has a green light on his body. The phrase can also be used to say that the traffic light has changed from ambient to green so one can start to drive. However, one has to consider the context in which the conversation is made to understand the meaning of these words. In most cases, the phrase, you have the green light is used to mean that an individual has been given the authority to go on or continue to do something. He/she should therefore start or continue doing something. In games such as hockey, basketball and soccer, a player may shout man on to his teammate. If the context of this phrase is not considered, the literal meaning of the words can be interpreted to mean something that is totally different to what the player intended to communicate with his teammate. With the use of semantics, the word man can be used to refer to a male individual, the race of humankind or an individual (either male or f emale). On the other hand, the word on can be used to mean a number of things. This can be on top of someone, above someone, on duty and so on. Putting these words together will therefore lead to a totally different interpretation of the phrase. However, in sports, the phrase is used to alert the danger of the presence of an opponent to a teammate. Therefore, when an individual shouts man on to his teammate, he expects his teammate to respond appropriately by either protecting the ball or playing in a safe position. As it was mentioned earlier, understanding the contextual subtleties of a spoken phrase often proves indispensible when it comes to defining such phrase’s actual semiotics. For example, there are two equally legitimate meanings to the statement: â€Å"She requires a rod† – that the woman needs the actual rod or that this woman may be in need for sex.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Pragmatics Application specifically fo r you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More And, it is specifically the context in which this phrase has been uttered, which provides others with the insight on what person that came up with this statement had in mind. Nevertheless, in order for just about anyone to be able to able to grasp the contextual implications of an utterance, he or she would have to be endowed with the ability to operate with rather abstract categories, as it is namely such individual’s ability that allows him or her to choose in favor of whether literal, metaphoric or situational understanding of a spoken phrase. In its turn, one’s ability to operate with abstract categories can be well conceptualized within the framework of what happened to be the rate of individual’s Intellectual Quotidian (IQ). Problem of Pragmatics From the examples that have been raised above, it is evident that the main problem that arises from pragmatics is the issue of interpretation of the mess age that is being passed on from the sender of the message to the recipient. The main aim of communication is that there should be an understanding between the individual who is passing the information and the person who is receiving it. Understanding is an integral part of communication. The initiator of a conversation expects the recipient to respond in a specific manner. This can either be in the form of an action, gesture or speech. From the few examples that have been used in this paper, it is evident that several interpretations can arise from just a simple word or phrase. At the same time, it is difficult for any individual to understand the contextual meaning of words or phrases used by an individual. Apparently, in order to be able to recognize the significance of just about any contextually formulated statement, the individual must be capable of recognizing what accounts for the difference between qualitatively defined emanations of surrounding environment. In other words, he or she would have to be aware of rationale behind categorizing such emanations.Advertising Looking for coursework on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This, however, often proves very challenging for the people with low IQ, because the primitive workings of their psyche create objective preconditions for them to indulge in exclusively literal thinking, which also explains such people’s tendency to perceive world through the lenses of utilitarianism and their lessened ability to recognize contextual implications of verbal expressions. Despite the problems that arise as a result of using pragmatics, it is essential to accept it as part of the English language. Pragmatics plays an important role in communication. To ensure that proper interpretation of such phrases is achieved, some theories have been developed. Theories of Pragmatics In practice, a lot of criticism has been raised against pragmatics. People have said that the concept does not have a specific focus, its ideologies are vague and that it is redundant (Adams, 2010). These people feel that semantics has covered effectively all the aspects that pragmatics is trying to cover. However, there are those individuals who feel that pragmatics is part and parcel of the English language. They argue that pragmatics is vital in linguistics since it has brought about a new dimension in social language interactions. It has managed to capture aspects of language that semantics has failed to capture. As a result, pragmatics has become a useful tool in teaching, especially in literature. Several theories have therefore been advanced to solve the differences that have risen between pragmatics and semantics. The first theory that has been advanced is the theory of Speech Acts (Barba, 2007). J.L. Austin, a great philosopher suggested that there is a great similarity between the utterance and the actions of an individual. Due to this relationship, it is thus easier for an individual to interpret what another person is trying to communicate to his with the help of his/her actions while he/she is speaking. According to the theory, these utterances have three aspec ts; locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts (Bruhl, 1928). Locutionary acts entail the words that an individual utters in the process of a conversation and the content of these words. Illocutionary acts on the other hand are the physical actions of an individual while he/she is talking. This may include gesture, facial expressions, changes in posture and so on. An individual can, for example, bite his finger while talking. The act of biting his finger in itself plays a critical aspect in determining the context and meaning if what he may be saying. Finally, perlocutionary acts are the effects of the utterance to the listener. An individual may respond in accordance to the instructions of the words that were uttered. In some other instances, an individual may respond contrary to directions that were uttered by the speaker. Whichever the case, there was an understanding between the speaker and the listener. The various avenues of communication as a result of the speech act theory were responsible for the passing of information and understanding between the two parties. This therefore removes the ambiguity that exists between pragmatics and semantics. With the use of the words uttered by an individual and the corresponding actions, an individual is capable of understanding the message that the other party was passing. In the process, he/she responds appropriately. Thus, the process of communication has effectively taken place. Apparently, people’s lessened ability to recognize the contextual meaning of verbally expressed idioms, is nothing but the mental byproduct of their evolutionary underdevelopment, as those who have not evolved to the point of being able to draw a clear line between themselves and the surrounding environment: â€Å"Identity appears in (primitive people’s) collective representations†¦ as a moving assemblage or totality of mystic actions and reactions, within which individual does not subjectualize but objectuali ze itself† (p. 120). Therefore, it does not seem utterly odd that it is namely intellectually underdeveloped individuals’ lessened capacity to understand how the associated context affects the semantic significance of linguistic idioms (which comes as the result of pre-logical workings of their psyche) that often prevents them from succeeding in academia. In its turn, such lessened capacity on their part, appears to be rather genetically predetermined. As it was pointed out by Lynn and Vanhanen (2002): â€Å"IQs appear to be determined by the racial and ethnic make-up of the populations†¦ The IQs of 96 are typical of Europeans. The countries with lower proportions of Europeans and greater proportions of Native Americans, Blacks, and Mestizos have lower IQs† (p. 263). Apparently, the practice of discussing pragmatics-related concepts outside of what happened to the qualitative essence of how people with diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds indulge in cognitive process cannot be referred to as academically appropriate, in full sense of this word. After all, as many recent socio-linguistic studies indicate, it is not one’s affiliation with a particular culture/language that forms person’s existential attitudes, which in turn affect the extent of his or her linguistic proficiency, but neurological particulars of how one’s mind assesses universe and its place in it. As it was pointed out in Bunge’s (1975) article: â€Å"Language is the set of speech processes, which are in turn physiological (in particular neurophysiological) processes† (p. 109). What it means is that it is specifically the particulars of individual brain’s ‘wiring’ which define his or her varying ability to provide a proper contextual sounding to verbally expressed sentences and to also recognize the proper contextual sounding in words and phrases that are being verbally expressed by others. Conclusion This paper has pre sented a great argument with regards to pragmatics and its application in linguistics. With the application of the speech of acts theory, the differences that exist between pragmatics and semantics can easily be solved. In addition, line of argumentation, which has been deployed throughout this paper’s analytical part, supports the validity of an initial thesis that there can only be rules to pragmatics for as long as improving the linguistic proficiency of similarly ‘brain-wired’ people is being concerned. Given the fact that, as time goes on, socially appropriate verbal expressions that convey situative-contextual messages never cease being adjusted to be correlative with currently predominant socio-cultural discourses, there can be little rationale in theorizing upon what constitutes the expressional adequacy of linguistic idioms under specific circumstances, as these circumstances themselves are the subject of a constant change. It is important to understand that the very fact that, as of today, Western societies’ demographic fabric undergoes a rapid transformation creates objective preconditions for the very concept of linguistic pragmatics to grow increasingly less euro-centric, which in turn implies that it is only the matter of time, before its methodological framework will become outdated. Therefore, it will only be logical to conclude that the key to maintaining the academic validity of pragmatics, as subdivision of linguistics, is not in defining how context affects semiotics of verbal expressions, but in exposing the mechanism of how the context itself creates an entirely new semantic meaning to what is being said or written. References Adams, W. (2010). Natures participatory psyche: A study of consciousness in the shared Earth community. The Humanistic Psychologist, 38 (1), 15-39. Barba, J. (2007). Formal semantics in the age of pragmatics. Linguistics and Philosophy, 30 (6): 637-668. Bruhl, L. 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